August 3, 2005
We had a huge storm blow in last night. Tons of rain, wind and "micro-bursts." I don’t remember us having micro-bursts as a kid, just "heap big rain." Power went out twice. Roofs blown off in Phoenix. Dogs were scared, scratching on the door. They hate the thunder. Sat out on the patio with Buddy Boze Hatkiller for a while and listened to the thunder and rain on the roof. He put his big, fat face in my lap, like a little kid. Nice and cool out.

Woke up at three a.m. and started pondering how to fill the holes in the book. Finally got up at 4:30 and did two scratchboards. One of Wells Fargo agent Hume being relieved of his pearl-handled pistols in a stage robbery. It’s at night, murky. Decent effects. The other one is of Virgil Earp riding on a posse with his dead arm flailing in the breeze. I had high hopes for this scene (I’ve wanted to do it for at least ten years) but, sigh, I overworked it. Damn! (oops, sorry for the profanity, see below).

Got into the office at about 8:30 and Gus and I plugged three new images (did a Clanton cattle drive yesterday, along with a new Curly Bill). Meghan and I went through the rest of the book and made corrections, argued over verb tense (she is a fan of consistent verbs and I’m a fan of active verbs with the difference being, she’s actually studied English and knows what she’s talking about).

Speaking of someone who knows their verbs, here’s Fred Nolan’s take on this blog:

"I suspect the reason people love it is because of its blithely supreme, surreal, airheaded vanity, its implicit, total assumption that anyone, anyone at all could be remotely interested in such totally irrelevant details of your existence as where you ate, what you ate, how much it cost and how much you tipped, its anally-retentive daily examination of the lint in your navel and -- best of all -- the trials, the torments, the agonies of Being An Artist, struggling with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, yet somehow, miraculously, remaining through it all this Really Nice Guy who everybody loves and indulges and who doesn't ever lose his cool (even when his dog eats his best hat). It's a perfect creation, a daily confirmation that life is best lived in a Walter Mitty world where self-indulgence is a priority, any real contribution to society is a nuisance, where someone else will always come up with the answers, and taking responsibility is for poor shlubs who can't think fast enough. And which every day prompts the question: where on earth does a man get the time for such self indulgence, and even when he does, why on earth would he bother?"
—Fred Nolan, Chalfont St. Giles, England

I must admit, I laughed at Fred’s painfully truthful words, until I cried. I’m not joking. I may be buggy from being on double-deadline for too long, but this really slayed me. But wait, there’s more. Check these out:

"I've been reading the blog since you started it. My favorite thing is the quote at the end of the day. My least favorite is the profanity (this is a family magazine and a great way to get kids interested in history!). How to improve it? Add more pictures."
—Mark Kilburn, TW Maniac 235


How long reading the blog
Over a year now...

How did you find it?
Read mag, found TW website, subscribed, then went to BLOG..daily reading to start my day

What do you love about it?
Profanity, Sex, and sick humor...and of course the humanity of it all

What do you hate about it?
Missed postings...I always think the worst has happened....
—Jim Ed

"I started reading the blog about a month before I subscribed to TW. I think
that was summer of last year. I got sweet talked into becoming a Maniac by
one of your ladies there at TW and am Maniac# 9. I found out about you
through your little vingettes on the Westerns Channel. Which, by the way, is
the only thing they don't show over and over and over, well you get the idea.

"To use the word love is a stretch but I really enjoy you whining about
struggling with your art. One of the things I hate is you whining about
struggling with your art. I enjoy you describing your lunches. I hate you
using the house account all the time you scamp. I hate when you lambast
western tv shows and western movies and especially when you say anything
against the Duke. He was my childhood hero. A guy without a dad growing up
could do worse that his screen persona as a roll model. Besides, these are
the shows and guys that got us interested in studying western history. I
think it's cute that you like those draggy Italian Westerns.

"I like it that you have a Wyatt Earp obsession. I do to and can't figure out
what is wrong with me. I like how you procrastinate on deadlines. I like how
you respond to emails when folks comment on the blogs and i especially enjoy
your sense of humor."
—Hugh Howard, Maniac #9

P.S. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to you for
recommending you give Into the West a chance after I watched the first
episode. I barely made it through the second. What a waste of time.

"A good laugh is sunshine in a house."
—William Thackeray