A Celebration of Western Movies… Pardner!
Honeycomb / Jimmy Rodgers / 1957
Back a few years when I went to the Garden Center
there were so many Honey Bees on the flowers
that it was hard to get near them.
Suddenly that changed.
Climate, disease, mites … ???
Decimated the Bees.
But we need Bees. They are important.
Not just for Honey.
They are vital to the Ecosystem.
Simple Song of Freedom / Bob Darin / 1969
I always like to pay attention and recognize our dear Friends to the South.
Their immense contributions in this world.
And in light of what’s happening in the US these days
we can never take our Freedoms lightly.
There are even those among us who would gladly take them away.
HAIL
The Champions of Freedom.
Surrender to Me / McGuinn, Clark and Hillman / 1979
I can’t figure this thing out. This Blog.
Yesterday I couldn’t get my Text to align properly.
After a few attempts it finally obeyed my instructions.
Today I come back and all my images have resized themselves.
Incorrectly.
WHY?
I preview everything, but apart from my own plentiful typos and mistakes
I really do expect it to work properly?
???
So normally I just move along and hope nobody really cares.
But I do.
Moving along …
We’re moving swiftly into Summer.
(Did we have a Spring?)
Rose’s Garden is exploding.
Lilacs just popped.
Love that scent.
Still some Tulips …
Poppys… a favorite
Summer is here.
Better get at it.
Rainmaker / First National Band / 1971
We’re bouncing from one extreme to another.
It rained here yesterday. But not enough.
But now have “Severe Thunderstorm Warnings”.
And threat of lightning starting more fires.
Alberta Fires Map:
Thunderstorm Warnings:
Time to call in The Rainmaker …
Burt Lancaster and Katherine Hepburn.
Geniuses at work.
If you’ve never seen The Rainmaker (1956) …
Shame on you.
Alberta Government Posting: May 16, 2023
https://www.alberta.ca/wildfire-maps-and-data.aspx
“Hot, dry conditions continue in most areas of the province
resulting in numerous wildfires.
A provincial state of emergency has been declared. Albertans who require assistance can call 310-4455 for wildfire related information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”
Most of the top half of Alberta is forest country.
Normally us Calgary folks (in Southern Alberta) couldn’t care less.
But in the age of Climate Change …
that is changing.
Fires are now starting to rage all the way across the Pacific Northwest
including the NW US and British Columbia.
In Alberta this is the worst and earliest fire season we’ve ever had.
In a lot of areas we’ve had little rainfall.
Satellite photo of Smoke across British Columbia, Alberta,
Saskatchewan and the US NW States.
It’s getting worse.
In Alberta we have been bringing in Firefighters and the Military
as we don’t have the resources or people to handle it.
This is how the sun and sky looks today in Calgary.
On we go …
I’ve been Everywhere Man – Canada / Mike Ford / 2011
_____________________________________________
Rose and I were in Vancouver for a week.
Got back yesterday.
Sometimes I just gotta get away.
So I didn’t monitor my blog or any email through the week.
Apology to those by made comments or sent email in that time.
I’ll check all that out now.
We drove out from Calgary.
That’s around 930 kilometers = 605 miles. A 10 hour drive.
Heading through the Rockies.
Next time we might fly?
But then we’d miss all this.
Rose drives and I shoot through the window.
British Columbia is mountains. One range after another.
An avalanche waiting to happen …
To avoid the floods near Cache Creek we head on a South route.
(But anything that keeps the crowds down is OK with me.) (joke)
Moving along …
Next:
Overnight in Salmon Arm
Younger Girl / The Lovin’ Spoonful / written by John Sebastian / 1965
The Steed is ready!
Daffys have arisen …
Crocus too !
Splendid indeed !
Ghost of the Mountain / Justin Johnson / 2021
Downtown Banff – Cascade Mountain
Almost deserted this time of year.
But soon it will be swarming with visitors.
Cascade Mountain looms over the town.
Daisy a Day / Jud Strunk
Bicycle technology seems to change every week now.
Fat tires and motorized bikes are the newest rage around here.
No more of that nasty pedalling.
Doesn’t that make them Motorcycles?
Fat tires are not really a novelty though:
Neither are fat people on bicycles.
But there really isn’t much new under the sun …
Peaceful Slow Down / Hasan Türkoğlu
From our room we could see Mount Rundle.
Sorta.
We persisted …
No mountain is gonna beat us …
Keep shooting …
Get closer …
Let’s climb that puppy …
O ya … !
Next: Downtown
On the way in we spotted a herd of Elk by the roadside.
Waiting for the bus?
To be honest, when I go to Banff I don’t count
on seeing much Wildlife.
The crowds scare them off.
Jasper National Park is much better.
The first night:
Banff Park Lodge.
Nice place.
Almost empty though at this time of year.
It’s mostly skiers that are in town.
That guy standing out front already has got his ski boots on.
He’s heading over to catch the ski bus across the street.
Check in …
Next: Mount Rundle
“The mountains are calling, and I must go.”
– John Muir
Wilf Carter was famous for his yodelling,
but we only get a taster here.
Snow? We got lots.
(Below) Cascade Mountain
Almost there …
You can’t keep a good Crocus down.
They’ll pop up right through the snow if they have to.
Starting a New Life / Van Morrison / 197i
Banff, Alberta
The area was named Banff in 1884 by George Stephen, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, recalling his birthplace near Banff, Scotland.
Spring is a somewhat of an ‘off season’ in Banff –
if we can say there is one?
Spring Skiing takes over as the main attraction and
the Ski Hills are very busy.
I never got into Skiing though. It was considered a rich persons
recreation around our place.
So over the years we’ve rarely gone to the mountains in Winter.
The snow makes everything look even more spectacular.
Forecast was for cloudy weather and more snow.
But who can predict weather around here?
Makes you feel small doesn’t it?
Hard to take a bad pic of a mountain.
Sometimes you just gotta get away.
Soo we’re going to Banff for 2 days.
Just for a change.
Meanwhile …
Spring in Alberta …
That’s when you find all the pucks
you lost in the snowbanks …
And get to dry your gear out on the goalie.
Easter is close …
Tackysaurs are emerging …
Scruffy … the feral cat is ready for action …
Tulips ???
But you’d never know it by our front lawn …
Outta here.
We’re popping Champagne tonight !!!
My Oscar arrived today. Special Delivery.
Winner for Visual Effects Imaging/Editing in Film.
Visual Effects Editing is one of the minor Academy Awards
It receives no fanfare.
BUT it’s not ‘minor’ around here!
My nomination was forwarded through The Guild of American Film Arts and Artists – affiliated with the Academy of Screen Writers.
It was judged “for exceptional Artwork and renderings thereof in modern still media for Film”.
This was brought to their attention mainly because of my work in improving old Movie Poster Artwork over the years.
Truthfully, I never really expected to win,
but just to nominated is an Award in itself.
Below is an example that I did recently:
Not my best example, but I think you’ll get the picture.
(no pun intended)
Over the years, I’ve done this to literally hundreds of Posters and Images
that are out there.
Salvaged and saved – and literally nobody knows that I did it.
And I’ve done a lot of other related work as well.
Like this very famous photo of Billy the Kid.
When I put these back out onto the Net
very few people realize it was me who did this.
But I am not an expert. Purely self taught – and there’s much I don’t know.
I just do it for fun.
It’s obvious what I’ve done to these images above.
What isn’t obvious is the many hours that it took. Sometimes days.
Edits to Resolution/Sharpening; Brightness; Gamma; Cropping; Color (balance, Hue, Tone, Selection; Colour Replacement; …) Contrast; Saturation; Tinting; Shadows; Temperature; Alignment;
Straightening; and a dozen other things.
Then I put it back out onto the internet. No fanfare.
I don’t sign it. Maybe I should because at times
some of my work has been claimed by others.
But I don’t really care
The images weren’t mine to begin with.
Here’s an example of ‘poetic license’ with my own photos:
Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia / 2016
Look at all those people!
But later … they just disappeared.
This is why it often takes me so long to make a Post at times. I don’t just throw something up on the board. It has to pass my standards.
Yet you can find mistakes I’ve made on nearly every Post I make.
LoL! I’m no GOD – to be certain.
Yes, at times I’ve taken ‘liberties’ with some images. But this is something I never want to do. I always want to stay true to the original Art and Artist.
My own (many photos) are the exception. I should sign those.
But pretty well EVERYTHING I post has been reworked a bit.
It’s a ‘Labour or Love’ for me. I enjoy it.
I take – nor ask – any money.
So now I await my ship to come in:
$80,000 US. Academy Award money.
BUT if it doesn’t arrive by April 1 …
It probably never really existed?
Stayin’ Alive / The BeeGees / 1977
Got my Covid shot this morning. Hope it makes a difference?
This is my 3rd shot since this whole thing started.
Doubt that’s a World Record.
I should have had another one sooner than this though.
Sooo … went to a Clinic that used to do it exclusively for Covid.
They were gone.
Then went to a Medical Clinic that was close by.
They didn’t do it anymore either! Wow.
Told me I could get it done at most any Drug Store.
Really!?
Went to a Drug Store. (insert panting sound here.)
Insisted on Pfizer Vaccine.
I’ve heard bad things about the other ones.
And I don’t want any unnecessary medical adventures right now.
Then I went to A&W for breakfast.
So far so good …
