August 27, 2003,
Got some female rain last night (as opposed to “male rain” where everything gets ripped up, thrown about and squat upon). Really was sweet and gentle. Smells great out this morning.

Kathy and I picked up a neutered Buddy last night from the vet ($189 house account). He was high on some speedball called “Ace” and morphine. His pupils were pinpoints and he had a stylish t-shirt on his hind legs, tied off above the waist (the newest method of keeping a dog from biting open his stitches) and he looked like a drugged out Axl Rose only with better hair and the headwrap on the opposite end.

The comments on the History Channel’s night of Western programming (on Monday night) continue to pour in here. My favorite so far is from D. Patterson who said, “Dug the show. Trim your mustache.” Ha. This morning I did. “He’s so vain, he probly thinks this show is about him...’bout him...”

Also more feedback on Open Range. Here’s a reaction from Christine A. from Chicago:

“Although I too found there to be self-indulgent moments in Open Range (especially the final three "love" scenes that could have easily been combined into one scene), I don't believe the movie was ever intended to be a Western 101 of historical and factual correctness. The movie was intended to entertain. The audience in the showing I attended was primarily men, the majority of whom cheered, hollered and applauded through much of the movie. I am looking forward to your upcoming issue of the 50 greatest western movies, but will hazard a guess that many of the movies on that list will consist of exciting well made films filled with inaccuracies and impossibilities. These are Hollywood movies, right?!”

Right as rain, Christine. I totally agree with you on the final love scenes. It could have and should have ended in the garden. Enough already! Also, yes, we will concentrate on “moments of authenticity” in the 50 Most Historically Accurate Westerns. And let me add this—I loved the weather in Open Range. The clouds, the rain (I still hate it that Hollywood will not show lightning flashes with the delay on the sound). But the weather effects were totally cool, the muddy streets and soggy look of everything. And as I said the other day, I would have to give Open Range the nod for best gunshots in a Western. For the first time in memory, when those guns went off, it was loud and sounded like the real deal.

“Let us leave pretty women to men without imagination.”
—Marcel Proust