We go from one to the other

Tags

allergies, bullies, dysfunctional, education, fashion, Food, kids, life, North America, parents

Back in the 1960’s at the time when Dr. Benjamin Spock was all the rage with parents and childrearing, a new term started to appear in school. Parents, I should say mothers, would say that little Johnny was sensitive and this is why he was not doing so well in class. The fact that little Johnny was indulge and a lazy bastard was not really considered, he was sensitive and schools started to pander to that affliction amongst school boys. That went on during the 1970’s and by the early 1980’s the fashion had turned to letting children choose what they wanted to learn. If in the elementary levels 1 to 6 parents demanded loudly a return to basics, writing, reading, math, in high school it was all about self-discovery and choice. Why would a 13 year old know what they wanted to do and what they should study or what was important to learn at an age when puberty reeks havoc and you have mood swings and changing taste from  one day to the next, is beyond me. I remember then that one popular conversation amongst my school chums was how all you really needed was a grade 9 education to make your way in life.

Then with the rise of the talk shows and all the TV experts, were they really experts? I somehow doubt it, we had a succession of maladies, first abuse in childhood, then dysfunctional families, then allergies like peanuts and all manner of other food allergies like newly discovered glutens, then bipolar disorders, currently transgender children, school bullying is also popular and equity in schools for girls, we are not talking about equality which is a 1970’s topic. What I find interesting about all these different social topics is that everyone is affected, everyone is bipolar and everyone has allergies or comes from dysfunctional families etc.. the list goes on. Remember Oprah came from a dysfunctional family, she had an episode of her show on the topic and the ratings went up.

Per example here in Canada now the whole transgender question is top of radio discussions or at least on CBC. We are told parents should look for signs in young children from birth. A parade of experts and activists give us their views, like it or not.

Having lived in many countries in various cultures, I am comparing and note that all these preoccupations are very North American, we say First World but no it is typically from our culture. Many activists see this as a way of advancing individualism to the extreme, then translate this into a Human Rights issue, the group, society, no longer matters, only the single individual and we must all conform or be denounced.

Peanut allergies do not exist or if it does it is not a fixation as it has become here. The concept of dysfunctional families does not exist as such, maybe because other societies are more conventional or deal differently with their societal problems. Same with all other questions. You certainly do not see the level of hysteria we encounter here. It has come to a point where you cannot have a mature discussion, everyone is riding their high horse and being sanctimonious.

I wonder where we are going as a society, if the so called youth is our future then I am very worried, the little darlings are not prepared for real life and its challenges.

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The last week

Tags

2015, 2016, Altemps, Balenciaga, end of year, fashion, museum, Rome, style

This new photo header of a lady dressed in a beautiful Balenciaga ball gown on the balcony of one of the old palaces in Rome, she symbolize to me elegance and style which must always remain in our lives.

I believe this is Palazzo Altemps which is part of the Italian National Museums, formerly a Residence of Cardinal Mark Sittich Von Hohenems, an interesting man, who had a military career in various wars against the Ottoman Turks, a politician, a governor of several Italian Cities, a Bishop and Cardinal who had a son, Roberto. He was from the Italian-Austrian border area. He latinized his name to Marcus Siticus Altemps to blend into Roman society. He was also the nephew of Pope Pius IV and participated in the election of several Popes during his life time, 1533-1595. He purchased the abandoned Riario palace, re-named it, renovated it completely and housed his own collection of antique statues. Today you can see many other famous collections like the Ludovisi-Buoncompagni collection, all in the old centre of Rome.

The Altemps Palace is one of the most interesting examples of Renaissance architecture in Rome. The building was started by Girolamo Riario in 1477, the nephew of Pope Sixtus, in an area that in antiquity was dedicated to the administration of imported marbles for Temples and Roman Public buildings.

Speaking of the passage of time, here we are again, into the last week of 2015 and as we are told, once it expires it will never come again, it will enter the world of memories. I suppose this is true of every day and every week, time moves on and waits for no one. I prefer to move along too and not dwell on the past since we cannot do anything about it. My life has been about change, cities, continent, houses, cultures, people.

2015 has been a year of passings, for me and for many of my friends. We are now at an age when elderly relatives, parents, those who came before us are entering immortality, I am thinking of all those who have left this year. My father on 12 July suddenly and other family members, parents of friends, acquaintances, for whatever reason death often comes as a surprise to me, like the visitor you are not expecting but will not be put off. We also buried the ashes of my Mother with all of her relatives in the family cemetery, as was her wish on a crisp but sunny day.

But 2015 was also a good year in so many respects, Fate is still smiling on us, we can only say thank you to Fortuna. We went to PEI and discovered wonderful things, we really enjoyed ourselves on the Island. We had the visit of our friends from far away Arizona, who had never been to Ottawa, such intrepid travellers.

It was not a terribly eventful year, despite the change in National government in Canada bringing about a new era after years of despair. I was busy at the two National Museums and at City Hall on the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee. But otherwise we went about our daily lives.

I know that 2016 will bring change, at least in our domicile, since we have to move. That is another story which will unfold and as they say, stay tuned for developments.