INSPIRATION LIVES HERE and MIND BLOWING TALENT

OLMSTED POINT

     Olmsted Point, one of America's iconic locations, offers a view of the north side of Half Dome, one of the planet's most incredible spots.

   It seems appropriate this powerful view is named for a family that exerted powerful influence over how we live with nature.

   Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. who designed New York's Central Park is considered the father of American landscape architecture.  His son Frederick Jr. followed his path. Jr designed Biltmore and worked on Acadia, the Everglades and Yosemite. They understood the importance of nature,  setting and the quality of timelessness.

  Now generations come to this high spot in Yosemite and inspire their own muse.

Photo by Lana Cochrun
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

     Millard Fillmore, a Whig, was President when the Onyx Store opened in 1851. Today the store gets high ratings for its sandwiches, though there are not many places around this Kern County establishment in the town of 475.  

     The Onyx Store opened two years after the California Gold Rush began.  As an historical footnote, it was the year Moby Dick was published, the Yacht America, from the New York Yacht Club, won the first Americas Cup race and Virginia decided that all white males had the right to vote.

      A piece of the old west survives. What stories it could to tell.

A GREAT PERFORMANCE

     Michael Keaton in Birdman is one of the all time great performances. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu weaves a quirky comedic tale powered by incredible acting all around. Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, Zach Galifinakas and the rest of cast are all simply superb. But Keaton leaves us with a theatrical work of art.  In fact the film is very much like excellent theatre and coincidentally is shot at and around the St. James theatre, all of which adds texture and nuance to what we see. Seeing Keaton work is a joy.  

     There is a scene where Norton is trying for a role in the play Keaton is staging. The two do an audition rehearsal and as characters they realize there is a magic in the way they interact. Fact is, you get that same pop and awareness from your seat watching the play in the film and realize there is some talent at work, in combine.

      If you get to see this work, pay particularly close attention to Keaton's eyes. Masterful work. Hope the politics of the Academy work in such a way he gets a nomination for this performance.

      See you down the trail.

     

THE JEWEL OF THE DESERT

LINES AT THE BILTMORE

     The Arizona Biltmore is one of those special places. A rich history and an elegance of another age makes it a place

worthy of returning to. It is also a photographer's dream.

    I'm back for a round of meetings and enjoying the visual texture.  People think they see Frank Lloyd Wright's work here. In a sense they do.  The architect was Albert Chase McArthur who was mentored and guided by Wright.

 It's been a hang out for stars since it opened in 1929. In what could be one of pop cultures greatest disconnects, Irving Berlin wrote White Christmas here-in the Valley of the Sun.

 Every American President since Herbert Hoover has stayed here.  One night Sammy Davis Jr, Frank Sinatra and Liza Minelli surprised late night patrons with an impromptu performance in the famed lobby bar.

  Of course this time of year it is a tad warm.  At this writing it is 100.  It is bound for 108.  The evening cool may get down to 86!

   See you down the trail. (in the shade)