CowboySpirit.TV - This week's music spotlight highlights the great Johnny Cash.
The song tells a folk tale of a cowboy who has a vision of red-eyed, steel-hooved cattle thundering across the sky, being chased by the spirits of damned cowboys. One warns him that if he does not change his ways, he will be doomed to join them, forever "trying to catch the Devil's herd across these endless skies". Jones said that he had been told the story when he was 12 years old by an old cowboy friend.
Orginally written by Stan Jones, you can't deny that Cash's deep bass-baritone is perfect for this ghostly tale of a cowboy’s version of Hell.
CowboySpirit.TV - 2012 was a wonderful "getting out of the blocks" year for Cowboy Spirit. We made our first feature film, Cowboy Spirit the Movie, and established our brand, growing our community significantly in the process.
Behind the scenes, we established our operating structure:
Cowboy Spirit Films is our film and video production division led by Bill Miller,
Cowboy Spirit Press, is our book publishing division,
Cowboy Spirit Music, is our music publishing division, and
Cowboy Spirit TV is our overarching online distribution platform to help distribute all of our creative projects.
However, as exciting as 2012 was, 2013 is the year we plan to really hit our stride. Not only will we be actively marketing the Cowboy Spirit movie, we will be developing our next film, Little Joe the Wrangler, based on the classic Jack Thorpe poem of the same name with an eye toward a 2014 release.
As part of the development of the Little Joe film, Cowboy Spirit Press will be publishing a companion novel of the same name on a variety of platforms, most notably on Amazon's Kindle platform, as well as in paperback form. Look for excerpts from the book on the Cowboy Spirit Blog along the way. We also have a number of short stories in the works, some of which will be blogged as well.
Also, we have plans to create and publish regular video blog entries as part of our overall community building efforts in the coming year. After all, we're in the film and video business, and so it's only natural that video should be an integral part of how we engage with our fans.
From Cowboy Spirit Music, stay tuned for details about the release of the official soundtrack from the Cowboy Spirit movie, featuring music written for the film by Ayla Brown and the team of Joe Hier and Ronny David.
Cowboy Spirit Movie
The year ahead is important for us as we move forward with distributing Cowboy Spirit and do our best to make it a financial success, in addition to being a creative success. Slowly but surely we will be rolling the film out onto various online streaming platforms in the first half of the new year, starting with Amazon, followed by iTunes and Hulu among others.
In addition, we will be experimenting with advertising driven viewership platforms, and putting together a selective theatrical schedule which will be targeted to areas where we already have a core Cowboy Spirit community presence. We'll be asking for leaders to take on the role of "fan wrangler", helping get out the word about screenings in those communities and making each one an event worth attending.
We'll also be looking for friends in our community that are willing to become affiliates and share in the financial success of the film by sharing news about the film with their friends and fans. You can find out more about how you can can become a Cowboy Spirit affiliate HERE.
We are so gratified by the overwhelmingly positive response the film has received from those who have seen it. Bill and I are very proud of our first project together and very excited that it has brought smiles to the faces of those who've had the opporunity to watch it.
However, simply stated, our great challenge this year and beyond will be to get the movie seen by as many folks as possible. To meet that challenge, we ask for your help in getting the word out and helping build our community. Please share and tell all your friends about the film and our other work. Thanks, as always, for being a part of Cowboy Spirit.
-Mike Allison
Order Your Copy of Cowboy Spirit on DVD Today!
CowboySpirit.TV - We have another great article from ShotDoc.com, "Spirit of the Game--An Introduction to Cowboy Action Shooting." This week he gives the spill on cowboy live action shooting.
As Cowboy Action Shooting evolved as a sport, an important attitude was adopted in Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) competition referred to as the "Spirit of the Game." The SASS Shooters Handbook defines this spirit as fully participating in what the competition asks. Simply stated, it means that you do not look for ways to create an advantage out of what is or is not stated as a rule or shooting procedure. Skipping a step in match instructions because a five second penalty is less than the time it would take to perform the step is not in keeping with the Spirit of the Game.
The Spirit of the Game contributes to the sense of fair play and good sportmanship. It also helps everyone to remember that having fun is as important as shooting well. National and regional SASS matches will almost universally give a Spirit of the Games award to the participant who most exemplifies this spirit during the competition. Winners usually have cheerfully helped with match activities as well as helped other participants. In fact, helping one another in sharing shooting technique ideas, offering suggestions for gun purchases, answering questions, and just sharing experiences is characteristic of virtually all matches, whether at a local or national level, a frequent and pleasant observation made by visitors to a match.
A good way to learn more about Cowboy Action Shooting is to visit a match, observe, and ask questions. Don't be surprised if your questions result in an enthusiastic response giving you more information than you asked for. Visitors are always welcome at matches...and at no charge. As a visitor, you are encouraged to dress in cowboy clothes (bring your hat and boots if you have them) but that is more to help you feel part of the fun. More important is the opportunity you give competitors to let them introduce you to their sport.
With hundreds of local SASS clubs all over the United States (and Canada, Australia, and throughout Europe) there should be a club close to you. Go to the SASS website to find a club near you (see listing of Affiliated Clubs at that site). Many listed clubs have their own websites with directions to match sites, when the club schedules its matches, and other information on club activities.
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CowboySpirit.TV - It’s amazing to think that it’s been three months since we wrapped the filming of the Cowboy Spirit Movie. In those three months, our Director, Bill Miller, and Editor, Mike Van Orman, have clocked untold hours polishing, buffing, and re-polishing the film to make it the best if can possibly be.
I’m convinced that you’ll agree that the finished movie will be exactly what we hoped it could be - a good story, well told. So....I’m pleased and excited to announce that the Cowboy Spirit Movie will premiere on Thursday, November 29, 2012 at the Orpheum Theatre in Foxboro, MA. While the premiere is partly intended to be a thank you to our amazing and passionate cast and crew, we will be offering a limited number of tickets to the public. For our fans in the Cowboy Spirit community who are in the Boston, MA area, we hope that you can join us for a wonderful evening with film, music, and candid conversation with key cast and crew. It’s going to be a great time and ticket info will be available shortly at CowboySpirit.TV and on our Facebook page.
In addition to announcing the premiere of the Cowboy Spirit movie, I’m excited to unveil the official poster for the movie. You can download your own copy HERE.
We hope you enjoy it enough to want to share it with all your friends. Help us continue to grow our Cowboy Spirit community by sharing this blog posting with your friends. The more we can grow our community, the more creative project opportunities we can pursue that celebrate the Spirit of the Great American Cowboy. Thank you so much for being a part of our Cowboy Spirit community.
-Mike Allison
If you haven't already, please subscribe to the Cowboy Spirit Blog to get all the Cowboy Spirit goodness delivered right to your email inbox so you don't miss a thing!
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CowboySpirit.TV – One of the most amazing things about cowboy sayings is that they have such longevity. Spend some time with a cowboy and you’re just as likely to hear some of these great sayings today as you were one hundred years ago – so saddle up for ten more great Old West sayings!
1. Sometimes you get and sometimes you get got.
2. I’m going to see a man about a mule.
This was actually a way to say a cowboy was going to see about something that wasn’t anyone else’s concern.
3. Sometimes you want most what you can't have, and that's when you learn to make do with what you've got.
4. Talk slowly, think quickly.
5. You could start an argument in an empty house.
6. It looks like you came to a goat’s house for wool!
In other words, you’re in the wrong place, partner.
7. I don't care if it harelips the devil.
8. I’m so poor I couldn’t jump over a nickel to save a dime.
9. I'm so hungry I could eat the north end of a south-bound goat.
10. Cowboy coffee ain’t safe drinking.
Be sure to stay with CowboySpirit as we provide updates on new movies, old history, and everything else that relates to the cowboy lifestyle!
If you haven't already, please subscribe to the Cowboy Spirit Blog to get all the Cowboy Spirit goodness delivered right to your email inbox so you don't miss a thing!
Or...
Download our FREE eBook, "The Spirit of the American Cowboy"
CowboySpirit.TV – A number of Old West sayings passed down to us by cowboys aren’t just pieces of advice on how to deal with a bad day or a bad neighbor, but life in general. Sometimes the advice is funny and sometimes not, but in all cases it is true to the Cowboy Spirit.
1. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
2. If it is a horse ride it, if it is a fence fix it, and if she is a lady treat her like a queen.
3. Life is too short, ride your best horse first!
4. Love is a place to rest, the open country, and a horse for the both of you.
5. If your horse doesn’t want to go there, neither should you.
6. If you're on horseback talking to someone and they're on the ground, dismount; it isn't polite to talk down to people.
7. “Never be too quick to criticize yourself. It's not fair to all of your friends and relatives, who are dying to do it for you.” – Texas Bix Bender, western humorist
8. Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
This reminds us of the modern day Southern saying “Don’t go around your elbow to get to your thumb” – in other words, the simplest way is usually best!
9. You can't run with the big dogs if you pee like a puppy.
10. When you count your blessings, count your horse twice.
If you haven't already, please subscribe to the Cowboy Spirit Blog to get all the Cowboy Spirit goodness delivered right to your email inbox so you don't miss a thing!
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CowboySpirit.TV – A cowboy was drawn to what we now know as the allure of the open road, although back then it was really the allure of the open trail. Once a cowboy left the ranch there were few signs of human settlement for endless miles, which might be why so many Old West quotes have to do with nature.
1. Don’t go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path – and leave a trail.
2. “Horses really belong, not to man, but to that country of junipers and sage, of deep arroyos, mesas, and freedom.” – Will James
3. Life is never so clear, as when seen from the back of a horse.
4. It gets so hot you can pull baked potatoes right out of the ground.
There are probably a few cowboys (and cowgirls!) saying this out there in the heat wave we’re having right now!
5. “Don’t be afraid to go after what you want to do, and what you want to be. But don’t be afraid to be willing to pay the price.” – Lane Frost
6. When it comes to life's adventures, never pull back on the reins.
7. Never take down another man's fence.
This saying probably emerged when the practice of fencing in entire ranches was still new and threatened to destroy the once-open range.
8. Some people follow old wagon tracks, while others break new trails.
9. Risk everything, fear nothing, have no regrets.
10. “Time and space - time to be alone, space to move about - these may well become the great scarcities of tomorrow.” – Edwin Way Teale
Stay tuned to CowboySpirit.TV for more Old West and cowboy quotes coming soon!
If you haven't already, please subscribe to the Cowboy Spirit Blog to get all the Cowboy Spirit goodness delivered right to your email inbox so you don't miss a thing!
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CowboySpirit.TV – In the Old West, anyone who was willing to live the difficult lifestyle and could ride a horse and throw a decent lasso (or learn how) could become a cowboy, which was one of the attractions. Many cowboys were ex-outlaws, and vice versa; the men working the open range would come across many colorful characters, and this definitely influenced the quotes that we are able to continue sharing today.
1. If you’re riding a high horse there’s no way to get down gracefully.
2. “Mounted on my favorite horse, my lariat near my hand, and my trusty guns in my belt, I felt I could defy the world.” – Nat Love, American cowboy
3. No one ever notices how you ride until you fall off.
4. “No rancher has the right to sell, or own, what God meant to be free. The range must always remain open.” – BBQ Bill Shankelbean
5. Go after life as if it's something that's got to be roped in a hurry before it gets away.
6. He was as mad as a mule chewing on bumblebees.
7. Be like the old lady who fell out of the wagon.
A colorful way to tell someone they aren’t involved in a business – and to get out of it.
8. “If you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win.” Clint Eastwood, The Outlaw Josey Wales
9. “If you think bull riding' isn't intense, come sit on his back and try on my saddle. This ain’t for tenderfoots.” – Clancy Jean Driscoll
10. “You are never too old to become younger.” – Mae West
If you haven't already, please subscribe to the Cowboy Spirit Blog to get all the Cowboy Spirit goodness delivered right to your email inbox so you don't miss a thing!
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CowboySpirit.TV- This week's edition of Friday Friends features an article from American Cowboy, "The Top 100 Western Songs."
Western Writers of America members choose the all-time best Western songs.
The Western Writers of America surveyed its members for the top 100 Western Songs of all time. The list was presented at the WWA’s Annual Convention Knoxville, Tennessee. This list is an interesting mixture of old, traditional songs, songs from the movies and songs which many might label "country." What do you think?
1. Ghost Riders in the Sky
2. El Paso
3. Cool Water
4. Streets of Laredo/Cowboy’s Lament
5. Back in the Saddle Again
[Read the rest of the article at http://www.americancowboy.com/culture/top-100-western-songs]
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CowboySpirit.TV – In addition to advice, cowboys were very likely to give their opinions as stated wisdom. These often short, usually humorous, and always entertaining one-line riddles and sayings can still be heard at many ranches and rodeos today.
1. You can’t impress a horse or a good friend.
2. “Any coward shooting from night ambush will be too nervous to hit me.” – Elijah S. Brian, renowned gunfighter
3. Every dog should have a few fleas.
This is a great way to say that we all have our faults, but they’re a part of us nonetheless.
4. That man could talk the hinges off a gate.
This was a little more insulting than a person might take it today, since this saying originated back in the days before WD-40 and gates creaked in all weather!
5. You don't have to be a chicken to know a rotten egg.
6. He couldn’t carry a tune if you gave him a bucket.
7. It's quieter than a mouse chewing on cotton.
In other words, it’s darn quiet!
8. “A man, a horse, and a dog never get weary of each others' company.” – Anonymous
Not many outfits used dogs in cow herding, since the dogs were more likely to upset the cows than not, but cowboys who took on odd jobs frequently would have a canine companion.
9. You can't weigh the facts if you got the scales weighed down with your own opinions.
10. He don’t care what you call him as long as you call him to supper.
Don’t forget that CowboySpirit.TV is updating our blog several times a week with news on our films, appearances, and the history of the Old West. Stay in touch and sign up for blog posts by e-mail using the link below.
If you haven't already, please subscribe to the Cowboy Spirit Blog to get all the Cowboy Spirit goodness delivered right to your email inbox so you don't miss a thing!
Or...
Download our FREE eBook, "The Spirit of the American Cowboy"