Still hot, but milder than yesterday. Ravens are haunting the grounds of the Hockaday Museum -- trying to scam some squirril food no doubt.

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 resolution as Summer approaches to click on The Hunger Site every day.

In The Community: Lyle Olsen's Views of India at the Hockaday Museum of Art. The late Joe Abbrescia's plein aire paintings of Glacier National Park are going up starting Monday.


View from lower Going To The Sun Road
by Joe Abbrescia (1936-2005)

TOO hot for this time of year -- praying for some rainfall. The Killdeer are setting up their nests -- sometimes called Plovers, they are cheery, ground-dwelling birds that resemble little barber poles.

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 resolution as Summer approaches to click on The Hunger Site every day.

In The Community: I got Lyle Olsen's Views of India hung at the Hockaday Museum of Art. He covers holy men, common worshippers, and the stark contrasts of very rich and desperately poor in the vast subcontinent via his photographs.

Media Watch: Forty years ago today -- Sgt. Pepper was the disc to play! Unlike much of the USA, we heard it all over the AM stations in my hometown of Salt Lake City. The Summer of Love was in full swing in San Francisco, and the breezes of the REAL 60's were blowing through dusty corners of the universe like Utah. My friend Michael G. Cavanaugh played A Day In The Life every night on KCPX Radio that summer, allowing the long final fading chord to rumble on for almost a minute.
Whatever else might have happened, the standards of Popular Music rose to much higher levels after Sgt. Pepper. The powers-that-were tried to slow things down or exert their control, but lowly record buyers like me went out looking for more albums which were creative and stimulating. Groups like the Incredible String Band and Moody Blues found their audiences. The rough and tumble Velvet Underground & Nico was a masterpiece in it's own right. Previously-neglected artists like the Doors and Buffalo Springfield (Neil Young + Steven Stills) were rediscovered, and unknowns like Jimi Hendrix and Cream became stars by the next year. All this ferment had been bubbling for years, but Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band remains a special vintage on the shelves of recording history.


Within the same year, Frank Zappa put out We're Only In It For The Money, an incisive, but sneering, satire about counter-cultural delusions. He used Sgt. Pepper's basic cover design, but literally turned it inside-out!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes -- I've moved away from Middle Foy's Lake. I saw a mother Duck and her Ducklings while packing, and a pair of Loons last Saturday!

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 resolution as Summer approaches to click on The Hunger Site every day.

In The Community: The Hockaday Museum of Art's Spring for Glacier Auction in Glacier National Park was a million laughs. We made some money for the non-profits, and everybody had a good time, even though we worked 'till 'way late, and gab'd on and on 'till even later.

Media Watch: I'm promoting my friend Joan Merwyn's new show on Daily Kos. It has a political theme, plus it's better than cussin' and moanin' about thangs! Here's what I'm saying:
SEE this show if you can get to Providence RI -- I'm stuck in Montana. Joan Merwyn is nearly six feet of skill, energy, and clarity who has a new production ready for the boards, which I do not hesitate to recommend to all East Koast Kossaks.


(L to R) Joan Merwyn as I drew her in Bari Rolfe's mask workshop, and in Still Life, SHIFTINGS -- MONEY MATTER$ digitally redrawn from an original photo by Andrew Hammer

Joan’s new work is called DISSENT! and will be presented on June 9th at Perishable Theatre in Providence, RI. --- part of a program called Dancestravaganza with other Modern Dance and Movement pieces -- 95 Empire Street, Providence RI 401-331-2695
DISSENT! Questions the notion of patriotism within the contemporary climate of war in Iraq. Exploring the impact of civilian casualties on an ancient civilization, Merwyn creates haunting and provocative images of the consequences of this war, accompanied by a blazing, rock and roll sound track.
DISSENT! Created and Performed by: Joan Merwyn
Artistic Consultant: Stephan Geras
DISSENT! is a reflection / meditation on the impact of innocent civilian casualties, which are now 80-85% of all casualties in Iraq. The majority of these casualties are children. Let's compare this to WW1, when soldiers were the majority killed, at a ratio of 10 to 1. In WW2 it was 50 / 50. Civilian casualties have increased more and more with each successive war. Keep our troops safe. Bring them home now and find diplomatic solutions to this crisis.

"All wars are wars on children"
Howard Zinn

Joan says: This performance is dedicated to the loving memory of Rhoda Klitzner Bailey, artist, mentor and devoted friend. She encouraged me to develop this piece. For more information, please go to www.joanmerwyn.com