WordWolf

Ok, finished all the DC stuff last week. (We're saving the Marvel stuff for mid-season, so "Agent Carter" and "Agents of SHIELD", please sssshhhh. )

If it's not an uncle, perhaps it's an aunt. "Ant-Man"?

Is this movie "2010", the sequel to "2001: A Space Odyssey?"

In the early 80s, lcm would get mad and yell on tape, and actually apologize briefly for getting mad. In the early 90s, after lcm was convinced his every utterance was now endorsed by God Almighty, he got mad and yelled a lot more, all the time, and categorized it as "spiritual anger", as if adding the word "spiritual" in front made it so and excused his behavior. That's when some children were learning to curse from lcm's tirades. vpw knew to keep his cursing in check when a microphone was on. He cursed quite a bit in private, and certainly screamed in private, but when the public was watching, he transformed himself into a veritable angel of light. [edit: unfortunate typo]

"The Adventures of Superboy" was "the adventures of Superman when he was a boy." "Smallville" was the last and ran 10 seasons. "Superboy" (or other variations) ran 4 seasons, and its cancellation paved the way for "Lois and Clark." The cartoon was classic Silver Age comic book fare-written by some of the same writers. After Crisis on Infinite Earths, "the adventures of Superman when he was a boy" was out of continuity, so the cartoon and the first live-action show were both out of continuity. "Smallville" contradicted the continuity- until later retcons changed Superman's history from "Man of Steel" (went into action as an adult and moved to Metropolis shortly thereafter) to "Birthright" (a lot of stuff happened in Smallville.) Now his history resembled the "Smallville" show. And "Lois and Clark" matched "Man of Steel" so it couldn't take place after "Smallville." Frankly, I don't know why so many versions were made. The cartoons were for small children, and the idea of a show about "Lois and Clark" (but not Superman-focused) had a lot of potential.

That's it. I was worried my grammar was too tortured to make for a legible clue.

This is about a few related shows. One was a cartoon- and the other 2 were live-action shows. All were based on the same character, and the live shows did well. One lasted 10 seasons, the other lasted 4 and was ended when executive wrangling prevented the show from continuing. (Actually-that might have been intentional- the Powers-That-Be were then free to develop a new show which contradicted the current show (and lasted 4 seasons...ending years before the last adaptation was begun.) None of the shows I'm referencing could mesh with the others-they would contradict with each other. So, name either live-action show. (Or any live-action show if you're confused but figured out the answer.)

This was a song that wasn't released by any of the usual artists..... "I drive really slow in the ultra-fast lane While people behind me are going insane." "Sometimes I park in handicapped spaces While handicapped people make handicapped faces."

That "re-reading" thing began-at least visibly- with lcm. lcm said that "research" meant "to search again" and that it meant, in practice, to REREAD the collaterals. The corps were taught that, too. I was OUT and a minister who was OUT (ex-corps) verbally discouraged me from doing independent research and recommended just reviewing the collaterals. So, that lesson stuck with him, for sure. I think part of that was lcm's own ineptness at actual RESEARCH that led him to discourage others from doing it as well. Then came vpw's death, the fog years, and the line in the sand. After vpw's death, when POP was read, lcm spent the next few years, according to him, in a metaphorical "FOG". When he stopped, he drew a line in the sand, and demanded personal allegiance to himself. When someone asked if lcm really meant he wanted to be followed blindly, lcm told him directly that he was already doing that (in lcm's mind, at least.) The guy responded by telling lcm to kiss something, and that was when he left twi. When the fog years began, some of the top people walked off, along with some rank-and-file. When lcm demanded his oath of allegiance (late 1988 for the top, early 1989 for the rank-and-file), 80% of everyone left- including, apparently, the entire Research Department (all or almost all.) The very next ROA had an event on "Word in Culture" which was entirely focused on getting all the writers in the room to submit articles to twi's magazine. The magazine's, henceforth, started using a TON of photos and images with their articles- all to take up page-space and make it look like the writing hadn't thinned out greatly. ("gmir", the column with actual research, was never seen again after the "line in the sand", AFAIK.) Since then, it's been a lot of rehashing of the collaterals. And, apparently, that hasn't changed as the DECADES have passed. It's been over 25 years, and there's still no Research Dept. Then again, that would need people who could think for themselves, and rfr is completely disinterested in that...

Cartoon, so-called "supernatural" stuff was mundane.... "Scooby Doo?"

Ok, that explains why I started by saying it was a 3-parter. For some reason, I read too fast when I went back to look for the casts, and figured I MEANT to add a 4th but didn't. Yeah, that last one was correct from the original description. I should have included cast for "A Knight's Tale" at the end, Alan Tudyk and so on since Ledger was mentioned already. (Played the hero in this one and villain in "Dark Knight." :) ) As far as I'm concerned, either of you can take it for the round.

"On The Dark Side", John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band? Band got its name almost by accident. They had a band and needed a name. They relaxed after a recording session and started naming things around the room. "How about The Chairs?" "How about The Tables?" "How about Beaver Brown?" One band member found a can of paint, called "beaver brown."

Yes, THIS! twi's been big fans of using one spouse against the other, and making the "faithful" spouse feel bad if the other was less-than-perfect or less-than-perfectly-loyal. Got an alcoholic spouse? You're failing to walk the walk! Got a spouse that wants out? You're failing to magically believe enough!

That's it. Despite my inability to count at times, I figured the cast of the last one would trigger some memories and hint at the others, even if their own casts didn't signal anyone.

In order to open Rosie's eyes, you'd need to surprise her with something. vpw, Donna and Rosie were/are all fully aware of how they're conning people and exploiting them. lcm was the one who was fooled-which is one big reason why he got caught. The others all know to cover their tracks and not let anyone "pay any attention to the man behind the curtain." If you want to tell individuals, go ahead. The organization would be a waste of time. The organization will try to make you feel bad. The organization will try to make you feel outside God's protection and outside God's will in seeking to free yourself from their tentacles. Have you considered actively recording any incident? Most people will not want video evidence of them acting like twi'ers act in these situations- because the evidence could go viral in hours. It might make them act less manipulatively.

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.