Puzzles, posts, news and general word-chat.

Diabolically Arcane

Bingo. You’ve reached David Astle dot com, a carnival of words, puzzles and more words. Welcome aboard, and have fun.

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New Kids on the Blog [Aug 22-27]

22 August, 2011

For so long generous with their puzzle trove, The Guardian has gone one extra step with a lively crossword blog. Curated by Alan Connor, the forums seems alive with wit and insight. There also seems scope for other word and puzzle tangents too. In many ways a steroid version of DA Central, the site looks well worth a browse.

Speaking of browsing, if Coles Funny Picture Book means anything to you, then take a listen to last week’s Hindsight doco about the rainbow king called Edward Cole. Yes, I do crop up along the way, harking back to days of flannelette jammies, just as Michael Leunig recalls the feral newness of these naughty pastiches. But in terms of pioneer puzzling, Mr Cole leads the local charge.

And lastly, when your not cracking the latest Times, and sharing your woes and yays in the forum here, then Melburnians feel free to wander into the Toff on Friday, or the BMW Edge at Fed Square to catch your web host in the real-live act of hosting two literary events at Melbourne Writers Fest. Both are pay events, which means I’ll make it worth your while, by dint of the Trade Practices Act.

Enjoy your solving, surfing and week.

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Rewording The Brain

Focus & memory, lateral leaps & logic - every aspect of cognitive health is lit in Rewording The Brain, a book revelling in how puzzles boost your brain. Part 2 equips your brain to conquer any twisty clue, plus the wild crossword finale. Pop science meets neural gameplay, Rewording is rewarding, and out now.

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Rewording The Brain

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Gargantuan Book of Words

Sneeze words. Fake pasta. Viking slang. Gargantuan is a jumbo jumble of puzzles & games, mazes & quizzes, tailor-made for that wordy wonderkid in your life. Or anyone in love with letters, secret codes, puns, rhymes, emoji & all things languagey. More here 

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Recent Comments

Riddledom Rave

If you missed my riddle chat with Richard Fidler, then feel free to slurp the podcast at http://ab.co/1I9t1x5

Text-speak is creeping into Scrabble. Where do you sit?
OBVS I'm fine with it
Entrenched stuff - like LOL and OMG - but no more.
Words With Friends, maybe. Scrabble, no
Let the 'real' dictionaries decide first
Just the handy stuff, like FAQ and EUW
I mean, WTF?! No way
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