More brain-dead bumf from the "hand me a press release and we'll print it" school of Oklahoma journalism. Oh gee, a full color two-page spread extolling the virtues of the Flurry cult's concert series. Be still my beating heart!This travesty appeared in a lifestyle rag called Distinctly Oklahoma. The PCG leadership is delighted and is trumpeting the feature on its own website. Obviously its clientele is easily impressed.
All the sweeter then to see that Alexa ratings have Bob Thiel's amateur LCG-devotee blog and website consistently pulling a hugely better rating (162,186) than the horrendously expensive Flurry website (485,610). In fact AW itself - another highly amateur effort - is also currently a couple of tads ahead of PCG (467,077). Sadly, unlike the Edmond empire builders, neither Bob nor myself accept money.
19 comments:
For all his Biblical whoopdeedoo, I doubt that Gerald Flurry can hurt anyone by playing impresario in his spare time. He'll be hosting accomplished artists, and students will rub shoulders with people of awesome abilities and discipline. He'll enrich the greater area with the work of universally accepted artists, blissfully untainted by fundamentalist indoctrination.
I think a beautiful auditorium with superb acoustics will prove itself a good thing -- and that virtually no one beyond his immediate following will be tempted, say by a good Beethoven performance, to jump for cover under the cultic umbrella of Flurryism.
Oklahomans need some culture! Come Jerry the savior!
Other than that, there is no connection between concert music and religion other than Herbert W. Armstrong himself. He broke the backs of widows to fund his pet building projects. I guess people like other people with money and power, that's why they contribute so much to build things that aren't relevant to preaching the gospel.
Speaking of schools, it is very interesting to watch the various ways in which the graduates of the Herbert W. Armstrong School of Business and Religious Studies attempt to apply as many of the elements as they can recall to their own empire building efforts.
They may not have the sheer numbers of followers as did Herb, but then again, these are more sophisticated times, and because of the internet, these groups are subject to more truth and rationality checks than were our parents and grandparents.
Still, it would seem that nearly all of the Armstrong franchisees are enjoying financial success. Herb did provide an excellent business model, and in an "industry" where a defective product can be freely marketed and not scrutinized or monitored by the civil authorities for ethics.
Maybe in a couple of decades, when Flurry's grandkids take over the PCG, Rage Against Machine can make a stop in Oklahoma during their reunion tour. I can just hear some of the vocals now, "....You want it all, but you can't have it!....." Heh. Kind of goes along with Flurry's message in a perverse way.
BB
Gavin,
The STRUMPETS,violins ,sacbuts and all form of musical instruments will be playing for Gerry on opening night.
Just can't you see it.Gerry,in regal procession leading the players up onto the stage,with of course,the Ambassador Chorale in attendance singing "America,oops Israel the Beautiful".
Gavin, I am sure you can get an invite as an accredited press representative,and of course,you in return will give Gerry a favourable writeup.
Cheers,
Jorgheinz
Good on you for showing PCG just how little blogs such as yourself can get more internet traffic than even PCG's expensive empire can do.
This ridiculous auditorium is a tremendous abuse of the church members' trust and I believe a terrible waste of their hard earned money.
Nevertheless I am actually, in a strange way, glad that Flurry has chosen to use his abused flock's money in such a useless way. This auditorium means $15 million not being used to recruit new suckers, not being used to make so-called ministers wealthy. It means a tremendous drain on resources that will hold back Flurry's recruiting.
Flurry spends so much time and money imitating his idol. Let's hope he imitates him by expelling his son, and then appointing a successor who will completely dismantle Fluridianism.
That whole stinking pile of evil known as the Philadelphia Cult could have been avoided if only Gerald's mother had taught him not to lie and had washed little Gerald's mouth out with soap the first time he tried lying.
It is incredible that grown adults (even little ones like Gerald who did not grow up to be very tall) can tell such lies in God's name.
When the old coot dies and goes to hell, then the state can take it over. The pcg has little going for it. Even God has not noticed it.
Speaking of magazine of the 6-pack profit, I saw one once and wrote on each page "cult" and on the cover dangerous cult. Let people google the name of the worshiped Herb and what will they find? Enough to keep the sane ones out of it!
You don't accept money?! How are you living, on the barter system? :----O
I wonder if the Flurry auditorium will have the little soap dispensers that give you a leaf of soap shaved off with a razor, just like the original bathrooms in Pasadena!
I must confess that the Pasadena Auditorium bathroom was the fanciest place that I have ever "taken a whiz" in my entire life!
Note that the publishers of Distinctly Oklahoma approached the flurry cult with a "partnership" opportunity. In other words, Flurry paid to have them print the press release - probably in the form of an advertising contract.
Not so different than how HWA had to pay for all the publicity that he got visiting world leaders.
All that luxury and "culture" stands in stark contrast to the lot that befalls the ordinary member of PCG. Here in NZ all their members are required to go to Australia for the FOT, and this in turn requires year-round fundraising to assist struggling families with the air fares.
It feeds Gerry's ego. Of course his building pales in comparison to the Ambassador Auditorium. Gerry just couldn't wait until he built a financially stronger empire to build a more suitable concert hall. He had to do it now, in Norman Oklahoma no less. Gerry is nothing more than a copy cat.
Apropos of nothing, does anyone know why Spanky's starving the flock this weekend? Some "difficulty in the work" no doubt...? :-P
Purple Hymnal said...
Apropos of nothing, does anyone know why Spanky's starving the flock this weekend? Some "difficulty in the work" no doubt...? :-P
Purple,
There is no good reason at all for all the hunger in the LCG. The bad characters in the LCG will not fast, and certainly will not stop sinning even if they do fast.
Having the true believers go hungry again will not help anything. The only real solution would be for the leaders of the chruch to behave properly, and that won't happen either.
Go have a snack.
Following the trail of Iowa Armstrong comes Oklahoma Flurry and his Diggers of the Lost Throne. The new patron of the arts doesn't have Artur Rubenstein or the namesake piano, only the candelabras -- if only Liberace was still around.
Church-wide fasts were always set for Saturday. But I remember we were told Atonement couldn't fall on Saturday because you can't fast on a feast day (weekly sabbath). Life is full of contradictions.
Redfox712, I find this statement revealing:"This ridiculous auditorium is a tremendous abuse of the church members' trust and I believe a terrible waste of their hard earned money." You'll find much the same kind of thinking in the L.A. New Times article entitled, "Honey, I Shrunk the Church."
There the new WCG administration was perceived as follows: "Within the culture of the church, these men had discussed Ambassador [Foundation concerts] as an embarrassment and a huge waste of money," he says. "Am I surprised that they seem content to let these recordings [of world renoun artists] wither away? No."
It is estimated that less than 1% of the American public will ever darken the doors of a concert hall even once in their lifetimes. But those who do are among the most highly educated and responsible of our people. It is no surprise that the majority of Americans avoid concert halls. Most of us are average Joes who never breathe the rare air of Fine Arts. Why would make an interesting study.
Not one ballet company, symphony orchestra or opera house on earth makes it on ticket sales and recordings alone. These are not commercial arts. They don't pander to teenagers with money to burn on pop stars. They're all subsidized, in Europe by the governments, formerly by churches -- and in America by private donors and generous business organizations.
Their media are the magnificent creations of unparalleled genius, believed by many of the most sophisticated among us to be the highest expressions of the human spirit. Both the Temple and the royal court of ancient Israel subsidized this kind of refinement. One must acknowledge the Biblical precedent.
Gerald Flurry may do a lot of things wrong, but subsidizing fine art isn't one of them.
I want to see a Celebrity Death Match between Flurry and the ShamWow! guy.
The ShamWow! guy would soak up Flurry's six-pack with one stroke of his Shamwows, and leave Gerry shaking, as the final (drum) roll-up begins....
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