June 5, 2005
Took the dogs for a bike ride at about ten. Actually quite nice out. Maybe high eighties. Also swam ten passes, then worked on a big, ambitious showdown of Johnny Ringo and Doc Holliday on Allen Street. Had great reference. Worked on and off all morning on it. Haven't ruined it yet.

I got an Email heads up from my friend and fellow cartoonist, Jim Hatzell. Here's his sneak peek at Steven Spielberg’s first Western:

"Howdy Bob, I got a chance to see the first episode of the TNT Mini-Series ‘Into the
West’ yesterday in a Movie Theatre no less, here in Rapid City. I have to give it a mixed review, but the parts that are good are REALLY FANTASTIC!!! The Indian side of the story was very well researched. For years at the Little Big Horn Battlefield I would say in my Ranger talk how the iron kettle replaced the buffalo stomach as a cooking utensil. It was
shown in the episode. You could tell during an Indian attack that it was the Crows. They had an incredible scene of a Buffalo Jump, dozens of Bison going over a cliff (Really extra cool on the BIG screen ) and the look of the whole show was WAY above average for a TV Western (And I have worked on a bunch) The plot of the White Guy side of the story was OK, but I liked it better the first time I saw it on ‘Centennial’ during the Levi Zent story line. Lots of cliches, (gee...one brother is going to Texas...any chance he ends up at the Alamo or Goliad or San Jacinto?) I never could quite figure out what Jedediah Smith & his band of guys was up to, jobwise. It looked to me like early 19th Century ‘bikers’ groovin' on the pretty scenery. But I can't bitch about it too much because it looked so good. I especially enjoyed seeing my good friend Dave Bald Eagle in the show. (He plays a Grandfather of the Lakota Tribe that has a dramatic scene at the end of the show) I got the connection of the Lakota Medicine Wheel and the "wheel making" White guys, but I wish they had been more subtle after the 5th time of bringing it up (OK I get it. Get on with the story.) I was surprised to see guest star Gary Busey was in the show for about a minute and a half. The producer David Rosemont was there and I was hoping after the show that they would have a question and answer session, they did not. I would like to have asked him what South Dakota would have had to do to get the thing filmed here. (I'm sorry, but Canada looks like Canada) It did look good though. I read in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly that they froze their asses off filming the Battle of the Little Bighorn in New Mexico while we were having a heat wave. Oh well, I hope that part looks good. We shall see. I guess I'm going to watch and I have high hopes for it. By the way, the Indians speak in their Native Language and I said a dozen years ago that TNT should have done that. I hope it is a ratings success and that it leads to more ‘good westerns’ being made. A bunch of actors from the series Deadwood will be here next week for
Wild Bill Days. It should be quite a party.”
—JIM HATZELL

"Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more, and all good things will be yours."
—Old Vaquero Saying