Saturday, September 22, 2007

I am art

OH MY GOD, this is such a coincidence. You might not know this about me but I am an artist. I created a piece of art to remind people about our troops serving overseas. I am sure glad I saw this article before going to the airport. Boy life sure is rough on us artists.

A pic of my art:

In addition, I added a disclaimer so no one gets confused:

I would like to point out that this is a work of satire designed to point out how crazy it is somebody would walk into an airport with something that looks like plastic explosives and a detonator.

14 comments:

kurt wismer said...

if playdoh looks like plastic explosives and an electronic name tag looks like a detonator, i'd hate to think what a slinky looks like...

Richard Bejtlich said...

NICE. A picture speaks 1000 words.

David Maynor said...

@Kurt
You do realize that C4 and semtex look just like and are often described as "a plydough like substance".

kurt wismer said...

@david maynor
yes, but i suspect those don't come in as many vibrant colours as playdoh, nor are they the type of material one would play with in ones hand as this person was reported to be doing...

then again, maybe squishing explosives through your fingers the new big thing amongst terrorists these days...

David Maynor said...

@Kurt
Awesome! So If I wanted to pass C4 off as harmless playdough all I should do is soak it in food coloring overnight. Nothing bright yellow could be dangerous right?

But now we are arguing sematics about an issuse that really boils down to this: a person should have enough common sense to realize something they are wering/holding might worry people who are paid to be paranoid.

I am sure now becasue of this stunt that playdough will be banned by the TSA and any mother with a child and playdough will be forced to throw it away before going through security.

But who cares, she got to make a point.

kurt wismer said...

@david maynor
"Awesome! So If I wanted to pass C4 off as harmless playdough all I should do is soak it in food coloring overnight. Nothing bright yellow could be dangerous right?"

playing with it like a child's toy will help too...

"I am sure now becasue of this stunt"

why are you calling it a stunt? on reading the various news reports out there i haven't come across anything indicating she had any intent other than meeting up with her boyfriend...

David Maynor said...

@Kurt
Great, so dye some C4 yellow and play with it and I should be able to get through security anywhere.

"Explsoives, no, its playdough. Look Its yellow and I am playing with it, so its harmless, you don't even need to inspect it."

As far as it being a stunt, I was convinced of that the first time they showed her sweatshirt with the breadboard attached. In my experience with them f you had prototyped something out, strapped it to your chest, the got in a car and attached a seat belt over it, it would more than likley not be functioning correctly when you arrive at your destination. You compound that with her holding a ball of plastic explosive looking material with her ignoring/refusing to answer questions about what the stuff was makes me think stunt. She still hasn't explained how the plastic explosive looking material had anything to dow ith "art".

There were several steps along the way she could have defused the sitution but cose not to.

Stunt.

Juan Miguel Paredes said...

Frickin hilarious!

kurt wismer said...

@david maynor
"Great, so dye some C4 yellow and play with it and I should be able to get through security anywhere. "

get through security? she went to an information desk and then left the building... she didn't go anywhere near security... if she had been trying to get through security i would fully expect the materials to be confiscated as contraband (but not in a life-or-death gunpoint sort of moment)...

"In my experience with them f you had prototyped something out, strapped it to your chest, the got in a car and attached a seat belt over it, it would more than likley not be functioning correctly when you arrive at your destination."

what straps? there were no straps, it was either clipped on or glued... using the word "strapped" is an example of framing...

what prototype? it was LEDs, a breadboard, and a battery... not exactly a delicate construction...

what car? i don't recall seeing one mentioned in any of the reports... isn't it just as likely that a 19 year old student took public transit? and even with a car, who says the straps would have come near the breadboard?

"You compound that with her holding a ball of plastic explosive looking material with her ignoring/refusing to answer questions about what the stuff was makes me think stunt. She still hasn't explained how the plastic explosive looking material had anything to dow ith "art"."

from what i've read, she was asked about the device on her hoodie, not what was in her hand... some of those reports state that she did in fact answer the information booth attendant when the question was repeated...

and why should the playdoh have anything to do with the art on her hoodie when it wasn't attached or connected to it?

"There were several steps along the way she could have defused the sitution but cose not to."

there are several assumptions being made that could be dispelled with further reading... the post in schneier's blog has links to a number of illuminating reports with lots of interesting facts...

April said...

"any mother with a child and playdough will be forced to throw it away before going through security."

Seriously, no one in their right mind should attempt to get onto a plane with playdoh. Playdoh and airline upholstry would permanently bond together in an unexplainable but permanent chemical bond that is irreversable. Very similar to snot on corduroy. You obviously don't spend much time with kids.

Elizabeth said...

did you have a problem spelling "not"?

April said...

Nope - I meant snot. Only takes babysitting one kid with a head cold to prove that one.

I spend far too much time with kids.

Sean said...

Peanut butter also has a very similar consistancy as C4 etc, I don't recommend you carry any of that in your luggage :(

or pack any peanut butter sandwiches!

Unknown said...

NO problem with the cops investigating her. It obviously looked suspicious. BIG problem with the cops charging her with perpetrating a hoax.

Everyone in those labs uses those boards. Its obviously not intended to be confused with a bomb. Its simply out of context. The cops know that. They are simply being jerks for the publicity, and that is myopic and wrong.

In a "post 9/11 world" you are going to investigate a lot of false positives. The difference between "safe and free" and "living in a spiral of fear" is whether or not you nail perfectly innocent people to wall after investigating them and determining that they were actually innocent.

Anything strange could be interpreted as a potential threat. If you prosecute strange out of existence you breed intellectual homogenity. This creates systemic weaknesses that are far more dangerous than a terrorist.