Author: Jackie Kerr (Page 2 of 3)

Staff Writer, Associate Editor
While working as a lowly research assistant at a pharmaceutical company, Jackie discovered that science involves a lot of incubations and waiting time, and thus found that the best way to kill five hours was by surfing the internet and playing MahJong on Yahoo! Games. Luckily, a little TV show called Push, Nevada with its big monetary prize began around this time and Jackie, believing she was a worldly genius, decided that an online puzzle game was the perfect way to get the world to acknowledge her greatness. Instead, she discovered that she was only one of many genius hopefuls and that taking active notes on Peter Pan while watching primetime network television did not make for engaging watercooler chit-chat. Though the watercooler society had decided she was a dork-freak and banned her from all social activities, Jackie had been sucked into the world of IRC and the ARGN community, where dork-freaks are relished. During her tenure, Jackie has been an active player, lurker, pithy commentator, evil satirist, and Unfiction forum cop/admin, as well as a PM of Acheron.

Currently, Jackie can be found lurking the hallways of the University of Maryland Medical campus in Baltimore, where she is a PhD candidate in Molecular Physiology with an emphasis in the signaling pathways involved in the development and prevention of cardiovascular disease. She hopes to have a positive income by the age of 30, and vents often about this on her website, intellinuts.com.

The Hour of Needing a Title for This Article – Cathy’s Book Answers Call, Delivers Hot, Extra-large Pizza Pie of Awesome

October 3, 2006 / Jackie Kerr

I have a secret that I wasn’t planning on sharing. It’s almost too embarrassing to put into type on a site such as this, but my dedication to the readership is too great for me not to – and so I entrust you with this meaty nugget of shame: when I first read Cathy’s Book, I didn’t look at the evidence packet AT ALL. Even worse? I didn’t even go onto the internet and hunt for websites OR dial the phone numbers. Faced with the chance to read a book while surfing the internet and playing with a metric crap-ton of awesome evidence – a dream of mine, really, as I can barely keep my head together long enough to complete anything linear in one shot – I managed to overcome my attention deficit, which usually compels me to do all three of the above mentioned activities while also watching TV, for 2 hours as I read (and finished) the text of Cathy’s Book.

So there you have it: I am a Bad ARGer. I failed in my mission to hunt, explore, and solve, instead drooling excitedly over only one part of a narrative specifically MADE for hunting, exploring and solving: the static text. Simply because it is That Good. On the second, third and fourth readings, the narrative only gets better with the internet presence and the evidence packet adding fine layers of buttercream frosting onto an already scrumptious, many-tiered cake of delicious prose. Cathy’s Book is an absolute treat to read: narratively and visually striking, the text melds magically with the tactile pleasure of picking up bits of newsprint and old photographs and the intellectual pleasure of seeking new information on the internet and dialing in to someone else’s voicemail, hearing their messages.

Flakes on a Refrain – Brain Ouchies Courtesy of EDOC Laundry

July 31, 2006 / Jackie Kerr

JEFF!.jpg
If the catchy rhythm of ragtime music, soft-shoeing in your ear, sets your brain humming, the challenge of EDOC Laundry may tune your fork. Since the opening of the company’s online retail store, EDOC Laundry has introduced players to two websites related to the mystery of the band Poor Richard’s demise, and in its wake, a cresting tide of dead bodies. Having worn and faded the few remaining unsolved shirts â€“ two elusive hats still evading purchase by their wallets â€“ players had been intently twiddling their thumbs, pondering a great many things. (Really great things, such as “How much can we really HATE Sally?” and “How many bad PhotoShops of Jeff can be tolerated without inducing projectile vomit?”) Hence, once Sally and Lyn began posting on their respective websites, the players rejoiced quietly, thrilled to finally be getting a little action from the ladies.

ABC Family Announces Upcoming ARG

July 12, 2006 / Jackie Kerr

Hot in pursuit of the internet audience, ABC‘s sister network,
ABC Family, has announced their plans for an alternate reality game
based on their upcoming television show, Fallen. Announced today in a
press release found on SciFi Wire,
the game is set to launch following the 2-hour premire on July 23rd.
Spearheading the project is Matt Wolf, designer of games for other media features,
including The Bourne Identity.

The show is based on the young-adult series of books of the same name by Thomas Sniegoski.
The main character of the book series discovers on his 18th birthday that he belongs to a race
of fallen angels on Earth (The Fallen), and of the prophesy that he is the one who might bridge
the gap between The Fallen and Heaven. Beyond the story of the race and his adjustment to his discovery,
he and his family are pursued by a race of killer angels, out to destroy him. The Fallen ARG,
on the heels of the successful Lost Experience for ABC, is expected to be integrated into the telecast,
with clues to the game hidden within, allowing viewers the chance to engage with the show’s story.

Since the rumor of Ocular Effect‘s
link to Disney and ABC, it was hypothesized that it might be an ARG for The Fallen. With this new information,
the possibility remains, though the links might now be more fragile – for instance, the countdown clock on Ocular Effect
runs out on July 17th, almost a week before the expected July 23rd launch of the game tied to Fallen. Will that week be
a moment for the ARG audience to dabble in the Fallen universe, or is Ocular Effect something different entirely?

Zoom In On Ocular Effect

July 10, 2006 / Jackie Kerr

The ARGN Tipline lightbulb flashed this morning, alerting us to a new message arriving at the ARGcave. Our intrepid hero reporters donned their shiny gold catsuits and red swirlie over-the-suit panties, flipped their capes over their shoulders and flew into the internet wild to gather information, like the Thunderbirds but with better marionettes.

They came back with a mysterious website, Ocular Effect. The rather barren site displays a flash movie entitled “spiroclock” – but wait! Is that what we think it is?! IT’S A COUNTDOWN! We hooked Brains up to his new fangled math program and he chugged out an answer – Monday! The countdown clock runs to this upcoming Monday, July 17th! Holy good mathing, Brains!

We then sent Virgil Tracy out to whois the domain. He was amazingly successful and Lady Penelope was most enthused. Virgil gathered intriguing information that leads the ARGNbirds to believe that the magical world of Disney is behind this project. Gordon, not wanting to be out-performed by that pantywaist Virgil, noticed in his investigation that Ocular Effects redirects to 00112358.net, which isn’t registered to Disney, oddly enough.

What may happen on Monday has yet to be discovered — it’s unclear what Disney project is being promoted, and equally hazy what the strange, spinning wheel with the ooglie-booglie, danger music represents, but rest assured, the ARGNbirds are ready, prepped, and pantied to keep you informed of every surprise.

I’ll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours: EDOC Laundry Dresses for Success

May 27, 2006 / Jackie Kerr

â€œPsssst! Hey, you. Look at this!â€ Your head turns at the sound, only to find your eyes landing on some punk lifting up his shirt. Repulsed, you start to turn away and return to your daily machinations, hoping to some how erase the image of pasty tummy skin poking out at you, but something makes you look again. Is it your love for a human train-wreck, or your fascination with anyone willing to flash a complete stranger on the street? If youâ€™re seeing the same thing I am, itâ€™s neither of the above, but the inner-shirt code on a piece of EDOC Laundry.

Anticipated for months, the EDOC Laundry game rushed to the stage to belt out its ARG rock this week with a preview of the next season of clothing, two new websites, and more mystery swirling around its characters. Also new to EDOC Laundry is the unveiling of their eStore, where customers can purchase clothing online directly from EDOC. (Note: The stock is currently low, but a new shipment is expected in about 2 weeks. Backorders will be available on items expected to arrive soon. Check back often for updates. Also, despite earlier reports of tiny tiny fetally-sized shirts, the EDOC items have been resized to be more generous.) The shirts are beautifully made, the caution to detail in each print showing through with quality, and the designs are unique, striking and, speaking of the women’s articles I have, flattering. The preview of the Fall/Winter catalog appears to improve upon an already distinct brand, adding more depth to their offerings (zip hoodies, jackets, and sweaters for both sexes) and designs that are even more rich in detail. Rumors swirl around the future clothing offerings by EDOC, suggesting experiments with glowing dyes and messages that reveal themselves only after the shirt has spent a few turns in the laundry machine. Maybe if I’m lucky, my wish for flip-flop sandals that mark a coded footprint in the sand won’t be too far away from realization.

D.C. Goes Kra-Z For LCP

October 26, 2005 / Jackie Kerr

This past weekend, Last Call Poker hit Washington D.C. with a live game of Tombstone Hold â€˜Em. A crowd of 25 took part at the event, which included a poker tournament and a small favor for Lucky Brown, creator of Last Call Poker.

The games took place at Historic Congressional Cemetery near RFK Stadium in D.C. where participants were greeted by a pointy, fuzzy-headed girl acting as the liaison for Lucky and drizzly rain. There, they were given chips for the tournament, instructions for tournament play, and the opportunity to peruse the historical section of the cemetery to be used during the game. Players met at the chapel in the center and were introduced to the cemetery and its history by the Chairman of the Board. Among the more flavorful members of the cemetery are John Phillip Sousa, J. Edgar Hoover, and some early members of Congress. Following the introduction, the tournament began and â€œtablesâ€ of 4 to 5 pairings were sent off to duke it out in Hold â€˜Em. Winners of the tournament include UnFiction members LouMac, Cortana, and Rowan.