September 15, 2006
More rain last night. The air feels turgid and San Diego-ish.

I worked last night on overviews of the Top Secret Project set piece. Realized it needs a hazy, dust-laden patina, with lots of creeping light coming through the brush arbor openings in the officer’s headquarters at San Carlos. So I went to the Netflix website and typed in Heaven’s Gate and put it at the top of my “Q” (request list). I seem to remember every interior scene in that notorious Western had copious amounts of dust in the air to simulate old photos. Can’t wait to see what I can steal, I mean emulate, from that film.

True West Maniacs Go Global!
“Prompted by the mail from Gary in Swansea: You do know what the next stage in the True West Maniac campaign is, don't you? Maniac Clubs. Local gatherings of TW Maniacs at pubs. Club excursions. Newsletters. The clubs volunteering to do presentations on the Old West at nearby schools and nursing homes. It'll be like regional Alumni Associations.

“I don't know if you've created a monster, but that's definitely the work in progress. Congratulations!”
—Emma Bull, Tucson, Arizona

Odd Request #327
“Would you please post a picture of yourself in your Big Bad Book of Big Bad Diary Entries where you are fully clothed but in your barefeet or socked-feet? You are a great looking guy and you look as though you have a large size pair of feet. Also, Bob, what is your foot size? Thank you for any response and posting.
—Samantha Aldridge, Parsons, Kansas

Friday On My Mind
“Man, did you really watch Fort Apache? 'Cause you got some things, er, wrong. Henry Fonda played Col. Thursday, not Tuesday. You must have had Friday on your mind. And John Wayne's remark regarding the painting is ‘Correct in every detail.’ Your quote of that was, let's say, inaccurate. I forgive you. But will the ghost of John Ford haunt you over this?”
—Mark Boardman

He already is. I increasingly dream in black and white and every scene is framed thru doorway shots.

”When the facts become mangled, print the mangled facts.”
—John Chevy