BBB's Blog
If you've ever wondered what it's like to run a magazine or how crazy my personal life is, be sure to read the behind-the-scenes peek at the daily trials and tribulations of running True West. Culled straight from my Franklin Daytimer, it contains actual journal entries, laid out raw and uncensored. Some of it is enlightening. Much of it is embarrassing, but all of it is painfully true.
In addition to this current journal, my early journal entries show the rocky road and money lost in the True West Business Timeline.
Bob's biography - The Unvarnished Truth
April 24, 2014
Got up at 5:30 and worked on a couple projects then went to yoga at eight. Just me and three other "girls" (women in their late sixties). All three were bunched up on their mats at the north end of the room and I walked down and took the south end of the room in the corner. Debbie, our teacher, looked over and said, "Bob, why are you way down there?" And I said, "Wild Bill Hickok." None of them got the reference, but I think everyone here will.
Finished the "Legends of The Road" treatment at 11:45 with an assist from Ken A. and sent it off for proofing. Went home for lunch and had the leftover mole negro from Otro and went out to the studio to relax. Whipped out a little study that was about half done and sitting there waiting for me.
Daily Whipout, "Storm Over Kayenta"
I've been on a Kayenta jag lately since I've been studying George Herriman, Maynard Dixon and Gunnar Winforss. Also, I've been reading the new John Wayne book by Scott Eyman and really enjoying it. And, of course, John Wayne and John Ford both have a little history in Kayenta, since it's just south of Monument Valley. I'm at the point in the book (page 495) where Ford is dying of cancer. They have a big ceremony at the American Film Institute to honor him with a Life Achievement Award. At the ceremony, The Duke seemed tongue-tied. If he had a speech he didn't give it. He simply said:
"I love him; I could say more."
—John Wayne
That, my friend says it all. In fact, one of the amazing things about the book is how eloquent Wayne was. Kind of shocking really.
"It takes 15 years of kissing somebody's backside for a professor to get a chair somewhere and then he's a big shot in a little world, passing his point of view on a lot of impressionable kids. He's never really had to tough it out in this world of ours, so he has a completely theoretical view of how it should be run and what we should do for our fellow man."
—John Wayne, referring to Paul Hutton's world
Bob Boze 3:11 PM
April 23, 2014
Busy writing the treatment for "The 66 Kid." At lunchtime today I drove down into The Beast to visit one of my old paintings. Motored into the parking garage at One Central Avenue in downtown Phoenix and took the elevator to the 12th floor. This is the view from the office:
The 12th floor corner office view of North 1st Street looking north towards Piestewa Peak. That's the Adams Hotel at left.
And here's the new owner of "A Stitch In Time"
Rodney Glassman, owner of the BBB painting depicting Ma'am Jones of the Pecos sewing her son Sammy's eyelid back on.
"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not."
—Thomas Jefferson
Bob Boze 5:12 PM
April 21, 2014
One of my old neighbors (he lived up on Morning Star), sent me a letter way back in 1994, encouraging me to join the NCS (National Cartoonist Society) who were about to go to their annual convention in Washington, DC. I had just been fired from KSLX radio and suddenly had time on my hands, thus the invite. I have this letter tacked to my wall over my computer in the studio and I just noticed last week, that Jerry was doing a pretty mean George Herriman imitation at the bottom:
Cartoonist extraordinaire Jerry Scott of Baby Blues and Zits fame knocking off Herriman's Krazy Kat's style.
Last week I myself did a couple studies, to bone up on Herriman's eccentric style. His moons are more like a fruit wedge and his buttes are more like a solid, Egyptian devan:
Ignatz Mouse lets fly with another brick at Krazy Kat's noggin' out Monument Valley way
Then I got interrupted by my babysitting duty last weekend, so I put everything on hold and flew to Burbank for the gig. Today, I went home for lunch and whipped out a black and white version:
Ignatz bonks Krazy with another brick bat in front of the Mittens, Bozer style.
Came back into the office and worked on the portrait of Herriman, which I had previously done in red in my "66 Kid" sketchbook. Added some black to make him more mysterious, since he passed for white his entire life:
George Herriman, from a photograph. Yes, the sombrero he's actually wearing is this ridiculous.
Rebecca Edwards combined the two illustrations and I pruned the copy down to fit and she created an upcoming True West Moment which will run in the Arizona Republic in a week, or so.
And NOW you know the entire story of how reading a book, "Shadows On The Mesa" by Gary Filmore, can inspire a sketch, or two, which can result in a True West Moment.
"Krazy burns a late candle tonight—I trust it attracts neither moth nor mouse."
—Offica Pupp
Bob Boze 4:27 PM
April 20, 2014
Bob Boze 12:41 PM
April 19, 2014
Back from our quick babysitting gig with young Weston. We flew into Pasadena so his mom and dad could go downtown LA and see Nico Case and have a wild night at the Ace Hotel. We had to get up at two in the morning for a feeding (the young lad is only 10 months old) and it was a ton of fun. I'm serious. I wouldn't want to do it every night but we really enjoyed it.
Grandma Goose and Weston watching the cars go by (the only thing that makes him more excited is the dogs going by).
Took off for home today, flew into Sky Harbor, and, since we were in downtown Phoenix we tried out the new offshoot restaurant Otro (The Other) which is a satellite eatery sponsored by Gallo Blanco. Had the mole negro:
Mole Negro burrito, at top, and mole chicken, bottom. Homemade tortillas and guacamole (in empty dish). Capped it off with Happy Hour margaritas and we were having fun.
On the plane home I read more of the new John Wayne bio by Scott Eyman. Just finished the cancer operation and the Alamo debacle before that. Not sure which was more terrifying. Both were brutal. The Alamo for its financial and artistic boneheadedness (something I can truly relate to) and the cancer for, well, the same thing: he had a lung taken out and still continued smoking! As for the financial bath he took on the Alamo, a young filmmaker he wanted to support suggested comparing the new film to the Alamo and Wayne said:
"That picture lost so much money I can't buy a pack of chewing gum in Texas without a co-signer."
—John Wayne
Bob Boze 6:29 PM
April 18, 2014
We woke up in Pasadena this morning and first thing on the agenda: watch the cars go by and point at them. The only thing more entertaining to Weston is to see dogs go by. Oh, my, how exciting.
Weston Allen Borscheller digs the cars zipping by on Sierra Bonito
"I was raised by coyotes."
—Weston telling me a windy
Bob Boze 10:52 AM
April 17, 2014
Kathy and I flew to Burbank today on business. After a visit to the Huntington to see one of my favorite paintings by John Singer Sargent we headed north:
We ended up at the job site in north Pasadena. It was my job to read four picture books and I must say I think I enjoyed it even more than my little charge:
G-Paw reading Weston's favorite picture book "It's Time To Sleep, My Love"
"The otter utters by the lake
'Tis getting hard to stay awake."
—Nancy Tillman, "It's Time to Sleep, My Love"
Bob Boze 7:25 PM
Got up at 5:30 and worked on a couple projects then went to yoga at eight. Just me and three other "girls" (women in their late sixties). All three were bunched up on their mats at the north end of the room and I walked down and took the south end of the room in the corner. Debbie, our teacher, looked over and said, "Bob, why are you way down there?" And I said, "Wild Bill Hickok." None of them got the reference, but I think everyone here will.
Finished the "Legends of The Road" treatment at 11:45 with an assist from Ken A. and sent it off for proofing. Went home for lunch and had the leftover mole negro from Otro and went out to the studio to relax. Whipped out a little study that was about half done and sitting there waiting for me.
Daily Whipout, "Storm Over Kayenta"I've been on a Kayenta jag lately since I've been studying George Herriman, Maynard Dixon and Gunnar Winforss. Also, I've been reading the new John Wayne book by Scott Eyman and really enjoying it. And, of course, John Wayne and John Ford both have a little history in Kayenta, since it's just south of Monument Valley. I'm at the point in the book (page 495) where Ford is dying of cancer. They have a big ceremony at the American Film Institute to honor him with a Life Achievement Award. At the ceremony, The Duke seemed tongue-tied. If he had a speech he didn't give it. He simply said:
"I love him; I could say more."
—John Wayne
That, my friend says it all. In fact, one of the amazing things about the book is how eloquent Wayne was. Kind of shocking really.
"It takes 15 years of kissing somebody's backside for a professor to get a chair somewhere and then he's a big shot in a little world, passing his point of view on a lot of impressionable kids. He's never really had to tough it out in this world of ours, so he has a completely theoretical view of how it should be run and what we should do for our fellow man."
—John Wayne, referring to Paul Hutton's world
Bob Boze 3:11 PM
April 23, 2014
Busy writing the treatment for "The 66 Kid." At lunchtime today I drove down into The Beast to visit one of my old paintings. Motored into the parking garage at One Central Avenue in downtown Phoenix and took the elevator to the 12th floor. This is the view from the office:
The 12th floor corner office view of North 1st Street looking north towards Piestewa Peak. That's the Adams Hotel at left.
And here's the new owner of "A Stitch In Time"
Rodney Glassman, owner of the BBB painting depicting Ma'am Jones of the Pecos sewing her son Sammy's eyelid back on.
"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not."
—Thomas Jefferson
Bob Boze 5:12 PM
April 21, 2014
One of my old neighbors (he lived up on Morning Star), sent me a letter way back in 1994, encouraging me to join the NCS (National Cartoonist Society) who were about to go to their annual convention in Washington, DC. I had just been fired from KSLX radio and suddenly had time on my hands, thus the invite. I have this letter tacked to my wall over my computer in the studio and I just noticed last week, that Jerry was doing a pretty mean George Herriman imitation at the bottom:
Cartoonist extraordinaire Jerry Scott of Baby Blues and Zits fame knocking off Herriman's Krazy Kat's style.
Last week I myself did a couple studies, to bone up on Herriman's eccentric style. His moons are more like a fruit wedge and his buttes are more like a solid, Egyptian devan:
Ignatz Mouse lets fly with another brick at Krazy Kat's noggin' out Monument Valley way
Then I got interrupted by my babysitting duty last weekend, so I put everything on hold and flew to Burbank for the gig. Today, I went home for lunch and whipped out a black and white version:
Ignatz bonks Krazy with another brick bat in front of the Mittens, Bozer style.
Came back into the office and worked on the portrait of Herriman, which I had previously done in red in my "66 Kid" sketchbook. Added some black to make him more mysterious, since he passed for white his entire life:
George Herriman, from a photograph. Yes, the sombrero he's actually wearing is this ridiculous.
Rebecca Edwards combined the two illustrations and I pruned the copy down to fit and she created an upcoming True West Moment which will run in the Arizona Republic in a week, or so.
And NOW you know the entire story of how reading a book, "Shadows On The Mesa" by Gary Filmore, can inspire a sketch, or two, which can result in a True West Moment.
"Krazy burns a late candle tonight—I trust it attracts neither moth nor mouse."
—Offica Pupp
Bob Boze 4:27 PM
April 20, 2014
Funny feature in The New York Times today under the heading, "Coachella Flaunts Its Masculinity." Six photos of some very "masculine" dudes follow, along with these descriptions of said dudes:
"Kelson Berkus was clad in aqua giraffe-print swim trunks (source: "probably Fred Segal").
"Ryan Greeley, in a vintage mesh cardigan and floral swim trunks."
"Robert Ackroyd, in a white-on-white ensemble."
"Rameet Chawla, in a bee print suit."
Notable quotes from Sheila Marikar's "Masculinity" piece, "'They're catching on.' His toned shoulders, left bare by his skeleton-print tank top, shimmered under the strobe lights." And, "I feel like everyone dresses exactly the same, for the most part,' said Kurt Collins, an actor based in Los Angeles. In an effort to set himself apart, he wore his grandmother's hot-pink tracksuit to Saturday night's Neon Carnival."
"Be graceful—like me, goddammit."
—John Wayne after line readings with Linda Cristal on the set of The AlamoBob Boze 12:41 PM
April 19, 2014
Back from our quick babysitting gig with young Weston. We flew into Pasadena so his mom and dad could go downtown LA and see Nico Case and have a wild night at the Ace Hotel. We had to get up at two in the morning for a feeding (the young lad is only 10 months old) and it was a ton of fun. I'm serious. I wouldn't want to do it every night but we really enjoyed it.
Grandma Goose and Weston watching the cars go by (the only thing that makes him more excited is the dogs going by).
Took off for home today, flew into Sky Harbor, and, since we were in downtown Phoenix we tried out the new offshoot restaurant Otro (The Other) which is a satellite eatery sponsored by Gallo Blanco. Had the mole negro:
Mole Negro burrito, at top, and mole chicken, bottom. Homemade tortillas and guacamole (in empty dish). Capped it off with Happy Hour margaritas and we were having fun.
On the plane home I read more of the new John Wayne bio by Scott Eyman. Just finished the cancer operation and the Alamo debacle before that. Not sure which was more terrifying. Both were brutal. The Alamo for its financial and artistic boneheadedness (something I can truly relate to) and the cancer for, well, the same thing: he had a lung taken out and still continued smoking! As for the financial bath he took on the Alamo, a young filmmaker he wanted to support suggested comparing the new film to the Alamo and Wayne said:
"That picture lost so much money I can't buy a pack of chewing gum in Texas without a co-signer."
—John Wayne
Bob Boze 6:29 PM
April 18, 2014
We woke up in Pasadena this morning and first thing on the agenda: watch the cars go by and point at them. The only thing more entertaining to Weston is to see dogs go by. Oh, my, how exciting.
Weston Allen Borscheller digs the cars zipping by on Sierra Bonito
"I was raised by coyotes."
—Weston telling me a windy
Bob Boze 10:52 AM
April 17, 2014
Kathy and I flew to Burbank today on business. After a visit to the Huntington to see one of my favorite paintings by John Singer Sargent we headed north:
We ended up at the job site in north Pasadena. It was my job to read four picture books and I must say I think I enjoyed it even more than my little charge:
G-Paw reading Weston's favorite picture book "It's Time To Sleep, My Love"
"The otter utters by the lake
'Tis getting hard to stay awake."
—Nancy Tillman, "It's Time to Sleep, My Love"
Bob Boze 7:25 PM
