It's no secret that sci-fi is one of my favorite genres. Though I was raised consuming volumes of fantasy novels, sci-fi is cut from the same cloth. A good science fiction story draws upon enough believable material to make us engage with the story, with some good imagination and speculation to draw us into deeper, unknown, and perhaps bolder territory. I just saw a great example of how science fiction engages our deepest, very human questions, asking us to think and feel familiar things while venturing into new narrative territory. But before I talk about the film I'll give you a little background on why (and how) I came to love the genre. The journey began with some classic novels new and old (although science fiction is a relatively new genre, coming to prominence only in the middle of the 20th century). Some highlights include Frank Herbert's 1965 masterpiece Dune , where I followed the Messiah-like Paul Atreides on his quest to seek justice for the injuries again...
We go through phases in terms of the stories that really captivate us, that connect to our humanity, connect us to each other, and to our deepest selves. Growing up as a kid in the Nineties, I remember a slough of disaster movies. Comets, asteroids, volcanoes, and other things threatened to end all life as we know it. We counted on people smarter than us, the scientists, engineers, and astronauts, to save us (unless you're Michael Bay, who will tell you that it's easier to train oil rig workers to fly into space than it is to teach actual trained astronauts how to use a drill). Later, in the early Aughts, it was fantasy that took over. The post-9/11 era taught us to depend on clear lines of morality, of good versus evil, and epic quests and heroic virtue that will rid the world of the darkness. That decade ended and ushered us into an era still in its heyday: that of the Superhero. Although Marvel and DC have different textures and color palettes, they both tell the sam...
Fresno's Fulton Mall, at the heart of its downtown core's revitalization efforts This upcoming year I'll be stepping into a new role in ministry I've been preparing for for several months. I'll be the Assistant Director of FIFUL's Pink House , an intentional community that prepares young men and women to empower their communities in urban ministry, engaging the inner city through the lens of leadership development. My only experience in inner city ministry thus far has been through the Fresno Urban Internship, better known in shorthand as FUI , a six-week intensive inner city immersion where community, service, and leadership development combine in a unique and powerful way. As I write this, I reflect on the last six weeks, which I spent as a staff for the project in the heart of Fresno, a city of half a million with some of the nation's highest concentrations of poverty. There are some distinctions between the two programs. FUI is six weeks during ...
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