laura spotted this punchline of a note (”you know it’s time to move out when…”) at her apartment building in downtown brooklyn. or rather, her former apartment building.
it’s unclear whether the note-leaver was motivated by recent research suggesting that pictures of eyes may deter crime. meanwhile, kim documented a convenience store in worcester, massachusetts taking a similarly whimsical approach to theft prevention.
reddit!
stumble it!
135 responses so far ↓
#1 Andy
Ahh, the eye of justice sees all.
Also, thanks for the criminal law tips. I didn’t know stealing was wrong. Those must be great deterrent signs.
I love hyphenating “ass-hole”. It’s kinda classy!
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:01 pm rating: +6
#2 Mishee
Well… they DO say that “Knowing is half the battle” - So I do know… NOW!
I wonder if you get caught for stealing if “I’m illiterate and couldn’t read the sign, therefore I did not know stealing was a crime” is a good enough defense?
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:02 pm rating: +6
#3 Andy
You know, that eye looks kind of blurry, like it’s on drugs of some sort. Thus, the eye of justice is a hypo-critical crack-head.
Hmmm… hyphenation is fun!
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:05 pm rating: +3
#4 Mishee
And that incorrectly placed apostrophe was fucking delicious!
(sorry guys, it was just calling to me!)
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:06 pm rating: --1
#5 Olrun
I love how they have cameras and don’t know who the thief is yet but warn that the cameras are watching.
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:09 pm rating: +6
#6 Canthz_B
Nothin’ says lovin’ like the all-seeing eye of a coven!
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:10 pm rating: +4
#7 Reality
Just Love the all-seeing eye!
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:11 pm rating: +3
#8 GVI
Mishee, because the camera’s see all, it provided evidence of your not so stellar attempt of using the phrase, fucking delicious and you have been sentenced to Wear The Unitard.
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:12 pm rating: +2
#9 Mishee
I will NOT don the Unitard. I am exempt (being Queen and all)!!!
I am also outta here… see ya in a bit!
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:13 pm rating: --1
#10 Reality
Really Mishee I was going to say that about the eye, but after the correction from W.P. I didn’t think it would be “proper”.
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:15 pm rating: +4
#11 Mishee
Everything Mishee says is fucking delicious!
::poof!::
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:17 pm rating: 0
#12 Reality
Unitards are really not proper attire for ladies.
OMG Mishee my honey calls me “The Queen”.
That is unreal!
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:19 pm rating: --1
#13 GVI
I had no idea that signs were more effective at preventing crime than camera’s.
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:20 pm rating: +3
#14 dawn
You have to admire the evil genius of breaking into a building in order to steal the locks off the doors. And really, if the best you can threaten the thief with is being caught by a cyclops. . . I mean, it’s not like it’s the heisa monster.
Team “Cheese!”
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:21 pm rating: +5
#15 Olrun
’s, they forgot the ’s. ( keep’s)
or it would be ASS-HOLE’S.
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:21 pm rating: +3
#16 T-Bone
ass-hole + camera’s = illiterate morons.
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:22 pm rating: +2
#17 Robin Claire
It’s watching…0o0o0!
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:23 pm rating: 0
#18 GVI
I used to steal padlocks and open them, then go around locking people’s stuff. Hilarious!
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:25 pm rating: +2
#19 Olrun
I wonder if they have 24 hr security, or else they would have to wait for the morning to review the camera and hope the theif wasn’t clever enough to break the camera ( now that there’s a warning and all ) or steal the footage.
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:26 pm rating: 0
#20 Canthz_B
If you really have a surveillance system, do you need a sign?
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:27 pm rating: +1
#21 fussbudget
that’s not an eye…it’s a spaceship!
you bad guys better fear the alien technology. what the note fails to mention is the anal probe that will no doubt be thrust up the crook’s crack once caught.
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:28 pm rating: +6
#22 Olrun
#15 was about the first note.
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:31 pm rating: 0
#23 Olrun
Damn !! thief, not theif *THIEF* ( damn vowels )
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:36 pm rating: 0
#24 Troy McClure
Some say, “Don’t punish us, please!
Kleptomania is a disease!”
Stealing’s a crime,
And you’re gonna do time,
You lock-stealing ass-hole. Say cheese!
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:36 pm rating: +4
#25 Canthz_B
What does “Say Cheese” taste like, and why does their camera posses some of it? Is he like Cam-bot or something?
“Look out Tom Servo! Cam-bot is throwing Say Cheese again!”
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:43 pm rating: 0
#26 goose
Maybe it’s the same posse of thieves; first they stole the locks then they came back for the cameras.
I had a surveillance system, but someone stealded it
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:49 pm rating: +1
#27 Canthz_B
Thou shalt not steal!…The Eye of God is upon thee!
Nov 27, 2007 at 8:58 pm rating: --1
#28 Writer, Rejected
Big Brother is watching….and he is one passive aggressive Mo-fo, apparently.
Nov 27, 2007 at 9:00 pm rating: +2
#29 Mary (MPJ)
What part of the camera is watching? The camera’s lens? The camera’s film? (Are there even cameras that have that anymore?) For the love of grammar, the camera’s ____?
Nov 27, 2007 at 9:00 pm rating: +3
#30 Canthz_B
Every lock take,
Each window you break,
We will bide our time,
Then we’ll drop a dime,
You’ll have time to do”
Nov 27, 2007 at 9:01 pm rating: +2
#31 Troy McClure
Every lock you take
And every move you make
Every time you break
And enter, Jake,
I’ll be watching you
Every law you disobey
Every time you don’t pay
All the stock that goes astray
That I wanted to purvey
I’ll be watching you
Oh, can’t you see
It belongs to me
You put your liberty at stake
With every thing you take
Every lock you take
And every move you make
Every time you break
And enter, Jake,
I’ll be watching you
Since it’s gone, I’ve been lost without a trace
But on security-cam I can see your face
I look around; all my stuff, you will replace
You were told; there are signs all over the place
I keep crying, “Catch this bad guy, Police!”
(repeat verses about 20 times)
Nov 27, 2007 at 9:05 pm rating: +7
#32 Wade
It looks like the eye in the Great Seal on the back of a dollar bill. And over the eye is the Latin phrase: Annuit Cœptis - “He approves the things which have been begun.”
hmmmm, maybe not the message the note-writer was trying to convey.
Nov 27, 2007 at 9:07 pm rating: +5
#33 anglophile
Well, shit. There goes my “But, Your Honor, I didn’t know I was doing nothing wrong” defense. Bastards with their helpful information.
Nov 27, 2007 at 9:21 pm rating: +6
#34 Canthz_B
#30 “Every lock you take”!!!
I read that like 6 times! I need to hire a proof-reader!
Nov 27, 2007 at 9:22 pm rating: 0
#35 raiseyourglass
next they take the camera too….
Nov 27, 2007 at 9:38 pm rating: +2
#36 super_fan#99
#18 - That is just brilliant. Time to wreak some havoc upon this small town.
Nov 27, 2007 at 9:41 pm rating: +2
#37 Sharkfan
GVI is a self-admitted lock thief. Has he been to Brooklyn lately?
Nov 27, 2007 at 9:50 pm rating: +2
#38 Paul
I have to question why a thief would commit a B&E only to steal the locks off the doors. First of all, why are the locks outside of the doors? Second, is the shit you own so worthless the thief can’t even get a few bucks at a pawn shop?
Why the random capitalization? Is there some sort of psychosis not being dealt with? Why was this note written on paper towel from a public bathroom? Why isn’t there a fountain of smart? Why hasn’t someone put more chlorine in the gene pool? Where is Darwin when you need him?
Nov 27, 2007 at 9:52 pm rating: +4
#39 Canthz_B
#38 Paul, This is the work of a down on his luck locksmith.
Nov 27, 2007 at 9:55 pm rating: 0
#40 Zsa
#31 Love it Troy~ The Police were running thru my head too. I’m just not good at the lyrics
Nov 27, 2007 at 9:57 pm rating: --1
#41 30 and 2
#20 smacks of such truth that the all ass-hole’s’s seeing camera can’t compete.
Maybe if the locks were in use, they couldn’t have been stolen?
Nov 27, 2007 at 9:57 pm rating: +2
#42 Canthz_B
OMG…The culprit is Buggs Bunny!! He’s from Brooklyn and he did steal the Panama Canal locks!
Nov 27, 2007 at 10:02 pm rating: 0
#43 Mishee
Buggs took a wrong turn at Albuquerque CB - I don’t think it was him!
Nov 27, 2007 at 10:20 pm rating: --1
#44 WanderingPenguin
I’ve thought about it and thought about it but I just can’t figure it: how do you steal the locks off of doors? I mean, are these doors padlocked shut? Are they living in some renovated (but not entirely) gymnasium? Is the ass-hole using some kind of circular saw and cutting around the dead-bolts? (If this took place in a Looney Tunes cartoon, the first lock would have stayed there and the door would have flattened Yosemite Sam.)
Although, a better question would be “why”? Hmm. Maybe they need the locks to secure their stolen dirt “and all” in a big shed?
Nov 27, 2007 at 11:40 pm rating: +6
#45 farty mcfartpants
“a pile of shit has a thousand eyes.” -stand by me
Nov 28, 2007 at 1:00 am rating: +3
#46 Canthz_B
These notes remind me of a saying my older sister made up to keep my brother and me in line…“I know all and see all, except some things.”
Nov 28, 2007 at 1:37 am rating: 0
#47 Reality
This writer of note sure has it all wrong. A Big mean dog would be more convincing. Then he would not have to bother with locks at all. If the locks were the only thing taken then why bother with dogs, locks, camera or PA sign. problem solved.
Nov 28, 2007 at 1:52 am rating: 0
#48 Canthz_B
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hr23tpWX8lM&feature=related
WARNING: Lock Bumping
Nov 28, 2007 at 2:52 am rating: --1
#49 Tyler
Perhaps this would have gotten the message across better?
“…Who Keep BReaKing & (flower)
Entering…”
http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/2007/11/19/all-i-want-is-a-room-somewhere/
Nov 28, 2007 at 4:16 am rating: 0
#50 Reality
Thank you C.B.
scary video on lock bumping. So answer is, Buy better locks. The bad guys are catching up!I at least think I will draw big eye to place in window to protect my loved ones. yeah, that ought to do it! All I need is some BIG paper and a magic marker. Thats the ticket!!!!
Nov 28, 2007 at 7:32 am rating: 0
#51 Masha
Hey, I go to college in Worcester!
Now, the REAL question is, have I actually seen that second sign before, or is the deja-vu effect my brain is creating merely a hoax?
*racks brain*
Nov 28, 2007 at 8:06 am rating: +1
#52 lola
It’s a good thing they’ve got cameras or we wouldn’t know whose shampoo to pee in.
If cameras were really that effective in catching the criminals, they would’ve sent the cops to arrest them instead of leaving a sign.
Nov 28, 2007 at 8:43 am rating: +3
#53 Lurker
He broke the whole building? And he did it more than once?
Nov 28, 2007 at 9:12 am rating: +4
#54 amy d
Oh no! It’s the ever watchful eye of Susanna Hoffs.
Do you know what they did to thieves in Egyptian times?
The horror
Nov 28, 2007 at 9:53 am rating: 0
#55 turrboenvy
I grew up in Worcester, and recently moved back… Like #41, I’m wondering if my deja-vu is imaginary.
Any word on where the sign is posted, exactly? I want to steal the camera’s (flower). For the greater good, of course.
Nov 28, 2007 at 10:33 am rating: 0
#56 Space Monkey
AttN:
TO the Ass-HolE (and his leghumpers and all) Who Keep BReaKing and Entering this Building, Rene Hall is smoKing her Killing, there arE VagranTs aNd Thieves using The MIcrowave- which has been left ON at 450°. Again. Oh And by The way, WHO has been washing their hair iN the bathroom sink???? Tooth Brushing. Fine. BUt HAIR? UNBELIEVABLE anyways, Jesus hates Stealing sO if you just brinG our loCKS Back We wont have You arrested. We’ll EVen unpluG the CAMERA’s. No Questions AskeD. Except- do you smell somthing burning? It’s that damn oven again. “Andrew, I told you about leaving th……..”
Thank you TERRY
Nov 28, 2007 at 10:41 am rating: +6
#57 Space Monkey
Fear the Heisa. It is walking about like a roaring lion seeking to devour someone.
Nov 28, 2007 at 10:49 am rating: 0
#58 Space Monkey
HapPy CI Day everyone!
Nov 28, 2007 at 10:52 am rating: 0
#59 GhostWriter
Jim says to Ray, “Hey, man, I’m sick of hippies sneaking backstage during our shows, just to grab some free grub from our continental breakfast table!”
Ray says to Jim, “This ought to do it…”
To the asshole who keeps breaking and entering this building, to steal lox off the Doors- You Will Be Caught!
Jim says to Ray, “Cool- lemme add an all-seeing eye…”
Nov 28, 2007 at 10:56 am rating: +8
#60 Space Monkey
BtW:
Sanctimonius Ass-HaT-
THat Eye belong to Jesus. He paid for those locK with his BLood.
He is Watching to.
SAY CHEESE
Nov 28, 2007 at 11:01 am rating: +3
#61 Space Monkey
Good to know it’s not just me. My wholE ScreeN is Italicized. PAN GoDdess?
Nov 28, 2007 at 11:19 am rating: --1
#62 Wade
Good God
Everything’s coming up italics for you and for me.
Nov 28, 2007 at 11:21 am rating: +2
#63 Wade
What the hell did you do, Space Monkey?
I guess it really is Crazy Italics Day.
Nov 28, 2007 at 11:23 am rating: +4
#64 cre8tivewmn
#34 CB: No need to hire a proofreader.
This site has a thousand eyes….
Nov 28, 2007 at 11:27 am rating: +1
#65 Space Monkey
I didn’t do anything -uh, all-seeing eye- I just posted my comment and tried to go my merry little way - Ass HolE’s stealing loCks- and when I saw that it was still italicized, I tried to fix it- camera’s saying CHEESE- but couldnt. So now I dont know what to do- DID YOU KNOW? You will be caught -I couldn’t close the italics either-Stealing is a crime.
Nov 28, 2007 at 11:30 am rating: +1
#66 GhostWriter
(* no biggie- just word all future commentary so as to suggest an italic nature…)
Nov 28, 2007 at 12:04 pm rating: +4
#67 KarenLW
Looks like it all began with Space Monkey # 56.
Thank you TERRY
Nov 28, 2007 at 12:12 pm