Yes, it's true. I'm one of the few crossword bloggers who dares to take on the deep epistemological issues of our time. But first, the Wednesday crossword and some other loose ends.
The February 20 puzzle (answers) seems to be the NYT debut for Mr. Chuck Hamilton. Bravo. It must be fun to see your name in print next to Will Shortz for the first time. The DOUBLE theme was fine and there were a couple of clues I particularly enjoyed. What are matches made of? It's hard to imagine in only four letters. I had to get two of them before SETS came to mind. Tennis, anyone? What about "Offerers of arms"? I got completely sucked in to the military mindset but the answer is ESCORTS. Of course depending on the service, arms may be just part of the offer.
I mentioned in a previous post that constructors for the NYT don't know the publication date of their accepted puzzles. Constructor Ed Sessa wrote to tell me there might be a way after all. In his admittedly minimal experience — he has only one published puzzle — the date on the check corresponded with the publication date in the paper. Coincidence?
Mentioning Mr. Sessa gives me an excuse to point out his debut puzzle too which appeared just last September. It was before I started blogging but I remember it very well. Click the link and take a look at how elegant and even beautiful it is. Right across the middle of the puzzle is NOTES OF THE SCALE and then using circle pairs in symmetrical theme answers he lists their solfeggio names in order. All this while making it Monday-easy. I'm looking forward to hearing more from both of these new constructors.
Ah yes, but what about The Almighty? I've been asked what my favorite post is so far, and by far it's The Crossword Puzzle Moment. That little essay describes why this nerdy sport works for me. At the end of that post, I speculated idly on whether God enjoys crosswords. This began a fascinating discussion with someone who will remain nameless since, given the conclusions he comes to, he is going to Rot In Hell. I'll summarize his Crossword-based God Nonexistence Proof.
- God is omnipotent. He can do anything.
- God is omniscient. He knows everything.
- As such, he will never have a Crossword Puzzle Moment because he'll know all the answers immediately, or even sooner.
- Since the Crossword Puzzle Moment is the essence of the ability to enjoy crosswords, God is incapable of doing so.
- Therefore God cannot do everything which contradicts statement 1 and God disappears in a cloud of logic.
QED.
Hi Jim,
I remember that Ed Sessa puzzle. It was a tasty little morsel. It occurred to me that it must be really difficult to construct puzzles without using crosswordeze. I'm sure these guys are really trying to avoid the common words, but there are only so many three- and four-letter words and a few of them pop up in every early-week puzzle. I liked today's puzzle. Favorite clue was hi sign? for wave. So simple and perfect.
As for God, I don't know. But I'm reminded of Love and Death I believe it was where Woody Allen poses the eternal question: If Jesus was a carpenter, I wonder what he charged for bookshelves? So, I'm probably heading for the eternal sweatbox along with he who remains nameless.
I'm with you, though. I think the crossword moment is magical.
Posted by: Rikki | February 19, 2008 at 11:38 PM
In addition to his other virtues, Mr. Chuck Hamilton also knows what to do with a Universal Price Code, eh wot? ;)
Posted by: Wendy | February 20, 2008 at 03:52 AM
FWIW, I do not subscribe to the idea that "the crossword puzzle moment is the essence of the ability to enjoy crosswords".
Posted by: Craig K. | February 20, 2008 at 05:44 AM
LOL. Is there an award for best blog post? You're like Click & Clack. I would read this blog even if I didn't care about car repair :)
Posted by: Lauren | February 20, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Genesis 18:20-21
"Then the Lord said, "The outcry....I will go down and if what they have done is as bad as the outcry...If not, I will know."
So, if God has to come down and check out Sodom to see if what he hears is true, it implies he can be given a crossword to try and we can time him. He may be the best, but I bet Bob Klahn can slow him down a bit. I am now watching out for lightning bolts.
Posted by: PhillySolver | February 20, 2008 at 01:47 PM
It's not just about getting that "click" and filling in a piece of information.
For me, the joy is in decoding a particularly clever clue (question-marked or super-tricky Saturday clues especially), or sussing out a clever theme and untangling the individual theme entries.
Guessing a single word that corresponds to its clue in a factual/trivia/dictionary definition way? That's just part of the process, but that's not where the good stuff is. Not at all.
Posted by: Orange | February 20, 2008 at 08:40 PM
I believe the question of Gcd's existence is more a question of metaphysics than epistemology.
Posted by: profphil | February 20, 2008 at 10:09 PM
G-d: re:QED - I know that one - "Quod erat demonstrandum". You'll see ERAT very often, and even QUOD once in a while in a puzzle.
Oh, before I disappear in a puff of logic (thanks, Douglas Adams): That whole "Garden of Eden" mess with the serpent? Sorry about that, I was in a snarky mood that week. The parting of the Red Sea? Done with mirrors.
Posted by: Howard B | February 22, 2008 at 05:02 AM