Thursday

I meant to mention something interesting that happened at La Casa de Maiz after our trip to the MARCO Sunday. We were recognized. The waiter walked up, addressed Sunshine by name, and asked me how this blog was going. Sunshine occasionally runs into people she has met through her job, often surprising her, but this was a first for me. Monterrey is not a small town, some estimates place it on par with Los Angeles;* on top of that, I do not know many people here. The gentleman who recognized us works part time at the restaurant, and otherwise runs a really cool local art store called Carapan, a favorite among people seeking the finest examples of traditional Mexican handicrafts. This man is great at his job: the day we were at Carapan, he walked around with us explaining, in minute detail, everything we wanted to know about the art for sale, the building, and the history of Mexican art and architecture in general. It was good to see him again, but wow, we must stand out like lily-white gringos. In the news: you'll be happy to know that VW plant employees are going back to work* after their brief strike, 5.5 percent richer than before. Protest leaders in Oaxaca are agreeing to talk* over their differences, a first attempt to end the long attrition suffered there, just so long as these talks lead to the resignation of the Governor. And keep your eyes on tropical depression five, poised to become tropical storm Ernesto* tomorrow and possibly Hurricane Ernesto threatening the Gulf next week. Oh, according to borderline sources,* Texas is planning to post hundreds of webcams along the border so armchair minutemen can guard the frontiers online, calling a number if they see anything that looks suspicious. Sheesh. [Cavin]