WordWolf

People are getting smarter and the times have changed! It is FAR to easy to look up twi online and see all the criticism. Even if twi did a FANTASTIC presentation, eventually they either have to say their name, or have everyone suspicious because they refused to say their name. Looking them up online quickly shows all the warnings, and hundreds of pages of discussion, analysis and direct testimony of eyewitnesses RIGHT HERE. So, we still starve their fire of fuel by informing the strangers and the clueless. "In vain is the net spread in sight of any bird." There's also no zeitgeist like the hippies for twi to hijack. vpw lied and deceived his way into their trust, and used them to sell twi on both coasts. There's no equivalent group available now. There's no dynamic speaker to even SELL twi to the stranger. Rosa-lie is dry and boring, and any dynamic speaker would be a threat to her-even if they HAD one. There's no "special knowledge" anymore. It's far too easy to find local churches that teach the Bible, it's far too easy to find "special knowledge" websites for free. So, twi has NOTHING to offer new people. So, its current recruitment is to recruit the kids of innies. This becomes especially ironic after decades of discouraging innies to HAVE children. So, there's a few spoiled kids of the inner cadre, and a few kids of the rank-and-file. That's not enough to replace the people who leave due to finally getting fed up and leave due to dying. So, the numbers keep dwindling every year, even if it's in the single digits. And the younger ones think they can turn it all around. Why can't the younger ones turn it all around? A) No special knowledge not already out there. B) No zeitgeist to plug into. C) Everyone's been warned about twi. So, everything they have to offer is old, tired, and worn-out, and usually only re-served to those who've sat through it thousands of times by now. And if they COULD energize people somehow? Rosa-lie would guillotine the whole thing because anyone with a lick of talent is a threat to her, even Donna. Any dynamic leader could "steal" her entire base away from here before she saw it coming. So, she clamps down on talent. So, twi dwindles every year, and the members get older, and a handful of members become teenagers and adults. That's a tiny handful, from whom SOME may join the Corps, which explains why any active Corps program would be in the single digits.

That IS a good reply. Some "team-building" doesn't make any sense, and some exercises aren't worth doing. I'm reminded of "Momentus"(and all the aliases it operates under because people have been warned of Momentus already) and the lifeboat exercise, where one is required to decide that their own life is more important than everyone else's in the group, and announce so, and the group ridicules those who refuse to do it. The only thing that taught was to be callous and self-centered, and a supposedly Christian organization does it, and it's still being quietly advertised and promoted by a different Christian organization *cough stfi cough*. Some groups aren't worth building or being a part of.

EyesOpen's account of the horrific event illustrates what I said before. "it was with the goals of building a sense of group identity (the group all did it together), obedience (do this silly thing and don't question it) and developing peer pressure to promote social conformity in the corps (if ONE of you fails, ALL of you fail, and ALL of you will know who failed and obviously will give him/her static over it.) " The group identity was built for the whole group who had to stay together even when some were ill-equipped and injured. The entire enterprise was being undertaken at that moment because it was more important to keep to the schedule than to keep the participants alive. (24 hours of waiting before performing the climb would have made a critical difference.) The obedience thing is more obvious when one realizes most of them were taking damage from sustained exposure to the wet and cold because they were told they HAD TO. As for the peer pressure to promote social conformity, that was all over things. It seems a number of LEAD or Corps groups were TOLD they were considered screw-ups or wash-outs. (Yeah, that's a real Christian way to proceed with volunteers you accepted into your program who paid a premium to be there. Even if they WERE, it's the fault of the nonexistent "screening" process that they ended up there and the program that it wasn't organized to have a Plan B or C for that.) So, the groups were told they were no good, and had to really be blindly, jump-off-the-cliff obedient, and ignore common sense and self-preservation, and had to keep the group intact. So, where sensible people (who could recognize the signs) would have delayed the climb until after the poor weather, or turned around as soon as it was obvious they were under-prepared for the current weather and regrouped and replanned from someplace warm and dry, we had adults who were compelled (by social conformity and threats of social sanctions very obvious) to ignore self-preservation and stay, even past the introduction of long-term or permanent injuries. The entire program was organized more about what was cheaper and whar promoted social conformity and obedience rather than what was in the best interests of the participants. That's why missing persons, body counts and rapes never got vpw to reconsider anything (like the illegal hitch-hiking), and the first thing that got any changes to happen was the multiple lawsuits from people injured because twi went out of their way to ignore their well-being. The programs eventually changed-not out of concern or even practicality, but after listening to twi's lawyers. How would you feel about joining a religious group that treated you as disposable until their LAWYERS compelled them to change that?

It does sound that way. One hallmark of twi- and a lot of people object whenever someone points this out- is that vpw was both LAZY and CLUELESS. He wanted things, but he never wanted to do the work to get them or to even understand what they entailed. That's why the most successful program, IMHO, for twi was the WOW program. Take some young people with drive. Tell them to go somewhere and do something, and provide neither support nor oversight nor transportation there. and wait for them to succeed. (Think about it-other than class materials, the WOWs were COMPLETELY on their own.) There was also zero screening before the zero oversight, so the kids could discover, on the field, that one of the people in their group was predatory or mentally ill and a danger to himself or them. And if there was a problem on the field, the WOW was put on a Greyhound Bus and sent home and forgotten about. (We've had stories about how someone traumatized or injured was just put on a bus, then turned up home WEEKS LATER, or how someone wandered off the bus and later was discovered before they were killed or otherwise harmed further.) As for the Corps, vpw liked the IDEA of the Corps. He liked that the IDEA of the military had trained people who did whatever the higher-ups told them to do. Did he know what it was like in the military? No- he had no advisors setting up the program with any military experience. Did vpw have ANY military experience? He didn't even enter the ROTC program-that would have been work. The man plagiarized his way through school and picked soft options wherever he could (like Homiletics), and the idea of the work in the ROTC program or Reserves or National Guard was antithetical to his entire personality. So, if he overheard of some exercise any branch of the military did, he would certainly just adapt it without understanding it fully, or going over the possible dangers and drawbacks to a completely different type of people performing the exact same exercise.

Ok, how's this for a movie? To inherit the huge fortune of a game-maker, several people compete in a race to gather (without buying) all sorts of things in the hopes of earning the most points- winner gets the fortune! The game-changer is the item worth far more points than the others- a submarine! They find out one is approaching the US coast, and they all try to claim it for their team.

Digression: You may find it mildly interesting what names get changed where. Long ago, Kermit the Frog was "La Rana Rene", Rene the Frog. He's rendered that in captions for "Big Bang Theory." But for the movie "the Muppets", he was "Kermit" in all the promotional material as well as the movie. And the Disney Channel had Kermit show up during some commercial break and announce he used to be known as "La Rana Rene" but would now be known as "Kermit." (Apparently, this announcement was for the parents, since the kids may have been unfamiliar with the Muppets until this movie came out.) As for the Batman TV show, it's one example of where Batman's name was rendered differently. There-and cartoons that came after- he was BRUNO DIAZ, and his faithful young ward was RICARDO TAPIA. ("Ricardo" is a translation of "Richard", and "Bruno" may have been an attempt to make the first name closer for Bruce. As for the last names, I've got nuthin'.) As for Alfred and Aunt Harriet, they were "Alfred" and "Aunt Harriet." No "Alfredo"-we think it's because he was a British butler and so "needed" the British name.

*studies the clues* This isn't reminding me of anything. Usually, I can be reminded of a movie I didn't see, if I know something about it. Country musician made me think of a few women singers, but you said this was a guy, which limits the field considerably for those who went into movies as well. So, I'm left with a wild swing. If it hits, I will be genuinely shocked. "2000 Miles From Graceland?"

If you're looking for good material for clues, I always recommend going to Wikipedia or IMdB, typing in the name of the movie, then reading things over until you find something you like and might tip off someone trying to guess. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page https://www.imdb.com/

I also do not know IF they did it. However, we do know that they did that type of thing, and things more distressing than that. IF they did it, as waysider pointed out, it was with the goals of building a sense of group identity (the group all did it together), obedience (do this silly thing and don't question it) and developing peer pressure to promote social conformity in the corps (if ONE of you fails, ALL of you fail, and ALL of you will know who failed and obviously will give him/her static over it.)

Ok, the first time, the Mrs and I were lost. I've got it now. This movie is "Harriet the Spy Kids."

Contrary to what was OCCASIONALLY said here and there, twi was pretty anti-family and anti-community. twi'ers who started a family or had ties to their community had less time to devote to twi, and twi considered/considers itself to OWN ITS MEMBERSHIP. ("We don't have 'members', we have 'followers'" really meant they didn't have members but rather SERVANTS, but that's a much harder thing to get people to agree to if you're being candid with them.) So, corps were surprised to find out, after graduating, that twi expected them to get up and move to another city or state whenever they directed. They thought "a lifetime of service" meant a lifetime of serving God Almighty at their discretion but obviously in some twi context, as a twig coordinator, branch coordinator, runner of classes, etc. twi actually meant "you serve US the rest of your life, entirely at our discretion and entirely at your expense." Of course, that was never written up anywhere. lcm himself considered "following him BLINDLY" to be the NORMAL STATE OF THINGS once he was the head honcho of twi, and said so when asked. But, yes, twi was made uncomfortable by children. Children are incapable of the lockstep obedience twi expects. Children can't stay silent and still for an hour or more at a time when twi wants them to. So they're considered a liability for meetings of any size, and when twi opened their "Family Corps", they were ill-equipped to do so and we ended up with horror stories of children not permitted to see their parents on-grounds, and children who could be beaten freely at any time by any adult on-grounds. (Except for children of the top cadre-those children got away with all kinds of things and probably came out worse off than the brutalized ones.) twi has always had this nebulous vision of ideas that can be announced and will somehow come to fruition, with the necessary tools, supplies and skills just materializing when needed. We can all testify to how well that worked....

The black-and-white stuff can leave some of us behind completely.

Which would make it Human's turn.

When there were more people than now, graduating classes were five people. If there's more than a dozen across 4 years, I'd be shocked and suspect those numbers were cooked. They did that sort of thing when still releasing numbers- they stated "20% will do this" which meant 1 person. They also took the group photos loaded with staff, so there were more staff than graduates for the graduating class photo. Now, there may not even BE 5 across the entire program.

Tom Cruise Interview With the Vampire Christian Slater

It's basically an announcement of that. It follows logically, yes. That's it. Peter Pan + Pan's Labyrinth + Labyrinth. Labyrinth is remembered for David Bowie's role as The Goblin King. Among people who never watched it. I figured having the entire name of the second movie would make it possible to fill in even without trying to give the second name. I also didn't think "Pan's Labyrinth" would have been such a hard target. Here, it's "Faun's Labyrinth", but the concept is the same. (Maybe if I'd used 'satyr' I'd have shaken something loose.)

You're missing everything up to and including the word "Faun." But the glam-rock "Goblin King" might ring a bell. No idea, but it has nothing to do with this round.

I made it a triple, and it may get easier now. In this movie, the stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer is spirited away into an eerie fantasy world by a faun and a flying, immortal boy. She ends up in a conflict between pirates, orphans, and The Goblin King. (Title-order police, get lost.)

Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body? A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m. Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time? A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy! Q: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning? A: Did you actually pass the bar exam? Attorney: Were you present when your picture was taken? Witness: Would you repeat the question? Attorney: Are you sexually active? Witness: No, I just lie there. Q:"...And lastly, Gary, all your responses must be oral. O.K.? What school do you go to? A. "Oral." Q: "How old are you?" A:"Oral." Attorney: "What did he say then?" Witness: "He said 'I have to kill you because you can identify me.' " Attorney: "Did he kill you?" Witness: "No." Attorney:"Now, did was shot in the woods?" Witness; "No. I said he was shot in the lumbar region." Q:Are you married? A:No, I'm divorced. Q:And what did your husband do before you divorced him? A:A lot of things I didn't know about. Attorney: "When he went, had you gone, and had she, if she wanted to and were able, for the time being excluding all the restraints on her not to go also, would he have brought you, meaning you and she, with him to the station?" Opposing attorney: "Objection! That question should be taken out and shot." Q. Do you know how far pregnant you are right now? A: I will be three months November 8th. Q: Apparently then, the date of conception was August 8th? A: Yes. Q: What were you and your husband doing at that time? Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse? A: No. Q: Did you check for blood pressure? A: No. Q: Did you check for breathing? A: No. Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy? A: No. Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor? A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar. Q: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless? A: Yes, I suppose is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere. Q. Were you aquainted with the deceased? A. Yes, sir. Q. Before or after he died? Q. ...any suggestions as to what prevented this from being a murder trial instead of an attempted murder trial? A. The victim lived. Q. Are you qualified to give a urine sample? A. Yes, I have been since early childhood. Q. What is the meaning of sperm being present? A. It indicates intercourse. Q. Male sperm? A. That is the only kind I know. Q. Mrs. Smith, do you believe that you are emotionally unstable? A. I should be. Q. How many times have you comitted suicide? A. Four times. Q. What is your name? A. Ernestine McDowell. Q. And what is your marital status? A. Fair. Q. Now, Mrs. Johnson, how was your first marriage terminated? A. By death. Q. And by whose death was it terminated? Q. What is your brother-in-law's name? A. Borofkin. Q. What's his first name? A. I can't remember. Q. He's been your brother-in-law for years, and you can't remember his first name? A. No. I tell you I'm too excited. (Rising from the witness chair and pointing to Mr. Borofkin.) Nathan, for God's sake, tell them your first name!

Sorry for taking you literally, but we do have a Humor forum. Once known as Just Plain Silly, it's called the Humor forum. http://www.greasespotcafe.com/ipb/forum/60-humor/

In this movie, the stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer is spirited away into an eerie fantasy world by a faun and a flying, immortal boy. She ends up in a war between pirates and orphans.

IIRC, the "Christian Family & Sex" class (about 1 session on Christian Family at most and 6 sessions on sex) was a required prerequisite for the Advanced Class. vpw's doctorate was from an unaccredited source. What does that mean? That means his doctorate in Theology is as legitimate in my 3 unaccredited doctorates. I was granted 3 doctorates on this messageboard. 1 was in Theology, 1 was in Bible Truths, 1 was in Using Boldface To Make Your Posts Easier To Read. It also means I'm three times the doctor he was, or 2x the doctor he was in subjects relating to the Bible. He actually preferred being called "THE Teacher" when he got away with it. Calling him "Doctor" Wierwille was actually a compromise. (Thus saith Doctor WordWolf.)

In this movie, the stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer is spirited away into an eerie fantasy world by a flying, immortal boy and ends up in a war against pirates.

Anne Hathaway the Dark Knight Rises Michael Caine