TOYNBEE IDEA / IN KubricK's 2001 / RESURRECT DEAD / ON PLANET JUPiTER.

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This is freaking me out a little bit.

roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Monday, 25 October 2004 02:03 (nineteen years ago) link

i like the space invaders guy better. maybe even the 12 galaxies guy too.

gygax! (gygax!), Monday, 25 October 2004 02:13 (nineteen years ago) link

this is way cooler. fuck having a website for some installation bullshit

sometimes i like to pretend i am very small and warm (ex machina), Monday, 25 October 2004 06:45 (nineteen years ago) link

nine months pass...
these are all over the city here. i had no idea it was so widespread. awesome

amon (eman), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 02:51 (eighteen years ago) link

AMON/EMAN/MASSES

I'm Hi, Jared Fogle (ex machina), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 03:09 (eighteen years ago) link

http://www.toynbee.net/

amon (eman), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 03:40 (eighteen years ago) link

there's a couple in my neighborhood, they're quite attractive.

teeny (teeny), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 08:11 (eighteen years ago) link

someone move 'zig'

N_RQ, Tuesday, 16 August 2005 08:14 (eighteen years ago) link

two years pass...

resurrect dead

hstencil, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 06:42 (sixteen years ago) link

I finally saw one of these! In DC! It was sweet. I do not recall the intersection.

El Tomboto, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 06:47 (sixteen years ago) link

HOLY SHIT!!!!!!! A TOYNBEE TILE THREAD??? There was always one on 5th (?) & South in Phila right next to Starbucks. I fucking love these things; this CrimethInc book I've got shows you how to make them yrself (kickass!!). I have the ingredients but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Stevie D, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 07:07 (sixteen years ago) link

i remember them freaking me out a little as a kid walking in manhattan

sanskrit, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 13:04 (sixteen years ago) link

but kind of a good scary

sanskrit, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 13:04 (sixteen years ago) link

<i>I finally saw one of these! In DC! It was sweet. I do not recall the intersection.</i>

I know I saw one several years ago near 18th and H Streets NW.

j.lu, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 13:44 (sixteen years ago) link

i still havent seen one :<

sleep, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 14:04 (sixteen years ago) link

oh wow this one is RIGHT next to my office
http://toynbee.net/images/toynbee.jpg

i'll check for it at lunch but it's probably gone by now

sleep, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 14:10 (sixteen years ago) link

this CrimethInc book I've got shows you how to make them yrself (kickass!!)

so is it commonly accepted that just anyone makes these now and they aren't all done by one crazy person?

akm, Tuesday, 28 August 2007 14:16 (sixteen years ago) link

three years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xpGrGqCe9s

johnny crunch, Saturday, 26 February 2011 19:07 (thirteen years ago) link

one year passes...

this doc was p cool ~ nice duality w/r/t main investigator bro also being like an outsider art guy & into birds, etc

johnny crunch, Saturday, 3 March 2012 16:10 (twelve years ago) link

Yeah, and it was implied (especially in the comments by his brother and ex-girlfriend) he kind of had a more than healthy obsession on the tiles, sort of like the tiler himself was obsessed about his paranoid theories, which then made the final scene quite touching. A good documentary, it was nice to see how the Toynbee tile researchers managed to come up with a pretty convincing solution based on minimal clues. Also, based on the few scenes in this movie, I would love to see a full documentary on those shortwave enthusiasts. The guy who claimed to be able to transmit telepathic signals via a literal foil hat was amazing!

Tuomas, Saturday, 3 March 2012 22:33 (twelve years ago) link

i listened to the commentary and they talked abt how they felt really out of place @ that shortwave convention & were really hesitant to film the foil hat guys lecture (which i guess had some more substantial parts but when he went into the foil hat bit, they couldnt resist)

johnny crunch, Saturday, 3 March 2012 22:40 (twelve years ago) link

Haha, no doubt!

I read some comments on the net where people complain that the final scene with the main investigator's story felt too convenient... But I don't think the movie expects us to take it at face value, like I said it's quite obvious the guy's obsessed with the tiles, so everything he says about the investigation is not necessarily objective. (Btw, I loved how the doc was always on the verge of going from "true story" to "paranoid imaginings", yet it never quite crossed the line; like the guy who claims to have heard the Toynbee tile mean speak through his television, and at first you're like, "He's obviously crazy!", but then later on they find a possible explanation for the television thing.) So whether or not his story is true, the more important thing is that he got the closure he needed.

Tuomas, Saturday, 3 March 2012 22:53 (twelve years ago) link

"Toynbee tile mean" = "Toynbee tile man"

Tuomas, Saturday, 3 March 2012 22:54 (twelve years ago) link

eight months pass...

"Well done lads, you've spent an inordinate amount of time looking into these tiles and you've found an old recluse with mental issues who doesn't want to talk to you. Well done indeed." - my housemate after watching the doc with me.

give me back my 200 dollars (NotEnough), Monday, 5 November 2012 13:42 (eleven years ago) link

Although realistically, once you ruled out the j3wi$h media conspirators, it was always gonna be a lonely guy with mental issues.

give me back my 200 dollars (NotEnough), Monday, 5 November 2012 13:43 (eleven years ago) link

It's like how knowing how the magic trick is done makes the trick way less interesting.

give me back my 200 dollars (NotEnough), Monday, 5 November 2012 13:45 (eleven years ago) link

your housemate sounds like a jerk

Jesus said "What the hell is a Wumpscut?" (jjjusten), Monday, 5 November 2012 16:36 (eleven years ago) link

three weeks pass...

The one thing the filmmakers didn't account for was that the Toynbee guy might be a just-out-of-reach paranoid schizophrenic and how dare he screw up their big Sundance plans. I wish they had made a shorter film using just the animation style they had - not everything has to be feature length.

On the other hand, I did find a video on how to make the tiles...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDihyZlAW-0

Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 27 November 2012 18:04 (eleven years ago) link

ten months pass...

The one thing the filmmakers didn't account for was that the Toynbee guy might be a just-out-of-reach paranoid schizophrenic

the certainly accounted for this. they mention the possibility (and even extreme likelihood) quite often. not showing the dude doesn't "screw up" anything - the movie isn't about that.

1 P.3. Eternal (roxymuzak), Thursday, 17 October 2013 22:38 (ten years ago) link

i've looked at every known location in baltimore and every trace of them is gone, predictably. they're probably all gone at this point. maybe some in philly?

1 P.3. Eternal (roxymuzak), Thursday, 17 October 2013 22:39 (ten years ago) link

one month passes...

Saw one at 20th and Chestnut in Philly tonight

a lake full of ancient spices (los blue jeans), Thursday, 28 November 2013 05:56 (ten years ago) link

<3 i had hope 4 philly

1 P.3. Eternal (roxymuzak), Friday, 29 November 2013 21:13 (ten years ago) link

three months pass...
three weeks pass...

Damn, I was in Philly last summer, but I'd forgotten about this whole thing... Would've loved to seen one of those tiles in real life.

Tuomas, Tuesday, 1 April 2014 07:36 (ten years ago) link

five years pass...

How have I never heard of these things until now?!

Benson and the Jets (ENBB), Thursday, 26 March 2020 21:04 (four years ago) link


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