scientology & celebrities

the folks who are wandering around wearing gray shirts and black pants on any given day around there all look exactly the same, male and female versions of the "pc" dude from the mac ads w/justin long.

it seems like you can pretty directly attribute it's "success" as one of the few American "religious" cults of the 20th century to its remarkable exploitation of celebrity culture, strict hierarchical structures, and relentless, carefully orchestrated money-grubbing.

er I meant few successful religious cults there

it's like Hubbard took all his experiences in the military, with occult groups, and with Hollywood and was like "voila HERE is the magic combo"

If you really want to delve into more of all this, enjoy:

http://xenu.net/

All sorts of...interesting things there.

hyper-religious folks in any guise weird me out but pretty much any religion seems to have its fair share of believers who are also skeptics, moderates, and aspects that tie in to actual recorded history. this clown show seems to be strictly "you're either in or you're out" (heidi klum voice) and allows no room for questioning.

Auditing room hallway:

http://www.xenu.net/archive/spb/Auditing_room_hallway.jpg

Auditing room hallway:

http://www.xenu.net/archive/spb/Auditing_room_hallway.jpg

Auditing room hallway:

http://www.xenu.net/archive/spb/Auditing_room_hallway.jpg

Shakey, you forgot his knowledge of nerdy sci fi imaginings of the future. Hence all the futuristic hallways!

x-post The comparison of original military documents with Scientology forgings is something I've not seen done before, tbh. I'm always amazed at the power of this cult, given that LRH has a literal paper trail of factual records, reports and documents to refute the official hagiography that, say, Jesus does not have to contend with.

the interesting thing to me is that it is so clearly a class structured religion - there is that whole repetition in the article of 'the able become more able' which screams elitism. plus, the fact that the 'coursework' is so expensive means only those with funds can do it (unless you join sea org and get 'coursework' as payment for your manual labour).

i was gonna post how the sci-fi element of it baffles me, how i can't believe ppl can get behind that... but then i thought about xtianity and then it didn't seem so weird.

(Sorry 'bout the repeat photo -- kept getting errors when I was posting. If I disappear, you guys get my CDs.)

there was something kinda mesmerizing about "auditing room hallway" x3 tbh

I expected & got a lot of a specific type of wacky from this article, but I did not expect a sinister custom motorcycle & SUV refinishing scene.

Yeah I loved it. I kept looking for differences in the hallways! Like in one was the doorknob a different color or something.

Jastrow added. “It’s the fastest-growing religion.”

Waiiit this is what Mormons say about their church! How many religions used alleged exponential functions as a sales point?

Not mine. When I was growing up we were always the fastest-declining religion and we had all better meet nice jewish girls and make jewish babies before we all disappear like the kids in Back2Future

2Back2Future

i thought islam was the fastest growing religion!

So this isn't in this week's issue? Gonna have to read it online then, not that patient.

It's in the Feb. 14/21 issue, which arrives this week. (I haven't received mine yet.)

Judaism is not evangelical, so in the end, they're kind of cool with it, right?

It's in the Feb. 14/21 issue, which arrives this week. (I haven't received mine yet.)

Considering I just got my Feb. 7th issue today, I don't think I'll see it this week. I don't know why, but for some reason I don't get it ahead of the newsstands, it is kind of annoying.

i was gonna post how the sci-fi element of it baffles me, how i can't believe ppl can get behind that

all that stuff about xenu, volcanoes, etc. isn't revealed until you reach the level of "OT III" (which can take years and loads of $$$ to reach...they definitely don't advertise that part up front)

So it's like a Ferrari with a magic book in the glove box: FOR OWNER ONLY.

Paul Thomas Anderson really should take a Flip cam and make his Scientology movie now.

Brando was a clam?

he had an injured clam iirc

brando might've been the one celeb too crazy for scientology

I'm still not quite sure what the whole "double ring" ceremony is about. I've looked it up online and all the answers are vague.

the folks who are wandering around wearing gray shirts and black pants on any given day around there all look exactly the same, male and female versions of the "pc" dude from the mac ads w/justin long.

― omar little

yeah, i see these drones pretty much every day either in hollywood or next to the celebrity centre. such drab, joyless creatures. they are always scurrying somewhere, i just get an impression that they are treated very poorly

Brando was kind of a one-man thing. Definitely not cult material.

we need more pics.

motion quadrant!
http://www.xenu.net/archive/spb/Superpower_Motion_Quadrant.jpg

http://www.xenu.net/archive/spb/Superpower_Motion_Quadrant.jpg

superpower hallway!
http://www.xenu.net/archive/spb/Superpower_hallway.jpg

superpower drill space
http://www.xenu.net/archive/spb/Superpower_drill_space.jpg

superpower elevator lobby
http://www.xenu.net/archive/spb/Superpower_elevator_lobby.jpg

I totally want to see a B movie with a bloody Jenna Elfman being chased by David Miscavige down that corridor.

It must've been amazing for that person whose car broke down and Marlon Brando pulls over to help out.

Darin, might you possibly have a picture of an auditing room hallway? i have always wondered what one of those looks like.

"It must've been amazing for that person whose car broke down and Marlon Brando pulls over to help out."

Except that's Brando's version of events. In all likelihood he fell down outside a McDonalds after eating 10 double cheeseburgers.

Because he was fat, you see.

Actually, he was notorious for loving cheeseburgers.

There are some great anecdotes about him supposedly being on a diet, but he'd sneak to the edge of his property at night and his next door neighbor, Jack Nicholson, would throw a bag of cheeseburgers over.

brando.xls

There are some great anecdotes about him supposedly being on a diet, but he'd sneak to the edge of his property at night and his next door neighbor, Jack Nicholson, would throw a bag of cheeseburgers over.\

lol - love this

"Actually, he was notorious for loving cheeseburgers."

Ding!

A friend lived down the street from Christian Brando in Studio City says Brando used to slip his handlers, buy a dozen burgers and sit in his car down the street, gorging.

I know those photos are real, but somehow, they still look like those weird Photoshopped creations designers make for ppt presentations to solicit funding for the new stadium.

http://blog.kierantimberlake.com/wp-content/uploads/interior-view-at-concourse-looking-south_existing.jpg

Ah, my favorite photo of the man himself:

http://i52.tinypic.com/2q0ojmt.jpg