Category: Art

Just very grateful.

Yet another aspect of what we learn from dogs.

This is Hazel.

Hazel

As I write these words, Hazel is laying down on the carpet just next to me.  She was dumped on the street outside Jean’s Mexican house back in early 2010.  Hazel was still in milk and probably had had her puppies taken from her and sold for a few pesos.  Who knows!

But her gratitude for being rescued by Jean is boundless.  Most nights she sleeps on our bed, curled up tightly behind my back.  Her love for her world here in Oregon is beautiful and pure.  As they say, dogs do not lie about love.

So what’s this leading up to?

Simply setting the scene for a wonderful TED video by Louie Schwartzberg, first seen by me on Christine’s blog 350 or bust.

Watch and be grateful for all the beautiful things in the world.

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Louie Schwartzberg is an award-winning cinematographer, director, and producer whose notable career spans more than three decades providing breathtaking imagery for feature films, television shows, documentaries and commercials.

This piece includes his short film on Gratitude and Happiness. Brother David Steindl-Rast’s spoken words, Gary Malkin’s musical compositions and Louie’s cinematography make this a stunningly beautiful piece, reminding us of the precious gift of life, and the beauty all around us.

As a visual artist, Louie has created some of the most iconic and memorable film moments of our time. He is an innovator in the world of time-lapse, nature, aerial and “slice-of-life” photography – the only cinematographer in the world who has literally been shooting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week continuously for more than 30 years.

Louie was recognized as one of the top 70 Cinematographers for the On Film Kodak Salute Series. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Louie is credited by many with pioneering the contemporary stock footage industry by founding Energy Film Library, a global company with a network of 12 foreign offices, which was acquired by Getty Images in 1997. Motion picture clients of his cinematic artistry include Sex in the City, The Bourne Ultimatum, Die Hard 4, Syriana, Crash, Men in Black and classics such as American Beauty, Koyaanisqatsi and E.T. among others.

Louie went on to found BlackLight Films, a creative production company specializing in producing original theatrical feature, large format films, HD and TV programming.

In 2004, BlackLight Films completed production of the theatrical feature film, America’s Heart &Soul, distributed theatrically by Walt Disney Pictures. In 2006, BlackLight Films completed a series of HD shorts, Louie Films, for the launch of Buena Vista Home Entertainment’s Blu-Ray DVD releases. In 2007, the company produced a 1-hour special, Chasing the Light, which aired nationally on PBS.

Past projects include the 35mm film Seasons of the Vine for Disney’s California Adventure Theme Park and a 26-half hour series, America!, for The Hallmark Channel.

Louie has won two Clio Awards for Best Environmental Broadcast Spot, an Emmy nomination for Best Cinematography for the Discovery Channel Special, Oceans of Air, and the Heartland Film Festival’s Truly Moving Picture Award for Walt Disney Pictures’ feature film release America’s Heart & Soul.

Louie completed production on a feature length nature documentary, Wings of Life, to be theatrically released worldwide, under Walt Disney Pictures’ new production banner, Disneynature. The film was released in France (March 2011) under the title Pollen and won the Roscar Award for Best Cinematography at the 2011 Wild Talk Africa Film Festival.

Louie spoke at the TED 2011 conference in Long Beach, CA and has been a regular presenter at the annual Bioneers Conference in San Francisco. Currently, Louie is in production with National Geographic to produce Hidden Worlds, a 3D Imax film.

To underline the gratitude that I have to be here surrounded by such beautiful countryside, let me close with this picture recently taken from our bedroom window.

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It almost makes sense, doesn’t it?

Starting the week-end a little early.

Regular followers of Learning from Dogs know that I try and offer something more gentle and light-hearted for the week-end.  But yesterday afternoon amid all the hustle and bustle of things, the telephone cable was cut to add to our sensation of being cut off from the outside world.  (If you are new to this theme then drop in here for further explanation.)  Somehow finding the time to offer you a post of substance for today became too challenging.

We recently watched a comedian by the name of Reggie Watts appearing on BBC television and laughed our sides off.  But Mr. Watts is not your average comedian.  Wikipedia describes him thus:

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Reggie Watts (born March 23, 1972 in Stuttgart, Germany[1]) is a Brooklyn-based comedian and musician. His shows are mostly improvised and consist of stream of consciousness stand-up in various shifting personae, mixed with loop pedal-based a cappella compositions. He performs regularly on television, radio, and in live theater. His comic skills come into play in improvisational performance, as well as performance of written music. Watts currently appears as the sidekick on the IFC talkshow Comedy Bang Bang, which began airing on June 8, 2012.

So enjoy the following, and have a lovely week-end!  You will see how it all makes sense!

The dirt beneath our feet.

A film about dirt that opens eyes!

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I have mentioned the website of the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia before.  It’s a fabulous resource for many aspects of moving towards a more sustainable lifestyle, and not just for Australians.

A few days ago, their regular posting included a link to this:

Dirt: The Movie

DIRT! The Movie — directed and produced by Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow — takes you inside the wonders of the soil. It tells the story of Earth’s most valuable and underappreciated source of fertility — from its miraculous beginning to its crippling degradation. The opening scenes of the film dive into the wonderment of the soil. Made from the same elements as the stars, plants and animals, and us, “dirt is very much alive.” Though, in modern industrial pursuits and clamor for both profit and natural resources, our human connection to and respect for soil has been disrupted. “Drought, climate change, even war are all directly related to the way we are treating dirt.”

DIRT! the Movie — narrated by Jaime Lee Curtis — brings to life the environmental, economic, social and political impact that the soil has. It shares the stories of experts from all over the world who study and are able to harness the beauty and power of a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with soil.

DIRT! the Movie is simply a movie about dirt. The real change lies in our notion of what dirt is. The movie teaches us: “When humans arrived 2 million years ago, everything changed for dirt. And from that moment on, the fate of dirt and humans has been intimately linked.” But more than the film and the lessons that it teaches, DIRT the Movie is a call to action.

Here’s the trailer to the film.

And here’s the movie’s website.

The link to the film on the PRI Australia’s website is here: Dirt: The Movie.

So plan on sitting down somewhere and enjoying a full-length film about dirt.  It will hold you spellbound.

To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.  Alfred Austin

Another pause!

More beautiful pictures from Cynthia G.

A couple of weeks ago, I published a selection of photographs from a number of pictures that had been sent to me by Cynthia.  I named the post Small pause today and it received 25 ‘Likes’ and favourable comments including one from Pedantry that simply said, “More of the same, please! :)”

So to Pedantry and all you other dear readers, here comes more of the same!

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Forgive me now for this little indulgence; a couple of pictures from closer to home – literally!

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An early morning picture of the woods overlooking our Oregon property.

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My lovely Jeannie helping tidy up the bank of the creek.

The creek did rise!

Connections!

Our good friend back in Payson, John Hurlburt, is often heard to close a conversation in response to a “Best wishes” with the saying “Good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.”

Well for us the creek did rise last week-end!

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So when I rang John a couple of days ago and asked him where the expression came from, he was quick to explain that it was a familiar ‘sign-off’ by Red Barber, a former sports broadcaster.

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Red Barber

As Wikipedia explains:

Walter Lanier “Red” Barber (February 17, 1908 – October 22, 1992) was an American sportscaster.

Barber, nicknamed “The Ol’ Redhead”, was primarily identified with radio broadcasts of Major League Baseball, calling play-by-play across four decades with the Cincinnati Reds (1934–38), Brooklyn Dodgers (1939–1953), and New York Yankees (1954–1966).

Like his fellow sports pioneer Mel Allen, Barber also gained a niche calling college and professional football in his primary market of New York City.

OK, that’s all for now – off to the shops to get in 10 days of supplies before the bridge is repaired, as reported here!

Another Sunday pause

More beautiful pictures.

Many of you ‘Liked’ the pictures from last Sunday’s Small pause today post.  Those pictures were sent to me by Cynthia, wife of long-time friend Dan Gomez.

So I decided to present another set, this time sent to me by Suzann, who is Dan’s sister.  Again, they are beautiful albeit very different images.

Northern Lights Over Teepees

(NORTHERN LIGHTS, YELLOW KNIFE, CANADA )

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Now check out that thermometer!

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Now more beautiful images.

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The next picture is a fire rainbow; the rarest natural phenomenon in the atmosphere.  The picture was taken on the Idaho Washington border and the event lasted for about an hour.

Apparently, the clouds have to be cirrus of an altitude of 20,000 feet with just the right proportion of ice crystals.  Then the sunlight has to illuminate the clouds at precisely 58 degrees to the horizontal.

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Sunset at the North Pole

Another rare picture taken when the moon was closest to the earth. Taken Thursday, the 13th. of March 2011.

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Note how unusual it is to see the sun below the moon!

Thanks Su for sending me the pics.

Small pause today.

Revel in these beautiful images.

Taking a bit of a short-cut today in the form of offering you these images kindly sent to me by Cynthia G., wife of long-time friend, Dan Gomez.

Further words seem entirely inadequate!

More animal lessons!

Continuing the fabulous photographs.

Did you see the first eleven from yesterday?  If not, go here.

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Don’t they make one feel so wonderful!

Animals have much to teach us!

Just a wonderful set of very heart-warming pictures.

Note: These were sent to me by John H. back on the 13th October, our penultimate Saturday in Arizona.  I thought they would make a perfect start to our first November week-end in Merlin, Oregon.

There are twenty-two in total; eleven today and the rest tomorrow.

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The concluding glorious eleven photographs tomorrow.

Oregon bound!

Just had to share this with you all.

Neil Kelly lives in the small South Devon village of Littlehempston.  When I was living in Devon, just a few miles away in the village of Harberton, I got to know Neil well and enjoyed his creative talents including cartoons.  A few days ago Neil emailed me the cartoon below, which Jean and I just had to share.

Thanks Neil.