http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Sun, 25 Jun 2006 15:59:08 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/06/25/155908.php chloelikedoliviaWordplay is mostly exactly what you would expect from a documentary about crossword puzzles and the people who love them. The film begins by introducing us to a number of solvers, including Will Shortz, the editor of the New York Times crossword (and the film&#39;s main character, as much as it can be said to have one), the highest ranked amateur crossword puzzle solvers (based on their history at the Annual Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Stamford, Connecticut), and a number of celebrity solvers, like Jon Stewart, Bill Clinton and the Indigo Girls. As we get to know these solvers, the film moves toward its climax, the final round (a three-man showdown) of the 28th crossword tournament. The film mostly works; the tournament is exciting. Even as all the solvers continue to insist that the tournament is just for fun, it&#39;s clear that there&#39;s something bigger at stake for all of them. However, this is where the film falls short. As we&#39;re introduced to each of the tournament solvers, the film obviously regards their earnestness with the slightest level of contempt. Rather than examine why these solvers are so rabid and what it is that drives them to compete at these levels, we&#39;re treated to their most awkward moments; it&#39;s funny and mostly good-natured, but not without derision. A documentary about crossword puzzle solvers is probably going to draw an audience of crossword puzzle solvers and had Patrick Creadon, the filmmaker, shown a little more respect to both of those groups of people, the film may have been able to transcend from a cutesy niche documentary to something bigger than the subject matter.<div id="authorbio">Amanda Wallwin is a writer and long-time blogger. Her new site can be found at http://chloeandolivia.blogspot.com/. </div> Video49667@blogcritics.org Sun, 25 Jun 2006 15:59:08 EDT