Scarlet Pimpernel (FreewayBlogger) to me,
June 12,2005 1:27 A.M.
hello again sierra- hope all is well...a bit of a slow start for summer of truth, but hopefully this letter to the troops will inspire...peace, scarlet.
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Last Summer, it started with this-
"Here's how it works:
When you put a sign on the freeway people will read it until someone takes it down.
Depending on its size, content and placement
it can be seen by hundreds of thousands of people".
(Hey, I can do that.)
The most important part of the FreewayBlogger Manifesto
"The most important sign to put up is the first one - it almost doesn't matter what it says or how it looks, just so long as it gets done. Soon. There'll be plenty of time to make signs that are prettier and wittier in the future, but the first one has to be done now."
Beautifully illustrated by this crappily, yet expediently made sign.
I was pretty good at this last summer. I got out of practice, and I lost my lookout partner, so I've had to limit my options. But IT CAN BE DONE safely and easily alone.
Coro-Plast and Magic Marker are the easiest. But don't wait until you can buy the trick-est materials; a job worth doing is worth doing lousy.
Get cardboard. Paint it white with Killz.
Write out your message with either enamel-based paint or Extra-Thick Sharpie (shown here).
For large signs, duct-tape the corners for reinforcement, then poke a hole in each corner.
Thread baling wire through the holes. This is the quickest, easiest way to entangle your sign in fencing, or hang freely over an overpass.
Keep the prepared sign in your trunk, ready to hang when opportunity strikes.
I keep pre-cut lengths of baling wire, a spare set of wire cutters, a roll of duct tape and a mini-maglite in a bag in my trunk. You never know when it will come in handy.
When operating alone, get a gimmick, like a dumb hat or sequined sneakers. I wear a lot of henna tattoos. When I get stopped, that's the only thing the cop remembers.
Go make a sign.
Good luck.
"Don't let the simplicity of the concept fool you: Freewayblogging is a lot more than just randomly sticking signs on the freeway. Pursued to its maximum effect, freewayblogging combines the arts and sciences of rhetoric, painting, engineering, psychology, physics and sneakiness. I encourage everyone, whatever their political bent, to try it. Unless, of course, you have nothing to say."
How To Be A Freeway Blogger
