Althouse: Wall Is Over.

November 21, 2014

Wall Is Over.

"For years, Prague's Lennon Wall was a vibrant rainbow in the city, attracting artists and tourists alike with its prismatic graffiti. But on November 17, the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution that peacefully ousted Communism from Czechoslovakia, Prague residents woke up to a very different Lennon Wall than the one they had known since 1980—a completely white space, with years of artwork painted over save for bold black text proclaiming, 'Wall Is Over!'"

And then what happened?

And here's the official video for the John Lennon song "War Is Over":

12 comments:

chickelit said...: An anti-Chistmas song showing predominantly Muslim casualties? I don't get the irony, Mr. Lennon.

The video would be akin to some popular Arabic anti-war song juxtaposed with ISIS beheadings of westerners. But even if that were the point, would you be calling for that today, Mr. Lennon?; 11/21/14, 3:24 PM
Known Unknown said...: Wall is Over! has now entered my lexicon as a stiff rebuke to someone I disagree with.

Eastern European English grammar is often hilarious.; 11/21/14, 3:25 PM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: "And then what happened?" is ok as a clickbait line, but something like "And You Won't Believe What Happend Next" or "What happened next will blow your mind" is more traditional.; 11/21/14, 3:38 PM
SteveBrooklineMA said...: Doesn't look like they covered up anything worth keeping.; 11/21/14, 3:51 PM
Jim in St Louis said...: "WALL is DOWN" from Shakespear Midsummer Nights Dream. Bottom in his upstaging way feels the need to explain the play to the Duke. Sort of like people in their upstaging way feel a need to explain art to us low-brows.; 11/21/14, 3:54 PM
Unknown said...: "Racist" is just a code word for SHUT UP White person!; 11/21/14, 3:55 PM
Ann Althouse said...: ""And then what happened?" is ok as a clickbait line, but something like "And You Won't Believe What Happend Next" or "What happened next will blow your mind" is more traditional."

Good point. I didn't think about that. It doesn't get me anything to send traffic over there, though, so it's kind of the opposite of bait.

Repellent.; 11/21/14, 3:56 PM
m stone said...: I read "Wall is over" as a play on words by a Czech who knew Lennon's music.

The biblical "eye for an eye" standard is equivalency not literal. Often mistaken, even by Gandhi.; 11/21/14, 4:06 PM
rehajm said...: Susan is a Pinhead; 11/21/14, 4:08 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "I read "Wall is over" as a play on words by a Czech who knew Lennon's music."

As did I, in case it's not clear.; 11/21/14, 5:13 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: since I'm not going due to theclick bait nature, would someone sacrifice themselves to describe what is there?; 11/21/14, 7:24 PM
Deirdre Mundy said...: A Bunch of Eastern European baby-boomers had a wall that was a monument to John Lennon and freedom... and the fact that some girl had herpes.

A bunch of millennial with degrees in art painted over the old graffiti.

Now there is new graffiti. MILLENNIAL graffiti. On Twitter.

Take that, Boomers.; 11/22/14, 9:18 AM