Occasionally, when it comes to playing the Six Degrees game, I'll pull out a fun trivia tidbit. I'm only three degrees away from Mobutu Sese Seko, the former dictator of Zaire. Via, of course, Pat Robertson.

It's good for a chuckle -- albeit a nervous one -- but it's true. Many many moons ago (think the 80s), I published a zine. I did this before I'd ever heard of a zine, and thought it was just called a publication or perhaps a news magazine. It involved lots of work with paste-up boards and an old daisy-wheel printer, scamming interviews with interesting people, and convincing publishers to send me 'review copies' of books. What a life!

Eventually, the 'Awww, kid publishes magazine! How cute!' angle got some publicity and there were about 300 or so subscribers around the country. At its peak, I was asked to co-host an episode of The 700 Club, a well-known Christian news/talk show hosted by now-infamous Christian televangelist and political personality Pat Robertson. Pat wasn't there that day (alas -- I'd only be TWO degrees from Mr. Seko) but the results are still... curious.

Now, thanks to the wonder of Google Video, you can witness it, too. Hilights include me with a scarily fluffy mullet, news clips about Michael Gorbachev's new vice president, the awkward interrogation of a black child on live television, and The World's Most Morbid Interview Ever.

Bonus! For the truly curious, my childhood encounter with bodybuilder Jake Steinfield. Don't Quit!

EDIT: Where Are They Now links for Rachel Saunders, Gabrielle Carmouche, and Sheila Walsh, my erstwhile cohosts.

Pat Robertson's recent comments about Hugo Chavez have bloggers buzzing and a lot of folks I know asking how such a wingnut got into a position of influence. It's seen, in many quarters, as a reflection on the inherent craziness of Christians that he would have any influence at all if he goes around demanding assassinations and so on.

I grew up in North American Protestant Subculture (NAPS, we'll call it), and while I don't like Robertson, I think the situation is a bit more complex. Not his statements -- they're manifestly un-Christian, in my opinion. Rather, the subculture in which he has a voice and the history of how he got there. For those friends baffled by it, I'll attempt a bit of backstory. I'll probably be updating and finessing it with more links to external resources, but for now it's a personal recollection of how Robertson has been presented and perceived in the Protestant subculture.  Continue reading...