Happy Birthday
Hey everyone, hippoblog is one year old today.
Yay.
Here's an appropriate story for the anniversary. It's got technology, politics and architecture/urbanism all rolled into one:
Bikes Against Bush is a project to take text messages and turn them into chalk graffiti while cycling along the street. All kinds of wow cool going on. You can read about the gizmo in
Popular Science and
Wired.
And now, add this news element. Bikes Against Bush creator Joshua Kinberg was
arrested this weekend while taping an interview.
Kinberg was stopped by police while demonstrating the bicycle for the television interview. His bicycle is a high-tech graffiti writer, using chalk to print anti-Bush political messages sent by people via the internet. Apparently there was a question of whether or not the sprayed messages were a defacement of property.
When Kinberg showed the police sergeant how the bicycle used a non-permanent spray chalk, the sergeant seemed to agree that it wasn't defacement, at which point Kinberg asked, "am I free to go?" After conferring about it, officers decided to call superiors, then came back moments later to place Kinberg under arrest and confiscate the bicycle.
Kinberg cooperated fully with the officers as he was being handcuffed, only asking, "can I ask what I'm being arrested for?" to which no one provided an answer. As of 11:00 PM Saturday evening, he was still in custody without being charged with anything.
In his own
words:
I had not demonstrated the device, but was merely describing the project and the goal's of the performance to the media. Shortly after the interview began, a police van arrived with 5-6 officers who asked me for ID. Once I produced Identification, they waited for a superior to arrive before arresting me. I was booked, fingerprinted, and photographed. They had bomb squad inspect my device, and afterwards they congratulated me on the design calling it "genius." Intelligence detectives questioned me about "violent protestors," but seemed disappointed to learn that I am an artist and only know other artists, and had no knowledge of any violence being planned. All my equipment -- bicycle, computer, cell phone, and electronics are being held till further notice. I am scheduled to appear in court on Friday and am facing the possibilty of jail time.
After being arrested, I spent 24 hours in the Tombs, a notorious NYC correctional facility, with over a hundred other bicyclists from the previous night's Critical Mass bicycle ride. Several of the cyclists detained were not even part of Critical Mass, but were simply on a bicycle at the wrong time when the police decided to arrest anyone on the streets with a bike. The cyclists had spent the previous night in a location that they were calling "Lil' Gitmo," a former bus depot on the west side piers converted into a holding pen for protestors. Lil' Gitmo had cells sectioned off with chainlink fence and razor wire, and a floor covered in motor oil, transmission fluid, and other toxic chemicals. The cyclists were forced to sleep on this floor, many of them only wearing cycling shorts and t-shirts. Several had severe skin rashes the next day as a result. They were transferred from Lil' Gitmo to the Tombs on Saturday morning, where I joined them later that day. Most of them were released on Sunday morning, but their bikes are being held till after they appear in court.
Now for Year 2...
