...Ford, and John Ford." -- Orson Welles, on which directors he most admired A few years ago at GenCon SoCal, I was asked by someone ( ptevis ? macklinr ?) to provide a basic "Westerns 101" list; the Westerns you needed to have seen in order to have done the reading. After the show, I wrote it up in an email, as the tenor of our conversation may have left us prone to ethylated...

Seems there is another Western having just come out and almost passed me by completely. Appaloosa is showing in Cinema City now, and seems to have got reviewed generally well as a genre Western, with a few tweaks. I am also quite fond of Ed Harris recently, having rewatched Walker recently. Hopefully I shall manage to find time to see it before it slips out of cinemas.

More info about these titles on our website: http://www.unclehugo.com/prod/upcomingMystery.shtml Anchors Aweigh by Kathleen Bacus (Lovespell pb, 1st edition, $6.99) Windy City Knights by Michael...by Sandra Ruttan (Leisure pb, 1st edition, $7.99) Gun Work by David J. Schow (Hard Case Crime pb, 1st edition, $6.99) The Leper by Minnesota author Steve Thayer (North Star hc, 1st edition, $24.95)

I think a neighbor died. No one I knew. The ambulance was there for a while tonight, but no sirens, and no one was in a hurry to go anywhere. Now, hours and hours later, people are still standing around...but they wouldn't hear of it. Bull in a china shop. I destroy what I touch. Feel terrible. Think I'll call it a day and go to bed. The coroner's van is gone. Everyone's gone inside. It's dark

Wow, Jeremy Irons in a Western.  At least his wfie can do the autopsy.  (For those of you who are confused now: playing the coroner in V For Vendetta  is Jeremy Irons' wife.  Just in case you wanted to know.)

...didn't know, you do now! Last but not least (for now), the Hollywood Western. John Wayne and his not-so concealed weapon. As much as I would like to wow you with my extensive analysis of the genre (Westerns not concealed weapons) I actually know very little. I am just very excited about it. I went to the library the other day and borrowed about 19 books on the western and women in the westen and...

More info about these titles on our website: http://www.unclehugo.com/prod/upcomingMystery.shtml The Body in the Record Room by Joe Barone (St. Martin's Minotaur hc, 1st edition, $24.95) I Am Not... How America's Special Operations Forces Became the World's Greatest Fighting Unit by Dwight Jon Zimmerman and John D. Gresham (St. Martin's Griffin trade pb, reprint of 2007 hc, $14.95, non-fiction

I couldn't finish it.  This book was written with excuses for the bad behavior exhibited by the Maxwell Brothers.  The psychological bombs were being dropped from the very beginning of the book, rather...to anyone with a modicum of intelligence.  Show, don't tell.  Avoid this piece of clap trap like the plague. A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

Today would’ve been the 101st birthday of my favorite silver screen singing cowboy, Gene Autry. From 1934 to 1953, Gene Autry starred in over 90 films. He also maintained a busy recording schedule...” and also recorded the original hit version of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” among others. And, speaking of Rudolph, I can’t resist closing with this photo: I didn’t say a thing.  

So apparently this weekend has been the Weekend wherein Alec buys/watches westerns, be they traditional (Appaloosa), space opera hybrids (Firefly DVDs), or almost indescribably weird (Sukiyaki Western Django). Appaloosa was enjoyable and extremely well crafted, though not at all in the way I was expecting from the trailer - despite being rather minimalist in terms of its dialogue, its characterization...