Native American Style Flutes / Scott August
I’d guess that Cathedral Rock in Sedona is one of the most photographed places in North America.
I’ve taken many pics of it myself.
There are dozens of pics of Cathedral rock on the Internet taken by much better photographers than I.
But it’s pretty well impossible to come here and not take a couple of pics of this.
“You can’t swim at Oak Creek Crossing.” he said. “It’s too shallow.”
“That’s your water.” I answered.
Shadows of Sedona / Scott August
I’ve been to Sedona on and off since the early 70’s.
On my first visit I hiked up to Cathedral Rock.
There were no trails or pathways going up there in those days.
And no people.
I enjoyed a moment of pure solitude. 
That evening I swam at Oak Creek Crossing as the sun set.
Native ladies and their children came down to sit on the rocks to enjoy a serene twilight.
It was truly a magical moment and a once in a lifetime experience.
I was One with them.
Sedona is not the sleepy secret it used to be,
but I hope there is still some solitude and peace to be found here.
This is your Summer folks. Get at it.
This is also my last post on Reader Rock Garden. Promise.
… many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
– Desiderata
… keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
– Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
– Desiderata
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
– Desiderata
Hebe was the goddess of youth, daughter of Zeus and Hera.
“Confluence Park”??!
Why sure … it’s right next to Effluence Creek.
Never let a beaurocrat name anything.
I can assure you that 90% of the people around here call this
Split Rock Park.
There she is … reclining in the meadow.
Evidently it didn’t roll here by itself.
But was discarded like a pebble from a passing Glacier.
I’m told that “Split Rock” was once part of Mount Edith Cavell
in Jasper National Park.
That’s about 210 miles away.
No estimate how long it took to get here – or how huge that Glacier musta’ been.
But I’m sure you could have beat it in a foot race.
You might recall my recent posts on our trip to Jasper National Park
where we hiked up to Mount Edith Cavell.
I never noticed any rocks missing.
I figure Buffalo used to rub themselves on Split Rock before us White folks showed up.
And shot them.
See? I told ya there was interesting stuff on the prairie.
Split Rock Park.
Starting a New Life / Van Morrison
A bit of a gloomy day on the prairie.
This way? or thataway?
A prairie landscape.
Some folks might think there’s nothing to do or see on the prairie,
but as a kid I lived out there and it has its own kind of wonder.
Coyotes in area. Well … it is the prairies.
Keep an eye on your dog.
There’s plenty of sandstone in Alberta.
There was once an ocean here.
Rest point and plaque.
A prairie coulee.
Only marred by the encroaching city.
Small wonders.
Nose Creek
The fool on the hill.
Coming: Split Rock Park
It rained for about a week, but we’ve still been getting out …
Visiting a few parks around town.
Felix is not impressed.
Heroes / Choir Choir Choir
Did you notice this?
I noticed it. Not because I’m a Christian. I’m not.
But because I studied Sculpture at the Alberta College of Art in Calgary.
And this is perhaps the greatest work of sculpture ever done.
Michelangelo’s Pieta.
Whether this was done intentionally or not, I cannot say.
But there it is.
Narsil chooses Aragon
The shadow does not hold sway yet.
Not over you … not over me.
A King is born. We can be Heroes.
Heroes / Lies of Love
Arwen chooses Love.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadow shall spring,
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be King.”
Aragon takes the Sword
Excalibur chooses Arthur
A King is born.
We can be Heroes.
Rose had spotted some American Avocets in a marsh wetland near by.
We head over to snap some photos.
There’s they are!
Don’t recall ever seeing this bird before.
Beautiful! These birds are called Stilts. (because of their long legs).
The black and white one is called a Black Necked Stilt.
The other is the American Avocet.
Black Necked Stilt and Blue Winged Teal
Outside the Interpretative Centre are some depictions of wildlife said to frequent the area.
Not an Epic outing …
But we’re still standing.
Rose and I have been going out often for exercise and just to get out.
The trick is to find a place that nobody else is going to because a lot of the parks
are packed with people with the same idea.
So Rose heard about this place called Ralph Klein Park – outside of South Calgary.
Off we go.
We saw this facility. I figured it was an office building of some sort.
Nope. It’s an “Interpretative Centre” for the wetlands conservation area here. Uh huh.
But everything is shut down.
Doesn’t matter. We just came for a walk.
But we do hope to see some birds or wildlife.
Doesn’t look too promising.
But then we spot something unusual across the way … ?
What is that?
Better have a look …
Smokestacks??
Oh … it’s Art ?
I was afraid of that.
(I later learned this cost us 1.57 million dollars)
I’m 2 breathes away from performing a rant.
You can see the Rockies from here though.
Yep.
Let’s see if I can put a positive spin on this.
OK … that’s the best I can do.
Onward …
Today I will emerge from the tunnel – my cave – having worked 9 of the last 10 days. Whew!
I have my trials. But I’ll get right back to posting something useful up here!
Thanks you all for your patience – and good will.
Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head / BJ Thomas
Periodically this happens to me. I get stuck. I’m always working on Posts and I have several in the offing, Just haven’t been able to get anything on the board. I’ve been sick. I was Depressed for over a week which is very unusual for me. I was really low. Don’t know where it came from, but it affected me greatly. We all have our ups and downs of course, but I usually pop right back up and carry on. I’m the guy who is usually cheering everybody else up. Santa Claus. Not this time. I think I’m OK now. ?? Now I’m also working 9 out of 10 days. Crazy schedule. Then I go on a 10 day Holiday – where we had planned to go to Vancouver Island. Then Covid hit and everybody’s plans flew out the window. All things could change back shortly (who knows?) and I expect we will progressively get back to a more usual routine. It’s an amazing experience though and I think we will appreciate what we have here, but that it all can swept away overnight. Love, and our families, friends, are vastly more important than our material things. Love – that irrational and unprovable thing is what we are all here for and all about. Yet, we do have to survive. I hope that you are making it through OK.
I’ll be up and running shortly – like a flower emerging from the snow. Take care All.
Heroes / Iva Davies
Our Quest:
Fit for our moment.“Very bright was that sword when it was made whole again; the light of the 
Heroes / famos – the finest unplugged music
“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
―
The Hero Path
We have not even to risk the adventure alone
for the heroes of all time have gone before us.
The labyrinth is thoroughly known …
we have only to follow the thread of the hero path.
And where we had thought to find an abomination
we shall find a God.– Joseph Campbell
GP Cox over at Pacific Paratrooper
https://pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com/2020/04/20/francis-the-talking-mule/
has been posting some Wartime Recipes on his blog.
This reminded me of a particular dish my (English) Mum used to serve us kids:
‘Creamed Eggs on Toast’!
Now I gotta tell ya that Creamed Eggs on Toast don’t look like much.
BUT Boy!!! it is tasty!!
I’ve heard it said that the the English/Brits don’t have ‘Cuisine’??
They might have a point there?? but they sure got some good honest food.
This is one of ’em. Simple as can be.
‘Down home’ as heck.
This guy shows how it’s done.
I like how he tosses the sausage patty into the pan.
That’s optional though – don’t need no sausage.
He also says this is Cowboy Food.
But I can’t imagine Cowboys sitting around the campfire eating Creamed Eggs on Toast.
You can also use more than 2 boiled eggs. I’d use about 4.
Francis the Talking Mule with the great Donald O’Connor
“Singin; in he Rain” Donald O’Connor with Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly.
Donald O’Connor: His best-known works came in the film Singin’ in the Rain (1952), for which O’Connor was awarded a Golden Globe.
He also won a Primetime Emmy Award from four nominations and received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame throughout his career.
In other words, he was damn good.
Like Creamed Eggs on Toast!
Heroes / David Fonseca with Rita Redshoes.
I was inspired by the Pandemic to try to come up with something that would lift people up during these times. The Lord of the Rings seemed to (me) have some inspiring elements that I could try to so something with …
When I start a project/Post an idea first comes to me. An inspiration. It is Art. And like all Art is it alive. It has a Will and Mission of it’s own – that I am just a vehicle/vessel for it’s message. The greater I am at allowing this – the greater the Art. I do not own it and It is not me. Or mine. It has a life of it’s own. I don’t know where it comes from. I do know that if I don’t allow this, mostly what I do is not worth much. Is there a formula for this? If so, I don’t know it. I can’t make it happen, I can only put my pencil to the paper and start – with no idea if will occur or not. Maybe the greatest Artists, Writers, Musicians, etc (for ANYTHING can be an Artform) were the best at this. I don’t know. I do know when it’s happening though. I can feel it. Writers know I mean – when if flows you can’t get the words down fast enough – and the words aren’t yours.
Here are two pages that I’m working on in Corel Draw: I started with simple idea: Reforge the Ring. Then I started working. Then the project expanded – and truly took on a life of it’s own. This is good – though it may mean I won’t be able to Post much right away. I’m not even sure anything useful may happen. Sometimes I’ll work on a project for days – then weeks – even months. And I have several unfinished. Possibly never to be Posted. Hopefully, eventually, something emerges that is worth something. To somebody. ???
Firstly, I strongly believe there are Spiritual elements / purposes behind all things. Knowing this helps me immensely. Even in my darkest times I could see the great hand moulding me to something of greater use. My Destiny / Fate are a reality, but not premade patterns of my unfoldment. My choices are not limited. I am Soul. A perfect atom of God. His child. And the throne will mine. But not to rule over others – but to serve in any way I can. Total Service / Total Love. Unconfined in all aspects I move higher, deeper, farther toward an infinite horizon …
We’ll get through this thing. And we can help each other.
Blessings … and take care.
There’s some tulips under there …
somewhere.
John Prine died on April 7th. He had been stricken with COVID-19. He was 73.
He won two Grammy Awards in his career and was also
presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.
He leaves us with a tremendous legacy of songs.
John and I never saw eye to eye on Spiritual things.
But I’m sure there’s lots of fishing in Heaven.
David Bowie – Heroes (Gang Of Youths Cover)
It is not despair, for despair is only for those
who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not.”
Gandalf the Grey / Fellowship of the Ring / JR Tolkien“Home is behind, the world ahead,
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadows to the edge of night,
Until the stars are all alight.
Then world behind and home ahead,
We’ll wander back and home to bed.
Mist and twilight, cloud and shade,
Away shall fade! Away shall fade!”
J.R.R. Tolkien / The Fellowship of the Ring
We can be Heroes …
Thanks Bill … You done good!
“I had holes in my jeans well before it was fashionable.”
– Kenny Rogers
He went from Folk, to Psychedelic, to Rock, to Country…
to become the greatest Ballad singer I’ve heard.
Kenny Rogers has passed at age 81.
Kenny was one of the Greatest Entertainment Star of our time
with an immensely successful career in Country and Popular music.
Legendary Status.
Along the way he also made a 1980 TV Western called The Gambler that was spearheaded by an iconic Hit Song also called The Gambler which all led to a series of 5 TV Westerns with Kenny Starring as Brady Hawkes, a fictional old-west gambler. Most of these Movies were … well not so good. They rode completely on Kenny’s Star Power and his Song.
(Originally sung by Bobby Bare, Johnny Cash, among others) But only Kenny’s version clicked.
Grammy award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 1980.
It’s one of those songs that sticks in your head.
A winner.
Kenny’s first movie, The Gambler (1980) was OK …
Worth a couple of watches – despite Bruce Boxleitner.
“6.4” That’s about right.
It’s popularity led to 4 sequels.
Most of ’em pretty bad.
Islands in the Stream with Dolly Parton
Written by Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb, Barry Gibb
2017 Texas Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee
2013 Country Music Association Awards Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award
2013 Country Music Hall of Fame Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame
2010 American Eagle Award American Eagle Award[62]
2009 ACM Honors Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award (w/ Jerry Reed, Randy Travis, Hank Williams Jr.)
2007 ASCAP Golden Note Award ASCAP Golden Note Award
2007 CMT Music Awards Album of the Year—Water & Bridges
2005 CMT Music Awards Favorite All Time Country Duet—”Islands In the Stream” (w/Dolly Parton)
2004 CMT’s 100 Greatest Cheating Songs “Ruby Don’t Take Your Love to Town”—No. 6
2003 International Entertainment Buyers Association Lifetime Achievement Award
2003 CMT’s 100 Greatest Country Songs “The Gambler”—No. 26
2002 CMT’s 40 Greatest Men of Country Music Ranking—No. 19
2000 TNN Music Awards Career Achievement Award
1999 BBC’s Greatest Country Singer Ranking—No. 2
1988 Grammy Awards Best Duo Country Vocal Performance—”Make No Mistake She’s Mine” (w/ Ronnie Milsap)
1986 USA Today Favorite Singer of All Time
1985 American Music Awards Favorite Country Album—Eyes That See in the Dark
1985 American Music Awards Favorite Male Country Artist
1983 Academy of Country Music Awards Single of the Year—”Islands In the Stream” (w/ Dolly Parton)
1983 Academy of Country Music Awards Top Vocal Duet (w/ Dolly Parton)
1983 American Music Awards Favorite Pop/Rock Country Artist
1983 American Music Awards Favorite Country Single—”Love Will Turn You Around”
1983 ASAP Awards Favorite Single—”Islands In the Stream” (w/Dolly Parton)
1982 American Music Awards Favorite Country Album—Greatest Hits
1981 American Music Awards Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist
1981 American Music Awards Favorite Country Album—The Gambler
1981 American Music Awards Favorite Country Single—”Coward of the County”
1980 American Music Awards Favorite Male Country Artist
1980 American Music Awards Favorite Country Album—The Gambler
1980 Music City News Country Single of the Year
1979 American Music Awards Favorite Male Country Artist
1979 American Music Awards Favorite Country Album—10 Years of Gold
1979 Country Music Association Awards Male Vocalist of the Year
1979 Country Music Association Awards Vocal Duo of the Year (w/ Dottie West)
1979 Country Music Association Awards Album of the Year—The Gambler
1979 Music City News Country Male Artist of the Year
1979 Music City News Country Single of the Year—”The Gambler”
1979 Grammy Awards Best Male Country Vocal Performance—”The Gambler”
1978 American Music Awards Favorite Single—”Lucille”
1978 Country Music Association Awards Vocal Duo of the Year (w/Dottie West)
1978 Academy of Country Music Awards Entertainer of the Year
1978 Academy of Country Music Awards Top Male Vocalist
1977 Country Music Association Awards Single of the Year—”Lucille”
1977 Academy of Country Music Awards Top Male Vocalist
1977 Academy of Country Music Awards Single of the Year—”Lucille”
1977 Academy of Country Music Awards Song of the Year—”Lucille”
1977 Grammy Awards Best Male Country Vocal Performance—”Lucille”
Goodbye Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers has supported the following charities:
Get Up Dogs / Buddy Tabor
I couldn’t get past the fact that I could see that this wasn’t a real dog.
This kinda ruined my enjoyment / immersion.
And that they also took liberties with the story – the book.
4 out of 10.
Yukon, Canada (Klondike Gold Rush)
British Columbia, Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Santa Clarita, California, USA
Wikipedia says: “As of March 15, 2020, The Call of the Wild has grossed $62.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $45.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $107.3 million. Due to its high production and marketing costs, the film will need to gross $250–275 million in order to break-even; various publications estimate it will lose the studio between $50–100 million.”
MFW: This isn’t the first time that Disney has made this identical marketing blunder. Solo: a Star Wars Movie also took a huge loss of millions of dollars from over marketing. (Ironically, Harrison Ford was the original Han Solo.)
The Call of the Wild – Dog of the Yukon Soundtrack / 1997
“He was mastered by the sheer surging of life, the tidal wave of being, the perfect joy of each separate muscle, joint, and sinew in that it was everything that was not death, that it was aglow and rampant,
expressing itself in movement, flying exultantly under the stars.”
― Jack London, The Call of the Wild
Locations: Quebec (exterior) and Montreal, Quebec.
Reviews: generally favorable.
MFW: For me this film is the best of The Call of the Wild films.
The narration by Richard Dreyfuss makes the difference.
Taken from the book it lets us see and experience the story through Buck’s eyes.
The way it’s supposed to be.
Nicely done.
The Call of the Wild (1972) / Soundtrack / Carlo Rustichelli
“There is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life, and beyond which life cannot rise. And such is the paradox of living, this ecstasy comes when one is most alive, and it comes as a complete forgetfulness that one is alive.”
― Jack London, The Call of the Wild
Wikipedia says: “Charlton Heston in his autobiography In the Arena: An Autobiography made it very clear how unhappy he was with this film and asked people to not watch it. Although it was poorly received upon release, and was not released in the United States until 1975, today the film is seen in a better light. Contemporary British and Irish Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide described it as a “swinging back to action-adventure”, starring “Charlton Heston at his best”, another in the “long line of Annakin’s panoramic films featuring a myriad of beautiful locations”.”
“46%” by users. That’s not too good.
Locations: Finland.
Buck is described by London in his book as a powerful mix – the son of Elmo,
a huge St. Bernard, and mom Shep, a Scotch Shepherd.
Most film versions of The Call of the Wild depict Buck as a German Shepard or a Husky.
They came close in the 1935 version though.
Clark Gable and Buck – a Saint Bernard.
Yet, to me, NONE of the film adaptations of The Call of the Wild do the book justice.
Which doesn’t mean they’re all bad movies – just that the book is so great.
Yet their main failure (IMO) is that none of them see through Buck’s eyes
– which is how the Book is written.
Did they not realize that this perspective was perhaps the main appeal of the Book?
I guess not.
And I can understand it would difficult to find the correct breed of dog and train him.
In 1972 it looks like they employed more than one trained Shepherd to portray Buck.
If you look closely these dogs do appear to be different.
???
Can’t say whether I recommend this movie or not?
Chuck is good and the movie has its moments – but the production is uneven.
Available to watch on YouTube or Netflix should you wish.
Next: The Call of the Wild: Dog of the Yukon / 1997
starring Rutger Hauer and narrated by Richard Dreyfuss
The Call of the Wild Soundtrack / Fyrosand 2020
“And when, on the still cold nights, he pointed his nose at a star and howled long and wolflike, it was his ancestors, dead and dust, pointing nose at star and howling down through the centuries and through him. And his cadences were their cadences, the cadences which voiced their woe and what to them was the meaning of the stiffness, and the cold, and dark. “
― Jack London, The Call of the Wild
The 1935 version starring Clark Gable and Loretta Young
expanded John Thornton’s role and was the first “talkie” to feature the story.
The film is directed by William A. Wellman, and stars Clark Gable, Loretta Young and Jack Oakie.
The screenplay by Gene Fowler and Leonard Praskins omits all but one of the book’s storylines.
Originally released at 95 minutes; later cut to 81 minutes for a re-issue. For many years only the cut re-issue version was available for television showings, and it is also the version released on DVD in 2006 as part of the Clark Gable Collection. The original length version remained unseen until it was released on blu-ray in 2013.
Locations: Washington State; California; Nevada.
“54”!?? It ranks above that on Star Power alone.
Worth a watch.
It gets cold up here…
“I’ll just sit under the table … “
The Call of the Wild · John Powell / 2020
“But especially he loved to run in the dim twilight of the
summer midnights, listening to the subdued and sleepy
murmurs of the forest, reading signs and sounds as a man
may read a book, and seeking for the mysterious something
that called — called, waking or sleeping, at all times,
for him to come.”
― Jack London, The Call of the Wild
There are 5 film adaptations of Jack London’s book.
“The Call of the Wilderness” is a Western starring Sandow the Dog, Lewis Sargent, Edna Marion, Al Smith, Max Asher, Sydney D. Grey and others.
A man tries to defend his lucrative piece of land from another claimant.”
Silent Film Video on YouTube – courtesy of Silent Gems Collection / Silent Hall of Fame
Where the Long RIver Flows / Gordon Lightfoot
Maligne Canyon is really a deep gorge with water running through.
In some places you can barely see the bottom.
Rose and I (and four other folks) took a very bumpy Jeep ride
(hang on to your saddlehorn folks) up Schnebly Hill Road.
(Theodore Carleton (T C) Schnebly and his wife SEDONA Arabella Miller Schnebly
moved to the area in 1901.
Guess how Sedona got it’s name?
Sedona Jeep tour
Eventually we jostled and jerked our way up to a viewpoint near Schnebly Hill Vista …
then jumped out for a jaunt. Climbing a short, but steep,
little path we arrived at a location overlooking the whole valley.
Beautiful! There are lots of vista shots around Sedona.
Sedona – the view from Schnebly Hill
Here’s where Nick – our Jeep driver – points to a certain tree and tells us “This is John Wayne Tree”. Really!! (He had no knowledge that I had a blog called My Favorite Westerns). There’s a photo (somewhere) of John Wayne posing by this tree when he was filming Angel and the Badman in 1947.
I believe I saw that photo once, but after hours of searching the net was unable to locate it.
John Wayne Tree
Nick claims that Wayne posed somewhat like this (above) in the famous photo.
You know … I could almost hear Duke whispering in my ear:
“Get yer hand off my tree pilgrim.”
Rose doing a “Maureen O’Hara” at John Wayne Tree
Sedona – Cathedral Rock
Sedona … see you again in a few months.
(All photos taken by my lady, Rose)
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