Clip of their press interview and how they wouldn't discuss their arrest. They insisted on only discussing haircuts of the 70's.
work is slow and this is a fascinating story to me, so I could go all day...
...so, I will take this opportunity to offer another unsolicited opinion:
THIS IS NOT ART.
I take a very broad view of what is art; a blank sheet of paper that you put on a wall? Fine by me. An lp of you banging a stick against your hut? Folkways HEAT! You wanna throw your tag up on a train? Public transit looks better already!
BUT, putting up viral marketing ads because some douchebag is paying you to for the betterment of their bottomline?
YOU ARE NOT AN ARTIST. YOU ARE AN EASILY INFLUENCED DOUCHEBAG WHO CAN BE BOUGHT OFF BY THE LOWEST BIDDER.
Man, I really need a blog, but I'm gonna post a few more thoughts on this topic....We spent our whole day at work talking about this, so I'm gonna throw my thoughts out for those who care.
I agree that our goverment has campaigned and won on fear; they have made fear a way of life for many americans, and profited from it. And for that, fuck them.
THAT SAID, a certain amount of fear is to be expected following our nation's largest terrorist attack. Frankly, if our life didn't change after that, shame on us. Do we laugh at Israel because they blow up suspiciuos packages? No- that is a way of life. Why is it a way of life? Because events happened- namely, people leaving bombs in public- that the government AND the public reacted to. So, a way of life changed. Is it for the worse? Possibly- you might lose a carelessly place briefcase. On the other hand, it is a way to try to save lives without too much of an invasion of privacy. All in all, this does not seem an unreasonable imposition on people, or overt fear mongering.
Which brings me to lite brite displays on a bridge. We would be FOOLS not to learn from the lessons of Israel, Europe, and our own attacks not to assume that people can place a bomb in public places to detonate it. Just because something happens overseas doesn't mean it can't happen here, and doesn't mean that we should assume that it wouldn't. Frankly, that would as irresponsible as the fear mongering that I already hate this government for to wait for something to happen and THEN deal with it. Oh wait- our government has already done that. Remember planes into a building can't happen to us? If we're going to decry our government's 'failure of imagination,' we can't bitch about them trying to stay one step ahead of attackers.
Again, we are toeing a fine line on what is reasonable suspicion and what is paralyzing fear, but I think we can see the differences in these broad strokes.
Moving on- this is an instance where we can examine how police work needs to change to deal with the present and future. As reports of two or three of these same devices come into the station, the bomb squad should be dispatched to deal with what is assumed to be an immediate threat- I have ZERO problem with that.
BUT, before an entire city is brought to a hault, the Google Squad should go online, and see how many bloggers, youtubers, and marketing folls are posting that this is going on. IMO, that knowledge within the police department could help reduce some of the panic that was caused yesterday.
Either way, that does not excuse the stupidity of the idea of doing this- and I hate everyone who is saying, "oh, who cares, it was just ATHF. Ha, ha on the squares." The image on the lite brite doesn't matter- if it some biblical reference or 'Support Our Troops,' I would be mad at the religious right or knee jerk Patriots for pulling some stupid marketing stunt that was ill-conceived and led to a panic. As I said, the image on the lite brite doesn't matter- if it did, you could make a bomb, slap a 'Support Our Troops,' magnet on it, and it would be patriotic- until you used it to blow up a bridge. Or, you could find out what marketing team is putting out a lite brite campaign, and just make a bomb that looks the same...and 'kaboom!'
As for the fallacy that this act is some sort of 1st Ammendment freedom fight or artistic impression. Fuck THAT. This is a marketing stunt. If you go into a crowded theatre and yell, "FIRE!......Mints freshened my breath! Buy them at the snack bar!" and incite a riot, you should be prosecuted for stupidity, as should the asshole who thought up the campaign. Likewise, if you put something that looks like a bomb in public, the person who put it up, and the people who provided the materials, idea, recruiting, etc. should be forced to pay back all the time and money lost. I'm tired of the notion that we have to defend the rights of advertisers and marketers to do whatever they want in the name of commerce.
Now, if this were somone's idea of art, I might be more compelled to consider their motivation- put I still couldn't defend their actions. Prosecute them.
Finally, to the losers who have been arrested, and claim to be 'performing artists,' but I would call douches of the highest order...If your version of performance art is street teaming, and then talking about the history of hair styles on the court house steps after your arraignment....
Well, I just don't think Chris Burden is sweating his faculty spot on UCLA's art faculty. There might be a reason you're art isn't feeding you, and you need to rely on shark viral marketers for money.
We're missing a poignant issue on this discussion. What did happen to the Afro's from the 70's? Was the Mohawk a reaction to the straight hair of the 70's?
These are some important topics..
I think if these 2 where black they wouldn't get 2 seconds into this hair tirade.
If you go into a crowded theatre and yell, "FIRE!......Mints freshened my breath! Buy them at the snack bar!" and incite a riot, you should be prosecuted for stupidity, as should the asshole who thought up the campaign.
Can we also prosecute the bostonians that made a big deal over this advertisement?
If you go into a crowded theatre and yell, "FIRE!......Mints freshened my breath! Buy them at the snack bar!" and incite a riot, you should be prosecuted for stupidity, as should the asshole who thought up the campaign.
Can we also prosecute the bostonians that made a big deal over this advertisement?
- spidey
Clearly I'm Jonny NoSenseofHumor on this...but, again...I can't defend shady marketers who incite the public. If you're going to get all angry at politicians for fear mongering, why defend the right of a marketing company to do the same?
One of the guys who was arrested was in the SIM program at Mass Art. I suspect he will actually make out okay on this, if he was indeed working as part of an advertising campaign. If this was something his team dreamed up, good luck to him.
PS: if you really wanted to bomb something in boston, make it look like an unemployed recent college graduate! Perfect camouflage.
I think that it's probably reasonable for people to be suspicous of random packages on civic structures. I don't think the image/appearance should be a deciding factor of its danger. If it was hanging out the front of your workplace, how stoked would you be to go inside and clock up your 8 hours?
I think it's disgusting how the momentum of modern life seems to be based on fear, but it's the way things are. We're all scared someone has a better life, a hotter wife, a faster car, a higher paying job etc, because of marketing. That some fuckheads who are undoubtably being paid a fortune came up with such a weak stunt is hardly surprising.
I work in advertising, but I'm beginning to think Bill Hicks was right.
BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- One of the men criminally charged after placing blinking cartoon advertisements around the city and causing a terrorism scare videotaped a police bomb squad removing one of the devices, but did not tell the officers the object was harmless...
BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- One of the men criminally charged after placing blinking cartoon advertisements around the city and causing a terrorism scare videotaped a police bomb squad removing one of the devices, but did not tell the officers the object was harmless...
Do you expect him to walk up to the police and say 'It's cool I put that there, it's not a bomb.' Like they'ed do anything but arrest him.
He informed his employer, who informed the police. And then the media. The police knew for some time that all this was, was a dumb stunt that went wrong. But for some reason they decided to not treat it accordingly.
As someone who's lived in a country where I've had to live with the threat of terrorism for practically my whole life, I find constant evocing of 9/11 extremely suspect.
BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- One of the men criminally charged after placing blinking cartoon advertisements around the city and causing a terrorism scare videotaped a police bomb squad removing one of the devices, but did not tell the officers the object was harmless...
Do you expect him to walk up to the police and say 'It's cool I put that there, it's not a bomb.' Like they'ed do anything but arrest him.
He informed his employer, who informed the police. And then the media. The police knew for some time that all this was, was a dumb stunt that went wrong. But for some reason they decided to not treat it accordingly.
As someone who's lived in a country where I've had to live with the threat of terrorism for practically my whole life, I find constant evocing of 9/11 extremely suspect.
get the for the fox news watchers who live in fear...
as you can see by my lengthy posts on the previous page, i guess i just don't agree. you say you live in a country where you've had to live with the threat of terrorism. how did that happen? did people start carrying out terrorist acts, and it then became a threat? When events happen, things change; there is a time in the UK before the IRA started blowing up trashcans in London. Then, there is a time afterward when all trash cans are removed. If you fail to react to events, then you are a failure.
Well, that is what happened here. People bombed things in this country (WTC1, Ok City), and then used planes to bomb things. Are we not supposed to learn from that? Are we not supposed to learn from the lessons of other countries- the UK, Israel, the MIddle East?
We would decry our leaders if they ignored one of these and it was a bomb. Yet, we feel its ok to laugh at them because it was only a lite bright? By the way, you can make a bomb out of anything- toy, briefcase, whatever.
I'm not someone who thinks of myself as living in fear. I travel, i don't think twice about going to big crowded places, blahahblallaah. I am against the invastion of civil rights that our administration has carried out in the name of fighting terror. But, while we condemnded (rightfully) a president for a 'failure of imagination,' I CANNOT decry a police department for using their imagination- even if in this case, it was not needed.
Finally, for those who say this is an extreme overeaction...NO. This was an inconvenience. People had to sit in traffic; they even dropped the charges against the two douches who did this. People missed work, were delayed, and it was a pain in the ass. An Overeaction would be to evacuate, to start throwing people in jail indefinitely without charges as enemy combatants.
Comments
Still sorta laughing about this one... it would be some uppity boston person.
I agree that our goverment has campaigned and won on fear; they have made fear a way of life for many americans, and profited from it. And for that, fuck them.
THAT SAID, a certain amount of fear is to be expected following our nation's largest terrorist attack. Frankly, if our life didn't change after that, shame on us. Do we laugh at Israel because they blow up suspiciuos packages? No- that is a way of life. Why is it a way of life? Because events happened- namely, people leaving bombs in public- that the government AND the public reacted to. So, a way of life changed. Is it for the worse? Possibly- you might lose a carelessly place briefcase. On the other hand, it is a way to try to save lives without too much of an invasion of privacy. All in all, this does not seem an unreasonable imposition on people, or overt fear mongering.
Which brings me to lite brite displays on a bridge. We would be FOOLS not to learn from the lessons of Israel, Europe, and our own attacks not to assume that people can place a bomb in public places to detonate it. Just because something happens overseas doesn't mean it can't happen here, and doesn't mean that we should assume that it wouldn't. Frankly, that would as irresponsible as the fear mongering that I already hate this government for to wait for something to happen and THEN deal with it. Oh wait- our government has already done that. Remember planes into a building can't happen to us? If we're going to decry our government's 'failure of imagination,' we can't bitch about them trying to stay one step ahead of attackers.
Again, we are toeing a fine line on what is reasonable suspicion and what is paralyzing fear, but I think we can see the differences in these broad strokes.
Moving on- this is an instance where we can examine how police work needs to change to deal with the present and future. As reports of two or three of these same devices come into the station, the bomb squad should be dispatched to deal with what is assumed to be an immediate threat- I have ZERO problem with that.
BUT, before an entire city is brought to a hault, the Google Squad should go online, and see how many bloggers, youtubers, and marketing folls are posting that this is going on. IMO, that knowledge within the police department could help reduce some of the panic that was caused yesterday.
Either way, that does not excuse the stupidity of the idea of doing this- and I hate everyone who is saying, "oh, who cares, it was just ATHF. Ha, ha on the squares." The image on the lite brite doesn't matter- if it some biblical reference or 'Support Our Troops,' I would be mad at the religious right or knee jerk Patriots for pulling some stupid marketing stunt that was ill-conceived and led to a panic. As I said, the image on the lite brite doesn't matter- if it did, you could make a bomb, slap a 'Support Our Troops,' magnet on it, and it would be patriotic- until you used it to blow up a bridge. Or, you could find out what marketing team is putting out a lite brite campaign, and just make a bomb that looks the same...and 'kaboom!'
As for the fallacy that this act is some sort of 1st Ammendment freedom fight or artistic impression. Fuck THAT. This is a marketing stunt. If you go into a crowded theatre and yell, "FIRE!......Mints freshened my breath! Buy them at the snack bar!" and incite a riot, you should be prosecuted for stupidity, as should the asshole who thought up the campaign. Likewise, if you put something that looks like a bomb in public, the person who put it up, and the people who provided the materials, idea, recruiting, etc. should be forced to pay back all the time and money lost. I'm tired of the notion that we have to defend the rights of advertisers and marketers to do whatever they want in the name of commerce.
Now, if this were somone's idea of art, I might be more compelled to consider their motivation- put I still couldn't defend their actions. Prosecute them.
Finally, to the losers who have been arrested, and claim to be 'performing artists,' but I would call douches of the highest order...If your version of performance art is street teaming, and then talking about the history of hair styles on the court house steps after your arraignment....
Well, I just don't think Chris Burden is sweating his faculty spot on UCLA's art faculty. There might be a reason you're art isn't feeding you, and you need to rely on shark viral marketers for money.
These are some important topics..
I think if these 2 where black they wouldn't get 2 seconds into this hair tirade.
- spidey
Can we also prosecute the bostonians that made a big deal over this advertisement?
- spidey
Clearly I'm Jonny NoSenseofHumor on this...but, again...I can't defend shady marketers who incite the public. If you're going to get all angry at politicians for fear mongering, why defend the right of a marketing company to do the same?
PS: if you really wanted to bomb something in boston, make it look like an unemployed recent college graduate! Perfect camouflage.
Unemployed=Dead give away; perfect camo would be temping.
I think it's disgusting how the momentum of modern life seems to be based on fear, but it's the way things are. We're all scared someone has a better life, a hotter wife, a faster car, a higher paying job etc, because of marketing. That some fuckheads who are undoubtably being paid a fortune came up with such a weak stunt is hardly surprising.
I work in advertising, but I'm beginning to think Bill Hicks was right.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/06/suspicious.device.ap/index.html
BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- One of the men criminally charged after placing blinking cartoon advertisements around the city and causing a terrorism scare videotaped a police bomb squad removing one of the devices, but did not tell the officers the object was harmless...
the only 46 year old freshman superstar in NCAA history
Do you expect him to walk up to the police and say 'It's cool I put that there, it's not a bomb.' Like they'ed do anything but arrest him.
He informed his employer, who informed the police. And then the media. The police knew for some time that all this was,
was a dumb stunt that went wrong. But for some reason they decided to not treat it accordingly.
As someone who's lived in a country where I've had to live with the threat of terrorism for practically my whole life, I find constant evocing of 9/11 extremely suspect.
as you can see by my lengthy posts on the previous page, i guess i just don't agree. you say you live in a country where you've had to live with the threat of terrorism. how did that happen? did people start carrying out terrorist acts, and it then became a threat? When events happen, things change; there is a time in the UK before the IRA started blowing up trashcans in London. Then, there is a time afterward when all trash cans are removed. If you fail to react to events, then you are a failure.
Well, that is what happened here. People bombed things in this country (WTC1, Ok City), and then used planes to bomb things. Are we not supposed to learn from that? Are we not supposed to learn from the lessons of other countries- the UK, Israel, the MIddle East?
We would decry our leaders if they ignored one of these and it was a bomb. Yet, we feel its ok to laugh at them because it was only a lite bright? By the way, you can make a bomb out of anything- toy, briefcase, whatever.
I'm not someone who thinks of myself as living in fear. I travel, i don't think twice about going to big crowded places, blahahblallaah. I am against the invastion of civil rights that our administration has carried out in the name of fighting terror. But, while we condemnded (rightfully) a president for a 'failure of imagination,' I CANNOT decry a police department for using their imagination- even if in this case, it was not needed.
Finally, for those who say this is an extreme overeaction...NO. This was an inconvenience. People had to sit in traffic; they even dropped the charges against the two douches who did this. People missed work, were delayed, and it was a pain in the ass. An Overeaction would be to evacuate, to start throwing people in jail indefinitely without charges as enemy combatants.