July 21, 2008
Back to cardio rehab this morning. I'm in phase II now with a much larger regimen including leg thrusts, chesti-ment bog bogs and back muscle dealie deals. Feels very good.

Got a heads up from Alan Huffines, who's on R&R from Iraq:

Another Great Hat And Faces That Are Easy to Look At
A romantic action-adventure set in northern Australia prior to World War II, 'Australia' centers on an English aristocrat (Nicole Kidman) who inherits a ranch the size of Maryland. When English cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn cattle driver (Hugh Jackman) to drive 2000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country’s most unforgiving land, only to still face the bombing of Darwin, Australia by the Japanese forces that had attacked Pearl Harbor only months earlier. With his new film, director-writer-producer Baz Luhrmann is painting on a vast canvas, creating a cinematic experience that brings together romance, drama, adventure and spectacle.



Damn, she's pretty. I think I've seen the previews for this film, but I don't recall if it came out yet.

Blog Comments
"Regarding your photo ID regarding She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, in the US Cavalry of the 1870's period the commands were echoed by a Trumpeter and the Infantry used a Bugler....this way if you have mixed Regiments in the field they don't confuse each other with commands. (In the same way both Infantry and Cavalry broke the Regiment into 'Companies' but unofficially the Cavalry called them 'Troopers') The Trumpeter was a member of the Regimental musicians and would not have worn NCO stripes on his sleeve.(They had a little musician emblem for higher ranks, plus a musician's double stripe on the trouser legs) I guess my point is....don't go looking at John Ford's Cavalry films for a History lesson. The biggest flaw in my book is the braces (suspenders) worn throughout his films. That may have been common with the State Militia's during the Spanish American War but NOT in the regular Army during the 19th Century. This was considered underwear and the 1st SGT would give Company Punishment to anyone that dressed in such a manner (especially in front of the Company Commander!) Also there would NOT have been Officer insignia or chevrons sewed onto a shirt!!!!!!! Uniform Nazi signing off."
—Jim Hatzell

"Bob, How much for your cloud study? I sure do like it. The combination of your personal style with a bit of Maynard Dixon influence can't be beat."
—Gerri G., Santa Fe, New Mexico

I emailed Gerri a number, Gerri bought it and I'm shipping the painting to Santa Fe later this week.

“Until I read what you had blogged about the New Yorker cartoon re: the Obamas, I thought I must truly be crazy, because I thought it was brilliant and I seemed to be alone. But you know why I thought it was brilliant? (Hey, remember Life of Reilly?) I thought it was a PARODY of Chicago in 1968. I didn't even snap that it was Michelle, I thought it was ANGELA DAVIS! I still think that it's very, very funny even if I clearly live in the past.”
— Bonny H. in Cedar Crest

"Dear Mr. Bob Boze Bell: I used to know an ol’ kid that had a name similar to yours, this was a long time ago back in the late 50’s and early 60’s, where I grew up in Kingman, Arizona. He was a funny fellow, as I recall… that’s funny ha-ha, not funny Down’s… and kinda artistic, too. His name was Robert Bell and he ran around with a second-cousin of mine, Darrell Christensen, along with several others with names like 'Charlie' and 'Daniel' and 'David', I think. This kid had a different sort of laugh, more of a chuckle than a cackle, and in my mind’s eye I can see him walking out of Mr. McCleve’s Art Room, down at the end of the long hall on the first floor in the new wing of the High School, with papers under one arm laughing and talking with his friends. Everybody liked that kid, I think, because of his lame sense of humor and his soft, easy-going manner. Shoot, somebody (maybe it was old Darrell) said he ended up getting into the Broadcasting business. Maybe he took after Ron (gag) Wilson on K-Triple-A. Anyway, he got to be a D.J. on the radio in the Big City, I guess, and got himself into a whole HEAP of trouble for something he said over the air. Now, like I said, this ol’ kid had a lame sense of humor and I don’t know what the big stink was all about but, I mean, there wuz lawyers wanting to get involved and everything from the way I heard the story! I will have to find out all of the details from someone who was around at the time because the stuff I heard was sketchy at best. I’m not finished yet, because after that, or maybe it was before, I heard that he peeed his pants while standing in the lobby of the Valley National Bank. He must-a been really afraid when he saw who the next available teller was… in order for an accident like that to have happened! I’m probably getting the facts all messed up here but not by much…

"I don’t rightly know, or I probably never heard, what ever became of him after that. I’m guessing that maybe he left the Radio business for something which was a little less controversial and more to his liking. Perhaps he went to Nashville (he played in a High School Rock-and-Roll Band for a while… you know, banjo or something noisy… Mr. Gould was his personal trainer, I think) and possibly became a big Country-Western star, buuuut I doubt it. Not that he wasn’t musical enough, or anything, but I see him staying out West (now that I think about it) because he Truly liked it here.

"I considered him to be my friend and one worth keeping, for sure, and if I were to ever see him again or run into him on a street somewhere, we wouldn’t even recognize one another it’s been so long... We’d probably walk right on by with only a sideways glance, each thinking to himself, 'I wonder who that old fart was!!'

"Best Wishes Whomever You Are,"

—Gary Smith

"Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that is how dogs spend their lives."
—Sue Murphy