Puzzle 3 - Themeless #2

Not a lot of time this week to yammer on about old movies...the almost-one-year-old has been hitting some sleep regression. So instead of constructing for a bit after the munchkins go down, I just collapse on the bed and hit the hay.

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A few thoughts (minor hints/spoilers ahead):

- Very stoked to put 31-Across in the puzzle! Might be a debut, though crosswordtracker doesn't track many indie puzzles so I'm not entirely sure.
- The study in 14-Across's clue is a nice quick entertaining read too.
- Not a huge country music fan, but grew up on Shania Twain and am pretty sure I have every song on "Come On Over" memorized.
- When this puzzle goes live, my family and I will probably all be tailgating (although in a different sense than 35-Across) before the UW-USC football game. We try to make if back to Seattle for one game a year and this one's it. Lets go Huskies!

Have fun! See you in October!

Puzzle 2 - Raising Hell

Welcome back! First things first, big shoutout to Will Nediger for two things: a) pointing me toward PuzzleMe, who I'm working with to get an in-post crossword app, and b) linking here from his own blog. Looks like a lot of folks found there way here from over there. Thanks a bunch Will!

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This one's about 2/5 in difficulty. It needs a title to work, which is unfortunate, because some half of the mainstream puzzle outlets don't run titles on their daily puzzles (and some don't do 16x grids, or circles, etc.). But, that means it's here, now, and you can do it!

We've been watching a ton of Space Jam lately. Henry (our 3 year old) found it in some old DVDs while cleaning a few months ago...and requests it all the time. IMO it's still hilarious and worth a rewatch (or 20).

• I love the clip above. Still makes me smile. Any golf course and/or Larry Bird & Bill Murray scenes are the best.
• I also love when the NBA owners just decide to cancel games solely out of concern for the safety of the players. Basically a lockout and not a strike. Seems a bit...ah...altruistic for a bunch of billionaires to give up $$$ like that while getting nothing in return.
• At the beginning, when the catcher tells Michael not to swing at the next pitch (a curveball), but he swings and misses anyways, the pitch shown isn't a curveball. Maybe a 2-seam or a circle change, but it breaks the wrong way to be a curveball. Now it can bug you too when you watch it. You're welcome!
• Daffy's a weirdo. I don't think I realized how strange he was watching Looney Tunes as a kid.
• Also, Looney Tunes are not even on the radar of kids anymore, and it makes me feel old.
• I'm more excited about Space Jam 2 than a reasonable adult should be.
• The little aliens are called Nerdlucks! NERDLUCKS (9)!

NERDLUCKS (9), probably not coming to a crossword near you

One last thing (super-tiny puzzle spoiler ahead), I thought about using circles but figured that people who are seeking out indie crossword puzzles will be able to figure this one out just fine. If not let me know.

Come back for another themeless on the 28th!

Puzzle 1 - Themeless #1

Welcome!

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Hello! I'll start things off with a themeless that I quite like (full disclosure I like all my puzzles). It's got a pretty layout, which is something that isn't all that important in the grand scheme of things, but does add a little extra flair imo. I'll say it's about...4/5 for difficulty. Have fun!

Schedule wise, I can't swing one puzzle a week, but every other week feels sparse. So for now I'm going to do 3 a month - one on the 8th, 18th, and 28th of each month (I like the number 8). Subject to change of course, and my personal goal is to do this for a year and see where it's at then. They will probably be mostly themeless puzzles, because there's a zillion places to sell themed puzzles but hardly any themeless.

A little bit about me, Wheel-of-Fortune style: I live in Spokane, WA with my lovely wife and 2 young boys (one just turned 3, other is 10 months). We have a little fixer-upper Victorian that we did a lot more fixer-upping on before the kids arrived. I do data analysis for a healthcare company. I like kids movies, peaty scotch, pretty much every sport, and anything to do with the University of Washington (go Dawgs!).

There are a couple things I don't know how to do but want to. First is to embed a solveable puzzle in the post. I've tried and can't figure it out. Second is to make the PDFs look a little nicer and not like I just hit "export to PDF" from Crossword Compiler. If you know how to do either of these please let me know!

Thanks for swinging by and I hope you come back on the 18th! Say hi in the comments!