As a Boston resident, I am fit to be tied.

[WilliamPitt]

To steal a line from Jules of Pulp Fiction, I'm superfly TNT. I'm the Guns of the Navaronne.

I'm awestruck. I see, in my mind's eye, a conference table with a bunch of slick-ass advertising jackasses sporting $3,000 suits and $500 haircuts, with the ad copy ideas for this new Aqua Teen movie spread out before them, and then one says, "Wait...I've got a great idea! Let's strap boxes with wires and electronic components to critical infrastructure all over the city! It'll be a gas!"

I'm sure a lot of you blew this stuff in Boston off today as yet another silly-ass scare tactic, and I don't blame you. Every time I've heard one of those holy-crap-we're-all-gonna-die proclamations from the color-chart keepers at DHS, I've rolled my eyes and wondered how many more times they think they can get away with that crap. I rolled my eyes when it was Somewhere Else, and the lack of explosions have proven me and you and us out...

...but the hospital where one of these packages was found is about a three minute walk from my apartment, and there were eight other packages besides that one. I have friends who take the Longfellow Bridge home every night, friends who take Storrow Drive home every night, friends who take I-93 home every night. I've rolled my eyes before, but it's a hell of a different animal when it's happening in your ZIP code.

And I can't even be pissed at the Bush people about it, because it wasn't them. This wasn't Rumsfeld yelling about dirty bombs or Ringe predicting the demolition of the Brooklyn Bridge. This was, to boil it down, done by fucking television, and people who do the ad-work life-blood of television, people so bereft of creativity and yet so desperate to grab our attention that they have, now, expanded the definitions of "stupid" into bold and heretofore undiscovered vistas.

To quote The Ultimate Flame:

I cannot believe how incredibly stupid you are. I mean rock-hard stupid. Dehydrated-rock-hard stupid. Stupid so stupid that it goes way beyond the stupid we know into a whole different dimension of stupid. You are trans-stupid stupid. Meta-stupid. Stupid collapsed on itself so far that even the neutrons have collapsed. Stupid gotten so dense that no intellect can escape. Singularity stupid. Blazing hot mid-day sun on Mercury stupid. You emit more stupid in one second than our entire galaxy emits in a year. Quasar stupid. Nothing in our universe can really be this stupid. Perhaps this is some primordial fragment from the original big bang of stupid. Some pure essence of a stupid so uncontaminated by anything else as to be beyond the laws of physics that we know.

Yup. That about pegs it.

I've talked to a whole slew of friends today about this. Some were, like me, volcanically pissed. Some laughed at the lurid absurdity of it. Some, like me, found added bile in the fact that the goddam little cartoon character they were advertising was flipping the city the middle finger. Just about everyone was in awe when the word came down.

And then they thought about the huge wad of tax dollars that just got flushed because of this thing, the massive inconvenience to a whole city when three critical exit/entry points to downtown got shut down, and the even-money odds that someone probably died in the back of an ambulance that was stuck in traffic on I-93, and couldn't get into the hospital by I-93 anyway because one of the packages was there. And then they got really pissed. This whole city, near as I can tell, is seething right now. The sports-talk guys on WEEI and the DJs on WBCN sounded like they wanted to raise a mob and burn the Turner headquarters down to the foundations.

Unreal.

I'm trying to stay away from any "What if it was real?" thoughts, because that just buys into the goddam paranoia that is part of the air we breathe these days. But I can't escape a nagging thought.

The packages in Boston, apparently, have been in place for three weeks now, and are in ten other cities besides. No one spotted them until today. If we do go and bomb Iran, this kind of thing might become commonplace. The Iranian special ops guys are heavy operators, fully capable of something like this, and this kind of thing would be a dagger right under the fifth rib of our constitution and our freedoms. Forget attacking Wall Street. A few grenades in a mall in Duluth, or a rail bridge in Boston, and it's game over.

It wasn't that, and I pray it won't ever come to that, but we had a dry run of that scenario here today. It feels like a stone in my stomach. Gonna go take a walk. I hope every TV ad person in America goes home tonight with a bag over their head.

[az chela]

1. My first thought was someone dropped off millions of tea bags

[kiahzero]

2. What exactly did Turner do wrong?

They hung some lights. It's the "TERRA TERRA TERRA" fearmongering that caused the harm, not the lights.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. In the climate of...

"terra, terra, terra", a little bit of insight, into the possible consequences of their actions, might have been well-advised.

[kiahzero]

15. Maybe they were reasonable people?

I certainly wouldn't think such a thing would be confused as a bomb, but maybe I'm not terrified enough.

[Taoschick]

22. It's hard to say

What you'd think if you saw this stuck to the underside of a bridge blinking:



Especially with the box wrapped up in electrical tape at the bottom.

[kiahzero]

29. I'd think

"Hey, it's a cartoon character flipping me off." Again, maybe I'm just not terrified enough to jump to the terrorism conclusion without any real reason.

[Taoschick]

35. And you would think that because

It's so reasonable to expect that someone would put up a flashing lightboard with figure flipping the bird and a package wrapped in electrical tape beneath it on the underside of a bridge as a joke?

[kiahzero]

44. It would never occur to me to think of that as a bomb.

It's designed to attract attention. Generally that would be a bad thing if your goal is to blow something up.

[july302001]

61. LOL

It's a whacky version of SpongeBob! :rofl:

[uppityperson]

69. Would it take 2-3 weeks to decide to call the police?

Why did it take that long now? And what about all the other ones in all the other cities? What did they think?

[Quantess]

111. It would be unwise to NOT be concerned it might be a bomb.

Looks ominous to me. Of course people are going think it's a bomb! Basically, it's a bomb-hoax. And it's not funny.

[WilliamPitt]

5. Wrong

These things were not obviously "signs" when the cops went to check them out. They saw wires and electronic components.

...and they were STRAPPED to critical infrastructure. When the French resistance pitched in to help the Allied landing at Normandy, they blew up bridges and railways to thwart a Nazi counterattack. Hitting infrastructure is the A#1 best way to paralyze an urban area.

Oh, and a hospital, too.

So, no. Wrong. You saw the "lights" after the cops pulled them off the bridge or the overpass or the hospital. Wires and electronics strapped to a bridge is worthy of serious concern. I'm kind of amazed I have to explain this. Pssst...terrorism exists.

[kiahzero]

If you want live in fear, that's your perogative.

:shrug:

[WilliamPitt]

18. Um, I don't, and won't

but it's pretty goddam infuriating to try and live that way when shit like this happens.

Never mind. Any of you who don't understand this never will. I hope your city/town/burgh never has to deal with shit like this.

[kiahzero]

23. My Dad was in the Pentagon on 9/11.

Fortunately, he got out OK. However, I'd say that I have had to deal with shit orders of magnitude worse than Mooninite Lite-Brites.

[WilliamPitt]

33. I'm glad he's OK

and I had friends in the Towers, along with the parents of students, when that deal went down, so I'm not quite grabbing you. This was down the street from me. Not my dad, or my friends. I can see the place from here.

If you don't get it, you won't. Feels good to be a tough guy, though, especially when it's not happening in your neighborhood. Enjoy it. Cheers to your dad.

[kiahzero]

37. It's not a matter of "being a tough guy."

It's a matter of not flipping out at the slightest provocation.

[uppityperson]

70. I think my (big city nearby) got some also.

Yes, bad people want to do bad things. Will, please check out my post#68.

[bobbolink]

82. In all fairness, Will, by your own words, you weren't too sympathetic

when it was *other* people, somewhere else.

Think.

[polmaven]

75. "Live" is the working word there...

There is a large difference between living in fear and being cautious.

If you see these things strapped to bridges and underpasses, with electrical tape, wires and electrical components hanging out, you HAVE to be cautious.

Don't think that terrorists wouldn't use the guise of an irreverent cartoon character to set up a few IEDs...They are not necessarily stupid.

And how do we know they have actually been there for 3 weeks? I'm not sure from where that information came. Was it from someone who saw them 3 weeks ago, or from Turner?

It would, I think, been the height of irresponsibility to ignore them.....Unlike Will, I have been thinking about the "what if".

[Leopolds Ghost]

92. Don't think the terrorists would set up a few IEDs in the US... they don't need to.

If we invade Iran, you won't have to worry about cartoon characters, or a homeless person's pushcart, or whatever else makes you feel "cautious".

Your continual caution is what repressive statism of the Bush/Blair/Thatcher/Chavez/Ahmadinejad variety thrives upon.

Just don't go into law enforcement, especially in a city like NY where public art like this is posted all the time. Unless you and Will Pitt are copmpeting to out-Giuliani Giuliani.

[Zookeeper]

105. "Public art"

Yeah, from the photos, I would have thought it was someone's art project.

I don't think Islamic terrorists are known for their sense of humor. If "they" strapped a bomb to something, it would be business-like, IMHO. Home-grown terrorists might be a different story.

[malaise]

3. But, but, but

weren't these 'ads' around for the past two weeks and aren't they in other cities? Sorry Will, I had a damn good laugh, but I'm aware that the inconvenience for Bostonians was hardly funny.

[WilliamPitt]

Three weeks, ten other cities

and if that doesn't give you pause, nothing will. Imagine a nice bomb strapped to the underside of a big bridge in your town. For a month. Before it blows up. Not a cuddly thought.

[Beaverhausen]

17. Up for 3 weeks and no one noticed it? or they realized what it was?

How unobservant are the police if they only just noticed these things today? Makes you feel safe, doesn't it?

I think perhaps one wacko saw it, convinced him or herself that it was a bomb, and the fear took over.

[malaise]

32. I almost asked for your thoughts on their state

of readiness. Frightening indeed.

[Leopolds Ghost]

93. Mussolini made the trains run on time

Inconvenience is always what people object to the most in any "danger" situation trumped up by ignorant officials.

[cynatnite]

6. When it came out that it was a hoax...

I was pissed as hell. Cops got pulled away from their regular duties, real crimes and unable to help the people who needed it.

The citizens of Boston got the shaft today. Whoever is responsible, no matter how many there are, should be arrested and prosecuted.

on edit: anyone who finds this funny should be ashamed.

[kiahzero]

19. It wasn't a hoax.

A hoax implies that they intended it to be taken as a bomb.

[cynatnite]

25. It's a hoax...

The cops took them as bombs and they had to. The first time they didn't and one exploded killing people, what kind of reaction do you think they'd get from the public?

They had to take it seriously.

[kiahzero]

42. It was not intended to decieve or defraud.

Therefore, it was not a hoax. Calling it a hoax is, however, a hoax.

[cynatnite]

64. No matter the intention, it basically was a hoax...not real n/t

[kiahzero]

67. Playing a bit fast and loose with the language, aren't we?

Hoax - 1. An act intended to deceive or trick.

Intent is right there in the definition.

[uppityperson]

71. They were up for 2-3 wks in 10+ cities. Why only now are they dealt with?

Why only Boston?

[Leopolds Ghost]

94. I saw a bag left behind in a shopping mall. The person who left it should be arrested

The first time an unattended bag blows up, YOU'LL BE SORRY! :eyes:

Uh, no, because I understand the concept of risk.

[CitizenRob]

108. I saw a lite brite in the garbage, I'm scurred!

[Quantess]

112. How do you know their intentions?

I'm speculating they knew that some people would be alarmed.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WilliamPitt]

9. Thanks for the input

:eyes:

[AlCzervik]

27. bomb as a verb-not a good idea.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

8. I blame the people that panicked, thought it was a bomb.

[WilliamPitt]

10. Of course you do.

:eyes:

Taking that walk now.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. Have fun.

Are wonder if the sort of people panicking over a pin drop are the same ones worried about Iran.

[WilliamPitt]

13. Pin drop.

Where do you live?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

16. Why does it matter?

[Leopolds Ghost]

95. Because Boston is important.

It has to be protected because it, like Manhattan and DC is where the rich and powerful do their thing.

Not just suspicious packages... suspicious people... poor folks... are being "cleansed" from the streets of these cities.

Nobody ever does or will give a good rat's ass about a lite-bright being placed on a highway overpass in a slummy suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of one of these gentrified cities.

Because ythey know nobody would attack that area, and if they did, as happens all the time in violent neighborhoods, IT WOULDN'T BE NEWS.

You may have already noticed that hundreds of people die in the slums from drug-related violence, but the MINUTE it spreads to a place like downtown Boston or Wilshire Blvd. or Northwest DC, it's a TERRORIST INCIDENT threatening important people who thought they were safe behind some invisible line.

Fortress America is now Fortress Suburbia, and the battle is over who owns the central business district, now that it has been abandoned by all but the elite and the poorest of the poor. Fear is a powerful weapon in that battle.

[cynatnite]

11. How were they to know it wasn't a bomb?

How can they tell from looking at a package if it wasn't a bomb. Reports indicated computer parts, wires and tubes. What would you do if you were in the bomb squad whose job it was to go up to these packages?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. Gee, I don't know. The big goofy cartoon character maybe?

[cynatnite]

21. You think that says 'there is no bomb'?

:wow:

They can't treat everything as a joke even if it's got a stupid sign on it. Besides, this fucking hoax took cops away from their real jobs...helping people. I bet you find that just fucking hilarious, too. :eyes:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

24. You think wires and blinking lights means it is a bomb?

Sounds paranoid.

"Besides, this fucking hoax took cops away from their real jobs...helping people."

All the more reason not to assume everything's a bomb.

[cynatnite]

31. They have to assume they are bombs...

the first time they didn't, and one blew up killing people, they'd be negligent.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

36. Well if a person's going to assume everything's a bomb.

Then they're going to have to be prepared to look foolish.

[cynatnite]

38. Better to look foolish than to cost people their lives n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

40. Fine then.

So what's the beef against pointing out the foolishness?

[kiahzero]

34. OMG, the bombs are everywhere!

Every intersection, I see this box with wires and blinking lights!

[TayTay]

28. Can you read? These things were not obvious

as some sort of ad prop. They had wires and were strapped to public structures. Public structures that if they came down would create another 9/11. This is the type of situation that, if it happens again, could result in the government declaring martial law. (Yeah, this President.)

Ah, I am shocked that this ad company didn't notify anyone in the city what they were doing. They should be made to pay for what happened today.

BTW, the penalty for this crime is 2-5 years in federal prison. If I worked for the ad agency that did this, I'd think about lawyering up.

[Quantess]

113. 2 to 5 years in prison is what they deserve.

[Kingshakabobo]

47. Here's a picture.

It wasn't a package. As for "tubes and wires".....judge for your self.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

56. It's a lite brite.

Be on the look out for suspicious etch-a-sketches, they're considered to be sandy and dangerous.

[treestar]

86. It looks sort of silly

If I saw it, I don't think it would seem threatening.

It's hard to picture a bomber going for decorations. Not that it's not possible.

[Leopolds Ghost]

97. Someone help -- I saw a bomb on the inside window of my pizza shop!

I think the owner, a Lebanese guy, put it there!

It had a black box taped to the window (ready to blow) with wires and
tubes sticking out from it.

And the sign flashed out a warning, in words that it was forming.

And the sign said THE WORDS OF THE PROPHETS ARE WRITTEN ON THE SUBWAY WALLS! PAN SPECIAL $15.99.

I think it had one of those LED things, too.

[Edweird]

20. do you believe that the alphbet soup guys

had NO IDEA these things were in place in 10 or 11 cities for three weeks until just now?
I don't. I just see them taking an opportunity to ramp up the fear. They've got a vice president to protect, dontcha' know.

[Annces]

26. I bet I know what the next Boston Legal show will be about

they love this kind of stuff.

[redwitch]

30. The city of Boston should sue for damages

including emotional distress. My son is in Boston and I am also pissed.

[malaise]

39. KO is about to discuss this n/t

[JacksonWest]

76. The city of Boston should grow up and not freak out over a lite brite on "vital infrastructure".

Fear sells. Looks like there were a lot of buyers today. And according to Barnum B. , all we have to do is wait one minute more for another one.

Wake up. Here's how we respond to real terrorist attacks in this country. WE run from the smoke. If you're watching a "terrorist" attack on the news---you're not.

Let's look at some of the recent home grown threats:

Two dudes sniping people from the trunk of their car.

Militant gang members in FLorida who did karate in a warehouse.

And now the Mooninites.

Yes, I'm pissed. Pissed that over three thousand Americans, and hundreds of thousands Iraqis have dies because we can summon up fear faster then courage or intellect.

Good work. Stay scared. Stay angry. Remember, you're either with the Mooninites or you're against them.

[redwitch]

78. Electronic devices, however cute, should not be taped to bridges.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force is a funny cartoon. The ad campaign for the movie is criminally stupid and damned expensive to boot. I am thrilled it wasn't a real threat but yes, people get scared. Bomb scares are not funny and however unintentional this wasn't either. Feeling that way doesn't make me a Bush enabler.

[JacksonWest]

85. Didn't say it did.

I can understand being alarmed at reports that there are bombs under bridges-or devices thought to be bombs. I'm mildly amused that the story was so sensationalized-when it was a lite brite. I'm shocked that the government-Boston PD and homeland security-didn't immediately recognize these as non-lethal devices and disseminate the fear. And I watch in wonderment as the people here get upset at a cartoon company-and not the people-the police- who are supposed to make them feel safe.

[rocktivity]

41. Boston...didn't a hijacked 9/11 flight take off from there?

:banghead:
rocknation

[treestar]

87. Two of them

Both Flight 11 and Flight 175

[rocktivity]

90. Yet, it didn't occur to ANYBODY

that hiding unmarked electronic-looking devices around the city might come across as kind of, as Judge Judy would say, not smart?

:crazy:
rocknation

[bicentennial_baby]

43. As a Boston student....

I don't give a flying crap...Quit being so f'n dramatic...Yawn....Yeah, it *could* have been real, but it wasn't!! How about that?! So, why are you so 'fit to be tied'? It's over, you know what happened...And btw, how many threads are you going to start about this?

:eyes:

[july302001]

98. right on!

Right on!

:yourock:

I think the whole thing is hilarious and shows how uptight some people can be!

I mean, even if you don't know what it is, it's obviously an LED board with something that looks kind of like SpongeBob. In other words, it's a gag.

[july302001]

45. yeah, it was stupid...

It was a stupid sh*tty advertising prank.

The ad company should pay for the cost of the law enforcement reponse.

Nevertheless, WillPitt, come on out in the clear and admit how hard you would be laughing if this had happened in Atlanta or Charlotte. I've read enough of your anti-Southern diatribes on hertre....

[WilliamPitt]

49. Bull-fucking-shit.

Wow, the special friends are out tonight.

I defy you - absolutely fucking defy you - to find one post or thread I've ever made on DU or anywhere else that dogs the South.

Be aware that, as you search, you'll find dozens of posts where I defend the South. My father and half my family is from Alabama, and unlike many of my Northern neighbors, I have spent huge amounts of time all over the South.

So, nice try. Dumb, but hey, it got you another post. P.S. saying "spending campaign money in Florida is a waste" isn't dogging the South, in case you try for the stretch. We can't win Florida because the elections are rigged, and if you have neuron one, you know this. Strategery, friend.

Wow.

[july302001]

58. this is great!

This is the best entertainment of the night...watching how uptight New Englanders are about this stupid ad agency prank. :rofl:

It's cool cosmic payback after some of my life experiences in that part of the country.

Hey, at least I think the ad agency should pay....but some New Englanders need to mellow out, too. So, what's new?... :shrug:

[Ellipsis]

79. Perhaps one should go joke about it in the airport

;-) The intent in marketing is to draw publicity, the bent of the campaign was to create panic/angst to evoke publicity.

Pretty clear cut, I agree with you.

Short stick... they are liable.

Segue:

One of the things we need to overcome as country right now is divisiveness. We are called the United States not the un-united states. A north verses south perspective only complicates what we have to overcome, healing this country from the biggest marketing charade to date ...Karl Rove's legacy.

[leftstreet]

106. tsk. tsk. tsk. I thought you were on notice to clean up your potty mouth

:shrug:

The primary election season will definitely be interesting on the DU.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

46. OK, I'll be the village idiot here.

I don't have a clue what you're talking about. Have I just missed these reports on the news channels because I was on my way to the kitchen for snacks? :shrug:

[Kingshakabobo]

50. Somebody called in these(see below) signs as suspicious packages.

The cops showed up, blocked traffic, donned ski masks and did "their thing" for several hours.

[Squatch]

51. It looks like some three-year old's Lego project.

My first thought is certainly NOT "It's a bomb!"

[rocktivity]

52. 8:41 PM EST - Keith Olbermann's about to do a story on it

I liked the Aquateens; this totally spoils it.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Leopolds Ghost]

96. You liked them for the wrong reasons then.

The creators I'm sure got a kick out of this, as did the guy from
"Boondocks" and other political satirists.

The best part about it is that it's so absurd that anyone with any engineering knowledge (that includes police bomb experts) would think it was a bomb, that the marketing firm can't be blamed for intentionally scaring the public, because only an idiot would be scared by a neon sign.

even though they got a GREAT plot for an episode out of it.

I hope the marketing campaign has the desired effect, it makes for great
Situationalist satire/drama about the repression and paranoia in America
today.

(the fact that essentially lit-up handbills are considered vandalism or terrorism; the fact that CLINTON reclassified vandalism during a public protest as a FORM of terrorism, a fact which I bet most DUers aren't too worried about...)

[rocktivity]

116. These "neon signs" were HIDDEN

(under a bridge in one case) in a city that had a role in the 9/11 hijackings. Not cute, not clever, not marketing-savvy, not satirical, not amusing, not art, not "kicky." The Turner Network should be presented with a nice whopping bill for the overtime. Had this been the work of say, a bunch of college students, they'd be looking at jail sentences right now.

:headbang:
rocknation

[C_U_L8R]

48. it was not a particularly good ad agency

i know a lot of ad people... and they're not all hucksters.. for sure

but like any other business.. there are the fakes, the hacks.the pretenders and the talentless
who commit boneheaded blunders that make everyone else hang their head in shame.

A stupid idea poorly executed.....

[0rganism]

53. You know, I understand you're pissed, I sympathize, and yet...

...I can't help but see something funny in this.

Maybe it's cos I watch the cartoon regularly. It's just that if Inignokt were real, he would be pleased as all heck.

"On the moon, we have no need of commuting or police. We do whatever we want to whomever we want at all times."

I fully expect this brouhaha will become the subject of a future ATHF episode, very soon.

[matcom]

54. these FUCKERS deserve JAIL

i don't live in the city but let me tell you people, THIS is serious shit. This is totally FUCKED UP.

MILLIONS of people and THOUSANDS of 'First Responders' had their lives endangered today. This is FUCKING CRAZY!!!!!!

[Squatch]

55. Endangered by what, exactly?

I'm sorry, but the only thing dangerous about this poorly executed ad campaign was the incredible over-reaction by the city.

[cynatnite]

66. You don't think that since the cops were pulled away..

from their regular duties (helping the public) endangered lives? Shit like this takes cops away from real emergencies.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

73. Well then charge the guy that phoned in the false alarm.

Awhile ago there were some muslims taking pictures of landmarks. Some people thought they were terrorists, called the police, there was a big investigation which I'm sure took away from real cases.

So would you charge the muslims?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

57. Meh.

Maybe a ticket for littering.

[uppityperson]

74. What about all the ones in the other 10+ cities that have been up 2-3 wks?

Do they deserve jail for those, even though no one got scared? I think nt'l security stuff needs to look at wtf they aren't doing right. Having these up 2-3 wks, in 10+ towns, not getting excited until today. Do police talk to one another in other places? This is just fucking crazy.

[Bluebear]

117. :nodding:

[EFerrari]

59. Do we need to drag Iran into our stupidity? Or, into their stupidity?

Don't feed them.

I hear you, Will. The summer that they killed Kevin Shelley's career, there was a week long hue and cry about catching three al Qaida guys filming the B of A tower.

They were tourists.

I'm glad it was just stupendous undiluted idiocy. And I hope those guys get put into the stocks.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

60. From what I have read, you have every right to be.

The packages were placed in suspicious areas. The very fact there was a cartoon character on them does not make them innocuous. If anything, I'd think the silly character was there so you'd think it was nothing, until the thing exploded.

The police did the right thing in following protocol for dealing with threats like this. Why in the world didn't the agency call and alert the cops to what they were doing? The advertising agency should be sued by the city and be forced to pay the overtime and other expenses incurred because of the mess they created. And then they should be hauled before a jury in a criminal trial.

For those who have never been around an IED-as I understand it, they can be disguised in almost anything, and as almost anything. The bomb squad was right in disarming it first, asking questions later.

Bostonians, don't let the nay-sayers get you down. And know that this Yankee living in Arkansas is standing with you in spirit.

[JerseygirlCT]

62. Those tax dollars? Ought to be refunded by Turner

every last one of them.

Stupid stunt.

[Little Wing]

63. You'll laugh about this in 6 months.

Just sayin

[KatyaR]

65. The "duh" factor here is unbelievable--

that someone would think that it would be "cool" to do something like that in this day and age absolutely drops me to my knees. Somebody's musta watched too many episodes of "24."

I'm DAMMED pissed about this, and it's not my home, but I do live in Oklahoma City, and we've had one bomb, and that was enough for me, thank you very much. Then a year or so ago some idiot skinhead from Kansas tried to firebomb the synagogue across the street from my apartment--thank god there was minimal damage and they caught the a-hole, but I've had enough of people and their idiocy.

You want to blow something up? Destroy your own damn property and stay away from me and mine.

I'm sorry people are so stupid, Will--thank god it wasn't the real thing. Someone needs to pay for this.

[cynatnite]

72. We lived in Fairview when that happened...

My cousin was injured from flying debris.

[uppityperson]

68. 2 thoughts about this incident, not sure which is more appalling.

Problem is I am not sure which appalls me worse.
These were in place for 2-3 wks in over 10 cities. They must have been seen by thousands of people and dismissed as nothing until today. What changed?

1) Did the over-riding "OMGness! IT MIGHT BE DANGEROUS!!!!!11" boo factor of over-riding paranoia (but ignore the real threats in the administration) finally catch up?

2) If these did look dangerous to take as a true possible threat, why did NO security force notice them or do anything about them until now? What does this say for the future when someone truly wants to place bombs? Will they be noticed?

[Dastard Stepchild]

77. Huh... they had them here in Chicago, too...

I never even saw one, and I frequent the neighborhoods where I would imagine they would have been placed. Of course, if they did place them where I think they would have, most people would have probably taken it for subversive street art.

I am curious to know the Chicago locations.

I'm sorry that it caused you such stress. I would have enjoyed seeing one, but I can appreciate why others might not have found it at all appropriate.

[Name removed]

80. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Ellipsis]

81. Charming.

[Name removed]

83. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Ellipsis]

84. Probably hanging out in Election Reform.

next time you get flamed, let me know.:hi:

[sproutster]

88. As others have said, I don't blame you - we are conditioned

I would have freaked and been mad.

[RoyGBiv]

89. Marketing people are evil ...

They tend not to have any frame of reference for anything outside their own sequestered little lives.

My apologies to anyone here in marketing, but not much of a heart-felt one. I've witnessed marketing meetings where ideas similarly devoid of a clue were discussed, and the lack of awareness of what goes on in the world outside their graphs and charts was astonishing.

[Leopolds Ghost]

91. My God.

First off, the fact that you and the cops never heard of Aqua Teen Hunger
Force is not a sign of elite counterintelligence... I never had cable and
I've seen these cartoon characters before.

You probably thought BORF should have been locked up for painting massive,
"TURK 182" style guerrilla paintings on highway overpasses in the nation's
capital. He terrorized people!

Last but not least, the first one you encounter, you check it and see if
it's a light fixture. It was. End of story.

Jesus christ.

Ever heard of PUBLIC ART???

Typical tightassed response from statist "we must be made safe from all dangers, but the Democrats can do that" urbanite mindset. Sorry, but it's the truth. Whatever happened to relying on good common sense and trusting in Providence? People in other countries die every day to kepp Boston so creepily clean, well lit, and swept of homeless people and the like. Because we are AFRAID of disorder. We desire a truly disturbing degree of predictability to our landscape.

[bridgit]

99. *I* feel you on this one Will, this commercial ad-shit america is hooked on...

has to stop as well, no product can possibly be worth such antics :thumbsdown:

there was a gal in town out here that fucking died from water intoxication by way of a radio promo for bottled water...whoever drinks the most water without pee'ing was to get a Wii game system, there's no more rules in this idiot's world

[woo me with science]

100. What morons.

The people who devised this campaign, and the people who don't see why it was moronic.

Sheesh.

[earth mom]

101. Don't buy into the fear.

“There is nothing to fear but fear itself.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt

[ToeBot]

102. Wow, apparently Bostonian overreaction isn't limited to emergency personnel.

"Hide your lite-brite, some fool might think you're making a bomb."

[sleipnir]

103. Ummm...didn't seem to bother the other 9 cities where the promo was ongoing...

Sounds like some people in Boston have an itchy trigger finger and not much reasoning.

Yes, it was a silly stunt, but it was a pointless stunt that didn't raise heckels in all of the other cities. Maybe the authorities and the citizens had a clearer head in SanFran or NYC, or maybe...Boston is taking things a bit more seriously. Well, can't fault 'em too much I guess.

[CitizenRob]

109. Apparently 9 other cities aren't run by noobs.

[slowry]

104. Thanks for the great post.

It's easy to dismiss this as purely comical (which it is, certainly, in part -- <3 Shake), but with a little thought, it's easy to see this wasn't paranoia. What's more likely, if you saw one of these from a moderate distance:

1) Hm what's that thing on the bridge. What the... circuit board... battery pack... wires... ohhh I bet it's just a marketing ploy for a surreal and comedic cartoon movie.

2) Hm what's that thing on the bridge. What the... circuit board... battery pack... wires... k whatever it is... not cool.

The only people completely flipping out were the media. It's valid to wonder what the hell something like this is. It's out of place; it's electronic; it's all by its lonesome -- not where you'd expect to find an advertisement, that's for sure :crazy:.

[CitizenRob]

107. BREAKING NEWS: Lite Brite causes evacuation of all of Boston!

Dateline Boston - duh.

[SmellsLikeDeanSpirit]

110. That thing doesn't even look like a bomb. A damn 3 year old could tell you it was a lite bright.

This makes me sad that America is this paranoid.

[Hekate]

114. Harmless looking toys? The Soviets made landmines that looked like toys

Some weird responses here. Will--I get it. You said it very well, all of it.

The whole concept of the promo was beyond stupid, and the ad agency should be sued for monetary damages by the city. Ignorance of the consequences of one's actions is no excuse for dangerous behavior: it's why so-called practical jokes are so universally despised.

For those that refuse to understand the angst, recall that two flights on 9/11 took off from Boston's airport. My sister's family (including her kids) knew people who were related to people on those flights. 9/11 affected the residents in a personal way.

As for harmless looking toys: the Soviets made land mines that looked like brightly colored plastic children's toys and sowed them in Afghanistan. Children yet to be born will still be finding them and losing their hands.

This really does have the aura of a dry run.

Hekate

[incapsulated]

115. Ah, no....

First off, I live in NYC so I do get "what it's like".

And I thought the whole thing was... funny.

Was it asking for trouble and stupid on the part of the cartoon network to stick these on bridges or near hospitals given the present paranoia? Yup.

Was the overreaction to what turned out to look like a lite-brite giving us the finger funny, if you weren't inconvenienced by it? Hell, yeah.

I'm sorry I just cannot imagine a serious bomber deliberately drawing attention to his device with cartoon character in blinking lights, why in the world would he do something so... "stupid"?

And, Will, if the idea that people can place small objects under massive structures like bridges in major cities without notice frightens you then I don't know how you sleep at all. I could put something that size with wires sticking straight out of it and "BOMB" written on it all over Manhattan without anyone seeing them if I wanted to. That is just reality, we all live from one day to the next without knowing whether some horrific event is around the corner and since it would literally be impossible to curtail such a plot by relying on visual sightings alone, without dwelling on it either.

[benEzra]

118. This isn't the first time...

This isn't the first time that a clever marketing campaign has led to paranoid phone calls and a Keystone Kops response...

Bomb squad destroys news box playing ‘Mission: Impossible III’ theme

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - A newspaper promotion for Tom Cruise’s upcoming “Mission: Impossible III” got off to an explosive start when a county arson squad blew up a news rack, thinking it contained a bomb.

The confusion: the Los Angeles Times rack was fitted with a digital musical device designed to play the “Mission: Impossible” theme song when the door was opened. But in some cases, the red plastic boxes with protruding wires were jarred loose and dropped onto the stack of newspapers inside, alarming customers.

Now, maybe it's just me, but I'd think that if Al Qaida were going to blow up a bridge or a building with a bomb, the bomb would not

(1) give everyone the finger for two weeks before detonating, or

(2) play the theme to "Mission Impossible" before detonating.

But who knows...