Last month, I'd posted a 'photo-op' of myself with Will Shortz - world renowned enigmatologist, crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times, Puzzle Master on NPR News' "Weekend Edition: Sunday", former editor of GAMES Magazine (and current editor of a variety of books on such puzzles as sudoku and kenken), and (more recently) cameo actor on such TV shows as "The Simpsons" and "How I Met Your Mother" - as we had reunited for the first time since 1993 (when I'd last attended a convention of the National Puzzlers' League, held in New York City that year).

I'd even reported on said reunion in a recent two-part journal:
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2240788
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2263822

As a follow-up to said reunion (and continuing my presentation for 'sweeps month'), this second 'photo-op' of me with Mr. Shortz was taken in the Crest Theater auditorium of Old School Square in Delray Beach, Florida, one month ago today. This came after the lecture he gave on the history of the crossword puzzle...

During said lecture, he invited the audience to play word puzzle games (that he usually plays with his contestants on "Weekend Edition: Sunday")...

For the purpose of this 'photo-op' presentation, I thought I'd offer a trio of Mr. Shortz' word puzzles from the past - all of them with an animal theme...

1. Take the name of a familiar American state, and rearrange its letters to spell out the name of an animal AND the place where said animal comes from.

2. Think of a pair of three-lettered animals, put them next to each other, read the whole thing backwards, and you'll have a familiar six-lettered football term. What are the animals and the term?

3. Take the eight-lettered name of a mammal, remove its second, third, and fourth letters, and the remaining letters (in sequence) will spell out the five-lettered name of another mammal. What are these two animals?

Here are the answers:

1. The state is CALIFORNIA, and the rearranged letters spell out both LION and AFRICA.

2. The pair of three-lettered animals are ELK and CAT. Put them next to each other, and read the whole thing backwards, and you'll have the football term TACKLE.

3. The eight-lettered mammal is MONGOOSE. Remove the second, third, and fourth letters, and the remaining letters (in order) spell out the five-lettered mammal MOOSE.

P.S. Here's the link to that first 'photo-op' from last month, with yours truly and Mr. Shortz (in case you'd missed it):
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5548503/