Today I received an envelope. This was what was inside:
I can only assume it has something to do with this post. So far, the contents don't seem to be affecting me in any way, adversely or otherwise. My dog is very drowsy, but I drugged him earlier.
Here's mine!
Upside down to read the words: It look like a page of ads. I found one of the ads here: link
Title Engineering and Mining Journal, Volume 36 Contributor American Institute of Mining Engineers Publisher Western & Company, 1883 Original from University of Minnesota Digitized Dec 13, 2013
So basically... _refugee_ wants us to go mining (gold?) in Nunavut while we listen to Beethoven and gift wrap it for her as a group Valentines gift. Everyone seems to be paired off so far by type of paper, minus humanodon (sorry man). One of us will be the black sheep if that holds. Don't know if that's significant.
As much as I get the fun behind Sherlock Holmes-ing all the letters into uncovering a secret plot, I'm more than happy to just wait for the letters in Valentine to unravel one by one in cool individual designs. Why make a mystery out of it, just enjoy it all coming in, and this place coming together. _refugee_ you're like the love Santa Claus.
There are one or two secret "easter eggs" sort of turns to this. One won't be clear until all the letters are assembled. If lil can't take a picture of her letter it might be helpful to know what the paper it is printed on looks like. The other one is individual. Unfortunately I couldn't do it with all individuals but I tried. Just think about your letter.
As you can see from the picture of the one I was sent, it looks like the "E" (if it is an E) is cut from an image of a handwritten score. It might be for piano, or another keyboard instrument, as the notes at the "bottom" of the E look like a right-hand and left-hand part respectively. Of course, it might not be and without the clefs, we can't even be sure what notes they are. I held the letter up to the light to see if anything was written on the piece of index card it's glued to, but there doesn't appear to be. The glue is sticky enough and paper thin enough, that I'm unsure if I can separate the two pieces without destroying them. On yours, I saw the words "Brevier Type" which seems to be an outmoded type size, similar to 8pt. font. Source. Then we've got that table, which reads "Time" and then what seems to be prices? Anything else you notice about yours?
That could be our second N for Valentine. There doesn't seem to be anything to decipher on this :/ Regarding white's idea of antiquity playing some role, I wonder if the material of the letter is just paper or maybe some old wrapping paper/wallpaper or something?
Here's what I got.
I don't know if I'm looking in too much but I could get details on the location this is cut out from, but analyzing each one like that would mean figuring out what piece/composer the manuscript is. By the way, staffs on the notes look almost distinctly Beethoven. So far we have a V, E, and N. Has anybody seen veen?
I am so on this one! I'll edit this post as I learn more First - I tried to make the names more readable in Photoshop. Can you post every name that you can read? What I have deduced so far: - topleft: probably says Ocean so that means that there's an ocean to the north of the location - the swirly line through the middle then must be the shore - the dashed line through the middle clearly reads Arctic on the left and probably reads Northern and Indians on the right. My guess is that this map is around the Arctic Circle in North America, so I'm guesing Canada. - below that we can see three letters, probably saying North. I think that combining this with the one it might be possible that it's supposed to say Northwest Territories as it is one of the few places that has the Arctic Ocean to the north of itself. That, or Nunavut? It fits with the relative lack of detail the map seems to have, since it was then relatively uncharted terrain.
- bottom left is really hard to read, but what stands out is P. Williams and Cooks. I'm guessing those are respectively rivers and towns, as often rivers are slanted whilst places are not. The style of the map seems similar to this one, so it's probably around the 1900s. edit2: I found this website with historical maps of Canada, going through them now. edit3: nah useless site edit4: I'm probably overthinking this, but hey, it's fun! My guess is that the letters are composed of famous pieces of work (like Beethoven) and that the letters spell out Valentine. Now to find out what famous maps of what I presume is Canada there are... edit5: found this really cool Wiki Commons page on old Canadian maps. edit6: found a list of Canadian cartographers edit7: neither links led to any progression, so I'm gonna stop searching until I have more location names
badged for research into historical maps of Canada So far just Veen and me got the bits of historical map of Canada letters "N" and "L" -- Also, we might be the only two who normally live in the not-USA. and I might be the only one who normally lives in Canada Also veen is probably headed to Calgary next year to study urban planning Also Veen's "N" could stand for Netherlands Also it's been really cold all over, hence the puzzle pieces of the far north, Baffin Island and the Arctic circle.
Thanks! Quite fun to research this, I always enjoy a good puzzle. But don't forget that it's nowaypablo's letter and not mine. I just took the chance to find the ostensibly obscure map that ref has used. Also, in good news, I received confirmation yesterday that I got through the selection process and that I will go to Calgary this fall. Very excited for that! Any lines or shapes you can work out from your letter that might help deduce where it is?
hmmmm, you mean noway's letter was an "N"? (humanodon) Enrico's letter was an "E"
lil's letter was an "L"
codingvagrant's "V" could be for vagrant I wonder whether fishontheplate's name starts with "A" or if "A" is just for the a in plate
Yossarian's "N" ?? Here's my hypothesis: V Vagrant) A (fishonaplate's actual first name) L (Lil) E (Enrico) N (YossariaN) T (Taylor - Insomniasexx) I (whIte?) N (Noway) E (Æsthetikx?)
Awesome. At the very bottom below P. Williams I see "M92" (maybe W92?) just to the left of the longitude line, for whatever that's worth.
Yes, 92nd meridian west! Aka Nunavut. So it must be where the Arctic Circle crosses the meridian, which is here. I think that the piece of shore topleft on the N sorta matches the Queen Maud huge-ass green bird area. edit1: Turns out that Nunavut has only been called that way since 1991, before it was a part of the Northwest Territories. So it probably still is Northwest Territories that the capital letters denote. edit2: I think we have a match! cue dramatic CSI scene confronting the suspect. The shorelines match roughly, the Arctic cicle neatly defines the border of the bird area and the bit of water in the bottom right matches too. This is fun!
I think we're all a little hesitant to crack jokes for fear of being reddit.
Yes i do lol i'll edit that i was thinking beethoven
humanodon aesthetikx codingvagrant lil insomniasexx Yossarian white fishontheplate and nowaypablo I was wondering if everyone would be OK with me making the big reveal tonight, presumably a few hours after the post would have arrived in everyone's place. in case aethetikx or white hasn't received theirs - but also keeping in mind that I have not heard from them for a while. That way we can wrap this up if you don't mind.
We are waiting for: aesthetikx white and insomniasexx to report in. Have you guys received anything? At the conclusion I'll comment and call out to you guys and let you know if you figured out all aspects or what.
So my letter arrived. It is also part of a map of the Canadian north and seems to be from the same map as nowaypablo then glued onto lightweight cardboard. On this item are the letters BAFF - which is probably "Baffin Island." At the moment, I am also BAFFled. Is it an "L" or a "T" with the left cross lopped off? Is it a lower case "r" with a hammerhead? Is it a "J" with an elongated hammerhead snout? If it is an L, what could it stand for? Obviously lil. But _refugee_ said we have to work together. If I can figure out how to photograph and post my letter, you'll hear from me. Thanks for the wonderful stickerz - were these part of the stickers made by the mad genius known as wasoxygen?
All the pieces so far seem to be sourced from some pretty aged stuff. The V mentions mining and terminology/prices in the text seem to date to late 1800s according to google. If all of our letters are supposed to form a single word I'm going to go with "adventure" or "invention". Assuming the rest of us get letters... Eagerly awaiting my envelope :)
Sun was going down when the last letter arrived. Knew it was coming. Heard the snick of the post box flap. Crunch of the post boy chasing his shadow up the gravel path. All the bills had come earlier in the week. No-one sends me nothing else any more, anyway. Sat on the mat like a dead bird, that envelope. Didn't want to touch it but I knew I would. Didn't straight away, though. Turned my back on it, headed into the kitchen, took a beer. Drank it looking out across the yard at the silhouettes of the pines. Rain had started up again. Slicked down the dust and the odour of fresh earth rose up at me. Finished the beer, listened to the patter of the raindrops, watched the sky fade. Couldn't put it off any longer. Sat at the old desk in the corner. Envelope was in a pool of warm, yellow light. Bought that lamp second hand from a library. And the letter opener. Silver. Looked like a dagger. Thought it made me classy. Used it to open all the other envelopes. Thought it would be respectful. Slit the top of the envelope and eased it open. Used the opener to draw the letter out. Left it there, in the middle of the soft glow of the lamplight. I didn't need the last letter to know what to do. Since the first had arrived, they had begun their work on me. I was caught up in the mystery. A puzzle to solve. Tried comparing the scripts on some of them. Tried translating the fragments of dead writing trapped within their shapes. Looked up map locations, sought out newspapers in local library records. When I had enough, I even tried to put them together like a jigsaw. All distraction. Like a magician teasing the eye with a flourish whilst the mechanics of the illusion are worked beyond the corner of the victim's eye, the trick is seducing the mark to look the wrong way. Then it was too late. Wormed their way into my mind, they had. Realised, just too late. Laid them out across the desk, in the end. They sat there. Couple of letters from the end. A sentence. Real short. Plain. An instruction. Bookshelf beside the desk. Filled with smart books. Can't read them any more. Letters are too small. Too many. And these letters don't want anything else inside my head. Sit huddled in there like strange birds in a nest, mouths open. Hungry. Second to last letter arrived. Put it in its place. Already guessed what the letters said but they made me wait for the last of them. Spent that time gathering the tools. Laid them out beside the desk. Sharp knife, length of rope, gloves, needles. So on. All that my improvisation. Many roads lead to the same place. There they sit, in the pool of light. They are my world, now. Dusk around the house. Inside the house. Won't be back. Tools are packed in the bag, now. My mind is the letters. Don't need to see them any more. They are me. One final thing, before I turn out the lamp forever. Collect a handful of envelopes.
I read your contribution while listening to the music. You weren't even sent an envelope by _refugee_ and still inserted yourself firmly into the riddle!!!! If my envelope (Oh envelope, where are you?) ever comes, I should forward it to you. Edit: Your comment? Your name - complexity? Coincidence? I don't think so.
That is insane. Oh my god. T must be the 'Tenuto' marking on the note you have circled.
For the record, I think this would be fun to do maybe over the summer. If I do repeat it I will make sure to be more elaborate. I had some other ideas too while I was working on this but I shan't talk about them in case. I'll put up another thread if/when I decide to do it. I might take a little more time though. I rushed this a little bit. I was glad I could spread Hubski love using the stickers. I had gotten quite a lot at the DC meet up and figured they would be nice if spread around.
I believe it is these guys: you aesthetikx codingvagrant me insomniasexx Yossarian white fishontheplate and nowaypablo I'll check my mail. Edit: Nothing in the mail today -- but weirdly, they deliver mail on Saturdays here. Up in Canada, they are discontinuing door-to-door mail delivery. Here they have it six days a week. My guess based on the clues so far: 1. Valentines Day 2. The letters V and E are in a nine-letter word starting with V. 3. Nine people are playing so perhaps there will be seven more letters. To be continued.
If someone wants to pm me a method of taking snapshots using skype and saving them somewhere with a png or gif or jpeg... let me know. I don't know how to do that. Edit: Saturday mail delivery - who else gets mail on Saturday?
I just started watching House of Cards and all this drama is making me giddy.