Speaking of crossword puzzles, the writer/director of Wordplay, Patrick Creardon, has a new documentary that opens today, I.O.U.S.A., about the national debt.
Author Archives: Tin Man
New Crossword Squares Record
Today’s New York Times crossword may not be a big deal except to crossword aficionados like me:
The reason it’s a big deal is because it breaks the record for the lowest number of black squares used in a regular 15×15 grid. The puzzle, by Kevin G. Der, a Stanford Ph.D. student, contains just 18 black squares. I thought there was something unusual about it when I first looked at it last night, so I counted.
The previous record of 19 squares was set by prolific crossword constructor Manny Nosowsky on March 11, 2005.
Here’s more about today’s crossword.
And here are pictures of the 100 NYT puzzles with the fewest numbers of squares. (It contains the answers, including today’s, so be careful if you plan to do today’s crossword and haven’t done it yet.)
Oh, and when I got excited about this last night, Matt rolled his eyes at me.
Obama VP Texting
I think this Obama VP text-message-alert thing is a cool but hilarious idea. And yes, I signed up to receive it by texting “VP” to 62262 (keypad code for “OBAMA”).
I’d really like to be in a public place when the choice is announced. I’m trying to think of the weirdest place for a cacophony of cellphones to start going off. It depends on whether it happens today or tomorrow. Since Obama has a big rally in Springfield, Illinois, at noon tomorrow, it’ll probably be around then.
So cellphones start going off tomorrow morning in synagogue sanctuaries across the country. They interrupt weddings. They echo off the walls of shopping mall atriums. Whole Foods franchises resound with the sound of electronic beeps as we Democrats make our weekly arugula purchases.
Ooh! Ooh! I know the best place to be! The Park Slope Food Coop!
It’ll be a gas.