The Baffler,  April 1, 2014

Daily Bafflements

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Papal ring

Papal bling. / Walters Art Museum

• The “bling bishop” of Germany, who built a luxury mansion for himself with $43 million of church funds, has been removed from his post. (At least it included a $4 million chapel.) According to Al Jazeera, “Last year, [Pope] Francis showed his irritation over the affair by keeping Tebartz-van Elst waiting for eight days in Rome before receiving him in the Vatican.” Burn.

• Great news for map geeks: the New York Public Library is releasing 20,000 maps as high-resolution downloads under a creative commons license.

• The final day of Affordable Care Act enrollment on Monday had right-wing commentators losing their minds in the spin.

• This is not an April Fool’s joke. Scientists are developing night-vision contact lenses.

Papal ring

Papal bling. / Walters Art Museum

• The “bling bishop” of Germany, who built a luxury mansion for himself with $43 million of church funds, has been removed from his post. (At least it included a $4 million chapel.) According to Al Jazeera, “Last year, [Pope] Francis showed his irritation over the affair by keeping Tebartz-van Elst waiting for eight days in Rome before receiving him in the Vatican.” Burn. • Great news for map geeks: the New York Public Library is releasing 20,000 maps as high-resolution downloads under a creative commons license. • The final day of Affordable Care Act enrollment on Monday had right-wing commentators losing their minds in the spin. • This is not an April Fool’s joke. Scientists are developing night-vision contact lenses.

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