WordWolf

That's funny. I would have thought the guards were primarily just off the narcissism. The same thing that said others were supposed to stand when he entered the room, and "I have my own plane like the US President" and "wear formalwear when interviewing me!" and so on. Like when he bragged about "having his own plane" (the one twi owned and not him) to the passenger next to him on that commercial flight to Alaska. "See? I have bodyguards like the US President." I didn't think about all the people he legitimately teed off in addition to the cache of having bodyguards.

"This is Spinal Tap" is correct!

This is not a "stealth" round. (It is, however, a 3-parter, not a 4-parter.) In this movie, an athlete who dies prematurely returns immediately as a peasant squire who steps up as his teacher dies unexpectedly. He protects a recently-blinded woman from criminals who think she owns something they want. Later, he must decide if he wants to continue by protecting his city from a violent madman sowing chaos in the streets. (No, the titles are not "in order" of the description.) Actors include: Warren Beatty, Dyan Cannon, Charles Grodin, Buck Henry, Audrey Hepburn, Efrem Zimbalist Jr, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, and Aaron Eckhart.

I agree-they would properly be called "parasitic" for exactly those reasons. vpw saw people, all his life, more as resources than as actual people.

Ok, next movie. "The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and..." "Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten?" "Exactly." "Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder?" "Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten."

Somebody's uncle? No, I'm not on the right track, there...

The main reason I don't consider twi (or Scientology) to be slave labour IS because members PAY for the privilege of being their thralls. Slaves don't actually pay to be slaves.

Interesting how it worked. If you did well in twi, it was because God wanted you to prosper BECAUSE YOU WERE IN TWI AND OBEYING. If you did well and weren't in twi or disoebyed, it was because the devil wanted you to prosper for disobeying. One poster summarized: "God wants me to prosper. The devil wants me to prosper. I'm everybody's friend!" Meanwhile, at other times, twi tried to terrify people from leaving. The outside world is full of scary things. So, don't disobey or we'll send you there! But twi was SO oppressive and SO fear-filled everyday that people figured it couldn't be any WORSE when leaving- and were surprised when all the fear, tension, and stress melted away. Freedom, the ability to make choices, extra time due to a lack of micro-management! Life! Which levers are they trying to push today?

Greetings, BlueCord! Sometimes, vpw went to the corps-in-training and demanded an oath of loyalty. When lcm felt that people weren't kneeling at his image like they had done with vpw, lcm demanded an oath of loyalty- of all the staff, all the corps, all the coordinators, and demanded the loyalty of the rank-and-file as well (although not with an oath.) The result of that demand and the events surrounding it (1988-1990) was that 80% of the total membership-along with large numbers of coordinators- LEFT. So, in 1990, FOUR OUT OF FIVE twi'ers had LEFT as a result of the oath. A few years later, lcm began doing a series of PURGES- some meant to cut costs, most meant to ensure only the most loyal remained. Not long after that came the first lawsuits, and twi began hemmorrhaging members who had hard questions twi refused to answer. "Just obey-don't question us." So, another purge is in progress? Amazing there's enough people left TO purge. I'm fascinated. I also have a few questions about the typical meeting.

Welcome, BlueCord! The thing about the youngsters is quite telling. Once upon a time, vpw had a small group of people. He started twi with working full-time for a local church as their pastor- while he was working up a side-business of twi. He did a radio program and tried to rope in young people, and he edited Christian authors and quietly picked up some of their work-a handy thing when he was doing a sermon a week for "his" church. Once he took B G Leonard's class and began reteaching it as "his" class, he had a product he marketed- especially once he retyped JE Stiles' book and later added some of EW Bullinger's work into it. However, twi was still a footnote at MOST until vpw heard about the hippie Christians in Haight-Ashbury and went over. He succeeded in hijacking some of them from their dawning ministries, and set them up as the recruitment arms for twi on both coasts. (Virtually all twi growth stems from those handfuls and all the people they brought in- and the people those people brought in.) IN SHORT, twi's rise was due to vpw recruiting youngsters by all cheating and lying he could manage. So, TODAY, they're trying to lie and cheat to get youngsters to join. However, the world is different now-so the "they won't hear the truth" business doesn't fly now. So, they don't want the kids for anything else but to CONFORM and to RECRUIT OTHER KIDS. Somehow, it's not a big attraction for the youngsters to join a group so they could follow orders and live in fear. Imagine that! ================== The other thing was the INCREDIBLE cheapness vpw founded twi with. The site was the family farm. He bought out his brothers and sold the farm to twi. This allowed him full use of the site while skipping taxes and passing costs over to the organization. As he filled the place, he always looked for the cheapest possible way to accomplish things. He went to auctions and closings to get used items at the lowest price. He used the lowest grades of wood and told people to build things out of them. Ever hear how he filmed pfal? He paid for the studio, then "bought" the furniture for the class. As soon as the filming was finished, he returned the furniture for a refund, saying he wasn't satisfied with it. Ever hear that class coordinators are told to buy a TV for the class, then return it as soon as the class is over? Same strategy as before- cheat others and save money. The concept of "investment" in things is almost nonexistent. The only place the money actually flows is at HQ- and even there, only among the cadre. Everyone else is exhorted to VOLUNTEER to work more hours FOR FREE. So, there's some COSMETIC changes with twi, but really, the SUBSTANCE has remained the SAME.

*looks it up* Wizard Quest sounds COOL! That was some of the BORING stuff?

I agree completely. BTW, just for fun, here's the 3 answers I know to the rock question ("If God is All-Powerful, can He make a rock so heavy even He can't lift it?"): A) vpw's flippant answer: "God is All-Knowing and wouldn't do a stupid thing like that!" (Cute but evades the question.) B) WordWolf's answer way back when: "If God is Spirit (John 4:24) and a spirit doesn't have flesh and bones (Luke 24:39), then the question is invalid because it presumes God has hands or a body with which to lift." C) Answer from [name redacted] way back when: "This question involves making something greater than infinity. Since infinity has no limits, making something greater than 'unlimited' is logically contradictory and impossible. So, no, God couldn't do that." I still think B and C are respectable answers.

This is not a "stealth" round. (It is, however, a 4-parter.) In this movie, an athlete who dies prematurely returns immediately as a peasant squire who steps up as his teacher dies unexpectedly. He protects a recently-blinded woman from criminals who think she owns something they want. Later, he must decide if he wants to continue by protecting his city from a violent madman sowing chaos in the streets. (No, the titles are not "in order" of the description.)

Ok, can't confuse that with "No Strings Attached." Who was the guy in this one? Oh, yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Justin Timberlake The Social Network Jesse Eisenberg

Is this "Married with Children of Men"?

Gary Oldman The Professional Natalie Portman

One of Prince's biggest hits is OBSCURE? You named the song and artist correctly, of course.

I'm sure it's been less than a decade. However, in the past decade, my personal life has changed a lot. Since that's my PERSONAL life and not my messageboard time, you won't read about most of it here at all. What you CAN read I posted about 5 years ago. (The thread's actually easy to find.) Since twi hasn't changed much, the GSC shouldn't be expected to change much. Since this board exists to "tell the other side of the story" (as you well know), that's to be expected. People still leave twi, if in a trickle, and get on with their lives. People still read and/or post here, then leave, and get on with their lives. For which I say, congratulations! Another GSC success story! From what little you posted, it wouldn't surprise me to hear you haven't changed as much as the GSC has in the past decade. :)

His name was "FRANK NELSON." ("Sgt Nelson" shared his last name.) He did voiceover work for a number of cartoons (like the Flintstones) through the decades. He began in RADIO and was a foil for Jack Benny, among others. Often imitated, but never quite duplicated. Ok, whichever one of you 2 can have it. Raf had the 1st specific answer, but if he's not in the mood to post, George can take it.

Here's who they played: Mr T was outside on the street. (I'll have to check when.) Joe Walsh was at the very end of the movie. At the jail, when the band performs, one prisoner jumps on a table, then the prisoners all start getting up and dancing. The one that jumped up first was Joe Walsh. Steven Spielberg was the clerk at the Cook County Assessor's Office at the end, the one they pay, and who stamps and issues a receipt. Paul Reubens was a waiter in the restaurant where Mister Fabulous worked. ("Wrong glass, sir.") Chaka Khan was in the gospel choir. Kathleen Freeman played The Penguin (the nun.) John Lee Hooker sang "Boom Boom Boom Boom" on the street outside the soul food restaurant that Matt "Guitar" Murphy and his wife (Aretha Franklin's role) ran. Henry Gibson played the leader of the Illinois Nazis. Or, more specifically, the leader of the American Socialist White People's Party (ASWPP for short.) His speech and Pledge of Allegiance were actually taken almost verbatim from a documentary-"the California Reich." So, Raf's turn.

That's correct, and that was John Lee Hooker doing a live recording of that song in that scene. The extended version includes him and a band member arguing over which of them wrote it.

For the curious, on that show, he played (of his named characters): Ralph Ramsey, Ben Benjamin, Freddie Fillmore, Dickie Davis, Henry the waiter, and Sergeant Nelson. (Unnamed characters were: Customs Officer, and Conductor.)

Can you remember SOMETHING beyond what Raf posted? She was neither the first nor last comedian for whom he served as a foil. He did, however, play at least 3 roles in the "I Love Lucy" show alone.

SS has credits as an actor in 13 movies. JLH has credit as an actor in exactly one movie. (Both according to IMDb.)

I only know her from Top Gun Val Kilmer Meg Ryan Joe Versus the Volcano