In The Height

We are currently living in some really bad times, artistically. (Apparently, we're actually living in good times, geopolitically. Who knew?) Popular music has been in a nosedive since the 70s, with only a few groups (U2, REM on a good day) producing brilliant stuff. Television is producing some of the worst shows ever; the reality TV craze just won't die. Broadway can't fill up its houses. And, well, I don't follow the visual art scene much, but we seem to have relatively few superstars around. But I'd like to take a few lines to recognize some of the genres that are at their peak.

Puzzles
Will Shortz is editing the New York Times crossword. 'Nuff said. But I'll say more. We shouldn't underestimate the value of having an editor with Shortz's enthusiasm and his commitment to the "puzzle" aspect of the crossword puzzle. We could so easily have an editor who prides himself only on hitting the right level of obscurity. But Shortz hits the perfect balance of wordplay and trivia, namely one heavily weighed toward the former. There's no great satisfaction in solving a trivia puzzle. There's smugness, but you never want to run off and share your favorite trivia clue. I often want to share some of my favorite puzzle clues: "X-ray for Rex, say" 8 letters. Guess in the comments.

And we have some super-clever puzzle writers that contribute. When the writers submit and Shortz edits, every puzzle is a work of art.

We're also living through a huge Sudoku craze, and a bunch of other puzzles are migrating from Japan (or from Canada, via Japan). The puzzle section is growing at Barnes & Noble, and I'm optimistic that people will slowly come around to the cryptic (best puzzle everrrr) and we'll see an American renaissance there. We're living in the Golden Age of Puzzling, and I couldn't be happier.

Television
I know I knocked it in the intro to this post, but in addition to the worst TV of all time, we're also getting some of the best TV of all time. I feel privileged to be able to watch new episodes of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" nearly every night (even if they do take a lot of vacation time). Two of the greatest and most likable comic personalities are churning out brilliant and timely original content almost instantaneously. Of course, they're helped by stellar, fast-working writers, graphic designers and techies. These guys are the closest thing we have to Johnny Carson or Ed Sullivan; they're much more endearing than Letterman or Leno (maybe not Conan, I'm not sure). I know someday I'll look at an evening comedy talk show that's popular with the younger generation and thing, "My God, this is total crap compared with Stewart and Colbert."

There are also some great dramas on the tube. I haven't watched "Lost" or "24," but I hear amazing things, and I do watch "Heroes," which is finely crafted—or at least leads you to believe it is...the ending could be vastly disappointing. I was also never a big "West Wing" person, but people think it's truly brilliant, and I buy it. They had some ridiculously politically qualified writers. If it was entertaining, and it appears to have been, it must have been awfully worthwhile.

Harry Fucking Potter
The genre could be "literature" or "children's fantasy," but why try to make this what it's not? Harry Potter is the best international craze to come along since...well, maybe ever. Maybe since the Beatles. I don't know. But how often do you get the entire world excited about reading? How often do you get us all excited about a story where we root for a good guy, and harmless fun is praised, and harmful actions are condemned, and violence is only used where it's needed. It's a great series from a creative and meticulous mind, and I can't think of anything I'd rather share with 10-year-olds in India and grandmothers in Australia. The world's largest book group meets this July to experience the final chapter of the novel. I'm thrilled to take part in the conversation.

That's all for now; I'm sure there's more. If you'd like to add something, throw it in the comments.