One Man Banned

Stiff neck

2008-03-31T11:13:15Z

I must've slept funny, and not "ha ha" funny. My neck is killing me, bad enough to warrant calling in, but I have too much on my desk that needs to get out by week's end (as well as a meeting with the Art Dept. at 2) so I guess I'll just grimace and bear it.

Maybe I'll swing by the pharmacy on the way in and get some ointment, that way *everybody* will smell my pain.

16 year old pictures

2008-03-24T11:31:41Z

Tonight I'm meeting up with an old flame from California, who will have pictures from our summer of love. We didn't stay in touch, but eHarmony matched us up 16 years later which some might take as a sign. I'm staying realistic: we're different people now and who knows if we'll hit it off again.

Either way, it's a good story. Wish me luck!

A Little Blogging Goes a Long Way

2008-03-21T02:27:16Z

Just got done slogging through the comments on Rex's blog, which I rarely read unless I hear there's something juicy (which I did). This reminds me of something I've thought about for quite a while now: with whom do my blogging loyalties lie? The answer for me is a resounding O-R-A-N-G-E, since she's a top-notch solver who doesn't rant. Also, Orange focuses on markets besides the NYT. Still, one has to wonder why Rex has caught on so quickly, or at least I do. I think much of it has to do with putting "New York Times Crossword" in his title, and if I had thought of it earlier I might have titled this page "Patrick Solves the New York Times Crossword Puzzle New York Times Crossword Puzzle New York Times Crossword Puzzle." Well, hindsight and all that...

In other news, I'd like to take this opportunity to announce my addiction to iTunes. Somebody, please schedule an intervention ASAP.

Yeah, well ...

2008-03-17T11:57:19Z

... the chain of blogging was broken again. Big surprise.

To make up for it, please enjoy the song stylings of a very talented songwriter: Pete Mills.

http://pcmills.tripod.com/songs.html

I don't actually know the guy, but Dan F. tells me he's bustin' out all over.

Two days in a row (gasp)

2008-03-13T11:15:39Z

No spoilers, but I swear I wrote down one of the theme entries from today's NYT a few days ago. This is less and less surprising to me as I see more puzzles, since we're all working with the same 26 letters. And if I'm thinking along the same lines as somebody like Alan Arbesfeld, I must be doing *something* right.

BTW, if anybody has a positive clue for OSTEOARTHRITIS I'd love to hear it.

Oh, and did everybody see the new covers for my upcoming book-babies?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Patrick%20Blindauer

back in the saddle again

2008-03-12T11:47:36Z

Maybe if I start blogging again slowly it won't be so jarring to my system. I've just gotten out of the habit, is all.

So let's start small, and perhaps with a link or two:

Here's constructor Pancho Harrison's link to his CD:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/panchoh

And here's a place to get low-cost business cards:
http://www.moo.com/

Okay - I don't want to overdo it.

Hasta mañana,
P

MIT Mystery Hunt, Part I

2008-01-21T16:25:29Z

Last year was my first time, and the puzzles were spectacular. I thought, "Nobody can top that." I thought wrong.

The internal structure was inspired, and the puzzles that I worked on were either stellar (when we solved them) or sucked (when we didn't). I'm sure when I see the answers to the sucky ones I'll appreciate them, and suspect that I sucked for not spotting their solutions sooner.

Still fun. Still exhausting. Still wish I had gotten those boar to behave in "Safari Park." Oh, and "The World's Tallest Cryptic" is pure awesome.

The Fake SMBT

2007-12-05T23:55:01Z

Okay, so here are some crossword entries that would fail the Sunday Morning Breakfast Test, but only if clued in an inappropriate way:

AHOLE [Have ___ in one's head]
AIDS [Helps out]
ANAL [Freud subj.]
PENIS [The ___ mightier than the sword]
PMS [Afts.] or [U.K. leaders]
STD [Norm: Abbr.]

Can you think of others?

The "Sunday Morning Breakfast Test" Test

2007-11-17T23:50:36Z

Here are some less-than-appetizing entries that don't pass my SMBT:

MUCUS
PHLEGM
BARF
PUKE
VOMIT
SMEGMA
FART

The question is: which one has appeared in the NY Times? (Answer in comments)

Which words are on your SMBT?

NYC Puzzler's Lunch

2007-10-19T00:16:07Z

Whew! It's dusty in here! Look at all those cobwebs and virtual dust bunnies...tsk.

Just a quick query for the NYC-area word jockeys out there: who's up for a weekly Puzzler's Lunch? I understand that there used to be one, but this would be very informal: just a standing date at a place with a large menu and open seating.

Who's with me? Bueller? Bueller?

Posts and private replies are welcome.

For Rich Hall

2007-09-08T21:01:15Z

Remember sniglets? You know, a 'word that should be in the dictionary, but isn't' as popularized by Rich Hall on "Not Necessarily the News" back in the day? Well, anyway, here are a few favorites that I reencountered recently. Enjoy!

CHARP: The green, mutant potato chip found in every bag
GLACKETT: The noisy ball inside a spray-paint can
SIRLINES: The lines on a grilled steak
STROODLE: The annoying strand of cheese stretching from a slice of hot pizza to one's mouth
TWINCH: The movement a dog makes with its head when it hears a high-pitched noise
GLARPO: The juncture of the ear and skull where pencils are stored

Misc.

2007-08-22T00:01:27Z

Hi, gang:

My spies tell me that my next NYT puz comes out tomorrow, but I have no idea which one it is. I'm hoping it's one of the 'accepted over a year ago' ones, since I've begun to wonder if they fell into an oubliette. (That is one nice thing about writing for Peter: you know when the puzzle will run once you submit the clues. He works pretty far ahead, so you still have to wait but you know how long the wait will be.) The waiting really *is* the hardest part.

No matter where a puzzle might end up running, there's a lag. Sometimes the lag is longer between acceptance and publication, other times it's between publication and payment. Of course, I'm thrilled that each of my word babies see print at all, so I'm willing to wait as long as it takes. As you may have guessed from my recent spate of puzzles, I had a pretty productive spring. I feel like I moved into a different phase as a constructor, too, concentrating on 'what's next' gimmicks and grid design. My next goal is to sell a themeless, which requires a very similar (but not congruent) set of skills. I think I'm on my way, since today i realized that DINNY (of comics) and FCUK (of clothing) have yet to make it into the database. Then again, maybe there's a reason for that.

Best,
PB (no J)

My new favorite word

2007-07-18T23:02:17Z

ragtimey, adj.

That is all. Back to the non-stop puzzle marathon that is my life.

Tumbleweed ...

2007-07-03T02:24:05Z

... makes a whooshing noise, I'm told.

(WHOOSH)

pauer @ 2007-06-06T06:25:00

2007-06-06T10:39:42Z

Today's NYT is by Rich Silvestri, who is one of the greats.

And today's puzzle, which I found pretty easy for a Wednesday, is another gem. The P in WHIP was the last to fall for me, since I had WHIG. Whoops! I also had a nagging feeling that I'd seen the theme somewhere before. It surprises me less and less that people think of the same themes independently - I mean, there are only so many letters in the alphabet, right? - and thanks to the cruciverb database I was able to confirm that PBerry (another great) had an NYT Sunday on 5/15/05 called "Words to the Y's" whose theme clues were:

TAKINGABYTEOUTOF 16 Pirating some data from?
LYETHROUGHONESTEETH 19 Ill-advised method of dental whitening?
TURNSTYLES 10 Left, right and hairpin?
BAREBACKRYDER 13 Winona in a halter top?
PYLEDRIVER 10 Sgt. Carter, in 60's TV?
NEVERSAYDYEATTITUDE 19 Belief that getting gray hair is no big deal?
HYDEINPLAINSIGHT 16 What Jekyll would prefer not to have?

LYE and HYDE are pretty funny, I think, but it was TURNSYTLES that caused my mental theme echo. Well, it's good to know that I'm not *completely* crazy. Btw, BYTE was also used this way in the WSJ back in '98, but with business signs puns like [Sign outside a butcher shop?] for PLEASEDTOMEATYOU. Ooh, that sounds dirty.

In any case, swell puzzle, Rich. Now I'm anxiously awaiting the release of your "Wordplay Crosswords #2" for more of the same, though hopefully we'll seen your byline before that, too.

FJAWRWP CX LXMN-KANJTNAB! MX WXC NWM DY URTN CQRB PDH!

2007-05-30T01:18:58Z

Today I heard from a fellow in PA who'd found a mistake; he was right, I'm afraid. When i asked him what kind of puzzles he liked, he said 'really hard cryptograms, preferably without word breaks.' Apparently, he finds them too easy with the word breaks. Wowza. I have an odd feeling that this man may be the death of me.

looking for some cryptic reviews

2007-05-29T10:20:36Z

If you know either of these two books:

National Puzzlers' League Cryptic Crosswords
or
Hard-to-Solve Cryptograms

Can you say a few words about them?

I'd appreciate it, and nothing you say will be used against you in a court of law (by me, at least).

3-Letter Words on "Jeopardy!"

2007-05-20T12:04:23Z

On a rerun of Jeopardy! yesterday, the category was 3-Letter Words. The contestants were obviously not crossword solvers, and even Alex admitted to having never heard of the answer to the $1,000 question.

Thanks to the incredible J! Archive, I located the original air date (10/07/05). Here's the link if you'd like to play at home (it's in the right hand column, and just put your cursor over the dollar amount for the answer):

http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=544

double-puzzle day for me

2007-05-09T11:54:05Z

Just a heads up to say I have the NYSun puzzle today (http://www.nysun.com/crosswords/subscriber_puzzle.php ) as well as my CrosSynergy debut ( http://www.chron.com/content/fun/games/xword/index.html ). Huzzah (huzzah)!

CrosSynergy is a peer-edited puzzle group that I just joined, so I'll be doing a puzzle a month for them The puzzles are on par with a Mon/Tues NYTimes as far as difficulty goes, so they're not too gnarly ... and yet they're totally gnarly (dude)!

SKYEY

2007-05-01T00:41:14Z

A friend of mine was looking at SKYEY as an entry in a puzzle grid, and was persuaded not to use it. In defense, he mentioned Shelley and Thackeray, so I looked up an example in a Shelley poem. Indeed, it's a word that has been lost to the ages, but may be due for a resurgence. Here's a fantastic ode, for those of you who are into such things (SKYEY makes it's appearance in the IVth section):

ODE TO THE WEST WIND
by: Percy Bysshe Shelly (1792-1822)

I.
WILD West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,

Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou,
Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed

The wingèd seeds, where they lie cold and low,
Each like a corpse within its grave, until
Thine azure sister of the spring shall blow

Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill
(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)
With living hues and odors plain and hill:

Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere;
Destroyer and preserver; hear, oh, hear!

II.
Thou on whose stream, 'mid the steep sky's commotion,
Loose clouds like earth's decaying leaves are shed,
Shook from the tangled boughs of Heaven and Ocean,

Angels of rain and lightning: there are spread
On the blue surface of thine airy surge,
Like the bright hair uplifted from the head

Of some fierce Mænad, even from the dim verge
Of the horizon to the zenith's height,
The locks of the approaching storm. Thou dirge

Of the dying year, to which this closing night
Will be the dome of a vast sepulchre,
Vaulted with all thy congregated might

Of vapors, from whose solid atmosphere
Black rain, and fire, and hail, will burst: oh hear!

III.
Thou who didst waken from his summer dreams
The blue Mediterranean, where he lay,
Lulled by the coil of his crystalline streams,

Beside a pumice isle in Baiæ's bay,
And saw in sleep old palaces and towers
Quivering within the wave's intenser day,

All overgrown with azure moss and flowers
So sweet, the sense faints picturing them! Thou
For whose path the Atlantic's level powers

Cleave themselves into chasms, while far below
The sea-blooms and the oozy woods which wear
The sapless foliage of the ocean, know

Thy voice, and suddenly grow gray with fear,
And tremble and despoil themselves: oh, hear!

IV.
If I were a dead leaf thou mightest bear;
If I were a swift cloud to fly with thee;
A wave to pant beneath thy power, and share

The impulse of thy strength, only less free
Than thou, O uncontrollable! if even
I were as in my boyhood, and could be

The comrade of thy wanderings over heaven,
As then, when to outstrip thy skyey speed
Scarce seemed a vision; I would ne'er have striven

As thus with thee in prayer in my sore need.
Oh! lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!
I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!

A heavy weight of hours has chained and bowed
One too like thee: tameless, and swift, and proud.

V.
Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is;
What if my leaves are falling like its own!
The tumult of thy mighty harmonies

Will take from both a deep, autumnal tone,
Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, Spirit fierce,
My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!

Drive my dead thoughts over the universe
Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth!
And, by the incantation of this verse,

Scatter, as from an extinguished hearth
Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!
Be through my lips to unwakened earth

The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

Indeed. Thanks for letting me wax poetic.

SINK SCUM

2007-04-28T21:05:27Z

Doing some research for a theme, I was trying to think of words that can go before SCUM (don't ask). Stranger than this, onelook.com gave back SINK SCUM as an acronym, which led to:

Single, Independent, No Kids; the Self-Centered Urban Male

I think I should be offended, but I'm too busy contemplating my own navel (Omphaloskepsis, don'tcha know).
Luckily, PONDSCUM and SOAPSCUM seem legit and are 8 letters long, so I move on.

Clues Blues

2007-04-26T00:09:05Z

Sometimes I dream that I will start the revolution to remove three-letter words from the face of crosswords ... and then I wake up. Because as much as I hate having to clue ERA and EON and SST over and over again, I need them and their oh-too-common counterparts. We all do; solvers and constructors, alike.

Still: if I clue SSN one more time, implosion is imminent.

my first book has a cover ...

2007-04-13T11:42:46Z

... and it's soooooo cute!

Scrabble Jr. Sticker Crosswords

I'm not bragging, just a proud papa. And most importantly: stickers!

The Proud Papa

2007-04-03T01:18:51Z

Well, it's official: my first paper baby made it to Amazon.com:

My First Book

Even if you hate it, you get to play with stickers!

When I Grow Up, I Want to Be Japanese

2007-03-31T13:09:20Z

Mostly because of Yoshiro Nakamatsu:

http://www.brainsturbator.com/site/comments/yoshiro_nakamatsu_we_salute_you/

He also won the 2005 IG Nobel Prize for Nutrition: (from the Wiki) "Presented to Dr. Yoshiro Nakamatsu of Tokyo, Japan, for photographing and retrospectively analyzing every meal he has consumed during a period of 34 years (and counting)."

Wowza.