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I'm sure most of you are probably now aware of the big 'ole huddo regarding the devices found in Boston.

My first reaction when I found out about it was to lawl like a madman, and not just because I first heard about it through a ytmnd.com site. I figured it for a hoax pulled by bunch of college kids or a well organize internet thing. I planned to do my giggle over it and move on, but then I found out it was actually a stunt pulled by adult swim itself.

That gave me pause for thought.

I'm willing to accept this as a stunt by some kids who don't know any better or don't care, but as a promotional stunt, this seems pretty damned reckless and stupid. PR people by default are supposed to assume the public is first and foremost, stupid and reactionary. How could it not have occured to someone working their that this might be mistaken for exactly what it got mistaken as? You stickin these things in odd lil places all over very public areas with no explanation and you don't think eventually some dumb monkey isn't gonna get the wrong idea?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I lose the opportunity to watch Futurama every night over this, I'm gonna be pissed.

This post has been edited by Narratorway on 2nd February 2007 05:16

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Arts

Farts

Twarts

Living an hour away from Boston, there was a huge uproar about it here, ranging from vast anger and those who found it hilarious. I was, of course, in the latter group. As a promotion, who can honestly say this was a failure? As they say, there is no such thing as bad publicity. Because of those LED devices, Aqua Teen Hunger Force has received a large amount publicity. Whether it was in good taste, now that's debatable. Fans of the show probably think its awesome, but those who aren't in the know now officially hate the show. I think the New York Post had an article bashing the show as something that is "directed toward the insomniac stoner crowd". I'm not a huge fan of the show myself, but will watch it on occasion. I've heard people say that the people of Boston overreacted. But in a world where America has a target on it, no one can take any risks.

And I haven't watched Adult Swim since I got the entire Futurama series on DVD. Makes it a whole lot easier.

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"When I turn the page
The corner bends into the perfect dog ear
As if the words knew I'd need them again
But at the time, I didn't see it."

~"This Ain't a Surfin' Movie" - Minus the Bear

Who in their right mind would expect an item made of glowing LED's and about an inch thick, quite visible, and with protruding wires, to BE an actual bomb?

Answer? A paranoid and twitchy nation force fed a diet of fear by the media that hasn't got a moment's experience with terrorism OR bombs despite a high profile attack because the same media tells them the hollywood stories.

The art of causing destruction with these is to conceal them. The most powerful high explosives could not be placed in objects like that in a quantity to infilct anything but a large bang, slight damage, smashed windows and at worse, a few minor injuries.

The art of disruption with them doesn't even need a device, just a phone call. And BTW, referring to them as devices is really quite misleading as that's far too associated with a real bomb rather than a "hoax" object which should never have even been mistaken for a bomb.

And Boston just can't put it's hands up and say, after they turn out to be harmless, "Whoops. What did we just blow up then?" Will Las Vegas cower in terror at all the mysterious glowing objects? OH MY GOD, A GIANT GLOWING COWBOY, IT'S A 9/11 STYLE ATTACK!

Now, a rucksack left unattended. That could be a bomb. The US needs to get it's head out of it's bum and learn lessons from other people: The UK against the IRA, Spain against ETA, etc...

Edit

Quote (Crazyswordsman @ 2nd February 2007 08:07)

Oh, and the NY Post is owned by the Murdoch police, the same people who own Fox News.  They're coming out against the show doesn't surprise me.  They have no sense of humor at all.  But this goes to show you many Americans can't stick up for themselves yet.

Anyone who has been on chat for any length of time shall know my disdain for the Murdoch media empire known as News Corporation. That bloated behemoth of populist bias is one of the key reasons this has made such a fuss really. They all copied the Murdoch model of making news entertaining. And people love to get the pants scared off them. And who needs it to be 100% true so long as we get the scoop and people are excited/entertained?

They have far too much influence IMO, but so-called free speech, being stifled by Murdoch's empire, prevails.

This post has been edited by Del S on 2nd February 2007 14:20

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"Only the dead have seen the end of their quotes being misattributed to Plato."
-George Santayana

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here..."
-Abraham Lincoln, prior to the discovery of Irony.

ATHF is one of my favorite shows ever. I consider it to be one of the more artistic masterpieces on television today. What other show found the *perfect* voice actors for each part? Such cartoons exist, but they're rare. Aside from that, the creativity behind the show is equally awesome. Talk about some unique plot scenarios.

That being said:

Quote ( Rob)

I think the New York Post had an article bashing the show as something that is "directed toward the insomniac stoner crowd"

Moving on. I think the stunt is great. Let's look at the results:

1) We discover more proof about the American nature- Panic, then bitch.

2) We discover more information about the American Politician- Take a stance against something easy for the hell of it. When the disaster hit Buffalo, we had our fair share of political assholes doing similar things, like our Congressman picking on FEMA, because they were an easy target. Politicians are carrion birds that swoop down and beat dead horses to get the spotlight, and the idiots all bray like mules along with them. This is just another example of that.

3) There really is no such thing as bad publicity.


4) This is just another excuse for me to hate the American Public for being a bunch of blind idiots who've been so jacked up on Terrorism Juice (Or TJ,) that the media spoon feeds them via Tony Snow and the Rich White Business interest he represents (aka, the people running the country). Naturally, the local politicians call it a big business move though. How ridiculous. Ted Turner isn't everywhere at once, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least to find out that he didn't know anything about the stunt til we all did. He owns a LOT after all, and it wouldn't surprise me to find out that he lets AS go off by itself most of the time.

This post has been edited by MogMaster on 2nd February 2007 06:30

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If you've been mod-o-fied,
It's an illusion, and you're in-between.
Don't you be tarot-fied,
It's just alot of nothing, so what can it mean?
~Frank Zappa

Sins exist only for people who are on the Way or approaching the Way

I still love ATHF and the Mooninites. -CSM

Oh, and the NY Post is owned by the Murdoch police, the same people who own Fox News. They're coming out against the show doesn't surprise me. They have no sense of humor at all. But this goes to show you many Americans can't stick up for themselves yet.

This post has been edited by Crazyswordsman on 2nd February 2007 08:15

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Quote (Del S @ 2nd February 2007 01:42)

Who in their right mind would expect an item made of glowing LED's and about an inch thick, quite visible, and with protruding wires, to BE an actual bomb?

Answer? A paranoid and twitchy nation force fed a diet of fear by the media that hasn't got a moment's experience with terrorism OR bombs despite a high profile attack because the same media tells them the hollywood stories.

The art of causing destruction with these is to conceal them. The most powerful high explosives could not be placed in objects like that in a quantity to infilct anything but a large bang, slight damage, smashed windows and at worse, a few minor injuries.

The art of disruption with them doesn't even need a device, just a phone call. And BTW, referring to them as devices is really quite misleading as that's far too associated with a real bomb rather than a "hoax" object which should never have even been mistaken for a bomb.

And Boston just can't put it's hands up and say, after they turn out to be harmless, "Whoops. What did we just blow up then?" Will Las Vegas cower in terror at all the mysterious glowing objects? OH MY GOD, A GIANT GLOWING COWBOY, IT'S A 9/11 STYLE ATTACK!

Now, a rucksack left unattended. That could be a bomb.

Thank you ever so kindly for saying what I was going to say without me having to say it...or some such.

I agree...the fact that the reaction to this was 'ZOMG is a Fkn Bob-omb! Al Kweada Hunger Force are here!!!!" is really quite funny...I mean honestly...Look out...an exploding uh, light.

We live in fear of ourselves....Terrorists win.

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One thing I didn't know when we talked about this in chat yesterday morning (hint hint, non chatters) - today, the NPR coverage stated that the boards were actually made not of LEDs but of Lite-Brite components. I'm skeptical of this from the photos I've seen, but if this actually IS true, it makes the whole story about thirty times more awesome.

If I'd had the chance to get into a guerilla marketing firm out of school, I probably would have actually DONE something with my degree. I love the way that the "suspects" have handled the situation, completely ignoring all questions about the situation and talking only about hairstyles during their press conference. I also love the fact that no news organization knows how to handle this. The entire concept blows their collective minds, regardless of which direction they lean politically.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Actually, you may be right, R51. This video shows the promoters wandering around putting the "signs" up on random places, and at the beginning, it does look like they are assembling it in Litebrite fashion. Thirty times more awesome indeed.

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"When I turn the page
The corner bends into the perfect dog ear
As if the words knew I'd need them again
But at the time, I didn't see it."

~"This Ain't a Surfin' Movie" - Minus the Bear

I hope your watching this fryman cause im doing it as hard as I can!

Of course you realize next the deja Vu billboards are going to scare people. ZOMG BOOBS! boobs...boobs sounds like bomb! OMG!

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I will never be a memory

Honestly, I had a good laugh at the expense of Boston. I mean, I saw footage of them attacking one of the litebrite boards with a high-powered hose to "neutralize" it. The media hype towards ATHF and Adult Swim right now is like a giant media frenzy.

Imagine the message this sends to the rest of the world? Without even bothering to check what was going on, because it was plainly advertised online and the company themselves had notified the various involved States, everyone just jumped into this media-fueled mass panic. Doesn't anyone in Boston watch Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and recognize the Mooninites? I mean, calling in the police or News stations to help fill them in on this might've done a bit of good too.

America is growing overly paranoid and increasingly easily frightened. What's next, the glowing ball of light that rises in the sky is some kind of terrorist weapon?

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Okay, but there was a goat!

Adult Swim likes to do some really stupid stuff and air it on tv for commercials and such. I can't believe they sent in the bomb squads after the "mysterious" objects placed around town. Just goes to show why I hate people.

Yes, I also am one of the applauders who agrees that AquaTeen HungerForce is a great cartoon series. Meatwad FTW

Quote (Del S @ 2nd February 2007 00:42)

Answer? A paranoid and twitchy nation force fed a diet of fear by the media that hasn't got a moment's experience with terrorism OR bombs despite a high profile attack because the same media tells them the hollywood stories.

That's one sentiment I wanted to echo, and another I don't think has been mentioned yet. Probably ten times more people are going to watch ATHF now (or at least now know it exists,) than if the marketing campaign had went off without a hitch. If those two don't go to jail, they're getting promotions.

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It wasn't really that ill until the start of crack
Now it's a body caught every night on the Almanac"

"Game Theory"
The Roots

I'm the kind of person who DOESN'T find this hilarious, and I take the position of "egg on the face of both sides".

Sorry, I don't like the "do something stupid and possibly funny only to some people in order to get attention" advertising strategy. Especially when it ties up traffic for several hours. Cartoon Network should have thought through this before implementing it--even with as little preparation work as sending the Boston police a note saying that such installations would be up.

Now, I'm definitely not a fan of Adult Swim, and I don't like Aqua Teen Hunger Force (based on the commercials for it that I've seen during the commercial breaks of Futurama and Family Guy which I watched (the latter grudgingly) during study breaks where I used to live), but I would hold the same "you're an idiot" opinion of the marketing department if Nintendo planted a bunch of morph balls around Boston and the same result ensued.

Now, that doesn't excuse Boston law enforcement for misinterpreting the object. Now I don't think people should be expected to recognize something as being from some (IMO stupid) adult cable cartoon show, but I'd say (based on secondhand commentary) that the police should have been able to tell that the devices were harmless.

However, here's why there's more egg on Cartoon Network's face than there is on the Boston PD's face: If I were charged with the duty of protecting some place from a potentially very damaging explosive device, and I had no freaking clue what something was, I would be somewhat likely to err on the safe side.

However, I must also say that that's not the kind of trick terrorists would play. The only reason they'd plant decoys is to distract law enforcement, and they'd have to plant a ton more decoys to do that sufficiently. And they wouldn't choose that kind of silly design anyway.

(But now that I've said it...)

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Quote (Glenn Magus Harvey @ 3rd February 2007 10:30)

Sorry, I don't like the "do something stupid and possibly funny only to some people in order to get attention" advertising strategy.  Especially when it ties up traffic for several hours.  Cartoon Network should have thought through this before implementing it--even with as little preparation work as sending the Boston police a note saying that such installations would be up.

Despite the fact only an idiot, a paranoid, or someone who is both would... Oh, wait, Boston's in America, not anywhere where the public as a whole has brains.

Quote

but I would hold the same "you're an idiot" opinion of the marketing department if Nintendo planted a bunch of morph balls around Boston and the same result ensued.

If I knew what the hell a morph ball was and knew how it could be mistaken for an IED on the grounds it had:
-Protruding wires
-A circuit board
-Internal power source
-Electrical tape
Perhaps you have a point.

Oh damn, my mobile phone with a cracked body must now be a bomb, there's a wire sticking out. Looks like I'm gonna lose my pay-as-you-go credits to a controlled explosion. Can I put it down carefully before the fine, upstanding, intellegent members of the Boston Special Schools Special Branch set it off?

Quote

However, here's why there's more egg on Cartoon Network's face than there is on the Boston PD's face: If I were charged with the duty of protecting some place from a potentially very damaging explosive device, and I had no freaking clue what something was, I would be somewhat likely to err on the safe side.

But surely it was rather blatant to so called experts that even if they were a bomb, disruption is all they could cause? Surely observing the devices could determine that they were not in any location logical to a bomber, were not linked to any other devices, and were far too obviously placed to be bombs.

Quote

However, I must also say that that's not the kind of trick terrorists would play.  The only reason they'd plant decoys is to distract law enforcement, and they'd have to plant a ton more decoys to do that sufficiently.  And they wouldn't choose that kind of silly design anyway.

Thanks the the prompt reaction of the Boston Plod and the US media, they know one thing. That they're winning. Of course, if they had paid attention to reality, they'd know that already.

This post has been edited by Del S on 3rd February 2007 17:57

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"Only the dead have seen the end of their quotes being misattributed to Plato."
-George Santayana

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here..."
-Abraham Lincoln, prior to the discovery of Irony.

Quote

but of Lite-Brite components.

That would make this funnier by ten-fold.
Just 3 days ago i had to play with a light bright because some kid couldn't make a tiger.

This reminds me of the movie "Airheads" with Brendan Frasier, Steve Buscemi, and Adam Sandler, where they hold up a radio station with hot sauce.

Don't believe it?
go see the movie, It's a damn good movie too.

and as it's already been said, when it comes to American media there is no such thing as "bad publicity" it's all just publicity.

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"Have you ever seen a baby do that before?"

I think it's hilarious that such an uproar came from ATHF, but then again I recognize the characters. Perhaps AS should have thought about it a little harder before going out and putting supiscious LEDs all over the place......

Or, maybe Boston is just afraid of LEDs.....as far as I know the only real issues with the stunt occurred there and no where else

Quote (Kane @ 3rd February 2007 18:18)

Or, maybe Boston is just afraid of LEDs.....as far as I know the only real issues with the stunt occurred there and no where else

Exactly, somehow every other city involved in this stunt knew how to handle the situation and not overreact. I would assume that AS would send the same warning to every city at roughly the same time. Boston I guess just has some real problems.

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I fear my heart and fear my soul
Life goes on, it surely will,
Without me and I wonder:
Will I ever see light again?

Life goes on...