Art, or Indecency?

Via the Livejournal of John Cowperthwait, without a doubt the best LJ I read:

Inside, police found a nude man, Joshua M. Culotta, suspended from the ceiling in an aerial harness that Schramm earlier called a "chandelier."

"He was in plain view," said Collins, the investigating sergeant.

Officers said they arrested Culotta, 26, for violating the city ordinance. The man, who is deaf, seemed confused and told a reporter, "I was just modeling." As officers handcuffed him, he started to cry.

"He'll be okay. Misdemeanor charge," an officer told one of the man's friends.

...

Collins said the police began an investigation Friday night after hearing that the gallery was displaying genitals while serving alcohol. He would not specify how they knew, saying he wouldn't reveal an investigative tactic.

I think the best part of the story is that all the massive drawings and sculptures of penises across the room were alright.

"Night at Gallery Ends in Arrest" [St. Petersburg Times]

Charles Isherwood needs to get out more

Attending the festival for a few days as an observer, I was quickly swept up in its strange atmosphere. Just before heading to Applebee’s for a burger, I sat on a bench outside the Lied Center organizing some notes. Nearby a pack of students broke into a spontaneous chorus from a song I recognized.

What was it? Sondheim? Don’t think so. Certainly not Rodgers and Hart or Rodgers and Hammerstein. Could it possibly be Andrew Lloyd Webber? Then it hit me — it was Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the first time in a while I’d heard anyone of any age sing pop or rock, and it was weirdly disorienting. A few minutes later the kids segued into a chorus of “Mr. Cellophane” from “Chicago,” and the world righted itself.

International Thespian Festival Offers the Smell of Greasepaint for 2,000 High School Students - NYTimes.com