Summer Thunderheads, Navajo Lightning & Wyatt Earp Strikes Out

 August 17, 2026

   A giant thunderhead on the horizon.

Daily Revised Whip Out:

"An Arizona Thunderhead"

   I know this looks fake, like a flying saucer taking off, but I drew this from life of a giant thunderhead that towered over New River Mesa last year. Powerful? Oh, yes, but I am not alone in my awe of that regard:

"In Navajo-Diné culture, Thunder and Lightning are the most holiest entities, known for their ability to locate lost or missing items.

"There are two genders of lightning in the Navajo-Diné culture. Male lightning strikes from the sky down to the ground. Female lightning strikes from the ground up to the sky.

"According to Navajo-Diné culture, lightning and thunder are not to be feared, as they serve to guide and protect the people. Lightning can alert you to impending danger and can act as a defense when you have no weapon to defend yourself. However, it can also bring punishment if you are doing something wrong. Navajo-Diné tradition advises against touching anything that lightning has struck, including animals and trees, because it can cause a deadly illness.

"Thunder Deities created various animals like reptiles, scaled fish, dogs, and horned toads or lizards. The Navajo-Diné people are not supposed to eat these animals or mark them with the color red, as red symbolizes thunder.

"Snakes are lightning bolts, and their remains can be revived by lightning. Navajo-Diné customs discourage picking things up between their fingers, because it is a behavior that is associated with snakes. Dogs, seen as gifts from the Thunder Deities, can perceive the unseen and they should not be touched or kept indoors during storms, as they embody lightning."

—Jim Tang

Read more from Jim Tang here:

Firekeepers

Meanwhile, out on the film stock range. . .

Ten Westerns I'd Really Like to See

   I think it's time for a new angle on the true stories of the Old West.

   Over the past century-and-change, a ton of Western characters have had their stories told in Western film. Some more than others. Here's a random list of the number of films by character:

• Billy the Kid, 67 films

• Jesse James, 39 films

• Wyatt Earp, 32 films

• Custer, 32 films (Wikipedia says "more than 30")

• Calamity Jane, 21 films

• The Dalton Gang, about 12 films

   But even though Hollywood has drawn from the same characters numerous times, it's kind of amazing what topics they haven't yet touched. This is where these new stories come from. You know, like this one:

   And, yes, I know the movie "Sunset" (1988) deals with Wyatt Earp (James Garner) and Tom Mix (Bruce Willis) having adventures and solving a mystery in Tinseltown, but the premise is backward! The real Wyatt Earp couldn't get arrested in Hollywood (I mean that metaphorically because the real Wyatt Earp did, in fact, get arrested for a bunco scheme) and he desperately needed money because his wife was addicted to gambling and she went thru all their money. I don't know about you, but that is the story I want to see on the silver screen. A "hero" who has no clue about storytelling. That should be quite funny and poignant.

"Suppose. . .suppose."

—Wyatt Earp's last words