Posted on July 31st, 2010, by Amy Reynaldo
NYT 10:21
LAT 7:55
BG 7:45
Reagle 7:22
WaPo Post Puzzler 4:29
CS tba
It’s August 1 and time for links! Okay, no, I don’t do a first-of-the-month links post, but I do have a few links for you today.
First up, innovative constructor Patrick Blindauer is launching his website, PatrickBlindauer.com, this weekend. He’s got his first monthly crossword, a place to buy his terrific (and challenging) holiday puzzle suite, a chat about vowel-rich crossword answers, links to his books, and more.
There are two crossword tournaments this month. The biggest one is Ryan Hecht and Brian Cimmet’s Lollapuzzoola, which I’ll be attending for the first time on Saturday, August 14. Lolla includes fun crosswords with multimedia aspects to them (such as sound effects or accompanying live performances), and a bunch of top constructors and top solvers descend upon Queens to take part.
A week earlier in the Pittsburgh area, the first Pittsburgh Crossword Puzzle Tournament will take place. It’ll have crosswords from Will Shortz, and I expect it will be much like other smaller regional tournaments. So check that out if you live around there, because what better way could there be to spend August 7?
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Tags: Brendan Emmett Quigley, Emily Cox, Henry Rathvon, John Lampkin, Merl Reagle, Trip Payne
Posted on July 30th, 2010, by Amy Reynaldo
Posted on July 30th, 2010, by Jeffrey
“Ful Employment” by Randolph Ross – 10:21
Hi, Jeffrey here. Welcome to a very special Wall Street Journal crossword.
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Tags: Randolph Ross
Posted on July 29th, 2010, by Amy Reynaldo
Posted on July 28th, 2010, by Amy Reynaldo
Posted on July 27th, 2010, by Amy Reynaldo
Onion 4:25 with one error (Check your crossings, kid!)
NYT 3:35
LAT 3:04
CS untimed
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Tags: Brendan Emmett Quigley, Howard Baker, Mike Peluso, Raymond Hamel
Posted on July 27th, 2010, by Amy Reynaldo
I was pretty psyched when I learned that Google is getting closed captioning incorporated into more YouTube videos, making YouTube more accessible to the deaf and hearing-impaired. I’m delighted to know that there’s now software that reads crossword clues and entries aloud so solvers who are blind or have low vision can enjoy doing crosswords, too.
Spoonbill Software has just released Blind Gamers Crossword Puzzle 1.0, a freeware Windows application that lets solvers open crosswords they’ve downloaded from the Internet (provided the file format is the right one) and hear the clues without using their screen reader. Solvers use the keyboard to communicate with the program. Visit the link to order a copy.
Click below to read more about the program and—this part is key—about getting crossword publishers to provide download links for puzzles in the appropriate file format.
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Tags: accessibility, blind, Blind Gamers Crossword Puzzle, crosswords, Spoonbill Software, visually impaired
Posted on July 27th, 2010, by joon
crossword 6:11 (across lite)
puzzle not timed, maybe 5 minutes?
i completely forgot to do the writeup last night, and just got back from the zoo. full writeup forthcoming ASAP; meanwhile i’ll post the grid and solution after the jump. feel free to leave spoilerrific comments in the interim. update 1:30 pm: full post is now up.
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Tags: Matt Gaffney
Posted on July 26th, 2010, by Amy Reynaldo
Posted on July 25th, 2010, by Amy Reynaldo