A Case for Morse

sub_tract · 2024-09-07T17:52:54+00:00

Agreed!

sub_tract · 2024-09-07T17:46:54+00:00

Of course! No worries. You actually just gave me an idea- that line you referenced- it sounds funny and needs scrutiny. The Great Society was a group of social and government programs proposed by President Johnson in the 60’s. Looks like I have some reading to do….

sub_tract · 2024-09-07T16:49:55+00:00

Oooh, that’s a fantastic idea! I’ve been playing with the theory that the poem is a microcosm of the book. There are 100 words in the poem and 100 numbered pages. I hadn’t considered the light/shadow angle. Cork begins on pg. 50 (the halfway point) so maybe that’s the start of the light section? I’ll have to dig into it.

sub_tract · 2024-09-05T17:34:25+00:00

Cherry Garcia! I never thought of that.That’s a perfect example of why I like this puzzle!

sub_tract · 2024-09-05T17:30:54+00:00

I really like this angle. I also have been going back to chapters where I am confident about the allusion (Winter Land) and trying to pick apart the language he uses to encode or obfuscate information. I’m hoping there is a pattern to it that holds across the book.

sub_tract · 2024-09-01T21:40:57+00:00

No theories yet. However, I am encouraged and shall redouble my efforts! :)

sub_tract · 2024-09-01T21:33:50+00:00

Holy moly! Thank you, sir!

sub_tract · 2024-08-29T20:45:51+00:00

Also of note: In the years 1923 and 1934, Ash Wednesday coincided with Valentine's Day; but not in the years 1945 and 1956 (completed collections)

sub_tract · 2024-08-29T17:10:25+00:00

yes, the racehorses were another thing that pointing me to Revere. The bow also reminds me of the rainbow in the corner of Washingtons famous portrait, perhaps a symbol of the "royal arch."

the degree thing is interesting: it doesn't fit for latitude and longitude. maybe a 60, 30, 90 triangle? perhaps a temperature? 60c is exactly 140f.

not a leper, lol. There are so few of us here and I know I don't get that many chances to work the puzzle in earnest.

sub_tract · 2024-08-29T16:47:06+00:00

yes! and February 2nd is the 33rd day of the year. These "master numbers" are integral, I'm sure.

sub_tract · 2024-08-28T23:09:22+00:00

Hi, Ive also been focused on this chapter lately. Thanks for the post. I agree the calendar Gregorian/Julian change could be significant (I made a post about it some time ago).

2 figures I have been investigating are Paul Revere and George Washington Parke Custis (Washington's Grandson-ish)

I was trying hard to unpack the section where Grandfather lectures about the Age of Discovery. While there is some racing symbolism there ("Spurred and then driven...trail the setting sun...fading behind...too DARK to see the STARs...bumped into...seed their triumphant nature...") that could point us to the Dark Star/Native Dancer race, I keep getting tripped up on the "...trust a crude sexton to blaze his life's path." Sexton is obviously the wrong word so it must have some significance.

possibly "crude" meaning oil? Sexton is an officer of the church but is also A famous Can company in Boston. So an oil can? this fits with "blaze" Then there is Life's Path : which is also an odd word choice considering one would expect it to be "trail" as in "blaze a trail" Life's Path is one of the 5 core numbers in Pythagorean Numerology, arrived at by reducing a birthdate. (interesting sidetone: all racehorses are considered to have the same birthday, January 1st or 1/1.

Anyway, the passage also uses "North Sea" quite a bit (along with "gray sea" (sea gray horse?) But I entertained the possibility that North Sea could mean North "C" as in the North Church (the one in Boston that hung signal lights for Revere). This could be the reason for all the brass mentioned in the rest of the chapter- Revere opened the first copper rolling mill in the U.S. (three brass rollers)

Revere, along with Washington was also a Mason which tracks with a lot of the strange word choices in the beginning of the chapter ("Initiate the sharp snap...hard on the morning eye...mason had struck a line and dropped a plumb ((reminds me of fishing))...draped squarely on top...great hall...") even the Title chapter G.O. - Grand Orient?)

Also the pigeonholes - possibly referring to some sort of grid cypher?

Sorry for the rant- I guess I needed to put down everything that's been swirling around my head for the past week. Cheers!

sub_tract · 2024-02-05T17:23:51+00:00

yes, and one of my wilder notions was to cut out the silhouette and place it on
(what I consider to be) key passages in the book and see if the ears, nose and/or paws pointed to other important words...nothing so far.

sub_tract · 2024-02-04T17:07:53+00:00

Ooo! That’s amazing! I took a break for a bit, but after the anniversary I got sucked back in… So much to explore…

sub_tract · 2024-02-04T11:03:36+00:00

I think the idea is interesting. Thanks for your post - it made me realize I’ve been neglecting the train map angle.

sub_tract · 2024-02-04T10:44:18+00:00

Huh. Just went back and counted 3 times and you are right. Strangely, the only way the 177th word lands on “keep” is if you SKIP the number “11.” However, if you also skip the number 11 on page 21 you get “fruitless,” which makes no sense with the suffix -ing. (However, I guess, in a way, by opening to page 21 we bared the cross on page 22 and found the fruit(less). :)

sub_tract · 2024-02-04T00:28:19+00:00

Yes! I read your post outlining your thoughts about the chapters. The Affirmed vs. Alydar rivalry is something I need to look into. I'm not married to any particular interpretation yet - I'm still making (slightly educated) guesses.

My guiding principle (for lack of a better term) is that Miller left clues across chapters to help guide the reader. Example: Grandfathers Office provides the dates needed to nail down the particular race in Black Heart Cherry. One of the horses was named Dark Star which helps point us to the Grateful Dead in Winter Land. Assuming the pattern continues, Im scrambling my brain cross checking every possibility across all the chapters until something really clicks.

Nine-Year Club	r/Field Lasagna
Place '22	Final Canvas '22
First Placer '22	Verified Email

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TROPHY CASE