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Art or porn?

That question came up last week for strollers along downtown Bemidji's Sculpture Walk, which this year features nine painted fiberglass beavers, including one with -- to some eyes -- a suggestive painting on its belly.

After about 20 callers complained to City Hall that artist Deborah Davis' painting appeared to be of female genitalia, City Manager John Chattin ordered Davis' sculpture removed from the Sculpture Walk, officials in the northern Minnesota city said.

Al Belleveau, president of the Bemidji Sculpture Walk, said that at Chattin's request, he moved the sculpture to his yard until the City Council decides what to do with it.

That prompted a protest during Sunday's July 4th parade. A crowd of people gathered near where Davis' beaver sculpture had stood, some carrying signs that read Censored, Davis said. In addition, some of the other beaver artists veiled their own works in solidarity with Davis.

Davis, of Blackduck, Minn., called her work Gaea, which she said can mean Mother Earth or God is gracious. The beaver has female figures painted on its sides and a tree on its back. Its belly features a painting in which some see praying hands and some see woman's genitalia.

My intent was to paint Mother Nature, Mother Earth, Davis said. I didn't understand that some people saw genitalia. ... I understand people see different things in art, and they need to be free to do that. ... My intent was to paint a praying woman.

Update: The Beaver's Back

7th July 2010. Based on article from blogs.citypages.com

Bemidji City Council just voted unanimously to return a controversial beaver to its rightful place on the Bemidji Sculpture Walk.

Painted by artist Deborah Davis, Gaea is a celebration of womanhood and one of nine four-foot-tall ceramic beaver sculptures painted by local artists.

But when 20 people called to complain about what they viewed as a vagina on the beaver's belly, City Manager John Chattin took action and censored her beaver from public view.

Davis wasn't going to take that lying down. She organized a Facebook campaign that attracted local and national press attention.

As the beaver went viral, City Council was forced to call a special session to address the controversy.

Gaea supporters came out in droves, speaking eloquently about the artistic merits of the beaver. And as of tonight, the beaver is heading back to the streets.

Had a near miss this lunchtime. Went down Walking St at lunchtime. I know there not much open then but like to see it daylight. Part way down I passed a katoey outside a beer bar. On my way back there were 2 of them. 1 jumped on me 1 arm round me and then I realised his other hand is in my pocket. Managed to fend him off with couple of words and nothing lost.

After that stopped at Frog Bar on Walking Street. Bottle of Singha and dice game with bargirl. Bought her a drink, small coke I think. I know this is Walking St but it is 1pm. B90 for my beer and B120 for lady drink.

Found another scam. When I was here at Christmas I stopped at the fruit market on 2nd Rd. Back of Mikes Shopping Mail. Bought some fruit and I thought it was a bit expensive. So this time I went and asked for 1Kg of fruit I know I can get for B20. I was asked for B130. Put the bag down and left. Couple of days later went back to different stall, this time asked for B90 put bag down again. As I walked away I heard sorry, sorry, I make mistake. Ask what the price is first or use markets that price there goods

Service with a Smile

I was entertaining a friend, the other night, who hasn't been to Walking Street in a while. We stopped in at Beavers where I always seem to get a good reception. We had a few drinks, and some hands on time with some friendly girls. My friend had an enjoyable time with a very cute girl, although his comment was, he didn't like the layout much. I guess you either like a table dancing club or it just doesn't work for you.

The girls at Beavers wear micro skirts and no panties so it's all a question of where you sit in the club. Do you look across the room and look into the girls eyes, or look up at the girl at your table, and smile at her beautiful curves!

Draft Beer Bt 55, Lady Drinks Bt 120

Gyratory Service

We decided to move on, and check out What's Up.

I had described What's Up so enthusiastically to my friend, about girls that wear exotic costumes like the outfit that Cleopatra wore to seduce Caesar, and bacchanalia that the Roman hedonists could only dream of. His comment was: It's sounds like Windmill on steroids!

What's Up has always been a fun experience for me. A small central stage, with 4 girls dancing, a play area and a shower area, plus a small exercise area where girls swing on those chains that hang from the ceiling. It's one of What's Up's unique features. The more skilled girls swing on these chains, in acrobatic fashion, engaging in all kinds of gyrations, and offering every part of their curvacious bodies for inspection and interaction. Girls are keen to interact, and constantly make eye contact. They're perhaps a little pushy, but there's lots of cute girls willing to interact with you, in any way you can think of.

Accountancy Service

We sat at the central stage, and I watched as the girl immediately in front of me stood motionless and spent several minutes counting the cash she had collected during the evening. The girls on stage seemed a bit lethargic. Nevertheless, the serving girl asked me if I would like to buy the cash counting girl a drink. No thanks I said, she reminds me of my ex-wife. She had long legs and was an accountant, too!

Our visit started off well, my friend was having fun with a cute girl who was friendly but seemed a little hyper-active, jumping up every few minutes, to go up onto the play area, only to return a few minutes later to engage my pal in a different position.

Drainage Service

In my buddy's energetic interaction with his companion, he knocked over her drink, and dumped the contents onto my pants. Having just spend 8 days getting soaked every day during Songkran, it was a feeling I'd got used to.

Towel Service

I asked one of the service girls if I could use her towel to dry my pants, but she thought this was an inappropriate use of her towel and snatched it out of my hand. There were no other dry towels in sight, so I approached the mamasang, to ask for a little help. Her reaction was to ask me if I had spilled the drink, when I said no, she turned her back on me, and ignored my request. Kinda strange I thought, to leave a drowning man without a life belt.

Service with a Snarl

I was clearly going to be left to my own ingenuity to divert the river flowing down my leg. I eventually found a friendly service girl who threw me a life line. When I returned, my friend's companion started to yell at me, baring her teeth and snarling at me. Maybe a little hyper on something I thought. Maybe she thought I had complained to the mamasang.

It seems this mamasang plays the blame game. I had seen her rebuking a group of girls earlier in the evening. She runs a ship so tight that girls snap if they think they are being held responsible for some minor incident.

In all the years I have been cruising the Walking Street clubs, I can't remember a mamasang so unwilling to help a customer. A mamasang can make or break a good club and this mamasang seems on a mission to break the spirit at this otherwise fun club.

Room Service

Judging by the number of phone calls I get from local girls on a daily basis, things are far from rosy on the nightlife scene. If times are tough, all the more reason for a big club to focus on customer care. I guess the message hasn't got through to the management at What's Up.

Advice Service

It's still a great club, and well worth a visit.

Bottled beer Bt 125, Lady drinks Bt 120 upwards

Baccara is one of the most impressive clubs in town. The owners also run Baccara in Bangkok, and they've a created a unique concept that has the potential to be a great go-go bar. It seems to have almost everything a go-go club needs to be successful. There are two floors, effectively two clubs in one, as each floor has a different ambiance.

Down But Looking Up

The downstairs area has a large central stage, but no shower, Jacuzzi or play area. There's about 20 girls dancing in rotation. The stage is big enough for a dozen girls or more, but there's usually eight go-go dancers on stage, dressed in bikinis and fish net stockings, and high heels. Some nights the bikini and stockings are white, other nights the outfit is black. Pretty standard stuff. The girls are attractive enough and reasonably friendly. There's great service, good music that doesn't make conversation impossible, and reasonable drinks prices.

Up But Looking Down

The upstairs area has a sunken dance stage with a glass floor and fireman's pole for rapid descent to the lower floor. If you're in the right position on either floor, you can see the dancers on both floors.

The girls outfit on the upper floor is different, a short skirt and bikini top made of a see-through material, and ankle length basketball style shoes and socks. Quite different from the ground floor girls' outfits, and it's obviously designed for more fun and action. The girls generally remove their bikini top, and don't wear panties. When the opportunity arises, they create their own fun and games, swinging on the chrome poles, and engaging in all kinds of simulated sex acts.

Add to this some loosely choreographed shows later in the evening, basically different costumes, and some new moves and you have the recipe for a great evenings entertainment.

Since the opening in December there have been a few changes to the upstairs layout, with the addition of two small dancing stages, but they are not well positioned and get little attention from customers.

Black Tie But No Panties

Jenkins, we're a tad overdressed. That purveyor of fine reviews at Thai-Anxiety led me to believe that Baccara was a formal affair.

The initial impression when you walk into the club, is a formal atmosphere, a large central dance floor, male serving staff, and no play area. This cool, somewhat inhibiting atmosphere has an impact on the girls behaviour. They don't spend much time making eye contact, they seem totally engaged in watching their own image in the wall mirrors, and chatting with their friends on stage. Great eye candy, but not a lot of fun if you are looking for interaction.

I had more success making eye-contact with the girls on the floor above, while sitting in the downstairs section, as they flirted with me through the glass floor, lifting their microscopic skirts to reveal no panties and great contours.

The girls in the downstairs bar at Baccara are good looking but not exceptional as I would have expected. The successful clubs attract hot girls, but that doesn't seem to be happening at Baccara. Perhaps the girls understand the reasons why, better than the owners. The girls are friendly enough, once you make the connection, but the initial impression is that connection seems harder to make here than at many of the other Pattaya go-go bars.

The upstairs girls are a lot more interested in interaction with customers. Their outfit suggests fun from the moment you see them. A lack of wall mirrors shifts their focus to customers, and the sunken dance floor means the dancers are at eye level with those sitting in the armchairs around the central stage. The upstairs bar also has about 20 dancers, with 8 girls rotating on stage. There seems to be a high turnover, with new faces there every time I visit the bar.

Flights But Low Budget

As part of the fun atmosphere on the upper floor, customers throw Bt 20 notes or the more expensive ping pong balls, (for which the girls get Bt 20 a piece). The girls shriek and squeal as they race around the floor trying to catch flying notes.

On a recent visit, I took my friend, who is a go-go dancer at another Walking Street club. I thought she might enjoy some fun time at a different go-go club, and I wanted to get her thoughts on the atmosphere at Baccara. We took a bunch of Bt 20 notes and spent a few minutes crafting paper airplanes from the notes. We had a great time launching the paper planes and watching the girls as they attempted to intercept the fleet of flying notes.

Look But Don't Touch

With all the skill, experience, and ingenuity, not to mention expense, that went into creating Baccara, it should be the one of the best clubs in town, ranking alongside all the other great go-go clubs in Pattaya, like Airport, Peppermint, What's Up, SuperGirl, Happy and Windmill. It's certainly a great club, but it lacks the magic that you feel from the moment you walk into Airport, the energy that you feel at Peppermint, the almost endless stream of cute girls that Happy has, and a soul that permeates Windmill, ensuring every visit is a fun occasion.

While the service levels are very efficient, the male serving staff put a damper on activities. When there's no service girls, there's no opportunity to interact with them like at Windmill, or New Living Dolls, where it seems a part of the evenings entertainment.

A combination of men serving staff, a large central stage and girls who are more interested in their own reflection, than making eye contact, creates a formal almost hands-off, unfriendly feeling.

These criticisms may seem harsh, but at the end of the day, most go-go girls in Pattaya would like to interact with you in the style of Airport or Windmill, if only the infrastructure and the operational management allowed it.

I've had several impromptu interactions with girls at Baccara, that suggest they are willing but may be a little inhibited with the formality of the place.

On one evening, I was climbing up the spiral staircase, to the upper floor. I stopped to allow two of the girls to pass me. They were in no hurry to reach the lower floor and blocked my passage with their bodies, pinning me against the rail and smothering me all kinds of affectionate embraces. An unexpected encounter that brought a big smile to my face!

But Time Will Tell

Baccara is definitely worth a visit. While it's clear that the owners are not trying to emulate the raunchy environment at clubs like BabyDolls and Windmill, they have a more formal, up market style in mind. The result is they have created an ambiance, at least in the downstairs area, that's somewhat chilly and unfriendly. Most customers don't make it, to the upstairs bar. So they miss out on the fun part of Baccara.

Time will tell how successful their concept will be.

Draft Beer, Bt 59. Lady Drinks Bt 120.

Descending Angels at AngelWitch

I have to confess to being a big fan of AngelWitch. It's formula is different from other bars and clubs in town. There is, or at least a while back there was a high standard of performance, choreographed scenes in beautiful costumes that were as creative and artistic as they were erotic.

Those standards seem to have slipped a little in the last year. It's still a great venue, one of the few venues in town where you can take a date and she's going to enjoy the show.

My last visit a month ago left me disappointed, with it's reliance on formula bawdy sketches that you could imagine seeing in any part of town, or even participate in at some of the raunchier clubs in town like Windmill and Babydolls. My date was bored. She sat through the sketches unimpressed and spent half the time checking her watch.

On my visit this week, the show seems to have been revitalised somewhat. We have some new comedy scenes, Tina Turner impersonations, acts with a live Python, and of course the statuesque Oi is on stage in many of the scenes, to impress us with her sensuality. Unfortunately, the lady with the acrobatic talents, who could swing between the steel poles with the skill of a trapeze artist, appears to be missing. Still lots of entertainment, and a show well worth watching.

My date this night loved the show, she smiled and laughed throughout the comedy acts and appreciated the beauty of the costumes and the talents of the show girls and actors . She watched in awe as the girls descended from the overhead gantry, sliding down the chrome poles.

We decided to stay for the next show and watched as the go-go girls descended onto the stage. The go-go dancers at AngelWitch are amongst the hottest on Walking Street. I guess I was staring at one of the go-go dancers longer than I should have been. My date put her hand on my python. She leaned towards me and said I can see you like that girl!. I just smiled, but omitted to tell her that cuddling up to a '9' was already having a significant impact on my libido.

Great entertainment, well worth a visit.

Beers are Bt 150, soft drinks Bt 125.

Eye Candy at Candy Shop

We stopped at Candy Shop for a drink, and to listen to some live music. Thai girls love to hang out at this venue. I spotted a few young girls from Soi 6 bars, who had stopped by for an after work drink. This is the place they come to hook up with their friends and drink the Thai girls favourite beer, San Miguel Light.

The beers here are also Bt 150, and the selection of beers is very limited. Soft drinks Bt 120

Fine Diners on Soi 15

We decided to head home and made our way along Soi 15, one of my favourite streets in Pattaya. I often stop here for a late night snack, Soi 15 is packed with street food stands and restaurants. It's a great place to be if you want to be in the thick of the action. You can sit next to a welcome girl from Iron Club or Airport Go-Go, or maybe a go-go dancer wearing a satin robe, from Shark or Beach Club or one of the other clubs in the area, out for some sustenance between rotations.

I smiled, or maybe I was grinning, I'm not sure, as we wandered past Shark Club, Beach Club, AngelWitch, BabyDolls, Mistys, What's Up and all the other great clubs on Soi 15. Many good memories of evenings spent on this street. I had other pleasures in mind, as we made our way home. Another fun filled day in paradise was drawing to a close.

No Staying Powers

I decided to check out Powers, the new go-go bar above Champion A Go-Go on Walking Street. There's an upper window where a couple of coyote dancers provide some entertainment. There's a long stair case to the upper floor and there's a pool table at the top of the stairs. The main bar area is a large room that has several small stages. There is comfortable white leather seating, some bar stools and a collection of girls that looked a little disappointing. Surprisingly, there's nowhere to put your drink next to the sofas.

My request for a draught beer seemed to cause some confusion. The first girl didn't understand what I had asked for, so a second girl came over and took my order. She returned a moment later, to tell me they had run out of draught beer.

This didn't seem like a good way to start the evening and as there was nothing else to keep me there, I decided to leave and take may thirst elsewhere.

I will return in a week or two. Hopefully, the staff are more organised by that stage.

Dammed Good at Beavers

I negotiated the various impromptu entertainments that make Walking Street so enjoyable at night and headed for the nearest go-go bar for some refreshment. This happened to be Beavers, so I stepped inside.

Beavers is one of the few table dancing clubs that seems to work in my experience. I usually have some fun there, so I thought this might be a good place to refuel before continuing my evenings exploration.

There were about a dozen girls, two or three good looking girls, and about 7 or 8 customers. The uniform is an attractive red satin outfit, with a short pleated skirt and a bikini top, rather clumsy platform boots and knee length white stockings. The girls wore no panties but none were topless.

Then I saw there was one girl who was really hot. She had just started her rotation. I watched as she danced at each table, a couple of other girls approached me to chat, but I was so distracted by this beauty, that they soon realised their efforts were in vain.

I wanted to talk to this girl. I tried to make eye contact with her. I waited my turn, she stepped onto my table. The guy on the other side of the table, got her attention and was having fun interacting with her, he gave her money three times in the space of one song! I didn't get much chance to interact with her. The song ended, and I held out a hand to help her switch tables.

I switched tables and moved to her table, to sit closer. I was being watched, one guy gave me a thumbs up. I decided to try a different approach. Instead of reaching out to her, I would try to get her to come to me. I looked up at her, and talked to her. She couldn't hear what I was saying, so she bent down, to hear what I was saying.

She stopped dancing, we chatted for a few minutes, I soon realised there was a connection here. This girl could hold a conversation! I was fascinated.

I offered to buy her a drink. When it came she downed it in one gulp (tequila) then asked if she could join me (YEESSSS !!). At this point the other guys looked on, with interest. She turned to one of them and rebuked him. You forgot me!, she said. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

She came and sat next to me. We chatted and chatted, she told me how she used to work in a beer bar, and was very shy. Now she felt quite uninhibited and was proud of her magnificent body. She lifted up her skirt and proudly revealed her shaven pleasure passage, a bald beaver!

I was suddenly aware that the other men in the room were watching our little t?e-?t?e. Suddenly one of the guys got up and walked over towards us. He smiled and shook my hand, as if to say, I wanted this girl but I see you have her attention. He turned and walked out of the bar.

I was really interested in this girl. I asked if I could bar fine her. She said it was too late tonight (it was after 1:30 am). She explained that her 16 month old son lived with her and she had to be back by 3 am, so her sister could go home.

Wow, I was disappointed and impressed at the same time. Here's a Thai girl go-go dancer who hasn't taken the easy route and dumped her child on her parents. I know it's not easy for these girls when they're separated from their kids, but it seems to be a standard procedure for most of them. This girl had decided her child was important enough to arrange for a child minder to baby-sit her son every day, when she went to work, so she could always be with him. This was turning out to be one very interesting girl.

She promised to arrange for her sister to stay over the next night, so I could bar fine her. I await this evening's events with great anticipation!

Draft Beer Bt 55, Lady drinks Bt 120, Bar Fine Bt 600.

Super Busy at Super Girl

I am in the process of reviewing the go-go bars which make up my top ten list. It is almost a year since I drew up my list, and with so many great new clubs like Baccara and Iron Club, and some clubs changing hands, it seemed like it was time to decide which clubs will stay and which ones will get bumped by some of the newer clubs.

I had decided to visit SuperGirl on Soi Diamond, one of my old favourites even if the girls are not so friendly. As I was approaching SuperGirl, a tour group of about 30 Asian men was being herded into the club. I decided this was not a good time to check it out, and thought I would go visit SuperBaby as its surrogate, just across the street. Same owners, same style, haven't been there for a while, it's time I stopped by for another visit.

Super Excuses at Super Baby

I got there about 11:30 pm, and the club was not very busy. About 10 or 11 girls on the centre stage and the shower / bath area at the back was populated by four attractive girls, but no one seemed to notice. There were some very cute girls on stage, some of the hottest on the street, hardly a bad egg amongst them. A couple of 9's a bunch of 8's and the rest better looking than the girls at an average go-go bar. As I sat down, I looked into the eyes of one of the hottest girls in the club, I smiled at her. To my astonishment, she smiled back. I picked myself up off the floor and smiled at her again. She gave me another one of her captivating smiles. I offered to buy her a drink, she didn't respond at first. I repeated my request and she agreed.

This girl was not only hot, she was sweet and friendly too. I had just established that she was a local girl from Chonburi, pale skinned and exquisite, she had worked at SuperBaby for four months and had a 3 year old son. I was just about to enquire whether her magnificent breasts were completely real, when she started to clutch her stomach and say she was hungry. I thought maybe she was going to suggest I bar fine her and we go get something to eat. But no, she indicated she had her own food, and she disappeared to go fill up, leaving her drink almost untouched.

She reappeared just in time to start her dance cycle on stage. I counted the songs, .. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Ten songs! this is ridiculous! I am not a patient man, but this girl seemed worth waiting for. She had been on stage for over 30 mins. Finally she collected her bikini top, and headed off stage. But she disappeared in the crowd. I was surprised to see she was sitting with some other guys. I waited for a few more minutes, I waved to her to come join me, but she ignored me. I called over the mamasang, and explained the story. She spoke to her and got some story about thinking I didn't want her to sit with me. I protested that I was not going to pay for a lady drink for less than 5 mins of companionship, even with a hot girl, then kept waiting for 40 mins just to be dumped. Without a moments hesitation she pulled the second slip from the bin and told me I didn't have to pay for the lady drink. I paid up and made a hasty exit.

This behaviour is very unusual. There is a kind of agreement that the girl will sit with you till she has finished her drink. To walk away without finishing a drink is a broken promise, that gets go-go dancers and the club a bad name.

Beer is Bt 120 a bottle, no cheap draught beer at SuperBaby. Lady drinks are also Bt 120.

Super Fun at Windmill Club

I walked out into the street, wondering if I should check out SuperGirl on the opposite side of the street, when a very cute girl caught my eye. She had gorgeous long black hair, she was wearing a tight black dress and had the most beautiful long shapely legs. She was striding down Soi Diamond in a determined fashion. I followed behind wondering where she worked. She stopped outside Windmill to talk to one of the welcome staff. As I approached, I realised she was one of the hostesses. I said hello to her. She turned and as she recognised me, threw her arms around me and gave me a big hug. Welcome to Windmill !

I stepped inside, and felt like I was intruding on someone else's orgy. Windmill re-defined raunchy and interactive some years ago, and most other clubs have been trying to catch up ever since. Well tonight Windmill was clearly way out in front again. This was friendly, raunchy and interactive like you have never seen before. Girls were running around in various stages of undress offering various parts of their anatomy to anyone who was in the mood to interact. And tonight everyone was interacting. For most of the time I was there, there were only a few girls on stage. Meanwhile, there were more than 20 girls creating their own kind of fun with guys in various parts of the club. At one point some of the hostesses stripped off and got up on stage to make up the numbers. By the way, the dance cycle at Windmill is only 4 songs.

Windmill doesn't have the hottest girls on the street, but it does have the friendliest, most fun girls you will find just about anywhere. At most other clubs, girls will introduce themselves by holding out their hand. At Windmill, the girls will approach you, pull aside their bra and offer one or both breasts for you to fondle, or else will approach butt first, skirt raised to engage in some rhythmic gyration.

At around 2 am, several western couples wandered in, and sat down. After a few minutes in Windmill, even the stern looking elderly matrons were smiling from ear to ear. Once inside Windmill, all this debauchery seems like the most natural thing in the world. If you're feeling inhibited or a little stressed step inside Windmill for an instant cure!

Windmill has draught beer at Bt 75. The best value for money in town, considering the entertainment! Lady drinks are Bt 120.