Shootings
Two things today.
First - Yesterday a policeman was shot in Paris by a reported Islamist militant. He was subsequently shot by the security forces.
The gunman, name to be released, is thought to have lived in the suburbs of Paris - which seems to be a bit of a 'radicalisation spot' for angry young men. He was also on the police radar as a potential Islamist radical.
Which poses a few questions -
The (originally American, but increasingly British) practise of putting your one-year-old with a messy cake and having a professional photographer record the occasion. And the ensuing 'bath'. Apparently such photo-shoots can cost around £800.
Cute? Wasteful? What do you think, Dear Reader?
I've been to weddings where, it appeared, the main point of the whole occasion was to get good photographs. That was more than thirty years ago, so I dread to think what it's like now. We had BiL take our wedding photos. He was a good photographer even then, and we knew we could keep him 'under control' so that the photographing didn't take over.
I dunno, a wedding is supposed to mark the beginning of a marriage. The joining of two people to form a new family (wife and husband are a family in and of themselves, without the addition of children.) It's supposed to mark the beginning of something much, much bigger.
These days it seems to be the excuse for a huge party. For getting it 'perfect'. For the inclusion of loads of (expensive) extraneous 'details' which will help make the occasion 'perfect'. Oh, and it occurs well into the relationship of a couple, often their children participate. And it stands a one in three (or is it now 50:50) chance of 'failing'.
Yes, it is still possible to get wed on a limited budget, rather than break the bank and end up starting married life in serious debt, but the whole wedding 'thing' can be very expensive. Like recording Baby's First Birthday has become.
Why do we have to record everything with pictures? Like the people who are present at events and yet, holding up their phones and pads, miss so much because they are concentrating on the recording?
What's wrong with having a thorough look, and remembering? If you want to 'record' an event, you can always blog.
For that matter, why all the so conspicuous consumption? Do we somehow not exist or have less 'worth' if we aren't seen?
As we used to tell the children, just because 'everyone is doing it' doesn't mean that you have to (we tried to build in resilience to peer pressure. Did it work?) It certainly doesn't mean that it's necessarily a Good Idea.
On which thought, I'll wish y'all a good day!
First - Yesterday a policeman was shot in Paris by a reported Islamist militant. He was subsequently shot by the security forces.
The gunman, name to be released, is thought to have lived in the suburbs of Paris - which seems to be a bit of a 'radicalisation spot' for angry young men. He was also on the police radar as a potential Islamist radical.
Which poses a few questions -
- If the security forces 'knew' about him, how come he 'was allowed' to shoot someone?
- What is it about the Paris suburbs which makes them such potential radicalisation hot spots?
- Why are France's Muslims not integrating with the rest of the population?
- Are they 'keeping themselves to themselves'?
- Or are they being effectively isolated, even 'ghetto-ised', by French society in general?
- What is being done about all this?
- Is anything constructive even being thought about, let alone attempted?
- Why does there seem to be so many angry young Muslim men worldwide - who are 'ripe' for radicalisation?
Click to viewThe (originally American, but increasingly British) practise of putting your one-year-old with a messy cake and having a professional photographer record the occasion. And the ensuing 'bath'. Apparently such photo-shoots can cost around £800.
Cute? Wasteful? What do you think, Dear Reader?
I've been to weddings where, it appeared, the main point of the whole occasion was to get good photographs. That was more than thirty years ago, so I dread to think what it's like now. We had BiL take our wedding photos. He was a good photographer even then, and we knew we could keep him 'under control' so that the photographing didn't take over.
I dunno, a wedding is supposed to mark the beginning of a marriage. The joining of two people to form a new family (wife and husband are a family in and of themselves, without the addition of children.) It's supposed to mark the beginning of something much, much bigger.
These days it seems to be the excuse for a huge party. For getting it 'perfect'. For the inclusion of loads of (expensive) extraneous 'details' which will help make the occasion 'perfect'. Oh, and it occurs well into the relationship of a couple, often their children participate. And it stands a one in three (or is it now 50:50) chance of 'failing'.
Yes, it is still possible to get wed on a limited budget, rather than break the bank and end up starting married life in serious debt, but the whole wedding 'thing' can be very expensive. Like recording Baby's First Birthday has become.
Why do we have to record everything with pictures? Like the people who are present at events and yet, holding up their phones and pads, miss so much because they are concentrating on the recording?
What's wrong with having a thorough look, and remembering? If you want to 'record' an event, you can always blog.
For that matter, why all the so conspicuous consumption? Do we somehow not exist or have less 'worth' if we aren't seen?
As we used to tell the children, just because 'everyone is doing it' doesn't mean that you have to (we tried to build in resilience to peer pressure. Did it work?) It certainly doesn't mean that it's necessarily a Good Idea.
On which thought, I'll wish y'all a good day!