John McCain, RIP

Senator John McCain (1936-2018)

(Image: Official Photo)

Senator John McCain, a decent man, and (in spite of some detractors) a true war hero, died yesterday at his Arizona home. In his honor, we offer today two separate sets of Quipto® puzzles featuring McCain quotations.

(A) The first two puzzles (Quip-Find and Quip-Bild) feature something philosophical McCain said about what determines the quality of one’s life. (Difficulty: ★★★ out of 5.)

(NOTE: In the second diagram in this puzzle, there is one “wraparound” or “hidden adjacency”: Even though they do not appear to be adjacent, Y is adjacent to O, R is adjacent to I, and W is adjacent to P — in each case, on the hidden back side of the Quipto rack. For more on wraparounds, see “Guide to the Puzzles” – “Quip-Find Puzzles” – “‘Wraparounds'”, above.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now it is your turn to be the puzzlemaster and place the two parts of our first McCain quote on Quipto® diagrams. (Difficulty: (1) ★★★; (2)★★★★★.)

(NOTE: For printable Quipto diagrams, go to “Guide to the Puzzles” – “Quip-BildTM Puzzles” – Printable Diagrams”, above.)

 

(B) Our second set of Quipto® puzzles for today feature something more humorous that McCain said in response to President George H. W. Bush’s remarks on first meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2001. (Difficulty: ★★★★.)

 

 

 

Now it is your turn to place the two parts of our second McCain quote on Quipto® diagrams. (Difficulty: (1) ★★★; (2) ★.)

Copyright © 2018 James E. Rader

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Truman Capote: Last Words

Capote in 1959

Photo credit: Roger Higgins

The journalist and author Truman Capote, who pioneered the “non-fiction novel” with his book In Cold Blood, died at age 59 on this date in 1884. In Cold Blood told the story of the murders of the Clutter family in rural Kansas.

 Today’s Quip-Find puzzle features Capote’s last words. [Note: The fourth word in this quote is a proper name: Capote’s aunt’s nickname for him.] (Difficulty: ★ out of 5.)

Now it’s your turn to fit Truman Capote’s last words into a Quipto® diagram. [For printable diagrams, go to “Guide to the Puzzles” – “Quip-BildTMPuzzles” – “Printable Diagrams”.] (Difficulty: ★.)

Copyright © 2018 James E. Rader

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Aretha Franklin, RIP

Aretha Franklin performing in 1970

(Credit:  Photograph by Michael Ochs / Getty)

Aretha Franklin, “The Queen of Soul,” died this morning, Thursday, August 16, 2018, at the age of 76.

As David Remnick of The New Yorker has written today, “… Franklin combined matters of the spirit and matters of the body; the whole of her, it seemed, was in every bar [of her music]… Prayer, love, desire, joy, despair, rapture, feminism, Black Power—it is hard to think of a performer who provided a deeper, more profound reflection of her times.”

Check out Remnick’s tribute, “Aretha Franklin: A Legacy in Music,” at https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/aretha-franklin-a-postscript-in-music.

Another great American singer-songwriter and musician, in a TV interview before his death in 2004, was asked, “Who are the greatest living blues singers?” Today’s two-diagram Quip-Find puzzle features (1)-(2) that musician’s answer and (3) that musician’s name. (Difficulty: ★ to ★★ out of 5.)

[NOTE: This puzzle, in the first diagram, involves a “wraparound” or “hidden adjacency”; that is, even though they do not appear to be adjacent, K is adjacent to L, S is adjacent to T, and H is adjacent to G — on the hidden back side of the Quipto rack. (For more information about “wraparounds,” go to “Guide to the Puzzles” -“Quip-FindTM Puzzles” – “‘Wraparounds'”, above.)]

Now it is your turn: You become the puzzlemaster and fit each part of the answer to the above Quip-Find puzzle onto a Quipto® diagram. (Difficulty: (1) ★★★; (2) + (3): ★★.)

[For printable Quipto diagrams, go to “Guide to the Puzzles” – “Quip-BildTM Puzzles” – “Printable Diagrams”, above.]

Copyright © 2018 James E. Rader

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Summer Break

Your Quipto® puzzlemaster will be traveling for most of July. He’ll be back with new Quip-FindTM and Quip-BildTMpuzzles in a few weeks. Hope you’re having a great summer!

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Muhammad Ali: Approach to Life

Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

On June 28, 1971, four years after Ali’s conviction for violating the Selective Service law by refusing military service during the Vietnam War, the U. S. Supreme Court overturned that conviction by a unanimous 8-0 decision.

The Ali quote featured in today’s puzzles is his advice on how to live your life.

Find the hidden quote, spelled out as a continuous path between adjacent letters on the face of this 3x3x3 cubical rack. (Difficulty: ★★ out of 5.)

Now it’s your turn to create the Quip-Find puzzle: Try your hand at fitting the Ali quote (that is, the answer to the puzzle above) into a Quipto® diagram. (Difficulty: ★★★)

Copyright © 2018 James E. Rader

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George Carlin: Herd Mentality

George Carlin (1937-2008)

George Carlin was a stand-up comedian known for his black humor and his social commentary. He died of heart disease ten years ago today, on June 22, 2008.

Today’s two-diagram Quip-Find puzzle features something Carlin said about human nature. (Difficulty: ★★★ out of 5.)

(For suggestions on how to solve Quip-Find puzzles, click on “How to Solve Quip-FindTMPuzzles” in the drop-down menu under “Guide to the Puzzles” / “Quip-FindTMPuzzles” above. 

(Note that diagram (2) involves two “wraparounds” or hidden adjacencies; R is adjacent to A, V is adjacent to T, and U is adjacent to O, in each case on the hidden back side of the Quipto® rack. For information on wraparounds, see the page “Wraparounds” in the same drop-down menu under “Guide to the Puzzles” / “Quip-FindTMPuzzles” above.)

Now it’s your turn (having solved the puzzle above, or having peeked at the answer) to create the puzzle — to hide each part of the Carlin quote in a Quipto® diagram. (Difficulty: (1) ★; (2) ★★★★★.)

(For suggestions on how to solve Quip-Build puzzles, click on “How to Solve Quip-BildTMPuzzles” in the drop-down menu under “Guide to the Puzzles” / “Quip-BildTMPuzzles” above.)

Copyright © 2018 James E. Rader

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Edward Snowden: Liberty

Edward Snowden
(Image: Laura Poitras/Praxis Films)

Five years ago tomorrow, Edward Snowden, the computer professional who blew the whistle on practices of the National Security Agency, was charged by the U.S. government under the Espionage Act. He sought asylum in Russia.

Today’s puzzle features something that Snowden said during a panel discussion at the University of Arizona in March, 2016. He participated by video connection.  (Difficulty:★★★★ out of 5.)

(For suggestions on how to solve Quip-Find puzzles, click on “How to Solve Quip-FindTMPuzzles” in the drop-down menu under “Guide to the Puzzles” / “Quip-FindTMPuzzles” above. Note that this puzzle involves one “wraparound”; for information on wraparounds, see the page “Wraparounds” in the same drop-down menu.)

 

 

 

 

 

Now for a different kind of puzzle: It is your turn to see whether you can create the Quip-Find puzzle above, fitting the Snowden quote into a Quipto® diagram. (Difficulty:★★★★★.)

(For suggestions on how to solve Quip-Build puzzles, click on “How to Solve Quip-BildTMPuzzles” in the drop-down menu under “Guide to the Puzzles” / “Quip-BildTMPuzzles” above.)

Copyright © 2018 James E. Rader

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Robert F. Kennedy: The Appeal of Populism

Robert F. Kennedy in 1964

Robert F. Kennedy died 50 years ago today while he was running for President; he was gunned down by an assassin moments after the celebration of his victory in the California primary.

Today’s two-diagram Quip-Find puzzle features something Kennedy, as the U. S. Attorney General, said on May 6, 1964 while he was speaking to law students at the University of Pennsylvania. He was talking about the about the appeal of populist candidates — in particularly, Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, who was running for President at the time.  (Difficulty: ★★★.)

(For suggestions on how to solve this puzzle, click on “How to Solve Quip-FindTMPuzzles” in the drop-down menu under “Guide to the Puzzles” / “Quip-FindTMPuzzles” above.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now you try to create the puzzle above: After you know the two parts of the answer, try to hide each part in Quipto® diagram. (Difficulty: (1) ★★; (2) ★★★.)

(For suggestions on how to solve this puzzle, click on “How to Solve Quip-BildTMPuzzles” in the drop-down menu under “Guide to the Puzzles” / “Quip-BildTMPuzzles” above.)

Copyright © 2018 James E. Rader

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Joe Namath: Compensation

Joe Namath in 2009

Joe Namath was a football player during the 1960’s and 1970’s who spent most of his professional career as a quarterback playing for the New York Jets. In college he had played at the University of Alabama under the legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant who called Namath the most natural athlete he had ever coached.

“Broadway Joe” (as he was nicknamed) turns 75 years old tomorrow, on May 31. Happy Birthday, Joe!

Today’s Quip-Find puzzle features something Joe Namath said about playing his sport. (Difficulty:★★★ out of 5.)

(For suggestions on how to solve this puzzle, click on “How to Solve Quip-FindTMPuzzles” in the drop-down menu under “Guide to the Puzzles” / “Quip-FindTMPuzzles” above. Note that this puzzle involves one “wraparound”; for information on wraparounds, see the page “Wraparounds” in the same drop-down menu.)

Now, you try creating the puzzle: fitting the Namath quote into a Quipto® diagram. (Difficulty:★★★.)

(For suggestions on how to solve this puzzle, click on “How to Solve Quip-BildTMPuzzles” in the drop-down menu under “Guide to the Puzzles” / “Quip-BildTMPuzzles” above.)

Copyright © 2018 James E. Rader

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Tom T. Hall: Preferences

Tom T. Hall (born May 25, 1936)

(Photo Credit: BMI/tomthall.net)

Tom T. Hall is a country music songwriter, singer, and instrumentalist, and a novelist and short-story writer. To mark his 82nd birthday tomorrow, we offer  two puzzles featuring a lyric from one of his popular songs.

Find the hidden Tom T. Hall lyric in this two-diagram Quip-Find puzzle. (Difficulty: ★★★★.)

(For suggestions on how to solve this puzzle, click on “How to Solve Quip-FindTMPuzzles” in the drop-down menu under “Guide to the Puzzles” / “Quip-FindTMPuzzles” above.)

 

 

 

 

 

Now try your hand at creating the above puzzle: Hiding the two parts of the answer in two diagrams. (Difficulty: (1)★★★; (2)★★.)

(For suggestions on how to solve this puzzle, click on “How to Solve Quip-BildTMPuzzles” in the drop-down menu under “Guide to the Puzzles” / “Quip-BildTMPuzzles” above.)

Copyright © 2018 James E. Rader

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