October 9, 2006
More rain last night. Left the truck window down and drove in this morning with a wet seat (both). This time Buddy Boze Hatkiller broke in the side door and parked himself in the hallway (to escape the thunder), until Kathy got up and shooed him out. Meanwhile, Peaches cuddled by the radio speakers in the studio and listened to NPR jazz (I’m not making this up, as I went out and checked on her).

Here's a couple photos of JD and I working on the site for the new chicken house on Saturday. And that's Peaches helping (she's actually seeking pack rats).



Henry Beck, our author on the Tombstone bombshell story, sent me a link to a Hollywood website column that followed up on Henry’s cover story in our mag. Some of the ensuing postings are mighty interesting, like this one:

“Tombstone's greatness is 80 to 90% owed to Doc Holliday. Didn't Val Kilmer's performance do for that movie exactly what Johnny Depp's did for the first Pirates of the Carribean movie? You gotta love a western where one of the best showdowns isn't done with guns but by a Latin-off.”

Check it out right here:

Hollywood Elsewhere

Nekkid Lady Question
“I am a huge fan of Western Movies. I always find your tidbits [on the Westerns Channel] very informative. I am trying to find a picture that is usually hanging in a bar. It is a picture of a reclining lady in a state of semi-dress. My husband wants this picture or a print or any information about this. We have been married for 17 years and this is the only thing that he will ask for his present. Any information will be greatly appreciated.”
—Shannon G.Roberts, Asheboro, N.C.

Shannon,
The short answer to your question is: which one? Requesting a picture of a reclining lady in a state of semi-dress, usually hanging over a bar in a saloon, is like asking for a magazine that shows cleavage, and provocative women. They are too numerous to mention.

The semi-clad lady was painted hundreds, if not thousands of times, in any number of poses and styles. Of course, it was mandatory in any good saloon, and there were many artists anxious to sell one. You can find these images all over the country in antique stores and on eBay, I'm sure. Good luck.

By the way, does he have a subscription to True West? We cover these paintings from time to time in our Collecting the West department.
—BBB

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
"As a longtime hairboy, I applaud your salute to our shaggy ancestors. Commodore Perry Owens has long been a personal hero, for nothing more than the length of his mane. Speaking of pioneer styles: Have you ever seen a photo of a hatless Custer? He had a seriously ugly comb-over.

“As for hair styles changing not only over time, but shifting culturally, consider that in the 1950s what passed for long hair -- not much, admittedly -- was chiefly worn by the working class rebels. (E.g., THE WILD ONE) In the 1960s (which as you well know was the late 1960s through the early 1970s, the early 1960s being culturally closer to the 1950s), long hair flowered among hippies, bohemians, and the anti-whatevers. But today, chances are you might find a pony tail on the head of a (male) poet, construction worker, or patent lawyer.

“Flag apparel has similarly migrated. What got Abbie Hoffman arrested several decades ago is today ubiquitous. Construction workers and motorcyclists, to name two, are partial to flag bandanas. Politicians favor flag ties (and other errors in good taste too numerous to inventory).”
—Dan Buck, Washington D.C.

“The artist must make posterity believe he never lived.”
—Flaubert