Wow - thanks for taking us down another rabbit hole. PEOPLE ARE NUTS.
In other news, yesterday I found out about another up-and-coming conspiracy theory, according to which statues like Donatello's "David" are "too accurate to be handmade, not even with laser (?)", so "art historians are not telling us the whole truth about them", potentially being (fasten your seat belt) "real people or GIANTS covered in liquid marble and killed". It might not be a mainstream conspiracy yet, but I read a few random comments on an Italian Facebook page, so watch this space and brace for impact.
WTF? That is ridiculous. I went to school with a well known NZ artist and can tell you his depictions of penises were very accurate even at 13 :-) so of course the statues were made by hand
I wonder if it's attached to the ' land formations /wood are fossilised giants' conspiracy or a new one. Did they say anything about bronze statues or just marble?
Steve was the one behind the Lonely account 😱... all those women posting their beautiful lingerie pictures. I genuinely thought it was a woman and considered sending some. Not. Cool. Steve.
For the continued health of NZ, I hope these two never come back. They profess to be the embodiment of love, while spreading a deadly virus. My heart broke reading the stories of the former staff members. I wish them all the best.
Holy shit. I'm SO disappointed in this brand after reading all of this. I never realised that the founders were like this. I'm glad I stopped supporting them (for the same reasons that another commenter here mentioned).
I hope the ex-staff members find something better that aligns to their values - I'm glad that they spoke up.
Yeah, same. Imagine store workers it hits so hard - they just need a job, and would have though they repped great values. To have that taken away presents a very tricky scenario. And none of it is their fault.
What is it with new age people who don't give a shit about the care of others finding some celestial 'saving the world' identity to cover up for it. Fascinated by the ego you'd need to run with that.
I guess starseeds and 5th demension people have replaced Indigo children. Don't hear so much about indigo children anymore. I guess absorbed into either of the two.
The Star-seed and Indigo children concepts have always had quite a lot of overlap. They were both independently posited in the 1970s by New Age writes Brad Steiger and Nancy Anne Tappe respectively. The difference is that Star-seed theory states the supernatural abilities of certain children are a result of extra-terrestrial DNA but it's essentially the same idea.
Parapsychology and UFOlogy are often found as parallels like this. In esoteric beliefs throughout history, what used to be culturally adduced to the paranormal (ghosts, spirits and demons) is now adduced to aliens since that's more modern and sort of science-y.
You see the same pattern in attribution with sleep paralysis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis which all cultures have folk explanations for which historically used to be largely viewed as witchcraft or demonic influences and is now more commonly interpreted as alien abductions.
Whilst all this esoteric thinking seems pretty weird, there are a lot of interesting psychological themes and patterns within it akin to the kind of things you see in comparative mythology such as the works of Joseph Campbell.
Actually, I'd like to also shout out to Guardians of the Galaxy for the best star-seed storyline. Marvel's Peter Quill/Star-Lord character also originated in 1976, created by Steve Engelheart the same year Brad Steiger wrote Gods of Aquarius. It seems everyone was combining astrology, aliens, and humans around then.
Something must have been in the air or water that year - and I'm not talking about fluoride since that was the 60s :-)
Well, I'm speechless - Star Seeds is definitely a new one. This content makes me profoundly sad for the people involved but it's like the sun, I can't look away! Thanks for continuing to fight the good fight, David.
I totally get that the two of you are coming from a loving place of maternal concern. But whoever and wherever this individual is, having their parents talked about in this context is likely mortifying enough without also having to endure speculation directly about them. While their parents are sort of public figures, their children definitely are not. We can show we care by respecting their privacy.
Hi all! Don't mean to play the mean ol' moderator card - but yes, keeping speculation out of the comments. I know it comes from a good place, but the article was written in a very specific way to get around some very specific issues. Thanks for understanding x
Ooh, I hope that what's coming is Zorp the Surveyor and he melts off everyone's faces. Though the shock would be very quick.
All Hail Zorp! All Hail Zorp!
May I offer you a flute or a recorder to celebrate?
It all gets a bit Xenu, huh.
Wow - thanks for taking us down another rabbit hole. PEOPLE ARE NUTS.
In other news, yesterday I found out about another up-and-coming conspiracy theory, according to which statues like Donatello's "David" are "too accurate to be handmade, not even with laser (?)", so "art historians are not telling us the whole truth about them", potentially being (fasten your seat belt) "real people or GIANTS covered in liquid marble and killed". It might not be a mainstream conspiracy yet, but I read a few random comments on an Italian Facebook page, so watch this space and brace for impact.
Oof. This is a good one. It never, ever ends. The human imagination!
WTF? That is ridiculous. I went to school with a well known NZ artist and can tell you his depictions of penises were very accurate even at 13 :-) so of course the statues were made by hand
I know, bonkers uh? :D these people scare the bejesus out of me.
That reminds me of this article I recently read, about a conspiracy theory is saying "Hellen Keller wasn't really deaf and blind, because there's no way a deaf and blind person can write a book, let alone 12": https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jan/07/helen-keller-why-is-a-tiktok-conspiracy-theory-undermining-her-story
I wonder if it's attached to the ' land formations /wood are fossilised giants' conspiracy or a new one. Did they say anything about bronze statues or just marble?
Just marble as far as I know, but to be fair, I didn't ask any follow-up questions - they instantly drained all the energy out of me. Lol
Im going to have to hunt that one up. It's a freaky idea.
I guess if beautiful naked tall people start being reported running around in public looking confused, you'll have an answer!
Steve was the one behind the Lonely account 😱... all those women posting their beautiful lingerie pictures. I genuinely thought it was a woman and considered sending some. Not. Cool. Steve.
For the continued health of NZ, I hope these two never come back. They profess to be the embodiment of love, while spreading a deadly virus. My heart broke reading the stories of the former staff members. I wish them all the best.
I hope they get help.
I hope they get help too.
Holy shit. I'm SO disappointed in this brand after reading all of this. I never realised that the founders were like this. I'm glad I stopped supporting them (for the same reasons that another commenter here mentioned).
I hope the ex-staff members find something better that aligns to their values - I'm glad that they spoke up.
Yeah, same. Imagine store workers it hits so hard - they just need a job, and would have though they repped great values. To have that taken away presents a very tricky scenario. And none of it is their fault.
Aaaaaannnnnd here I go to their Insta account to stir up some trouble.
Tread carefully! It will be a mess
It was a total bust anyway. They had already shut down comments on all posts.
Cheers for the long read. What an utterly bonkers story. Seems very unprofessional that their Insta account is run by Steve and very misleading too.
I think that was pretty disturbing for the staff when they found that out.
What is it with new age people who don't give a shit about the care of others finding some celestial 'saving the world' identity to cover up for it. Fascinated by the ego you'd need to run with that.
A lot of new age stuff borrows heavily from other cultures and ideas in a truly arrogant way. It's riddled with stuff like this.
Yeah that's true. Mostly Indian religions right?
I guess starseeds and 5th demension people have replaced Indigo children. Don't hear so much about indigo children anymore. I guess absorbed into either of the two.
The Star-seed and Indigo children concepts have always had quite a lot of overlap. They were both independently posited in the 1970s by New Age writes Brad Steiger and Nancy Anne Tappe respectively. The difference is that Star-seed theory states the supernatural abilities of certain children are a result of extra-terrestrial DNA but it's essentially the same idea.
Parapsychology and UFOlogy are often found as parallels like this. In esoteric beliefs throughout history, what used to be culturally adduced to the paranormal (ghosts, spirits and demons) is now adduced to aliens since that's more modern and sort of science-y.
You see the same pattern in attribution with sleep paralysis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis which all cultures have folk explanations for which historically used to be largely viewed as witchcraft or demonic influences and is now more commonly interpreted as alien abductions.
Whilst all this esoteric thinking seems pretty weird, there are a lot of interesting psychological themes and patterns within it akin to the kind of things you see in comparative mythology such as the works of Joseph Campbell.
Actually, I'd like to also shout out to Guardians of the Galaxy for the best star-seed storyline. Marvel's Peter Quill/Star-Lord character also originated in 1976, created by Steve Engelheart the same year Brad Steiger wrote Gods of Aquarius. It seems everyone was combining astrology, aliens, and humans around then.
Something must have been in the air or water that year - and I'm not talking about fluoride since that was the 60s :-)
WE ARE ALL GROOT!
Bonkers (and unfortunately not in a harmless fun way).
Well, I'm speechless - Star Seeds is definitely a new one. This content makes me profoundly sad for the people involved but it's like the sun, I can't look away! Thanks for continuing to fight the good fight, David.
I totally get that the two of you are coming from a loving place of maternal concern. But whoever and wherever this individual is, having their parents talked about in this context is likely mortifying enough without also having to endure speculation directly about them. While their parents are sort of public figures, their children definitely are not. We can show we care by respecting their privacy.
Hi all! Don't mean to play the mean ol' moderator card - but yes, keeping speculation out of the comments. I know it comes from a good place, but the article was written in a very specific way to get around some very specific issues. Thanks for understanding x