Well, here’s a thing… Those feisty Japanese trend-setters have started yet another new trend.  (You can never have too many trends, I always say.)  This one was the dream child of photographer Yuki Aoyama.  It features in his book, called (something like) Daughters and Salary Men.  Whatever…  What it is, is dads jumping next to their daughters.  That’s it.  What else is there to say?  You can see some of Aoyama’s photographs at Stumbleupon.com in the lifestyle section.  It shows all sorts of dads in a variety of leaping poses, with the amused–or embarrassed–daughters standing demurely next to them.  None of the girls are watching their  father’s performance.

In another somewhat strange news item I read recently, it seems that the particularly peculiar North Koreans are stepping up to the plate, with French baguettes being the current trendy treat for anyone who is anyone in Pyongyang.  The Powers That Be apparently have sent factory staff to France to learn the art of making the baguettes.  In January, The Great Leader, Kim Jong Un, visited the factory, where he said the factory should wage a dynamic drive to develop and produce foodstuff, including chewing gum which is badly needed  by the sportspersons and suited to the constitution of the Koreans.

Meanwhile, outside Pyongyang, where most of the people are neither elite nor farmers, many people do not know where their next meal is coming from.  The United Nations has said that a quarter of all children are malnourished.  I suppose parents should be encouraging their kids to learn to play baseball.       MM