Press day

Today I got over to Plaza Hollywood at 10:45 as requested only to....you guessed it.  Wait!  This is getting to be a theme.  Oh well.  It's still good.  I got a run down on the order of events and then we sat around talking a bit and more waiting for things to begin.

Without warning the guy on stage started talking a mile a minute!  The show had started.  First up.  Kim.  He was talking about his mosaics.  And then he showed some local celebrity how to solve a cube.  She then am up and talked for 5 minutes or so about how if she learned to solve the cube her baby would be smart...Can you all imagine what I'm thinking here?  It's not pretty I'll tell you.  I've never had time for airheads, and to add celebrity status and giggles to it....Bah!  She doesn't even deserve a snap from me.  Although, I'm sure it wasn't her fault, she's there for the publicity as are the organizers.  But really?  What is the point of that?  It was very oddly done.  The organizers wanted press coverage for the event and what they got was a local who stole the show.  Once she left the stage, the media did too.  Only the organizers photographer stuck around.  The rest followed the pregnant star.  When I asked who she was, no one seemed to know.  We must not be star struck enough.

Michael and I were up next and we chatted a bit about our puzzles, not long at all.  We were then followed by someone from what I think was social services talking about how kids problems can be solved by puzzling.  A math teacher from a local secondary school came up next and he had one of his students along.

A bunch of the local puzzlers came on stage and puzzled away. 

 The whole event was followed by a grand finale with one of the guys solving with his feet!  

Fun ha?

The puzzles will be on display until 7 October and the competition is from 5-7 October.  

Box with a tree

Today's puzzle is not mine, but I had the opportunity to play with it for a while and since it got one of those big toothed grins from me when I solved it, I thought I'd let you read about my pleasure with this one.  My friend Otis brought this one down from Beijing with him and at lunch today, we had a puzzle play date.

Last year Otis came over to my office and he opened up the Little Tree within a matter of seconds.  I have to say, I was disappointed when he did it.  I wanted to solve the puzzle, but I also was saddened by how simple it was.  But he enjoyed it and as long as someone did, that's all that matters.  No, I'm not being 100% truthful.  I too enjoyed the puzzle, just not as I wanted to.  I mean, it's not fair when someone else solves your puzzle before you is it?

Ok, this back story has a purpose.  Otis enjoyed that puzzle and others from the Karakuri group so much that he had to go get some of his own, and Box with a tree was one of them.  I was glad he did,because I had the opportunity to play with it.  I watched Otis open the puzzle, and was surprised by how simple it looked.  At the exhibition/competition venue I gave it a miss.  Later when we were sitting down to lunch, I went ahead and gave it a go.  Not so easy.  I fiddled and fiddled and got no where, then suddenly out of the blue the puzzle opened.  Ha!  I knew what I did.  So I shut it up again and blast!  I couldn't replicate my moves.  The box was locked tight.  We played some more, we talked some more, we ate some more.  And all the while I tried to get that box open.   Otis to the rescue.  He gave me a few hints.  Very slowly. (I guess he thought I was being thick!)  And bam!  Opened again.  Wow!  What a tickle that was.  Back to the big toothy grin!  It's a great little puzzle, and I'm glad I had the chance to play with it.  Thanks Otis!

Warning: opened box below, proceed at your own risk. (But it really won't help you much-all the puzzle mechanism bits are very securely hidden beneath the box in the box.)

A bit of press

Along with those exhibitions comes a bit of press.  I've taken photos of it.  Michael has sent me more photos. I'm getting as much of it together as I can find.  I know I missed a few bits and pieces, but I thought I'd post what I've collected so far.  The photos at the top are added to the display cases for each of us displaying our toys.

Sunday we have another press release thing for the opening of the exhibition and for the competition so I'm sure there will be some after that as well.  In the mean time, here you go:

Now don't ask me what any of that means because 

I can't read it.  Chinese just isn't my language.  

These come out of local papers and a few local magazines as well.  There was also a nice little video coming out of a local paper that has an online edition.

A translation of that article is available here.