respublica

A Digital Nativity

How the story of the first Christmas would be told if there had been today's social media available. Click the title, ignore all those car ads.

 

The New Calendar!

Everyone at Concordia Seminary looks forward to the new calendar.  Really.  

 

The Holy Ministry in an Urban Context

Each June the seminary offers a two week class in urban ministry held in various parts of New York City.  The class visits and learns from pastors whose congregations are in very urban areas.  This year's class ended over the weekend and one of the students, James Garnett, put up a YouTube video which hits the high points.  It is basically a beautifully done slide show with music. 

Have a look.

 

Riley meets Drew for the first time

The owl tree comes down video version

Welcome home Mr. President

In honor of President Obama's visit to Illinois today.

Help with quieting a crying baby

EMBED-Dog Sings To Soothe Crying Baby - Watch more free videos

Car break-ins continue

St. Louis just cannot seem to get out from under the incessant car break-ins.  This past weekend saw another upsurge of smashed car windows and popped locks.  Even a Channel 5 weatherman had his car victimized.

Here at Concordia Seminary we've seen the same thing once again.  Our security team has tightened up surveillance during the overnight hours which helps, but the people doing this are quite bold and unafraid.  They're also fast, they can smash and grab and run in a very short time.

This probably would not go on quite so long in Chicago, the home of the most extensive surveillance camera network in the country. 

You're being watched every minute Chicago

Chicago has the most extensive, integrated, network of surveillance cameras of any city in the country.

The cameras are a good tool for investigating crime and emergencies, but it has to be a strange feeling to know you're always in camera range in Chicago. 

A Chicago political science professor believes Chicagoans are ok with this set up:

"Mayor Daley could put 10,000 more cameras up and nobody would say anything."

I guess we can get used to anything.

CSPAN archives online

CSPAN launched its video library archives this week, uploading 23 years of video.

While each video timer may say a video is 10 minutes in length, it mainly shows the part specific to the title.

You can sit and relive the Clinton years, see parts of memorable or notorious speeches and some humorous bits like this one of Chris Farley in Newt Gingrich character talking to the House Republicans back in 1995.  This one serves to force us to remember that what goes around comes around.  What you do to the minority when you're in the majority will happen to you when you're back in the minority.

I loved the jab Farley gave to the senate.  Just exactly like today.