Cold and rainy again -- it's that time of year. "April Showers" and all that ... We have a large stable population of Goldeneye Ducks on Middle Foy's Lake. The Canadian Geese are haunting Firehouse Pond with it's islands -- just right for nesting.

Footbarn's Celebration of Theatre: Theater X-Net

Starring: Ida Rubinstein Belle Epoch Russian/Parisian beauty.
Ida's Places in Paris -- from my first jet-lagged day by the Seine.
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: Make a Post-Equinox resolution to click on The Hunger Site every day.

In The Community: The Honors Symposium was tentative, but lively -- Dr. Holly Anderson spoke about Is There A Boy's Crisis In Education? One thing I am sure of is that the rigid teach-to-the-test ideologies embodied in the meaningless platitudes of No Child Left Behind are going to make more problems for all sexes. A new design for the Hockaday Museum of Art's Website is under way. I'm also assisting Prof. Christie Kabler with a presentation on perceptions of womenhood and witchcraft. (see below)

Funky News: It's Eddie Hazel's birthday today -- he was Funkadelic's original lead guitarist, and passed away in 1992 from stomach cancer.
George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars On Tour --
Apr 21 2007 8:00P Houston International Festival Houston, Texas
May 4 2007 8:00P Grant Street Lafayette, Louisiana
May 5 2007 8:00P The Republic New Orleans, Louisiana
May 8 2007 8:00P The Orpheum St. Louis, Missouri
May 9 2007 8:00P Crossroads Kansas City, Kansas
May 10 2007 8:00P House of Blues Dallas, Texas
May 11 2007 8:00P Stubbs Bar B Que Austin, Texas
May 12 2007 8:00P Soul Kitchen Mobile, Alabama
May 18 2007 8:00P Jannus Landing St. Petersburg, Florida
May 20 2007 8:00P The Neighborhood Charlotte, North Carolina
May 26 2007 8:00P Riverfest Little Rock, Arkansas
Jun 9 2007 8:00P Rythm and Blues Festival Plainfield, New Jersey
Jun 23 2007 8:00P Country Club Hills Chicago, Illinois
(Whirlwind) European Tour --
June 29 - San Javier, Spain
June 30 - Athens, Greece
July 01 - Hilversum. Netherlands
July 03 - Istanbul, Turkey
July 05 - Dublin, Ireland
July 06 - Tivoli, Denmark
July 07 - Embrum, France
"Back In The USA" (Mostly) --
Jul 10 2007 8:00P Ottowa Festival Ottowa
Aug 10 2007 8:00P Gathering of the Vibes Bridgeport, Connecticut
Aug 16 2007 8:00P San Manuel Casino Highland, California
Aug 17 2007 8:00P Orleans Casino Las Vegas, Nevada
Aug 18 2007 8:00P The Greek Theater Los Angeles, California

Media Watch: Trash A-Go-Go -- Dancing With The Stars is starting to shake out the good couples from the schlubs. Kym Johnson, Julliette Hough, and Cheryl Burke are doing better with their partners. Big Maxim still has a chance to improve. Tony Dovolani and his professional partner Elena Grinienko are stuck with a couple of stiffs. Ace soloist Edyta Slivynska didn't fool the judges -- her partner John Ratzenberger was caught flatfooted.
There have been a couple of gossip shows on BBC America about the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. The former went pretty easy on the 'Stones, but sketched a fairly accurate history of their early recording career. The latter wallowed too much -- especially in the dives of Hamburg. Klaus Voorman's eyewitness drawings were vivid and welcome enhancements to this show, though. They spent a lot of time speculating when they had plenty of sleazy facts to report. One important thing was rightly emphasized -- Brian Epstein was an indispensible element of the Beatles' success. When John Lennon heard about Epstein's death, he reportedly said, "We're Fooked!" Although I hate wallowing, I also think they painted too rosy a picture of Lennon's sojourn in Los Angeles during the early 70's -- he was a very troubled man at the time. His music went down the crapper, and he almost died from drug and alcohol abuse.


Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Lady Lilith -- amalgamating sensuous model Fanny Cornforth and demure Alexa Wilding. As Rossetti himself wrote:
Of Adam's first wife, Lilith, it is told (The witch he loved before the gift of Eve,) That, ere the snake's, her sweet tongue could deceive, And her enchanted hair was the first gold.
And still she sits, young while the earth is old, And, subtly of herself contemplative, Draws men to watch the bright web she can weave, Till heart and body and life are in its hold.
The rose and poppy are her flower; for where Is he not found, O Lilith, whom shed scent And soft-shed kisses and soft sleep shall snare?
Lo! as that youth's eyes burned at thine, so went Thy spell through him, and left his straight neck bent And round his heart one strangling golden hair.