1954 was an interesting year for American popular music. Charlie Parker was coming to the end of his earthly run, but his frequent collaborator Miles Davis was kicking his own drug habit and finding the distinctive voice that would open … Continue reading
I’d never before gotten any books from Iceland but today a package arrived from Reykjavik containing a set of The Complete Sagas Of Icelanders — the first more or less complete English translation of all the Icelandic Sagas along with … Continue reading
Probably the best thing you can say about Django Unchained is that it’s almost impossible to say anything about it at all. It’s an utterly incoherent work of art, aesthetically, conceptually, emotionally. What’s odd about it is that it has … Continue reading
Western movies used to be referred to, usually dismissively, as horse operas. It’s not a bad term for them. Like classical operas, they might have silly plots or bad acting, but these things might be redeemed by beautiful music, or … Continue reading
He turned the greatest show on earth into a circus of horrors — don’t you just hate people who do that? With thanks to PZ for pointing me towards this wondrous poster . . . Click on the image to … Continue reading
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On my second day in Texas, Hilmar hosted a party at his ranch. Above, the catered food arrives from La Fogata, a great Mexican restaurant in San Antonio. We hauled it over to El Pescador, a fish camp on a … Continue reading
Today, prosecutor Juan Martinez finished up his cross-examination of Jodi Arias in her first-degree murder trial. He continued badgering her, asking ambiguous or compound questions that allowed him to jump on her, like a rabid ferret, whichever way she answered. … Continue reading
It may just be the presumption of a fiction writer, but I feel I have a pretty good idea of how and why Jodi Arias happened to kill her sometime lover Travis Alexander on 4 June 2008, for which killing … Continue reading
A new customer review of my book on Amazon: A Fantastic And Fun Read! Can’t say I’m an expert on western fiction. I can’t remember reading any before this but I do love great stories and these are great stories. … Continue reading
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There is nothing else than now. There is neither yesterday, certainly, nor is there any tomorrow. How old must you be before you know that? There is only now, and if now is only two days, then two days is … Continue reading
Ernest Hemingway once observed that all modern American literature proceeds from one book, Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. It could be said with even greater justice that all of what we now call Western fiction proceeds from one book, Owen Wister’s … Continue reading
Deirdre Zahl, the wife of old friend John Zahl, has a business in Charleston, South Carolina called Candy Shop Vintage which specializes in vintage mid-20th-Century costume jewelry — some of which has shown up on the TV show Mad Men. (Her … Continue reading
Sure, you’ve bought this as an e-book. You’ve probably sent a few copies out as gifts to your friends. But it’s just not the same as placing a real book version on your coffee table, to impress visitors, or reading … Continue reading