Archive for April, 2012

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#336 – Universal Translator

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on April 30, 2012 by scotthiga

I don’t really understand Star Trek’s universal translator.

I know that it’s used to translate various languages to make communication possible among Star Trek’s numerous species. It doesn’t always translate, though. Captain Picard would often speak in Klingon but it wasn’t translated to English. And sometimes the universal translator would just break down and so would communication.

It is comforting to know that even in the 24th century, as advanced as humanity will be, we’ll still have problems communicating. Read more »

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#335 – Avengers XXX

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , on April 27, 2012 by scotthiga

Someone’s making an Avengers porn.

What the crap?

I read that news yesterday and couldn’t help but shake my head. It shouldn’t be all that surprising. There are porn parodies of lots of different nerdclinations, including Star Wars. I suppose if people are excited about seeing the Avengers battle Loki and his secret army, then there are probably people excited to see the Avengers have sex with each other.

Thankfully I’m not one of those people. That has nothing to do with me, though, and everything to do with Jesus. Read more »

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#334 – Cryogenic Sabbath

Posted in Uncategorized on April 26, 2012 by scotthiga

A popular sci-fi trope is malfunctioning cryogenic sleep systems. Nothing ever good happens when the cryogenic system fails and the travelers wake up earlier than they’re supposed to.

In spite of the apparently unavoidable problems, I wouldn’t mind curling up inside a cryogenic chamber for a few weeks or years. Read more »

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#333 – 24th Century Brokenness

Posted in Uncategorized with tags on April 25, 2012 by scotthiga

I recently watched the trailer for Trek Nation, a documentary about the impact of Star Trek and Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future. Gene Roddenberry was a secular humanist and believed that through our own efforts, humanity could fully achieve a utopian society free of war, disease and brokenness.

I love Star Trek but I can’t buy into Roddenberry’s vision of the future. In spite of our best efforts, the depth of humanity’s brokenness can never be filled independent of God’s love. Read more »

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#332 – Irredeemable

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on April 24, 2012 by scotthiga

When I was younger Return of the Jedi was by far my favorite Star Wars movie. It starts off with a bang at Jabba’s Palace and finishes with three separate battles. Unfortunately all that excitement bookended some boring conversations on Degobah and in the Ewok village. I always fell asleep when Ben showed up on Degobah and thought that Luke and Leia’s conversation in the Ewok village took forever.

As I’ve gotten older, though, I can see how pivotal Luke’s conversation with Leia is to the series. It’s through this conversation that we see Luke’s desire not just to defeat his father, Darth Vader, but to redeem him.

Leia: But, why must you confront him?
Luke: Because, there is good in him. I’ve felt it. He won’t turn me over to the Emperor. I can save him. I can turn him back to the good side. I have to try.

In spite of all the damage Vader had done in the galaxy, Luke felt compelled to save him, to redeem him. In the end Luke was right and there was enough good in Vader to redeem.

Darth Vader was redeemable but not everything is. How can we tell when something is irredeemable? Read more »

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#331 – Falling Asleep on Culture

Posted in Uncategorized with tags on April 23, 2012 by scotthiga

I am all-pro at falling asleep in church.

In my rookie years I used to head nod like a Pez dispenser. I’ve learned, though, that the key is to look like you’re praying. My favorite position is with my elbows on my thighs and my face in my hands. Anyone looking on will think you’re just deep in prayer. But you’ll actually be catching up on the sleep you missed from settling Catan late into Saturday night.

Falling asleep in church, whether on purpose or accidentally, shows that we have disengaged from the service. We may not like the songs, we may not like the sermon or we may just really like the back of our eyelids, but whatever the reason, we have disengaged.

We do the same thing with culture all of the time.

I have spoken with a lot of Christians, nerds and non-nerds, who have disengaged from certain aspects of culture. They disengage because, in their eyes, certain aspects of culture are irredeemable. Read more »

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#330 – Nerdy Summer Movie Preview: Part 1

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on April 20, 2012 by scotthiga

A big reason I started this blog was because nerd culture has worked its way into the mainstream. This is never more apparent than during summer blockbuster season. Below is a preview of the nerdy movies coming out in May and June. Check what’s coming out and mark your calendars.

The Avengers – May 04, 2012

Read more »

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#329 – Church Conference Nerds

Posted in Uncategorized with tags on April 19, 2012 by scotthiga

This week I am at the Catalyst West Coast Conference in Orange County. I love the Catalyst Conference and its focus on next generation leaders. I have attended numerous conferences over the years and have definitely witnessed Christian Conference Nerds. Below are some characteristics of Christian Conference Nerds. Read more »

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#328 – Stay in the Lines

Posted in Uncategorized with tags on April 18, 2012 by scotthiga

I love my niece, Naomi.

She’s not even 18-months-old yet, but she’s already really good at so many things. She’s amazing at drinking through a straw. She’s really good at pushing the buttons on the DVD player even when she’s not supposed to. She’s great at eating her food and getting it all over the place.

Unfortunately, she’s not very good at coloring. In fact, she’s pretty terrible at it. I had her color a picture for me and she couldn’t even stay within the lines.

Staying within the lines is important for coloring but it’s also important in our lives with God. Read more »

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#327 – Nerdy Layers & Spiritual Foundations

Posted in Uncategorized with tags on April 17, 2012 by scotthiga

It has literally (said like Chris Traeger from Parks and Recreation) been months since I last sat down for a marathon gaming session. I haven’t even picked up a controller in two months other than to play a little Wii fit with Alycia.

I’m having withdrawals.

I’m questioning my identity.

What kind of nerd am I if I haven’t played video games for months?

One of the staples of nerdy behavior is gaming. And not just playing Madden every August or signing onto Xbox Live to get some kills in Modern Warfare 3. Real nerdy gaming involves pouring hours and hours into fantasy worlds filled with ancient conflict and characters with unpronounceable names.

With that part of my nerd repertoire taken away, can I really consider myself a nerd?

Sure I can. Being a nerd is more than playing video games.

We all have different nerdclinations. Some people are Harry Potter Freaks. Other people still haven’t forgiven Fox for canceling Firefly. Still others fill their lives with every bit of Disney minutiae and could navigate Disneyland with their eyes closed.

When we layer our nerdclinations on top of each other, our nerdiness has more depth and scope. I can take away video games because I’ve replaced it with Doctor Who. You can take away comic book reading because you’ve replaced it with My Little Pony fanfic.

There are also a lot of layers to the Christian faith that we can add and take away and still be considered orthodox. Read more »

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