Arts, Film & Events
Cutting a Rug with Moscow's Beloved Hippie Queen
Lois Blackburn: 75 Years of Kicking Ass and Taking Names
Auntie Em: Why don't you find a place where there isn't any trouble?
Dorothy: A place where there isn't any trouble. Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto?
I've learned a lot from The Wizard of Oz. I've learned that too often we confuse cowardice with wisdom, that we must pay attention to the man behind the curtain, that there's no place like home, and that there's no place on earth where there isn't any trouble. Most importantly, I've learned that "A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others." I thought about this on Friday night as I attended Lois Blackburn's standing room only birthday party in Moscow's historic 1912 Building. Lois has never sought trouble, but she's never run from it, either. And, if our hearts are judged by how much we're loved by others, then Lois has made the right choices. This is a salute to Moscow's Hippie Queen: Long may she reign!
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Days of Yore
Mischief Night: A History of Halloween EveAs kids growing up in Connecticut, we celebrated Mischief Night the eve of Halloween. Some called it Arson Night or Prank Night but it was mostly known as Mischief Night and it was as widely celebrated as Halloween itself.
It was a night dedicated to the fine art of toilet papering lawns, egging neighbors’ homes, lighting bags of leaves on fire, putting bologna slices on cars, and other generally benign prankery. (Except bolognaing cars, which will eat away car paint in perfect circles if the luncheon meat is left on overnight.)
Neighbors would open their front doors to quite a fright on Halloween morning, but it was so common an occurrence that they would laugh, sigh, shake their head and shout a congratulatory, “Top drawer, my friends!” as they pulled TP from their bushes.
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Contest: Pick my costume
Halloween Weekend Approaching and I Need a Costume
It’s convenient that Halloween is on a Wednesday, because folks can throw costume parties the Saturday before, which happens to be exactly what a bazillion people are doing.
Boise is full of Halloween activity this Saturday, and I’m a little nervous because I still don’t have a costume. Any suggestions for an easy, comfortable costume on the cheap are much appreciated.
I have a turtle costume I wore for the last three years (although one year I was a tortuga, which is Spanish for turtle). It is a good costume, but it might be getting a little played out by now, so I’m taking ideas for a new costume.
Here’s your chance to help: Offer costume proposals in the comments section below. Rules are simple: I need to be comfortable (sneakers), it needs to be inexpensive and it can’t be Larry Craig related, because that, too, will invariably be played out. I’ll pick a costume from your suggestions and the winner will get a NewWest.net T-shirt.
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The secret lives of strangers
Founders of Found Magazine Offer Glimpse into Lives of OthersThis is what I found on Wednesday night: The founders of Found Magazine on their national “There Goes the Neighborhood” tour at Boise’s Women of Steel Gallery.
Brothers Davy and Peter Rothbart, Found editors, are on the cross-country tour to celebrate and promote the release of the fifth issue of Found – the Crime Issue.
Found is a magazine collection of crap that people find: love letters, birthday cards, homework, to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, doodles – anything that gives a glimpse into someone else's life.
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Why Buy Local and Support a Sustainable Food System?
Northern Rockies Bioneers Conference Focuses on FoodThe Northern Rockies Bioneers Conference, held annually in Bozeman October 19-21 by the Bioregional Outreach Network (BORN), brings together progressive communities throughout the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem to consider a vast array of local issues and empower them to create real solutions.
This year, the Northern Rockies Bioneers Conference is focusing on local food by bringing together local and national experts and leaders in the food movement, including policy decision makers, growers and environmental groups, to talk about the real challenges that lie ahead of us. The conference stresses the importance of supporting local farmers and producers, based upon the notion that a sustainable food system is the best thing for both our environment and our communities.
“We decided to focus on food for a number of reasons, but mainly because the local food movement and sustainable food movement has a lot of power and interest in the community,” said Dean Williamson, director of BORN.
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Bronco Nation
Missed Sunday’s Wild BSU Game? Catch it Again on WednesdayThe Boise State Broncos did it again. Sunday night's football win against Nevada was an Instant Classic.
BSU beat the Wolfpack 69 to 67 in the fourth overtime, and the game set a record for most points in an NCAA Division I-A game with 136 total points.
If you missed the nail-biter, you can catch it when ESPN Classic will rebroadcast the whole game and four overtimes on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 6 p.m.
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this is thriller night
Halloween Haunts Offer Scary FunThere are three big haunted adventures in Boise every year around Halloween.
For the last several years I’ve gone to the Haunted Woods, a fundraiser for the Eagle Volunteer Firefighter Association .
For ten bucks a pop, the firefighters do a great job with their scare fest. But supposedly it is the least scary of the three haunts.
I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to flying surprise props and crazed actors attacking me in the middle of the night on a moderately worn path. But after a couple of years of the Haunted Woods, I was ready for a more frightening experience.
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many scenes too rude to mention
Monty Python’s SPAMALOT Tickets Go on Sale
Just ask a husband to go to a performance of “My Fair Lady” and note his facial expression, which will be universal for “oh please no don’t make me.”
Then ask him to accompany you to Monty Python’s SPAMALOT, the musical based on the film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”, and see what you get. My musical-loathing guy said yes.
If yours isn’t quite convinced, tell him there will be flatulent Frenchmen, killer rabbits, and a legless knight, live on stage.
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Celebrities getting arrested in Idaho
Rapper Lil Wayne Arrested in BoiseHip-hop rapper Lil Wayne was arrested in Boise on Saturday morning.
After his concert Friday night at Qwest Arena in downtown Boise, the 25-year old known for his 2005 album “Tha Carter II” was booked on a charge of felony fugitive to Idaho and sent to the Ada County Jail.
His mug shot is listed on the Ada County Sheriff’s web site of weekend arrests.
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First Friday Reception
NewWest.Net Hosts Melanie Gardner’s Drawing with Paint Oct. 5
NewWest.Net First Friday is back this month with a new show and we'll be hosting the reception Oct. 5 from 5-9 p.m.
So, drop by our office, warm up, chit chat about Western issues and raise a glass to the art of Melanie Gardner, who calls her art, "drawing with paint."
Who: Melanie Gardner
What: Good company, good art, good beer.
When: First Friday, October 5th, 5-9 p.m.
Where: New West offices, 415 N. Higgins (in the alley behind the Old Post).
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