PUZZLE #24 & Public Construction spiel

ACROSS LITE PUZZLE: [ LEAN ON ME] 
PROGRAM: [Across Lite]

PROGRAM: [Java]

PRINTOUT PUZZLE: [ LEAN ON ME]
PROGRAM: [Adobe Acrobat]

Looks like I have today's puzzle in The New York Times today. Can't embed it for copyrighting reasons, but for those who are subscribers to their crossword, you can get it here.

I also have the puzzle on Visual Thesaurus today, but since it's a subscription-only service, you'll have to settle for the link here.

Just going to throw it out there: I wrote this puzzle at a bar. Now mind you, I'm not trying to paint this overly-dramatic picture of the tortured artist, belly up at the bar, agonizing over each and every word -- some weird combination of Will Shortz meets Tom Waits meets Ernest Hemingway. No, nothing that outrageous. I just had to get out and get a nightcap. But I also had deadlines with making some puzzles. So, armed with an India Pale Ale in one hand and a laptop in the other, I went to work.

For a while, maybe ten years ago, I made almost all of my crosswords at coffee shops. The tools I used at the time were nothing more complicated than word lists, pencil stubs and graph paper. Impossible to think that was how it was once done now that we're all digital, but believe me that's how we all did it for years. The cool thing about that setup was it was very, very portable, allowing me to work in various places around the (Greater) Boston area. It got me out the house, and frankly, I loved calling various cafés “my office.”

The whole time I was doing this, I was convinced that other people also in the coffee shop were going to notice that I was scribbling something that looked like I was making a crossword, and come over to have a conversation about it. I can safely say that it never happened. Not once. I'm still kinda shocked, because ... me? I cannot help but notice what everybody else is doing in the coffee shop.

That's right, I'm looking at you, Wannabe Hipster Chick Who's Trying Too Hard To Look Like Karen O. I see you're pretending to read “Atlas Shrugged,” and making sure everybody notices you reading it, even though everybody knows no one really reads Ayn Rand for fun, just for showing off. And yes, I'm pointing right at you, Mr. I Used to Be Somebody Once on My High School Lacrosse Team. How do I know that's your name? It's because you're broadcasting this fact to all the other patrons at a volume level that can be heard from across the street. Nobody cares what your save percentage was no matter how loud you're talking.

But nobody paid attention to me, dammit! Maybe I'm a little too egotistical about that. But, maybe they were noticing and they all called me The Freaky Dude Scribbling Some Weird Possibly Crossword Looking Shit on Graph Paper Sitting in the Corner Drinking Way Too Much Coffee. I probably would have called myself that. I guess this is a meaningless tangent as I never spoke to the lacrosse dude or Karen O. It's a two-way street, conversations. I never chatted with them, and vice versa.

Well, anyway, when I was at the bar making this puzzle, once again, nobody bothered me. Somewhat annoying, as I'm still waiting for the time when somebody strikes up a conversation about the process of puzzlemaking they just couldn't help but I notice I was doing whilst drinking. But believe me when I say it is interesting trying to write puzzles while having a pint or four. Kinda relaxes me a bit. I'm not as critical about each entry. And then, with each additional pint, all of a sudden, I become completely indestructable. Every, and I mean every entry is fucking King Shit, boy. Crap seven letter partial ONE INS A ("Last ___ rotten egg!") to hold the thing together? Right on! Who cares that GFESDES isn't a legitimate entry nor a word in any language, it allows for an amazing corner with, count 'em six jaw-dropping crossing entries! Double-plus right on!

Needless to say, the next morning, there's a lot of clean up to do.

Anyway, for those that might be interested in my band, you can see a brief piece about us from a local TV news show at the start of this clip. Hope you enjoy this puzzle. New one on Monday.