Comments on Avoiding boredom: Walk like a dog

I imagine that could be very frustrating, but true...

2008-07-17T23:47:00.000+10:00

I imagine that could be very frustrating, but true to form, I try to look for the positives.

Apart from some of the illusions possibly scaring you shitless for a few seconds until you realise what they really are, they could provide lots of fodder for stories.

The trouble is I've been having optical illusions ...

2008-07-17T21:38:00.000+10:00

The trouble is I've been having optical illusions my whole life and I've been wearing my glasses since the second grade.

That illusory perception is one of the very few th...

2008-07-14T09:40:00.000+10:00

That illusory perception is one of the very few things I'm enjoying about needing to wear glasses for long distance. When I take them off, everything becomes fuzzy around the edges and the farther away it is the less recognisable it is. I like trying to work out what something is, coming up with as many different scenarios as I can, then putting my glasses on to find out for sure. I'm always surprised at the result.

Not wearing my glasses when I'm out walking also puts me into a little cocoon. It's like walking around in a bubble, where I don't impact on the world and it doesn't impact on me. A nice fantasy.

When I got to the part where you explained what yo...

2008-07-13T12:10:00.000+10:00

When I got to the part where you explained what you meant, I thought it was a rather charming comparison. It was just the initial "walks like a dog" image that struck me funny. It didn't immediately occur to me that you meant she runs around like a dog.

I'm always fascinated by illusions - optical illusions, auditory illusions, and even phrase illusions. Often on my walks I'll see something in the distance and think it's something and then when I get up on it realize it's something altogether else.

Jim

We have the same connections between women and dog...

2008-07-13T07:59:00.000+10:00

We have the same connections between women and dogs here too but I try to ignore them and avoid them. Dogs are beautiful creatures and shouldn't be used in such a demeaning way. The people who use the term need to expand their vocabulary and take a long look at the type of people they are if they can be so awful to both dogs and women.

I thought I'd achieved a degree of separation from the 'she's a dog' inference by saying she 'walks' like a dog, but obviously not. Lauren is definitely not 'a dog'.

My focus was on the personality, not the physical attributes of dogs. They're curious, playful animals who can find enjoyment in everything they do. It's those qualities that struck me as Lauren and I were walking.

Lauren adores dogs so didn't mind being associated to one in that context. She just rolls her eyes when I tell her she's made my blog again, and I think as long as I don't do anything to compromise her privacy, that's the reaction I'll continue to get.

That doesn't sound very flattering to say your dau...

2008-07-12T22:28:00.000+10:00

That doesn't sound very flattering to say your daughter walks like a dog. My first impression on hearing that is something very different from what you intended.

To me dogs walk sort of frantic, stiff-legged, sometimes with the tongues hanging out, with their tails up and the butt-holes showing for all to see. So your opening statement about your daughter gave me a very weird view of her.

Now when you explain what you meant, it was very flattering, but I think you should have said it different. Maybe, "My daughter has the inquisitiveness of a dog on a walk." Or "On walks my daughter never stays on the path, she's like a dog running in every direction, doing...." Or maybe, "I love my daughter's dog like qualities." Since people love dogs, we'll assume they are the best qualities.

By the way, in America if you want to call a woman ugly, you refer to her as a dog. So dog connotations have a loaded implication. Isn't that true down under?

How did you daughter first react to hearing "she walks like a dog."

Jim