June 20, 2005
Sorry, I missed a couple days in here. Father's Day, book deadline, you know, the usual lame excuses.

And speaking of my next book, we’ve got a new poll up: Do you believe Wyatt Earp killed Curly Bill Brocius? Vote here now.

I almost watched Into the West last night, but I went to bed and read Isabel Allende’s new Zorro book. Deena gave it to me for Father’s Day (Thomas gave me the DVD of Once Upon A Time In The West) Regarding the Zorro book, I was intrigued to find out how a major writer would handle this fictional character. Usually when a new movie comes out (Zorro II with Antonio Banderas and Catherine-Zeta Jones team up again on October 25) the studio pays some hack to write a stupid paperback, usually built directly off the shooting script. These affairs are invariable cardboard and shabby. Well, I’m only twenty pages in and it isn’t shabby, just, well, goofily predictable (Zorro’s mom was raised by wolves!!!!). And speaking of hooey, I got this from a friend who did watch the second installment of Into the West Friday night:

“I watched the second part tonight and I have to say that it was one of the worst made-for-TV movies I've ever seen. Totally predictable and follows all the typical stereotypes of the western.

“A wagon rolls over in a rushing stream; someone drowns. We have the boring pleasure of witnessing a plains lightning and thunderstorm, the horses are spooked, they stampede and kill someone in the process - another grave is dug. Cholera hits, people die. The only prediction that I missed was near the end when the Indians are getting drunk around a campfire. I figured they would end-up getting into an argument resulting in one killing another, but the Lakota would NEVER do that.

“An Indian village is attacked and massacred - the attacking party? As predicted, the Crow are responsible for the massacre. Of course the Crow have to be the bad guys -they eventually become allies with the white army. But, when a Cheyenne party attacks and massacres the wagon train the reason given is they kill the whites so they don't get cholera. YET, they take captive a white woman. Where is the logic in that? There isn't any. Spielberg - the director and producer who has given us countless great films and made-for-TV movies really embarrassed himself with this one.”
—Bob Reece, Maniac #21

Then, I got this one:

“Well, I almost gave up on it after the first episode. The flip-flopping between settlers and Indians was driving me up the wall. The second episode was much better, I thought. The perils of going across the continent in a wagon train were well depicted. I guess I'll stick with it for another episode.”
—Donna Gholson Cook

So I don’t know if I can put it off any longer. I need to watch the damn thing!

“It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.”