Media – Page 3 – Clavis Cryptica

March 28, 2012

The Mole

The year is 2001. A young Clavicarius is watching TV with her parents. She isn’t very familiar with the show they’re watching, a reality show at the birth of that phenomenon, but something interesting is happening. Three contestants are separated into three different locked hotel rooms and tasked with the mission to escape. Each room is a little different, and each has several objects and clues inside. One of the rooms is pitch black. The players begin discovering the clues and communicating with each other through the room phones, realizing that the clues and objects are somehow all connected from…

February 24, 2012

Twin Peaks Roundup

I didn’t watch the famous 90’s cult classic mystery show Twin Peaks until just last year (we blew through the whole thing on Netflix pretty quick), but I absolutely loved it and I’m now a huge fan. I might do a more formal review-type post on the show later on, but for now I just want to round up some fun Twin Peaks links I’ve enjoyed over the past few months.

February 22, 2012

Ready Player One

I had the misfortune of getting sick right between Christmas and New Years, but being bed-ridden all day allowed me to read all of Ernest Cline’s compelling sci-fi novel, Ready Player One, in less than 24 hours. Since then, I’ve been recommending the book to pretty much everyone I know, and now I recommend it to you readers for its elements of mystery and puzzle-hunting. The story takes place in a down-trodden 2044 Earth, where everyone uses a free-to-play virtual world called OASIS as a refuge from the poverty and decay of the real world. When the creator of OASIS,…

February 10, 2012

Mystery on TV – Castle

One of my favorite shows on TV right now is ABC’s Castle, a fun crime drama with an emphasis of mystery starring Nathan Fillion (of Firefly fame) and Stana Katic. Richard Castle (Fillion) is a best-selling murder mystery novelist looking for inspiration for his next book. He begins shadowing Detective Kate Beckett (Katic) on her murder investigations and models the protagonist of his new books after her. Castle’s creative thought process as a mystery writer often helps the investigative team make connections they would have missed, and he proves to be a useful addition to the precinct, in spite of…

February 8, 2012

Treasure Hunt in Parks and Rec Episode

Well, well, well! It looks like I’ve got a soul mate in both Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson from NBC’s comedy series Parks and Recreation. Last week’s episode, Operation Ann, involved Leslie sending her boyfriend on an extremely extensive wild goose chase/treasure hunt for Valentine’s Day, while Ron got caught up in the fun thanks to his secret love of riddles. Fun episode, I never thought I’d find a kindred spirit in Ron’s character!

January 17, 2012

Sherlock (BBC)

If you’re a fan of mysteries, if you’re a fan of beautiful cinematography, if you’re a fan of well-written television, you should be watching the BBC’s Sherlock. Having just wrapped up its second season and gearing up for a third, there’s no better time than now to become a fan of this award-winning crime drama. Sherlock is a modern-day adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s infamous Sherlock Holmes character and stories. The characters in Sherlock use modern technology–cell phones, computers, DNA testing–to solve crimes and advance the plot. John Watson keeps a blog of the duo’s adventures, and even Holmes’s…

May 3, 2011

The Amazing Race Season 18 – Episode 10

Episode 10 Search Episode 10 took place in Switzerland, in the shadow of the Matterhorn. Teams were given the choice to Search or Rescue, and were flown by helicopter to the location of their challenge. In Search, teams had to locate a mannequin buried under the snow using some type of beacon detector. The device beeped and displayed numbers as the teams got closer to the correct location. Then, they had to use shovels to free the mannequin from underneath about 4 feet of snow. I really like the idea of a puzzle that makes you find something that is buried. I…

April 26, 2011

Amazing Race Season 18 – Episode 9

Episode 9 There weren’t really any puzzle challenges this week, just a simple math problem that Gary and Mallory faced for their Speed Bump. Interestingly, the Detour options this episode were basically the same as last episode: carry stuff, or eat stuff. This time, however, two teams did manage to complete the food challenge.

April 19, 2011

Amazing Race Season 18 – Episodes 6, 7, &8

Episode 6 Tea Tasting Episode 6 gave us one of the most grueling puzzle challenges so far in Season 18. Before leaving for India from China, teams had to visit a traditional tea shop and sample some tea. Though the task seemed pointless at the time, its purpose was revealed once the teams arrived in India. Teams were lead to a large room at city hall where a ridiculously long table had been set up, with hundreds and hundreds of bowls of tea resting on top. One member from each team had to find the tea they had tasted back…

March 25, 2011

Amazing Race Season 18 – Episodes 4 & 5

Episode 4 Episode 4 took the racers back to China. Chinese Zodiac Mobile One member of each team had to search through thousands of wooden charms, searching for the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. Once they found all 12, the had to hang the charms on a mobile in the correct order. This challenge reminded me a lot of the paper plane challenge from Episode 1, and a few teams really got frustrated in their search.

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