Canada's Bait Car program (in which thieves steal remote controllable vehicles with hidden cameras) has been so successful that it's spawned its own TV show, and the Canadian government has released all the Bait Car videos into the public domain to further publicize the program and reduce car theft.
Here's a Bait Car video (download video, 16 meg wmv file) in which a speed freak steals a car, transfers to a Bait Truck, breaks into three cars to steal various items, hits three cars during a high speed chase, screams ONCOMING! as he runs red lights and stop signs, and... most disturbing of all, listens briefly to The Barenaked Ladies on the Bait Truck's radio. After the video ends, he drove through a few backyards before ramming his way into a parking garage and into the arms of the waiting police. Not safe for work, by the way.
All in all, the operation was a total success. Except for the three cars that the guy hit, the other three cars that got broken into, the parking garage gate and that unfortunate business with The Barenaked Ladies. But when making videos like this, there's bound to be some collateral damage. More info and defensive handwringing from the makers of this video here. Alas, the identity of the man who made "oncoming" a popular catch phrase throughout Canada will never be released. via screenhead
Wait a minute. Wait a dog-garned minute. A car you can remotely shut off, and they let the dude do this damage, and he gets just four years? And they want to promote the program? Am I missing something? Always thought this was a strange program.
Posted by: MacDonald Daniel | January 31, 2006 at 09:29 PM
Guy's name is Robert Osbourne. http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/06/14/bait-car-tape050614.html
Posted by: Angus | February 01, 2006 at 02:41 AM
"Oncoming" hasn't exactly been a hot catchphrase. Living in Canada, this is the first I heard of it. Keeping that in mind, WFMU seems to predict trends in the Northlands. I was telling people about this Toronto band Final Fantasy that I heard do a studio session on 'FMU and that was way before they hit big even in Toronto. Oh WFMU, you know us better then we knnow ourselves!
Posted by: listener colin in Toronto | February 01, 2006 at 11:46 AM
Came across this website while on a search for sites/postings critical of BNL’s t-shirt design contest. In a nutshell, this is a way for BNL to get thousands of great shirt designs for nothing for the rest of their careers. ALL entrants (not just the winner) lose all their rights to their artwork, and I’m willing to bet the finished shirt won’t show the name of the actual designer. Are BNL so hard up they can’t pay for a decent design team? I’m surprised they didn’t sponsor a “write a hit song for BNL” contest. I can just see it: write a song for BNL and everyone who enters gives up the rights to ever claim they wrote the song, and can’t ever perform it or record it. Christ, I’m surprised BNL didn’t come up with this one themselves. They might get a top 10 song out of it, plus they’d never have to write another song for the rest of their lives! Sorry to sound so bitter, but I entered a contest AND won, AND got to meet them, and they totally blew me off. I brought a copy of my winning photo, and they said NOTHING. Not one single word. I was totally devastated, and I went from being a huge fan to resenting them. And this contest shows they’ve become just as greedy as the corporations they sometimes make fun of.
Posted by: Gloria | August 25, 2006 at 11:01 PM
These blogs are great and everything but come check out this site! Narconon.
Posted by: Narconon Arrowhead | September 06, 2009 at 03:45 PM