I noticed a blip in my blog stats the other day. For me, this is significant, because now that I can barely make one or two posts a month, I’m surprised when I get a traffic spike. In this case, I found I was getting hits from the Scottish Rite Journal, specifically from the book review column of the May/June 2010 online version.

Back in July of 2008, Bro. Jim Tresner, the SRJ book reviewer, was arm-twisted persuaded to take a look at some blogs written by Masons. I remember having been a bit put off by his initial attitude about Masons and blogging:

I must admit that I have not been a fan of the Internet phenomenon known as “blogs” (from web logs). For one thing, irrational as I know this is, I simply think the word itself is ugly. It does not “ring with a joyful tune upon the ear.” In fact, it sounds distinctly disrespectful. In addition, I have never been enough of a small-d-democrat to be interested in what the uninformed had to say on any topic. I grudgingly admit that everyone is entitled to have an opinion, but I am less willing to grant they have a right to publicly inflict it on others. One only needs watch the talking heads of celebrity experts on any cable news channel or listen to “talk radio” to see what I mean.

I admittedly responded out of irritation:

Recently, a columnist in a local newspaper wrote almost exactly the same thing as Bro. Tresner, adding that she had no desire to read about the dull aspects of other people’s lives, such as, e.g., what they had for breakfast, or to see pictures of their kids, or to hear about their shopping trips. It’s the height of irony that she, herself, has a regular weekly column in which she writes about exactly those topics. It’s fascinating to think that people who get paid for writing their opinions so often have such a low opinion of those who simply give theirs away.

And later, I complained:

I am, however, just a little disappointed to see that some people – and Bro. Tresner is by no means alone – still regard “Masonic blogging” as an inferior medium. I’m all the more mystified because Bro. Tresner, himself, has his own section – “Tresner’s Talks” – on The Sanctum Sanctorum, one of the latest blog/web forums to have been set up in the last year. More interestingly, I’ve seen several discussions in the Sanctum Sanctorum forum decrying certain forms of “internet Masonry.”

A web forum for Masons in which some of the participants have issues with Masons on the internet? Really?

I suspect that the big problem is that Masonry – or, more correctly, Masons – on the internet is still a new concept for the Fraternity, and most of the brothers, many of whom remember a life before television, have not adopted the working tools of the internet. That’s to be expected, of course; new technology that brings about cultural change is often viewed with concern until a large population manages to figure out what to do with it.

Yeah, a couple of years ago I used to get upset about people who dissed bloggers as not being serious writers. Of course, what I’ve since learned is that 3/4 of bloggers can barely string a few sentences together before reposting a Youtube clip. Fortunately, many of those bloggers have moved over to Facebook to play Vampire Mafia Farming Wars.

Anyway, a visit to the SRJ page showed that Bro. Tresner was not reviewing my blog (again); rather, he was reviewing (as he usually does) books. But what I found interesting is that the books had been written by fellow bloggers. So, in addition to the book from Greg Stewart I mentioned last week, here are a few more for you to pick up for your summer reading list.

Bro. Michael A. Halleran, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Freemasonry in the American Civil War
Bro. Halleran blogs as Aude Vide Taci, which is now hosted at Freemason Information.

Bro. Timothy Hogan, 32°, KCCH, The 32 Secret Paths of Solomon: A New Examination of the Qabbalah in Freemasonry
Bro. Hogan can also be found at Freemason Information, as well as at the web forum The Sanctum Sanctorum.

And as if Bro. Hogan weren’t busy enough…

Bros. Loran Frazier, W.B. Robert Herd, Timothy W. Hogan, 32° KCCH, Cliff Porter, 32°, KCCH, Greg Starr, 32°, “Frater Vel” , plus Jason Augustus Newcomb, and Brian Pivik, The New Hermetics Equinox Journal, volume four.
Bro. Porter is also pretty well known around teh intertubez.

Also reviewed in this article:
Bro. S. Brent Morris, Ph.D., 33°, Grand Cross, A Radical in the East, 2nd edition.
Bro. Morris, author of Freemasons for Dummies A Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry, isn’t a blogger, but he drops in on us frequently.

And because he obviously has a lot of free time on his hands, Bro. Morris again teamed up with one of his cohorts:

Bros. Arturo de Hoyos, 33°, Grand Cross and S. Brent Morris, Ph.D. 33°, Grand Cross, Committed to the Flames: This History and Rituals of a Secret Masonic Rite.

I’m very pleased that Bros. Morris and de Hoyos, members of a secret cabal within our own order, have finally decided to come clean about the secret teaching of our early brethren; their book validates my own theory that operative Freemasons traveled England and parts of Western Europe, using our rituals as teaching aids to pass along the knowledge of how to destroy the zombies that occasionally terrorized the rural villages.While Morris & deHoyos don’t explicitly state this, the title of the book and the comments that Bro. Morris himself wrote at the end of the book review point to a loosening up of the heretofore tight lid on the information.

At any rate, with this latest crop of books now available, there’s plenty of Masonic reading for everyone during the summer months when most lodges take a break.

Masons familiar with the internet probably remember Greg from various web forums. More recently, however, he would be found on Freemason Information, a blog aggregate on which he frequently posts essays and commentary, and on Masonic Central, the well known podcast that he runs with co-host Dean Kennedy.

Greg has always had an esoteric bent, and I expect that his book will reflect his own personal journey. I’m sure that it will make an excellent addition to your already overcrowded Masonic library.

I wish I could say that I was happy to have met Dr. S. Brent Morris. Well, actually, I was happy to have met Bro. Brent; he’s a bright, engaging, and for all his accomplishments, a completely unassuming gentleman. And that’s the problem: the guy has a list of accomplishments that would fill a book – in addition to the number of books that he’s written or co-authored. I mean, after listening to his bio (which ran almost as long as the excellent paper that he presented), I began to feel insignificant, like a Masonic Zsa Zsa Gabor – merely known on the internet for being known on the internet. But within two minutes of shaking hands and introducing myself, all that was forgotten; he’s charming, as well as unassuming.

The guy is just so darn likable, is the point I’m trying to get across here.

Bro. Morris was in town (New Haven) to receive the James Royal Case Fellowship Award, presented at the Masonic Lodge of Research. The award is named for the noted Masonic historian from our state, and is given to Masons of noted accomplishment. Believe it or not, Bro. Morris had quite a few books and papers behind him before he became a famous Masonic Idiot.

There is a certain irony in that Bro. Brent presented a paper on the history of itinerant Masonic speakers of the 1700s and 1800s in the US; men who traveled from lodge to lodge, earning their living by reciting entire sections of degree work during a period when many of the higher degrees were not commonly conferred. It was an interesting bit of historical background that helps to round out our understanding of how the various appendant bodies became established.

There was some more book signing afterward, during which a number of us had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Morris about Masonic history, dealing with the Antis, and those crazy History Channel “exposes.” No word on if some of the younger bros managed to talk him into heading out clubbing later on.

One thing that I forgot to ask him, though. How does he wear his ring?

Bro. Brent, if you’re reading – thanks for making this a great night for Connecticut Masonry.

A few years ago I walked into a meeting all excited. “I’ve been exchanging emails with Brent Morris all week! He reads some of my stuff, too!”

The reaction was a bit deflating. “Who?”

After I explained that he was a noted Masonic author, and editor of the SR Journal, the reaction was still less than I’d expected. “Oh, so he’s some Scottish Rite guy, then?”

Never mind.

At our Grand Lodge session in March, I met somebody who said, “Hey, I was in Washington D.C. a while ago and I ran into somebody who knows you. He said to say ‘Hi’.”

I was curious. “Who was that?”

The brother couldn’t remember. Some famous guy, or something like that, he thought.

I tossed out a few hints. Grand Lodge officer? Agent Scully? Author?

“Yeah, I think he’s an author.”

“Where were you in DC when you met him?”

“Oh, I was in the Scottish Rite building. It’s really nice.”

By now everyone around us was curious. “Wait, was it Brent Morris?” I asked.

“Yeah, Brian Morris, that’s him!”

The rest of the crowd looked blank.

“Come on, you know, Brent Morris.” I said. “Freemasonry in Context? Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry? The Scottish Rite Journal?”

Blank stares.

“A Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry?”

One guy looked up. “Is he the guy who came to New Britain last year?”

:facepalm:

For those of you who do know who Bro. Morris is, or those of you who are curious and want to meet him in person so he can sign your big yellow orange book, he’s going to be visiting Connecticut at the end of the month. The Masonic Lodge of Research in New Haven will host Dr. Morris on Wednesday, May 27 at the Masonic Temple on 285 Whitney Ave.

A buffet dinner ($20 per person) will be at 6:15 pm, after which Bro. Morris will be delivering a research paper that will be suitable for non-Masons. I assume that this means it would be less dull than those papers which are suited for Masons-only, but the upshot is that you can bring a friend, or even your wife.

A handful of copies of Bro. Morris’ book A Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry for Dummies will be available for sale. Anyone interested in should make reservations with RW Carl G. Ek by calling 203-469-0746 (leave a message) or by e-mail at ekscla-masons@sbcglobal.net.

Cory had wondered if I would like to be a guest, and then we’d spend a half hour or so dishing discussing topics that were appearing on other blogs. As the agreed-upon date crept nearer, I was concerned that I hadn’t heard from him. After a series of calls and emails, it turned out that instead of discussing other blogs, that we were going to interview the guys that wrote “Morals and Dogma for the 21st Century,” a revised version of Albert Pike’s classic that had been written in more modern English in order to make it more accessible to newer Masons. In the end, we were joined by Chris Hodapp, which was a good thing because he was the only one of us who had actually *ahem* read that book. We had a 7-way conversation that lasted 90 minutes.

You can still listen to it online, or download the mp3 on the Talkshoe site:
http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/11669

For those of you who are gluttons for punishment, we have managed to put together yet another episode for your listening pleasure. This time we are going to be speaking with author Dr. Robert Lomas – yes, that Lomas, of the Hiram Key series, Uriel’s Machine, The Second Messiah, etc.

We will also be joined by Bro. Heath Armbruster, who is involved with an amazing study on the Kirkwall Scroll, one of the oldest known Masonic artifacts; it is a scroll which appears to have been made in the 1400′s and is possibly a tracing board for several degree ceremonies.

The Talkshoe format is similar to a live radio broadcast. Listeners can hear this in “real time” as we record. Additionally, you can also register (it’s free, natch) and log in to the recording area, where you can IM questions and comments for us, and if we’re in a tight spot, we will probably even respond to them. The show format even allows us to talk calls from listeners.

The date for this next podcast is Sunday, March 9th at 3:00 pm Eastern time. Hope to see you have you join us!

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