Pablo's ATH 2017 - User contributions [en]

Chat Solution

2018-01-19T12:47:20Z

2018-01-14T16:44:26Z

JoC:

[[File:Poster-001.png|200px]] 

'''[https://pablosath.com/2017-poster-A3-high.pdf The Poster (pdf)]''' 
[[Media:Poster-000.png|Full resolution image]] (The pdf is pretty much just a single image. Nothing hiding there this year!)

----

'''MAIN CHARACTERS''' 
The man on the poster is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Messier Charles Messier], wearing the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Honour Cross of the Legion of Honour]. He is recognisable from his portrait by [http://www.pastellists.com/articles/ansiaume.pdf Nicolas Anseaume]. See below for further references to Messier in the poster.

Other imagery points to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivier_Messiaen Olivier Eugène Charles Prosper Messiaen] being a main character (another 'Mess...' name). A celebrated composer and organist, Messiaen had synaesthesia (perceiving colours from sounds). This is reflected in the mapping of colours to music for ''Deck the Halls'' (see below). The colours of stained glass were another recurrent theme of his work; [https://www.allmusic.com/composition/un-vitrail-et-des-oiseaux-for-piano-17-winds-trumpet-8-percussion-i-55-mc0002395992 this] article states: 'The title of Olivier Messiaen's ''Un vitrail et des oiseaux'' invokes two of the composer's most poignant and favored images: the myriad colors of stained glass, and the endless melody of birdsong'. A devout Catholic, his music was also influenced by his faith.

A third character depicted is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Messi Lionel Andrés 'Leo' Messi Cuccittini] (another 'Mess...' name), the famous Argentinean footballer. The football boots which Messier is wearing are a Lionel Messi reference (see below). Messi is sometimes described by fans as FC Barcelona's [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnqwxxcdIlE saviour or messiah].

----

'''STARS/COMETS''' 
The bright cluster of coins depicts a comet. Messier was a comet hunter; the Messier catalogue (''Catalogue des Nébuleuses et des Amas d'Étoiles'') originated because he wanted to list (and rule out) those objects which were not comets. The 110 Messier objects in the catalogue are galaxies, planetary nebulae, other types of nebulae, and star clusters. On the poster, the 'moving' stars with trails and the 'fixed' stars on the ceiling call to mind the purpose of Messier's catalogue: to distinguish the moving comets from the fixed background objects. Eleven bright, 'moving' stars are depicted clearly, with a further two obscured by the main comet's tail; the total of 13 may represent the 13 comets which Messier is known to have discovered.

The comet's tail branches into streams that blend with the rainbow, and also upwards to the right; comet tails commonly consist of both [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_tail gas and dust] tails. The rainbow tail here is likely to depict a gas tail, with the dust tail represented by the whiter streaks to the right. Those lead up to where there is a round cluster (under the poster title) which may represent a nebula. Just above the 'P' of 'PUZZLES' there is also a small object that may depict a coin that has floated away from the rest, but is also similar to a faraway galaxy.

There are also stars painted on the domed ceiling, which makes it look rather like the interior of an observatory (where Messier would have worked). The Messerschmitt bubble car (see below) also has some links to comets. In his ''Vingt Regards III'' composition, Messiaen introduces the piece saying: 'Descente en gerbe, montée en spirale...' ('Descent in a shower of sparks, ascent in a spiral...'), referring to the Coming of Christ and his ascent back to heaven. This source [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_2V4i07PNzkC - p.353] points out that 'gerbe' also means the tail of a comet, and: '...in Christian images thus refers to the Star of Bethlehem'.

----

'''FLYING CAR''' 
Messier is riding a [http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/news/67521565/messerschmitt-is-all-car-even-with-wings-and-tailfin Messerschmitt bubble car], modified with the addition of wings and a tailfin. The bubble car came in a version with 'comet tail' trim, and there was a Messerschmitt Me 163 'Komet' rocket-powered airplane in WW2 - so this links to Messier and the comet illustrated, as well as the 'Mess...' name. The car shown on that website was modified to reference the Bf 109 airplane which is commonly called Me 109 (see [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_109 Wikipedia]), and the list of Messier Objects includes the barred spiral galaxy [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_109 M109].

----

'''RAINBOW FOOTBALL BOOTS''' 
As well as the illustrated rainbow, Messier's boots are rainbow hued (and rainbows are referenced in the stained glass panels). There is a range of Messi football boots, named after the famous footballer. These come in rainbow colours, notably the Adidas adiZero F50 Messi. Messi can be seen wearing the rainbow boots [http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/lionel-messi-dons-rainbow-boots-3158294 here], which says they carry his shirt number (10), his son's name (Thiago), and the Argentinian flag. The image below is from [https://u90soccer.com/blog/messi-debuts-adidas-rainbow-f50s/ this website]:

[[File:Adidas adiZero F50 Messi.png|200px]] 

----

'''COLOURED WINDOW PANELS''' 
There are four brightly coloured, panelled windows (which resemble stained glass). Each of the colours can be mapped to the notes of a major scale, using rainbow colour order as a key, with red being the lowest note and violet the highest. The heights of the panels represent the note lengths. Translated in this way the four windows can be read from top to bottom and left to right (NB: the red in the middle of the second window is an octave up). This yields the following eight bars: [[Media:DeckTheHalls.wav]], which are recognisably the end of a verse of ''Deck The Halls''.

The letters 'V.2 LL 3-4' are therefore 'Verse 2, lines 3 and 4', which (at least for the version on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deck_the_Halls Wikipedia], and with some ambiguity about what a 'line' is) would be:

''Follow me in merry measure,'' 
''Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!'' 
''While I sing of beauty's treasure,'' 
''Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la''

Applying the given substitutions yields:

''Follow me in me'''ss'''y '''pl'''easure,'' 
''Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!'' 
''While I sing of bu'''ried''' treasure,'' 
''Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la''

(The '+' symbol means that the note it marks (the first 'la') should be made sharp.)

So using the rainbow as a key gives us another 'mess' reference in 'messy pleasure'.

----

'''BUILDINGS''' 
Three architectural elements are depicted from the Musée de Cluny/musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris: the octagonal stair tower, turret (topped with golden finial) and leaf-patterned railings, which can be seen in [http://c7.alamy.com/comp/HBHD1C/musee-national-du-moyen-age-in-paris-formerly-known-as-musee-cluny-HBHD1C.jpg this photo]. Messier used an observatory at the top of the tower in the 18th century, when it was the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_de_Cluny_-_Mus%C3%A9e_national_du_Moyen_%C3%82ge Hôtel de Cluny]. The observatory was removed in the early 19th century but it is illustrated [http://messier.obspm.fr/Pics/History/cluny.jpg here] and [https://wikivisually.com/lang-fr/wiki/Fichier:Hotel_de_Cluny_XIX_century.jpg here] at an earlier time. As a museum today, it is renowned for its medieval collections which include illustrated manuscripts and stained glass.

The apse in the background is based on the Église de la Sainte-Trinité, Paris, where Olivier Messiaen was organist for over 60 years. The domed ceiling is a good match (albeit decorated with stars here, to link with the Messier theme). The architectural details of the church - such as the shape of the arched stonework over the round windows - can all be seen at [https://www.patrimoine-histoire.fr/Patrimoine/Paris/Paris_eSainteTrinite_v1.htm this website].

----
 
 
'''ANGELS AND OTHER STAINED GLASS IMAGERY''' 
There are three angels in the rounded windows left and right (same image, flipped horizontally). The central angel is carrying a musical instrument which looks very much like a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portative_organ portative organ/organetto]. 'Angel' derives from Late Latin 'angelus' (borrowed from Greek aggelos/ángelos), see [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel Wikipedia]; it means messenger - another 'mess...' word. This image is of a stained glass roundel in the Église de la Sainte-Trinité, Paris; see [https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/08/e5/5c/c8/eglise-de-la-trinite.jpg this photograph].

The lower right stained glass window, partly obscured by the comet tail, has a series of panels alternating repeats of the letters S and T intertwined (presumably for Sainte-Trinité) with cherubic faces. See [[Media:Poster-002.png|an enhanced image of this window]]. This image is also of stained glass in the Église de la Sainte-Trinité, Paris; see [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stained_glass_@_Eglise_de_la_Trinit%C3%A9_@_Paris_(31301532262).jpg this photograph]. The stained glass and architectural elements therefore tie together with Olivier Messiaen's connection with the Église de la Sainte-Trinité, and his lifelong influence from the colours of stained glass. The magnificence of stained glass first struck him as a boy of ten, when he underwent a [http://www.musicandpractice.org/volume-2/visualizing-visions-the-significance-of-messiaens-colours/ 'mystical experience'] upon gazing at the windows at Saint-Chapelle.

----

'''COINS SPILLING DOWN''' 
This is depicted as spilling from a pot found at the end of the rainbow, which traditionally denotes treasure!

----

'''ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS''' 
There are references to the ATH being solved over Advent (Latin "adventus", meaning coming or arrival), when Christians celebrate the Coming of the Messiah. This is reflected in the main image (Messier comet, cf. Messiah cometh); in the church imagery; in the possible reference of the comet to the Star of Bethlehem; and in the surnames of the three individuals who are most heavily referenced: Messier, Messiaen and Messi. Traditional Christmas festivities are alluded to by the snow-covered railings above which Messier is flying (in the courtyard of the Hôtel de Cluny), the fir trees with baubles (each topped with four of the brightest stars/comets), and the holly sprigs. There is also the ''Deck The Halls'' Christmas carol from the puzzle.

----

'''TITLE TYPEFACE''' 
GET READY FOR HOURS OF MADDENING FUN, AS YOU SOLVE PUZZLES, 
DECIPHER INSTRUCTIONS AND FIND HIDDEN TREASURE 
STARTS ON 15 DECEMBER SEE PABLOSATH.COM

The typeface used is Shangri La NF, designed by Nick Curtis of [http://www.nicksfonts.com/index.html Nick's Fonts]. It's based on a Victorian design in 'Modern Show Card Writing' by Joseph Bertram Jowitt, 1922, and may have been chosen because: 'Its letterforms, as well as its name, conjure up visions of faraway places' (i.e. stars, galaxies, nebulae and comets!) - see [https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/nicksfonts/shangri-la-nf/ description here].

2018-01-14T02:08:58Z

JoC:

[[File:Poster-001.png|200px]] 
'''[https://pablosath.com/2017-poster-A3-high.pdf The Poster (pdf)]''' 
[[Media:Poster-000.png|Full resolution image]] (The pdf is pretty much just a single image. Nothing hiding there this year!)

----

'''MAIN CHARACTERS''' 
The man on the poster is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Messier Charles Messier], wearing the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Honour Cross of the Legion of Honour]. He is recognisable from his portrait by [http://www.pastellists.com/articles/ansiaume.pdf Nicolas Anseaume]. See below for further references to Messier in the poster.

Other imagery points to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivier_Messiaen Olivier Eugène Charles Prosper Messiaen] being a main character (another 'Mess...' name). A celebrated composer and organist, Messiaen had synaesthesia (perceiving colours from sounds). This is reflected in the mapping of colours to music for ''Deck the Halls'' (see below). The colours of stained glass were another recurrent theme of his work; [https://www.allmusic.com/composition/un-vitrail-et-des-oiseaux-for-piano-17-winds-trumpet-8-percussion-i-55-mc0002395992 this] article states: 'The title of Olivier Messiaen's ''Un vitrail et des oiseaux'' invokes two of the composer's most poignant and favored images: the myriad colors of stained glass, and the endless melody of birdsong'. A devout Catholic, his music was also influenced by his faith.

A third character depicted is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Messi Lionel Andrés 'Leo' Messi Cuccittini] (another 'Mess...' name), the famous Argentinean footballer. The football boots which Messier is wearing are a Lionel Messi reference (see below). Messi is sometimes described by fans as FC Barcelona's [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnqwxxcdIlE saviour or messiah].

----

'''STARS/COMETS''' 
The bright cluster of coins depicts a comet. Messier was a comet hunter; the Messier catalogue (''Catalogue des Nébuleuses et des Amas d'Étoiles'') originated because he wanted to list (and rule out) those objects which were not comets. The 110 Messier objects in the catalogue are galaxies, planetary nebulae, other types of nebulae, and star clusters. On the poster, the 'moving' stars with trails and the 'fixed' stars on the ceiling call to mind the purpose of Messier's catalogue: to distinguish the moving comets from the fixed background objects. Eleven bright, 'moving' stars are depicted clearly, with a further two obscured by the main comet's tail; the total of 13 may represent the 13 comets which Messier is known to have discovered.

The comet's tail branches into streams that blend with the rainbow, and also upwards to the right; comet tails commonly consist of both [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_tail gas and dust] tails. The rainbow tail here is likely to depict a gas tail, with the dust tail represented by the whiter streaks to the right. Those lead up to where there is a round cluster (under the poster title) which may represent a nebula. Just above the 'P' of 'PUZZLES' there is also a small object that may depict a coin that has floated away from the rest, but is also similar to a faraway galaxy.

There are also stars painted on the domed ceiling, which makes it look rather like the interior of an observatory (where Messier would have worked). The Messerschmitt bubble car (see below) also has some links to comets.

----

'''FLYING CAR''' 
Messier is riding a [http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/news/67521565/messerschmitt-is-all-car-even-with-wings-and-tailfin Messerschmitt bubble car], modified with the addition of wings and a tailfin. The bubble car came in a version with 'comet tail' trim, and there was a Messerschmitt Me 163 'Komet' rocket-powered airplane in WW2 - so this links to Messier and the comet illustrated, as well as the 'Mess...' name. The car shown on that website was modified to reference the Bf 109 airplane which is commonly called Me 109 (see [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_109 Wikipedia]), and the list of Messier Objects includes the barred spiral galaxy [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_109 M109].

----

'''RAINBOW FOOTBALL BOOTS''' 
As well as the illustrated rainbow, Messier's boots are rainbow hued (and rainbows are also referenced elsewhere). There is a range of Messi football boots, named after the famous footballer. These come in rainbow colours, notably the Adidas adiZero F50 Messi. Messi can be seen wearing the rainbow boots [http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/lionel-messi-dons-rainbow-boots-3158294 here], which says they carry his shirt number (10), his son's name (Thiago), and the Argentinian flag. The image below is from [https://u90soccer.com/blog/messi-debuts-adidas-rainbow-f50s/ this website]:

[[File:Adidas adiZero F50 Messi.png|200px]] 

----

'''COLOURED WINDOW PANELS''' 
There are four brightly coloured panels (which resemble stained glass). Each of the colours can be mapped to the notes of a major scale, using rainbow colour order as a key, with red being the lowest note and violet the highest. The heights of the panels represent the note lengths. Translated in this way the four windows can be read from top to bottom and left to right (NB: the red in the middle of the second window is an octave up). This yields the following eight bars: [[Media:DeckTheHalls.wav]], which are recognisably the end of a verse of ''Deck The Halls''.

The letters 'V.2 LL 3-4' are therefore 'Verse 2, lines 3 and 4', which (at least for the version on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deck_the_Halls Wikipedia], and with some ambiguity about what a 'line' is) would be:

''Follow me in merry measure,'' 
''Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!'' 
''While I sing of beauty's treasure,'' 
''Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la''

Applying the given substitutions yields:

''Follow me in me'''ss'''y '''pl'''easure,'' 
''Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!'' 
''While I sing of bu'''ried''' treasure,'' 
''Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la''

(The '+' symbol means that the note it marks (the first 'la') should be made sharp.)

So using the rainbow as a key gives us another 'mess' reference in 'messy pleasure'.

----

'''BUILDINGS''' 
Three architectural elements are depicted from the Musée de Cluny/musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris: the octagonal stair tower, turret (topped with golden finial) and leaf-patterned railings, which can be seen in [http://c7.alamy.com/comp/HBHD1C/musee-national-du-moyen-age-in-paris-formerly-known-as-musee-cluny-HBHD1C.jpg this Alamy stock photo]. Messier used an observatory at the top of the tower in the 18th century, when it was the Hôtel de Cluny (see [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_de_Cluny_-_Mus%C3%A9e_national_du_Moyen_%C3%82ge Wikipedia]). The observatory was removed in the early 19th century but these two illustrations show how it would have appeared: [https://wikivisually.com/lang-fr/wiki/Fichier:Hotel_de_Cluny_XIX_century.jpg] and [http://messier.obspm.fr/Pics/History/cluny.jpg]. As a museum today, it is renowned for its medieval collections which include illustrated manuscripts and stained glass.

The apse in the background is based on the Église de la Sainte-Trinité, Paris, where Olivier Messiaen was organist for over 60 years. The domed ceiling is a good match (albeit decorated with stars here, to link with the Messier theme). The architectural details of the church - such as the shape of the arched stonework over the round windows - can all be seen at [https://www.patrimoine-histoire.fr/Patrimoine/Paris/Paris_eSainteTrinite_v1.htm this website].

----

'''ANGELS AND OTHER STAINED GLASS IMAGERY''' 
There are three angels in the rounded windows left and right (same image, flipped horizontally). The central angel is carrying a musical instrument which looks very much like a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portative_organ portative organ/organetto]. 'Angel' derives from Late Latin 'angelus' (borrowed from Greek aggelos/ángelos), see [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel Wikipedia]; it means messenger - another 'mess...' word. This image is of a stained glass roundel in the Église de la Sainte-Trinité, Paris; see [https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/08/e5/5c/c8/eglise-de-la-trinite.jpg this photograph].

The lower right stained glass window, partly obscured by the comet tail, has a series of panels alternating repeats of the letters S and T intertwined (presumably for Sainte-Trinité) with cherubic faces. See [[Media:Poster-002.png|An enhanced image of this window]]. This image is also of stained glass in the Église de la Sainte-Trinité, Paris; see [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stained_glass_@_Eglise_de_la_Trinit%C3%A9_@_Paris_(31301532262).jpg this photograph]. The stained glass and architectural elements therefore tie together with Olivier Messiaen's connection with the Église de la Sainte-Trinité, and his lifelong influence from the colours of stained glass.

----

'''COINS SPILLING DOWN''' 
This is depicted as spilling from a pot found at the end of the rainbow, which traditionally denotes treasure!

----

'''ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS''' 
There are references to the ATH being solved over Advent (Latin "adventus", meaning coming or arrival), when Christians celebrate the Coming of the Messiah. This is reflected in the main image (Messier comet, cf. Messiah cometh); in the church imagery; in the possible reference of the comet to the Star of Bethlehem; and in the surnames of the three individuals who are most heavily referenced: Charles Messier, Olivier Messiaen and Lionel Messi. Traditional Christmas festivities are alluded to by the snow-covered railings above which Messier is flying (in the courtyard of the Hôtel de Cluny), the fir trees with baubles (each topped with four of the brightest stars/comets), and the holly sprigs. There is also the 'Deck The Halls' Christmas carol from the puzzle.

----

'''TITLE TYPEFACE''' 
GET READY FOR HOURS OF MADDENING FUN, AS YOU SOLVE PUZZLES, 
DECIPHER INSTRUCTIONS AND FIND HIDDEN TREASURE 
STARTS ON 15 DECEMBER SEE PABLOSATH.COM

The typeface used is Shangri La NF, designed by Nick Curtis of [http://www.nicksfonts.com/index.html Nick's Fonts]. It's based on a Victorian design in 'Modern Show Card Writing' by Joseph Bertram Jowitt, 1922, and may have been chosen because: 'Its letterforms, as well as its name, conjure up visions of faraway places' (i.e. stars, galaxies, nebulae and comets!) - see [https://www.myfonts.com/fonts/nicksfonts/shangri-la-nf/ description here].