October 16, 2006 Bonus Blog
I was hoping some of my Native American experts would weigh in on the lack of facial hair theories and I’m not disappointed:

Extreme Plucking
“I read on your blog that somebody asked about Indian facial hair. You can tell him that the tradition for the Northern Tribes was to pluck ALL facial hair—and that includes EYEBROWS!!! Look at some of the old high resolution portrait photos taken of the "old timers". I have some Indian friends today that have grown wispy moustaches (that they shave off when doing Westerns.) Some day a Director will insist on authenticity and do the shaved eyebrow thing. That would be cool.

“Keep up the good work. I plan to get on the marathon Illustration kick myself when the snow flies...but duty calls. I got a phone call from New York a few minutes ago from a Producer wanting me to do a location scout in the Badlands of South Dakota. I guess I will have to break down and finally purchase a digital camera.”
—Jim Hatzell

I finally made the transition to digital not long after I went to Meade, Kansas in June. I shot six rolls there, then had to beat cheeks to a Wal-Mart in Wichita (the only photo developer open on Sunday within 150 miles) at seven at night to get them developed before I got on the plane to come home, almost didn't get them back, etc. Fast forward a month and when Paul Hutton and I went to Fort Apache and San Carlos, I stopped at a Wal-Mart and bought a new chip that will hold 1,000 photos on my little digital. I still took six rolls of regular film but quickly ran out (sound familiar?). So all I had was the digital, as a backup and I shot everything. Out the window, nightime, I was fearless, because I had so much room on the new memory card. Got home and uploaded the digital stuff in my computer, killed all the bad shots (many), but printed out all the cool ones on my office printer and I could alter those, zooming in and out, pushing color, changing, cropping. I haven't used my 35mm since.
—BBB

Jack Handy-thon
• If I lived back in the wild west days, instead of carrying a six-gun in my holster, I'd carry a soldering iron. That way, if some smart-aleck cowboy said something like "Hey, look. He's carrying a soldering iron!" and started laughing, and everybody else started laughing, I could just say, "That's right, it's a soldering iron. The soldering iron of justice." Then everybody would get real quiet and ashamed, because they had made fun of the soldering iron of justice, and I could probably hit them up for a free drink

• I'd rather be rich than stupid.

• If you were a poor Indian with no weapons, and a bunch of conquistadors came up to you and asked where the gold was, I don't think it would be a good idea to say, "I swallowed it. So sue me."

• He was a cowboy, mister, and he loved the land. He loved it so much he made a woman out of dirt and married her. But when he kissed her, she disintegrated. Later, at the funeral, when the preacher said, "Dust to dust," some people laughed, and the cowboy shot them. At his hanging, he told the others, "I'll be waiting for you in heaven--with a gun."

• If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is "God is crying." And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is "Probably because of something you did."

• The crows seemed to be calling his name, thought Caw.

• I wish I lived back in the old west days, because I'd save up my money for about twenty years so I could buy a solid-gold pick. Then I'd go out West and start digging for gold. When someone came up and asked what I was doing, I'd say, "Looking for gold, ya durn fool." He'd say, "Your pick is gold," and I'd say, "Well, that was easy." Good joke, huh.

• Many people think that history is a dull subject. Dull? Is it "dull" that Jesse James once got bitten on the forehead by an ant, and at first it didn't seem like anything, but then the bite got worse and worse, so he went to a doctor in town, and the secretary told him to wait, so he sat down and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and then finally he got to see the doctor, and the doctor put some salve on it? You call that dull?

I thought you’d like some of these!!!!
—Beth H., ‘scooter ANGEL’ on the True West Forum
True West Maniac #1334

Mark Boardman weighed in with his suggestions for possible Classic Gunfights for 2007. Here’s his list of nominees:

1. Frank and Gladys Hamer vs. three thugs. TX 1917. Two books on this—I’m Frank Hamer and Manhunter. Randy Lish also an expert on this.

2. Jim McKinney vs. lawmen. CA unsure of date. Subject of books by Harold Edwards and Joseph Doctor (Shotguns on Sunday).

3. Red Lopez vs. lawmen. Bingham, UT 1913. Two books on subject, but Randy Lish is probably the expert on this.

4. Harry Tracy/ Dave Merrill escape from Oregon Penitentiary 1902. Dullenty’s book on Tracy. Check for other sources.

5. George Scarborough vs. John Selman. El Paso, TX 1895. Bob DeArment’s book. Maybe Metz.

6. McCartys vs. townspeople. Delta, CO 1891. Maybe Dullenty book. Check with Dan Buck.

7. Nick Ray and Nate Champion vs. Wyoming invaders. KC Ranch, WY. Bill O’Neal’s book on the Johnson Co. War.

8. Frank Canton vs. Bee Dunn. Pawnee, OK 1896. Probably DeArment’s book on Canton.

9. Alvord-Stiles Gang vs. Jeff Milton. Fairbank, AZ 1900. Maybe Haley’s book.

10. Wood Hite vs. Robert Ford and Dick Liddell. MO 1882. Maybe Ted Yeatman’s book, or Jack Koblas.

11. Kid Curry vs. lawmen. Green River, UT 1900. Check with Dan Buck.

12. Ruggles Bros. vs. stagecoach crew. Redding, CA 1892. ?

13. Evans and Sontag vs. lawmen. Tulare Co., CA 1893. Koblas book, maybe Harold Edwards book.

14. Rattlesnake Dick vs. lawmen. Auyburn, CA 1859. Maybe Secrest or Boessenecker.

15. Black Face Charlie Bryant vs. US Deputy Marshal Ed Short. On a train in OK, 1891. ?

16. Rube Burrow vs. Jim Carter. Linden, AL 1890. ?

17. Hilary Farrington vs. William Pinkerton. KY 1870. Maybe Sharon Cunningham?

18. Ben Kilpatrick and Ole Beck vs. David Truesdale. TX 1912. Buck? McCubbin?

19. Killin’ Jim Miller vs. Bud Frazer. Various places in TX 1894-1896. Jim Wright says someone is writing a new book on Miller….

”The four most overrated things in life are champagne, lobsters, anal sex and picnics.”
—Christopher Hitchens