Ok, I'm a little late.

Peggy Noonan had an interesting column the other day that used the boobie imbroglio as a launching point to ask what's happened to our culture. I'm not sure an attention-seeking celebrity's desperate stunt means the world's coming to an end, but it's a good article nonetheless and gives a lot to think about. It's sad that an idea that used to be confined only to the art world -- that anything that "pissed off the squares" was "real" -- has now lodged itself in the mainstream. But that's the general vector of art, I suppose. An idea or style is first introduced and appreciated by "visionaries", but then over time becomes part of everyday life. The coarseness we have today may be around until our artistic community begins a "New Traditionalist" movement. As a parent with two little sponges that will be taking many cues from this crap, all I can say is I hope they hurry.