Review: Mingling at the Market

I had a chance last week to spend a few hours walking around Paris, going into little shops and open air markets, trying meats and cheeses and bread and wine. And I was able to do this in the company of Natasha, a food writer, teacher of gastronomy, and a fun and knowledgeable hostess.

She only does this twice a week, and each group is limited to 6 people. We met on a street corner at 11 AM, introduced ourselves, and off we went. We learned about cheeses, how to identify the master butcher in a shop, and Natasha pointed out how the finest of their craft display the medallions won in competitions, indicating their superior products. At each stop was a lesson of some sort, and samples of the local fare.

 We spent three hours going to shops and marketplaces, listening, tasting. We ended up in this wine shop (not our first taste of wine on the excursion).

 I had the Côtes du Rhône, a personal favorite of mine, but everyone in our group was happy with their selection.  As we enjoyed our wine, members of the group were getting restaurant recommendations from Natasha.  She knows where to eat all over Paris.

For the rest of our trip, we more or less adopted the French model for our evening meals.  We were staying in a place with a full kitchen so we shopped for fresh food every evening.  And standing in line at our local boulangerie for a freshly baked baguette became part of our evening ritual.

So if you are bound for Paris, and would enjoy a wonderful introduction to French food with hints on how to shop, this is a great way to spend 3 hours.  You can find Mingling at the Market on AIRBNB.

Don't give them their 15 minutes of fame

Another mass shooting and a whole shitload of "thoughts and prayers" without any action. And as long as so much of government is beholden to the NRA, there will be no action. But I think there is something that can be done.

Let me be clear. This is not a substitute for sensible gun laws. It will not make the problem go away. But maybe, just maybe, we could be talking about this a little less often.

If news outlets stopped publishing the names and pictures of the perpetrators, telling us all about their family and upbringing, then I think at least a few people will find some other way to express their hatred and anger.

I am not saying that newspapers and television should ignore mass shooting. On the contrary, I think that we need to keep these in the public consciousness, to keep the pressure on our legislators. All I am suggesting is, don't show their pictures, don't name them. The victims deserve to have their stories told, the killer does not. And you know that part of the reason that they do these things is an "I'll show them" attitude. If you don't get your name and picture splattered all over, then you haven't really "showed" anyone.

When they go to trial, their names will probably come out. And if the victims are mostly black or brown then the alt right Nazi blogs will probably report it and praise the murderer's valiant defense of the white race. But that isn't the same thing as having your picture on the nightly news, and your pathetic story told over and over. It doesn't have the same payoff.

By not giving them that satisfaction, at least some people considering this may be dissuaded, because it won't have the same rush. Will they do something else horrible? Well, maybe. But I think it is worth a shot.