Andrew Keegan and friend | Photo by AppleDots via Flickr (http://bit.ly/1BKOQlz)
I’m a little behind on the news cycle these days. The last few weeks have been full of travel and a cold and other delights, so you may have already heard about the fact that Andrew Keegan started a new religion. You probably haven’t, because who keeps track of Andrew Keegan these days, and what new religions are there left to start? People already worship Kanye, Beyonce, and Prince Philip. What more is out there?
Apparently, Full Circle. From the looks of it, FC appears to be a crowd of good-looking people dressed in white jumping off stairs in Southern California’s Venice Beach. But they’re more than just a group of friends looking for a good time on the surf. They’re responding to a few events, per Keegan’s interview with Vice. Here’s a timeline:
March 11, 2011: Tohoku earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. In Venice Beach, Keegan and two of his friends are assaulted by “what he describes as gang members.” This reminds Keegan of the synchronicity of all things.
Later: “I had a moment where I was looking at a street lamp and it exploded. That was a weird coincidence.”
Later still: “At a ceremony, a heart-shaped rose quartz crystal was on the altar, and synchronistically, this whole thing happened. It’s a long story, but basically the crystal jumped off the altar and skipped on camera. That was weird.”
Joey “Eat Me” Donner has moved up in life, from convertible-driving party boy to guru extraordinaire. They “Why Are We Here” section of Full Circle’s website indicates that they’re ready to take on pretty much all of the world’s ills, from environmental destruction to consumerism to all forms of war. The rest of the staff are attractive, mostly young, all white folks who have titles like Social Media Strategist and Music Liaison, and their board of advisors features a parrot and a dog.
This has the potential to look like a parody of a celebrity founding a religion, but it is, in fact, just another celebrity founding a religion. And if it’s going to bring some actual peace into the world, I won’t knock it–but I am guessing, and will eat my shoe if I am wrong, that what Full Circle will mostly do is bring a bunch of like-minded friends together in a neo-hippie gathering in a beautiful setting where they can share with each other how great they already are.
But what I can’t shake in all of this is the image of Keegan in a white shirt. All I can think of is this scene from 10 Things I Hate About You, and wonder if Keegan’s fate isn’t exactly the same as his movie counterpart’s:
Joey: [holding up headshots] Which one do you like better?
Bianca: Umm, I think I like the white shirt better.
Joey: Yeah, it’s-it’s more…
Bianca: Pensive?
Joey: Damn, I was going for thoughtful.