January 5, 2006
It’s supposed to reach eighty degrees today. No clouds, very nice out.

I had a radio “phoner” interview at nine this morning with Doug Bernard on the Voice of America Radio Network. You can’t get it in the U.S. but it’s allegedly broadcast to over 100 million listeners in 44 different languages. Fortunately, I speak one of the languages being broadcast.

I co-guested on the show “Talk to America” with Professor Patty Limerick of Boulder, Colorado and we answered questions about the Old West and its legends and mystique (the host found True West by googling “Amazing Tales of the Old West” and found our Crown book with the similiar title, and then our website). Doug also took questions by phone and by Email and the first one was from Shawn in China, who had an economic question which I didn’t really understand. Fortunately Patty answered that one with much aplomb. Then came a question from Celine in India, then Joseph in Nigeria (who asked a cryptic question about U.S. involvement in a coup, or something, and the host said it was “off topic” and shuttled him off the air), then two calls from Russia and another call from Nigeria, before ending with Andre in England, who asked a pointed question about how a country that celebrates the O.K. Corral and believes the legend, how does that apply to Al-Qaeda today. Well, I really wanted to answer that question but Doug gave it to Patty with an oblique disclaimer about terrorism (I sensed, or had my suspicions, this was also off topic). Patty fielded the question with professorial diplomacy and we were thanked. The show lasted an hour. Interesting experience as I imagined tribesmen gathered around an ancient Victrola in outer Mongolia, listening to our bantering and looking at each other with some wonder: “Crazy Mo Fos in America,” one of them says, warming his hands and smirking. They laugh, throw their handrolled cigarettes into the fire, mount up their hairy ponies and ride off across the snowy steppes wondering about life in America.

Or some such uninformed American fantasy like that.

And speaking of Marxist rebels and insurgent reactionaries, I got this today:
“Hope your holidays were well. Glad you hired a retired Marine to balance
out the Marxists you have on staff.”
—Alan Huffines

Onion Headline de Jour
Ridiculous Small-Business Plan Encouraged By Friends

“At its best, life is completely unpredictable.”
—Christopher Walken