PechaKucha; Signs Of Life

Amongst our list of things to do this week was a little something called PechaKucha, in which people present ideas across 20 slides of 20 seconds each. Turns out, it's pretty damn cool.

It had the possibility to be totally weird. But the attraction of meeting interesting people and hearing new ideas was too much.

We showed up to the new space, the basement of a historic building right next to left bank books downtown. It was just 7, and the place was packed, a few hundred young adults, some in business attire, some more artsy and laid back, even a few past the 'target demographic'.

We heard from artists who had created non profits to help restore furniture and rehabilitate inmates, from entrepreneurs looking to light up bridges, broadcast films on the sides of buildings, and create blacksmith programs. We learned about a company that helps workers in the corporate world have fun with Montessori-like training methods, and heard from Miss Metrolink herself, Liz Kramer. WeAreSTL made an appearance to talk about their upcoming film festival (and will be holding a subsequent meeting at Next Dor). There was even a woman who started a jewelry business talking about her wares.

So what?

So we'll tell you what. . . There was an amazing energy in that room as young adults, all interesting in their own right, came to learn about the ideas and projects of others, and connect with each other. It just felt legit. Sure, the format has its drawbacks, as some slides seemed to last forever with little commentary, while others seemed to fly by without sufficient explanation, but the fact that so many people came together in order to promote innovation and progress in St. Louis (and not just promote, these people are actually doing something about it), was quite positive.

To see some of the slides and learn more about the event, check out the site here
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Upcoming Events!

PechaKucha Night A Tu Bishvat Seder, YPD Happy hour, an interesting new exhibit at the History Museum and so much more are going down, so let the St. Lou Jew be your guide for a good time.

Starting from the most imminent event, Wednesday night, Jan. 27th, from 7pm-8:30pm, Science on Tap will be going down at the Schlafly Bottleworks, Crown Room, in Maplewood at 7260 Southwest Ave. and will feature Professor William Wallace who will speak on: Michelangelo: Artist, Aristocrat and Engineer.

Michelangelo is universally recognized as one of the greatest artists of all time. Professor Wallace, an internationally recognized expert on Michelangelo, will speak about the challenges and excitement of writing a modern biography of the famous Renaissance artist. Dr. Wallace offers a substantially new view of Michelangelo, who was not only a great sculptor, painter, architect, engineer and poet, but also an aristocrat who believed in the ancient and noble origins of his family. Much of his new biography is written from the words of Michelangelo and his contemporaries, giving insight into his ability to befriend and influence others--even saying "no" to popes and kings--as well as the culture and society of Renaissance Florence and Rome.

Carpools from the Next Dor house at 6:45 PM

If you'd rather be speaking Hebrew than learning about Michaelangelo, come check out Shulchan Ivrit at the Next Dor house around 7:30 for an informal way to listen to and speak the Mother Tongue of the Tribe.

Thursday night, St. Louis hosts its first PechaKucha night. What is PechaKucha? PechaKucha Nights are informal and fun gatherings where creative people get together and share their ideas, works, thoughts, holiday snaps - just about anything really, in the PechaKucha 20x20 format. (PechaKucha 20x20 is a simple presentation format where you show 20 images, each for 20 seconds. The images forward automatically and you talk along to the images.) For more backstory, hit up the site For more info about the STL PechaKucha night, go here

This Saturday, a Tu Bishvat Seder will be held at Next Dor. Tu Bishvat is like the Jewish Arbor day, and has taken on a lot of Jewish environmental associations. This will not be a seder in the traditional sense, so much as an opportunity to enjoy really good natural foods and discuss Jewish environmental values. To find out more and to RSVP, click here.

Next Wednesday, YPD (the Young Professionals Division of the Federation) is hosting a happy hour at Boogaloo, a great bar and restaurant in Webster Groves. If you haven't sat at the bar swings, you really should. RSVP here.

History Museum is hosting a new exhibit called Race: Are we all so different? The exhibit has been gaining accolades for its deconstruction of ideas of race and should be "the talk of the town" according to a Post-Dispatch article. For more info, click here.

Did we miss something?

Email us at thestloujew at gmail dot com.
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