As promised here are the rules for Frontierado Poker, the game that is strictly my own invention to go along with my made-up Holiday Frontierado.
1. Remove all face cards from the deck. The game is played with a 40-card deck.
2. Every player antes up. (I’m not advocating gambling. You can decide for yourselves what you play for.)
3. Each player is Continue reading
Filed under FRONTIERADO
What is Frontierado? Frontierado is a Continue reading
Filed under FRONTIERADO
The TOM SAWYER I’m referring to here is the 1973 musical version which is unforgiveably forgotten by many people. This musical has some incredibly catchy songs, memorable dialogue portions and terrific performances from all cast members, young and old.
Most importantly the film nicely distills the essential elements of Mark Twain’s popular story in a nearly seamless way. Anything you loved from the book when you read it is to be found here: Tom’s tall tales to Continue reading
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Another recipient of a customized Saga has been kind enough to post it to their blog. Cactus Cathy, AKA Unga Bunga Girl, was a gun-toting gambler and reporter in the old west, and her Saga includes mentions of several other Saga characters. Here Continue reading
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POSSE is a terrific western about a gang of African American gunfighters (plus the goofiest Baldwin brother) involved in an action-packed epic journey across the American west. The Frontierado holiday (which will be here Friday August 5th) is the perfect time of year to hunker down with this film while drinking a Cactus Jack or a Deuces Wild or two. I’ll review the recipes for those mixed drinks in a few days, for now we’ll focus on the third-place movie on our countdown.
Posse stars Mario Van Peebles, who also directed, as Jesse Lee, the brooding, revenge-driven hero of the saga. He and all but one member of his gang, our titular posse, are soldiers fighting in Cuba during the Spanish-American War in 1898. A dangerous assault they carry out turns out to be Continue reading
Filed under Blaxploitation, FRONTIERADO
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST is, to me, the definitive Spaghetti Western. This movie incorporates all of the best elements of Italo-westerns and has the additional advantages of actual artistic merit and some location filming in the real American West. One of the most distracting elements of many Spaghetti oaters is the fact that the films were mostly shot in Spain’s Jarama Valley, which is great for a Spanish Civil War buff like myself, but that valley doesn’t really resemble the American west that the stories are set in. Sergio Leone got to shoot some scenes in Monument Valley and such authentic scenery definitely helps in a film that exploits visuals to a degree unseen since the age of silent movies. This is undeniably an action film, but Continue reading
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The Frontierado holiday is coming up on Friday, August 5th. As part of the buildup to this major holiday I was reviewing some very, very weird westerns now and then. But now with the countdown having begun in earnest it’s time to look at some quality westerns. For this list of the Top 4 Frontierado Westerns I won’t bother going 4 through 1 since I’ve never made any secret about how Silverado is, to me, the official movie of this holiday.
The film has all the high spirits and family appeal of Star Wars plus the well-choreographed action scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark. On top of that Silverado features all the highly stylized gunplay of the best Spaghetti Westerns but NOT the mud, blood, sweat and brutality of that genre. This movie is pure escapism and features Continue reading
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The countdown begins in earnest as Frontierado arrives Friday, August 5th!
Filed under FRONTIERADO
The only country in the world that welcomes people who practically spit on it turns 235 years old today. What happened in early July of 1776 certainly needs no rehashing (the Green Bay Packers won the very first Superbowl) so in keeping with my blog’s theme of addressing more out of the way subjects this post will examine various events that took place on other July 4th’s throughout American history.
JULY 4TH, 1778 – George Rogers Clark led his rebel forces in seizing the British stronghold of Kaskaskia, near the Continue reading
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It may be my fondness for mythology that makes me love to watch particular movies around particular holidays. I say that because many of the well- known myths were recited on ancient holidays when their subject matter was relevant to those holidays. The stories helped accentuate the meaning of the special events and that’s the way I use various movies. At Christmas I watch countless variations of A Christmas Carol, around Labor Day I watch Matewan, at Continue reading
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