Wild West Land Blog

“Were you really chased out of town by those American rednecks, or was it made up for the telly?”

That’s apparently the question asked a lot lately of Top Gear host Richard Hammond. It’s all in connection with one recent episode of the hit UK motoring show:

In the programme in question, we wanted to know if it was possible to buy a car and drive across a chunk of the USA for less money than the cost of traditional “fly-drive” schemes offered by holiday companies.

Rather foolishly the boys decided to paint slogans on the sides of their vehicles, rude/crude slogans that upset the Alabama locals enough to reach for their guns as The Times reports in an excerpt from Hammond’s forthcoming book, Or Is That Just Me?.

Back in 1993 I drove round California and Nevada in a beige 1977 Chevy Impala ‘cop car’ with ‘FBI’ marked on the doors with black electricians tape. We got some odd looks for that but no death threats!

“The Internet has finally taken on the characteristics of the Wild West where no one is to be trusted”

So said Sukhdev Singh, senior security consultant from IBM Internet security systems. It’s a dangerous world out there so make sure you’ve got your sixguns strapped on (read anti-virus/phishing/malware software).

It’s almost a year since I wrote about Annie Oakley, “the first American female superstar” and how she’s been portrayed in the media over the last 100 years.

The post remains the most popular on this blog with many people still interested in finding out just how one of the stars of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show looked all those years ago.

So with a bit of digging over at the Library of Congress archives, I’ve tracked down two new Annie Oakley pictures - the first was taken in 1899 by Richard K. Fox and is titled:

ANNIE OAKLEY - Famous Rifle Shot and Holder of the Police Gazette Championship Medal

The black and white photo does bear some resemblance to the Wild West Show promotional poster. The hat, dress, stockings and footwear certainly match, as does the chest full of medals.

But I can’t help but think the artist who drew the poster used a little ‘Photoshop magic’ - normally associated with modern magazine cover celebrities - long before the age of computer trickery.

The face is a little thinner and the nose a little more prominent, perhaps suggesting feminine beauty was a key ingredient of circus show marketing even back in the 1890s.

It’s circus acts that also form the centrepiece of the next picture, an illustration created by artist Peter Newell in 1894 to illustrate a story published in the March 31st issue of Harper’s Weekly:

The amateur circus at Nutley

Newell’s drawing illustrates an article reporting on an amateur circus performed by the residents of Nutley, New Jersey to raise funds for the establishment of a branch of the Red Cross Association. Their star performer was Nutley’s celebrated resident, Annie Oakley.

A gentleman wearing a hat and spectacles stands before a hoop held by two clowns. The scene depicted in the center of the hoop is of Annie Oakley, standing on horseback, giving a demonstration of her shooting ability. Outside the hoop are other scenes of circus acts such as acrobats, fencing, an animal on horseback, and a dancing bear.

Here’s a close-up view of the central part of the illustration showing Oakley shooting at an unseen target whilst standing on a moving horse.

It’s a truly impressive feat and one I can’t think would be allowed under modern entertainment laws given the potential risks to the audience and performer!

Wish I’d spotted this South Carolina political ‘rally’ earlier, it certainly raised the profile of Dean Allen and his ambitions for office. An AK-47 is an alternative sweepstakes prize to the kind of tombola raffles I buy into:

How about this for a novel way to get people into recycling?

The triplepundit blog is covering the Going Green Film Festival which takes place in Beverly Hills, California in April 2010 and a particularly quirky approach to increase eco awareness amongst US audiences:

David Dibble, an LA-based filmmaker and his crew are re-enacting the wild, wild west. With an eco-conscious marshal. “It’s a typical high-noon Clint Eastwood situation, where you’ve got a marshal and a bad guy’s coming into town,” Dibble said. But in this town, the outlaws recycle.

… watching iconic figures of the wild west recycling old guns, shells and cigars is sure to be memorable and puts the environment top of mind.

So there I was on Sunday moaning about public sector training jollies, what with two UK HR staff off on an ‘equine leadership session’.

Today though I may have to eat my hat - it appears there’s genuine logic in undertaking training in a horsey environment.

Just look at the fine folks at Cowboy Leaders, 50 miles west of Salt Lake City, Utah, who have launched an Anti-Tweet Business Retreat for executives strung out on information overload, looking for a way to improve their leadership skills:

The American West was shaped by cowboys. Cowboys are tough, hard-working, say-it-like-it-is people. They understand the value of hard work and see everything through to completion.

To get work done the cowboy must trust his ability to build strong, working relationships with his horses and his fellow cowboys. We will teach you the tools of the trade and help you understand how this will make you a better leader.

With courses titled Cowboy Up & Lead, Saddle Up for Success and Ride For the Brand I want to be sent on some management training, cowboy style.

And when they say ‘No tweeting allowed’ at the ranch, they mean it - just watch the video to see technophobe Deuce in action: