October 16, 2006
I've been finding some sweet little paintings that were lost in my morgue. Here's one of Billy the Kid playing cards at Casa de Patron, with handcuffs on. He reportedly said to a new player, "Don't try to take my jewelry," meaning his handcuffs.



And I found a Lt. Gatewood portrait (from a 1994 Geronimo project), which was kind of horsey, so I repainted and blended the edges, adding some of the excess paint into his skin tones and hair. It's much nicer, and quite haunting if I do say so myself:



And, as promised, here is an image of the protagonist for the Top Secret Project. He wears a poncho/serape that is a quilted hodge podge of Mexican and Navajo blankets, and oh, yes, part of a discarded American flag. One more hint: he's yearning to be free:



And finally, sometimes I just can't help painting beautiful women, in this case Sienna Miller:



"A magazine is the nursery of genius."
—Thomas Paine

October 15, 2006
Still cloudy, but very nice out. I worked most of yesterday in the studio, on several twilight images for the Top Secret Project.

Today I really got on a roll and worked on 40 images. Yes, that’s not a typo, forty paintings! Granted, many of them were color studies, slamming paint all over the place and trying to get something (anything!) going, but this is why I’ve been doing the six drawings a day (and by the way, the forty doesn’t count the six sketches), trying to discipline myself for the marathon, while waiting for the muse to show up. It’s safe to say, Ms. Muse is in the house, and I’m in the zone.

Some of the images I worked on today:

• Apache Twilight II
• The B.S.er
• Billy the Kid Peers Out
• Alchesay Stays
• Alamo attackers
• Sienna’s Conceit
• Curly Ponders Apache Tradition
• The Ascension of The White Hat (four versions)
• Lt. Gatewood (portrait)
• Peaches (portrait)
• Rides Like Apache
• Al Sieber’s Regret (old age portrait)

And here's a photo of 30 of them spread out on my studio floor (note the "Western" sign at top, which I got from a Goldwater's store that went out of business at Park Central):



Hairless In Seattle
“Do you know why Indians do not have any facial hair? Or do some tribes do?
—Steven Dubeau, North Carolina

Steven,
The theory I have always heard is that Native Americans plucked out their whiskers until they stopped growing. I assume this must have been over many generations. That said, there are exceptions. I was just looking at several Navajo photos last night and some of the warriors have wispy mustaches. I know other tribes had some facial hair (for example those British Columbia tribes like the Kwakiutl), but not much, certainly not like the hairy Europeans or for that matter Africans and Asians. This question deserves more research. When I find out something definitive, I'll let you know.
—BBB

“Hair of the dog sounds good, but it makes a lousy subject matter for painting.”
—Vincent Van Google

October 14, 2006
Rained on and off all night last night, and this morning it really started coming down at about eight. Got a phone call from J.D. calling off our daily chicken house work session, although he said he may come down this afternoon and survey the damage.

Snuggled in and made breakfast on the new stove, called the kids. Tomas was on a delivery in Philadelphia, and Deena was in her condo in Scottsdale after a long week on the road. T. Charles told me about a new group he really likes called TV On The Radio, or is it the other way around? (these kids and their loud music, ha.)

Went out to the studio and finished another Blue-Boy study. This one is called White Eye. And when you see it you'll understand why. Iimagine if some Apache had the name White Eye and every time his friends said, "Don't trust the White Eye," he would cringe and say, "Come on, Man. I don't like that saying. Stop it." Or, at least that is what I'd say if I was In-din and my name was White Eye.

Actually, if I was an Apache I'd like the name Skinny Little White Ass, because then when someone said, "Bell, get your skinny, little, white ass in here," I could say, "Thankyou for calling me by my full name."

I know, I know, that is so Jack Handy.

If you have been paying any attention to Skinny Little White Ass's postings you should by now know the name of the Top Secret Writer and the subject matter of the Top Secret Project. And, although I have been holding back on showing images of the Top Secret Protagonist, there have been sneak peeks of that person as well. And some of you have already guessed the identity (Gus Walker correctly guessed it last week, but then he used to work at True West and has seen and worked on my long list of characters and treatments). For those of you who haven't worked at True West and guessed it yet, I will be posting some significant clues in the next several days. Eventually, this will all make sense and you can say you shared in the process of discovery as much as anybody.

"Two traveling monks reached a river where they met a young woman. Wary of the current, she asked if they could carry her across. One of the monks hesitated, but the other quickly picked her up onto his shoulders, transported her across the water, and put her down on the other bank. She thanked him and departed. As the monks continued on their way, one was brooding and preoccupied. Unable to hold his silence, he spoke out. 'Brother, our spiritual training teaches us to avoid any contact with women, but you picked that one up on your shoulders and carried her!' 'Brother,' the second monk replied, 'I set her down on the other side, while you are still carrying her.'"
?Old Zen Saying

October 13, 2006
Carole Glenn is in Texas attending her high school reunion this weekend. J.D. and I are making progress on the chicken house, although he keeps stepping back, looking at it and saying, "It's alright as long as you don't show it to anyone." Ha. Carpenters! And I though artists were persnickity.

Speaking of persnickity artisits, I went home after lunch (ate at China Joy, $10 includes tip) and whipped out another Blue-Boy study. Once again, this is inspired by the 1931 New Yorker cover of a dark Manhattan skyline. I scanned the cover out of the book, but I'm not sure you can see the logo at top (a subtle shade of green). Meanwhile, my little scene spoke to me and this is what it said, "The moon sparkled and spoke through the molted clouds as he rode on past the sporadic fires and the bleached bones of a hundred battles."





After work I went to Bashas' for groceries ($36.95 house account, saved $1.98 with Bashas' card) and as I walked in front of the meat department I met another guy with a shopping cart, who strolled by in front of me as I cased the shrimp, he passed, and pointing at me, said, "Maniac Number 1,200," and kept walking. We both laughed.

At 5:30 Kathy and I met our old friends Mike and Fran Douglas at the AZ Wine Tasting up in Carefree to sample a series of South African wines. Afterwards we walked over to the Spanish Tapas restaurant in Spanish Village and had a nice meal out on the patio ($60 for our half, paid cash, includes tip). As we got ready to leave it started to rain and we ran to our separate cars, yelling goodnight as we scurried along. A couple sitting outside AZ Wine said, "Nice hat," as I fumbled with my truck keys, and I said, "Use to be." And they laughed as I drove off in the wet night.

"The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience."
—Emily Dickinson

October 12, 2006 Bonus Blog
As I mentioned this morning, I have been getting some odd Email requests. Let’s take a look:

Curtains for Jones & Boze Morning Show
“So, when is that curtain coming down? Do you remember that phrase? You used to say
The short answer is, I don't remember. For some reason, that period, when I was doing both the morning radio show on KSLX and my weekly cartoons at New Times, with two kids and a hefty mortgage, it’s all a vague mirage. I would guess I did do more, but finding those suckers is a tad tricky. They're all in the garage in some pile (which I have started to go through by the way) and if I run across them, I'll let you know.
—BBB

A Froggy Proposition
“Did you ever see the Aussie Western The Proposition? I liked it. Hard to believe the lead Guy Pearce is the same clean cut cop in L.A. Confidential. I’m quoting USA Today in their review of the movie ‘not much of a date movie unless your steady is Belle Starr’. Froggy Howan-out!”
—Minnesota Mike Melrose, Arizona Republic, Automotive Account Executive

For the record, the correct spelling is Froggy Hauan (a Norwegian farming legend from Thompson, Iowa, and a distant relative of mine. Melrose loves the name and uses it all the time to rib me).

“Be assured that if you knew all, you would pardon all.”
—Thomas a Kempis

October 12, 2006
Good day in the office. Mark Boardman is here and, along with Meghan, we got some creative ideas going for next year's travel issue, events coverage and various Classic Gunfights to cover, not to mention the details for our big Tombstone event coming up in two weeks. People have been calling and asking when and where I'll be for the 125th Anniversary of the Gunfight Behind The O.K. Corral and the answer is:

• Thursday, October 26, I will be signing my books and posters, at the O.K.Corral itself, at noon.

• Otherwise, all day Thursday and Friday I'll be at the Bella Union (Fourth Street and Fremont Street) where we will be having heavy discussions and good entertainment into the night.

This morning I was cleaning in my morgue and found this sweet little dittie, one of the paintings for The Topless Gunfight featured in Classic Gunfights, Volume I. Jennie Smith was the model and, while she isn't totally topless, this should have been the cover, instead of the one we used.



I went home for lunch and got inspired to do some dark clouds. I was cleaning before work and uncovered a book on classic New Yorker magazine covers, and this one from the 1940s really grabbed me. It was of the Manhattan skyline, very dark with just select lights giving hints of the landscape of the island. The logo was in dark green, barely visible (try that today!). I went over to my art desk and whipped out a dozen dark skies and at about the ninth one, this happened. I call it Apache Midnite. Some decent nighttime effects, no?



For my money, one of the best caricaturists working today is Philip Burke. You see his edgy stuff in Rolling Stone, Esquire, etc. and he really pushes color, utilizing the oddest hues, but his wild renderings are dead on. This is me stealing, I mean emulating, Mr. Burke's penchant for pushing color. I call it Burke's Boys:



The web has been turning up some odd requests at my door. Those tidbits tomorrow.

"The shoe that fits one person, pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases."
—Carl Jung

October 10, 2006
I met J.D. again last night after work to work on the chicken house. He had already put in most of the corner posts and was plumbing the last post as I walked up with my camera and caught him:



I thought about Chris Pischke's suicide all day yesterday. He was a friend of Steven Spielberg and I remember when the movie legend was turning forty, his friends sent a crew over to Scottsale to film Chris's memories of growing up with Spielberg, who filmed his first movies in Phoenix on 8mm and Chris was in the war one, I can't remember the name of it. I think Chris told me they called the birthday gift "Citizen Spielberg" as a take-off on "Citizen Cane." We used to do all of our radio planning sessions at Pischke's and I have always thought Chris's cajun chicken caesar salad to be the best I've ever had.

On April Fool's day in 1988, my son and I received mohawk haircuts live, on the air, at KSLX radio. The radio stunt was pulled off by two haircutters, one on each side, shaving my head while I did the news. Afterwards, Tomas and I went to Pishcke's for breakfast and as we got out of the car I remember a construction crew working on the street, giving me the evil eye, and I thought, "Why is that guy giving me the look like he's going to come kick the snot out of me," and then I realized we had mohawks and he was probably livid that I would do that to my son. He wasn't alone. One of the mothers in Cave Creek started a club: Mother's Against Mohawks, to ward off the unwanted begging of Tommy's friends coming home and asking for mohawk haircuts. This was strange because most of our friends had survived the sixties "hippie hair" wars, when you could would get hassled over your hair and now, it was coming home to roost. During breakfast Chris came over to our booth and took a photo of us, which he proudly hung above the bar for all to see.

After breakfast at Pischke's Tomas and I drove down to Ralph Rippe's photography studio and he took this classic photo of the punked-out Bell clan:



On saturday (after the haircut), I was the grand marshal of the Cave Creek Rodeo Parade, and Tomas and I rode our neighbor's palomino and as we came down the street in cowboy hats, the old women would wave and we would pull off our hats and wave back and you could see their collectively mouths drop open. Ah, the mohawk memories. It was a hoot and a half.

"Success can make you go one of two ways. It can make you a prima donna, or it can smooth the edges, take away the insecurities, let the nice things come out."
—Barbara Walters

October 10, 2006
I had bad dreams last night. The-tired-and-trying-to-find-a-resting-place kind. I was driving an old car with rusted fender wells, packed with stuff and there was no place to pull over, so I coasted into the narrow medium of a desert highway and got out, went up front to open the hood, and before I could get it open a mean tourist-bully-type pulled in behind me and starting pushing my car with his car. I was helpless to do anything and before I knew it we were going faster and faster. Fortunately I was wearing roller skates, but there I was going fifty, backwards, down old Route 66 and no way to stop. Or rest.

My dream analysis expert (Kathy) laughed and told me the car is me, my numerous projects are my “stuff” and the mean tourist, well, take your pick: True West, The Westerns Channel, my staff, Bob Brink, Jesus, George Bush and, or, Tri Star. Oh, and don’t forget J.D. Nelson, my chicken house job boss.

Last night I got home from work at 5:30 and there was J.D. working in the back yard with all the post holes dug for the chicken house, except one. He said his wife had company so he came down early. As I grabbed a shovel and proceeded to dig the last hole, he told me a story and it went something like this:

“My back hurts. Can’t work like I used to. After the war, I was datin’ this ol’ gal lived on a ranch south of Kingman. Every month I would take off four days from the inspection station and go visit my folks down in the Gila Valley (Safford). I wanted to take her with me but her mama didn’t want her to ride that far in a car (too dangerous), so I rented an airplane. On the way back, we had to land in Cottonwood and as we came in I didn’t realize there was a cross-runway, and as I came down, I saw it too late and there we were, goin’ 85 right into the desert, and she’s yellin’ and screamin’ and she told me later I said, “Dammit, shuttup and let me think.” And we went out into the desert, collapsed the nose landing gear, I put my foot through a new radio I just bought and my face slammed into the instrument panel. When I woke up, there she was hanging upside down, screaming bloody murder. We walked into Cottonwood, waited at a little ol’ hospital for about two hours, but they wouldn’t do anything, so we took the bus to Prescott, waited there for two hours, then took the bus to Seligman and while we were trying to sleep this old gal up front starts singin’ and I went up there and I said to her, “You keep this up and we’re gonna stop this bus and put you off.” Afterwards I went up front and told the driver what I did and he said, ‘Thanks.’ About two weeks later, the mom calls me and says, ‘What’d you do to my daughter? She’s cryin’ and carryin’ on about crashing an airplane.’ So I borrowed an airplane from the Kingman air base and took off, and circled around a canyon behind their ranch house, and came up a draw and went right over the front porch at full throttle. Her mom went right up the wall. Later I was in Wickiup, and was standing in line for something and this ol’ gal was in front of me, and she turned around and it was her, only she was pregnant. That’s the last time I ever saw her.”

By this time, the last hole was dug and I said, “J.D. what was her name? I probably went to high school with the kid she had.” For the life of him, he couldn’t remember, but he told me that's how he got the bad back.

Speaking of Bob Brink, he is in New York attending the grand opening of the new Hearst building, as a guest of honor. Last night he met Oprah. The Hearst Corp build the state-of-the-art building and paid cash ($500 million).

This morning Deena called at 6:30 from Mankato, Minnesota, and said that her boyfriend Frank had just text messaged her (while driving to work on the 101) that the owner of Pischke’s has commited suicde. I got up and went out and got the paper. It’s true. Chris Pischke, the owner of one of my fave restaurants, was evidently depressed over the slow demise of his classic restaurant, drove to a mortuary on Sunday night and shot himself. Monday was the twentieth anniversary of the cafe.

Dung Nazis?
“I got the John Wayne painting. Thank you again for allowing me to have it. Is it oil or watercolor? [no, gouache] I'm obviously not gifted in this arena. I plan on framing it and hanging it on my Western wall in my office at work.

“I have really enjoyed the blog recently. I like the guy who was upset that the blog was all about you. (?) I thought that is what a blog is, autobiographical. Oh well. I have especially enjoyed the new "Dung Nazis". I have enjoyed the discussions about hats and saddles from the appropriate Nazi Faction but this latest is the greatest. On a personal note, I have never thought about it one way or another. I will say I'm not offended that I don't regularly see it or see a risen horses tail. I pretty much have been able to get along with just the animals themselves.

“I will say that any ‘Dung Nazi’ should enjoy Ulzana's Raid. It is an excellent movie that I throw in my top 15 all time westerns. I had to expand from 10 a few years ago. Not only do you get to see horse dung but it is picked up and sniffed. This should please the over the top realists. The movie has been out of DVD production for several years. I was not familiar with it until the Westerns Channel showed it awhile back. I wish they would reissue the DVD. I'm not interested in paying 100 plus for a copy.

“There is another good Burt Lancaster western Valdez is Coming. I don't remember if there are any good scenes of horse dung but is well worth watching”
—Hugh Howard

“We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?”
—Jean Cocteau

October 9, 2006
More rain last night. Left the truck window down and drove in this morning with a wet seat (both). This time Buddy Boze Hatkiller broke in the side door and parked himself in the hallway (to escape the thunder), until Kathy got up and shooed him out. Meanwhile, Peaches cuddled by the radio speakers in the studio and listened to NPR jazz (I’m not making this up, as I went out and checked on her).

Here's a couple photos of JD and I working on the site for the new chicken house on Saturday. And that's Peaches helping (she's actually seeking pack rats).



Henry Beck, our author on the Tombstone bombshell story, sent me a link to a Hollywood website column that followed up on Henry’s cover story in our mag. Some of the ensuing postings are mighty interesting, like this one:

“Tombstone's greatness is 80 to 90% owed to Doc Holliday. Didn't Val Kilmer's performance do for that movie exactly what Johnny Depp's did for the first Pirates of the Carribean movie? You gotta love a western where one of the best showdowns isn't done with guns but by a Latin-off.”

Check it out right here:

Hollywood Elsewhere

Nekkid Lady Question
“I am a huge fan of Western Movies. I always find your tidbits [on the Westerns Channel] very informative. I am trying to find a picture that is usually hanging in a bar. It is a picture of a reclining lady in a state of semi-dress. My husband wants this picture or a print or any information about this. We have been married for 17 years and this is the only thing that he will ask for his present. Any information will be greatly appreciated.”
—Shannon G.Roberts, Asheboro, N.C.

Shannon,
The short answer to your question is: which one? Requesting a picture of a reclining lady in a state of semi-dress, usually hanging over a bar in a saloon, is like asking for a magazine that shows cleavage, and provocative women. They are too numerous to mention.

The semi-clad lady was painted hundreds, if not thousands of times, in any number of poses and styles. Of course, it was mandatory in any good saloon, and there were many artists anxious to sell one. You can find these images all over the country in antique stores and on eBay, I'm sure. Good luck.

By the way, does he have a subscription to True West? We cover these paintings from time to time in our Collecting the West department.
—BBB

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
"As a longtime hairboy, I applaud your salute to our shaggy ancestors. Commodore Perry Owens has long been a personal hero, for nothing more than the length of his mane. Speaking of pioneer styles: Have you ever seen a photo of a hatless Custer? He had a seriously ugly comb-over.

“As for hair styles changing not only over time, but shifting culturally, consider that in the 1950s what passed for long hair -- not much, admittedly -- was chiefly worn by the working class rebels. (E.g., THE WILD ONE) In the 1960s (which as you well know was the late 1960s through the early 1970s, the early 1960s being culturally closer to the 1950s), long hair flowered among hippies, bohemians, and the anti-whatevers. But today, chances are you might find a pony tail on the head of a (male) poet, construction worker, or patent lawyer.

“Flag apparel has similarly migrated. What got Abbie Hoffman arrested several decades ago is today ubiquitous. Construction workers and motorcyclists, to name two, are partial to flag bandanas. Politicians favor flag ties (and other errors in good taste too numerous to inventory).”
—Dan Buck, Washington D.C.

“The artist must make posterity believe he never lived.”
—Flaubert

October 8, 2006
Worked almost all weekend on Apache studies. Whipped out a dozen images, some decent, some goofy and some just plain bad. I’ve got one study I’ve taken a couple stabs at, called “Apache Twilight,” and I can see it perfectly in my mind, but the effects are so-so. And, of course, the one with the best sky effects, the silhouette of the foreground character doesn’t look Apache. Maybe he does if you think Bruce Springstein is Apache. The second one is definitely In-din, but I’m not happy with the composition or the sky.



Went up to Home Depot this morning to buy screen door stuff to fix our front door. Cooked our first meal on the new stove (scrambled eggs). Very nice countertop burners, with space-age flat grill area, no coils.

I’ll post some of the new artwork in the morning. I feel like I’m tapping into some new power, but I’m not quite sure what it is. I wonder if that phone guy knows:

“What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it."
—Alexander Graham Bell

October 7, 2006
Last night, Kathy and I drove down to Phoenix College to attend an art opening for Fran Douglas. Very nice show and she’s quite talented. Afterwards we drove to Scottsdale to have dinner with Russ and Wendy Shaw at Claim Jumpers. Place slammed, half-hour wait. Russ had the prime rib and I had the top sirloin, while the girls did their usual "healthy" salad thing. Over dinner I told the story about being out with the Laib-Man and how he cornered the manager at El Encanto and basically told the guy, “How come you don’t do more for the locals who support you in the summer months before the season comes back?” and the manager sent over three supreme shots of tequila, on the house. This inspired Kathy and she stopped our waiter and said, and I quote, “The meal and the service was great but we want to talk to the manager about getting free chocolate cake.” He laughed and left, and 45 seconds later, Robert the Manager, comes to our table and says, “What’s the problem over here?” and Kathy repeats the exact request and the manager says, and I quote, “Would you like free ice cream on that free chocolate cake?” I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t witnessed it with my own eyes (and mouth, the cake was fantastic!)

I got up this morning at six, and my neighbor J.D. came down at seven to work rebuilding the chicken house out behind the tractor garage. We dug six post holes in the back yard and it was slow going with all the rocks and caliche. Felt like chain gang work, with picks and shovels. We got two poles in and quit at nine, and made plans to work during the week after work.

Kath and I drove up at 9:30 with the recycling and dropped it off, then she borrowed the True West dolly to drive out to Mesa with Deena to buy two stoves (one for Deena and one for us). Both are dinged seconds and are on sale for $400 each.

A Nichols Worth
“In your Oct. 2 blog you feature a picture of a pretty young lady and the following: ‘That's me on stage with Miss Arizona 1982, Jenny Nicols (her father was TV anchor Bill Nicols).’ Did you mean to say Dave Nichols, of Ch. 10 and Ch. 3 fame? Or am I confused (wouldn't be the first time). I also found an entry on another site where she's listed as ‘Jennifer Nichols.’”
—Mark Estes

Yes, you are probably correct. I was simply aping Joel Samuel’s spelling.

“My mother passed away on September 30, 2006. She did not suffer and passed away in her sleep. It was her time, and it will always happen, even to the best of us. If you click on this link below it will take you to her obituary, if you would like to read it. Thank you.”
—Dan Harshberger

http://www.kingmandailyminer.com/main.asp?SectionID=5&SubSectionID=5&ArticleID=10436&TM=59016.23

Old Cowtown Update
Bob,
“I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know that the 'tide may be
turning' in our pursuit to 'Save Old Cowtown'.

“We are far from being soundly afloat financially, but response from
recent press [and local press itself] has been extremely positive.

“There is a palpable groundswell of support that I can trace from the
point of True West's statement of support to preserve and protect Old
Cowtown Museum from the fickle winds of local politicians' narrow
agendas. The National Day of the Cowboy, Chronicle of the Old West and
a number of other parties have joined in lending us their support.
Preserving the legacy of the Old West is important to all Americans. It
is part of our birthright.

“Thank you!

“The November issue of True West is just now on the newsstands and we
are already hearing voices of support from a national audience.

“The very day that the Museum received official notification from the City of Wichita that
the Museum was in violation of numerous code violations, our rooster 'flew the coop'. The presence of a rooster at our 19th century Living History farm apparently violated city code [along with not having a smoke detector in the chicken coop - seriously]. We were not overly surprised to receive these notices as the City had within a two week period detached to our doorstep inspectors from the Health Department, Fire Marshals, City Water Department, general City Inspectors, Animal Control, OSHA and EPA.

“I don't know if pre-war Iraq had that many inspectors looking for WMDs.

“Although the city's intent was to close the museum under the guise of not properly maintaining the facility by terms of our lease, city officials now have 'egg on their faces' due to the public's rejection of those claims.

“Again, I credit you and True West  with reminding our community that Old Cowtown is a heritage that belongs to all of us. When I was growing up there was an embroidered sampler I saw every day.

“The message was simple:

“‘A Friend in Need Is A Friend Indeed!’.Thank you. You're a good friend.
—Ed :LeRoy

“We need people in our lives with whom we can be as open as possible. To have real conversations with people may seem like such a simple, obvious suggestion, but it involves courage and risk.”
—Thomas Moore

October 6, 2006
A second thunderstorm rolled in at about midnite last night (we got hit yesterday afternoon as well). Heavy thunder and rain. I woke up several times in the night and heard dogs breathing nearby. I imagined it was all part of a dream, or was a window open? At about four I heard a yelp from the bathroom. Kathy had gotten up and gone in there to find Buddy Boze Hatkiller lounging around the commode. Peaches was on my side of bed, curled up on my shoes. Both had evidently jimmied the front door (dog burglers!) and got in during the thunder.

Speaking of rain and doggin' it. . .

When It Raids It Pours—Ulzana
“Ulzana's Raid is scheduled to play on Encore Westerns: (all times Eastern and Pacific)

• 10/6, 8 pm

• 10/7, 2:05 am

• 10/12, 3:45pm & 10:20 pm

• 10/16, 3:40 pm

• 10/22, 10 pm

• 10/31, 1:10 pm & 10:20 pm

“It plays again in February and July of 2007, so this might be the time to work up a couple of True West Moments about cavalry and Natives.
—Jeff Hildebrandt

Thanks Jeff, and thanks to Alan and Jim and C. Neil, I'm going to check out this Western with new eyes. And if I know myself, you can expect a slew of cavalry images on this site in the near future.

“There are two classes of people who tell what is going to happen in the future: those who don't know and those who don't know they don't know.”
—John Kenneth Galbraith

October 5, 2006 Bonus Bonus Blog
I drove down into the Beast for lunch today. Met with Ron Bergamo of AZ-TV and a producer, Ramon Plaza. They are recommending I do a TV show based on the elements of True West. We met at Capital Grill, at 24th St. and Camelback, a notorious watering hole for bigtime media tycoons and industry leaders. The head of something at APS came by our table, glad-handed Ron, who introduced me, to which the APS fathead said, “Yes, I see your pithy comments in the paper all the time.” For some reason this really irritated me. Pithy? Really? Well, I fumed about this all the way back out to Cave Creek. And all the way up to now, when I finally looked it up and saw that it means, “condensed, terse, and forceful.” Never mind. What a nice gentleman. One of the smartest CEOs I’ve even encountered in Phoenix.

Ha. (Oh, the ridiculous vanity of a certain blogger!)

Unearthing The Ultimate Ulzana
“Ulzana’s Raid has played on the Westerns Channel. Maybe Jeff Hildebrandt will make you a copy.”
—Steve Lodge

“$120.00 for a copy of Ulzana's Raid???? You need to call the people you work with on the Westerns Channel and get them to broadcast it and then you can tape it for free. I agree with Alan that it is the best Cavalry film produced during that era and Burt Lancaster's scout is fantastic (as good as Robert Duvall playing Al Sieber in Geronimo) Most good westerns have a few good set scenes in it, but "Ulzana's Raid" has so many good scenes in it, it would be hard to list them. Richard Jaeckel is also real good as the grizzled NCO but I just wish they had taken the damn hat cords off.

“If you keep talking about this movie in your blog and nobody can get a copy....somebody will have to release it. I do believe that it is as good as the John Ford Cavalry films.”
—Jim Hatzell

“Señor Bell, Just read your dilemma regarding Ulzana’s Raid. Huffines is right: It's a humdinger of a cavalry flick, free from the P.C. pig shit of modern movies and devoid of Golden Age Hollywood schmaltz. I can't believe an Apachephile (is that a word?) such as yourself hasn't seen it.

“I have nearly every post-WWII, big-screen Western put to disc--some 400. That's not a brag, mind you. I'm a past master of the oater—the kind of obsessive Westerner who prioritizes movies over groceries. I'd be happy to loan you Ulzana’s. I could mail it to TW's offices from here in Glendale. All I ask is that you give your word as a Hat Nazi that you'll treat it as your own, not loan it to anyone else, and return it when you're done.”
—C. Neil Williams

Wow! Several people, who I am close to, constantly question the value of this blog and the time it takes out of my busy day to write in here, and to them I say, “See, this justifies writing the blog right here. I’ve been paid back in full for every word I’ve written, in one fell swoop. Thank you C. Neil Williams, fellow Hat Nazi, anti-PCer and obsessive Westerner who prioritizes movies over groceries.”

Last night I was searching for a drawing and ran across a sketch pad from 1985. Check out this nude study taken from life in a drawing class at Scottsdale Artist’s School. Very clean, and simple, need to get back to this pithy style.



”The right to offend is far more important than the right not to be offended.”
—Rowan Atkinson

October 5, 2006 Bonus Blog
Of the twelve sketches and assorted paintings I did yesterday, I couldn't help but go in and tweak the Crazy Horse Monument painting. I tried to nail the cheekbones a bit stronger, and while I think it nudges the imagae toward the In-din visage, it still isn't the warrior we all want, is it?



"Every artist needs another artist to stand behind them, and hit them over the head repeatedly, before they work a painting to death."
—Vincent Van Google

October 5, 2006
I had a very successful day yesterday, forcing myself to paint in the office. I had this very strong urge to go home to my studio where I can utilize my tools (code for tracing projecter!), but I stayed with it and finished two paintings for Classic Gunfights. One is of Billy Thompson, surrounded by swirling shotgun powder (and don’t forget the winds of controversy), and the other is of Four Jacks and a Joker, which is how the Ellsworth, Kansas pioneers described their early lawmen, four of whom were named Jack. I had excellent photo reference from Wichita’s Old Cowtown when we were there last month, and I started to do a backdrop of the train station with the word “Ellsworth” on the side of the building replacing "Wchita," but I misspelled it as Ellsorth (I was working backwards and got lost). So, I overpainted that, kept missing effects and slopping paint. I failed again and again, until I took the mess into production to scan the dang thang, for position only (FPO), with the idea of going home and starting over, and as I walked by Robert Ray he said, “That’s nice.” Ha. Too funny.



On The Missing Ulzana’s Raid DVD
“I checked at Amazon for Ulzana's Raid.  You can have your own copy if you are willing to pay $120. It is no longer in production and only available from third party private sellers.”
—Mary Fiore

“ULZANA'S RAID is hard to find in DVD and then it is only a full screen job,
which being a wide-screen snob, is why I don't have it. I do think it is the
best cavalry film ever made with SOTMS [Son of The Morning Star] being a close second.”
—Alan Huffines

“Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, relief, joy.”
— Pema Chodron

October 4, 2006
I tried to order Ulzana's Raid from Netflix but they don't have it. Very disappointed. They have had everything else I've requested. Got one of those "We get so many requests, don't hold your breath" customer response Emails.

More Guides On Guidons
"And the familiar Red and White Cavalry guidon is so because it depicts the colors of St. George, the only saint depicted as mounted. You need to check out Stephan’s THE HORSE SOLDIER series. It will provide you with the highest detail for your cavalry work."
—Allan Huffines

Got a phone call from Clay Thompson of The Arizona Republic who got a question for his column about Sore Finger Road. He Googled it and this blog came up, regarding Vince Murray and I going out to Wyatt Earp's Sore Finger Mine last year. It seems to me, the cross references are getting quite surreal, no?

Cheekbone City
We are doing a feature on the big South Dakota Crazy Horse monument that I referenced last week in my diatribe about In-din cheekbones. As I mentioned at the time, the facial structure doesn't seem In-din enough, and I think it's because his face is too narrow in a northern European kind of way. In fact, he seems to have more in common with George Washington than Crazy Horse. I did a sketch of the same view, only with enhanced cheekbones. Not sure if that makes a difference. I also think the high hairline doesn't help either, but I'm just throwing rocks here:



Finished my December editorial and picked out a Honkytonk Sue punchline. Robert Ray is shoe horning it in even as I type this. We had two different couples come in this morning, the first was Bill and Thelma Diamond of Cottonwood. Bill has been a subscriber since 1953 and has every issue. Thelma rolled her eyes and said, "He won't let me throw any of them out." And I said, "Thelma, you've got to get used to the idea that Bill is a genius. Imagine how much money these will be worth." She asked how much, and I said, "many, many ponies."

"Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open."
—Alexander Graham Bell (no relation)

October 3, 2006
Last night I finished the last page in my second sketch book (page 100). I've done six drawings a day since last November without missing a day. Of course, the drawings on this page are for the Top Secret Project. The waterfall is in the Sierra Madre Mountains, deep in Taharamara land (it actually falls another two ledges, but I didn't have room), the bottom sketch is of Captain Pierce and Curly (based on reference photos shot by Jim Hatzell) and the Apache woman at right is for a "faces of anguish" page I'm doing for the opening of the story.



Speaking of Jim Hatzell, I have noticed that in cavalry movies like Fort Apache the soldiers move out with full color guards, U.S. flag flying and guidons as well. But in the many sketches and paintings by Remington, who was out here in Arizona in 1886-88, he depicts no guidons on the scouts he rode with and depicted. I asked Jim, who is an expert on all things military, why the discrepancy? Here's his answer:

“The guidon is used when an entire company of Cavalry is in the field. This is a tool used for keeping the line straight during a charge and a rally point when the trumpeter blows recall. Remington may have been illustrating small detachments. By the way, Hollywood always wants to place the guidon at the front of the column but it should be in the center. If you check out Michael Blake's new book Indian Yell there is a photo I've never seen published before of the 7th Cavalry in the field. They are riding with a guidon.

“Also, keep in mind that during the 1880's the US Army began using the red and white guidon again. That was what they used back during the early Dragoon days up to the early battles of the Civil War. It was confusing that the Federals and Confederates were both using the same guidon so the US Army went to the guidon with a Stars & Stripes motif. This was especially irritating to the Rebs because the stars reflected that the South was still part of the country. This was used during the Indian Wars just after the War and up to the Apache conflicts. Beginning in the early 1880s, during the Geronimo time frame, the red & white guidon was used again until the US Cavalry was disbanded.”
—Jim Hatzell

Jim Hatzell is having a photo art opening this weekend. You can check it out at:

www.coyotebluesvillage.com/

Why Isn’t Camp Verde A Fort?
“Hey BBB! According to Ray Brande’s Frontier Military Posts of Arizona, Camp Lincoln was established in January 1864 on the east bank of the Verde River about 1 mile north of the juncture of the Verde and Beaver Creek in Yavapai County. On November 23, 1868 the post was renamed Camp Verde and renamed Fort Verde on April 5, 1879.”
—Gus Walker

“Most people think of success and failure as opposites, but they are actually both products of the same process.”
—Roger von Oech

October 2, 2006 Bonus Blog
I went home for lunch and had reheated burger and cottage cheese and an apple. Whipped out a study called "Renegade Wickiup." And yes, this is the same background from the "Beauty" painting. I am trying to perfect the white-ish coral striping of the strata around San Carlos. I noticed the same geological phenom at Camp Verde, and my suspicions are they are both exhibiting the same mineral reaction. Ironically, all the Apaches were first put on a res at Camp Verde, then later moved to San Carlos. And for some reason Camp Verde never became a fort, while Camp Grant became Fort Grant. Not sure what prompts that designation.



If you can't spot the renegade wickiup, it's right here:



"Anger, like milk, should not be kept long."
—Old Vaquero Saying

October 2, 2006
I just got the word that Dan Harshberger's mother, Denise, passed away on Saturday. A graveside memorial is being held this Saturday, in Kingman at Mountain View Cemetery.

My son, Thomas, shares a love for all things drummer-related. I got this partial text message this morning: "I am a drum major. I am a ragtime rhythm section. I am a wild animal knocking rocks on the hard shell of mother earth, the prehistoric paradiddle. I am nerves and muscle gaining strength. Sufan Slevins on oldest drumming memory. . ."

Prehistoric paradiddle, now that's a hoot.

In case you have wondered just how long I have been dressing this way and acting this way, here's two photos from 1982. Videographer, Joel Samuel sent me the following two images from a taping at Graham Central Station, a big Urban Cowboy nightclub in West Phoenix. That's me on stage with Miss Arizona 1982, Jenny Nicols (her father was TV anchor Bill Nicols). I believe I'm about to launch into "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zep, but I could be wrong. It would be typical of me though:



"Way down inside, woman, you need love."
—Led Zep

October 1, 2006
My first speech yesterday was in the Glendale Main Library Auditorium. Had a full house to hear about publishing books (it was an all day seminar featuring many speakers). I was telling them that they somehow, someway have to get past the crowd at the foot of the ladder. I told them how we all have been trained to get in the back of the line, and not speak out, but wait for someone to recognize our talents and how that rarely, if ever, works. As I'm finishing this point, a Native American Woman down front stands up and says, “I have been researching and researching and I want to write for True West.” She reaches out and hands me her card, which said, “Theda Goodfox Kresge” and I thanked her and looked at the audience and said, “And that’s a perfect example of how you get past the crowd at the foot of the ladder.”

After lunch at Earl’s with Betty Radina and her friend Jo Jo (and admiring Brad’s new paintjob extravaganza on the interior of the restaurant), Kathy and I drove to Mormon Lake (south of Flagstaff) for a speech to the Arizona Trail Association. This is a group of 700 volunteers who are building and connecting a trail all the way from Coronado Point, below Sierra Vista and right on the Mexican border, all the way to Utah. They were celebrating another link in the trail near Mormon Lake and invited me to come up and regale them with all the stories about all the historic characters who crossed the trail. I gave them the laundry list, from Cochise to Geronimo, from Billy the Kid to Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp and Big Nose Kate, and from Elvis to Ev Mechem. We had fun and many laughs. Kathy was so inspired she wants to do the entire trail (we heard several stories about people spending ten weeks to do it). They also need more members and I told them we could help them with that. They are doing a great thing to preserve the heritage of Arizona and it’s a perfect fit for the magazine. Here’s their website if you want to check them out:

www.aztrail.org

Came back this morning by the backtrail, via Clint’s Wells and Camp Verde. Got back here at about noon. Went down to check on Rob but he’s out getting “transportation.” Said he’d see me in the office tomorrow.

The leaves were just starting to turn orange up on the rim and it was quite stunning. As I drove down the winding back roads I pondered my own artistic trail and wondered how I will ever find the truths I seek.

“If you really want to discover profound artistic truths I’ve found one of the best ways is to cut off your ear and give it to a prostitute.”
—Vincent Van Google

September 30, 2006
I’ve got two speeches today. The first one at the Glendale Public Library, then a speech tonight up at Mormon Lake. Let’s catch up on the mail:

More Good Horse Dropping Sightings
“There is a very excellent Robert Aldrich movie released in 1972 called Ulzana's Raid with Burt Lancaster (and if you look closely, you will see stunt man Richard Farnsworth). Anyway there is a scene where the US Cavalry is chasing Apaches and the young Lieutenant played by Bruce Davison examines horse droppings to try to figure out how far ahead the Indians are. I recommend that you check this film out as it is very good and right up the alley of what your ‘secret project’ is all about. One criticism though, they have the Cavalry wearing hat cords. Otherwise the look is great!

“The rumor is that when we were working on the film Geronimo; An American
Legend that the original screenplay written by John Milius was similar in
nature to Ulzana's Raid but that it was toned down quite a bit by the
time it was made. The Burt Lancaster film is very brutal!”
—Jim Hatzell

“Hello Mr. Bell, my name is Herb Smith and I live on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. During a visit to the doctor's office, I came across an issue of your True West magizine and found it to be quite interesting. Using a Yahoo search, I managed to locate your website and found it to be very interesting also and am looking forward to placing a subscription for True West. My wife and I are in our mid 50's and we have been told by our physicians that a change of atmosphere would greatly assist us in relieving some of the symptoms that we suffer due to arthritis and other medical problems. They suggested, since we are both retired, that a move to the American Southwest would do us a lot of good.

“We have done a lot of searching and reading of information on the internet but cannot quite find the type of information that we are looking for. We are tired of putting up with the hustle and bustle, traffic and rushed life-style out here in this area. We are looking for an area of smaller towns where things are more layed-back, where life moves a lot slower and I thought, who better to ask than someone like yourself who has been there and seen it for yourself.

“Are there any places left where you can find horses, wagons and buggies used alongside of modern vehicles in daily living? Are there any places left where the stores and shops and the towns in general are more like life used to be in the late 1800's? Since my wife and I are retired, we could live pretty much anywhere. Would you have any suggestions that we could research and look into? Any information would be useful and let me thank you now for your time and assistance.”
—Herb Smith

Herb, you need to read our Top Ten Western Towns issue (Jan. 2006), but unfortunately it's sold out (you can read the article on our website here). However, in each subsequent issue we have been running a column called “What’s it like to live there?” And you will find plenty of towns to move to. Based on your requirements though, I would recommend a.) Lincoln, New Mexico, or b.) a Mennonite community. Good luck.

The Adam Doesn’t Fall Far From The Family Tree
“I just wanted to confirm what some folks have already told you. You do look like your Great Grandfather Adam! In fact, when I first glanced at the photo on the blog I thought it might be one of those staged, "old-time", photos of you and some of your family taken a couple of years back at some festival or another. Also, I wanted to comment on ‘Beauty’. What an outstanding job, amigo! A truly gorgeous study of a truly gorgeous subject. Bravo!”
—Chris Casey, Maniac #946, Sierra Vista, AZ

“Hey BBB! That guy with the gallouses behind the wheel of that car does look like you. looks like he’s even wearing a hat and has a moose stash.

“Enjoying your Apache stuff. my favorite bad indian portrayal in a movie by a non-indian is Rock Hudson who plays Young Bull in Jimmy Stewart’s Winchester 73.

“Hey glad to hear I am alive and well in the TW archives. hope RR used the Cave Creek map showing where TW is located.”
—Gus Walker, The Mapinator

Yes he did.

“You don't have to stay up nights to succeed; you have to stay awake days.”
—Old Vaquero Saying

September 29, 2006 Bonus Bonus Blog
I just got this from an Apache who should know:

I just saw the work you did on your project on the facial studies. Your picture of 'Beauty' (lisa) was very good and I told her about it.

As for the classic Apache face, it has to be remembered that my people raided extensvely, especially in Mexico and captives were part of what they brought back to the tribe. I (and Lisa) are part White Mountain Apache and they are the Western Apache who raided, most often, south of the border. I once asked my father why I had slightly curley hair and he said that one of ancestors was a captive from mexico. We adopted many of them in the long years we fought them. My opinion is that the slave trade as portrayed in the movie "The Missing" was done more by the Comanches than the Apaches. My research also tells that the Apaches adopted most of the people they captured (mostly women and children); warrior people often do this since they have to replace their losses by this form of "recruiting".

So it can be seen that infusions of captive blood has given the Apache a number of different looks and that often some Apaches are mistaken for Navajos who are closely related to us being from the same Athabascan language family. Still, I'm glad that you're looking at Apache features in a manner that is fresh and ignores some ideas of the past.Your assestment of how we modren Apaches spend more times indoors than in the past is also pretty correct. Another thing is that Apaches are getting taller than they were in the past. My father was an inch under six feet and I'm nearly the same (though over the years I may have shrunk about half an inch,stange but true). Also Lisa is taller than the average Apache girl, her being about 5''6". For a long time most were between 5'1" and 5' 4", being rather petite. This may be changing due to diet and foreign blood.

Still, I think in Lisa or Levi you do have close to what can be called a classic Apache looks. I recall once I did a presentation near Mt. Graham at a place called Cottonwood Ranch and my son was dressed traditional Apache and one of the anglo people said to me,"Hey, he looks just like Peaches!" Of course I said,"He ought to be since he's related to him!" Needless to say the guy was impressed by that took a number of photos of him.

Regardless I enjoy your blog and visit it every day or so. I hope to continue to work with you in this your special project. Me and mine can give it an authenic Apache flavor and look. Let's keep up the good work.

P.S. Oh yeah, in his classic "Stagecoach", John Ford used a good closeup of Navajos on a mesa to get an Apache 'look' before they attacked the stage. I really don't mind cause they are tribal and cousins to us.
—Dale C. Miles

September 29 Bonus Blog
Robert Ray, Joel Klasky and I worked on tweaking the Cave Creek Wild West Days ad most of the morning. It needed a map, but Gus Walker is a thousand miles away. Robert found one of Gus's old maps in our morgue and popped it in, tweaked it and it's done. Great job Robert Ray!

Happy Birthday greetings to Scooter Angel, Maniac #1334!

More Bad Apaches
I went home for lunch and had fun with my "bad Apaches." That's the goofy and awful portrayals of our Native American neighbors to the east of here who have had some ridiculous miscast people play them (and draw them!). Most of these cartoons were sketched from real examples. The "Woah!" is from an Italian Western comic book called "Tex," and both the top ones are from movies in the 1950s and 1960s. The "Yo," Brave is a parody of Frank Frazetta, who is a monster illustrator so I kind of bow down to his mastery, even though the image is painfully inaccurate. The 1950's Fonzie Apache is from a comic book called the Apache Kid, I believe. And it looks like he was modeled after Fabian or Ricky Nelson (or both). This is a hoot. I may do more of these.



"The only good Indian is a well drawn Indian."
—Vincent Van Google

September 29, 2006
I had a speech this morning at the Burton Barr Library in downtown Phoenix. Left at seven to go down into the Beast. Took Central, even though I knew better. Street torn up all the way, got to the library with three minutes to spare.

Jana Bommersbach and I tag-teamed our Women of the Wild West speech for the Friends of the Library. They had a full house for the breakfast (75 people). Great reception and people get really excited about the subject. I'm not sure why no publisher has picked up on our book proposal: Hell Raisers: The History of Women In The Wild West, complete with timeline, rare photos and illustrations by BBB. But for some reason every major house has turned it down.

On the way back out I got the word that Rob Bandhauer totalled his truck last night. He's okay. Bruised and battered. Took out a saguaro and a transformer. Went by and visited with him. He's pretty shook up. I told him he's lucky: no one was hurt, he's okay and the rest is just stuff. Carole is on her way over there right now to get him some groceries. He's a good guy and we're glad he's okay.

One of my Iowa relatives, Marilyn Bell, sent me a photo of my grandfather and great grandfather with their brand new 1911 car (I'm not sure of the make although I used to know). I love that Iowa Norsky lingo. This is how Marilyn tells it in the accompanying letter: "Was over to Alice Sysy and she wanted me to look through some old photo albums." Can't you just hear that Midwestern twang? By the way, Syse is pronounced See-See. The photo she found was taken on the front lawn of the Bell farm, west of Thompson, Iowa. I remember my grandfather, Carl Marvin Bell, telling me about this trip to "Webster City to bring back the first car in that part of the country." As he told it, his father, Adam Bell, bought the car, then ran it in the ditch trying to learn how to steer it and do the gears at the same time. So Carl took over and drove the car home. Both can be seen in the photo, with Carl behind the wheel (which is on the right side, left side looking on, English style), and Adam is on the right. I have been told by some that I resemble Adam and that my son Thomas Charles resembles Carl. The other kids are Vern, Helen, Carrie and Nettie. My grandfather was the oldest of 11 kids.



"Just think how happy you would be if you lost everything
you have right now, and then got it back again.
- Francis Rodman

September 28, 2006 Bonus Blog
Just got back from lunch. Pastor David Shirley and Russ Garrett treated at El Encanto. They are planning a Western Heritage Day the first Sunday in November and wanted to pick my brain about all things Western. Over enchiladas and quacking ducks and swans, I told them the stories we celebrate on the pages of True West.

Russ mentioned watching me every night on the Westerns Channel and since he's an oldtime rancher and horse person I asked him about ground trained horses. I told him about the guy who wrote me claiming he could prove me wrong 100% of the time about my "hitching rail" True West Moment. Bill claims you get off, drop the reins and walk away and the horse stays put. Russ told me it's about 50% true with horses. Some are real good about it and others will be good as long as you are close, but if there's grass nearby, say goodbye. He also added this: "If you've got three ground trained horses and one that's not and you put all four to the test and the one that's not ground trained walks off, two of the three ground trained will go too." Now, this I want to see. Hey Jeff, let's go video tape this!

"Hey BBB, did you ever get the link working to where we could watch the PSA 'To Save Old Cowtown'?  Also, I’ve always wondered were false-front buildings really used in the Old West?  If so, what was the purpose?
— Mark Kilburn, TW Maniac 235

No, we are waiting on tech support to get the PSA up. We're hoping it'll be up next week. The false front phenom was a peacock move, intended to fake out the person entering from the front that the building was larger than it appeared. Of course it only works, if a series of false fronts are flush next to each other, but the style became so ubiquitous, even stand alone buildings utilized the look.
—BBB

September 28, 2006
Another chicken coop shift this morning. J.D. and I used a crow bar to loosen joints on the roof beams. Took about five minutes per nail. They were long suckers, pounded in at an angle, then bent on the backside down to the hilt, then painted over. So it took a minute or so to even find them, then a crow bar and hammer to get the heads up off the facing enough to get an angle under them to pull them out. Loaded up the Ranger at 7:45 and brought everything back to our place and stored it all in the tractor garage.

We go to great lengths to get it right in True West and here’s a good example. We are featuring the Ben and Billy Thompson vs. Cap Whitney gunfight in Ellsworth, Kansas for our next Classic Gunfights and we are working with two excellent researchers, Tom Bicknell and Jim Gray. The body copy has a mention of Billy being the older brother of Ben Thomspon. Managing Editor Meghan Saar found this tidbit in Dan Thrapp’s Western Biography series with a notation that many have mistakenly believed that Billy Thompson was the younger brother of Ben. This prompted the following Email from Tom Bicknell:

“Tom Dearden, a lifelong resident of Knottingley, England, who was a grass-roots local historian made the difficult effort to dig through the government records of literally doxens of Thompson families living in knottingley during the 19th century to learn as much as possible about Ben and Billy and their immediate family and other relatives. He determined what was later independently confirmed that Ben was two years older than Billy. I have copies of their English birth certificates and even more importantly I found Ben Thompson's only great-grand child, Mrs. Anne Price Beck of Smithville, Texas, who though the Thompson Family Bible confirms Mr. Dearden's research.”
—Tom Bicknell

Well, for me, that trumps Thrapp (who also was a peerless researcher, but he died more than a decade ago and some, but not many, of his findings have been overturned, this being a perfect example). And as I’ve said before, nothing changes more than the past.

The Top Secret Project
Worked last night on more Apache cheekbones. It’s interesting that many portrayals of Apaches are wrong because the emphasis is on the wrong facial structure. For instance, one of the most embarrassing Native American representations is the big Crazy Horse monument under construction up in the Dakotas. Granted it’s only about half done but, to my eye, it’s all nose and no In-din. It’s ridiculously skewed towards a certain ethnic stereotype. Or put another way, it’s more Harry Cohen than Crazy Horse.

I shouldn’t act too snotty about this because much of it is a mystery to me as well. I do well when I’m copying a photo of an Apache, but to apply the facial structure to something fresh and original (building from scractch) is a whole ‘nother ballgame.

For example, Geronimo is easy (see my gouache below). Check out those ball-bearing cheekbones. I also stumbled across another aspect of portraying Apache skin tone and that is this: modern peoples spend about five percent of their time outdoors, while the oldtime Apaches spent 99 percent of their time outdoors, and their skin went beyond bronze and contained more than a bit of gray in the pigment (refried beings?).



And here's my sketches from last night, with an emphasis on the cheekbones:



The other kind of portrayal that drives me crazy is the muscular, buffed-out Apache, who looks more like Charles Atlas, than Cochise. These representations were popular in the fifties with Frank McCarthy and yes, even Tom Lovell, producing their share of central casting studs who looked like they hung out at Gower’s Gulch, not San Carlos. When The Top Secret Writer and I were at Pastor Guenther’s home he showed us the actual sign-up logs for the Apache scouts, recording their height, weight, etc. More than a few were very short, one of them being four foot seven, and several under five foot. All of them were thin, weighing in the range of 130 to 155 pounds, if I remember correctly.

“I have come to the conclusion that almost no one on earth is lazy. The truth is that the person you call lazy just does not want to do your kind of work; they want to do their kind.”
—Bertha Damon

September 27, 2006 Bonus Blog
I went home for lunch and whipped out a nice little study of "Beauty". This image is based on a still of Apache model Lisa Bahlen shot at Fort Apache last month, and the background is from a photo I shot right out the car window of the Top Secret Writer's Ford Taurus. The wickiups are lifted from a Maynard Dixon painting, done on location in the 1920s (great colors!).



As I mentioned this morning, many artists have a hard time capturing a likeness of real Apaches in a convincing manner. Here are two examples from dudes I really admire, but they kind of tubed it here. The first is Frank Tenney Johnson. His Navajo and cowboy nocturns are knocked out, but this painting of an alleged Apache looks more like an Italian gypsy lost in America. The one next to it is Remington's, which has great nighttime effects, but the faces are not quite Apaches, maybe Minnesota Snowbirds who lost their thermals, but not Apaches:



"You can be on the right path but if you take too much time to set up your easel you'll get run over."
—Vincent Van Google

September 27, 2006
Put in another hour working on the chicken coop this morning. J.D. and I wailed on the roof, snipping with wire cutters and pulling out a ton of rusted nails. Felt very good. It really makes me feel good, especially using muscles that never get used when I'm on the computer or over a drawing board.

And speaking of drawing boards:

Capturing Apaches (on paper)
I spent a good part of yesterday and last night working on drawings of "Beauty" an Apache looker who figures prominently in the Top Secret Project. I have excellent art reference from the two photo sessions with Lisa Bahlen at San Carlos and Fort Apache. I got some decent portraits going but I'm missing the Apache-ness of her face.

Frankly, I'm not alone. It seems to me, Apaches are as elusive in art as they were in the flesh. Very few depictions of Apaches are convincing to me. Frank Tenney Johnson, one of my painting heroes, does excellent cowboys but his Apache paintings are weak (they look like Italian gypsys). Even Remington has trouble getting the cheekbones right, and believe me, Apaches have very distinctive cheek bones!

I'll post some of my progress and also some of the bad Apaches in art (and they could fill an entire book).

Another Lonely Road Nomination
"My vote is California State Route 62, Twentynine Palms to Vidal Junction, if you're AWOL from the navy and your motorcycle is low on gas."
—Tom Carpenter

"I would rather squint at this sorry face and neck of mine in the mirror than confront a stranger who looks suspiciously like a drum pad."
—Nora Ephron, on face lifts, in her new book "I Feel Bad About My Neck"

September 26, 2006 Bonus Blog
Here's a response to the question about whether cow dung has ever appeared in a Western:

Lifting Tails Redux (Redux:Doo Doo)
"Bob, in RIDE WITH THE DEVIL, there is a scene (I think it is when William Clarke Quantrill's command links up with Black John's raiders), one of the horses does, in fact, lift his tail and drop a generous load of horse hockey.  All in the interest of historical accuracy, I'm sure."
— Gary Roberts

"From what I have gathered, most towns and cities in the Old West paid someone to clean up the horse droppings because not to do so could bring flies, disease, etc. In the movies, it's the Craft Service Man (Person) who has that job. I knew one who would see a horse lifting its tail and race over to put his scoop under the horse's rear end, catching the stuff before it hit the ground.

"Also, in reference to Heaven's Gate: Remembering first that greats like John Ford would shoot a vista shot from the side of a road where the equipment could be parked (The She Wore a Yellow Ribbon trek scenes with troopers, wagon, and storm were shot beside the road that runs through Monument Valley) - Michael Cimino, director of HG, took his crew miles inland from the only road, clearing the way as they went, to have them build a town set that had the very same vista backdrop as seen from the main road where they had started. This is called creativity?"
—Steve Lodge

Here's two studies I did on Sunday of a high desert daybreak scene (poached from an ad for Daybreak Ranch). Each has little virtues: the boulder in the first is less defined, but just as evocative, while the background in the second is less defined but just as sweet. This image is of the high desert area north of Cordes Junction and east of Big Bug Creek:



I also have been working on dust storms and their aftermath. That led to this scene, which is a study for The Top Secret Project:



Just had a meeting with several local merchants regarding our Cave Creek Wild West Days coming in November. We are working on an ad that would represent all of our interests and I did a sketch showing a cavalry guidon galloping out at the viewer with the American flag flying. Faith from Big Bronco blanched at the soldier and said, "Do we have to have a soldier? I don't like war." This led to the following response from our friend up at Cowboy Legacy in Carefree:

"I love war. War pays my mortgage."
—Bill Welch, Cowboy Legacy Gallery

September 26, 2006
Got up at 5:30, went for a bike ride early. I walked up to J.D.’s at seven and worked with him on getting the tin off the roof of the chicken coop. I had trouble hanging off the ladder on one foot, leaning over the thinly supported roof and trying to get my hammer under the set screws to pull them out. I’m stretching and groaning and using muscles I haven’t used since my rear chainman days, and I look over and here’s J.D. leaning out farther, stretching longer and grabbing nails that are in my zone. And he’s 82! Kathy says it’s his Mormon lifestyle so I had to ask him, “Didn’t you say yesterday you liked to sit out on your back porch and drink Pepsi?” J.D. smiled and popped another rivet straight into the refuse bucket and said, “Yeh, well, it’s my one vice. And my wife gets on me every time I take a sip.” He’s quite a character and a good neighbor to boot. I’ll miss him when he goes to Utah (and drinks state supported Pespsi).

Los Lonely Roads
“Las Vegas to Hawthorne on U.S. 95 may be the ugliest stretch of highway in American, but Ely to Fallon on U.S. 50 is the loneliest. Trust me.”
—Charlie Waters

“Perhaps the loneliest road in America is Hwy 51 across Nevada.”
—Gus Walker

“In your survey, I think you should have included Highway 50 in Nevada that runs from Fallon to Ely. If you look on the Official Highway Map of Nevada road map you will see it noted as the the Loneliest Road. Having made that trip several times, it's hard to imagine the others could be lonelier.”
—Stephen Teed, Carson City NV

“The stretch from Clayton, New Mexico to Springer, New Mexico. It had to have been the worst drive I have ever experienced, and I drive a lot. I think I saw one building the entire stretch. And in fact, there was a town called Abbott that actually had NOTHING in it! No houses, shops, anything! I couldn't believe it. Have you ever been on this stretch? If not, here is some words of wisdom; don't.”
—Nicholas Narog

Got back to the house at eight. Cleaned up to go into the office. We are really steaming on two issues. Trish and her crew are working very hard and it looks like we are finally poised for true success at True West. Gee, I wonder what Bette Davis has to say about that?

“Success only breeds a new goal.”
—Bette Davis

September 25, 2006
I had an excellent art day yesterday, turning out a dozen sketches and paintings. Got started early and stayed with it. Not easy to do since I’m so easily distracted. One of the tricks I’ve learned is to make a list at breakfast in my daytimer of things I want to work on (not accomplish, but things I want to work on, which doesn’t put so much pressure on the outcome). This helps keep me focused. I can easily spend a whole day in my studio working on stuff that is not on any list! Ha.

I turned the cooler off in the studio last weekend. First time in four months it’s been off. Ran it yesterday, just in the daytime. The nights are cool. I’m wearing long pants on the early morning bike rides (as opposed to no pants).

We’ve got a new poll up. Vote now!

The loneliest highway in the West is:

a. Datil, New Mexico to Soccoro, New Mexico?

b. Las Vegas, Nevada to Reno, Nevada?

c. Thermopolis, Wyoming to Casper, Wyoming?

d. Fallon, Nevada to Ely, Nevada?

I’ve been on all of them and lean towards the Datil road, but maybe that’s because I’ve been on that one more. I’m curious to know which one you think is the loneliest.

Last week Larry Willis sent me that self-portrait he saw in Paris and I kind of wondered which BBB painting he was referring to, and looked in my morgue. Perhaps it’s this one?



If you saw the photo of my art desk two weeks ago, you undoubtably saw the big self-portrait of Rembrandt staring straight out. I was so prolific this weekend I whipped out an inspired piece called: “Billy the Kid Self-portrait at The Age of 63.” I’m sending it to Fred Nolan as punishment for sending me the Rembrandt poster.



And speaking of those big art posters put out by The Independent, did you know the Italians say Van Gog, the British say Van Goff and we say Van Go, and the Dutch pronunciation “is a real mouthful,” according to the text on the poster. Vincent is how he signed all his paintings. However you pronounce it, Mr. Van Gogh also has been an inspiration to me and my gunfighter tendencies. Here’s the poster, plus a calendar in our kitchen (of the same painting) and a Jesse James portrait by me. Uncanny? Or just blatant plagiarism? You be the judge.



”Copy-catting with full residuals is the sincerest form of flattery.”
—Vincent Van Google

September 24, 2006
Yesterday morning, Kathy and I worked four hours dismantling our neighbor’s chicken house. J.D. is moving to Utah and he said if we’d come up and take down his coop, we could have it, plus his 10 chickens. Hard work. It’s much harder taking out the nails than putting them in! Ha. Plus that damned chicken wire is lethal. I got poked all over the place. Started at seven and worked until about 11 when it got too hot.

At one I drove out to Pioneer Living History Museum for a Western Festival. We have a booth manned by Joel K. and Bethany B. Huge crowds. In fact I’ve never seen that big of a crowd out at Pioneer, and I’ve been going out there since the seventies. According to Joel and Bethany it’s all because of one guy—Buck Montgomery. He is a solid promoter and really got the word out. Very encouraging, since Pioneer has languished for decades. I was on the board of directors for several years and we couldn’t get much of anything going, so I was very impressed with the success of Buck’s efforts. Talked briefly with Peter Brown, plus Joey Dillon, Tony Cassanova, Dakota, and many Westerns Channel fans who came by our booth to rave about the magazine and True West Moments. And speaking of the TWMoments, here’s an Email I got today:

Cow Pies In The Saddle Again
“BBB: I've watched western movies since the birth of T.V. My uncle was a Vice President at Universal & I was lucky enough to spend a few summers wondering the lot.. I'm also friends with the Rutheford family of Brawley Calif, who own the flying U rodeo company. Mr. Rutheford was very good friends with Gene Autry and leased a lot of stock to the studios. Now my question—Of all the movies I've watched, I've never seen dung on ANY street or trail drive, let alone lift a tail."
—Sam Burch

Yes, Sam, good point. You never see any dung or tail lifting in Westerns. Simply put, cow poop (or any other kind of poop) is unseemly, although I'm sure there must be an exception to this, especially in the revisionist 1970s when Westerns attempted to show the "rugged truth," but I can't think of one off the top of my head. I have several reference photo albums full of horses on the march and the tails are going up all over the place! It's a good point, though, and shows how sanitized our visions of the West have been, for a very long time. You don't see paintings of it either. I can't think of one Russell or Remington where cow pies are being made, or are left behind in the streets.

I do remember a cattle drive scene (maybe Red River? or was it Culpepper Cattle Company?) where a bull is trying to mount another cow in the herd. My suspicion is they left it in hoping no one would notice.

And speaking of big cow pies and movies, I got Heaven’s Gate in the mail from Netflix on Friday. Plopped it in my laptop and watched much of it, while I was working in the office. I forgot how long that sucker is (three hours plus!), and even though there are some wonderful set pieces (when the conductor walks through the train station, comes out the door to meet the train and we see the main street, clogged with wagons and people and smoke curling from a dozen chimneys atop the buildings and I read in the book Final Cut they had to bring the train in piece by piece, well it's a stunning moment) in it and decent action, it doesn’t hold up as a compelling story at all. Still, I tagged a couple dozen snapshots for art reference (great lighting in the cock fighting sequence with a lone lamp shining in the foreground and Jeff Bridges walking back and forth on the other side of the lamp, creating superb chiaroscuro effects).

Speaking of trains, "Mr. Train," aka Jim Clark, came by our offices on Friday. He was at a car lot in Paradise Valley and ran into Minnesota Mike Melrose who gave him directions to our place. Jim came by and Bob Brink and I had a great talk with Jim about movie trains and the upcoming 125th Anniversary of the O.K. Corral extravaganza next month in Tombstone. Along with Bob Love, Jim is the lead dog for that event. They are expecting huge crowds and have sold some 500 VIP tickets.

From Pioneer, Kathy and I drove over to her mother’s for dinner last night. Nice visit with her. Got home at eight. Long day, no art.

I’m working hard in my studio today trying to get some decent artwork for Classic Gunfights, Honkytonk Sue and The Top Secret Project. Most of it comes down to commitment. Gee, I wonder if basketball coach Pat Riley has anything to say on this subject?

“There are only two options regarding commitment. You're either IN or you're OUT. There's no such thing as life in between.”
—Pat Riley

September 22, 2006
One of my Old West friends, and a fellow artist, Larry Willis, just got back from France. He sent me this tidbit:

Doc Holliday in Paris?
"While in Paris last month I visited the d'Orsay Museum. They have a self portrait by Johan Barthold Jongkind done in 1850. It reminded me of a BBB painting of Doc Holiday. Check it out."
—Larry Willis



Meanwhile, my Chalfont St. Giles Compadre Frederick Nolan sent me another batch of famous artists posters from The Independant (English newspaper). This batch included several more of my painting heroes including Spanish masters Goya, Valasquez, and Vincent Van Gogh. I spent a good hour studying them last night and I'll have a full report later. Damn, those Bastards were good!

I organized my art reference piles this morning and set up my desk for a full assault on the opening scenes of the Top Secret Project. Came into the office to finish Classic Gunfights copy and a piece on ponies for the Cowboy Chronicle.

Got a call from Jim Clark of Tombstone fame. He's the guy who provides all the trains for movies (Wild, Wild West, Into The West). He's in town buying some cars and he's coming out to see the True West World Headquarters. Jim told me they have received 500 VIP reservations for the big 125th Anniversary and are expecting huge crowds for the October 26th event. He asked me if I had anything he could take back with him, and I said, "Yes, I need to ship 25 paintings from Blaze Away: The 25 Gunfights Behind the O.K. Corral."

"Rest assured that no matter how hard you try, someone else is doing the same thing, faster, easier and better."
—Vincent Van Google

September 21, 2006 Bonus Bonus Bonus Blog
On this date in history, back in 1850:

California became a State.
Of course at that time the state had no electricity.
It had no money.
Almost everyone spoke Spanish.
There were gun fights in the streets.
In many ways, it was just like California today,
except the women had real
boobs and the men didn't hold hands.

September 21, 2006 Bonus Blog
This just in, forwarded to me from Mark Boardman:

Valley actress Terry Earp seriously injured in collision
By Chris Page, Tribune
September 20, 2006
Valley playwright and actress Terry Earp is in serious condition after
being hit by an SUV while she was riding a bicycle Saturday.

Earp, 58, is best known for her historical stage plays performed by husband
Wyatt Earp — great-nephew of the Old West lawman — and herself.

She, along with her husband and a family friend, had left the Earps’ north
Phoenix home and was bicycling to breakfast when, shortly after 6:30 a.m.,
the driver of a 2003 Honda Pilot, traveling east, ran a red light at Union
Hills Drive and Central Avenue and hit her, according to Phoenix detective
Stacie Derge.

Terry Earp, who was wearing a helmet, was taken to John C. Lincoln North
Mountain Hospital, where she had several surgeries and is in an induced
coma.

The Earps’ agent, Kathy Collins, said Earp suffered a spinal injury that
could leave her a quadriplegic or paraplegic. Wyatt Earp did not return
phone calls
Tuesday, referring all calls to Collins.

The driver of the sport utility vehicle, 28-year-old Jason Foree, was cited
with running a red light. No other charges are pending, Derge said.

“I’m terribly saddened because Terry is my friend. However, I see
improvements every day,” said longtime friend and theatrical collaborator
A. Nannette Taylor. “Terry is a fighter.”

Taylor had been directing rehearsals of the Earps’ latest productions,
updated editions of longtime bioplay projects called “Wyatt Earp: A Life on
the Frontier” and “Mrs. Wyatt Earp,” to be performed in January at
Scottsdale’s Kerr Cultural Center, where Taylor serves as managing director.

“(The crash was) in the blink of an eye, literally,” Taylor said. “It
really brings home how fragile everything is.”

Updates on Terry Earp’s condition are expected to be posted at
www.wyattearp.biz.

September 21, 2006
Working hard but not sure I’m working smart. I need to finish up opening sequence of The Top Secret Project and I’m not even half done. I also have two illustrations for the next issue’s Classic Gunfights, which will be the Billy Thompson-Chauncey Whitney shooting in Ellsworth, Kansas. Gus Walker did a great map and I worked quite a bit yesterday trying to make the copy fit I had great research, local info and sidebars from Tom Bicknell and Jim Grey. Thanks guys.

I also need to find art for our train issue postcard and am contemplating an illustration, but that’s another can of worms.

Here's a couple of the cloud studies:



Plus, Mary wanted to buy my big thunderhead cloud study last week, but it was in my sketchbook, so I promised her a better version that she could frame. Here it is:



As you can see, my wash studies are loose and fun, but I still have problems when I switch to the final. Gee, I wonder if Jack Dixon has anything to say about this?

“If you focus on results, you will never change.
If you focus on change, you will get results.”
—Jack Dixon

September 20, 2006 Bonus Bonus Blog
We got a letter from Mrs. Sheb Wooley asking us to correct a mistatement in our DVD column. Here it is:

PLEASE have Mr. HENRY CABOT BECK "correct " information on my late husband SHEB WOOLEY. In your Oct. 2006 issue he gives his speil on RAWHIDE dvd.

My late Husband SHEB WOOLEY CO-STARRED FOR 7 YRS. with Clint Eastwood, and Eric Fleming. His ROLE was that of PETE NOLAN THE SCOUNT for the drive....PAUL BRINEGAR portrayed WISHBONE who was the COOK.

SHEB WOOLEY had massive success following RAWHIDE (BESIDES THE PURPLE PEOPLE EATER song) he wrote, published and recorded which to this date (including all covers of the song and re-releases has sold in excess of 100 million records.

He wrote the THEME SONG for HEE HAW which is now out on home dvd...as well as beinga regular cast member.
SHEB WOOLEY co-starred in over 100 major motion pictureas including HIGH NOON, HOOSIERS, SILVERADO, OUTLAW JOSIE WALES, WAR WAGON, HELLTOWN, RIO BRAVO; and appeared in 1000s of television programs including THE LONE RANGER, SUGARFOOT, MOD SQUAD, ETC. HE IS A MULTI-AWARD WINNING SONGWRITER AND RECORDING ARTISTS (having #1 HITS under 2 diffent names....his own and BEN COLDER the parody KING )...won CMA awards for that character.

PLEASE CORRECT my husbands credits....HE WAS ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED AND UNDERRATED ACTORS, SINGER, WRITERS, COMEDIANS to date....and ALOT OF PEOPLE MISS HIM LIKE I DO.
Thank you,
Linda S. Dotson-Wooley
Mrs. SHEB WOOLEY

Amazing. It was a one-eyed-one-horned-flying-purple-eater and it sold 100 million records. Incredible. What a guy. I had no idea (from High Noon to Hoosiers, now there's a stretch!)

"Do not forsake me oh my darlin'."
—Tex Ritter

September 20, 2006 Bonus Blog
Robert Ray is working on uploading the Wichita PSA even as I type this. As soon as he gets it on a site, I'll post the link here and you can go take a look at our efforts to save Old Cowtown.

My good friend and old Kingman bandmate, MIke Torres, has played Sun Devil Stadium twice now (50,000 people each time!). He was the featured musician at half-time, playing along with the ASU band. Mike does incredible Santana music, and more than a few in the stadium thought he was, in fact Santana. Mike told me he lost 25 pounds to do the gig because he didn't want to be "Fatana." Ha. Here's Mike rocking out at the thirty yard line:



And speaking of talented Mexicans, I sent Jorge Harada a customized Honkytonk Sue cartoon for his birthday. Jorge plays guitar in Ruby Dee and The Snakehandlers. Jorge wrote me a nice note and this photo of him posing with the cartoon:



I've been seeking out warm color schemes for The Top Secret Project. Here's a color study of one of the icons of my youth, Boulder Dam (my grandmother hated Herbert Hoover and refused to call it by the official name—Hoover Dam). I wanted to play with the warm color of the lights snaking out of the canyon and the cool green of the massive cement dam iteself. Kingman used to be know as "The Gateway to Hoover Dam," or put another way, "Have Patience, there Is A Route Out of This Hell Hole." Ha.



And here's a painting I pulled out of the Failure Pile. It's of a certain youth portrayed in the Top Secret Project and I wanted to surround him with the color of turmoil. Not sure it works, but that's why they call it a study.



"Draw what you see, not what you think you see."
—Vincent Van Google

September 20, 2006
One of the True West Moments running on The Westerns Channel has stirred up a hornet’s nest among horse people:

“Does anyone check the accuracy of the statements he makes on the Westerns Channel. For example ‘hold your horses’ has nothing to do with the manner in which horses are tied to the hitching post, but rather to imply that you are going too fast and need to slow down. I can dispute 90 percent of what Mr. Bell says and can prove it 100 percent of the time. Lets get real and make True West Magazine a TRUE statement magazine backed up with documented research facts, not an opinion that reflects one individuals need to impress the general public with their own opportunistic approach to the facts.”
—Bill

What Bill and others who have written me seem to be upset about is the lack of credit given for ground rein trained horses. Good horse trainers are proud of dismounting, dropping the reins on the ground and walking away, while the horse stays put. And according to some of these guys, the cowboy can go to the bunkhouse, take a nap, run into town and buy some beef jerky, come back, eat dinner, watch a True West Moment on The Westerns Channel, get pissed off, come out and the horse is exactly where the Kaboy left him. I, personally have never seen this phenom, but I have a half dozen Emails from trainers who claim it’s true.

I am proposing to Jeff Hildebrandt that we go to one of these ranches and do a test and video tape it.

And speaking of rein ground training, I was talking to Dave Daiss yesterday (who is one of the riders in the “Hold Your Horses” TWM) and he said he was just at a roundup down in Sonoita and during branding several local cowboys rode up, dismounted, dropped their reins and their horses casually walked away. I have a hunch our test will be quite interesting. One thing’s for certain, some of these horse guys are damn touchy about it!

During these serious times people of all faiths should remember these four religious truths:

1. Muslims do not recognize Jews as God's chosen people

2. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah

3. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian world.

4. Baptists do not recognize each other at Hooters.

Took the dogs for a bike ride this morning. Down at the end of the road, they got into the new horse arena and chased a visiting dog. Buddy thinks he’s playing, but Peaches comes in behind and really attacks the outnumbered dog, upsetting all the cutting horse women and especially the dog that’s under attack. I do my yelling technique: “Hay! Hey!” And of course that’s about as effective as, well, ground rein training, or, in this case that would be "sound leash training."

“A dog’s bark may be worse than her bite, but everyone prefers her bark.”
—Old Vaquero Saying

September 19, 2006
I just got off the phone with the San Carlos Apache Tribal Historian Dale Miles and he tells me that "Bi-jashn" is technically Apache for a widow or divorced woman, "One who already knows the intimacies of life," as Miles puts it. But, Miles went on, that through time, the term has gravitated to mean something more like a "shady lady." Interesting how some words wander ("gay" comes to mind) while others, like "cool" and "cloud canopy" are still going strong with their original connotation.

Speaking of cloud canopies, I did two loose landscapes last night and they turned out rather evocative. The first one is of Kansas clouds, which I call "Clouds Over Medicine Lodge." Here it is:



As Ed LeRoy, Rob and I motored from Caldwell to Medicine Lodge last June I was struck by the rolling hills and long roads in that strip country.

The second study is of old Route 66 at dusk, on a hot August night approaching Tucumcari. I have fond memories of coming home from Iowa every summer (1953-1966) with my mom and dad, and after spending the night somewhere in Kansas, we would usually hit New Mexico at dusk the next day, and as we approached those high desert towns (Santa Rosa, Moriarty, Albuquerque, Grants, Gallup, Holbrook, Winslow, Flagstaff, don't forget Winona), there would be this pink glow in the distance of all the motel neon. It is one of my favorite memories and this little painting captures some of that magic. I especially like the rising dust from the busy highway in the foreground, a result perhaps of engine exhaust, leaking oil pans and DeSotos pulling off the two-lane to check out the local attractions:



"Road Trip!"
—Two of my favorite words in the English language

September 18, 2006 Bonus Bonus Blog
Remember the attractive woman who wanted to see me barefoot on the blog (here's the quote): "You are a great looking guy and you look as though you have a large size pair of feet. Also, Bob, what is your foot size?"

That missive prompted this missive from a reader who wishes to remain anonymous:

Cowboy Curtis: " You know what big feet means, Pee Wee?"

"Pee Wee Herman: "No, Cowboy Curtis. What?"

Cowboy Curtis: "Big cowboy boots."

On Saturday afternoon, Kathy and I went to see The Illusionist ($13 cash, $6.50 for medium popcorn and bottle of water) at Harkins 101. I really enjoyed it. Edward Norton was very good and the Victorian settings and costuming were fantastic. Jessica Biel was beautiful and Paul Giamatti, as the police inspector, was quite rich, but the director of photography, Dick Pope, really shined.

I also got a call from Linda Frank of Light Source in Hollywood. They're doing a DVD of True Grit and she wants me and Jeb Rosebrook and Stuart Rosebrook to talk through the entire movie. And they pay us to do it!

"You get what you pay for except when you bill out your own time and you own the company."
—Old Vaquero Saying