C
Cut-Throat
Guest
The guy that was the Ranch Owner - Cooke was a 'True *******' - Those cowboys would have beat the crap out of him, if the cameras weren't rolling 
I just caught that the last 2 nights. No management skills at all. If he had let the Ranch hand boss (forget his name) run the hands he would have been much better off. That guy knew cattle.
Mr Cookes wife....major B
Mr Cookes wife....major B
Saw several problems within the Cooke's management of the ranch in the series. If it were truly the 1870s, Mr. Cooke would have told Mrs. Cooke (sp?) to butt out of the management of the ranch and the cowboys.
Those three daughters would have been clearing more land for a larger veggie garden and forcing much greater yields. And making those lame dolls? Puh-leez! The daughters didn't do very much productive hard labor.
I don't see the problem Finkelstein posed. Work is work. Who said they couldn't kill a cow and get a real meal while they were eating rawhide?
BIG, BIG flaw... What would make Mr. Cooke feel like the cowhands found it a privilege to work themselves senseless to make him wealthy?
And who was that Colonel? He's lucky he didn't get assaulted off camera for the overbearing attitude. That whole thing probably would have worked better if it were run like a collective where everyone shared in a defined percentage or if there were some way to make sure everyone profitted by their labors.
And the retroactive cancellation of the deal Mr Cooke had with the hand on buying the horse for $25. was dishonorable. Publicly threatening to beat him if he tried to take the horse was just another thing to make Cook look less creditable.
And the visit to the NA camp? Violence was a way of life for the ranchers in Texas. No wonder the NAs resented the ranchers and vice versa in the 1870s. Steal my horses and try to sell them back to me? Or kidnap my ranch hand and make me pay his ransom? That's why the Winchester lever action rifle and the Army Colt were invented.
Those three daughters would have been clearing more land for a larger veggie garden and forcing much greater yields. And making those lame dolls? Puh-leez! The daughters didn't do very much productive hard labor.
I don't see the problem Finkelstein posed. Work is work. Who said they couldn't kill a cow and get a real meal while they were eating rawhide?
BIG, BIG flaw... What would make Mr. Cooke feel like the cowhands found it a privilege to work themselves senseless to make him wealthy?
And who was that Colonel? He's lucky he didn't get assaulted off camera for the overbearing attitude. That whole thing probably would have worked better if it were run like a collective where everyone shared in a defined percentage or if there were some way to make sure everyone profitted by their labors.
And the retroactive cancellation of the deal Mr Cooke had with the hand on buying the horse for $25. was dishonorable. Publicly threatening to beat him if he tried to take the horse was just another thing to make Cook look less creditable.
And the visit to the NA camp? Violence was a way of life for the ranchers in Texas. No wonder the NAs resented the ranchers and vice versa in the 1870s. Steal my horses and try to sell them back to me? Or kidnap my ranch hand and make me pay his ransom? That's why the Winchester lever action rifle and the Army Colt were invented.
I only saw four episodes, but I certainly got the drift. Not sure what to make of it, though.
It struck me that this was a case of current managerial attitudes transplanted to the 1870s. Mr. Cook's refusal to ransom back his cowboy, his reneging on the horse-buying deal... all of that reflected the modern-day attitude that workers are expendable and can be treated as such. Mr. Cooke may have been a Manager, but he's no Leader. Fundamental difference.
This also had a lot in common with "Manor House," "Colonial House" and even "1900 House" in that there were "managerial" and "worker" roles and that everyone IMMEDIATELY adopted the attitudes and prejudices of the roles they were assigned. Managers started throwing their weight around and watching workers like hawks for signs of disloyalty, disrespect, and slacking off. "Labor" got a chip on its collective shoulder on day one and became disrespectful, sneaky, and disloyal.
This reminded me of the psychologist who hired a bunch of "prisoners" and "guards" from among Stanford students for an experiment. The faux guards became immediately abusive, the prisoners were resistant from the get-go, and he had to stop the experiment early for ethical reasons.
As for the girls, I agree with Gpax7 -- what a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings! The flies -- disgusting!
I tell you what though, it'd be a cold day in hell before I'd volunteer for one of these things and put my marriage, work ethic, decision-making, etc. up for discussion by the rest of the dad-blamed country!
It struck me that this was a case of current managerial attitudes transplanted to the 1870s. Mr. Cook's refusal to ransom back his cowboy, his reneging on the horse-buying deal... all of that reflected the modern-day attitude that workers are expendable and can be treated as such. Mr. Cooke may have been a Manager, but he's no Leader. Fundamental difference.
This also had a lot in common with "Manor House," "Colonial House" and even "1900 House" in that there were "managerial" and "worker" roles and that everyone IMMEDIATELY adopted the attitudes and prejudices of the roles they were assigned. Managers started throwing their weight around and watching workers like hawks for signs of disloyalty, disrespect, and slacking off. "Labor" got a chip on its collective shoulder on day one and became disrespectful, sneaky, and disloyal.
This reminded me of the psychologist who hired a bunch of "prisoners" and "guards" from among Stanford students for an experiment. The faux guards became immediately abusive, the prisoners were resistant from the get-go, and he had to stop the experiment early for ethical reasons.
As for the girls, I agree with Gpax7 -- what a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings! The flies -- disgusting!
I tell you what though, it'd be a cold day in hell before I'd volunteer for one of these things and put my marriage, work ethic, decision-making, etc. up for discussion by the rest of the dad-blamed country!
Poundkey
Recycles dryer sheets
Interesting at the end of the show....... when people were reading their reports and making comments about those reports.......there was no comment from Robbie (sp?) the foreman......and he was the only one who knew what he was doing.
My granddad ran (owned) a ranch in south Texas. I spent many a day on horseback in my youth. It was WORK.
In our old ranch house over the fireplace was a plack. It read........"We have a system here". My grandad put it there and we all knew what it meant.....that he was the one calling the shots. He was honest, fair, and consistant. He was also respected for those qualities. I wish I could have been half the man he was......
.....#.......
My granddad ran (owned) a ranch in south Texas. I spent many a day on horseback in my youth. It was WORK.
In our old ranch house over the fireplace was a plack. It read........"We have a system here". My grandad put it there and we all knew what it meant.....that he was the one calling the shots. He was honest, fair, and consistant. He was also respected for those qualities. I wish I could have been half the man he was......
.....#.......
mickeyd
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I saw all 8 hours and found it very interesting. I agree with the comments made here on Mr Cook's management style. It would not have worked in 1867 and it will not work in 2006.
That said, I was surprised that PBS did not wrap it up in a nice pretty bow and insure that all parties (cowboys, cook, and Cooks) did not hate each other at the end. They had a ton of problems that were related mostly to putting 21st centrury city slickers in the Chihuahuan Desert south of Alpine and making them pretend that they were 19th century Texans.
I was impressed by the no-frills attitude of the 3 evaluators that came in at the end to give the report card. The Cook family and the cowboys all flunked and they gave excellent reasons for their decisions.
I would not mind giving it a try myself, however the BW would not be on board for this project. Perhaps I could rent out a "3 month wife" to help prop me up and attend to my manly needs.
That said, I was surprised that PBS did not wrap it up in a nice pretty bow and insure that all parties (cowboys, cook, and Cooks) did not hate each other at the end. They had a ton of problems that were related mostly to putting 21st centrury city slickers in the Chihuahuan Desert south of Alpine and making them pretend that they were 19th century Texans.
I was impressed by the no-frills attitude of the 3 evaluators that came in at the end to give the report card. The Cook family and the cowboys all flunked and they gave excellent reasons for their decisions.
I would not mind giving it a try myself, however the BW would not be on board for this project. Perhaps I could rent out a "3 month wife" to help prop me up and attend to my manly needs.
I've been watching it, and I think it's awesome. I was going to post a longer comment, but I guess it's a bit pointless now -- stupid f***in' 14 hours of work on a Friday!! I thought I was supposed to be lazy...
In general I agree with most of the comments here, esp. re the Cooke family. I really enjoyed watching a lot of the other characters, though, they seemed like great people who were having a lot of fun!
Mickeyd, you need to combine Texas Ranch House with one of those Wife Swap shows, and pitch it to the networks...
In general I agree with most of the comments here, esp. re the Cooke family. I really enjoyed watching a lot of the other characters, though, they seemed like great people who were having a lot of fun!
Mickeyd, you need to combine Texas Ranch House with one of those Wife Swap shows, and pitch it to the networks...
I thought that "1900 House" taught us a lot about life & work at the turn of the 20th century. I enjoyed watching the technology, the kids' blossoming creativity, and the unexpected pearls of economic wisdom-- like how cheap labor was compared to materials.mickeyd said:
Starting with "Frontier House", through "Colonial House", and now "Texas Ranch", I feel that PBS has focused more on throwing together a bunch of clueless idiots contentious personalities and stirring the pot rather than on teaching us about how people had to depend on each other to survive. The shows are not about education any more-- they're about exhibitionists indulging our vulgar voyeurism.
Our kid learned a lot about life in 1900. From the rest of the shows she's learned a lot about lying, cheating, stealing, and general human nature at less than its finest. I guess there's wisdom to be gleaned from even the most disgusting lowbrow reality TV.
So, who's up for ten hours of "1950s House"? "Territorial Hawaii Plantation"? "1920s Ghetto Living"? Send your video applications to PBS today!
mickeyd
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I'm up for "1880's New Orleans Whore House (House of the Rising Sun)". I will be playing the honky-tonk piano in the corner of the bar. A challanging role for me, as I do not currently play any musical instrament other than singing in the shower when I'm by myself.
Who wants to sign up for "Miss Kitty" character ~the crafy veteran whore with a heart of gold? :
Who wants to sign up for "Miss Kitty" character ~the crafy veteran whore with a heart of gold? :
astromeria
Moderator Emeritus
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2005
- Messages
- 1,375
Ah, 1950s House...been there, done that, got the patent leather shoes (with matching purse!), keds (and hi-top keds for boys), and old pictures of our Chrysler New Yorker (with fins) to prove it.
