Spotted Sandpiper just buggin' about on the log this evening.

Funk Overlord Maceo Parker at: Theater X-Net

Starring: Ida Rubinstein Belle Epoch Russian/Parisian beauty.
Read more about Ida in Sisters of Salome by Toni Bentley

Visit: Michael's Montana Web Archive
Theater, Art, Flash Gordon, Funky Music and MORE!
NEW! Spitfires of the Spaceways
Watch Dale Arden rescue Flash Gordon for a change!

Charity Alert: Keep that resolution in Springtime too! Click on The Hunger Site every day.

Sitemaster Sez: Italy stopped in TWICE to read about Natalia, the ice-skater -- they found her picture on the second try, but spent some time reading my other Late May/Early June entries. (Grazzi!) There was a Sell This House marathon on A&E, and we got a lotta lookers sneakin' into the wrong page again. (Tanya's in the May Archives!)

Media Watch: Sometimes reality is ugly -- the Haidditha massacre dominates the news lately. If you can't stand that kind of stuff, Celeb-reality started a new show on VH1 called Super Group -- Ted Nugent and Dave Mustaine, are in the cast, but I'm not watching those things any more. I am not really fond of Think You Can Dance?, either -- I don't mind seeing the GOOD dancers, but the rest is too painful to be entertaining. Simon Cowles' Inventor contest was the opposite of fun for me, but my wife was watching it, and there were moments she wanted to share -- that was cool, but I left the room right afterward.
Noam Chomsky was on CSPAN, speaking at West Point. Hostile speaker -- hostile crowd, but everyone acted reasonably politely to each other.

We Need Something Completely DIFFERENT: I've been in touch with Funkmeisters Gabe Gonzales and Greg Boyer through the magic of email. Greg is on the road with Maceo Parker RIGHT NOW around the Great Lakes. Gabe's in Detroit, waiting for the call to play with the 420 Funk Mob in New England this month -- these are members of George Clinton's P-Funk All-Stars stretching out on off-days. (Ex-members when they include Gabe.) By the way, check out George Clinton and Walter Cronkite tag-teaming Dope Dawg Decades at Huffington Post!



The 420 Funk Mob is a smaller ensemble that George Clinton's entourage of 20+ singers and players. Original Funkadelic Billy "Bass" Nelson is often on-hand, and Michael Hampton plays one of the LOUDEST guitars in creation. Greg Boyer has declared Gabe Gonzales to be one of P-Funk's best drummers. Michael "Clip" Payne usually leads the singing, but who knows who'll show up? Sometimes Ronald "Stozo da' Clown" Edwards is behind the mic! (FYI -- Jen Durkin used to sing for another great ex-Funkadelic, my friend Bernie Worrell.)