Solve a Special Crossword Puzzle During Kids Week at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Elizabeth

Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum at 46th Street and the Hudson River. The white aircraft (top right) is the Concorde (crossword’s SST), on loan from British Airways.

Ahoy! When the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum asked me to create a crossword puzzle for Kids Week 2013, I jumped at the chance to participate! Young visitors to the Museum love this special week of interactive events, including: Virtual Flight Zones, Cockpit Simulators, sports, entertainment, games and more.

The USS Intrepid is an Essex-class aircraft carrier located at 12th Avenue (Hudson River) and 46th St. You can’t miss it!

I’ll be appearing at the New York Port of Call station tomorrow (Wednesday Feb. 20), between 10am – 2pm to help with the puzzle. Please stop by and say hello!

For directions and ticket information, visit the USS Intrepid website.  Kids Week runs through Sunday, February 24.  Come aboard and join in the fun!

~ Liz Gorski

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Crossword’s “ODE to Joy” = A Beethovian Flash Mob

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Elizabeth

After you’ve solved crosswords for about a year, you develop a precisely-calibrated ODE-ometer.  You realize it’s the verse of choice for Keats, Shelley, Emerson and Bobbie Gentry.   Whether they’re praising Psyche, a skylark, Beauty or Billie Joe — the sentiment is the same.  It’s from the heart.

If you’re a poet and you’ve written an ODE, it must be enormously gratifying when a great composer — namely Beethoven — sets it to music.

Friedrich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” has been set by a number of composers.   But Beethoven’s version — drawn from the final movement of his final symphony — is arresting, trans-national,  shocking, glorious . . .  and worthy of a good, old-fashioned flash mob.

This “Ode to Joy” was filmed in Spain; it’s performed in German. There’s no need for dictionaries. Your heart will translate.

Thank you, Loren Muse Smith, for sending this video to me.  It’s a wonderful New Year’s gift to people everywhere.

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Crossword thanks Sarah McLachlan for ADIA and “Silent Night”

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Elizabeth

I’ve been a Sarah McLachlan fan for years. When her song ”Adia” became a big hit, the title made its way into many crosswords. Constructors and editors who’d never heard of her (or the song!) started using ADIA to complete their grids. What’s not to love?

I couldn’t have been happier.  I enjoy celebrating the music of talented women who compose and perform their own material.  Her voice is clear and honest and womanly.

On this Christmas Eve, Sarah’s interpretation of “Silent Night” seems perfect. From our home to yours, we wish you warm blessings of the season.

xoxo~Liz

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