url: 02-may1.html name: Repentant clue: No offense taken. It's just my point of view. I personally think that college kids could do this. There have been several occasions where translations have shown the "creator" of the page either wasn't a native of the language, or didn't care, or (admittedly) could have deliberately used the language incorrectly. At least five of the images in this very puzzle are accessible from the UA library, and at least one is used in actual classwork. My college class certainly had groups that traditionally did weird things. I'm not from UA, but for me there's nothing here for me that states there's anything more than some college kids or people local to Tucson doing this. Frankly the college club/frat thing would be just the item to provide consistency over this timeframe. Look at it this way: 1. The only recorded calls have been from adolescents. 2. Most postmarks from mail delivered from "The Orphanage" come from the Tucson area, or at least in the AZ/CO region 3. There are many references to the Tucson area in the puzzles themselves 4. "The Pimp"? Please. Personally, I'm also slightly suspicious that Bryan knows something about this that he isn't telling. Not that he's "in on it", but that it points to local connections: 1. Bryan is aware of the person submitting the ads and has talked to him, but (as far as I'm aware) hasn't asked any questions. 2. Is there truly no log information that gets recorded when the Pimp or one of his cronies posts a message? 3. There are obvious references (email addresses, IP addresses, etc..) that are under "recent developments" that haven't been followed up. So Bryan could be busy, or he could have decided he doesn't want to know. There seems, however, to be a fair amount of meta-information that can be used to solve at least who is involved. I would respect the decision that the puzzle "shouldn't be spoiled", but that again leads to more of a college thing to me. So Bryan could be busy, or he could have decided he doesn't want to know. There seems, however, to be a fair amount of meta-information that can be used to solve at least who is involved. I would respect the decision that the puzzle "shouldn't be spoiled", but that again leads to more of a college thing to me. In the end, I'm only discussing the *origin* of this "puzzle". I do think there's something in here to be solved. And hey, it's just my opinion. I'm still of the belief that this all points to some annual club party somewhere. I do appreciate Mork's and Mr. Damien's comments just as much as Jessica, repubgirl, and near a terminal. I'll limit any further rantings to solving the puzzle. P.S. I'm "new" in that it was my first post. I've been watching the site for about two years now.
1: Have you actually seen any college kids/frat boys lately?
The single greatest feat I think I ever saw a frat boy pull off was managing to make a bong out of an Aunt Jemima syrup bottle. If in fact they ever existed, the days of jovial campus-sweater wearing intellectual pranksters are over - they don't exist anymore. It's all about date rape and Ford trucks now, man. You're going to have a hard time convincing me - or anybody else on this particular campus (and those of you reading this site, I encourage to chime in here) that your average college kid/frat monkey around here is even remotely capable of anything this complex.
Then there's the cost factor - if you can convince me there's a college kid/kids out there willing to plunk down this much cash over this many years (those ads aren't cheap) then perhaps, but last time I checked, full page ads ran about $1000. I don't know anybody that weird, man.
2: Going point by point on this one:
1. The only recorded calls have been from adolescents.
-The voices were masked somehow, yeah, but I wouldn't call them adolescent. The recordings suck, yes, but there wasn't much I could do about that.2. Most postmarks from mail delivered from "The Orphanage" come from the Tucson area, or at least in the AZ/CO region
3. There are many references to the Tucson area in the puzzles themselves
- I agree, and I've stated on here that I've always thought it to be a local thing. But then there's those postmarks from Denver, Boston, etc.4. "The Pimp"? Please.
- This is probably due to this: this early mail, where I specifically state that I prefer the pimp. What can I say... somehow I dig the pimp's lingo. So they break out the pimpness. In retrospect maybe I should have picked something a little more direct, but..
1. Bryan is aware of the person submitting the ads and has talked to him, but (as far as I'm
aware) hasn't asked any questions.
2. Is there truly no log information that gets recorded when the Pimp or one of his cronies
posts a message?
3. There are obvious references (email addresses, IP addresses, etc..) that are under "recent
developments" that haven't been followed up.
1) Yeah, and I think I explained this before, or in the new FAQ I've been handing out from the
still unfinished version 2.0 of this site:
Q: You worked at the paper, and someone had to be placing the ads. Why didn't you find out who that was? A: Yes, you're right. Someone was, and I did. Q: So, you know who the person who places the ads is? A: Yes, I have met them, briefly. Q: And? Did you confront them? A: Yes, and they deined any involvement save for acting on behalf of other 'parties'. And that was it. Q: And you didn't just beat information out of them? A: Nope. I'm not the type, and going about it that way seems pretty wrong to me. But, yeah, it annoys me. Q: So, will you just tell _me_ who it is? A: No. You can go work at the paper for a couple of years and figure it out for yourself. Q: So, are you hiding something? A: No, I'm not. I just reiterate that I believe in going about this in a certain way, and that pursuing the person who places the ads just because I have an unfair advantage of working at the paper isn't the way to go about it.
And this last one probably wraps it up
"So Bryan could be busy, or he could have decided he doesn't want to know. There seems, "
I am a very busy guy, and a long time ago when I was scanning all this crap in and making updates every day, yeah, maybe I would sit here and pick server logs apart and figure where every single IP came from, or spend more time dissecting clues - but, christ, I've been working on this for years and I'm no closer to any sort of solution, so it is either so far over my head that I'm not going to crack this thing or it is not meant to be 'solved' as far as I'm concerned. But between trying to keep myself employed and leading a semi normal life my interest level with all of this has dropped off, I will admit. I wish I had more time to devote to this, but at this point, I'm pulling some long freelance workdays and keeping up relations with the girlfriend. This is a much lower priority.
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 21:56:10 -0800 (PST) From: repubgirl@yahoo.com To: mayday@maydaymystery.org Subject: Repentant Parts/Attachments: 1 OK 25 lines Text 2 Shown 10 lines Text ---------------------------------------- I remember the halcyon days of the late Fall 1998 and early part of 1999 before that very first communication from our Friends landed in my inbox! I think those of us who have been hanging around here for (too) many moons quickly came to the conclusion that the messages are certainly not frat-rats pounding brew while they dream up their latest ad. If I'd caught even a glimmer of this being some sort of elaborate invitation to the latest "raging kegger" I wouldn't have spent hours and hours and hours pouring over the ads and chasing down clues and obscure references. "Look to the obvious" doesn't translate to "Dude, it's the Greeks!" Trust me when I tell you that we've collectively thought of and/or discussed every angle that you can imagine. I don't spend much time pondering the question "Who?" anymore because we're well aware that Bryan knows the answer to that particular question to some extent and he ain't tellin'! I know...because I've asked. I distinctly remember The Orphanage giving us the answer to the question "Why Tuscon?" in a letter sent to Martin. In true Orphanage fashion, it was something to the effect of "Why not Tuscon?" Martin loosely interpreted it to say, nobody would expect anything important to come from Arizona, especially their adversaries, with the possible exception of our BDH, of course. You shouldn't throw shade on Bryan for not spending more time than he has to devote on the Mystery. We all got sucked in initially and spent every spare hour looking at this stuff. Bryan once told me, "put it away for awhile before it makes you crazy." Things change. Responsibility and Priority knock on the door, jiggle the knob and come in through the window if we don't answer promptly. I applaud Bryan for sticking with this as long as he has. I still check the website weekly for updates. Every once in awhile I see or read something during the course of normal life that goes "dink dink" in my head (apologies to the pimp) and I can't wait to get home to drag out my Mayday files to see if it fits. I desperately want to know the answers to "Who?" What?" and "Why?" But, I completely agree with Bryan that it's either so far over my head that I'll never understand or it isn't supposed to be solved without some knowledge that can only be gained by being "in the loop." I've learned some pretty cool stuff during my obsession with the Mystery -- things I'd never have taken an interest in independently. So chill...and just enjoy the ride. -Repubgirl P.S. Personally, I find The Pimp hysterical -- quite possibly the most fascinating character in this whole saga -- and look forward to his email.