Welcome Perugia Italy, Staten Island, and Salt Lake City -- they were looking for (the great) Oriana Fallaci, Phillip Wynne of P-Funk & the Spinners, and Rauch Records/Speedway Cafe, in that order. Here in Montana, it's rain with snow in the higher altitudes. Our water birds are ready to migrate.

Footbarn's Celebration of Theatre: 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 as Autumn rushes toward us! Click on The Hunger Site every day.

In The Community: Reception for Ed Gilliland on Thursday September 21 at the Hockaday Museum of Art.

Media Watch: I once read an odd book in the 60's called The Motorcycle. There wasn't much to it, besides the tale of a leather-wearing young European woman riding to see her lover in another country. In 1968, Marianne Faithful made a movie based on the novel which was advertised as Naked Under Leather in Salt Lake, when it was new. It's showing on the satellite/cable as Girl On A Motorcycle, and is still a pretty dull flick. I couldn't stand to see more than a few minutes of it, then or now. It is rated "Mature" for "Strong Sexual Content" and "Nudity," but I've seen neither -- so far. Here's a digital pic from a contemporary poster which circulated much more widely than the film:



Speaking of leather-clad ladies: From Factmonster.com: On September 13, 2006, the IAU announced the official name of the object formerly known as Xena. The new name, which had been submitted by Michael Brown, (who originally proposed the names Xena and Gabrielle) is Eris, the Greek goddess of strife or discord. Eris's moon is now Dysnomia, daughter of the goddess Eris, spirit of lawlessness. The goddess Eris is most famous for having started the Trojan War after being snubbed at a wedding. Not having been invited with the rest of the gods and goddesses, she tossed a golden apple into the crowd of guests inscribed kallisti, or "for the prettiest." This led to an argument among the goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite over which deserved the apple. Matters escalated ... This seems appropriate for the name of a object which sparked intense debate among astronomers and the general public about the definition of a planet, leading to Pluto getting kicked out of the club amidst vocal protests. (In more recent mythology, Eris is the central figure in Discordianism, and a recurring character on the Cartoon Network's The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. Appropriately she also appeared, as "Discord," on Xena: The Warrior Princess.)


If Dysnomia is the patron goddess of those who are lawless, here's her protege Lucy Lawless, with her stunt-double Zoe Bell, both wearing the famous leather garb of Xena, Warrior Princess. Newly-named Eris and Dysnomia are in the upper corner. Hail DISCORDIA, and the ALL-Seeing Eye!

Welcome Galloping Green and Dublin Ireland! Auvergne, France cruised by for a visit too -- that's Footsbarn's region. Milan Italy searched the archives for Trashtown, but that happened last winter in Amsterdam, Holland.
The rain continues, with snow in the higher altitudes. It was dark enough this morning to keep my speed low, in case the Deer ran in front of me. The Ducks are flocking together by the dozens on Middle Foy's Lake.

Footbarn's Celebration of Theatre: 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 as Autumn rushes toward us! Click on The Hunger Site every day.

In The Community: I am ready to print the first edition of Masques On Parade -- my digital watercolor created from Footsbarn photos. It is due at the Hockaday Museum of Art next week for the Autumn Salon. We'll be having a reception for Ed Gilliland on Thursday September 21.

Media Watch: TV, or not TV,
-- that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?
(Turn that damn TV thing OFF!)
-- To die, --to sleep, --No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to,--'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die,--to sleep;-- To sleep! perchance to dream:--ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life;
(Must of fallen asleep myself -- that guy's still droning on...)
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despis'd love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? who would these fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death,-- The undiscover'd country, from whose bourn No traveller returns,--puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought; And enterprises of great pith and moment, With this regard, their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action...

Aww -- Let's see Footsbarn in action instead:


Mad "Dr. Noillie" has big plans for Homo Haereticus in Footsbarn's play of the same name. Maybe she should consult with him FIRST! (Unh-uh, the play isn't named Dr. Noillie, and it doesn't have anything to do with Dr. No by Ian Fleming.) At the back; Left to Right: Dr. Josephine, Dr. Muriel, and Dr. Carol.

Welcome back, Dublin! It is overcast and rainy here -- putting those %$#@! forest fires out. My Tomatos are wrapped up against the cold, but our trip to the Dahlia farm was sad -- they had a crop failure this year because of mis-applied farm chemicals. On our way home, we watched a half-dozen Whitetail Deer, with three spotted Fawns grazing just off the road in the Foy's Lake neighborhood. The Ospreys are gone, but Eagles are still hunting over the lake.

Footbarn's Celebration of Theatre: 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 as Autumn rushes toward us! Click on The Hunger Site every day.

Media Watch: Right-wing propagandist _ucker Carlson was the first one voted off Dancing with the Stars. Unreasonably smug Sara Evans, associate of politician/criminal Tom Delay, finished out of the bottom three because singer (and competent dancer) Wila Ford was so obnoxious, I think. Jerry Springer is like another Master P -- no talent, no interest in learning, no business being on the show at all.
I guess I should say why I hate people like Carlson and Evans so much. There is room in this big world for disagreements among people, but these people aren't about disagreements, they are about the use/misuse of economic power.
Evans is a disgrace to my family name because she supports Delay in using their hypocritical version of Christianity as a cover for bribery, theft, and a long list of other crimes that starve, hurt, and ruin the lives of countless people -- including American troops in the field. She is soberly aware of the immorality of her actions, but defiantly supports the powerful few who benefit from looting our society.
Carlson is a prototypical fool, with official favor, who makes a living by telling the public that all these crimes aren't really crimes because of the names of the people committing them, and that people shouldn't worry because there's nothing they can do to stop his powerful employers anyway -- reality and truth are the private property of billionaires, so just suck it up, like he does.

Gawd! I'm glad THAT'S done -- somebody say something about dancing?


Noka Neba from Bosnia rock an all-world audience in Central France. Those are my friends Puja and Eavan, front and center, rockin' with the best of 'em.

Dublin came by yesterday and looked at some Footsbarn pictures. (See my ancestral meditation below.) We still have maturing Ducks on Middle Foy's Lake -- they hatched very late in the summer. The weather report says I have to wrap up my Tomato plants again, because it's going to be colder -- this also means a trip to the Dahlia farm for the last of their fresh flowers!

Footbarn's Celebration of Theatre: 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 as Autumn rushes toward us! Click on The Hunger Site every day.

Media Watch: I finished The Story of English, which led me to contemplate my ancestors -- My mother was All-Norwegean, both of her parents immigrated to Salt Lake City from Oslo, Norway during WWI along with thousands of other Mormon converts. My father's side of the family was already in Utah by then -- Joseph Howells Evans and his wife emigrated from Llanelly, Wales in the 1850's. My great-grandfather Johnathan Evans was the first of their many children to be born in Salt Lake, and he married Janet Buchannan, a true Scotswoman from Rothsey. Their son Thaddeus wedded Iris Rhodes, who contributed an All-American mix of German, English, and Swiss-Jewish genes to my family. (I am related to both George Washington and Cecil Rhodes through her lineage, as well as some Silversteins and Mangelds.) I may have some Irish blood in me via the northern seaways.
My Viking ancestors founded the city of Dublin, but they oppressed the countryside terribly. Welsh and Scots are Celtic cousins to the Irish, but their pedigrees are distant. I wouldn't be surprised if the Rhodes/Rhoades branch of the family sent a tap root into Ireland, but I don't know.

I shouldn't really watch cheesy trash like Dancing with the Stars, but I did -- Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith showed some talent, as did young actor Mario Lopez. The former danced with champion Cheryl Burke, the latter with a dark beauty from Russia named Karina Smirnoff -- she has a Slavic name, but I bet her ancestory is Persian, or somewhere else east of the Caucasus. I also threw in one vote each for teams Viveca Fox/Nick Kosovich & Joey Lawrence/Edyta Sliwinska. The first because Ms. Fox was the only woman "star" who showed some swing. The second because Ms. Sliwinska is a dynamite soloist, her young "star" partner wasn't bad (she drew George Hamilton last time), and they went first -- facing the risk of being forgotten by viewer-voters.
ABC's spineless cringing to right wing extremists showed in their choice of a couple of zero-ability conservative flacks as "stars." Social polluter Jerry Springer was another turd in the punchbowl.

Let's go someplace sane:


Our crew at Footsbarn was the best! Four of our hearties are pictured here: (L to R) Denise, her ever-present puppy dog, Claire, Sylvain, and Robin are putting the finishing touches on the Plein Aire Theatre.

Hiya Dublin! Always good to see you drop by. A small herd of Whitetail Deer were grazing around in my yard at sunrise today, led by a big buck with tiny, spikey antlers. The Autumnlike weather is pleasant, but there is still a light haze from forest fire smoke.

Footbarn's Celebration of Theatre: 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 as Autumn rushes toward us! Click on The Hunger Site every day.

Media Watch: The National Football League's season began this weekend. I saw my friend Bernie Worrell playing with Hank Williams Jr. on Monday Night Football, along with Bootsy Collins, Little Richard, Joe Perry, and other musicians in an all-genre band. Peyton Manning's team defeated Eli Manning's team in the first-ever matchup of Quarterback brothers in a professional game. Names and faces have switched around on the pre-game shows, Mad TV's Frank was on, but we may not see Jillian this season.
The diversion of Football helped America in many ways over the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks -- one of which was burying the ratings of a slanderous propaganda film sponsored by right-wing thugs Richard Mellon Scaife, David Horowitz, Loren and David Cunningham -- some the same people responsible for social pollution like Ann Coulter. I hope the libeled parties sue the Hell out of these perpetrators.
BTW -- the word "thug" refers to a historical group who committed crimes under the pretense of religion. This term is very appropriate for those who are turning America into "Amerika."

Getting away from that "Amerika" crap --


My friend Patrick (Paddy) Haytor leads Footsbarn by example -- during a parade he is NOT afraid to get right up next to the citizenry, or even ride in their cars!

Greetings to my readers in Dublin. Sitemeter says you're visiting regularly, so I've got something special for you in the photo section. The Blue Jays showed up at our box feeder yesterday -- a beautiful pair of blue-feathered, crested birds, obviously looking for peanuts. (You'll get 'em soon!) The weather has been dry and warm, but today's air wasn't near as smokey as other days' have been.

Footbarn's Celebration of Theatre: 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 as Autumn rushes toward us! Click on The Hunger Site every day.

Media Watch: Ridiculous to sublime today --
Ree-diculous! George White's Scandals of 1935 on TCM -- looked like it might have been made earlier than that date. Scandals was a bizarre flick by any standard. Alice Faye and Eleanor Powell both did the same unvarying schtick they'd later do throughout their movie careers. Ned Sparks played his perennial "crab" character. There were over a dozen musical standards which had been introduced in the real, long-running Scandals revue -- a show which played Broadway, and stayed on the road from the 20's until well after WWII. White's focus was Burlesque -- not Minsky's version, but still recognizable by it's low-grade, sentimental jokes, and the decked-out chorines acting as Scandals' stock-in-trade. They had a three-piece curtain that came in from the left, right, and above -- when it came together, there was an Art Deco bon mot in the middle with three live chorus girls smiling and posing in each section.
As a matter of fact, when the old railroad-town theater circuit faded away, the various principals went to work in places like Las Vegas, Miami Beach, or wherever the girlie shows lasted. The movie's production numbers owed a lot to Busby Berkeley, and there was even an intentional satire of Merriam C. Cooper's Carioca from Flying Down to Rio.
I am fond of another 30's backstage flick called Murder At The Vanities, but I haven't seen it since 1990 -- it features a straight-faced version of Cocktails For Two, made famous by Spike Jones' parody, which was played for two or more generations by Dr. Demento. That whole film is excruciating!
Sublime -- Tehanu by Ursula K. LeGuin -- there is more beneath the surface of this little fantasy book than I could fathom, but she had me in tears at times. The setting is Earthsea, but cruelty and horror leaven the tale -- without magic most of the time. There isn't much of either, but she doesn't need an awful lot to make dread and fear so palpable the readers can taste it themselves. Age and loss are major themes as well, including the dues we pay for choices we make as we live. The two main characters from Earthsea's finest book, The Tombs of Atuan, are reunited in the story, but their pre-existing identities aren't all that important compared to the gut-wrenching conflicts they endure on the underbelly of their fantastic world. Magic plays a small part, but brings a lot of trouble along with it.
Ms. LeGuin has been a literary and emotional gift to the S-F genre, and I'm glad to be alive while she is writing. My boss lent me her copy of Tehanu, so I'm giving her a bookplate autographed by the author in thanks.

Theater/Theatre: I'm sending this blog back to Footsbarn -- we need a laugh!


(Clockwise left to Right) Sister Rhonna, Sister Roseanna, Sister Clara, and Sister Beatrice warm up their pipes for a turn around the Midway on James' Velocycle, led by Father Seamus, jive-ass extraordinaire.