respublica

Trick or treat

The most fun tonight, aside from the mild weather which had everyone sitting outside waiting for trick or treat-ers, was the really tall guy.  He was so tall and so wrapped up in total black it was hard to see him.

He came up and stood behind Dale...who is standing, not sitting.

Then he slipped quietly away.

Can you see him?  The kids sure did.  Click to enlarge

Pumpkin's ready

Arrrrrrrgggg

Darn squirrels.  At least they were neat, a candle will still fit.

Rapping the 95 Theses

Reformation Day prayer breakfast

As is tradition, on October 31, Reformation Day, Concordia Seminary hosts a prayer breakfast.  Today's event was well attended by people from all over the St. Louis and Metro East area. 

What began in the dark, ended with a beautiful sun shining on the fall colors.

The seminary chorus sang.

Just to make sure I got them all in, I took a picture from a different angle.

The speaker for this year's prayer breakfast was Chaplain Jonathan Frusti, CAPT, CHC, USN

Chaplain Frusti's active duty positions make up a long list, but the most interesting was his tenure as pastor to the first president Bush which included many weekends at Camp David.

Here Chaplain Frusti stands with Dale and the seminary's vice-president for advancement, Paul Devantier.

The speaker gave a thoughtful message on living with the tension that comes from living in both the right and left hand kingdoms.  The first being the kingdom of God and the other life in this world, government and military. 

One thing he asked of those present, to send us (those who serve in the military) your prayers, send us your clergy, and send us the best of both.

Their curiosity has been driven out

At this morning's prayer breakfast, I was seated next to Uwe Siemon-Netto, a decades long professional journalist who now in his retirement heads the seminary's Institute on Lay Vocation.  German born and now a part time resident of France, Uwe has seen, written and experienced much of the major events of the 20th century.  His journalistic career is long and varied and can be found here.

Before the morning's speaker took the podium, I had a chance to ask Dr. Simon-Netto a question or two on the state of journalism today. 

I asked, are there any differences in journalists today as opposed to those he experienced throughout the past 50 years.

He said, journalists and reporters today are no longer draftsmen who go about their craft in a workmanlike manner, rather they fancy themselves as intellectuals who have no need to get their hands dirty, so to speak.

Reporters used to travel about soaking up what they saw and heard and then reported it.   Now there is no curiosity, curiosity has been driven out and now they have the answer and go looking for the question. 

"If you lose your curiosity, you bear yourself to tyranny."

Uwe on the right with today's speaker, Chaplain Jonathan Frusti.

Venice

Heh.

Things dogs swallow the most

A top ten list.

1. Socks 2. Underwear 3. Pantyhose

4. Rocks 5. Balls 6. Chew toys 7. Corn cobs

8. Bones 9. Hair ties 10. Sticks

Imitative Obesity

Another study from Great Britain.  I swear, sometimes I think the main business of England is the business of studies.

Fat friends can boost your size.

"People are subconsciously influenced by the weight of those around them so fat friends can cause someone to put weight on too".

No word on whether having slim friends and family work the same way.

Poetic Romantic

Of course we didn't watch the Obama informercial and it wasn't difficult to ignore the reviews, but some of them were predictably over the top.  Do I need to add, 'of course they were over the top'?

Reading these things I think about a comment put up on Hot Air: "

Wouldn’t it suck for all of us if The One raptured all of his followers during his infomercial tonight, and all of the rest us are simply “Left Behind”?

Here's Washington Post television critic Tom Shales:  Beginning: "Somehow both poetic and practical, spiritual and sensible, the paid political broadcast, which aired on seven major cable and broadcast networks (on Univision, it was identified as "Historias Americanas"), was a montage of montages, a series of seamlessly blended segments interweaving the stories of embattled Americans with visions of their deliverer, Guess Who."

Conclusion:  "The half-hour was underscored with music in a kind of elegiac, Aaron Copland mode -- sorrow and stature. Obama seemed as heroic a figure as Henry Fonda's Tom Joad in "The Grapes of Wrath," but with more of a Jimmy Stewart personality. He has come, the film said, to show us all the way, and if we don't know it by now, and after all those millions spent to tell us, it's our fault."

Now here's Chris Matthews 

I thought it was Hollywood. It was romance. It was realism. The technical quality of it, the production values were perfect, the way they timed going to live, the biographical material. But most important, the connection with the average person in the economic turmoil we face right now I thought was fabulous. Of course, there we see the setting, which is very much like an Oval Office setting, showing that he's comfortable and we should be comfortable and will be with him in such a setting. I thought everything was just right.

I thought, the most important part of it, I thought, was the biographical, showing him talking about his mom and talking about him taking a chance in history and not wanting to miss it having seen his mother die at a young age. It was very human and I think you'd have to be a tough customer not to be touched by it.

Polling accuracy

The Washington Post reports that many pollsters are now wondering about how accurate their polling data is.  Those of us who see the poll reports on the news probably spend more time scratching our heads than taking them a face value.

Who knows what will happen on election day.  Just a friendly reminder of past polls just before the democratic primary in New Hampshire last January:

Date	Sample	Obama	Clinton	Edwards	Richardson	Spread
Final Results	--	--	36.4	39.0	16.9	4.6	Clinton +2.6
RCP Average	01/05 - 01/07	--	38.3	30.0	18.3	5.7	Obama +8.3
American Res. Group	01/06 - 01/07	600 LV	40	31	20	4	Obama +9.0
Suffolk/WHDH	01/06 - 01/07	500 LV	39	34	15	4	Obama +5.0
Rasmussen	01/05 - 01/07	1774 LV	37	30	19	8	Obama +7.0
ReutersC-Span/Zogby	01/05 - 01/07	862 LV	42	29	17	5	Obama +13.0
CBS News	01/05 - 01/06	323 LV	35	28	19	5	Obama +7.0
Marist	01/05 - 01/06	636 LV	36	28	22	7	Obama +8.0
CNN/WMUR/UNH	01/05 - 01/06	599 LV	39	30	16	7

Clinton ended up winning 39 to 36.5.