September 6, 2005
I’m working hard on storm effects, vaquero riggings and Mexican villages in my studio. Plenty of great reference from the 12 rolls of film I took on the Chihuahua Railroad in 1996. Ed Mell and I took our sons on this incredible trip up over Divisidero (the Divide) and Copper Canyon on the railroad. Paul Northrop set it up. Very memorable, and an investment in great reference.

Our male cat, Kitty Custer, hasn’t done squat. Just lays in his room and looks bored. According to Bob Reece, here’s why:

"Good luck with the male cat—just like the world of the lions, female domesticated cats are the best hunters. If you find Guapo can't handle the load add a female to the pack."
—Bob Reece

And regarding the bad Chicago style barbeque we had last weekend:
“First thing a Chicagoan leans about living in Phoenix: nothing ‘Chicago style’ is anything close to Chicago style, in food or anything else.”
—Mike

Had a staff meeting at nine this morning. Good to have Robert Ray back. He looked at my dead computer (down for the last five days) and jiggled the plug in the back and it started right up. Ha.

Had an editorial meeting with Mark Boardman, Meghan Saar and Robert Ray at 9:30. Discussed November issue and cover ideas. Also we got into it over our strengths and weaknesses re: one of our competitors (rhymes with Wild West). Bob Brink came in and laughed, saying he doesn’t consider them competition at all. Lively discussion, good ideas and comments all around.

Went home for lunch and watched several of the extra features on the Good the Bad and the Ugly DVD. We are doing a feature on Western DVDs and I wanted to refresh my memory of the extras (they are quite good). Great quote from Roger Ebert: "If you savor the boldness with which Leone flirts with parody, you understand his method. This is not a story, but a celebration of bold gestures." Amen, fatboy.

"If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking."
—Old Vaquero Saying