Ryan and Brian Do Crosswords

Wait a minute. Isn’t Ryan in Italy? There’s no way in the world that we could possibly have done an episode of Fill Me In while Ryan was in Italy. I mean, the Skype thing sucked so bad last year, right? Hm.

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.

 

 Fill Me In #070: Buon giorno, Gionata Papelbuono! [33:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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.

UPDATE: We are still having inexplicable trouble with iTunes. The podcast appeared for a while, and then disappeared again. We’re still working on this, but in the meantime, you may have to listen to this episode from our site instead. We are terribly sorry for this inconvenience, and our crack staff of computer experts is working at least 20 minutes a day to fix this.

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.)

 

 Fill Me In #069: The Oracle, The Innovator, The Math Teacher of Xan Vongsathorn’s Sister. [38:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Zambezi and oat.

We had some site issues, and had to re-post the latest episode of Fill Me In. Click here, if you can’t otherwise find it.

 Fill Me In #069: The Oracle, The Innovator, The Math Teacher of Xan Vongsathorn's Sister. [38:14m]: Download

*** Breaking news! There’s a four-minute segment somewhere in this show that actually got recorded about four hours after the rest of the show. So our lives are no longer linear.

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.)

 

 Standard Podcast [36:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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.

If you have been scouring the internet looking for the podcast in which we promote Lollapuzzoola 2 and beg you to attend for the last time, this is that podcast. We call it “Fill Me In,” and this is Episode 67.

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.

 

 Fill Me In #067: Jab rhymes with cab and lons rhymes with Fonz. [40:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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.

Howdy-do. It’s Episode 66, and we’re back again, doing what we do. This week’s episode is chock full of the same glorious entertainment you’ve come to expect, and this time, without any extra clicks and pops!

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.

 

 Fill Me In #066: Try being nicer. [36:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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.

There’s something wrong with our studio. Today’s episode features an inordinate number of pops and buzzes, none of which were provided by our flashy sound effects crew. No, either the microphones faked it to the computer or the computer faked it to us. Someone will pay. Oh, yes — you will suffer through having to listen to it (no, it’s not that bad), but someone will pay.

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.

 

 Fill Me In #065: Nom nom nom [34:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Zambezi and oat.

Rabbits! And… 8 + 1 = 9, or something!

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.

First of all — if you are brand new to Fill Me In, we have created a web page to help you understand what the hell is going on. Check it out — we’ve got explanations, introductions, an episode guide and a FAQ. Send us your suggestions for making it better, bigger, funnier, whatever. Or — if you still have questions, we’d like to hear those as well. You can email us at [rbxblog at gmail dot com].

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.

 

 Fill Me In #064: The Peter Gordon Show [39:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

So the Zambezi said to the oat…

OH NO! We have made a glaring mistake! In this episode, we reported two winners of the Jeremy Horwitz Internation Maximum Word Count Puzzle Design Contest (JHIMWCP) — and one of those winners is an invalid entry! I have posted the two grids below — and sadly, as you can see, the second one has two two-letter entries in it. This somehow slipped past our QA department, but rest assured, we have docked them 42% of their pay.

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.