"A man with what appears to be an explosive device has taken at least one hostage at the Discovery Communications building in downtown Silver Spring, Montgomery County Police said." According to an NBC producer Twitter: "The gunman at Discovery is on the phone with NBC in New York." (Also, according to that Twitter: he may be an "ecoterrorist.") Oh my: People are saying this is his list of demands: "MORE HUMANS EQUALS MORE WAR!" Too bad these are his terrible (alleged!) tactics, he's got some good things to say. (Uh sort of.) Anyway, he is suspected to be James Jay Lee, Discovery channel chief protester. Everyone should be reminded that pretty much nothing is as of yet confirmed.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
52
Holy shit! This hits a bit too close to home. My first job in TV was doing graphics for Discovery Channel shows...
Do I know you?
I don't think so! I am Rather Young!
(I started out at a small tv production company that made shows for Discovery. They were based in Silver Spring and to my knowledge they've dissolved their internal graphics team entirely. I was doing some graphics packages for some TLC and Discovery Channel properties from.... 2004 to 2007 or so, while I was in college)
Got it. I had a small graphics company from 2000-2002 and our main client was Discovery. We did many, many promo, show packages, upfront tapes, etc. for Discovery. I've done a lot of work for them since then as well. I was down in Bethesda quite frequently when they were based there, and I've been to Silver Spring a few times too. I still know quite a few folks who work there.
Anyway...never mind.
Good day to not be downtown. Hope this all ends safely and soon.
These are the times when DCist is awesome for updates: http://dcist.com/2010/09/developing_police_situation_at_disc.php
hm... who could this dude be.
CHRIST ON A CRACKER THOSE DEMANDS
"Stop all shows glorifying human birthing on all your channels and on TLC."
Well, sure. What?!
I know. I wish this weren't a situation where people might get hurt because I am dying over here. Lets hope this goes the way of the Balloon Boy.
Anti-birthing terrorists, birthers, birth rate drop news.
What we need is more bear news.
Bear news.
At least there's been no interruption in today's American Choppers: Childbirth.
"Nothing is more important than saving them. The Lions, Tigers, Giraffes, Elephants, Froggies, Turtles, Apes, Raccoons, Beetles, Ants, Sharks, Bears, and, of course, the Squirrels."
I'm assuming those are CFL team names?
You, sir, are on fire right now.
Next season the CFL gets back its second Roughrider team (its a hell of a league).
/in all seriousness, thoughts and prayers the Discovery situation is resolved peaceably.
Froggies? How old is this guy, four?
I read that as "thoughts and prayers the CFL situation is resolved peaceably." and then I lol'd quietly to my self. Which is not really lolling at all.
(this is what they get for passing on my pitch)
I used to live a couple blocks from there. It's a really nice building with a small park open to the public attached to it.
Its hard not to blame Jon and Kate for this...
Please, let's refer to him as James Lee. I'd hate to confer a triple moniker to him and then have him actually deserve it.
"James Jay Lee. We're efforting a photograph of him right now." [emphasis mine]
I hope he adds "everyone stop using horrible Business English locutions" to his list of demands.
I didn't even know a sister of a friend was working there until he FBed that she safely vacated.
http://savetheplanetprotest.com/
can't get in!!!
cache
...I knew a guy like this, once. He would boil down cigarette-butt scraps to make nicotine poison.
He's a regular Tyler Durden, he is.
THE MANIFESTO DEMANDS:
"The Discovery Channel and it's affiliate channels MUST have daily television programs at prime time slots based on Daniel Quinn's "My Ishmael" pages 207-212"
From Amazon on "My Ishmael":
"Another irresistible rant from Quinn, a sequel to his Turner Tomorrow Fellowship winner, Ishmael (1992), concerning a great, telepathic ape who dispenses ecological wisdom about the possible doom of humankind."
This is all about a telepathic gorilla?
http://www.amazon.com/My-Ishmael-Daniel-Quinn/dp/0553379658#reader_0553379658
I had to read Ishmael for a class in high school. I don't think I need a sequel.
That book was terrible.
At least he didn't screw up Shark Week.
Man, I feel like watching 12 Monkeys right now.
a plague of madness.
I wonder if I could get a job proofreading for scary ranters.
Pay's alright but there's no health insurance.
Dammit. Underneath all the crazy, the guy's got a legitimate point. Which he is totally obscuring by the massive amounts of crazy and threats of violence.
"Babies are filth" is a legitimate point?
Cable TV has nothing to do with global overcrowding. Maybe of he thought it through a bit more, he would have tried the WHO, or Monsanto.
"Overpopulation leads to war" is kind of more what I was thinking. And obviously cable TV is the wrong venue. Hence the crazy.
It's impossible not to wince, watching someone make a point about something you agree with by being the most overthetop awful it's possible to be.
Babies are not exactly tidy, btw.
Haa, Haa. This made me laugh out loud.
Shit, man. SEND IN THE JUGGLOS!!!
Just catching up on the details. Can't believe it's the same guy as the "tossing-money-to-his-paid-protesters-over-pay-dispute" guy from a couple years ago. Obviously that guy was crazy, but he seemed to be more the non-violent, hilarious type.
Suspect shot + in custody. Hostages ok. Police sweeping building for more explosives. Now I can feel free to laugh and laugh at him.
So which cop drama is going to be the first to rip this one?
SVU, only he'll be protesting on behalf of the rights of all the animals he's currently sleeping with.
Bones, duh. Faux-local cop drama!
If it's Bones, the role of Silver Spring will be played by South Pasadena.
And he's dead.
I have a place in my heart for dissenters, and I am saddened. I didn't have a good feeling about this from the start.
Can't believe it's the same guy as the "tossing-money-to-his-paid-protesters-over-pay-dispute" guy from a couple years ago. Obviously that guy was crazy Richest People