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abcaines said:
"Kilmer was a lifelong Christian Scientist, and upon his throat cancer diagnosis referred to it in the press as "the suggestion of throat cancer", opting not to explicitly associate himself with such a diagnosis. He underwent suggested chemotherapy despite it being conventionally against his religion."

So so sad... Christian Science claims another victim.
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Out of curiosity, do you know why so many from Hollywood are involved in Christian Science?
 
DrHuk&Duck said:
Out of curiosity, do you know why so many from Hollywood are involved in Christian Science?
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I've seen two plausible suggestions. One, many of Hollywood's most influential figures were raised in Christian Science, such as Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe, or converts to it, like Mary Pickford. Hollywood is a close-knit group, so it shouldn't be surprising if three's a little evangelism going on, just as there is with Scientology.

The other suggestion was that it became popular to associate with Christian Science during the Red Scare: without requiring particular religiosity, it was sufficient to avert charges of atheism, and hence Communism.
 
Ransom said:
I've seen two plausible suggestions. One, many of Hollywood's most influential figures were raised in Christian Science, such as Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe, or converts to it, like Mary Pickford. Hollywood is a close-knit group, so it shouldn't be surprising if three's a little evangelism going on, just as there is with Scientology.

The other suggestion was that it became popular to associate with Christian Science during the Red Scare: without requiring particular religiosity, it was sufficient to avert charges of atheism, and hence Communism.
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OK, if I’m being honest, I didn’t know there was a distinction between Christian Science and Scientology. I just read about that on Wikipedia. Interesting.
 
DrHuk&Duck said:
OK, if I’m being honest, I didn’t know there was a distinction between Christian Science and Scientology. I just read about that on Wikipedia. Interesting.
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There's no connection between Christian Science and Scientology apart from a few similarities and the superficial resemblance of the names. Christian Science was inspired by the New Thought movement of the mid-19th century, while Scientology was pretty much made up by L. Ron Hubbard in the 1950s as he went along.

Their founders were both paranoid and sue-happy toward critics. Their respective "theologies" deny the reality of the material world. But I think it's a coincidence that both are influential in Hollywood. Scientogy has promoted itself pretty aggressively to celebrities since the beginning; it was a way of buying credibility. Christian Science is an older American new religious movement that was pretty well established and respectable by the time of the golden age of Hollywood, and it seems to me its appeal was a bit more grassroots.
 
Ransom said:
There's no connection between Christian Science and Scientology apart from a few similarities and the superficial resemblance of the names. Christian Science was inspired by the New Thought movement of the mid-19th century, while Scientology was pretty much made up by L. Ron Hubbard in the 1950s as he went along.

Their founders were both paranoid and sue-happy toward critics. Their respective "theologies" deny the reality of the material world. But I think it's a coincidence that both are influential in Hollywood. Scientogy has promoted itself pretty aggressively to celebrities since the beginning; it was a way of buying credibility. Christian Science is an older American new religious movement that was pretty well established and respectable by the time of the golden age of Hollywood, and it seems to me its appeal was a bit more grassroots.
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I’ve visited a city in Florida called Clearwater. I think it’s basically the world’s headquarters for Scientology. They have a smaller church in Tampa next door to a former restaurant I used to occasionally visit when I was down in the area. I recall their church was guarded like it was a top secret government building. Unlike most churches that seem to encourage visitors, I always got the sense that there was a strict no trespassing expectation on their property. The vibe was almost chilling.
 
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Cotton field in the Florida Panhandle
 
DrHuk&Duck said:
I’ve visited a city in Florida called Clearwater. I think it’s basically the world’s headquarters for Scientology.
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The international headquarters is actually a heavily guarded compound near Los Angeles. Their Clearwater properties are "Flag Land Base," basically the spiritual headquarters, where Scientogists can receive all the "religious services" the cult offers. It's named after the flagship Apollo, a ship the church used as its floating headquarters during the 60s and 70s.

DrHuk&Duck said:
Unlike most churches that seem to encourage visitors, I always got the sense that there was a strict no trespassing expectation on their property. The vibe was almost chilling.
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I've seen anecdotes online over the years that the atmosphere in downtown Clearwater is oppressive because of the Scientologists' presence and their pseudo-military uniforms (the cult still runs a quasi-naval organization known as the Sea Org). They own most of the property in downtown Clearwater, which they quietly purchased using a variety of shell corporations in the 70s. The Clearwater Sun won a Pulitzer for their expose of the church's attempt to take over the city. They even tried to frame the mayor, who opposed them, in a phony hit-and-run accident and a sex scandal to try and silence him.

That vibe is probably intentional. The cult keeps its secrets, and members pay loads of money to learn them. They're paranoid because Hubbard was paranoid.
 
Ransom said:
There's no connection between Christian Science and Scientology apart from a few similarities and the superficial resemblance of the names. Christian Science was inspired by the New Thought movement of the mid-19th century, while Scientology was pretty much made up by L. Ron Hubbard in the 1950s as he went along.

Their founders were both paranoid and sue-happy toward critics. Their respective "theologies" deny the reality of the material world. But I think it's a coincidence that both are influential in Hollywood. Scientogy has promoted itself pretty aggressively to celebrities since the beginning; it was a way of buying credibility. Christian Science is an older American new religious movement that was pretty well established and respectable by the time of the golden age of Hollywood, and it seems to me its appeal was a bit more grassroots.
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Gnosticism repackaged.
 
aleshanee said:
my dads basic dive gear... .. this is the stuff he drags out when he;s going spearfishing with us.... ..just the basic freediving gear.... .. .. he uses the same basic gear for scuba diving - just ads a tank.. or set of tanks... and regulator.... ..(wet suit selection depends on how deep they are going and whether it;s a work dive or a rare pleasure excursion...🤿...)

View attachment 6826
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What’s the approximate weight of this setup without a tank?
 
aleshanee said:
good question.... i don;t really know the actual weight... . but of all the gear bags we load into the jeep when we go - his is the heaviest.... even with his canteen empty... ... .. most of that weight comes from the fins.... .those scuba pro lightning jet fins he uses are monsters... old school heavy rubber - and the biggest ones they make... ...also indestructable...... .

except for the canteen we all pretty much carry the same gear.... ...fins - mask - snorkel .... reef walker boots and wet suit pullover top - leather gloves and at least one knife... a mesh bag to carry it all.... .. ..plus a hawaiian style sling spear... (not in the picture).... . . ..we don;t carry weights or loaded weight belts inside the gear bags.. .. those all stay together in a big bucket and are only pulled out when ready to be put on.....
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There’s a YouTube channel I sometimes watch called FatalBreakdown. They feature a lot of videos about scuba divers and people spelunking in caves. Those can be quite dangerous activities for even the most experienced folks.
 
DrHuk&Duck said:
There’s a YouTube channel I sometimes watch called FatalBreakdown. They feature a lot of videos about scuba divers and people spelunking in caves. Those can be quite dangerous activities for even the most experienced folks.
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I lost all desire to explore caves when I read about that one dude who got stuck between the floor and the ceiling of a cave and no one could get him out. He died there and the cave was permanently sealed. Apparently, it was a popular spelunking spot because of the tight squeeze getting through. NAY! NAY!

I'll go into a cave if it has an established path with lighting. The Caves of Drach on the island of Mallorca are a fascinating tour. You follow a path to the world's largest subterranean lake and sit in bleachers. Then they turn out the lights and it is a dark like no other. Then the music starts... Boats come out and a classical music band comes out and plays music. At first you see a small light on the water as the boat comes out from behind a wall... After the music plays, the lights are slowly brought back up. The acoustics in there are amazing.
 
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abcaines said:
I lost all desire to explore caves when I read about that one dude who got stuck between the floor and the ceiling of a cave and no one could get him out. He died there and the cave was permanently sealed. Apparently, it was a popular spelunking spot because of the tight squeeze getting through. NAY! NAY!

I'll go into a cave if it's an established path with lighting. The Caves of Drach on the island of Mallorca are a fascinating tour. You follow a path to the world's largest subterranean lake and sit in bleachers. Then they turn out the lights and it is a dark like no other. Then the music starts... Boats come out and a classical music band comes out and plays music. At first you see a small light on the water as the boat comes out from behind a wall... After the music plays, the lights are slowly brought back up. The acoustics in there are amazing.
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That sounds amazing!
 
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