jessieP found a cool new clue at hole3.thehansofoundation.org. A missing image!!!

AND super sleuth Susan Holland found that the Persephone site has been updated (by the way, we count 83 spaces between the "+" and the "1").

I'm not sure what to make of this but I have recently come across this image:

Fig. 8: Lymon at a Sushi Bar in Germany?

I have scientifically enhanced the image to get a closer view.

What's most disturbing is the name of the image!!!

Discuss.

My ongoing laborious meticulous detailed account of the game so far is... (drumroll please) ... UPDATED!

With new pictures and all the developments so far. I think I got everything significant. If there's anything important that I missed, leave a comment.

Readers Larry and Rik point out an update to the Hanso site. Check the Mathematical Forecasting Initiative page under Active Projects and click on the map.

You'll notice some missing information on the map. Google for the answers and fill them in, and you'll find some hidden info.

Reader Brandon had a comment I wanted to bring to everyone's attention. Several people have said they're having trouble getting certain passwords to work on the Hanso site -- notably "the mouth piece" on McIntyre's page. Brandon says:

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but I (along with many of the rest of you) was having a few issues getting things to work (Jacob's profile, Hugh's booty-call movie, etc.) I realized that my bookmark was still for http://thehansofoundation.org. (No www.) So I tried the (relatively) newer www.thehansofoundation.org,and boo-yah, everything works now. So again, not sure if it's helpful, but that did it for me (just remember to re-do the whole "breakingstrain" thing again at the newsletter sign up to make sure you are logged in.)

I have been using the www all along, so I can't test this out for myself, but it seems worth a try. Those of you who have been having issues, try it out and let us know if that does the trick.

P.S. -- Doug, are you going to buy those Lymon Nikes, you Nike fanatic you?

OK, I went to the DJ Dan site earlier today and poked around to see if anything was new. Noticed there's a new podcast scheduled to go up tomorrow. So I was going to check back tomorrow. BUT...

Sharp reader Justin points out that Sublymonal.com has been updated. Go check it out. (My favorite thing -- they've got the Lymon in there! I take that as a shout-out, personally.)

It flashes you codes you can type in, but that basically brings back stuff they want to promote. BUT, if you type in other things, you find interesting stuff. Justin says to try "persephone" and "108." When you try the 108, you'll see why I brought up DJ Dan.

I tried a few other words in there, but just got a "code denied" message. If you find any other words that work, let us know.

Doug: Wow I start complaining and cool things happen :) Hee hee: "The Lymonatrix"! Someone tell us where the 108 comes from?

Fig. 42: Lymon in Maui

(Read this next part with a tinge of our frustration)

OK. We get it. We get that everyone at Hanso is a bad guy. We get that. Did we mention that we get it?

We're ready to move on.

We dig the execution of the game, but we're ready for it to get a little deeper.

We're also ready to get knocked off our seats with a huge discovery that doesn't come on a Wednesday.

We love the crazy comments, theories and postings you guys are feeding us. We wish the game was living up to the creativity you all are putting into playing it.

What do you guys think? Are you feeling the same?

But I did find a link to his interview with Hugh!!

WATCH HERE

So Jimmy Kimmel actually DID have Hugh McIntyre on the show tonight! It was kind of cool. Here are some points from the interview:

* The guy on TV was NOT the same guy from the (yeah, stock) photo on the site. He explained this by saying that was a picture of his predecessor in the job, and that it was a mistake made by his webmaster.

* He says the Hanso Foundation has nothing to do with the show Lost, that the show's writers have just chosen to incorporate the Foundation into their show's "mythology," but that it's all fictional and untrue.

* He says there was a Dharma Initiative, but they canceled it in 1987. Disavows anything to do with hatches on an island, and says he can't discuss what the project was because of the "proprietary technologies involved."

* He says he has met Alvar Hanso, and when asked where Alvar is, says he's "extremely busy" and "travels all the time."

* He says he doesn't know who Persephone is or why she's hacking the site, but thinks she is more mischievous than harmful at this point (although he points out that her acts are criminal and that she is defaming him and his colleagues)

* He says it wasn't him in the video with the tartlet in London. He says look closely and you'll see that.

* Jimmy brought up the SaveJoop.com site, and they joked about it a bit. Hugh thinks it's basically just a way to sell T-shirts.

Anybody else notice anything interesting I didn't mention?

Many sharp-eyed readers have written in to point out the New! Development!

There's a new link on the Hanso site. Down at the bottom, near the RSS feed thingy. It says "Careers," and it takes you here:
http://www.hansocareers.com/

Here's our Monster tie-in! Plus I bet this is the URL we see in tonight's Hanso commercial during the broadcast. I'm going to go watch!

Meanwhile, send in your findings on this new site!

Update: OK, lots of folks sent in the info about the grayed-out letters. I just approved the first few comments on this, since the rest were repeats. But THANKS to all. Now go try the anagram (see below) and see what you get.

Another update: I'm bringing back the Lymon-Jeep-Monster-mobile in honor of tonight's Hanso commercial, which was, yes, paid for by Monster.com.

Teaser Clip: 'Live Together, Die Alone' (May 24, 2006)

Fig. 15: Hugh, in formal attire

Hugh's making his TV debut... or is he??!?!

UPDATE!!! I will try to post a clip from the show Thursday morning.

A lot of you guys have posted information about Oceanic-Air.com.

If you don't already know: it was a website designed to be a tease for Season 2 of the 'LOST' TV show. It went live at the end of Season 1. I'm not sure if anything on the site is relevant to the game we are playing now, but it is still a fun site to check out.

Most everything on the site was discovered last May (2005). I was one of the people that obsessed over it for a few days and practically talked myself hoarse trying to convince people that it was a real site.

Todd Sanders has posted some cool links to the hidden stuff on the site... check out his comments on the "Game So Far..." page (also known as the "Start Here" page).

The site might become relevant to the game in the near future, but for now it's just a nice piece of 'LOST' history. Maybe it was inspiration for the game we're playing now?!

Wednesday, May 24th, is the last show of the season. I have been reading a lot of rumors about what happens.

ARGH! The anticipation is killing me!

Your thoughts?

PS: I'm not posting any major spoilers until the show is over. Well, any that I think are real.

Fig. 23: Wha?

There is a lot of talk about:

http://hole2.thehansofoundation.org/

How was this page discovered?

FYI: I checked the source code on this page, there is nothing clickable, no links, no text boxes. It's just an image, nothing else.

Has anyone heard how long the "Lost Experience" game will continue?

Obviously the season finale for 'LOST' is this Wednesday, but will the game continue all summer (we hope)?

Anyone know?

Alert readers Susan and Paul point out a stream of letters flashing across Peter Thompson's bio page on the Hanso site. Anyone got a read on it?

Update: Doug says he sees "SURVIVOR GUILT." Confirmation, anyone? Where can we use this, ya think?

Update again: There's a hidden text box under Thompson's big picture. Click there and put in the code to see some interesting stuff.

Reader leah asks:
Could someone please post a list of where we can find and watch all of the Gary Troup cilps found so far? It would be very kind of anyone who can do this!!! Thanks! and Namaste. (Oh no...Its brain-washing!)

Your wish fulfilled (I've been meaning to do this anyway). Plus that Namaste really clinched it. I'll add clips 8-9 to this post whenever they're found.

• Gary Troup clip 1
• Gary Troup clip 2
• Gary Troup clip 3
• Gary Troup clip 4
• Gary Troup clip 5
• Gary Troup clip 6
• Gary Troup clip 7

Reader Larry points out a new code on the persephone.thehansofoundation.org page. Let's get translating!

Oh, and we've heard from several people that "The Mouth Piece" password isn't working for them. This happened to Doug, too, and to my husband. Not sure what the deal is with that, but if anyone has any tips for making it work, post a comment. It worked right away for me.

OK, so Mittelwerk isn't really a doctor, and Hugh isn't really a family values man, and Peter Thompson really shouldn't be the acting director of the Global Health Corsortium. And Alvar either doesn't exist or is missing or frozen or something. Maybe we'll move on to the Board of Directors now that we've got dirt on all the Executive folks... will we find out that Dick Cheever has false teeth? And Lawrence Peck is actually Lawrence Welk?

Yeah, we're still not sure where this is all going, except that the Hanso folks are up-to-no-good liars. Meanwhile, let's all enjoy a frosty Sprite.

Oh, and I updated the "game so far" file (Now! With pictures!). If you're just starting out and want to catch up, or if you feel like you missed something, go there.

Our tiny blog is two weeks old and almost 500 terrific postings from you guys.

Who will be the 500th commenter?

Commenter Todd Sanders found this 'lil clue:

The Jeep print ad image on the compass (Jeep) site is named: "139191991471518711419.jpg"

Todd didn't want to decode it, but it's a simple one: "MISSING ORGANS"

When will this come into play?!?!?

Also commenter Scott noticed something we forgot to mention earlier:

On the compass map near 108 there is a string of numbers and letters: DI9FFTR751 (or it may be ...731)

We were wondering what it was too, Scott.

UPDATE: Nicky helped us with the code in the comments below. All I have to say is, "Oh, yeah, DUH!" Thanks for clearing that up. We should have known better!!

Run, don't walk to the Hanso site.

Check out Active Projects and the Electromagnetic Research Initiative page.

Check out the date on the space shot. Use it as a guide to find a hidden link on the page (hint: X & Y coordinates!).

We know more, but we want you to check it out first!

GO! Stop reading!

UPDATE: The Hanso commercial during tonight's LOST (which was quite an amazing episode) sends you directly to today's new website find: letyourcompassguideyou.com, otherwise known as the Jeep page. I've added the site to the official link list on the right navigation.

It's certainly more fun to stumble across these sites before the easy clues.

The commercials are becomming the Cliff's Notes of the game.

Fig. 2: Guess what the new product placement is...

Reader Ranee points out a message on the Persephone page:
(that's persephone.thehansofoundation.org for those of you new to the game)

Go ahead, translate for yourself. Or just go read about it in the "game so far" file, which I've updated.

Ranee and reader Larry also point out a new Gary Troup video (4 of 9) on Amazon (click on the words The Valenzetti Equation).

A new clue has appeared.

To see it, go to the The Hanso Site and chose "View Source" in your browser.

Look towards the top of the source code and get ready for a HUGE new find.

More updates as soon as you guys check it out...

From Ellen: Ooooh! Finally something new, and it's cool. Be sure to click on "ConspiraSpy of the Month" and "Eyes on the Man" for cool stuff, and listen to the podcast! Transcript coming soon in the Game So Far file!

From Doug, again: Check out the weird icon images on the left side of this new site. There looks to be a hidden message there. Some of the icons are .PNG and one is .JPG. Wonder why? HMMMMMM.

The game was quiet over the weekend!

Any clues today? Anything?

Don't make me bring back LYMON!

Reader Zzedar points out a solution to Persephone's scrambled message:

The "HAS WIN HOST PC IN NIL URGE" has been definitively solved on the Lost boards as "WHO IS RUNNING THIS PLACE."

Sounds reasonable to me. Any thoughts on the tie-in to the "8, not 1 and 6" part?

Several folks have written in comments to point out that there's a new press release linked from the Hanso Foundation site. (Thanks, several folks!) This is about Gary Troup and Bad Twin; it's the same content that was run as an ad in some newspapers.

So, anybody found any new Gary Troup video clips (besides the three we already know about?) (Note: We have clips 1 of 9, 2 of 9 and 3 of 9.)

Doug Update:

When you get to the image of the newspaper ad, remove the image name (newspaper.gif) in the URL of your web browser so that it looks like this:

http://thehansofoundation.org/press/extra/uploads/paris/

Has anyone received an email from (Game-)Hugh McIntyre?

I'm hoping this is really happening and it's not Fake-Hugh hacking the game again.

Fig. 1: LYMON, not a clue.

Being a child of the '70's and '80's I was brainwashed by television and its hypnotic commercials... including those for a refreshing beverage named SPRITE.

SPRITE is a sparkling combination of Lemon and Lime soda or as the commercial stated: "The refreshing taste of LYMON."

The equation goes like this:
Lime + Lemon = LYMON

Here is a bad equation:
LYMON + LOST Experience ≠ CLUE

Hey, this one works:
LYMON + LOST Experience = Lame product placement (only)

If you want to catch up with the game, I've updated the "what's happened so far" file. I also made some notes on the voice mail stuff on 877-HANSORG, so I'm going to try to transcribe those tonight, just for the record.

Anything new on the Hanso site that anyone's noticed?

So we also saw the Sublymonal commercial in tonight's Lost broadcast. The commercial also shows the phone number again -- wonder if that means the phone has any new info? It's busy right now, but I'll try it again in a bit.

The Hanso site also seems to be down. It's trying to tell me I don't have the latest version of Flash installed, which is not true. Not sure what's up with that, but will try back later.

Also noticed the big theme of tonight's episode was the MIRACLE. Think this has to do with the miracle word link noted earlier? Maybe, but I can't get into the &#$@ site to check!

Update: Hanso site seems to be working again now. The miracle link is still inactive. Phone number is still busy.

Update again: Got through on the phone and tried all the options, but didn't hear anything new.

The Hanso / Sprite commercial aired AGAIN during LOST tonight.

In case you haven't seen it, the spot is the regular Hanso spot but ends with a voiceover telling you to visit subLYMONal.com.

In order to keep the main page short and sleek we are limiting the approval of comments unless they add something new to the discussion.

We are going to cut back on the comments that have already been covered.

- the Management

PS: (this is not a clue)

Reader Nikolai points out a new, so-far-nonfuctional link on the "Worldwide Wellness and Development" page (under Active Projects) -- click on the "Press Release" tab at the top, then find the word "miracle" in the text. There's definitely a link function encoded, but it doesn't go anywhere (yet).

What was the previous clue we got about "miracle"? Sorry, I'm losing track of some details here... help me out! Thanks

Reader BigSI points out a new entry box on the page for Dr. Thomas Mittelwerk's bio. The password to type in is "heir apparent," but I'm not sure where that info came from.*

Anyway, type it in -- it's cool.

From Doug (what's under the red X's?):

* From Ellen again:
OK, so putting together the info about how this clue was found (really, people, it's much more fun if you direct us to HOW you got the clue so we can get the clue, too, and then try to solve our way to the info, instead of just pointing us right to the info): On the Hanso site, if you are on the Active Projects pages when the clock hits the 15th or 42nd minute of the hour, the clock will change to say "OB:EY" and then you can click on it. That leads you to the sublymonal.com site, which was also apparently given out during a Sprite commercial on TV.

So, seriously, subLYMONal? And isn't Sprite the "obey your thirst" company? So we're getting product placement in the ARG? Gag me!

P.S. -- Seems like a lot of folks are getting to this post via another site, because even though this post is old, we keep getting lots of new comments on it. (Welcome, new people!) You might want to look HERE for a documentation of the game so far, or HERE for the latest updates and developments. Thanks

I am re-arranging the links to various websites on the right nav.

Are there any site you guys are watching that I haven't already listed?

Let me know and I will add them to the links so this page can be your one-stop "L.E." page.

Paul Cook found this nifty clue:

Just been informed that this Hanso advert/statement has been found in The Philidelpia Enquirer:

http://www.tinypic.com/view/?pic=xlxyt3

Has anyone done a "Who is" search on TheHansoFoundation.org?

Click the link below to see the whole thing. Here are some interesting tid-bits though:

Registrant ID:tugBiTw52IqwI8eH
Registrant Street1:544 Orsund Klengvjel
Registrant City:Copenhagen
Registrant City:Copenhagen
Registrant Postal Code:DK-1604
Registrant Country:DK
Registrant Email:mexicanlunch@hotmail.com

Admin ID:tuiXyOrjjsEYAfQ4
Admin Email:info@thehansofoundation.org

Tech ID:tuUlr54To2l6ECIU
Tech Email:info@thehansofoundation.org

Name Server:NS1.MEDIATEMPLE.NET
Name Server:NS2.MEDIATEMPLE.NET

Alert readers Larry and Paul bring to my attention that the NEW CLUE is up! Go to the Executive Bios page and click the date under Alvar's picture for an interesting ride courtesy of Persephone.

I've added details of the new stuff to the "game so far" entry.

And if you've recently joined us in this Lost Experience thing (welcome!), it's a good idea to read that "game so far" post (I know, it's long, but it'll catch you up). I've also added some new stuff about some of the sites people are mentioning, too, so even if you're NOT new it might be worth a look. That entry is permanently linked on the right side of the page, here, too.

I'm looking everywhere trying to find out if there's anything new today, since May 8 was supposed to be a date when something happens. How's that for vague? I tried signing in today on the newsletter page -- got the same "welcome back, no new messages" greeting. No new numbers on the Persephone page. I've heard others have tried (still without success) logging in to the Board of Directors page and the Mental Health page, but nothing new there. Sigh. Hoping something breaks out today... any new discoveries to report?

Commenter Paul brings to my attention that there's a new coded message up on the persephone.thehansofoundation.org page. It is:
72 65 83 32 87 73 78 32 72 79 83 84 32 80 67 32 73 78 32 78 73 76 32 85 82 71 69 46 32 56 44 32 110 111 116 32 49 32 97 110 100 32 54 46

Translated into ASCII characters, that says:

HAS WIN HOST PC IN NIL URGE.
8, not 1 and 6.

The first part looks like a word scramble to me. The second part seems to refer to the May 1 vs. May 6 vs. May 8 controversy.

Any good anagramists out there?

OK, we didn't go to sleep quite yet. We had all this extra time on our Caller ID spoofing service, and since Doug had told me earlier that he got scared when Fake-Hugh called him so he didn't pick up, I decided to call Doug while spoofing Fake-Hugh's Michigan number, and I left Doug a vaguely scary message. :-) Sorry, Doug. Hope that didn't give you any nightmares! Hee

We've been trying to mess with Fake-Hugh a little bit in return. First, just for fun, Travis called back and said he was Alvar Hanso and was calling to fire Hugh for spending too much company money returning long-distance phone calls. (This was Doug's idea. Hee.) Hugh's response: "...[long pause] Well, that's... bad news."

Then Travis dropped the Alvar act, but Fake-Hugh didn't drop his.

Then later, Fake-Hugh called Travis back. This time, the Caller ID showed Real Hugh's number -- 206-861-5017 (the number given on the press release on the Hanso site) -- and when Travis picked up, Fake-Hugh said he was just calling back to prove he was really Hugh. Uh-huh. It's not too hard to spoof a number on Caller ID. So Travis called Fake-Hugh back, this time spoofing 206-861-5017 from his (Travis') phone, so that it would show up on Fake-Hugh's Caller ID. Still no admission of fakeness from Fake-Hugh.

Fake-Hugh is not easy to rattle, I'll give him that. He's a good sport to be taking calls at nearly 4 a.m. But we're done poking at this for now. Off to bed!

What gives him away is his unseemly interest in who's talking about him on the Web. My husband just called the number that came up on our Caller ID when he called me back (a Michigan number) and he denied anything about a hack, but then asked about which sites were talking about him.

From what I know of ARGs, this kind of acknowledgment of game discussion sites is not likely to come from a real in-game actor. They'd keep the illusion of being good old Hugh, corporate man, not aware of some "game" that's going on.

So, good one, fanboy. You had us going there for a bit. No hard feelings. It was fun talking to you.

But let's all discount any info we just got from that. :-)

Update: Some of the forums are saying that this Hugh thing isn't real, that some fanboy has hacked into the Hugh McIntyre voice mail box and is returning the calls. I have to say I think it's possible. The guy I talked to did not sound like a voice actor, more like an intern. But I'm going to keep my message up just in case this was a real thing.

OK, so I called and left my name and number at about 1:30 a.m. Travis and I were rooting around trying to come up with a list of good questions to ask him, and then - ack! He called right back at about 1:40 a.m. I tried to ask all the questions I could think of, but although he didn't seem in a hurry to get off the phone, he wouldn't give me all that much info. Still, it was cool. A live call is always a thrill, and it's neat that they're staffing it so late at night. (if in fact this is real)

So here's what I asked and what he said:

* I asked what he knew about Persephone. He said he knew some things but couldn't say at this time -- more coming soon, he said.

* Since I noticed that when you log on via Persephone on the newsletter page, it says "Welcome to Dharma," I asked if Persephone was connected to the Dharma Initiative. He said no.

* I knew from reading about other conversations with Hugh that he said it was good to poke around the Hanso site for clues, so I asked about that and he said it was true. I asked if there were other sites we should be looking at, and he said yes, but wouldn't tell me which ones -- he said more would be revealed soon.

* I asked if he could give me any passwords or clues to log in and get more info on the Hanso site, he said not at this time. I asked if his old password to get in was still good, and he said yes, but would not give it to me.

* I asked about his reported departure from the Hanso Foundation, and what led to it. He said he and Alvar had a "falling out" and said it was related to personal reasons. I referenced his bio on the site that mentions his commitment to family values and asked if that had anything to do with it, and he said yes, somewhat. I also asked if it had anything to do with Korea or Sri Lanka, he said no.

* I asked about the Valenzetti equation and the book about it. He said he did have something to do with that and had known and worked with Gary Troup on the book. I had also heard that Hugh had told another player that the equation itself was on the Internet somewhere, he confirmed that but wouldn't say where.

* Since he kept saying more would be revealed soon, I asked when "soon" was -- he said within the week.

* I asked if more info would be coming via the persephone.thehansofoundation.org page. He said that page would be taken down soon.

* One player had mentioned she was told to call him back at 8:15 a.m. (eastern time) tomorrow to get more info. I asked if that was good for all of us -- he said it was just for her (this player goes by lostscape on the LostTV forum), but that she could share the info with the rest of us. He also said she would not call him back at the same number I had called, but wouldn't give me a new number to call.

I think that's all I've got. Anyone else??

Most everyone deciphering the persephone numbers are NOW in agreement that May 8 is the day that Persephone will have new messages on the Hanso site.

I'm hoping this means that the game will allow us to have our future weekends off :)

On the Hanso site: why is Mittelwerk's bio the only one with a signature?

Anybody have any success "logging in" today per the Persephone encoded message? I logged back in at the newsletter page, but got the same "no new messages" uh, message. And I don't see anything new at the persephone.thehansofoundation.org page.

This is the file that details the first "act" of the Lost Experience game. Coverage stops at the point where the Hanso site is shut down and Rachel gets going. At that point, coverage moves here. Please don't post comments to this entry -- check the "act 2" game so far file, or just go to the main blog page for the latest developments.

If you're new to the game or haven't been following every development, please look this entry and the "act 2" entry over to get caught up before you start posting comments anywhere to make sure you're not repeating info that's already known. Thanks.

Also, if you're new to ARGs (alternate reality games) in general, remember that this game could play out over several months. Don't get impatient trying to find the final answer -- the fun part is gathering up info and slowly piecing it together. We don't know yet what this is all about (besides what we've learned below). Just jump in and play along.

And finally, don't forget that the Lost Experience creators have said that the ARG will have a storyline that does not involve the characters on the show Lost. So I wouldn't spend a lot of energy trying to figure out what this game has to do with plot developments on the show.

There is a real site hidden at the bottom of the McIntyre's pdf file:

http://persephone.thehansofoundation.org

Check it out....

These numbers numbers translate into what commenter Larry said (after a lot of work) works out to be "Log in at THF.org May 1 This is safe for now"

THF.org is a real site (not associated with the game), 'THF' actually means TheHansoFoundtion.org.

The pdf file with McIntyre's number is now linked on the Hanso home page under "News"

Looks like it's today's clue :)

Take a look at the date (today) and then read through the text. There is text missing throughout the paragraph. It looks like it is scratched out.

Also, I rolled over the "About the MFI" and a hand popped up - I clicked and nothing happened....then I right-clicked and pressed play and I got the weird music and it returned me to the intro page with both music pieces playing...but nothing happened. Try it.

Sigh. Anything new? I keep retracing my path, but nothing more to find. I guess I will call the 1-877-HANSORG number again.

I'm not sure what this is about, but I'm posting it just for pure weirdo value. This is a video clip on the Hanso site, hidden somewhere. I just found out about it from other players, so I'm not clear on how it was discovered.

Anyway, you have to go to this page and wait for the green screen to load. Then right-click the screen and select "Play." You should get a video with no sound, and you might recognize some of the figures in the video!

OK, here are two sites I've talked about in this blog that have since been labeled "fan" sites -- meaning, they're not part of the actual ABC game. I can't officially confirm that these aren't "real," but it seems like it'd be wise to give less weight to anything we discover on these sites. They are:

www.bigspaceship1.org
www.valenzettifoundation.org

That also makes me suspect these two sites, since I only found them from the Valenzetti Foundation site:
www.globalparadigmscorp.com
www.widmorelaboratories.com

Oh, and here's one more I haven't noted before but which is also being called a fan site:
www.thedharmainitiative.org

So let's not let these distract us! Right now, it seems we need to focus on the Hanso Foundation site itself, plus the bookseller sites that have video clips.

Here's a Photoshop enhanced shot of the weird text that Neil and Ellen are discussing:

I made some changes to the blog:

• Comments under each of the main page postings. Now you don't have to click to read the comments.

• Reduced the number of postings on the main page. You need to click on the archives to see the older stuff.

Let me know if you like the changes.

Neil posted something interesting off of my "Secret Bermuda Triangle facility" post:

The mysterious type includes a substitution code... the underlines groups of number can be replaced witht the corresponding letters of the English alphabet to reveal an interesting phrase.

He's right! The numbers are:
13/9/19/19/9/14/7
15/18/7/1/14/19

Translate that into letters and you have... (white spoiler text follows - scroll you mouse over if you want to see): MISSING ORGANS

Woooo... spooky.

P.S. - Hi Johna!

Yet another login area. Go to Board of Directors and it prompts you for a login and password. I tried the password and the user name that I created for the site but no luck!

Okay, so I have found a new area for inputing something, but I don't know yet what to input.....it is on the Mental Health Appeal Page....it says inquire today...i typed in some garbage and got a connection timed out. I am guessing we need a secret phrase to add here. Anybody tried it yet?

Resourceful reader Mandy found clip 2 and other good info. Read about it here.

I managed to grab a screen shot of the "spooky Joop" thing I blogged about earlier. Some other face is superimposed over Joop's face during the "live Web cam" thing. Who or what do you think this is?

This one is from Rawly:

Smart reader lala found another piece of the Gary Troup video interview! It's on Barnes and Noble (guess Amazon doesn't have a lock on this one). It's on this page. This is clip 1 of 9.

Scroll down until you see the picture of the Bad Twin cover, then click the link that says "See an exclusive video clip"

Nice find, lala!

OK, just one more and I'm going to sleep. On the Hanso site, under Active Projects, click on Worldwide Wellness and Prevention Development program. Then click on the "World Map" option tab at the top. The map has three dots (two are initially covered up by the red cross icon thingy). You can click on the dots to see more info (and when you click the dot in west Africa, you can see the two covered-up dots).

BUT, there is another, hidden dot. Mouse over the general direction of Cuba, off the coast of Florida, and your mouse will turn into a pointy hand. Click, and the red cross icon moves over there. Only there's no info available. But if you hover your mouse in the box where the info should be, some mysterious type comes up.

Secret facility? In the middle of an ocean? Hmm...

Yes, I'm still up. This game is already an obsession.

Y'all have some great comments, and I wanted to pull out some of the more intriguing bits just so nobody misses them...

Coreyj002 wrote:
Has anyone tried to click on the executive bios link on the hansofoundation.org website and tried to see the board of directors? The link needs a password and one of the direcotrs Liddy Wales has no picture.....(dun dun duuuun, scary horror organ here)

Oooh, you're right. Who is Liddy Wales? What's so important there?

Kevin wrote:
There are also some marked out words in that article too under Mathematical Forecasting Initiative, very interesting, wonder what those could be

Yeah, and it looks like maybe Persephone marked them out? They look kind of scratched over in that white...

Patrick wrote:
A whole bunch of interesting stuff about Persephone (the goddess), including: "Now where have we seen abductions of children and then return" and "So basically, Persephone, promised immortality to those who followed her." Check out his comment

Don wrote:
"Gary Troup" is an anagram for Purgatory.

Ooooo.... good one!

Don also wrote:
Side topic: Checked out www.oceanicairlines.com ?
The title of the site is "Possibility."

Beverly helpfully posted the full text of the letter from the watchdog group about the Hanso project. (Correction: Oops, my bad. It's not the FULL text, but just about 90% of it). You can see it here.

You guys are awesome! Keep posting -- we'll figure this out piece by piece.

Jordan wrote in the comments:
Has anyone found out what we are supposed to be doing, because my family has no idea. We are just looking for the clue. But we watched the show twice and didn't find it.... I'll watch again tomarrow.... kinda tired...

Hi, Jordan. I'm tired too, after calling that stupid number for a hundred years only to get the same stupid password again... anyway.

To address your question -- the clue isn't in the show itself -- it's in a commercial that plays during the broadcast of the show -- so be sure you're not fast-forwarding through the commercials.

As for the game itself, remember two things:
1) the game isn't supposed to be about the characters on the show. It'll be related to that story, but not about Sawyer or Michael or Jack or anyone.
2) The game will unfold slowly. That's part of the fun -- figuring out step by step what's going on, sifting through all the info that's out there to find a pattern and pick out what's relevant and what's a red herring. So right now we're all pretty 'lost'... heh.

What we seem to have gathered so far: (warning: contains assumptions and speculation)
The Hanso Foundation has been up to some things that aren't so great. Something's gone wrong with this Korean Offshore Project (enough so that legal is involved), and some global watchdog organization got upset about some experiments on primates going on in Africa (related to the life-extension project and 105-year-old Joop). All the executives seem to be taking a two-week break right now.

Anyone else want to add on a fact or idea to the "what we know so far" file?

Same as the old password. Travis finally heard the "interruption" message in the U.S. voice mails. And it's the same one that was in the British version. Same password. Boooo! That means we're just Europe, but a day later. How lame! I thought we'd get a different password so we could find different clues and then compare/contrast with England. Apparently not so much. Boo.

(Doug: Double BOO!)

Here's what we know so far:

• British phone number reveals password for TheHansoFoundation.org is (roll over the following text to see it): "breakingstrain"

• Entering the password on the newsletter sign-up on TheHansoFoundation.org makes something strange happen.

• Hanso Foundation commercial during U.S. episode of LOST reaveals the phone number: 1-877-HANSORG

• There seems to be no password on the U.S. version of the Hanso voicemail only a few strange comments and the Hanso address (we still need that).
(Update from Kevin: 544 "unknown words" BK1604 Copenhagen Drive)
(Update from Doug: British and U.S. voicemail messages might be the same)

• Leaving a comment for Joop on the TheHansoFoundation.org site reveals a strange image with a clickable circle leading to a secret, interactive, document.

So I got the McIntryre guy this time (option 4). It gave me an outgoing message from him that said if I was calling about the "Korean offshore project," I needed to contact the legal dept! Then it started playing messages that were apparently FOR McIntyre. One was about Joop and "putting a public face" on something. And then another one was from "Darla," who said she was really worried about "Sri Lanka" -- "it's just not right," she said. Then it said end of messages, and cut me off.

From Kevin:

I got through again! this time i pressed 2 for hanso, it was very strange, nothing happened and it just re-directed me back to the main voicemail message, so then i pressed #3, and i think the message was hanso but im not really sure, it said "i will be gone for 3 weeks, but i will be posting the personal records on the hotline" thats not the exact quote but it was something on those lines

Commenter Michael says:

""These numbers show up during the loading screens of the Hanso Foundation website.
Look for them on the loading % at the bottom of the screen.
15 8 4 23 42 16"

Ooooh.... cool!

I pressed 2 for Alvar Hanso. DJ talking in German but still seems to be talking about "Geronimo Jackson" (password?), then it goes to Hanso's voice mail, but then a woman says "Where is Alvar Hanso? What have they done with him? Who's in charge here?" And then gets cut off...

Helpful commentor Kevin got through:

I GOT THROUGH!!! i pressed #5 for john thompson, and this lady was on the phone, then john thompson said something like "dont threaten me or any other of my colleagues, or you will be punished to the full extent of the law" very weird...but no password there!

Good job Kev!

We need "2", "3" and "4" now!

Doug got through! I've been trying and trying, but nothing. Well, at least now I'm getting an "all circuits are busy" message, instead of just a busy signal. But grrr.. nothing.

I finally got through to the 1-877-HANGORG number. It is very similar to the British MP3s posted on TheTailSection.com. I pressed number "1" and listened to the recording. It started out with a song and then a German (?) DJ announcing the tune. The song was from "Geronimo Jackson". That was the group on the album that the "Losties" found in the hatch earlier this season. There was no password given on the recording, only a reference to the Hanso Foundation address and their website. I need to hear it again to write down the address.

Also interesting to note that the message said it was a Verizon voice mail. Way to get that product placement!

We need others to press "2", "3", "4", etc and hear the what the additional messages say.

Whew, things are going fast and furious. From the Enzo site, I saw a mention of our old friend Bigspaceship1.org, which we stumbled on during the last season of Lost, can't remember exactly how. It had a weird picture of a polar bear on it then. Now it has this:

"DIVISION STAFF
Dr. Sharon Alva, ORM, DLSM (Oslo, 1968)
Dr. Marvin Candle, MLSM (Berkeley, 1974)
Dr. Orin Selenici, ACA
Contents of this file have been redacted in accordance with the Hanso Foundation Security Directive v.8. Special security authorization required on secure terminal."

What does it all mean?

OK, now we're cooking. From the Gary Troup stuff, Travis (that's the husband, better give him a name if he's going to be breaking all this stuff) found his way to this site:

www.valenzettifoundation.org

Interesting...

I haven't found anyone online who's playing the game who has been able to get through on the HANSORG number. I wonder if they're waiting to activate it until the West Coast has seen the show, to keep things fair. Darn those Californians!

Also, not sure if this is related to the Lost Experience game or if it's just a clever marketing/show tie-in, but it's interesting. My husband got an e-mail today from Hyperion Books (a real publisher) touting a book called Bad Twin. Sound familiar? Yep, that's the manuscript Sawyer is reading in tonight's episode.

Apparently, there's a real book for sale on Amazon.com, supposedly written by one of the crash victims. Wonder who really wrote it. Stephen King, maybe? That's one of my husband's theories. King has publicly proclaimed his love for the show, and he does like to write under pen names now and again...

Here's a link to the book listing on Amazon.com

Oooh, update! Just noticed that the Amazon.com listing has a weird announcement:

"Amazon.com Exclusive: Author Gary Troup delivered the manuscript for his hotly anticipated thriller, Bad Twin, just days before he boarded doomed Oceanic Flight 815. Watch the recently uncovered video clip of Gary Troup on Book Talk interviewed by Laird Granger talking about the controversy surrounding his mysteriously out-of-print first book, The Valenzetti Equation, and his new novel, Bad Twin."

Watch the video! This is definitely game-related! It's all about Alvar Hanso! Props to my husband for this discovery.

Also, the clip says at the very beginning -- clip 3 of 9 -- so there must be more hidden out there.

I can't get through on the 1-877-HANSORG number either. The Hanso site is taking forever to load too. I'm excited and frustrated at the same time!

World, welcome to the game.

Thanks for the great comments, so far, from Bill, Beverly and Tawny! Keep up the good work.

Just as I'd suspected, the Hanso Foundation commercial that is on the site was played on the air during tonight's Lost. This time, the number is there. In case you missed it. It's 1-877-HANSORG. Good luck getting through -- as of now, I'm just getting a busy signal.

Oh, and may I just say... what an episode! Quite the shocker there at the end (no spoilers).

I was told by ABC that part of successfully playing the "LOST Experience" is taking advantage of clues from everywhere. I was told that each country would get their own clues.

I checked out the MP3s on TheTailSection.com and got a password to log into the The Hanso newsletter sign-up.

Also make sure you send Joop a message on the Hanso site. I did it just a minute ago and found an unusual interactive document. Here's a tease:

I wonder what that weird blob is in the background?!?!

Ellen and I are discussing the fact that we may reveal some game spoilers here on the "LOST Experience" blog.

Ellen feels it is best for us to give some clues and guide people to discover the facts on their own.

I think we should reveal everything we discover.

What do you guys think?

Click the Comments link below and tell us.

I too tried to sign up for the Hanso Foundation newsletter. I got a quick screen grab of the weird message that blinks when you try to enter a password:

I'm guessing there will be a special commercial during tonight's episode.

Try it yourself at the Hanso site: HERE

Looks like the mysterious phone number has been released to the audience in England. We should get the U.S. one tomorrow (I betcha it's in that Hanso Foundation commercial), but if you just can't wait, the good folks at thetailsection.com have some MP3s you can listen to.

The Hanso Foundation Web site, which was down yesterday, is up today. Waaay up. There's a great intro and lots of convincing content on the site, which might be chock full of clues. Check it out at www.thehansofoundation.org.

And be sure you try signing up for the newsletter. It makes some interesting stuff happen to the site. Questions I have already -- who is Persephone (besides the mythical daughter of Demeter/Ceres and wife of Hades, I mean). What's the password? What's going to happen next?

Also, check out the "live" web cam on Joop's page. I watched it for a while, and at one point something weird and dark replaced Joop's face for a minute, but it was too fuzzy to see clearly. Spoooky!

It's beginning!

Hello Doug and fellow Lost and ARG fans. I'm Ellen from GuideLive.com, and I'm realllly excited about the kickoff of this Lost Experience. Word on the street is that the game will be produced by the most awesome 42 Entertainment, creators of the A.I. tie-in game "The Beast" (which I didn't play) and the Halo 2 tie-in game "I Love Bees" (which I did play and loved).

Combine my admiration for 42 with my fascination with Lost, and you've got one very excited blogger. I predict this will be a fun, complex, brain-teasing experience.

By the way, if Doug's vague explanation of what this Lost Experience is all about wasn't enough for you, read the story that ran last week.

Here we go.

In case you haven't heard, the "LOST Experience" is an alternate reality game set to launch on Wednesday May 3, 2006.

If you don't know what that means, don't worry. There is no real explanation to how the game will play out. It takes place in the real world and players may need to use many different resources such as the Internet, phones (including pay phones) and, of course, ABC television.

We will have several "LOST EXPERIENCE Blog" authors from several differernt sources (WFAA.com, WFAA-TV, GuideLive.com and more) that will be posting their clues, hints and discoveries. You can respond to the postings with your findings, clues and suggestions. We may choose several of you to become official "posters".

Your participation is essential. So please feel free to share your findings. As an incentive, we hope to reward the best participants with something extra special.

This leads to the first clue: watch "LOST", Wednesday May 3. I have head a few rumors to be on the look-out for a 1-800 phone number. Let's see how that plays out.

By the way, I'm Doug, the creator and moderator of the blog. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions by emailing me HERE.

So let's get going. Have fun!