Friday, November 20, 2009

The 14th Poster Roundup 207

So you want a poster of Ben ? Well Todd Slater delivered and some of us were lucky enough to purchase one.

First off A big thanks to Ryan Ozawa from the Transmission Podcast for being the first to go down and find the URL, we posted lots of pictures yesterday in the As It Happens post. Click on the image below to go to the excellent Transmission Podcast site.

But wait that wasn't all from yesterdays reveal, in case you missed it Clay went down to the Abe Lee Realty later in the day and took a couple of video's.



There is another video available on Clay's own blog called "Ben's Frozen Donkey Wheel", it covers the contents of the folder that was given away. Clay also managed to obtain another copy of the brochure and will offer it in a random selection process at some point.

Talking of the brochure, Justin posted in the comments that Gallery 1988 had updated their blog with the following :

"This is the 14th print, of an eventual set of 16, and was revealed at Abe Lee Realty in Honolulu, Hawaii. Followers of the campaign in Hawaii who went to Abe Lee Reality spotted a brochure in the office that didn't quite fit in. A limited edition Ajiri Airline Safety and Travel Brochure, created by graphic designer Adam Campbell, was available for free. And once they looked closely, the back of the business card stapled to the packet gave them the new website address."

Adam has created some Vintage style Dharma ads in the past and Adam's Official Site is hotmeteor.com

(I'm not sure if the misspelling of Ajira is another clue or not !)

Now that isn't all, to add to the mystery on the brochure was a business card for Donald F Presario - Tourism Package Coordinator.

There was also a barcode on the back of the brochure, ObFuSc8 has told us that these numbers are an ISBN code and they relate to this book :

207 comments:

1 – 200 of 207   Newer›   Newest»
ChrisL said...

1st?

Zort70 said...

Hi Chris

That airline type emergency procedures card stuff by Adam Campbell has been used in the UK before, (not sure about the US).

It was used by Sky1 as promotional material in various magazines and on screen.

Zort70 said...

What do you think of the Gallery 1988 misspelling of Ajira ?

Another clue or just a mistake ?

ChrisL said...

How often has anything been a mistake?!

I love the giveaway this time... I hadn't seen the emergency stuff before and that is my kind of thing. Beautiful AND funny!

ChrisL said...

If the spelling is a mistake I suspect it will be corrected when they wake up and read this! We'll know later today.

Still can't log in to DCaaPB to check my order status which is frustrating.

Congested said...

Wow, I was a huge fan of those vintage Dharma ads when I first saw them earlier this year. Very cool that they brought Adam into this and big props to whoever made the connection.

John LaHair said...

Morning All -

Again, THANKS to the fine folks in Hawaii that made the trek to Abe Lee Realty.

So calling the 424-555-2368 number on business card (if someone hadn't already done) gets me Sprint 411.

Anybody want to take a quick trip to 1001 Aviation Boulevard in LA? :)

ChrisL said...

Yes - someone please nip down to 1001 Aviation and feedback.

Ellen said...

email...;)
xxoo

Zort70 said...

Seems to be an office of the Xerox Corp if you look at Google Streetview.

John LaHair said...

Could be a cute play on address, but then again I suppose everything and anything as ChrisL alluded to could be or should be considered a potential clue.

Now about this Mr. Donald F Presario???

Martyn said...

Good Morning all!

Interesting day yesterday. Finally got to my villa and started looking for the nearest wifi spot. Cycled my ass off to get to the centre, went to lock my bike up and disaster struck. I needed the loo and it was 6:35. Tried concentrating but lost the plot all together but got it all back under control. Ran to the nearest bench which was outside a starbucks (my god has centre parcs sold out) and broke out the laptop. Lots of funny looks from passers by but ignored and typed in the web address my gf told me. Disappointed to say the least. He was too creepy, reminded me of the portrait of his mother tbh too. Was going to buy it but thought otherwise and went about Reading comments and saw a lot of pass, forgetting that people who want it won't be wasting time commenting. Would of bought It just to trade for the swan station tbh. But then thought it wouldn't be fair on people who couldn't get one so left alone.

Now we are in potentially the final week of crazy buying and I'm going to miss all the fun. Even though is hard to buy these things, when you get one through all the chaos, you get one hell of an adrenaline rush from it.

Right, I believe franks swan compo ends today. Better get my hopes up for them to get dashed again.

thorsten said...

Still can't log in to DCaaPB to check my order status which is frustrating.

Frustration can mean a lot of different things to different people. Let me tell you about my frustration.

Around frame one, I ordered a couple of T-Shirts from two brothers in the US. They are specialized in explosion drawings, I got an old Mac for me and a XBOX 360 for my kid. One of the brothers mailed me a future design, an Mac shirt done like a Leonardo da Vinci drawing. I looked up the artist and suggested to attend the Polarbear Art thing, that just started. Turned out he actually was involved already, but kept quiet about this. So when his poster came up I bought it, it was before times got crazy. I managed to get four of them, but only three arrived. Guess which one is missing. So I mailed Tyson four times about it, he replied not once.

That is what I call frustration.

Martyn said...

@Thorsten...

Kevin Tong?

thorsten said...

Yep.

ChrisL said...

Thorsten, Not just frustrating but very disappointing too and surprising. I hope that you manage to sort that out with Tyson.

I have the exploded 128 shirt. Love it. You are obviously a man of taste!

Jnr is insisting we go to see New Moon... Catch up with you all later.

Zort70 said...

Still not a response or the poster ?

That is bad.

thorsten said...

Have fun with the good looking bloodsuckers,
ChrisL

;))

thorsten said...

Yep, Order 1218 still Lost. And no word back from Tyson.

This Arg turns into something which makes me like Lost a lot less, which was not the outcome I assumed.

Lisa-Maladylis said...

new post while I sleep ? well, I'm here now but will be on and off all day while we ready for our thanksgiving tomorrow. I wish I could have gone to the reveal, I would have loved some of that swag !

Martyn said...

Yeah, that is very bad indeed. Very disappointing, especially seeing as the posters are supposed to be insured.

Does anyone else feel like this entire set up is very archaic? It's like we're back at the start of the Internet the way this is all set up. Poor customer service in relation to thorsten, a poor buying system where you don't know you've got a poster until two days later and can't handle the mass demand of people.

I consider myself lucky to get the hatch and Jacobs cabin, and I may as well give up now tbh, will try for whatever the red ? Is but I think every lost fan will be trying for that one.

ReverendMilo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReverendMilo said...

It is nice to see Congested defending losties on EB, thanks Congested!

Direct quote

I would go further to separate "Losties" from ones that are actively online following the show, and just regular fans of the show. Regular fans of the show, on average, will never discover this series.

Many of the losties online have been exposed to the series, and 99% of that group don't care about it. And never will. While there are some like me who are into the posters, the toys, promotional material, etc.... many just see the show itself as the beginning and end of their involvement. All of this other stuff is unimportant to them, and understandably so. It has absolutely no value in bettering their understanding of Lost. Add to that it involves spending money.

I think most following this print series have now realized that Lost fans, like all people, vary in personalities. The small few that have displayed paranoid and other eccentric behavior during this series will mostly never be heard from again by the greater fan community when this series is done. I'm involved, and have been for years, with many elements of the online fanbase and I've never seen or heard from any of the most eccentric fans of this poster series until just now.

However the core folks that you've seen... like maven, capcom, zort, etc. on LostARGs have been staples of the community for years, and will continue to be. I've been aware of these fans for years.

The Lost-crazies get silenced by losties as well. Even when they continue to exist, they become increasingly subjected to ridicule by the fanbase.

Be assured. The able-minded Lost fans have a sense of humor.



With all the nastieness and hate that just continue to pour out over there, it is nice that you are doing your part to keep it sane.

Whether I qualify as a "staple" or an eccentric Lost-crazy, matters little two me, I am just glad that something nice was said over there about even a small slice of the lostie population for the first time in pages.

I could not stick around a place that makes a habit of ridiculing and intentionally antagonizing people that you consider you part of your community. It takes balls, kudos.

ReverendMilo said...

@Martyn

Ditto and add LT's treatment to the list where all of a sudden order number means nothing.

I said it before and I'll say it again, this is the only store I have been to where you can put something in your cart, and someone else is allowed to take it out of your cart and hand the cashier their CC instead.

mungonna said...

Mar..Archaic?..My goodness, you English have a way about you. Your civility is amazing. I tend to let the barbaric out when contemplating this whole LFA and GoMerchs part of it.
but I'll do my best to contain:
A..Go Merch has a monopoly on the prints. So..they can do or not do what ever they wish.

B..The LFA concept is flawed and tied up in conflict of interest and Go Merch is at the execution end of the conflict and is left to deal with it. The conflict is..limited edition serial numbered hand signed prints,,at a low, subsidized cost. I believe..if the LFA would have dropped the serial number hand signed business and made say..500 available to the general public...this LFA would still be a success and just about everyone involved would walk away a happy customer. Not many of the LOST fans really give a hoot about hand signed and limited edition nature of these prints. Its in the WCM for the LOST fans.

c) so instead..we have more unhappy customers than happy customers..Not a marketing success. We have alot of money left on the table..from the potential of prints that Could have been sold...not a marketing success.

I hope GoMerch and the LFA organization learns from this experience. Yes..it can be seen as an attempt going into uncharted territory. But yet,, the Art Print world has had experience in all this type of business. So, again, a certain naiveness is apparent in all this..Perhaps a small apology from Darlton,,when this is all over, will help smooth the wounds.

Zort70 said...

I think we need to be careful not to sink into the negativity trap.

I could certainly suggest several areas that the people running things could improve on, or make substantially better.

Remember Darlton did not have to do this, they have no obligation to provide anything outside of the TV series.

I'm grateful to them for trying to give something back to the fans (and I know $50 + p&p is not giving but I hope you know what I mean)

We all have a choice at every stage to give up trying for posters, take a step back and enjoy the mayhem of the reveal, or we try for a poster and open ourselves up to the possibility of failure.

The people handling the purchasing side are probably not experienced in this level of interest, and given how the first 8 posters went, were probably caught out in the later stages.

The question is would we want a substantially different ordering system for the final couple of prints, and if we did get one would in necessarily be better ?

Zort70 said...

The other question, to play devil's advocate to ReverendMilo is, do we want a system where pressing buy now secures the poster and will not release it until credit card info is enterted or do we want a system where the poster is not safe until credit card info is entered and authorised by a card company.

The first option becomes more of a lottery, and potentially open to abuse as someone could press buy now with no intention of purchasing. The post would then have to be re-sold at some point, so how long is the timeout on the basket.

The other option is basically what we have now. It is simpler for the merchant to handle, but very frustrating for the purchaser, as evidenced above.

Zort70 said...

Sorry, for the long posts, I'm going out for a while, back later.

Zort70 said...

Should be "The poster would then...."

Unknown said...

guys i just got a tip from a very unreliable source that during the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade, there is going to be a giant polar bear helium balloon that will be holding a banner with the URL reveal on it.

ReverendMilo said...

Well zort, I don't know the answer. If you look at the print numbers I have been able to purchase so far to date, then look to the past three sales and the fact that the order process has blown ip for me all three times due to server non response - I think I am allowed to express a twinge of frustration

ReverendMilo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReverendMilo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Attorney Greg said...

Opened "And that's why my hand was shaking" last night - Love it. Favorite one to date, makes up for ones missed on.

213/300

ReverendMilo said...

allowed to express a twinge of frustration - without providing a solution...

thorsten said...

There is no solution, there are just the happy campers who proudly post their order numbers here, and us, Milo, ending up week after week with a crumbling server as soon as BUY ME pops up. I like the part with the clues and resolving them, but I fear every reveal now, because I can not stay away from them. So I am glad that it will be over in two weeks. But happy I am not.

ReverendMilo said...

ditto thorsten. then I can go back to merely obsessing about the show and the university.

I will complete my set, it just means getting the ones I miss in other ways.

But I will not hide the set away when it is completed. I will find ways to continue to share it with the community that missed the chance.

I have been a part of the community from the beginning (but changed my name each year until s5) and will do my best to continue to serve it in my own special way now that I am me.

So glad we connected.

mungonna said...

you are not alone Rev.

Unknown said...

I got my Jacob's Cabin a few days ago...I was astounded...much greener that I anticipated--which is my favorite color.

As far as Darlton apologizing...really? They are giving us this experience as a gift. It would be akin to someone apologizing for the Christmas gift they gave you since you complained about it.

The agony and ecstasy is part of the experience. I was anguished when I missed the Crash, because I was hell bent on getting the whole series. I got over it, didn't blame anyone but myself.

Last week I missed the Barracks because of errors. My ego was initially bruised and I complained that ABC/gomerch should be able to upgrade the server to overcome such errors. Again, a couple of days later, I'm over it, and content to NOT pay 200 or more dollars to people trying to gouge me.

You can't win them all. I would be offended if I was Darlton and someone seriously complained to me about this series that was not an obligation...if you even have one, you have a piece of history and a limited piece at that. Be thankful for what you have, understand that maybe it just wasn't in the stars...

I've been astounded by some of the negativity and hatred toward art collectors, accusations that LOST fans/posters here have negative motives, lumping posters here with an EBAY crowd for simply disagreeing with the hate-spewer... It's been a sad reflection of the sour grapes attitude that can come from not getting everything you want.

Tis the season, guys... be thankful for what you have. And appreciative that you were given the opportunity to have it, whether it worked out for you or not.

mungonna said...

the only solution is on our end of this schtick..finding a computer and network that is of speed and reliability required,,is a solution.

Martyn said...

There's no way to change the game now, too late for that. They should of just been prepared for a big demand rather than presume under 200 lost fans will want these. Better server, first 300 are signed and then the rest are printed on demand, no signature. Loads of thought processes that should of been made at the start.

Better to be safe than sorry.

Ellen B said...

MEL, that's what it comes down to for me. I don't get the posters because my computer is too slow. It's not because I am a failure or a bad person.

ReverendMilo said...

I noticed that quite literally "'Tis the season" began several months ago.

what is the legal requirement on inflatable santa's in the yard this year. personally more than one per yard confuses me, but I think legally I am required to purchase more to support the economy.

:)

thorsten said...

Lindelof and Cuse are running the show, and they are in the middle of breaking ep 11 and 12. Whatever may be on their mind right now will have nothing to do with some people getting a poster or not. Which is okay with me. I would never talk to Damon about this whole thing.

MJCarp said...

posted at STV via communication from Go!Merch that there were NO oversells. So if the first reported # is true 2538 and the last 2733 . . .
well, you do the math.

When the Go!Merch page goes back on-line, I would appreciate anyone with high order numbers to check and report back "Authorized" and more importantly, when your print arrives please report the number ( I am looking for the 290-300 print numbers for each in series, did you get one?)

We will have NO resolution to Go!Merch and the memory of them will fade to a white screen when this is OVER. I have my nasty e-mail and cancellation recording to comfort me in my old age. (Tyler, if you ever read this, apologies for having put you out for the world to hear, you sound like a nice person and sorry your experience with LOSTies may have soured you to our truer selves.)

I also want to say, if I haven't already, that the 'read back of yesterday's reveal starting at t-minus 1 hour and continuing until midnight was remarkable, positive in tone, supportive for those who did not 'win' the day, insightful as to Henry Gale/Ben Linus, funny (had best laugh ever (needed it) over Ben on the wall lying . . . so taking the step back had it's rewards for me, DCaaPB 1.14 had all the drama of LOST, not SURREAL but REAL.

mungonna said...

Well Organic..I understand what you have posted. Yet..this is a viral marketing effort..The LFA organization went to GoMerch . That was their decision. So..as an marketing effort..this 'appreciation" falls under the basics of marketing precepts and expectations...or as referred to a ways back..rules. When we have to ask..what are the rules? as have been repeated here ..that in its self demonstrates failure.

Again..the naiveness of all this is apparent on many levels. Many suggestions have been surfaced and even forwarded to the LFA organization. We all have experienced the frustration. We all learn. The best that can be hoped for..is that the LFA organization and GoMerch have learned also. I really don't believe that the current state of affairs of this LFA..is what Darlton signed on to.

mungonna said...

Ellen B...I hope i don't have to eat my words..but..i plan not to Buy Now anymore from my home computer. That is the only solution that has worked for me.

ReverendMilo said...

I bear no animosity towards Darlton for GlobalOctagonRecruiting (which made me look like an ass to several that I was introducing the show to)

Why would I start now? I am thankful for every experience and every connection I have made in and through Lost. Darlton is cool by me.

But I still somehow can be pissed about the outcome of GlobalOctagonRecruiting.


Memories of the TLE still make me grin.

ReverendMilo said...

err "memories of TLE"...left over monkey :)

Ellen B said...

MEL, that's a good decision. Unfortunately, I'm unemployed so no longer have access to the T1 connection. Just cable modem and (ugh) Vista.

mungonna said...

Seriouslly Rev?...the name sounding so close to to Egg Head..didn't give clue to the tongue in cheekyness of the whole Dharma Recruiting bit? I had some fun in there, but the last thing i did was take it serious. Egghead folding up tent and going to Dubai to sell Benz'es seemed an appropriate end imho.

Unknown said...

@martyn

i have put Barracks in trade section of darkufo and if anyone wants to trade for Swan i will give to you

still feel the guilt over not being able to get you one!

My swan print number was really high, so i only just squeaked in

Amy Lynn said...

RevMilo, I'd like to defend those of us who haven't been staples of the fan community for years and years and years. Some of us are new (brand new, even) to LOST and LOST fandom, and this ARG is our first exposure to any kind of ARG. It isn't JUST those fans who've been around for years and years that have a sense of humor.

mungonna said...

LT..Its good to see that circumstances allow for you to drop a line here. The Go Merch info is welcomed and Thanks for it.

I can only speak for myself. The change from relaxed buying to panic buying ,,like any change,,causes pain, frustration,, etc etc. Human beings react negatively to pain. It is not surprising to have been part of and witnessed the " negativity" displayed here, when the consequences of change became apparent.

It is ...uumm..fascinating..to witness the human behavior as displayed here,,in dealing with the pain..over time. People get use to it. People cope with it. People deal with it in all the ways people have learned or even create,,to deal with it...We are pretty good at that. If humans didn't..then we would implode into little black holes. No fun there.

So.. you are right LT.. we learn to walk away from that which causes pain.. even tho the pain reminds us what it is to be alive.,,and hopefully,,inspires us to create, which is living. The only lingering concern I have is..that the source of pain and frustration, doesn't become accepted as the status quo..doesn't become a standard that is acceptable.

Unknown said...

Thus comes in the drawing of a line between rational and irrational frustration...everyone moves their pen differently; it's not black and white

Martyn said...

J/LostinLondon...

Are you serious??? I'm really appreciative of this, in fact, I have a massive smile on my face after just arguing with my sister, no I look like a weirdo, but would you rather not trade it for a poster you want?

I don't know why I'm dissuading you from doing it, I think that's one of the nicest things anyones done for me, and another reason I love this forum.

In fact, forget what I said, I'm not thinking clearly, thank you so much. Speechless, absolutely speechless. I'll try and gain words and come back in a bit.

mungonna said...

OH..soooo..am i crazy if i find it acceptable to go to work at say..2am..just to get on the corporate computer so i have a good chance to buy a print?..Who amongst anybody,,has the rite to say what is rational and irrational of another person in their singular behavior?

ReverendMilo said...

Amy no doupt that there are several newcomers that have shown the old timers a thing or two :)

and if nothing else One of my favorite things is those that come in late and realize the genius and embrace it.

that is what I meant by GOR making me look like an ass, I got several newcomers to WFTB just before GOR and introduced them to the side world of the expanded universe, then it crumbled. The are now serious fans but stay away from the expanded universe.

They are sooo glad I got them into Lost, but completely confused about what the added experiences are.

But I am glad despite it all because of fans like yourself, despite when they came into the series

ReverendMilo said...

Mel,

obviously not me... ;)

I am chicken little I think. The efforts I went through to even draw attention to this whole thing over on lostpedia, only to have to switch to a whole paranoid " let's go private" stance around print seven definitely shows my limited grasp on what most refer to as reality.

Martyn said...

Oh and you shouldn't feel guilty, I don't blame you at all, I though it was nice enough for you to do it in the first place.

Martyn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

"Who amongst anybody,,has the rite to say what is rational and irrational of another person in their singular behavior?"

Exactly.

Sam G said...

So many posts since yesterday. Will I ever catch up?

I'm in LA, what's up with 1001 Aviation Boulevard and why would I want to go to the airport?

mungonna said...

Sam G...uuumm to re-enact the " we gotta go baaaack !!! scene?

Sam G said...

Google doesn't list any business there, I think it might be a billboard.

mungonna said...

I'd go there if Evie was there with her long flowing auburn hair and her Volvo.

ChrisL said...

Just home from satisfying the daughter with a trip to see New Moon. I thought that movie was never going to end! Hard going and then some.

Interesting reading the posts since I left earlier... While I and my family have been utterly absorbed by LOST since the get go, bought the figures, followed the book list etc etc, the ARG's had passed me by until this one. To be frank, so had the time consuming concept of sharing ones experience via a blog.

I can say with no hesitation that the discovery of this ARG has been one of my greatest experiences of recent years in the context of the movies or TV I enjoy. The discovery of so many interesting, intelligent and keen to share fellow LOST appreciators has been an eye opener and enormous fun and the welcome proffered by almost everyone has been heart warming.

To discover several people within this community that give so very much in both time and effort to help the rest of us enjoy the experience for no return is a lesson everyone I know could learn from. I'm thinking immediately of course of Zort and Lottery and no doubt there are others. You guys truly rock.

Some of us that have only recently become part of the "community" do have a great deal of respect for the "old timers", respect that's deserved and appropriate. We appreciate your knowledge and your eagerness to guide. For goodness sake - even in the half hour prior to last nights reveal there were newbies turning up and being advised how to play this thing... I can't think where else more competition would be welcomed in that way.

I am sad that some of the long time players are losing out, unfortunately you seem to be victims of a hugely successful viral marketing campaign.

I hope you all get the prints you need at a decent price and I hope some of the new guys can help you out at some point.

Apologies for the extensive post.

Sam G said...

I just want to say this and get it out of my system. Yesterday, my boss had a meeting scheduled in my office during the poster reveal time. Boooo! Then it was cancelled. Yea!!! But I had this feeling. No sooner than the BUY NOW button appears my boss buzzes me on the intercom. So close, I came so close, got all the way through, all the screens, while carrying on a conversation with her, hit the confirm button to get the error message, backspace, SOLD OUT.

*sigh* all it takes is a second or 2 to lose out.

Well, my tale of woe. I feel much better.

Amy Lynn said...

ChrisL, awesome post.

MJCarp said...

Ahh, mystery solved. first order number report 2548, corrected at THE LIST, stars have aligned! Stay Up in the lead again.

Will also add that Donald F. Presario anagrams into 66,660 possible phrases, unfiltered, and about half of those contain words related to LOST. favorite: Proofread Island.

ReverendMilo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReverendMilo said...

@amy
seconded

MJCarp said...

ChrisL, appreciated comment. I joined same as all, getting the help and encouragement to step, step, leap, and thus I can help others, and will do here and elsewhere.

reAnimated said...

Nicely put Chris. I feel I was embraced in the same way. Late to the party, but felt welcomed.

My only wonder is how we will keep in touch after Lost is over.

Then again, I think of how fun it will be to "watch" the final season together. Makes me happy.

mungonna said...

I am intrigued by Donalds last name being so close to the word.." impresario"

Martyn said...

Ok, in a more composed state now.

J, thank you so much for this, I can't put in to words how thankful I am that you're doing this when you don't need to.

Also, I totally agree with ChrisL, i've done all the lost args, TLE I did in silent by myself and followed on lostpedia. Find815, which was disappointing to say the least though my sister enjoyed looking at the guy from home and away in it, I did by myself, it wasn't exactly difficult.

This is the first one I've actually interacted with lost fans with, and it was totally worth jumping in. Had so much fun and has taken up the last three months. I encourage any lurkers to jump in for these last two posters and for Lost Uni when that kicks off in 3 weeks.

Martyn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MJCarp said...

presario = museum curator = producer of concerts/events = jensen? Tyson? Donald Duck?

Zort70 said...

Just got back and read the comments, all healthy debate.

Let me ask this question, would we have been happy if this ARG / marketing / whatever it is, just involved the reveals with some swag and a reveal of a picture but no purchasing element ?

Zort70 said...

I just came up with this anagram for Donald F Presario - Proofread Island

Amy Lynn said...

@Zort, I dunno, hard to say. I certainly wish there'd been more than 195 for sale.

Zort70 said...

I also came up with

Adrenal Disproof
Paranoid Folders

but they don't really strike me as being useful.

hobbit said...

Here's my two cents on the whole ARG thing this time around. It's the first one I've actively participated in. In the past I've been too dull to follow the clues to lead me to a snippet of video that will then be combined with other snippets to reveal orientation videos and/or hidden cam footage of someone filming a meeting from behind a pile of boxes...heck, I'll just go to Youtube and watch as the people who are good at this piece things together.

I do appreciate the community that I've found by actively speaking up, even if it's just to say "Wow, I actually got one" or "I'm sorry, you're right, this sucks." I do hope I find a place to stick around after all of this and continue to nerd out regarding LOST. I've been a member of lost-forum for years, although my posting has always been limited. This is fun though; I'll try harder after this ARG is gone.

One of the other things about this ARG, though, is that nice little hatch timer on the main page. Seems like just yesterday that thing was reading 150-175. Now, because this ARG has been around to occupy my mind, we're down below 100- and below it by a fairly substantial number. S6 is coming, and without this latest project- as frustrating as it has been- it would feel like the time was dragging until the premier. I'm thankful for that, too.

ReverendMilo said...

Well Zort, my dedication to the Lost expanded universe was not based on prints...

I believe we became involved in this one well before there was merchandising.

Now of course that there is merchandising, and some cannot get it for one reason or another, it feels a bit less inclusive and a bit more like we are to be factionalized.

Zort70 said...

Rev, yes I don't dispute the fact that the low number of posters, high number of potential purchasers and at times questionable purchasing process has marginalised some people.

Even the fact that the reveal locations are not in everyones back yard has to an extent displeased some.

Zort70 said...

Another anagram - Rose Android Flap

It's the plot of the first episode :-)

ReverendMilo said...

LOL Zort, even some reveals being in peoples back yards have displeased some to an extent.
;)

Zort70 said...

Yes, sorry to open that old wound.

thorsten said...

would we have been happy if this ARG[…], just involved the reveals with some swag and a reveal of a picture but no purchasing element ?

No, Zort, not me. I love that hunting part, and I love how pain and anger recedes 24 hours after every Poster loss. Would we watch Lost if everything were peachy for the protagonists all the time? I learned a lot about myself, and about failing, in the last weeks.
So, like Desmond, I will punch the buttons till this thing is over ;))

ChrisL said...

Zort, Loving the Anagrams!

MJCarp said...

Like the show itself, I thought this ARG would be folding back on TLE and give us some answers to things revealed. I had no expectations of purchasing, but look where I am today. caughtinanet

maybe we might want to focus on clues given as we know invitation to BUY NOW is never a mystery.

Zort are we ready to open comments to what we have 'found' so that they are not 'lost' here.

Zort70 said...

Zort are we ready to open comments to what we have 'found' so that they are not 'lost' here.

I'm not entirely with you, but sure go for it.

mungonna said...

pronouns are so ambiguous

ChrisL said...

I hope that LT is referring to the missing letters and the misspelling because I have missed much of the discussion on that and I'm not sure what's going on. I'd be keen on some kind of recap if anyone can be bothered.

Zort70 said...

Chris, have a look at this page, it isn't completely up to date yet, but has a lot of the info I hope.

ChrisL said...

Perfect, thanks Zort.

MJCarp said...

Zort70, my comments require sleuthing. the link above does not allow for comments. So I was suggesting that it now allow comments and, therefore, discoveries and discussions can be found easily.

Zort70 said...

A couple more anagrams of Donald F Presario

Radar Fooled Nips

Porn Aliased Ford

Lead Fan Droop Sir

Fans Plea Rid Odor

Zort70 said...

LT, ah ha I see, my eyes are opened to your wisdom.

thorsten said...

A Airdrop Enfolds

MJCarp said...

I'm posting away in the dark over at link. *lights please* so I can start deleting those with curse words.

RobPerrin said...

Hi folks. I've put up a post and pic of my framed Rousseau's Transmission. Check out link

ChrisL said...

Lovely job Rob.

ReverendMilo said...

excellent work Rob!!

Capcom said...

Hey Argies! I ditto the sentiments posted today about our unique comaraderie, that's for sure. After perusing thru many other lost forums full of trolls, etc., I found this blog during the summer of TLE, shortly after it began. Maven was just leaving for (one of her many!) vacation, and everyone was posting "Bon Voyage" and all that, and that they couldn't wait till she could get back to the blog to play the ARG. I thought to myself, "Who are these people? They're awesome!" So then got a blog ID for the first time, gave myself the nickname of my office computer ID (how dumb was that?), and the rest is history in finding so many very good friends all over the world. My nephew's mouth still drops open when I say things like, "Well my Lost friend in New Zealand said...", or something like that. :o) You all are the best! Of all the "worlds" that I've walked through as participant, a little mouse, or a fly on the wall -- the art scene, the scientific community, local community orgs, etc. -- Lost fans here have been the creme-de-la-creme. xo

Good work on the clues post Zort!

I also have mixed feeling about how this poster event has gone, as I've said. I often wonder if TPTB actually didn't realize how interested we would be in these posters. After all, the DCAAPB site said that we could just relax at our computers and tag along for the fun. Huh? Relax?! Hahahahaha! Anyway, I do appreciate their efforts, and sure hope that the ending has something for everyone in it, to mend disappointment wounds. I'm just happy that I got my retro-movie Locke poster while the dinosaur computers still had a chance, haha. FWIW, here's my short take on it that I posted yesterday: 5000Fingers

Hope that everything goes well, LT!

Very nice Rob!

thorsten said...

You are right, Capcom. it is a really nice village here.
After the numbers popped up on the hatch in season one I went online to find a community and learn more about the mystery, so I landed on the ABC Lost board, which was kind of crazy. I spent my time in the User questions area, but it never felt home like Zorts place does.

RobPerrin said...

Thanks for the kind words everyone. It was a fun project.

MJCarp said...

capcom, excellent all good on the home front. feel the same about this group, your computer's name! and I thought you were NASA ;)

Rob, I need to get moving on framing. very good job on RT. I think we were all thrown by image color skew.

Zort70, approval will reveal impatience and stupidity, begging for deletion of those waiting

Sam G said...

I had a lot of fun with TLE. Went to a DJ Dan's podcast after midnight in Santa Monica just to get a glyph and a few other places, just to get a glyph to help complete the video. I have a couple of Apollo Bars but mostly, I have met so many truly, nice and talented people from all over the world that all share an appreciation of LOST. It's been so much more fun than anyone ever expected.

Sam G said...

I had a lot of fun with TLE. Went to a DJ Dan's podcast after midnight in Santa Monica just to get a glyph and a few other places, just to get a glyph to help complete the video. I have a couple of Apollo Bars but mostly, I have met so many truly, nice and talented people from all over the world that all share an appreciation of LOST. It's been so much more fun than anyone ever expected.

Capcom said...

Wait until our regular season blog begins too Thorsten, that one's fun as well. :-)

LOL, LT, no I'm not NASA but my dad was, that's why I picked that ID for my desk computer. But I wish that I had just used my name for for here, I didn't think I'd really be here much, haha.

Agree Sam, more fun than could ever be expected.

ChrisL said...

Capcom, "a horrible regurgitation domino effect"... that sounds like the result of F5's and 404's alright! Great piece.

comixguru said...

Over the years I have played the Lost ARGs by myself- so boy was i surprised and pleased to find this lovely community on lostargs.com. you have all welcomed me with open arms and i am forever grateful. I am looking forward to the rest of our journey thru this ARG and LostU and enjoying the final season of LOST together. Cheers to new friends! I know we will stay in contact long after LOST is "gone".

ObFuSc8 said...

Hi ARGers!

Popping in to say HI! ;)

Thanks to Ryan and Clay we have pics of the Swag.

Just on case it didn't get brought forward to this post, the ISBN# from the back of the swag is for Python Cookbook, which is a collection of Python problems/solutions by/for computer progammers.

I have been anagraming Donald F. Presario as well!

Just posted a thread for a giveaway on the Castaway Getaways folder at STV.

http://www.spoilertv.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=98&t=14129

Brendan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brendan said...

Hey guys: Just want to point out a few things that may not be apparent to those not in the business:

1) The producers of this show have *nothing* to do with the marketing. They produce the show.

2) From a marketing perspective, this campaign has been a *MASSIVE* success. I'm talking massive. The Lost thread on Expresso Bean has over 40,000 views. 40k views on an unrelated website. DarkUFO folks talk about Lost no matter what, mind you.

3) In addition to the above posts, they are AT LEAST breaking even on this campaign. Maybe even making a little. HUGE compared to the money spent on past ARGS (with argubaly less exposure).

These are just posters folks, when you start feeling the "pain and disapointment" of not getting a poster, and demonizing a group of saracastic Pearl Jam fans who collect posters, take a deep breath and remember what a big deal Talking Elmo was.

PS thefuselage.com member since '05.

thorsten said...

What, Brendan, Elmo used to be silent?

Brendan said...

Talking Elmo, big craze in the states around Christmas ten years ago. People were going nuts for them, paying hundreds of dollars in the aftermarket. Crying, fighting, etc.

Get it?

Just Thinking said...

Rob- that does look great. I was very happy to see the cream and green in the real thing- like those muted colors. You must have searched a bit to find a frame with the same proportions as the poster. Can you tell me what the size of the frame is? I got a 20x30- but really don't see how I'm going to get the mat to look right.

Also want to add thanks to all here on "ARGS". I enjoy posting on other boards too, but find that I have to be careful not to seem like a techno-challenged mother hen more elsewhere. So my appreciation to you all for accepting all comers. Will try to keep going here for S6-just have to find out if Mel's surreal vision comes to be.

Capcom said...

LOL ChrisL. :-)

Before Elmo it was the Cabbage Patch Kids. And before that it was the "Official Red Rider Carbine Action 200 Shot Range Model Air Rifle." Heheh.

thorsten said...

Yeah, got it Brendan. We had something with bananas in germany 20 years ago, they called it Reunification…

Unknown said...

*Tickle Me Elmo

RobPerrin said...

JT - The frame is 24x36. I was told it is a "standard size", so there should be a few around.

Just Thinking said...

Ob8- has the lottery for the Ajira brochure that Clayton donated been set up yet? Want to post a link on LP. Also, have to say a huge thanks to Clayton myself, as he generously let me purchase his other brochure when he had lots of folks requesting, as a thanks for alerting him to the poster hunt. It will always remind me of meeting new folks and feeling ridiculously excited to sit at a keyboard and press f5 for half an hour.

Sam G said...

The other day we were talking about the LOST season 6 poster from Comic Con - ABC has released a new one per Dark UFO

http://spoilertv.iimmgg.com/image/7e7a7be7e2922ad4d1f21e57b119c1d1 this one is big

kiwilostie said...

Ive been hooked on LOST since the pilot. Never had the time or computer availablity to get right into the online hiatus ARG's. And given that till now, we have been getting eps up to 6 weeks after US airing, Ive not been able to get on board with the in season talk either. Just hung out at Lostpedia, reading ep accounts as I watched them. Looks like S6 will air here 6 hours after the US, so Im happier than a pig in muck!
Anyhoo, I tend to pick one site and just hang there. Stumbled on this site around poster 3 or 4 of this ARG. The people here 'suit' me, so it was an easy choice to stay, and the bonus is, that most here are also at TLC I think, so expect to see me there in season.
Signed up yesterday under the same handle. Great stuff.
I decided early on that I wouldnt be going for a complete poster set, and the way things have turned out, Im glad. Still stings when you miss one though!
So, like all the others have said, thank you Zort, for all the time and effort you obviuosly put in. Its appreciated far more than any of us can put into words.

ReverendMilo said...

Brendan,

I would not count the views of the eb thread as a measure of marketting success. The main focus of that thread switched from the prints to antagonizing, berating, and instigating some sort of response from losties. It's view count was far lower when it was about the prints.

Now that is primarily about mocking losties, it gets more views as people refresh it to see what kind of nasty things they can say about us.

As far as a marketting success, since it began back at comiccon, and just reached this level of furvor in the past couple of weeks, at best I call it a late bloomer. They are generating no more revenue than they were from the original goal (which obviously was never about revenue).

The only new revenue being generated by this is by those that have seen this as a chance to exploit others by becoming a middle man between the lfa and it's participants.

The fortunate thing for those of us that have been involved since the beginning is that it took this long for profiteers to butt in.

And I have to say that the producers assisants did an excellent job finding look a likes to portray them for Paul's raid on the lot. I am sure that they would both be interested to find out that this campaign is being done by Disney.

mrtibbs said...

Just wanted to add my bit to the good vibes. This place is the first Lost board I've ever been on where I've been instantly treated as a valid member of the community. There aren't many people I know in the real world who stuck with Lost, so as time has gone by, and people dropped off I've had to reach out to the internet to discuss theories, books and mythology. Whilst I've tried contributing at countless forums, most of the people already know each other, ignore your posts and you think "why bother?"

As I said, this is the first place where I've instantly felt like a valued member of the community and I'll be here long after this ARG has finished.

(n) said...

Just wanted to share a few things,

This past reveal was the first time I really actively tried for a poster and didn't get a copy. I've been waiting for a Ben print from the start and guess what, I got hosed! It's disappointing, yes, but hey, thems' the breaks. It's easy to take something like that personally, especially when you've had your heart set on something, but being negative only takes the fun away from the people who did get prints. I'm really happy for everyone who got a Ben print!

EB's 'Jacob's Cabin' print showed up today. 176/300. Great print, I didn't expect the bits of textured clear ink like what's used in the Swan Station for the electromagnetic lines, to be used to depict rain. Clever!

Brendan said...

Milo- You missed the point. But I'm not going there.

I too enjoy this site and the comment section! Thanks, Brendan.

Just Thinking said...

Thanks Rob- I will look for that size.

Sam- looks like they took the picture down?

justanothersky said...

RE Zort's "Let me ask this question, would we have been happy if this ARG / marketing / whatever it is, just involved the reveals with some swag and a reveal of a picture but no purchasing element ?"

Personally I would be fine with that, as that sounded just like TLE. And I think I still have the Apollo Bar wrapper somewhere in a box lol.
I have been actively participating, maybe a little too much, in all past Lost args (over at the Numbers forum). Frankly, after Find815 & DWY (or OGR) which both IMO were a much more dumb-downed version of what TLE was, just thought it might be better if I don't expect too much from any future args. I am also doubtful that we will ever learn any more back-stories or much of the canonical materials via any arg.
However, I am happy or maybe even glad that Darlton & the team actually went through the trouble to organise some art for me to keep! Even though I wasn't able to participate in any reveal, the swags so far looked cool too, some are even thoughtful. Better than giving away any more foodstuff, with or without a DHARMA labels, lol.
That said, the purchasing element did cause concerns among long-time Lost ARGrs & fans I know, and consequently it may have discouraged many to be part of either LU or this viral this time round.
This viral created some buzz at the beginning (during Comic Con) at the Numbers but the buzz soon died after people realised that there is "buying" involved... for something that doesn’t even lead to any relevant understanding of past mysteries nor discovery of the future storylines.
Sometimes I wondered which is more valuable or meaningful, a fun & memorable experience such as TLE or holding possession of an actual physical object as souvenir like these posters?? I’d prefer the former, but guess it's not up to me to decide what format a LOST arg or any other related marketing exercise would take. Not to mention, TLE lost ABC truck loads of money. So I don't expect them wanting to repeat that, especially during the GFC.

Anyway... about the anagram, I noticed that "parade" could be one of the words generated. And someone posted about an unreliable source saying the url might be revealed during Thanksgiving Parade.
I am not in the US and don't celebrate Thanksgiving so knows almost nothing about it. Couple of questions here: Is Thanksgiving Parade only referred to the Macy's Parade in NY? Or does it happen in other cities too?

Just Thinking said...

The parade in NY is THE parade-don't think there are a lot of other ones. And is is sponsored by Macy's, so yes, it is the only Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Frank said...

Chose the winner for my Swan Station lottery. Check http://bannedwidth.org. Thanks to all that commented.

ReverendMilo said...

Brendan,

I picked up a couple of furbies and beanie babies for nothing the other day to let my toddler destroy them. I got your point.

But I still believe that this was truly intended to be the LFA, and I believe the intended marketing campaign this year is Lost University and if you haven't noticed, they have yet to cross over to be tied together. I believe the words that have been put at the bottom of each prints sales page.

But, in all fairness, using a viewcount of EB as a measure of success is a sure way to get a response from me where might consider the response as a misinterpretation by me.

slightlyaddicted said...

Damn, if the next reveal is on a Thanksgivings day float, and people who don't even know about lost or these artists are going to the url too, just to see what's up, things will go from bad to worse as far as server loads go

ReverendMilo said...

In celebration of LOST's final season and as a project of fan appreciation, 16 top designers and artists, who are also fans of the show, were commissioned to create artwork celebrating one of the series' most memorable, and unforgettable, "water cooler" moments. This ultimate "fan art" was then turned into labor intensive, hand-pulled screen prints, limited to an edition of just 300, with less than 200 available to the public through our websites. Each beautiful poster tells its own different story, allowing the fan to relive memorable and influential moments in an artistic manner, as the show's storied run comes to a close. Once this limited edition print has sold out, they will never be printed again. Celebrate the fandom, community and family created by one of televisions' greatest shows by hanging a little part of it's history, inspiration and influence on your wall.

Capcom said...

The Macy's T-Day parade is aired on at least two of the three main TV networks in the US, if not all three. They all have cameras at different spots, so you get different angled shots of the floats as they go down the street. I doubt if non-fans will think that the URL is important, or at any rate will think that they have all day to check it out, not knowing that it's a timed thing. I hope. Although, those yacketty MCs might say, "Oh lookie there, it's the secret Lost URL for the poster sale!" Especially the ones on ABC. :-p

Here is the official site: Parade

Sam G said...

@Just_Thinking the link still works for me.

http://spoilertv.iimmgg.com/image/7e7a7be7e2922ad4d1f21e57b119c1d1

Amy Lynn said...

@Capcom, for clarity's sake, the parade is only shown on NBC.

Amy Lynn said...

There is a Walt Disney Thanksgiving Day parade that is shown on ABC, but it is taped well in advance. If the URL is on a float there, it's been out there for at least a week already.

Capcom said...

Well, I'm sure that I watch it on two channels, because I always bounce back and forth between the two to get the different views and MCs.

Capcom said...

And to avoid the lipsynched Broadway tunes. :-)

MJCarp said...

Frank, thank you for hosting raffle. No doubt Ken will be a very happy Lost fan tonight.

Capcom said...

My TV guide says the T-day parade will be aired on NBC and CBS simultaneously from 9am-1200 EST.

Amy Lynn said...

That's really bizarre. CBS always airs something else here in NYC.

Capcom said...

When I lived in NY I used to watch it on both channels. CBS T-day

Brendan said...

You're right Milo, Lost and this ARG have nothing to do with ratings or money. Its all about the fans.

John LaHair said...

A "Lost" Thanksgiving - love the idea of a Polar Bear balloon during the parade, but the list of "confirmed" balloons can be found here.

Granted the Pillsbury Dough Boy does resemble a Polar Bear. Sorry, carving the turkey will have to wait, until the URL is revealed. :)

On a serious note, I found the LOST ARG's site sometime around the 3rd poster reveal. Since that time, I find myself engaged and entertained by the posts here. I've seen the generosity of many & shared in the disappointment and frustration of you all.

Has the poster hunt been a success from a viral marketing standpoint? Let's see I visit DCAAPB several times a day... have spent hours searching the net for clues... "visited" countries I would never have... got my entire office involved when a new poster arrives for the unveiling... have a better understanding of art and now own art... a community of art lovers(some not familiar with the show) has unwittingly been sucked into this ARG as well... all this has taken place while a show that I've followed since the start has been off the air since May. Yea, I'd say a success.

It's been said countless times by many of us, but thank you Zort for keeping us all together for what has been an exciting ride.

Amy Lynn said...

In the very slight case that the reveal is at the parade (which seems very unlikely given that ABC airs the Disney parade), hubby and I will be there anyway.

Tess315 said...

Ok I know I'm late to the mutual admiration society. But here's my two cent. (They follow capcom's pretty closely)

I too found this group of ARGers during the TLE. I had been to all the forums and blogs and this group by far was the best. I just lurked during the game but when it was over no one wanted to say good bye so they created our sister blog for discussion of the show.

I wasn't sure how to sign up or make a blog but David P. the admin. answered my email questions and welcomed me with opened arms and I've been a part of the group ever since. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

I participated if Find 815 and grumbled about Dharma Wants You. :) Hans you sly devil. That's when I moved on to Myspace and then Facebook with the help from these fine people here.

Our group is unique. We can have different opinions in our discussions and theories but no one is put down for it. It's such a great and respectful atmosphere.


Ok I think I've gushed enough. I'm proud to be part of such a close group of LOST friends.
Besides they forgive my many typos. lol

ObFuSc8 said...

I have been watching Lost since I recorded the pilot for my brother, and haven't been able to tear myself away since.

I lurked at the ABC.com boards since S1, and a bit at Lostpedia but because of time constraints a times had to watch a couple weeks episodes at a time, when I had a break. I've stayed mostly spoiler free, so avoided a lot of contact with any of the forums until I got caught up with each current episode. This kept me away from posting with any regularity.

By the time S4 rolled around, most people I know had stopped following Lost and really didn't care to discuss plot points, etc. I've been at the ABC boards since, posting more regularly since S5.

I played through TLE with a couple other friends who still followed Lost at the time, and kind of played along with Find815 on my own. Somehow I didn't find this wonderful community until partway through DCaaPB, but have to agree that this is a generous, intelligent and welcoming group. I'm gald to have found may way here!

ChrisL said...

Just a quick note before I get my head down.

While I applaud anyone for making an effort to add perspective to any discussion, Brendan, you lost me at "These are just posters folks".

I'm as capable of objectivity as anyone and have to be so every working day, but when it comes to something I'm really into, really excited about, something I've been intellectually and emotional involved in for over 5 years, something that was indeed, as Milo pointed out, created to "Celebrate the fandom, community and family" of LOST, (that's me and you right?)... then I'm sorry but it ain't "just" anything. It matters to me.

It's the fans that drive the ARG's, it's the fans that make this kind of marketing possible and ultimately, as long as the product is good enough, it's the fans that perpetuate the ratings and consequently the financial return.

Anyone can be cynical, it's almost 2010 after all, cynicism is easier than it's ever been. It takes time, effort and investment to become absorbed and free to enjoy. The posters I've managed to get are a fabulous return on that investment. They're not just posters.

Night all.

ObFuSc8 said...

And of course a big THANKS to Zort for giving us a forum where all of this can happen.

mungonna said...

Applying the term " marketing success" to a Monopoly situation is a oxymoron. There is no Marketing here. What is going on here, DCAAPB with RMA, is an APPRECIATION.. So..applying marketing success..means nothing. Only in a further understanding of the word " Appreciation,",has there been any Success. Literally,, we all have been creating Art,,everyday..in this Blog. This cannot be said of ..the Others.

I find these prints as portals to further understanding of what we've seen on LOST. They therefore are Art. I find this site and blog does the same thing. Therefore, we've been creating Art here all along,,and the Appreciation just ripples further and further out into the pond.

ReverendMilo said...

I would like to add that both the "So you think you can dance" and the "cougar town" ARGs blow...

Lost does such a better job of inspiring friendship and community than those two are doing.

;)

Capcom said...

Speaking of ARG marketing, at the end of TLE, Jeep released a very detailed and graphic marketing matrix showing the success of their involvement in the first ARG. They cleverly charted out in the style of their Compass TLE page, each of the areas where Jeep participated. They even quoted ARGers who had mentioned Jeep in the posts, so they were keeping a close eye on what was going on, being said, etc. They even quoted someone from our site (FYSB). If I can find the captures that we took of the site, I'll post them here, it was pretty neat.

ObFuSc8 said...

Speaking of marketing -- if you like Adam Cambell's Vintage DHARMA Ads, you can by poster/prints of them and even purchase downloads.

Adam's Vintage DHARMA posters at ImageKind

Download Vinatge DHAMRA Ads at QOOP

Martyn said...

Awww, shucks! Number 15, 2 numbers out! So close!
Thanks Frank for the chance to win the chance to buy it and congrats to Ken, you lucky...

Will bid you all goodnight now, but am loving the friendly family vibe going on at the moment. And wouldn't it be a bit hectic to have a reveal on thanksgiving?

Capcom said...

Wow, thanks Obfusc8!

Martyn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Capcom said...

I'm signing out too, thanks all for another great week of fun and fury. :-)

And BTW, I'd like to say that Brendan is entitled to express his friendly opinion about this event, that's what we're all about here..."spirited debate" as Mittlewerk would say.

:o)

Amy Lynn said...

We are off to Best Buy to get a Blu Ray player! Lost University, here I come.

Just Thinking said...

Yes, I'm hosting TDay- so would be out of it for sure.

Just Thinking said...

Thanks Sam, yes the promo works now. It said it was removed due to "copyright infringement" with me before. Wonder what the black spots and lines through the words are meant to be? Yay- Vincent!

MJCarp said...

Ob_ did you notice the no. 4 in "The island like you've never experienced it."? Look familiar. I posted these links at "Unsolved Clues" (Zort70 will be opening that for comments soon?).

Did Mr. Campbell reply to your e-mail?

mungonna said...

Those ads are a hoot!!..Some really good dark humor there.

LT..what the heck is #4 screen shot? Looks like the water pouring in when jack opened the gates in the Hydra..either that or Macy's Thanksgiving Parade..

justanothersky said...

Thanks Just Thinking, Capcom, Amy Lynn, and JPL for the information on Thanksgiving Parade.
And that Balloon list was exactly what I was looking for! Thanks again JPL. (Went to the site prior to making previous post but didn’t find the list, until your post mentioning it.)

There is a “Sailor Mickey” giant balloon from Disney Cruise Line. Could Mickey possibly be the bearer of the next url? Lol.
Or maybe it’s on one of the floats: such as ‘Bridge to the Future’, ‘Dickens Christmas’, or ‘Jolly Polly Pirate Ship’?

Of course there’s also the possibility that the reveal might be around where the Parade is, but not necessarily be part of it.

ObFuSc8 said...

Thanks Frank for putting The Swan up, and congrats Ken!

Capcom -- No prob. I figure Adam's work deserves a shout out as well.

A lot of you already saw Jensen's post from earlier this month about the G1988 for the opening reception of Greg Simkins' "The Pearl Thief,". They had an art show puzzle and the person who solved the puzzle, traveled to a nearby destination then returned with the needed bounty to the gallery - got a free 5 x 5 inch painting.

42 Entertainment won the prize. Now 42 Entertainment themselves are interesting. Their mission is "to produce the worlds most innovative immersive entertainment." What exactly does that mean -- ARG! They were responsible for The Dark Night's viral marketing and an ARG for NIN's Year Zero.

From 42 Entertainment's website:
AUDIENCE -- Community, participation, and dialogue with the audience is at the heart of everything 42 creates. To build the broadest and most engaged audience, we customize our experiences for participants based on their level of interaction:

Casual/Level 1: Represent the broadest audience. They have a modest level of interaction which is focused primarily online; they seek a guide to help engage in the experience.

Active/Level 2: Representing the core "middle" audience, they have a significant level of interaction both online and offline; they engage on the experience at their own level and pace.

Enthusiastic/Level 3: Representing the "tip of the wedge" audience, they have a very high level of interaction both on- and off-line; they become deeply engaged in the experience by providing "content" of their own to the community.

ObFuSc8 said...

LT - I might be wrong, but I recall looking up screen shots of those monitors at the Hydra and I think the "4" was actually somewhat dull in the pic itself, so that's why both artists depicted it that way. I knew I should have bookmarked that screencap.

And, no reply yet from Adam Campbell. So either he hasn't seen it yet...or can't?

Jensen said something about the BACK of the business card from the Swag -- I wonder if he just made a mistake or if there's something there too.

mungonna said...

OB8..now thats even more of a hoot..Heck,,everytime i go to Las Vegas,,I see nothing BUT innovative immersive entertainment.. ARG! This is Umberto Eco's observation of modern man..creating Illusions, facade's..fantasies.. that become " real". 42 is like Vegas, in that they are trying to make money at it....So..what does that make me? Level shut the @&*# up?..I am not a level.

ObFuSc8 said...

Mel -- you are at once every level and at the same time no level at all -- a simple inverted wedge diagram cannot cannot represent you. You transcend their attempt to use the world merely as their platform! ;)

justanothersky said...

ObFusc8: the info on 42 Entertainment is interesting.

The first thing I noticed on the Macy's Parade site is that this year it goes on a new route. I have no idea what the old route was, but a few streets in the new route come with familiar numbers-- such as it starts on the 77 St.. Then later it will turn to 42 St. (watched the dance number on TV many times, never made the connection until now.)

Maybe 42 Entertainment is going to pull something on the 42nd St.? :)
In case that they are indeed involved, hopefully whatever they come up with will be much better than those from Hoodlum.

mungonna said...

What ever happened to Prof Irwin Corey anyway?

MJCarp said...

Ob_ can you link Jensen quote/article. tks.

Yes, the dim 4, which I am channeling tonight. not the image MEL, the un-illuminated numeral and that Ms. Bell's Love Triangle would repeat. Did they hand photos/still to artist? Just an Ob_sRvaTion.

Congested said...

"And that's why my hand..." arrived today. Looks great.

A little darker than I was expecting, and not sure if I'm still going to frame it. Seeing it in person I can now say it still doesn't beat Locke's Secret as my favorite poster, but I'm happy I got it.

mungonna said...

Well maybe you just hit the nail on the head LT..the 4th DIMemsion, Time. Perhaps the artist tips her bonnet to it?

justanothersky said...

LotteryTicket: the Jensen article is here: Beauty Solved

Don't know, might be looking too hard but this article reads as though it's a hint to how we should go about solving the missing letters / gaps in the RMA letters.

mungonna said...

Cong..yes.. this print needs a good light source on it for fuller appreciation..and..about 3 ft away is as far away as I like to be,,to enjoy the craftsmanship. Like the Hatch, Van and even Smokie..one is invited to get closer to it.

ObFuSc8 said...

I don't think 42 Entertainment is involved with any of this DCaaPB ARG. The stuff they have produced is much more involved and subtle -- like TLE. If there is anything remotely puzzle-like to the end of it, it probably comes from Jensen and crew themselves. It's juts interesting to see that folks who produce these ARG/viral projects have model of how the fan base responds/interacts.

Here are some screencaps of The Love Triangle with that "4" that's duller than the rest of the #'s. They are all from S3E6, I Do. The 4's consistently look duller, especially if you don't expand the pic.

PIC 1

PIC 2

PIC 3

Congested said...

Yeah. When all is said and done I've got some hard decisions to make as far as which one(s) to frame. I think Locke's Secret is definitely getting framed, but other than that I'm not so sure.

MJCarp said...

Well Ms. Bell may be tipping her bonnet but I'm tipping my head. DIMwitted.

MEL ImPesario Jensen is why I wanted to read Beauty Solved.

Night all. Will pick up here tomorrow. I fully expect a 'turkey' as a clue and this week we will be left in peace.

Today's comments lovely.

ObFuSc8 said...

Thanks for putting up that link justanothersky. I'm not taking that article as the key to solving a puzzle within DCaaPB. Just that 42 E's productions are much more like TLE, and Jensen's a bit simpler.

ObFuSc8 said...

LT -- from what I have heard so far, once they chose the artists, the artist was assigned a WCM. It seems it was up to the artist to take it from there. Each of these artists are LOST fans, but I guess they to vary in their "level of immersion" (to use 42 E's example) Casual/Active/Enthusiast.

Danger said he rewatched the ENTIRE series, over about 2 weeks looking for all shots of Jacobs Cabin, finding only one clear scene which showed the front. He extrapolated the rest.

I would guess that other artists may have watched episodes, found screencaps the same way we do -- online.

justanothersky said...

ObFuSc8: I was only joking when suggesting 42 Entertainment might be involved in DCaaPB. :)
But I'd expect that they might be involved in LU, or at least part of it.

And oh no, I didn't suggest that you think that article might be the key to solve puzzle within DCaaPB. But I am. It reads to me like a hint to solve the DCaaPB as the puzzles sounded very similar. Sorry if I wasn't clear in my previous post.

To be off-topic for a moment here: you might know this already but the maker of TLE was a British firm. I had the link to their site on another laptop which is not here with me. So can't provide any more info on that. Find815 was by Aussie firm, Hoodlum.
I remember later there were rather vague clues suggesting DWY/OGR was created by a US firm in LA, or the LA branch of Hoodlum... don't know which was true as I didn't follow up on that. Do you know which firm was it?

mungonna said...

I don't know about 1988..but I sure would like to see Simkin in one of these last two frames. His work is " Imagination Accessed" on display! Yea, the stuff of dreams..Surrealism Lives On! WHOOOWWEEE!

There have been so many mistakes.. it would be a daunting task just to figure out which ones are involved in the puzzle and which ones aren't.

comixguru said...

"I would like to add that both the "So you think you can dance" and the "cougar town" ARGs blow..."

too funny, Rev! :)

ObFuSc8 said...

Duh, sorry justanothersky, sometime I read too much into posts!

Not sure, I should look this up, but I think Hi-ReS was the UK co that produced TLE. I think DIR/OGR was also Hoodlum.

ObFuSc8 said...

Found the link to Hi-ReS wesite...on Lostpedia of course!

http://www.hi-res.net/

ObFuSc8 said...

OK, now reading what Lostpedia has, TLE website were all designed by Hi-ReS, but they actually had writers that wrote a plot of sorts?
Lostpedia lists Jordan Rosenberg with Javier Grillo-Marxuach having had some input.

justanothersky said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
justanothersky said...

Never too interested in Surrealism myself but I was fascinated by how Simkin is using gemstones as motifs & pairing them with some creepy crawly... which coincidentally is also one of the trends in jewellery design in recent years.
And there seems to be a relationship between a painting's saleability and the amount of gemstones/pearls within the painting itself. Interesting... :)

ObFuSc8: Ah yes thanks, the UK firm that produced TLE was Hi-ReS. I was never very good with the names lol.

And yeah Javier was involved, that's why TLE is the only one that had the most back-stories, which many are still considered as canon.
Many of us actually had some levels of interaction with Javier during as well as after TLE through email, phones & forum posts. So I remember him, but couldn't remember Hi-ReS. :P

Ok I remember now-- unlike the rest of the url, the 1st url ActuallyItsKetchup was registered by a LA web designer ( http://ali-n.com/ ) whose porfolio included the website for Talib Kweli. And if I remembered correctly Kweli's ads was constantly popping up on the SubLymonal site during TLE (those ads annoyed the hell out of me).

I know DCaaPB looked simple enough for any amateur to maintain. But surely there was some professional to help Tyson or Jensen or whoever when needed?
Not that it's of any importance. Just the mention of 42 Entertainment specialising in ARG made me wonder...
And thanks for looking up Lostpedia!

kiwilostie said...

ChrisL, spot on mate! No way these are 'just posters'. Thats the difference for me as a fan.

Roxanna said...

hi everyone! :)
I just read through hundreds of comments and it was wonderful!

I am new here in the sense that I have never really 'followed' LOST as most of you have. It's actually only been a year since my first episode, but that doesn't mean I am any less of a fan. I only found LostARGs because someone posted a link from the early days of damoncarltonandapolarbear.com when Paul was behind it. Anyways, I love it here. I have met several wonderful people who I will always have something in common with. And I will always stick to the theme of this ARG where 'there is no alternate reality. There is just reality.' I think that Damon & Carlton are doing a great job showing us the realities of this show & how it can impact our lives.

:)

ObFuSc8 said...

Hmmm I guess I didn't know that the 1st URL wasn't registered to ABC. The whois info also says it ActuallyItsKetchup.com was created on 8.13.09.

The Duval print -- didyouburyit.com was created 6.09.09.

All of the rest were created 5.12.09.

Not sure if any of that means anything except that the 1st URL was created/registered just before the first frame went live. Probably to keep us from searching out a list of URLs, though that's happened afterward.

ShoxTP said...

Just got through all the comments. Here's my take on my time here:

I've been here since TLE and a LOST fan since the second half of season 1. Though I don't really say much in the comments (because the people in here are extremely smart and take words right out of my mouth :) ), I feel like this community is a "second home". Its certainly the first thing i check when i'm near a computer. LOST to me is more than a show, more than an ARG and more than an obsession. Its a part of my life.

I don't think anything will ever live up to the first and only TLE. Find 815 was too produced and OGR was a great idea that went south. This "Appreciation event" i think has exceeded the original intentions of the creator and GoMerch. BUT after all is said and done i love the 3 prints i have. They were hard fought, and i realistically don't see myself being able to get any of the last 2. Its the nature of the beast, a beast we can't help but love.

kiwilostie said...

Ob, Im still wondering why they went with a 'new' URL last week. I figured that was the end of those URL's, but this week they go back to the original list?
Cant figure that one...

kiwilostie said...

So...Zort feel free to delete this if you wish...
Does this make the last 2 prints Jay Ryan and Sheppard Fairey? If that pans out, we all must realise that there would be a massive 'artists fanbase' going for the prints as well as us.
would have been neat if this whole thing had been more along the lines of "Butch from North Dakota, for The Hatch, or Capcom, for 'The Love Tringle' etc, or something...

kiwilostie said...

Ugh, typos galore... must be late!

kiwilostie said...

Ob, thanks for the vintage dharma ad links - very cool.
Oh yeah 200 posts!...

«Oldest ‹Older   1 – 200 of 207   Newer› Newest»