"This blog is positively addictive. Rex's take on this solitary entertainment we share, and everyone else's response to Rex have become my favorite way to start the day. I had a moment of withdrawal around yesterday's puzzle when I inexplicably lost my internet connection Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. Had to go to work without being able to resolve the problem. Aargh! As @dk says, work really is the curse of the puzzle class."
There were 53 comments on today's post. All were from hardcore puzzle enthusiasts. They commented on their own experience with the puzzle. They commented on Rex's experience with the puzzle. They commented about Rex's comments about his experience with the puzzle.[REVISED: picture added]
I think the comment I quoted really gets at the heart of the blog. All these people, these crossworders, are sitting alone somewhere far apart from each other and solving crosswords alone. And they love it. But they also love being able to share this experience. Rex's blog allows them to do this. To be alone and yet not.
I also love how the commenter refers to the blog as an "addiction." Clearly, the dailyness of the blog is very important to many people - more than just the author. Doing the puzzle and then reading a blog about doing the puzzle have become linked in ritual.
The process of doing and then reading someone else's opinion about doing in order to get satisfaction about an activity really got me thinking about some ideas we talked about in class - the idea that we are so inundated with other people's opinions and information that we no longer have to examine our own interests or opinions. While I do enjoy the blog, it does seem a little strange to me that people's enjoyment of something has become so completely linked to seeing how much someone else enjoyed it. I'm not sure if it's bad, just strange.
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