Blog 3:16

December 1, 2004 10:50 AM

Rockin' Rollen Stewart, aka the clown wig wearing - John 3:16 sign sporting wingnut that is currently serving a prison sentence for holding a maid hostage at a Los Angeles hotel proclaiming that rapture was six days away, now has his own weblog via sending letters to his friend George. (via crabwalk - previous MeFi thread on Stewart here)
posted by Ufez Jones (15 comments total)

What a strange and delightful story. The first link is a feast of information-- who knew about Rollen's prolific 'stink bomb' phase?

Is it me, or does three life sentences seem a little excessive?
posted by footballrabi at 11:11 AM on December 1, 2004

'john 3:16' sucks ass
posted by three blind mice at 11:21 AM on December 1, 2004

The extraordinary sentence may have something to do with California "three strikes" laws.

Thanks for the link, Ufez Jones. That's really something else.
posted by Sidhedevil at 11:24 AM on December 1, 2004

Ever since Rollen faded from view, there's been a proliferation of non-bewigged John 3:16 guys at sporting events. Do they all come from one church or agency? I imagine they'd have a lot of volunteers, if only for the game tickets.

I suppose we also have Rollen to 'thank' for the proliferation of foam-finger team-color painted folk at games, too.
posted by jonmc at 11:34 AM on December 1, 2004

3 of the 4 postings urge people to send money (check or Paypal) to Rollen.
posted by tpl1212 at 11:40 AM on December 1, 2004

Actually, this predated the "Three Strikes" law. From what I remember, Mr. Stewart was offered a plea-bargain of something like five to ten years or some such, but he insisted on representing himself since the Rapture was imminent.

Cecil Adams has written about Mr. Stewart here, and here. Motorbooty magazine interviewed Stewart a few years back but I can't find it online. It's a good read, but I cringed when he said, "Now I have to live with prisoners who consider me a woman."
posted by fandango_matt at 11:41 AM on December 1, 2004

I also read a very similar article in Lumpen back in the early to mid 90s. Whenever I tell people about the downfall of Rollen people old enough to know give me that "No, really?" look. Now I can point them to a source. :)

Thanks Metafilter and Ufez Jones!
posted by infowar at 12:50 PM on December 1, 2004

A year before, Rollen was arrested for disturbing the public at The American Music Awards in L.A. after he tried to toss skunk sacs into the audience. Of this attempt, Rollen said he wanted to show the public that "God thinks this stinks."

I wonder what God thinks of his hostage taking?
posted by haqspan at 12:53 PM on December 1, 2004

Idea for a reality show: Mr. Stewart hooks up with a Prairie Muffin and joins the Full Quivver movement. Possible title: Everybody Loves Rollen.
posted by fandango_matt at 1:10 PM on December 1, 2004

It is true that the blog itself isn't much, but its mere existence astonishes me.
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:15 PM on December 1, 2004

Yeah, the blog's a bit sparse, but I've added it's feed to my BlogLines and anxiously await any non-begging thoughts from the man. Guess I'm just a bit perverse.
posted by Ufez Jones at 1:36 PM on December 1, 2004

The link to the film mentioned in the previous post no longer works (though you can get it here)... The film is on DVD now. The film is directed by the fellow who did The Weather Underground - Sam Green.
posted by Ashwagandha at 2:00 PM on December 1, 2004

I was just about to post a link to that film on this page--it's got what appear to be some interesting independent documentaries.
posted by fandango_matt at 2:37 PM on December 1, 2004

The 3.7-meg trailer for that Rainbow Man DVD. It's also available on Netflix, FYI.
posted by crabwalk at 3:03 PM on December 1, 2004

I've seen the film and it's an interesting watch (if a bit too much by the numbers and overly relying on news footage).

The end credits are a bit disturbing (merely disturbing if Rollen did it spontaneously, very disturbing if the director egged him on), featuring Rollen (in prison) doing his Rainbow Man schtick while shouting things like "Praise Jesus", etc.
posted by filmgoerjuan at 3:07 PM on December 1, 2004