The Publius Enigma

[Ophanim]

A few (about five) years ago I was a part of the newsgroup Alt.music.PinkFloyd. Well, if your a fan of Pink Floyd you probably already know that we encountered an oddity in June of 1994. A man by the name of Publius posted several messages concerning the then new album "The Division Bell." He said that there was a mystery wrapped up within the Lyrics, Music, and the Pictures associated with the album. Of course he backed up his claims with a supernatural hold over the events during certain Pink Floyd concerts and album art. I personally witnessed two of these, the first was during the World-wide 1994 telecast and the second was during the Re-Release of singles from the "A Momentary Lapse of Reason." album.
Being dedicated fans, we made several assumptions on the Enigma, but most of these had been shot down, or they led to even more encrypted clues. Has anyone figured out the Enigma, and been proven right? As a Publius' Witness (something I'm very proud of) I must know. Thanks!!

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Indecision is the key to flexibility.
Kyoko Baby,
Shane

Oh, kid. I almost feel sorry about what's gonna happen next.....


Sayonara, turkey.

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Is an appreciation of beauty a function of the human soul?

[mr john]

I fell in here by accident, I am outa here man. mm kinda odd over 7 hours and no postings?

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"Pardon me while I have a strange interlude."-Marx

[hansel]

Please, explain more clearly. I lost you about a third of the way through.

[DrFidelius]

Like, there was this guy, you know? And it was just so cool. Just like he said it would be, you know? I think it wasn't REALLY just a guy, you know. Like, it was on the Net and all. I think it was Shirley Booth, cause, like, she always knew everything...

[andros]

Ok, so like I heard from this guy that there are like three words in the English language that end in -gry . . . .

Sorry. I was posessed for a second there.

-andros-

[omni-not]

Like...

[ThufferinThuccotash]

Ophanim, if you are there, you're going to have to give us more information to go on.

1. What was the "oddity" you encountered in June of 1994?

2. What were the messages posted by Publius?

3. What was (according to Publius) the nature of the mystery, with regards to the Music, Lyrics and/or Pictures on the album?

4. What was the nature of the "supernatural" events with regard to the concerts and album art?

5. What, exactly, did you witness while watching the the 1994 telecast, or while listening to the album?

6. What assumptions did you make about the "Enigma"?

7. What does it mean to be a "Publius Witness"?

8. Exactly how much of the "brown acid" did you eat?



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TT

"Believe those who seek the truth.
Doubt those who find it." --Andre Gide

[Ophanim]

Hmmm... No real Pink Floyd fans huh? Well, that's cool. I'm sorry that I was so vague with my topic (it was my first here.) Maybe this'll clear it up
Http://uio.no/~ericsp/floyd.html

I would just say to go to alt.music.pinkfloyd but it's gone. So, this was the best I could do. I hope it works. Anyway the publius enigma is something near and dear to Floydians but none of us are sure just what the hell it is. We just recieved messages on the Newsgroup every few weeks for a couple months. Anyway, thanks for responding even if it was just to flame. If you don't wanna waste your time on that site (if it even works) just go to the messages section it should alleviate any questions. Sorry, my first topic here was so poorly done. Also, sorry that this is still so confusing. Perhaps I'll try again in a few weeks with better phrasing. Thanks again!!! Oh yeah, and a publius' witness is just someone who was in the newsgroup when the Publius postings happened.




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Indecision is the key to flexibility.
Kyoko Baby,
Shane

[Ringo]

He might be OK, with a little training.

[heretic]

Look, you come wandering in and you burble on nonsensically in your own stoner clique language, people try to figure out what you want to know and you think you've been flamed?

You're a very odd person.

ben

[Oblio]

Yep, I'm a fan.
There is some interesting stuff on the site if you like Floyd.

BTW the URL should be http://www.uio.no/~ericsp/floyd.html

Don't know about the Enigma stuff though.

Oh .... Syd rules.

Oblio

[hawkmoth]

Re: The Publius Enigma

For those who are interested to know, a brief
history of the Enigma and its solution (yes, it was solved) can be found out:
http://www.pinkfloyd-co.com

Look for Brief History of the Publius Enigma

Have a good day :)

[Ophanim]

Hey heretic! Stoner clique language I love it and that's the best way to describe it! Genius. Also thanks oblio and hawkmoth for the great sites! And yes I am a VERY odd person.

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Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words'll make sit in a darkened corner and cry for hours.
Kyoko Baby,
Shane

[NicePete]

I am a Pink Floyd fan -- have been for aboot 25 years now. Have every album through "The Final Cut". M' favorites are probably "Meddle" and "Ummagumma" for what it's worth. I own (and actually listen to) both of Syd Barrett's solo albums, two solo David Gilmour albums and Rick Wright's solo album. I have a couple of bootlegs.

I do not list these fascinating facts to prove that I am the most loyal and true Floyd fan that ever packed a bowl. No -- I list my Pink credentials to forestall any dismissal of my cynicism regarding the "Publius Enigma" as the sniping of a Floyd-hater (uh...well...uh...Andy, he hates me....ooooh, looks like Opie needs a trim... [Dammit! Not that Floyd!]). Nope, I daresay Pink Floyd was for many, many years my favorite band. So, hear me out when I say:

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!

Isn't it obvious that the whole thing was a reasonably well-planned marketing gimmick? Sheesh! A couple of vague usenet messages spouting new age jargon encouraging people to listen closely to the album (and buy it...) so that they may decode it's deep dark secrets.

The secrets, as revealed at the site Hawkmoth provided, turns out to be something on the order of, "You can't change the world until you change yourself." True enough, but earth-shattering? Breath-takingly original? I think not.

Personally, I have more respect for the early recognition of the marketing capabilities of 'net. Someone in the Floyd organization (or in their record company's organization) recognized the marketing potential of message boards and played it to the hilt -- a couple of years before anybody else caught on. The substance of the secret which constitutes the "Enigma" is pretty lame. But, as Marshall McLuhan would say, "The Medium is the Message."

------------------------------
Please, Please, Baby Lemonade.

[aseymayo]

Frankd6 - Are you saying Paul isn't dead?

[NicePete]

Yes, exactly.

What's more, if you play "Frampton Comes Alive" backwards, you can hear the voice of Ricardo Montalban saying "Gary Coleman is Loverock. Beware the Ides of November. My dog has no nose. Brother, can you spare a dime? Burma Shave."

**** BONUS FREEKOUT FACT!!!***
Did you know that Chris Farley and David Spade were really the same person? That's why you never see Fred Grandy on TV anymore.

_____________________
It might ... just might, mind you....
be time for a change of signature.

[Doofius]

Take notice, all ye who desire the treasure of deepest enlightenment.

You are pursuing the wrong path toward Cecilness. Seek not the false idol of self-aggrandizement. I bring ye four steps toward the lack of ignoramousness.

1. Purchase
2. Read
3. Expound virtues of Cecilness (and Cecil's wisdom, products, publications, personal appearance and relics) to friends, family and strangers on the street.
4. Purchase some more. (May I suggest The Doofius Enigma for Dummies only 27.95 at Amazon.com and/or Cecil is Richard Gere, I am the Gerbil by R.U. Felching.

The secrets of the Doofius Enigma will bring you inner peace, raise the consciousness level of your parents and their stockbrokers and relieve the heartbreak of psoriasis. I'm not going to tell you anymore about it, because it is a big fat secret!

Await my next message on tenterhooks, ye seekers of enlightenment.

See ya later!

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I'm looking at the man in the mirror.

[BlahMan]

Hmm...

I Really, Really, Really Wonder why the F$@# my search for 'Blah' led me to this thread...

-Blah

[Wikkit]

I Really, Really, Really Wonder why you bumped a thread that's almost three years old without adding anything to it.

I only slightly wonder how many people know that Douglas Adams named one of Pink Floyd's albums.

[BlahMan]

Umm...sorry for the bump...i musta forgotten to take my meds that day...

Which album did DA name? Im a DA and a PF fan...

-Blah

[Wikkit]

Division Bell. He also played the guitar with them once.

Quoting DNA:

"Dave Gilmour asked me to fiddle around some of the lyrics, which I did,
though I don't think he used any of my suggestions in the end. The only
suggestion of mine that I know was used was that the album should be called
'The Division Bell'. I didn't think up the title, of course, I merely
pointed out that the phrase was lying there in one of the song lyrics and
would make a great title. In fact, there's a story there. I had given a
talk at the Royal Geographical Society in aid of the Environmental
Investigation Agency's work on rhino conservation. Both Dave and Nick came
along and we all went out to dinner afterwards. Dave was a bit preoccupied
about the title problem - they had to have the title by the following
morning, and no one could decide what it should be. I said, OK, I'll give
you a title, but it'll cost you a £5,000 contribution to the EIA. Dave
said, Well, tell me what your title is and we'll see. So I suggested The
Division Bell. And Dave said, Hmmm, well seems to work. Sort of fits the
cover art as well. Yeah, OK.
So - it' called the Division Bell."

[Joey P]

Not sure how relevent this is but if you've seen Pulse (The 1994 Division Bell Tour Concert which you can buy on video) they are playing with a large projector screen behind them (they same screen, I believe, that was used for The Wall live in Berlin). At a certaian pont in the concert (during You better Run perhaps) the screen get's very busy with some sort of patteren, then you see the word "ENIGMA" written and a second later scribbled out. Go buy the concert, and see for your self.