Stories from below the fold

So why did Sherlock shout Vatican Cameos before opening a door of a safe?

It's another reference to the original Sherlock Holmes, where the case is only mentioned in the Hounds of the Baskervilles:

Sherlock mentions on passing in the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles.
"I was exceedingly preoccupied by that little affair of the Vatican cameos, and in my anxiety to oblige the Pope I lost touch with several interesting English cases".
—Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles

 So putting "Vatican" scandals into movies long predated the Godfather III...

for Techies: The Story of how the slow motion scene was done.

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For those of you whose churches were whitewashed and destroyed by Vatican II "Liturgical updaters", if you want them redone, but can't afford them, well, hire a graffiti artist:

This was done by a famous Spanish street artist:

 This is from Barcelona, but it reminds me of the "Santos" in old New Mexican churches.

This is a folk art, usually painted by a local artist that decorates the small churches in the Mexican American villages.

 and the Chimayo webpage discusses the Sto Nino de Atocha, who is based on a legend of a child who fed Catholic prisoners of the Moorish Spanish overlords, and notes this Filipino connection.

Images courtesy of Richard Rieckenberg, text courtesy of Liz Gold.
New Mexico traditionally contributes the highest proportion of men and women to the military of any state. During World War II, many New Mexicans suffered through the seige of Corregidor, the Bataan Death March, and internment in Japanese prison camps. They prayed to the Santo Niño, and upon their return, some 2,000 made a pilgrimage to the Santuario—some walking barefoot—to give thanks for their lives.

As I noted awhile back, our Catholic church in Mescalero included a memorial for the locals who were with the NMNG...the local priest was there too, but lived through it.

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Well, they dug up Richard III and found he did have scoliosis.
So now they "examined" the heart of Richard I (the Lionhearted). It's now powder and they didn't discover much. Full Report at Nature.

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The eco types types trying to stop the "green revolution" blamed millions of farmers suicide deaths in India on evil agricultural companies.

The problem? They mistranslated the local word for the numbers involved: a lakh means 100 000, but was tranlated by western activists as one milllion....

Farmers actually have a suicide rate half that of the rest of the population.

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Maize goes back to 3000 BC.


BBC TV series on ancient South America.

This one isn't on youtube but this video is.
the Incas were late comers.