All Blog Posts (3,368)

April 23, 2013

We have been so busy we have missed a few birthdays at the True West World Headquarters, so Carole set up a luncheon at El Encanto to celebrate the birthdays and say goodby to a couple folks (an intern) and hello to another staffer (hello Sheila!). Great day to be outside. Sat on the patio and had a nice leisurely lunch. I had the pescado (sea bass):

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April 23, 2013

We have an intriguing article in the next issue that makes the case that the Lone Ranger was probably based on Bass Reeves, a black peace officer. I'd love to tease Cowboys & Indians and their cover (which will be on the newsstand at the same time as ours) and at the same time piggyback on the juggernaut of Disney advertising and promotion that is going to be flowing very soon. With that said, whipped out this cover sketch this…

April 22, 2013

Just got the word from Bronzesmith two minutes ago:

Not-So-Gentle Tamer Has Been Funded And Is Going to Be Cast

We have fantastic news!!!!!!Thanks to a very generous donation from North Central University, we are able to begin casting the 10 ft tall AZ Centennial Monument “Not-So-Gentle Tamer”. Thank you to everyone who has shown their support of this historic piece that honors our great state and the women who…

April 22, 2013

Haven't been in a theater since Kathy went to Spain on January 1. So, on Saturday, after visiting Kathy's mother, we took in "The Place Beyond The Pines" which was a challenging movie but it's a very crappy title. It allegedly is a Native American name for Schenectady, New York (it's what the name allegedly means in Mohawk or some northeaster tribe's language). Anyway, the movie is quite ambitious, too long, but, in parts, quite mesmerizing. For one…

Sad day in the Hogge household.  Our DVR decided to give up and along with it went my entire collection of the 1982 series, Bret Maverick. Always one of my favorites, I was like a kid at Christmas back in 2010 when the Western Channel brought it back and ran every episode. The bad thing is, I have never been able to find it on DVD, not even the pilot. The Lazy Ace was a light hearted good movie on its own. It was my "go to" when there was nothing to watch and my wife has always liked it as…

Hell on Wheels shifts to Saturday nights, Season 3 debuts Aug. 3

http://blogs.calgaryherald.com/2013/04/15/hell-on-wheels-shifts-to-saturday-nights-season-3-debuts-aug-3/

Excerpt:

“A new episode of Hell on Wheels on Saturday night after a full day of western fan favourites is going to be like the saddle on top of the horse,” said AMC…

I would like to offer condolences to all of our friends in the Boston area and to all of our friends in the Waco area!  Will this ever end???

Hi folks,

Well only a week before my good lady and myself hit the States on our big trip, our planning has gone well, we have many cool historical sites and activities planned. Thanks to all who helped with suggestions.

I am having trouble though picking a horse riding activity, so many to choose from. When we are in Deadwood SD or Cody WY would be our choice for this, anything from two hours to the whole day. I have never even sat on a horse let alone ridden one (insert…

April 19, 2013

This morning two biker gents (they ride Harleys and visit Old West sites) came into the True West World Headquarters and wanted to meet me. After a pleasant discussion about all things Old West I asked them how they discovered True West magazine and here are their answers:



"I was staying at the Wortley Hotel in Lincoln, New Mexico and they had a True West in the room. I tore out the subscription card and have been a subscriber ever since (three…

April 18, 2013

Drove over to Wickenburg late this morning for a speech at the Desert Caballeros Museum. Took the Lake Pleasant Road (Highway 74) and gave myself an hour and a half for the 60 mile run. At about the fifteen mile mark I saw the dreaded electronic sign: "Road Work Ahead. Expect Long Delays." Turns out they have been repaving the road with rubberized asphalt and taking it in sections. The good news is that the rubberized asphalt is highly reflective and…

April 18, 2013

Worked this morning on a Fifties Fantasy Babe. Every 14-year-old boy has a fantasy "girl" he desires. In the days of my youth, she had to have Big Hair and big, uh, eyes. Anyway, seems somewhat embarrassing now, but, amazingly this caricature still turns my crank, as my dad liked to say.

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April 17, 2013

Last week, when Kathy and I were walking around Sevilla, Spain, I spied this little store on a side street:

Antonio's Sombrero Shop got my attention. Here's a shot in the window:

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April 16, 2013

After getting bumped off my British Airlines connection in Heathrow and a fitful night at a "free" hotel, I managed to catch a cab with a fellow bumpee, a sweetheart of a lady from Brazil, I managed to get through security by 5:20 and made it onto an Iberian flight to Madrid at 6:20 in the morning.

It was a packed plane (turns out everyone was going to attend Semana Santa in Sevilla, which was my destination as well, thus the real reason…

April 15, 2013

Based on dumb luck, Rick Steves and constant searching, we found quite a few spectacular Spanish bodegas on our two week road trip to the Extremadura region of Spain. As I mentioned, any bodega, which is a combo-neighborhood bar-cafe, worth its salt has ham parts hanging over the bar, like this one in Sevilla.

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April 13, 2013

Got home last night after traveling all day. It was a 10-hour-flight from Madrid to Chicago, then another three-and-a-half hour flight on to Phoenix. Add in the customs interrogation, the delays and the security jostling and, well, we're beat.

But very happy.

Great trip across the Extremadura countryside, reading Spanish history all the way (and all the way home on the plane). I keep waiting for it to get better but each…

May 2013 cover, who is the person and is there a link to the picture.

The kerchief tied around his neck is intriguing. Are there any other examples of uncommon knots for kerchiefs being used as a tie?

April 10, 2013

After a delightful tour of the Andalusia and Extremadura regions of Spain we landed in downtown Madrid this afternoon on our final leg of our Spanish adventures. One thing is clear: we are from the New World visiting the Old World, although our New World, in Arizona at least, is starting to feel old to me. I remember a time before "interstates and shopping malls mucked up the fruited plains," as Richard Denby so aptly put it in his review of the movie…

April 9, 2013

Yesterday we drove the length of Extremadura searching for the Seven Cities of Bold and Cowboy Ground Zero. Since I was a lad I have heard tales of the Spanish Conquistadors and their palatial homes built from the spoils of their conquests in the New World. But, alas, like their quest for the Seven Cities of Gold, the gold laden homes in the William Randolph Hearst mode turned out to be pretty much non-existent.

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April 7, 2013

Kathy and I are staying in a castle in the town of Zafra, which is in the Extremadura region of Spain. It dates from the 1400s and was converted into a hotel in the 1920s. It's a big sucker and, yes, that is me standing in the shadows at bottom:

We awoke to…