January 16, 2007
Evidently the whole Valley got frozen pipe syndrome over the weekend. Today's Arizona Republic has a front page story on the freeze and the damage done. Fire crews got 300 calls on Sunday and 500 calls on Monday (people calling 911) to come save their flooding homes. Dave Daiss drove in from Sonoita and said he saw pipes along the highway, between Elgin and Tombstone, shooting water sky high. He had been up since 3 a.m. pouring anti-freeze in his bunkhouse toilets and wrapping lines with cloth. J.D. said his lines were so frozen when he tried to work on them they shattered.

J.D. also came by my office today to upbraid me. "I thought you said you were going to put straw in the nests for the chickens (his chickens, I inherited them, and he came down last night to check on them)." I told him my intentions were good but I haven't kept up with it. We're going to be adding a guest condo onto the end of the chicken house so we can get some chicks in the spring. J.D. is already planning the remodel.

Saving The Western Part 368
"...but in my humble opinion, this is where the Western needs to go if we're ever going to get anyone under 55 to watch one."
—BBB (see yesterday's post)
 
" But then they would not be watching a Western, would they?  What we really need to do is go back to teaching American History the proper way - as it was taught to those of us who love to watch Westerns as they should be seen: realistically, full of values, good over bad, etc..  Our educators don't teach anything about our Western heritage anymore.  They only teach the kids that cowboys are corny hicks.  When the left-leaning press can use the word 'Cowboy' to put our president down, something has gone very wrong."
— Steve Lodge

I believe the Western is constantly evolving and each generation hates the direction of the New Western. For example, I imagine the Western fans of the 1920s hated the "singing cowboy" trend (which saved The Western from oblivion in that period) and I know for a fact that most John Wayne fans hated the Sergio Leone "Westerns," especially the music which infused heavy, Rock electric guitar. And this is exactly why so many Beatles and Rolling Stones fans loved them (myself included). The same is true today with Deadwood and the language, and yet the show has attracted a younger audience. So, it seems like a no brainer to me that a Western infused with hip hop sensibilities is going to connect with a younger crowd. That's just the way it is and always will be.

Onion Headline de Jour
I Wish Someone Would Do Something About How Fat I Am

"To conquer without risk is to triumph without glory."
—Pierre Corneille