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Will Shortz posed the question on PBS Santa has two things that put together make a musical instrument Answer: bagpipe but there is another one namely SACKBUT a medieval trombone !
A wonderful film in so many ways. I thought the editing and/or post-production of this film was *outstanding*. Too many sly and cute touches to mention. The scenes where the screen was divided into panes, with a section of the puzzle grid on one side and the clues on other ingeniously put the viewer in the puzzle. (Great idea!). The scene that ends with Trip saying that "Q is an interesting letter" was sublimely funny...Ellen twirling her baton...the celebrities working on the same puzzle. It would be neat to see these folks face off in a friendly game of Scrabble.
I recently saw Wordplay and enjoyed it very much. Great mix of folks. It was alsonice to see the Indigo Girls so into the NY Times Puzzle. The music was also very good. However, the credits ran so fast I couldn't see who contributed what or who sang what. I heard a Shawn Colvin tune but couldn't catch it at the end. Your online Film Credits don't include all the songs and music credits.
I attended the 2004 and 2005 tourney. Lots of
fun. Good to see some footage on it.
THIS EPISODE OF INDEPENDENT LENS WAS FANTASTIC!!!!! I just loved these word nerds.
I loved watching the backgrounds . . . so many of them featured grids of squares in entirely non-crossword settings. Great camera-work down to the angled shots to show the square tiles on the ceiling.
Don't know why, but I haven't ever had an interest in doing crossword puzzles. But my deceased father use to do the New York Times crossword puzzle every day and the Sunday's double cross stick-which wasn't mentioned in the film.
WORDPLAY did bring some notoreity to crossword puzzles which they deserved. For a lot of people, figuring things out is very challenging.
For Al Sanders:
First of all you shouldn't worry so much about your time. You're right in there. In fact, time has not been your problem. Your problem has been paying attention to detail. The fact is that you would have been a two time champ had you not made errors. (not because of time) Focus on paying attention to detail. It is my opinion that you ARE the best, except for the afore mentioned problem.
The psychology of your problem: You focus on the fact that you seem to always finish third. STOP DOING THAT!!! You're sabotaging yourself. Each time you finish third this somehow compounds its self in your mind. Thus, you build an expectation of finishing third. You're psyching yourself out. Forget about the past and REALIZE that you are probably the fastest, but you are NOT paying careful attention to details. Modify this aspect to win. Speed is nothing without a meticulous attention to detail. Why is detail more important? Because it costs more points than time. (Save for the final showdown where time is seemingly more important. Ask yourself though... is it actually more important? NO. Why? Because it doesn't matter who's the fastest if there is an error.) You will need to speed up though, because the kid will no doubt be faster next year and every subsequent year. You will be declining. Your window for a championship is closing. Seize it in the next few years. I'll bet on you next year. I believe in you guy. Hang in there. You remind me of myself.
I'll get good odds. Maybe I'll be the first odds maker for this game? Instead of giving away points as a handicapp as in football / basketball I will devise a method of giving away seconds. It'll be fun. Vegas, holler at your boy. LOL!
O.K. What was the thing about the program that impressed me?
1. I realized how damn dumb i am.... God I hate it! These cats are just high processing people.
2. Clinton finished the concept of the puzzle with half of it unfinished. (word play) This is how I think. My logic is good. I thought it was crazy, but now I know that this is the way to train my thought when trying to figure things out with limited amounts of information. That means my assesment of foreign affairs is probably more accurate than I thought.
I was sorely disappointed by "Word Play." After reading Mary McNamara's review in the L.A.Times, I expected a deeper and broader look at the phenomenon of crossword puzzles--including their history, more detail on how they are constructed, more about what in the human organism leads some of us to become such addicts. Instead, almost 3/4 of the movie was taken up with competition and star puzzle solvers. Those conventions were deadly boring for the most part. It is so American, of course, to focus on stars and competition, and I found it difficult to identify with much of what I saw.
Really enjoyed this program. I love crosswords, but have a heck of a time with the NYTimes...(LATimes) are much easier...lol.
Kept me up way past my bedtime!
Fantastic show. Very entertaining. It kept me up until 12:30 a.m. I could not turn it off. Well shot and edited. Thank you for the great work!
I thought this was an excellent program! The contestants were funny and so full of life! I cannot solve a crossword to save my life, but this was one of the more interesting programs I have seen. I felt connected to the people and was glued to my television set!
Loved it...reair at any open opportunity...
Really great film. I'm not into crosswords myself but I still found it very enjoyable. Seemed like really great people doing what they love which is always fun to watch! Thanks!
This was a great show! I felt so involved with all the contestants. The filming was excellent. THANKS
See http://www.crosswordtournament.com/index.htm for information about the tournament.
What are the plans for the 2008 Crossword Tournament?
I know it's at the Brooklyn Marriot. Is a schedule set? Are costs available? Hotel, registration, etc?
I don't know if this is the appropriate place to inquire on this, but thought I'd try it.
Thanks so much.
Nancy L.
The accompanying puzzle was NOT up to the NY Times standards. Far too easy. Merely a writing exercise.
This was much better than I thought it was going to be, it got me in touch with my inner nerd. I felt like I found my tribe. I'll have to study up to make it to the competition one day, what a great unpretentious bunch of people.
They say that crossword puzzles keep the brain agile. This doc was entertaining and informative. Learning about the puzzle subculture was fun and who knew that so many smart celebs were addicts? I cant' wait to watch this again on Independent Lens.
What a riot... was so glad to see Jon Stewart is as funny as he is on his show!
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