Dillards 50: The big 5-0!

[Daisy0322]

7 minutes ago, singsingsing said:

I've heard that they dress their kids like that at public engagements so that they'll be less likely to be recognized when they're out in private. I'm not sure how much truth there is to it, but it makes sense to me.

I could see them doing it only for public events but he looks like a normal cute little boy to me im not sure I could pick him out of a crowd either way dressed up or not. I do feel kind of bad that he will grow up under so much scrutiny.

5 minutes ago, lynn0810 said:

I love Royal thread drift lol. I have read quotes from journalists who cover the royals and they have said the constant knee socks and things Prince George wears for public outings is just a nobility, traditional thing. They have said William and Kate dress their kids in regular kids clothes in their daily life. I remember Prince Harry talking about  Diana dressing them like that as kids and that he will have a great time doing that to his kids. He was commenting on how ridiculous they looked.

 

I think the traditional thing makes the most sense to me. I guess it's kinda like avoiding the problem of the guys in the 80's who wore a white or brightly colored tux to prom have ... you don't want to look back and think what the hell Was I wearing!

[SapphireSlytherin]

22 minutes ago, Daisy0322 said:

Okay, I'm sorry if this is a stupid question but I totally thought that was weird that they dress their kids like they are in the shining too! My husband and I actually debated whether it was in style for Brits to dress their kids old timey. like how bow ties and suspenders are popular here for little boys (not for daily wear though). Is this normal there? Do people think it's cute? 

I see nothing at all odd about the way they dress their children. In the USA, it's very common in my "home area" of the States (MidSouth) to dress one's children thusly. GryffindorDisappointment had a plethora of smocked dresses that she wore with mary janes. Her friends were all similarly attired. The boys in her age range were all dressed much as George is dressed.

[Daisy0322]

7 minutes ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

I see nothing at all odd about the way they dress their children. In the USA, it's very common in my "home area" of the States (MidSouth) to dress one's children thusly. GryffindorDisappointment had a plethora of smocked dresses that she wore with mary janes. Her friends were all similarly attired. The boys in her age range were all dressed much as George is dressed.

Hmmm I would say that was true more about 20-30 years ago but I do live in southern Ohio now. And my family was never classy enough for all that haha.

[artdecades]

ooooo, royal wedding thread drift.

 

I can't stand the british monarchy and find will and kathy to be useless and a charismatic void but I love the jewels and I like meghan. I sure as hell am not waking up at 4am but I can't wait to see the tiara she gets for her wedding. I think it will probably be a new one like Sophie got instead of a borrowed one but it would be nice to see her in something with color like the oriental circlet or grand duchess vladimir tiara with emeralds.

[nst]

11 hours ago, Four is Enough said:

I'll wait for the recap, LOL!

there is something to watching something live 

like an episode of baywatch or the wedding of Jessa and Ben 

intense and real 

[jas]

I can't really see any positives in the royal family except for tourism, @SapphireSlytherin being a perfect example of this. 

I am in Ireland and all the ribbon cutting, figureheading, charity work, speech making and receiving visiting dignitaries etc is done by our president. He has a similar roll to the queen in that he is not the leader of government (the taoiseach) but he does sign bills into law. The important difference is that he is elected.

I realise I am coming from post colonial point of view and Irish people have particularly negative historical memories associated with the British royal family. But I really can't think of any ways that they benefit UK that could not be fulfilled by an elected head of state.

My partner is from London and he and his family are also completely against having a monarchy. He is very embarrassed that his country is represented abroad by the likes of Prince Philip. 

[SweetJuly]

I do see a few positive aspects of having a royal family.

Stability and continuity, for once. If you are able to follow a family, to follow a monarch from birth to adulthood to "reign" to death, and so on, it creates an incredible sense of connection and stability. The Queen is someone people look up to, she is a symbol and an emotional anchor for her country and the people of the UK (and Commonwealth). In a time of crisis, one is more likely to trust and find consolation in her or any other popular monarch because you have the feeling that you "know" her.

Plus, the diplomatic experience long-serving monarchs acquire is not to be underestimated. Many have been around important heads of government and state for decades. They can also step in and try to bridge differences in a country when there is a national political crisis. As the monarch is expected to be neutral, they can be a person of trust for sides that distrust and disagree with each other. The King of the Belgians has more than once had to play that role. Unfortunately the King of Spain has failed to do this adeptly last year during the Catalonia crisis....

And finally, many European royal families are not even that expensive. The Spanish royal family comes as quite a bargain, I believe. Sometimes "elected" heads of state can cost a lot more than maintaining a (limited, reasonably sized) royal family.

For example, Germany as well has a head of state (Bundespräsident) who doesn't really do that much. Theoretically he has a few important powers, but practically he has the same function as any constitutional monarch in Europe. He is technically elected, but more often than not the position is decided upon by the major parties and basically handed to some politician you want to reward and get out of the way.

Does this sound better than some random chap who just happened to be born in the right place at the right time? In a way.

However, please keep in mind that many presidents only remain in their position for 5 years. Sometimes, as happened in recent years, they are forced to resign due to a scandal. However, everyone who served as president is entitled to an extremely generous pension for the rest of their lives, plus a number of privileges that end up rather costly for the taxpayer.

I think Germany currently has about 6 retired presidents who are still alive and expected to remain alive for some 20-30 years (please correct me if there are more). So you can imagine that the annual cost for that would be sufficient to pay for a non-elected head of state and his immediate family.

And finally, and purely personally, I love genealogy and following families throughout their lives

 

I therefore advocate for the reinstitution of a (constitutional) monarchy in Germany. However, the crown should be given to the Bavarian Wittelsbachs because the Prussian Hohenzollern ruined Germany with their arrogance and belligerence in the 19th/early 20th century. The Wittelsbachs have always been more fun, entertaining and generally likeable throughout history.

[PainfullyAware]

I'm from Canada and always feel ambivalent about the Queen as head of state. It would be very expensive to get rid of the monarchy...reprinting all the money would itself cost a lot. So I'm not sure it's worth it. 

I understand the historical attachment and symbolism some monarchists feel. I also see the colonial evils that symbol represents. The idea of a stabilising symbol makes sense in the UK where there is greater attachment to the family and the history goes back hundreds of years but less so in a former colony. Of course the Queen's representative in Canada, the appointed Governor General is chosen by our PM and serves about 5 yrs, which makes it feel less undemocratic.

Drawing attention to important causes and celebrating volunteerism, community, service etc. is worthwhile. I think that's the best part about the monarchy. They represent civil society very well. 

Regardless I'm here for Harry and Meghan and the undoing of stodgy xenophobia and don't care how geeky that makes me!

[WiseGirl]

39 minutes ago, SweetJuly said:

Sometimes "elected" heads of state can cost a lot more than maintaining a (limited, reasonably sized) royal family........ is entitled to an extremely generous pension for the rest of their lives, plus a number of privileges that end up rather costly for the taxpayer.

Hmmm, again, no orange one comes to mind. No weeping over the fact that my hard earned dollars will go to support a multi millionaire who doesn't even needs it and uses tax dollars wastefully while still in office.

Orange one just makes me ragey so I must depart for the political forum where I consistently fill up the swear jar when when discussing this. I don't want to sully  regular threads with my colorful descriptors. 

 

[FecundFundieFundus]

I'm not sure what steak houses Jill has been to, but that is a sad little meal when presented as "wonderful." A little steak and prepackaged spinach with shredded cheddar and olives, paired with grape juice. Hopefully they turned off all the lights and ate it in the dark so Jill could pretend it wasn't Derek on the other side of the table. 

[SweetJuly]

39 minutes ago, WiseGirl said:

Hmmm, again, no orange one comes to mind. No weeping over the fact that my hard earned dollars will go to support a multi millionaire who doesn't even needs it and uses tax dollars wastefully while still in office.

Orange one just makes me ragey so I must depart for the political forum where I consistently fill up the swear jar when when discussing this. I don't want to sully  regular threads with my colorful descriptors. 

 

Didn't he claim he was going to donate his salary or something? But then he says a lot of things without following through, so who knows...

And look at the positive side - at least he's not (yet :-P) king, so hopefully he should be gone after a couple of years at the most. If he were a monarch, it'd be a lot harder to get rid of him eventually.

[SapphireSlytherin]

10 hours ago, Daisy0322 said:

Hmmm I would say that was true more about 20-30 years ago but I do live in southern Ohio now. And my family was never classy enough for all that haha.

Oh no. It's still very much a thing. 

44 minutes ago, FecundFundieFundus said:

I'm not sure what steak houses Jill has been to, but that is a sad little meal when presented as "wonderful." A little steak and prepackaged spinach with shredded cheddar and olives, paired with grape juice. Hopefully they turned off all the lights and ate it in the dark so Jill could pretend it wasn't Derek on the other side of the table. 

And AGAIN with the scented jar candles?

[HarleyQuinn]

50 minutes ago, FecundFundieFundus said:

I'm not sure what steak houses Jill has been to, but that is a sad little meal when presented as "wonderful." A little steak and prepackaged spinach with shredded cheddar and olives, paired with grape juice. Hopefully they turned off all the lights and ate it in the dark so Jill could pretend it wasn't Derek on the other side of the table. 

You know how much she adores mediocrity. 

[HermioneSparrow]

Derick sucks so much.. They're both sitting on their asses all day and he couldn't even take his wife to a restaurant or maybe just order some nice decent food. Jill really hit the jackpot with this one.

[HarleyQuinn]

My petty comment for the day is I hope Harry and Meghan don't dress their kids like Kate and William do. If they're doing it on purpose like someone suggested earlier, fine, but their outfits look so goofy. 

[VineHeart137]

Here is the steakhouse post:

 

[HarleyQuinn]

And they'll never be Royals... (Royals)

[JordynDarby5]

I do mostly agree with those who are against the monarchy. I understand their cons and agree with them for the most part. But I like William and Kate, and their kids. I like Harry and Meghan. I've watched all the royal weddings. I like Princess Victoria of Sweden. I've watched Youtube videos of her wedding, Princess Madeleine's wedding and their brother's as well Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim of Denmark's (they have both of his weddings on Youtube). I'm interest on whether Kate's baby is a boy or girl and what name they pick same with Madeleine's. There's always new Youtube videos on Swedish royals and Danish ones that I watch. I really like the interviews with Queen Margarethe and Queen Silivia. I think its cool that so many heirs are girls.

[HarleyQuinn]

I wanted Prince Harry to marry Chelsy. No shame. lol

[SapphireSlytherin]

I'm not gonna snark on the "dinner at home" instead of a restaurant. We rarely eat out - maybe just once a month, and I'm not exaggerating. We prefer to spend our discretionary income on travel, so eating "in" saves a TON of money. DH cooked us a wonderful dinner for Valentine's Day - stuffed salmon, scallops, baked sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli. 

If they're living on grifted $$$, they're likely pinching their pennies too.

Snark away, however, on her tone and her trying to justify that their table with those stupid jar candles and bottled salad dressing = a steak house.

[singsingsing]

How insecure do you have to be (or does your husband have to be) to turn your social media into a never ending advertisement for how he's the 'best papa!!!' and 'best hubby!!!' I guess she doesn't realize how much this just makes her look like she/they are compensating for something. It's like when you tell someone, "Don't think about pink elephants!" Immediately they'll be thinking about pink elephants. When Jill cries, 'Best Papa!' and 'Best Hubby' constantly, everyone just thinks, "What's she trying to prove? What's he really like as a 'hubby'/'papa'? Hmmm..."

And it just sickens me that Jill has to protect Derick's fragile masculinity like this. Poor widdle Derick. Mommy has to swoop in and defend him against the meanies on Twitter, and his wife has to declare to the world that he's THE BEST EVER!! over and over again on Instagram, because the nasty liberal heathens might hurt his delicate manly feelings. Oh, but the liberals are the snowflakes. Mmmhmm. Got it.

[Nargus]

1 hour ago, VineHeart137 said:

Here is the steakhouse post:

 

Sooo...steakhouse as in you only get the steak and all the sides are a la carte? There’s literally just a steak there. Where’s the rest? 

When hubby and I make a steak dinner there’s some kind of wacky potato variation that we dream up, roasted veggies, salad. Sometimes some sautéed mushrooms. And my hubby isn’t the #besthubbyever he’s just above average. 

[singsingsing]

13 minutes ago, Nargus said:

Sooo...steakhouse as in you only get the steak and all the sides are a la carte? There’s literally just a steak there. Where’s the rest? 

When hubby and I make a steak dinner there’s some kind of wacky potato variation that we dream up, roasted veggies, salad. Sometimes some sautéed mushrooms. And my hubby isn’t the #besthubbyever he’s just above average. 

Shut your dirty heathen mouth! Derick is the BEST HUBBY EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Look, he even brought out the bottle of salad dressing! How dare you doubt his greatness!

[Georgiana]

Someone should tell Jill that sometimes you can really enjoy something  WITHOUT trying to make it seem better than what everyone else has.  

For example, this meal.  I personally prefer to dine in on Valentine's Day, and while I also personally think the meal is a bit...lacking (where are the potatoes?  veggies?  sides? You got strawberries but couldn't dip them in chocolate?), maybe Jill doesn't LIKE those things.  Maybe this is just exactly what she wanted.  Who knows?  And if she loved it and it was perfect for her, awesome.  I like those posts when people talk about the unexpected things they enjoy.  For some people, that's a simple meal at home on Valentine's  

But when she tries to throw around words like "best", that's when she loses me.  Because Derick's not the best, and this is not the best.  Neither are even really that good.  If Jill could just show her appreciation without constantly trying to one-up people and paint her husband as God's gift to women, her posts would be SO much less obnoxious.  

And she's like this ALL THE TIME.  So many of her and Derick's posts are trying to convince us that their lives are BETTER than everyone else's.  They're not.  They never were, but now they OBVIOUSLY are not...so when Jill writes like that, it makes her seem out of touch, stuck up, and unlikable.  

And sorry about my weird royals post yesterday.  I've been suffering from insomnia and I watch a lot of royal documentaries. CLEARLY my lack of sleep and netflix caught up to me 

[ViolaSebastian]

Re: the way the royal family dresses George and Charlotte, I read somewhere that they also do it to prevent them being used as essentially mini-models and creating a “George effect” and “Charlotte effect” rush to purchase whatever they’re wearing. I can see how’d it be distasteful to use such young children to make money.