The Meanest, Roughest, Toughest Hombre

Bugs Bunny tricks Yosemite Sam in Bugs Bunny Rides Again (1947)

In 1945, on May 5th, the cartoon, Hare Trigger, was released, introducing my favorite Bugs Bunny antagonist, Yosemite Sam.

Sam's blustery anger and gun-happy personality were always good for a laugh. Unlike Elmer Fudd, he was a villain, not a bumbling huntsman. Whether holding up a train or terrorizing a town, Yosemite Sam was always looking to cause trouble. And I found it satisfying to see the tables turned.

Sam might say "Why I'll blast the varmint wide open!" but he'd usually end up on the receiving end of the blast. ;-)

Ecstasy of Gold

"Ecstasy of Gold" scene from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)


The creative alchemy that turns an average movie into a good movie, a good movie into a great movie, a great movie into an all-time classic, is generally found in the music, the unvoiced sounds that capture the spirit of the most memorable of scenes.

There are many great cinematic score composers, but my favorite might be Ennio Morricone. There may be composers with greater technical skill. There may be films that have stronger scores. But I'd say that his music is the most distinctive, yet appropriate to the movie. His genius lies in merging his personal aesthetic into the subject matter, creating a work that expresses the cinematic premise in a musical articulation unique to his compositional voice.

Oftentimes, movie music is "incidental" or ornamental, not an integral part of the scene. That's the situation with much "soundtrack" based scores in contemporary films. Obviously, production companies want a nice set of singles to release on the side for added revenue. There's nothing wrong with that, but it loses the sense of authenticity and coherence that a real musical score brings to the movie.

Detail from a promotional poster for The Mission (1986)

So, let's wish Ennio Morricone a Happy 83rd Birthday and listen to some great music.

Freight Fright

"G" scale model train track set up among the cacti.

Ever since I was a child, model train sets have ignited my imagination, inspiring me into daydreams of foreign lands or past eras, serving as sculpted tableaux upon which my fantasy may ride the rails across the boundaries of time and space.

So, it was with great enthusiasm that I had the opportunity to make a quick visit to the model train show at the South Coast Botanic Gardens. There were many fine sets on display in the primary exhibition hall, some with a Halloween theme, but I was especially thrilled to see that a few tracks had been set out in the Cactus Garden. Of course, I adore fabricated terrain and admire the design skills required to create a quality land set, but watching the trains course their way through real cacti, over authentic ground, and around sets arranged within a natural environment is a rare treat, specifically in that it can't be unpacked from a garage cabinet for a Sunday afternoon. ;-)

I've never had the happy conjunction of free time, disposable cash, and ample set space to pursue the model train hobby myself, but, if I ever get to a comfortable state of retirement, it's on my wish list. As a table top gamer, I love designing encounter settings, creating them on the cheap with paper and colored pencils. There is something exhilarating to this playful bit of world-building.

"G" scale train traverses a land with enormous flora.

I've been considering starting a new blog to focus on my game-related interests, which are a bit too niche to share here at Paideia. It might be cool to share various setting design posts with you all. We'll see if I have sufficient time to do a proper job of it. ;-)

Among the Purple Sage

Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia Leucantha) in front of the Huntington Art Gallery


I read Zane Grey's classic Western novel, Riders of the Purple Sage, when I was little more than a child. I had no clue as to how purple sage actually looked, but my imagination was more than willing to envision a landscape painted every shade from puce to periwinkle.

As I grew older and began to draw botanical studies, I finally came across "purple sage" in the form of Mexican Bush Sage. It was a shocking experience because, as a native of Southern California, I had been living amongst it for most of my life!!! It wasn't some mythic flora from the remote wastelands of Utah; it was in my neighbor's front yard!

So, whenever I come across a beautiful display of Mexican Bush Sage, it always takes me back to both the whimsy of youth and that moment of revelation where the legendary is recognized in the quotidian.

Close view of Mexican Bush Sage

But, just because the purple sage has become a commonplace object, doesn't mean that it has lost its place within my imagination. If anything, having a firm mental image of the sage brings greater depths to my mental meanderings. ;-)

Neo-Feminist Road Movie

Twenty years ago, Thelma & Louise hit the theaters. The movies starts off as a "buddy movie" as Thelma (Geena Davis), a housewife, and Louise (Susan Sarandon), a single waitress, head out for a two-day fishing trip in a '66 Thunderbird. But on their way, troubles occur that send the ladies onto a path of violence and lawlessness, transforming it into a neo-western "outlaw" story. The film's plot is vigorous and dynamic as the protagonists turn from being helpless victims of a misogynistic society to empowered deciders of their own destiny.

I remember when the Friday night when it opened. My group of friends was deciding what we were going to see at the theaters that evening. I voted for Backdraft, an arson-based action thriller starring Kurt Russell. The other two males of the group voted for Hudson Hawk, a stupid action comedy starring Bruce Willis, an actor that I absolutely can't stand. The three women of our group kept a united vote for Thelma & Louise. And so the ladies won the night.

Expecting two hours of man-hating, I settled in for the movie. (Anyways, it couldn't be worse than Hudson Hawk, right?)

The story surprised me.

High Noon

On this date in 1894, Dimitri Tiomkin was born. I'm not a big fan of his music. It does the job, but, among the early giants of the cinematic genre, he's not ranked highly in my book. However, there are a few pieces that masterpieces.

Perhaps the greatest of them is "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling" from High Noon. It captures the entire spirit of the film. I makes clear the human anxiety of abandonment and the inexorable pressure of duty. Yeah, it's a bit cheesy by modern standards, but that's more of a negative reflection upon modern times than upon Tiomkin's composition.

Here's a vid:

There are other noteworthy works, such as the theme to Rawhide:

Anyways, here's a link to Dimitri Tiomkin's Wikipedia page.

Here's a link to the High Noon Wikipedia page.

And here's Rawhide!!!

Enjoy! Yeehaw!!!