Brandon Flowers

[poliphilo]

Brandon Flowers is a Mormon. Oh, right....

I've believed in some pretty silly things in the course of my life but there are some things- some organised bodies of belief- that are just too silly even for me. 

And Mormonism is one of them. Its prophet? Clearly a con-artist.  Its scriptures? Mark Twain called them "chloroform in print".

And isn't there something about never taking off your underwear? Or is that the Jehovah's Witnesses? I get those two mixed up.

You gotta read up around your beliefs. You gotta ask questions.

And if you're in your mid-twenties and you've seen a bit of the world beyond Utah and you still believe in the angel Moroni and the golden tablets and the green spectacles, it can only mean you're a bit of a fool. 

I don't mean unintelligent. I mean intellectually incurious.

Why should I want to engage with an artist who is intellectually incurious?

I feel the same way about all those Hollywood stars who are into Scientology. Travolta, Cruise: I avoid their films.

I quite liked Hot Fuss, but I think I'll be giving the latest album a miss.

Comments

[seaslug-of-doom.livejournal.com]

On one of my cross country moves I dropped into Mormon Central, in Salt Lake City. As I strolled along the quiet walkways I was reminded of nothing so much as one of the Disney parks. The place had that cartoony, happy land sort of feel; and like DisneyWorld, in Orlando, the compound probably had numerous tunnels below, full of computers, and banks of camera monitors, and racks of costumes. Interestingly, recruiting staff at the counters and stationed on corners, were almost invariably pretty young women. I wanted to get one of their bibles, but that required a home visit.

Re Scietologists: A gang of them were at the Super Wal*Mart the other night. They had set up card tables and metal folding chairs under a tarp, and they had their little blue plastic stress machines (very retro with black and white analog gauges and large twisty knobs) ready to go. They were generating quite the business amongst the Wal*Martians.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

My only contact with Mormons has been with their cold-calling missionaries. We have a Mormon church a couple of blocks away, so we see quite a lot of them.

I feel sorry for them. They always look so innocent and clean and ill-adapted to life in the real world.