I really wish somebody at the Prague Post would edit out sentences such as these: "But obscenity issues have a life of their own, particularly in a country still shaking off 40 years of socialism. And particularly with a combustible mix of characters and sensibilities in the cauldron of a steamy summer in Prague. "

It's an article about an art show that raised some eyebrows and an Italian cafe manager who raised a stink. The venerable Vecernik Praha declared it skandal. The cops came and took some pictures before deciding the exhibition wasn't obscene.

It's not that this isn't a worthy subject for a story. But what's that connection between obscenity issues and socialism? It's not exactly clear, and fourteen years after the revolution, I'd like to think the connection's pretty minimal compared to other cultural factors. The guy that complained the most loudly was a foreigner, after all.

There's a tendency among foreigners (and among Czechs as well, perhaps) to blame all the country's idiosyncracies -- even things like this, which aren't all that idiosyncratic -- on the Communist experience. It's very shallow, and often completely inaccurate.

In the mixed metaphor department, things usually boil in cauldrons, but I suppose a mixture of lard, oil and gasoline would combust if you got it hot enough. Especially in the steamy summer. And at the end of the day, lest anybody get all touchy, I'm still pro-Post.