From: Blunderov (squooker@mweb.co.za)
Date: Sat Mar 13 2004 - 01:13:00 MST
[Blunderov] Perhaps this is old news to many but I have only just found
it and am vastly amused.
Best Regards
Church of the SubGenius
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Church of the SubGenius is a pseudo-religious organization,
originally based in Dallas, Texas, which gained popularity in the 1980s
and 1990s subculture, with a large presence on the Internet. It claims
to have been founded in 1953, though its current popularity can only be
traced to the publication of SubGenius Pamphlet #1 in 1980. It has found
acceptance in underground pop-culture circles and been embraced on
college campuses, in the underground music scene, and on the Internet.
The organization is widely seen as a satire that mocks organized
religion, though its most devoted adherents adamantly challenge this
viewpoint, usually on the grounds that it is far too much trouble to
attack something which is already dead.
Because of its similarities to the tenets of Discordianism, SubGenius is
often described as an offshoot of that belief. Its members state that
the organization developed on its own, however, with the publication of
SubGenius Pamphlet #1 (a.k.a. The World Ends Tomorrow And You May Die!)
by Ivan Stang and the original SubGenius Foundation. The original group,
using such pseudonyms as "Pastor Buck Naked," "Suzie the Floozie,"
"Palmer Vreedeez," and "Pope Sternodox," forwarded their literature to a
number of underground pop-culture figures such as R. Crumb and the New
Wave rock group Devo, who embraced it and incorporated it into their
work. Crumb's promotion of the Church through his comic book series
Weirdo brought many new members into the fold, including artists,
musicians, and writers. Their efforts resulted in the publication of the
Book of the SubGenius in 1983, followed by High Weirdness By Mail in
1988, Three-Fisted Tales of "Bob" in 1990, and Revelation X: The "Bob"
Apocryphon in 1994. The popularization of the Internet in the mid-1990s
brought a new surge of interest in the Church, resulting in dozens of
home-made, elaborately decorated web sites and two Usenet newsgroups,
alt.slack and alt.binaries.slack. Ivan Stang maintains the official
SubGenius home page at http://www.subgenius.com today. The Church's
weekly radio program, the Hour of Slack, is a staple of many college
radio stations.
Such high-profile names as Pee-Wee Herman, David Byrne, Mark
Mothersbaugh, and actor Bruce Campbell have become SubGenius ministers,
though they generally keep their affiliations with the Church quiet in
order to protect their public image.
The central figurehead and symbol of the Church is the smiling,
pipe-smoking face of J. R. "Bob" Dobbs, an image based on 1950s clip
art. The Church claims that "Bob" (the quotes are included when spelling
his name) founded the Church after he saw a vision of God on his
homemade TV. Since that time, "Bob" has been killed and raised from the
dead numerous times, though the Church denies any similarity between
this claim and the Biblical account of Jesus Christ's resurrection. The
Church guards the trademark and copyright on "Bob's" image, though his
face has been used by many artistic figures, showing up on such places
as albums by the rock band Sublime and the movie The Wizard of Speed and
Time by Mike Jittlov. (The Church has recently adopted a new symbol
called the "Dobbs Icon," which is a stylized cross with three bars and a
pipe, placed in a pattern that matches the eyes, nose, mouth, and pipe
of "Bob's" image.)
Slack
The central belief in the Church is the pursuit of Slack, which
generally stands for the sense of freedom, independence, and original
thinking that comes when you achieve your personal goals. The Church
states that we were all born with Original Slack, but that Slack has
been stolen from us by a worldwide conspiracy of normal people. The
Church encourages originality and frowns on actions seen as "pinkness,"
which happens when you bow down to authority and the accepted limits of
society. Popular Church phrases supporting these goals are "The
SubGenius Must Have Slack" and "Fuck 'Em If They Can't Take A Joke."
Sense of Humor
The Church encourages humor, comedy, parody, and satire to a point far
exceeding that of most other religious faiths. This belief is probably
why the Church is seen as an elaborate joke, a mockery of organized
religion, and a parody of controversial religious groups and cults.
Almost nothing is considered off-limits to comedy in SubGenius circles,
and the group's jokes often veer into the realm of bad taste. Church
members frequently pull practical jokes on each other, even as they are
using their comedic talents to other ends.
Devivals
SubGenius gatherings, or Devivals, can be seen as a combination of
religious preaching, stand-up comedy, and rock concerts. When the local
members of the Church hold a Devival in their area, it typically occurs
at a popular nightclub, and it features SubGenius preachers backed by
rock bands with such names as the Swinging Love Corpses, Doktors for
"Bob," Saint N and Hellena Handbasket, Jehovah Hates Phred, Einstein's
Secret Outlaws, and the Kings of Feedback. Attendees at Devivals are
encouraged to bring money and spend it at the ever-present sales table.
Some Devivals have been known to veer out of control. In 1999, officials
of the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts pressured owners of the Middle
East nightclub to cancel the booked devival because of a mistaken belief
that the organizers were affiliated with the Trenchcoat Mafia (the
organization claimed to have been responsible for the Columbine high
school shooting tragedy).
Clenches
Church members living in the same geographic area are encouraged (though
it is not mandatory) to form a group: a local club or "clench." These
clenches are typically the ones who bind together in order to put a
Devival together. Some of these clenches even position themselves as
their own religion; this is encouraged by the Church, and is officially
known as a "schism." Ivan Stang himself has been quoted as saying, "Quit
the church and start your own damn religion!"
X-Day
The biggest SubGenius Devival is held each year on July 5th, or X-Day.
The Church claims this is the day foretold by "Bob," when the world will
be destroyed by invading alien armies (known as the Xists). Only the
members of the Church of the SubGenius will be saved from the coming
apocalypse, though so far each July 5th has passed without incident. The
Church encourages its members to gather in upper New York state at a
festival campground to celebrate X-Day with parties, bonfires, and rock
concerts.
--- To unsubscribe from the Virus list go to <http://www.lucifer.com/cgi-bin/virus-l>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sat Mar 13 2004 - 01:14:16 MST