March 2, 2010
Went to yoga this morning for the first time in a month. Felt good.

Mark Boardman flew in yesterday and we went over editorial plans for the rest of the year. Lots of good ideas all around. I'm very excited about what we have coming up. He spent the night at our house and took off this morning for Shakespeare, New Mexico and points beyond.

Speaking of Mark, last week I put out the word that I needed a photo of Lt. Ives, who was instrumental in exploring Arizona in the late 1850s. In spite of the fact that he later joined the confederacy and served directly under Jefferson Davis, neither Mark nor Marshall Trimble could find a photo of Ives either on Google (lots of Burl Ives but no Lt. Ives) or in the numerous state historical societies. All had info on him, none had a photo.

So once again I went to my clip file to find a likely face and uniform for the intrepid but not very visionary explorer (after exploring northern Arizona he wrote in his official report that a certain canyon was "worthless" and his party would be the last "white" people to ever see it. The worthless canyon later became known as Grand Canyon National Park). So, here is my weekend take on the Man With Zero Vision:



In spite of my best efforts, I'm afraid he looks a little too much like a 1950s movie western character. The hat and face, which I studied off of an 1860s photograph of a great looking miner doesn't help, even though I was quite faithful to the actual look. I also botched the canyon (bottom right), even though I had great Ed Mell reference. And, I haven't finished the "crew" with Ives, with the Indians, probably Mohaves and Hualapais, ashamed for having wasted his time and taking him to such a worthless place. Ha.


Very ambitious and I've already spent way too much time on it, but hey, that's what I love to do: waste time on historic authenticity to the point of ruining a modest joke.


"I believe we have a proud history if you don't count the last 500 years."
—BBB