— Alex and I headed out into the day to go meet Emily. We had our directions. I spoke with Emily. We ended up being TWO HOURS LATE. We hit major traffic. But it was so exciting – I don’t know – Alex and Emily have been bantering back and forth on my blog and on Alex’s blog so it was so cool for them to finally meet each other. I love meeting blog-friends. Patrick: NEXT TIME I come out here I will meet you! Just too crazy this time. I just couldn’t take time out of my busy schedule trying to infiltrate a major cult to have lunch with you … NEXT TIME!! Okay?
— Strangely enough, as we neared Emily’s office where we were picking her up – Alex realized that we were driving through the town where she was born. We were literally blocks away from her birthplace – so strange!
— And Emily kind of brilliantly covers our experiences. We sat in the food court of Hollywood Park (a massive casino) and IMMEDIATELY began to RANT AND RAVE about the couch-jumping cult-wads. We just WENT there. See, with people who do not share my obsession, I do try to keep it under control … because when you start to shout about Xenu and stuff like that, people slowly edge away from you, quietly dialing 911. They are terrified. Also, if I’m talking to people who don’t know as much as I do (“You don’t know the history of $cient0m0gy … I do. You’re glib.”) then I can tend to dominate the conversation. But with two other obsessives? Who know not only just as much as I do, but more? It was sheer heaven. We inhaled our food and talked like MANIACS. It was hysterical. We got right down to business. No “so where did you grow up?” and “so when did you start blogging?” None of the niceties were needed here. We leapt straight to Xenu. IT WAS AWESOME.
— Then, very very exciting, we drove to see the Western Surplus store (now a T-shirt warehouse) where the Manson family had a shoot-out with the police. It was thrilling. There is still a sign, now blacked out, that said Western Surplus. We literally parked the car on the street, and sat there, engine idling, staring up at it. We are lunatics.
— The segue from COS to the Manson Family was seamless. One cult to another. It all makes sense.
— We drove by Emily’s high school where the Beach Boys also went to high school. Alex went to make a turn into the driveway and Emily said from the backseat, “No – you can’t go in there. You have to be fingerprinted by the state of California to go on any property.” “Oh, Jesus,” Alex said and merged back out onto the street. Later, Alex did a U-Turn – this was after we dropped off Emily – and Alex had to go into a driveway, briefly, to complete the turn. “Have you been fingerprinted?” I asked her. “Because otherwise … I think you are FUCKED right now.”
— Emily took us by the house where she grew up – it’s really an adorable little town by the way. These peaceful cute little stone houses with small yards … It was amazing. We were driving through Emily’s hometown! She told us about a guy who used to drive around the neighborhoods and call over high-school-age girls to the window for directions, and then be there, jerking off ferociously. “We called him Dildo,” Emily informed us calmly.
— We howled with laughter about the fact that when I develop my photos from this trip – there will be no PEOPLE in them – just pictures of the Hubman Life Exhibit Building and the damn Literacy Scam across the street. Like: WHAT IS MY PROBLEM????
— After driving around for a bit, we dropped Emily off at her place – it had been an awesome afternoon. So good to see Emily, as always. One of the best things about blogging has been meeting and befriending people like Emily. As my father says, “That Emily. She’s fantastic. So tough. So funny.” Yup, Dad! I agree!!
— There was one moment over our lunch in the casino when all three of us were talking at once – and we were literally almost YELLING about Hubman and his minions – everyone talking at the same time, emphatically, fiercely. At one point, Alex said, “My goal in life is to get one of them to admit to me the truth about Xenu.” There was a long long pause and then Emily said, kind of cracking up, “Okay. That’s kind of weird.” hahahahahahaha It was SO FUN!!!
— Alex and I then drove home, just all lit up with our afternoon with our friend from blogging. It was great.
— We then watched one of the most enraging and STUPEFYING documentary ever created (meaning: it was great) called The Weather Underground. Oh. My. God. We were out of our minds with rage afterwards. We had a GREAT conversation about “people like that” … just sputtering and shouting … We got so worked up that we had to go out for pizza. The Weather Underground is obviously what the two main characters – Judd Hirsch and Christine Lahti – are involved in – or something like it – in the wonderful movie Running on Empty. These “revolutionaries” … There was one guy who had been a member of the Students for a Democratic Society – who then watched as The Weathermen basically hijacked their group. The Weathermen were interested in violent confrontation (“bring the war home” or some such bullshit) … and SDS was more about peaceful protests, a la Martin Luther King. But anyway, this guy was amazing – he said something like, “These people are now adopting the philosophy of Hitler, Stalin, Mao … they are in that continuum.” Yup. Yup. It was a FANTASTIC documentary but it truly made the two of us crazy.
— Or I should say “craziER”.
— Wonderful day.
— Today? I’m going on a tour of one of the studios with Brendan and Cashel!! Whoo-hoo!!
It’s nice to be remembered.
Actually, SDS as a peaceful-protest organization was already doomed when the Weatherpeople turned to underground “direct action”. When the “Action Faction” left, the organizational framework fell into the hands of the “Praxis Axis” who were fanatically doctrinaire Maoists. The slogan chanted at the final convention was “Beware of those who wave the Red Book to oppose the Red Book.” The people who had sought to politicize The People by organizing demonstrations at intersections where stopsigns were needed either grew up and left or had become “radicalized (e.g. moonbats).
triticale – fascinating!! Sickening, but also really fascinating. Great documentary.
Oh, and strangely enough – as we were driving around with Emily, she randomly brought up that documentary – and I said, “So weird – We have it at home!” and Emily said, “It is gonna make you sooooo mad!” She was right.
Sheila,
I am literally shaking with laughter right now. “I have NO pictures of Cashel, my dearly beloved nephew, but I have like fifty of L. Ron Hubman’s head.”
Somebody help us.
Dildo – Hi! We were wondering if you were still around! How ya been, old buddy? Still can’t get a real chick, eh? So sorry.
You want to talk about a documentary that makes you angry? Let’s talk Grizzly Man sometime. Not angry. Livid. I explained it to my mother who asked me never to mention it again because it made her angry and sick to her stomach. She hadn’t even seen it. Everyone except the “hauler,” the man who flew the bodies out, was insane. Absolutely out of their ever loving mind INSANE.
Now, I’ll probably have to rent The Weather Underground and round off my pissed off at documentaries weekend.
No need for apologies Sheila. I look forward to the next time you’re out here. ‘Sides, I’ll be around for a while. God only knows how long the COS will be around with you and Alex working to topple them. You HAD to go before it was too late. :-)
Patrick – so so true. Everyone in Grizzly Man was nuts. I actually thought the Inuit curator of the museum was sane. What about the poor autopsy guy?? Who heard that audio tape and put together what happened?
We were doing imitations yesterday of Treadwell’s voice. “And over here is Mr. Chocolate … Mr. Chocolate is upset because Brownie has refused his advances … and, as guys – we both know what that feels like! Don’t we, Mr. Chocolate??”
And the part where he reverentially touched the bear poop was a moment in my life that I will never get back. “This came from inside her!!”
Ewwwwww.
Yes, I pointed out that the Inuit fellow was the other sane one as well. He probably thinks, “Stupid, fucking whities.” The coroner was insane too. Maybe it was reassembling the bodies that made him that way. Did you see how he gave Treadwell’s watch to his crazy ex-girlfriend. (“He was my boyfriend, my friend, my employer.” – AAAARRRRGH!)His friend the “actor” with the speech impediment? Didn’t you just want to smack him once or twice?
Treadwell didn’t even call it “poop” did he? He said that the bear went “number 2” because the fight was so passionate. That, I think, it creepier than touching it.
His voice. The inflections. Totally bizzare.
And what about the scene where he ponders his sexuality? Remember he was walking along and discussing how gay men have it easier? (Which is total bullshit, by the way.)Then he emphatically states -to himself, mind you – that he is NOT gay.
I know. So so creepy. Telling us how good he is in the sack – “even though guys aren’t supposed to say they are good.”
Yes, his calling it “number 2” was … just terrible. He got all precious and girlie when talking about the bears – but how ’bout when he flips out at the end and goes off on the park rangers? Out comes the tough Long Island asshole – and that’s who he REALLY is.
Now I’m laughing because all I can think about are your immitations of that Grizzly dude yesterday. I’ll have to see the documentary myself to share in the pissed-offery.
Oh, and I’m totally going to start a band just so we can call ourselves “The Bobby Beausoleil Prison Ass-Rape Experience.”
hahahahahahahaha I forgot about that!!
“So who does he play for?”
“Oh, you know … his ass-rape friends …”
WHAT??
See, like the film maker said, Treadwell tried to form an image of himself that he was some sort of loner warrior. The “Gentle Warrior.” Just watching him you can tell it was all a fabrication. I’m astounded anyone bought into it. Well, except that Whistler’s Mother looking ecologist lady. She was nuts too. (His becoming one with the bears was a religious experience.) I’m not surprised she ate that shit up.
Like we’ve been saying. INSANE. Furthermore, having yelled at the TV, my neighbors likely think I am insane as well.
Promise me Sheila, that if you ever don’t get the part of Woody in Cheers that you will not go insane and go live among the creatures.
From David Edelstein’s review: Herzog shoots himself listening on headphones to the six minutes of screaming He doesnt share the tape with us and tells Treadwells ex-girlfriend to destroy it. You can respect the way Herzog handles that material and still roll your eyes at his theatrics. Thats very much true of the whole filmand its larger-than-life subject. Too bad he wasnt larger than bears.
I think I’m going to stop with the Grizzly Man stuff for the day. I’m seriously ready to punch someone and I have to get on the freeway soon.
My favorite part of Grizzly Man was the Poop Scene.
When that idiot freak touches the Bear’s crap and puts his hand on it, and uses that fake, see-through baby voice of his, and says something like:
“It’s her poop. It’s her poop. It came out of her. It’s still warm. Look at it.”
Damn Tard.
….ooops. That was from me, Alex. CURSE Sheila for using my computer!