Visions of the Humpback Whale / Against All Odds / Survival Prayer

(Delay at beginning, starts at 0:05)

About 30 miles north of Bellingham in the Salish Sea.

Photo from Peace Arch News.

It was in 1970 that I was first made aware of the plight of the Humpback Whale through Judy Collins' version of "Farewell to Tarwathie":

This songis by George Scroggie who lived in Aberdeenshire in the middle of the 19th century. At that time men would sign on to the whaling ships to earn money when times were hard on the land.

Survival Prayer / Talking About Raven

"Survival Prayer"

Recently I discovered and bought a copy of this splendid film directed by Benjamin Greené.  I'm not sure, but my guess is that he grew up here in Bellingham, Washington.

From his website:

"Benjamin Greené studied Neuroscience at Oberlin College and co-directed a documentary about the struggle for shelter and community in post-Katrina New Orleans.  After college, he spent two years in a brain-imaging laboratory before leaving academia to pursue filmmaking.  He went on to co-direct Bury Me in Redwood Country about the tallest and largest trees on the planet.  Survival Prayer is his solo directorial debut.  Benjamin is a 2012 graduate of Werner Herzog's Rogue Film School and an IFP Fellow participating in the Independent Filmmaker Labs.  He loves the process of turning ideas into films, leaning into the light, actualizing dreams."

(Gouache and watercolor, "Spectrum Series:  Green," painted in spring of 2007 by am)