1. Richard Clark links his thoughts about Twitter to the early church, which lived their lives together throughout the week the way most of us don’t do today, due in part to the culture we live in. So, how could Twitter help? Read on: “Twitter offers one way among many that we can compensate for these cultural flaws. While we need to acknowledge that a virtual, internet relationship is really no relationship at all, we also need to be honest and acknowledge what can be the real world benefit of knowing, for instance, that I’ve been thinking of doing some freelancing work, playing PS3 a LOT lately, and meditating on the vanity of life. This sort of knowledge makes the conversation a heck of a lot more meaningful and challenging when we come together on the weekend. By knowing what’s happening in one another’s lives, we know how to speak truth to one another, how to pray for one another, and how to serve one another.” Worth considering or just another rationalization for Twitter? You decide. (Hat tip to Ken on Twitter, of course).2. Roger Ebert wants to know why Knowing is getting such a bad rap. So do I.
3. According to Trek Movie, we should get some more news on the next Riddick installment after April 3. Also, they report the production date begins sometime in 2010 (did I just write 2010—is that possible?! I remember when 2001 was the far future; I am old) and a “hunter/space pirate type of story line is expected.” Why follow this movie on a God-talk blog? Go here and here.
4. For all you Lost fans out there, someone at Entertainment Weekly wonders if a certain Dexter alum will be Jacob and someone else wonders if there is a connection between the series and A Wrinkle in Time. But then, if you were following my tweets, you’d already know that. Heh.
5. I had to laugh when I read on ComingSoon that Battle: Los Angeles, an upcoming sci-fi flick about a platoon of Marines facing off an alien invasion, is described as Black Hawk Down meets Independence Day. Now, I’ve seen both of those flicks and I appreciate them both—but for very different reasons. Suffice to say, if I were making a film like Black Hawk Down, I probably wouldn’t want to associate it with Independence Day. But if I were making a film like Independence Day, I wouldn’t mind connecting it to the Black Hawk Down. I’m thinking this film is going that route rather than the former. God-talk connection? Um, none. Yet.
6. The Hugo nominations are out (hat tip Mirathon) and in the running for science fiction's most prestigious awards include episodes from Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, and Lost as well as the films Dark Knight, Hellboy II, WALL-E and Ironman—all of which brought God-talk into open spaces. I haven’t read any of the lit nominated this year, but apparently some of it is available online for free.
6. Battlestar Galactica may have finished its run but it's still bringing God-talk into open spaces. There’s a crazy amount of interviews out there with creator Ron Moore. Also Gabriel McKee shares his final thoughts about SF Gospel as does James McGrath at Exploring Our Matrix and Ken at C-Orthodoxy. Not everyone was so enamored, however: Barbara Nicolosi gives us some rather clear hints at her own conclusions (and hopefully there is more to come). For what it’s worth, there are those that think I was too generous in my own response, heh.
7. I’m rather late in the game about this one, but as I was researching one of the guest stars on Reaper, I ran across the buzz regarding 2081, a 25-minute film that's an adaptation of the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut and “depicts a dystopian future in which, thanks to the 212th Amendment to the Constitution and the unceasing vigilance of the United States Handicapper General, everyone is finally equal... The strong wear weights, the beautiful wear masks and the intelligent wear earpieces that fire off loud noises to keep them from taking unfair advantage of their brains. It is a poetic tale of triumph and tragedy about a broken family, a brutal government, and an act of defiance that changes everything.” You can see the trailer here. What I’ve read of Vonnegut’s work is dark, thought-provoking and disturbing, getting at the darkest parts of who we are and challenging us to examine ourselves and why we do what we do. This seems in line with that—and that has the potential to bring God-talk into open spaces.