That is a nice snow sculpture! A shame they have such prudes for neighbors.

Pass the bubblewrap. *eyeroll*

Good Lord, some people have to get up pretty early in the morning to be offended, don't they?

I think if that officer had caught me before my morning coffee, that dressed snow woman would have also had a sign next to it that said, "I dressed this snow woman because one of my neighbors is a close-minded, nosy douche."

Honestly.

Wouldn't have helped. That same neighbor would have then called the police and complained about the sign! *sigh*

"Are you going to go to the Met and cover up all the statues?"

Like the nosy busy body who complained would take her kids the the museuam. She has better things to do. Like tattle on her neighbors.

It would be a shame if the nude snow sculpture caused a local teenage boy to masturbate. Don't those people realize they could be responsible for thousands of (sperm) deaths?

Oops. I meant Museum...

Flynne, you're probably right. :D

Actually, I wonder if they really HAD to cover it up. Is it against the law? I would have asked the cop, and if it wasn't, I'd have left it be. Then, I would have hooked up a video camera and waited to see which neighbor came over to knock it down, then put the video up on YouTube.

Yeah, I have way too much free time. :D

@Ann: "...that dressed snow woman would have also had a sign next to it that said, 'I dressed this snow woman because one of my neighbors is a close-minded, nosy douche.'"

That might work, but the potential downside is just as Flynne described. An alternate plan would be to wait for the next snowfall and build a fully accurate Ron Jeremy. If there's enough snow left over, try and make somebody for him to romp with. Hell, if they're gonna complain, at least give them a reason.

"Actually, I wonder if they really HAD to cover it up. Is it against the law?"

Good question. Doesn't that little ol' First Amendment cover things like this?

I've made similar types of nude sculptures from sand on the beach and used to often draw/paint nudes, fortunately nobody complained. I once had a work colleague who painted a nude on the side of his car.

If I were the next door neighbor to the snitch who called the cops, I'd create an anatomically correct snowman and point its snow-pecker right at their front door.

RPM daddy, I hope your talking about the prime Ron Jeremy. Devil in Miss Jones era, I mean.

If a guy can get convicted of indecent exposure because some busybody prune of a neighbor trespassing on his property saw him making his morning coffee while naked, then who knows what sort of trumped-up charges these folks might have faced had they not covered up their artwork (and yes, that is a very nice snow sculpture).

Suggestion:
Snow Girl Burka

How about attaching an arm to the snow woman, with a hand on the end extending her middle finger in the direction of the neighbor. I thought the statue was hilarious. Besides, it's going to melt anyway.

Thank God. Now we can finally put pressure on the television networks to stop airing "Frosty the Snowman," the subversive story of a naked hat thief who corrupts and kidnaps the local children.

If I were the next door neighbor to the snitch who called the cops, I'd create an anatomically correct snowman and point its snow-pecker right at their front door.

It's been done. . .

Conan writes:Thank God. Now we can finally put pressure on the television networks to stop airing "Frosty the Snowman," the subversive story of a naked hat thief who corrupts and kidnaps the local children.

Hey, Frosty is not naked. He wears a scarf and a hat.

Reminds me of a rather funny bit I saw on the cancelled T.V. show Charmed.

Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano are playing three sisters, and one day they're straightening their house out after a minor earthquake upset some of the furnishings and decor.

After being accused of liking earthquakes, Doherty counters, "I don't like earthquakes, but I don't run through the house naked screaming 'Run for your life!' either."

"Okay, now, that is such an exaggeration," says Milano (her trademark phrase). "I was wearing slippers."

I too like Pirate Jo's solution. Or, maybe they can get the neighbors to join in and have a naked snow sculpture contest. *evil grin*

Hey, Frosty is not naked. He wears a scarf and a hat.

A stolen hat.

Reminds me of a rather funny bit I saw on the cancelled T.V. show Charmed.

My wife was/is a fan. So I'm way way more fluent in the the Charmed-verse than I should be.

When we had ou one snow fall for the year, some friends of mne made a snow penis in their yard and got a ticket for it. I thought it was hilarious.

"Or, maybe they can get the neighbors to join in and have a naked snow sculpture contest."

A naked snow people party! They could even have them holding little drinks, and irritate the neighbors by extolling the virtues of alcohol, too! Or have some naked snow people sharing a big hookah bong, for that matter. I had no idea such debauchery could be done with snow. It kind of makes me like it more.

Oh, you and I SOOOOO should be neighbors....

I'd have added a penis and 6 inch nipples to the statue and then dressed it in bondgae gear

Conan: A stolen hat.

That is debatable.

I wouldn't ask you to slog though the entire video, but if you watch this clip of Frosty the Snowman, you could argue that it was a discarded hat, not stolen. At 1:55, he clearly states he is going to throw it out. But in fairness to you, if you keep watching up to the point when Karen puts the hat on Frosty, he is clearly trying to recover it.

So, I guess the statement, "The only thing this hat is good for is the trash can!" and his following act of flinging at the trash can was an impulsive act brought on by frustration and he shouldn't be held accountable for it.

"...but if you watch this clip of Frosty the Snowman, you could argue that it was a discarded hat..."

And Jimmy Durante makes very clear, in case any viewers missed it, that the hat at that point really was Frosty's.

I remember stuff like that, too.

By the way, Patrick, whose artwork was that in the cartoon, and for what other publication did he draw for?

I have no idea who drew Frosty the Snowman. I tried to look it up at IMDB, but it doesn't say. Interesting to know that June Foray, the voice of Rocket J. Squirrel, played two roles in that show.

My first thought when I saw the sculpture was, "I wish I had that talent." Seriously, that is a damned good snow sculpture. Have these complainers never seen a naked mannequin before? I've seen mannequins with nipples clearly visible through the clothes. This sculpture didn't even have nipples, or a clearly defined groin area. I was seriously more offended with the nipples on the Bat Suit (thanks for nothing, Joel Schumacher).

I guess I can see why they didn't, but I would have asked the officer if I was legally required to dress the headless, armless bust. Props on the bikini top and sarong, though, as it reminds me of this episode of "Designing Women."

They should have just sculped in a line at the top of the thighs and said, "She's wearing a leotard."

Conan: My wife was/is a fan. So I'm way way more fluent in the the Charmed-verse than I should be.

Sounds like a Facebook quiz (which I loathe): "Which Charmed character are you?"

Does your wife have a favorite character on that show? Personally, I like Piper, but I liked her better when Prue was alive.

It was after all a good thing to call the cops. But they, as happens more often when the complaints have to do with sex, addressed the wrong person. It was not stated in the standard procedures. Associating sex with a heap of ice-cold snow. The perverts !

Hey, Conan. I have a lawyer friend who lives in Texas, and I bounced the Frosty issue regarding the ownership of the hat. This is what he said so far.

When Karen recovers the hat she may not know whose it is, but she knows it is not hers. Accordingly, it is not hers to give to Frosty, gratis or otherwise. While she could gain ownership of something she finds, she cannot do so when there are indicia of ownership, which includes allowing an at least reasonable time for the owner to come looking for it. When Hinkle presents his demand for his hat it must be returned to him and the continued retention by Frosty is wrongful as is Karen's conspiratorial fleeing with Frosty from Hinkle to prevent Hinkle from recovering his property.

About the only defense Karen and Frosty might have available here is that of "necessity" in that Frosty will die (to the extent a snowman ever lives) if the hat is taken from him. However, I must regard the effort at that defense as unavailing. Things might be different here if Hinkle owed some duty to Frosty, but he does not.

On the other hand, there is the matter of how Hinkle can recover the hat. As a general rule, one may use "reasonable force" to recover one's property, but not deadly force. The problem here is that the act of recovering the property constitutes deadly force against Frosty. For that reason, Hinkle should probably rely on the authorities to recover the property. He certainly cannot engage in kidnapping and assault on a minor to get it back. So he may have some issues there.

As I recall, the story concludes with Hinkle, with some encouragement from Santa, voluntary relinquishing the hat to Frosty as he busies himself with being a good boy so that he may gain a magic set from Santa. Thus, the story ends with Hinkle forfeiting his rights to the hat by unconditionally gifting it to Frosty.

I'm presently asking him if the fact that Karen was a witness to the act of his discarding the hat, is any defense or mitigation of the theft.

It should be noted that she was also a witness to his first attempt at recovering his property.

old rpm daddy, I found the answer to your question.

Paul Coker Jr., of Mad Magazine fame, was the artist who drew Frosty the Snowman.

Now, let me ask you one. Who was it who sang "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," in the children's classic Christmas special and what was he most famous for?

Says Patrick: "Paul Coker Jr., of Mad Magazine fame, was the artist who drew Frosty the Snowman."

Absolutely! I always enjoyed his drawings. Funny, funny stuff.

Now, for your question, "Who was it who sang 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,' in the children's classic Christmas special and what was he most famous for?"

Believe it was Boris Karloff, who played Frankenstein's monster, wasn't it?

Nope, it was Thurl Ravenscroft, who voiced Tony the Tiger, for Kellogg's. who died in 2005. Although it's isn't mentioned in his obituary, here's a link to it: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/grinch2.html

Boris Karlodd did voice the Grinch, but he didn't sing the song.

Does your wife have a favorite character on that show? Personally, I like Piper, but I liked her better when Prue was alive.

I think she'd go along with you on that one. The later seasons with long lost half-sisters, teenage witches, unbelievable villains, and way too much focus on Alyssa Milano's fun bags drove her to distraction.

Believe it was Boris Karloff, who played Frankenstein's monster, wasn't it?

According to Internet Movie Database, Boris Karloff was the narrator. Thurl Ravenscroft (Tony the Tiger) did the singing.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060345/trivia

Both Flynne and Conan are correct. Boris Karloff was indeed the narrator, and his basso profundo lead me to believe that he also sang the song. But no, it was the late Thurl Ravenscroft, who was not listed in the credits, the voice of Tony the Tiger, who sang "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

(I once stumped someone with this question, who insisted it was James Earl Jones.)

Conan, something else, you're right about. Frosty's hat was indeed stolen.

My friend (who wrote a brilliant and hilarious legal analysis of "The Wizard of Oz," in which the Wicked Witch of the West, surviving liquidation, filed suit against Dorothy) has since reviewed the special, and concludes that, despite his act of throwing the hat away, Hinkle is indeed the rightful owner.

He answered my question just now. It follows:

I confess to not reviewing the video prior to my first answer, just operating on memory. Upon review, here is the relevant sequence of events.

Hinkle, disgusted with his hat throws it in the direction of the trash can declaring its "only good for the trash." Consistent with Hinkle's general incompetence, the throw fails to actually land the hat in the trash can, bouncing off. At that point "Hocus-Pocus" (the missing rabbit) appears in the hat and begins hopping away with the hat.

Critical here is that Hinkle then begins to immediately pursue the hat, though it is unclear if he is attempting to recover it, or the rabbit, or both. Hinkle's pursuit of the hat is delayed by the school bell sounding and the children swarming him. This allows Hocus-Pocus to evade him out the window.

Hinkle is still in obvious hot pursuit of the hat when Karen snatches it up and places it on Frosty bringing the snowman to life. Hinkle, greedily recognizing for the first time the magic potential of the hat, immediately demands it back. Karen declares the hat is no longer his because he threw it away. Hinkle takes the hat forcefully. It is returned later only because Hocus-Pocus again escapes with it. A narrator claims this is justified because the hat no longer belongs to Hinkle but belongs to the children and Frosty.

Karen and the narrator are wrong and the hat belongs to Hinkle. The abandonment of the property right must be clear and with permanent intent. The disgusted tossing of the hat in the general direction of the trash might qualify only if Hinkle acted consistent with an intent to abandon the hat by, for example, walking away from it and leaving it there. However, the facts here are that Hinkle then attempted to immediately retrieve his hat. Karen and the others saw this. They further saw that Hinkle was still attempting to exercise his possessory rights over hat even as it was practically snatched away just as he grasped for it and placed on Frosty's head.

Hinkle had every right to recover his hat and leave with it. Hocus-Pocus accordingly had no right to steal the hat and return it to the children, who then accordingly had no right to continue to wrongfully treat the hat as their own. By now, Hocus-Pocus is clearly passing on to them property they should know to have been stolen.

Hinkle now has the right to use reasonable force to recover the hat, but not deadly force. This creates a bit of a legal quandry because to permanently deprive Frosty of the hat effectively kills Frosty. That is why I believe Hinkle should have left this matter to the authorities. Certainly kidnapping a minor and locking her and Frosty in a greenhouse with the intent of murdering Frosty is not justified and places Hinkle in a legally tenuous position.

Alas, Santa Claus and some Christmas magic provides an equitable solution to the situation, and in the end Hinkle does clearly relinquish his rights over the hat.

Maybe they could build some snow-thugs with giant fists to go over and beat up the nosy neighbor.