Friday, April 9, 2010

Dead End Street . . .

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If I may toss out one more dog portrait for your consideration, I liked this grizzled old fella's pointy ears . . .
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And could imagine him living in a house like this one . . .
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French for "Dead End Street" is "Voie Sans Issue". Those houses seemed to be at least on a figurative dead end street . . .
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34 comments:

Jilly said...

He's adorable, Owen. And thanks for the French lesson. I always get confused with Voie sans issue and Impasse - and then there is Cul de Sac which I think is only used in England yet has the same meaning.

Back to your dog. I love his expression and those ears! A lovely shot, as always.

Barlinnie said...

Great shot of both matching pooch and hoose. You have the knack, thats for sure.

Deborah said...

You make such great connections, Owen. Not surprising that you're in the profession you are.

Steve said...

Wow. Ears like primitive spear points! I bet his hearing is damned sharp...

Selina Kingston said...

Great photos (as ever) but I don't think I'd like to come across that dog on my own .....

PeterParis said...

You have an amazing stock of photos! I have to repeat that this could again have been part of the Erwitt exposition! The dog has some nice ears, you have some fantastic eyes!

French Fancy... said...

If I'd had to guess at *"Voie Sans Issue* I would have thought it meant someone without children. I often run into difficulties when trying to guess what the news is about over here.

As for pictures of dogs - keep 'em coming, I say,

CiCi said...

I have taken a turn a few times in my life that turned out to be dead end streets in life and had to change direction and keep on trucking! This poor dog looks like he has had a hard life. Maybe I am just being sentimental but he makes me sad.

Ofelia Gasque Andrés said...

Hello Owen,
adorable, loving dog and photos.
Kisses

Stickup Artist said...

Pointy ears and those long spindly legs. It all looks so junkyard dog or Grapes of Wrath. What a story they tell, another time and place. A little worse for the wear but still standing. Weary witnesses. Lovely post.

Owen said...

Hi Jilly, hmmm, good question, I'm not sure that there is really any difference between "impasse", "voie sans issue", and "cul de sac"... I always liked that last one though, "the ass of the bag"... like "sky, my husband", some expressions just don't translate well... Am happy you're enjoying the dog photos... but you remain the champion dog blogger ! Nothing surpasses Riviera Dogs for pure canine charm per square pixel...

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Hey Jimmy,
Ach, oonly yoo could succeed in making "pooch" rhyme with "hoose", and get away with it... I just wish I could hear you say it out loud... or oot lood... not to be confused with lewd...

Oh yes, I meant to thank you for your tip about the beer in Prague, will keep that in mind when I get there... for I do intend to... love discovering obscure local beers. There is one beer brewed very close to where I am in France which is Frog Beer, with a big green frog on the label. Actually it's called St Rieul...
A fine weekend to you good sir...

Owen said...

Bonjour Deborah ! Making connections, what life is all about...
:-)

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Steve, not only were his ears damned sharp, his teeth were too... I had to leap back shortly after this was taken, and would never have approached this close if he hadn't been on a good stout lead... gosh only knows what breed he is, a ridgeback hyena cross if you ask me... even in old age one to be wary of... if you value your private parts !
:-)

Owen said...

Dear Selina, you and I both... see answer to Steve above...

====================

Hi Peter,
Well, with my old Canon A1 film SLR 35mm film camera, from roughly 1980 through 2003 or so, I shot almost exclusively in black and white, mostly on Kodak Tri-X, and have a little collection of about 4000 negatives from that period... only just this past year I finally started taking them little by little to a lab to get them scanned to digital files, but I have a long way to go yet, and money is scarce... All the B&W shots in these pages are coming from that pile of negatives... lots more there still to come...
Many thanks for the comparison to Erwitt, though I'm not sure I'd go that far... I am but a flea on one of Erwitts dogs ...
:-)

joo said...

I love this dog Owen,there's something special about him!

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

Like your dog portraits. This particular ol' fella seems to be quite a character.

Nevine Sultan said...

Hey, I could live in a house like that, at least when I want to write. You find the most interesting places, Owen. You must always have that camera strapped around your neck. How else to come upon such serendipities? I can't imagine. Have a great weekend, and try to chill a bit. I know I've started my chillin' already... Half day off and I'm rollin'...

Nevine

Ann said...

such character on his face...wonderful photograph.

Anonymous said...

Being able to go ahead, forward, towards life...having a WHY, making one able to bear nearly every HOW.

Please have a wonderful weekend.

Penelope Potty Snooper said...

It's amazing how even ugly can look nice!

The Sagittarian said...

Thats a Spock dog if ever I saw one...did you beam him up?

Amy said...

That fella is quite handsome with a majestic set of ears. I bet he hears all the best gossip.

Lynne with an e said...

I won't take issue with this post.

Owen said...

Hi FF,
ah, maybe a public way with no descendants ? In America we talk about people having "issues" when they are having problems with something, so maybe it's a street with no problems ? Often easy to wonder about the meanings of things when working with a second language...
:-)

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Hi TechnoB... he's looking pretty grizzled... but me, I see him almost laughing

Owen said...

Hi Ofelia, many thanks, and bises...

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Hey Stickup, yeah, I'd love to see the junkyard he would have been guarding, it's probably just behind the wood fence he's standing by there, but there wasn't so much as a knothole to peep through... He's a survivor alright...

Owen said...

Hi Joo,
Thanks to you... and also condolences to all the people of Poland this sad Spring weekend...

Owen said...

Hi Lone Grey Squirrel...

I would have thought you'd keep a wary distance from this feller... but seeing as he's tied up on a stout leash, perhaps a squirrel is bolder in such a situation ? I'll bet he'd like nothing better to chase a squirrel or two... If you've enjoyed these latest dog portraits, there are quite a few more to be seen by clicking "Dog Photos" in the labels list in the side bar... woof !

Owen said...

Hi Nevine ! Lucky you to have a half day off heading into the weekend... it's like long ago, there was always something lovely about being let out of school early, being let loose to play all afternoon... There are some days when the camera is practically grafted to me... there is so much out there to photograph when one pokes around a little, and there are few things I love better than getting out into a place I've never been before, and tracking down hidden secrets... Would have loved to see the inside of that long, long house, with few windows on the side...

Owen said...

Hello Ann, alot of character, but sort of inscrutable... obviously alert though...

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Tag Robert,
The bearing of "hows" becomes a zen exercise, while the rarely revealed "whys" are illumination...

May your light always shine...

Owen said...

Dear Bellybytes... what a charming screen name... et oui, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as is ugly I guess, and sometimes the two get together in the most marvellous of marriages...

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Dear Saj.... that's not logical
:-)

Owen said...

Hi Amy, I'm sure you're right, with those radar ears he can probably here a pin drop a mile off... and it's probably hearing all that gossip that turned his ears black too...


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Lynne... no issues ??? Sans issue ? Well, I'll have to see if I can find something for you to take issue with, having no issues won't do at all...
:-)
Hope you are well and had a good visit with friends in the rainiest of cities on Earth, where Tom Robbins hails from, or near anyway...

jeff said...

Ta "voie sans issue" me laisse sans voix ! ! !
Ce chien est un rescapé de quoi pour tirer une langue pareille ?...
Et puis, c'est normal un chien qui a de si longues oreilles ?...
Mais où donc les trouves-tu ces chiens sous les portes, aux longues oreilles, qui sautent, qui tirent la langue, qui dorment nonchalemment sur ce blog en se foutant pas mal du blogueur qui passe par là...?

A plus amigo du Nord !
Woafff !

Roxana said...

but this dog's photo is amazing, it's really very good, one can feel the tension and strength and almost the beating of his heart - i think you might just have captured the essence of dogginness (doggedness? :-)


dear Owen, i'd like to thank you again (and again and again) for your comments full of warmth and love and thoughtfulness on the Bridge, they weighed a lot in my decision to come back...

Owen said...

Ah Jeff, te voilà !

Mais depuis des années quand je ne suis pas dans des cimetières je suis dans la rue en train de courir après tel ou tel chien jusqu'à ce qu'il me laisse faire une photo, un espèce de paparazzi des chiens... mais je suis loin d'être le pire dans ce domaine, et très loin d'être talentueux pour ça... il suffit de regarder le travail d'Elliott Erwitt pour voir le vrai maitre des chiens en photo... Mais quand même, c'est vrai que j'adore nos amis à quatre pattes, et me mets souvent à quatre pattes pour mieux comprendre leurs soucis...
:-)
Waaaooouuuuffff to you too amigo...

Owen said...

Roxana, Chère Roxana, Dear Roxana,
But you hadn't actually been thinking of staying away from the bridge for long ?!? How would we have lived without you, without you and your luminous visions that show us that there is more, far more than meets the eye, to the world around us, the magical, ethereal, mystical world which you open up to us in a manner totally unique, and completely unlike anything I've ever seen anywhere else, and with such grace. Amazing grace... but if in any small way the thoughts I offered up there, carved in the railings on the bridge, were of help to you in a moment of doubt or fatigue, then I'm humbled and flattered and thrilled... for the blogosphere would be a dimmer, grimmer, duller, sadder place without the powerful light you shine...