dude thats a black crow. crows are known for being the bringers of doom or death.

Perhaps. Since it appears so close to the birth images, it may mean that MJK was quickly confronted with doom or death..."Eleven and she was gone"

The bird I'm referring to looks more like an eagle though. Check out this post, i think its more accurate anyway http://toolnavy.com/showthread.php?t=46514

“Inter” as “in between” or “connecting.” Graphically there are a series of vertical lines defining the central Being and connecting the two skull/fetus silhouettes. Skull/Fetus is a symbol of linear time – Birth/Death – within the horizontal expanse of material existence. Linear time is a sequence of tiny birth/deaths, yet at each moment of now is a possibility to awaken outside of time, to transcend time. InterBeing is pointing to our timeless essence beyond birth and death, yet embedded in, facing or surrounded by time.

Source - http://www.amberlotus.com/07ag.html

so does anyone really know what the puzzle is? Maybe if you fold the booklet in different ways the pictures will make one? All these number things some really complex for some record art. Im new to tool but the more I read I feel like im just getting lost in it.

No one knows exactly what Blair meant by puzzle, but it seems to be the running consensus that it is built into the imagery, and is something abstract and "story" based.

I personally think if TOOL did a puzzle it would be something more concrete and obvious (if you know where to look).

devi-

you guys are looking at this 10,000 days cover art puzzle as something that is awesome and deep. if you really want to see an amazing cd cover art puzzle, look at warrents "cherry pie" cd. unbelievable. deep. i had a spiritual awakening while figuring out that puzzle. almost like a religious experience. and the puzzle on britney spears "hit me baby one more time" cd single artwork is too complicated to even put into words....

justin isnt an animorph...hes an animaniac. he's zany to the max

and storks bring babies...not crows or falcons, or vaginas

maynard's pic clearly represents uniting two spirits

clearly

is there somewhere anyone has these pictures posted? I definately left me CD somewhere else. And has anyone with photoshop tried out that other guys theory that the pictures can be placed in a way that they are all on the same table? If you do that, post them.... or link. If not, Justin is an animorph. And Adam is probably a Ninja Turtle.

No, you didn't start this thread. You started this one: http://toolnavy.com/showthread.php?t=46293

my theory: as tool are all wearing suits, they're gonna quit tool after this tour, take all their money, and use it in the stockmarket, and work as businessmen.

except justin, he looks like a hobo, so he'd probably be at your nearest underground station

haha... perhaps to avoid this red harring they should have been naked in the pictures

I'm enjoying all of this interpretation of imagery and such, but I'm still very unsatisfied with the idea that what TOOL would create a "puzzle" that involves nothing more than interpretating imagery towards the conclusion of a "moral" or "idea" (i.e two becomes ones, etc. etc.)

I'm still of the notion that when the answer is found (or given), it will be such that everyone will be able to look at it and go "ah ha, obviously", and there would be no more need for a discussion on the matter.

That being said, I haven't heard anything yet that seems to come close to a universal "ah ha" moment.

I believe the most concrete and meaningful connection that has been made yet is the fact that everyone's page includes imagery representative of each individual band member, (except for Justin of course who's picture shows no representative imagery of himself might suggest he is leaving the band).

devi-

[ deleted because I am a FOOL sometimes ]

My first post but perhaps the woman behind MJK is his dead mother. She's looking down on him and holding him. Like a gohst. He doesn't seem to notice her but she's there.

Notice the black mirror on the table (left side) where danny sits at. The story tells that if you "charge" it with full moon light and you stare long enough at it, gates to another dimension will open. Images from the future, the now and the past will be shown.

nice math there.

To elaborate a bit on this 'opinion', I'm reposting a responce to a private message I just received to clarify where I'm coming from in terms of what I would hope TOOL would be leading us towards...

- - -

I highly doubt that TOOL would simply have the answer be "two becomes one".

No, if there is a puzzle to be solved, there will be a chain of events and locks to be unlocked that will eventually lead to something more concrete such as "The band is breaking up" or "Go to www.theanswertothetoolriddle.com, where you get a free t-shirt that says 'I solved the TOOL riddle and all I got was this lousy t-shirt".

devi-

i appologize again, as i read this wrong... i thought it was saying you had the opposite view... so to sum things up, my private message wasn't REALLY meant to start a debate, i actually thought you were on my side! i wasn't intentionally instigating, i do feel kinda assy for saying brother to a female, but i don't believe i deserved the response i got; the fact that i called you a 'sibling' at all means that i have an understanding for you, so i don't think you needed to be so negative... hense my 'you are a tool' response

p.s. once i'm on someone's ignore list can they still see when i write in public like this? cuz if not then i guess the appology is useless

I like to add that maybe MJK is keeping his mother there in memorie cuz everything is in two ( 2 glasses of whine, 2 boxes and 2 phones).

I just wanted to point out too, on the idea of Justin leaving the band, the sequence of 1-6 mandala/flowers stops at Justin's photo.

That coupled with the fact that his picture is different (no association between Justin and the imagery of his picture, he's standing up, and no suit coat on), could possibly mean he is leaving.

... or not.

why would one waste so much creative energy to express something as negative as "our bass player is leaving" ...come on, the art is about more than the band, it's about life

and he has no suit jacket on because he had to put on that arm-protector thing so the bird wouldn't claw into his flesh...it most likely didn't fit over a jacket, hense the vest

You may be right about the suit coat (and why he is standing), but then why no imagery related to Justin as a person?

... and I would hardly call creating a puzzle around the anouncement of the fact a band-mate and good friend of their's for 26 years leaving the band a "waste of creative energy".

devi-

i'm glad you can still see my posts devi, i really didn't wanna create such a negative energy between us... and i understand where you're coming from, but my point is this... tool likes to speak on a global level, they like to deliver messages that are relevant to the whole world (or at very least a whole society)... for this reason i believe that the artwork is a bit larger than that

Kinda like the Eggs of Satan are relevant on a global level?

BTW, are you a virgo?

devi-

regarding justins photo if the bird is a crow or raven then....

The Black Crow sometimes also the Raven is the beginning of the great work of soul alchemy. This indicates the initial stages of the alchemist's encounter with his inner space, through withdrawing from the outer world of the senses in meditation, and entering what is initially the dark inner world of the soul. Thus this stage is also described in alchemical texts as the blackening, the nigredo experience, and it is often pictured as a death process, as in the caput mortuum, the deaths head, or as some alchemical illustrations show, the alchemist dying within a flask. Thus in the symbol of the Black Crow we have the stepping out in consciousness from the world of the physical senses the restrictions that bind us to the physical body.

well they are either going to be relevant or they're going to be sarcastic (the former more prevalent on their later works, the latter more prevalent in their earlier works) ... the eggs of satan is obviously sarcasm (unless of course there is something hidden in the cookie recipe of which i am unaware); but either way, whether they are serious or sarcastic, they are delivering messages that speak to more than just tool fans

no, aries... may i ask why?

Thank you for that.

It would be very morbid, but highly interesting, if perhapse Justin is dieing, rather than just leaving the band to pursue his own whims.

... just thoughts.

devi-

I don't think it's a crow, it's an eagle.

EDIT: also, Devi, how do you not know there is no imagery associated with Justin? The bird could be his spirit guide or something? It just might not be as obvious.

I can't believe no one commented on my mention of the number of candles on justin's table.

someone dying isn't much of a puzzle. i unfortunately feel this is some what of a hoax or (i reluctantly admit) a marketing ploy to get fans to buy the album (as opposed to downloading it) if for no other reason then to solve the "puzzle". however the deeper meanings that you have all presented are still things that are relevant to the band and obviously yourselves. the search for a deeper meaning or as mentioned previously in this thread an "ah, ha!" moment haven't happened in any other form of literature i have read thus far. as great of a band as tool is, there will likely no difference in this. especially as the "puzzle" is from the artist, not the band.
in closing... someone please prove me wrong.

There is obvious imagery from the three other pictures associated with each person (Danny and his love of old tomes and mysitism, Maynard and the wine, Adam and his fascination with anatomy).

So, unless Justin is interested in birds and I just don't know it, well.. yeah.

devi-

I have heard that the "Unfortunate Event" stories had a sub-story going on in which the story-teller is being chased by the police as he is telling the story, and isn't obvious until someone points it out to you.

Point being, artists do it, have done it, and it's usually something obvious and concrete after you know what to look for.

I've said it once, and I'll say it one more way... if TOOL did create a puzzle, I'm sure there is a concrete and obvious answer once you know what to look for, and it wouldn't something as interpretive and general as "life and death" or "two become one".

So far most people here who are coming to conclusions are interpretting art more than they are trying to solve a puzzle.

imho

devi-

i couldn't agree more that the ideas presented in this thread are more of a critique of the artist intentions than anything else. the official tool site that mentioned the "puzzle" in the first place specifically said that only the four band members' photos are the "pieces".

... and a "kind of puzzle" at that.

I think I've made my point well enough at this juncture, and I really hope people here will start to look at it less "interpreting the art" and more from a perspective of "how is the puzzle set up to be solved, and how do we solve it", because I think we all could run around in circle for ages (as proven by the Smashing Pumpking and Pink Floyd) if we don't figure out what the puzzle is first.

Either way, I definitely am looking forward to the answer no matter what it may be.

devi-

currently the only puzzle is: what is the puzzle?

Ha ha! :')

devi-