Christmas has come...and gone

Well that is another Christmas over and done with - though this year was the first time that we had our ow small person in the house to share it with us.  Wee B is too young to understand or enjoy the celibrations but it is safe to say that everyone else enjoyed being around him.

This year we kept the number of gifts for him down to a minimum as there was not a lot that he needed.  Everyone else did not but that was to be expected.  It is remarkable how much he has changed already though as he is now able to play on the mat that his Aunt and Uncle bought him, and he loves it.  In 7 weeks he has gone from a baby to his own wee person who can track things and make noises while interacting with people.  

This has been a truley good year in the Lally household and we hope that 2013 works out just as well for us

Accountability and change

So over the last few days, the focus in the news has been on the terrible situation in Newtown Connecticut.  It is truly horrific that this can happen in a 'modern' society, and our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected in some way by the tragic events

As a new parent the notion that our children can be hurt when in a 'safe' location by someone who is obviously sick in some way is terrifying in way that would not have been the case before we had the baby.  When things like this happen you are left with the question as to how do we stop this from happening again.

This has, of course, sparked the gun debate, as it should, but you are left wondering what will change.  Should a change in gun law be passed it is unclear what practical steps could be undertaken to ensure that the people that have guns, are safe to have them.

What has disturbed me (other than the event it's self) is the the news coverage of this event.  It is not that there has been anything particularly inappropriate but more that there is an ever growing bank of evidence that says that the way we broadcast these events actually leads to more shootings.  As you would expect the debate about the impact of violent TV and Film has reignited, with certain films coming under scrutiny, despite the fact that here is no evidence to show that this is is actually the case, while there is evidence that the news coverage could be making the situation worse.  I think that this is shown in comments from Roger Ebert.  This follows on from the show produced by Charlie Brooker in 2009 about the same thing in more detail (you can watch it here).  

The psychologists in Brooker's show present some scary information as to the impact that our standard new broadcasts can have.  To me what is most worrying is that the knowledge of the impact of the news broadcasts is well known, but still it is used.

If the way that we present the information, with a focus on the individual, making them an anti hero and the focus point for a number of days around the world, is likely to create more related situations, due to the impact that this has on those who are mentally susceptible, then there should be an onus all of us to make sure that this does not happen.  To my mind the media needs to have more responsibility and focus on not creating an environment where those who have mental weaknesses will see a way to get there 15 minutes of fame.  As individuals we have a responsibility to make sure we are not encouraging media production which glamourises those who carry out these acts.

The flip side of this comes from a news paper article again written by Charlie Brooker following the shooting, which shows the impact that the media can have on us  - which you can read here and I would recommend that you do.

Finally there is another article in the Huffington Post which gives a perspective as to the families of he shooters. There are things in this article which I find disturbing, but the core story here is something we should remember and you should take the time to read here

At the end of this, I am left with a feeling of sadness that despite this, and the many other similar incidents, it is likely that nothing will change.  Gun laws will not be revised, media coverage will continue to focus on the wrong things and there will not be a better understanding of the impact of mental illness.  I hope I am wrong  but fear I am not

Epic Fail

The tite of this post is the only way to describe my posting - life has been busy and inspiration lacking but I am going to attempt to do better and I have started by updating the look of the site

Some Assembly Required

Ok so making an effort, at least for today.  So we went to the pictures for the first time in a long time today.  We decided that we could brave the noise and series of adverts that you seem to have to sit through every time you pay to see something.  Today we were lucky and only had a few ad's to make our way through before the main feature - Captain America: The First Avenger.

As far as films about the Capt. go this one was about as good as it could be,  Personally I have never really liked the character and I found that his typical  villainous opponents were, frankly, a bit rubbish.  All this being the case we still went because I do like Super Hero films, especially those from Marvel.  Another thing weighing in it's favour was that I had not had high hopes for X-Men First Class, and it was really good.

The effects were good, and they made very effective use of the 3D technology throughout the film.  The actors did well and the Red Skull was the least rubbish he could be.  It is not at the same level as Iron Man, Thor or Wolverine, but it is quite watchable.

By far the highlight of the film (for me at least, probably because I am a little odd) was the extra wee clip they put at the end.  I will not spoil it for you but the title of the post features in it and, if you missed it you can see it here

Micro blogging by any other name

So it has been an epic fail again on my part to actually write something on this site regularly.  It continued to be difficult to find some inspiration about something to write about here.  I have spent a little while pondering why this could be the case, and in doing so I have looked at the other sites that I have been using on a regular basis.  Having looked over the variety of sites (which to be fair are not that varied) one thing has become apparent - actually spend a lot of time blogging, I just had not realised it.

Twitter

Most obviously - a few months ago I discussed the fact that I was going to give twitter a go.  Since I joined I have apparently posted 521 tweets, which is quite a lot. I enjoy using it, and have had some cracking conversations with friends real time, and more often than not, I can find something which I will find most entertaining.  The effort to post anything on Twitter is minimal and you have to consider what you will write due to the character limit, which has to be a good thing, but there is the danger that it just becomes a stream of consciousness, and that is not always a good thing.

Facebook

I also spend a while on Facebook - its  a nice way to keep in touch with friends, but in much the same way as Twitter, it can suck up time as you surf what people are doing.  It really is a bit of a substitute for celebrity gossip, but for people you know.  

Blip

I also seem to have put a lot of time into posting and looking around Blipfoto. Call it anything else that you like but, in essence, it is just an illustrated blog.  I am coming up on 50'ish posts there and it is a lot of fun. Much like Facebook and Twitter you can still follow people and see what they are posting as well as seeing who is following you. I also find that there is quite a bit of inspiration to be had in terms of the shots that other folks have taken, and working out how they did it.  I think, though I would not swear to it, that it is helping improve my photography (at least when I am not using my camera phone).  You can find me here if you are interested

So….

So my conclusion is that I am have just re-focused where I am writing rather than just putting it all here.  I shall try to work out a way to post something sensible here more often,  No guarantees but we will see what happens