As I wrote about yesterday I was on a retreat this week. I had a great time getting away, spending time in solitude and connecting with God. The setting was very conducive to the retreat as we were tucked away in the foothills at a beautiful Catholic retreat center. I can only imagine that things would have gone much worse had we gone to one of these nerdy settings.
Mustafar
I’ve already written a review for Star Trek Into Darkness. I loved the movie and I feel like that puts me in the minority of most hardcore Star Trek fans. A lot of my friends have seen STID and they really liked it. Unfortunately, though, none of them are really big Star Trek fans. I don’t really have anyone to nerd out with over STID and talk about everything I liked. Fortunately, there are plenty of big Star Trek fans who frequent The Christian Nerd and I would love to hear your thoughts.
Beneath the cut I have written lots of my thoughts about Star Trek Into Darkness. There are a lot of spoilers so you may want to sit this one out if you haven’t seen the movie yet. Read more »
Star Trek Into Darkness was great. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was not great. I haven’t seen Star Trek V in a long time but I clearly remember the camping scene in Yosemite. Kirk, Bones and Spock spend time in community with each other, unplugging from the world around them. It’s interesting to see that even in the 23rd century people still feel led to spend time beneath the stars away from civilization. While I won’t be climbing El Capitan with or without hover boots, I will be camping and unplugging this weekend. Read more »
I loved Star Trek Into Darkness. Earlier this week I wrote about my concerns that a Star Trek movie wouldn’t be able to capture all of the heart and spirit of Gene Roddenberry’s universe. While STID didn’t fully capture Star Trek’s heart, it did show a lot more if it than I had anticipated. The movie was exciting, filled with tremendous action and had enough of Roddenberry’s vision to keep this long-time fan emotionally invested.
Below are some thoughts I had while watching Star Trek Into Darkness. I’ll do my best to keep things spoiler-free. Read more »
I’m really excited for Star Trek Into Darkness. I’ve been looking forward to J.J. Abrams’s next venture to where no one has gone before since the credits rolled on his last. The trailers, the returning cast and the mystery surrounding Benjamin Cumberbatch’s character all have me chomping at the bit. Luckily I don’t have to wait much longer as I have tickets to an early screening on Wednesday evening.
My excitement for Star Trek Into Darkness is tempered, though, by Star Trek’s absence from the small screen. I’ve said it a number of times: Star Trek is made for television. The universe that Gene Roddenberry created cannot be fully mined in a two hour movie every three years. Movies only scratch the surface of the Star Trek universe; a weekly television series is the only way to fully explore its depth. Read more »
One of my favorite science fiction tropes is terraforming. The idea of transforming an uninhabitable planet into a beautiful, blue ball with oxygen and water is fascinating. The process worked relatively well in Firefly but had some catastrophic results in The Search for Spock. We are created in God’s image and, at his heart, he is a creator. So what better way to reflect the heart of God than by learning how to create inhabitable worlds and planets?
As humans we are very much concerned with the how of the universe’s creation. Most world religions have some sort of creation narrative that tells how the world came into being. Science also attempts to tell us how the universe started as a massive ball of matter that exploded outward and created everything. We are all so interested in the how of creation. Read more »
I love movies and I really love nerdy movies, which means the summer is my favorite time of year. During the summer nerd culture leaves its mother’s basement and heads for the mainstream. The summer movie season is tent poled by nerdy fare and here’s a preview of those nerdy movies coming out in May and June.
Iron Man 3 – May 03, 2013
And we’re back.
I took a week off from blogging because I’m going through a trying season right now. Nothing too terrible but it was nice to take some time off. I’m still not completely through my season but there are some exciting things happening at TheChristianNerd this week, of which you’ll be made aware on Friday. In order to get ready for those exciting things I thought I’d get back to blogging.
One of the best parts about my current season is the people who have encouraged me. I have a tremendous wife as well as tremendous friends and family who have supported me, loved me and encouraged me. They have set an amazing example of what it means to be encouraging. If I needed more examples, though, I could look to these nerdy encouragers.
Chewbacca
Alycia and I have been married for a little over two and a half years. Even though we’ve only lived in apartments, over that time we have been building our home together. For us that has meant learning each other’s rhythms of rest and activity, figuring out how to best share a meal together and watching a lot of Netflix.
Building our home together has been one of the best parts about being married. God tells Adam that he will leave the home of his father in order to be with his wife. When I was younger I thought that leaving the rent-free comfort of my parents’ home would be a tragic experience. While I miss a fridge full of groceries I didn’t purchase, I have to say God knew what he was doing. Leaving my parents’ home to build a home of my own with Alycia is one of the truest blessings my life has never known.
Our home together could be even more blessed, though, with some of these nerdy additions.
R2-D2 Trash Can
The Borg can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the best villains in the Star Trek Universe. The Borg are just as great as Khan and the Klingons and way better than anything else the Delta quadrant threw at Voyager.
I was always scared of the Borg when I was younger. Their cold, lifeless, robotic bodies freaked me out and the thought of being assimilated gave me goose bumps. The Borg thought they were making the universe a better place by eliminating freewill and bringing everyone into their collective. They wanted to make the universe as gray and bland as their skin.
Unfortunately, some people view God the same way. Read more »
