Randomosity: Things of Interest

October feels suspiciously Novemberish.

I have bombed out badly on several long email replies I owe, and blog posting, and generally being a productive human being. Except at work. There's been lots and lots of productivity at work, which is making my bosses simultaneously happy and nervous. I'm so busy doing things for other deans that I haven't time for my own job. This is going to be a problem in a couple of weeks when we start to get into the swing of things for winter graduation. And oh, are people going to be cranky when I start telling them no.

In addition to languishing email, I have assembled a stack of books for Cher Mere -- research materials (sort of) for her novels. We had an interesting conversation about Jungian vs. Mythic archetypes last week, as well. Good stuff.

So, instead of something insightful (/snicker) here are some Things of Interest to amuse the two of you if you get bored:

India: Youngest headmaster in the world. This is just awesome. As in, I am literally in awe of this young man and his co-volunteers.

Animal Kingdom: Leezards that walk on water and vegetarian spiders.

Medical Miracles: A double hand transplant. The pictures are a little hard to stomach, maybe because I'm rather terrified of damaging my hands, but this still blows my mind. Especially the fact that the nerves in his new hands are regrowing and should be usable by the end of the year. Also, did you hear they grew a jawbone joint from stem cells? Craziness.

Faked Antiquities: Scientists have finally figured out how the believe the Shroud of Turin was created.

Cultural Appropriation: In light of the recent plastic shaman tragedy, Chas Clifton had some interesting things to say about cultural appropriation. Is it a religious or a political concern? Is it still "appropriation" if one takes elements from a large/powerful source such as the Catholic Church rather than an indigenous or foreign source? Cultural appropriation is a Pagan hot-topic, and one on which I hold particularly strong views. But that's yet another half-finished post that will probably take weeks to see the light of day...

Writing Tips: My good friend Monica Valentinelli recently ran a three-part series called Tips on How to Be a Professional. If you have any interest in becoming a professional writer, please do yourself a favor and check out her blog.