Regulars is a weird site. From first
appearances, it seems to be a
photoblog featuring photos of a guy in a gas
mask posing as different
sorts of people, such as “The Hipster”, “The Tourist”, “The International
Traveller” and “The Bass
Player”.
page doesn’t
offer much of a clue as to what the site’s about; it merely describes
the gas mask (“A replica Russian gas mask purchased from an army
surplus store. Also sold as an East German or an American gas
mask…Very difficult to breathe in, ironically”) and how the photos
were taken (“Typical setup with remote shutter, tripod, gas mask and
necktie”).
For a while, the site had a form you could fill out to receive one of
a
limited set of gifts. I signed up for one, and it arrived at the
office
this morning. You’ll have to forgive the poor quality of the images;
the only camera I’ve got at the moment is the cheap webcam hooked up
to
my office machine.
The whole package came in an orange envelope…
…containing a photo of an old 35mm film camera with “WE
MISS THE SIMPLICITY” written on it in magic marker…
…two stickers with the Regulars’ “R” monogram:
…and this puzzle:
The webcam didn’t capture the puzzle very clearly, so I’m repeating it
below:
_ _ _ _ 8
_ _ _ _ _
www.regularworld.com/bonus
Other people who signed up for the packages have posted photos of their
free loot:
The question remains: What is The Regulars? An art project? A Griffin and
Sabine-esque puzzle? An eccentric part of the
internet gift
economy? A prankster with a gas mask?