tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post2722980210640473123..comments2024-03-26T01:52:45.563-07:00Comments on Fred's Place: John Muir: Destruction or Creation?Fredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-47652203517045936712017-04-08T01:09:38.280-07:002017-04-08T01:09:38.280-07:00Mudpuddle,
Perhaps that's because there is no...Mudpuddle,<br /><br />Perhaps that's because there is none?Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-91514910471906118342017-04-07T21:21:09.223-07:002017-04-07T21:21:09.223-07:00it's difficult to see an aesthetic in a block ...it's difficult to see an aesthetic in a block of concrete...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-41907028909014856632017-04-07T08:00:12.954-07:002017-04-07T08:00:12.954-07:00Sharon,
I doubt it also. Sharon,<br /><br />I doubt it also. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-41485926018050142262017-04-06T15:17:37.782-07:002017-04-06T15:17:37.782-07:00Hi Fred,
It reminds me of when I was visiting Sea...Hi Fred,<br /><br />It reminds me of when I was visiting Seattle. I was in an old Historic church that was so beautiful with ornaments and filigree all over the Greek Revival structure.<br /><br />A brochure informed visitors that they were planning on tearing down the building in favor of a more modern structure. The church hardly had any members and I think they thought a "modern building" would encourage more people to attend.<br /><br />I doubt it.Sharon Wilfonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17466621290140789056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-60187249863085670382017-04-06T13:52:27.510-07:002017-04-06T13:52:27.510-07:00Mudpuddle,
Unfortunately those don't increase...Mudpuddle,<br /><br />Unfortunately those don't increase profits, so that won't come into consideration.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-6680058608210220052017-04-06T10:57:18.263-07:002017-04-06T10:57:18.263-07:00architecture: i've seen older buildings with ...architecture: i've seen older buildings with decorative art and designs that must have demanded an extraordinary amount of patience and imagination to create; even more admirable when contrasted with the concrete monstrosities thrown up by "modern" constructionists...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-30024935250423564382017-04-06T08:06:50.299-07:002017-04-06T08:06:50.299-07:00Brian,
I agree--profit shouldn't be the only ...Brian,<br /><br />I agree--profit shouldn't be the only motive for doing or not doing something. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-80611919625581493462017-04-06T08:03:56.439-07:002017-04-06T08:03:56.439-07:00And the universe, the cosmos, is changing also, al...And the universe, the cosmos, is changing also, although frequently on a time scale that is so long that we can only infer it. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-85019964153778389272017-04-06T07:15:19.577-07:002017-04-06T07:15:19.577-07:00These are very interesting excepts and you raise s...These are very interesting excepts and you raise some very interesting questions.<br /><br />I am often positive about many forms of progress. <br /><br />However, pulling down old buildings and neighborhoods and building superficial places seems like a very bad thing. With that, some of this is likely necessary and unavoidable. "some" seems to be the key here. I think that our society often goes to far and we can would benefit if we preserved more of the old things. <br /><br />Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-49628801727265781412017-04-05T21:05:32.194-07:002017-04-05T21:05:32.194-07:00very nice allegorical imagery... tx, Tim...very nice allegorical imagery... tx, Tim...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-44591382227730227032017-04-05T21:04:05.331-07:002017-04-05T21:04:05.331-07:00right on Stephen... that's more of a geologic...right on Stephen... that's more of a geological perspective, wherein change over a million years or so is considered but a moment in the ongoing evolution of the planet...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-35562865339425762732017-04-05T13:10:39.921-07:002017-04-05T13:10:39.921-07:00Tim,
Thanks for posting the poem. It's a clas...Tim,<br /><br />Thanks for posting the poem. It's a classic example of how memories affect our perception. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-26619167991264685172017-04-05T10:58:10.115-07:002017-04-05T10:58:10.115-07:00Yes! Stasis is over-rated, and (unfortunately or f...Yes! Stasis is over-rated, and (unfortunately or fortunately) we as humans have limited perspectives on the scope and rate of change around us. Thank you for sharing the excerpts and your thoughts. What follows, a poem I discovered this morning at The Writer's Almanac website, seems relevant:<br /><br /> Yes, yes, you can’t step into the same<br /> river twice, but all the same, this river<br /> is one of the things that has changed<br /> least in my life, and stepping into it<br /> always feels like returning to something<br /> far back and familiar, its steady current<br /> of coppery water flowing around my calves<br /> and then my thighs, my only waders<br /> a pair of old shorts. Holding a fly rod<br /> above my head, my other arm out<br /> for balance, like some kind of dance,<br /> trying not to slip on the mossy rocks,<br /> I make my way out to the big rock<br /> I want to fish from, mottled with lichen<br /> that has dried to rusty orange, a small<br /> midstream island that a philosopher<br /> might use to represent stasis<br /> versus flux, being amidst becoming,<br /> in some argument that is larger<br /> than any that interests me now<br /> as I climb out dripping onto the boulder<br /> and cast my line out to where the bubbles<br /> form a channel and trail off in a V<br /> that points to where the fish might be,<br /> holding steady amid the river’s flow.<br /><br /> "The Same River" by Jeffrey Harrison from Into Daylight. © Tupelo Press, 2014.RTDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17113953356514605424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-23768714242444411372017-04-05T09:59:05.956-07:002017-04-05T09:59:05.956-07:00Stephen,
Progress may not be the right word, but ...Stephen,<br /><br />Progress may not be the right word, but it's what I'm told when I object to the destruction of old buildings merely because they are old and because someone can't make as much of a profit as they could with a condo or a strip mall or a parking lot.<br /><br />Yes, I agree. We tend to see the world as fixed and immutable, but changes are still taking place, just as evolution, as Loren Eiseley so eloquently argues, is still going on.<br /><br />And, as you point out, the volcanic islands are perfect examples of changes we can see.<br /><br />And novas are taking place, resulting in the death of one star and the birth of new stars.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-14675919643651692382017-04-05T09:33:03.008-07:002017-04-05T09:33:03.008-07:00"Progress" is not the word. It implies a..."Progress" is not the word. It implies a moving-towards something, but with Nature there is no "something" to arrive at. (For that matter, progress shouldn't be applied to politics unless there is a clear idea of what we are headed towards...progress towards tyranny, progress towards liberty, progress towards order, progress towards inanity...)<br /><br />But to the author's point, it is exhilarating to realize that the Cosmos is still being shaped around us. In our own lifetime, islands may appear and disappear because of vulcanism! <br /><br /> Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15097908023032528200noreply@blogger.com