Good morning,
It’s a chilly forecast for Whitewater, with a predicted high of ten degrees, and blustery skies.
There’s a story over at the tech blog Ars Technica about Pope Benedict XVI, entitled, “Pope: Priests Should Blog, Tweet the Gospel Too.” Naturally, the blogging to which he refers doesn’t concern politics, but rather faith, as the story explains —
The Pope’s speech was posted in advance of the World Day of Communications set to take place in May, and it’s clear that this year, the Pope’s message is all about being active online. He emphasized that it’s not enough to merely be present on the Web—”Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis.”
Priests should also make sure they’re getting on board early, becoming familiar with these tools while still in seminary. The Pope noted that the Internet isn’t just an artifact of the past in digital form, but rather a present and engaging medium.
Today’s also a sad day in American history — on this day in 1986, the space shuttle challenger exploded shortly after takeoff, killing all on board:
Cape Canaveral, Fla. Jan. 28 — The space shuttle Challenger exploded in a ball of fire shortly after it left the launching pad today, and all seven astronauts on board were lost.
The worst accident in the history of the American space program, it was witnessed by thousands of spectators who watched in wonder, then horror, as the ship blew apart high in the air.
Flaming debris rained down on the Atlantic Ocean for an hour after the explosion, which occurred just after 11:39 A. M. It kept rescue teams from reaching the area where the craft would have fallen into the sea, about 18 miles offshore.
It seemed impossible that anyone could have lived through the terrific explosion 10 miles in the sky, and officials said this afternoon that there was no evidence to indicate that the five men and two women aboard had survived.
We recovered from that disaster, and another than followed, and we will recover from these listless years of uncertainty and official indifference to exploration. There are good ideas and private ambition, true innovations, and only the beginning of what’s possible, that will assure a future of space travel and exploration.
