The Snowball Church

I scope out daily the list of deaths that Wikipedia curates, where I often see intriguing tidbits. Recently I came across a death notice for Apóstolo Rina (in Portuguese), and was intrigued to see that he was both the church founder and a surfer. ("Bola de Neve" translates to "Snow Ball," by the way, but I remain uncertain of its pertinence.)

Inquiring further, I learned from their entry on Portuguese Wikipedia:

Unlike most churches, it initially appealed to a young and informal audience. The church also seeks to maintain its image associated with extreme sports, such as surfing , skateboarding , running and cycling , and many of its temples have decorations based on these sports.... The first meetings took place in a surf shop and, with no pulpit or table available to support the Bible, the option was to use the surfboard , a trademark of the Bola de Neve Churches.

You can see their groovy surfboard altar in the video.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 19, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, Religion, Sports, South America

Chicken Charlie

He can be seen starting about the 45-second mark in this short video.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 13, 2024 - Comments (2)
Category: Eccentrics, North America, Twentieth Century

The Ring-O Pool Table

One hole only. Learn more here, at the site dedicated to the inventor, Irving Kaye.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 16, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Eccentrics, Inventions, Sports, 1960s

Beaversprite

Dorothy Richards established a sanctuary for beavers in Little Falls, NY. Not so weird. Except that she also had several beavers at a time living in her home.

Read her life story at the Internet Archive.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 12, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Eccentrics, North America, Twentieth Century

The Cellular Cosmogony

Here's your chance to learn the truth: that we are all living inside the Earth, rather than on top of its surface.

The Wikipedia page for Koresh, aka Cyrus Teed.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 18, 2024 - Comments (4)
Category: Eccentrics, Frauds, Cons and Scams, New Age, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Nineteenth Century

Gilbert Young, most rejected author ever

Gilbert Young first came to the attention of the British press in the 1960s as a crusader for a single world government. He ran repeatedly for various political offices but never won an election.

Below is an ad he placed in the papers seeking new members for his "World Government Party."

Bristol Daily Press - Jan 29, 1964

But his real claim to fame came in the mid 1970s when the editors of the Guinness Book of Records learned that, for years, Young had been trying to get his book published but had only received rejections from publishers. His book, World Government Crusade, had, by 1974, been rejected 80 times. So Guinness listed him in its 1975 edition as the record holder for the "greatest recorded number of publisher's rejections for a manuscript."

Bristol Daily Press - Sep 26, 1974

Guinness Book of Records 1975

For over fifteen years Guinness continued to list him as the holder of this record. Every few years it would update the number of his rejections. By 1990 his book had been rejected 242 times.

Guinness Book of Records 1991

I thought that perhaps Young's book would now be available to read or purchase somewhere on the Internet. But no, as far as I can tell it's still unavailable.

Posted By: Alex - Tue May 14, 2024 - Comments (3)
Category: Eccentrics, Politics, World Records, Books

Dance of the Simpleton

Since the silent dance video has no soundtrack, but is ostensibly meant to be accompanied by a Chopin Waltz, I suggest playing "The Minute Waltz" simultaneously! If you click the dance video, then the music video, they sync up nicely, just like THE DARK SIDE OF THE RAINBOW.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 28, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, Spastic, Uncontrolled, Awkward and Herky-Jerky Movements, 1920s, Dance

Funeral March on the Death of a Parrot

Read about the eccentric, parrot-loving composer Charles-Valentin Alkan (and his equally eccentric son) here.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Feb 08, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Eccentrics, Music, Europe, Nineteenth Century

The Far-out Costumes of Dancer Nina Payne

Read her story here.

Source of advertisement.

Dancer Nina Payne (USA) Nina Payne doing exercises in the Elizabeth Arden beauty parlor, Paris (to prepare for her performance in the Folies-Bergere) - undated, probably 1925

Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 20, 2024 - Comments (1)
Category: Eccentrics, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1920s, Dance, Europe

Joe Meek’s “I Hear a New World”

His Wikipedia page.

Good long article here.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 12, 2024 - Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, Music, Space-age Bachelor Pad & Exotic, Outsider Art, Twentieth Century, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults