George Aar

I can understand "art" like this. An incredible talent, that no doubt took a great deal of time and effort to develop. Unfortunately, I think "Art" in general lost it's way somewhere between "impressionism" and "cubism" and the like. Now we have Musem curators that blather on about nonsensical attributes of mere splotches of paint or blocks of rock. And likewise ridicule the unwashed heathen that dare state the obvious "my dog coulda done this". Maybe the pendulum will start on it's return swing sometime soon? One could hope...

I agree that Anthony Hopkins is a natural for the starring role of VPW. But I think somebody even more mental needs to play Geer. Maybe Gary Busey? And LCM? Hmmm, I think THAT"S the Christopher Walken role. I think John Turturro seems a natural for the role of Don too. And Kathy Bates as Rosie again seems a natural and maybe Kathleen Turner as Donna. I think any mildly talented character actor could do Howard and the rest of the clan, as they're so non-descript anyway. And then all that's needed is a whole flock of supporting actors that can play a good "azs-kissing, lacky suckup" (we'll need a LOT of those)

Well, I guess you were just a little bit smarter than a lot of us then. Lucky you. I spent years where all my spare time was spent taking classes, going to "fellowships", "Advances", "Weekends with the turd", and numerous other mindless events and programs. Never mind the two years absolutely tossed in the toilet going "W.O.W" and all the summer vacations wasted at the fetid, hot and sticky (and not in a good way) farm in Ohio. So you didn't get sucked in as far as lots of us did? Good for you, you dodged a bullet. A lot of the rest of us weren't blessed with your (apparently) well-honed abilities...

With almost 20 years of retrospection now, for me I don't think it was the best of times or the worst of times, It was just a WASTE of time. What shoulda been the best years of my life - all my physically "prime" years - ....ed away in a circle-jerk of arcane, petty theology and playing church. A damned shame, that...

I think He's on vacation. We'll all have to just act nice till he comes back (hopefully He's in a good mood)...

Hey, in the interest of "equal time", shouldn't we have some "brave" recipes too?

When I get my check I think I'll go get drunk. Hey, it's about time...

Um, no it's not. I think we could do just fine without it. Yeah, we'd have to give up the Sistine Chapel and Handel's "Messiah", but we could have also avoided the Spanish Inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials, and about a gazillion "Godly Inspired" wars. All things told, I think we'd have been a whole lot better off to have never embraced relgion at all. It seems like the human species is hardwired for it though. Every culture cooks up some superstition or other to waste their time with and in order to have good solid reasons for hating people different than themselves. Seems like it would be a really good thing to break outta that mindset before we kill off everybody, though. But, honestly, I'm not very optimistic...

Um, no, I never have noticed that. I don't know all that many gay folks, but the ones I do know, act incredibly similar to people...

Why doesn't everybody just finally wise up and act exactly like me? Jeezus, you guys just don't get it. Any actions contrary to the way I act or would approve are obviously debauched and repellent and should be prohibited at all costs. And - by extension - this applies to any condemned activities enumerated by my god of choice, be it Holy Thunderer, Flying Spaghetti Monster, or whatever Diety Du Jour I'm currently enamored with...

Yeah, the "SnoWay" IIRC. That was sorta my sentiments at the time as well. I mean, what the hell was it for? Snowmobiles had already been invented, thank you very much. And this abortion ( it used the bumper jacks from the Volkswagen beetle as track tensioners) broke down continually, from what I was told. Eventually the whole thing was just stored safely away and forgotten about. Funny, all those times that we KNEW the company line from WayWorld was unadulterated BS, yet we still kept coming back for another portion. Peculiar how the human mind works sometimes...

I guess I just don't understand the vitriol and emotion that this topic seems to generate. Geeze, there are already LOTS of gay people living together and doing all that evil, unapproved-by-God, perverted, sexual stuff. And, if truth be known, there likely has been since we started walking upright (or since the Garden of Eden, if you prefer). What possible difference could it make to the good, upright, God-fearing, straight portion of society if these folks want to enter into a legally binding contract with each other? We've had wonderful, reactionary things like the "Defence of Marriage Act" and various and sundry demonstrations and tirades from the pulpit, but to what end? Is prohibiting gay people from marrying REALLY going to make my marriage any better? (not likely) Or yours? Just what is it we're protecting by such prohibitions? If gays really WANT to get married, hell, why not? Then they'll be able to experience the wonderful blessings of divorce someday, as well. Gee, won't that be special?

Is this a spoof? I mean, they really tipped their hand when they got to the "perpetual motion" part at the end. Maybe they could install a compressed-air motor to compress the air to run the motor that compresses the air for the tank that powers the engine that runs the car?

Well, before you trash it completely, I suggest you read through the FAQ section. This is a one-man operation it appears. And yes, it's not the most scholarly expose ever done. Just has some seldom reported facts. Yes, I'm sure he could do better...

Yeah, I think it is. "Demented", "depraved", "pathological", and probably a few others get a little closer to the reality of who he was. But he taught OM a few bible verses. There now, doesn't that make it all better?

Here's a neat website for those convinced of the veracity of acupuncture, herbal remedies, "faith" healing and such like. This documents a little of the REAL cost of believing in woo-woo: http://whatstheharm.net/

I think hydrogen-powered cars will become viable as soon as we repeal those pesky laws of thermodynamics (who passed those laws anyway, musta been those damned Democrats)...

The condition I recall most about my life during my cult daze (It HAS been almost 20 years ago now) was that of putting my life on "hold". There was always one more class, one more program, one more principle that needed to be mastered before we could start really living the "Abundant Life" that we'd all been promised. So, in retrospect, I see life in the cult that was/is The Way International as an interminable stint of sitting in the dentist's waiting room, forever biding time until that vague super-duper existence that we heard about finally arrived. So my memories of WayWorld are primarily of simple boredom, and the ever-present feelings of inadequacy. Those were easy enough to overcome once I finally left. I'm so sorry for the real ugliness you had to endure...

Two of my clients have the Prius, and both of them love it. I've heard that when it comes time to replace the batteries that the love affair may diminish some, but that's a ways off for a new car. The Smart Car is cute, and I've admired it since I first saw one in Japan 6 or 8 years ago. They're made by Mercedes, and are very well appointed. But they are extremely small, and - as of my most recent research - only get 35 miles to the gallon. Not all that impressive given it's tiny size.

I haven't done voluminous research on it, but I've read that if a newborn were blindfolded from birth and not allowed to see anything for 6 months or so, that the child would be forever blind. The synapeses (sp?) necessary for connecting the eyes to the brain don't develop during the window of time when they should, and so are never able to later. Would it be that much of a stretch to imagine the connections necessary for a "normal" functioning person's empathy would never develop if that child were subjected to constant abuse and neglect? I notice that almost universally, that child abusers and molesters were themselves abused or molested as children. I think there's a lot that goes on in the developing brain that explains people's behavior in later life. And then there's my theory that some people are just born rotten. Hell, we have people with all sorts of genetic abnormalities and inherent inabilities. Why couldn't there be a genetic base for some mental and or social pathologies?

Honto ne!

It still makes my blood boil. And, the consequences of the whole debacle don't make me feel any better. Basically the whole thing got swept under the rug, with nobody ever really taking any responsiblity for it. AND, the war dragged on for years more... And now we've got a whole new Viet Nam for our kids to enjoy. Isn't that just special?

I think for most "searchers" who aren't carrying a whole boatload of bias, the Vicster's "ministry" can be pretty easily dismissed out of hand. There was just too much nonsense, self-serving, plagiarism, and huckstering going on for any real substance to be there (IMNSHO). But once one gets past their cult experience and baggage, I guess you would need to seriously consider just what it is that MERITS any disciplined study, wouldn't you? And, in that vein, why is it that The Bible should be regarded with any reverence to begin with? Is it intellectually honest to approach your search for the "Truth" with the a-priori assumption that The Bible is "The Word of God"? I sure wouldn't think so. Why should The Bible be given such authority, right out of the box, when there's so many other works with claims of Divine authorship available? Yeah, I know. I'm a miserable heathen to even suggest such a thing. It just seems to me that Theological Studies have a helluva lot more to do with tradition and superstition than with any real, disciplined, dispassionate study. Feelings and preconceived notions always seem to carry the day for the true believer. "Don't tell me that God wasn't showing me such and such..." seems to be the sort of refrain I hear whenever I question basic Christian beliefs. If that works for you, fine, I guess...

I prefer the real thing myself, Tako to kerubu - oishi desu ne?

And then there's the attitude - common amongst those who still cleave to some basic WayWorld tenets (and quite plainly demonstrated here)- that all of life can be boiled down to a few simplistic "principles". I think that these are then utilized in much the same manner as a rabbit's foot, a thumb to suck, or a pet "blankie". Is there a troubling aspect of life that doesn't fit with your preconceived notions? Well, it must all be because somebody wasn't following Godly "principles". A young kid becomes so enamored of cult life that she abandons family and friends and becomes cloistered within a group of psychopaths in training? She wasn't being circumspect like The Bible admonishes. She gets raped by a supposed Clergyman? Ah, it's her fault. She wasn't utilizing the proper keys in her life. The same Clergy screws with her head enough that she commits suicide? Same thing. Her fault. The pat answer, the simplistic notion, the concept that all of life's ills can be avoided by simple adherence to utterly unproveable "keys" must be so comforting to some that the thought of life without them must be just too scary to imagine. Hopefully for them, real life will never intrude on their wonderland of make believe. It can be so disheartening when that happens...