Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Just quickly before this week's episode kicks off, Flightless Bird has been nominated for a Webby Award. The Webbys are kind of a big deal for us, and we'd love you to vote. If you like our show and you have a moment, this is a really key way you can help us. Here's what you do.
Go to webbyawards.com, that's w-e-b-b-y awards dot com, click the go vote button, hit search and type in Flightless Bird, click on Flightless Bird when it turns up, and go and vote. Also, if you're on our Instagram at flightlessbirdpod, there's a link in our bio as well. Thanks for listening to this very self-involved monologue. On to the show.
Now, Rosabelle, I'm not calling you today because you right now are here in the United States. Because thanks to our Patreon members, we got to fly you to America for our live shows. So today's topic is pro-puzzling. It is about the scene of pro-puzzling, people that do puzzles very, very fast. Do you, have you ever puzzled pro or normal? And what do you think of puzzles?
And by pro puzzling, you're talking specifically about jigsaw puzzles.
Jigsaw puzzles specifically.
I have never pro-puzzled, but I know people who have. And I've seen the setup because you get sent the puzzle and then you have to put a camera above it and you are timed as you're doing it. But that's a remote version. So maybe is this in person like everyone else?
Yeah, we're talking to a competitor who attends mass events where everyone's in the room, pressured, doing it all at once.
I would love to have a go. I know I would be really bad, but my brain says I'd be really good.
I've never seen you do a puzzle.
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Chapter 2: How is jigsaw puzzling considered a competitive sport?
We're in each city doing a lot of things, building the show.
I also feel very pathetic saying that. We have musicians in here a lot. I have a lot of friends that are musicians that are on tour for months. Yeah. We were gone for like nine days.
We were gone for nine days. Three shows. Lots of days off. A blockbuster three shows. And yeah, I was... people are on tour for a hundred shows a year yeah six six shows a week yeah completely um but it was we had fun we had a lot and the mind-blowing thing is that we uh bought roosevelt over for two of the live shows yes thanks to patreon yeah so we we had reached our goal yeah
We reached it quickly as well, which was kind of mind-blowing. And Rosabelle had this week off, and so we flew her over to take part in the live shows. We recorded a bunch of stuff with her over on Patreon for Patreon members, kind of as a thank you for getting her here. And before, about two hours ago from sitting here, she was heading off to the airport to fly back to New Zealand.
We had a blast. It was weird how well the timing worked out. Yeah. We had hit that mark. We were like, well, maybe let's do some shows during spring break. Yeah. Maybe let's see if Roosevelt wants to go to Texas.
Yeah. And Roosevelt is a very busy human in New Zealand with all of her work and life. And so the fact she was like, yeah, I'm free. I'll come over. I was like, this is amazing. I got 12 days free. Yeah, but it was neat to have Rosabelle here in person. And the one thing I'll say, we recorded the shows and we'll release them on the feed at some point.
But having her walk out onto stage, the audience was, it was a real energy in the room and a joy. It was a jolt to the live shows that we don't normally have. It was really cool to see. So yeah, that was a blast.
How did you like having her around us? Was it, was it a weird, um, melding?
No, it was, it was like lives coming together because yeah, I mean, it's Rosabelle. I call her every two weeks for the show and we talk and, but we have this whole other life. And so having her, yeah, like having you meet her and her meet you. I mean, I was worried because I like to keep certain aspects of my life separate.
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Chapter 3: What insights does Karen Puzzles share about speed puzzling?
You were concerned that we would get along.
Yeah, that was the problem. Yeah, no, exactly.
Because I feel like we did meld pretty quickly and got on pretty quickly. no I noticed I noticed and which is wonderful but also dangerous for me like what are they talking about what are you sharing with her what is she sharing with you we learned things we did a there was one night you did a tickled screening and I was like oh well we'll take her to dinner while you're busy yes
That was worrying. Yeah. I mean, we got into things. Because that strength's involved as well. Not for me. Not for you. But yeah, people start blabbing. No, it was perfect. It was honestly, it was a lot of fun and she had fun.
It was interesting. You're a different person when she's around.
Okay, this is interesting to me. What did you notice? Good and bad. I don't mind. I'm curious about this.
I don't… Like, subtle sort of changes? Subtle… I mean, you were very attentive to her. But you're normally more mysterious, I think, intentionally. But I feel like when she was there, the dynamic was just different. We're like, oh, here's the real David that he's hiding. Oh, that's so, yeah. And now here it is.
No, that kind of tracks. Because I do have a thing and it's... partly to do with superstition and the way I conduct myself. I don't want to give too much away because I feel like things might fall over or not work. Like I like to keep things to myself. It takes me a long time also to be comfortable to talk about I don't know, more real or intense things.
I mean, I feel like we have a... I mean, we do. No, we do. No, we do. But it's like, Rosabelle goes back, we go back 20 years. And so you probably just see me defaulting into, and she knows all about me. So that just comes out much quicker.
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Chapter 4: What techniques do speed puzzlers use to improve their skills?
I think that's fair. And I'm glad you got to see it. I'm glad people at the live shows got to see a little bit of that. And yeah, I was sad when Rosabelle left. It's been so cool to have a buddy to hang with. And we have fun on the road. And it's cool seeing like Texas with all of us and our different perspectives.
Yeah, no, it was a lot of fun having her be part of it. And like, Yeah, see this team.
Yeah, and we all got on. Yeah. And I think the other thing I think was neat for her is that she, when she walked out onto stage and got that reception, she kind of, you know, sort of realized that, oh, like people like me for me and just these conversations I have, like nothing to do with my work or what I do. They just like me and my point of view.
And that was just a neat thing, I think, for her to have as well. Yeah. Thank you, Rosabelle, if you're listening. Rosabelle does listen to the show. Sometimes. Not all the time. Maybe every second or third episode.
We did get to go to the Magic Castle with her. We did. When we returned, which was a lot of fun. And we talk about it on a Patreon if you're not over there.
She had always wanted to go. She was deeply keen to see some close-up magic. deeply keen to get into some sort of mind tomfoolery.
Well, the other crazy thing is... Mentalism. Within 15 hours of our visit, the Magic Castle was on fire.
For the record, they had nothing to do with us.
Yeah, nothing to do at all. They're doing construction on the roof. They were blowtorching some of the roof.
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Chapter 5: How do competitions differ for individual and team puzzlers?
Had a blast. He was very knowledgeable.
just having someone to walk you through and tell you what each room is and what that photo is yeah because his dad was a member so it's been like passed down yeah multi-generational which is a trip hearing the history of what that place is like that's the coolest part of it I don't Magic's not exactly my thing.
I think none of us are hugely into it. I think Rosabow was super keen to see a mentalist, which we saw. But it's just the spectacle of it. And even the whole artifice of having to put on a suit. You have to look a certain way. And everyone is in it.
We did go to a diner after we dropped you guys off. And we were still in our attire. It's like you've been on a big date night. Yeah, we went to the prom. That's really cute. Wearing a suit, eating at a bar at Fred's 62.
It's really good. Before we get into pro-puzzling, some slight admin. We have been nominated for a Webby Award. Big honor. Which is awesome. The webis are a huge thing. And if we win it, it's just a great way to spread the show around. So some of it's judged. Some of it is public vote.
Yeah, there's like a people's choice version of it, which you can see the results. We're currently in second place.
We're in second place. We would love to be at number one.
We would love to be in first place. But it does require everyone listening to go vote.
Yeah. And it's a few steps involved, but it's pretty basic. And the show notes to this episode and the links on our Instagram will have a direct link. Yes. But otherwise, if you just want to do it right now, you go to webbyawards.com. That's W-E-B-B-Y awards.com. There's a big button that says go vote. Click the button. Hit search. Type in flightless bird. It pops up. Click on it.
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Chapter 6: What challenges do competitors face during jigsaw puzzle competitions?
I think you have to sign up with your email address. Slightly annoying. But it's got the Google integrations. If you've got a Gmail account, you can just log in through that.
But it's a huge help. If you're not on our Patreon, they're supporting there. A really good way to help us is to spread the word. And that is by... Sounds like a catchphrase. Like and subscribe or go and vote on something like the webbies because it just gets us out into the world. Yes. So thank you for listening to this PSA. And one more thing before we get into puzzles.
Can I talk about the suing situation?
Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I thought you were going to talk about how you're talking right now, though, too.
So unless Billy, who is editing this audio, has run some sort of filter and I just sound the same, I just got Invisalign. Day two. Day two? So you're still learning to talk. Still learning to talk again. I have these two bits of plastic in my mouth and I'm finding either I'm getting too much saliva or too little. I've got a bit of a lisp at times, which you're loving.
And just so you know, I didn't get my jaw broken. If you've listened to some previous episodes, I had the advice. I said, David, your face is a bit wonky. If you want good teeth and you want this bite to work, you need to break your jaw. You need to let us break your face. I said no. I said I'll get the Invisalign. I'll do that. I'm not breaking the jaw.
Heard from a lot of listeners who have had their jaw broken. Yeah, we talked to someone in Texas. Yeah, we did. Yeah, it sounded like not fun. Some, they were mixed. They were mixed. I think... We had multiple people that had their jaw broken come to our shows.
A listener did say that their boss had their... They were wired shut for like a year or something. Yeah, it's a long process. I don't know that that would be great for the show. No, I don't think... I think it was like six weeks of wired shut, but like a year... of dealing with looking crazy because your jaw is broken.
Yeah, and figuring out how to move your mouth properly again.
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Chapter 7: How has the jigsaw puzzle community evolved over recent years?
Which for a video podcast could...
It could be a fun thing to let people along the journey.
Yeah, I'm not thrilled about it, but it's happening. And I will keep you all updated about that thrilling journey. But if I sound a bit different, then that is why. And you're being sued. I'm being sued. First time since I've been here, since I got stuck here five years ago. Cut a long story short, deeply American thing.
When I'm not doing this podcast, I write a newsletter called Web Worm and it's sort of like more of my journalism side where I'm often sort of poking into people doing sort of odd things, internet wormholes. Poking people, you said? Poking people. Yeah, not physically, but just kind of going, there's something odd here, pulling on the string, finding out what happens.
About six years ago when I started Where Worm, I wrote a series about this New Zealand woman called Anna Wilding, who just had some pretty out there stories. A lot of what she said about herself wasn't true. She ended up coming to America where for a while she was in the press gallery in the Obama White House. which was fascinating.
She's currently running for Congress in LA, so I wrote a story about her recently. And this is a woman who stretches the truth in quite a devious way. Also very prone to threatening to sue over the years, but she's never sued me. So a couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece about her husband who is kind of adjacent to her story. And he has taken exception to that and filed a lawsuit.
It's a lawsuit that you didn't report on it correctly, or what's the... I don't know what he is... So I've learned about this lawsuit in a deeply American way.
I got a letter from a law firm, and they basically, obviously, look at cases that have been filed in the court. They look at the defendants, they find out their mailing address, and they send them a letter being like... So my letter was like, hi. David, we notice that you have been named as a defendant in a case that has been filed at this court. If this is you, reach out to us.
We would love to defend you. So I still haven't been served yet. That's the next step. But the thing that's sucky about this, like when I'm working on a story about someone, and this is a story about a somewhat... An unhinged New Zealander who's running for US Congress, which is a really valid, fascinating story. When people use lawsuits to try and shut down free speech, pretty annoying.
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Chapter 8: What are the future trends in competitive puzzling?
Have you been sued before?
No. Congratulations. I haven't and I hope to not be.
It's deeply annoying and it's very annoying when people use the law just to shut you up. Yeah. Pretty frustrating.
But yeah, I just wanted to mention it because... You need some ominous posts on Instagram looking for a lawyer. People are like, what's going on, David?
What's happening? So if you want to follow that particular story, it's over at www.webworm.co. That's my more sort of... a lot of journalism over there. A lot of weird rabbit holes. We're living in a weird time for free speech. The weirdest time. Yeah. I mean, we say this a lot. I mean, as we're about to do this episode about pro puzzling,
Trump, Iran, the craziness there is just in a whole other place. But yeah, every day is going a thousand miles an hour. It feels like the unhingedness is harder and harder to follow. You know, we were away for those 10 days on tour. The amount of crazy that happened in the country just while we were away on that couldn't keep up. All right, puzzling. Puzzling. Rob, are you a puzzling guy?
Do you do puzzles?
I like puzzles. I like puzzles a lot. I did a lot of puzzling as a child. As a form of relaxation or excitement? uh not excitement it wasn't like it's like a positive it's what is it it's like because i it is relaxing it is relaxing to like uh but my me and my grandma would do them a lot together when i was little like that was that's right that was our thing
Since I am more design, I've always been into art and drawing and things like that.
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