Grand Lodge of Rhode Island Temple Rededication This Saturday

 

  by Christopher Hodapp

A really good, effective interview on local TV news yesterday with MW Andre H. Faria, Jr., Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Rhode Island. They're rededicating the cornerstone of the East Providence, RI Masonic Temple and Grand Lodge headquarters on its 100th anniversary this weekend.

The rededication ceremony is open to Freemasons and the general public, and will begin at this Saturday, October 26th, at 10AM with a procession from Haven Methodist Church to the Grand Lodge at 222 Taunton Avenue in East Providence.

From the event webpage:

The magnificent Temple was built in 1924 for Rising Sun Lodge No. 30 and was designed by renowned architect William Gilbert Upham of Norwood, Ma. Who was a member of Orient Lodge and specialized in the design of Masonic Temples.

 

The original Cornerstone was laid on October 25, 1924, by the Most Worshipful Grand Master, Henry C. Dexter and it was rededicated in 1992 when Grand Lodge took ownership of the property.

Grand Master Faria managed to land a 4-minute appearance yesterday on the morning program 'Rhode Show' on WPRI-TV12 to promote the event and the fraternity. If you want a lesson in being smooth and concise on the air, give this clip a look. If you're a grand master or local WM who gets a call one afternoon to speak on-air about the fraternity, know your limitations and strengths. And if you don't feel or sound as confident as GM Faria does here, assign someone to take your place who does. 

GL of California Continues Its #ImAMason Hashtag Campaign

by Christopher Hodapp

Last July, the Grand Lodge of California created what became a popular social media campaign centered around the hashtag #ImAMason. The strategy was simple: create a written or video message to post on Facebook or Instagram (or both) briefly telling your friends and online followers and subscribers just why it is that you are a Freemason. The goal was to reach as many people as possible to explain what the fraternity is, what we do, what we teach our members, and why it's still important to society after more than 300 years of fostering friendship and true brotherhood among good men all over the world who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance. Most of all, it was a chance to explain to your family and friends just why Freemasonry is important to YOU.

The campaign worked like gangbusters: more than 2.3 million people worldwide were reached by these messages. And Masons all over the world took part in crafting their own #ImAMason messages, not just those brethren in California. 

Photo: Grand Lodge of California

It was so successful that the Grand Lodge of California is asking Masons everywhere to do it once again this year. Between July 10th and the 21st, Masons who are comfortable doing so are asked to record a video, take a selfie, or write a post on Facebook or Instagram that explains what they get out of their Masonic membership, and to include the hashtag #ImAMason. (Adding the hashtag will enable them to compile the posts and easily share them online far and wide.)

From their announcement:

"By showing the people around us that they already know a Freemason—even if they didn’t know it—we can help to demystify Masonry in general, and maybe encourage someone who’s curious about it to reach out. Imagine: That second cousin you’re connected with on Facebook who doesn’t know how much your lodge means to you. Or a coworker who’s always been intrigued by Masonry but never known where to begin with it. Our hope is That those people will see these posts and decide to learn more. 

 

"So please join us in this effort. Tell your story of why #ImAMason. Together, we can help build on the effort to increase positive public awareness and drive the future of the fraternity.

[snip]

"We need to encourage members to talk about Freemasonry and what they get out of it with the people around them. We need to remind them that they’re allowed to talk about Freemasonry without fear of breaking any rules. (This tends to be a misinterpretation of a rule against soliciting membership, which is different than talking about Freemasonry in general, discussing what you get out of it, or describing what happens in a Masonic lodge.) And we need to give them tools that help them talk about Freemasonry and answer people’s questions.

"That’s what the #ImAMason campaign is all about. Don’t know what to say? DOWNLOAD OUR NEW BOOKLET, titled Opening the Door, for some helpful and simple answers to common questions about Freemasonry. Or check out our brand-new webpage, WHAT IS FREEMASONRY, meant to give newcomers a basic sense of things. These are a starting point to help members discuss the fraternity in general and how it works. But the best explanations will come from real members discussing the real things they get out of it."

If you don't happen to be a Freemason but are interested in joining or finding out more, either do an online Google search for "Grand+Lodge+Freemasons+(Your State or Country)," or visit the BeAFreemason.org website for more information and to begin the process of connecting to a Masonic lodge in your area.

Calling all Masonic Artists: Pennsylvania's Grand Exhibition Art Competition

Masonic artist Ryan J. Flynn

by Christopher Hodapp

Calling all Masonic artists! The Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania is sponsoring the Grand Exhibition Art Competition: Embodying Masonic Values.

According to the Call For Entries posted in May, all artwork entries must display a visual interpretation of some aspect of Freemasonry in Pennsylvania, whether it be philosophical, historical, scientific, social, fraternal, charitable, architectural, etc. Selected artwork will be exhibited in the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia.

This competition is open to any artist over 18 years of age, and membership in the Masonic fraternity is not required. Deadline for submissions is August 11, 2022.

Criteria
All artwork entries must display a visual interpretation of some aspect of Freemasonry in Pennsylvania, whether it be philosophical, historical, scientific, social, fraternal, charitable, architectural, etc. Selected artwork will be exhibited in the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia.

Eligibility
Any amateur or professional artist or college art student may enter, but all will be judged as equals for competition purposes. Artists must be at least 18 years of age. All submissions must be original; they may have been created within the past two years and may have been previously exhibited. No work previously produced on a commission will be accepted. All submissions must be available for purchase.

Categories
Oil, Three-dimensional, Drawing and Print-making, Water-Based Medium, Digital Imagery

Awards

• $200 Prize per winner, per category
• $500 Grand Master’s Prize
• $1,000 Best in Show Prize

Entrance Fee
First entry: $25
Second and Third Entry: $10
(Limit of 3 entries per artist)

Auction
If the artists in the Grand Exhibition choose to participate, their entered works may be auctioned off at the Exhibition Gala, with 80% of the auction value going to them and 20% to The Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania. The artist may set a reserve price, as well as a direct purchase price for the original work to be revealed AFTER the auction.

Jurors
Brother Travis Simpkins, Artist
John McDaniel, Artist
Elaine Erne, Artist/Teacher

Entry Deadline

Thursday, August 11, 2022 by midnight, E.D.T. Submissions must be made online through https://artist.callforentry.org

Opening Reception

The Grand Exhibition Gala will be held at the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia on Friday, October 7th, featuring a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception, live music, announcement of winners and a silent auction of selected artwork.

Public Exhibition

The Grand Exhibition will be open to the public for viewing starting on Tuesday, October 11, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Tuesdays – Saturdays, until November 12th. The exhibit will be at the Masonic Temple, One N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107-2598.

For more information CLICK HERE.

The Freemasons of TikTok

by Christopher Hodapp

UPDATED May 28, 5:00AM: This story has been corrected. I mistakenly said that Tyler McKenzie is from Texas. He is actually a Mason in New Mexico.

Interesting article this week on the Input Magazine site about Freemasons using TikTok to counter hysterical conspiracy theories and other misinformation about the fraternity. The article "TikTok’s Freemasons are battling the haters and conspiracy theorists" by Jessica Lucas highlights Brothers Tyler McKenzie from New Mexico ("@harp.o.crates"), Zak Wyatt from Texas ("@brotherfluffmm"), and Aidan Mattis from Pennsylvania ("@theaidenmattis"). 

If you're over the age of 40, you've probably only heard of TikTok's reputation as a social media phenomenon favored by teenaged girls, dance party ravers, and Chinese intelligence services, along with its perpetuation of stunts, tricks, giggly kids making goofy faces, and viral "challenges" ("Take the Best Braless TikTok Girlz Dance Challenge!" or "Does This Make My Butt Look Big? Challenge"). Indeed, their most recent demographics show that 41% of all users are between 16 and 24. Appealing to short attention spans through brevity is the name of the game on nearly all social media these days: think of Twitter's original 64 character limit or the rise of the text message acronym 'TL;DR' ("Too Long; Didn't Read" - I get a lot of those reactions to my posts). Instead of typing out messages, TikTok is all video-based, and users create short video snippets between 15 seconds (!) and 10 minutes long.

We used to call that "Short Attention Span Theatre."

Deride it if you like, but TikTok has over 100 million regular users in the U.S. alone, and another 23 million in the U.K. And in what is inevitably the next step in attention deficit communication, the use of TikTok videos to replace written employment resumés for job seekers is beginning to gather momentum (which will of course lead to HR managers' making snap visceral reactions: "Ugh! Lookit that guy's SHIRT! Gross! Don't hire HIM!"). 

Anyhow, the brethren cited in the article are TikTok warriors fighting the enormous pile of anti-Masonic screeds that appear on the service day in and day out.

“There’s so much negativity about Freemasonry, and conspiracists on TikTok are nonstop. I figured if we’re going to be on here to teach about Freemasonry, we need to be as calm and correct as possible,” says McKenzie. . .

[snip]

Ultimately, TikTok Freemasons stand steadfastly behind their organization of choice — and think their videos are changing things for the better. “There’s always going to be the negative person. The troll. The hater. But I honestly think we’ve overcome it now,” says McKenzie. “If you went on TikTok a year ago and you typed in Freemasonry, you would find nothing but conspiracy theories.

“But now, you’ll find this fuzzy face and a whole bunch of other brothers that are ready and willing to give you light, truth, and knowledge,” says the impressively bearded McKenzie. “It’s brought so many to Masonry, and I think that it’s going to help us grow.”

These brethren have a big job to counteract the anti-Masonic stuff that litters TikTok. For every one of their positive messages there are dozens of the "Lookit all the sooper secret Illuminati Mason symbols hiding in plain sight!" imbeciles.

Read the whole article HERE.

Meanwhile, from the Stray Ferret website in Britain:

In an effort to bring the fraternity into the modern era and attract younger members, Freemasons in Yorkshire are attempting to become TikTok famous.

The Province of Yorkshire West Riding has posted two videos on its new account – @wrfreemasons – including a take on the staircase scene from Titanic, set to Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On. CLICK HERE.

UPDATE:

When I circulated this story on Facebook, Zackery Wyatt provided the following figures about a video post: 

"Almost 2,500 viewers tonight, and at least 50 men asked how to find a lodge. Will they petition? Maybe, maybe not, but the first step was definitely made."

Pretty impressive reach for a single post in a very short time.

NBC/Peacock Announces Cancellation of Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol'

by Christopher Hodapp

NBC's Peacock streaming network has announced that there will only be the single season of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol that has already aired. The 10-episode series aired between September and November 2021, and there are no plans for future episodes.

Based on Brown's 2009 blockbuster Masonic-themed novel, The Lost Symbol starred Ashley Zukerman as symbologist Robert Langdon, along with Valorie Curry (“Blair Witch”), Sumalee Montano (“10 Cloverfield Lane”), Rick Gonzalez (“Arrow”), Beau Knapp (“Seven Seconds”), and actor and comedian Eddie Izzard as Peter Solomon.

According to the announcement in Variety on Monday, "Peacock and producers believed that the series adaptation of the book told the complete story of the source material." The completed series will continue to be offered to subscribers on the Peacock streaming platform.

The creative team for the series made an early decision to modify much of the Masonic content of Brown's original novel and invent a super-secret level of Freemasons within the fraternity (called 'Leviathan') in order to free the show from having to stick to known facts, symbolism and practices of Masonry. And I was told a major consideration of the producers was their legal departments' advice to not show the square and compass in order to avoid any possibility of being sued for copyright or trademark infringement by the fraternity. (I'm only reporting it.) 

Apparently the Peacock advertising department never got that memo...

The so-called "Leviathan cross" depicted in the show is actually the alchemical symbol for sulphur (also for volcanic brimstone), and series creators invented the fictional group as a special collection of powerful, select, brainy, unseen Masonic masters who protect the really secret secrets to life, the universe and everything.

The Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction created an eleven-part YouTube series that acts as a Masonic viewers' guide to the Lost Symbol program. Hosted by Brother Maynard Edwards, ° KCCH, the multi-part program, Symbols & Secrets, explores and explains the symbols, terminology and accuracy of The Lost Symbol. As the program explains, this is NOT a Masonic symbol. 

Eddie Izzard Cast As Illus. Peter Solomon 33° in Upcoming 'Langdon' TV Series

by Christopher Hodapp

More casting news is trickling in about NBC's upcoming TV series Langdon, based on Dan Brown's Masonic-themed novel, The Lost Symbol. The Deadline website is reporting that actor/comedian Eddie Izzard (Six Minutes To Midnight) and Valorie Curry (The Tick) and are set to star opposite Ashley Zukerman's Robert Langdon.

Eddie Izzard has been cast as Peter Solomon, Director of the Smithsonian, billionaire philanthropist, and Robert Langdon's mentor at Harvard. Peter Solomon's character in the novel is also a 33rd degree Scottish Rite Mason and Masonic scholar. Frankly, this is a stroke of casting genius, as Peter Solomon (in the book, anyway) has a fine sense of humor, a thorough understanding of history, philosophy and theology, and it is through him that the best explanations and messages about Freemasonry ultimately unspool.

Eddie Izzard as 'Bertie,' Prince Albert Edward, son of Queen Victoria
in 'Victoria and Abdul'

If you only know the 58-year-old Izzard from his standup comedy material about being a transvestite and an atheist, you might be alarmed by this development. Frankly, his casting may give some Masons a case of the vapours. But if you've seen his dramatic performances (why do all comics want to be serious actors?), you know he's ideal for the part. He once said in an interview,

“I have noticed a reluctance in earlier years to know exactly where to start with research. Maybe it’s a laziness or lack of confidence about which way to go into it... The obvious thing that came into my head, or that I realized, was the better you researched it – the better you are into the character before you land on the set, the easier it’s going to be. You’re just going to be fully formed, I mean, obviously Daniel Day-Lewis does this to a huge extent, and that’s what I want to do, that’s the direction I want to head to, so that when I’m there, getting to the set, I know where I am, rather than a week into it, getting the hang of it."

The other announcement was that actress Valorie Curry will play Katherine Solomon, Peter Solomon's sister and the scientist conducting experiments on Noetics. You might know Curry as 'Dot Everest' in The Tick or Kelsey in Showtime's House of Lies.

The Deadline website is also reporting that NBC has firmly committed to actually start shooting the Langdon series later this year (the COVID pandemic shutdowns placed many shows slated for Fall in question).

Brown's The Lost Symbol novel — the sequel to The Da Vinci Code — was a 500+ page love letter to our fraternity, so I look forward to seeing how Hollywood treats us. I'm not dumb enough to think the fraternity will get an entirely fair treatment. In the most commonly used Masonic ritual in the U.S., we teach the lesson of Jacob's Ladder, and stress that Faith, Hope and Charity are its three principal rungs. 'Faith is lost in sight' - I have little faith that Hollywood can tell a Masonic story without screwing it up, based on having seen countless earlier examples. 'Hope ends in fruition' - so this project will hopefully not stink. But 'the greatest of these is Charity,' so I shall remain charitable until proved otherwise. 

For previous news about the Langdon series:

• New NBC TV Series Will Feature Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol' At Last
• New Robert Langdon For NBC's 'Lost Symbol'-based TV Series
• Masons and the Media: 'Langdon' and 'National Treasure' Updates

---

Masons and the Media: 'Langdon' and 'National Treasure' Updates

by Christopher Hodapp

It's almost like the heady days of 2004 all over again, with both Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code sequel The Lost Symbol AND National Treasure back in the media news. 

As reported over the last several months, NBC is adapting Dan Brown's novel The Lost Symbol as a TV series for the fall season (although heaven only knows how the COVID shutdown will affect production schedules). The six-year delay in the original book release helped to set off a flurry of Masonic-related books and TV documentaries in the mid-to late 2000s, and the novel turned out to be a 500+ page love letter to the fraternity. Masons everywhere hoped it would be made into a full-length, big-budget Tom Hanks feature after The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, but were disappointed when Sony Pictures skipped it over to film Inferno instead. 

Now The Lost Symbol is being resurrected as a TV series instead, re-framing the story around a younger, freshly-graduated Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and set as a prequel to the first three films. 

The new series is entitled Langdon, and American-born Australian actor Ashley Zukerman (who recently played Nate Sofrelli on HBO's Succession) takes on the title role.

Producer Ron Howard's Imagine Television and NBC have brought in Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie to write the script for the pilot film. The two writing partners created ABC's The Crossing, and most recently served as consulting producers on Star Trek: Discovery and American Horror Story. Past credits also include the Scream TV series, Revenge, Scorpion, Criminal Minds and Netflix's new teen adventure drama Outer Banks.

The Primetimer.com website somehow obtained a copy of the Dworkin/Beattie synopsis of the pilot episode for Langdon and posted it on their website yesterday. It reads, in part:

We open on shots of bazaars, mosques and ancient ruins. We're in Turkey, where we ultimately settle on the Patnos prison, an aged facilty surrounded by the high moutains of what used to be Armenia. In the yard, we focus on a chain with a guard pulling at one end, and an American inmate on the other. Meet ZACHARY SOLOMON (25), skinny, dirty and scared. A second guard approaches with a thin wooden cane. He smashes it hard on Zachary's feet. Other inmates are watching the spectacle, apparently learning a lesson. Zachary has tried to escape. As the camera pans over the cell windows, we push in through the bars of one, where an inmate seems to be in some sort of trance, not bothered by the sounds of despair outside. As the camera rises, it's revealed that he's seated upon a symbol drawn in ash on the floor. It's a TRISKELION. Then we hear ROBERT LANGDON (33) in voice over.

He's in Harvard, teaching. He's a bit cocky, but his students seem to love him. His class is about symbolism, as all sorts of symbols of the past and present appear on a screen behind him. He explains how what was relevant then is revelant now, and how people on the internet sometimes use these symbols to push an agenda, creating fake news and conspiracy theories. He says we have a responsibilty to distinguish fact from fiction. Later that day, Langdon is in a bar with a fellow professor, STAN. His phone vibrates with a text from PETER SOLOMON (50) who asks him to call him back ASAP. Peter is the director of the Smithsonian, and Langdon's mentor. Outside, he makes the call, and it's Peter's assistant who answers. He says Peter needs Langdon's help in D.C. right now.

The next day, as he settles into Peter's private jet, Langdon calls KATHERINE SOLOMON, Peter's sister. She's in Cambodia, in a Buddhist Temple. She's surprised by the call and doesn"t know anything about what's happening with her brother. What Langdon really wants to know is if she's available for dinner. There's history here. But she can't, she's buried in an important project. Once in Washington D.C., Langdon has a sweet memory that's shared with us in flashback. It's three years earlier and he's at Princeton, defending his thesis to a room full of faculty heads, including Peter. As Langdon arrives at the Capitol Building, he quickly realizes the hall where a gala is supposed to be happening is empty. That's where he was supposed to meet Peter. A JANITOR confirms no such event was scheduled that day. Langdon reaches to his phone to call Peter and it's his assistant's voice again on the other end of the line. But his tone is different now. Turns out it's not his assistant, it's someone who calls himself MAL'AKH. He tells him Peter is not here, he's in Araf, which means Purgatory.

Not far from Langdon, a family of visitors are wandering. One child seems to be bored... until he stumbles upon a HAND. His mom's face fills with terror as she sees it too. Meanwhile, Mal'akh tells Langdon he has to find an ancient portal in the city and unlock it. Only then Peter will returned from the in-between realm. Click. The line goes dead. Langdon wonders if it's a joke. He takes notice of a chaotic crowd that has gathered around what is now fully revealed to us as a severed hand propped up on a wooden base, with three fingers curled down and index finger pointing up. There are tattoos on the fingertips, and a ring on the middle-finger. Langdon knows exactly what it means...

If you read the novel, you can already see it's sticking fairly close to the source, but you can expect more deviations as it progresses. The book had some major problematic visual plot points that won't transfer well to film, but it seems that the core of the story will be the same. If so, chances are pretty good that the Masons will still come off well. Let's hope so. NBC and producers need to bear in mind that the guaranteed worldwide Masonic audience (and swath of potential cheerleaders) for Langdon runs into the millions. The Scottish Rite NMJ's recent in-depth surveys show that most of the population in the U.S. has a very positive image of the Masons. It would be foolish to disappoint us or treat us badly onscreen in order to satisfy the juvenile conspiracy theory/world takeover/Masons are Satanic/alien abduction crowd. Dan Brown didn't go that way, so let's hope NBC doesn't, either.

No word yet as to whether producers have contacted the Scottish Rite SJ's House of the Temple to ask where to park the grip trucks, catering vans and honey wagons. While everyone waits, I'll shamelessly hurl out a reminder that I wrote an entire Masonic guidebook to The Lost Symbol back in 2009 when the novel was released. Check out Deciphering the Lost Symbol.

*   *   *  

Meanwhile, as reported here last November, Jerry Bruckheimer's production company is hard at work on new National Treasure projects for the Mouse House. That's plural now.
 
The first two National Treasure movies, premiering in 2004 and 2007, starred Nicolas Cage as historian and treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates and made a surprisingly tidy fortune for Disney. According to another piece on the Primetimer.com website, not only is a third NT film now in the works, but so is a separate Disney+ streaming TV series with a different cast. 

"We’re certainly working on one (National Treasure) for streaming and we’re working on one for the big screen," says Bruckheimer. "Hopefully, they’ll both come together and we’ll bring you another National Treasure, but they’re both very active….The one for Disney+ is a much younger cast. It’s the same concept but a young cast. The one for theatrical would be the same cast.”

Take all that for what it's worth, which sounds more like ballyhoo and hot air than definite deals. No casts, no dates, no scripts. Not yet, anyway. But if either or both do come off, the  first NT film was noteworthy for its day by being among the first to treat the Masons as the good guys instead of bald-headed, cat-stroking super-villains. It would be nice if they picked up that thread again.

In any case, it sounds like Hollywood is interested in Freemasons again, for a little while anyway. Heck - the History Channel has even been re-running Book of Secrets from 2012 with Alice and me yakking about the Freemasons for the past month. 

We live forever youthful in reruns.

All of this new bit of Masonic-related showbiz development doesn't happen in a vacuum. These stories started popping up last summer in the wake of success of AMC's Lodge 49 and the Hulu airing of the Sky TV series Inside the Freemasons. One thing Hollywood is filled with are band wagoneers who are terrified to go first with a new idea, but fall all over themselves in a rush to capitalize on territory someone else staked out ahead of them. The announcement of the Langdon project in late 2018 directly led to a sudden interest in another National Treasure project. That makes the irony of the connection between these two projects come full circle just as it did in 2004, and once again set up another competition to see who gets their 'Masonic' project onscreen first.

Meanwhile, if Knights Templars are your thing, History's planned third season of Knightfall  has just been axed as of yesterday. The last episode of season two aired nearly a year ago, and the viewership of 625,000 was down almost 50% from the first season, even with Mark Hamill on board. Knightfall was History‘s lowest-rated series, so you York Rite guys just weren't loyal enough I guess. 

Shoulda made them all Masons and put them in Rosslyn Chapel...

Masons On the Wireless: 'The Man Who Would be King' from 1947

Driving home through South Dakota and Idaho on our long road trip, Sirius Radio's Radio Classics aired an old episode of 'Escape' tonight featuring Rudyard Kipling's The Man Who Would be King. 

It first aired on CBS Radio 72 years ago, July 7, 1947.

It actually did a pretty fair job of telling the whole story in 30 minutes, complete with the important Masonic references in the adventure tale. ("They all be Fellow Crafts!"). It was adapted by the veteran radio writer, Les Crutchfield, and featured Raymond Lawrence as Peachy, Eric Snowden as Daniel, and Herbert Rawlinson as Kipling.

This classic adventure story about a pair of ambitious rogues whose Masonic membership plays such an important role in far off Kafiristan was eventually made into an outstanding motion picture in 1975 by director John Huston, starring Sean Connery as Daniel, Michael Caine as Peachy, and Christopher Plummer as Kipling. If you've never seen it, stop whatever you're doing right now and go bookmark it to watch tonight on Amazon or your favorite movie provider.

Australian TV: Whatever happened to the Freemasons?

The Australian Broadcasting Company's news program "Compass" will air a show this Sunday on ABC-1, "Whatever happened to the Freemasons?" about the past and future of Freemasonry Down Under.

From the ABC website:

Whatever happened to... the Freemasons
Compass delves behind the aprons and funny handshakes to find out how Australian Freemasons are reinventing themselves to survive in the 21st Century.

Freemasons arrived in Australia with the First Fleet and up until quite recently were shrouded in secrecy and strictly maintained traditions. Freemasonry is not a religion, although in its heyday most Freemasons were either Protestants or Jews. Catholics were forbidden by their church from joining. Now, faced with declining membership the Masons have had to relax some of their rules and reinvent themselves. So, what does this silent band of brothers actually do? Are they even viable anymore? If so, who belongs and why?

A preview of the show can be seen here.

A radio interview with the Grand Master of Victoria, MWBro. Vaughan Werner can be heard here.

They lose 10 points in my book for the use of the hackneyed "funny handshake" meme.

X-Oriente Masonic Internet Radio Returns

Brother Eric Diamond's X-Oriente Masonic internet radio program has been off the air for a while. He reports that he's been sidetracked by full-time double major graduate school, but he says three new episodes are in the pipeline.

Episode 39 is now up on the website. It kicks off a multi-episode look at the basics of Kabbalah and how it intersects with Freemasonry, from a very traditional perspective, with lots of Hebrew and lots of context.

Glad you're back, Eric.

Ken Follett's 'Pillars Of The Earth" Miniseries Premieres Friday

Freemasons take note: the story of medieval operative stonemasons constructing a cathedral comes to life in STARZ' new miniseries "Pillars Of The Earth", from the acclaimed Ken Follett novel.


From the STARZ website:

This epic tale of passion and greed begins when a mysterious secret disrupts the succession to the English crown and an unlikely member of King Henry’s family takes the throne. A power struggle between Henry’s daughter, Maud, and nephew, Stephen, causes England to be torn by war as battles rage for the rightful heir. Meanwhile, Bishop Waleran Bigod and the Hamleigh family manipulate the conflict to satisfy their own ruthless ambitions. Within this tumultuous setting, Prior Philip fights insurmountable obstacles to keep Kingsbridge and his dream of building a magnificent cathedral alive. The task is daunting, but master-mason Tom Builder, his gifted stepson, Jack, and noblewoman Aliena work together to achieve their dreams. And in the process, the long-hidden secret is revealed.

Premiering July 23, The Pillars of the Earth will be the epic event of the summer. Starring Ian McShane (“Deadwood”) as Waleran Bigod, Rufus Sewell (The Holiday) as Tom Builder, Matthew Macfadyen (Frost/Nixon) Prior Philip, Eddie Redmayne (The Good Shepherd) as Jack, Hayley Atwell (Captain America) as Aliena and Donald Sutherland (“Dirty Sexy Money”) as Bartholomew.

Premieres Friday, July 23rd: Encore 10:00pm, Starz 10:00pm, and Saturday, July 24th: Starz Edge 12:00am

Brethren on the Wireless

Even though morning radio's Mancow referred to the Masons during my brief stint with him yesterday as "a bunch of irrelevant, old salesmen," the rest of the radio and TV media has been eagerly hunting down Masons to interview for the last couple of days.

Trevor McKeown on CBC-TV
Most of you have at one time or another accessed the incredible Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. You may not have known it was the handiwork of Vancouver's Brother Trevor McKeown. He is one of the great unsung heros of Freemasonry on the Internet, and while the BCY site is frequently referenced, cited and ripped off, few know who has done the hard work behind the scenes. Trevor is interviewed briefly by the CBC, in case you've never seen him before. Thanks to Justa Mason for the heads up.

Brent Morris and Jay Kinney on NPR
National Public radio did an interview with Dan Brown, and then followed up aith a story featuring Brent Morris at the House of the Temple, and Jay Kinney, the publisher of the now-defunct Gnosis Magazine, and author of the newly released The Masonic Myth. Have a listen at Secrets of the Masons: It's Not So Secret.

I understand the George Washington Masonic Memorial made the NBC Nightly News Wednesday evening, but haven't found a link to it that worked.

Out of the 23 radio interviews I did yesterday, Doug Miles at WSLR Radio in Tampa/Sarasota sent me a link to our segment, here. Thanks, Doug.

I was bummed I couldn't hang around and hear Mancow's interview after me with Alex Jones.

Well, no I wasn't really.