Belle

This all sounds really neat! I didn't know any of this. Thank you! :)

Yeah, Todd was a total blast to be around. I never knew or heard him play guitar though. He and Michelle moved to Orlando as soon as they graduated, got taken advantage of by John Shroyer before he left and then they were sent back to HQ where Todd worked on grounds staff up there. My ex adored him and Todd was one of the only leaders who fostered his strengths and let him really be himself. The rest, especially moynihan and brooks wanted him to be mini-me's of them.

I dunno - can't say what I would do if I was in that situation. I certainly feel that it isn't any of my business to decide what someone else should do. If I had already dealt with it and moved on, I probably wouldn't tell my spouse because I wouldn't want to drudge all that up again unless I was to the point where I felt strong enough to join in on the lawsuit. If it happened before I got married - I most likely wouldn't mention it either. Not to be sneaky, but to forget about it and move on. But then again, I always thought I would willingly comply and try to keep my tail alive if I ever got robbed. When it did happen, I got so furious I chased that scuzzbucket nearly three miles before calling the cops with an update on where I had chased him to.

Does the UK have arrest records on the web? Anyone know? Probably wouldn't go that far back, though, if this happened while vee pee was alive, would it?

Ya gotta point there, T-Bone! :lol:

I wonder if any of those adventures are of providing extra special attention to visitors to her neck of the woods. I definitely wouldn't put Horney on any book either.... well, I take that back.... depends on what it's about and where it's being sold. Very good sleuth work, Gillian! I wonder how it'll do. ARe they still full time and was this book sanctioned by Rosie - did she get permission and have to have rosie edit it for her? How much money will she be abundantly sharing with TWI from the sales of this book? Is there a tell-all book in the works, too? THAT would be a best seller: "My life as a Geisha for God"

IMO, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree - the chip off the old block is just a chip of the same mold covered, rotten block. I think organized religion in general is inherently set up to suppress and control people. Wasn't the temple and gathering places of the sort in the Bible used mostly for commerce and less for actual religious reasons and this is why people were so scared of being excommunicated as such? Jesus taught everywhere and didn't set up places of worship, nor did he stick to places of worship or encourage people to continue in that vein. It doesn't even seem like the apostles had a true HQ like TWI and the offshoots teach. Heck, even the verses they claim are about classes, wc training, etc. are just private interpretation and require a stretch of the imagination. Ancient beliefs as far as I can tell from the little that I've read seem to be something passed down, discussed and "worshipped" on a much more personal basis with the generosity and giving being truly "as a man purposeth in his heart" and to an individual, group or situation where the individual can make a direct impact. Even the emerging "new age" Christian movement is pretty much like that - they have "centers" not churches and no one is bound by any membership and they are encouraged to visit other "centers", activities, locations and to not keep their loyalty to any one center/church. I'm more inclined to go that route - fellowship, learning and whatnot when it's what I need, small gatherings of true friends to discuss, debate and share knowledge as well as personal, alone time with my own thoughts and such. But then again, there are those of us who have been turned off from organized religion thanks to TWI. ;)

Connerron, Can you elaborate on what you know about CG being arrested, please? :) Thank you!

* crickets chirping down in NZ *

Eddie sounds really cool, Oen! He's definitely very lucky to have such a wonderful pal and mentor to spend time with. Tell Eddie he has lots of cyber friends now because YOU have lots of cyber friends who care about you and everyone you care about. :) Tell him also that it's a really good thing he likes math because astronauts need to know a lot of math. RumRunner may even have some really cool pictures from space that Eddie might like to see. Vixen sends a lick and a bark to Stuart. I send a scratch between the ears.

Exactly, Chas! There are news stories all the time now about girls and even guys, these days, committing suicide, having plastic surgery, anorexia/manorexia, bulimia, obesity, etc..... way too many problems health, mental and social because of these models and the unrealistic expectations set by the media. Teens (and too many adults, it seems) don't realize that those images are so friggin' altered that nobody, not even Cindy Crawford looks like those pictures in real life. A friend of mine just recently moved back from NYC and said she was so surprised and apalled to see how "normal" those top fashion models look on the street when they're on their way to fashion shoots and how absolutely ugly and hideous some of them look - primarily because of how unrealistically thin they are. She said the first time she went out to a club up there where some of them hang out that they looked just like the other girls in the place regarding hair and make-up. That if it weren't for their sickeningly skinny bodies and/or reputation you wouldn't have known they were any different from anyone else in the club. "Real world folks" don't know or think about those things - they just want those clothes, that look, that body, that perfect life they picture these people having. I applaud Dove (and Jamie Lee Curtis for that matter) for bringing these things to light and emphasizing that looks aren't all that. Sure, everyone wants to look and dress nice, and it IS important, but there's a balance and the media doesn't promote that much less a healthy attitude and perpective on beauty.

I'm in awe! Total awe! I didn't want either clip to stop. I sent them to a friend of mine who is just learning bass, too, Chas. Can't wait to hear what he thinks. That's just facinating to watch and fascinating to listen to, but to have both?? Too incredible for words. I wonder, Kathy, if he's self-taught. Aren't the self- taught folks more likely to "break convention" and try stuff that properly trained folk might not? That's how I learned some cool stuff on the databases I work on. The degreed programmers will tell me there isn't a way to do something I'm trying to do, but dang if I don't figure out some way to do it. Crashed a few databases getting there, but by golly I prove 'em wrong.

:) Thank you very much!!

Don't feel bad, Heartman, this is how things get aired out. :) It can get ugly sometimes, but when things can be discussed on here maturely, there's usually something we can all get out of it. Apparently someone only told you part of the story. My belief is that there are three sides to every story - his, hers and what really happened. ^_^ I was married to a police officer for seven years - so sue me. 1 John 3:1, I'm curious as to why there has to be an announcement about people who don't fellowship with a group anymore. What was said about this person? Is this standard protocol for CFF when someone leaves the fold? I didn't read where SOGWOP mentioned any names in particular and she has already been dragged across the coals for telling her TWI experience on here and I think it's extremely unfair, unkind, unchristian and totally uncalled-for to call someone a liar when one doesn't have all the facts. Ask questions before making accusations or A-S-S U mptions. It generally saves embarrassment down the road. CFF and other offshoots are usually as heated discussions as those about TWI can get. I think it's because some of us continue to follow men more than we'd like to think we do. When someone says something bad about a person we admire, respect and elevate above others to some degree, we get defensive rather than looking further into what's being said or implied. We forget that vee pee and the other vultures with TWI were very kind and helpful to some while being very destructive and vicious with others. Also, there are some terrible things that happen(ed) without leadership knowledge and, should they learn of said situations, one would hope that they would act swiftly and lovingly to repair any damage to the individuals involved as well as taking care of the perpetrators. Offshoots and anything that remotely resembles TWI is extremely distasteful to me personally, but I can see where it's a good transition to independence, growth and healing for some and still, for others, their choice for permanent spiritual fulfillment and fellowship. To each his own and none of us is wrong.

:) I have found myself breaking out into hives at the mention of a class or "seminar" with any kind of religious connotation. Especially if there seem to be lots of rules, written or unwritten about it. The only one I tried shortly after leaving TWI was The Purpose Driven Life - 40 Days of Purpose home fellowship series that my church was having. The books and teachings are too performance based for my taste and I totallly disagree with some of the teachings. I dropped out shortly after it started and realized I was having mild panic attacks after each meeting. I dunno.... :unsure: The articles seem to make her out to be pretty realistic, but this part caught my eye - I know she says it was at her church, but..... maybe it's those darn tics I have been able to get rid of since leaving TWI. Thanks for looking that up for us, WW.

Not to be a sh1t or biach or anything, but, umm..... Chas, there's usually THREE sides to every story: His, Hers and the truth. *ducking really quick and not quacking either*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope it's Rainbows and Butterflies for you all year long!!

SHHHhhhhhh....... Don't encourage him!! He's been lurking, Bliss. He posted a hilarious clip in the Funnies section recently. Just don't tell him that I, too, was wondering where he and his irritating opinions had wandered off to, okay?

Toppers, I love your nostalgia! Keep it coming! Kathy, it's because of that practical joke following you around the boards that got me down here. Thank you. :) Sudo, my uncle said that he remember most all of them, but his all time favorite was "Have Gun Will Travel" and that his prized possession was his Paladin guns and that he wore them all the time, even to bed. He remembers his son, my cousin, wearing them and playing with them but doesn't know what happened to them after that. I looked up on eBay and they're going for over $300 now. :o I guess this wouldn't be the appropriate time to mention that all those shows were long gone before I was even born... :ph34r:

It also doesn't mean that you advocate someone plagiarising the work. How does one get that loaning someone a book or telling them about a particular author is an act of condoning illegal activity?? :huh: This thread just gets more and more hilarious..... or is it more and more preposterous? Either way, I am thoroughly enjoying the show. Are we still waiting to see the documented evidence that "VP at the height of his ministry was by all accounts really impacting mainstream Christianity"? :P

Darn, Tom. I thought this was a test to tell me which god I am.

They should be playing the theme to Rocky in the background. I wonder if they then check to see if the shrimp are better to eat if they've been exercised. It might make their meat too tough.

Very cool, Kathy! Thank you! I love the pics! Dang, Chas! I'm impressed. Thanks for that link!

LOL! WG, the ladies group at my church is doing this kind of thing, too. For some reason I just couldn't get excited to go - given your impression, I'm glad I didn't. :)

I LOVE IT!! I saw it on GMA and thought it was about time a company stood up and against the superficiality that all of us are bombarded with on a daily - practically minute-by-minute basis. Thanks for the clip!