It's that time of the year again...

Yes, you guessed it!

Exams are drawing near. I am living on coffee, cigarettes and carbohydrates (meaning pasta, but I wanted it to look cool with the alliteration). So I keep my nose in the books (on the monitor, that is) and do not really have any time to spare for "The Far Sight".

Ah, well...


Alright, here is one:


Giovanni Battista Dellepiane, nuncio to Austria from 1949 to 1961, meeting the Viennese cathedral chapter. Those Monsignori were entitled to a Cappa of violet wool with ermine. Nice, innit?


Take care!

Pimp my pope!

The weird ones over at Palmar de Troya/Spain thought that having their own pope and building their own cathedral asked for some proper vestments to go with it. I haven't got the foggiest where they raised the money to build their golden temple and buy a Disneyland's worth of robes and bling. Rumor has it that some old aristocratic widows - still in post-civil-war-shock and charmed by the idea that the late pope Gregory XVII declared Franco a saint - gave all their wealth to the "One Holy Catholic Apostolic and Palmarian Church". Check it out:


1.) Da pope entering da cathedral. What I'd really like to know is how far the photographer had to zoom in to get that shot without getting in the way of whoever knows how many more bishops were carrying the train.



2.) "Who da man?" - "You da man!"



3.) Andy Warhol?



4.) "Stupid chauffeur! Driving my 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS 454 right against that tree! Now I have to travel all slow and shaky."



5.) Don't get me wrong! I love rose-colored vestments. But this looks more like Barbara Cartland's adaption of "The shoes of the fisherman". My favorite one is the tiny satin-guy to the left. And check this out...



6.) ... rose-colored opera-gloves (on the guy to the right)!



7.) And since color-themes are so much fun: Here's blue!


The only sad thing is that there was not one photo of one of the palmarian cardinals in cappa magna. Can you imagine 500 yards of scarlet watered-silk?

Photos of the Month (01/2006)

Alright!

In order to make up for my horrible lazyness I present a couple of those hard-to-find colour photos of the Cappa Magna.


1.) Valerio Cardinal Valeri, crowning the statue of Our Lady of the Cape, Queen of the Holy Rosary, in Quebec in the Marian year of 1954.



2.) Lorenz Cardinal Jäger from Paderborn/Germany on the day of his return from Rome. He was created a cardinal on January 15th 1965 and I think he was the last German cardinal who had the pleasure of wearing the cappa.



3.) A terrific shot of Eugene Cardinal Tisserant, taken on occasion of the 800-year celebrities in the Austrian pilgrimage town of Mariazell.



4.) That's a fun shot. Somebody obviously liked this photograph of Laurean Cardinal Rugambwa (the first African elevated to that honor) so much, that he or she (how do you like my inclusive language? Très PC, non?) colorized it.



5.) And the first price of the Alec-Guinness-lookalike-contest goes to...: Joseph Cardinal Wendel from Munich/Germany, pictured here with a cardinalatial cappello.

I am you!

This is scary:

In its recent issue, Newsweek reports that the figures for internet identity thefts are likely to go through the roof very soon. Last year the identity thieves already made more money than the illegal drug trade. They are so rich now that they entertain their own R&D departments for more efficient software. Keylogging also seems to become more and more popular.

I suddenly have second thoughts about getting that credit card, especially since Newsweek's advice is: "Keep your firewalls up and you fingers crossed."

All of a sudden "Stand and deliver!" sounds so honest and human.

First things first...

Hello!

I returned to Rome a couple of hours ago from a wonderful visit to the homefront. I have been a bad boy. I did not post and hence the two and a half readers that visit my page frequently might feel betrayed.

Well, I am back.

Imagine now a huge bucket full of good wishes for a solid health, for mental balance and for God's Blessing for the new year and take out as much as you see fit.

The rules stay the same: No hysterical mega-posting in order to keep the crowd hooked. Check back every now and then and you might find some nice photos, more or less interesting news and more or less agreeable laments and/or cheering.

All yours,
Leo