CowboyLands http://cowboylands.net/blog From the Land of Cowboys to You; or, The Modern Buckaroo's Guide to the World Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:40:17 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Justified My Love; or, Elmore Leonard Updates Western Hero http://cowboylands.net/blog/2012/02/justified-my-love-or-elmore-leonard-updates-western-hero/ http://cowboylands.net/blog/2012/02/justified-my-love-or-elmore-leonard-updates-western-hero/#comments Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:40:17 +0000 bucko http://cowboylands.net/blog/?p=2391 Silence is golden. Combine that with a serious western hero, and you have gunpowder to burn.

(Just one of the many promos pics of Olyphant aiming a gun. Note the un-western tie.) One of the best modern takes on the classic laconic western hero is U.S. Marshal Rayland Givens, from the master of gab, Elmore Leonard. Leonard’s dialogue–from . . . → Read More: Justified My Love; or, Elmore Leonard Updates Western Hero]]> http://cowboylands.net/blog/2012/02/justified-my-love-or-elmore-leonard-updates-western-hero/feed/ 0 Shut up; or, The Eternal Silence of the Western Hero http://cowboylands.net/blog/2012/02/shut-up-or-the-eternal-silence-of-the-western-hero/ http://cowboylands.net/blog/2012/02/shut-up-or-the-eternal-silence-of-the-western-hero/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:58:16 +0000 bucko http://cowboylands.net/blog/?p=2378 It’s a well-worn stereotype that western heroes don’t talk about their feelings. But it’s not that they don’t have them. Western heroes are deep wells of emotion, actually. If you flicked a pebble into one of those wells, that little “plink” would echo and re-echo a thousandfold-fold-fold-fold-fold…

Spoiler alert: Coop gets the gal in The Virginian.

Take . . . → Read More: Shut up; or, The Eternal Silence of the Western Hero]]> http://cowboylands.net/blog/2012/02/shut-up-or-the-eternal-silence-of-the-western-hero/feed/ 0 On the Fringe; or, Wearing the West http://cowboylands.net/blog/2012/02/on-the-fringe-or-wearing-the-west/ http://cowboylands.net/blog/2012/02/on-the-fringe-or-wearing-the-west/#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:12:09 +0000 bucko http://cowboylands.net/blog/?p=2354 I get two questions every day as I ride the high country writing a novel (don’t ask about progress, please),

as I work hard (thank you, all the editors I work for–if I could, I would buy you all cayuses),

and as I look for  awesome land to purchase out west for my own little rancheroo . . . → Read More: On the Fringe; or, Wearing the West]]> http://cowboylands.net/blog/2012/02/on-the-fringe-or-wearing-the-west/feed/ 4 Brand Fires on the Fridge; or An Out-West Pin-Up Souvenir http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/12/brand-fires-on-the-fridge-or-an-out-west-pin-up-souvenir/ http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/12/brand-fires-on-the-fridge-or-an-out-west-pin-up-souvenir/#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:55:24 +0000 bucko http://cowboylands.net/blog/?p=2349 What to do when your long-awaited field trip to the West didn’t produce lanky cowboys dropping into your lap?

Buy one.

Take this tall glass of cool water I found at a Long Beach bookstore.

A twofer special from Monarch, from the collection of es

Monarch Books doesn’t reveal the illustrator of this western by King of Cowboy Lit . . . → Read More: Brand Fires on the Fridge; or An Out-West Pin-Up Souvenir]]> http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/12/brand-fires-on-the-fridge-or-an-out-west-pin-up-souvenir/feed/ 7 Circle the Wagons!; or, More Advice from a Besieged Writer http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/10/circle-the-wagons-or-more-advice-from-a-besieged-writer/ http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/10/circle-the-wagons-or-more-advice-from-a-besieged-writer/#comments Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:31:08 +0000 bucko http://cowboylands.net/blog/?p=2321 Steer the rattling wagons into a tight circle! Protect the women and children! Draw your six-shooters as whooping Indians on painted war ponies streak over the rise of a hill!

Look sharp, Tonto! This isn’t just a tired western stereotype, it’s a Silver-Screen Western Hero Equation!

c. 2011 es cowboylands

In reel life: Earnest pioneers moving to promised . . . → Read More: Circle the Wagons!; or, More Advice from a Besieged Writer]]> http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/10/circle-the-wagons-or-more-advice-from-a-besieged-writer/feed/ 2 Fast Times at Liberty Valance High; or The Reel-Life Politics of Ford’s Anti-Western http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/09/fast-times-at-liberty-valance-high-or-the-reel-life-politics-of-fords-anti-western/ http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/09/fast-times-at-liberty-valance-high-or-the-reel-life-politics-of-fords-anti-western/#comments Sun, 18 Sep 2011 20:05:15 +0000 bucko http://cowboylands.net/blog/?p=2305 I knew where it was going. Anyone who’s done his or her western homework would.

There are two American archetypes that were sometimes played against each other in old Westerns.

The egghead Eastern lawyer who lacks the skills or stomach for a gunfight is contrasted with the tough Western rancher and ace shot who has no patience for . . . → Read More: Fast Times at Liberty Valance High; or The Reel-Life Politics of Ford’s Anti-Western]]> http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/09/fast-times-at-liberty-valance-high-or-the-reel-life-politics-of-fords-anti-western/feed/ 9 A Silver-Screen Western Hero’s Journey; or, The Rough and Ready Life of an Unpublished Author http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/09/a-silver-screen-western-heros-journey-or-the-rough-and-ready-life-of-an-unpublished-author/ http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/09/a-silver-screen-western-heros-journey-or-the-rough-and-ready-life-of-an-unpublished-author/#comments Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:30:50 +0000 bucko http://cowboylands.net/blog/?p=2296 Some Silver-Screen Western Heroes have big pecs and holsters hanging alongside their brass balls.

The Silver-Screen Western Antihero

Some have breasts that don’t sag and thighs without cellulite, even if they try to wreak vengeance in a poncho.

Gratiuitous Raquel Welch photo

All ride into town and act all aloof and lo! They get the girl and kick the . . . → Read More: A Silver-Screen Western Hero’s Journey; or, The Rough and Ready Life of an Unpublished Author]]> http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/09/a-silver-screen-western-heros-journey-or-the-rough-and-ready-life-of-an-unpublished-author/feed/ 2 Wild, 24/7; or The West of Atlantic City http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/09/wild-247-or-the-west-of-atlantic-city/ http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/09/wild-247-or-the-west-of-atlantic-city/#comments Wed, 07 Sep 2011 01:04:12 +0000 bucko http://cowboylands.net/blog/?p=2284 Nothing makes my day more than drifting through a town that has mojo already and finding a shrine to the West. Like discovering the Mithraic alter beneath a Roman church, it means that I have uncovered a power so potent it can’t be hidden.

So here was Atlantic City: slots, mobsters, boardwalk, 1940s-sailors-on-leave / bad-1980s-haircut feel.

And . . . → Read More: Wild, 24/7; or The West of Atlantic City]]> http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/09/wild-247-or-the-west-of-atlantic-city/feed/ 2 Drifting Along; or, Tumbling Tumbleweeds ‘R’ Me http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/07/drifting-along-or-tumbling-tumbleweeds-r-me/ http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/07/drifting-along-or-tumbling-tumbleweeds-r-me/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2011 19:13:46 +0000 bucko http://cowboylands.net/blog/?p=2276 The Dude totally got them. Roy Rogers harmonized for them in their self-titled theme song by Bob Nolan. The glamorous Supremes sang about them. Jack Palance recited their theme song. The Library of Congress, in 2010, honored them with their song’s inclusion into the National Registry.

Seeeeeeeeeeeee them tumbling down Pledging their love to . . . → Read More: Drifting Along; or, Tumbling Tumbleweeds ‘R’ Me]]> http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/07/drifting-along-or-tumbling-tumbleweeds-r-me/feed/ 6 Bonanza’s True North; or, Re-Orienting to the Cartwrights http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/06/bonanzas-true-north-or-re-orienting-to-the-cartwrights/ http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/06/bonanzas-true-north-or-re-orienting-to-the-cartwrights/#comments Fri, 24 Jun 2011 21:29:09 +0000 bucko http://cowboylands.net/blog/?p=2266 Ponderosa Ranch meant wholesome family entertainment with guns and cowboys, and first lick of flame burning up the hand-drawn map of the ranch meant “Bring in your TV dinners, kids, Bonanza is starting!”

Ponderosa Ranch (Autry Collections Photo)

Check out the cultural landmark on display at the Autry National Center, a must-see museum in Los Angeles, chockfull . . . → Read More: Bonanza’s True North; or, Re-Orienting to the Cartwrights]]> http://cowboylands.net/blog/2011/06/bonanzas-true-north-or-re-orienting-to-the-cartwrights/feed/ 4