Bloglander

Checking out this month's First Friday festivities? Use this handy map to plot your way. Click on the markers to see what's showing where.

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A few months shy of a year, it seems that Edward Gilmore's plans to become the next big Spokane art gallery have fizzled (read our story on the Studio 66 Gallery opening here). The house painter turned fine artist posted this on his Facebook page last week:

"With great regret Studio 66 is closing there doors as of today! Thanks for the great times and to all the supporters the name will live Studio 66 and when the time is right it will be back. This was a blind side thing and we are not happy but the world is not perfect and Spokane is a hard place to survive. We will keep you informed. Thanks again for all the support."

We'll continue to follow this story as we hear more about what caused the gallery's sudden closure.

UPDATE: After reaching Gilmore, he insists that Studio 66's closure is not final — he's simply looking for a new home for the gallery.

"The brand is built. Studio 66 is going to be forever," he says. "It's just a situation where I was going to pay triple the rent for a place that small. It was too small for us."

Gilmore says Studio 66 will be open this Friday in its current location for its usual First Friday festivities, but after that he's looking to re-home the gallery in the next couple of months.

If you've ever strolled down Riverside east of the Paulson Building and heard "Highway to the Danger Zone" roll across the sidewalks from a pair of how-can-they-even-be-legal speakers, then holy shit, you know the Revolver bar. The downtown location closed shop and is moving to a larger space at 221 N. Division, where it'll be nestled between Fast Eddies and Ugly Betties. Looks like they'll have expanded hours (noon to 2 am) rather than opening up around nightfall.

The good folks at Revolver haven't returned my Facebook queries about when they'll reopen. 

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I'll confess: I haven't gone near the 50 Shades of Grey books. It's not that I don't love a trashy read - au contraire, mon fraire. I usually just wait for the mass-pop books to morph into movie franchises. Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games, etc.

So it wasn't till a friend texted me photographed pages of 50 Shades that my brain stuttered in horror.  No, it wasn't the filthy, deviant sex. It was the horrific sentence construction, the bland word choice and cliche of a plot. 

Ergo: if you want a sleazy read but prefer something well-written, try one of these. It's not a definitive list, just something to wet your beak. 

1. Hotel Iris - This is the bondage book you really ought to be reading. Penned by Japanese writer Yoko Ogawa, it's the story of a relationship between an underage girl and a cantankerous translator in a Japanese shore town. An ending like a torn shirt in a rain storm.

2. Myra Breckenridge -  Gore Vidal's gender-bending sex romp that conservatives hailed as utter pornography. Considered by some as dirty as our next choice, which you may have heard of . . .

3. Lolita -  Sex by one of the Russian Greats, Vladimir Nabokov. Has something so wrong ever been so right?

4. A Sport and a Pastime - Set in France, James Salter's slim novel documents an affair between an American student and one of the locals. Or does it? The most sensual book I've ever read.

5. Lady Chatterly's Lover - The original 20th century sex manifesto and primal scream against societal norms by D.H. Lawrence. I'll say no more.

Checking out tonight's First Friday festivities? Use this handy map to plot your way. Click on the markers to see what's showing where.

click to enlarge

After a glass of wine, do you find yourself more refined? Speaking poetry, architecture, and astronomy and wondering where you left that toga? If yes, get in the Roman spirit of this party and celebrate Spokane Public Radio’s annual fundraiser with an evening under the stars and August’s first full moon. The event goes from 6-10 pm.

During the feast, Paul Grove and Rhonda Bradetich serenade with acoustic and instrumental music. Later, the Diminishing Faculties break out some rock music. Prizes are awarded for best toga.

The cost to attend this event is $42 for the general public and $37 for members of the Spokane Public Radio. Because it's on the winery's grounds, only those over age 21 can attend.

The formerly defunct Spokane Art School has reincorporated using funds that were set aside when the school closed in 2008. Art classes now will be held in various locations around Spokane, including the former Tinman Too children's bookstore space at 809 W. Garland St., which recently closed due to the struggling market for independent bookstores.  

According to Spokane Art School President and the owner of Tinman Too, Sue Bradley, a core group of board members and teachers from the original establishment are working together to bring life back into the organization and reinstate many of the original programs while incorporating new ideas binding art and modern technology. The goal is to “continue to have a fine arts education in a meaningful way,” says Bradley.

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At this time, the Spokane Art School has recruited a number of instructors, has reinstated programs such as Crosswalk, and many other painting, drawing, and ceramic programs.  

Tinman Too sold children's books and offered various art classes geared toward kids on a regular basis. Bradley opened the store more than two years ago and also owns the Tinman Gallery next door. She has been an active member of the Spokane arts scene for more than a decade. 

For more information, contact the Spokane Art School at 325-1500.

Grab your killer rabbit and settle in next to a showgirl as the Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre presents the Tony-winning musical Monty Python's Spamalot, lovingly inspired by the comedy classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Expect everything from tap-dancing nights to monks who take their Bible-thumping quite literally. Nothing is safe from the mockery of this boundary-less musical which elevates silliness to a whole new level. 

The production runs through August 5. Show times at 7:30 pm, and 2 pm on Sundays. Tickets: $25.95-$39.95.

If you’ve ever been channel surfing late at night in search of something that wasn’t infomercials, you’ve seen reruns of The Red Green Show and learned, among other things, handy (and hilarious) uses for duct tape.

Thank the comedy heavens up above, because this character stops by the Bing Crosby Theater and transforms it into the Possum Lodge during his tour. For one night only, you don’t h

ave to stay up until the wee hours of the morning to enjoy some Red Green.

Come see him tonight at 7 pm at the Bing Crosby Theater. Call 227-7638 for your $47.50 tickets.

In a meeting today, the board voted 11-3 to bring Rodgers back, as long as he drops the lawsuit he has pending against the museum, according to minutes from the meeting. He’ll also get back pay for the time between his firing and returning to the job and return to his previous salary.

Rodgers, over the phone from his former hometown of Bend, Ore., says he hasn’t had a chance to look over the proposed settlement or confab with his lawyer about the offer. Nevertheless, he did say he wants to get back in the saddle at the MAC.

“I certainly expect to return to the MAC. As I’ve said before — and I mean it with every fiber of my being — I want to do the job I was recruited to do,” says Rodgers.

Rodgers can’t, however, confirm when his legal representation would be able to formalize the settlement.

Among the three dissenting votes was Chris Schnug, who was recently replaced at her post as president of the board. Bruce Howard, the new board president, voted for the motion to reinstate Rodgers.

While the move by the board could bring this dust-up to a close, Rodgers says that if he indeed retakes the reins of the MAC, there are still challenges ahead, especially concerning the museum’s funding.

“I’d like to be back at work sooner or later. As I’ve said all along, we now have 11-and-a-half months of funding from the state. Within the next month or two we need a thoughtful plan as how to approach the 2012-2013 legislature,” says Rodgers.