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[Tresbien]

[SPEC]

[Boomer52]

I see the word "The" and the letter "H"

[Tresbien]

My thought was that it said The End with something more to the right. If you look below and to the left of the crossbar in your H, it looks like End underneath it. Hope someone else can improve the image.

[BadSmeagol]

If you look at that picture really close up it kinda looks like there is another image under the Phoenix. It doesn't look the same as the ship. Kinda like the other image is behind the phoenix....

[Tresbien]

I think this one calls for a magnifying glass.

[BadSmeagol]

Yeah, that is what I was talking about. Weird, right? It's like another layer underneath..

[Tresbien]

BadSmeagol, It does look like there could be two people there (above closeup), and I feel fairly sure there's more writing/numbers on the leathery page. Here's another view where the people fade out, and it looks like brick pavers/walkway instead.

ETA: Hope someone else can manipulate it better than me.

[dms]

[Tresbien]

dms! It's so good to see you. I agree that it does look more like a basketweave pattern.

I feel sure there's more hidden in that image -- not sure what my limited skills can pull from it, though (props to the graphics genius who put this together).

[BadSmeagol]

You guys are right. When I first noticed it I was thinking it looked like bricks but it does look more like a basket weave. I'm gonna have to play with it a little more. It's bugging me that I can't figure it out.

[Pavoreax]

Thoughts on the image:

• I have been searching for this ship all over the web to no avail. It is clearly a square rigged ship of the type that were called "merchant ships" and looks very similar in style to the Mayflower, but it is clearly not the Mayflower. I have found a lot of ships of this type, but none with the scroll work that appears at the masthead and possibly at the stern of this ship.
  
  
• I agree that the image that comprises the bird is a weave pattern
  
  
• I do not think this is a phoenix. It may be a generic bird, but I'm leaning toward a raven or crow (again). The main reason I don't think it's a phoenix is that phoenixes are almost depicted in a circular motif
  
  
• I tried to find any steganography in the image with what limited tools I have and was not able to.
  
  
• It occurs to me that this may not be a clue with a hidden message, but rather may be one of the pages of history that will be distributed this year.
  
  
  

[Tresbien]

[Pavoreax]

[Tresbien]

http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/AtoZ/rigs.html Since our image's ship flies the flag of Canada, I looked at this site about their sailing vessels and think the sail configuration is the brig as it has two masts with square-rigged sails.

Also did some bird searching and only found one northern hemisphere dwelling long-tailed bird that also has feathers on its crown, a cardinal, so I'm still leaning toward the more mystical phoenix. I'm open to other ideas, though.

Are we without updates this week because we're still missing something?

[Guminudli]

hi, everyone! I'm new around here, I've read the topic and I'd like to jump in with some vague ideas.

- the flag looks like it has three vertical bands, but I don't think it's Canadian. the current Canadian flag has only been in use since 1965, so if this is a ship from before that (brigs were most common in the 19th century), it can't be the Canadian flag. brigs were also used mostly on European waters, so I'm guessing it's some kind of European flag. French?

- it looks like there's a figurehead on the ship, a statue of a woman? it could be a mermaid or a siren.

- the picture looks very detailed, and that makes me think that this is one specific ship, either real or fictional (but most likely real).