George Aar

Damn guys, you talk as if it was a bad thing that WayWorld's errors were made so obvious under LoyBoy's reign. Personally I'm overjoyed that LCM made it so frightfully plain what a crock of she-it WayWorld was. Even with the "wonderful" Way Productions (i.e. Bible-flavored Lawrence Welk, country/western-flavored Lawrence Welk, or even soul-flavored Lawrence Welk) I think we were all on a starvation diet culturally, emotionally, and socially. Thank God (who?) somebody pointed out (even inadvertantly) what a pathetic pile of crap we were tied up with.

Something better, something productive? How about, any goddam thing? Jeezus, what did PFAL do for anyone? It made all sorts of promises, more harmony in the home, gives a purpose to life, yada, yada. But what did it really deliver? Did graduates of "The Class" actually live more abundant lives? You couldn't prove it by me. Sure, it made us feel good for the moment, while we're getting the mental massage, but in real life it was utterly ineffectual. "Believing" didn't bring about anything other than disappointment and feelings of inadequacy because we weren't "believing" enough. So my advice? Find an interest in life and pursue it. Cultivate, learn it, grow it, do it. But when it comes to dedicating one's life to upholding vague "principles" and "keys" at the detriment of doing what you'd really like to do - and all the while giving your life's resources to a bunch of jerkoffs who haven't done a goddam thing to earn it - I'd say forget it...

I'm not sure about what kind of public policies should be made, just know what I'd want for me and mine. Having just had a kinda big health scare last week, I've been thinking through this stuff again, and I still don't want to cling to life no matter what. I'm willing to let go, maybe sooner than a lot of folks. At least I think I would. If I get to the point of having one of those "days of the week" type of pill dispensers, or have to drastically curtail my lifestyle due to inabilities, I'm all for taking active measures to bring the end on sooner. I can't imagine being bedridden as a lifestyle, for me or mine.

No, I'd be more than happy to talk about the vapidness, pointlessness, or just plain error of the content as well, if you'd like. But, we've covered that same ground many times before, no?

LOL! Gawd, O.M., you made my morning! That's so blatantly absurd, I don't even know where to start. I guess you'd feel that because you bought a ticket to see "Gone With the Wind" once, that you are now entitled to show it whenever and whereever you want and charge whatever you'd like for admission? After all, you paid for it, right? You elevate intellectual dishonesty to the level of an artform...

Maybe the good folks at WayWorld have helped him get re-educated?

Oooo, suddenly I find I have a fresh, minty flavor...

Yeah, I'll bet sermons become a bit more difficult when one is not preaching to the choir...

I would've quit posting altogether a long time ago, but I owe it to my fans to continue. Oh, the burden of fame...

I remember being really fired-up about the auditorium as well, when it was first announced and then after the construction was going on. Good PR on that one. Then I heard the Way Chorus (or whatever it was called) sing there during a SNS or somesuch, and I remember just a glimmer of the notion flickering in my brain momentarily "This seems like just another goddam church". It took me another 4 years to actually do something about it, but I finally realized that WayWorld was just another B.S. religious organization among the many, and not terribly significant at that. It still amazes me that they were able to convince us of it's tremendous importance at the time. Youth is wasted on the young...

I think we need to look at why we got involved with WayWorld in the first place to understand the lure of the offshoots. What was it about Wierwillism that attracted us?I think the primary draw, as with most any religion, was comfort (false comfort IMHO, but we'll leave that be for now). Then there was the sense of purpose. This took awhile to instill in us, but after we got a taste of the heady notion that we had a "mission from God", well, we were off and running. Then add to that the equally intoxicating concept that we knew things that the ordinary mortal just simply had no handle on whatsoever. Now we were thoroughly (or is that "throughly") primed to dedicate our very lives to some pretty lame B.S. So what happens when we finally leave that all behind? It's sort of tough to look back and say "Well, that was a helluva waste of time" - even if that is the truth. So we go looking for a slightly different thumb to suck, or skirt to hide behind. And we find it in the offshoots. Different enough to make us believe that the bad has been rooted out, but familiar enough so as to reinforce the basic tenets that we're afraid to leave behind.

Well, I knew the theme, but I honestly don't think I ever saw an episode. Sit-coms have just never been my cup of tea. I never watched "Happy Days" either. It's sorta odd when everybody seems to be so knowledgeable about some cultural thingy or other, that it becomes something of our national identity, and I'm oblivious to it. Makes me wonder what planet I've been on. Mars maybe?

Raf, The first three days was the hardest for me. After that, it was just kind of a nagging annoyance. I knew when the day I quit that I couldn't f$%^ around with it, though. No having "just one" to get over a rough patch. I knew, for me anyway, that one smoke and I'd be back to a pack and a half/a day habit. So my advice, bite your lip and hang in there. It's really not all that tough. You've proven you can go the distance, you've gone all day. Tomorrow will make two.

Belle, Yeah, I know it's hard to believe. That Davy was so darn cute!

OH, that SHIRLEY! She's got more miles on her than a Greyhound bus...

MdV, Your statement seems to imply that one should never change their mind. If you make a mistake you should have to stick with it, regardless. Fine, if that's the way you want to live. Personally there's lots of stuff I'm fine with leaving behind: old girlfriends my "Monkees" fanclub card my "Shaklee" dealership license my UFO and other paranormal books and, yes, my attachment to a narcissistic Ohio blowhard and conman Your mileage may vary...

"But when leave him out of the picture, then our hearts turn cold and barbaric." Yeah, like when the good Christians of England and France went off to kill the infidels that were living in the "holy" city of Jerusalem. Or when the good Catholics of Spain and France decided it would be a good thing to torture everyone who didn't believe properly, in order to save their souls. Or the countless religious persectutions over the centuries of people whose only crime was not believing "properly". How many wars have been started because some good, Godly man decided it was time to put an end to evil? Give me a decent, pragmatic atheist any day. Or a sun-worshipper, maybe a Wiccan, anything but a good, Godly fundamentalist...

Yes it's really her. The photos became quite the bruhaha when they first hit the net, about 8 years ago. First they denied that there were any photos, then that the photos must be fake, finally, "yeah, O.K., I did it. But I'm reeeeeaaally sorry about it now." Here's an article about it from Salon: http://dir.salon.com/21st/feature/1998/11/03feature.html

Dr. Laura D-R-L-A-U-R-A was on in our area for awhile. She didn't make it too long. I guess if you like tuning in for 2 minute sessions of verbal abuse, it's a wonderful show. Otherwise, it sucks...

This seems like as good a time as any to reiterate one of my favorite quotes: "The most common of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true. It is the chief occupation of mankind." --H. L. Mencken Was that guy "tapped in" 'er what?

Like Belle and Hiway, I pretty well figured I could handle it, should I get called on. It was simple role-playing, and we (mostly) knew our parts pretty well after awhile. Maybe if the Vickster had rung a bell we'd a all started salivating (it always worked fer Craig)?

Yeah, I always thought the "I can't take being typecast anymore!" line of reasoning seemed pretty weak. The fact that Reeves had been carrying on a longtime affair with an MGM exec's wife definitely gives one pause...

They've been euphemized? What, they don't like calling them by their right name? I guess "pig" or "dog" or especially "skunk" are kinda harsh...

For 16 grand I'll bet she's reconsidering the sale of the other one. Damn, there are some seriously weird people out there...

Sudo, Are you still working the GWTW connection? (the star of that series played one of Scarlet's suitors, IIRC) Speaking of The Civil War and whatnot, do you remember the last Civil War widow just passed away a year or so ago. Now that was mind-boggling for me... http://msnbc.msn.com/ID/4972487/