Manic Expression

Jak: Well, I’m doing a blog on westerns. You know what that means: CROSSOVER!

So join me in welcoming my friend and expert on all things westerns, the BigBlackHatMan!

BBHM: Great to be here with you Jak.

Jak: Seeing as you all clicked on the title, I’m going to assume that you already know that we are going to be discussing the topic of weird west. But I’m also sure some of you are wonderin...

Rage Quitting Life

From the title of this article, one may ascertain that this is going to be some dark piece about suicide, but you would be mostly wrong. In fact, I think this will have a very strong upside. The phrase actually came from an interview with Wil Wheaton. Wheaton was talking about something ...

Recently, James announced he was giving his series, What If They Remade… a break, and sort of challenged the rest of us to give it a shot. I have my own take on it and thought I would share it.

Hell’s Hinges was released in 1916 which makes this film nearly 100 years old. As one may guess, it has some elements that are dated, but some of the themes from this William S. Hart classic are still relative today. Clint Eastwoo...

Support Your Classic Westerns: Lonesome Dove Wrap-Up and Other Stuff

So, I promised a third part to the Lonesome Dove retrospective I wrote two parts to. It is not going to happen. The reason is simple. I had planned to do a third part where I rated the top five saddest moments from the story,...

Support Your Classic Westerns: Lonesome Dove Retrospective

Part 2-Larry McMurtry’s Writing and Translation to the Screen

In part one of this look back at Lonesome Dove, I skirted around something I want to spend a lot of time talking about. Of course, I would re...

Support Your Classic Westerns: Lonesome Dove Retrospective

Part 1-The Background, Story and Two Incarnations

It has been awhile for SYCW, but here is a good reason to bring it back.

I am not sure where this story came from, but I have been inspired to write lately.  I may do more if I have the inspiration to so.  I hope you enjoy this little story.

Refurbishing a Rocking Chair

by Mark

“Those things will kill you.”

Big deal! He looked down at the cigarette in his hand as the voice of his wife echoed in his head. She had told him that for...

Ode to Sydney (Secret Santa for Sydney)

by BigBlackHatMan

I lot of you probably know that this Sydney is my secret Santa, and I already gave one gift by doing a commentary on her episode of Behind the Webcam. However, that was just half of what I had planned. As you may have guessed, this is the other half. (If you did not guess that, you should really work on your deductive skills.) This was actually the first thing I ...

Well, my friend. I know I'm late but happy second anniversary. I wanted to do something to celebrate for you and this short instantly came to mind. So, I hope that you enjoy my look at A Cowboy Needs A Horse.

The Plot

The short opens on a little boy who is fast asleep in his bed and then it enters his dream and we see that he is dreaming of being a cowboy in the old west. With a clever touch, his b...

The Education of BigBlackHatMan

by Mark

Yesterday marked two years since I began blogging which I confess was a fact that I totally overlooked. Yes, I was so busy trying to churn out two episodes of Behind the Webcam

Why I Don’t Do Halloween

by Mark aka BigBlackHatMan

I have returned from my vacation and will be hitting my stride again on the web site after a week of relaxing and forgetting my troubles, not that I have many. Upon my return, I felt the need to share some thoughts with my friends here on the site. I know Halloween is coming up and many people are preparing special projects for the event, but I feel the need to tell you g...

Country Sounds: Johnny Cash’s American Recordings VI: Ain’t No Grave

by BigBlackHatMan

We have finally reached the end of a great series of albums by the late Johnny Cash with Ain’t No Grave which was released six and a half years after his death. It was released...

Country Sounds: Johnny Cash’s American Recordings V A Hundred Highways

by BigBlackHatMan

From May 2003 to September 2003, Johnny Cash worked on recording songs with Rick Rubin before his death. He supposedly did some of the songs from his own bed since he was too ill to leave his home. Rubin said some fifty songs were produced. From thes...

Country Sounds: Johnny Cash’s American IV The Man Comes Around

by BigBlackHatMan

In the year 2002, I was a sophomore in college and thought of myself as someone who was becoming the ultimate Johnny Cash fan. Of course, I was delusional. I had not even heard of the American Recordings series at that ...

Country Sounds: Johnny Cash’s American Recordings III Solitary Man

by BigBlackHatMan

In my journey through Cash’s resurgence during the late 90s and early 00s, we come to his third album in the American series, the 2000 release Solitary Man. Rubin and Cash were being so hi...

SYCW: The Ten Worst Westerns (I Have Seen)

by BigBlackHatMan

Hey everybody…ugh… Man, I have been suffering since the fall allergy season kicked in. It has messed with my sleeping, my breathing, and even my voice. It makes me happy that I took this time to go on hiatus from my video making since I have not been up to it. I guess I will write an article with the time I am resting since I do not want to leave t...

SYCW: Top Ten White Hat Moments

by BigBlackHatMan

When a lot of people think about Westerns, they often envision a very traditional scene of a cowboy riding in to save the day wearing a white hat and riding a white horse. However, that is rare. Of course, there are a lot of heroic moments in Westerns. Even if they do not fit that mold, they are out there, so let’s look at my top ten list of heroic moments from Westerns.

Let me set up...

Country Sounds: Johnny Cash’s American Recordings II Unchained

by BigBlackHatMan

After Rick Rubin and Johnny Cash had great critical success with their first album, it was only natural that t...

Nebraska State Fair and Stuff

by BigBlackHatMan

Over my weekend, I went to the Nebraska State Fair, and at one time, I said I would take some footage and put it up on YouTube. I confess that I did not. I arrived there with my camera and changed my mind. I just wanted to hang out with my cousins and enjoy the State Fair. The excuse is thin, but it is what I got. Th...

Country Sounds: Johnny Cash’s American Recordings

by BigBlackHatMan

In my first two additions of country sounds, I covered an obscure group known as The Little Willies, but I thought I would move on to an artist with a little more reputation. If a person has followed me...