Happy Birthday Caleb Arndt

[anjulibai]

Caleb Arndt, third to last of the Arndt "kids", turns 15 today. Here's hoping he doesn't end up like his 10 adult brothers, trapped at home for ever.

 

As an aside, I just realized that all but one of the siblings is teenaged or older.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Happy Birthday. Heres to another 15 doing exactly the same thing on repeat.

[Mary C Doates]

What???? No picture of the birthday boy posing with a cake in his parents' bedroom, with his mother clawing at his chest??? There's something wrong in the Arndt cosmos!

The ducks, however, are well. They have laid some eggs.

[formergothardite]

They did get one picture by the lake with mom and dad but no cake or bedroom in sight!

[lizziesmom]

No white shorts!

[GeoBQn]

Do the Arndts do Halloween?

[Incognito22]

When I see pictures of these two somehow my head easily adds orange jumpsuits. Something ain't right on this home front.

[JenniferJuniper]

They did get one picture by the lake with mom and dad but no cake or bedroom in sight!

It's because they are Vine Valleying in upstate NY. And Cathy always carries a basket in Vine Valley so it makes the standard birthday boy pose a little harder to do.

[thoughtful]

It's because they are Vine Valleying in upstate NY. And Cathy always carries a basket in Vine Valley so it makes the standard birthday boy pose a little harder to do.

Oh, OK -- for a minute there, I thought they had filled their bedroom with leaves!

;)

[quincygal]

(laughing)

hey, at least we know she owns pants now!

Dude, saw that camera in the background & thought they were filming again. Am curious to see the film if/when it is completed solely for snarking purposes:)

Was still hoping to see the traditional picture in the bedroom!!!!:(

[delilahdog11]

Does she really always carry a basket when they are at vine valley or whatever it is called? And if so why?

[anjulibai]

Does she really always carry a basket when they are at vine valley or whatever it is called? And if so why?

From what I've gathered, in the story her character is always bringing food in a picnic basket to the elderly or those in need, because she's a good Christian woman. She gives a basket to Rick's character because he's....I'm not really sure why she gives him a basket or if he just finds one or what.

The storyline doesn't make a lot of sense.

[nelliebelle1197]

Oh, they confuse me. I need Jennifer Juniper to pop out for a primer. Now, the Arndts live in Illinois but they film their neverending TV pilot in upstate New York, correct? And the public access reality show airs in their hometown? And Vine Valley has been filming without end for years?

[JenniferJuniper]

I'm traveling this weekend so I unfortunately don't have time for an extensive primer, but here are the Vine Valley basics.

It's totally a Rick vanity project. He's created a character called Professor Joseph Greene who appears to share some early life history with Rick himself. How much is hard to tell. Joseph was raised by his God-fearing grandmother who prayed to Jesus once when Joseph was stung by a bee as a child and Joseph was saved from dying from an allergic reaction by Granny's prayers.

But Joseph met up with some cool teens when he was a little older and they verbally bullied him into becoming in atheist. He wanted to be cool too. Still, Joseph is very smart and he becomes a college professor who writes books about how atheism can save humanity. No one but Joseph's students buy the books but still he plugs along. Joseph's saving grace is that he loves nature (even though he doesn't love the God who created nature!) and one day he up and decides to take a sabbatical in the deep woods of New England. What sort of research he's doing in the woods isn't clear; he just sort of wanders aimlessly. He plans poorly, gets lost, falls down in the snow a lot, and then runs into Cathy's character, a saintly unmarried woman who strolls up and down country lanes carrying one picnic basket of groceries for all the elderly people in the area. My guess is that some sort of romance/conversation is going to take place at some point in the next few years of the project.

They film in the fall and winter mostly; the entire family moved to NY for several months this past winter just so the boys could film. I'm not sure when it all started, but it appears to have been going on for a few years at least. They must have thousands of hours of footage. There is no script. The manboys are literally spending their youth on a strange fantasy world created by their father.

Whether it will ever be finished is an open question; Rick seems to love pretending to be a film actor. How the manboys feel about the weirdness is hard to say, but Stockholm Syndrome can be extremely difficult to overcome.

[Mary C Doates]

Thanks for the recap. I was so worried that Cathy might have run out of white shorts, which are apparently her "real life" costume, as opposed to the picnic basket being her "film"/alternate personality costume.

Not that there's that much about them that can be considered "real", aside from "real strange".

The older Arndts should run far, far away when they go on their business trips. The crazy, or the guilt, must be incredibly strong to keep bringing them back home.

[uber frau]

I'm traveling this weekend so I unfortunately don't have time for an extensive primer, but here are the Vine Valley basics.

It's totally a Rick vanity project. He's created a character called Professor Joseph Greene who appears to share some early life history with Rick himself. How much is hard to tell. Joseph was raised by his God-fearing grandmother who prayed to Jesus once when Joseph was stung by a bee as a child and Joseph was saved from dying from an allergic reaction by Granny's prayers.

But Joseph met up with some cool teens when he was a little older and they verbally bullied him into becoming in atheist. He wanted to be cool too. Still, Joseph is very smart and he becomes a college professor who writes books about how atheism can save humanity. No one but Joseph's students buy the books but still he plugs along. Joseph's saving grace is that he loves nature (even though he doesn't love the God who created nature!) and one day he up and decides to take a sabbatical in the deep woods of New England. What sort of research he's doing in the woods isn't clear; he just sort of wanders aimlessly. He plans poorly, gets lost, falls down in the snow a lot, and then runs into Cathy's character, a saintly unmarried woman who strolls up and down country lanes carrying one picnic basket of groceries for all the elderly people in the area. My guess is that some sort of romance/conversation is going to take place at some point in the next few years of the project.

They film in the fall and winter mostly; the entire family moved to NY for several months this past winter just so the boys could film. I'm not sure when it all started, but it appears to have been going on for a few years at least. They must have thousands of hours of footage. There is no script. The manboys are literally spending their youth on a strange fantasy world created by their father.

Whether it will ever be finished is an open question; Rick seems to love pretending to be a film actor. How the manboys feel about the weirdness is hard to say, but Stockholm Syndrome can be extremely difficult to overcome.

:? :o :shock: :lol: :wtf: That pretty much covers my reaction.

It's similar to the Maxwells and their cleaning schedule (gotta keep those man-children something to do) and a vanity project for Rick, but other than that, what is the point of the exercise? Do they really think they'll be able to attract an audience without having something as basic as a script or even a story arc?

[formergothardite]

I think Arndts are the strangest fundies out there. Unlike the Maxwells they don't stay hidden in their home, they have real jobs, they interact with outsiders! How do they keep that many grown men from never wanting to leave?

[salex]

I think Arndts are the strangest fundies out there. Unlike the Maxwells they don't stay hidden in their home, they have real jobs, they interact with outsiders! How do they keep that many grown men from never wanting to leave?

Some sects have circumcision, some have castration...

.

Matthew 19:12

12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

[lizziesmom]

I think Arndts are the strangest fundies out there. Unlike the Maxwells they don't stay hidden in their home, they have real jobs, they interact with outsiders! How do they keep that many grown men from never wanting to leave?

Aah! The benefits of home! Somebody else pays the bills, worries about the mortgage, cuts the grass and - if a kid is really lucky - cooks, cleans and does the laundry. It's like having a butler, a maid and a really rich uncle all rolled into one. No stress, no bills to pay, no worries about the threat of unemployment, eviction, and so on. What's not to like? Given the fantasy world that Dad is into, I imagine these adult children are unprepared for the real world, including the realities of dating, so they stick with what they know.

[church_of_dog]

Aah! The benefits of home! Somebody else pays the bills, worries about the mortgage, cuts the grass and - if a kid is really lucky - cooks, cleans and does the laundry. It's like having a butler, a maid and a really rich uncle all rolled into one. No stress, no bills to pay, no worries about the threat of unemployment, eviction, and so on. What's not to like? Given the fantasy world that Dad is into, I imagine these adult children are unprepared for the real world, including the realities of dating, so they stick with what they know.

Home is safe! We should all stay safely at home! Then we will be... ...safe at home!

(or is that just a reference to their baseball obsession? :lol: )

[truthteller]

I emailed Rick about Vine Valley earlier this year. He said they will try to get it to run on the NRB network like their other show. BTW, NRB doesn't pay them a dime for the show, it's donated to the network. So the only other way to make any money with Vine Valley is to sell DVDs of it on their web site... which he said he'll try to do. They'll make absolutely no money at all on it. Somehow I don't think that'll even matter to Rick. Vine Valley is really just a way to keep the boys busy since only the oldest 3-4 work full-time.

[truthteller]

Aah! The benefits of home! Somebody else pays the bills, worries about the mortgage, cuts the grass and - if a kid is really lucky - cooks, cleans and does the laundry. It's like having a butler, a maid and a really rich uncle all rolled into one. No stress, no bills to pay, no worries about the threat of unemployment, eviction, and so on. What's not to like? Given the fantasy world that Dad is into, I imagine these adult children are unprepared for the real world, including the realities of dating, so they stick with what they know.

Some people might think the older boys are sponging off of the parents by staying at home so late in life. Actually, it's the other way around. Rick and Cathy are sponging off the boys. Rick quit working years ago. Cathy doesn't have a job either. Rick gets a cut of all the court reporting income the boys bring in. That's what pays for the vacations, eating out, Vine Valley, etc.

Can you see now why these parents don't push these guys out the door? They're living off them :clap: :clap:

[johnhugh]

In someways this is a greater exploitation than The Maxwells. At least Stevie is prepared to put a bit of work in between Bible Time™ and back rubbing fellowshipping.

Court reporting must pay well, it's not just Cathy and Ricky the older manboys are supporting, there are the other umpteen siblings and the endless supply of white shorts to pay for. I wonder if they have other finances?

He seems a lazy fuck, if all he does all day is shoot this stupid soap opera, whilst he sons work.

[JenniferJuniper]

In someways this is a greater exploitation than The Maxwells. At least Stevie is prepared to put a bit of work in between Bible Time™ and back rubbing fellowshipping.

Court reporting must pay well, it's not just Cathy and Ricky the older manboys are supporting, there are the other umpteen siblings and the endless supply of white shorts to pay for. I wonder if they have other finances?

He seems a lazy fuck, if all he does all day is shoot this stupid soap opera, whilst he sons work.

Court reporting can pay pretty well as a full time job. And a very busy free lancer can do quite nicely. But I'm not sure how many depositions these boys are actually handling on a monthly basis. Most seem to be able to pick up and travel with the Fam whenever they like. Same with the weddings.

It would seem to be impossible to support a family of 16 with just a few people working part-time (and you're right, Rick's a lazy fuck. I've never seem him do actual work; he delegates everything to his wife and kids). Rumor has it Cathy inherited money when her father died and that could explain a lot.

[sableduck]

Is this vine Valley, NY? Because that is only like 20 minutes from where I live, and I would totally go see if I could find them.