This Is Retarded

People who know me can tell you that it really takes a lot to get me actually riled up about world affairs, the justice system, politics, etc. For the most part, it just amuses the hell out of me. But this recent business in Boston just pisses me the hell off.

I speak, of course, of the great Mooninite Scare of '07.

For those who don't know, as a move of guerilla advertising to raise support for the excellent TV show Aqua Teen Hunger Force (which is about to be turned into the best movie you'll ever see), a team placed these around major metropolitan cities across the U.S. (including Portland, Chicago, New York, Seattle, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia).



That's a Lite Brite, a toy that lets you put these little pegs into whatever arrangement you please and create lighted pictures. For this particular move, they used the Mooninite, one of the more bizarre (and catchy) characters to show up on Aqua Teen.

These were up for a few weeks until suddenly, on Wednesday I believe, they were believed to be bombs in the city of Boston, MA. Huge portions of the city were shut down so emergency crews could "secure" the city from these things.

So far, all of this is pretty funny.

But now, Turner Broadcasting, parent company of Cartoon Network, which broadcasts Aqua Teen, is paying $500,000 to cover the costs of the massive operation, and two employees of the marketing agency Turner hired for the campaign are being arraigned on CRIMINAL CHARGES. Seriously, what the HELL? Just because a bunch of idiots (in the city that's second only to New York in trying to convince the rest of the world of how much more brilliant and progessive and culturally aware they are than everyone else) can't tell the difference between a toy and a bomb!

Pisses me off.