The fact that they were charged for anything more serious than posting advertising without a permit makes me wonder if there will be a police officer named Barney testifying to the court that this sort of thing has to be nipped in the bud.

shriftian

This is my new favorite word.

I did not have oatmeal for breakfast. I had a low-carb breakfast bar made of ingredients that have never been found in nature, most of which are over four syllables long, and none of which can be pronounced after two glasses of shiraz. I probably won't live longer, but in the next month or so I'm expecting super powers to kick in.

Happy Birthday Olivia!

I think it's a huge marketing coup, actually. For their demographic, there won't be any negative fallout.

Well, there's being cool to your demographic, and then there is pissing of bodies of government. There are PR plusses and minuses, here. Every other city government is sitting there thinking, "OMG, that could have been me -- hey, that convention of cartoon executives that wants to come to town next year, are we sure we want to okay that permit?"

So anyone else want to guess just how much of a field day TDS and/or TCR are going to have with this? I, for, one can hardly wait for Colbert to weigh in on the "Mooninite threat".

Judge Paul K. Leary seemed skeptical of the state's case, telling Grossman that the law requires that people must intend to create a panic to be charged with placing hoax devices. This case, the judge said, seemed to involve two men who relatives say were paid to place unorthodox advertisements throughout the city.

The fact that they were hanging around for a few weeks without issue would definitely hinder any intent arguments, I would think, given competent defence.

Seriously, the people who really panicked was the news media. The police and government were doing their jobs... it's just that sometimes, your job is to be Very Paranoid and subsequently Look Very Foolish.

Mumbles (as Mayor Menino is "affectionately" known in these parts) trying to get the egg off his face has not been helping do anything but reinforce Boston uptightness however.

Scary economic news:

There's also this: "2006 personal savings drop to 74-yr. low " [link]

shriftian

This is my new favorite word.

Today it is mine too. The stupid, she is spreading to coworkers. You do not need to have me type a name and a date. You need me to do other stuff, but that? I think you can handle.

I guess we can talk about the pedophile posing as a 12 year old with the assistance of three other sexual predators living together in Arizona -- that is a real scary situation.

I can't imagine someone NOT suspecting a 29 year old man sitting among seventh graders. From his mug shot, he doesn't look THAT young.

I can't imagine someone NOT suspecting a 29 year old man sitting among seventh graders. From his mug shot, he doesn't look THAT young.

From the NYT article, teachers suspected he was older-- an abducted child, say. Other kids thought he may have been held back. But obviously he managed to fool a lot of people at several schools that he was under 18, so I'm guessing the harsh lights of the mug shot don't do him justice.

Every other city government is sitting there thinking, "OMG, that could have been me -- hey, that convention of cartoon executives that wants to come to town next year, are we sure we want to okay that permit?"

I kind of doubt that one.

I taught some 13-year-olds who looked WAY older. Tall, shaving, the whole shebang. Most of them look much younger, but you get the occaisional giant.

Donating a thousand Lite Brite sets to a children's charity would not be the best choice.

but really, really, funny.