Skunk on the back deck, merrily sniffing around the sliding glass door and eating sunflower seeds which fell from the bird feeder. The cats were quiet, and so were we -- but we put up a lattice barricade on the bottom step the next morning.

Footbarn's Celebration of Theatre: Theater X-Net

Starring: Ida Rubinstein Belle Epoch Russian/Parisian beauty.
NEW! Ida's Places in Paris, from my jet-lagged first 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: Keep that resolution as Autumn settles in! Click on The Hunger Site every day.

In The Community: The Hockaday Museum of Art is hosting two authors this Friday night -- I'll be keeping an eye on the audience. Still reving up for that brown-bag lecture at Flathead Valley Community College Monday, October 23, 2006 about Footsbarn Theatre and France. Our Theater Department also wants me to talk about "In-Tents" technical details concerning Footsbarn 35 during their Intro class one of these afternoons.

Media Watch: More Silly Trash -- Dancing With The Stars' fan voters screwed another good dancer in favor of a bad one. Jerry Springer stayed and Willa Ford was booted off. She might have been personally obnoxious, but she danced well, and was getting better all the time. The two WORST female dancers remain on the show -- Monique and Sara. Respectively, they have Louis and Tony as partners though!

Let's get away!


The Plein Aire stage at La Chausse is one step further along towards completion as Nicholas, Francois, and Sophie finish the assembly of it's lighting super-structure. (I was trucking back and forth from Volvic that day, so I shot this after they were done.)

I got an email from one of my Dublin friends! She was doing a play, and I hope the recruiters from the National Theater were there to see it. Our weather goddess seems to have chosen WARM for Autumn so far. The Yellowstone area got snow, but it's above 8000 feet (2500 + meters) on average. Birds are getting drunk from the berries in the front yard.

Footbarn's Celebration of Theatre: Theater X-Net

Starring: Ida Rubinstein Belle Epoch Russian/Parisian beauty.
NEW! Ida's Places in Paris, from my jet-lagged first 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: Keep that resolution as Autumn settles in! Click on The Hunger Site every day.

In The Community: Two authors reading at the Hockaday Museum of Art this Friday night -- I'll be babysitting the audience. I'm reving up for the noontime brown-bag lecture at Flathead Valley Community College on Monday, October 23, 2006 about Footsbarn Theatre's 35th Anniversary.

Media Watch: Pure Trash Department -- Dancing With The Stars' public voting riff can upset things pretty dramatically. Sara Evans' posse keeps her on the show despite her obvious lack of ability. There's a lot of Country Music fans out there, and she plays 200 shows a year (almost two out of every three days), but I hate her association with the KKKristian Koalition and that lousy criminal Tom Delay. Jerry Springer's continuing presence is a serious indictment of fan voting too -- he sure gets away with a lot by acting funny.
The show lost actress Viveca A. Fox, a capable dancer, because of their system, and they are seriously under-stocked with competitive female celebs this season. The best couples feature Joey, Mario, and Emmitt (who finally relaxed last night and showed how good he can be).
Mario and Karina have the most talent by far, but the judges SEEM to be putting brakes on them to create the illusion of a contest.

Close to Home --


(Left) Jasmine our Calico Cat has stolen Buttercup's purple pillow, and the little Golden Tabby is NOT happy about it. (Right) Merry Gold, the big male, may have his opinion, but he's not saying anything.

I'm back, Dublin! As the weather tries to figure out how warm or cold Autumn's going to be this year, the Deer are hiding from hunters in my neighborhood.

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 settles in! Click on The Hunger Site every day.

In The Community: The opening of our Members Only! Autumn Salon at the Hockaday Museum of Art is actually NEXT Thursday. I'm still doing that noontime brown-bag lecture at Flathead Valley Community College on Monday, October 23, 2006 about Footsbarn Theatre's 35th Anniversary -- all those photos I've posted will be used in the Power Point presentation.

Theater/Theatre: For a change -- my friend Katie Duck in Amsterdam, plus her friend/dancing partner Makiko Ito from Tokyo at Studio 7, Eerste Nassaustraat 7

Makiko Ito / December 2-3 (sat-sun) /13:00-17:00 / Performance improvisation / 50 EU

This workshop is aimed at Performance Improvisation for group work. Focus is placed on dancing from spatial tension - “Ma” - meaning “in between” for example: wall to wall, wall to performer, performer to performer, public to performer, public to public, past to present, present to imagination.
The key phrase for this work is “something created from behind”.
I will use exercises, games and structures in order to help guide the dancer toward a creative, spatial vocabulary while maintaining a focus on group work. My concern is for the dancer to be able to since the space in a way which allows for the ensemble to merge creatively without compromising individual integrity.
This workshop will end with a showing at the OT301

Katie Duck / December 27-31 (wed-sun) / 13:00-17:00 / improvisation 120 EU

The content of this workshop is geared toward performing (dance or actors) artists and musicians who are interested in amplifying live time in a performance space and practicing interdisciplinary art activities. The aim is to provide a situation where performers and musicians can grow in confidence in how they perform in real time. The workshop contains warm-up, lessons around body (brain) awareness and composition with a daily improvisation session. www.katieduck.com
Feelings of pain or pleasure, or some quality in between, are the bedrock of our minds. We often fail to notice this simple reality because the mental images of the words and sentences that describe them use up so much of our overburdened attention. But there they are, feelings of myriad emotions and related states, the continuous musical line of our minds, the unstoppable humming of the most universal of melodies that only dies down when we are occupied by joy, or a mournful requiem when sorrow takes over ..... Antonio Damasio


Extraordinary dancer Katie Duck from clips available on http://justinmorrison.net -- that's Makiko's face in the blue frame, along with Vincent Cacialano.
Original videos by Justin Morrison (blue) and Alex Fischer (b&w)

Hi Dublin! I'm back at work from Fort Collins, Colorado, and we're not planning on going anywhere until Spring, at least. That means this blog will still be written from the "Northern Border" for the time being. One of our greatest pleasures was seeing the Pronghorn Antelope herds in Wyoming and Northern Colorado. The weather turned rainy on the way back and it may snow soon. There were Mule Deer in Colorado, and plenty of Whitetails to see when we got back to Montana -- lots of Eagles and Hawks along the entire route as well.

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 settles in! Click on The Hunger Site every day.

In The Community: The opening of our Members Only! Autumn Salon at the Hockaday Museum of Art is this Thursday. I'm also doing a noontime brown-bag lecture at Flathead Valley Community College on Monday, October 23, 2006 about Footsbarn Theatre's 35th Anniversary -- all those photos I've posted will be used in the Power Point presentation.

Media Watch: NFL Football -- excellent game between Philadelphia and Dallas. The Eagles' quarterback Donovan McNabb stood tall and played hard. His defense held the Cowboys to only three points in the second half -- sacks and interceptions create victories.
Book TV -- I mentioned this just before I left, but it was on again:The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban by Sarah Chayes. Why did she GO to a reactionary backwater like Kandahar? Why does she STAY there? She said words to the effect that what she is doing isn't rational, but if a dialogue is even possible between the West and Islam it needs to occur there. I pray for God to bless her and keep her safe!
(From Book TV): Sarah Chayes discusses what life is like in Kandahar, Afghanistan after almost five years since the fall of the Taliban. Ms. Chayes, who first arrived in Afghanistan as a reporter and then joined a non-profit organization in Kandahar in 2002, argues that the current government of Afghanistan is ineffective and corrupt and the security situation in the country is getting progressively worse. She also talks about the status of women in the country, the rise of opium production, the growing power of the Taliban, and her relationship with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The event was hosted by the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC.
Author Bio: Sarah Chayes was an overseas correspondent for NPR from 1997 to 2002, during which time she reported from several different countries. After her NPR assignment in Afghanistan ended in 2002, she joined Afghans for Civil Society, a non-governmental organization started by Qayum Karzai (President Hamid Karzai's older brother). For more information on Afghans for Civil Society, visit www.afghansforcivilsociety.org.
Ugly and extremely ironic Book TV -- Gregg Jackson's Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies. Supposed comebacks to "liberal claims about abortion, the Clinton administration, and weapons of mass destruction." Jackson piled his self-serving bullshit on top of putrid GOP propaganda in front of high school kids at an Eagle Forum event -- extremists on our so-called right abuse America's children in very many ways.

Enough of that -- it's Footsbarn time again!


(Left to Right) Francoise, Sylvain, Nicholas, Nellie, Thomas, Paddy, and Julie are in the midst of setting up the Plein Aire stage at La Chaussee when they realize that we are dealing with two incompatable types of girder assemblies. We will soon solve the problem by swapping girder sections from the main tent.
(Not pictured) I am shooting photos during this all-French discussion, while Paddy's nephew Hans sits around, bored out of his skull. Clara is away, but bringing a vehicle to the site. Problems like this do not occur after Napo the tentmaster arrives a day or two later.

Hey Dublin! (and the World at large) I'm running off to Fort Collins, Colorado for a ten-day "vacation" this afternoon -- Helena, Montana tonight, Casper, Wyoming tomorrow, and Fort Collins on Friday. Wish us good weather, Eagles flying, and lack of Deer running across the roads.

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 settles in! Click on The Hunger Site every day.

In The Community: I'll be back in time for the opening of Members Only! Autumn Salon at the Hockaday Museum of Art.

Media Watch: Noam Chomsky on CSPAN, talking about his book Empire and Survival --scary stuff. Our great linguistics professor does not really hate Amerika -- just the bad things done in our country's name. (Too bad there's so many of them.)
Ex-newscaster Sarah Chayes was speaking on CSPAN too, plus guesting around the Mainstream Media about her book The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban. She actually LIVES in that terrible place now, helping the common Afghani people cope with overlapping Warlords, Drug Lords, and the resurgent Taliban. I'm sad to see that times are getting more dangerous for her, and all well-meaning people there.
I taped Jean Cocteau's two most famous movies from TCM last night: Beauty and the Beast, and Orpheus. I will testify that those films were major aesthetic influences on my life.
Cocteau was a friend and patron of Ida Rubinstein. He was smittem by her beauty during Paris' Belle Epoch She later produced HIS first version of the Orpheus legend -- From Ida's Website: Orphée (1926) -- A mime-drama by Jean Cocteau, Music by M. Arthur Honegger, Costumes by Alexander Golovin, performed at the Paris Opera. (Based on original works by Roger-Ducasse and Alexander Ziloti in 1913-14)
Cocteau's movie was made the same year I was born, and is a visually stunning, but very uncomfortable parable about a man who becomes obsessed about a mysterious dark-haired woman who is literally his own death. I know Orpheus contains references to many things in Cocteau's world, but I don't know what they are -- try Wikipedia for a start.

Footsbarn in Action!


Rosanna, Rachelle, and Rhonna prepare for the great Puca Ritual.

As always, greetings to Dublin. The warm sunny Autumn weather here feels like the phenomena we call "Indian Summer" in America. We see Deer anytime of the day or night or anyplace lately, including our driveway.

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 settles in! Click on The Hunger Site every day.

Media Watch: Monsters & the Curse of Frankenstein was mostly gossip. Say what you will about irresponsible Godwin, Shelly, Byron, and the wreckage they made of their families -- they were very creative people in a reactionary society which feared all creativity in the wake of the French Revolution. Mary W. Shelly's unhappy life resulted in not only the first Science Fiction novel, but her labors for Byron, and on behalf of her doomed husband as an editor, were indispensable in preserving some of the greatest English poetry of the 19th Century.
To me, one of the saddest aspects of her hard years trying to achieve proto-Victorian respectability was that it extinguished the inner fires which forged new visions for our world. She did it because of need, as a good mother, and I can only fault her society. Her only surviving son was noted as an unimaginative ultra-conformist by his contemporaries.
That's it for the book Monsters! The following notes are from other reading: Both Lord Byron's and Shelly's lineages ended before Queen Victoria's passing.
Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Frankenstein share a family tree with the Computer! Mary Wollstonecroft Shelly's half-sister Claire Claremont bore a child by Lord Byron. She was present during the "Haunted Summer" of 1816 when Frankenstein's monster emerged from Mary's imagination.
Byron's companion Dr. John Poldori created an irresistible but evil gentleman Vampyre that season, who was obviously modeled from the amoral peer in Poldori's Gothic novel of the same name -- the same literary archetype who re-emerged as Count Dracula and Lestat de Lioncourt.*
Byron's only legitimate daughter Ada Lovelace grew up to became a friend of the brilliant scientist Charles Babbage. She is often given credit as being one of the first computer programmers, based upon her writings that described applications for Babbage's seminal Difference Engine. She lived her entire life in a repressive aristocracy which punished her socially for whatever achievements she made. After she died from cervical cancer, her son was sent away by his father and perished at sea, extinguishing the Byron line.

*For the sake of clarity, I'm skipping any analysis of Sapphic vampire Carmilla in the excellent story by LeFanu circa 1872.

It's Footsbarn Picture Time!


(Right) Dr. Noilie nearly loses her mind in the wake of the "utter disaster" wrought by her Homo Haereticus experiment. (Left) Joe the Entrepeneur leads benumbed Vincent the Mayor aside.