Harold Camping’s Brave New World

Now if Ken will just announce that he’s selling Wonkette to Arianna, my weekend will be complete.

Larry Hicok, state director of the American Atheists, sounds like a very smart guy. He said too many followers of religion get lost in the details of their particular belief. “Maybe the constant is love and the rest of it you can let go of,” he said.

I wonder why so many people who call themselves “Christian” can’t seem to remember that in the Bible Jesus said exactly the same thing. Apparently the underlying problem is that eliminates the need for churches, synagogues, mosques, priests, ministers, rabbis, bishops, popes and worst of all, MONEY.

@Dave H: I’d be curious how many folks actually bought into this one — even Camping’s staff wasn’t wholly behind it. I see reports of “thousands”, but I wonder whether it even cracked four digits.

What a lousy sad pathetic life one must have when the only joy you get is the end of the world.

I’m happy the universe disappointed you, Camping. You pathetic old math challenged fuck.

@nojo: They’re the tea-baggers of religion – 10 show up and the media creams its panties.

@SanFranLefty: Well, ten people and $100 million in corporate backing.

Actually, they are just like teabaggers…

@nojo: But some of the ones that DID buy it went whole-hog batshit nucking futs.

Unfuckingbelieveable….

@pinkoscum: That one I saw — and it’s outright ugly — but I haven’t yet seen any like it. More like the former NY firefighter whose wife was sick and tired of the Rapture shit, and just waiting for Saturday to pass. Great sitcom material.

But we’ll hear more. Especially when the lawsuits are filed. Camping may have blown $100 million, but there are still millions more in the bank.

Camping himself lives in a modest house, by the way. He’s not your typical televangelist charlatan. Drinks his own Kool-Aid.

@nojo: Speaking of media whores, Bristol Palin has a new reality show.

Oh, and Camping lives in Alameda, of all godforsaking random places. SFist was outside his house yesterday at 6:01 pm PDT.

@SanFranLefty: Noted while you were away. And I think it’s actually Bristol who wants to relocate to AZ. Or if Mom does, she’s definitely not running, because her political identity is wrapped up in Wasilla.

She’s definitely not running anyway. But speculation that she would move to AZ to do it doesn’t make sense. Logistically, yes, but little else.

Bristols show is about living with gay guys and everyone doing each other’s hair/nails/blow or something.

I remember auditioning for a Christopher Guest-type improvised movie on this idea some years back. The movie wasn’t made but I thought at the time it was a very funny premise and could be quite wonderful if you took it seriously. Of course, this is what impelled the Mayflowerites into the ships and across the Atlantic, so they could be as far away from France as possible to wait for the end of the world which they believed to be immanent. So I guess it’s built into the very foundations of our great nation.

@nojo: I still get The End is Coming.

Mind you, I understand the motive. I felt this way when I saw Inception. I prayed for something, anything, to make it stop and get me out of there.

@pinkoscum: There had to be at least one, sadly.

@nojo: 3rd party.

@nojo: Pastor Camping’s Magic Carpet Ride to the heaven dimension happens to be a Honda Civic, wouldn’t cha know.

@Benedick HRH KFC:
i really enjoy the improvisation directors. off the top of my head, christopher guest, judd apatow, and larry david. the script is nothing but an idea. they hire the funniest people to take that idea and run with it. and if you’ve ever seen the out takes of any of these directors films, you realize this is the best way to make a movie/tv show great. so i ask of you, mums, are there enough actors that talented who could improvise like that? wait, now that i think about it, the answer is no, because they always use the same ensemble players…
it’s all in the out takes. my guess is they have to use the one where the others in the scene aren’t spitting coffee or rolling on the floor.

@baked: There are more than you would think. Not me. I can’t improvise at all. I get hideously embarrassed and my ears turn red. Give me a script and let me rehearse and I’ll do anything, but I won’t make up words. People like to work with actors they know they can rely on. That’s always the case. I think it’s often very apparent when actors are improvising. And it’s one reason why movie or TV people think they can make up the words in a play, adding phrases or changing things. They can’t.

do you watch “Curb Your Enthusiasm” or ANY Guest flick? david and chris found people who can make up words and every take is different and hilarious. i don’t know how they do it, they are in a special class, i guess. the fact that they use ALL the same people attests to that.
and i don’t believe you couldn’t do it! don’t harsh my buzz–you can do anything in my mind!!!
go rent “Best in Show” and imagine these people made up all that shit.
aMAZing. the DVD has the out takes and you see the same scene with the same actor doing it 12 different ways–ALL HEElarious.

I can’t stand Curb Your Enthusiasm. It seems too terribly smug and pleased with itself for words. I have tried but don’t like it. Same with Seinfeld.Particularly that unfunny man trying to act at the centre of it. Also true of Seinfeld. I quite like the C Guest movies. Guffman is very funny as is Best in Show but they tend to be hit or miss affairs and the lack of discipline really gets on my tits. They don’t seem to me to have a big enough idea to last for 90 mins. I don’t know how much of The Larry Sanders show is improvised but that’s a really first rate cast being for the most part very well directed so it doesn’t have the somewhat self-conscious air that most improvised stuff has. I find The Office unwatchable in all its incarnations.

I have one thing to say: Avignon, Paris, 2012, bitchez!

@Benedick HRH KFC:
i know, i AM easily amused…i yield to the man who knows what he’s talking about.
i do love the Larry Sanders show.
(AND, i LOVE “curb” don’t hit me)

@baked: Darling, you laugh at whatever you like. Don’t pay any attention to me. I mean it. What do I know. It is a total mystery what makes us laugh. Though I have a theory or two. As I recently put it: There’s nothing more offensive than what makes other people laugh.

But it’s the same with noje’s obsession with the music of ALW. Who can explain it? Who can tell you why? Fools give you reasons. Wise men never try.”

@Benedick HRH KFC:
oooh, can i use that for my FB status?
i refuse to not pay attention to you. you can ground me, take away my video games, and phone privileges, but i’m paying attention. so there. <3

@baked: i do love the Larry Sanders show.

Just bought the boxed set. Hey now!

@nojo: We’ve been watching it on Netflix. Jeffrey Tambor is brilliant – I have to hide behind the sofa sometimes – as is Rip Torn.

@nojo:
EXCELLENT!!!

@Benedick HRH KFC:
BRILLIANT!!!

RE the mystery of what is funny……solved: The Larry Sanders Show.

@Benedick HRH KFC: A comedy about a late-night talk show is America’s equivalent to Yes, Minister.