Ray "Scotch" Coulton
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rayscotchcoulton.bsky.social
Ray "Scotch" Coulton
@rayscotchcoulton.bsky.social
Subject of an Emmy-nom'd doc re: anagrams. tinyurl.com/arsmagna-doc

Wordplay maker for Minute Cryptic & The Comet. Into all manner of geeky ephemera.
He/him. Opinions are most definitely my own.

Puzzles: https://crosshare.org/rayscotchcoulton
Reposted by Ray "Scotch" Coulton
had to steal from tumblr bc YES #pluribus
November 29, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Reposted by Ray "Scotch" Coulton
Here is why I like Carol Sturka in Pluribus even though she is an annoying character 😂 She is not willing to just accept this forced situation, no matter how insurmountable it may seem to change things. She is resisting what she believes is a wrong, even if she needs to do it alone.

#Pluribus
November 28, 2025 at 1:26 PM
It's not, nor should it be. Not with Netflix intentionally asking for shows folks can second-screen while scrolling on their phones. Vince dares folks to sit in the quiet, pay attention to the details, and live in all of Carol's moments. Good for him, and Rhea Seehorn, and this show.
November 28, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Today (11/28) brings a 2nd helping of my cryptic clue madness at minutecryptic.com! The clue appears to have something to do with the attached image... but the solution is leagues away from it (hehe). Enjoy, and check out the explanation video in the comments.
November 28, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Cory's Cryptic Clues - 28-Nov-25

Record primary limits of gravity (3)

• Answer tomorrow
• Solving tips: tinyurl.com/cryptic-clue

Yesterday's answer:
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA
(anag. of GAL HELD DOZEN FEET = "Game")
How to Solve Cryptic Clues
*** FIRST: WHAT’S A CRYPTIC CROSSWORD? ***Unlike standard US crosswords, UK-based cryptic crosswords focus almost entirely on solving the tricky wordplay of each odd-sounding (or cryptic) clu…
tinyurl.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Reposted by Ray "Scotch" Coulton
When you're such a disaster lesbian that the hive mind has to distance itself from you
#Pluribus
November 28, 2025 at 7:35 AM
Reposted by Ray "Scotch" Coulton
What a shot. #Pluribus
November 28, 2025 at 6:52 AM
PSA: the hive mind and/or the virus that caused it are, at least not yet, called "the Pluribus." Thank you.
November 28, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Reposted by Ray "Scotch" Coulton
Watched Pluribus “Got Milk” again. It’s a work of art. Every shot just right. The title card makes a bit more sense. Rhea Seehorn looks like Joanne Woodward.
November 28, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Reposted by Ray "Scotch" Coulton
I am feeling great and down 58 lbs (so far) from avoiding carbs and sugar. Stayed compliant through dinner and still had a great meal.

But I’m now looking at a slice of pecan pie and echoing the words of Carol Sturka on Pluribus: “I’m gonna Sid Vicious this shit like it’s Chelsea fucking Hotel.”
November 28, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Reposted by Ray "Scotch" Coulton
went on record for the first three episodes that pluribus was fun but just ok going on record after episodes four and five saying that at this point its genuinely good
November 27, 2025 at 9:20 PM
hehe
What I have learned from reading discussion about Pluribus is that people are really fucking bad at understanding character-driven writing.
November 27, 2025 at 9:37 PM
I set the clue for today's (11/27) Minute Cryptic! Won't hint at the answer, of course, but the clue's surface involves, well, the images below. Enjoy! minutecryptic.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Cory's Cryptic Clues - 27-Nov-25

Game gal held dozen feet out (3,6,2,5)

• Answer tomorrow
• Solving tips: tinyurl.com/cryptic-clue

Yesterday's answer:
NICKI MINAJ
(hidden in "maN ICK I'M IN A Jam" = "rapper")
How to Solve Cryptic Clues
*** FIRST: WHAT’S A CRYPTIC CROSSWORD? ***Unlike standard US crosswords, UK-based cryptic crosswords focus almost entirely on solving the tricky wordplay of each odd-sounding (or cryptic) clu…
tinyurl.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Saw this on FB and I strongly suspect there's an overlap between guys who rooted for *these* characters but *hate* Carol in Pluribus, calling her "the worst," which is quite telling, no?
November 27, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Ooooooh I like this
Okay, my #Pluribus #fantheory is that in this season Carol & a few others will do something to disrupt the hive mind and it ends up separating humanity into 2 hive minds and next season is Pluribus Cold War
November 27, 2025 at 5:07 AM
Reposted by Ray "Scotch" Coulton
Again, my love of Rhea Seehorn knows no ends… but I haven’t related more the lead protagonist in a TV show in a long time #Pluribus
November 27, 2025 at 4:00 AM
I feel many takes I've seen on Pluribus seem to be made by folks second-screening the show? (spoilers for E5)... like not understanding why Carol was so mad about wolves digging in her backyard (?) or really even why she's still so resistant of the joined? This has all been laid out plainly, people
November 27, 2025 at 4:28 AM
Reposted by Ray "Scotch" Coulton
I am really enjoying #pluribus it’s slow and deliberate but manages to keep you interested. It’s an interesting examination of what if storytelling plus good sci-fi.
November 27, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Spoilery dive into Episode 5 of Pluribus--and a defense of why an unintentionally "unlikeable" character like Carol is that way because it's perhaps the key to defeating the joined: youtu.be/FXCv8R5S_l0
Pluribus Episode 5 Ending Explained : What This Actually Means
YouTube video by Film Paradise
youtu.be
November 27, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Reposted by Ray "Scotch" Coulton
#Pluribus Got Milk episode

,,,
November 27, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Cory's Cryptic Clues - 26-Nov-25

"Man … Ick! I'm in a jam!" maintained rapper (5,5)

• Answer tomorrow
• Solving tips: tinyurl.com/cryptic-clue

Yesterday's answer:
HELICOPTER
(anag. of HOTEL PRICE = "Chopper")
How to Solve Cryptic Clues
*** FIRST: WHAT’S A CRYPTIC CROSSWORD? ***Unlike standard US crosswords, UK-based cryptic crosswords focus almost entirely on solving the tricky wordplay of each odd-sounding (or cryptic) clu…
tinyurl.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Great write-up on Pluribus E5's use of silence, and why that's a good thing. (Also, there are more than a few excellent shots throughout, both panoramic and intimate) decider.com/2025/11/25/p...
'Pluribus' Episode 5 Recap: The Dairy Company
This episode is powered by moments where the images do the talking.
decider.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Well, I got my answer in Pluribus E5 re: the end of E4 (spoilers)...

Did all of the joined everywhere start crying and/or chanting "Please, Carol"? And when that phone ranging at the start of E5, I just *knew* it'd be Laxshmi. That said...
November 26, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Next week's (faraway) Pluribus E6 is mysteriously titled "HDP." A Wikipedia search for HDP yields 3 interesting entries:

- Hierarchical decision process
- Hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate (a modified food starch)
- Halkların Demokratik Partisi, a Turkish ("¿ES TURCA?") political party. Hmmm...
November 26, 2025 at 5:34 AM