Weird doings in the world of art: First off, who are these CAN folk and what's their problem with the NEA? For the acronymically challenged, that's the Christian Action Network, and according to this article about a recent Nashville "exhibit" they put on, their gripes against the National Endowment for the Arts are nothing short of absurd.

Less absurd but still plenty unusual are Hugo Montero's rapid-fire spray paint compositions of sci-fi landscapes, which have been selling like U.F.O.-shaped hotcakes ever since Contact and Men in Black came out. But if you want to see something really spacey, read about this New Orleans exhibit of early '60s British pop artists. Forget Warhol -- swinging London was where it's at for weird art, baby. Finally, what is the Roomful of Mystery? Oooh...you'll just have to find out for yourself.

Speaking of mysteries, to me the state of Utah has always been a bizarre shadow world -- an enigmatic rectangle on my U.S. map where I assumed everyone lived out of covered wagons and wore strange, exotic underwear. Mind you, I live in Arizona. Thanks to three articles from the Salt Lake City Weekly, my illusions have been ruined, ruined! Turns out Utah folk have seedy central boulevards teeming with teens; not-so-hidden hideaways full of nudists; and a sarcastic, self-deprecating sense of humor -- just like the rest of us. What a disappointment.

But there's still plenty of weirdness around to keep life interesting. For instance, you could read this review of Wendy's new pita pockets and entertain yourself for hours wondering, "Why? Why review a Wendy's product? And why does a guy named Nick look like an Asian woman?" Or you could marvel over this columnist's disturbing fetish for hard, round, stitched-together objects. Or you could shoo such curiosities away and make phantasmagoric music via the latest digital-audio software craze. To each his weird own, I always say.