Comments for Celera's Cabin

Comment on All of this has happened before… by Grow Your Brain in 2008 : Celera's Cabin

Grow Your Brain in 2008 : Celera's Cabin — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 02:11:11 +0000

[...] most people, I don’t usually keep these resolutions for long, but as I’ve mentioned before, that doesn’t stop me — or the rest of you — from thinking that this time will be [...]

Comment on Jesus Camp by Rachel

Rachel — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:47:54 +0000

it bothered me most that the kids learned a lot about how abortion is wrong, and evolution is wrong, but apparently not very much about the more mundane duties of faith — being honest and helpful and considerate and humble

Exactly.

Comment on Jesus Camp by celera

celera — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:00:52 +0000

I heard that writer in some interviews, Tom, and the book does sound interesting. One point that evolves is that of course nobody follows the Bible literally, and to do so isn’t really possible. Even the most fundamentalist Christians skip certain things, saying they pertain to different cultures or different “dispensations.”

Jacobs talked in one interview about his experience stoning an adulterer. It is one of the Levitical requirements, although I recall the stoning was of the mildest sort imaginable. It sounds like the book is funny and thought-provoking, which is a great combination.

Comment on Jesus Camp by Tom Twaiten

Tom Twaiten — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 05:36:49 +0000

Hi Julie: A very interesting post. By coincidence, I’ve been reading a book about religion with a very different approach. It’s “The Year of Living Biblically,” in which the author relates his experience in trying to follow all the rules in the Bible as literally as possible for a whole year. While the book is very entertaining and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, it is not an attempt to belittle religion or make fun of it. The author, A. J. Jacobs, is a staff writer for Esquire, and his motive in writing the book is literary and monetary rather than religious. He’s just looking for a good topic for a book. While he isn’t trying to make any points, some appear anyway. One is that religions evolve over time. Another is that the Bible is complicated enough to require interpretation. Jacobs has a list of experts he consults at times. One is a retired Protestant minister, referred to at times as the pastor out to pasture, and another is an Orthodox Jew from Minnesota, who is referred to once as a Jewtheran (combining Jewish guilt and Lutheran repression). The author describes himself as an agnostic Jew, but he makes a real attempt to get inside his subject, and not just analyze it from the outside. I’ve gone on at such length because the book makes an interesting (to me, anyway) counterpoint to the experience you describe in your post.

Comment on Pack Animals by Shane

Shane — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:49:53 +0000

I know I’m very late into this post, but I’m a rabid fan of his – he got me into studying dog training and behavior, but as you say it’s only the tip of the iceberg with him.

I’ve read both of his books and recommend both of them. His first is more a story of his history with smatterings of his examples of dog psychology. His second book is really focused on changing your life to follow his philosophy which I found quite enjoyable. Of course it is surrounded with stories about dogs, even those he could not rehabilitate. Did you know he was an illegal immigrant?

Fascinating story of rags to riches.

Comment on Phonics by Shane

Shane — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:21:51 +0000

One word…

Truely.

You are so good at it you should be a high-powered NY book editor.

Comment on The Wheel Follows Your Eyes by Tom Twaiten

Tom Twaiten — Thu, 08 May 2008 05:33:03 +0000

Hi Julie: I like using driving as a metaphor for life, and the way you discuss the way it plays out is good, too. I was surprised by your reference to Norman Vincent Peale; I thought he was completely forgotten by now. His name came up in a political campaign about 50 years ago when Adlai Stevenson compared Peale to St. Paul by saying that he found Paul appealing and Peale appalling, but I don’t remember why. But there I go, looking off to the side when I should be focusing on the road ahead. Tom

Comment on Addiction by Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:18:31 +0000

The game appeals to me for the same reasons you described and I think a few more. School vs. WoW is a continuing struggle for me. I think a lot of it has to do with the independent nature of university work and the relatively limited attendance that is required to do well. Unlike work, where it doesn’t take long for others to detect your absence and for you to experience the consequences, in school, it can all seem inconsiquential until the day of the exam arrives or the big paper is due.

I don’t HAVE to read those three chapters before lecture. Heck, I don’t even HAVE to go to lecture. And sometimes, because of the game, I do not. Not always, not enough to hurt my grades, but enough that it makes me feel like I’m probably at least a borderline addict.

On more than a few occaisions I’ve ended up sitting in the library (safely away from WoW) studying everything I missed before a big exam, or turning in a paper at 11:58pm on the day it’s due without proofreading. I think this is way more common than people would imagine.

I hope you keep finding time to write =)

Comment on Addiction by celera

celera — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:33:02 +0000

Anna! I’m so excited about your new blog, thanks for giving me the link. Perhaps blogging about your addiction is rather like a methadone program for WOW . The blog looks great, I can see I’m going to have to put you on my list of people who obviously know way more about website design than I do.

Tom, wasn’t it Mark Twain who said that golf was a good walk, spoiled? I think every era and every type of person has their particular habit-forming indulgence.

Samantha, thanks for stopping by! I hope you’ll be back.

Comment on Addiction by Samantha

Samantha — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:53:24 +0000

Well, I have taken quite a close look on your website and I must say that I find it extraordinarily interesting.