Following last Winter’s drama with Melbourne IT, Arts Montana is back up and running. The site is now at ArtsMontana.net.* The change in plans has ended up being a good thing. Although I lost a few months of posting, I came back to it with a new focus. The emphasis now is on artist and arts links, and the links are now coupled with thumbnail excerpts of the artists’ works, so visitors can get a small taste of what a particular artist or designer does. The site also has a page for visitors to contribute posts, and I hope that will be a way for folks to spread the news about their shows and events, or anything else going on with their work in particular or in the arts in general. It’s a very simple form, no log in required, and allows for image uploading to go with the post. * I had hoped to recover the artsmontana.com domain name, but in the end it was not about the exorbitant rates that Melbourne IT demanded after my domain name slipped through their loopholes, it was the principle of the thing. Instead of putting the domain name on the open market after their expensive “redemption” period ended, they sold it to a squatter company, one of those ticks on...

As a hosting reseller with a few vendors, I used to request domain registration through those Web hosting service accounts. One of them outsources the registration to Melbourne IT (melbourneit.com.au/). This is perfectly reasonable because the hosting service is not set up to be a domain registrar. What is not reasonable is their choice of Melbourne IT. Of course, you might not know who the registrar is going to be when you sign up, either as an individual or a hosting service reseller. I did not, but ultimately decided to deal directly with the registrar and had my hosting service transfer the domains from their control to mine so that I could manage my own domain registrations directly with Melbourne IT. Once I obtained this access and could bundle all of the domain names under a single account, I proceeded to transfer them out of Melbourne IT one by one as they came due. I chose to transfer them to GoDaddy. Melbourne IT is one of the slower-to-transfer and most expensive-to-renew registrars that I have ever dealt with. Today I made the long distance call to Australia to deal with Melbourne IT about a transfer that I initiated 8 or so hours ago and found out from Support, that transfers...

A customer just told me that she found the perfect size frame for our 12″ by 18″ posters at a local (Bozeman) Michaels Arts & Crafts store. You can view them on the Web; just click on Framing > Poster Frames. According to MIchaels.com: We have the largest assortment of styles and sizes of poster frames found anywhere. Our poster frames come in the basic sizes: 11 3/4 x 36, 16×20, 18×24, 22×28, 23×35 and 24×36 and also we offer some unique sizes: 10×20, 11×17, 12×18, 13×19, 20×30, 24×32 and 27×40! Great for digital prints, with the 12×18, 13×19 and 20×30 sizes! Michaels hours are Mon-Sat: 9:00 am- 9:00 pm, Sun: 10:00 am- 7:00 pm, and Montana store locations include: Bozeman store: 2855 N 19th Ave, Ste B Bozeman MT 59718-8504 (406) 587-4103 Billings store: 2800 King Ave W, Ste C Billings MT 59102-6432 (406) 652-7440 Great Falls store: 1601 Market Place Dr Ste 25 Great Falls MT 59404-3482 (406) 268-0800 Missoula store: 2850 N Reserve St Missoula MT 59808-1318 (406) 542-0128 To find other stores in the US and Canada, use the Michaels store locator. Also, see a previous post about where to...

Livingston 365 is my project to take a snapshot of something, someone, or somewhere in Livingston every day during 2009. See the series and check for daily updates at livingston365.com (a.k.a. e-livingston.com). Livingston 365 gallery shows and press coverage Livingston Center for Art and Culture: April 14 to May 2, 2009 The Frame Garden Gallery: April 15 to June 23 The Backroom at The Danforth Gallery: August 27 through September Upcoming: Photos (other than the daily photo) taken in the course of the project will be in the “Wind Exhibit” at The Livingston Center for Art and Culture from September 8 through the end of September, with a reception during Art Walk on September 25. HoboEye Volume 4.2, the quarterly online arts journal. The Livingston Current: August 29 (Volume 5, Issue 7) Artist Profile, “The Eye Behind the Camera: Livingston 365.”