To the ______ degree
September 8, 2011 9:52 AM   Subscribe

(Warning: spoiler) Tom Ridge is a little teapot.

Take a cognitively dissonant walk down memory lane with the NYT's 9/11 puzzle.
posted by obscurator (55 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
I'd solve it, but I don't want to trip on some embedded code and have the FBI come pick me up...
posted by Renoroc at 9:56 AM on September 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


What's a 15 letter word for "Oh for fuck's sake, media, give it a goddamn rest already"?
posted by bondcliff at 9:56 AM on September 8, 2011 [29 favorites]


Is this a Monday puzzle, or does the commemoration mean they have to dumb it down considerably?
posted by shakespeherian at 10:00 AM on September 8, 2011 [4 favorites]


I will be spending all Sunday far away from the media, hiding in my closet with a blanket, flashlight, and some comic books.
posted by Legomancer at 10:01 AM on September 8, 2011 [10 favorites]


My first thought (on glancing through the clues) is that this is a really easy crossword for a Friday puzzle.
posted by kmz at 10:01 AM on September 8, 2011


Other than locking myself in a bank vault with a pile of books, is there any sure way I can escape the onslaught of 9/11 navel-gazing and/or hyper-patriotism this weekend?
posted by Thorzdad at 10:01 AM on September 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


Okay worth it for 20-across.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:03 AM on September 8, 2011


Okay worth it for 20-across.

Why?
posted by cashman at 10:14 AM on September 8, 2011


I just like seeing references to 'status quo' among all the references to the Bush administration and GWOT.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:16 AM on September 8, 2011


I wish there were some way to tell the media that even though it's been a quasi-significant number of years since the attacks, it's still just fucking too soon, and many of us just don't particularly want to spend days revisiting those memories.
posted by crunchland at 10:19 AM on September 8, 2011 [4 favorites]


Kill your television.
posted by DU at 10:20 AM on September 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


Other than locking myself in a bank vault with a pile of books, is there any sure way I can escape the onslaught of 9/11 navel-gazing and/or hyper-patriotism this weekend?

I am so glad someone else feels this way. It's not even the hyper-patriotism that gets to me. I just have no desire to re-live every fucking moment of that day.
posted by Fizz at 10:21 AM on September 8, 2011 [8 favorites]


Other than locking myself in a bank vault with a pile of books, is there any sure way I can escape the onslaught of 9/11 navel-gazing and/or hyper-patriotism this weekend?

As someone who had a mezzanine seat for the craziness (Jersey City, offices facing the river), I cannot agree with this more.

I'm going to play a game online, and avoid the madness as much as I can, even if it means blowing out my ignore-other-players list.
posted by mephron at 10:23 AM on September 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


I'm trying to figure out how they dreamed this up and then decided it was a good idea.

Was it, like, "Let's not only replay all these painful memories but make people really dwell on it by making them dredge up elements from every aspect of 9/11?"

Coming up, crossword puzzles themed with Katrina, the Vietnam War, AIDS, segragation and other still-sensitive parts of our history.
posted by beagle at 10:23 AM on September 8, 2011


Oh Jesus. 'With 69-Acorss, what September 11, 2001 was,' ... 'SAD DAY.'
posted by shakespeherian at 10:23 AM on September 8, 2011 [2 favorites]


Other than locking myself in a bank vault with a pile of books, is there any sure way I can escape the onslaught of 9/11 navel-gazing and/or hyper-patriotism this weekend?

Protip: Bring an extra pair of glasses.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 10:24 AM on September 8, 2011 [26 favorites]


This is my favorite thing written (sort of) about 9/11. It pretty much always has been; the day is really not the Significant Historical Event That Affects Us All that the US media has tried to portray it as, and I like seeing genuinely different perspectives on a contemporary historical event.
posted by byanyothername at 10:25 AM on September 8, 2011 [6 favorites]


Are you sure it wasn't SAD DAM? Cheney led me to believe it was definitely SAD DAM.
posted by maryr at 10:26 AM on September 8, 2011 [25 favorites]


Am I missing something? I just did the puzzle and was expecting some kind of revealing or poignant message. Instead it was just inane.
posted by overeducated_alligator at 10:27 AM on September 8, 2011


I think this is an educational tool for use in classroom. Hence the "Learning Network" logo. And why it's so easy. Here's their teacher resources site for Sept. 11
posted by atomicstone at 10:27 AM on September 8, 2011 [4 favorites]


Oh Jesus. 'With 69-Acorss, what September 11, 2001 was,' ... 'SAD DAY.'

Congratulations, NYT: satire is finally indistinguishable from reality.
posted by IjonTichy at 10:28 AM on September 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


Yeah this does seem like it's for school kids. Even Monday puzzles aren't usually this easy or shallow.
posted by overeducated_alligator at 10:34 AM on September 8, 2011


I think this is an educational tool for use in classroom. Hence the "Learning Network" logo. And why it's so easy. Here's their teacher resources site for Sept. 11

Ah, that would make a lot more sense. This didn't seem like something Will Shortz would do (and his name is nowhere on that page).
posted by kmz at 10:34 AM on September 8, 2011


Thank you atomicstone, should have included that on the FPP. Also, I'm beginning to feel the flaggability of this thread..
posted by obscurator at 10:36 AM on September 8, 2011


I want to avoid 9/11-related content as much as possible. I have concluded that this is best accomplished by clicking on 9/11-related links and/or commenting in threads that relate to 9/11.
posted by brain_drain at 10:38 AM on September 8, 2011 [4 favorites]


This is not the daily NY Times puzzle. The style of the clues is all wrong.
posted by rjc3000 at 10:45 AM on September 8, 2011


What's a 15 letter word for "Oh for fuck's sake, media, give it a goddamn rest already"?

GoOutsideAndPlay.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:46 AM on September 8, 2011


If anybody's looking for an obnoxious earworm, "nine-eleven" sings the same as "Amadeus."

Oh-oh-oh, nine-eleven.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:51 AM on September 8, 2011 [2 favorites]


This is an Onion link, right?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:53 AM on September 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


Am I missing something? I just did the puzzle and was expecting some kind of revealing or poignant message. Instead it was just inane.

Congratulations. Your training is complete.
posted by PlusDistance at 10:55 AM on September 8, 2011 [2 favorites]


I did this one a few years ago, while I was on a 'hey we have all of the NYT on microfilm!' kick. I also did the one from my birthday and the very first NYT crossword, a Sunday puzzle.

I forget where I originally read this (mighta been here on MeFi but probably Wikipedia), but the origin of puzzles in the NYT is an interesting story. "All the news that's fit to print", right? Well, that left precious little room for frivolous puzzles. While crosswords and their ilk gained popularity in the 20's and 30's, the newspaper stuck to news. It wasn't until the bombing of Pearl Harbor that NYT publisher Arthur Hays Sulzberger thought it might be good to include something that wasn't horrible news of war and destruction and suffering in the paper. Something to lighten the mood; something to do when the electricity went out. Thus, the first puzzle was published on a Sunday, February 15, 1942.

NYT has an across lite (playable) file and a little write-up here.

Something to think about as another, more recent tragedy is remembered.
posted by carsonb at 11:05 AM on September 8, 2011 [2 favorites]


Also, old crosswords are like old versions of Trivial Pursuit. 9/11/01 is do-able. I never actually finished my birthday puzzle, and I hardly knew where to start on the 2/15/42 puzzle—likewise my '81 Genius Edition of Trivial Pursuit is nigh on unplayable.
posted by carsonb at 11:08 AM on September 8, 2011


Yes, I do understand that it feels wrong. The is a strong current of 'sploitation going on here. But my son, who's in the 4th grade, was not even alive yet when this happened. It's an historical event that kids should learn about. Note the "The Learning Network" logo over in the corner. The equivalent for my generation would be a crossword about the Vietnam War. It might offend some people to make, but would've been a good tool to interest kids in history.

It just sucks that 9/11 ends up being juxtaposed against "sk8ter boi", cola wars, and clogged toilets and sinks.
posted by BurnChao at 11:09 AM on September 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


I thought this was going to be the actual crossword from 9/11/01. You know, the whole "it was an ordinary Tuesday, the New York Times put out a medium-easy crossword like it usually did, and then Bad Shit Happened".
posted by madcaptenor at 11:18 AM on September 8, 2011


...it's been a quasi-significant number of years since the attacks...

Just think, if we were all like this guy, this 9/11 mania wouldn't happen until 2013.
posted by TedW at 11:22 AM on September 8, 2011


carsonb, how was doing the crossword any more or less difficult than reading the rest of the paper when the electricity went out?
posted by maryr at 11:26 AM on September 8, 2011


I didn't say lights, maryr, I said 'electricity.'
posted by carsonb at 11:30 AM on September 8, 2011


It just sucks that 9/11 ends up being juxtaposed against "sk8ter boi", cola wars, and clogged toilets and sinks.

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnny Ray...
posted by Melismata at 11:30 AM on September 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


Right, same question. Unless you just mean that it's something to do when you can't listen to the radio and have already read the whole paper?
posted by maryr at 11:36 AM on September 8, 2011


Just?
posted by carsonb at 11:39 AM on September 8, 2011


I've noticed that quite a few media outlets have been focusing on "the children of 9/11", meaning those who sufferered loss directly and also the generation of children too young to remember the events. NPR did a couple of different angles, I've seen a couple of TV shows previewed on the topic and at least one of the weekly magazines ran a front cover.

I understand what they're saying - 9/11 was so long ago that some of the guys fighting in Afghanistan were barely out of diapers when it happened! - but I can't help feeling that they're collectively trying rush 9/11 into history. For the other ~80% of the population over the age of 25 or so, 9/11 will always be a vivid memory. We may live in a post-9/11 world now, but we sure as hell won't forget what it was like before then.
posted by rh at 12:09 PM on September 8, 2011


I can't help feeling that they're collectively trying rush 9/11 into history.

This began almost immediately. Probably the first time somebody said "Pearl Harbor" in relationship to the 911 disaster.
posted by Stagger Lee at 12:16 PM on September 8, 2011


A goddamned 9/11 crossword puzzle? Really NYT? Hey, fuck you NYT.
posted by xmutex at 12:41 PM on September 8, 2011


I'd be more curious about the 9/11/2001 crossword.
posted by kafziel at 12:59 PM on September 8, 2011


All the ewws that's fit to print.
posted by JaredSeth at 1:05 PM on September 8, 2011


I'd be more curious about the 9/11/2001 crossword.

It's an insignificant Tuesday.
posted by rh at 1:12 PM on September 8, 2011


People should really read atomicstone's comment.
posted by kmz at 1:30 PM on September 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


Other than locking myself in a bank vault with a pile of books, is there any sure way I can escape the onslaught of 9/11 navel-gazing and/or hyper-patriotism this weekend?

I guess everybody watches TV but nobody likes it very much.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:37 PM on September 8, 2011 [1 favorite]


Really don't understand the motivation here.

I listened to a program on NPR while driving this afternoon. It focused on teachers (high school and college) and how they teach and discuss 9/11 with their students -- many of whom when interviewed have no memory or distinct impression of 9/11. This crossword is yet another teaching tool for 'quizzing' kids about the events 10 years ago.
posted by ericb at 1:53 PM on September 8, 2011


This was worth it for the article in the link from byanyothername. Captures the actual reality of the day, in all its messy human-ness. Lots of the stories are disgusting and/or horrifying, and yet you can't help finding at least one you can identify with.
posted by marsha56 at 2:19 PM on September 8, 2011


Kind of annoyed that the link automatically downloads a PDF file to my computer without any warning :-/
posted by 1000monkeys at 5:09 PM on September 8, 2011


I will commemorate by reading The Pet Goat.
posted by Obscure Reference at 6:12 PM on September 8, 2011


Oh god I just realized that both folk-punk gigs I'm going to on 9/11 will probably end up with trite songs about the war and the blood on America's hands...
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 6:51 PM on September 8, 2011


I'm glad I'm old enough to remember the event, rather than have to listen to all the nonsense about it in the media without any real point of reference.

The NOVA program about the building of the Ground Zero memorial is worth watching.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:44 PM on September 8, 2011


Here's the original blog post it came from:

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/student-crossword-remembering-sept-11-2001/

Definitely for students.
posted by Mudah at 9:36 AM on September 9, 2011


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