A student at North Carolina State University has been arrested and charged with larceny for swiping some of those bright orange construction barrels from the road and creating what has been dubbed the "Barrel Monster". Joseph Carnevale, who also went by the handle "U Live and You Burn" before he was caught and his real name revealed, has made barrel art before (see gallery below), but none were so brash, or so big, as the Barrel Monster. Aside from being an artist, Carnevale also does graffiti and is an "Urban Explorer", which basically means he trespasses in all those cool places that citizens aren't supposed to go like construction sites, sewer drains and abandoned buildings.
He has also chronicled his exploits on a blog at nopromiseofsafety.com where he is currently soliciting compassionate parties to write on his behalf to the prosecutor. Let's hope the DA doesn't browse his blog, as it's filled with evidence of trespassing, vandalism and the like. Though some public property was damaged in the case of Carnevale's Barrel Monster, we do hope they let him off light. Frankly, most highways could use a Barrel Monster.
