The weather in the Flathead Valley is still unseasonably cool. The new house overlooking Dry Bridge Slough needs a little yard work, but is ready for occupancy. All of our wild friends are waiting for our three cats and us.

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 reception for Abbrescia's Passion -- Plein Aire Paintings of Glacier National Park went well. Mark Ogle was brief and to the point in his praises of Joe -- much like a plein aire painting should be! The Artist/Wilderness Connection show at Big Mountain Resort was delayed until Monday, so I'm video-editing today.


(R to L) Photographer Lyle Olson and visitor Hy during the opening of Olson'sViews of India at the Hockaday Museum of Art

The weather in the Flathead Valley is now as cool as it is, say -- in early April. Not too long ago it was almost 100 degrees (F). I've bought a house overlooking a slough -- kind of a lake in an oxbow left behind by the Flathead River. The northern tip of the water is surrounded by Dry Bridge Park. All of our wild friends swim and play along our back yard again -- Ducks, Muskrat, Red Wing Blackbirds etc.

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: Abbrescia's Passion -- Plein Aire Paintings of Glacier National Park: Opening Reception TONIGHT! Celebrating the life and work of my late friend Joe Abbrescia. Fellow artist, and former competitor, Mark Ogle will speak at 4:00 p.m. on Joe's life and work. Lyle Olson will also be on hand to co-host the formal opening of his photographic exhibit: Views of India.
Tomorrow morning I'm putting up the annual Artist/Wilderness Connection show at Big Mountain Resort, along with the US Forest Service.
I'm also editing my college's Current Events video for Cable TV today.

Media Watch: NPR had a discussion about Otis Redding at the seminal Monterey Pop Festival, presented almost 40 years ago at the beginning of the famous (some say infamous) Summer of Love in nearby San Francisco. One point escaped the somewhat flippant interviewer -- Redding already had a significant audience among "white" music fans -- his incredible album Live In Europe, with an almost identical set, stands as proof. Wikipedia makes more accurate observations HERE.


Art imitates life, or is it the other way around?
(R to L) Wes Wilson, the prototypical San Francisco poster artist, was one of about a dozen brilliant commercial graphic designers whose work has defined Psychedelic Art. This is a copy of his poster for the Monterey Pop Festival, alongside a digital re-interpretation of a news photo from that same era.

The ultra-hot weather is staying away until later this Summer. Crews are trying to open the Going To The Sun Road in Glacier National Park, but that means snow and rock removal, plus they need to completely lay in some new roadbed in some VERY steep places which were wiped out by flooding last Autumn.

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 am setting up an art show later this week up at Big Mountain Resort along with the US Forest Service. The Hockaday Museum of Art co-sponsors a program called The Artist/Wilderness Connection where various people create music, writings, and other artworks in select getaways scattered in the woods. Every year we do a show with old and new pieces for the summer months in a public location.
There is a new Hilton Hotel opening in Kalispell, Montana near the end of this month. I will be part of TWO events there during the first week of its operation -- displaying more artwork, in conjunction with local artists and the Hockaday Museum, plus a gigantic seminar sponsored by Flathead Valley Community College where I'm going to oversee the equipment in almost half a dozen different rooms.

Media Watch: Speaking of Hilton -- heard that name over TV, Radio, and the Internet recently? (Thought so) I've said it before, but the "business of celebrity" seems to benefit the hangers-on, publicists, papparazzi etc. much more than the "objects" of the business. Some cases seem like a vortex destroying the person at the center, especially if they are young and vulnerable to the temptations of life.
And now for something COMPLETELY different -- P-Funk had a crazy weekend in their original home town of Plainfield, New Jersey and Long Island. The US Aviation system had a massive computer failure along the East Coast, and several members of the group couldn't travel to the gigs. It's a big band, and they covered their bases alright, but life on the road is still uncertain every day.
George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars Summer Scedule:
Jun. 22 - Summer Alive, Des Moines, Ia.
Jun. 23 - Country Club Hills, Chicago, Il.
Jun. 29 - San Javier, Spain
Jun. 30 - Athens, Greece
Jul. 1 - Hilversum, Netherlands
(About an hour south of Amsterdam.)
Jul. 3 - Istanbul
Jul. 4 & 5 - Dublin, Ireland
(Gotta tell Eavan, Roseanne, and Rachelle about THIS gig!)
Jul 6 - Copenhagen, Denmark
Jul. 10 - Ottawa Festival, Ottawa, Canada
(Footsbarn relative Tawa is living in Toronto now!)
Jul 22 - WDKX Birthday Bash, Rochester, NY
Jul. 26 - Oregon Gardens, Silverton, Or.
Aug. 4 - Dutchess Stadium, Fishkill, NY
Aug. 10 - Gathering of the Vibes, Bridgeport, Ct.
Aug. 11 - Santa Fe Muzik Festival, Santa Fe, NM
(Ex-FVCC student Morgan lives there!)
Aug. 16 - San Manuel Casino, Highland, Ca.
Aug. 17 - Orleans Casino, Las Vegas, NV
Aug. 18 - Greek Theatre, L.A., Ca.
(Let's hope for more Left Coast gigs after this.)
Aug. 31 - Ramshead, Baltimore, Md.


TAKE IT TO THE STAGE! One of the highlights of a P-Funk show is Atomic Dog, where the audience dances onstage with the band. This usually occurs three hours or so after their set begins. If there is an encore, they gear up after this extended party riff.
P-Funk in Las Vegas 2001, digitally re-interpreted from photos by LLLamar.