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80-461: Ivan Stang , who co-founded the Church in the 1970s, serves as its leader and publicist. He has imitated actions of other religious leaders, using the tactic of culture jamming in an attempt to parody better-known faiths. Church leaders instruct their followers to avoid mainstream commercialism and the belief in absolute truths. The group holds that the quality of "Slack" is of utmost importance, but it

160-436: A "hysterical, literal, fantastic" way. Anarchist writer Bob Black , a former member, criticized the Church, alleging that it has become conformist and submissive to authority. He believes that although it initially served to satirize cults, it later took on some of their aspects. In 1992, allegations of cult-like behavior also appeared in the newspaper Bedfordshire on Sunday after a spate of SubGenius-themed vandalism struck

240-494: A "satiric commentary" on religion, morality, and conspiracies. SubGenius members believe that those in the service of the conspiracy seek to bar them from "Slack", a quality promoted by the Church. Its teachings center on "Slack" (always capitalized), which is never concisely defined, though Dobbs is said to embody it. Church members seek to acquire Slack and believe it will allow them the free, comfortable life (without hard work or responsibility) they claim as an entitlement. Sex and

320-513: A broader scale, they can be classified as vertical directories. There are consumer oriented and business oriented varieties. Providers of IYP offer online advertising. According to several reports, the search term "yellow pages" was among the five highest revenue-generating search terms in Google's AdWords program in 2010. Experian/Hitwise reported in January 2011 that the search term "yellow pages"

400-876: A direct sales force or by approved agencies (CMR's). Available advertising space varies among publishers and ranges from bold names up to four color twin page ads ("double trucks"). In the United States, the predominant yellow pages are DEX One 's DEX, the AT&;T Real Yellow Pages , Yellowbook , and the Superpages. Business listings used for publication are obtained by several methods. Local phone companies that publish yellow pages directories rely on their own customer lists and include business listings that are provided by incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs). Advertising in yellow pages directories requires payment in full prior to printing or may be billed monthly over

480-619: A disembodied hand "walking" across an open copy of the Yellow Pages, with the slogan "Let Your Fingers Do the Walking." The Bell System later applied for a trademark on the logo but had its application denied on the grounds that it "had become a generic indicator of the yellow pages without regard to any particular source." For a time in the late 1990s, the Yellow Pages Publishing Association began using

560-459: A few posited that they would be sent to a joyful hell. In anticipation of the event, X-Day "drills" were held in 1996 and 1997. In July 1998, the Church held a large devival at a "clothing-optional" campground in Sherman, New York , attended by about 400 members. The event was ostensibly to celebrate the coming of aliens. When their appearance was not detected using the technology available at

640-413: A goat costume contributed to her losing custody of her children in a court case. But the publicity surrounding the event was a boon to the Church's recruitment efforts. The Church also celebrates several holidays in honor of characters from fiction and popular culture, such as Monty Python , Dracula , and Klaatu . The Association for Consciousness Exploration and pagan groups have occasionally assisted

720-425: A legitimate path to liberation", citing its culture jamming and activism against commercialism. Kirby posits that the Church is a religion masquerading as a joke, rather than the reverse: in her view, it is a spiritual manifestation of a cultural shift toward irony. Alberts believes there is broad agreement that the Church is fundamentally a different type of group than religions that date to antiquity; he prefers to use

800-457: A man named J. R. "Bob" Dobbs founded the group in 1953. SubGenius members constructed an elaborate account of Dobbs's life, which commentators describe as fictional. The members assert that he telepathically contacted Drummond in 1972, before meeting him in person the next year, and that Drummond persuaded Stang to join shortly afterward. Stang has called himself Dobbs's "sacred scribe" and a "professional maven of weirdness". The popularization of

880-536: A new creation. In this process, Kirby argues, they interweave and juxtapose a variety of concepts, which she calls a "web of references". The group was promoted by a video Stang produced in 1992. The Church of the SubGenius has published videos for LHOHQ . The video is surrounded about Bob's characteristics and information about the Church of the SubGenius. WARNING: This video may potentially trigger seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion

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960-402: A particular demographic (e.g. Christian yellow pages or business pages). Yellow pages directories are usually published annually and distributed for free to all residences and businesses within a given coverage area. The majority of listings are plain and in small black text. The yellow-pages publishers profit by selling advertising space or listings under each heading. Advertising may be sold by

1040-537: A powerful conspiracy and brainwash individuals to make them work for a living. Dobbs refused; instead, he infiltrated the group and organized a counter-movement. Church leaders have taught that he was a very intelligent child and, as he grew older, studied several religious traditions, including Sufism , Rosicrucianism , and the Fourth Way . Another key event in his life occurred when he traveled to Tibet , where he learned vital truths about topics including Yetis ;

1120-500: A printer in Cheyenne, Wyoming , working on a regular telephone directory, ran out of white paper so they used yellow paper instead. In 1886, Reuben H. Donnelley created the first official Yellow Pages directory for the city of Chicago . Today, the expression yellow pages is used globally in both English-speaking and non-English speaking countries. In the United States, it refers to the category, while in some other countries it

1200-554: A result, most yellow pages publishers have attempted to create online versions of their print directories. These online versions are referred to as IYP or Internet yellow pages. Independent ad agencies or Internet marketing consultants can assist business owners in determining sound opportunities for yellow pages advertising and provide objective information on usage, possession and preferences. Archived yellow pages and telephone directories are important tools in local historical research and trademark litigation. The "Walking Fingers" logo

1280-467: A simple narrative. The group has an intricate mythology involving gods, aliens, and mutants. Its primary deity, generally known as Jehovah 1, is an extraterrestrial who contacted Dobbs in the 1950s. Various accounts state that the encounter occurred while Dobbs was building a television or watching late-night television. Jehovah 1 gave him supernatural knowledge of the past and future, in addition to incredible power. Dobbs then posed deep questions to

1360-484: A trademarkable logo with a lightbulb instead of the walking fingers (with the slogan "Get an idea") as part of an ad campaign featuring Jon Lovitz , intended to portray the Yellow Pages as a consumer resource that would give customers ideas as opposed to simply being a telephone directory; the end of these ads showed the walking fingers reaching down and grabbing a lightbulb from within the pages beneath. The walking fingers logo returned two years later. In some countries,

1440-467: A year to dispose of unwanted phone books and $ 9 million to recycle them. Phone books use low-grade glues and are therefore difficult to recycle, and they often clog recycling machinery. Conversely, publishers note that phone book directories are 100% recyclable and are made using soy-based and non-toxic inks, glues, and dyes. In 2011, San Francisco became the first city in the United States to restrict yellow page distribution to people who opt in, but

1520-456: Is a print directory which provides an alphabetical listing of businesses within a specific geographical area (e.g. the Tampa Bay area), which are segregated under headings for similar types of businesses, such as plumbers. Traditionally, these directories have been published by the local phone company, but there are numerous independent directory publishers. Some yellow pages publishers focus on

1600-467: Is a registered name and therefore a proper noun. The term Yellow Pages is not a registered name within the United States and is freely used by many companies. Telephone directories using the Internet domain name "yellowpages. cc " (where cc is the ccTLD ) exist in 75 countries. They are edited by many different phone companies and directory publishers, mostly independently. A particular yellow pages

1680-432: Is a staple of many college radio stations. It draws from live broadcasts by Stang, his wife Princess Wei R. Doe and voice comic "Lonesome Cowboy Dave" (comedian/musician Dave DeLuca), as well as from other SubGenius radio shows. LHOHQ, short for Laughing Horse's Orifice Headquarters, is speculated to have connections with the Church of the SubGenius. The Church of the SubGenius's ostensible beliefs defy categorization or

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1760-560: Is advised. The Church of the SubGenius hosts several radio shows throughout the world, including broadcasters in Atlanta, Ohio, Maryland, and California. Several radio stations in the United States and two in Canada broadcast The Hour of Slack , the Church's most popular audio production. The Hour of Slack can also be heard in podcast form. The Church's teachings have been perceived as satirizing Christianity and Scientology, earning

1840-707: Is an instructor on the faculty of the Maybe Logic Academy . Both he and J.R. "Bob" Dobbs appear as characters in John Shirley 's science fiction novel Kamus of Kadizar: The Black Hole of Carcosa . Stang also founded the business entity of the Church, the SubGenius Foundation. The SubGenius Foundation was located in Dallas, Texas , for most of its existence, though Stang relocated to Cleveland Heights, Ohio in 1999. The SubGenius Foundation

1920-428: Is capable of time travel, and that this results in occasional changes to doctrine (the "Sacred Doctrine of Erasability"). Consequently, members attempt to follow Dobbs by eschewing unchangeable plans. The Church of the SubGenius's literature incorporates many aspects of conspiracy theories, teaching that there is a grand conspiracy at the root of all lesser ones. It says that there are many UFOs, most of which are used by

2000-476: Is never clearly defined. The number of followers is unknown, although the Church's message has been welcomed by college students and artists in the United States. The group is often compared to Discordianism . Journalists often consider the Church an elaborate joke, but some academics have defended it as a real system of deeply held beliefs. The Church of the SubGenius was founded by Ivan Stang (born Douglas St. Clair Smith) and Philo Drummond (born Steve Wilcox) as

2080-473: Is sold. The directories were originally printed on yellow paper, as opposed to white pages for non-commercial listings. The traditional term "yellow pages" is now also applied to online directories of businesses. In many countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and elsewhere, "Yellow Pages" (or any applicable local translations), as well as the "Walking Fingers" logo introduced in

2160-589: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology . It has also gained popularity in several American cities, including San Francisco , Little Rock , and Cleveland. A few Church members have voiced concerns and/or amusement about new members who took the Church too seriously, fearing that they acted like serious cult followers, the very concept the SubGenius parodies. Stang has expressed concern that the Church's doctrines could exacerbate preexisting psychoses of mentally ill devotees, although he believes that

2240-653: The Starwood Festival . The Cyclone of Slack was a devival in Portland, Oregon , in October 2009 put on by the Church of the SubGenius and the organizers of Esozone. One of its more bizarre moments was when the alcohol and fire-and-brimstone sermon-fueled crowd in front of the stage began to sit down in twos and threes when the Duke of Uke began to play his ukulele . In early SubGenius literature, July 5, 1998,

2320-500: The 1970s by the Bell System –era AT&T , are registered trademarks , though the owner varies from country to country, usually being held by the main national telephone company (or a subsidiary or spinoff thereof). However, in the United States, neither the name nor the logo was registered as trademarks by AT&T, and they are freely used by several publishers. The name and concept of "yellow pages" came about in 1883, when

2400-502: The 1980s. Cusack sees the Church's faux commercialism as culture jamming targeting prosperity theology , calling the faux commercialism "a strikingly original innovation in contemporary religion". Religious scholar Thomas Alberts of the University of London views the Church as attempting to "subvert the idea of authenticity in religion" by mirroring other religions to create a sense of both similarity and alterity . Cusack compares

2480-463: The Church a reputation as a parody religion . Church leaders have said that Dobbs met L. Ron Hubbard , and SubGenius narratives echo extraterrestrial themes found in Scientology . Cusack notes Jehovah 1 bears similarities to Xenu , a powerful alien found in some Scientologist writings. The Church's rhetoric text has also been described as a satirical imitation of the televangelism of

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2560-406: The Church appropriates aspects of popular culture in its spirituality. SubGenius leaders teach that J.R. "Bob" Dobbs's nature is ineffable and consequently stylize his nickname "Bob" with quotation marks even when used alone. They call him a "World Avatar" and hold that he has died and been reborn many times. The Church's primary symbol is an icon of his face in which he smokes a pipe. Stang has said

2640-420: The Church genuinely helps many adherents. Notable associates of the Church include Mark Mothersbaugh , Mojo Nixon , Zoogz Rift, Paul Mavrides , Paul Reubens , members of Negativland , David Byrne , and R. Crumb . Crumb provided early publicity for the church by reprinting Sub Genius Pamphlet #1 in his comics anthology Weirdo . References to the Church are present in several works of art, including

2720-592: The Church had 40,000 members, but the actual number may have been much lower. As of 2022, becoming a minister in the Church costs $ 50, but is on sale for $ 44.99. Stang has estimated that there are 10,000 ministers and that the Church's annual income has reached $ 100,000. In October 2017, the Church moved to Glen Rose , Texas. Most SubGenius members are male, and, according to Stang, many are social outcasts. He maintains that those who do not fit into society will ultimately triumph over those who do. The Church has experienced success "converting" college students, particularly at

2800-566: The Church in its events. Some SubGenius members put little emphasis on meetings, citing the Church's focus on individualism, though the Book of the SubGenius discusses community. SubGenius devivals are not regularly scheduled, but are recorded on the SubGenius website. Devivals have been held in multiple U.S. states, as well as China, the Netherlands, and Germany. The Church has also held Devivals at non-SubGenius events, such as Burning Man and

2880-431: The Church of the SubGenius are known as "clenches". They host periodic events known as "devivals", which include sermons, music, and other art forms. The term is used by both the Church of the SubGenius and Discordianism for a gathering or festival of followers. The name is a pun on Christian revivals . At devivals, leaders take comical names and give angry rants. Many take place at bars or similar venues. Cusack compares

2960-573: The Church of the SubGenius more explicitly remixes pop culture. According to Carole M. Cusack, scholars often have difficulty defining the Church. Commentators generally place the Church in the category of "joke religions", which is often seen as pejorative. Kirby sees this categorization as partially accurate because irony is an essential aspect of the faith. Other terms used to describe the Church include "faux cult", "[postmodern] cult", "satirical pseudoreligion", "sophisticated joke religion", "anti-religion religion", and "high parody of cultdom". Members of

3040-523: The Church of the SubGenius rejects absolute truth and embraces contradictions and paradoxes. Religious scholar David Chidester of the University of Cape Town views the Church as a "Discordian offshoot", and Kirby sees it as "a child of the Discordians". Both groups were heavily influenced by the writings of Robert Anton Wilson , whom SubGenius members call "Pope Bob". Kirby states that the two groups have elements of bricolage and absurdity in common, but

3120-516: The Church of the SubGenius to the Ranters , a radical 17th-century pantheist movement in England that made statements that shocked many hearers, attacking traditional notions of religious orthodoxy and political authority. In her view, this demonstrates that the Church of the SubGenius has "legitimate pedigree in the history of Western religion". The American journalist Michael Muhammad Knight likens

3200-567: The Church of the SubGenius, as well as providing narration and commentary for the 1999 documentary Grass. Commercial jobs have included a 60-second "Art Break" animated short for MTV, animation in a Devo music video, as well as writing and editing the feature-length documentaries China Run and The Cu-Chi Tunnels . Partial discography includes: Partial filmography includes: Yellow Pages The yellow pages are telephone directories of businesses , organized by category rather than alphabetically by business name, in which advertising

3280-412: The Church teaches that SubGenius members are descended from them. Originally, the only relative of Dobbs the Church identified was his mother, Jane McBride Dobbs – Church leaders cite his lack of resemblance to his mother's husband as the reason for not revealing his father. In another version, as a child "Bob," then known as Bobby, was not highly intelligent, but incredibly lucky. He copied

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3360-511: The Church to the Moorish Orthodox Church of America , a 20th-century American syncretic religious movement, citing their shared emphasis on freedom. There are a number of similarities between the Church of the SubGenius and Discordianism . Eris, the goddess of chaos worshiped by adherents of the latter, is believed by members of the Church of the SubGenius to be Jehovah 1's wife and an ally to humans. Like Discordianism,

3440-497: The Church's goal as deconstructing "normative modes of thought and behavior" in American culture; she believes that it attempts to fight culturally ingrained thought patterns by shocking people. She argues that traditional approaches to religion cast seriousness as a measure of devotion, an approach she believes has failed in contemporary society. She feels that irony is a commonplace value that most religions have ignored. By embracing

3520-405: The Church, however, have consistently maintained that they practice a religion. Stang described the group as both "satire and a real stupid religion", and contends that it is more honest about its nature than are other religions. Cusack states that the Church "must be accorded the status of a functional equivalent of religion, at the very least, if not 'authentic' religion". She sees it as "arguably

3600-565: The Elder Gods, who are committed to human pain, but that Jehovah 1 is "relatively good" in comparison. Yog-Sothoth , a character from H. P. Lovecraft 's Cthulhu Mythos , is the Elder Gods' leader. In her 2010 study of the Church of the SubGenius, religious scholar Carole M. Cusack of the University of Sydney states that Lovecraft's work is a "model for the Church of the SubGenius's approach to scripture", in that aspects of his fiction were treated as real by some within paganism, just as

3680-579: The English town of Bedford . Books Videos Books Journals Magazines Newspapers Websites Ivan Stang Ivan Stang (born Douglass St. Clair Smith ; August 21, 1953) is an American writer, filmmaker and broadcaster, best known as the author and publisher of the first screed of the Church of the SubGenius . He is credited with founding the Church with friend Philo Drummond in 1979, though Stang himself denied this and claimed

3760-463: The Internet in the mid-1990s brought a new surge of interest in the church, resulting in dozens of homemade, elaborately decorated websites and two Usenet newsgroups , alt.slack and alt.binaries.slack . A third newsgroup, alt.binaries.multimedia.slack, was created later, in 2005. Ivan Stang currently maintains the official SubGenius home page. The church's weekly radio program, the Hour of Slack ,

3840-491: The Internet-based collaborative fiction Ong's Hat , the comic book The Middleman , the band Sublime 's album 40oz. to Freedom , and the television program Pee-wee's Playhouse . Church leaders have issued instructions to their followers; Robert Latham of the University of California, Riverside , calls their ideology "anarcholibertarian". Five commands embody the group's values: Local groups of members of

3920-499: The Pulp and Paper Products Council. The EPA's 2011 Municipal Waste report showed that approximately 73% of phone directory, newspaper, and mechanical papers were recycled. In September 2017, Yell , the publisher of Yellow Pages in the United Kingdom, announced that the business would be fully digitized from January 2019, ending the publication's 51-year run. The last UK copies were posted out on 18 January 2019. The Irish publisher of

4000-464: The SubGenius Foundation. Dr. X (born Monte Dhooge) was also present at the group's inception. The organization's first recorded activity was the publication of a photocopied document, Sub Genius Pamphlet #1 , disseminated in Dallas , Texas in 1979. The document announced the impending end of the world and the possible deaths of its readers. It criticized Christian conceptions of God and New Age perceptions of spirituality. Church leaders maintain that

4080-648: The Yellow Pages Distribution Pilot Program (Ordinance 130186). Also in 2011, the Yellow Pages Association and the Association of Directory Publishers started the yellowpagesoptout.com Web site allowing anyone in the United States to choose not to receive directories. The site remained active in 2018. The 2009 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Municipal Solid Waste report classified directories as

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4160-419: The alien, receiving mysterious answers. Some of their discussion centered on a powerful conspiracy, to which the Church attributes command of the world. Jehovah 1 and his spouse Eris , regarded by the Church as "relatively evil", are classified as "rebel gods". SubGenius leaders note that Jehovah 1 is wrathful, a quality expressed by his "stark fist of removal". The Church teaches that they are part of

4240-490: The aliens is celebrated. Cusack calls the productions carnivalesque or an echo of ancient Greek satyr plays . The Church of the SubGenius established a website in May 1993, and its members were very active on Usenet in the 1990s. Although it has gained a significant online presence, it was successful before the advent of Internet communities. The Church was a pioneer in the religious use of zines ; Cusack notes that its use of

4320-597: The avoidance of work are taught as two key ways to gain Slack. Davidoff believes that Slack is "the ability to effortlessly achieve your goals". Cusack states that the Church's description of Slack as ineffable recalls the way that Tao is described, and Kirby calls Slack a "unique magical system". The Church of the SubGenius's founders were based in Dallas when they distributed their first document. The SubGenius Foundation moved to Cleveland , Ohio, in 1999. In 2009, Stang claimed

4400-426: The conspiracy leaders to monitor humans, though a few contain extraterrestrials. In the Church's view, this conspiracy uses a façade of empowering messages but manipulates people so that they become indoctrinated into its service. The Church calls these individuals "pinks" and states that they are blissfully unaware of the organization's power and control. SubGenius leaders teach that most cultural and religious mores are

4480-407: The conspiracy's propaganda. They maintain that their followers, but not the pinks, are capable of developing an imagination; the Church teaches that Dobbs has empowered its members to see through these illusions. Owing to their descent from Yetis, the Church's followers have a capacity for deep understanding that the pinks lack. Cultural studies scholar Solomon Davidoff states that the Church develops

4560-410: The creator and owner of the most famous three-fingered version of the "Walking Fingers" logo, never applied for a trademark on the logo. While they eventually received a trademark on a different version of the logo, the version with the three fingers was not considered by AT&T to be proprietary and they in fact allowed any telephone directory to use it. Throughout the 1970s, many television ads showed

4640-401: The event as a prank or "performance art". Another theory is that The Conspiracy has lied about what year the present year actually is (just as they have lied about everything else), so that the liberation date would seem to pass without fulfillment and cause followers to lose faith. As a precaution, SubGenius members continue to gather for X-Day every July 5. At these events, the non-appearance of

4720-523: The familiar "walking fingers" logo is not protected as a trademark and may be used by anyone. This logo is used in varying forms by almost every yellow pages publisher; however, there are companies that use it to imitate mainstream publishers. In Belgium, the Republic of Ireland, Israel and the Netherlands the directory, although using the yellow pages logo, is called "Golden Pages". Online business directories are branded as IYP or Internet yellow pages. On

4800-445: The group as a whole. It draws themes from fiction as well as established and new religions, parodying a number of topics, including the Church of the SubGenius itself. A number of SubGenius members have written stories to build their mythology, which have been compiled and published. Their core texts are disordered, presented in the style of a collage. Kirby notes that the group's texts are a bricolage of cultural artifacts remixed into

4880-495: The homework of Constance "Connie" Marsh , who later became a model, actress, and finally his wife as Constance "Connie" Marsh Dobbs SubGenius leaders identify the couple as archetypes of the genders in a belief that resembles Hindu doctrines about Shiva and Parvati . Church literature has variously described Dobbs's occupation as "drilling equipment" or fluoride sales, and accounts of his life generally emphasize his good fortune rather than intelligence. SubGenius leaders believe he

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4960-510: The image was taken from Yellow Pages clip art, and it has been likened to Ward Cleaver , Mark Trail , or a 1950s-era salesman. The Church's canon contains references to aspects of United States culture in that decade; religious scholar Danielle Kirby of RMIT University argues that this type of reference "simultaneously critiques and subverts" the American dream . In one version of the Church's mythology, Jehovah 1 intended Dobbs to lead

5040-559: The life of the contract, which is usually 12 months. Typically, sales representatives help customers to design their ads and provide a proof copy for review and approval. Yellow pages' print usage is reported to be declining with both advertisers and shoppers increasingly turning to Internet search engines and online directories. According to a study by Knowledge Networks/SRI, in 2007, print yellow pages were referenced 13.4 billion times, while Internet yellow pages references increased to 3.8 billion, up from 2006's 3.3 billion online searches. As

5120-463: The medium can be seen as a rejection of the alienation of labor practices. The SubGenius Foundation published several official teachings, as well as non-doctrinal works by Stang. The Book of the SubGenius , which discusses Slack at length, was published by Simon & Schuster and sold 30,000 copies in its first five years in print. Kirby calls it a "call to arms for the forces of absurdity". Its juxtaposition, visual style, and content mirror

5200-773: The organization was founded in 1953 by J. R. "Bob" Dobbs . Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Fort Worth, Texas , he attended the St. Mark's School of Texas . Since the publication of the first SubGenius pamphlet in 1980, Stang has embarked on a worldwide crusade (spanning at least three continents) to promote the Church. In May 2006 he finished writing, editing and designing a new SubGenius book for Thunder's Mouth Press, The SubGenius Psychlopaedia of Slack: The Bobliographon. He has appeared on several national radio and television shows, including The Jon Stewart Show on MTV. Stang

5280-607: The period, as well as providing contact information for those wishing to interact directly with people involved in these movements. Stang is a "filmmaker" and an "editor". In addition to creating several stop-motion short films with such titles as Reproduction Cycle Among Unicellular Life Forms Under the Rocks of Mars and Let's Visit the World of the Future, he also edited the 1989 feature-length VHS video spoof-documentary Arise! for

5360-435: The practice of their spirituality". She calls their remixing of popular culture sources an "explicitly creative process", maintaining that it prompts the reader to adopt some of the group's views by forcing "the individual to reconsider normative methods of approaching the content". She states that the group attempts to "strip references of their original meaning without necessarily losing their status as icons". Kirby also sees

5440-422: The quality of irony, she maintains, the Church of the SubGenius offers a more accessible worldview than many groups. Literature scholar Paul Mann of Pomona College is critical of the Church of the SubGenius. He notes that the Church purports to present the truth through absurdity and faults it for insufficiently examining the concept of truth itself. In addition, he believes that the group responds to criticism in

5520-547: The smallest contributor of paper and paperboard products to the solid waste stream, representing only 0.3% – significantly less than all other paper product categories such as newspapers, magazines and books. In 2010, the EPA stopped measuring directories separately from newspapers, indicating the minor impact of directories on municipal waste. Yellow Pages publishers' paper usage declined by nearly 60% between 2007–2012, and were projected to continue declining through 2013, according to

5600-510: The style of the services to Pentecostal revivalism ; David Giffels of the Akron Beacon Journal calls them "campy preaching sessions". Cusack posits that these events are examples of Peter Lamborn Wilson 's concept of Temporary Autonomous Zones , spaces in which the ordinary constraints of social control are suspended. On one occasion, the presence of a Church leader's wife at a SubGenius meeting that included public nudity and

5680-514: The term "fake religion" to describe it. He sees it, along with Discordianism, as part of a group of "popular movements that look and feel like religion, but whose apparent excess, irreverence, and arbitrariness seem to mock religion". Knight characterizes the Church as "at once a postmodern spoof of religion and a viable system in its own right". Kirby argues that the Church forms a counterpart to Jean Baudrillard 's concept of hyperreality , arguing, "they create, rather than consume, popular culture in

5760-495: The time, Stang produced a sacred piece of paper with "Bob"s handwritten date of X-day, proving judgment was officially scheduled for 1998. However, Papa Joe Mama (the "Minister of Sinister") snatched the paper from Stang's hands and turned it upside down, declaring that Stang must have read it backward (8661); this has been interpreted by the authors David Beard and Joshua Gunn as a satire of the way that religious groups have revised prophecies after their failures. Some critics dismissed

5840-481: The true search term, IYP returns results based on a geographic area. IYP is classified as a local search directory which provides content with the added ability to refine the search to find the needed service. The search engine prioritizes local businesses in its results rather than the results being dominated by regional or national companies. All services offer paid advertising options which typically offer preferred placement on search results pages. In later years,

5920-550: The yellow pages industry faced scrutiny from environmentalist groups who claim printed yellow pages are a wasteful resource, citing statistics that by 2011 nearly 70% of all Americans rarely or never used printed phone directories. In other results, approximately 58% of working U.S. adults said they used phone books at home, work, or both, according to a 2013 survey by RingCentral that appeared in USA Today. The Product Stewardship Institute claims local governments spend $ 54 million

6000-653: Was awarded Best Crack-Pot Preacher by the Cleveland Scene in 2000. Stang continues to promote the Church, and he is a prominent member of Cleveland's underground pop culture scene. In 2017 the Foundation and Stang moved to Glen Rose, Texas . In 1988, Stang compiled a book called High Weirdness by Mail — A Directory of the Fringe: Crackpots, Kooks & True Visionaries . The book examined many non-mainstream or marginal cultural movements of

6080-549: Was based there from 1999 to 2017, and the syndicated show The Hour of Slack is produced partially at WCSB at Cleveland State University . His "Rants" are a regular feature at the Starwood Festival and WinterStar Symposium, both produced by the Association for Consciousness Exploration (ACE). The Church has collaborated with ACE on a number of projects, including CDs, DVDs and the Rant 'n Rave events in Cleveland, Ohio . He

6160-736: Was being sued in federal court by the Local Search Association on freedom of speech grounds. According to the Sierra Club, 1.6 million phone books were distributed annually in San Francisco, producing 3,600 tons of waste, $ 1 million in disposal costs, and 6,180 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. In 2013, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed, and the Mayor signed, an ordinance that repealed

6240-646: Was created by Henry Alexander, a New England artist. After graduating from the Swain School of Design in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Alexander began a freelance career as an illustrator and commercial designer. He formed a long association with the New England Telephone Company lasting thirty-one years. In 1962, he designed the "walking fingers" logo and within a year it became the national trademark for their yellow pages. AT&T,

6320-420: Was introduced as a significant date, later becoming known as " X-Day ". The Church held that Dobbs identified the date's significance in the 1950s, claiming that the world was to experience a massive change on that date when Xists, beings from Planet X , would arrive on Earth. SubGenius leaders said their paying members would be transported onto spaceships for union with goddesses as the world was destroyed, though

6400-566: Was one of the top 50 search terms across all search engines and all search terms (millions of search terms). This made "yellow pages" one of the most searched-for things on the Internet in 2011. The Yellow Pages Association said in February 2011 that 75 percent of adults in the United States still used print yellow pages and that for every $ 1 in investment, businesses returned $ 15. IYP offers listings differently from standard search engines. Where search engines return results based on relevance to

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