"This Is One Of Those Things That Could Only Happen In D.C."

By which she means, I assume, that only in DC could virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell perform at a subway station during rush hour and be recognized by only one of the six people who stopped for more than a moment to listen.

It was a stunt concocted by the Washington Post which, at first, I thought was brilliant. But the more I think about it--especially considering the title of the article--the more I think it was a condescending slap by a paper that has very little claim to cultural awareness itself, never mind superiority.

Pearls Before Breakfast [washpost via tpm]

[update from the Saw Lady's blog: "The thing is Joshua Bell is a great violinist but he doesn’t know how to busk...A busker is someone who can turn any place into a stage. Obviously, Joshua Bell needs an actual stage." ]