ACROSS LITE PUZZLE: [ SHUT UP AND PLAY]
PROGRAM: [Across Lite]
PROGRAM: [Java]
PRINTOUT PUZZLE: [ SHUT UP AND PLAY]
PROGRAM: [Adobe Acrobat]
Apologies ahead of time for two reasons. The theme is a dreaded quote puzzle (cue: shrieks of horror) and it’s a 14×15. I did my best to disguise both of these shortcomings by trying to ramp up the fun stuff in the fill, and to cite the always cool John Coltrane. Feel free though to let me have it in the comments section.
For whatever it’s worth, I really enjoy making quotation puzzles. Talk about a great exercise. In addition to trying to find one that even splits up symmetrically, you’re pretty much locked in the order of the quote. That is to say, with other themed puzzles, if the fill isn’t becoming one way, just swap two entries and you can hope for the best. I guess you could do that with quote puzzles, but then the meaning gets all cubist.
Quick side bar: somebody just sent me this video of the Boston Typewriter Orchestra’s show at AS200 last month. While we’re here, allow me to indulge in a little shameless self-promotion and point out we’re playing the Megapolis Festival in Cambridge on Friday. Hope to see some of you there.
Finally, I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t chime in on the new issue of “Wired.” It’s a puzzle issue. Supposedly, “Lost” creator J. J. Abrams “edited” the whole issue. I haven’t really had a chance to read the articles yet, so maybe there’s some “big picture” stuff happening that I haven’t stumbled upon yet. The whole issue to me feels like some veiled money grab for Conde Nast and some crass cross-marketing for Abrams’s new “Star Trek” movie, which, at least in the previews looks to me like a massive headache. I mean, wasn’t the whole point of “Star Trek” to be a thinking-man’s science fiction filtered through the optimism of the hippie-dippy 60s? I mean, was Spock ever supposed to be flying through the air all ninja-style kicking ass? That seems like a big fat EPIC FAIL.
Anyway, as for the puzzles themselves in the “Wired” issue: couple titans in the mix (Will Shortz and Martin Gardner), as well as some of the geniuses behind the MIT puzzle hunt (Mike Selinker and Dan Katz), so from that perspective, it’s a winner. For me, the best thing about the issue was that it reminded me of the couldn’t-lose streak “Games” magazine had going mid-’80s to mid-’90s. If any ambitious readers of this blog would be interested in pooling together to do an-online free-for-all puzzle site in the spirit of “Games,” call me up and let’s get it started.
I’m sure it’s not the first time you pulled a Trane.
Most definitely.
Hey I liked, what can I say? I don’t understand the depth of aversion to quote puzzles. Yeah, they should only appear occasionally but they make for a change.
Do not like quote puzzles in general.
Brendan, I appreciated 49D, [University where the rules for football were finalized]. I feel so knowledgeable about Walter Camp’s legacy after working on your crossword book about said university. The eleven-man team, the quarterback, signal calling, the scrimmage line—can you guess what I was proofreading yesterday?
Okay, that’s cool to hear.
Hey, at least somebody’s doing the puzzles.
For my money, the all-time best quotation puzzle was this one.
http://query.nytimes.com/premium/xword/Aug1504.puz
Perfecto.
Hey now!
(Sidebar: “Ascension” get’s no love in today’s poll? What up?)
Nice one. Couldn’t get 40 down’s last two letters, but oh well. Also got hung up for a long time forgetting Harvey’s color in reservoir dogs.
Also, thanks for the link to Brainiac on Rex’s page the other day. I’d forgotten all about those dudes. I saw them in DC when I was in college. I had no idea the lead singer died. Must have been right after I saw them. But at least we have Youtube!
They were pretty boss. I had the opportunity to see their last Boston show, with about 30 other fanatics in a room that held 600. Oof. Chatted with the singer for a while before they went on. A real loss, they will be missed.
Wakefield, thus far, is killin’ it again. Nice one.
Dont know (or care) about Baseball and forgot MR WHITE so WAKEFIELD fowled up the bottom left for quite a while.
DOERR + WAKEFIELD = happy solver.
PEDROIA would seem to be custom made for the puzzle. Lots o’ vowels. MVP Award… just a suggestion.
Tripped up a bit on 13-Across, as I remembered it wrong as GIRLS, but otherwise smooth sailing. I’m agnostic on quotes; I do love the Rathvon/Cox Acrostics, however. Those seem like the most impressive feats of construction, each and every time I do them.
Also: TWEET! Nice.
Um … is it because “Ascension” is un-listenable? [/2cents]
Fair enough.
Thank you, sir.
Eventually, PEDROIA will be in a puzzle.
Those Acrostics are stunning.
Loved, loved “old style word processor”. I still have a few Steno pads around here somewhere! Thanks so much, very enjoyable.
Enjoyed the quote–usually do, since I figure they’re chosen carefully and would be worth the effort (both making and solving). And yes, fill was indeed full of fun stuff. Sparkly, even. TWEET, JASPER, SATYRS…
Before STENO I was thinking CLERK (SCRIBE, SCRIVENER, what a job).
Tina, you’re welcome.
Heretofore, my job title shall be “Scrivener.”
Really. Love scene kicked my tush. Tarantino movies make me queasy so Mr. White also was slow in coming. (I don’t mean that the way it appears.) Love the quote. I think I’d have done better with a Jimmy Buffett, Kris Kristofferson or Jerry Jeff quote, but oh, well. Great fill and a humbling time, BEQ. I sit ABAFT of the rest of the class. — jesser
Glad you liked the quote. I try to find good quotes, and it’s hard. Most of them are just a little off.
Probably the craziest quote puzzle I’ve ever seen was one by Mike Shenk. Some newspaper columnist said something to the effect: “Fame to me would be to appear as 13-Down or 8-Across in a crossword puzzle in a major market. Mike not only made that quotation work, he put the author’s name at 8-Acros and 13-Down.
I started taking GAMES earlier this year when my daughters 8th grade class sold magazines as a fund raiser. What sets it back from the earlier years?
Wow what a workout – I did a lot of staring until I could start hacking bit by bit. This was definitely a CAN MISS effort for me! 😉
I’m not a fan of quote puzzles, but largely because the payoff is often so lame. By that I mean the quote frequently is some platitude that you’d expect to find cross-stitched on a pillow, or something by Oscar Wilde that I’ve seen 20 times before. Ixnay on that. I don’t mind the ones like this where you learn something about a real person’s thought processes.
I meant to say it’s especially “quips” that I hate. That’s usually what we get with Mr. Wilde. The opposite of enjoyment.
The earlier versions had more variety. Really mind-bending pre-Photoshop picture puzzles, more engaging articles, more variety puzzles, more surprising ways to involve all the parts of the magazine, hidden metapuzzles, over the top wit. It was something special.
I hear you with the needlepoint feeling of most quips/quotes/etc. I try not to rely on them (for this blog). But when I do, I try to find either somebody who wouldn’t be quoted in say a Times puzzle, or hopefully something funny/apposite.
Great puzzle. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks.
I also liked the BTO video. But why did they stick you behind a pole? You are without question the most photogenic of the group.
If I’m the most photogenic of the group, then the BTO is in bigger trouble than we’d already imagined.
Under 7 minutes on this one (which, at 3 am, makes me happy), not that you can tell, because the time I entered for the previous puzzle (which was still open on my screen) got assigned to this one. Any way of making those timers attach themselves to each puzzle, and not having a single timer that only applies to the most recent?
Do they still do fake ads and the occasional hidden contest? I used to love that mag back in middle school / high school.