FREEWAY SIGN PROJECT

[Firewall99]

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF MASSACHUSETTS THAT DRIVES UP HERE ON BIG WEEK ENDS---YOU KNOW, THE ONES WHO STILL HAVE THEIR BRAINWASHING INTACT, THE ONES WHO FALL ASLEEP DROOLING IN FRONT OF THE TV AT NIGHT?

How would you wake them up, if just for a painful moment, and get them to think, or at least start arguing amongst themselves?

How do we fight the TV/advertising propaganda machine and get our message out beyond their control?

This is how.

Please download the attached file and send it everywhere you like.  It has now been updated and is ready for prime time.  If you have the old version, don't use that, please.  This one is so much better!

Then, suggest your sign ideas here.  Remember, they have to be short and sweet, like poetry.

And I think, contrary to what may appear below, they may need to be one liners, because these letters need to be REALLY BIG.

[bigmike]

Travis from Manch had a good one on election day..."Don't Vote. You'll Only Encourage Them." Then there's "Hey Government: Please Stop Helping".

[porcupine kate]

Ideas for introductory level signs for the general public.

Big Government hurts us all.

Get the government out of my life.

US foreign policy hurts Americans.

You should spend your tax dollars not the government.

US Government = Big Brother.

[thinkliberty]

Something like this

[Sam A. Robrin]

While riding up here (a year ago this week),  I got to reminiscing about the old Burma Shave signs, which I'm just old enough to remember.  This article

http://burma-shave.org/jingles/

tells about them.  They were brief poems posted one line at a time on small signboards about a hundred feet apart.  It occurred to me that a similar format for liberty messages would be ideal.  When I passed the Free State Project "Adopt a Highway" segment on 101, it seemed a perfect stretch to put the idea into practice.  But I was told that the signs would be removed by the highway department, so gave up on my plan for spending a bit of cash to make them look really good.  (I've since redirected both poetry and signs into other areas, but I still think the original idea was a good one.)

Here are some of my
LIBERTARIAN BURMA SHAVE SIGNS

This we say
To our last breath:
Give us liberty
Or give us death.

For those who have
Secured election:
Who protects us
From your protection?

Be nice to
Us porcupines:
We're gentle, tame--
But watch those spines!

[H]*:  The major cause
Of violent thugs
Is all the laws
Forbidding drugs

This we say
(And even wail out):
We won't pay
For your damn bailout!

[H]:  States forge chains
That free men must sever.
Liberty
Is now or never.

No modern bureaucrat
Ever bothers
With the intent
Of the founding fathers.

We want you free
And not a slave.
(Thanx for this format,
Burma Shave!)

_____________________
*Indicates a candidate for another poetic form I've been developing: the rhyming haiku.

[Firewall99]

This guy, below, gets it big time!  Great lines.

We may need to think in terms of 8' x 2' signs.  See the download document.  It calls for 18" letters.

So that means couplets with two 8" lines per sign may not be visible.  We may need to stick to one-liners.  Time to get some corrugated plastic or card board and test, I guess.

We have three highway "threads." 

• I-93 from Mass to Concord
  
• I-93 past Concord
• I-89 from Concord to West Lebanon (or past it all the way to Canada!)

So we need three groups to take responsibility for each of the three threads.  Each group shall assign all the sign points in their area.

So that's the holdup  now.   Please consider I-89 taken, so we need two groups for I-93--one for above and one for below Concord, if we are going to do this right.

Then each group needs to meet, decide what they want to say,  prepare their signs, and assign volunteers to put them out.

When everybody is ready, we'll pick a weekend. 

This is all assuming that we have the time to orchestrate this thing elegantly.  If the sh*t hits the fan before then, well, we are all on our own.   Suggest black vinyl tape for letters.

Please don't criticize this idea until you have read the foundation draft document.  If you have a problem with it then, please speak your peace.

While riding up here (a year ago this week),  I got to reminiscing about the old Burma Shave signs, which I'm just old enough to remember.  This article

http://burma-shave.org/jingles/

tells about them.  They were brief poems posted one line at a time on small signboards about a hundred feet apart.  It occurred to me that a similar format for liberty messages would be ideal.  When I passed the Free State Project "Adopt a Highway" segment on 101, it seemed a perfect stretch to put the idea into practice.  But I was told that the signs would be removed by the highway department, so gave up on my plan for spending a bit of cash to make them look really good.  (I've since redirected both poetry and signs into other areas, but I still think the original idea was a good one.)

Here are some of my
LIBERTARIAN BURMA SHAVE SIGNS

This we say
To our last breath:
Give us liberty
Or give us death.

For those who have
Secured election:
Who protects us
From your protection?

Be nice to
Us porcupines:
We're gentle, tame--
But watch those spines!

[H]*:  The major cause
Of violent thugs
Is all the laws
Forbidding drugs

This we say
(And even wail out):
We won't pay
For your damn bailout!

[H]:  States forge chains
That free men must sever.
Liberty
Is now or never.

No modern bureaucrat
Ever bothers
With the intent
Of the founding fathers.

We want you free
And not a slave.
(Thanx for this format,
Burma Shave!)

_____________________
*Indicates a candidate for another poetic form I've been developing: the rhyming haiku.

[thinkliberty]

Mine don't rhyme like sams... I like his better.

If this was done at night a picture with the words could be temporarily "painted" on a building using a projector.

I'd need to scout out some good locations that have high visibility.


Here is a video example
http://technology.todaysbigthing.com/2009/03/26

has some additional info
http://graffitiresearchlab.com/

Pics like this could be displayed:

[K. Darien Freeheart]

I don't remember Burma Shave signs in my life, but as a historically amazing ad campaign, I know all about them.

I had a "No Tresspassing" Burma Shave scheme on my driveway at one point.

[Firewall99]

Sam A. Robrin gets it EXACTLY.  Imagine Burma Shave jingles all up the state on Friday night (maybe with reflective lettering), or down the state on the other side all day Sunday--or both!  (We'd need to retrieve as many signs as we could as soon as we could.)

Corrugated plastic comes in 4' by 8' sheets.  Cutting them once lengthwise would yield two signs 2' by 8' signs per sheet.  Two foot signs cut the cost in half, AND they fit nicely on freeway over passes.  Some bridges even have a snow fence to attach them to!

With 5" letters constructed from black vinyl tape (daytime) or reflective tape (night time), that would allow for two lines of all caps text per sign.

I think the letters need to be much bigger than 5" or 8".  We need to test!

Sam A. Robrin, how about writing up some couplets ONE-LINERS?  (I'm rewriting this tread for one-liners.)

Here's a couple of one-liners:

GOT AMMO?  GOT SLING?  YOU NEED AN M14

Close, but a little off.  How about this one:

FULL AUTO? NO WAY! GET AN M1A!

Hey, these one-liners actually seem easier!

[Sam A. Robrin]

How about these two as rewrites of your suggestions?:

Gold and silver in our banks!
Federal Reserve?  No thanks!

Frying pan and fire--that's
Republicans and Democrats.

Most of those that I submitted (exceptions are "The major cause . . ." and "This we say . . ."--they both have ABAB rhyme schemes) are couplets.  No reason your idea has to follow the Burma Shave format precisely.
Keep trying!  Watch rhymes that make the listener think "He just put that word in to get the rhyme" (as with "honey").  Also make sure the rhythm is exact.  The accent is on the first syllable of "polecats," so you can't rhyme it with "Democrats." 

A few more to kick things off:

Medicine and therapy
Cost too damn much when they're free.

Recipe for discontent:
Depend upon the government.

Like State-run health care?  Go and see
How well they run the DMV.

Our problems will be insurmountable
If cops are never held accountable.

[havee]

Are u picking up the signs or do ZI have to get a couple more alignments while the city is picking up your signs instead of fixing potholes?

[Firewall99]

Not sure why you are worried about how much work the state has to do, but yes, these signs would normally be recovered, especially if they were made to be reused.

However ideal picking them up would be, watch out for ambushes.  I have a feeling the state is reading this board.

Which brings up the legality of arresting someone who is REMOVING a sign.  What crime would that be, mmm?  Felonious street cleaning?  Reckless endangerment of ambushers?

This idea is getting more interesting all the time.  Maybe it's about time we actually tried it.

More quote ideas attached.

[Sam A. Robrin]

Not sure why you are worried about how much work the state has to do, but yes, these signs would normally be recovered, especially if they were made to be reused.

However ideal picking them up would be, watch out for ambushes.  I have a feeling the state is reading this board.

Which brings up the legality of arresting someone who is REMOVING a sign.  What crime would that be, mmm?  Felonious street cleaning?  Reckless endangerment of ambushers?

This idea is getting more interesting all the time.  Maybe it's about time we actually tried it.

More quote ideas attached.

I still think it's a good idea, though I get the impression you may be, let us say, unclear on the concept . . .
  Going point by point:

AMERICA IS THE GREATEST
COUNTRY WE EVER STOLE

Centuries-old grievances are no longer worth addressing, imho.

WE WANT OUR COUNTRY BACK

Too vague.  Who are "WE"?

WHAT'LL IT TAKE, TO MAKE YOU WAKE?

Good, but needs to be made more specific.  Maybe preface it with "BIG GOVERNMENT  WAS NEVER MEANT" etc.

LIES ABOUT ASPERTAME FANNED THE FLAME

?????  Not my issue.  I can't tell quite what you're referring to, and I doubt the majority of passers-by will be any too much the wiser.

LIES ABOUT THE ELECTIONS YIELD GOP ERECTIONS

Pointlessly vulgar, and again, too vague.

FLORIDE IN THE WATER - DUMBED YOUR DAUGHTER

Not my issue, and old, old news.  Still a bit vague.  And, it's "fluoride."

CANCER CURED IN 76. NOW THEY LIE ABOUT THE FIX.

?????

LIES, LIES, LIES. YOU'RE NOT WISE?

Preface it with something to make it specific.  Could apply to any number of institutions.

YOU BRING YOUR SYRINGE - I'LL BRING MY 45
WE'LL SEE WHICH MAKES A BIGGER HOLE

Too belligerent, and I haven't the slightest idea what it's referring to.

"ANTI-SEMITISM" IS MEANINGLESS - ARABS ARE SEMITES, TOO

"ANTI-SEMITISM" IS AN EMPTY EPHITHET TO STOP YOUR THINKING

Sounds indicative of anti-Judaic sentiment, and if that's what's intended, I wouldn't want to work alongside you on any project whatsoever.

[VincentS]

I like this project.
I can contribute some $ support for the sign material ?
keep the signs this is a good repeat project.

Please keep it clean, remember some mothers with their children will be driving past our signs.

"A government that is big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have."
(Thomas Jefferson ? )
This one might be to long but I do like it.

I recommend to stay away from the drug issue and stick to taxes and inefficient government. these themes resonate across political lines.
what about putting "freestate . org" out there on a sign ?

[VincentS]

I really like this one.

Gold and silver in our banks!
Federal Reserve?  No thanks!