Tell me on a Sunday

No no--no sad news like the subject of the AL Webber song....things are good (albeit stressful).

Abbreviated thoughts on a sunny Sunday morn:

-Thurtene is in high swing back on campus. Bravo to everyone's hard work--I'm hearing good reports on Betas show! Things weren't without a bit of controversy this year, which I admit dismays me, as I feel there were far more pressing concerns going on in the quad and that a fight over t-shirts is a distinctly narrow view of the worlds problems, but I must admit, the origins of the scuffle were quite amusing.

-news from the papers: During my Sunday mass & Cafe Nero ritual, found out that there is a North Pole marathon. Interesting. Also some good commentary on amazing and very different styles of tourism with the best guides in the world. The two that really caught my eye were a Peruvian horseback tour and an African bush excursion where you learn key survival skills in Kalahari country. Not to mention culinary lessons in Italy from a master chef (hey as long as he teaches more than Italian cuisine!)

-At church, I learned that there will be a Pallotine visiting from America next week. Very excited to meet "Fr. Michael" and see if he knows anyone from my high school, the only Pallotine institution in America. Also, speculation is that we will have a new Pope by Wednesday or thereabouts. On a religious note, I also learned that I missed quite an experience in Vienna. The catacombs in St. Stephan's are actually still filled with bodies and bones apparently--something straight out of the pages of the Venetian scenes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Eerie and surreal indeed.

--Blogroll has been updated. Along with links to touching on life in the states, I've rolled in some friends reporting from Madrid, Hong Kong, Toulouse, Dublin (new), Beijing... and, possibly Oaxaca, although I think he's gone inactive for the time being. Most of those are old... generally they're all quite personal as well, so unless you know them...

--I'd love to have a bit of a debate on any of these posts, so please leave a comment if you have anything to say or add.

We now return to our regular programming, with our dear writer waist deep in intellectual property rights publications.