02/01/2007: 
Criminally Absurd
1-31-07 Never Forget: Aqua Teen Hunger Force Vs. Boston
from The Boston Globe
Does This Look Like A Bomb To You?
In one of the strangest news stories ever, and one that oddly resembles an episode of the show that it is was trying to promote, the city of Boston was put in lockdown over several small blinking signs portraying Ignignokt and Err, characters from the Adult Swim cartoon Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The authorities shut down large sections of the city while defusing these "hoax devices." Two men, Sean Stevens and Peter Berdovsky, self-styled artists who were in the employ of New York-based viral marketing company Interference, Inc. were arrested in connection with the art installation/phenomenology experiment and face charges of placing a hoax device in a way that causes panic and disorderly conduct. The two have plead not guilty to the charges and mocked the media at their press conference. Outside the courthouse, supporters protested their arrest, and handed out flyers portraying Ignignokt and Err saying "1-31-07 Never Forget."
Now I have to admit that I am a long-time Aqua Teen fan and instantly recognized the characters. If I was someone much older who did not know anything about the show, would I think a blinking sign like the one above was a terrorist device? I can only speak as someone who knows what the sign represents, and I think that it is a huge overreaction by the government, which has been whipped into a frenzy of "readiness" by the so-called media who find it profitable to keep the public in a state of fear over terrorism. As Carl, another ATHF character once said, "Is this not America?"
On the other hand, to my cynical media-jaded mind, this little misunderstanding, no matter how much the corporate folks who hired these guys may grovel to the media, they sure got a lot of people aware not only of their cult cartoon but also of the fact that a movie, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie For Theatres starring these characters is coming out soon. So are these two artists the newest casualties in the post-9/11 assault on our civil liberties or are they being paid by a corporation to take the fall like post-post-post modern Lee Harvey Oswalds?
X-posted on the Athenaverse.
6 Annotations Submitted
Thursday the 1st of February, prof noted:
Carl: Look, all I know is that this cord here was plugged into my house, and your house was glowin' like the frickin' sun! So I put two and two together there hey, and decided that you're pissin' me off.
Master Shake: We are truly sorry Carl, and it will probably never happen again. Can we have our cord back?
Carl: No, no there. I'm just gonna keep it there, since it's uh, mine anyways.
Friday the 2nd of February, awiggins noted:
I can't tell you how much this pissed me off. I wrote letters to the governor, mayor and attorney general telling them, in short, to stop being wankers and get over it.
Saturday the 3rd of February, santo26 noted:
Mr. Wiggins, you should post the letters and any responses that you may receive. You should also put on your tinfoil hat, as you will no doubt be put on "the list" for daring to write your elected officials.
Tuesday the 6th of February, awiggins noted:
I hate what this country has become. The goal of a “terrorist” is to instill fear, paranoia, and the disruption of day to day life. The loss of life and damage to property is incidental. As your gross over reaction to the events of January 31st 2007 indicate, Osama Bin Laden should be proud. I cringe every time I hear a statement that begins "In a post 9/11 world…”. Nothing has changed since then except that now we are pouring loads of money down the drain on ineffectual “anti-terror” programs and jumping at shadows.
I understand the need for those who govern to look out for the best interest of their citizens. But making mountains out of mole hills over what was obviously not a dangerous device dilutes your integrity when there is a real danger.
It looks like a Lite-Brite for Christ’s sake! “But it could have been a bomb!” you might say. The same could be said of ANYTHING. A discarded McDonalds bag? Detonate it. An old computer monitor by the curb? Better detonate it just to be safe. Some horrendous piece of modern art? Call the bomb squad.
The initial reaction as well as this absurd persecution of those responsible makes Massachusetts look foolish in the eyes of the nation and the world.
... or something like that
Saturday the 10th of February, awiggins noted:
Dear Mr. Wiggins:
Thank you for contacting the Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley. We welcome your point of view regarding last week's hoax device scare, and thank you for sharing it with us.
This office is pleased to hear from you and from others relative to important issues like this. We appreciate that you took the time to contact us.
Sincerely,
Community Information and Education Division
Office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley
(617) 727-2200
www.ago.state.ma.us
Sunday the 11th of February, babel_fish noted:
Dear Mr. Wiggins,
Thank you for our declaration of guilt in siding with the terrorists. We have taken the personal information you have provided and fed it into Carnivore.
This office is glad that you decided to turn yourself in. We will be sending a SWAT team to arrest everyone you have ever known.
Sincerely,
Community Snitches Department
Office of False Alarms and Keeping The Population Living In Fear
(617)420-1969
www.yourtaxdollarsatwork.commonwealth.ma.laughingstock
