FamTeam Update

[johnhugh]

20 hours ago, MatthewDuggar said:

Luke will celebrate his birthday tomorrow.  Cathy and I will treat him to a meal, and enjoy some time with him!

 

Happy Birthday Luke!  What no "day before your birthday" song?

Yes, ask and you shall receive:

 

 

 

Thanks, it's been a while since I saw it. Ricky just looked like he was walking around and falling over in the snow drunk. Is the whole 'project' Rick's wet dream of how ideally he would of first met Cath?

[Sweet Fellowship]

I wonder if he'll get cake on his parent's bed? This family is an enigma. I want to know more!

[MamaJunebug]

There was another overlong scene posted once, where Rick & Cathy are hiking thru the snow and carrying on some forgettable conversation. Rick pauses and says there's been something he's wanted to ask her and goes to take a knee. Cathy begins to respond joyfully to what *must be a long-awaited marriage proposal, right?--but no: Rick is simply asking about some knee pain he's been having. Oh the humorous and yet not worldly humor indeed it is a laugh fest but not overly so chuckle chuckle ha ha!

At the time an FJ'er posted the clip, there was convo about why Rick would make his romantic leads middle-aged. 

What strikes me about the VV portions we've seen is the amateur's refusal to EDIT.  No, NOTHING may be left out!  It's ALL so perfect, and if you knew how long it took us to get those few seconds *just *right!!!

I imagine that is some part of the continuing non-release of VV. 

[MatthewDuggar]

I wonder if any of the Manboys secretly wander the forests surrounding their property in hopes for a young version of Cathy to happen along carrying a basket?

[Elegant Mess]

So, during the 2015 Raptureversary celebration, I posted this entry for one of the photo caption contests.

Now, after seeing Rick stumble around in the snow, I'm beginning to think that this affliction hits the men of patriarchy, too.  

[salex]

My guess as to why the leads are middle aged is because Rick must be the star!

I think this is why we have the truly horrible "interview with the professor" and why they have to keep reshooting.  He is and will always be the star.

As for why they have to keep reshooting, I think, like Raquel, he has an idea for a 'novel' but only the material for a short story.

[gustava]

Did ya'll see this on the FamTeam site?  Posted on Sunday.  Could there be strife in Vine Valley?

“Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Luke 12:51-53

[Georgiana]

6 minutes ago, gustava said:

Did ya'll see this on the FamTeam site?  Posted on Sunday.  Could there be strife in Vine Valley?

“Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Luke 12:51-53

Well at least Fam Team doesn't have to worry about daughters in law.  

[MatthewDuggar]

2 hours ago, gustava said:

Did ya'll see this on the FamTeam site?  Posted on Sunday.  Could there be strife in Vine Valley?

“Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Luke 12:51-53

Interesting!  I tend to not try and read anything into the random bible verses that are quoted as it gives me a headache. 

It was much more entertaining when the manboys posted individually in a passive-agressive means of public communication.

 

[gustava]

And no photo of the birthday man in the marital bedroom with his mother's hand on his stomach.

[zz22zz]

Watched the Vine Valley video at the top of this page...that's 9 minutes I will NEVER get back.... I've read about VV a long time and always thought it would be dull but that exceeded my expectations of boredom tenfold. 

Anyone else think Rick is passively aggressively suggesting to the manboys that late 40s/early 50s (or whatever age Rick and Cathy are) is the time when the perfect woman will drop into your life without any effort on their part, heck in fact be rude to her and she will still shower you with gifts of fruit and bible knowledge and that is his whole purpose behind with Vine Valley? That there is no reason to pay attention to women until after 45?

How did Rick and Cathy really meet?

 

[Dandruff]

I watched the video.  Liked the scenery, but found it otherwise absurd.  What sane woman, after trying to help a man who fell in the woods and getting a verbal abuse in return, would (1) bring him fruit, (2) leave her basket, and (3) include a note telling him where to find her?  And what was wrong with the random stranger guy he asked for directions?  Is it that hard to tell someone which way to turn at a fork in the road?  Are all the Vine Valley folk going to be that...bright?

[AnywhereButHere]

Hey, random truck driver guy isn't dumb, he's just being obscure. Only the worthy who can decipher cryptic clues can find Vine Valley.  

I'm just shocked they found an "extra" for their vanity project.

[16strong]

The acting and camera work in that excerpt made me cringe so hard. Why did Papa Arndt keep falling down? There either needed to be a snow storm with huge gusts of wind, or he needed a very visible leg/lower torso injury. Otherwise, the audience has no sympathy for the character who just looks like a helpless (or drunk) idiot. Add this to the fact that it looks like they used a personal camcorder with a shaky hand, and... nope.

[HerNameIsBuffy]

1 hour ago, AnywhereButHere said:

Hey, random truck driver guy isn't dumb, he's just being obscure. Only the worthy who can decipher cryptic clues can find Vine Valley.  

I'm just shocked they found an "extra" for their vanity project.

Stuff needs to be decyphered?  Great, now when we watch the screening someone is going to have to take notes.

and explain it to me like I'm 5 because I' e watched the safe at home series, a few of them, I couldn't tell you one thing Rick was trying to say.

either his communication skills suck or I'm not very bright snd should move to VV.

Am I the only one still horrified by the lines, "is it your upper thigh?"  "A little north of there."

i would like to thank my parents for not ever making me film them acting out skits where my dad made subtle innuendo about his junk.

And glasses all akimbo and talk of a cracked pelvis...not sexy, Rick.  If this was supposed to be evocative of the romance to come it failed because it just reminded me of the time I slipped on my driveway while bringing groceries in.  

Anyone else getting that secondary embarrassment at their acting?  Cringeworthy is usually a figure of speach but I did actually cringe.

[HerNameIsBuffy]

On February 3, 2016 at 6:04 PM, Black Aliss said:

I feel the Lord leading me to this community.

Welcome!  If you show indications of wanting to think for yourself we will preform a laying on of hands until it passes.

If you attempt to leave the community at any time one of us will take you on an interminable car ride until you recommit yourself to the cult....thread.

Here's your welcome wagon penguin  and complimentary baseball 

 

[DaffyDill]

27 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

.../snipped

Am I the only one still horrified by the lines, "is it your upper thigh?"  "A little north of there."

i would like to thank my parents for not ever making me film them acting out skits where my dad made subtle innuendo about his junk.

And glasses all akimbo and talk of a cracked pelvis...not sexy, Rick.  If this was supposed to be evocative of the romance to come it failed because it just reminded me of the time I slipped on my driveway while bringing groceries in.  

Anyone else getting that secondary embarrassment at their acting?  Cringeworthy is usually a figure of speach but I did actually cringe.

Right here Buffy! Over this way  

I am totally cringing with you! In fact, The Husband just said, "What the hell are you watching? You look like you're in pain"!! Because I had this scrunched up look on my face like I'd smelled something bad apparently...Who knew?

Yeah, VV isn't for me I'm afraid.. VV embodies the phrase "vanity project" as Rick's self importance and pretentiousness in making this movie, have made it into an overly long, boring drama...probably rather like Rick himself.

I do hope though, if the message boards are reopened, that no one is too mean to them. I don't really care about Cathy and Rick, but the boys seem like they'd be quite nice, fun guys, and it would be a shame to see them hurt.

*Yeah, I have a soft spot for them, what of it? 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

On February 1, 2016 at 5:41 PM, MatthewDuggar said:

I agree it could just be a big fluke that they all just love to stay at home and be a big happy quirky Christian family.  They do love the attention in regards to how many children they have and only ONE girl!!  Maybe they feel like the first to leave will mess with the God-blessed unit they have created?  

I don't get the supposed lack of sex either.  We are to assume that since they are devout Christians, they are all still virgins.  Who knows, maybe not?  It's not like they are super-duper famous or infamous like the Duggars, so if someone came forward to spill a "fling" that was had with a Manboy, it probably wouldn't go far in most circles.   I also wonder if Rick has a "drive" with each of the boys when they reach a certain age and pretty much tells them to masturbate but keep it on the down-low?  I feel gross just thinking about it, but these people are strange, anything is possible.  There are other more dark possibilities, but I'm not going there. 

I've always thought the likelihood was good they had social lives, even love lives, of some kind and of course it wouldn't make the edit.

if you were a man boy would you bring a girl home to meet the folks one second before you absolutely had to?

its ststiscitally odd that given the ages and the big religious deal of marriage and family that there are no marriages or engagements - so the weirdness remains but there is really no reason to believe they are all ...unsullied.

i refuse to even entertain the thought of dark possibilities of any kind because I prefer my mysteries quirky rather than horrific.  Besides, dark stuff of that nature...14 kids and all still so pleasant and functioning?  I have to think the numbers say someone would have lost their shit and/or taken off by now.

If Rick were my dad I think I've had taught myself how to tuck and roll out of a moving car - because those talks seem painful.

 

17 minutes ago, DaffyDill said:

Right here Buffy! Over this way  

I am totally cringing with you! In fact, The Husband just said, "What the hell are you watching? You look like you're in pain"!! Because I had this scrunched up look on my face like I'd smelled something bad apparently...Who knew?

Yeah, VV isn't for me I'm afraid.. VV embodies the phrase "vanity project" as Rick's self importance and pretentiousness in making this movie, have made it into an overly long, boring drama...probably rather like Rick himself.

I do hope though, if the message boards are reopened, that no one is too mean to them. I don't really care about Cathy and Rick, but the boys seem like they'd be quite nice, fun guys, and it would be a shame to see them hurt.

*Yeah, I have a soft spot for them, what of it? 

Totally agree, I hope no one is mean at all.  A couple years ago someone was mocking them in a topix board (clearly one of them, my money is on Rick) talking up the classic and it bothered me.

I'm a hypocrite because I say shitty things here sometimes and this is the only family where I feel guilty about the snark.  Apparently not enough to stop.  

 

 

[DaffyDill]

24 minutes ago, DaffyDill said:

Right here Buffy! Over this way  

I am totally cringing with you! In fact, The Husband just said, "What the hell are you watching? You look like you're in pain"!! Because I had this scrunched up look on my face like I'd smelled something bad apparently...Who knew?

Yeah, VV isn't for me I'm afraid.. VV embodies the phrase "vanity project" as Rick's self importance and pretentiousness in making this movie, have made it into an overly long, boring drama...probably rather like Rick himself.

I have no problem snarking on Rick and Cathy to be honest. But not the boys or Wizzy. They just seem like really simple, harmless, family oriented, fun guys who work hard and get a lot of enjoyment out of life apart from the obvious one area. Do I think it's weird none of them are married? Absolutely! I wish they would start marrying off and having their own lives, but the situation makes me sad for them, more than anything else.

[zz22zz]

I never thought of this until tonight.  One of my best friends the past twenty years is 10th out of 12 children.  His family is 8 girls and 5 boys. None of the boys are married, only one has kids.  I know his brothers too.  All of them, including the one with two boys of his own, shudder when talking about having 12 kids (or for 3 of them, any kids). These guys are 50 to 65 years old now.  All the sisters have 6+ kids each.

Maybe after being brother dads the older manboys just have no desire to have a family since their beliefs would mean most likely no birth control.  A big group of JD Duggars.  Actually I think JD might fit right in with this family.   

I can also see Cathy running the house that she trains the kids to do something and that kid teaches a younger one how to do the same task.  Thus the kids are raised to follow the leader.  If the two oldest boys have no desire to marry and have a family that could be influencing all the boys....and even Wizzy.

 

[JenniferJuniper]

8 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Stuff needs to be decyphered?  Great, now when we watch the screening someone is going to have to take notes.

and explain it to me like I'm 5 because I' e watched the safe at home series, a few of them, I couldn't tell you one thing Rick was trying to say.

 

I've watched Rick's sermons on wheels and also can never figure out what point he is trying to make.  It just sounds like pseudo Bible babble.

And I know it's not me, because while I don't agree with anything they say, I usually grasp fundie-speak just fine.  For instance when the PP is screaming and ranting I fully understand what he's saying even though I think he's insane.

Like many extreme right-wingers, Rick appears to despise "intellectuals", and yet he seems desperate to come across as one. Only problem is, he's not bright enough to actually pull it off. 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

4 hours ago, JenniferJuniper said:

I've watched Rick's sermons on wheels and also can never figure out what point he is trying to make.  It just sounds like pseudo Bible babble.

And I know it's not me, because while I don't agree with anything they say, I usually grasp fundie-speak just fine.  For instance when the PP is screaming and ranting I fully understand what he's saying even though I think he's insane.

Like many extreme right-wingers, Rick appears to despise "intellectuals", and yet he seems desperate to come across as one. Only problem is, he's not bright enough to actually pull it off. 

Interesting.   I've never gotten an anti-intellectual vibe off Rick, but then again the only vibes I get off him are confused and self-absorbed.  Are you feeling it more from his webpage/diary or from the videos?  

I watched some safe at home eps because I was really curious as to the specific ways his beliefs diverged from Catholicism.  Like you, I usually understand spoken fundy even when it's crazy, but it was just rambling about generic religious concepts like trusting God and such.  Nothing I heard was incompatible with Catholicism, but maybe I just grabbed the wrong episodes.

I am familiar with the dynamics of Catholic families, especially those like Cathy's who are highly involved in the Church, and I've known more than my share of Catholics who have left to become fundy-lite.  To break away officially (much less start your own church of the living room) is a pretty bfd for a lot of people and usually is due to being unable to reconcile their beliefs with the RCC on very significant tenets.  And once they break away?  The ones I know tend to be pretty open about how disparate their beliefs are now and even if they aren't mentioning the RCC they typically won't be more than a few sentences in before it's clear it's incompatible.  

And because I have no life a while back I checked to see which version of the bible he was using on the site.  I forget now which he uses, but while it wasn't a Catholic bible with an imprimatur  (NAB, NRSV, etc.) but it was on some lists as fine for Catholics as well.  Unlike the KJV which the Catholic church refuses to even recognize.

tldr:  as much family drama that may have ensued with leaving the RCC I'd have thought there would be huge neon points of conflict Rick would be swinging at - but if he is I'm missing them entirely.

 

 

 

 

 

[Handmaiden of Dog]

14 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

I've always thought the likelihood was good they had social lives, even love lives, of some kind and of course it wouldn't make the edit.

if you were a man boy would you bring a girl home to meet the folks one second before you absolutely had to?

its ststiscitally odd that given the ages and the big religious deal of marriage and family that there are no marriages or engagements - so the weirdness remains but there is really no reason to believe they are all ...unsullied.

(snip)

 

So you think that there is a chance that they have had sex out in the world but chose to ignore the siren call of love and intimacy in order to live with mom and dad and all the sibs?  I don't buy it.  Once someone has had sex it makes it that much harder to pretend to be mommy and daddy's innocent little boy.  And there is no financial reason to live at home because it sounds like the boys could support themselves. I'm convinced they stay at home because they have been brainwashed from birth to believe they HAVE to for whatever reason that daddy and mommy have given them (to stay pure for the rapture?)

[HerNameIsBuffy]

Just now, Handmaiden of Dog said:

So you think that there is a chance that they have had sex out in the world but chose to ignore the siren call of love and intimacy in order to live with mom and dad and all the sibs?  I don't buy it.  Once someone has had sex it makes it that much harder to pretend to be mommy and daddy's innocent little boy.  And there is no financial reason to live at home because it sounds like the boys could support themselves. I'm convinced they stay at home because they have been brainwashed from birth to believe they HAVE to for whatever reason that daddy and mommy have given them (to stay pure for the rapture?)

Yeah - sometimes I tend toward optimism.

I do disagree with the bolded though, for the older guys.  I would be willing to bet the guilt of thinking about leaving to use your own money to build your own life would be overwhelming for them.

Neither parent works - Rick hasn't for a very long time and Cathy over 3 decades from what I gather.  Barring some independent wealth with which Rick and Cathy are still supporting the family, the responsibility of financing that lifestyle falls on the boys.  Even if you could deal with the guilt of worrying if Mom and Dad could lose the house and basic living expenses there's the added burden of knowing if you struck out your brothers are going to have to work even harder to replace your part of the income.

They don't live an opulent lifestyle, but even if you cut out the trips that property and lifestyle costs a lot of money to maintain.  People without the calls from God would have a really hard time withdrawing financial support to their parents and siblings who depend on it - with the added weirdness I can absolutely believe the guys making more than part time incomes could feel very obligated to stay to support the family.

Which, if true, is fucking criminal and I don't know how their parents can live with themselves.

I do think at some point someone will make a break, but gut feeling is it won't be anyone higher in birth order than James.  More likely Jacob and down.  Both for the brainwashing and the likelihood of finding a girl who isn't freaked out by it.  

Cutting out in early to mid-20s and plenty of girls would overlook it.  The stigma wouldn't be personal because they just recently came of age and plenty of people marry guys with weird families.  The closer you get to 30 and certainly beyond the more concerned a woman will be not just with the weird family, but why they didn't leave earlier.  It may not be fair - but Paul or John would have a much harder time convincing a partner to disregarded the Peter Pan syndrome than Seth or Jacob.

 

[JenniferJuniper]

2 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Interesting.   I've never gotten an anti-intellectual vibe off Rick, but then again the only vibes I get off him are confused and self-absorbed.  Are you feeling it more from his webpage/diary or from the videos?  

Not so much the diary, but from some of his "sermons", the links on the webpage (I can't help looking at them) and his commentary about the most important role in his life - his portrayal of Professor Joseph Green in Vine Valley.  Green is college professor and author in New England, a liberal and an atheist who was raised in a good Christian home but who turned away from the Lord when he succumbed to the peer pressure he felt from his "too smart for their own good" (my words) friends as a teen.  Green fancies himself an intellectual who is smarter than everyone else. Because he's an atheist, he is (of course!) not nice to anyone so no one likes him. His books don't sell.  Despite his bookish intelligence, Green is portrayed as bumbling, stumbling idiot who gets lost in a small patch of woods.  I'm guessing it ends with Cathy and the good, simple folks of Vine Valley leading him back to Jesus.  He turns away from his old life and spends the rest of his days with Cathy, together carrying baskets of fruit  to shut-ins and the occasional loser who gets lost in the woods.

I was raised Catholic as well, happily fleeing the day I was confirmed but ever grateful for the lack of (or the failed) indoctrination.  But I can't quite figure out what caused him to leave or when it happened. Nothing he says appears to conflict directly with the teachings of the Church (of course, most of the time I have no idea what he's talking about so who really knows) but I am certain he is not affiliated with any organized religion currently.   

I think Rick is more than self-absorbed;  he's a full blown narcissist.  Who needs a pope or a priest when they've got Daddy?