Monday, December 14, 2015

Monday macros

While the leaves are gone, some apples still cling to the pommiers (apple trees). I wouldn't want to eat any of them, but they make for pretty photos.

A tiny wrinkled apple in the morning sunlight, 100mm (macro), f/4.5, 1/250s, ISO 1250.

The big news in France this weekend is the result of the second round of regional elections. It gets complicated, but the upshot is that the extreme right wing party, the Front National, didn't take a single region even though it did very well in the first round. The standard right wing, Sarkozy's aptly re-branded Républicains, took seven of the thirteen regions in play, even though the numbers show that the left wing Socialists took more départments than the right (which doesn't have any real impact since these were regional elections and not departmental elections). See? It already got complicated. I'll stop there.

7 comments:

  1. I think the first round is where the people try to scare their party into action, second round back to the usual tribe. In the UK, elections caused by resignation or death often gives a vote against the party in office. Perhaps the US system for President gets the juices running and allows the Trumps of the country to frighten people into action before November ?

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  2. I was so relieved to see the French election results and I admire the Socialists for stepping back to ensure the extreme right National Front didn't gain more footing. Without that decision, the situation to me would have been frightening. I hope the National Front begins to seriously lose its momentum before the next elections and is again seen for what it truly is.

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  3. What a cool photo :)
    I think that France learned its lesson that year that the presidentielle ended up being between Le Pen and Chirac (wasn't that it?). They know that it can happen. Whew.

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  4. not suitable for apple pie

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  5. potty, as good a theory as any...

    mitch, the right wing party wouldn't do what the Socialists did. Sarkozy's official position is called "le ni-ni," meaning neither one nor the other. He calls for the Republicans not to vote for either candidate in the case of a runoff between the extreme right and the socialists. Nice guy.

    judy, thanks! I'm not so sure. There are more and more people voting for extreme right candidates in each cycle. One day they just might win.

    gosia, not at all!

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  6. Reminds me of apple dolls, where one carves a face in an apple, then after it dries, it looks about like your photo, except with features.....

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  7. christine, I've seen those, but it's been a long time. :)

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