one of the ways the mid to late 20th century political world has distorted the historical memories of even sophisticated observers is in the idea that you can achieve major transformations of american political life through something like bipartisan consensus

What made the Pyramid Winner's Circle tick (literally and otherwise) YouTube video by Ological

I love this video so much - it delves deep into the details of what made the final round of Pyramid so great, down to an analysis of the ticking clock sound. Inject this into my veins.

youtu.be/k1AC7peQZ9o?...

Kill it with fire

That's an excellent FAQ there.

Why We All Hate the Word “Moist” So Much Nineteenth-century philologists are far from the only ones who have spent time pondering the great mysteries that drive our speech. Everyday folks think about language-related questions all the tim…

Valerie Fridland: Why We All Hate the Word “Moist” So Much

lithub.com/why-we-all-h...

Still of Dale Whibley (Max) and Alexander Eling (Noah) looking at Sadie Laflamme-Snow (Alice) on The Way Home

It’s still weird that the guys in a love triangle with Alice on The Way Home are the Klingon’s boyfriend and the Vulcan on Starfleet Academy.

P.S. Very glad The Way Home is back! Such an enjoyable timey-wimey show.

Gurl that’s not what I heard

Has the death of the department store reached Japan? Many thought Seibu would be one of the few landmarks to survive. Yet the owners were unable to renew terms with the Shibuya landowners, and it will close after nearly 60 years.

www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2...

Pink petals gathered on a Manhattan street curb.

Pink petals gathered on a Manhattan street curb.

I recently re-subscribed to Games Magazine after a long while and I also picked up six back issues at ACPT, and… how am I supposed to do all these puzzles AND catch up on my backlog of New Yorker magazines AND ALSO read books?

“begs the question”
“nonplussed”
“reluctant” vs “reticent”

Nancy cartoon: Panel 1: Nancy says "I wish I wasn't stuck at school on this computer" Panel 2: "Just think of all the fun I could be having at home" Panel 3: she's thinking sitting at home looking at a laptop Panel 4: "That's the life"

I think about this Nancy cartoon on a semi-regular basis

I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don't have maps and, uh, I believe that our education, like such as in South Africa and, uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as,

We’re a week behind on Hacks, but, as someone who was watching Days our Our Lives when I was 12, my favorite recurring bit is Deidre Hall playing herself as Jimmy’s mother.

"I work in soaps. I can be off-book for Hamlet in 20 minutes.”

Very enjoyable!

No - I’m not familiar with that…

Oh

Playbill cover

Tonight’s show: Schmigadoon!

Pejac Transforms Basic Graph Paper into Detailed, Trompe-L'œil Tableaux Pejac's graphite drawings on graph paper challenge our sense of space and the possibilities of the "blank slate."

Fun trompe-l’œil graph paper drawings. [thisiscolossal.com]

Thanks!

Is there a link to scores for the online competition?

There were only ~15 more competitors than last year, so more or less the same. But yeah, there might be at least a couple hundred more people next year so who knows what will happen?

American Crossword Puzzle Tournament The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, held annually in Stamford, CT by Will Shortz

Well, some rankings have changed because Will decided that something that was originally counted as incorrect should count as correct. So two people jumped ahead of me and I've dropped two spots. 🤷‍♂️

www.crosswordtournament.com/2026/standin...

Here’s the Story … of a House Named Brady

I watched the HGTV show where they renovated the interior of the Brady Bunch house but I didn't realized they eventually sold it to a fan who's maintained it. Great photos and videos here!

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/10/u...

Trump administration agrees to return rainbow Pride flag to New York’s Stonewall monument The Trump administration has agreed to keep flying a rainbow Pride flag on a federal flagpole at the Stonewall National Monument, reversing course after removing the banner in February.

Good.

apnews.com/article/ston...

One thing I learned at #ACPT this year is that I'm fast enough to make B finals if things go right. This year they didn't - I had a mistake in 2 different puzzles that I'd have caught if I'd checked more thoroughly.

But it's doable!

Anyway, I had a great time as always. Puzzle people are the best.

NYT Spelling Bee screenshot showing that GOGURT is “not a word”

Dammit Sam

#NYTSpellingBee

A wizened old man takes a selfie with several dozen crossword solvers behind him including an amazing constructor (and competitor) flashing a peace sign

Reviewing my photos from #ACPT - I took a quick selfie with the rest of the solvers in the downstairs ballroom before we started puzzle 7 this morning and just noticed @gppasco.bsky.social flashing a ✌️lol

Yeah, I was gonna say… if her gentile friends think she’s “too Jewish” that’s a whole different problem there