December 20, 2003
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are barking over the sound system in the @Area (internet cafe in downtown Valencia) "Give it away, give it away, give it away now!" Deena and I walked over here from Tommy's dorm to check our E-mail. We are the only ones in here. we ordered two cafe con leches (coffee with milk, 1 euro each). Deena has to guide me over the Spanish controls, right click, copiar and pegar, paste).
Speaking of which, got a correction from mi amigo, back in Washington, Dan Buck:
"Two minuscule corrections. Gaudy comes from the Middle English gaud, meaning trinket/ornament, not Gaudi. And the lisp is not a lisp and has nothing to do with any switch-hitting king. Other than that, que vaya bien."
We listen to Tommy's tapes, mostly the Strokes new album and The Kings of Leon, who sound like they should be from Spain, but are actually from Tennessee.
I found this poster shop called El Atril down a side street three days ago and through my interpreter, Tomas, I got them to go to the basement and bring up three classic 1920s rodeo posters. One is of a cowboy with a big Tom Mix hat on fanning, in the Plaza de Toros (bull plaza) and then they found one of a female, possibly Vera McGinnis, on tour. The cowboy was 93 euros and I got them to throw in a Mamie Van Doren look-alike in a big cowgirl hat for free. Then I went hog wild and bought two more, even bigger¨posters of rodeo performers painted by a local genius poster guy for 150 euros each. Now I have to figure out how to get them home. The local shippers won't touch it. May have to carry a big, long tube on the plane, just like Lee Harvey Oswald going to work in the Texas Book Depository, or at least that's how I'm afraid I will be perceived at Heathrow. We'll see. I feel like a mini-William Randolph Hearst, bulldozing through Europe buying up all things Western and having them shipped back to my adobe on the desert (Mr. Boze believed that if he kept building onto his home he would never die. In this room we see all of the crap Boze brought home from Europe that his wife would never let in the house. Over here is the bed where Mr. Bell slept for the last decade of his life because his wife made him stay with his precious junk. His body is still here somewhere, but no one has yet found it.)
But I digress.
The Spaniards are so sweet. We ran out of gas on our propane in the apartment overlooking the Mediterranian. So Tomas and I went next door and a Spanish babe comes over, wades out on our terrace, grabs the propane hose connector, smashes it down on the new tank, twists it expertly, says about 80 words in 15 seconds, smiles, points at Tomas and leaves. I say, "What the hell did she say," and Tommy says, "She said any time we needed any help to call her." The wedding is next week.
The Spanish women are knockouts. Really sexy and sophisticated. I complain about them all smoking but there is something about a lithe, fetching, black-booted seniorita, smoking and laughing on the blvd. and looking at you with those big blue eyes (so many blondes! Ah, those Mexican stereotypes die hard!).
And speaking of Mexican stereotypes, they don't have Mexican food. None. No tacos, no burritos, no enchilads. Here, tortilla means an egg dish, like a piece of pie, only eggs. Tommy complains how they can't tolerate spicy food. "Oh this is so hot it will burn your tongue!" And Tomas says it tastes like ketchup. Hmmmmmm.
"Live so that you can stick out your tongue at the insurance." -Don Marquis
Sunday, December 21, 2003
Friday, December 19, 2003
December 19, 2003
We drove up to Barcelona this morning for my birthday (57). Got into the very busy city at about ten. I secretly hate all the metric stuff (the speed limit is 120K, it's 15C outside and it's 335K to our destination.) When I complained to Thomas, who was driving, he smiled and said, "The Spanish think it´s amusing that we cling to the random measurement of an English King's foot."
Ouch!
Went to the Gaudi church and gardens. Really amazing and inspiring. He is, of course, the guy that we get the word gaudy from. And he earned it!
The traffic is really crazy. Get this: Rush hour is at 9 PM! I'm not making this up. They take siesta from 2 to 5, then go back to work, or out shopping until nine, when they hit the streets and go eat or go home. Last night we tried to go to a restaurant at 7:30 but nobody was open until 8! What a schedule, what a life!
"If it's worth doing too much to, it's worth doing even more to."
-Gaudi
We drove up to Barcelona this morning for my birthday (57). Got into the very busy city at about ten. I secretly hate all the metric stuff (the speed limit is 120K, it's 15C outside and it's 335K to our destination.) When I complained to Thomas, who was driving, he smiled and said, "The Spanish think it´s amusing that we cling to the random measurement of an English King's foot."
Ouch!
Went to the Gaudi church and gardens. Really amazing and inspiring. He is, of course, the guy that we get the word gaudy from. And he earned it!
The traffic is really crazy. Get this: Rush hour is at 9 PM! I'm not making this up. They take siesta from 2 to 5, then go back to work, or out shopping until nine, when they hit the streets and go eat or go home. Last night we tried to go to a restaurant at 7:30 but nobody was open until 8! What a schedule, what a life!
"If it's worth doing too much to, it's worth doing even more to."
-Gaudi
Thursday, December 18, 2003
December 18, 2003
This morning Deena, Tomas, Kathy and I went on the beach to have cafe mochas. Inside the restuarant where we got the coffees, we could see a little kid kicking a Christmas ornament around on the floor. His mom and dad were going crazy (he couldn't even walk and his papa had to hold him up, but he got the idea and was kicking like crazy).
This is the nature of the place (all of Europe actually). The papers have dozens of pages on soccer every day. I finally understand how many women must feel in the US (How many photos of guys deflecting a ball off their head do you need to see? The answer is: evidently not enough).
On Wednesday night T. took us to a soccar game in the Valencia stadium. Huge place, big as Sun Devil Stadium, maybe half full. Valencia vs. Murcia. A guy behind us yelling "Puta!" at everything (Bitch, or Whore). Two guys in front of us lit up a huge spliff. The crowd clapped politely and then went crazy when there was a score (only two, Valencia won, 2-0).
Of course there were the advertisements everywhere for companies like Super Desportes and others. Saw three American logos: Burger King, DHL and a very small Ford logo. Made me feel at home (that and the spliff and the swearing).
Game started very late, 9:30, but of course the Spanish eat dinner very late, usually around 9. This is the land of late, kind of nice really, especially with the National nap deal, which I could get used to.
On Wednesday afternoon, we visited Sagunto where there was a Roman fort, built in 100 BC. As we walked around the amazing formations I'm thinking, "They built this and fought here 100 years before Jesus. Jesus!"
I first came to Spain as an infant (56) and when I got home I was reborn."
-BBB
This morning Deena, Tomas, Kathy and I went on the beach to have cafe mochas. Inside the restuarant where we got the coffees, we could see a little kid kicking a Christmas ornament around on the floor. His mom and dad were going crazy (he couldn't even walk and his papa had to hold him up, but he got the idea and was kicking like crazy).
This is the nature of the place (all of Europe actually). The papers have dozens of pages on soccer every day. I finally understand how many women must feel in the US (How many photos of guys deflecting a ball off their head do you need to see? The answer is: evidently not enough).
On Wednesday night T. took us to a soccar game in the Valencia stadium. Huge place, big as Sun Devil Stadium, maybe half full. Valencia vs. Murcia. A guy behind us yelling "Puta!" at everything (Bitch, or Whore). Two guys in front of us lit up a huge spliff. The crowd clapped politely and then went crazy when there was a score (only two, Valencia won, 2-0).
Of course there were the advertisements everywhere for companies like Super Desportes and others. Saw three American logos: Burger King, DHL and a very small Ford logo. Made me feel at home (that and the spliff and the swearing).
Game started very late, 9:30, but of course the Spanish eat dinner very late, usually around 9. This is the land of late, kind of nice really, especially with the National nap deal, which I could get used to.
On Wednesday afternoon, we visited Sagunto where there was a Roman fort, built in 100 BC. As we walked around the amazing formations I'm thinking, "They built this and fought here 100 years before Jesus. Jesus!"
I first came to Spain as an infant (56) and when I got home I was reborn."
-BBB
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
December 17, 2003 (2nd edition)
The siesta thing is totally outrageous here in Spain. We went down to the ancient center of town on Sunday afternoon. I´m looking in a book store window and am about to go inside when the lights go out and the door locks. I look inside to see a sales clerk get down on her knees and curl up into a ball and go to sleep. I look at Tommy and say, "What the Espanole is going on here?"
"It's siesta time, Dad," my son says like I'm some ingnoramous from Kingman, Arizona. I look around and the streets are empty, like in some science fiction movie where a nerve gas has been dropped by terrorists, well let's don't go there, but you get the picture.
We wander around and look in windows. We go into a cafe (still open) and have a cafe leche (coffee with cream) and about an hour later we come outside and it´s starting to get dark, and besides it's Sunday night so I'm expecting a late Scottsdale kind of thing, but noooooooo. The town is swarming with people. It's like Christown on Christmas Eve, everywhere. Little ol' ladies walking arm in arm, all the stores full of people, cars buzzing. This goes until 11 at night!
They work until around two, siesta until five, then shop and party until dawn (on Sunday!!!!!) What do these people know that we don't?
"Inches make a champion."
-Vince Lombardid
The siesta thing is totally outrageous here in Spain. We went down to the ancient center of town on Sunday afternoon. I´m looking in a book store window and am about to go inside when the lights go out and the door locks. I look inside to see a sales clerk get down on her knees and curl up into a ball and go to sleep. I look at Tommy and say, "What the Espanole is going on here?"
"It's siesta time, Dad," my son says like I'm some ingnoramous from Kingman, Arizona. I look around and the streets are empty, like in some science fiction movie where a nerve gas has been dropped by terrorists, well let's don't go there, but you get the picture.
We wander around and look in windows. We go into a cafe (still open) and have a cafe leche (coffee with cream) and about an hour later we come outside and it´s starting to get dark, and besides it's Sunday night so I'm expecting a late Scottsdale kind of thing, but noooooooo. The town is swarming with people. It's like Christown on Christmas Eve, everywhere. Little ol' ladies walking arm in arm, all the stores full of people, cars buzzing. This goes until 11 at night!
They work until around two, siesta until five, then shop and party until dawn (on Sunday!!!!!) What do these people know that we don't?
"Inches make a champion."
-Vince Lombardid
December 17, 2003
American movie posters are everywhere here in Spain but they many times have different titles. Freaky Friday becomes Ponte En Mi Lugar( Put yourself in my place).
Matchstick Men with Nicholas Cage becomes Los Impostores( The Imposters)
S.W.A.T with Colin Ferrill becomes Swat: Los Hombres de Harrelson. The Men of Harrelson, I don´t get that one.
Bruce Almighty the Jim Carrey comedy becomes Como Dios(Like God).
The Spanish must not like fairy tales because Once Upon A Time In Mexico has been changed to El Mexicano (I wonder what they called the Brad Pitt-Julia Roberts flick of the same name several years ago?). Also, the Serge Leon classic Once Upon A Time In The West has been changed to Hasta Que Llego Su Hora (When Your Time has Arrived). Hmmmmmm.
The weirdest one is Dos Policias Rebeldas (Two Rebel Policemen) which was originally Bad Boys. Deena says this is because Bad, or the Spanish word for it, Malo, means awful and there is no good meaning to it.
Shanghai Noon got nixed in favor of The Shanghai Kid because the pun on High Noon gets lost in the transition.
"Begin at the beginning, the King said, gravely, and go on till you come to the end: then stop."
-Lewis Carroll
American movie posters are everywhere here in Spain but they many times have different titles. Freaky Friday becomes Ponte En Mi Lugar( Put yourself in my place).
Matchstick Men with Nicholas Cage becomes Los Impostores( The Imposters)
S.W.A.T with Colin Ferrill becomes Swat: Los Hombres de Harrelson. The Men of Harrelson, I don´t get that one.
Bruce Almighty the Jim Carrey comedy becomes Como Dios(Like God).
The Spanish must not like fairy tales because Once Upon A Time In Mexico has been changed to El Mexicano (I wonder what they called the Brad Pitt-Julia Roberts flick of the same name several years ago?). Also, the Serge Leon classic Once Upon A Time In The West has been changed to Hasta Que Llego Su Hora (When Your Time has Arrived). Hmmmmmm.
The weirdest one is Dos Policias Rebeldas (Two Rebel Policemen) which was originally Bad Boys. Deena says this is because Bad, or the Spanish word for it, Malo, means awful and there is no good meaning to it.
Shanghai Noon got nixed in favor of The Shanghai Kid because the pun on High Noon gets lost in the transition.
"Begin at the beginning, the King said, gravely, and go on till you come to the end: then stop."
-Lewis Carroll
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
December 16, 2003
I posted from Valencia, Spain yesterday but it is disappearing into the bloggersphere. I am sending this to Carole Glenn, who then sends it to Jason, our web guy, and he is posting it. Too irritating to describe.
Today we went into the center of Valencia. The city goes all the way back to the Romans. Here´s the numbers:
· 800,000 people (styled as 800.000 in Espanole, they reverse the period and comma, so that a $7.20 bottle of wine is priced at 7,25).
· 200 museums
· 600 fiestas a year
· Guys don´t wear hats. Not one. All bear heads
· No pickups, no Harleys, but tons of Vespas, Hondas, very few SUVs, mostly little cars that they drive about 70 on the side streets, faster on the freeways. The parking is outrageous, with cars double and triple parked into the street, cars left right on the street corners, up on the sidewalks, I´m not exagerating.
· Almost all the chicas and mujeres (women and girls) smoke, everywhere. We had dinner in a great cafe yesterday and this family is sitting right next to us and the dad lights up a huge stogie. Really oppressive. The little mujeres are quite small, most under five feet and they walk in a line, down the street like little pigmy gunfighers, arm in arm, talking a mile a minute. I tried to jump over their heads but I clipped a beehive hairdo and pulled a leg muscle.
· Not really.
More later.
"What does it matter how one comes by the truth so long as one pounces upon it and lives by it?"
-Henry Miller
I posted from Valencia, Spain yesterday but it is disappearing into the bloggersphere. I am sending this to Carole Glenn, who then sends it to Jason, our web guy, and he is posting it. Too irritating to describe.
Today we went into the center of Valencia. The city goes all the way back to the Romans. Here´s the numbers:
· 800,000 people (styled as 800.000 in Espanole, they reverse the period and comma, so that a $7.20 bottle of wine is priced at 7,25).
· 200 museums
· 600 fiestas a year
· Guys don´t wear hats. Not one. All bear heads
· No pickups, no Harleys, but tons of Vespas, Hondas, very few SUVs, mostly little cars that they drive about 70 on the side streets, faster on the freeways. The parking is outrageous, with cars double and triple parked into the street, cars left right on the street corners, up on the sidewalks, I´m not exagerating.
· Almost all the chicas and mujeres (women and girls) smoke, everywhere. We had dinner in a great cafe yesterday and this family is sitting right next to us and the dad lights up a huge stogie. Really oppressive. The little mujeres are quite small, most under five feet and they walk in a line, down the street like little pigmy gunfighers, arm in arm, talking a mile a minute. I tried to jump over their heads but I clipped a beehive hairdo and pulled a leg muscle.
· Not really.
More later.
"What does it matter how one comes by the truth so long as one pounces upon it and lives by it?"
-Henry Miller
December 15, 2003
We are in Valencia, Spain. Took about 24 hours to get here. We flew out of Sky Harbor at 7:50 PM on Friday night, slept in seat, got into Heathrow Airport in London at noon the next day. I finally understand where the movie Brazil came from. The narrow passageways of this claustrophobic airport are ridiculous, plus everyone bears left, and as an American, I automatically bear right and it was irritating, but not as irritating as the anti-American editorials. It´s funny: when they ignore American news it's somewhat bemusing, when they slam America it´s offensive.
Just had a native dish at a local restaurant, ´"Blackies", the Paella (rice based Valencian dish with rabbit and chicken, 51 Euros, about $61 American, no tip). Everyone still smokes here, and I mean everywhere, especially the women. A guy lit up a big cigar right next to us.
Last night we watched a Spanish movie Tesis (Thesis) an overwrought, but funny movie (the kids translated all the way through). Afterwards we were rewinding and the BBC was on and we heard that Saddam has been captured. Here's how it was trumpeted in the morning papers:Bush Atrapa a Sadam (Bush Traps Sadam). The amazing thing is that in Castillion Spanish, the US is styled as EU (Estados Unidos) and when it´s plural (The United States) it´s EE UU. Weird. The other weird thing about here is that all the prices are in commas, as in 7,25. When I bought a bottle of wine for that price I was worried it was $7,250.00 but that price is actually listed as $7.250,00. Maddening actually.
More later.
"Grasp at the shadow and lose the substance."
-Aesop
We are in Valencia, Spain. Took about 24 hours to get here. We flew out of Sky Harbor at 7:50 PM on Friday night, slept in seat, got into Heathrow Airport in London at noon the next day. I finally understand where the movie Brazil came from. The narrow passageways of this claustrophobic airport are ridiculous, plus everyone bears left, and as an American, I automatically bear right and it was irritating, but not as irritating as the anti-American editorials. It´s funny: when they ignore American news it's somewhat bemusing, when they slam America it´s offensive.
Just had a native dish at a local restaurant, ´"Blackies", the Paella (rice based Valencian dish with rabbit and chicken, 51 Euros, about $61 American, no tip). Everyone still smokes here, and I mean everywhere, especially the women. A guy lit up a big cigar right next to us.
Last night we watched a Spanish movie Tesis (Thesis) an overwrought, but funny movie (the kids translated all the way through). Afterwards we were rewinding and the BBC was on and we heard that Saddam has been captured. Here's how it was trumpeted in the morning papers:Bush Atrapa a Sadam (Bush Traps Sadam). The amazing thing is that in Castillion Spanish, the US is styled as EU (Estados Unidos) and when it´s plural (The United States) it´s EE UU. Weird. The other weird thing about here is that all the prices are in commas, as in 7,25. When I bought a bottle of wine for that price I was worried it was $7,250.00 but that price is actually listed as $7.250,00. Maddening actually.
More later.
"Grasp at the shadow and lose the substance."
-Aesop
Friday, December 12, 2003
December 11, 2003
Rained on and off all night. Tattered clouds hanging over Black Mountain this morning. Seven Sisters shrouded. Woke up at 2:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep. Here’s what I’ve got to do today:
• Start and finish Christmas shopping by noon.
• Finish one last painting for Classic Gunfights
• Shoot four paintings and take them up to Foothills Photo for developing
• Rewrite CG copy and add cutlines where needed.
• Make sure Gus is lined out for archival images for the Westerns Channel
• Plug the new poll (Hey, we’ve got a new poll up, go take it! Okay, I can check that one off)
• Study Greystone scripts for interview at noon.
• Oh, yes, pack for trip
• feed the dogs (two weeks worth)
• Practice my Spanish (Oops! Too late! By the way, Spaniards speak with a lisp, on purpose. Yesterday, Robert Ray told me it’s because Spain once had a King who lisped and all the jesters and courtiers started copying him to curry favor and lo and behold it’s Therveza, not Cerveza. Probably about as accurate as Billy the Kid killing 21 men, but hey, it’s a great story and I’m getting in the mood to be the ugly American).
I know, I know, I’m half-way there without even leaving home.
I’m hoping being gone will improve the work of the True West staff (Thank God he’s gone, now we can actually work!) and perhaps the entire country. Here’s a response I got last night from someone in the banking industry:
“Don't Go!!!!! If you can not post while you're in Spain, what am I going to do at work? Work?? I don't think so. Just remember one thing my friend, if you insist on going you just might be held responsible for me not having anything interesting to read while at work.
Have a fun and safe trip.....If you still decide to go.”
—Michael S.
“If it wasn’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.”
—Old Vaquero Saying
Rained on and off all night. Tattered clouds hanging over Black Mountain this morning. Seven Sisters shrouded. Woke up at 2:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep. Here’s what I’ve got to do today:
• Start and finish Christmas shopping by noon.
• Finish one last painting for Classic Gunfights
• Shoot four paintings and take them up to Foothills Photo for developing
• Rewrite CG copy and add cutlines where needed.
• Make sure Gus is lined out for archival images for the Westerns Channel
• Plug the new poll (Hey, we’ve got a new poll up, go take it! Okay, I can check that one off)
• Study Greystone scripts for interview at noon.
• Oh, yes, pack for trip
• feed the dogs (two weeks worth)
• Practice my Spanish (Oops! Too late! By the way, Spaniards speak with a lisp, on purpose. Yesterday, Robert Ray told me it’s because Spain once had a King who lisped and all the jesters and courtiers started copying him to curry favor and lo and behold it’s Therveza, not Cerveza. Probably about as accurate as Billy the Kid killing 21 men, but hey, it’s a great story and I’m getting in the mood to be the ugly American).
I know, I know, I’m half-way there without even leaving home.
I’m hoping being gone will improve the work of the True West staff (Thank God he’s gone, now we can actually work!) and perhaps the entire country. Here’s a response I got last night from someone in the banking industry:
“Don't Go!!!!! If you can not post while you're in Spain, what am I going to do at work? Work?? I don't think so. Just remember one thing my friend, if you insist on going you just might be held responsible for me not having anything interesting to read while at work.
Have a fun and safe trip.....If you still decide to go.”
—Michael S.
“If it wasn’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.”
—Old Vaquero Saying
Thursday, December 11, 2003
December 11, 2003
Irritated. I posted a blog for today from the office, but evidently it’s not posting. In brief, the shoot went very well, I had much to say about it but it’s on my computer at the office. The ten “bumpers” we filmed will start running in February on the Westerns Channel.
Got another shoot tomorrow with the History Channel (more Old West Tech, this time on brothels and towns). We’re shooting in my office. Still need to pack, we fly out tomorrow night at seven something. Eleven hours later we pull into London and then another three hours to Valencia, Spain. Supposedly I’ll be able to post over there and I’ll do my best to keep you updated on the thousands of dollars we are spending which we don’t have.
Finished three pieces of art tonight for Classic Gunfights. It’s cold (low forties).
“"The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want.”
—Old Vaquero Saying
Irritated. I posted a blog for today from the office, but evidently it’s not posting. In brief, the shoot went very well, I had much to say about it but it’s on my computer at the office. The ten “bumpers” we filmed will start running in February on the Westerns Channel.
Got another shoot tomorrow with the History Channel (more Old West Tech, this time on brothels and towns). We’re shooting in my office. Still need to pack, we fly out tomorrow night at seven something. Eleven hours later we pull into London and then another three hours to Valencia, Spain. Supposedly I’ll be able to post over there and I’ll do my best to keep you updated on the thousands of dollars we are spending which we don’t have.
Finished three pieces of art tonight for Classic Gunfights. It’s cold (low forties).
“"The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want.”
—Old Vaquero Saying
Tuesday, December 09, 2003
December 9, 2003
Crazed day today. On the run since 6:30 this morning. The electricians came at seven to fix the lights in the studio ($60 house account). Girls, don’t marry a cartoonist (the breaker switch was flipped and I didn’t know where it was and they tracked it down, behind the door in morgue, and turned it on). Ha. What a goofus.
Got into office at 8:20, had staff meeting. Mike is quite concerned about sales for March issue. We had a separate meeting with him, Bob Brink, R.G. and Carole to go over his plan and I’m confident he’s going to do what it takes to make it happen.
Wrote up several alternate scripts for tomorrow’s shoot. At noon, Abby and Sue H. followed me home and, in exchange for lunch (re-heated spaghetti) they helped me “dress the set� while Celia and another woman cleaned like crazy. What a great space. It’s just a cool place to work, now that I can actually see the floors.
Got back to office at two, worked on April Classic Gunfights. Problems with the backstory. Wrestled with that with Meghan. Need to finish artwork. Going to be out all day tomorrow.
Our producer, Maureen P. from the Westerns Channel showed up at 4;20. She flew in out of a blizzard (Denver) and was excited to see actual saguaros. She followed me over to the Daiss ranchito. Dave and Doreen are volunteering their Sam Stag saddle, a roll-back modern saddle, a Smith & Wesson #3 and a Merwin-Hulbert, .44-.40 pistol (I want to talk about exotic weaponry in the West).
From the Daiss' spread, she followed me home to take a gander at the new and cleaned studio and she was jazzed. Showed her my proposed wardrobe and she picked three different looks.
I had a dream last night where I was trapped on a high cliff. I was on a narrow ledge overlooking a good 1,500 drop down a rocky canyon wall. I thought about going back but it was too high and seemed even scarier. I was trapped. All of a sudden an Indian in a loin cloth climbed up to where I was and started talking to me in his native tongue and I couldn’t understand a word he was saying (this has to be a reaction to my Spanish classes) and gesturing that he wanted to help me. He pointed downward, then turned and jumped in a seated position. I watched him fall about 600 feet. He landed on his butt on a puffy dirt ledge, and bounced and went down another fifty feet, bounced again and came to a standing stop on another ledge where his other tribesmen were standing. There was another 500 feet drop beyond them, but it was obvious they had figured out how to survive the first part of this descent. They were all laughing and pointing at me to jump. I knew I had to, although I was scared to death.
I woke up and realized three things about the dream: number one, it was just a dream and I didn’t have to jump. Number two, some things that will kill you are merely a carnival ride to other cultures. Ancient tribes have figured out ways to survive long falls, where a modern person would break every bone in their body trying to cling to the sides and climb down (whatever). And most importantly, so many times in life, you just need to jump off cliffs and figure things out on the way down.
“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.�
—Old Vaquero Saying
Crazed day today. On the run since 6:30 this morning. The electricians came at seven to fix the lights in the studio ($60 house account). Girls, don’t marry a cartoonist (the breaker switch was flipped and I didn’t know where it was and they tracked it down, behind the door in morgue, and turned it on). Ha. What a goofus.
Got into office at 8:20, had staff meeting. Mike is quite concerned about sales for March issue. We had a separate meeting with him, Bob Brink, R.G. and Carole to go over his plan and I’m confident he’s going to do what it takes to make it happen.
Wrote up several alternate scripts for tomorrow’s shoot. At noon, Abby and Sue H. followed me home and, in exchange for lunch (re-heated spaghetti) they helped me “dress the set� while Celia and another woman cleaned like crazy. What a great space. It’s just a cool place to work, now that I can actually see the floors.
Got back to office at two, worked on April Classic Gunfights. Problems with the backstory. Wrestled with that with Meghan. Need to finish artwork. Going to be out all day tomorrow.
Our producer, Maureen P. from the Westerns Channel showed up at 4;20. She flew in out of a blizzard (Denver) and was excited to see actual saguaros. She followed me over to the Daiss ranchito. Dave and Doreen are volunteering their Sam Stag saddle, a roll-back modern saddle, a Smith & Wesson #3 and a Merwin-Hulbert, .44-.40 pistol (I want to talk about exotic weaponry in the West).
From the Daiss' spread, she followed me home to take a gander at the new and cleaned studio and she was jazzed. Showed her my proposed wardrobe and she picked three different looks.
I had a dream last night where I was trapped on a high cliff. I was on a narrow ledge overlooking a good 1,500 drop down a rocky canyon wall. I thought about going back but it was too high and seemed even scarier. I was trapped. All of a sudden an Indian in a loin cloth climbed up to where I was and started talking to me in his native tongue and I couldn’t understand a word he was saying (this has to be a reaction to my Spanish classes) and gesturing that he wanted to help me. He pointed downward, then turned and jumped in a seated position. I watched him fall about 600 feet. He landed on his butt on a puffy dirt ledge, and bounced and went down another fifty feet, bounced again and came to a standing stop on another ledge where his other tribesmen were standing. There was another 500 feet drop beyond them, but it was obvious they had figured out how to survive the first part of this descent. They were all laughing and pointing at me to jump. I knew I had to, although I was scared to death.
I woke up and realized three things about the dream: number one, it was just a dream and I didn’t have to jump. Number two, some things that will kill you are merely a carnival ride to other cultures. Ancient tribes have figured out ways to survive long falls, where a modern person would break every bone in their body trying to cling to the sides and climb down (whatever). And most importantly, so many times in life, you just need to jump off cliffs and figure things out on the way down.
“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.�
—Old Vaquero Saying
Monday, December 08, 2003
December 8, 2003
Came up with a possibly great title: "Dig Me! Confessions of An Only Child. On the first page will be a giant "I" that runs from the top of the page all the way to the bottom. I, as in Id, the Ego Gargantuan, as in Narcissist Extraordinaire. Tell the ups and downs, ins and outs of being a spoiled brat. Shouldn't be that hard to write.
Also, went for a walk to the cave and fell upon the idea of holding back Mike Torres song for Classic Gunfights and asking him to come up with something else for the Westerns Channel bumper.
Overcast and rainy out this morning. Really a treat for us on the desert because it's so rare. Woke up to a gentle rain. Kathy and I went for a walk with the dogs in the dark (6:30). Dogs are so amazing. They never complain (I'm too tired, come back in a half-hour, I need the sleep.).They jump up immediately like it's Christmas morning and run out in the driveway in the dark (Wow, we can't see anything. Isn't this groovy!). As we watched them bumping into the scenery, I told Kathy I think you could send a dog out in a hurricane and they'd be so happy for the extra wind. Dogs really don't deserve the term "dog-tired" nor do they deserve "hang-dog expression" but they do deserve "doggedly."
Yesterday morning Mike P. from Wild Visions came over to look at the studio for the Westerns Channel filming. He really liked, what he called, the Andy Rooney factor (the place is a mess). Ha. Shooters are quite chameleons. They have to serve several masters: the producers (who write their checks) and the "talent" that can have egos the size of, well, only children.
"Myths are lies, albeit lies breathed through silver."
- C.S. Lewis, during a debate with Tolkieno
Came up with a possibly great title: "Dig Me! Confessions of An Only Child. On the first page will be a giant "I" that runs from the top of the page all the way to the bottom. I, as in Id, the Ego Gargantuan, as in Narcissist Extraordinaire. Tell the ups and downs, ins and outs of being a spoiled brat. Shouldn't be that hard to write.
Also, went for a walk to the cave and fell upon the idea of holding back Mike Torres song for Classic Gunfights and asking him to come up with something else for the Westerns Channel bumper.
Overcast and rainy out this morning. Really a treat for us on the desert because it's so rare. Woke up to a gentle rain. Kathy and I went for a walk with the dogs in the dark (6:30). Dogs are so amazing. They never complain (I'm too tired, come back in a half-hour, I need the sleep.).They jump up immediately like it's Christmas morning and run out in the driveway in the dark (Wow, we can't see anything. Isn't this groovy!). As we watched them bumping into the scenery, I told Kathy I think you could send a dog out in a hurricane and they'd be so happy for the extra wind. Dogs really don't deserve the term "dog-tired" nor do they deserve "hang-dog expression" but they do deserve "doggedly."
Yesterday morning Mike P. from Wild Visions came over to look at the studio for the Westerns Channel filming. He really liked, what he called, the Andy Rooney factor (the place is a mess). Ha. Shooters are quite chameleons. They have to serve several masters: the producers (who write their checks) and the "talent" that can have egos the size of, well, only children.
"Myths are lies, albeit lies breathed through silver."
- C.S. Lewis, during a debate with Tolkieno
Sunday, December 07, 2003
December 7, 2003
What a marathon day yesterday. Gave the speech at the Daughters of the American Revolution Cave Creek Chapter, at the Carefree Conference Resort at noon. Sold some books, got out of there at two, drove down the 101 and got to Barnes & Noble at 2:35, double-parked, dollied in the books and was met by a large crowd (35-45) for a booksigning. Gave a talk, had Gus and Bob McCubbin join me on stage and we proceeded to sign the books. I’m guessing we sold about 60-70 books. Went up to Brink’s house last night for a big party. Bob had a whole slew of Eastcoasters who flew in. They were staying at the Biltmore, had a shuttle bus drive them out to the Brinks for an old fashioned Western feed and yarnfest. Mad Coyote Joe cooked up a great spread and everyone ate outside on the Brink’s spectacular patio. We could see Scottsdale and Pinnacle Peak way off in the distance and it was beautiful out, with the stars and everything.
Poor Bob McCubbin! He had to endure another speech by me (he’s heard me go off on many occasions, was at the signing at 2:30 and then showed up here just in time for my third “speech”). I felt bad for him but he took it gracefully and he was very restrained when he banged his shoe on the table shouting “Lies! Lies! It’s all damn lies!’ Although when he threw one of the Brink’s dogs over the wall (30 foot drop!) and threatened to throw the other one unless I shut up, I thought it was a bit much.
Not really. It was a guy from Connecticut he threw over the wall (so it was no big deal).
Thanks for the voting on the two covers (see Dec. 5 posting). Here’s some of the comments:
“Definitely the John Escapule photo—more dramatic, especially since, when the web-page loaded, my first thought was ‘oh look, Doc Holliday.’ *grin*”
—Wendy H.
“Both covers are great, but I think the serious western fans will be more intrigued by the picture of Doc. As you mentioned, the Carrie Nation guy has a National Lampoon (or Mad Magazine) quality that takes something away from portraying True West as a serious publication. That's my two cents' worth.”
—Donna Cook
“The Escapule cover should be used. Living and working in Tombstone (and being married to John Escapules great great granddaughter) I have heard stories about Escapule. Many times I have been asked if that picture was Holliday...and always, I give the same response...NO!"
—Jim Newbauer
“I'm pro-Big Face, mostly 'cause I like the text that goes with it. It just sounds like the True West 'tude. That said, you do know, don't you, not to let us fans influence too many decisions about the magazine? We talk a lot, but we are not what you'd call mighty in numbers compared to the folks who read the magazine and don't talk back, or who might spot the magazine for the first time on the newsstand next week. Too much input from the "fans" has killed many a TV series. And that said, that new red cover doesn't just bark on the stands, it leaps out to the end of its leash and pulls the tie stake out of the ground. Nice work.”
—Emma B.
”Art should simplify. That is very nearly the whole of the higher artistic process; finding what conventions of form and what detail one can do without and yet preserve the spirit of the whole.”
—Willa Cather
What a marathon day yesterday. Gave the speech at the Daughters of the American Revolution Cave Creek Chapter, at the Carefree Conference Resort at noon. Sold some books, got out of there at two, drove down the 101 and got to Barnes & Noble at 2:35, double-parked, dollied in the books and was met by a large crowd (35-45) for a booksigning. Gave a talk, had Gus and Bob McCubbin join me on stage and we proceeded to sign the books. I’m guessing we sold about 60-70 books. Went up to Brink’s house last night for a big party. Bob had a whole slew of Eastcoasters who flew in. They were staying at the Biltmore, had a shuttle bus drive them out to the Brinks for an old fashioned Western feed and yarnfest. Mad Coyote Joe cooked up a great spread and everyone ate outside on the Brink’s spectacular patio. We could see Scottsdale and Pinnacle Peak way off in the distance and it was beautiful out, with the stars and everything.
Poor Bob McCubbin! He had to endure another speech by me (he’s heard me go off on many occasions, was at the signing at 2:30 and then showed up here just in time for my third “speech”). I felt bad for him but he took it gracefully and he was very restrained when he banged his shoe on the table shouting “Lies! Lies! It’s all damn lies!’ Although when he threw one of the Brink’s dogs over the wall (30 foot drop!) and threatened to throw the other one unless I shut up, I thought it was a bit much.
Not really. It was a guy from Connecticut he threw over the wall (so it was no big deal).
Thanks for the voting on the two covers (see Dec. 5 posting). Here’s some of the comments:
“Definitely the John Escapule photo—more dramatic, especially since, when the web-page loaded, my first thought was ‘oh look, Doc Holliday.’ *grin*”
—Wendy H.
“Both covers are great, but I think the serious western fans will be more intrigued by the picture of Doc. As you mentioned, the Carrie Nation guy has a National Lampoon (or Mad Magazine) quality that takes something away from portraying True West as a serious publication. That's my two cents' worth.”
—Donna Cook
“The Escapule cover should be used. Living and working in Tombstone (and being married to John Escapules great great granddaughter) I have heard stories about Escapule. Many times I have been asked if that picture was Holliday...and always, I give the same response...NO!"
—Jim Newbauer
“I'm pro-Big Face, mostly 'cause I like the text that goes with it. It just sounds like the True West 'tude. That said, you do know, don't you, not to let us fans influence too many decisions about the magazine? We talk a lot, but we are not what you'd call mighty in numbers compared to the folks who read the magazine and don't talk back, or who might spot the magazine for the first time on the newsstand next week. Too much input from the "fans" has killed many a TV series. And that said, that new red cover doesn't just bark on the stands, it leaps out to the end of its leash and pulls the tie stake out of the ground. Nice work.”
—Emma B.
”Art should simplify. That is very nearly the whole of the higher artistic process; finding what conventions of form and what detail one can do without and yet preserve the spirit of the whole.”
—Willa Cather
Saturday, December 06, 2003
December 6, 2003
Back from the cave (8:30). Dogs running and jumping on each other and every bush in their path. Really a glorious morning. Got our first two Christmas cards: from the Richards in Des Moines and the Harshbergers in Phoenix. Ahh to be so organized. It will probably dawn on me somewhere near Madrid that we need to think about getting our holiday letter going (we have sent our cards out as late as March). Ah, better late than nunca.
A whirlwind day yesterday in the office with Bob Reece, Bob McCubbin, Holly and others in the office. Got a call from Greystone and they want to tape next week before I leave. Set it up for Thursday, but got a message on my machine last night that they need to reschedule. Can’t do it Wednesday because the Westerns Channel will be here.
McCubbin is proofing the Old Man Clanton ambush. Going to be a strong one. Need to redo one of the scenes this weekend. Also want to do an overview of the Brady killing for April issue. Reworked some of that copy.
Got a packed day today. Speech for the Daughters of the American Revolution at noon (some of these gals are 186 years old!), then our only booksigning this year for Classic Gunfights at Barnes & Noble at 2:30 , then the Brink’s Christmas party at seven. Mad Coyote Joe and I will be the entertainment.
I’m so proud of my staff for being able to turn out our book in 60 days. Most book gestations take at least a year. Of course, not everyone is impressed with what we’ve accomplished:
”Writing a book is not as tough as it is to haul thirty-five people around the country and sweat like a horse five nights a week.”
—Bette Midler, on touring
Back from the cave (8:30). Dogs running and jumping on each other and every bush in their path. Really a glorious morning. Got our first two Christmas cards: from the Richards in Des Moines and the Harshbergers in Phoenix. Ahh to be so organized. It will probably dawn on me somewhere near Madrid that we need to think about getting our holiday letter going (we have sent our cards out as late as March). Ah, better late than nunca.
A whirlwind day yesterday in the office with Bob Reece, Bob McCubbin, Holly and others in the office. Got a call from Greystone and they want to tape next week before I leave. Set it up for Thursday, but got a message on my machine last night that they need to reschedule. Can’t do it Wednesday because the Westerns Channel will be here.
McCubbin is proofing the Old Man Clanton ambush. Going to be a strong one. Need to redo one of the scenes this weekend. Also want to do an overview of the Brady killing for April issue. Reworked some of that copy.
Got a packed day today. Speech for the Daughters of the American Revolution at noon (some of these gals are 186 years old!), then our only booksigning this year for Classic Gunfights at Barnes & Noble at 2:30 , then the Brink’s Christmas party at seven. Mad Coyote Joe and I will be the entertainment.
I’m so proud of my staff for being able to turn out our book in 60 days. Most book gestations take at least a year. Of course, not everyone is impressed with what we’ve accomplished:
”Writing a book is not as tough as it is to haul thirty-five people around the country and sweat like a horse five nights a week.”
—Bette Midler, on touring
Friday, December 05, 2003
December 5, 2003
While digging through the piles of rubble in my TW office yesterday I found an old catalogue from the University of Nebraska Press and inside it had this big, blow-up photo of John Escapule (his handsome visage has been run many times as being a photograph of Doc Holliday but it isn’t). I walked out to the production area and said to Robert Ray, “Hey, do you think we should run this on the cover to illustrate ‘Fakes’ rather than the Carrie Nation Guy?” Robert Ray immediately responded that he did, as did R.G. when he came over. Both said they thought the Carrie Nation Guy was too “National Lampoon,”
which both Dan Harshberger and I can be guilty of because we both are inclined in that direction from our Razz Revue days (and because we’re from Kingman). Dan is now developing the new cover image.
Well, here they are. Which one do you like the best?
• Carrie Nation Guy?
• John Escapule: Big Face Guy (in case you cant read the copy on his face, it says: The most famous photo of Doc Holliday. Too bad it's not him. More fakes inside.
Let me know which one you like. Click here to email me and let me know.
Bob Reece flew in last night and is in town to talk to us about selling for the magazine. He’s in right now (10:27) meeting with Mike Melrose. Holly is coming in at 11 for a circulation meeting (her direct mail piece actually made money).
Bill Kurtis Productions in Chicago is requesting as much Billy the Kid artwork as I can send them, especially the new art of the McSween house fight which is only in the new Classic Gunfights book. Gus and I went through both the Billy book and the CG book yesterday and culled out all available artwork on Billy and put it on a CD for them.
”We often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
—Helen Keller, who, ironically was blind and couldn’t see the open door anyway
While digging through the piles of rubble in my TW office yesterday I found an old catalogue from the University of Nebraska Press and inside it had this big, blow-up photo of John Escapule (his handsome visage has been run many times as being a photograph of Doc Holliday but it isn’t). I walked out to the production area and said to Robert Ray, “Hey, do you think we should run this on the cover to illustrate ‘Fakes’ rather than the Carrie Nation Guy?” Robert Ray immediately responded that he did, as did R.G. when he came over. Both said they thought the Carrie Nation Guy was too “National Lampoon,”
which both Dan Harshberger and I can be guilty of because we both are inclined in that direction from our Razz Revue days (and because we’re from Kingman). Dan is now developing the new cover image.
Well, here they are. Which one do you like the best?
• Carrie Nation Guy?
• John Escapule: Big Face Guy (in case you cant read the copy on his face, it says: The most famous photo of Doc Holliday. Too bad it's not him. More fakes inside.
Let me know which one you like. Click here to email me and let me know.
Bob Reece flew in last night and is in town to talk to us about selling for the magazine. He’s in right now (10:27) meeting with Mike Melrose. Holly is coming in at 11 for a circulation meeting (her direct mail piece actually made money).
Bill Kurtis Productions in Chicago is requesting as much Billy the Kid artwork as I can send them, especially the new art of the McSween house fight which is only in the new Classic Gunfights book. Gus and I went through both the Billy book and the CG book yesterday and culled out all available artwork on Billy and put it on a CD for them.
”We often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
—Helen Keller, who, ironically was blind and couldn’t see the open door anyway
Thursday, December 04, 2003
December 4, 2003
You know how every once in a while a song catches you right between the ears and you can’t shake it? Last weekend I was channel surfing and landed on Farm Aid, the Willie Nelson-Neil Young annual concert to raise funds for the family farm. I’ve never watched one before, but for some reason I stayed and caught Dave Mathews, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp, but the one set that really nailed me was this skinny chick in a t-shirt (Steelers), who had this rock band. She came out and did this funky tune with a soaring chorus and she just knocked me out. I had heard the song, or part of it anyway, on the radio, but I couldn’t place it. Nor could I decipher what she was saying on the chorus so I could go buy the CD.
This bugged me all weekend. I came into work on Monday and mentioned that I really dug this song by Sheryl Crow but I don’t know the name of it, nor could I sing it, but I told everyone I would recognize it if I heard it. Mike Melrose is a big Crow fan, so he brought in three CDs this morning and I went thru them all, “Nope, nope, nope. It’s crunchy, with this soaring chorus and then ‘Ooo—Ooos like in a Steve Miller song.” No clue and no dice.
Allen Fossenkemper came by for lunch and Carole, Bob Brink and I joined him at El Encanto. Allen had good advice for us on tweaking and streamlining our sales team. I think Bob Brink was slightly suspicious of his motives and asked him point blank, “What’s in this for you?” And Allen said, “Absolutely nothing. I don’t want a job, I just want to help Bob Bell.” With friends like that, it’s hard to complain ($52 plus $10 tip, biz account).
After I came back from lunch Abby said in her shy voice, “Is this the song?” and turned up her CD player next to her desk. Yes it was:
“We got rock stars in the whitehouse
All our pop stars look like porn
All my heroes hit the highway
They don’t hang out here no more
You can call me on my cellphone
You can page me all night long
But you won’t catch this freebird
I’ll already be long gone
Chorus:
“Like Steve McQueen
All I need’s a fast machine
I’m gonna make it alright
Like Steve McQueen
underneath your radar screen
you’ll never catch me tonight”
Robert Ray burned me a CD and I can’t stop playing it. Just really turns my crank.
Other tunes that have grabbed me like this:
• “Flying Purple People Eater”
• “Little Bitty, Teeny Weeny Yellow Polkadot Bikini”
• “Surfin’ U.S.A.”
• “She Loves You”
• “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”
• “Long Time Gone”
• “Day Tripper”
• “Hot Legs”
• “Seven Bridges Road”
• “Man of Constant Sorrow”
• “Hurt” (both versions)
”There’s a time when what you’re creating and the environment you’re creating it in come together.”
—Grace Hartigan
You know how every once in a while a song catches you right between the ears and you can’t shake it? Last weekend I was channel surfing and landed on Farm Aid, the Willie Nelson-Neil Young annual concert to raise funds for the family farm. I’ve never watched one before, but for some reason I stayed and caught Dave Mathews, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp, but the one set that really nailed me was this skinny chick in a t-shirt (Steelers), who had this rock band. She came out and did this funky tune with a soaring chorus and she just knocked me out. I had heard the song, or part of it anyway, on the radio, but I couldn’t place it. Nor could I decipher what she was saying on the chorus so I could go buy the CD.
This bugged me all weekend. I came into work on Monday and mentioned that I really dug this song by Sheryl Crow but I don’t know the name of it, nor could I sing it, but I told everyone I would recognize it if I heard it. Mike Melrose is a big Crow fan, so he brought in three CDs this morning and I went thru them all, “Nope, nope, nope. It’s crunchy, with this soaring chorus and then ‘Ooo—Ooos like in a Steve Miller song.” No clue and no dice.
Allen Fossenkemper came by for lunch and Carole, Bob Brink and I joined him at El Encanto. Allen had good advice for us on tweaking and streamlining our sales team. I think Bob Brink was slightly suspicious of his motives and asked him point blank, “What’s in this for you?” And Allen said, “Absolutely nothing. I don’t want a job, I just want to help Bob Bell.” With friends like that, it’s hard to complain ($52 plus $10 tip, biz account).
After I came back from lunch Abby said in her shy voice, “Is this the song?” and turned up her CD player next to her desk. Yes it was:
“We got rock stars in the whitehouse
All our pop stars look like porn
All my heroes hit the highway
They don’t hang out here no more
You can call me on my cellphone
You can page me all night long
But you won’t catch this freebird
I’ll already be long gone
Chorus:
“Like Steve McQueen
All I need’s a fast machine
I’m gonna make it alright
Like Steve McQueen
underneath your radar screen
you’ll never catch me tonight”
Robert Ray burned me a CD and I can’t stop playing it. Just really turns my crank.
Other tunes that have grabbed me like this:
• “Flying Purple People Eater”
• “Little Bitty, Teeny Weeny Yellow Polkadot Bikini”
• “Surfin’ U.S.A.”
• “She Loves You”
• “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”
• “Long Time Gone”
• “Day Tripper”
• “Hot Legs”
• “Seven Bridges Road”
• “Man of Constant Sorrow”
• “Hurt” (both versions)
”There’s a time when what you’re creating and the environment you’re creating it in come together.”
—Grace Hartigan
Wednesday, December 03, 2003
December 3, 2003
I lost my virginity last night. More on that in a minute.
Got a new angle to Classic Gunfights. Did Hollywood Ever Get It Right? Ran the first one in the December issue on the Pinkerton-Younger roadfight. Ran the dialogue from The Long Riders and then graded it on historical accuracy. I’m doing the same thing for the Sheriff Brady killing in Lincoln, using the same scene as depicted in Young Guns. Gus brought in his copy of the movie and we downloaded it onto my computer, so I could start and stop the scene as I typed in the dialogue. Oh, technology! I used to have to sit in front of the tv with a legal pad. Stop and start the VCR, going too far, not going back far enough, scribbling notes down the sides, etc. We also printed out several key scenes for me to illustrate. All in all a very cool deal.
Went into town to get my coumadin level checked at 11. From there I went over to El Conquistador for lunch. Had the Special: Salsa Ranchero and iced tea. Mighty good ($12 cash, includes tip). Then from there up to Desert Ridge and Aaron Bros. for some art supplies ($96 biz account).
Signed another 50 books to fill out orders (we’ve already pre-sold about 75 books). Had an executive pow-wow at 1:30. Went over circ growth. Bob Brink is planning on controlled growth thru 2004 that will put us in a very solid position. Rolland also wants us to go back to doing 12 issues a year. We have so much stuff we could easily do it, editorially wise, but it’s a function of sales. And speaking of which, Sue H. is motivating everyone in the sales department (she got in the Earl Nightingale tapes and had several posted this morning for all to see). I am predicting she is going to outsell everyone. It all comes back to the JC Penny quote (which I couldn’t find, mentioned it in here, and a reader, Dale Overton, googled JC Penny, easily found it, E-mailed me, and here it is) “Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a person who will make history. Give me a person with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk.”
Yesterday when the Westerns Channel called and said the shoot was on, I went out into the production area and did my little dance (a little Pony, with a touch of the Ska, Surf, the Jerk and a pinch of the Watusi). Abby looked at me oddly and said, “Is that some version of the Macarena?”
Yes, I lost my E-bay virginity. I had to buy several postcards of Kingman. I have never bought anything online before, but J.Rae sent me these fabulous links and the next thing you know I bid on one (a postcard) of the Bell Motel (built in the 40s and sat right across from my dad’s Flying A station, and of course Punchy and Salty lived there), another of Spring Street (the road to the Court House) and an aerial view of Kingman Airbase with all the dead B-17s parked wing to wing (my dad was stationed there in 1944 and met my mom; 10,000 GIs and 300 local girls, talk about Surf City, “30 guys for every girl. . .’), and a postcard of downtown Kingman on Route 66 with Desert Drugs in the foreground (where I bought my first True West magazine).
"Never hold a dust buster and a cat at the same time."
—Doctor Ruth
I lost my virginity last night. More on that in a minute.
Got a new angle to Classic Gunfights. Did Hollywood Ever Get It Right? Ran the first one in the December issue on the Pinkerton-Younger roadfight. Ran the dialogue from The Long Riders and then graded it on historical accuracy. I’m doing the same thing for the Sheriff Brady killing in Lincoln, using the same scene as depicted in Young Guns. Gus brought in his copy of the movie and we downloaded it onto my computer, so I could start and stop the scene as I typed in the dialogue. Oh, technology! I used to have to sit in front of the tv with a legal pad. Stop and start the VCR, going too far, not going back far enough, scribbling notes down the sides, etc. We also printed out several key scenes for me to illustrate. All in all a very cool deal.
Went into town to get my coumadin level checked at 11. From there I went over to El Conquistador for lunch. Had the Special: Salsa Ranchero and iced tea. Mighty good ($12 cash, includes tip). Then from there up to Desert Ridge and Aaron Bros. for some art supplies ($96 biz account).
Signed another 50 books to fill out orders (we’ve already pre-sold about 75 books). Had an executive pow-wow at 1:30. Went over circ growth. Bob Brink is planning on controlled growth thru 2004 that will put us in a very solid position. Rolland also wants us to go back to doing 12 issues a year. We have so much stuff we could easily do it, editorially wise, but it’s a function of sales. And speaking of which, Sue H. is motivating everyone in the sales department (she got in the Earl Nightingale tapes and had several posted this morning for all to see). I am predicting she is going to outsell everyone. It all comes back to the JC Penny quote (which I couldn’t find, mentioned it in here, and a reader, Dale Overton, googled JC Penny, easily found it, E-mailed me, and here it is) “Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a person who will make history. Give me a person with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk.”
Yesterday when the Westerns Channel called and said the shoot was on, I went out into the production area and did my little dance (a little Pony, with a touch of the Ska, Surf, the Jerk and a pinch of the Watusi). Abby looked at me oddly and said, “Is that some version of the Macarena?”
Yes, I lost my E-bay virginity. I had to buy several postcards of Kingman. I have never bought anything online before, but J.Rae sent me these fabulous links and the next thing you know I bid on one (a postcard) of the Bell Motel (built in the 40s and sat right across from my dad’s Flying A station, and of course Punchy and Salty lived there), another of Spring Street (the road to the Court House) and an aerial view of Kingman Airbase with all the dead B-17s parked wing to wing (my dad was stationed there in 1944 and met my mom; 10,000 GIs and 300 local girls, talk about Surf City, “30 guys for every girl. . .’), and a postcard of downtown Kingman on Route 66 with Desert Drugs in the foreground (where I bought my first True West magazine).
"Never hold a dust buster and a cat at the same time."
—Doctor Ruth
Tuesday, December 02, 2003
December 2, 2003
Picked up the new Classic Gunfights book at 2:30. Met Theresa at a Coco’s on Bell and I-17. Signed about 50 for them, loaded up 300 in my truck and headed back out. Got to the office around 3:15. Staff very excited about the book. Lots of good comments. Gus and Robert Ray found three maps with odd patterns. Something fishy there, but it’s basically something only we would notice. Color is great, my paintings and the original photos reproduction come off excellent.
We’re doing a book signing at Barnes & Noble (Shea and 101) this Saturday at 2:30, and hopefully Bob McCubbin will be there along with Gus Walker so we can all sign your books. It will be the only signing appearance this year (I’m going to Spain next week).
Got a call from the Westerns Channel today. Shooting bumpers a week from tomorrow either right here in my studio or at the office. They’ve hired a big crew, a boom camera, sound guy, make-up, they’re going to do it right.
Tweaked the layout of Old Man Clanton gunfight this morning. Very strong. Tried to whip out a scratchboard of Mexican troops on the march but I failed. I’ll try again tomorrow.
Mixed reviews on The Missing. I haven’t seen it yet. Johnny Boggs said it was too long, but here’s a review I got last night:
“Saw The Missing yesterday--excellent! Historically accurate, as far as I could tell. Not a shred of political correctness. Made me wish even more that Ron Howard had stayed with the Alamo movie. Please add your comments to your journal when you see it (and I know you will).” —Donna Cook
Sam said it made some money last week and is in the top ten. I’m rooting for them.
”The man with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.”
—Mark Twain
Picked up the new Classic Gunfights book at 2:30. Met Theresa at a Coco’s on Bell and I-17. Signed about 50 for them, loaded up 300 in my truck and headed back out. Got to the office around 3:15. Staff very excited about the book. Lots of good comments. Gus and Robert Ray found three maps with odd patterns. Something fishy there, but it’s basically something only we would notice. Color is great, my paintings and the original photos reproduction come off excellent.
We’re doing a book signing at Barnes & Noble (Shea and 101) this Saturday at 2:30, and hopefully Bob McCubbin will be there along with Gus Walker so we can all sign your books. It will be the only signing appearance this year (I’m going to Spain next week).
Got a call from the Westerns Channel today. Shooting bumpers a week from tomorrow either right here in my studio or at the office. They’ve hired a big crew, a boom camera, sound guy, make-up, they’re going to do it right.
Tweaked the layout of Old Man Clanton gunfight this morning. Very strong. Tried to whip out a scratchboard of Mexican troops on the march but I failed. I’ll try again tomorrow.
Mixed reviews on The Missing. I haven’t seen it yet. Johnny Boggs said it was too long, but here’s a review I got last night:
“Saw The Missing yesterday--excellent! Historically accurate, as far as I could tell. Not a shred of political correctness. Made me wish even more that Ron Howard had stayed with the Alamo movie. Please add your comments to your journal when you see it (and I know you will).” —Donna Cook
Sam said it made some money last week and is in the top ten. I’m rooting for them.
”The man with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.”
—Mark Twain
Monday, December 01, 2003
December 1, 2003
Finished five Old Man Clanton paintings today at one. Worked last night until dark on a Wyatt and Doc Superposse scene. Got some good effects, quite action-y and blurred.
Finished up the Cave Creek Christmas Day Massacre copy. Meghan did an excellent job of editing, moving things around until it actually made sense. I went through a box of cloud photos I keep in the studio, feeling confident I would find numerous shots of the historic cave. Out of probably 500 photos I have taken of the area since we moved here, there is not one of the cave. Embarrassing. I live right across from a historic landmark and I’ve taken photos of everything but. It would be like living at the Grand Canyon and taking roll after roll of Bright Angel Lodge.
I got up at seven on Saturday and went out and got a good one of the sun just tipping the lip of the cave with a big ol’ juicy saguaro looming in the foreground. This will run in Tom Tumus’ High Sonoran Style Magazine. He goes to press this week and we do a tradeout.
Got a thankyou note from Roxanne Cash: “Loved the tribute to Dad,” she wrote. What a classy lady.
Heard from fellow hat Nazi Rusty York on the Bill Kurtis shoot in New Mexico. He played Sheriff Brady and they taped the Kid’s escape from the Lincoln County Courthouse in the actual courthouse. They filmed for six days. Obviously spent some money (a full crew runs around $3K to $4K a day).
New issue (Jan.) arrived this morning and it looks great. Banta did an excellent job giving us the exact red we wanted. The entire issue is strong and we are moving some of the editorial around to try and ease the oppressiveness of the ads (a somewhat common complaint). We are on a strict 50-50 ad ratio to editorial but sometimes it looks worse than it is.
Just got off the phone with Theresa at Tri Star (4:40 P.M.) and the Classic Gunfights book will be in tomorrow. She will deliver us 300 softbounds in the afternoon. If you ordered a hardbound (most of my friends don’t even consider softbounds as real books) they will arrive on December 11. Very excited. It’s very similiar to having a baby. I’m not exaggerating.
”Not all who wander are lost.”
—Old Vaquero Saying
Finished five Old Man Clanton paintings today at one. Worked last night until dark on a Wyatt and Doc Superposse scene. Got some good effects, quite action-y and blurred.
Finished up the Cave Creek Christmas Day Massacre copy. Meghan did an excellent job of editing, moving things around until it actually made sense. I went through a box of cloud photos I keep in the studio, feeling confident I would find numerous shots of the historic cave. Out of probably 500 photos I have taken of the area since we moved here, there is not one of the cave. Embarrassing. I live right across from a historic landmark and I’ve taken photos of everything but. It would be like living at the Grand Canyon and taking roll after roll of Bright Angel Lodge.
I got up at seven on Saturday and went out and got a good one of the sun just tipping the lip of the cave with a big ol’ juicy saguaro looming in the foreground. This will run in Tom Tumus’ High Sonoran Style Magazine. He goes to press this week and we do a tradeout.
Got a thankyou note from Roxanne Cash: “Loved the tribute to Dad,” she wrote. What a classy lady.
Heard from fellow hat Nazi Rusty York on the Bill Kurtis shoot in New Mexico. He played Sheriff Brady and they taped the Kid’s escape from the Lincoln County Courthouse in the actual courthouse. They filmed for six days. Obviously spent some money (a full crew runs around $3K to $4K a day).
New issue (Jan.) arrived this morning and it looks great. Banta did an excellent job giving us the exact red we wanted. The entire issue is strong and we are moving some of the editorial around to try and ease the oppressiveness of the ads (a somewhat common complaint). We are on a strict 50-50 ad ratio to editorial but sometimes it looks worse than it is.
Just got off the phone with Theresa at Tri Star (4:40 P.M.) and the Classic Gunfights book will be in tomorrow. She will deliver us 300 softbounds in the afternoon. If you ordered a hardbound (most of my friends don’t even consider softbounds as real books) they will arrive on December 11. Very excited. It’s very similiar to having a baby. I’m not exaggerating.
”Not all who wander are lost.”
—Old Vaquero Saying
Sunday, November 30, 2003
November 30, 2003
Didn’t get any art done yesterday but did get to see some great art down at the Biltmore. Kathy and I took off from here about 2:30. Beautiful day out. The Frank Llloyd Wright designed Biltmore Hotel sits regally in the north corridor of Phoenix. Glenn Campbell lives in the adjacent Biltmore Estates and was arrested there last week for being drunk and the hit and run. He told the arresting officers he has never “been drunk, just over-served.” Ha.. The Hotel is celebrating its 75th anniversary and Steve Sampson invited Mark Sublette, a Tucson gallery owner and expert on Maynard Dixon to come up and show off some of his Dixon images and comment on the two murals in the Gold Room which bears Maynard’s art (the second one was painted by his third wife Edith Hamlin after his death using his studies). Of course Ed Mell was there and we marvelled at several little gems, especially a powerful painting of a tall saguaro on the side of Catalina Mountain. I mentally stole several compositions and color schemes to apply to the unfinished Old Man Clanton images lying around my studio.
After the talk, Steve and his wife Annie invited Kathy and I, Maynard Dixon’s son John, Ed Mell, Mark Sublette and several of Mark’s Old Pueblo friends, to join them on the patio for drinks. We sat on big comfy chairs as one of two weddings got underway on the lush center square, which is literally in the shadow of Piestewa Peak (named for the Native American woman who was driving the humvee that Jessica Lynch was in. It was formerly Squaw Peak.) I had a nice merlot and Kathy had a Corona. I sat next to Mark Sublette and we talked about Maynard and Tucson. In addition to Mark’s home in Tucson he has another one in Santa Fe. He is a passionate collector and has a painting done of George and Libbie Custer which he believes was painted at the time of their marriage. I told him he has to contact Bob McCubbin and Paul Hutton, and in addition to their expert opinions, I assured him he will enjoy their passion for all things collectable.
At about six, we drove up to Paradise Valley and met Wonderful Russ for dinner at Chompies ($52 cash). I had the salmon and homemade lima bean soup. Kathy had a turkey sando. Talked quite a bit about the new MP3s and downloading music and how it all works (Russ is a techno buff and has studied all of the variations, etc.).
Got home at nine, rented Hollywood Homicide on the dish ($3.99). Harrison Ford, directed by Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, White Men Can’t Jump). Just an awful mess. I half-kept watching it to see if it would get any better, and it never did.
”You never know what is enough until you know what is more than enough.”
—William Blake
Didn’t get any art done yesterday but did get to see some great art down at the Biltmore. Kathy and I took off from here about 2:30. Beautiful day out. The Frank Llloyd Wright designed Biltmore Hotel sits regally in the north corridor of Phoenix. Glenn Campbell lives in the adjacent Biltmore Estates and was arrested there last week for being drunk and the hit and run. He told the arresting officers he has never “been drunk, just over-served.” Ha.. The Hotel is celebrating its 75th anniversary and Steve Sampson invited Mark Sublette, a Tucson gallery owner and expert on Maynard Dixon to come up and show off some of his Dixon images and comment on the two murals in the Gold Room which bears Maynard’s art (the second one was painted by his third wife Edith Hamlin after his death using his studies). Of course Ed Mell was there and we marvelled at several little gems, especially a powerful painting of a tall saguaro on the side of Catalina Mountain. I mentally stole several compositions and color schemes to apply to the unfinished Old Man Clanton images lying around my studio.
After the talk, Steve and his wife Annie invited Kathy and I, Maynard Dixon’s son John, Ed Mell, Mark Sublette and several of Mark’s Old Pueblo friends, to join them on the patio for drinks. We sat on big comfy chairs as one of two weddings got underway on the lush center square, which is literally in the shadow of Piestewa Peak (named for the Native American woman who was driving the humvee that Jessica Lynch was in. It was formerly Squaw Peak.) I had a nice merlot and Kathy had a Corona. I sat next to Mark Sublette and we talked about Maynard and Tucson. In addition to Mark’s home in Tucson he has another one in Santa Fe. He is a passionate collector and has a painting done of George and Libbie Custer which he believes was painted at the time of their marriage. I told him he has to contact Bob McCubbin and Paul Hutton, and in addition to their expert opinions, I assured him he will enjoy their passion for all things collectable.
At about six, we drove up to Paradise Valley and met Wonderful Russ for dinner at Chompies ($52 cash). I had the salmon and homemade lima bean soup. Kathy had a turkey sando. Talked quite a bit about the new MP3s and downloading music and how it all works (Russ is a techno buff and has studied all of the variations, etc.).
Got home at nine, rented Hollywood Homicide on the dish ($3.99). Harrison Ford, directed by Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, White Men Can’t Jump). Just an awful mess. I half-kept watching it to see if it would get any better, and it never did.
”You never know what is enough until you know what is more than enough.”
—William Blake
Saturday, November 29, 2003
November 29, 2003
Had a very strong day working on art yesterday. Must have cranked out a dozen gouache roughs, etc. Got a good one of Old Man Clanton and Jim Crane around the campfire. Nice effects, and a decent likeness of Clanton.
Yesterday afternoon, Mad Coyote Joe called me and said he did a big catering feed (1,200 people) and had some juicy tri-tip, and salads left over. Invited me to bring over a bowl and some tupperware containers and he’d fill’em. Went over to his ranchito around two and loaded up. Had a great little feast for lunch.
Got an irate call from my neighbor at about four. This is what he said, “I’m supposed to go hunting in the morning and I’m missing a boot.” I instantly knew exactly what he was talking about, because on our patio the dogs have drug in a fine variety of footwear including Birkenstocks and black tennies. I thought the notorious little thief Peaches was the culprit and just this very morning I took them all over to the Swami’s house (we have a transcendental guy catty-corner to our property) and piled the booty (get it?) on a big rock just outside his driveway. But as soon as Ed called I knew the expensive boot that showed up yesterday was his. I told Ed I’d meet him on the road, went and retrieved the boot from the Swami rock and met a very bugged neighbor near his barn. “Here you go Ed, I’m so sorry. It looks like you’ll need some new shoelaces. It’s probably Peaches and you have my permission to kick her ass when she sneaks over.” Ed looked at his boot and shook his head. “It isn’t Peaches,” he said disgustedly, as Buddy Boze Bell lumbered up with one ear cocked backwards like a gangbanger on a crack heist. Ed held out the boot and Buddy looked up at it with a “Hey, where’d you get that, it’s mine” kind of look. “He ate the tongue,” Ed said pointing at the chewed out interior of the footwear. Buddy started to jump up and grab it, but I clipped his ass good. The boot was ruined and so was my afternoon. I realized my parenting skills are just about non-existent. I did such a lousy job on two kids, what made me think I could train a dog?
“You know,” Ed said fixing me with the bad parent stare I deserved. “I got a lame mare in there,” he said, pointing to the barn with his chin. “And she’s expecting and he’s over here every day attacking her.” I, of course, started mumbling and promising things I can’t deliver: “I’m gonna take care of this Ed. We bought a shock collar (this is true, $130) and if we have to, we’ll build a dog run ($1,300 we don’t have) and a new gate ($800, but he jumps the wall anyway). Ed turned and walked off.
I called Ed’s house later and left a very contrite message, telling him to go buy some new boots and I’ll pay for them, but he never called back. His truck is gone today and I wince every time I imagine Ed, up on the Mogollon Rim, hopping through the brush on one leg trying to sneak up on a bull moose.
”Never make a promise in haste.”
—Mahatma Gandhi
Had a very strong day working on art yesterday. Must have cranked out a dozen gouache roughs, etc. Got a good one of Old Man Clanton and Jim Crane around the campfire. Nice effects, and a decent likeness of Clanton.
Yesterday afternoon, Mad Coyote Joe called me and said he did a big catering feed (1,200 people) and had some juicy tri-tip, and salads left over. Invited me to bring over a bowl and some tupperware containers and he’d fill’em. Went over to his ranchito around two and loaded up. Had a great little feast for lunch.
Got an irate call from my neighbor at about four. This is what he said, “I’m supposed to go hunting in the morning and I’m missing a boot.” I instantly knew exactly what he was talking about, because on our patio the dogs have drug in a fine variety of footwear including Birkenstocks and black tennies. I thought the notorious little thief Peaches was the culprit and just this very morning I took them all over to the Swami’s house (we have a transcendental guy catty-corner to our property) and piled the booty (get it?) on a big rock just outside his driveway. But as soon as Ed called I knew the expensive boot that showed up yesterday was his. I told Ed I’d meet him on the road, went and retrieved the boot from the Swami rock and met a very bugged neighbor near his barn. “Here you go Ed, I’m so sorry. It looks like you’ll need some new shoelaces. It’s probably Peaches and you have my permission to kick her ass when she sneaks over.” Ed looked at his boot and shook his head. “It isn’t Peaches,” he said disgustedly, as Buddy Boze Bell lumbered up with one ear cocked backwards like a gangbanger on a crack heist. Ed held out the boot and Buddy looked up at it with a “Hey, where’d you get that, it’s mine” kind of look. “He ate the tongue,” Ed said pointing at the chewed out interior of the footwear. Buddy started to jump up and grab it, but I clipped his ass good. The boot was ruined and so was my afternoon. I realized my parenting skills are just about non-existent. I did such a lousy job on two kids, what made me think I could train a dog?
“You know,” Ed said fixing me with the bad parent stare I deserved. “I got a lame mare in there,” he said, pointing to the barn with his chin. “And she’s expecting and he’s over here every day attacking her.” I, of course, started mumbling and promising things I can’t deliver: “I’m gonna take care of this Ed. We bought a shock collar (this is true, $130) and if we have to, we’ll build a dog run ($1,300 we don’t have) and a new gate ($800, but he jumps the wall anyway). Ed turned and walked off.
I called Ed’s house later and left a very contrite message, telling him to go buy some new boots and I’ll pay for them, but he never called back. His truck is gone today and I wince every time I imagine Ed, up on the Mogollon Rim, hopping through the brush on one leg trying to sneak up on a bull moose.
”Never make a promise in haste.”
—Mahatma Gandhi
Friday, November 28, 2003
November 28, 2003
Had a nice Thanksgiving at Betty Radina’s. Nice talking to everyone (except for one person who irritates the hell out of me, but such is family and the holidays and being petty. Besides, it makes me appreciate all the others).
Worked on several art pieces for the Old Man Clanton piece. Got a decent image called “The Midnite Visitor.” This led to questions (as I’m painting the scene, I’m thinking, “Wait a minute, if he’s coming in from over there?”), which I may include in the article.
Got this from one of my blogger pals:
Six Phases Of A Project.
1. Enthusiasm
2. Disillusionment
3. Panic
4. Search For The Guilty
5. Punishment Of The Innocent
6. Praise And Honors For The Non-Participants
I’m always trying to figure out how to get to the good stuff and so I’m constantly searching for people who may have the answers. Here’s what Tommy Lee Jones has to say about acting (he is out promoting The Missing): “It there is such a thing as talent, maybe it’s maintaining objectivity and subjectivity at the same time, both at a very intense level. But hell’s bell’s, there is no established vocabulary to deal with these issues.” What a guy. A Westerner (he owns two ranches) with a Harvard degree.
And here come the MMMurphey fans: “What the devil?! Where is this merciless Michael Martin Murphey bashing coming from? References to 78 RPM's & Fountain Hills tell me everything I need to know. I'm reminded of an exchange on a prominent Western E-board recently. Two old codgers were bitching about Opie remaking John Wayne's epic "The Alamo," vowing they'd never see this vile assault on their antiquated honor. "How dare that sniveling Hollywood brat think he can sully the Duke's masterwork!" Never mind that it isn't Ron Howard anymore at the helm. Never mind that it isn't a remake in any sense. Never mind that John Wayne was just as "Hollywood" as Opie Cuningham. By Gobs, it tweren't what they were raised on! I nearly worship John Wayne as the deified Western role model. I adore Gene Autry's music. The crackpot coot mentality expressed in your recent correspondence with Grandpa Simpson does not represent all your readers. I'm a mere kiddo of 38 who appreciates that some folks are trying to preserve and supplement the Western arts and myths that are about to erode to dust right before our eyes if someone doesn't perpetuate our passion for the American West. So, I say, thank you Michael Martin Murphy!” C. Neil Williams
”If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.”
—Old Vaquero Saying
Had a nice Thanksgiving at Betty Radina’s. Nice talking to everyone (except for one person who irritates the hell out of me, but such is family and the holidays and being petty. Besides, it makes me appreciate all the others).
Worked on several art pieces for the Old Man Clanton piece. Got a decent image called “The Midnite Visitor.” This led to questions (as I’m painting the scene, I’m thinking, “Wait a minute, if he’s coming in from over there?”), which I may include in the article.
Got this from one of my blogger pals:
Six Phases Of A Project.
1. Enthusiasm
2. Disillusionment
3. Panic
4. Search For The Guilty
5. Punishment Of The Innocent
6. Praise And Honors For The Non-Participants
I’m always trying to figure out how to get to the good stuff and so I’m constantly searching for people who may have the answers. Here’s what Tommy Lee Jones has to say about acting (he is out promoting The Missing): “It there is such a thing as talent, maybe it’s maintaining objectivity and subjectivity at the same time, both at a very intense level. But hell’s bell’s, there is no established vocabulary to deal with these issues.” What a guy. A Westerner (he owns two ranches) with a Harvard degree.
And here come the MMMurphey fans: “What the devil?! Where is this merciless Michael Martin Murphey bashing coming from? References to 78 RPM's & Fountain Hills tell me everything I need to know. I'm reminded of an exchange on a prominent Western E-board recently. Two old codgers were bitching about Opie remaking John Wayne's epic "The Alamo," vowing they'd never see this vile assault on their antiquated honor. "How dare that sniveling Hollywood brat think he can sully the Duke's masterwork!" Never mind that it isn't Ron Howard anymore at the helm. Never mind that it isn't a remake in any sense. Never mind that John Wayne was just as "Hollywood" as Opie Cuningham. By Gobs, it tweren't what they were raised on! I nearly worship John Wayne as the deified Western role model. I adore Gene Autry's music. The crackpot coot mentality expressed in your recent correspondence with Grandpa Simpson does not represent all your readers. I'm a mere kiddo of 38 who appreciates that some folks are trying to preserve and supplement the Western arts and myths that are about to erode to dust right before our eyes if someone doesn't perpetuate our passion for the American West. So, I say, thank you Michael Martin Murphy!” C. Neil Williams
”If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.”
—Old Vaquero Saying
Thursday, November 27, 2003
November 27, 2003
A brisk, cool Thanksgiving morning. Got dogs under my legs wrestling on the floor trying to get to the three-day-old- cut wieners in my sweats pocket (didn’t know they were there, but, oh those dog noses!).
Yesterday at the TW offices we had our Thanksgiving feast. Carol got cold cuts at Costco and several others brought in side dishes. Abby brought in a delicious Baptist basement salad and Robert Ray brought in a crockpot of black beans and meat (both very tasty). Lots of laughs and at least everyone on staff wants to be there (couldn’t have said that last week).
I never realized the animosity that Michael Martin Murphey engenders. More negative responses to the idea of him being on the cover. Here’s a snippet:
“ can't see how you could say Michael Martin Murphy in the same breath as Gene Autry or Riders in the Sky. Murphy is a bad rip-off of Marty Robbins and certainly not on a par with the great cowboy movie singers.” —Allen Fossenkemper, Fountain Hills, AZ.
Here is the rough Gus came up with for the Gene Autry cover. The logo is in color, but the rest is black and white. I think it’s pretty strong. The great boots and spurs don’t hurt anything.
Got a new poll up. This one is from our editor R.G. who is suspicious of all our Billy the Kid coverage. It’s a good one: Does True West devote too much time to Billy the Kid? You can click right here to vote.
"If you want truly to understand something, try to change it."
—Kurt Lewin
A brisk, cool Thanksgiving morning. Got dogs under my legs wrestling on the floor trying to get to the three-day-old- cut wieners in my sweats pocket (didn’t know they were there, but, oh those dog noses!).
Yesterday at the TW offices we had our Thanksgiving feast. Carol got cold cuts at Costco and several others brought in side dishes. Abby brought in a delicious Baptist basement salad and Robert Ray brought in a crockpot of black beans and meat (both very tasty). Lots of laughs and at least everyone on staff wants to be there (couldn’t have said that last week).
I never realized the animosity that Michael Martin Murphey engenders. More negative responses to the idea of him being on the cover. Here’s a snippet:
“ can't see how you could say Michael Martin Murphy in the same breath as Gene Autry or Riders in the Sky. Murphy is a bad rip-off of Marty Robbins and certainly not on a par with the great cowboy movie singers.” —Allen Fossenkemper, Fountain Hills, AZ.
Here is the rough Gus came up with for the Gene Autry cover. The logo is in color, but the rest is black and white. I think it’s pretty strong. The great boots and spurs don’t hurt anything.
Got a new poll up. This one is from our editor R.G. who is suspicious of all our Billy the Kid coverage. It’s a good one: Does True West devote too much time to Billy the Kid? You can click right here to vote.
"If you want truly to understand something, try to change it."
—Kurt Lewin
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
November 26, 2003
Took part of the staff on a field trip yesterday. Jana, Gus, Meghan, Abbey and Robert Ray and I went down to Desert Ridge to visit Tower Records and then over to Barnes & Noble to look at our rack position and our competitors. Afterwards we tried to eat lunch at Mimi’s Cafe but they were slammed and had a 25 minute wait so we walked over to In-N-Out burgers and sat outside and talked strategies ($3.50 for a hamburger and iced tea, cash). Good discussion and Jana said on the way back she finally understands and agrees with the importance of top heads (headlines above the logo). Daniel smuggled in a printout of his fake “Fakes” cover and we put it in amongst the cacophony of titles and stepped back to take an objective gander. It stood out for sure and that was encouraging. Tower had sold all but one of the Alamo issues (Dec.) and B&N had four left (of course the latter had the mags stuck in the back and we pulled them out to give a full face position, and I would encourage everyone reading this to do the same whenever you see True West—put it out front!).
On a related note, I mentioned in here we may do a Western music issue and I gave the option of Gene Autry on the cover or Michael Martin Murphey. Here’s a few of the responses I got:
“I sure would like to see Gene Autry on one of your covers.He was the first singing Cowboy as you know. I'm one of the baby boomers that was raised up on his western movies and 78 rpm records.” Don Hall, Macon, Missouri
“Go with Michael ~ he still has a pulse! This man has a strong connection to many of the people you would want buying your magazine. You could both do each other alot of good ~ Autry's a legend, but frankly a little out of the loop.” J.Rae, Wisconsin
“I love the idea of a cowboy music cover, but I hate the idea of Michael Martin Murphy for it, 'cause maybe he's the greatest guy in the world, but his cowboy stuff is overproduced and soulless and, well, '80s California to my uneducated ear. If it's a choice, my vote's for Gene Autry. Actually, it's for Riders in the Sky, but you didn't offer that. Maybe a collage of past and present greats? 'Cause that way, you can put in Patsy Montana.” Will S., Bisbee, AZ
“I don't think of the choice between Michael Martin Murphy and Gene Autry as a demographics-driven thing. For me, it's more like: Gene Autry is cool. MMM--just not cool. Cool people establish the stuff; just-not-cool people come along after and homogenize it. But then, I'm so cranky about music I make the Hat Nazis look wishy washy.” Emma Bull, Bisbee, AZ
"Oprah Winfrey said she realized she needed to lose weight when she went to a heavyweight fight and discovered she weighed more than the winner. Coincidentally, the same thing happened to Pavarotti at the Kentucky Derby."
—Conan O'Brien
Took part of the staff on a field trip yesterday. Jana, Gus, Meghan, Abbey and Robert Ray and I went down to Desert Ridge to visit Tower Records and then over to Barnes & Noble to look at our rack position and our competitors. Afterwards we tried to eat lunch at Mimi’s Cafe but they were slammed and had a 25 minute wait so we walked over to In-N-Out burgers and sat outside and talked strategies ($3.50 for a hamburger and iced tea, cash). Good discussion and Jana said on the way back she finally understands and agrees with the importance of top heads (headlines above the logo). Daniel smuggled in a printout of his fake “Fakes” cover and we put it in amongst the cacophony of titles and stepped back to take an objective gander. It stood out for sure and that was encouraging. Tower had sold all but one of the Alamo issues (Dec.) and B&N had four left (of course the latter had the mags stuck in the back and we pulled them out to give a full face position, and I would encourage everyone reading this to do the same whenever you see True West—put it out front!).
On a related note, I mentioned in here we may do a Western music issue and I gave the option of Gene Autry on the cover or Michael Martin Murphey. Here’s a few of the responses I got:
“I sure would like to see Gene Autry on one of your covers.He was the first singing Cowboy as you know. I'm one of the baby boomers that was raised up on his western movies and 78 rpm records.” Don Hall, Macon, Missouri
“Go with Michael ~ he still has a pulse! This man has a strong connection to many of the people you would want buying your magazine. You could both do each other alot of good ~ Autry's a legend, but frankly a little out of the loop.” J.Rae, Wisconsin
“I love the idea of a cowboy music cover, but I hate the idea of Michael Martin Murphy for it, 'cause maybe he's the greatest guy in the world, but his cowboy stuff is overproduced and soulless and, well, '80s California to my uneducated ear. If it's a choice, my vote's for Gene Autry. Actually, it's for Riders in the Sky, but you didn't offer that. Maybe a collage of past and present greats? 'Cause that way, you can put in Patsy Montana.” Will S., Bisbee, AZ
“I don't think of the choice between Michael Martin Murphy and Gene Autry as a demographics-driven thing. For me, it's more like: Gene Autry is cool. MMM--just not cool. Cool people establish the stuff; just-not-cool people come along after and homogenize it. But then, I'm so cranky about music I make the Hat Nazis look wishy washy.” Emma Bull, Bisbee, AZ
"Oprah Winfrey said she realized she needed to lose weight when she went to a heavyweight fight and discovered she weighed more than the winner. Coincidentally, the same thing happened to Pavarotti at the Kentucky Derby."
—Conan O'Brien
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
November 25, 2003
Still struggling with Old Man Clanton copy. Found more stuff yesterday and worked hard to shoe horn it in. Need to finish two or three more pieces of art (one is of Wyatt Earp as Superman).
Had lunch with the well-known Western artist Buckeye Blake yesterday. He was coming through town on his way to Texas. We went to El Encanto ($10 cash) and had machaca and eggs and talked history and art ‘til the cows came home. The only thing that would have made it more of a B-fest is if Baxter Black had joined us (Buckeye Bake, Bob Boze Bell and Baxter Black do breakfast, sounds like a bad country-western song).
Speaking of history, I was so proud of my memory of November 22, 1963, until yesterday when Charlie Waters E-mailed me the following:
“Thanks for sharing the blog. I, of course, remember it differently.
I remember it as the day I got the cast off my leg from a broken ankle. I
remember the dance being canceled but football season was over as I broke my
ankle the Wednesday before our last game. Must have been a basketball game.”
”Each time an oldtimer retells his life story, he gets closer to the center of the stage."
—Old Vaquero Saying
Still struggling with Old Man Clanton copy. Found more stuff yesterday and worked hard to shoe horn it in. Need to finish two or three more pieces of art (one is of Wyatt Earp as Superman).
Had lunch with the well-known Western artist Buckeye Blake yesterday. He was coming through town on his way to Texas. We went to El Encanto ($10 cash) and had machaca and eggs and talked history and art ‘til the cows came home. The only thing that would have made it more of a B-fest is if Baxter Black had joined us (Buckeye Bake, Bob Boze Bell and Baxter Black do breakfast, sounds like a bad country-western song).
Speaking of history, I was so proud of my memory of November 22, 1963, until yesterday when Charlie Waters E-mailed me the following:
“Thanks for sharing the blog. I, of course, remember it differently.
I remember it as the day I got the cast off my leg from a broken ankle. I
remember the dance being canceled but football season was over as I broke my
ankle the Wednesday before our last game. Must have been a basketball game.”
”Each time an oldtimer retells his life story, he gets closer to the center of the stage."
—Old Vaquero Saying
Monday, November 24, 2003
November 24, 2003
Good day working on art yesterday. Whipped out a big sucker of Old Man Clanton and his cowboys receiving a midnite visitor at Guadalupe Canyon. Mysterious rock formations in background (outlaw James Crane had unwittingly brought a company of Mexican militia with him). Nice effects, some passages I wish I had back, but here we go.
Our refrigerator went kaput a couple days ago, so Kathy called up a classified ad and we drove out to west Phoenix to pick it up ($275 cash). Had to drive slow on the freeway, got it home, the old one wouldn’t go out the front door, leaking, heavy, all that fun stuff. Finally got them moved around. Back sore, too old for this.
Watched a great Inside The Actor’s Studio last night with Mike Myers. Really funny guy. He makes $20 million a picture now and it was interesting to find out that Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers saga is based partly on Myer’s old boss at Saturday Night Live, Lorne Michaels. And the irony is that according to Myers, Lorne’s own son went out on a recent Halloween dressed as Dr. Evil. Funny.
Big challenges at the office this week. I’m trying to find a great quote from J.C. Penny about a stock clerk. I’ve run it in here in the past, but now I can’t find it. When I do, I’ll run it here. When to speak and when to shut up and let people do their jobs?
”"Silence can be an answer."
—Old Vaquero Saying
Good day working on art yesterday. Whipped out a big sucker of Old Man Clanton and his cowboys receiving a midnite visitor at Guadalupe Canyon. Mysterious rock formations in background (outlaw James Crane had unwittingly brought a company of Mexican militia with him). Nice effects, some passages I wish I had back, but here we go.
Our refrigerator went kaput a couple days ago, so Kathy called up a classified ad and we drove out to west Phoenix to pick it up ($275 cash). Had to drive slow on the freeway, got it home, the old one wouldn’t go out the front door, leaking, heavy, all that fun stuff. Finally got them moved around. Back sore, too old for this.
Watched a great Inside The Actor’s Studio last night with Mike Myers. Really funny guy. He makes $20 million a picture now and it was interesting to find out that Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers saga is based partly on Myer’s old boss at Saturday Night Live, Lorne Michaels. And the irony is that according to Myers, Lorne’s own son went out on a recent Halloween dressed as Dr. Evil. Funny.
Big challenges at the office this week. I’m trying to find a great quote from J.C. Penny about a stock clerk. I’ve run it in here in the past, but now I can’t find it. When I do, I’ll run it here. When to speak and when to shut up and let people do their jobs?
”"Silence can be an answer."
—Old Vaquero Saying
Sunday, November 23, 2003
November 23, 2003
Coming back from New Mexico earlier this week I realized something: Baby Boomers are enough of a market for us. Entertainment Weekly and others have been reporting the network’s double digit loss of the 18-34 male and the big wig’s hand-wringing at this potent market loss. When we were in New York last summer talking to the History Channel they too were obsessed with somehow corralling the elusive teenage demo.
Last night I read the new Rolling Stone with the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. I was somewhat surprised that the top ten were all Baby Boomer groups (RS is also reportedly trying to court youngsters, but you couldn’t tell it from the list): The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was chosen as number one, The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds came in at number two, the Beatles again at number three with Revolver and also at number 9, then Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and Marvin Gaye. The Clash was the only “new group” to break the top ten (and they’re twenty years old!).
Yes, we are the pig in the python’s digestive system, but why fight it, sometimes you just need to go with it.
Case in point: this morning
I was listening to Prairie Home Companion on NPR and Garrison Keillor’s show was broadcasting from San Diego. Garrison introduced a group called the Duotones, two guys on acoustics, who proceeded to play the old surf classic, Pipeline. The crowd went nuts and so did I. In fact, the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up and I couldn’t stop grinning. This song is a benchmark for Baby Boomers (from Kingman). I truly believe it’s one of the greatest songs ever recorded, with the possible exception of Apache (1961) which the Duotones played at the end of the show.
So what does this have to do with True West? Well, we are playing with the idea of doing a Western music issue. Do we put Michael Martin Murphy on the cover or Gene Autry?
Speaking of Prairie Home Companion, when Kathy and I went ice fishing with Garrison Keillor two years ago, we like everyone else wanted to talk to him, but he was mobbed for the entire weekend. People hanging on him everywhere. So, on the last day, out on the VFW patio, overlooking a frozen lake north of St. Paul, Kathy and I did a cheesy thing: we took turns standing close to Garrison and took pictures of each other as if he were our closest friend. He had no idea we were doing this (notice his stoic oblivion). I have since put this on our refrigerator to remind us of all our famous friends. Ha.
”Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.”
—George S. Patton
Coming back from New Mexico earlier this week I realized something: Baby Boomers are enough of a market for us. Entertainment Weekly and others have been reporting the network’s double digit loss of the 18-34 male and the big wig’s hand-wringing at this potent market loss. When we were in New York last summer talking to the History Channel they too were obsessed with somehow corralling the elusive teenage demo.
Last night I read the new Rolling Stone with the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. I was somewhat surprised that the top ten were all Baby Boomer groups (RS is also reportedly trying to court youngsters, but you couldn’t tell it from the list): The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was chosen as number one, The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds came in at number two, the Beatles again at number three with Revolver and also at number 9, then Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and Marvin Gaye. The Clash was the only “new group” to break the top ten (and they’re twenty years old!).
Yes, we are the pig in the python’s digestive system, but why fight it, sometimes you just need to go with it.
Case in point: this morning
I was listening to Prairie Home Companion on NPR and Garrison Keillor’s show was broadcasting from San Diego. Garrison introduced a group called the Duotones, two guys on acoustics, who proceeded to play the old surf classic, Pipeline. The crowd went nuts and so did I. In fact, the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up and I couldn’t stop grinning. This song is a benchmark for Baby Boomers (from Kingman). I truly believe it’s one of the greatest songs ever recorded, with the possible exception of Apache (1961) which the Duotones played at the end of the show.
So what does this have to do with True West? Well, we are playing with the idea of doing a Western music issue. Do we put Michael Martin Murphy on the cover or Gene Autry?
Speaking of Prairie Home Companion, when Kathy and I went ice fishing with Garrison Keillor two years ago, we like everyone else wanted to talk to him, but he was mobbed for the entire weekend. People hanging on him everywhere. So, on the last day, out on the VFW patio, overlooking a frozen lake north of St. Paul, Kathy and I did a cheesy thing: we took turns standing close to Garrison and took pictures of each other as if he were our closest friend. He had no idea we were doing this (notice his stoic oblivion). I have since put this on our refrigerator to remind us of all our famous friends. Ha.
”Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.”
—George S. Patton
Saturday, November 22, 2003
November 22, 2003
Is there anyone left in the U.S. who hasn’t told where they were forty years ago? What a snapshot of the country. Millions of us pinpointing our exact location on Friday morning, November 22, 1963.
The Exits were going to have a dance in the evening (I think there was a football game scheduled) and bandmate Charlie Waters and I drove up to my parent’s house on Ricca Drive to pick up my drums. It was lunchtime and we had to get permission from Mr. Williams to leave the Mohave County Union High School campus. On the way up the hill (we lived on Hilltop) Charlie and I talked about various girls we were interested in and the odds of us scoring with them after the dance. I can’t remember why but I decided to pull into my dad’s Phillips 66 service station at the top of El Trovatore Hill. As we pulled up my dad came out to the car and said, “The president’s been shot.” I remember thinking he was probably wounded in the arm, like a superficial flesh wound (all those Westerns I had grown up on). I couldn’t imagine a modern president being mortally wounded. That was something that happened in ancient times, like Lincoln at the end of the Civil War.
When Charlie and I got to my house, we started loading out my Montgomery Ward’s King drum set to the car (we still had no idea of the magnitude of the tragedy). I turned on the tv and there was Walter Cronkite, which even seemed odd, because nobody in my memory had ever interrupted daytime soaps. Walter seemed overly somber. And then he said the unthinkable: the president is dead.
We finished loading the drums and went back to school. Washington and even Dallas, Texas seemed a long way from Kingman, Arizona and I was shocked when Mr. Williams said there would be no school, no game and no dance. Girls were crying on the steps of the school and sitting in cars in the parking lot weeping. Us guys were too cool for that. One of my jock friends actually said, “What do you mean the dance is cancelled, it’s just the president.”
On Sunday my mother and I went to Grace Lutheran Church for services and when we got home my dad said, “Now they’ve shot Oswald.” Once again, it was too bizarre to even believe.
In the seventies I got swept up in the conspiracy theories and attended a multi-media travelling conspiracy show at Grady Gammage on the ASU campus. The highlight of the presentation was actually getting to see the Zapruder film (in spite of many Baby Boomer’s faulty memories, the Zapruder film had never been shown publicly and in fact the Life magazine photo spread, deleted the third shot head wound as too graphic for the American people to see).. Of course, we all believed the CIA and others (Nixon was in Dallas!) were behind it. I’ve since calmed down and today I’m much more pragmatic:
”I believe one of the Lee Harvey Oswalds acted alone.”
—Bob Boze Bell
Is there anyone left in the U.S. who hasn’t told where they were forty years ago? What a snapshot of the country. Millions of us pinpointing our exact location on Friday morning, November 22, 1963.
The Exits were going to have a dance in the evening (I think there was a football game scheduled) and bandmate Charlie Waters and I drove up to my parent’s house on Ricca Drive to pick up my drums. It was lunchtime and we had to get permission from Mr. Williams to leave the Mohave County Union High School campus. On the way up the hill (we lived on Hilltop) Charlie and I talked about various girls we were interested in and the odds of us scoring with them after the dance. I can’t remember why but I decided to pull into my dad’s Phillips 66 service station at the top of El Trovatore Hill. As we pulled up my dad came out to the car and said, “The president’s been shot.” I remember thinking he was probably wounded in the arm, like a superficial flesh wound (all those Westerns I had grown up on). I couldn’t imagine a modern president being mortally wounded. That was something that happened in ancient times, like Lincoln at the end of the Civil War.
When Charlie and I got to my house, we started loading out my Montgomery Ward’s King drum set to the car (we still had no idea of the magnitude of the tragedy). I turned on the tv and there was Walter Cronkite, which even seemed odd, because nobody in my memory had ever interrupted daytime soaps. Walter seemed overly somber. And then he said the unthinkable: the president is dead.
We finished loading the drums and went back to school. Washington and even Dallas, Texas seemed a long way from Kingman, Arizona and I was shocked when Mr. Williams said there would be no school, no game and no dance. Girls were crying on the steps of the school and sitting in cars in the parking lot weeping. Us guys were too cool for that. One of my jock friends actually said, “What do you mean the dance is cancelled, it’s just the president.”
On Sunday my mother and I went to Grace Lutheran Church for services and when we got home my dad said, “Now they’ve shot Oswald.” Once again, it was too bizarre to even believe.
In the seventies I got swept up in the conspiracy theories and attended a multi-media travelling conspiracy show at Grady Gammage on the ASU campus. The highlight of the presentation was actually getting to see the Zapruder film (in spite of many Baby Boomer’s faulty memories, the Zapruder film had never been shown publicly and in fact the Life magazine photo spread, deleted the third shot head wound as too graphic for the American people to see).. Of course, we all believed the CIA and others (Nixon was in Dallas!) were behind it. I’ve since calmed down and today I’m much more pragmatic:
”I believe one of the Lee Harvey Oswalds acted alone.”
—Bob Boze Bell
Friday, November 21, 2003
November 21, 2003
Big changes in staff. Had two salespeople resign yesterday. They wanted to rep us from an outside position but we declined. This puts tremendous pressure on our current staff, two of whom are inexperienced. However, I have faith in them and Mike and I have faith that they’ll all rise to the challenge.
Had a meeting with them this morning and told them the story of a young punkster who got drunk every night and whored around even more. Yes, my bible school teacher Mrs. Blanchard . . .no, of course it’s me and I was in my early twenties and completely lost. In spite of my decadent lifestyle, I really wanted to accomplish things but I had no idea on how to do it.
One night a friend of mine invited me to a Sta-Power meeting, which was an early pyramid scheme company like Amway but without the ethics. Of course I didn’t know this at the time. First, they put us in this room and they wowed us with a tent show revival type “experiment” to show how Sta-Power oil additive works like “magic.” We were being set up to buy franchises at $3,000 a pop, as I remember. I was too dumb and too young and from Kingman to boot (call it a tri-fecta of stupidity) to understand the con and the only reason I got out of there with my shirt is because that’s all I owned. My friend was not so lucky and got taken for several thousand.
However, in spite of the total con situation, the total negativity and bad intent of the perpetrators, in the middle of the meeting they showed us a film. It was a motivational speech by an old man that I had never heard of—Earl Nightingale. He talked about goals and how people lose their way (this got my attention) and then he told about a sea captain who is leaving a dock in England on his way to Australia and who would bet against him making it? And how it’s a forty day trip and yet for 39 days he can’t see his goal, but he knows if he gets up each day and stays on course, on the 40th day his goal will come in sight. This may sound corny to you, but for me it was, well, a sea change.
After the meeting (at True West) Sue H. went on the web and found Earlnightingale.com and we ordered the tapes and one of his books. I hope the staff is half as motivated by Earl as I was because if they are we will have no trouble meeting our goals.
”I don't tell the truth any more to those who can't make use of it. I tell it mostly to myself, because it always changes me.”
—Anais Nin
Big changes in staff. Had two salespeople resign yesterday. They wanted to rep us from an outside position but we declined. This puts tremendous pressure on our current staff, two of whom are inexperienced. However, I have faith in them and Mike and I have faith that they’ll all rise to the challenge.
Had a meeting with them this morning and told them the story of a young punkster who got drunk every night and whored around even more. Yes, my bible school teacher Mrs. Blanchard . . .no, of course it’s me and I was in my early twenties and completely lost. In spite of my decadent lifestyle, I really wanted to accomplish things but I had no idea on how to do it.
One night a friend of mine invited me to a Sta-Power meeting, which was an early pyramid scheme company like Amway but without the ethics. Of course I didn’t know this at the time. First, they put us in this room and they wowed us with a tent show revival type “experiment” to show how Sta-Power oil additive works like “magic.” We were being set up to buy franchises at $3,000 a pop, as I remember. I was too dumb and too young and from Kingman to boot (call it a tri-fecta of stupidity) to understand the con and the only reason I got out of there with my shirt is because that’s all I owned. My friend was not so lucky and got taken for several thousand.
However, in spite of the total con situation, the total negativity and bad intent of the perpetrators, in the middle of the meeting they showed us a film. It was a motivational speech by an old man that I had never heard of—Earl Nightingale. He talked about goals and how people lose their way (this got my attention) and then he told about a sea captain who is leaving a dock in England on his way to Australia and who would bet against him making it? And how it’s a forty day trip and yet for 39 days he can’t see his goal, but he knows if he gets up each day and stays on course, on the 40th day his goal will come in sight. This may sound corny to you, but for me it was, well, a sea change.
After the meeting (at True West) Sue H. went on the web and found Earlnightingale.com and we ordered the tapes and one of his books. I hope the staff is half as motivated by Earl as I was because if they are we will have no trouble meeting our goals.
”I don't tell the truth any more to those who can't make use of it. I tell it mostly to myself, because it always changes me.”
—Anais Nin
Thursday, November 20, 2003
November 20, 2003
Finished copy for April Classic Gunfights: “I Shot The Sheriff (And I killed a Deputy, Too)”. The Sheriff Brady ambush in Lincoln, NM on April Fool’s Day, 1878. Going to be a good one. Of course I have plenty of artwork from my Billy book, but I have big plans to add some of the scenes I didn’t have time for back then.
Gus started doing some spec covers as part of Operation Good Covers. I want to work backwards and design a gaggle of covers that stand alone and see if we can grow into them. Gus whipped out four, including Bandit Babes and Big, Fat Liars of The Old West. Funny and intriguing stuff. When we get them roughed in, I’ll post a few and you can vote on them. Speaking of voting, we have a new poll up. What Western sites do you enjoy most? You can click right here.
Had a blood test at 11. Came in at 1.9 (not therapeutic), got yelled at for taking my coumadin in the morning. I “ruined the test”, etc. Whatever.
Went by El Conquistador for lunch. Had the poblano asado and an iced tea, got Kathy a bean burro to go ($20 cash, includes tip). Went to Wallgreen’s and got my coumadin prescription refilled ($25), then over to Foothills Photo and bought a used camera ($135 biz account). My old Nikon is kaput.
On the plane ride over to New Mexico I read Time magazine’s inside story of Jessica Lynch and the convoy ambush at Nasiriyah. Based on the initial reports I imagined a full blown ambush with Iraqi troops waiting in the dark and pouncing on the wayward convoy. Not even close. As is so typical in most human endeavors, after missing the turn to bypass the hostile berg, Lynch and the 507th Maintenance Company drove through the entire town without taking any enemy fire! There was even an Iraqi guard in the middle of the town who waved them thru (I can just see this guy, flashing a big smile and giving the “Peace Out” sign). It was only when they got out the other end of the town and the road ended that they got into trouble. They turned around and tried to wade back through Nasiriyah and that’s when the killing began. Amazing. It makes you realize, no one is really ready for anything (when 9•11 happened the most powerful nation on earth didn’t even have an armed plane to send up). Every government and organization on the planet is so pathetic it’s not even funny. We think there is this super organization behind everything and it’s really just blundering fools blindly bumping into the furniture.
”If you want your dreams to come true, don’t sleep.”
—Old Vaquero Saying
Finished copy for April Classic Gunfights: “I Shot The Sheriff (And I killed a Deputy, Too)”. The Sheriff Brady ambush in Lincoln, NM on April Fool’s Day, 1878. Going to be a good one. Of course I have plenty of artwork from my Billy book, but I have big plans to add some of the scenes I didn’t have time for back then.
Gus started doing some spec covers as part of Operation Good Covers. I want to work backwards and design a gaggle of covers that stand alone and see if we can grow into them. Gus whipped out four, including Bandit Babes and Big, Fat Liars of The Old West. Funny and intriguing stuff. When we get them roughed in, I’ll post a few and you can vote on them. Speaking of voting, we have a new poll up. What Western sites do you enjoy most? You can click right here.
Had a blood test at 11. Came in at 1.9 (not therapeutic), got yelled at for taking my coumadin in the morning. I “ruined the test”, etc. Whatever.
Went by El Conquistador for lunch. Had the poblano asado and an iced tea, got Kathy a bean burro to go ($20 cash, includes tip). Went to Wallgreen’s and got my coumadin prescription refilled ($25), then over to Foothills Photo and bought a used camera ($135 biz account). My old Nikon is kaput.
On the plane ride over to New Mexico I read Time magazine’s inside story of Jessica Lynch and the convoy ambush at Nasiriyah. Based on the initial reports I imagined a full blown ambush with Iraqi troops waiting in the dark and pouncing on the wayward convoy. Not even close. As is so typical in most human endeavors, after missing the turn to bypass the hostile berg, Lynch and the 507th Maintenance Company drove through the entire town without taking any enemy fire! There was even an Iraqi guard in the middle of the town who waved them thru (I can just see this guy, flashing a big smile and giving the “Peace Out” sign). It was only when they got out the other end of the town and the road ended that they got into trouble. They turned around and tried to wade back through Nasiriyah and that’s when the killing began. Amazing. It makes you realize, no one is really ready for anything (when 9•11 happened the most powerful nation on earth didn’t even have an armed plane to send up). Every government and organization on the planet is so pathetic it’s not even funny. We think there is this super organization behind everything and it’s really just blundering fools blindly bumping into the furniture.
”If you want your dreams to come true, don’t sleep.”
—Old Vaquero Saying
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
November 19, 2003
Long day at the office, trying to catch up. We made some editorial changes in the mix, argued over better covers and postcards, had two meetings about those issues.
Went to lunch at Sesame Inn with Gus, Meghan, Robert R. and Jana. Had the Grandma salad, which is not on the menu, but it’s one of the owner’s homestyle dishes (Gail Mell’s fave baby sitter was part of the family and turned them onto it), it’s sort of an Asian cole slaw with pork. Mighty tasty. Also had the Thai tea ($11 cash).
Had a dental appointment at three. Really got beat up bad. Just the terms are painful, “scaling,” “planing” “Novocaine in the gumline,” “Novocaine in the upper jaw,” “Novocaine in the roof of the mouth.” Kids, don’t get old because after fifty you get poked and shot up and jabbed at an alarming rate.
Came back to office and worked until about six. Lots to do, not enough people to do it.
”My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition.”
—My Grandpa
Long day at the office, trying to catch up. We made some editorial changes in the mix, argued over better covers and postcards, had two meetings about those issues.
Went to lunch at Sesame Inn with Gus, Meghan, Robert R. and Jana. Had the Grandma salad, which is not on the menu, but it’s one of the owner’s homestyle dishes (Gail Mell’s fave baby sitter was part of the family and turned them onto it), it’s sort of an Asian cole slaw with pork. Mighty tasty. Also had the Thai tea ($11 cash).
Had a dental appointment at three. Really got beat up bad. Just the terms are painful, “scaling,” “planing” “Novocaine in the gumline,” “Novocaine in the upper jaw,” “Novocaine in the roof of the mouth.” Kids, don’t get old because after fifty you get poked and shot up and jabbed at an alarming rate.
Came back to office and worked until about six. Lots to do, not enough people to do it.
”My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition.”
—My Grandpa
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
November 18, 2003
Back from New Mexico. Took off from Albuquerque last night at 7:40. Plane hit a wind sheer on take-off (snow flurries in both Santa Fe and Alb.). It was like someone was hitting the plane with giant baseball bats, the entire jet pitched and bucked. Certainly the roughest take-off I have ever experienced. I said goodbye to my family, wondered about all the deadlines and projects left unfinished. The rest of the flight was smooth as silk.
On Sunday night, six of us met Bill Kurtis (ex-CBS correspondent and morning anchor) and his staff at Santaca Fe (Santa Cafe, get it?) just off the Plaza. Paul and Tracie Hutton, the Western artist Thom Ross, a “friend” of Thom’s, Rhonda who is a school teacher on the Navajo res, and a tennis pro/Old West buff named Rusty. Three of us were wearing cowboy hats and Western cut coats and after introductions, Bill Kurtis leaned over and said to Paul, “They realize we’re not filming tonight, don’t they?” Ah, those Easterners and their humor.
Rusty, Thom and I realized we are all hat Nazis. In fact, Rusty wants to re-digitalize all the old Westerns and make the hats historically accurate. Rusty guesstimated there are 350,000 other hat nazis who agree with us. I countered that there are maybe (heavy on the maybe) 40. This became a running joke for the entire trip and when Richard Ignarski showed up at Bob McCubbin’s house, Rusty said to me, “I just met number 41,” but I had to tell him, “No, Richard is number 13 on my list.”
Taping at McCubbin’s house was great. Everyone raved about Bob’s library. Thom declared it “The Cooperstown of the Old West.” Ha. Show will appear on the History Channel next April.
”We should always be booted and spurred, and ready to go.”
—Montaigne
Back from New Mexico. Took off from Albuquerque last night at 7:40. Plane hit a wind sheer on take-off (snow flurries in both Santa Fe and Alb.). It was like someone was hitting the plane with giant baseball bats, the entire jet pitched and bucked. Certainly the roughest take-off I have ever experienced. I said goodbye to my family, wondered about all the deadlines and projects left unfinished. The rest of the flight was smooth as silk.
On Sunday night, six of us met Bill Kurtis (ex-CBS correspondent and morning anchor) and his staff at Santaca Fe (Santa Cafe, get it?) just off the Plaza. Paul and Tracie Hutton, the Western artist Thom Ross, a “friend” of Thom’s, Rhonda who is a school teacher on the Navajo res, and a tennis pro/Old West buff named Rusty. Three of us were wearing cowboy hats and Western cut coats and after introductions, Bill Kurtis leaned over and said to Paul, “They realize we’re not filming tonight, don’t they?” Ah, those Easterners and their humor.
Rusty, Thom and I realized we are all hat Nazis. In fact, Rusty wants to re-digitalize all the old Westerns and make the hats historically accurate. Rusty guesstimated there are 350,000 other hat nazis who agree with us. I countered that there are maybe (heavy on the maybe) 40. This became a running joke for the entire trip and when Richard Ignarski showed up at Bob McCubbin’s house, Rusty said to me, “I just met number 41,” but I had to tell him, “No, Richard is number 13 on my list.”
Taping at McCubbin’s house was great. Everyone raved about Bob’s library. Thom declared it “The Cooperstown of the Old West.” Ha. Show will appear on the History Channel next April.
”We should always be booted and spurred, and ready to go.”
—Montaigne
Sunday, November 16, 2003
November 16, 2003
Ran out of time. Need to leave in an hour to go to the airport. Had some good passages going on Clanton ambush and Cole Younger’s toenails, but have to stop and finish packing.
Last night, Kathy and I drove into Phoenix. Stopped at Book Star on Tatum but it’s gone. Huge store, vacated. Instead, a heavy discount bookstore has opened next to Office Max. Bought two books for the office ($32 biz account), one on the history of cinema which has numerous historic photos (The Man Who Sneezed and The Kiss) from 1894 on. We’ll use these in upcoming articles as the history of cinema begins to rival the history of the Old West. In fact, our own Miles Swarthout has been predicting this for over a year—that movie sites, where particular classic movie scenes were filmed, are going to rival the O.K. Corral itself as a tourist destination. There are travel groups cropping up everywhere that cater to this. Miles, my friend, you called it.
Attended a dinner party at Jana’s last night along with Russ and Wendy Shaw. Wonderful time, good conversation and we solved most of the world’s problems before dessert was on the table.
I was asked if I could go back in time what are the three places I would go and I said, “First I’d go to The Grassy Knoll, Dallas, Texas, November 22, 1963; then I’d go to Fremont Street in Tombstone, October 26, 1881 and then I’d just kind of like to spend the rest of the time hanging out in Salma Hyak’s house.
”I hate flowers -- I paint them because they're cheaper than models and they don't move.”
—Georgia O'Keeffe
Ran out of time. Need to leave in an hour to go to the airport. Had some good passages going on Clanton ambush and Cole Younger’s toenails, but have to stop and finish packing.
Last night, Kathy and I drove into Phoenix. Stopped at Book Star on Tatum but it’s gone. Huge store, vacated. Instead, a heavy discount bookstore has opened next to Office Max. Bought two books for the office ($32 biz account), one on the history of cinema which has numerous historic photos (The Man Who Sneezed and The Kiss) from 1894 on. We’ll use these in upcoming articles as the history of cinema begins to rival the history of the Old West. In fact, our own Miles Swarthout has been predicting this for over a year—that movie sites, where particular classic movie scenes were filmed, are going to rival the O.K. Corral itself as a tourist destination. There are travel groups cropping up everywhere that cater to this. Miles, my friend, you called it.
Attended a dinner party at Jana’s last night along with Russ and Wendy Shaw. Wonderful time, good conversation and we solved most of the world’s problems before dessert was on the table.
I was asked if I could go back in time what are the three places I would go and I said, “First I’d go to The Grassy Knoll, Dallas, Texas, November 22, 1963; then I’d go to Fremont Street in Tombstone, October 26, 1881 and then I’d just kind of like to spend the rest of the time hanging out in Salma Hyak’s house.
”I hate flowers -- I paint them because they're cheaper than models and they don't move.”
—Georgia O'Keeffe
Saturday, November 15, 2003
November 15, 2003
Frost on the ground this morning. Still quite nice out. Buddy Boze Bell is still giving us grief on our morning walks. He insists on running into our neighbor’s corrals (we go past four or five) and barking and nipping at the horses. It’s not only rude, but dangerous to boot. Yesterday Peaches joined the little twit and they got one of the S’s horses all riled up and I think he kicked Peaches (she’s been limping all day).
Flying to New Mexico tomorrow for a big taping in Santa Fe. Several big names in the Billy world are also flying in. They’re taping me on Monday and I’m flying home on Monday night. They wanted me to stay and watch the taping of the re-enactment segments on Tuesday but I’ve got too much to do here.
We’ve been suffering from a flu epidemic in the office. Sue, Crystal, Ted, Samantha and Larry all have been out. Very quiet in office (actually got quite a bit done). Gus and I re-worked Classic Gunfights to five pages. Going to do a couple big paintings this weekend for it (Ambush of Old Man Clanton). Got some good photo reference last night going through my library and pulling out images of cowboys in bedrolls (I love doing this). Got about four different angles. Going to be fun.
Also worked up copy for the
May issue on ambush of Sheriff Brady in Lincoln. Feels good to get ahead.
Came home for lunch yesterday and penciled in my Cole Younger image. I’m trying to capture him as he probably looked soon after his capture at Hanska Slough. His right eye is swollen shut, his tattered boots with the souls half gone, are on the floor, and he’s missing all his toenails (they came off when his boots were removed and it’s my theory that all of the wading across the swollen creeks and sloughs of southern Minnesota during the gang’s two week run weakened them to the point they sloshed right off when he finally took his boots off). Fortunately, I’m missing a toenail and that’s why I had Kathy shoot the photos of me in the mud two days ago. Got a good quote to go with it. I’ll post some of the roughs as I get them going.
Here’s that little painting of the female half of the Zip Wyatt gang: Belle Black and Jennie. As I mentioned the other day, I tried to be true to the newspaper descriptions of them, rather than the Cowgirl image we’d all like them to be. As I wrote in my Bad Men book, most of the outlaws were “more criminal than cowboy.”
”"I saw a subliminal advertising executive. But only for a second."
—Steven Wright
Frost on the ground this morning. Still quite nice out. Buddy Boze Bell is still giving us grief on our morning walks. He insists on running into our neighbor’s corrals (we go past four or five) and barking and nipping at the horses. It’s not only rude, but dangerous to boot. Yesterday Peaches joined the little twit and they got one of the S’s horses all riled up and I think he kicked Peaches (she’s been limping all day).
Flying to New Mexico tomorrow for a big taping in Santa Fe. Several big names in the Billy world are also flying in. They’re taping me on Monday and I’m flying home on Monday night. They wanted me to stay and watch the taping of the re-enactment segments on Tuesday but I’ve got too much to do here.
We’ve been suffering from a flu epidemic in the office. Sue, Crystal, Ted, Samantha and Larry all have been out. Very quiet in office (actually got quite a bit done). Gus and I re-worked Classic Gunfights to five pages. Going to do a couple big paintings this weekend for it (Ambush of Old Man Clanton). Got some good photo reference last night going through my library and pulling out images of cowboys in bedrolls (I love doing this). Got about four different angles. Going to be fun.
Also worked up copy for the
May issue on ambush of Sheriff Brady in Lincoln. Feels good to get ahead.
Came home for lunch yesterday and penciled in my Cole Younger image. I’m trying to capture him as he probably looked soon after his capture at Hanska Slough. His right eye is swollen shut, his tattered boots with the souls half gone, are on the floor, and he’s missing all his toenails (they came off when his boots were removed and it’s my theory that all of the wading across the swollen creeks and sloughs of southern Minnesota during the gang’s two week run weakened them to the point they sloshed right off when he finally took his boots off). Fortunately, I’m missing a toenail and that’s why I had Kathy shoot the photos of me in the mud two days ago. Got a good quote to go with it. I’ll post some of the roughs as I get them going.
Here’s that little painting of the female half of the Zip Wyatt gang: Belle Black and Jennie. As I mentioned the other day, I tried to be true to the newspaper descriptions of them, rather than the Cowgirl image we’d all like them to be. As I wrote in my Bad Men book, most of the outlaws were “more criminal than cowboy.”
”"I saw a subliminal advertising executive. But only for a second."
—Steven Wright
Friday, November 14, 2003
November 14, 2003
Got a call from Paul Hutton this morning, who saw The Missing last night. Howard & Co. gave a special screening in Santa Fe for all the people who worked on the film. According to Paul it is an excellent film, very scary and historically fulfilling. Granted Paul was the historical consultant and may be a tad prejudiced, but he regaled me with all the attention to detail on weapons, forts and soldiers that would have been in the vicinity of the story. He also raved about how uncompromising the film is. Cate Blanchett’s character is a racist (she hates Indians) from the beginning and she doesn’t change. There is no redeeming speech at the end where she realizes we all have to respect each other, etc. As for the movie bombing, Paul says absolutely not, adding, “I know turkeys when I see ‘em.”
Got the page proofs from the printer this morning (January issue). We are still having color problems with our covers. This one seems too orange. Went into Photoshop and compared colors with match proofs and a postcard color that Abby had done which we really liked. Robert has been on the phone all morning with Bart at Banta trying to make sure we get the color we really want. Robert sent all the work-up files and Bart is putting his best crew on it. Got my fingers crossed. I hated the color on the Best of the West issue (“Billy’s Back!”).
Still working hard on cover ideas and concepts for 2004. After studying the new issue of Sports Illustrated (they printed all 2,548 covers), and all of our back issues going back to the beginning, I came up with seven types of covers that seem to really succeed on the newsstand. Here’s a couple:
• The Big Face: A celebrity or historical icon, up close and personal.
• Action: riders, shooters & narrative (the sub-genre of this is the image that tells a story— think Norman Rockwell, or the True West treasure in the cave cover). We have really gotten away from this and my suspicions are it’s so out it’s probably in.
• Typography only: No image, just type. The best example of this is the Sports Illustrated cover where they just ran the lead to the article on cocaine in the NFL. Very powerful and effective. Use sparingly, though.
”When in danger, ponder. When in trouble, delegate. When in doubt, mumble.”
—Robert Wagner, Jr.
Got a call from Paul Hutton this morning, who saw The Missing last night. Howard & Co. gave a special screening in Santa Fe for all the people who worked on the film. According to Paul it is an excellent film, very scary and historically fulfilling. Granted Paul was the historical consultant and may be a tad prejudiced, but he regaled me with all the attention to detail on weapons, forts and soldiers that would have been in the vicinity of the story. He also raved about how uncompromising the film is. Cate Blanchett’s character is a racist (she hates Indians) from the beginning and she doesn’t change. There is no redeeming speech at the end where she realizes we all have to respect each other, etc. As for the movie bombing, Paul says absolutely not, adding, “I know turkeys when I see ‘em.”
Got the page proofs from the printer this morning (January issue). We are still having color problems with our covers. This one seems too orange. Went into Photoshop and compared colors with match proofs and a postcard color that Abby had done which we really liked. Robert has been on the phone all morning with Bart at Banta trying to make sure we get the color we really want. Robert sent all the work-up files and Bart is putting his best crew on it. Got my fingers crossed. I hated the color on the Best of the West issue (“Billy’s Back!”).
Still working hard on cover ideas and concepts for 2004. After studying the new issue of Sports Illustrated (they printed all 2,548 covers), and all of our back issues going back to the beginning, I came up with seven types of covers that seem to really succeed on the newsstand. Here’s a couple:
• The Big Face: A celebrity or historical icon, up close and personal.
• Action: riders, shooters & narrative (the sub-genre of this is the image that tells a story— think Norman Rockwell, or the True West treasure in the cave cover). We have really gotten away from this and my suspicions are it’s so out it’s probably in.
• Typography only: No image, just type. The best example of this is the Sports Illustrated cover where they just ran the lead to the article on cocaine in the NFL. Very powerful and effective. Use sparingly, though.
”When in danger, ponder. When in trouble, delegate. When in doubt, mumble.”
—Robert Wagner, Jr.
Thursday, November 13, 2003
November 13, 2003
Rained all night. Really soggy out this morning. After we got back from a walk, I dressed up like Cole Younger and had Kathy photograph me in bare feet walking through the mud. I’ll explain later.
Went through the new issue of Sports Illustrated which Mike M. gave me. The magazine ran all 2,652 covers in a special cover issue celebrating their 50th anniversary (same age as us). I studied each and every one trying to find trends, or styles of covers that I thought would work for us. I came away with several concepts and ideas that might be very potent. I wrote up a page worth and am going to sketch out some roughs and send it down to Daniel.
Bettie and Wade Kohl (of the legendary Kohl’s Ranch) came in yesterday and would like some help redesigning their ranch history book. When Bettie told me she has already sold 2,000 of her homemade books at $20 a pop, I told her I should be asking her questions on how to publish a successful book.
Our previous editor, Mare Rosenbaum came by for lunch today and Robert Ray, Abby and Gus and I met her at Coffee Co. for old times (turkey sando and decaf, $8 cash). She raved about the website saying, “it looks like you’ve got 50 people working on it,” and I said, yes, we do. Trish is doing the work of 25 people and Jason is doing the work of the rest.
”The future is the past returning through another gate.”
—Arnold H. Glasow
Rained all night. Really soggy out this morning. After we got back from a walk, I dressed up like Cole Younger and had Kathy photograph me in bare feet walking through the mud. I’ll explain later.
Went through the new issue of Sports Illustrated which Mike M. gave me. The magazine ran all 2,652 covers in a special cover issue celebrating their 50th anniversary (same age as us). I studied each and every one trying to find trends, or styles of covers that I thought would work for us. I came away with several concepts and ideas that might be very potent. I wrote up a page worth and am going to sketch out some roughs and send it down to Daniel.
Bettie and Wade Kohl (of the legendary Kohl’s Ranch) came in yesterday and would like some help redesigning their ranch history book. When Bettie told me she has already sold 2,000 of her homemade books at $20 a pop, I told her I should be asking her questions on how to publish a successful book.
Our previous editor, Mare Rosenbaum came by for lunch today and Robert Ray, Abby and Gus and I met her at Coffee Co. for old times (turkey sando and decaf, $8 cash). She raved about the website saying, “it looks like you’ve got 50 people working on it,” and I said, yes, we do. Trish is doing the work of 25 people and Jason is doing the work of the rest.
”The future is the past returning through another gate.”
—Arnold H. Glasow
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
November 12, 2003
Steady rain started at about four this morning. Quite wet out, but warm. Went for a walk with the dogs about 6:30. Felt good.
Wrangled over two articles for our Spotting Fakes issue yesterday morning. Jana was quite magnanimous and professional, unlike some of our family, who I won’t name, who were being strident and self-serving. Together we made the cuts where they needed to be. It wasn’t fun, but I think we made the right decisions.
I took Jana and Meghan to lunch at Tonto (half-cob salad and iced tea, $25 biz account). Talked about integrity and the tone of media today and what does that bode for us. Good talk and I especially enjoyed hearing what Meghan has to say (kids today!). I often use her and Abby as a sounding board because they both come from outside our little incestuous history cult and often have an outsider, objective slant on things.
In the afternoon, we went over books to review and R.G. rejected one by Richard Avendon, the New York photographer who shot all those oil wildcatter, cowboys and rednecks in the early nineties (Texas Monthly ran a bunch of them, one per page and it was quite effective). I tried to talk Roland into reviewing it (with perhaps the slant that Avedon is a carpetbagger, etc.) but he’s not interested. I deferred to him.
"History is a set of lies agreed upon."
—Napoleon Bonaparte
Steady rain started at about four this morning. Quite wet out, but warm. Went for a walk with the dogs about 6:30. Felt good.
Wrangled over two articles for our Spotting Fakes issue yesterday morning. Jana was quite magnanimous and professional, unlike some of our family, who I won’t name, who were being strident and self-serving. Together we made the cuts where they needed to be. It wasn’t fun, but I think we made the right decisions.
I took Jana and Meghan to lunch at Tonto (half-cob salad and iced tea, $25 biz account). Talked about integrity and the tone of media today and what does that bode for us. Good talk and I especially enjoyed hearing what Meghan has to say (kids today!). I often use her and Abby as a sounding board because they both come from outside our little incestuous history cult and often have an outsider, objective slant on things.
In the afternoon, we went over books to review and R.G. rejected one by Richard Avendon, the New York photographer who shot all those oil wildcatter, cowboys and rednecks in the early nineties (Texas Monthly ran a bunch of them, one per page and it was quite effective). I tried to talk Roland into reviewing it (with perhaps the slant that Avedon is a carpetbagger, etc.) but he’s not interested. I deferred to him.
"History is a set of lies agreed upon."
—Napoleon Bonaparte
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
November 11, 2003
Good staff meeting this morning talking about the tone of the magazine and what is integrity and what is mainstream and what do our readers really want. I brought in some recent media examples that are thought provoking. Most of it has to do with the moving of what is called the “mainstream.”
For example, yesterday, one of the head guys at the Prescott Frontier Days Rodeo came into my office and was telling me about their challenges. Attendance had been down and one of the things they are doing that is successful is during the rough stock portion of the rodeo (bucking horses and bulls) they are playing heavy metal music, like AC/DC and Van Halen. He told me the old cowboys and traditionalists hate it, but the kids really respond to it, and it has reversed the trend and has put more “butts in the seats.” I laughed and said, “What’s next, Hip Hop?” and he replied, “Over my dead body,” and I said, “I’ll bet twenty years ago if you told the guy who was in your position that you wanted to play “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC within a half mile of the rodeo grounds, he’d have said the same thing.” He laughed, but it’s true. So much of what used to be considered the edge, or the fringe, is now mainstream.
Another example is in today’s Republic there is a full-page ad for Orange County Choppers apparel. You know biker “hoodies” shirts and tees, featuring rough looking, dangerous Hells Angels’ types. No big deal, except the ad is for Dillard’s department stores! And, according to Robert Ray’s wife, Bea, who designed the ad, they have sold out of the entire stock. At Dillards!
I could go on, but what, you may ask, does this have to do with True West? Plenty. Change is optional because survival is not mandatory. Or, something like that.
”You can teach an elephant to dance, but the likelihood of its stepping on your toes is very high.”
—Gary Moss
Good staff meeting this morning talking about the tone of the magazine and what is integrity and what is mainstream and what do our readers really want. I brought in some recent media examples that are thought provoking. Most of it has to do with the moving of what is called the “mainstream.”
For example, yesterday, one of the head guys at the Prescott Frontier Days Rodeo came into my office and was telling me about their challenges. Attendance had been down and one of the things they are doing that is successful is during the rough stock portion of the rodeo (bucking horses and bulls) they are playing heavy metal music, like AC/DC and Van Halen. He told me the old cowboys and traditionalists hate it, but the kids really respond to it, and it has reversed the trend and has put more “butts in the seats.” I laughed and said, “What’s next, Hip Hop?” and he replied, “Over my dead body,” and I said, “I’ll bet twenty years ago if you told the guy who was in your position that you wanted to play “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC within a half mile of the rodeo grounds, he’d have said the same thing.” He laughed, but it’s true. So much of what used to be considered the edge, or the fringe, is now mainstream.
Another example is in today’s Republic there is a full-page ad for Orange County Choppers apparel. You know biker “hoodies” shirts and tees, featuring rough looking, dangerous Hells Angels’ types. No big deal, except the ad is for Dillard’s department stores! And, according to Robert Ray’s wife, Bea, who designed the ad, they have sold out of the entire stock. At Dillards!
I could go on, but what, you may ask, does this have to do with True West? Plenty. Change is optional because survival is not mandatory. Or, something like that.
”You can teach an elephant to dance, but the likelihood of its stepping on your toes is very high.”
—Gary Moss
Monday, November 10, 2003
November 10, 2003
Went down to Scottsdale last night to visit Dave Daiss in the hospital. Stopped in Old Town and looked at all the Western art in the windows (everything was closed on Sunday evening). My friend Gary Ernest Smith did a big ol’ statue of Maynard Dixon. It is installed right outside Ed Mell’s gallery and it looked wonderful. Gary really captured Dixon, complete with his lanky looks and custom watch fob (which had his custom Thunderbird design on it).
Had dinner with Deena and Kathy at Pischkes’s. Great food and good conversation ($35 cash, includes tip). Got up to Dave’s room at seven. He looks good, still has his sense of humor. We laughed and he ate cookies. He weighs 159 and needs to put on weight but he still has trouble keeping things down. Two of the other patients in the recovery ward were there as the result of crashing their plane at Falcon Field seveal weeks ago. Both had huge gashes across their foreheads and the son told us why. They had taken off and the cowling came loose (the hood of their engine) and it flipped up in front of the windshield blocking their view, not to mention creating a viscious drag off the prop. They circled around and tried to land but as they came around the plane stalled and hit the ground at a high rate of speed. Both men hit their heads on the dash and are lucky to be alive. I am so glad I didn’t meet these guys before Dave and I flew to Cimarron in Tom Chenal’s Beechcraft last summer!
Finished the last two art pieces for this issue’s Classic Gunfights with minutes to spare. Did a scratchboard of Zip Wyatt blasting away, while Ike Black takes one in the head. Gus scanned it in and placed it at about 9:30. My soft illustration of the outlaw babes: Belle Black and Jennie Freeman is better. Fought the temptation to illustrate the two as cowgirls and kept close to the newspaper descriptions of the two. In fact, Jennie is reported to wear a cap. Got it.
Issue goes out the door at four. This morning I got the results of the first direct mail piece we have done in two years. Excellent news. We had a 4% return (national average is 1%) and the pay-ups actually put us in the black. In other words we actually made money on the mailing. This is great news and speaks for the improved product, more than anything.
Took Mike Melrose to lunch at El Encanto. Sat outside by the pond. Talked about sales, or the lack thereof. He has good instincts and I encouraged him to be pro-active with his staff. The rest of the time we laughed like a couple of goofballs from Iowa ($25, biz account).
”My idea of long-range planning is lunch.”
—Frank Ogden
Went down to Scottsdale last night to visit Dave Daiss in the hospital. Stopped in Old Town and looked at all the Western art in the windows (everything was closed on Sunday evening). My friend Gary Ernest Smith did a big ol’ statue of Maynard Dixon. It is installed right outside Ed Mell’s gallery and it looked wonderful. Gary really captured Dixon, complete with his lanky looks and custom watch fob (which had his custom Thunderbird design on it).
Had dinner with Deena and Kathy at Pischkes’s. Great food and good conversation ($35 cash, includes tip). Got up to Dave’s room at seven. He looks good, still has his sense of humor. We laughed and he ate cookies. He weighs 159 and needs to put on weight but he still has trouble keeping things down. Two of the other patients in the recovery ward were there as the result of crashing their plane at Falcon Field seveal weeks ago. Both had huge gashes across their foreheads and the son told us why. They had taken off and the cowling came loose (the hood of their engine) and it flipped up in front of the windshield blocking their view, not to mention creating a viscious drag off the prop. They circled around and tried to land but as they came around the plane stalled and hit the ground at a high rate of speed. Both men hit their heads on the dash and are lucky to be alive. I am so glad I didn’t meet these guys before Dave and I flew to Cimarron in Tom Chenal’s Beechcraft last summer!
Finished the last two art pieces for this issue’s Classic Gunfights with minutes to spare. Did a scratchboard of Zip Wyatt blasting away, while Ike Black takes one in the head. Gus scanned it in and placed it at about 9:30. My soft illustration of the outlaw babes: Belle Black and Jennie Freeman is better. Fought the temptation to illustrate the two as cowgirls and kept close to the newspaper descriptions of the two. In fact, Jennie is reported to wear a cap. Got it.
Issue goes out the door at four. This morning I got the results of the first direct mail piece we have done in two years. Excellent news. We had a 4% return (national average is 1%) and the pay-ups actually put us in the black. In other words we actually made money on the mailing. This is great news and speaks for the improved product, more than anything.
Took Mike Melrose to lunch at El Encanto. Sat outside by the pond. Talked about sales, or the lack thereof. He has good instincts and I encouraged him to be pro-active with his staff. The rest of the time we laughed like a couple of goofballs from Iowa ($25, biz account).
”My idea of long-range planning is lunch.”
—Frank Ogden
Sunday, November 09, 2003
November 9, 2003
Went for a walk this morning and heard the five most dreaded words a husband can ever hear: “We need to talk about something.” Okay, it’s really six words, but who’s counting when one of the true horrors of life comes crashing down on the serenity of a beautiful day?
Turns out yesterday morning I was eating cereal and someone I know (okay, it’s Kathy) came into the kitchen to politely ask me if I was going to help her get the house ready for company. This is her version.
Here’s what I heard her say: “Get up right now, stop eating and stop being so lazy, You never help me, our marriage has been totally one-sided with me doing all the work, all the time. You are a loser and always will be.”
My wife denies this, of course, and claims I snapped at her and said, “I’m eating breakfast for God’s sake. Get away from me and go do it yourself.”
What I remember saying is: “I have always loved and respected you Kathy. If you’ll give me just a moment to try and eat a healthy meal, which just might ward off potential blood clots that could kill me in a heartbeat, I’ll do whatever arduous work you are demanding of me, even if it damages my fragile health.”
We continued walking and talking and on the way back we came to our usual impasse, but we did agree on one thing: the five most dreaded words a husband can ever hear are “We need to talk about something.”
“I know what terrorism is. I was married for two years.”
—Sam Kinnison
Went for a walk this morning and heard the five most dreaded words a husband can ever hear: “We need to talk about something.” Okay, it’s really six words, but who’s counting when one of the true horrors of life comes crashing down on the serenity of a beautiful day?
Turns out yesterday morning I was eating cereal and someone I know (okay, it’s Kathy) came into the kitchen to politely ask me if I was going to help her get the house ready for company. This is her version.
Here’s what I heard her say: “Get up right now, stop eating and stop being so lazy, You never help me, our marriage has been totally one-sided with me doing all the work, all the time. You are a loser and always will be.”
My wife denies this, of course, and claims I snapped at her and said, “I’m eating breakfast for God’s sake. Get away from me and go do it yourself.”
What I remember saying is: “I have always loved and respected you Kathy. If you’ll give me just a moment to try and eat a healthy meal, which just might ward off potential blood clots that could kill me in a heartbeat, I’ll do whatever arduous work you are demanding of me, even if it damages my fragile health.”
We continued walking and talking and on the way back we came to our usual impasse, but we did agree on one thing: the five most dreaded words a husband can ever hear are “We need to talk about something.”
“I know what terrorism is. I was married for two years.”
—Sam Kinnison
Saturday, November 08, 2003
November 8, 2003
Part of the reason for yesterday’s headache (Kathy had one all day) was I made coffee when we came home late from Spanish class and used an unmarked container of java And of course it was de-caf. Ouch!
Coyotes attacked Buddy Boze Bell this morning. Happened on an early morning walk. I didn’t go, but Kathy walked the dogs down toward the creek and five coyotes came out of nowhere and immediately tried to peel Buddy off from the herd (Peaches, Kathy and Buddy). He got nipped but managed to get away.
Funny the circuitous route these journal entries sometimes take. I was fuming about weak ad sales in here (see Nov. 4 entry) and a guy named Andy Melrose read it in Saint Charles, Iowa, and he writes to our general sales manager, who comes into my office yesterday and reads me Andy’s E-mail regarding a 15% shortfall in ad sales. Mike Melrose then proceeds to tell me it’s only an 8% drop and would I please make this good to Andy Melrose. And yes, Andy is Mike’s dad. So there.
The real lesson here is never trust the numbers an artist gives you. Either cut them in half, or double them, depending on which way the artist is trying to skew things.
Good talk with Al Frisch yesterday. I want to maximize the tape we shot at Turkey Creek Canyon last summer and I think he got that message. He needs to trust me on how it will be used. I have faith that it will work out good for everyone.
Also had a good talk with Chip DeMann in Northfield, MN. He is recommending an art show next Labor Day showcasing all of my Jesse James, Younger art at Saint Olaf College during the big Defeat of Jesse James Days in Northfield. I marked my calendar for the weekend of September 6, 2004 and you should too.
I was proofing the January issue a couple days ago and ran across a quote from the sheriff of San Miguel County, NM. Gary Graves said, and I quote, “I love our history. It barks at you.” Isn’t that priceless? I had Daniel put it in a logo for the January front cover: History That Barks. Best quote of the year, really.
Read a big interview with Brian Grazer concerning the pushback on The Alamo. His comments are positive, but there seems to be thinly veiled contempt for Disney’s bone-headed move (turning down Ron Howard’s proposed R-Rated version of The Alamo). Disney was allegedly bragging how that they kept costs down by going the route they did, but now with the postponement, they are going to be suffering from escalating costs on an ad campaign that stalled and will need to be restarted, all the cuts in the movie, a new, re-positioned ad campaign (it will now be a comedy and at the end Davy Crockett, Billy Bob Thornton, puts his arms around Santa Anna and tells Mexican jokes like this one: “Why were there only 5,000 Mexicans at the Alamo?” And Santa Anna says, “No se, cavrone.” And Davy says, “I understand you only had four cars!” Everyone laughs heartily and they hug. Cut to a Tostido logo on the roof of the Alamo. Credits roll.).
Not really. That is a totally tasteless joke and I can’t believe Disney was even seriously considering it. However, if you know anyone in the Disney legal department tell them they can use that joke in the re-edited version. No charge, because, it’s not my joke. It came from a good friend of mine who is in La Raza.
"No facts are to me sacred; none are profane; I simply experiment, an endless seeker with no past at my back."
—John Berger
Part of the reason for yesterday’s headache (Kathy had one all day) was I made coffee when we came home late from Spanish class and used an unmarked container of java And of course it was de-caf. Ouch!
Coyotes attacked Buddy Boze Bell this morning. Happened on an early morning walk. I didn’t go, but Kathy walked the dogs down toward the creek and five coyotes came out of nowhere and immediately tried to peel Buddy off from the herd (Peaches, Kathy and Buddy). He got nipped but managed to get away.
Funny the circuitous route these journal entries sometimes take. I was fuming about weak ad sales in here (see Nov. 4 entry) and a guy named Andy Melrose read it in Saint Charles, Iowa, and he writes to our general sales manager, who comes into my office yesterday and reads me Andy’s E-mail regarding a 15% shortfall in ad sales. Mike Melrose then proceeds to tell me it’s only an 8% drop and would I please make this good to Andy Melrose. And yes, Andy is Mike’s dad. So there.
The real lesson here is never trust the numbers an artist gives you. Either cut them in half, or double them, depending on which way the artist is trying to skew things.
Good talk with Al Frisch yesterday. I want to maximize the tape we shot at Turkey Creek Canyon last summer and I think he got that message. He needs to trust me on how it will be used. I have faith that it will work out good for everyone.
Also had a good talk with Chip DeMann in Northfield, MN. He is recommending an art show next Labor Day showcasing all of my Jesse James, Younger art at Saint Olaf College during the big Defeat of Jesse James Days in Northfield. I marked my calendar for the weekend of September 6, 2004 and you should too.
I was proofing the January issue a couple days ago and ran across a quote from the sheriff of San Miguel County, NM. Gary Graves said, and I quote, “I love our history. It barks at you.” Isn’t that priceless? I had Daniel put it in a logo for the January front cover: History That Barks. Best quote of the year, really.
Read a big interview with Brian Grazer concerning the pushback on The Alamo. His comments are positive, but there seems to be thinly veiled contempt for Disney’s bone-headed move (turning down Ron Howard’s proposed R-Rated version of The Alamo). Disney was allegedly bragging how that they kept costs down by going the route they did, but now with the postponement, they are going to be suffering from escalating costs on an ad campaign that stalled and will need to be restarted, all the cuts in the movie, a new, re-positioned ad campaign (it will now be a comedy and at the end Davy Crockett, Billy Bob Thornton, puts his arms around Santa Anna and tells Mexican jokes like this one: “Why were there only 5,000 Mexicans at the Alamo?” And Santa Anna says, “No se, cavrone.” And Davy says, “I understand you only had four cars!” Everyone laughs heartily and they hug. Cut to a Tostido logo on the roof of the Alamo. Credits roll.).
Not really. That is a totally tasteless joke and I can’t believe Disney was even seriously considering it. However, if you know anyone in the Disney legal department tell them they can use that joke in the re-edited version. No charge, because, it’s not my joke. It came from a good friend of mine who is in La Raza.
"No facts are to me sacred; none are profane; I simply experiment, an endless seeker with no past at my back."
—John Berger
Friday, November 07, 2003
November 7, 2003
A couple of long days. Got home last night from Spanish class at around 10. Woke up this morning with a headache, but took off for work early. Al Frisch was driving in and wanted to meet early.
Finished my editorial for March on fakes. Here’s a couple lines:
“I hate fakes. And I especially hate the fakers who fake them. Having said that, I admit to having faked a few Old West photos myself (my therapist wife calls that projection: hating something in someone else that you see in yourself).”
Kathy and I are playing a new game. Whenever we come home we ask, “What did Buddy eat today?” So far, the teething little bastard has eaten two of my hats (one straw and one sombrero); two books (One on Charlie Russell); two floating, pool chlorine dispensers; a viking headdress stored in the garage; a leash; a Fed Ex box (kathy’s new inventory forms); two unfinished paintings (one of Billy the Kid); a saddle blanket and a couch (upstairs in the studio). Other than that, he’s an angel.
Speaking of anger, I am especially motivated by outside negativity. One of my engines runs on anger. When people tell me I can’t do something, “You don’t have the talent or experience to run a magazine,” this is incredibly motivating to me. When I have a hard time getting up in the morning, I think of comments like that and say to myself, “They want you to stay in bed, and if you do, you’ll prove them right.” I found this comment while cleaning out one of my computer files. Here’s another one I read with glee:
Don Radina’s 2001 Prognosis for True West
“I researched the magazine business on the internet. It’s a business that requires a lot of expertise. People get degrees in only publishing. It’s not a hobby. It’s highly competitive. People study magazine editorial like Bob studied art. He can’t make it successful.”
“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”
—William Arthur Ward
A couple of long days. Got home last night from Spanish class at around 10. Woke up this morning with a headache, but took off for work early. Al Frisch was driving in and wanted to meet early.
Finished my editorial for March on fakes. Here’s a couple lines:
“I hate fakes. And I especially hate the fakers who fake them. Having said that, I admit to having faked a few Old West photos myself (my therapist wife calls that projection: hating something in someone else that you see in yourself).”
Kathy and I are playing a new game. Whenever we come home we ask, “What did Buddy eat today?” So far, the teething little bastard has eaten two of my hats (one straw and one sombrero); two books (One on Charlie Russell); two floating, pool chlorine dispensers; a viking headdress stored in the garage; a leash; a Fed Ex box (kathy’s new inventory forms); two unfinished paintings (one of Billy the Kid); a saddle blanket and a couch (upstairs in the studio). Other than that, he’s an angel.
Speaking of anger, I am especially motivated by outside negativity. One of my engines runs on anger. When people tell me I can’t do something, “You don’t have the talent or experience to run a magazine,” this is incredibly motivating to me. When I have a hard time getting up in the morning, I think of comments like that and say to myself, “They want you to stay in bed, and if you do, you’ll prove them right.” I found this comment while cleaning out one of my computer files. Here’s another one I read with glee:
Don Radina’s 2001 Prognosis for True West
“I researched the magazine business on the internet. It’s a business that requires a lot of expertise. People get degrees in only publishing. It’s not a hobby. It’s highly competitive. People study magazine editorial like Bob studied art. He can’t make it successful.”
“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”
—William Arthur Ward
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
November 5, 2003
My good friend Paul Northrop brought through an English group of tourists at nine this morning. There were about 35 of them, half from Scotland and the other half Brits. R.G. and I met them out on the porch and preached the gospel to them in a tag team way. “Welcome to the Wild West! Just last week we had horses riding into saloons all along Cave Creek Road (it was Wild West Weekend, but I didn’t need to tell them that) and you are standing on the spot of one of the last Wild West locations on earth” (or something like that). They were a good group and bought quite a few books and magazines. We gave them our usual focus group quiz: “You can have any magazine on this table, the only catch is you have to tell us why you picked it.” The response to Native American images is quite amazing, especially when they don’t do well for us on the newsstand (we haven’t been brave enough to put an Indian on the cover in two years!). However, after they left, I did go over to our new cover and change the head to: “Tommy Lee Jones Goes Apache.” (in the new movie The Missing, Tommy Lee has been living with the Apaches for 25 years). We’ll see. It’s all a gamble. But if it works, Hey, thanks Brits!.
Came home for lunch. Walked the dogs to the creek. Had fun with them. Beautiful day out (low 70s). Rounded up art reference for the last two images for Classic Gunfights (Zip Wyatt Vs. Everyone In Western Oklahoma).
Got back into office at about 1:30 and had a conference call with an attorney. They want changes in copy on two articles on fakes. Seems a tad drastic to me, but we need to protect ourselves against litigious wackos. No wonder the Old West is such a popular fantasy: you just shot ‘em. Ha.
Hey, speaking of litigious wackos, the new poll is up: Have you purchased any Western memorabilia, thinking it was authentic only to learn it was fake? Some are saying we are in an epidemic of fraud and hoaxes on e-bay, and we want to know if you’ve been affected (or infected). Click here to cast your vote.
Sometimes I think we take ourselves too seriously (at the magazine and in my family). Let’s look at the words of a founding father:
“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”
—Thomas Jefferson (obviously not a subscriber to True West)
My good friend Paul Northrop brought through an English group of tourists at nine this morning. There were about 35 of them, half from Scotland and the other half Brits. R.G. and I met them out on the porch and preached the gospel to them in a tag team way. “Welcome to the Wild West! Just last week we had horses riding into saloons all along Cave Creek Road (it was Wild West Weekend, but I didn’t need to tell them that) and you are standing on the spot of one of the last Wild West locations on earth” (or something like that). They were a good group and bought quite a few books and magazines. We gave them our usual focus group quiz: “You can have any magazine on this table, the only catch is you have to tell us why you picked it.” The response to Native American images is quite amazing, especially when they don’t do well for us on the newsstand (we haven’t been brave enough to put an Indian on the cover in two years!). However, after they left, I did go over to our new cover and change the head to: “Tommy Lee Jones Goes Apache.” (in the new movie The Missing, Tommy Lee has been living with the Apaches for 25 years). We’ll see. It’s all a gamble. But if it works, Hey, thanks Brits!.
Came home for lunch. Walked the dogs to the creek. Had fun with them. Beautiful day out (low 70s). Rounded up art reference for the last two images for Classic Gunfights (Zip Wyatt Vs. Everyone In Western Oklahoma).
Got back into office at about 1:30 and had a conference call with an attorney. They want changes in copy on two articles on fakes. Seems a tad drastic to me, but we need to protect ourselves against litigious wackos. No wonder the Old West is such a popular fantasy: you just shot ‘em. Ha.
Hey, speaking of litigious wackos, the new poll is up: Have you purchased any Western memorabilia, thinking it was authentic only to learn it was fake? Some are saying we are in an epidemic of fraud and hoaxes on e-bay, and we want to know if you’ve been affected (or infected). Click here to cast your vote.
Sometimes I think we take ourselves too seriously (at the magazine and in my family). Let’s look at the words of a founding father:
“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”
—Thomas Jefferson (obviously not a subscriber to True West)
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
November 4, 2003
Another long one. Sales came in short of the runway about 15%. Troublesome. We have almost twice as many salespeople as we had last year and the numbers are still down. I had faith in several people and they let me down. We even extended the deadline and it still didn’t happen. Looking at all our options. Not easy but must be done.
Big design pow wow at noon. Daniel came out and we all went to lunch at Satisfied Frog. Another $90 lunch for eight people, by the time you put in a tip it’s $15 a person. Not my idea of a good lunch value. Dan had a hamburger ($6.99 and water and he had to cough up $14). In spite of being ripped off for lunch, good talk about lack of white space and too many departments and too many logos. Went over options. Everyone had opinions, spirited discussion. Continued when we got back at 1:30. Tweaked cover, Dan took our designs home with him. I’m anxious to see what he comes up with.
Wrote up two editorials, one on “Faking It,” regarding my own fake photographs which I produced for my books. Felt good to purge (it always does: it’s a Lutheran thing).
I was the last one out at 5:30, came home, made salmon and pasta. Had pinto beans which I made for the road meeting on Sunday night. Opened a bottle of cabernet, had two glasses. Good talk with Kathy about our dumb-ass dog (she loves him, typical mother thing).
Read Time magazine, economy looks good on paper (somehow it doesn’t feel real solid though). Also read the New Yorker and the Dow Jones story of the big players in the Wall Street Journal saga. Of course Bob Brink knows them all personally, especially the one who is now at Time, Inc and runs their magazine division. Bob had a couple great stories. It’s so amazing to read about these media moguls, then go in the next day, ask Bob about them and have him give me the real skinny.
Talked to Doreen Daiss and Dave is getting better every day and will probably be coming home soon. We are so thrilled. He looked so gone, it wasn’t funny. I told Doreen we all miss him and look forward to his ornery self returning soon.
I am blessed by the people who work with me. I don’t really deserve any of them (this is the cabernet talking). Ha.
“The people sensible enough to give good advice are usually sensible enough to give none.”
—Eden Phillpotts
Another long one. Sales came in short of the runway about 15%. Troublesome. We have almost twice as many salespeople as we had last year and the numbers are still down. I had faith in several people and they let me down. We even extended the deadline and it still didn’t happen. Looking at all our options. Not easy but must be done.
Big design pow wow at noon. Daniel came out and we all went to lunch at Satisfied Frog. Another $90 lunch for eight people, by the time you put in a tip it’s $15 a person. Not my idea of a good lunch value. Dan had a hamburger ($6.99 and water and he had to cough up $14). In spite of being ripped off for lunch, good talk about lack of white space and too many departments and too many logos. Went over options. Everyone had opinions, spirited discussion. Continued when we got back at 1:30. Tweaked cover, Dan took our designs home with him. I’m anxious to see what he comes up with.
Wrote up two editorials, one on “Faking It,” regarding my own fake photographs which I produced for my books. Felt good to purge (it always does: it’s a Lutheran thing).
I was the last one out at 5:30, came home, made salmon and pasta. Had pinto beans which I made for the road meeting on Sunday night. Opened a bottle of cabernet, had two glasses. Good talk with Kathy about our dumb-ass dog (she loves him, typical mother thing).
Read Time magazine, economy looks good on paper (somehow it doesn’t feel real solid though). Also read the New Yorker and the Dow Jones story of the big players in the Wall Street Journal saga. Of course Bob Brink knows them all personally, especially the one who is now at Time, Inc and runs their magazine division. Bob had a couple great stories. It’s so amazing to read about these media moguls, then go in the next day, ask Bob about them and have him give me the real skinny.
Talked to Doreen Daiss and Dave is getting better every day and will probably be coming home soon. We are so thrilled. He looked so gone, it wasn’t funny. I told Doreen we all miss him and look forward to his ornery self returning soon.
I am blessed by the people who work with me. I don’t really deserve any of them (this is the cabernet talking). Ha.
“The people sensible enough to give good advice are usually sensible enough to give none.”
—Eden Phillpotts
Monday, November 03, 2003
November 3, 2003
Went to work early and got home late. It’s 9:30 and just pulled in from a Spanish class at Shemita’s. Learning past tense. Weird stuff.
Reworking cover with new art I did this weekend. Both Gus and Robert Ray took a turn at it. Gus did his patented slab of block lettering deal which worked so well on the 50 Guns issue last Feb. (in fact it’s our biggest selling newsstand issue). Hopefully he can make lightning strike again.
Came home for lunch and helped Mike Melrose stash his camper shell in our grungy garage where the John Deere and the ‘49 Ford are strored.
Kathy and I went to a road meeting on Sunday night. It was a potluck at the Barros and we had a good time. One of my neighbors has kids who race cars. The sixteen year old boy races midgets at Manzy (Manzanita Speedway) and the girl races formula ones ($350,000 cars!). Yikes! Amazing where some kids end up. Our kids once rode in a $350,000 bus.
Buddy Boze Bell ate two of my unfinished paintings. Wish I could say he improved them.
More news and stuff but I’m too tired. More tomorrow.
”I have seen all, I have heard all, I have forgotten all.”
—Old Vaquero Saying
Went to work early and got home late. It’s 9:30 and just pulled in from a Spanish class at Shemita’s. Learning past tense. Weird stuff.
Reworking cover with new art I did this weekend. Both Gus and Robert Ray took a turn at it. Gus did his patented slab of block lettering deal which worked so well on the 50 Guns issue last Feb. (in fact it’s our biggest selling newsstand issue). Hopefully he can make lightning strike again.
Came home for lunch and helped Mike Melrose stash his camper shell in our grungy garage where the John Deere and the ‘49 Ford are strored.
Kathy and I went to a road meeting on Sunday night. It was a potluck at the Barros and we had a good time. One of my neighbors has kids who race cars. The sixteen year old boy races midgets at Manzy (Manzanita Speedway) and the girl races formula ones ($350,000 cars!). Yikes! Amazing where some kids end up. Our kids once rode in a $350,000 bus.
Buddy Boze Bell ate two of my unfinished paintings. Wish I could say he improved them.
More news and stuff but I’m too tired. More tomorrow.
”I have seen all, I have heard all, I have forgotten all.”
—Old Vaquero Saying
Sunday, November 02, 2003
November 2, 2003
Worked all day yesterday on cover stuff. Drawing and drawing. Speaking of which, in this morning’s paper is a review for a new magazine called Drawing. I guess the big question is: is there a subject that doesn’t have a magazine? I can’t think of one. Everything is splintering into narrower and narrower slices. Maybe we need to do a spin-off magazine called Left-Handed Gunfighters Who Braided Their Hair.
Or not.
As for my Alamo comments yesterday, Dan Buck has some interesting insights. Here’s what he has to say on the subject:
“An Alamo movie with a sympathetic Santa Anna could work if the entire movie worked, that is, if the drama worked. If the movie doesn't work, it really doesn't matter if Santa Anna is depicted as troubled, an ogre, or a patriot. For my money, the best book on this subject is Lillian Ross's PICTURE, her account of the making of John Huston's THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1951). Even back then Hollywood had troubled productions, and carefully screened movies before test audiences. RED BADGE drew negative reactions and Huston re-shot parts of it. One need hardly underscore the irony that the movie was based on the eponymous novel by Stephen Crane, who had never set foot in the Civil War, yet his novel was lauded as terribly realistic.”
And as a follow-up to the follow-up, the postponing of The Alamo is made even more intriguing by the fact that Disney turned down the Ron Howard version (script by John Sayles, dark and gritty, $125 million budget with Russell Crowe as Travis), and now Howard has his Western The Missing coming out on Thanksgiving Day, and his partner Brian Grazer is quoted as saying there is only room for one Western this Christmas, and both Grazer and Howard are executive producers of The Alamo. Gets kind of incestuous, doesn’t it?
”Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art.”
—Charlie Parker
Worked all day yesterday on cover stuff. Drawing and drawing. Speaking of which, in this morning’s paper is a review for a new magazine called Drawing. I guess the big question is: is there a subject that doesn’t have a magazine? I can’t think of one. Everything is splintering into narrower and narrower slices. Maybe we need to do a spin-off magazine called Left-Handed Gunfighters Who Braided Their Hair.
Or not.
As for my Alamo comments yesterday, Dan Buck has some interesting insights. Here’s what he has to say on the subject:
“An Alamo movie with a sympathetic Santa Anna could work if the entire movie worked, that is, if the drama worked. If the movie doesn't work, it really doesn't matter if Santa Anna is depicted as troubled, an ogre, or a patriot. For my money, the best book on this subject is Lillian Ross's PICTURE, her account of the making of John Huston's THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (1951). Even back then Hollywood had troubled productions, and carefully screened movies before test audiences. RED BADGE drew negative reactions and Huston re-shot parts of it. One need hardly underscore the irony that the movie was based on the eponymous novel by Stephen Crane, who had never set foot in the Civil War, yet his novel was lauded as terribly realistic.”
And as a follow-up to the follow-up, the postponing of The Alamo is made even more intriguing by the fact that Disney turned down the Ron Howard version (script by John Sayles, dark and gritty, $125 million budget with Russell Crowe as Travis), and now Howard has his Western The Missing coming out on Thanksgiving Day, and his partner Brian Grazer is quoted as saying there is only room for one Western this Christmas, and both Grazer and Howard are executive producers of The Alamo. Gets kind of incestuous, doesn’t it?
”Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art.”
—Charlie Parker
Saturday, November 01, 2003
November 1, 2003
Went over to Brad and Carole Radina’s last night for a trick or treat fest. Sat out in driveway in a semi-circle, drank beers and tripped kids as they came by in the dark. Brad dressed like a woman and housewives from blocks away came to leer at him (one mother said, and this is a quote: “My husband said I needed to come look at you because you had the big guns and everything.” I assume she meant bosoms since Brad wasn’t heeled). Betty Radina was dressed like a Joe Arpaio sherrif’s deputy and the irony is that she really is a Joe Arpaio sherrif’s deputy and it’s her uniform, complet with cap and boots. Funny. I reprised my aerobics instructor and Kathy went as Janet Napalitano. She wore the Wonderful Russ Arizona state flag pants I had made for the tv show, “The Zane Brothers” which never got off the ground. Had pizza and buffalo wings. Lots of fun. Got home at 9:30.
The dirt on The Alamo getting pushed back to April is this: the test screenings weren’t going well, the movie clocks in at three hours and test audiences were having a hard time figuring out who to root for. The movie is very PC and as one of my Alamo friends put it, “You need to portray Santa Anna as Osama bin Laden. That’s the only way it works. If you’re showing the Mexican side, and that the Americans had slaves why should you care that the Americans are getting killed fighting for slavery? The short answer is, you don’t.”
Disney has $80 million at stake and after watching “Project Greenlight,” I wonder if they’re demanding that the director, John Lee Hancock, recut it as a comedy? Probably not, but I’ll bet it’s a bundle of laughs in that editing room, right about now.
Speaking of movies, got an E-mail from John Fusco, who has almost single-handedly kept the Western genre alive through the nineties. Here’s what he’s up to:
“I am currently at work on an early 20th century western about Texas Ranger Frank Hamer. The screenplay will be based on the Gene Shelton book, "Manhunter: the life and times of Frank Hamer." I also have a mini-series airing this December 28th and 29th on ABC. "Dreamkeeper" is the biggest Native American network event ever, a 4-hour mini-series based on Indian myths and legends. Lots of Old West in it. Think you'll like the Kiowa legend of "Tejan, the red headed warrior." And, as you know, "Hidalgo" opens nationally on March 5th.”
John did Thunderheart and both Young Guns movies.
”It is a secret, both in nature and state, that it is safer to change many things than one.”
—Francis Bacon
Went over to Brad and Carole Radina’s last night for a trick or treat fest. Sat out in driveway in a semi-circle, drank beers and tripped kids as they came by in the dark. Brad dressed like a woman and housewives from blocks away came to leer at him (one mother said, and this is a quote: “My husband said I needed to come look at you because you had the big guns and everything.” I assume she meant bosoms since Brad wasn’t heeled). Betty Radina was dressed like a Joe Arpaio sherrif’s deputy and the irony is that she really is a Joe Arpaio sherrif’s deputy and it’s her uniform, complet with cap and boots. Funny. I reprised my aerobics instructor and Kathy went as Janet Napalitano. She wore the Wonderful Russ Arizona state flag pants I had made for the tv show, “The Zane Brothers” which never got off the ground. Had pizza and buffalo wings. Lots of fun. Got home at 9:30.
The dirt on The Alamo getting pushed back to April is this: the test screenings weren’t going well, the movie clocks in at three hours and test audiences were having a hard time figuring out who to root for. The movie is very PC and as one of my Alamo friends put it, “You need to portray Santa Anna as Osama bin Laden. That’s the only way it works. If you’re showing the Mexican side, and that the Americans had slaves why should you care that the Americans are getting killed fighting for slavery? The short answer is, you don’t.”
Disney has $80 million at stake and after watching “Project Greenlight,” I wonder if they’re demanding that the director, John Lee Hancock, recut it as a comedy? Probably not, but I’ll bet it’s a bundle of laughs in that editing room, right about now.
Speaking of movies, got an E-mail from John Fusco, who has almost single-handedly kept the Western genre alive through the nineties. Here’s what he’s up to:
“I am currently at work on an early 20th century western about Texas Ranger Frank Hamer. The screenplay will be based on the Gene Shelton book, "Manhunter: the life and times of Frank Hamer." I also have a mini-series airing this December 28th and 29th on ABC. "Dreamkeeper" is the biggest Native American network event ever, a 4-hour mini-series based on Indian myths and legends. Lots of Old West in it. Think you'll like the Kiowa legend of "Tejan, the red headed warrior." And, as you know, "Hidalgo" opens nationally on March 5th.”
John did Thunderheart and both Young Guns movies.
”It is a secret, both in nature and state, that it is safer to change many things than one.”
—Francis Bacon
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