Gone With the Wind

Did you hear about the priest who tried to set a record for balloon powered flight? This might come as a huge surprise to you: He’s missing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7360416.stm

When I first heard about the incident I figured it was some sort of fund raising stunt to feed the poor. That would have been noble albeit dangerous. But apparently there was no fund raising involved. The priest just wanted to hold the record for balloon riding.

This got me wondering what sort or world record attempt by a priest would piss off God the most. From The Almighty’s perspective, any diversion from the core mission of saving souls is probably time poorly spent. But some types of record attempts have to be worse than others. For example, you don’t want to see your priest winning any kind of pie eating contest. And you don’t want a man of the cloth to hold any titles involving nudity, tequila, or self-gratification, just to name a few. The best a priest could hope for in those cases is that God is busy and doesn’t notice.

But a balloon ride, way up there next to heaven? That’s total smite bait.

Comments

[Steve]

C'mon Scott you can do better! How about "Ascension" or "Nearer my God to be" LOL.

From what I read, this is not the priests first attempt, apparently he is is an accomplished sky diver, which means he has tried "Knock Knock Knockin on heavens door" previously and been sent back down!

I can see Wally doing something similar!

[Michael]

I'm sure I'm not the first to realize this one:

"He was trying to raise funds to provide a rest stop for lorry drivers in Paranagua, a major port for agricultural products."

Taken straight from the link you provided.

[Sandy]

Did you hear by the teen repeller device being sold to drive away loiters?

Check out - http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/23/teen.be.gone.ap/index.html

You may download an mp3 from below (if you feel like annoying a kid :P)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5434687

[Mattyboy]

(from the article)

"He was trying to raise funds to provide a rest stop for lorry drivers in Paranagua, a major port for agricultural products"

Nope, no sort of fund raising there; just, you know, the raising of funds.

[burt]

you said that this wasnt a fundraiser... in the article it says other wise. i know a rest stop for truckers sounds unimportant, but im not familiar with the situation there and it may after all be important. Do you alwyas report unaccuratly on articles you have read? i wouldnt know ofr this is my first time reading one.

Im only pulling your leg mr adams, i love your blog

keep up the good work

burt (never misquotes anything at all) trub

[Goober]

Just an FYI: The new Dilbert.com is making people re-register to keep getting the daily strips... but won't accept email addresses with hyphens in them as "valid" addresses. Can you maybe check into that?

Thanks!

[Tarun]

This is what a balloon ride to heaven would be like.

[Tarun]

Hehe Funny...

BTW Mr Scott, I had emailed asking you about your opinion on H1Bs in America.

Asok I believe is an H1B holder.

http://www.techbanyan.com/archives/274

[Yurk Yurk]

Please revert dilbert.com to the old version. Everybody hates the new one. Everybody.

[mike]

to gauge gods reaction let's start with some assumptions. Judging from his earthly form hes a bit of a loafer, he wore sandals and loose clothes and talked alot about peace, we all know the type. Plus, he didn't put up much of a fight while being killed.
Second, he rules with an iron fist, for all intents and purposes my lack of belief sets me in a path to go to a bad place.

With these assumptions we can assume the guy has a bit of an ego, so if it was his doing that sent this priest to his end he'd want people to know about it. You can't buy PR like that.

You also have to take into account that this priest nominated himself for a Darwin award. A man of the cloth helping the competition would cause major damage to his rep, so he'd really like to let us know the smitng was his work.

[Bloodboiler]

I wonder if they considered other stunts. Did they think about putting the priest on roller skates that have firework rockets tied to them and releasing him on a highway so he could try to catch a really fast running bird? Or what about shooting the priest from a cannon? Was having a hunter shoot him in the face considered, but abandoned because it could have unfortunate diplomatic interpretations?

Was it a choice between classic Warner Brothers cartoon and more contemporary animation culture? Did they even try to find a yellow -vaguely rodent like- battle monster to fight with the priest?

[Howard]

Personally, I think a priest entering a hot dog eating contest is worse than the pie eating.

[mike]

well you have to figure a god who is willing to smite for that kind of showboating would have some sort of ego himself. So if he was to smite this guy he'd at least let people find the body. Really show people an entity of your stature won't tolerate such acts, you can't buy that kind of PR.

He'd also want to let people know itvwas his work because a man of the cloth going out in Darwin award style is bad for his rep.

[Larry]

Looks like the Darwin awards have a new winner! Although I think the priest wouldn't be the first balloon-flying Darwinist.

[Bob]

That is a funny story Scott. I knew about Lawn Chair Larry, who did the balloon thing in his lawnchair, but this beats it. It makes it even funnier that it is a priest, who'd a thunk it.

[Fern]

So when the Pope flies does he fly low at a polite distance or maximize cruise altitude for better reception?

[Bob]

That is a funny story Scott. I knew about Lawn Chair Larry, who did the balloon thing in his lawnchair, but this beats it. It makes it even funnier that it is a priest, who'd a thunk it.

[Noon]

Also, Maybe they changed the story since you first read it (they do that a lot on the BBC) but now it's saying that he was raising funds for a rest stop for lorry drivers. They were probably part of his flock and not that rich so, you know, prayers or best wishes for Father Carli safe return are probably in order.

[Scott (no, not that one)]

There was fundraising involved according to the article you linked. Perhaps they updated it since the original post?

[Noon]

Any priest who hold records involving wine tasting must always be walking a fine line.

Jesus: Take this each of you and drink. This is my blood which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Priest: Hmmm. Seems fairly sweet at first, but with a sharp wooden finish and a surprising aftertaste that's incredibly nutty. I'm gonna a say its Cote du Galilee 00 AD, right?

Jesus couldn't prove anything, but he'd have his eye on you afterwards.

[Lord Foul]

Yeah, or what was it with the priest who stated firmly "Humans can´t and will never be able to fly."? (Not a citation.)

Shortly after the Wrights invented motorflight. Somehow God seems to often get really pissed by presumptuous statements as above and promptly strikes back. "Hah! Humans can´t fly? Now take THAT!, you little jerk-priest!"

(I hope I recalled that little anecdote correctly, I couldn´t even remember the name of the priest. It maybe could even have been a bishop, as far as I know...)

with fine regards,

Lord Foul

[daniel bullen]

is it deliberate that there is no mention in your blog of the new dilbert.com format or the comments it is getting?

in the past the blog has commented on the strip and how it has appeared in newspapers, the "censorship" it has been subject to and the reactions it gets... now, with a veritable firestorm of feedback from readers and/or fans there is no mention at all of the strip...?

[MacFeagle]

I'm puzzled. The article mentions a fund raising motive so why do you say there wasn't one? Or do truckers not count as a charitable cause?

[obiDonWan]

well, yet again...your own bias has shaded your ability to do straight reportage. But that's why you're a cartoonist instead of a journalist.

he was trying to raise money for a worthwhile thingy, it wasn't just ego satisfaction as you interpret his motive.

[Meh]

Meh. Weak, just like the new Dilbert website ;P