Crossword

I’ve been enjoying doing crossword puzzles recently. See, I’m working on establishing a new morning routine. I’ve been getting up earlier and heading to my local coffee shop. They recognize me there now. I buy the newspaper at the deli across the street and approach the counter with it folded and tucked under my arm. I ask for an ice coffee; I sit down in the window, read through the paper and do the crossword puzzle.

At least on Monday.

Sometimes Tuesday.

After that, I’m pretty lost. And instead of being a grounding and fulfilling experience, it becomes incredibly frustrating. It’s almost embarrassing to have only a few answers scribbled on a crossword—so I don’t even attempt it after Wednesday. I still try to get to the coffee shop in the morning and read through the paper. But after one late night, midweek, my morning logic doesn’t seem to allow me to skip out on even a moment of possible sleep. My leisurely coffee and occasional croissant gets cut from the routine and I head straight to work.

Those days, I get my news online. By checking a variety of sites a few times a day, I’m able to stay up on what’s going on in the world. But I’ve been finding that a lot less fulfilling. I wonder what will come of the newspaper and publishing business. (I obviously have a vested interest.) And I am troubled that it may disappear completely.

At NYU, we took a class where we shot and edited on film. We loaded the camera in a changing bag, dropped it off at the lab and spliced it together using tiny pieces of tape. In the editing room, if I hadn’t shot it, it wasn’t there and there was something amazing about being able to hold my work in my hands. Now I edit on a computer, with hard drives and wires. Many things never even get burned to DVD and watched on a television. They are shot on digital cameras, imported into Final Cut Pro and uploaded to the internet. Many times, there is nothing but a link to show for my work. Forget about being able to hold it in my hand.

There are rumors of an Apple tablet swirl. And I already see many people reading with Kindles on the subway. Will newspapers and books go the way of the CDs and letters—replaced by iTunes and email? Will everything be downloaded and uploaded wirelessly? Will we soon live in a world where everything is read on a screen and nothing besides your tiny personal computer device is ever touched?

I got up early and finished yesterday’s puzzle, with the margins full of notes. I really worked on it, ground it out. Slightly embarrassing, since its the easiest one of the week. But I’m halfway through today’s with confidence building. I’ve been finishing more and more, and part of what I love is that I can look back over the puzzle and see my own progress. The mistakes, the breakthroughs, there is evidence of it all.

I can crumple the newspaper up, and stuff it in my pocket. And no computer malfunction or crash ever take it from me.

- Zac Stuart-Pontier