uptowngirl
uptowngirl

Do we love the Royals or could we care less

This week I have read conflicting reports on the reactions to Prince William's engagement to Kate Middleton. While readers in the New York Times seem mad that the newspaper was devoting so much space to the royal engagement,jewelers over the city saw an unexpected surge in the demand for replica sapphire and diamond rings like the one Prince gave Kate Middleton. What does this prove? that we too cool New Yorkers care a wee bit don't we? I for one read all the news reports about the engagement, they seem like a normal couple and the engagement was a bit of a distraction amidst all the doom and gloom of the elections and the threat that Ms. Palin will sweep DWTS .

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/11/16/can-a-royal-couple-be-a-modern-family/what-we-and-the-royals-have-learned

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20101117/FREE/101119861
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
I thought it was funny that our reaction is news in Britain: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11769047

As for whether I care or not... Not really. I'm not part of that demographic that loved Princess Di with all their might (see: my mom and her gal pals), but I'm up for some celeb gossip any day, so I took the news with some interest.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
The girl seems reasonably poised and well-adjusted to deal with her future celebrity status. Unlike Diana who always did have that crazy look in her eyes.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
I'm like BroadwayBK. I could careless. Doesn't affect my life in any way, shape, or form.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@hhusted I would never take you for a celeb news junkie! To quote one of the guys from the article that BroadwayBk posted. It sure beats reading about all the economic gloom and doom and they do make a nice looking couple.. I too loved her ring as sapphires are my birthstone but have never worn any as they can bring you bad luck if they don't agree with you.. sigh! superstitions..
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
I think I'm tired of hearing about her already and the news is only a few days old.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish funny the Mother in law who lives in England said the same thing last evening .. I guess the world's media will be in overdrive at least until the wedding..
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
Bleh. She's not all that charismatic, and I don't care what she's wearing. So enough already with the articles and media coverage.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@Urainumfish You're right... Di did resemble the doe in headlights. But I kind of like that the princess bride looks like a regular person. I think she's cute.

@uptowngirl I LOVE sapphires! And they are not my birthstone. But they are so gorgeous. I have never been a fan of the diamond engagement ring fad. I keep waiting for it to go away, but people don't seem to know that women ever wore any other type of engagement ring.... Also, what does it mean for a sapphire to disagree with you?
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
I agree with Uraniumfish. Enough talking about the couple already. Just another marriage that may hit the dust in a couple of years.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@hhusted That's looking on the bright side.

@everyone Read an interesting article in Time about how we Americans no longer view marriage as necessary, but still - for the most part - covet the heck out of it. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2031962,00.html
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@BroadwayBK In In India it is believed that Sapphire is ruled by the planet Saturn which can bring you much good luck or even subject you to years of bad luck hence a sapphire ring is considered to be lucky/unlucky for you.
Here's a thread from a tarot card forum that explains it better.
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=59527
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@hhusted a bishop has predicted the marriage will last seven years.. how depressing!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8149637/Royal-Wedding-Bishop-predicts-Prince-Williams-marriage-to-Kate-Middleton-will-only-last-seven-years.html
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@BroadwayBK I read that article it has made headline news all over the media, apparently 1 in 4 Americans think that the institution is dead, I think more than anything its the lack of tolerance that perpetuates divorce.
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JenMac
JenMac 2yrs+
The ring was also Di's engagement ring, n'est pas? I agree, though, with you, uraniumfish. There's really nothing all that cool about her. Whereas Harry's girlfriend seems like a real piece of work so that would interest me a lot more.

I don't think it's fair to say it's another marriage that's going to fail. They've been going out for 8 years. It's hardly a whirlwind romance.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@JenMac I should think that after 8 years they would know each other pretty well but perhaps the intense scrutiny by the public and media can play havoc with a relationship. Even then I do hope they make it, too many marriages seem to be going kaput nowadays.
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JenMac
JenMac 2yrs+
@uptowngirl: I completely agree.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Uptowngirl: The bishop is being too kind. Maybe they won't split after two years, but I would say somewhere around four years they will split. This is just a guess though. I read somewhere that marriages last an average of five years. I wonder.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@JenMac That Harry is a piece of work himself.

@everyone I don't really think it's all that fair to say their marriage is destined for failure, either, especially if the media attention is what is likely to be the heavy burden on the relationship in the first place!
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
They've been together an awfully long time, and seem to know each other far better than did, say, Charles and Di. That said, I don't really see the fuss. Even in England, it seems the tabloids care far more about Princess Kate than do my friends, colleagues, etc.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
I have to admit being way more interested in the student riots that happened the other day... the royal vehicle was hit with paint balls!
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@BroadwayBK: Regarding the marriage, all I will say is "we'll see."
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@BroadwayBK I read that as well Prince Charles and his wife appeared to be totally terrified in the accompanying photo
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
I was in Oxford when students, including non-Oxford students occupied the Radcliffe Camera (symbolic building of Oxford, representative of the whole Bodleian Library (normally closed to all but Oxford students). Needless to say, those of us with work to do, even if we supported the reasons behind the protest, were NOT happy.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@ajadedidealist I can only imagine. I don't think I've ever seen students so PO-ed before. Any protests that took place on my campus lawns were pretty pathetic.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Ajadedidealist; What are all the student protests about? I don't seem to see any posts in this forum about it. Or did I miss one.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@hhusted the fees in UK universities have been raised to £ 9000 p.a. and this has caused much outrage among students. Until recently university education in the UK was free.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
I wish they would have massive protests here about university education. I think it's waaaaaaay overpriced and a big sham to go to college in this country.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
Seriously.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
And most of your tuition money goes not to educate you, but to all the frills and bells, like big billboards at football matches and deluxe couches in the business school lounge.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
Seriously!
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish Agreed ! its become absolutely preposterous.. $50,000 a year for an Ivy league school is serious money especially in an economy where jobs are hard to come by.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
Meanwhile all the liberal arts faculty are threadbare and half-starved on adjunct contracts.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
Do the science/math faculty members eat any better? I remember being surprised at how little my professors were making, but I never thought about other people's professors.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
Science & math are not nearly as bad, since those are subjects that are easily applicable to industry. A chemistry professor I knew would tell me how often he gets government honchos and big pharma companies sniffing around at his university lab, wanting to make deals. I suppose the universities know how to make their research laboratories profitable and keep people pretty well paid.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
Any time the price of education is high like that would deter people not to get involved. I understand the need to protest. The problem is will it do any good. Europe suffered a lot during the global recession. Now they are trying to get back to a healthy financial standing. I guess by placing costs on education will help Europe recover quicker.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
Many of my family members have been fortunate enough to have received free University education in the UK..they now can't believe that they will have to shell out money for their kids but yes the Tory government is doing away with many of the benefits which are a drain on the exchequer. Though I also think the UK has been giving political asylum to a whole bunch of folk along with accepting people from other Eurozone countries all factors which cause a massive drain on resources in a country where the highest levels of taxation are as much as 50%.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
You pay nearly 50% in taxes? That is unheard of. No wonder Europe can give free healthcare to all its citizens. The taxes pay for most of it.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
@hhusted Yeah, the taxes can kill you in Europe: 25% for me when I lived there. That's the trade-off. On the other hand, you can feel sure you'll never fall through the cracks in society if anything goes wrong: you won't ever starve or be denied medical care if you're ill or jobless, your kids get great, free education, etc. Frankly I don't find the tradeoff all that terrible.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish Well put; I'd happily pay more taxes if it made health and social standing that much more attainable.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@BroadwayBK We already pay high taxes and for what we pay we have no security whatsoever..no assured free health care and the erosion of social security. What a sorry state of affairs.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
@BroadwayBK, uptowngirl I know, which is why I find it so disheartening that European countries are all tending toward the American model, whereas America gives no indication it will ever lean toward the European model. Too many rich people have too much to lose by sharing it with the rest of society...
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish so true
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish: That's the trouble with society. The rich are afraid that if they give one dime, they will turn poor. What an excuse. Maybe if they shared their wealth, the good deed would return to them. You know the Law of Karma. What goes around, comes around.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish @uptowngirl What are these richies losing that wouldn't be considered superfluous to the rest of us?
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@BroadwayBk Seeing them get all riled up about the health care issue makes me marvel at their ignorance and utter selfishness.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
@BroadwayBK Power, of course! Most super wealthy people don't care about the actual money, they care about the power that a lot of money gives them.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish: You actually hit it right on the head. You are right. It is the power they feel from the money they have. More money means more power.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Uptowngirl: You are right. The Republicans are showing their selfish side more than anything.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish Touche!
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Everybody: When I see a lot of money in my bank account, I suddenly develop a lot of confidence in myself, and begin to act like I control everything around me including people and things. So, I do understand how people can develop power when having a lot of money.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
Hahahahahhaha what!!!!
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
When I say I control people, I mean I tell them what to expect from me and when to expect it. I don't necessarily control them, per say. No one can control another person.
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