Monday, December 19, 2011

Fog and Ice and a Dog Named Blue

Blue and I took a walk this morning. Here's some of what we saw (wish I could have photographed what he smelled):
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6 comments:

* said...

nice colours and nice winter too. and barbed wire. i like those photos.
why is the dog called blue?

December 21, 2011 at 7:11 AM
Scott Abbott said...

his full name is "once in a blue moon," but we chose that because we wanted to call our yellow dog blue, as in "I've got a dog and his name is blue / betcha five dollars he's a good dog too" -- lines from a good old song about a good old dog.

and he is a good dog, getting old like us too.

glad you liked the photos. everywhere i looked that morning there was something striking. i've been wondering, however, about why i have the impulse to take pictures and not the impulse to just look carefully and experience the sight.

December 21, 2011 at 7:39 AM
* said...

that's a good name for a dog.

it's like this, sometimes one sees something to photograph and sometimes not and best is when one can enjoy the scenery and could take a photo but doesn't have to, because the landscape doesn't run away, even though the moment does...but that's not always a problem.

December 21, 2011 at 10:36 AM
Palomine said...

You wrote "i've been wondering, however, about why i have the impulse to take pictures and not the impulse to just look carefully and experience the sight" and that is just the kind of thing I struggle with too. It seems the instruments at our disposal create some powerful dispositions. Greatly enjoy reading your blog.

January 2, 2012 at 8:02 AM
Scott Abbott said...

i like your phrase "the instruments at our disposal create some powerful dispositions."

that's exactly what i'm afraid of.

and language itself is such an instrument at our disposal, i think, creating powerful dispositions.

still, we have to have instruments to work with, and cameras and language and all the others are powerful tools.

hans george gadamer wrote about prejudices in a phrase that might work here as well. since our pre-judgments both enable and disable us, we need to treat them with a "lifting up taking on" or " (eine aufhebende Aneignung." at the same moment we grasp it to use we ought to lift it off to examine.

and thanks for the kind words.

January 2, 2012 at 8:19 AM
Palomine said...

Thanks so much for the insight on language and Gadamer reference.I'm trying to get some work started on the clinical language used in my field, mental health, and how it is so often not lifted off for examination as we use it. Just in general, your work is really inspiring me. Couple of favorites: your essay on your brother and your correspondence with your son when he was living "homeless". Thanks for your great example of responsiveness. By way of explanation on how I stumbled on your blog, I was looking into material related to Peter Handke for an essay I am writing on his work and the filmmaker Lodge Kerrigan's. Really happy I've discovered your work. Thanks again.

January 3, 2012 at 6:01 PM

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