It all began as a simple email sent out to a few listservs warning people not to be freaked out by a “20′ to 30′ high fire ball that will last approximately two (2) seconds” that will be set off on the Potomac just above the Key Bridge Wednesday morning. Somewhere in translation the two seconds became two minutes, and people did exactly what DDOT was advising them against: totally freak out.
Well this led to a hasty statement by Josh Friedman of the D.C. Film Office to stop, drop and roll the rumors about a sustained giant fireball. Friedman stated:
It will be a self-contained pyrotechnic special effect. . . . It’s actually out on the water. Nothing is being blown up. There’s no impact or force of any kind. I think there was some indication that a boat was going to be blown up, and that’s not the case.
Which leads GM to his ultimate point: who really believes the rumor of the two minute fireball wasn’t intentionally put out there? By whom, you ask? Why, none other than the producers themselves. You know the old saying, no publicity about a giant, extended explosively fireball that makes a low thud sound is bad publicity.
So Georgetowners, when you’re startled by the flash of light and a plume of smoke, gather your thoughts and remember this one important point: this show is going to be dreadful.
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we could have severely limited the influx of Virginia residents into D.C. by blowing up that bridge, and that’s the real tragedy
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I was there; I shot a video of the explosion, and I uploaded it to Youtube. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTBLmpSYjNg
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