My One Word: Dependence

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Aaron in FENX 4.0, Star Wars | Leave a comment

A few months ago, I found myself fulfilling one of the smaller things in life I wanted to accomplish: ride the new Star Tours (Star Wars) ride at Disney Hollywood Studios with my brother. Having visited Disney World late last year to experience the ride, the circle just wasn’t complete without him there. Over the course of the weekend in Florida, where I actually crossed path with a friend that I met at Disney last year, I found myself reflecting on where life was one year ago and much that had happened since. A year ago the occupational component of my life went into a tail-spin as I got to see what a congressional scandal looks like from a vantage point that – while not first row and behind the class at center ice – was far closer than I ever wanted. When the “situation couldn’t get worse” it did, twice over. At one of the highest points of life, seeing 25 incredible teenage leaders be bequeathed the mantle of Reborn Ranger, one of the worst things happened: my job was being taken from me and I was powerless to arrest that development. I had shared with the Rangers about having spent 30 years learning how to be dependent, and now they were seeing me have to live it.

A world without Star Wars?!

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Aaron in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“And God chose the foolish things of this world to confound the wise…” – 1 Corinthians 1:27

Growing up my Dad would sometimes ask me the question that I hated, the question I never had a good answer to: “Son, what would you do if we lived in a world where there was no Star Wars; what would you do without it?“

Make the word small…

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Aaron in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

“The world is just too big Mom” – Clark Kent “Then make is small, Clark” – Martha Kent, Man of Steel

A month ago, the new Superman movie, Man of Steel, released. Back then I wrote about much of the Christian theology present in the film due to already being present in the mythology of the Last Son of Krypton before the creative team made decisions on the film itself. Since then, it’s not all the symbolism of the film that’s been coming to mind, or the Superpowers or awesome feats, but the worn shoe-sole practicality that this film presents the viewer without realizing it’s doing it. It’s true that Superman is big and large scale in the sense of how he is presented as a hero and what he sets out to do. His father, Jor-El makes plain that “you will give them something to strive for, they will run after you, they will stumble, they will fall, but in time they will join you in the sun” – that’s some role. And he goes on to save the planet from the maniacal General Zod – who in a wonderful nod and twist of plot kneels before Kal this time.

Wisdom for Capitol Hill Interns: After you say “yes”

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Aaron in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

You’ve just walked out of the office into the vast marble hallway; or more likely, you just hung up the phone. This is the phone call that will change your life; everything is gravy from here on out, right? You just accepted an internship on Capitol Hill! If you’re like I was, this was the moment everything began to change – you wanted to do this for years and its happening! Now what? What do you do with the time between accepting the internship and the day you start? How do you keep your feet on the ground during your internship when your head wants to fly off into the stratosphere faster than the Apollo 11 mission to the moon?

The Man of Steel: One like the Son of Man

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Aaron in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

“He will be an outcast, they’ll kill him. How? He will be like a god to them” Lara Van-El and Jor-El

Almost from the start of Man of Steel – the new, and 6th, Superman theatrical release – the impression is giving that Kal-El of Krypton is an allusion to Jesus Christ. It is unknown if this was intentional on the part of producer Christopher Nolan, writer David Goyer, and director Zack Snyder. I would argue that their intent is irrelevant, because such allusions come froth if one is true to the character.

The FENX and the Father…

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Aaron in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

As I was driving to church recently I pondered what I might do if someone asked me if they could buy the FENX from me. The obvious answer is “no” – unless there was was a sizable amount of money involved – but even then I know I would be hesitant. I started to think about the source of the hesitancy. First off, the FENX is awesome; who else gets to drive an electric rocket/lightcyle/X-wing cockpit on wheels? Second, I actually need it: it helps me get around town safely like nothing else can do (as my accident near the Capitol Building this week attests to). Most importantly though, is where the FENX came from: my Dad made it, for me. The source of it’s worth isn’t the impression I or others have of it. The source isn’t even it’s utility and function – what it actually helps me do. The source is the fact that Dad built it, and everything that went into building it as an expression of love and understanding to meet a legitimate need I had/have. The creator imparted value to the creation just by act of creating. As I said in the the NBC video years ago “that car is a constant reminder of my father’s love for me; there is so much love in that car“

Elevating others…

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Aaron in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“You made me the coolest guy, yesterday” are not words one expects to hear at 7 am, much less 7 am on a work day. Nevertheless, those words greeted me as I attended small group recently. Puzzled, the look on my face likely said it all: “What on earth did I do?” As I sat down on a pew that looked much more at home in a Baptist church, not the second floor office space of a coffee house owned by a church that meets in theatres every weekend, my friend Pedro recounted the tale for me.

Wisdom for Capitol Hill Interns: Getting the Internship

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Aaron in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

It seems like everyone wants to be an intern on Capitol Hill these days, right? How do you do it? What does it take to get selected? The resume is the place to start. Simply put, the resume has to be perfect; not just good, but “Luke Skywalker only got one shot to blow up the Death Star” perfect. You’re going to get 20-30 seconds to make an impression, and that’s generous; if you don’t, your resume is destined for the trash compactor with no chance of escape. One intern vacancy in an office can easily generate a hundred or more applicants, especially if it’s a paid internship.

Capitol Hill Internships: A place of Wisdom and Knowledge from the Congressional Professionals

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Aaron in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

As summer descends on our Nation’s capitol, and brings with it the heat and humility the city annually dreads, a new class of Congressional interns also make their way to Congress for what they hope will be a transformational and life-changing encounter with democracy. In light of this, by friend Carlos Reyes has launched a new website, Capitol Hill Internship.

Luke Skywalker, The Joker, and the Path of Whispers

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Aaron in Star Trek, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

It isn’t ever day that you get to admit to the following: I’m working with a documentary project involving Luke Skywalker. Last week I got to admit that for the first time, one of the hardest secrets I’ve ever kept in my 30 years. How in the galaxy could something like this actually happen? What sort of hyperspace lane had to be navigated to reach such a nexus of “geekwin”? I simply call it “The Path of Whispers”.

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