Out Here On The Sonoran Desert We Call Dust Storms Guacamuggies

 June 18, 2026

   Still noodlin' the past as I see it. What happens when Navajos and Mexicans meet?

Daily Whip Out: "Yatahey Ese"

   What happens when vaqueros are riding at dusk and get swallowed up by a Guacamuggie?

Daily Whip Out:

"Vaquero at Dusk In A Guacamuggie"

   Full disclosure: in the 1980s on the Jones, Boze & Jeanne Radio Show (KSLX) we did a a bit about renaming Haboobs because we thought that sounded too Mideastern and we wanted our own term for the summer storms, and our clever listeners bombarded us with suggestions like Megahuggie and my personal favorite, Guacamuggie, which if memory serves me correctly was Jeanne Sedello's clever term.

Daily Whip Out: "Midnite Guacamuggie"

"The desert teaches you more about water than the ocean ever could."

—Old Vaquero Saying

Uno And His Assistant In The Triple B Studio

 June 17, 2026

   My daughter Deena comes in from Seattle today.

Uno and his Studio Assistant

   And, here is the above photo in context:

State Forty Eight And BBB

     And, in case you were wondering what is on the art desk to my right, in the above photo. . .

Desk Top Rodeo

By Rooster Rob Mathiash

   This photo captures the scattered nature of my work ethic. At any given time I am usually working on multiple images, laying in some strokes on one, grabbing another unfinished—or, in some cases, finished!—artwork and giving it another go. That is my cartoon creation, The Doper Roper, bottom right, which is a photo of Granthum P. Hooker (actually a pressman at Rau Advertising) holding a Coors can at the Heatwave Cafe which was actually a remote bar north of Buckeye, Arizona known locally as Froggy Bottom, circa 1974. And I see several Old Vaquero paintings in progress, a young Jesse James, Emiliano Zapata, Wyatt Earp from the side, a study of a Vincent van Gogh (peeking from behind, top, left) and the movie poster for Young Guns on the wall behind everything.

   All of which begs the question for a guy six months shy of turning 80: I fear I have wandered onto the stage and stayed too long. It's embarrassing and pathetic. What can I do to possibly redeem myself?

An Exit Strategy

   Be gracious, generous and grateful  Orchestrate your exit from the stage. Gift as much as you can. Enjoy the process and let it go. All the put downs and humiliation gave your life meaning and context. Embrace it all. What a gift!

"The really worst part of being 80 is that you find, at last, you've got an understanding of something that might have altered everything in the past, had it come at a time when something could still be altered."

—Bob Dylan

Death Metal Cowboy Meets Inky, Dark Gothic Vaquero

 June 16, 2026

   Woke up in a funk. Feeling a bit blue. It happens. But then I have friends who make me laugh and I pull out of it. Read on.

Seriograph of "Cave Creek Crazy Arms"

(5 of 38 art print)

   Yes, when we first moved out to Cave Creek in the eighties, this twisted cacti stood about 20 yards from our house near the banks of the creek. I marveled at the arms of agony and finally walked down there and sat at the base and looked up to sketch what became this pen and ink rendering of what happens to saguaros who end up in the creek bottom and have to endure the colder, frigid air during the winter months, which twists the arms into gothic shapes. Boy howdy.

Daily Scratchboard Whip Out:

"Old Vaquero Demonic"

      Maybe, just maybe, that is the key to this Old Vaquero dude. Perhaps he is not the wisened old sweet-heart of a curmudgeon we thought he was.

Daily Scratchboard Whip Out:

"Old Vaquero Demonic II"

"When the law is far, the fist is near."

—Old Vaquero Saying

Daily Whip Out: "Pendejo Puncher"

Daily Whip Out: "When Nana Gets Steamed"

(known north of the border as "When Grandma Gets Steamed"

Good Advice From An Old Friend

"Give it that inky, dark Gothic Vaquero, Death Metal Cowboy, sharp-shinned, sinister, sexy silhouette, that you do so well."

—Kit Carson, the sculptor, not the pathfinder

How to Spot AI Ridiculousness Before It Swallows Us All

 June 15, 2026

   The AI Accusation Era is upon us. How many times have you heard, "That's fake, that's AI"? For me, I hear it every single day. Sometimes ten times a day. How it will impact history in the long run has yet to be seen, but there are signs it will not be good.

   For starters, it can't be positive when manufactured images of purported historical characters begin to proliferate all across the web and beyond. For example, is this an authentic photo of Wyatt Earp?

Wyatt Earp In Camp?

   Not hardly, but here's another one. . .

Another fake AI Wyatt In Camp image

Both are fabricated, and most likely modeled from this photograph:

The real Wyatt, Josie & Earpie in camp

   As the AI tech gets better, at some point it will be damn hard to spot what is authentic and what is made up. Hang on, it's going to get bumpy.

"Anyone who believes you can't change history has never tried to write his memoirs."

—David Benburion

Old Vaquero Sayings Makes A Big Splash In The Epitaph

 June 14, 2026

   Just received the latest Tombstone Epitaph and found a nice treat in the center spread.

Tombstone Epitaph Center Spread, page 1

Tombstone Epitaph Center Spread, page 2

   This is our designer, Rebecca Edwards, at her best. Excellent balance and colorful layout. Expect to see more of this.

   Meanwhile, out in the dust bowl. . .

Daily Whip Out: "Dust Figures Advance"

   And speaking of dust, my Kingman Cowboy Cousin, Craig Hamilton, told me some of the wildest rodeos he has ever witnessed were on the Turkey Track Ranch, and totally unplanned.

Daily Whip Out:

"Rodeo On The Ridgeline"

   

“Tequila is Spanish for I don’t remember doing that.”

—Old Vaquero Saying

Previews of Coming Distractions: 13 Real Wild Women

 June 13, 2026

   I just got word that one of my favorite museums wants to do a major art show featuring my work on Real Wild Women of The Real Wild West next year. Here's who they want for starters:

"Las Tules"

"Olive Oatman"

"Sharlot Hall Pulls A Gun

On Grover Cleveland"

"Lozen"

"Diltche"

(The Apache grandmother who walked a thousand miles without a map or provisions)

"The Scandalous Sadie Marcus"

(In your dreams!)

"The Great Western"

(who claimed she had the biggest leg in Mexico!)

"Jennie Rogers"

"I shot him because I love him, Damn him!"

"Big Nose Kate"

"Stagecoach Mary"

"Hogtown Hussies"

(Flora Quck, Squirrel Tooth Alice & 3 Others) 

"Adelita"

"Bruja Suprema"

(Bruja is Spanish for witch)

"Belle Starr"

"Amelia Robles"

   And, of course, the show and the subsequent book will be dedicated to the late, great Jana Bommersbach.

"Well-behaved women seldom make history"

—Old Vaquero Saying

Uno Stalks Giant Saguaro And Girls Just Really Wanna Have A Certain Amount of Fun

 June 12, 2026

  You can sometimes see the funniest things out on the great Sonoran Desert. For example, just this morning I witnessed this up on Morningstar.

A Giant Saguaro With A Bird On Top

And A Skulking Dog at The Bottom

     Here's a better look at the bird. . .

     And, here's a better look at the skulking dog. . .

     Uno does his best bird dog imitation.                            

   My son, Tomas, has a great character and I whipped him out this little caricature of her.

Daily Whip Out: "Mama Luisa"

   I have a hunch this was written about guys like me.

“Fun is fun, but no girl wants to laugh all the time.”

—Anita Loos

From Dust to Dusk In The Loosie Goosie Style Endures

 June 11, 2026

   I've been going back through some of my old sketchbooks and seeing pages that could be improved. This is one of them.

Daily Revised Whip Outs:

"Apache Dust Series #79"

(originally sketched on January 14, 2007)

     And, this is another one.

Daily Revised Whip Out: "Basin Rider"

(originally sketched on Dec. 30, 2006)

   Nobody can do Loosie Goosie like a cat on a quest to do 10,000 bad drawings.

   And in the parlance of the times. . .

From Dust to Dusk In The Loosie Goosie Style

   This morning, before dawn, I found an old, unfinished illustration and I thought to myself, "I know exactly where this wants to go."

Daily Revised Whip Out:

"There She Was In The Sideyard

With Half Her Skirt Off, Waiting"

   And, some visages have haunted me for a very long time.

Daily Revised Whip Out:

"Poor Little Mickey"

     But one theme returns time and again.

Daily Whip Out: "The Lone Kitchen Light"

"All houses are dark until the mother wakes up."

—Old Vaquero Saying

When Dust Obliterates Everything But Minute Details

 June 10, 2026

   I am still chasing dust storms and the subtle effects they create. Or, put another way, what can you see when you can't see squat?

Daily Whip Out: "Dust Buster 13"

   Got some movement going there in all that murky dust and if I'm not mistaken I think I can hear that horse honkin' as well.

Daily Whip Out:

"Dust Storm Up On The Blue"

Daily Whip Out:

"Dust Funnel Forms Up On The Kaibab"

   And, as you may know, I often open up old sketchbooks and see a series of scenes I think I can improve:

Daily Whip Outs:

"Mickey & His Mammoth Jack In Dust"

Daily Whip Out:

"Apache Caught In Dust Devil"

Daily Whip Out:

"Dust Storm Vague"

   Sometimes the dust is so thick it's hard to make out what's actually in there. See it?

   A closer look, tomorrow.

"To be everywhere is to be nowhere."

—Seneca

A Red Flag Moment

 June 9, 2026

So, just for grins last night, Kathy and I watched "Taza, Son of Cochise" starring Rock Hudson as Taza. Yes, it is a cringer, but it has its moments.

A Red Flag Moment

Towards the end, a U.S. Cavalry unit rides to the rescue (imagine that!) and one of the guidons is carrying this crazy red flag which I can't recall ever seeing in an Old West portrayal of cavalry.

A Definite Red Flag

(as if the film needed one)

A Creeker friend of mine, Joe Daignault, said it's probably an homage to all the Communists living in Hollywood at the time. Ha. That said, I have long ago learned to not pooh pooh crazy, odd historical details because sometimes, they turn out to be correct. Here are a few of the comments about the red flag when I posted this photo online:

"During the Civil War, the Sibley, Texas Brigade carried a red banner with a white single star. Not sure what it would have to do with post Civil War Union Cavalry though."

—Mike Vander Maten

"The one star brigadier general flag was authorized in 1903. So, if this represents a brigadier general in the movie, it is a Hollywood moment."

—Dom Dal Bello

The officer's flag shown was originally for use as a 'boat flag' in the late 19th century, which an Army officer could display when visiting a Navy ship or facility (all the Navy guys had cool flags, with blue backgrounds, so it was only fair the Army guys should have their own). The use of the red officer's flag by the Army and Marines in other places (on cars, in the field, at headquarters, etc) was officially a 20th century development.

But when you're making a low budget movie and are forced to pick through the leavings of the prop department for the stuff you need, a cool flag is a cool flag."

—Scot Stirling

So, I think it's safe to say, this is a historically incorrect—but correct later—tidbit in an otherwise totally bogus movie.

Glad we got that straightened out.

"The only thing new in this world, is the history you don't know."

—Harry Truman

The Valley of Yanque Lies at 10,000 Feet And The Surrounding Mountains Are at 12,000 Feet!

 June 8, 2026

A mere five months after twin heart attacks as a result of playing Wipeout at a band reunion for the Exits, I found myself at 12,000 feet above sea level. I was in Peru with Kathy to visit our son who was in the Peace Corp in the high mountain village of Yanque at 10,000 feet, which is damned high enough, but we had to come in over a pass that was at 12,000 feet!

Daily Whip Outs:

"In The Valley of Yanque, Peru"

This is a page from my sketchbook I made while there and the bottom notation of "7000!" refers to the number of bad sketches I had already made on my way to 10,000. You might say I was high on life at the time. Here are several other pages from our Peru adventure.

My heart doctor in Phoenix made me wear a heart monitor before our trip and he insisted I go up to the Snow Bowl north of Flagstaff and hike up to the tallest peak—at 7,000 feet—to see if my heart would take it. I passed the test and so we flew to Lima, Peru after a stop off at Suchitoto, San Salvador. And, here's a sketch of Lake Suchitlan from the balcony of La Posada where we stayed. Lovely place.

Daily Whip Outs: "Lake Suchitlan"

I have a sneaky suspicion that in my next graphic novel story there will be a character from Yanque, Peru.

"It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness."

—Seneca