What’s With the Blimps?
So BT yesterday mentioned a weird blimp-congregation in the skies over Manhattan, and perhaps it’s only that reading this that sensitized me to the appearance of blimps. In any case, yesterday, I drove down to Laguna Beach for lunch, and on my way into the OC, spotted a blimp circling above something or other. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but several hours later, as I was preparing to leave, the blimp appeared again. Or I think it appeared again; it could well have been another blimp entirely. This one, in any event, was wackily psychedelic. My little camera, alas, was no match for the intensity of the sun and the distance of the blimp, but if you look at the big version on flickr, you’ll get a sense of what we saw.
So what’s the deal with the blimps? Was this some kind of ingenious distract-them-from-above campaign, encouraging us to ignore what was going on below? And what was going on below, anyway?
24 September 2005, 4.22 pm
>So what’s the deal with the blimps?
These days it costs too much to keep the black helicopters fueled.
24 September 2005, 5.36 pm
Ah…I get it now. This is the privatization of the total information awareness state. They can only afford to keep us under hi-res surveillance if they sell advertising on the actual observation platforms—no more big government free ride for you, NSA! You’ve got to earn your own way!
It’s a way for Grover Norquist to finally feel *good* about the big-brotherish elements in his own political coalition. GENIUS!
24 September 2005, 11.19 pm
Ive seen that blimp! I think i heard/read/saw on tv somewhere that the pattern on it is based on or is an actual representation of some childrens’ design, or it represents kids somehow, and somehow it raises money for kids….or something…… I dont know, something like that.
25 September 2005, 12.40 pm
The Goodyear (or is it Goodrich?) blimp is based in Carson (you can see it docked from the 405). As a consequence, it spends a lot of time cruising the coast of Orange County. What’s weird is not when you see it in the OC, but when you don’t.