Back in 2003, Violinsanity, PC, Trogg and I attended a meeting of Raelians in the Memorial Union on the campus of the University of Wisconsin Madison. They had recently announced a successful attempt at cloning a human being, a claim which they refused to verify at the time, and which later, of course, turned out to be fraudulent. They handed out misprinted literature containing a particular Elmer Fuddism which led us to begin referring to them as Waewians. Of course, we kept an open mind, that is, until it became clear that we were in a room equally divided between true believers and real people, and that we were being proselytized by two "scienticians" who I nicknamed Mein Kampf and Dr. Frog. I've always been very politically correct that way. At the beginning of this "event," I put my email address on their list, because I like to keep track of what the nutcases are up to.
Here's what they're up to, for your edification:
Dear Friends,
My name is Larry and I am a Raelian in Chicago Heights, IL. On August 6, we will be celebrating our Raelian New Year. We celebrate August 6 as our New Year because it was on this day in 1945 that the nuclear weapon "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima by the crew of the American vessel "Enola Gay". This event defined a New Era for Humanity. It signified that Mankind had reached a crossroads where we could possibly destroy ourselves; or use this technology to enter a "Golden Age" of enlightenment and technological advancement. This day also marked the day that our Creators, The Elohim, made the decision to send us our last Messenger, Rael. Because of the historical significance of this event to humanity, it denotes the beginning of our Raelian Calendar. This year we will be entering the year 62AH (after Hiroshima).
The celebration will take place at CAFE IBERICO located at 737 North LaSalle Street in Chicago starting at 6:30 PM. It will be filled with fun and laughter. We hope that you will be able to join us there.
Love,
Larry
I'm not going to go overboard picking on Larry and his ilk, because A) I signed up for these emails, so I deserve what I get, and B) I don't have to. Larry does a damn fine job of telling you everything you need to know. I will say this: In the picture above and on dude's website, Rael's ship, except for the way the ramp comes out, looks exactly like Klaatu's in The Day The Earth Stood Still.