| Can't Scare Us
While Douglaston
homeowner, Debbie searched for
usual T.V. morning news coverage, she found the horrific events of Sept. 11 unfolding
before her eyes.
“It was like
a science fiction movie,” she said. “The Twin Towers were tumbling down. I was
scared.”
Debbie felt an
urgent need, not only to express her outrage, but to restore her former sense of security. She ran out to her front lawn with an American
flag in hand, and attached it to the scarecrow she had jokingly placed there.
The patriot made
her symbolic effort to scare away our enemy with the only source of strength she could
think of at that frightening moment.
“I believe
that everything will soon be all right with the world,” she said proudly.
Laughter
Stops
The Simpsons, the
lovable cartoon family of laughable losers, will not be traveling back to New York City
through the magic of reruns anytime soon.
In an episode
entitled, “The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson,” which originally aired on
Sept. 21, 1997, Homer’s friend Barney “borrows” Homer’s car during a
drinking binge and unknowingly parks it in New York – directly between the Twin
Towers. The Simpsons travel to the Big Apple after Homer receives a summons from the NYPD.
The episode ends
with Homer and family speeding away from the City in his car which he badly beat up trying
to recover, vowing never to return.
Rosemary
Martinez, a Fox representative, said, “The episode will not be retired, but it will
not be shown for quite a while. The network does not think it’s appropriate to make
any jokes referencing the Twin Towers anytime soon.”
Different
Views Of Network News
Sometimes you can get the political spin r
leanings of a TV or web news network by looking at their graphic portrayal of major
stories. Last week and again this week, we share with you the logos, as taken from the
websites, of our major news networks.
 |
Prophetic?
The release of a
heavy metal band’s album two weeks ago became a terribly shocking case of art
imitating life.
Dream Theater's "live Scenes From New York" CD as
originally released Sept. 11.
|
In an all too
eerie coincidence, heavy metal rockers Dream Theater released a three-CD album on Tuesday,
Sept. 11 called “Live Scenes From New York.”
The cover artwork
features the image of an apple wrapped in barbed wire and topped with a burning skyline
including the Twin Towers.
According to the
band’s website, “it is of course too unsuitable and painful, given the current
circumstances.”
The album has
since been pulled from record store shelves and a new cover is in the works.
New
York's Omnipresent Towers
They're etched in
our memory and will always belong in the visuals of our skyline, but the terrorist attack
causing the collapse of the World Trade Center will impact more than the lives of the City
residents.
Graphic design in
our City will be impacted for a long time to come. The Twin Towers have been omnipotent in
TV show intros, commercials, art, website designs and lots more for the past three decades
– well maybe not that long on the web.
Rudy's Lens: The
photo above used to serve as the home page graphic of the official site of the City of New
York. (ci.nyc.ny.us), but now rests in the photo
gallery.
The photographer
is none other than the king of New York, Rudy Giuliani.
Blonde Bimbo Invades Towers: Before
the World Trade Center tragedy, the TV show, “Son of the Beach,” produced by
radio shock jock Howard Stern, had a bizarre preview for one of their upcoming
episodes.
The show is a
parody of “Bay Watch” and features
dumb jocks and is heavy on the cleavage. In
the clip a gorgeous blonde bimbo in a bathing suit appears the size of Godzilla as she
walks through New York. Then she tries to squeeze through the Twin Towers, and asks,
“Why are these things so close together?”
NY
FBI Towers
NY FBI Website Design |
The New York FBI no doubt has their hands tied these days searching for
terrorists, but they might want to take the time to change their home page - http://newyork.fbi.gov. The
field office for the New York FBI prominently and proudly displays the Twin Towers with
fat letters of the FBI marked on the left superimposed with Lady Liberty. At the bottom it states that the site was last updated
in January 1998.
The American
Eagle Soars In Triumph
When the owners
of Gebhardt’s Restaurant in Floral Park bought a one-of-a-kind flag soon after the
attack on the World Trade Center – expressing their support for America – they
never thought it would become a symbol of victory for the world to see.
The flag has a
panoramic view of a large American bald eagle at the center, spiraling around it are the
stars and stripes, and smaller eagles surround the periphery.
Michele Scordo,
general manager, who had organized a massive food preparation, donation and delivery for
rescue workers at the downtown Manhattan site, was approached by an official of the New
York City Police Department.
“He thought
the flag was so unique, it should be placed at the site,” said Scordo. “There was no hesitation on our part when he
asked us if we would donate it.”
Ironically, Gebhardt’s flag, standing proudly, has given Queens a legendary
connection with the spirit of the World Trade Center. |
