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

November 14, 2006 7:20 PM

To follow up the intense mystery of this AskMe, a resolution at last. Well. Um, see for yourself [flash]. from here
posted by thirteenkiller to MetaFilter-Related at 7:20 PM (67 comments total)

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.
posted by thirteenkiller at 7:27 PM on November 14, 2006

Awwwwwwwww. Sucks.
posted by klangklangston at 7:29 PM on November 14, 2006

A goddamn ski resort? That's it?
posted by bob sarabia at 7:30 PM on November 14, 2006

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.
posted by Arcaz Ino at 7:31 PM on November 14, 2006

Wow. And somebody got paid for that. Wow.

Ew. I hate the internets now.
posted by trip and a half at 7:36 PM on November 14, 2006

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?
posted by cortex at 7:39 PM on November 14, 2006 [1 favorite]

Because I'd feel a bit better about that (yay wacky capitalism!) than the alternative. Which makes no goddam sense.
posted by cortex at 7:40 PM on November 14, 2006

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

YOU BLEW IT UP GOD DAMN YOU
posted by Arcaz Ino at 7:44 PM on November 14, 2006

THANKS A LOT. YOU JUST GAVE AWAY THE END SPOILERS TO LOST
posted by Smart Dalek at 7:46 PM on November 14, 2006

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.
posted by shelleycat at 7:51 PM on November 14, 2006

My cats didn't notice a thing; so, all's well.
posted by taosbat at 7:54 PM on November 14, 2006

but the hype was created by YOU
posted by chococat at 7:54 PM on November 14, 2006

not you personally, but YOU in a more general, nerdy internet-sleuthy hype-prone way
posted by chococat at 7:55 PM on November 14, 2006

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.
posted by sportbucket at 7:56 PM on November 14, 2006

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?
posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:02 PM on November 14, 2006

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.
posted by ikkyu2 at 8:02 PM on November 14, 2006 [3 favorites]

most pretentious tourist trap EVER
posted by pyramid termite at 8:03 PM on November 14, 2006

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.
posted by sportbucket at 8:04 PM on November 14, 2006

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.
posted by Arcaz Ino at 8:05 PM on November 14, 2006

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.
posted by taosbat at 8:05 PM on November 14, 2006

"Be sure to drink your Ovaltine^TM."
posted by ericb at 8:05 PM on November 14, 2006 [3 favorites]

Taos Blue. Bleh. I am so depressed right now... if only I knew of a really great ski resort to relax in...
posted by trip and a half at 8:13 PM on November 14, 2006

The Ski Taos site has just undergone a total redesign to fit in with the theme. It's a lot more impressive now.
posted by Arcaz Ino at 8:15 PM on November 14, 2006

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.
posted by bob sarabia at 8:21 PM on November 14, 2006

#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*
posted by trip and a half at 8:26 PM on November 14, 2006

Freaky. I loaded the page, then gave up and closed it, and it still kept playing the music!
posted by smackfu at 8:27 PM on November 14, 2006

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.
posted by taosbat at 8:28 PM on November 14, 2006

Finally, I'll be able to sleep!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:32 PM on November 14, 2006

*eyes taosbat warily*
posted by cortex at 8:44 PM on November 14, 2006

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.
posted by taosbat at 9:01 PM on November 14, 2006 [1 favorite]

I was being silly.
posted by cortex at 9:12 PM on November 14, 2006

ok
posted by taosbat at 9:15 PM on November 14, 2006

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

(yes, I have at least earned another beer)
posted by moonbird at 9:42 PM on November 14, 2006

Reading through the thread with everyone hot on the "trail" is a bit funny, now, in retrospect.
posted by rsanheim at 10:01 PM on November 14, 2006

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

Could you set that to music?
posted by Cranberry at 10:02 PM on November 14, 2006

Sigh.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:36 PM on November 14, 2006

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

Hey taosbat: this might help.
posted by spacelux at 11:29 PM on November 14, 2006 [1 favorite]

I have not the words.
posted by greycap at 11:44 PM on November 14, 2006

Boo!

What a disappointment. :|
posted by kosher_jenny at 12:12 AM on November 15, 2006

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.
posted by Matt Oneiros at 12:28 AM on November 15, 2006

what a bummer
posted by kolophon at 12:38 AM on November 15, 2006

called it!
advertisement...check.
incompetent...check.
at the time, incomplete...check.
posted by juv3nal at 12:47 AM on November 15, 2006

How do we know this ski resort actually exists and is not just part of the puzzle again?
posted by divabat at 5:00 AM on November 15, 2006

Thanks for the link, spacelux.
posted by taosbat at 5:58 AM on November 15, 2006

I knew it all along.
posted by Astro Zombie at 6:33 AM on November 15, 2006

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.
posted by Mid at 6:52 AM on November 15, 2006

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.
posted by Mister_A at 7:24 AM on November 15, 2006

So now they get sued by Wayne right?

I certainly hope so.
posted by WoWgmr72 at 7:45 AM on November 15, 2006

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!
posted by Pastabagel at 7:55 AM on November 15, 2006

I remain, as ever, fairly gruntled.
posted by blue_beetle at 8:11 AM on November 15, 2006

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.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:18 AM on November 15, 2006

Heh.

gnfti, I was just thinking about you.
posted by cortex at 8:31 AM on November 15, 2006

I cannot remember the last time I was this fucking annoyed. Stupid internets. Sigh...
posted by KAS at 8:47 AM on November 15, 2006

(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.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:52 AM on November 15, 2006

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.
posted by Durin's Bane at 4:24 PM on November 15, 2006

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.
posted by delmoi at 4:38 PM on November 15, 2006

some AIs can pass the turing test against stupid humans.

What's a turing test?

* hides in cave from impending AI overlords *
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:27 PM on November 15, 2006

delmoi seems to be pinging my uncanny valley.
posted by Arcaz Ino at 6:04 PM on November 15, 2006

turing test: how to tell whether you're dealing with a computer or a human.
posted by taosbat at 6:07 PM on November 15, 2006

so, when artificial intelligence doesn't work, the solution is to lower the bar on what artificial intelligence is? that's dumb.
posted by quonsar at 6:15 PM on November 15, 2006

When artificial intelligence doesn't work, the solution is to rid ourselves of this glitz and ski Taos.
posted by thirteenkiller at 6:22 PM on November 15, 2006

Like Jesus did.
posted by thirteenkiller at 6:22 PM on November 15, 2006

Ah yes, "The Skiin' on the Mount".
posted by cortex at 6:24 PM on November 15, 2006

Don't forget Jesus 'walking' on the frozen water.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:57 PM on November 15, 2006

"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
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:15 PM on November 15, 2006 [1 favorite]

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.
posted by weretable and the undead chairs at 9:43 PM on November 15, 2006

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

Indeed.
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:34 PM on November 15, 2006