ACROSS LITE PUZZLE: [ I BLACKED OUT LAST NIGHT]
PROGRAM: [Across Lite]
PRINTOUT PUZZLE: [ I BLACKED OUT LAST NIGHT]
PROGRAM: [Adobe Acrobat]
1. I promise to continue to boggle your minds with these puzzles.
I feel pretty good about this one. Next.
2. I also promise to do more outrageous and more left-of-center puzzles. You know, the ones you won't find in your father's newspaper.
So far, so good. 2-for-2. Next.
3. Somehow, someway, I will finish one of "the big three books" I've tried repeatedly in the past to read, but gave up for various reasons. The novels in questions are (in no particular order) "Ulysses," "Moby Dick," and "Gravity's Rainbow."
Okay, now we're getting into the not-so-hot territory. All three went untouched this year. Yeah, no real way to wiggle around this one; epic flop. But, hey now. I did read Pynchon's latest book ("Inherent Vice"), so that's gotta count for something, right? And I did download a copy of "The Art of War" to the smartphone. Old habits die hard, I guess. That old habit being BEQ acquires copies of "great books" and never reads them. Okay, so since I at least read a Pynchon book, I'll give myself a D- for this one. Next.
4. Loads more duplicate Bridge this year. My Bridge partner, Ned, and I kick mucho ass in the Nationals this year and we gotta keep it going.
If by "loads more duplicate Bridge" I meant "one game," then by all means, mission accomplished. Just didn't happen this year for loads of reasons. The blog became all-consuming this year, plus the whole buying the house thing, the months of ACPT lead-up, the sports books, so my schedule wasn't accomodating. Ned, well, he was wrapping up his Masters degree so he was swamped too. However, we've reupped the commtment this year. So, another D- for this resolution. Next.
5. Will I stop talking about becoming an amateur photo-realist painter, and start becoming one? Signs point to "definitely maybe."
Complete F- here. Didn't even look into this one. Strict fantasy. I'm embarrassed about this one. But not nearly as embarrassing as this one:
6. This is the year I'm going skydiving. I swear to God.
Another F-. This one is another humiliating fantasy. God. The moral, as always is, if you don't really believe something, don't publish it on a blog.
So where are we now, then? I'm renewing the commitment on the blog and the puzzles. I'll reroll the dice with the big three books and the Bridge. But instead of the painting/skydiving combination, let's swap them out and go with these: I plan on making more bread from scratch. And, I plan on losing 25 pounds.
Gonna leave you with this: I've been humbled with all the show of love in the tip jar department. If you liked the puzzles this month/year/whenever, it's never too late to show your support by keeping the blog independent. As an incentive, I will give whatever you want from the BEQ.com store to one randomly selected donor. Even if you can't give money, you can help me immensely by telling 5 friends about this blog. Thanks again.
Share the puzzle. New one on Monday.
Brendan Emmett Quigley creates custom-made puzzles for all occasions: birthdays and bar mitzvahs, anniversaries and retirements. You name it. Need a puzzle for your website or your publication? He can do that, too.
Brendan's custom work clients have included The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, BeerAdvocate, Boston Magazine, De Beers, The Decemberists, ESPN, The Improper Bostonian, Lollapuzzoola, McSweeney's, Phish, Reflexive, The Smithsonian Magazine, St. Martin's Press, Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, and Andrew Weil.
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