puzzle 53: "i thought this was speed dating (freestyle 23)"

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another puzzle, also inspired by events of today.

if you're curious about the answer to the mini-meta from last time, here's the answer in rot13: gur gjb ybatrfg nafjref va gung chmmyr obgu pbagnvarq gur yrggre x svir gvzrf; v svavfurq zl svir xvybzrgre enpr guvf zbeavat va gjragl-guerr zvahgrf naq sbegl-gjb frpbaqf (nyy bs juvpu jnf fcrag ehaavat vagb gur jvaq).

puzzle 52: "michael scott's dunder mifflin scranton meredith palmer memorial celebrity rabies awareness pro-am fun run race for the cure"

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because when you have the opportunity to have a super long title, you have to do it.

also, a mini-meta: as hinted at by two answers in this puzzle, what, exactly, am i doing sunday morning?

puzzle 51: "count on me"

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this one turned out interesting. turns out four grid-spanning entries in an oversized puzzle isn't the easiest to work with. but i'm mostly happy with how this turned out.

also, *after* solving the puzzle, i recommend reading this story (which has nothing to do with the theme, but whose title does include a word appearing in the grid).

puzzle 50: "x japan gon' give it to ya (freestyle 42)"

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puzzle constructed and clued while i'm waiting for x japan to show up on stage. really enjoyed david byrne's set, and i'm kinda disappointed i won't see him when he comes through my neck of the woods, because i'll be at the indie 500. if you haven't signed up yet, you should. and if you have, say hi if you see me there.

puzzle 49: "a tradition unlike any other"

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perhaps a few more words than i'd like, but if that's the price for clean fill, so be it. though, to be fair, i didn't want any across answers longer than the theme answers, even though it's clear what's theme and what isn't...but when you have seven letter theme answers, that restricts grid options slightly. (there's also a twelve split six and six in the center row, but i'm not counting that as two different answers.)