Word Games

I've taken many standardized tests over the years, and in all cases, my highest scores are in math. Numbers are easy for me, and I can calculate a lot in my head, and that ability has served me well.

But I also like word games. I do at least one crossword puzzle each day, and on some days, I'll do three or four. I like the USA Today crosswords late in the week, but not early in the week. They are too easy on Monday and Tuesday, but by Wednesday, they start to become a challenge.

I also like to play Scrabble, and by recently joining Facebook, I'm able to play multiple games of Scrabble with my siblings, nieces, nephews, children, and friends. At this moment, I think I have 6 games going. Some of the people I play against are very good, and it is a real challenge to win the games. I also like to solve the word jumble, which involves rearranging the letters of 5 words, and then using the circled letters of the answers to solve the riddle.

Then there is the daily cryptogram. I pride myself on solving these without use of a pen (I never use a pencil for any word game - it gives you a false sense of security). Some are tough, some are easy, but all are rewarding to solve. This morning's paper had the cryptogram you'll find below, and it had a cadence that seemed familiar. This one is not very hard to solve, and if you've been reading this blog for very long, you'll understand why I am posting it here. (Just click on it if you need to print it.)

The Demise of the Golfing Horses

Lots of stuff recently.

This video, for example.

Sad, yet funny. Provocative, yet morose. Golf, yet philosophy. Horsehide, yet metal.

Well, you'll get it in a minute.

Zombies and Subtlety

Just read a post from rhymeswithplague that reminded me of one of the most subtle movie lines of all time. Subtlety, of course, being in the eye and ear of the beholder.

The land is crawling with zombies...watch your step!

Achieving Dreams

This picture was taken in May of 1982...a young father graduating from college, his dreams for his young daughter apparent.




Fast forward 27 years to yesterday.



I'm happy to say that Natalie can now put the initials "MBA" after her name if she so chooses. I give her a lot of credit -- working full-time, attending school 10 or 12 hours per week (and all that goes along with that), traveling, running, getting SCUBA certified, running a conversational German club, and so on and so forth -- and she completed her MBA on schedule.

I couldn't be prouder.

Blog Roll Additions

Carolina at Brinkbeest in English has a very nice blog that is being added to the Golden Hill Blog Roll. She writes good stories, and she takes good pictures! Interesting that she maintains two Brinkbeests - one in Dutch, the other in English. Were I so talented...

I also added Rhymeswithplague to the Blog Roll a couple weeks ago, but failed to mention it in a post (sorry about that, Robert). When you visit his blog, be prepared to think!

Hollywood Squares

In the mid-1960s, a game show called "Hollywood Squares" began airing on TV. It was one of the simplest game shows ever devised: the object of the game was to win a tic-tac-toe game. Celebrities occupied the squares, and were given questions. The contestant had to determine if the answer was correct or made-up by the celebrity. If you guessed right, you earned your X or your O.

The show ran intermittently for close to 40 years, with several different hosts and many different celebrities. The success of the show was based completely on the comedic quality of the answers given by the celebrities. You can judge for yourself - here are some examples.

Q. Do female frogs croak?
A. Paul Lynde: If you hold their little heads under water long enough.

Q. If you're going to make a parachute jump, at least how high should you be?
A. Charley Weaver: Three days of steady drinking should do it.

Q. True or False, a pea can last as long as 5,000 years.
A. George Gobel: Boy, it sure seems that way sometimes.

Q. You've been having trouble going to sleep. Are you probably a man or a woman?
A. Don Knotts: That's what's been keeping me awake.

Q. According to Cosmopolitan, if you meet a stranger at a party and you think that he is attractive, is it okay to come out and ask him if he's married?
A. Rose Marie: No; wait until morning.

Q. Which of your five senses tends to diminish as you get older?
A. Charley Weaver: My sense of decency.

Q. In Hawaiian, does it take more than three words to say "I Love You"?
A. Vincent Price: No, you can say it with a pineapple and a twenty.

Q. Paul, why do Hell's Angels wear leather?
A. Paul Lynde: Because chiffon wrinkles too easily.

Q. Charley, you've just decided to grow strawberries. Are you going to get any during the first year?
A. Charley Weaver: Of course not, I'm too busy growing strawberries.

Q. In bowling, what's a perfect score?
A. Rose Marie: Ralph, the pin boy.

Q. During a tornado , are you safer in the bedroom or in the closet?
A. Rose Marie: Unfortunately Peter, I'm always safe in the bedroom.

Q. When you pat a dog on its head he will wag his tail. What will a goose do?
A. Paul Lynde: Make him bark?

Q. It is the most abused and neglected part of your body, what is it?
A. Paul Lynde: Mine may be abused, but it certainly isn't neglected.

Q. Back in the old days, when Great Grandpa put horseradish on his head, what was he trying to do?
A. George Gobel: Get it in his mouth.

Q. Who stays pregnant for a longer period of time, your wife or your elephant?
A. Paul Lynde: Who told you about my elephant?

Q. When a couple have a baby, who is responsible for its sex?
A. Charley Weaver: I'll lend him the car, the rest is up to him.

Q. Jackie Gleason recently revealed that he firmly believes in them and has actually seen them on at least two occasions. What are they?
A. Charley Weaver: His feet.

Q. According to Ann Landers, what are two things you should never do in bed?
A. Paul Lynde: Point and laugh.

Q. According to Ann Landers, is there anything wrong with getting into the habit of kissing a lot of people?
A. Charley Weaver: It got me out of the army.