It was exactly ten years ago today that I published my first post, although the domain was a different one back then. While I haven’t been active here for a few months now, the site hasn’t closed (let’s just say it’s been hibernating) and I couldn’t really let this anniversary pass without some acknowledgment.
After 10,000+ comments and approaching a quarter of a million visits, I felt that all those who have taken the time to stop by this place over the last decade, to read and contribute to some fascinating discussions, deserve to be thanked. So, my thanks and appreciation to all of you.
I’ve written about a great many things here and, for one reason or another, some have drawn more attention than others and it’s always particularly gratifying to see a piece grow in popularity. With that, I’ll leave you (only temporarily as I do intend to have this place fully operational at some future point) with links to a list of the ten most read pieces I’ve penned and shared:
1 Ten of the Best – Western Directors (5,272 visits)
2 Ten of the Best – Western Stars (2,555 visits)
3 Monte Walsh (1,886 visits)
4 Three Bad Men (1,799 visits)
5 The Last of the Fast Guns (1,610 visits)
6 7th Cavalry (1,476 visits)
7 The Last Wagon (1,361 visits)
8 Jubal (1,225 visits)
9 The Man from Laramie (1,153 visits)
10 The Hanging Tree (900 visits)
Riding the High Country 
Congratulations! May it continue as long as you enjoy doing it. I’m always glad to see a new post here…or a classic one!
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Thanks very much, Todd. I enjoy it a lot but I’ve simply been hard pressed to find the time to update the place recently.
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Congratulations on hitting ten years, Colin! It goes fast, doesn’t it, and I still remember a bunch of us – 100 Years kicked off the same way, as I recall – starting off on Film Journal, back in those heady, wide-eyed days 🙂 For the record this has definitely been a regular stop for me. As I’ve caught up with westerns I have often visited the site and more often than not found a review, indeed your writings have led on a number of occasions to me catching some real gems, for which I am grateful. Here’s to another decade!
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Cheers, Mike. Yes, it’s good that some of the old FilmJournal posse are still active – seems an age ago now but it felt kind of exciting at the time.
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Congrats on the decade? And why the recent hibernation? — you’ve been missed.
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Thank you, John. A couple of big moves and a general lack of time have kept me if not exactly offline then only sporadically active.
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Well done indeed. And we all hope to see you active on the blog again very soon. You’ve also introduced me to some new classics.
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Thanks, I’m invariably delighted to hear that I introduced people to material that might otherwise have passed them by – that’s what it’s all about really.
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As being myself one of the old Film Journal guys I appreciate the span of time and effort that keeping a blog going for so long entails. Congratulations on your 10th anniversary. Good to know you’re still around, I was beginning to worry you’d ridden off into the blogging sunset!
That’s as awkward a Western allegory as you’ll see today, I’m sure!
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But not at all a bad one, chum!
Thanks for that, and again it’s somehow comforting to hear from another of our group who started off around the same time and who is still going strong.
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Well done Colin – hope you go on for at least another decade 😀
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I’ll be here intermittently, and hopefully a little more regularly when possible, for as long as there’s stuff worth talking about and as long as it’s still fun for all concerned.
And thank you for all the great support, conversation and friendship over the years, Sergio.
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I hope you enthusiasm remains undiminushed – we are all its beneficiaries chum.
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Most kind – the enthusiasm is there, it’s just the scheduling squeezes it a little at times. 🙂
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Keep it up kiddo!
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Doing my best, pal, doing my best.
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Good lad 😉
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Dude, many congratulations not just on the longevity but also the diversifying out into my realm of things and taking on classic crime fiction as well as classic Westerns. Takes a lot of dedication to keep going this long, and the odd hiatus can only be a good thing if it helps you retain an enthusiasm to keep going. Here’s the the next ten!
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Cheers, JJ, I appreciate that. I’ve loved so many aspects of popular culture for as long as I can remember and find it a real joy to chat about, get pointers, and pass on the same to others on as broad a range of stuff as possible.
I know I’ve tended to focus on type of movie on this site more than others but I have tried to mix things up a bit when possible and indulge my eclectic tastes – one of the most rewarding sides of what we do on these sites is connecting with those who share some, and occasionally, even all of our passions.
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Ten years is a great achievement, Colin. Thanks for what you do – it can’t be easy juggling it when real life gets in the way. Personally, RTHC has been one of my absolute favourite places to visit. I fully appreciate the reasons for the hiatus of recent months and cannot wait for you to saddle up and hit the movie trail again.
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Great to hear from you, Jerry, as always, and I appreciate those words a lot.
Yes, I hope to be able to post more regularly in the future, obligations permitting.
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Congrats on your anniversary Colin and thanks for all your hard work and insights. It’s great to talk westerns since none are being made much anymore but we always hope. Enjoy your life, share with us when you can. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Be blessed
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Cheers. True we don’t get a lot of westerns these days but there are still some around. I’m quite keen to see how Hostiles fares when it gets a general release.
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Congrads for sticking with it. That’s dedication. Always a pleasure to see you’ve got something new to check out.
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Thanks a lot, Mike. There hasn’t been much new from me for a while but I’ve no plans to close down completely and hope to get back into it bit by bit.
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Quite an accomplishment, Colin. Congratulations on the wonderful work, my friend, and well done. 🙂
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You’re another long time visitor and supporter, Michael, and I’ve been very pleased with all your backing over the years – thanks, buddy.
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Hi, Colin – so great to hear from you again! I have seriously missed your posts. Your analyses of movies, especially Westerns, are a delight. You gotta change your priorities so this site comes first! 😀 Congratulations on a decade you can be proud of.
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I can’t give any concrete guarantees, Steve, but I plan to be slightly more active – don’t know how much exactly but we’ll see.
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Colin… I’ve been a relative part time latecomer, and now into my 80’s I have time to catch up and have greatly enjoyed trying to do so. Your chosen subjects, general style and loyal followers are the perfect vitamins for my well being. Congratulations for a most successful tenure, and my total support for any future creative endeavors.
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That’s all incredibly kind and I have to say feedback like that is extremely encouraging – thanks very much.
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The “WILD ROVER” returns…..Blogland can only be better for it,especially when
RTHC is back to regular posts.
Great to hear from you Colin after a considerable absence.
Yep! I too have been keeping an eye on HOSTILES it looks more than promising-
a most interesting supporting cast,I might add.
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And it’s always good to hear from yourself, John.
I have to say Hostiles got my attention right away and I think it’s worth flagging up.
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Echoing all the congrats, good wishes and comments above, especially about this being a fave place to visit, always enjoy reading your posts 🙂 Well done and best to you!
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Nice to see you dropping in, Kristina, and thanks for the kind words too.
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Congrats! I’m pleasantly surprised that Monte Walsh is getting lots of love — it’s one of my favorite westerns!
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I love that movie, Eric, and I too am delighted that the piece I wrote on it continues to draw solid numbers of visitors.
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Congrats on the big one-oh, Colin! It’s quite an achievement, hiatuses or not. But my how time flies — FilmJournal doesn’t feel like it can have been so long ago.
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Thanks. Sometimes it does feel like the blink of an eye but at other times I’m reminded of the huge changes that have occurred in online communication, movies and that whole sphere of culture and entertainment we decided to focus on.
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Congratulations! An accomplishment worthy of pride.
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Thank you – I just have to make a resolution to keep this thing going on at least a semi-regular basis now!
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“10 years”!!! Congratulations. And well done.
As long as it’s fun, keep on riding.
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It’s still fun, just finding the time to share that fun can be a bit of a challenge, but I’m working on it. 🙂
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Congratulations! Looking forward to your resumption soon. Compliments of the season!
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Thank you, Chris – nice to hear from you again.
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Nice to see you back with that RUN OF THE ARROW piece and just made a comment on that one.
But I meant to throw in an encouraging word here and just hadn’t done it. Personally, I appreciated you listing the most read pieces and was moved to find TEN OF THE BEST-WESTERN DIRECTORS still leads because that’s something I care a lot about and it means a lot that you and others do as well. I remembered participating in that discussion and reread quite a bit of it. Also reread your THE LAST OF THE FAST GUNS piece and some of the comments and am pleased that got a lot of play too–as I noted at the time, this would be my personal choice for most underrated great Western.
The other one I was glad to see on that list was THE HANGING TREE because I felt that was your best piece ever. It was really heartfelt, beautifully written, deeply connected to that movie, evoked it so movingly.
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I really appreciate your stopping in and posting those words, Blake.
I wanted to highlight the most viewed pieces because I felt rather proud of the content and reactions to the majority of those – I very much enjoyed writing that post on The Hanging Tree as I connected with that movie from my first viewing and I liked how the piece and the comments went.
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Thank you, Colin, for all the posts.
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Cheers, but the thanks really belongs to all you guys who have kept the place going via the visits and all the great comments.
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Congratulations on your 10th Blog anniversary. I love reading your blog. I have found out about some Blu-ray releases only because I’ve seen you mention them here. Keep up the good work.
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Thanks very much – most kind of you!
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