The west brick wall on my house becomes a huge heatsink in summer
afternoons. Once the sun comes over the house, that wall gets full
sun until the great ball of fire goes below the horizon. No trees or
shade or anything to block it. So the wall continues to be hot to the
touch well into the middle of the night. That side of the house does
stay warmer than the rest.

I find dealing with vines on a house a pain. Until you can get some shade
trees on that side, how about a series of trellises and vines or climbers
set out a bit from the house to give you some shade? You could use
grapes, hops, roses, etc. This could also give you some "private gardens"
to view through the windows.

An even faster temporary solution would be to attach shade cloth panels
under the eaves. Watch the potential wind load, however.
Here are some examples... haven't done business with the company, however.
http://www.thenaturalhome.com/shadecloth.htm