The Pendejo Project, Part II

 April 17, 2026

   Now, for your viewing pleasure is the first of many Pendejo Project videos.

in The Land of Bashan Plus A Foolish Project by A Bunch of Pendejos

 April 16, 2026

   I've been filing and refiling projects in the studio and found this little set piece from our story about the Oatman tragedy.

Daily Revised Whip Out:

"In The Land of Bashan"

I told Dan The Man I am doing a "Pendejo Project" with Wonderful Russ, Mad Coyote Joe and Jeff Schreckler and what would a logo for that enterprise look like? So Harshberger sent me this.

   It's actually more true than I ever imagined, if you know what I mean and I think you do.

   Last night, The Historical League at Arizona Historical Center at Papago Park unveiled a new addition to their annual Arizona Historymakers display and here is one of them.

BBB's Arizona Historymakers Display

at AZ Heritage Center in Papago Park

   Yes, that is one of my hats, my drumsticks and one of my sketchbooks, not to mention a couple True West magazines and mucho photos of my family. Very proud to honored in this way.

   The other good news is that overhead is a fantastic mural by Maynard Dixon!

Your morning Maynard, overhead!

   The story about how this wonderful mural survived the trash, tomorrow.

“No poem was ever written by a drinker of water.”

—Old Vaquero Saying

Dust Storm Up On The Blue & Celebrating The Centennial of The Mother Road In Style

 April 15, 2026

   You can take the boy out of the dust, but you can't take the dust out of the boy!

Daily Whip Out: "Dust Storm Up On The Blue"

  I've seen all kinds—including this one!—growing up in Mohave County, and I lived to tell the tale.

Mother Road Take Me Home

What would be a cool poster on the Mother Road for the centennial? Here's a rough idea.

   And, here is where Dan The Man took that idea.

   As far as T-shirts go, here is where everyone else is going. . .

  Oh, this is rich. There are no saguaros on 66! Ha.

  Okay, what else we got? Stand by for new designs.

“Truth and roses have thorns about them.”

—Old Vaquero Saying

Mickey On The Brink Sees It All

 April 14, 2026

   At the end of the day, what exactly have we learned?

Daily Reworked Whip Out:

"Reflections On The Colorado"

"[We] all are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusions is called a philosopher."

—Ambrose Bierce

   After all our sanctimonious posturing, I think it's safe to say, even whores need love.

Daily Revised Whip Out:

"Scarlet The Harlot"

   Especially whores!

   While we're being culturally insensitive. . .

Mexican word of the day: Wheelchair

"Juan and me only have one taco, but it's okay, wheelchair."

   People are shocked I have a police record but I just like their music.

"Here's how messed up our country is right now. I actually know who my congressperson is."

—Matt Goldich

Take A Bite Out of Crime, Literally

   I ate a kid's meal at McDonald's yesterday. His mother was furious.

Visiting ducks enjoying our pool

   Have you started to notice a trend here?

"Everything starts with the page. You can have vision, style, performance, but if it's not written, it doesn't exist."

—Marin Scorsese

Daily Revised Whip Out:

"Mickey On The Brink Sees It All"

"It's not what you look at, it's what you see."
—Old Vaquero Saying

The Wildest Western Artist In History? Well, You Know, As In The History Business. . .

 April 13, 2026

   One of the things I don't want to lose is my rock and roll tendencies. I hate to admit it, but sometimes, when I'm doing True West history, I get tagged as a little too mainstream for my own tastes.

Daily Whip Outs:

"The 47 First Loves of A Soiled Dove"

   On the other hand, I have to concede I can seem to some a little too stodgy:

      Ask my kids and their kids.

      Honestly, I see myself more in the Rough and Rowdy Ways genre (to borrow a phrase from Dylan's world tour). You know, like this.

Daily Whip Outs: "Honkytonk Mahem"

     Speaking of mayhem, this puppy won a prize two nights ago.

   This book—cover designed by Dan The Man Harshberger—is in the National Cowboy Hall of Fame gift shop because one of the songs, “Burnin’ Vein,” won a Wrangler Award for music composition.  On Saturday night Bones (Alan Birkelbach), Karla K. Morton, and Michael Martin Murphy received Wrangler Awards. Speaking for the group, Michael Martin Murphy dropped this little bombshell during his acceptance speech.

“[This book] was illustrated by the wildest Western artist in history, Bob Boze Bell.”

—Michael Martin Murphy

Dating Myself

 April 12, 2026

   Rebecca Edwards and I are working on the next doubletruck for The Tombstone Epitaph and I'm featuring my sketching encounter with the legendary Zonie, Gail Gardner, back in 1985.

My Gail Gardner sketches, 1985

    Rebecca said she couldn't use the jpeg of my sketches (too small) and she wanted to know if I have anything higher res, so I went out into the garage to look for a box of Arizona Highways I bought in 1985 just so I could grab the original article in cases just like this one.

   Couldn't find it. What I did find was a ton of photos from the past which I am having a hell of a time dating. On one, it's very obvious, on the others, well, you'll see. . .

Dating Myself

   I remember taking this photo when we were walking down a side street in Opodepe, Mexico and I looked over and saw this cat sunning himself in an open window.

Window Dressing, Opodepe, Mexico

(circa 1990)

   The reason I say, circa, is because Deena was maybe ten when her school in Cave Creek did an exchange with the school in Opodepe, Mexico and we went down there for a very enlightening exchange program. While there we hiked up to a bacanora still high on the side of a mountain and I took this photo of the entire village in the distance.

Opodepe looking northeast

   Two of my best friends, long gone and I miss them every day.

Edmundo Mell and Charlie Waters

at Boots Nightclub in Phoenix

(maybe 1983?)

The Generation at The Doll House

on Speedway Blvd. in Tucson, circa 1966

(me on drums)

Thomas Bell at Sagunto in Spain, circa 2003

(it is a giant fort that was besieged by Alexander the Great and it is at least ten times larger than the Alamo)

   Other times, the date on a photo I find is carved into my head—in stone.

O.K. Corral Centennial fight location

 October 26, 1981, 2:20 p.m.

(waiting for the exact time, 2:30 to start)

"The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there."

—Old Vaquero Saying

Profiles In Pendejo-ism & Publishing House Doubles Down

 April 11, 2026

   Did some reworking today.

Daily Whip Out: "The Lone Sentry"

   Here's another angle for exploration:

Profiles In Pendejoism

   In the Wild West, so many men did so many pendejo things it's not even funny.

   Well, maybe it's a little bit funny.

Paramount Is Getting Back Into Print

   Why? “Stories that originate on the page have a unique power to build immersive worlds, create compelling characters and forge deeper connections with fans,” a Paramount spokesman said in a statement. “With the launch of Paramount Global Publishing, we’re expanding the reach of our most beloved franchises while also introducing original stories to audiences around the world.”

Notes to Self

   For all my own ridiculousness I was dealt a pretty strong hand.

   Just because you wrote it down doesn't make it true.

   One of the things that needs to be filmed in the remake of "Tombstone" is the end of the story where Wyatt and Josie are trying to figure out how to cash in on his life story and they have the ear of Tom Mix and William S. Hart and they still can't get a commercial story going.

   So, don't worry. Wyatt Earp couldn't figure it out either. His last words were, "Suppose, suppose. . ."

"We remember Wyatt Earp not for who he was, but for what he means."

—Thom Ross

The Pendejo Project

 April 10, 2026

   What does my favorite state look like to me metaphorically? 

Daily Revised Whip Out:

"Arizona Statehood Panorama" 

(Ed Mell meets Maynard Dixon on acid)

  Got a new project pending. . .

Daily Whip Outs:

"A Gaggle of Pendejos"

"Who, me?"

   Yes, you.

The Pendejo Project

   Let's face it, gringo pendejos need love too.

Dos Gringo Pendejos from Bakersfield

      Or, hell, they can even be from kingman.

Especially from Kingman!

This Just In From Mad Coyote Joe

   In honor of our Pendejo Project I made a wing marinade, chipotle, soy, sesame oil, fresh garlic, lime juice, rice vinegar! I have oak grilled them on the Chimmenea (very Pendejo) I give you. . .

Wings Pendejo!

“The past is never done with you.”

—Old Vaquero Saying

Red Head Redemption Plus Mickey Free's MoFo Mammoth Jack & Bob Dylan's Poetic Ode to The Western

 April 9, 2026

   I've been roaming around this planet long enough now to come to this conclusion, regarding creating artwork: The trick my friend, is to find the sweet spot between holding on and letting go.

Moon Setting Over The Seven Sisters

at Sunrise

   One stellar sphere goes down, another one comes up.

Sometimes, deep in a honkytonk, you will find redemption.

Daily Whip Out: "Red Head Redemption"

   On the other hand, well, you know where this is going.

Daily Scratchboard Whip Out: "The Mistress"

   On the other hand, some of my friends met their match in those smoky barrooms.

Daily Whip Out: "A Tall Formidable Girl"

   Here's a story idea: What if The Hulk was a giant jackass?

"Mickey's Mean MoFo Mammoth Jack"

   This is an excellent music video and I recognize almost all the movie snippets they used. Can you?

Bob Dylan Westerns Tribute

   It has been called "logrolling" when one author praises another author's books—expecting one in return—but I have to say, when I have needed quotes for my books nobody has been as original and creative as this guy.

"Saddle up for a ride into the Boze Zone—where truth really is stranger than fiction."

—Paul Andrew Hutton

Stan Jones Ranger

 April 8, 2026

   More backstory on the genesis of Ghost Riders In The Sky.

Ranger Tales

  Stanley "Slick" Davis Jones was born in Douglas, Arizona in 1914. His father was a doctor and one of the first settlers in Cochise County.

   Of course, the before mentioned version of how Ghost Riders came into being, from the top of a windmill, is not the only accepted version. In another genesis of the song, when Stanley was about 12 he supposedly heard a story from an old Apache who described the spirits of cowboy who had lost their way and who were doomed to ride eternally across the sky, chasing a herd they would never catch. The eventual song he wrote took a long time, and a significant detour, before it was "penned."

The best book on the life of Jones

   When his father died, his mother moved the family to Los Angeles. He went to college at Berkeley where he earned a master's degree in zoology. During this time Jones competed in rodeos to make money. After a stint in the Navy, he worked as a miner, a fire fighter and a park ranger. It was in this last gig, after the war, when he was working for the National Park Service in Death Valley, California where he got his big break. Hollywood scouts were looking at film locations around Death Valley and when they asked their guide to give them a sample of "campfire music," Jones played a song he had just written called "Ghost Riders In The Sky." The song was recorded in 1948 (some say '49). The Hollywood boys were impressed and Jones was then assigned as technical advisor on the film The Walking Hills and there he met the legendary John Ford who hired him to write music for The Searchers and Rio Grande. In fact Jones has a bit part in the latter.

Stan Jones movie credit on Rio Grande

   Jones eventually wrote 100 Western songs and my friends in the Western Writers of America named three of his songs as being among the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

   Someone recently asked me what Uno's full name is and so I told them on the condition they not spread it around because the boy is a little sensitive to the moniker.

Uno Moco Seco

(One Dry Booger)

Past Imperfect: A Vain van Gogh Comparison

 April 7, 2026

   According to the old vaqueros it is the bane of existence to compare yourself to anyone, other than, perhaps your former self. And, speaking of my former self, my muse, Kathy Sue, cooked up a tour of van Gogh Country back in 2015. We met in Amsterdam and toured the famous  Rijks Museum, then we took the train to Nuenen (Vincent's hometown), then on to Brussells, Paris, Arles, Sainte-Maries, San Remy, then back to Paris and out to Auvers-Sur-Oise where Vincent was shot by a Buffalo Bill wannabe. The Ds decided to come along as well. That would be Dan & Darlene Harshberger.

   What we saw and experienced was life changing for me.

BBB at San Remy Insane Asylum

(with my hero, Vincent)

   According to Google search, van Gogh created some 2,000 artworks in his short life and that is broken down as 1,100 drawings and sketches and 900 paintings (although one source claims the actual number is 864 paintings). And, of course, legend says he only sold one painting in his lifetime and that would be this one.

"The Red Vineyard"

   Which van Gogh reportedly sold for 400 francs to a fellow painter and collector, Anna Boch. Today, 400 francs is worth about $500 US dollars. And here's a recent painting I sold at a certain museum for that same exact number.

"An In-din On An Indian In In-din Country"

   So, I think it's safe to day I have outsold van Gogh during our respective lifetimes.

“Comparison is the thief of joy.”

—Old Vaquero Saying

Love In The Time of Houlihans

 April 6, 2026

   Wrote this up for a couple former Zonies I know who had an anniversary yesterday.

Love In The Time of Houlihans

   A long time ago, in another century, two young lovers met at a Houlihan's in the small town of Phoenix, Arizona. Now Houlihan's was old school.  You had to mail in your reservation and if you were accepted you would take a stagecoach to the restaurant and the waitress would let you in if you knew the password (mine was jackalope all lower case). If you wanted to know the specials, well, that was what the telegraph was for. Nobody complained about the service because there was none in those primitive days.

Steve and Kristina Randolph

at the Grand Canyon, circa 1986

   Anyway, this handsome young couple fell in love but there was one problem: the groom, a young strapping buck, worshipped an outlaw by the name of Billy the Kid. This set the youngster off on a bad path and I don't want to name all the hanky panky bank jobs he pulled, but let's just say, when he proposed to the pretty girl he met at Houlihan's the Arizona Department of Public Safety, The Arizona Rangers and Arizona Public Service pooled together all their resources to buy the young newlyweds a one-way ticket to Wyoming.

   I'd like to say their time there was delightful but the two somehow thought it was a good idea to get into the restaurant business. Somehow, they survived that and several other calamities and here we are forty years later and they are still a couple.  As anyone who has been married for more than ten minutes knows, someone in the relationship deserves sainthood and it would be beneath me to name that person but her name rhymes with Kristina Randolph.

   Happy 40th anniversary you two love birds and if you happen to make it to your 50th I'll personally mail in an order of green chile burgers to Houlihan's in your honor.

An Actual Telegraph Board Menu

from Houlihan's

More Mule Appreciation Plus Marsh Cracks Us Up!

 April 6, 2026

   When it comes to mammoth jacks, Mickey's mule is hard to beat.

Daily Whip Out: 

"Standing Tall: Mickey's Mammoth Mule Tú"

    Talking about this guy never gets old. . .

Great Storytellers I Have Known

   When it comes to great storytellers much can be said for Yavapai County, home of Gail Gardner and up the road a piece, this guy:

Ashfork's Favorite Son Marshall Trimble

  Yes, Marshall Trimble has been Arizona's official state historian for the past 35 years. And, although he retired this year from True West, where he wrote the very popular column Ask The Marshall for the past 25 years, Marsh—as we affectionately call him—has kept us in stitches for decades. For example, I thought my school was small, but Marsh informed me his school was so small they had driver's ed and sex ed in the same car! Damn, that's pretty small.

   Marsh also has many stories about the folks from his home town, for example, he likes to say "you know you're in a small town when you dial a wrong telephone number and wind up talking to someone for 30 minutes anyway, or when yhou move across town and don't have to leave a forwarding address. In a small town, when you have an emergency, all you have to do is step out on the front porch and hollar, '911,' and first responders arrive immediately. A small town is where everybody knows who the father of the pups is, and everybody whose checks are good and whose husbands aren't." 

   We co-wrote this book which was a hoot-and-a-half:

  This next one applies to my recent meltdown over being snubbed in the art world.

   The math is Brutal! Ay Yi Yi. But there it is in black and white.

"In the end, you miss all the shots you didn't take."

—Old Vaquero Saying