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Bomb hoax in Boston--Marketing campaign

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    redxredx I(x)=2(x)+1 whole numbersRegistered User regular
    edited February 2007
    half the folks at a mall probably have a backpack or a purse.


    You could do plenty of damage with either.

    redx on
    They moistly come out at night, moistly.
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    Knuckle DraggerKnuckle Dragger Explosive Ovine Disposal Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    ElJeffe wrote:
    mcdermott wrote:
    On a bit of a tangent, I was wondering why unattended bags are such a huge deal in airports. I mean, it's not like we're talking about on a plane, at which point an airport is no more dangerous a place to have unattended bags sitting around than many other crowded places, such as busier shopping malls. Less so, because in theory all the bags inside an airport (at least the sterile side) have gone through screening. Yet for some reason we absolute flip the fuck out about them in airports.

    Is it just one of those irrational fear things?

    Must be. If I saw an unattended bag at an airport, I'd be less inclined to think twice about it than at a mall, because everyone at an airport is going to have a freaking bag, and sometimes people forget shit. Not too many people in malls are lugging around suitcases, so if you see one left behind, that's two counts of unusual right there.
    I believe the concern isn't that someone brought something in the bag and left it unattended; it is that someone else might put something in the bag while it is unattended so that the owner would carry it onboard unwittingly. It's the same reason they ask you if you were the one who packed your bag and if it has been out of your possesion since.

    Knuckle Dragger on
    Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion.

    - John Stuart Mill
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    mcdermottmcdermott Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    I believe the thought process goes that if you wanted to blow up a plane (and not be dead afterwards) it'd be great to hand around the airport with a bomb and just pop it in the first unattended bag you see.

    Also they unattended bag thing is so that if they find something in your bag you've already admitted to being the one that packed and supervised it so they can blame you for anything found inside it.

    Ah. Those make sense. Though again, with the level of screening at airports now I'd say it's still a bit silly...and at least part of it is just the whole "airplane->terrorist" connection people make in their heads.

    And really, there are plenty of terrorist attacks that could kill loads upon loads of people more effectively than airplane-related terrorism. I mean, aside from your one-in-a-million attack like leveling the WTC, you can kill as many if not more people by just bombing a train, or a mall, or a sporting event, or any of a dozen other crowded places I can think of.

    I think it's just that people in general are afraid of flying, and afraid of terrorism, so combining the two makes for afraid^2.

    EDIT: And yeah, the whole "hoax" thing is bothering the shit out of me, too. "Scare" maybe, but not "hoax." Hoax implies intent to make people think that these were bombs, which there clearly was not. It's just one of those words that pisses people off, so they're using it.

    mcdermott on
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    redxredx I(x)=2(x)+1 whole numbersRegistered User regular
    edited February 2007
    well, there were kinda a lot of plane hijackings at one point.

    so some of it is probably left over from that.

    redx on
    They moistly come out at night, moistly.
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    ShintoShinto __BANNED USERS regular
    edited February 2007
    Machismo wrote:
    Did the Daily Show say ANYTHING about this?

    Tonight maybe.

    This was still a developing story when they were taping yesterday afternoon.

    Shinto on
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    TankHammerTankHammer Atlanta Ghostbuster Atlanta, GARegistered User regular
    edited February 2007
    I agree that they really need to stop calling it a hoax. I mean Christ.

    TankHammer on
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    Knuckle DraggerKnuckle Dragger Explosive Ovine Disposal Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    mcdermott wrote:
    I believe the thought process goes that if you wanted to blow up a plane (and not be dead afterwards) it'd be great to hand around the airport with a bomb and just pop it in the first unattended bag you see.

    Also they unattended bag thing is so that if they find something in your bag you've already admitted to being the one that packed and supervised it so they can blame you for anything found inside it.

    Ah. Those make sense. Though again, with the level of screening at airports now I'd say it's still a bit silly...and at least part of it is just the whole "airplane->terrorist" connection people make in their heads.

    And really, there are plenty of terrorist attacks that could kill loads upon loads of people more effectively than airplane-related terrorism. I mean, aside from your one-in-a-million attack like leveling the WTC, you can kill as many if not more people by just bombing a train, or a mall, or a sporting event, or any of a dozen other crowded places I can think of.

    I think it's just that people in general are afraid of flying, and afraid of terrorism, so combining the two makes for afraid^2.
    I would imagine attacking air travel is much more disruptive than attacking passenger rail, sporting events, or even commercial centers. You also need a much smaller device to take out a plane mid-flight than an equivalent number of people (or cost in damage) on the ground.

    Knuckle Dragger on
    Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion.

    - John Stuart Mill
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    IsornIsorn Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    So someone links me to the AOL news page. AOL has at times a neat little poll with news items.

    Quoted from AOL:

    Do you think the marketing stunt went too far?
    Yes 65%
    No 28%
    I don't know 7%
    Total Votes: 74,338
    ---


    Why?
    Glad I don't live in America though.

    Isorn on
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    TankHammerTankHammer Atlanta Ghostbuster Atlanta, GARegistered User regular
    edited February 2007
    Isorn wrote:
    So someone links me to the AOL news page. AOL has at times a neat little poll with news items.

    Quoted from AOL:

    Do you think the marketing stunt went too far?
    Yes 65%
    No 28%
    I don't know 7%
    Total Votes: 74,338
    ---


    Why?
    Glad I don't live in America though.
    Cartoon Network
    An AOL/Time Warner company.

    edit: Couldn't they have just fixed that poll?

    TankHammer on
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    Premier kakosPremier kakos Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited February 2007
    At times like these, I hope the terrorists win. If this is what people do with our freedoms, maybe there is a legitimate reason for hating those freedoms.

    Premier kakos on
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    DreamerdownDreamerdown Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    At times like these, I hope the terrorists win.

    Clearly, they already won, on September 11th 2001. Otherwise, something like this absolutely absurd paranoia-turned-misunderstanding would not be headline news.

    Dreamerdown on
    bigifre1vy.jpg

    Not all vampires suck blood.
    Not all of them die for love.
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    nexuscrawlernexuscrawler Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    one thing that bugs me is apparently the artists were asked by the marketting firm to keep quiet when stuff was going on.

    nexuscrawler on
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    hambonehambone Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    aesir wrote:
    youtube link to a press conference with the dudes who got arrested cracks me the fuck up. Best way they could have handled it.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx2ytr2Oyv4

    AHAHA.
    I feel my hair is pretty perfect right now.

    :lol:

    hambone on
    Just a bunch of intoxicated pigeons.
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    Zen VulgarityZen Vulgarity What a lovely day for tea Secret British ThreadRegistered User regular
    edited February 2007
    hambone wrote:
    aesir wrote:
    youtube link to a press conference with the dudes who got arrested cracks me the fuck up. Best way they could have handled it.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx2ytr2Oyv4

    AHAHA.
    I feel my hair is pretty perfect right now.

    :lol:

    "We're taking this very seriously!"
    "The police need a haircut."

    Zen Vulgarity on
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    TastyfishTastyfish Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    one thing that bugs me is apparently the artists were asked by the marketting firm to keep quiet when stuff was going on.
    Its probably a legal thing, I can imagine that it would very easy to accidently admit guilt without realising it. If one of those people said 'oops, sorry' then technically they've just said that it is their mistake and this was intended. Turner is probably sticking up for them because they have the resources and the legal teams to challenge the accusations, plus if they admit to doing it they can point to the other nine cities and say that clearly it was not intended as a bomb hoax, if the individual marketing companies admit fault then the intention might have been different at each site. Plus they didn't want to risk someone in one of the smaller companies being a dick or playing along and making things worse.

    Its the same with everything, when things start getting serious and you're threatened with legal action, you back off and let the lawyers handle things. Its why its always 'No Comment'

    [edit] Or 'Hairstyles of the 70s'

    Tastyfish on
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    Zen VulgarityZen Vulgarity What a lovely day for tea Secret British ThreadRegistered User regular
    edited February 2007
    Tastyfish wrote:
    one thing that bugs me is apparently the artists were asked by the marketting firm to keep quiet when stuff was going on.
    Its probably a legal thing, I can imagine that it would very easy to accidently admit guilt without realising it. If one of those people said 'oops, sorry' then technically they've just said that it is their mistake and this was intended. Turner is probably sticking up for them because they have the resources and the legal teams to challenge the accusations, plus if they admit to doing it they can point to the other nine cities and say that clearly it was not intended as a bomb hoax, if the individual marketing companies admit fault then the intention might have been different at each site. Plus they didn't want to risk someone in one of the smaller companies being a dick or playing along and making things worse.

    Its the same with everything, when things start getting serious and you're threatened with legal action, you back off and let the lawyers handle things. Its why its always 'No Comment'

    That's because if you let out the tiniest peep of evidence, the other lawyers will fuck your shit up big time.

    Zen Vulgarity on
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    nexuscrawlernexuscrawler Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    good point

    nexuscrawler on
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    Zen VulgarityZen Vulgarity What a lovely day for tea Secret British ThreadRegistered User regular
    edited February 2007
    I'm surprised the reporters kept their cool throughout most of the interview. Good deal of professionalism, I think.

    And that was the most glorious way of saying "no comment" ever in the history of law.

    Zen Vulgarity on
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    matt7718matt7718 Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    Clearly, they already won, on September 11th 2001. Otherwise, something like this absolutely absurd paranoia-turned-misunderstanding would not be headline news.

    Exactly. Terrorism at it's best. Had this happened before 9/11 nobody would be fucking shitting themselves right now.

    matt7718 on
    mattsig.jpg
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    EvilBadmanEvilBadman DO NOT TRUST THIS MAN Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    Signs with this:
    neverforgetmooninite.jpg
    Were held by the half dozen protesters at the courthouse.

    This is becoming EPIC.

    EvilBadman on
    FyreWulff wrote: »
    I should note that Badman is fucking awesome
    XBL- Evil Badman; Steam- EvilBadman; Twitter - EvilBadman
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    DanHibikiDanHibiki Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    Best Ad campaign ever!

    And here I thought today would be boring.

    DanHibiki on
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    Spaten OptimatorSpaten Optimator Smooth Operator Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    [quote=This Article]

    In Portland, police Sgt. Brian Schmautz said officers had no plans to remove any of the signs, so long as they weren't on municipal property. Nor had officers been dispatched in any kind of bomb scare related to the devices.

    "At this point we wouldn't even begin an investigation, because there's no reason to believe a crime has occurred," Schmautz said.

    [/quote]

    So that's what a sane response looks like.

    Spaten Optimator on
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    AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    edited February 2007
    EvilBadman wrote:
    Signs with this:
    [im.g]http://evilbadman.googlepages.com/neverforgetmooninite.jpg[/img]
    Were held by the half dozen protesters at the courthouse.

    This is becoming EPIC.

    See.. In my mind, this is blowing it out of proportion the -other- way. I mean, seriously.. Yes, it is a dog and pony show. but do we need people PROTESTING the legal process vetting this out?

    Also.. I can't wait till our generation is in charge of the courts. Things will be quite interesting, I think.

    Athenor on
    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
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    mcdermottmcdermott Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    "We're taking this very seriously!"
    "The police need a haircut."

    "That's not a hair question! Anybody else?"
    "That's also not a hair question...next question!"

    "We feel that our hair is safe for the moment..."

    Best courthouse steps press conference ever.

    mcdermott on
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    Spaten OptimatorSpaten Optimator Smooth Operator Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    Athenor wrote:
    EvilBadman wrote:
    Signs with this:
    [im.g]http://evilbadman.googlepages.com/neverforgetmooninite.jpg[/img]
    Were held by the half dozen protesters at the courthouse.

    This is becoming EPIC.

    See.. In my mind, this is blowing it out of proportion the -other- way. I mean, seriously.. Yes, it is a dog and pony show. but do we need people PROTESTING the legal process vetting this out?

    Also.. I can't wait till our generation is in charge of the courts. Things will be quite interesting, I think.

    I'm not sure it's a protest so much as an acknowledgment of the ridiculous situation.

    Spaten Optimator on
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    CommunistCowCommunistCow Abstract Metal ThingyRegistered User regular
    edited February 2007
    mcdermott wrote:
    "We're taking this very seriously!"
    "The police need a haircut."

    "That's not a hair question! Anybody else?"
    "That's also not a hair question...next question!"

    "We feel that our hair is safe for the moment..."

    Best courthouse steps press conference ever.

    They did not discuss the comb over. I consider this a massive failure.

    CommunistCow on
    No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
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    FunkyWaltDoggFunkyWaltDogg Columbia, SCRegistered User regular
    edited February 2007
    mcdermott wrote:
    "We're taking this very seriously!"
    "The police need a haircut."

    "That's not a hair question! Anybody else?"
    "That's also not a hair question...next question!"

    "We feel that our hair is safe for the moment..."

    Best courthouse steps press conference ever.

    They did not discuss the comb over. I consider this a massive failure.

    How widespread was the combover in the 70s? Perhaps it wasn't topical.

    That video delivers more funny per minute than anything else I've ever seen on Youtube.

    FunkyWaltDogg on
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    Gravity and PunishmentGravity and Punishment Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    Is anyone else as genuinely pissed as I am that the Boston PD absolutely refuses to admit any fault in this situation?

    But hey, "that's not a hair question."

    Gravity and Punishment on
    "I assure you, your distaste only reveals your ignorance."
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    hambonehambone Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    I'm glad all this is going down in Boston. It's good to see that the Red States don't have a monopoly on stupidity.

    hambone on
    Just a bunch of intoxicated pigeons.
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    AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    edited February 2007
    hambone wrote:
    I'm glad all this is going down in Boston. It's good to see that the Red States don't have a monopoly on stupidity.

    This transcends politics, in my mind.


    Indeed, it's not yet Mike Nifong stupid... but it's getting there.

    Athenor on
    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
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    ShintoShinto __BANNED USERS regular
    edited February 2007
    Dude, link me to this press conference.

    Also - I support the protestors.

    Shinto on
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    CommunistCowCommunistCow Abstract Metal ThingyRegistered User regular
    edited February 2007
    Shinto wrote:
    Dude, link me to this press conference.

    Also - I support the protestors.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx2ytr2Oyv4

    CommunistCow on
    No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
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    entropykidentropykid Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    Athenor wrote:
    Entropy... The sad part is, the sane people are telling everyone to -not- live in fear of their lives. It will cause a state of general poor health and anxiety. But it is just human nature to fear the boogeymen. Of course, incidents like this can be spun so many ways -- I fully expect to hear in the next couple of days how all our efforts to combat terrorism are going to waste finding hoaxes, and how they should simultaneously be improved/scaled back/refocused.

    Personally, I am here on campus with 20,000 strangers. I am lucky to see faces I recognize. Do I live in fear? Hell no.. in fact, I do things here on campus that I would have been afraid to do back home, like publicly walk around with my iPod visible. Why? Because of the atmosphere...

    We need to stop distrusting our neighbors. We need to start seeing the real threats, and responding to them appropriately, instead of jumping at shadows.

    You know, when the US goes to war with Iran this year, I bet all the people who called the anti war people crazy will be joining in(or a staged false flag terror attack blamed on Iran will make the anti war people flag waving Bushites again)

    The sad thing is? VIRTUALLY ALL of the post 9/11 terror threats and "disrupted plots" have been government orchestrated hoaxes.
    Seriously, even that "al Qaeda planned to blow up the Sears tower from Miami cell" crap was FBI orchestrated. MSNBC, Time, CNN, etc has all exposed this FACT. Yet the public is gullible.

    Yeah Bush said to be afraid, but to go shopping and to Disneyland right after 9/11. Of course, the government also told the people of new york the air was "Safe to breathe!". Now thousands of police, firefighters, and
    citizens of lower manhattan are suffering and dying from the asbestos and God knows what else that was hidden in those towers.

    Did you know recently, a law was passed forbidding any American without a passport to be let back into America if they venture into Mexico or Canada? Of course, if youre an illegal alien the welcome mat is wide open.

    If 9/11 really happened the way the government said, they would have closed the borders. They would have stood up to the so called Islamic threat by going after the orchestrators of 9/11 in Pakistan, etc.
    9/11, the war on terror...it's all been one lie after another.

    Yeah, this Aqua Teen Hunger Force thing is funny, but it shows
    how the post 9/11 terror hoax climate of fear continues.

    3000 New Yorkers and DC'ers died for what? For the middle east to be invaded and for Americans to slowly lose their rights?
    We need a real investigation into 9/11 finally, and senate committees to reveal how much of this terror threat stuff has been a wag the dog hoax.

    Of course when we have REAL terror like the anthrax attacks, it clearly is coming from criminal elements within the government.

    entropykid on
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    juice for jesusjuice for jesus Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    Is anyone else as genuinely pissed as I am that the Boston PD absolutely refuses to admit any fault in this situation?

    But hey, "that's not a hair question."
    You are not alone. That's really the most outrageous aspect of this whole farce for me. They made a mistake and (possibly due to the genuine bomb hoax) blew this all out of proportion. Now they can't back down in the name of saving face. It's bullshit. The judge and that Portland police sgt. are the only sane people in authority in this country, apparently.

    Also, "Nevar 4get" picket signs ftw.

    juice for jesus on
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    AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    edited February 2007
    Shinto wrote:
    Dude, link me to this press conference.

    Also - I support the protestors.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx2ytr2Oyv4

    "This may not play with the judge..."

    Dude. If the judge has any sense of humor, he will realize they were fucking with the media, which is something we should all aspire to do. Would they have PREFERRED a dry "no comment?"

    Athenor on
    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
  • Options
    drhazarddrhazard Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    Athenor wrote:
    EvilBadman wrote:
    Signs with this:
    [im.g]http://evilbadman.googlepages.com/neverforgetmooninite.jpg[/img]
    Were held by the half dozen protesters at the courthouse.

    This is becoming EPIC.
    See.. In my mind, this is blowing it out of proportion the -other- way. I mean, seriously.. Yes, it is a dog and pony show. but do we need people PROTESTING the legal process vetting this out?

    Also.. I can't wait till our generation is in charge of the courts. Things will be quite interesting, I think.
    You're deeply mistaken if you don't think we have these kinds of morons in our generation as well.

    drhazard on
    SCB.jpg
  • Options
    ShintoShinto __BANNED USERS regular
    edited February 2007
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    O GOD

    I LOVE THESE GUYS

    Shinto on
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    AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    edited February 2007
    Alright, Entropy. I'm saying this outright, and upfront.

    I will not talk with someone who says the gov't actively orchistrates activities to put the US citizens into fear. I'm not saying they don't -do- such activities, as this Boston thing illustrates. But pre-meditation is off the table, at least for me.

    As for the Passport measures? They've been trying to get that enacted for DECADES. and personally, I'm happy. Why? Because before now, I needed to carry a Birth Certificate with me to go into Canada.. and that's a hassle.

    Also, the US won't invade Iran unless Iran actively projects its military power. As of yet, they haven't used WMD's on their own citizens (as Saddam did), or act to invade other countries (as Saddam did). There aren't 17 UN resolutions against them asking them to disarm. No.. we aren't going to act against them. If anyone's going to jump the gun, it's going to be Israel, who are spoiling for a fight.

    But as I said. I refuse to talk to someone who thinks the US gov't pre-meditates the murder of its own citizens to keep the rest in fear. Such thinking is ignorance.


    EDIT
    drhazard wrote:
    You're deeply mistaken if you don't think we have these kinds of morons in our generation as well.

    Oh, I know. but our generation is a lot better at exposing them. =P

    Athenor on
    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
  • Options
    SenjutsuSenjutsu thot enthusiast Registered User regular
    edited February 2007
    We're through the looking glass here, people.

    Senjutsu on
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    ViolentChemistryViolentChemistry __BANNED USERS regular
    edited February 2007
    That remember sign better use LED sequencing to mimick the "I hope they can see this, because I'm doing it as hard as I can" bit.

    ViolentChemistry on
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