Ron > Recent Status Updates

Still pretty good, seems like we have a nice tension going between Amanda's desire to live a normal teen's life and her fear that letting anybody in could prove disastrous. On a different note, another curious thing about this book is the name dropping: The Knife, Invader Zim, Amelie. Is this a common thing in YA, mentioning specific bands and shows to help the audience identify with your heroine?

Pretty good so far. It seems odd that literally everybody likes Amanda, reminiscent of Bella Swan, but it sets a scene where things are going suspiciously well for our protag. History tells her that this can't last.

Chapter 7: Stubbornness. This is one accusation I don't really get; there are dozens of stories where He relents from punishing His people (or their enemies, like Nineveh in the book of Jonah) or eases up when He sees they've learned their lesson (like that Family Guy episode).

Chapter 6, Legalism: I've talked about this one before. God is accused of making all sorts of arbitrary and useless laws, but many of them make sense for the context in which they were enacted, primarily "Don't be like the Canaanites; I drove them out for a reason."

Chapter 5 cont'd: There are times here where I think the author stretches or assumes too much. For example, we assume that the young men who tease Elisha and are then mauled by bears (2 Kings 2) must have been dangerous because the alternative is unpalatable.

Chapter 5: Violence. God is often seen as loving violence, but he rarely gets credit for the time that he resolves conflicts with minimal force, like Elisha, the Kings, and the horses (2 Kings 6).

Chapter 3, Sexism. The author's point here is that many of the passages that seem sexist are either neutral or positive when seen in context, or when we look back at the original languages. In many ways, the Torah was progressive for its day.

"Our image of God will also affect what we think God's followers should be like. If God were angry, sexist, and racist, it would follow that Christians would be as well."

(tongue biting intensifies)

Initial thoughts: I like this guy. He doesn't outright reject the objections of people like Richard Dawkins, in fact he appreciates that they're reading the books and raising questions. However, he feels that like my modern Christians, they read to support their ideas rather than to learn anything new.

I'm basically done, review to come when I have more time. In general, I thought this book is a great way to illustrate issues in medical ethics and journalism ethics by showing how they affect real people.

Through Chapter 15. I have a hunch we won't get much of a resolution in the next three chapters -- Hoopla says there are at least 24 more issues -- but it's been fun.

Chapter 20, wherein HeLa laughs at humanity's foolish attempts to contain her.

Through Volume 2 (chapter 12): This guy knows how to end a chapter. Not terribly surprised at the reveal, just impressed with his execution.

Chapters 2-3: Story progressing nicely, with a couple of conventional surprises. Kinda odd how these aliens are basically humans with horns and magic. I'm thinking specifically of the nine month gestation period, but the prison guard appears to just be a standard-issue human.

Chapter 1 of 18: I like the art. Not as detailed as Watchmen, but far better than TWD. Lots of exposition, not much of it makes sense yet. Hazel's narration sets a good tone though, so I'm hopeful. Kinda lame that the "grease monkey" looks like an actual monkey, but it's cool to see Esperanto in the wild.

Author's Note: "The problem arises, however, that if the reader knows
the Bible well enough to recognize the real references, there’s a good chance that he or she has decided not to read this book." The makers of the movie "Saved!" thought the same thing, and they were pleasantly surprised. There are far more reasonable people out there than you might think.

Did my last update stick? Doesn't seem like it. Anyway, Chapter 18 shows how primitive medical ethics were back in the 1950s, which to me is the real issue with HeLa. Docs did whatever the hell they wanted and justified it by saying stuff like, "If people knew we were injecting them with cancer cells, they wouldn't let us do it."

Through Part V, which more or less covers the same time period as the Gospels. I noticed the modern commentary from Levi has dropped off. Too much story happening, I suppose. Anyway, the book's been really funny so far. I've had this book for years, but I'm glad I'm reading it now, after my readthrough of the Bible. I'm definitely getting more out of it because of that.

I've heard several people say that Henrietta's descendants deserve a windfall from the biotech industry, but to me that's missing the point. The point, especially here in chapter 18, is the primitive state of medical ethics in the 1950s. We seriously have doctors arguing, "But if we told people we were injecting them with cancer cells, they wouldn't let us. We can't work under these conditions!"

Not sure of my progress here, on chapter 15 of 42 in the audiobook. I could have sworn I had a print copy here somewhere, but I can't find it, and thanks to Oprah I can't borrow a copy either. Anyway, I wish I could say I was shocked at Debra's relatives, but I've heard it all before. Grown man molests his niece and it's her fault for coming on to him.

Really good so far. Moore plays fast and loose with Scripture, but it's clear he's read it, probably recently and thoroughly. Somebody bound to complain about anything you do, but if you show respect for your source material, you can at least confine it to the nutters and malcontents.

Back matter: There's an epilogue based on "Encounter at Farpoint" (s1e01), a brief history of Starfleet, and a glossary of Star Trek terms for readers who've never seen Star Trek (though they don't explain why such people would be reading this book).

Chapter 9, Resilience, based on "Peak Performance" (s2e21). As Woody Allen said, if you're not failing once in a while, it's a sign you're not doing anything innovative. In this episode several characters make a mistake in judgment or suffer an unexpected defeat, but those who recovered and refocused managed to get the job done, while those who sulked or ran away got nothing.

Mr. Porter failed spectacularly at dealing with the immediate problem, but in the longer run he's right. Whatever happens to you, your choices are basically to assist, resist, or accept it. Accept doesn't mean condone, just come to terms with it and try to move on with your life.

Yes, people are self-absorbed, misogynistic, and willfully ignorant to their effect on others, but I find it hard to believe that what's happened so far has robbed Hannah of her ability to trust anybody.

Chapter 9: Yesss Clay, let the hate flow through you.

Chapter 8, Interdependence, based on "The Wounded" (s4e12). Perhaps trust is a better word for it, as we see Picard's trust (in the Cardassians, in Captain Maxwell, in Officer O'Brien) rewarded by some and exploited by others.

Chapter 7, Intellectual honesty, based on "Chain of Command", aka "There are four lights." (s6e10).

"The morale and motivation of the crew is a direct reflection of how they perceive their commander's integrity toward them."

One hundred chapters down.