DAMN! It has been over a week since I've updated this thang -- guess it means I've been busy. There have been grazing Deer, flying Osprey (ready to migrate), and a hot day or two in the early Autumn coolness. I'm wearing layers in the mornings, and shed them during the day -- does that mean I'm naked right now? (Don't count on it.)

Sitemeter Sez: Visitors from Buffalo, New York; Noblesville, Indiana; Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Durango, Mexicali, and Guadalajara, Mexico; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Muravera, Italy (Sardinia actually); Calgary, Alberta; Mississauga, Ontario; Kuala Lumpur, Maylaysia; Los Angeles, California; Babylon, New York; Bronx, New York; Saint Paul, Minnesota; Clemmons, North Carolina; Caracas, Venezuela; Toronto, Ontario; Haverhill, Massachusetts; Niederrohrdorf, Switzerland; Jamaica, New York; Wadsworth, Ohio; Huntsville, Alabama; Rockville, Maryland; San Diego, California; Woodbridge, Virginia; Seattle, Washington and Bergerac, France (That's right, Cyrano's home town.)

Check out ROCK against Reaganomics at: 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 --Launching NOW! Outre Space Cinema -- Featuring: 1930's Rocketry, Spitfires of the Spaceways and Cellulose to Celluloid, Flash Gordon in the Saturday Matinees and Sunday Comics.





Many thanks to Jim Keefe (Visit his Website) -- the LAST Flash Gordon illustrator of the 20th Century, and Flash's first illustrator of the 21st, for his recommendations -- HERE!

Charity Alert: Check into Terra Sigilata blog -- donate $$$ to cancer patients just by clicking onto the site. Keep that Resolution to click on The Hunger Site every day.

In The Community: Current shows at the Hockaday Museum of Art include Rails, Trails, and A Road -- honoring the 75th Anniversary of Going To The Sun Road in Glacier National Park, plus Ace Powell -- Ace of Diamonds and Native American Interpretations from our permanent collection.
Museums & Music was fun -- I did a little work that day, but not much. We're getting ready for a visit by Charlie Russell scholars this upcoming week, plus the college started classes. NOW I know where all my time has gone!

Where Were We When We Last Met? -- Macbeth by Montana's statewide Shakespeare In The Park Players had some pretty good moments (especially the moment quoted below), but there was a COLD wind blowing from an earlier storm that damn near turned the audience blue. WE brought chairs, which helped, but gladly stood up to applaud the ending.

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

My favorite scene featured the Weird Sisters towards the climax of the play. These three beautiful young actresses delighted in masking their good looks -- then sang, danced, and brought a fair measure of fun to the grim tragedy. Here, they surround Macbeth as he seeks counsel from their treacherous dark lord in the sunset light at Flathead Valley Community College.

Media Watch: The 2008 Democratic Convention nominated one of the smartest men alive for President of the United States. Sen. Barack Obama chose old-line politician Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate. My professional acquaintance Brian Schweitzer helped fire up the crowd one night with a distinctive rant on Energy Independence. Obama's acceptance speech was given at Mile High Stadium to over 80,000 people and 30+ Millions of TV watchers in the U.S. alone.

Obama -- The president we were promised as kids!
Acceptance Speech: Video (YouTube) or Transcript (NPR)

More Media: Montana Public Radio ran an hour or so of interviews from Willie Nelson and members of his band -- sister Bobbie Nelson, Micky Raphael, Jody Paine, and especially Paul English, telling stories from their long years on the road, and how certain songs came to be written. I saw this same band over thirty years ago at De Paradiso when I lived in Amsterdam, and when I returned to America they had become stars, based on the merit of their work. It was good to see the so-called Generation Gap healing at the time -- Mr. Nelson was loved by young and old, as he is today! He is still one of the best five guitarists I've ever seen onstage -- unless you've been in his presence, you haven't heard the power of his playing.

Willie Nelson's nylon-stringed Martin N20 guitar. It was pretty banged up at the Paradiso way back when, and is even more work-worn now. Nelson makes this instrument BURN in a live concert!

Even MORE Media: To paraphrase Barack Obama -- Republicans can campaign, but can't govern. John McCain picked a small-town mayor from Alaska who is mid-way through her second year as Governor to be his Vice Presidential candidate. Sarah Palin is a former sportscaster and beauty pageant contestant, but mostly a big surprise, so THE MEDIA are all over this story, in contrast to Obama's thoughtful, inspiring call to action last Thursday.

(L to R) Shepard Fairey's now-famous image of Barack Obama, morphing into the mean-spirited McCan't to the almost-laughably shallow Palin, digitized from her Miss Wasilla 1984 picture, except she wears glasses now -- thus the 3-D specs.