Today, Sunday, October 12, 2008, marks the 516th anniversary of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus's sighting of land in the New World, on the Bahamian island of Guanahani (which he called San Salvador). By this point in our lives, we've all heard the arguments against deifying the man - he wasn't really the first European to reach the continent, his journey ushered in an era of violent colonization, you can't "discover" a place that already has a thriving native population - but for the moment let's just accept that we live in a world of contradictions and enjoy a parade on a brisk fall day. ]]>