Comments on: B-E S-U-R-E T-O D-R-I-N-K Y-O-U-R O-V-A-L-T-I-N-E: A resolution of a mystery site

B-E S-U-R-E T-O D-R-I-N-K Y-O-U-R O-V-A-L-T-I-N-E: A resolution of a mystery site

thirteenkiller — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:20:29 -0800

To follow up the intense mystery of this AskMe, a resolution at last. Well. Um, see for yourself [flash]. from here

By: thirteenkiller

thirteenkiller — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:27:30 -0800

Oh yeah, I guess that's kinda a spoiler - don't click if you really wanted to figure it out on your own. But trust me, it's really lame.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:29:28 -0800

Awwwwwwwww. Sucks.

By: bob sarabia

bob sarabia — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:30:15 -0800

A goddamn ski resort? That's it?

By: Arcaz Ino

Arcaz Ino — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:31:16 -0800

It was so obvious. What is the most animalistic, down-to-earth, non-glitzy thing a person can do? Go to a fucking ski resort. Duh.

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:36:35 -0800

Wow. And somebody got paid for that. Wow.

Ew. I hate the internets now.

By: cortex

cortex — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:39:57 -0800

Question: is it possible that someone speculatively arranged the Big Mystery and then, having established the presence of genuine non-specific buzz, sold the reveal to the highest bidder?

By: cortex

cortex — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:40:36 -0800

Because I'd feel a bit better about that (yay wacky capitalism!) than the alternative. Which makes no goddam sense.

By: Arcaz Ino

Arcaz Ino — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:44:31 -0800

No cortex, I don't think that's possible. I'm sorry. We're all sorry.

YOU BLEW IT UP GOD DAMN YOU

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:46:30 -0800

THANKS A LOT. YOU JUST GAVE AWAY THE END SPOILERS TO LOST

By: shelleycat

shelleycat — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:51:31 -0800

Meh. I was over this whole thing ages ago when it was obvious that there was much less thought put in by the makers than we were putting in. But this is still a totally sucky anti-climax. I hope the hype totally backfires on them.

By: taosbat

taosbat — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:54:22 -0800

My cats didn't notice a thing; so, all's well.

By: chococat

chococat — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:54:25 -0800

but the hype was created by YOU

By: chococat

chococat — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:55:57 -0800

not you personally, but YOU in a more general, nerdy internet-sleuthy hype-prone way

By: sportbucket

sportbucket — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:56:22 -0800

I guess you can all blame me for this, since I posted the AskMe thread. I'm satisfied, though -- my question was answered. Thanks to everyone who helped.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:02:30 -0800

I can't get the movie to load. Which ski resort is it, exactly? Was it at least somewhere near Taos like the clues predicted?

By: ikkyu2

ikkyu2 — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:02:54 -0800

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:03:13 -0800

most pretentious tourist trap EVER

By: sportbucket

sportbucket — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:04:10 -0800

it's Taos Ski Valley. Looks like thepurification.org is broken now, but the ski resort site has a new intro movie. That's the launch, I guess.

By: Arcaz Ino

Arcaz Ino — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:05:20 -0800

It was Taos. Ski Taos. When the name "Taos" was found in the source code of the web page, people assumed it was a clue to help answer the mystery, but in fact, it was the answer. I doubt whoever made the site even thought about it.

By: taosbat

taosbat — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:05:21 -0800

Name Server:NS1.BROWNRICE.COM
Name Server:NS2.BROWNRICE.COM

I suppose that's why I never heard back from Oban Lambie about that thing.

By: ericb

ericb — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:05:39 -0800

"Be sure to drink your Ovaltine^TM."

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:13:23 -0800

Taos Blue. Bleh. I am so depressed right now... if only I knew of a really great ski resort to relax in...

By: Arcaz Ino

Arcaz Ino — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:15:56 -0800

The Ski Taos site has just undergone a total redesign to fit in with the theme. It's a lot more impressive now.

By: bob sarabia

bob sarabia — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:21:55 -0800

Hm, that's weird. It looks better now though.

I actually spent thanksgiving skiing in Taos some years back. I had altitude sickness and spent the entire time throwing up/laying in bed. So thanks for bring back that bad memory, purification people.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:22:21 -0800

Wow, I wasn't even involved in the original question, and I feel like shooting whomever made this crap.

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:26:47 -0800

#Arcaz InoThe Ski Taos site has just undergone a total redesign to fit in with the theme. It's a lot more impressive now.:

*revisits viral-marketed website*

*goes skiing!*

*impales self on ski pole*

By: smackfu

smackfu — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:27:44 -0800

Freaky. I loaded the page, then gave up and closed it, and it still kept playing the music!

By: taosbat

taosbat — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:28:55 -0800

That's actually true, Arcaz Ino, the ski taos site is a lot cooler than the last time I looked at it. It's too bad homie's gonna get slammed here.

By: Alvy Ampersand

Alvy Ampersand — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:32:55 -0800

Finally, I'll be able to sleep!

By: cortex

cortex — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 20:44:04 -0800

*eyes taosbat warily*

By: taosbat

taosbat — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 21:01:12 -0800

I was invited to this game by tellurian, cortex. I asked around town a bit; but, I didn't ask the brownrice crew. And, they really did do a nice overhaul of the ski taos web site.

I haven't used a lot of flash in my web sites, just a couple of simple banners. I have an update scheduled for one of those soon. I'm going to see if the work-arounds for IE to not display that annoying "Click to activate this control" stuff are worth the effort.

By: cortex

cortex — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 21:12:54 -0800

I was being silly.

By: taosbat

taosbat — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 21:15:25 -0800

By: moonbird

moonbird — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 21:42:10 -0800

oh lawd; i knew i was wasting far too much time on absolute pap... again...

(yes, I have at least earned another beer)

By: Item

Item — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 21:43:41 -0800

I'd forgotten about this whole mess, but just so it's very, very clear:

I have honestly thought about vacationing in New Mexico sometime in the near future.

Fat fucking chance, now.

By: rsanheim

rsanheim — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 22:01:05 -0800

Reading through the thread with everyone hot on the "trail" is a bit funny, now, in retrospect.

By: Cranberry

Cranberry — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 22:02:40 -0800

I was being silly. posted by cortex at 9:12 PM PST on November 14 [+] [!]

Could you set that to music?

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 22:36:05 -0800

Sigh.

By: spacelux

spacelux — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 23:29:52 -0800

Eeew! Although I didn't try figuring out the original question, I feel dirty for even thinking about it.

Hey taosbat: this might help.

By: greycap

greycap — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 23:44:57 -0800

I have not the words.

By: kosher_jenny

kosher_jenny — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:12:02 -0800

Boo!

What a disappointment. :|

By: Matt Oneiros

Matt Oneiros — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:28:55 -0800

Well, I was wrong. It wasn't entirely nothing. I kind of wish it had been, watching that ad just made me a little bit pissed off.

Guess I was right about there not being any mystery to it.

By: kolophon

kolophon — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:38:35 -0800

what a bummer

By: juv3nal

juv3nal — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:47:19 -0800

called it!
advertisement...check.
incompetent...check.
at the time, incomplete...check.

By: divabat

divabat — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 05:00:14 -0800

How do we know this ski resort actually exists and is not just part of the puzzle again?

By: taosbat

taosbat — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 05:58:08 -0800

Thanks for the link, spacelux.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 06:33:06 -0800

I knew it all along.

By: Mid

Mid — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 06:52:29 -0800

Completely lame. I can't beleive someone payed a marketing firm to put this thing together. The puzzle doesn't even make sense, has nothing to do with the product, and contained a bunch of false "clues" that led the players to contact and bother people in real life.

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 07:24:56 -0800

I am going to shoot the next copywriter who proposes a "viral" tactic or campaign. And then, hit him or her in the face with a cast-iron skillet.

By: WoWgmr72

WoWgmr72 — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 07:45:00 -0800

So now they get sued by Wayne right?

I certainly hope so.

By: Pastabagel

Pastabagel — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 07:55:18 -0800

This site would have been more consistent if they advised you to blow up the ski resort rather than visit it. Now that's purification!

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 08:11:20 -0800

I remain, as ever, fairly gruntled.

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 08:18:08 -0800

This is the result of an artist choosing the most pleasing placement of the variables, regardless of whether or not he's representing a realistic view. The resort shown could not exist.

By: cortex

cortex — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 08:31:52 -0800

Heh.

gnfti, I was just thinking about you.

By: KAS

KAS — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 08:47:20 -0800

I cannot remember the last time I was this fucking annoyed. Stupid internets. Sigh...

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 08:52:15 -0800

(but, damningly, very long)

True. We've got to the point in the album where we've laid the manic, effed up stuff to rest for a bit and do our best to churn out unabashed, syrupy Pop Songs ©. B-movies seemed a good contender in principle: we did the band take at what at first seemed a ridicuslously high tempo to me (which upon playback turned out to be perfectly reasonable - trust thine drummer's sensibility), and it came out sugary sweet; but still, five minutes. I need to write a 3-minute crystalline pop song stat.

This Editor stuff is plain mercenary.

No hard feelings. Looks to me you've done an excellent job.

By: Durin's Bane

Durin's Bane — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 16:24:27 -0800

How do we know this ski resort actually exists and is not just part of the puzzle again?

Ok, now this would be cool, even if the resort actually exists. Maybe you have to go there and do some legwork. You know, break into a secret mainframe or something. This could be the premise for a pretty good cyberpunk/thiller novel.

Well it's settled. In my reality, the puzzle is still on.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 16:38:06 -0800

I would be willing to hazard a bet that, when artificial intelligence is finally achieved, it will be the by-product of someone trying to create an algorithm to exclude crap like this from his attention.

Cute, but "AI" is not like the X-ray, which will suddenly pop into existence. AI-like things have been created and advanced upon for decades. Lots of "AI" stuff exists already, and some AIs can pass the turing test against stupid humans.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 17:27:50 -0800

some AIs can pass the turing test against stupid humans.

What's a turing test?

* hides in cave from impending AI overlords *

By: Arcaz Ino

Arcaz Ino — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 18:04:19 -0800

delmoi seems to be pinging my uncanny valley.

By: taosbat

taosbat — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 18:07:06 -0800

turing test: how to tell whether you're dealing with a computer or a human.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 18:15:15 -0800

so, when artificial intelligence doesn't work, the solution is to lower the bar on what artificial intelligence is? that's dumb.

By: thirteenkiller

thirteenkiller — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 18:22:16 -0800

When artificial intelligence doesn't work, the solution is to rid ourselves of this glitz and ski Taos.

By: thirteenkiller

thirteenkiller — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 18:22:26 -0800

Like Jesus did.

By: cortex

cortex — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 18:24:28 -0800

Ah yes, "The Skiin' on the Mount".

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 18:57:09 -0800

Don't forget Jesus 'walking' on the frozen water.

By: Alvy Ampersand

Alvy Ampersand — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 20:15:21 -0800

"Hey, some patches were pretty thin. And the sun was out, so there was that thin layer of water on top of the ice that makes it slippery, let's see you guys walk on that shit in sandals without falling on your ass, mmmkay?"

-Excerpted from Matthew's Surprisingly Defensive Letter to the Aquilonians II

By: weretable and the undead chairs

weretable and the undead chairs — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 21:43:29 -0800

huh. i abandoned the thread ages ago after deciding it was probably wayne's teenage kid messing around with flash or something lame like that.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 22:34:42 -0800

let's see you guys walk on that shit in sandals without falling on your ass, mmmkay?

Indeed.