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| Wednesday, May 22, 2013 |
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Oh no, Er caused his havoc on the city of Boston, and it was freakin hilarious. Add to that the guys laughing in court and discussing hair with the press…and they are officially my heroes. |
While I agree with you to some extent, here’s the problem with your line of reasoning: Berdovsky and Stevens actually held a news conference. (At least that’s what I’m reading in the press — I obviously wasn’t there.) They weren’t just sidelined by reporters on the way out after posting bail. They held a news conference and then refused to answer questions about anything other than hair. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for a reporter who attendeds a news conference held by two men who have just caused a city-wide panic to expect that they can ask questions about something other than hair. I will admit that I found the clip to be pretty funny. Particularly when one reporter asked, “Are you worried that they will cut your hair off when you land in prison for this?” Berdovsky thought for a few minutes and replied, “Now that is a good question.” I won’t comment on the response of Boston to the signs as compared to other cities. |
Well, this whole incident has at least proven two things: 1) The “war on terror” is NOT cool and 2) Those fighting the terrorists are most certainly NOT hip. |
I wonder how this all actually came about. It’s possible that these guys actually intended to hold a somewhat legitimate press conference and their lawyer explained to them that telling their story at this point could hurt their defense, so at the last minute, they said “Aw, f*** it, let’s talk about ’70s haircuts!” I think this was obviously an overreaction by the authorities in Boston. As others have pointed out, these things were around for a week or two without causing panic. Moreover, it’s not like actual bombs would have flashing lights on them to call attention. (And, despite what we all may see on “24,” they probably don’t have beeping countdown LEDs either.) I think we’d all be better off if everyone just let this die down. Then again, I think “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” is funny, so what do I know? |
herodotus, they came out of the courthouse after being released on bail, and they stepped up to where the press was waiting so that they could brazenly make fun of the press. The press can call that sort of thing a press conference and get away with it, but it strikes me as just a lame attempt to make it sound like they aren’t vultures and don’t deserve to be made fun of. I’m sorry that you don’t think that most members of the press are really stupid. We’ll just have to agree to disagree on that one. Another very funny clip, which I saw on the news but cannot find online, is of the guy with the Beatles haircut dramatically exclaiming, “Doesn’t anybody have questions about 70s haircuts?” I don’t mind the authorities over-reacting and treating it like a big deal, because that’s preferable to the authorities under-reacting and then actually having bombs go off — even if they were sitting around for weeks unnoticed. I actually live in Boston, but I was in NYC the day of the bomb scare, so I missed all the disruption. BTD Greg, what amazes me about the bombs on 24 isn’t that they always have LED readouts that show how long until the bomb goes off (even though LCDs are cheaper and generally have embedded controllers that are easier to wire), it’s that the time readout is always accurate. If I were a bad guy on 24, I’d make my bomb so that it would explode when the LED countdown timer still read 23 minutes and 17 seconds to go. That way, they’d still be sitting around prepping their stuff and saying, “it’s no hurry. We’ve still got 23 minutes left!” Then boom! It’s all over. |
See, I think the overreaction is rediculous. I mean, it was a LiteBrite. And the character on it is a well-known cartoon character. Have the cops never walked past Spencers gifts in the mall and seen the 5000 tshirts with that same character?? I think if the authorites are that stupid, not to mention the citizins of Boston that gripped by fear, they aren’t going to help anyone should anything ‘real’ happen. The whole situation is just so pathetic that its actually roll-on-the-ground funny. I mean, they had been there for like 3 weeks already…if they were freakin bombs everyone would have been long dead. So, I don’t think the cops or citizins deserve any medal for this. |
Veritas, you can’t believe everything you read on the news. As a citizen of Boston, I can tell you that I was no more gripped with fear than I was on that day in high school when they had to clear the place out because some idiot-student phoned in a prank bomb threat. I don’t know anyone who actually felt any different. And please, don’t diss the LiteBrite. |
I think that at this point Menino and company are a bit embarrassed by the fact that this has exposed them as extremely uncool. Not only that but these “devices” were in place for weeks without being discovered by Boston PD despite the fact that they were designed to be very visible at night. I would guess that tons of cops drove right past them, saw them, and didn’t think twice. I’d be surprised if Menino himself didn’t see one. They were on Storrow, Comm Ave, Fenway Park, etc. Once they were discovered it should have taken how long to figure out that it was a circuit board and some D cell batteries? They could have then removed the rest in a much calmer manner. Note that the guy from NEMC that planted actual fake pipe bombs yesterday is not in jail. Why? Because he didn’t expose Boston’s PD and mayor as being clueless and incompetent. Given that MIT is right across the river I would think that stuff like this would show up from time to time. Cartoon Network probably could have been a bit more responsible and put a URL and contact information on the devices in order order to help cities deal, but seriously, something is wrong in Boston. |
I should add that I found the press conference hilarious and highly appropriate. Also note that these guys had video up for weeks of them installing the things. |
Honestly, guys. It doesn’t matter what the authorities think. What’s just as funny as the hair-question thing is how idiotic the press is. They kept insisting peevishly, “You’re not taking this seriously.” They ask the lawyer, “Are you embarrassed by your client’s behavior?” Or “You’re clients aren’t generating much sympathy with the press or with the public,” as though the public won’t be more sympathetic for the drubbing they gave the press. “There is a serious element to what happened yesterday,” they indignantly insist. The asinine assumption that what the press thinks matters, and the audacity that they express when they indignantly claim to speak for the public, how much more contemptible could they be? |
For some reason, the link that I put up last night, which had linked to the Fox version of the press conference changed to the remix video of the guys planting the LEDs. Thanks for posting an embedded version of that, arj. Here’s a version of the full press conference that a coworker just sent me, including when the guys walk out of the jail and up to the microphones announcing that they’ll make an official statement and answer all questions about hair, all the way to the end when the press finally gives up and goes away (without anyone from Fox talking over any of it): What this makes obvious is that the guys are determined to stay there and talk to the press about 70s hair as long as the press is willing to listen. |
The Mooninites are a big problem, and the Boston PD is to be applauded for taking them seriously. |
I think it does matter what the authorities think as they’re just as dumb as the press, with the notable exception of the judge who is clearly just itching to throw this out. |
Someone’s going to say it eventually, so it might as well be me: Can anyone imagine “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” getting any better publicity than its gotten with this story? I can’t. |
I agree, this is great for CN and ATHF. |
arj: …but seriously, something is wrong in Boston. Yeah. They’re called Democrats. |
“Please don’t interrupt.” haha! |
I have to admit I totally loved it for all the reasons you are pointing to DKL. Susan M, that was my favorite line as well. |
Ah … so of course you can embed YouTube videos in comments. That spells trouble. DKL, you were in NYC and didn’t drop me a line? Shame on you. This hair thing is pure pre-emption. If they hadn’t brought up the subject, the reporters would have asked about it. |
Sorry, danithew, I was just there for a day and a half, and my schedule was totally packed. I thought about calling you, but it would have gone like this. “Hi, Daniel.” “Hi, Dave.” “I’m coming to NYC next week.” “Cool. Will you have time to do anything?” “Sadly, No.” “OK.” I may be heading down in late March, to see Mitsuko Uchida play Mozart’s 19th Piano concerto. (Sadly, the night when she plays his 19th, the 27th, and the concerto for 2 pianos with Radu Lupo is already sold out.) |
DKL’s comment (number 5) about why don’t bad guys on 24 purposely mis-set the LED timer on bombs made me laugh as much as the Berdovsky and Stevens news conference. What does this incident spell for the future of LED Throwies? A good Throwie video is: Another, if you can stand the music, is: The one I like: A short how to make ‘em: Don’t try this in Boston. |
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