Hi gang,

This Sunday's Times Magazine has a feature titled:

"We're Toast! A Doomsday Preview"

"Apocalypse Now. No, Really, Now! A coast-to-coast guide to America's millennial Chicken Littles."

Written by Alex Heard, an editor at Wired, who wrote "Apolcalypse Pretty Soon" to be published in February and Peter Klebnikov who "is at work on a book about American doomsday groups."

This article lists 29 groups, mostly religious, around the country that have various doomsday scenarios. The Y2K people listed are Ted Hall of McKenna Wash., author of "Beat the Beast," the High 54 Ranch near Concho Lake Ariz,. and Bob Rutz of Kingston Ark. (I've never heard of any of them) Others include "The House of Yahweh," "The Center for Study of Extraterrastrial Intelligence," "The Twelve Tribes of Israel," "The Kabbalah Learning Center" and our good buddy Thomas Chittum.

Guess what folks. We are now the Lunatic Fringe. Pat yourselves on the back. Hey, Chittum, we now lumped together in the minds of "The Sheeple" with you. Now doesn't that make you feel better!?

Sweet dreams...

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), December 26, 1998

Answers

Great! Will I be getting my Lunatic Fringe button soon?

-- Mike Lang (webflier@erols.com), December 26, 1998.

Happy Holidays pshannon.

Lunatic Fringe huh, yeh, well...

I guess once they find out about our Fruitcake Resistance League there will be 30 groups instread of 29 and this whole thing will be above the fold front page. They would love that, or perhaps they would be willing to just settle for "Yourdons Asylum" instead. As far as being lumped in with the sheeple, does that mean we are part of the herd or heard or ????

Gary has had some interesting remarks lately about T.V. coverage and sensationalism, which, if you haven't seen, you may want to check out in his introduction category under FUD TV or something. He makes the point that the media like that angle, and this fits in with what you just posted. Sells papers I guess, bottom line.

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), December 26, 1998.

Why should any portion of the New York Times be correct editorially, about Y2K? It would blow their prestigious record over the last thirty-odd years. If I count on the Times for anything, it's to show me the side of an issue to be opposed to.

Now let some Y2K catastrophies occur and they might get the facts right in coverage of the events. Provided they use a newswire service copy. If the Times' staff reports the event, count on the story being erroneous.

For now and maybe for the better, Y2K is going to run low profile with the press. Some of us still working on our preps can do without crowds competing for supplies. And if the press paints Y2K preparers as loonies too well, they may never be able to come around to admitting "Y2K IS a problem" without the risk of losing credibility. Which matters not, since in such a case the press would have zilch credibility with the public after un-announced Y2K catastrophies sour the public to the press anyway.

WW

-- wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), December 26, 1998.

When I think of FUD TV: Be vewy, vewy quiet...We're hunting for woonatics. heheheheh.

-- Tim (pixmo@pixelquest.com), December 26, 1998.

I better bury a bus in my backyard quick! Watched "Three Days of the Condor" again this past week. Ed you better watch out.

When the "Times" and "Weekly World News" run similar articles in the same week, will "Jerry" and "Oprah" cover it in the same week soon?

-- Bill (bill@microsoft.com), December 26, 1998.

Where's our T-Shirt! Gotta advertise our proud membership when strolling thru the mall; more anonymous than the ribbon thing. BTW, any of you played Lunatic Fringe with After Dark screensaver? That Lunatic Fringe game is a blast! Develops good hand-eye-alertness coordination too ;)

Ashton & Leska in Cascadia, happy preppy lunatics

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), December 26, 1998.

" BTW, any of you played Lunatic Fringe... "

Hi Leska: Isn't that what we do when we come to this forum? See the fruitcake thread recently? LOL.

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), December 26, 1998.

Twust duh pwofessionals at FUD TV:
EVEWYTING IS UNDER CONTWOWOL..NO NEED TO WORWY. .Contwawy to wumahs fwoating acwoss the net, the diwigent pwogwammahs will squash doze wascowy wittle bugs, dus making dis pwobwem simpwy a wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle bump in da woad.

Speaking of TECHNOWUHGY...

NEXT! FIRST TIME EVER ON NETWORK TELEVISION: We examine Monica Lewinski's cwedit cahwad statements.... BUT FIRST....A WORD FWOM AHWA SPONSORS... ;-)

-- babawawa (baba@fudtv.com), December 26, 1998.

That's IT !! With all these geeks, seeks, sneaks, freaks, leaks, tweaks, 'n peeks, & all the computer programming expertise on here, we can flash-develop the all-new, special-affected, high-adrenalin Y2K YourDoneIte 4D GAME!

Out next month, instant best-seller! Must-have American obsession! The latest greatest mostest monster-seller GAME! Raise awareness! Educate! Revolutionize! Blast, Morph, + SimEnd. The kids of America will 'get it' instantly! They'll teach their parents. Hollywood'll rush to make the movie. Oprah et al will be begging for interviews. We'll save the world (not as we knew it).

Ashton & Leska, who just claimed dibbs on the first CD

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx x

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), December 26, 1998.

LUNATIC FRINGE

Lunatic Fringe I know you're out there You're in hiding And you hold your meetings We can hear you coming We know what you're after We're wise to you this time We won't let you kill the laughter.

Lunatic fringe In the twilight's last gleaming This is open season But you won't get too far We know you've got to blame someone For your own confusion But we're on guard this time Against your final solution

We can hear you coming (We can hear you coming) No you're not going to win this time We can hear the footsteps (We can hear the footsteps) Way out along the walkway Lunatic fringe We know you're out there But in these new dark ages There will still be light

An eye for an eye; Well before you go under... Can you feel the resistance? Can you feel the thunder?

Red Rider From the album "As Far As Siam" Capitol Records - )1981

*********************************

Maybe this can be our theme song???

-- Nabi Davidson (nabi7@yahoo.com), December 27, 1998.

Oh, Say can you see, by the dawn's early light, those so proudly we nailed at the twilight's last gleaming. Whose broadsides and fight jarred from our complacent night, Oe'r the damned reports we watched THEIR lights were still gleaming! As from Rome to Red Square No planes entered the air, Gave proof through the night that Y2K was a bear. Oh say will those loonies we laughed at still save our hides in this land of the free and the brave?

-- Ann Fisher (zyax55b@prodigy.com), December 27, 1998.

Lunatic Fringe! Yeah you wish. Crazy Eddie's legions are firmly entrenched in the Lunatic Center. It's a 2! Get Over It!

-- Jimmy Bagga Doughnuts (jim1bets@worldnet.att.net), December 27, 1998.

This is your chance folks! Join the Fruit and Nuts Club! Benefits include buying food from co-op, minus irradiation: wheat and other grains directly from the farmer, no genetically engineered hybrid seeds: home grown veggies and fruits, minus tons of spray; cow's milk, minus (BGH) bovine growth hormone: ride your bicycle for travel and never visit a heath and fitness club again. Go back to The Good Life!

-- gilda jessie (jess@listbot.com), December 27, 1998.

Do we all receive government issued polyester jackets with Lunatic Fringe? Could be a collectors item ... soon.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), December 27, 1998.

Actually, Diane, they'll be spandex jackets, as in:

"Here at home we'll play in the city Powered by the sun Perfect weather for a streamlined world There'll be spandex jackets one for everyone

What a beautiful world this will be What a glorious time to be free..."

-- "I.G.Y.", Steely Dan

Wonder if Messrs. Becker and Fagen are preparing. Seem like forward-thinking kinda guys...

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.com), December 29, 1998.

Mac,

I was just thinking about that song the other day. The International Geophysical Year of 1957-58 was a time when people were optimistic about what technology could do. Most of that optimism died between 1965 and 1975.

In case anyone is curious, the song was a hit in 1982.

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), December 29, 1998.