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get_togetherHerewith two sets of links: panel notes for today's discussion session and links that may interest you if you were keen to get started on cryptics.
Discussion panel
We had a discussion panel in the afternoon session today. We had some interesting discussion about:
- the implications of the new writers deal
- the pluralisation of media
- whether we will simply end up going back to terrestrial or ad-focused television services
- whether the current era is the peak or the nadir of independent media
- successful independent media companies like Dropout and Critical Role
- whether the teens really are all puritans or it's a well publicised minority
- difficulty finding good fanfic
- a few more things my weekend-fried brain is having trouble remembering. It was a good discussion! Remind us what it was about in the comments!
In the discussion people mentioned a few things I thought it might be worth linking to:
- a Wheel Takes (a Wheel of Time podcast) episode on writers' rooms - I think this is the 4 July episode "On The WGA and SAG Strikes and How They May Affect the WoT Show" and it will be available everywhere you get your podcasts and on youtube
- "My year of grief and cancellation", an NYT piece by the curator of "yourfaveisproblematic" on tumblr
- Maya Hawke's 15 September 2023 appearance on Search Engine with PJ Vogt talking about trying to figure out how many people have actually watched Stranger Thing
- raindrop.io, bookmarking software people are considering as an alternative to/replacement for pinboard.
Cryptic crosswords
I will link to my presentation later, for some reason google drive won't let me do it now. I used a lot of sample clues from Kate and Joe's Finite Playlist, an extremely cute puzzle with a music theme.
Beginner's guides
Guardian Beginner's Guide; also at the bottom of this recent article is an index of many of their helpful blogposts
Big Dave's guides
Great beginner puzzles
Three American options:
Joe's Cryptics 101: Anagrams, homophones, Hiddens, Containers
Steve Mossberg's quiptics" are intended for newer audiences
New Yorker weekly cryptics are well checked (lots of crossing letters) and smaller puzzles. Incognito mode defeats the paywall.
American cryptics tend to contain fewer obscure abbreviations and to be more rigid in their cryptic grammar, which makes them better for beginners. This does sometimes make them less funny or challenging than British puzzles, but I think all these setters are very good. For an Australian option, Lovatt's puzzles are often recommended to beginners but the downside is they are not really funny, YMMV. The easiest British puzzles to my mind would be the Guardian's Everyman.
Many people start in the newspaper. I personally find the puzzles that appear in NZ newspapers pretty bad with the exception of the Saturday papers. But they're not all terrible and not bad for a lunch break. The Sydney Morning Herald has their own set of setters; DA is difficult; LR is more attainable. The SMHs can be solved online. LR also sets puzzles for The Saturday Paper, solvable online.
Where else to get puzzles?
The Guardian, the Independent, and the Financial Times all publish daily crosswords. Of these, I like the FT the most, followed by the Guardian, then the Independent (but there are some setters in the Independent I like a lot). The Guardian is probably the most loosey-goosey with cryptic grammar.
There is a thriving independent puzzle scene with lots and lots and lots of people of all sorts of backgrounds, ages, etc setting puzzles. I recommend checking out dailycrosswordlinks.com, which links to both American-style and cryptic crosswords every day - the dailies and the independents. The top links in each newsletter/post are the American-style puzzles, cryptics come at the bottom.
Streamer recs
If you're interested in checking out streamers, these are people I follow on twitch (type in twitch.tv/ and then put the username after the slash) who stream fairly regularly:
tui_bird (me!)
brknfixie (Aus, has an interactive stream which is fun)
crossweirdTV (US, solves a mix of American and cryptics)
crypticsunday (UK)
Danandbabka (US)
FeathersMcG (US)
glentopher (UK)
JMbrow29 (US)
joeadultman (US)
juffo_wup (US)
kaybartplays (US, variety of content, not just crosswords)
liari (US)
longyfan (UK)
pantherapuzzles (UK)
probablyapocryphal (US)
thatcrypticguy (US)
woodspiral (UK)
These are nice people who have friendly chats and streams that I find safe and welcoming.
Discussion panel
We had a discussion panel in the afternoon session today. We had some interesting discussion about:
- the implications of the new writers deal
- the pluralisation of media
- whether we will simply end up going back to terrestrial or ad-focused television services
- whether the current era is the peak or the nadir of independent media
- successful independent media companies like Dropout and Critical Role
- whether the teens really are all puritans or it's a well publicised minority
- difficulty finding good fanfic
- a few more things my weekend-fried brain is having trouble remembering. It was a good discussion! Remind us what it was about in the comments!
In the discussion people mentioned a few things I thought it might be worth linking to:
- a Wheel Takes (a Wheel of Time podcast) episode on writers' rooms - I think this is the 4 July episode "On The WGA and SAG Strikes and How They May Affect the WoT Show" and it will be available everywhere you get your podcasts and on youtube
- "My year of grief and cancellation", an NYT piece by the curator of "yourfaveisproblematic" on tumblr
- Maya Hawke's 15 September 2023 appearance on Search Engine with PJ Vogt talking about trying to figure out how many people have actually watched Stranger Thing
- raindrop.io, bookmarking software people are considering as an alternative to/replacement for pinboard.
Cryptic crosswords
I will link to my presentation later, for some reason google drive won't let me do it now. I used a lot of sample clues from Kate and Joe's Finite Playlist, an extremely cute puzzle with a music theme.
Beginner's guides
Guardian Beginner's Guide; also at the bottom of this recent article is an index of many of their helpful blogposts
Big Dave's guides
Great beginner puzzles
Three American options:
Joe's Cryptics 101: Anagrams, homophones, Hiddens, Containers
Steve Mossberg's quiptics" are intended for newer audiences
New Yorker weekly cryptics are well checked (lots of crossing letters) and smaller puzzles. Incognito mode defeats the paywall.
American cryptics tend to contain fewer obscure abbreviations and to be more rigid in their cryptic grammar, which makes them better for beginners. This does sometimes make them less funny or challenging than British puzzles, but I think all these setters are very good. For an Australian option, Lovatt's puzzles are often recommended to beginners but the downside is they are not really funny, YMMV. The easiest British puzzles to my mind would be the Guardian's Everyman.
Many people start in the newspaper. I personally find the puzzles that appear in NZ newspapers pretty bad with the exception of the Saturday papers. But they're not all terrible and not bad for a lunch break. The Sydney Morning Herald has their own set of setters; DA is difficult; LR is more attainable. The SMHs can be solved online. LR also sets puzzles for The Saturday Paper, solvable online.
Where else to get puzzles?
The Guardian, the Independent, and the Financial Times all publish daily crosswords. Of these, I like the FT the most, followed by the Guardian, then the Independent (but there are some setters in the Independent I like a lot). The Guardian is probably the most loosey-goosey with cryptic grammar.
There is a thriving independent puzzle scene with lots and lots and lots of people of all sorts of backgrounds, ages, etc setting puzzles. I recommend checking out dailycrosswordlinks.com, which links to both American-style and cryptic crosswords every day - the dailies and the independents. The top links in each newsletter/post are the American-style puzzles, cryptics come at the bottom.
Streamer recs
If you're interested in checking out streamers, these are people I follow on twitch (type in twitch.tv/ and then put the username after the slash) who stream fairly regularly:
tui_bird (me!)
brknfixie (Aus, has an interactive stream which is fun)
crossweirdTV (US, solves a mix of American and cryptics)
crypticsunday (UK)
Danandbabka (US)
FeathersMcG (US)
glentopher (UK)
JMbrow29 (US)
joeadultman (US)
juffo_wup (US)
kaybartplays (US, variety of content, not just crosswords)
liari (US)
longyfan (UK)
pantherapuzzles (UK)
probablyapocryphal (US)
thatcrypticguy (US)
woodspiral (UK)
These are nice people who have friendly chats and streams that I find safe and welcoming.
