Somehow, it feels like it’s been months since our last episode. Is that true? We’re not sure. If you have an opinion on this, you should write a review about us on iTunes, and also email us with your thoughts. We can be reached at rbxblog at gmail dot com.

This week’s episode does not include:

• a proper introduction
• Ryan saying the name of our theme song
• anyone playing that damn green pickle turd
• a satisfactory abbreviation for players in the American League
• a running time of less than 38 minutes

Without these features, how could you possibly enjoy this episode? That, dear viewers, is our challenge to you.

Zambezi and oat.

This is the seventy-ninth of an ongoing weekly series where your hosts, Brian Cimmet and Ryan Hecht, talk about crosswords, crossword solvers, crossword constructors, and a whole bunch of whatever else they just happen to think of.

Today’s episode includes:

• Answers we got right and wrong (including Peter Maas, Isaac Asimov and Amy Tan)
• People who both write to us and don’t (including Daniel Rosen and Jonah Kagan)
• Contests that may or may not earn you prizes (such as cookies or puzzle books in Italian — they are on the way!)
• Also a ton of bumping the microphones. We’re not sure why. We think it’s Brian’s fault.

We feel fairly confident that if you liked at least 30% of the past seventy-eight episodes, you have a 30% chance of liking this one. Besides, it includes a reference to this video:

But now, the podcast:

If you have a chance, rate us on iTunes. We’re trying to reach double figures in the category of “number of reviews.”

Zambezi and oat.

This week’s motto: “Next week’s title will be funnier.”

Below, please find the web-based version of “Fill Me In, a crossword podcast.” You can also get this show on iTunes by clicking the appropriate iTunes button to the right.

In a sadly unsurprising move, this episode contains frighteningly little about crossword puzzles. However, we have learned that our viewers are not dead set on puzzle talk — in fact, several enjoy the banter more than the analysis, the guest stars more than the hosts and in particular, the voices of those other than the people who actually show up at the studio. As a result, here’s what you get this week:

• Pickle tips with Amanda’s voice
• Email from a vacuum cleaner
• A not-really-legitimate use of ARRR
• Brian’s sister

Also — check out these pictures.

The guys on the left is the actor Jack Shea from “Nightmare on Elm Street.” On the right is our dear friend Mike Nothnagel, Pen Pal Extraordinaire and Constructor of the Friday Puzzle and the Oracle. (The photo of Mike was taken during his Serious Era, specifically, while serving as a judge at Lollapuzzoola 2.) Separated at birth? You decide!

That’s what we’ve got to show for it. What have you done lately?

Zambezi and oat.

Today’s podcast title comes from the results of a poll conducted right here on this very blog.nbsp; You cannot argue with the data.

Here’s what’s coming up on today’s show:

• Woodwinds
• A visitation
• The C chord makes a triumphant return
• Ryan sees something on the horizon
• The father of a boy named Sue
• Two Pasadenas for the price of one

We are still looking for audio of fictional lyric soprano Rosanna Nler. If anybody knows where we can find some clips please let us know.

Zambezi and oat.

(Loyal viewers, we hope that you have gotten accustomed to your general sense of disorientation while listening to this show.)

Here’s what’s in store within Episode The Seventy-Sixth:

• Gina Gershon’s lips
• A musical tripod
• Reverend Spooner, and whether he existed
• Summer camp, and whether Ryan went
• All the other typical stuff: Viewer Mail, Fiction with Thomas Heilman, The Thunder Round, and all the nonsense we can fit into 37 minutes.

Share and enjoy!

Zambezi and oat.

Why does it feel like it’s been years since the last episode? Our new motto: “Our fun makes time fly so fast, you don’t even realize you’re dying while you listen.”

Today on the show, we are providing the following forms of audio entertainment:

• One new podcast, fresh out of the hard drive
• Parts Two and Three of the latest Fiction With Thomas Heilman
• Four winners to last week’s contest
• Five puzzles by Patrick Berry
• Six answers from the Oracle
• And (seven plus eight plus nine) additional minutes of nonsense.

We’ve got Greeks, Romans, and the song stylings of a lyric tenor we’d never heard of before. Tune in — you don’t want to miss this one.

Zambezi and oat.

This time, it’s Episode 74. Here’s a little taste of what’s inside:

• Brief references to a few of Justin Long’s movies
• Another lunch option besides a cheeseburger and fries
• Another 34.8 minutes worth of show, but as I write this blurb, I can’t remember a single thing we didn’t edit out

Seriously — we’re going to try and make Episode 75 worth listening to. Just be patient.

Zambezi and oat

• a Viewer Mail bag with people who have either never written in or have only rarely written in
• suggestions for how to make Bingo worse next time
• a surprise musical performance from Ryan and Brian
• an even more surprise musical performance from Sammy the Dentist
• and the piece de resistance: our roving reporter Amanda talks to us about the Pleasantville tournament

Last week, as you all know, we played Bingo during the show. Andrea Carla Michaels won, and as requested, sent us a picture of herself demonstrating her glee:

Also, we received a few images from non-winners (that’s the nicer term). First, from David Stein and his son; then, from Xan Vongsathorn’s name.

All in all, a successful voyage. And now — on with Episode 73!

Zambezi and oat

It’s Episode 72 of Fill Me In, and we still continue insisting through practice that we are qualified to do a podcast. If you’re new to the show, you should check out our info page. If you’re not new to the show, good luck keeping up.

In today’s episode, we have a number of new and exciting features:

• Live semi-interactive bingo!
• A field reporter from the past!
• A thunder round bonus sound effect not provided by us! (And no, we don’t understand it either!)

Hey, and you thought it would just be the same garbagey nonsense we usually do.

Zambezi and oat.

The lesser news: Despite 47 votes on last week’s poll, not a single one of you voted in favor of us abandoning our podcast. So, here we are with Episode 71. Tra la. Check this out:

• Ryan runs into an old friend in Italy
• Various names anagram into funny phrases
• Brian and Ryan fight over what is or is not accomplished
• Viewer mail, contests, thunder, etc.

Furthermore, we have two bits of media to share. One is a video of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain performing “Wuthering Heights.” The other is a photo of me eating ham salad. That’s right, it’s been over a year, but I finally did it. And if that wasn’t enough — Ryan and I made the ham salad from scratch. Take that, Dan Feyer!

Zambezi and oat.

Here on Episode 70, we offer four of these five items:

• Ryan makes progress on his INNER NERD puzzle
• Brian thinks Independence Day is a decent movie
• Ryan learns Italian from XOP
• We decide that “All About Steve” is going to suck, purely based on the trailer
• We decide that “All About Steve” is worthy of several Oscars, purely based on the trailer

Also, we want to plug Eric Berlin’s Game Night Crosswords (link updated to reflect Eric’s changed site) — a fantastic contest set of puzzles. Check it out, it’s totally worth it. And remember, you still have a week to complete the official contest from last week, which is a PUZ file from Neville Fogarty, Squishy Defeated.

So, dear friends, please enjoy Episode 70.

Oh yes, another thing. We are trying a new feature, so if you have a chance, please vote in the poll below. We’re trying two things — one is to see if this poll thing works, and the other is… well, what we’re asking in the poll.

No, we don’t take time off, even after Lollapuzzoola exhausted our every breath. We are still back, and providing you with 38 minutes of questionable quality. In this week’s episode, some of these issues are covered:

• Was David Stein the math teacher of Linden Vongsathorn?
• Will Ryan ever conceive of a crossword-worthy theme?
• Did we receive some of the most innovative Viewer Mail ever?
• Does Brian need a job, starting at approximately 4:20pm on Sunday, September 6?

The answers to between three and five of those questions is undoubtedly yes. So if these topics interest you, please click yourself into a Fill Me In frenzy. (Also, after you listen to our episode, if you think that the “yes” for #3 was particularly awesome [which we do], you should go to his YouTube site for more.)

This week’s contest is a crossword puzzle. There’s no code word, so we have to assume you’ve listened to the show. If you haven’t, just be honest and don’t try to enter the contest, because we’ll know, and Jonathan Papelbon will haunt your dreams. So here’s the puzzle (in PUZ format). Figure out the answer, send it to us, and you may win a prize. (Both “may” and “prize” have rather elastic definitions with us.)

Zambezi and oat.

Here in Episode 68, we do a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

THIS:

• Lollapuzzoola recap, Viewer Mail, a summary of Grimaldi’s software

THAT:

• Samuel Hay, the Thunder Round, and how to pronounce t-r-e-a-t-i-s-e.

I’m exhausted, so the episode runs too long. If you don’t like that aspect of it, save the last twenty minutes. You may need it later. (And apologies for editing flaws… I’m on no sleep for a day, so my ears don’t work so well.)

Zambezi and oat.

By the way, we can’t thank Joanne Sullivan enough for the wonderful crossword mosaics she made for our first place prizes. If you’d like to talk to her about getting your own custom made mosaic you can contact her at joannemsullivan[at]earthlink[dot]net.

For new listeners, check out our informational page before diving in so you have a small sense of what we’re doing. For loyal listeners, you should know that the balance between Viewer Mail and Stories About Crossword Puzzles is tilted a bit more to the left than usual. Otherwise, get ready for this:

• Ryan has the plague
• Brian tries to be nicer
• Lots of people know a ton about porpoises
• “How To Pronounce Xan Vongsathorn’s Name: The Avram Gottschlich Sessions”
• A longer-than-usual episode due to all the excitement building up prior to Lollapuzzoola (HINT: If you hate the “Viewer Mail” segment, but like the rest of the show, skip ahead about 25 minutes.)

Also, we make some references to some amazing crossword people, and we want to link to their brilliance. The two people we are linking today are Alex Boisvert and Matt Ginsberg (this link is to his clue database).

Oh, and please note — there is no new contest this week. Since the biggest contest of the season is Lollapuzzoola, and that happens this coming Saturday, we figured we’d wait until next week to resume our weekly contest event.

Zambezi and oat.

This just in: Our dear friend Stephen Grant — nay, Stephen Edwards (a.k.a. Stephen “Grimaldi” Grant) has fulfilled his end of the Great Pizza Bargain of 2009. Both Ryan and Brian have working Magmic Games software on their respective phones for solving the New York Times puzzle. At the time of recording this podcast, Brian had not yet had an opportunity to fully explore the software. Fear not — a full story on the epic conclusion to this tale is forthcoming. Episode 68, if there’s time. And Episode 69, no matter what.

If you’re new to Fill Me In, please read our introductory page. If you’re not new, please listen and enjoy. If you can’t both listen and enjoy, then please at least listen, because the bottom line is that we want you to listen, and we don’t care if you have a good time doing it.

Wait, no. We certainly care. That’s our new motto. Try to be nicer. So please, enjoy first and listen later.

Oh, yeah. Here’s that video of Brendan Emmett Quigley in the Boston Typewriter Orchestra:

And here’s the Peter Collins puzzle we talk about in the podcast this week (in PDF form).

Zambezi and oat.

If this is your first time discovering Fill Me In, we recommend you read our informational page about it.

Although we’re done interviewing Peter Gordon for the time being (wasn’t last week fun?), we still found a way to ramble on for 35 minutes. Join us for:

• Ryan’s favorite musical
• Brian invents a horrible Dr. Seuss book
• Prophesy: Not the Dentist will be annoyed by parts that sound “edited” (only to clean up about 85% of the awful clicks and buzzes, honest!)
• Plus, a Thunder Round without introduction or script.

We have a new contest this week, and it’s a crossword puzzle called, appropriately, “Fill Me In” (link is to a .PUZ version). Doug Peterson, CGAMAT, constructed it. There are some circles in the grid. Unscramble the letters in these circles to spell the name of a crossword celebrity. That name is the answer to our contest.

Here’s a strange picture of a bunny eating something.

And a video with a song.

And a podcast.

Zambezi and oat.

We are officially three weeks away from Lollapuzzoola 2! This is going to be the best second tournament Ryan and I have ever hosted. If you think you’re sick of us promoting it, just wait until we spend about four months of podcasts on the recap! Woohoo!

Speaking of the podcast — if you’re a blog-reader and you tried listening to “Fill Me In,” but just got too confused — we now have a page devoted to explaining what the hell is going on. Check it out.

Okay, let’s quickly recap this Saturday offering from Martin Ashwood-Smith. He combined wide open spaces (awesome) with some very tight passageways (not so awesome), making this almost three separate puzzles with barely a crossover between. Let’s take a look.

Do you see where 3D. Big name in slapstick (JERRY LEWIS) and 35A. One may be out of control (SITUATION) cross at the I? That’s our passageway from the northwest onto the center. Similarly, the O between 29A. Creator of a comic strip duo named after a theologian and a philosopher (WATTERSON – the comic is Calvin & Hobbes, and this was my first entry into the grid) and 27D. 1947 western serial film (SON OF ZORRO) – this is our other passageway. Very tight squeeze to connect the segments, which makes the solve so much trickier. Plus, those passageways were full of very common letters (I, S, O, N), which is all but useless for sparking an idea in my brain.

All that said — the wide open stuff was fantastic. That seven-letter sash down the center of the grid was wonderful, and had some great fill: PARTOOK, CATBIRD, JERBOAS, SELKIRK – see, these words have plenty of the letters I need in my passageways!

I’m curious — Martin (if you’re reading this) or anyone else (if you’re reading this), tell me about these passageways. Do you put basic letters there on purpose to make the solve trickier? Do you make the passageways tighter on purpose? What’s the strategy, from a constructor’s point of view? I solved the whole SE first, and had no clue how to get out. Then I finished the NW, and still my center had WATTERSON and nothing else.

Also, from a constructor perspective — what do you think about the single black squares breaking up the otherwise cavernous NW and SE? I’m sure the fill is infinitely more difficult without those squares, but would it be worth the effort? Would that have made a better puzzle? Or a worse one? Just curious… I’m in a curious way. It’s 3:15 in the morning, and I should have been asleep hours ago.

Yes, hours ago… Okay, I’m off to bed. See you in the morning, perhaps.

As for this week’s episode — well, it wasn’t enough for Peter Gordon to be a constructor, an editor, a B Finals contestant in 2008 a contributor to Lollapuzzoola next month, and a winner of several contests here on this very show, we decided it was high time that he took over half of our program with an interview. Sure, we’ve got some Viewer Mail and other nonsense, so there’s plenty for everyone to enjoy.

Here are a few links to some of Peter’s stuff — these are all fantastic, and we can’t recommend these puzzles highly enough.

• a bunch of his books on Barnes & Noble
• help revive the Sun crossword puzzle
• a terrific interview between Peter and New York Times blogger Jim Horne
• AND: Peter’s 96-word crossword puzzle entitled The World’s Worst Crossword

One of Peter’s puzzles will be featured in Lollapuzzoola 2: Son of Puzzoola, so you’ll certainly not want to miss that.

So the Zambezi said to the oat…

In an effort to make things right, we have proposed the following. Peter Gordon’s 96-word grid is the official winner of this contest. Neville Fogarty, whose 96-word grid contained two-letter entries, has been given a new personal challenge. If he can come up with a new 96-word grid (not a copy of Peter’s, of course), as well as a pangram fill for said grid, we can award him a second-place prize.

This is Peter Gordon’s 96-word grid:

This is Neville Fogarty’s 96-word grid with two two-letter words (23D and 62D):

The two grids are quite similar, actually (rotate either one 90 degrees, and you can see how close they are).

We are terribly sorry for the oversight. And we look forward to Episode 64, when we can blather on for a good 20 minutes on how we screwed up, how we promise never to do it again, and how that’s not a realistic promise.

It’s Fill Me In, the crossword podcast! This week’s episode has been optimized for your enjoyment. It includes:

• Viewer mail (some, not too much)
• References to soup (one, maybe two — again, not too much)
• Discussion of puzzles (about 11% more than last week)
• Six mentions of Joe Krozel (possibly more)
• One mention of Christina Applegate (because we deleted the other one)
• A brand new contest – we’ve already received a few “Papplebaum” emails (that’s how Crosscan spells it), so here’s the contest: Take an eight-letter, two-word phrase that means “eats,” and which contains an “e.” Write it in all capital letters with no space and without the “e.” What’s left is a seven-letter string of letters that, if turned upside down, remains unchanged. What’s the phrase?

No lederhosen are in play this week, so you’ll have to provide those at your end. But get ready for some altoflut (whatever that might be), because here’s Episode 63!

(Oh, and we’re sorry… We used the studio to do some non-podcast projects, and screwed up a little bit. The sound quality here in Episode 63 is a wee bit metallic, and while we might seem to be regressing into inferior ways, we are actually not — next week, we will be better yet again!)

Zambezi and oat.

What’s that now?

YOU HEARD ME! In today’s episode:

• Viewer mail — the name of a former nameless nickname has been revealed!
• Brian pronounces “Xan Vongsathorn” with no fanfare whatsoever!
• Ryan struggles to read things he’s already practiced reading!
• And as we said — an interview with the inimitable Brendan Emmett Quigley!

So check it out. Episode 62. It’s awesome.

Zambezi and oat.

In this week’s episode:

• Fill Me In gets a new Oracle!
• Old Bits 2: The Return of the Crossword Tip of the Quartermonth
• Brian surprises Ryan with a surprise

Plus viewer mail, more about soup — oh, and we’re trying something new with the microphones. Sorry, we still don’t know how anything works. One of these days, we’ll get it straightened out. Thanks for sticking with us through the tough times.

Zambezi and oat.

• Viewer mail
• How to pronounce Xan Vongsathorn’s name
• Contests
• No answers from Mike Nothnagel

Wait a minute, what? What happened there? Oh, see Mike didn’t write to us until after we’d finished recording the show. This happens sometimes. You’ll just have to see where this new plot twist takes us.

Otherwise, we have new opinions on the second Sunday puzzle, we have some of the same old information about Lollapuzzoola 2, and we probably screwed up the sound effects because we were too exhausted to actually check whether we were doing it right!

So here it is, launching at almost four in the morning (because Brian is an insomniac), Episode 60.

Zzzzzz…

These subjects are referenced, although probably not to any satisfaction:

• the Coriolis force
• Diet Pepsi (and the resulting bubbles)
• Paul Bunyan’s ox
• Ryan junior high school science teacher had two butts

Of course, we annoy the hell out of you with viewer mail, contests, and an insistent encouragement that you sign up for Lollapuzzoola 2. These are our life blood. These are the days of our lives.

Also, we tried to do link to our Save The Second Sunday Puzzle petition here, but it screwed things up in Internet Explorer. So here’s the link instead: Ryan and Brian’s petition.

• Installment #4 of How to Pronounce Xan Vongsathorn’s Name
• Submit your puzzles to Lollapuzzoola 2
• Viewer Mail from at least six people
• A brand new contest, much better than the last one

There’s not a lot else to say. If you know Christina Applegate, please ask her nicely if she’d like to be a guest on our show. And if you know other people who aren’t Christina Applegate, please ask them nicely to listen to our show.

Thank you (in general). And also, thank you (in specific — you know who you are).

Zambezi and oat.

In this, the fifty-seventh in a seemingly endless series of nonsensical episodes, we take between thirty and forty minutes of your time to answer these pressing questions:

• How did Peter Gordon come up with the John Lennon/Yoko Ono thing?
• How many puzzles has Raymond Hamel designed in his lifetime?
• How hard is the S in ‘Yesnowitz’?
• How in anyone’s name are Ryan and Brian still doing this show?*

Additionally, this episode may contain fan-favorites such as Viewer Mail, a weekly contest and more on how to pronounce Xan Vongsathorn’s name.

Editing time was quite limited this week as half of our staff was called in to a 70-hour work week, and the other half was busy coming up with a high quality clue for ROCK BAND DRUM SET.

Oh, and in other news — now would be a great time to sign up for Lollapuzzoola 2: Son of Puzzoola. This is our 2nd annual crossword puzzle contest, this year happening on August 22 in Queens, NY. There’s a link up and to the left. Well add more information as we figure out more of what we’re doing. But join us! It’s awesome! Some quotes from last year:

• “Wow, this is the best crossword tournament I’ve been to today.”
• “Holy crap, you guys bought a lot of Oreos.”
• “Which way to the quilting bee?”

If that’s not enough, email us for more info. We’re at rbxblog at gmail dot com.

*This question may not be answered within episode 57. Also, zambezi and oat.

We think it contains:

• How To Pronounce Xan Vongsathorn’s Name – Part 2
• a new puzzle from Todd McAy
• last week’s password
• two more sound effects than last week

Otherwise, we really have no idea. So learn to understand Latin, because here we go. Enjoy!

Zambezi and oat.

• Rules of the spreadsheet
• How to pronounce “Xan Vongsathorn”
• A contest winner, and another contest
• The arc

Ah, yes, the arc. We actually have made progress. Well, one of us has made progress. One of us has designed two puzzles, which are available for your test-solving enjoyment. One is themed, the other is not (they are both in PUZ format, for solving with Across Lite). We very much encourage your feedback on both puzzles. Please email us at rbxblog at gmail dot com.

Also: We announce the date of Lollapuzzoola 2: Son of Puzzoola! You should listen to the show to find out the date for real, but we’ll include it here, too. It’s August 22. That’s a Saturday in August. More about it on the show. (Information on registering will come soon.)

Everything you ever wanted in a podcast is coming your way. Clicky-click, and listen in!

Zambezi and oat.

* World-famous, as soon as someone writes up a Wikipedia entry on us!

• Viewer mail
• Questions asked to someone other than Mike Nothnagel
• Did you win Peter “Triple Threat” Gordon’s contest?
• Will you enter Tyler Hinman [insert kickass nickname here]’s contest?
• Ryan gets annoyed at pre-recorded music

Help keep us the #1 crossword podcast in the world by tuning in to Episode 54! Zambezi! Oat! And… scene.

In this week’s episode:

• Two Bostonians know more than Mike Nothnagel!
• Two contests when you thought there might be none!
• Two co-hosts who are still as doofusy as ever!

We also discuss Crosscan, Winner of the Contest, and his amazing spreadsheet. For those who don’t know, Crosscan has compiled personnel data from all of our episodes. If we have mentioned you in a podcast, you’re in the spreadsheet. Amazing. We’d like to make this a little competitive, and have people vie for higher positions on the board, but if we mention anyone’s name on the podcast, Crosscan gives them another point. We’re getting around this (slightly) by posting the current Top Eleven here on the blog (aha! not the podcast! doesn’t count!). If you want to strive for the Top Eleven (and you do, you know you do), you need to get us to mention you on the show. Then your numbers go up. See?

1. Will Shortz (we have spoken his name aloud in 43 different episodes)
2. Dan Feyer, WOTCD, WOTBC (30)
3. Amanda Yesnowitz, UPVEASLTUA (29)
4. Mike Nothnagel, PPEACOTFP (28)
5. Brian’s wife, Toni (25)
6. Doug Peterson, CGAMAT (25) [yes, technically a tie for 5th, but we don't know enough HTML to make it look good]
7. Brian’s father, XOP (24)
8. Jim Horne (24)
9. Ryan’s wife, Pickles (24)
10. Amy Reynaldo, a.k.a. Orange (22)
11. Tyler Hinman [IKNH] (22)

So you have a lot of work to do this week. Show us your stuff. Join us once again for thirty minutes of silliness with a little crossword sprinkled in.

THIS JUST IN: After the recording of Episode 53, we got this note from Mike Nothnagel, PPEACOTFP:

Hey guys.

Here are the answers to the questions you posed to me in your last podcast.  This time, however, I’ll leave it up to the viewers to determine which answer goes with which question.

To recap, the questions were:

1.  What is Grant Perham’s favorite podcast?
2.  Do constructors place the theme entries in the grid first?
3.  Would the word ladder have gone from 6 to 2 on the West Coast?

The answers are:

Yes, no, The Writer’s Almanac.

(Oh, and in case you’re new and you want to enter this week’s contest, please submit your entry by email to [rbxblog at gmail dot com]. Also, if you’re new — welcome! We love having you here!)

Zambezi and oat.

In today’s episode of Fill Me In, we offer the following:

• Viewer Mail
• Puzzle of the Week
• Crossword Tip of the Quartermonth
• L.A. Tournament Wrap-Up with Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town
• A Puzzle Challenge with Tyler Hinman [insert kickass nickname here] — audio-only puzzle (gotta listen to play!)
• and of course, the Thunder Round

Mike Nothnagel answers questions! Joon Pahk gets a nickname! Ryan learns how to pronounce stuff! Brian uses the buzzer! All that and so much more in this episode of Fill Me In!

Zambezi and oat.

In this episode, please find:

• first time Viewer Mail writer-inner
• Wired Magazine
• One Day University
• the Stephen Grant (née Stephen Edwards, a.k.a. Stephen “Grimaldi” Grant) saga continues…
• a new Ryan and Brian themed puzzle from Todd Gross (this link is to a .puz file)
• a lot of questions for Mike Nothnagel, PEACOTFP
• and… The Thunder Round!

All of that and more, jam-packed into exactly thirty minutes. Best of all, it’s absolutely free. Enjoy!

Zambezi and oat.

• Viewer mail
• that guy whose name was the answer to our contest
• Ryan tries to sing like a fish
• Brian can’t pronounce “phone”

Also, this episode features an interview with Elissa Grossman, who is co-ordinating the Los Angeles Crossword Tournament this Saturday, April 25. The event benefits the Reading To Kids charity.

We’re also taking a moment to plug a new crossword blog. We think it’s called The Blair Puzzle Project. Check it out.

All that in the newest episode of Fill Me In. Enjoy!

Zambezi and oat.

This week’s episode of Fill Me In is jam-packed with all kinds of excitement. It’s about 80% viewer mail sprinkled with peppers of varying sorts. These peppers include (but are not limited to):

• The contest! Yes, it’s our first ever contest, and this one was announced and played all through Twitter. If you’re not yet twitting, get on board. Our name is bemoresmarter. You follow us, and we’ll follow you. Sound good?
• The ongoing saga of cell phone crossword software
• The arc continues…
• Blatant copyright infringement!

All of that, and possibly some more of Brian being annoyed at Ryan, is part of this episode of Fill Me In. Enjoy!

Zambezi and oat.

In this week’s episode:

• viewer mail
• unpaid debts
• the Fill Me In Twitter Contest!

And along with all that, we bring you a recap of the Boston Crossword Tournament (absent of any spoilers on the puzzles), and interviews with members of the Harvard Crossword Society, the Boston Cruciverbalists and tournament champion Douglas Goodman.

This link here is referenced somewhere in the podcast. It is a disgusting picture, but one that some of you might care to see. We warn you — it is gross. Only look if you either know what you’re getting into or don’t care what you’re getting into.

Remember, you can email us with pretty much anything you want at rbxblog@gmail.com, and you can also follow us on Twitter, where our name is bemoresmarter.

Zambezi and oat.

1. Viewer mail
2. Encouragement from Will Shortz, attendant
3. Reiterated news that Ryan and Brian are going to Boston in a few days
4. Brian doesn’t understand Twitter
5. Ryan is now an astrophysicist
6. Stephen “Grimaldi” Grant has some explaining to do.
7. Puzzle of the Week

If you are a new listener, then we offer a caveat. We rank quite high on the Two Guys Bantering Nonsense spectrum, but rather low on the Crossword Puzzle Nitty-Gritty Merit spectrum. Fair ’nuff?

At this point bemoresmarter is not showing up in the “find people” twitter search so you can find us in one of two ways:

• go to search.twitter.com and search for bemoresmarter
• go to http://twitter.com/bemoresmarter

Evidence supporting item 6, above.  Brian, Stephen and a Grimaldi’s pizza.

Zambezi and oat.

In an effort to tread water with our current Nielsen ratings, we have included these shocking things in the Season Two opener:

• Viewer mail
• An interview with a recent constructor (and a short interview at that!)
• Ryan says some doofus-y things
• Brian is a crank
• Pseudo-synthy music that sounds like a half-Seinfeld, half-Will and Grace ripoff
• Seriously — did you think we’d actually grow up or something?

One important link is to the Boston Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Will Shortz (attendant) will be there, as will recent blogger panel superstar Ryan Hecht and current reigning E Division trophy owner Brian Cimmet. Come up to Boston and join us.

Also, enjoy this video compilation of some exciting Jai Alai action.

Enjoy the opening of Season Two!

Zambezi and oat.

We also pose many questions to Mike Nothnagel, Pen Pal Extraordinaire and Constructor of the Friday Puzzle. We hope Mike is out there, because we are on the edge of our collective seat with anticipation of your well-researched answers.

Coming up next week (or perhaps the week after) will actually be the beginning of Season Two. We’ve put it off long enough, but since the hate mail is starting to outweigh the love mail, we have no choice but to sally forth with whatever nonsense we come up with.

Thanks for listening — see you for Season Two!

Zambezi and oat.

• the viewer mail bag is still open from last week
• we are more interesting when we talk less
• Season One is not quite finished, and therefore…
• …Season Two has not yet begun

This episode features a lengthy interview with the coolest crossword constructor ever to appear in a Simpsons episode, Mr. Merl Reagle. Merl was kind enough to donate a bit of his time during the ACPT, and we secretly had a tape recorder going. We haven’t listened to it, so hopefully no one says anything embarrassing, unless it’s Ryan, in which case it’s okay.

Zambezi and oat.

We arrived on Friday night, stayed through the awards luncheon on Sunday, and in addition to competing in the tournament, managed to find an assortment of obviously oblivious folks foolish enough to let us talk to them while holding a functional microphone. The result is our inane banter sprinkled with interviews, discussions, predictions and recaps with the biggest names the weekend had to offer.

(The photo at right was taken by Nancy Shack. Brian and Ryan are interviewing Dan Feyer [L] as Amanda Yesnowitz [R] looks on. The rest of Nancy’s photos can be found here.)

Special guest stars include:

• Tyler Hinman, [insert kickass nickname here]
• Dan Feyer, Winner of the C Division
• Mark Dixon, you’ll find out why if you listen to the whole show
• Mike Nothnagel, Pen Pal Extraordinaire and Constructor of the Friday Puzzle
• Tony Orbach, XTC Aficionado
• The Great Howard Barkin, Knower of All Things
• Barry C. Silk, Friend and Confidante of Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town
• Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town
• Amanda Yesnowitz, The Unparalleled Parallel Verse Engineer
• and Will Shortz, attendant

We collected a tremendous amount of footage over the weekend, but there was no way to include everyone. We had some wonderful discussions with Jim Horne, Kevin G. Der, Patrick Blindauer, Peter Gordon, Stephen Grant and Merl Reagle (among others), and plan to include some of these segments in our next several episodes.

Here are a few ACPT links that might be of interest:

• Complete standings of the 2009 tournament (and the general ACPT site as well)
• YouTube video of Tyler during the A Division Finals
  
• A great collection of photos by Jeremy Zilar on Jim Horne’s Wordplay blog site here and here.
• Amanda Yesnowitz’s fantastic lyrics to “KenKen,” sung to the tune of Cole Porter’s “Can-Can.”
• Other ACPT wrapup blogs: Jim Horne, Rex Parker, Brendan Emmett Quigley, Trip Payne, Dan Feyer, and… well, if you blogged the ACPT and we left you out, please email us, and we’ll add you to the blog roll.

A warning: The podcast contains clue/entry spoilers. We talk about answers. If you haven’t done the puzzles yet and don’t want to know, it’s best that you save this episode for later. But do save it, and listen when you can.

Thanks to everyone who helped make Season One a big success. We’re looking forward to the start of Season Two sometime in the next couple weeks. Please stay in touch — we’d love to hear from you.

Zambezi and oat.

Also within:

• Viewer mail
• Anticipation for the upcoming ACPT
• One minute of material inserted well after the rest of the episode was recorded. See if you can determine where that minute is, using any of the following complex audio analysis techniques:
  • Ryan is waaaay too loud
  • Brian is suddenly playing the piano
  • Tyler stops talking for about a minute — and later, makes absolutely no indication that anything weird had been going on
  • It happens at about the 25-minute mark

As of this post, the 32nd Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament begins in three days. We hope to see you there!

Zambezi and oat.

Also included:

• viewer mail!
• promotions!
• anticipation!

We have a couple public service announcements here. You should explore any and all of these:

• Helene Hovanec’s website, Puzzles4kids.com
• Check out Matt Jones’s puzzle that he designed just for us! (Available in PDF format.)
• Order your very own Stamford-on-Brooklyn ACPT t-shirt, designed by Vic Fleming. It’s $30 (plus shipping). Call Bridgeway Press at 501-907-7377 or email Frank Ross at bridgepress@windstream.net.  Check out pictures of the shirt here and here.

One more episode left before the big ACPT. Tune in next week to hear the man who has the answers to life, the universe and everything in appropriately numbered Episode 42, Mr. Tyler Hinman.

Zambezi and oat.

• The upcoming American Crossword Puzzle Tournament
• Ryan’s morning ablutions
• Crap we found on the floor of our “studio.”

Truth be told, we haven’t listened to this episode. In fact, all we really did was attach a microphone to Ryan’s jacket, and let the tape roll for a while. We’re not even sure Brian was around for it.

Enjoy! Zambezi! Oat!

• Viewer mail
• Discussing a few puzzles
• Ryan can’t form a complete sentence
• The episode runs too long

In conjunction with our interview, here are a few links to more of Matt Jones’s work:

• Jonesin’ Crosswords (his site)
• The Onion A.V. Club (to which he contributes, and which is edited by former Fill Me In guest Ben Tausig)
• Jonesin’ For Crosswords (a new book of Matt’s work, available from Amazon.com)

Really, what more do you need? Also — the countdown begins! (Yet, it does not begin to make sense… Look for that in a future episode.)

All that glory crammed into 62 minutes. Listen and love!

Zambezi and oat.

Included within:

• Zero interviews
• Viewer mail
• More viewer mail!
• So much viewer mail, we consider shaking a stick at it!
• Predictions for the future
• Ryan’s big countdown begins!

Thank you for joining us for the exciting conclusion to Episode 38.

Zambezi and oat.

In Part One:

• One interview — two guests!
• Tantalizing news of what is to come in Part Two!

If you like interviews with puzzle solvers and constructors, then this is the show for you. If you like two nerds talking about nonsense — this is also the show for you! (By the way, Ryan and Brian are the nerds, not our lovely guests.)

Also included here: a puzzle as designed by one of our interviewees, in honor of the champions of the World Series (in PDF format).

Tune in tomorrow for Part Two!

Zambezi and oat (yeah, we liked it too).

Join us, as we:

• interview no one
• have no viewer mail
• discuss zero puzzles
• show off Ryan’s tan
• realize that the difference in pitch between Brian’s speaking voice and cackly laugh is quite massive

All that and probably not much more in Episode 37. Enjoy!

Zambezi and… we need something new here in 2009.

• Viewer mail
• Two (2) downloads: Barry C. Silk (FACODPCGAMAT)’s puzzle about us and Dan Feyer (WOTCD)’s musical masterpiece.
• Puzzle of the week: December 23 (Joe Krozel)
• Ryan begs Brian to play music. Brian refuses.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all four of you for being loyal listeners throughout 2008. We hope to increase our viewership by around 20% in 2009, so if each of you tells five friends, and most of your friends are completely disinterested, we have an outside chance.

Zambezi and oatcake.

You can find more about Ben at http://groups.google.com/group/inkwell. In conjuction with this episode, I (Brian) have done two recent Onion puzzles, and I’m offering a little of my blog stylings to them. If you want to do the puzzles yourself, you can access them (and many other dailies) at Ephraim’s Crossword Puzzle Pointers. There are probably other places that link to them as well, but this is where I go to get my daily fix.

December 3, 2008 (solved in 18:48)

The theme of this grid seems to be Things George W. Bush Is Leaving Behind At The White House For Barack Obama. We have:

• 1A. and 20A. White House item #1, bequeathed from 43 to 44 : BIN LADEN DARTBOARD
• 33A. Item #2 : NAILIN PAYLIN TAPE. Did this ever get made? Or was Palin’s quick exit from the political spotlight just cause to terminate production?
• 41A. Item #3 : CAN OF SPAGHETTI-WS. I had hoped this was a real product. If it is, the grande olde internette cannot find me a picture.
• 52A. Item #4 : EAR WARMER. I totally don’t understand this one at all. Can anyone explain it to me?
• 67A. Item #5 : PRETZELS

While these are a good poke of fun at outgoing President Bush, I’m not sure I follow them all. Then again, I haven’t followed much of what Mr. Bush has done these past eight years as most of it makes me sick to my stomach. If Spaghetti-Ws taste like their O brethren, then I’d be happy to eat them. Incidentally, that was the first of the theme answers to fall for me, which led me to (incorrectly) believe that we were doing a W-for-O swap on the theme (trading George’s popular initial for Barack’s). That not being the case had me a little confused. Nonetheless, an enjoyable, perhaps somewhat NYT-Wednesday-ish style puzzle.

December 10, 2008 (7:50)

Very clever wordplay at work here in the theme to this puzzle. I understood the premise of the theme before finishing the grid, but only after I was done could I look back at the theme answers and fully understand what was happening. The whole thing was clued at:

• 61A. What presidential term limits mercifully ensure, and what each of this puzzle’s theme answers “receives” : NEW BLOOD

And in each of the theme answers, a normal phrase had either an A, B or AB replaced with an O (serving as both an initial representative of the new blood and a blood type).

• 17A. Film part shot at the dairy farm? : MOO SCENE (Presumably it was MOB SCENE, with the B replaced)
• 18A. Move around the rowboat? : OARHOP (BARHOP)
• 30A. Rejected spreadable soda variety? : CHEESECOKE (CHEESECAKE, which I have never thought of as “spreadable.”)
• 36A. Numismatist’s affliction? : COIN FEVER (CABIN FEVER). I can never remember fast enough whether numismatism is coins or stamps. What is the word for stamps?
• 49A. Right-leaning R&B act? : THE GOP BAND (Was this THE GAP BAND? I don’t know… I think of FILL ME IN as the best R&B act around, to tell you the truth.)
• 59A. Broadcast with updates about Disneyland? : OC NEWS (ABC NEWS). I was a bit confused here. Aren’t Disney and ABC affiliated? What does OC have to do with anything?

Good puzzle, and just from these two, we get a mild sense that The Onion has no feelings whatsoever about politics.

So our thanks to Ben Tausig, and to The Onion for their delightful contribution to the puzzle community!

Zambezi and oat.

For those who prefer the interviews — give us a chance! We will have one next week!

For those who prefer the non-interviews — listen to this show, over and over again!

In this episode:

• Dan Feyer loses his nickname
• Howard Barkin offers tips on fun in the water
• Brian and Ryan have completely different methods of dealing with a Saturday puzzle
• Brendan Emmett Quigley is too cool for school

All that, and probably about 2% more!

Zambezi and oat.

Expect some or none of the following:

• viewer mail.
• an explanation of why it’s called “viewer mail.”
• Vic Fleming designed a puzzle for us. Here’s the .PDF version; here’s the .PUZ version.
• oh, theme music. we definitely used that.

We promise that the episode is more enthusiastic than this post. And if we’re wrong, we’ll let you listen to Episode 34 absolutely free.

Zambezi and oat.

We have two great guests today: constructors Dave Macleod and Barbara Olson.

In this episode:

• Find out what Brian and Ryan did for Thanksgiving
• Learn what Ryan knows about hockey (here’s a hint: nothing)
• Discover who the mayor of Nelson is
• Unravel the mystery of what Brian wants for lunch

Support our guests, buy their books:

O Canada Crosswords: 75 Themed Daily-Size Crosswords (O Canada Crosswords)

O Canada Crosswords Book 9

Zambezi and oat.

Today’s episode features another interview, this time with a man who did not direct “The Wizard of Oz,” as it turns out. Tune in to find out:

• what other famous movie he did not direct
• the true hidden musical talents of Mr. Ryan Hecht
• a few pieces of viewer mail — remember that old gag?
• and maybe a small amount more

Enjoy this new episode of Fill Me In. Have a happy holiday!

Zambezi and oat.

In this week’s episode, Ryan and Brian take to interviewing crossword constructor Andrea Carla Michaels. Or did she interview them? Certainly one of the most fun episodes, and to make things even better, Andrea does most of the talking! Hooray! Ryan and Brian looove it when people smarterer than they get onto the show.

It’s a long show, but it’s worth it. Andrea is an absolute hoot, and hopefully you’ll enjoy it as much as we did.

Okay, not really. It’s actually Ryan and Brian conducting another interview in their increasingly popular… uh, interview series. This week’s special guest is our first speed solver, our first personally-known-to-us crossword celebrity, our first person to be interviewed who wasn’t named either Jim or Patrick — it’s none other than Dan Feyer, Winner of the C Division!

So tune in, and enjoy Episode 29. It’s what Obama would want you to do.

Zambezi and oat.

In this exciting new installment of Fill Me In: A Crossposslossdoss, expect some or all (or none) of the following:

• no interviews!
• two microphones (can you tell?)
• Diet Pepsi Max
• Several puzzles completely ignored due to their high level of difficulty (and our low level of smarterness)

So, what are you waiting for? DOWNLOAD ME, BABY!

Zambezi and oat.

Things we do not do in this episode:

• viewer mail
• talk about puzzles
• mention Dan Feyer, winner of the C Division

We’re working on a new format, exploring possible podcast structures that audience might actually like! Let us know.

Zambezi and oat.

Also in this episode:

• Actually, nothing. We talked to Jim for about 40 minutes, and that’s mostly it.

It’s been a while, so we don’t really remember what to do… Zambezi? And something else… Barley?

Specific highlights for this episode:

• Brian turns on the microwave
• Our caption contest winner is announced
• To snap or not to snap (you’ll never guess what we found in the viewer mail bag)
• Ryan’s on-the-go plan for rock hard abs (edited out)
• Mercifully shorter than 20 minutes
• Mercilessly longer than 18 minutes

Zambezi and oat.

• Brian is going out of town! (Again!)
• Ryan is going out of town! (For what?)
• Ryan and Brian have no idea what day of the week it is! (Again!)
• You have no idea what day of the week it is! (Not likely.)

In addition, we cover the puzzles from Monday, August 25 to Friday, August 29. Also: viewer mail (and more arguments over snapping within), and Ryan doesn’t understand symmetry.

All that and more in Episode 24!

Zambezi and oat.

In this episode:

• Lollapuzzoola 2008 aftermath
• Lollapuzzoola 2009 pre-math
• New York Times puzzles for the week of August 18-24
• Brian eats
• Ryan gets cast in a play
• And 91% water

We have listened to all 23 episodes now. Have you?

Zambezi and oat.

One week of puzzles, and we still found an hour’s worth of material to share with you, gentle viewer. In this week’s show:

• Viewer mail (perhaps still open)
• Madeline Kahn sings
• What Ryan did in 1981
• And maybe two more things…?

We don’t know what else to say. Listen. Enjoy. Share. Zambezi. Oat.

Included in this week’s episode:

• Brian sings.
• Ryan plays the piano.
• A Michael Phelps fan calls into the studio
• Viewer mail (singular)
• And not a whole lot more!
• (but it takes exactly one hour)

It’s never too late to sign up for Lollapuzzoola. Join us there! It will be fun! And you will probably win something (maybe).

Zambezi and oat.

• One-sided phone call from a mystery woman
• Brian’s attempt and imitating the voice of Julius Sumner Miller
• Ryan promotes Lollapuzzoola 2008
• We discuss 26 puzzles in very little time, devoting almost all our energy to speed and none to quality

Enjoy!

Zambezi and oat.

All that, and almost nothing else in this episode of Fill Me In. Enjoy!

Zambezi and oat.

Despite only four puzzles’ worth of material, we continue to defy all laws of physics by still filling nearly forty minutes without saying much of anything. Between Ryan being awake for over twenty hours and Brian being awake for just under twenty minutes, the episode serves as a meeting of the sleep-deprived. We offer:

• Tentative date set for Lolla-Puzzoolla 2008!
• Viewers call in during the show, but hang up before we can talk to them!
• Absolutely no mention of Dan Feyer, Winner of the C Division! (we think.)
• Plus: lots of food mention, shout-outs to Brian’s parents, a special musical treat, and more exclamation marks than we deserve!

Last and possibly least, we offer the very first crossword constructed by our very own think tank here at Ryan and Brian Do Crosswords. It’s not very gimmicky, but there is a theme of sorts running throughout. It’s available here (in .PUZ format for Across Lite users) and here (in .PDF format for those who just want to print it out). This puzzle was created in honor of Amanda, Unparalleled Parallel Verse Engineer, who named our show. She is, however, not mentioned anywhere in the puzzle. C’est la sômèthiñg.

Thanks for tuning in to this week’s episode of Fill Me In. Enjoy!

Opening music courtesy of The New Group, Wesleyan University, 1992 (no copyright [maybe?], and therefore no infringement [we hope]). Music and lyrics (possibly) by Daniel Handler. Performers (listed in the order they were sitting for the photo in the cassette jacket): Max Zener, Krysten Morganti, Adam Hirsch, Jeff Kwan, Karen Caplan, Kate Gordon, Michael King, Emy Johnson, Carrie Fischer, Marit Alanen, Daniel Handler, Ginger McManus, Jason Zolov, Brian Cimmet

Instead, we offer these fine elements to this week’s program:

• Brian turns out actually to be a musician!
• Ryan can’t form coherent thoughts!
• For the first time ever, we detail what a “flipnop” is.
• Plus: viewer mail, eight puzzles (Sunday to shining Sunday), and… well, it’s forty minutes long. There must be something else.

All that and more in an extended episode of Fill Me In. Enjoy!

Zambezi and oat.

What more do you need? This week features the first (and perhaps last) installment of Ryan and Brian’s version of “Point/Counterpoint,” as well as all your favorite podcast features:

• Viewer mail
• References to Dan Feyer, Winner of the C Division
• Ryan and Brian have still not been invited to Will Shortz’s house for a barbecue

And a first for us:

• A fan phones the studio for a live, on-the-air discussion!

All that and more in our sixteenth installment of Fill Me In. Enjoy!

Zambezi and oat.

In this week’s episode, we discuss Ryan’s childhood academia, Brian’s willingness to hug, and Dan Feyer’s lightning fast ability to do… something. Also, at least one new nickname is granted, two as-yet-undiscovered members of Brian’s family are referenced, and the whole blasted show clocks in at under thirty-seven minutes for the first time in a month.

Loyal viewers, welcome back. New viewers — hello! Tell your friends. Tell your enemies. Tell anyone! Our voices must be heard!

Zambezi and oat.

Zambezi and oat.

Zambezi and oat.

Zambezi and oat.

Episode Eleven includes Brian’s mom (in concept), ground beef (never received) and Indiana Jones (not yet seen).

…we’ll try to be better next week. (sigh)

Zambezi and oat.

In this week’s episode, we only devote 27% of the show to puzzle-related discussion! Included in these glorious 38 minutes:

• Viewer mail!
• Dan Feyer, winner of the C division is mentioned several times!
• Brian imitates Ryan!
• And seriously, we have returned to the glorious studio-quality sound you have come to expect.

We challenge each and every one of you to brainwash three friends into listening to our podcast. Anyone who succeeds gets a free keychain, courtesy of Ryan & Brian Do Crosswords.

Zambezi and oat.

• Time limits!
• Minimal editing!
• Ryan’s fuzzy math!
• Fewer listeners than ever before!
• A worse sound quality for faster downloads!
• …and much, much more! (or perhaps, not a whole lot different from any other week.)

Listen to it. And don’t you dare unsubscribe, or we’ll come to your house and beg you to re-subscribe.

Later today, our second mini-episode will come out detailing this past Monday’s puzzle.

This week’s episode includes Planet of the Apes, viewer email (Hello, Amanda!) and Brian’s father. Also, a hidden puzzle within the podcast asks this question: What is the meaning of DCHFILY?

Email us with your thoughts, comments, stories, pictures, and anything else you want to send along. Operators are standing by at rbxblog@gmail.com, 24 hours a day.

On a disappointing note, the guest stars we had planned for this week were unable to make it. We hope to feature them next week instead.

Zambezi and oat.

Having edited out 87 minutes from the original 2-hour epic, it’s hard to remember what we left in… I think it includes some references to Taco Bell (and other superior tacos), some hideous kind of soup, and our favorite new feature — viewer email. Please note: if you’d like to have your email featured in our next podcast, please contact us at rbxblog@gmail.com.

Next time, we hope to feature our first special on-air guest of this podcast season, so tune in then. (We hope that “then” will be Sunday.)

Zambezi and oat.

We also discuss Frank Longo’s 25-Foot Crossword Puzzle, Manny Nosowsky’s ability to make Brian cringe with every clue, and several instances of vague copyright infringement — this is our way of testing whether or not anyone is actually listening.

Enjoy.

Enjoy.

(Tomorrow, check out our first mini-episode, detailing Monday, April 7!)

Enjoy!

I hope all this works. You should be able to subscribe to the feed here on the site and various podcasting sites including itunes. Or you can just play it right here.

Let us know what you think.

[Update:  the podcast is up on itunes now.  Subscribe using that program or any rss reader using the buttons on the right side of the page.  Thanks.  And tell your friends.]