Trapped in the Closet

Ever heard of Scientology? It calls itself a religion, but is really the strange creation of self-professed prophet and sci-fi writer, L. Ron Hubbard. I first encountered this phenomenon when Mr. T and I were wandering around in downtown Toronto late at night a few years back. It was one of our usual mid-summer jaunts, and we didn't feel like returning to suburbia yet. Instead, we opted to be a little adventurous, and upon seeing a well-lit building lobby with a sign offering some sort of free consultation, we decided to check things out.

Mr. T and I were ushered into a room that had bookshelves lined up against the wall - each brimming with an overflow of L. Ron Hubbard books. The two of us were led to a desk, and a gentlemen allowed us to take turns holding onto a strange device while we answered questions. After watching a recent episode of South Park (availiable at the bottom of this post), I now know that the object I was holding is known as an e-meter. At one point I was asked to think of a brown dog, and my readings were recorded. Afterwards, the man asked Mr. T and myself if we would be interested in getting more information in another room. Needless to say, we hightailed it out of there.

The building we exited was The Church of Scientology - aka an office building on Yonge street. It was a funny experience, and we laughed much of the time, which truly pissed the staff off. For all I know, we have been black-listed from the organization.

It is a known fact that Tom Cruise and John Travolta are followers of this goofy "faith", and in one of the funniest recent episodes of South Park (according to The National Post), the entire concept is torn to shreds. There are laughs, cameos by the duped celebs, as well as R. Kelly(!), and Napoleon Dynamite is used as an insult against Cruise. PLUS you get to see Stan experience the e-meter questioning. It's a definite must see! Besides, it's not as weird as the videos from the last post.