30. Squares #11

29. Puzzling Thoughts…

…about my first MAD magazine submission, which I made at the age of 14 (see below). It included a cover letter with a snappy “sell” line that my father suggested (top right). As you can see, it inspired an even snappier response from the MAD Editors.

My next submission came 20 years later. Unfortunately I had it delivered by messenger on the same day that someone tried to break into their offices. I got a phone call from the art director the next day (on speaker phone, with others listening) to question me as a suspect in the case!

I managed to elude capture and finally made my first sale six years later — a page of celebrity anagrams. I’ve included six of them below, which you can try your luck at deciphering (keep in mind they’re from the year 2000). Answers in the comments.

1. TRASH WONDER _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ _
2. HAD ANTICS IN BRA _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
3. THE GLORIFIED FAKE _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _
4. ODD IN MANNERS _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ _ _
5. LO-FAT CHICK/L.A. STAR _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
6. ERROR MADE—PLANS HALT [it's not a person]
_ _ _ . _ _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ _ _

28. Squares #10

BONUS: more…

27. Winston Breen

Writer Eric Berlin, a puzzle constructor for The New York Times and other publications, has a new kid’s book debuting today (ages 9-12), THE PUZZLING WORLD OF WINSTON BREEN. Click on the cover at right to find out more about it on Amazon.

By the way, an anagram of Eric’s book title is: NEW PUZZLE THING FOR BERLIN NODS. Almost. That anagram is short three letters… or is it just missing two? (Actually, you’ll find both statements are true!)

26. Squares #9

above: revised 9/18 below: the original 9/17 cartoon

25. Puzzling Thoughts…

…about The Partridge Family. It turns out I’m not the first person in my family to have a published crossword puzzle. My wife, Mary Dee, beat me out by about 25 years with this creation.

24. Process of Elimination

Patrick Berry’s Sunday (Sept. 9) New York Times crossword, PROCESS OF ELIMINATION, involved a very novel concept that was beautifully executed. Here, after the cut, is Patrick’s explanation of how he put it together…

23. Squares #8

22. Evolution of a book

It’s interesting how books evolve sometimes. At left is the initial cover proposal I made for Perk Up. At right is the final design for Coffee Time that the publisher put together.

By the way, did you know that World War I soldiers would often refer to coffee as a cup of george instead of a cup of joe? The term came from George Washington’s, the exclusive brand of instant coffee used by the U.S. Army (it was named for its Belgian-born inventor, not the president).

21. Puzzling Thoughts…

…about favorite clues. A couple of recent posts here got me thinking about my favorite crossword clue that I’ve written. Not the best or funniest or cleverest, just my favorite. This is the clue: Extinct Namibian shrub genus: Var.

Pretty bad, isn’t it? But there’s a reason for that. There are also a few interesting incidents surrounding the puzzle in which it appeared (NYT, January 15, 2004). You can try the puzzle if you’d like [CLICK HERE for a PDF] or just read on. Sorry, Across Lite won’t work for it.

20. Squares #7