I really don't have much time to make a post. My primary motivation is I simply want to 'bump' the old one. I had a pleasant weekend that involved the usual; boating and entertaining. My reputation as a gracious host is growing and more people seem to drop by each weekend.
I continue to keep my calendar updated and it gets more crowded by the minute with scheduled events and potential activities in the area. There has been plenty going on with my Mason affiliated activities as well. Last Wednesday my nephwew Charlie was passed to the degree of fellowcraft and on Thursday Alex turned in part of his obligation to DeMolay. Last evening I attended the school of instruction in Wentzville to practice for Charlie's third degree on Wednesday. Charlie has his second degree education on Tuesday, his third degree on Wednseday, preceeded by a lovely dinner hosted by the Eastern Star ladies, and on Thursday Charlie will witness a third degree in Wright City; his first time sitting in lodge from beginning to end as a Master Mason. It looks like there is a possibility that both Charlie and myself might sit in a chair next year; which would be a really cool thing if it happened.
Our lodge goes dark in July and August, but there will still be activities throughout the summer with installations and such. Also, our neighbor lodge of Troy is not going dark and will be initiating a young man there shortly. All of these activities combined with DeMolay should keep me off the couch and watching TV. Additionally I will be playing tennis in both my league and with my children. On the weekends we have concerts, dances, float trips, boating, and other fun activities.
You might wonder, with this swirl of summer activity, where does my job fit into all of this? My job fits in right where it belongs, with a focused and dedicated effort during the time alloted for it. The reality of the matter is that your job is not your life, the two are clearly distinct realms of your being. It is for this reason alone that my blog rarely mentions my job and, when it does, never in any detail.
This brings me to another topic. I heard in passing a comment along the lines of "So and so is a big fan of your blog." Now, this really freaked me out. This self indulgent rambling is only targeted for myself. It is an adjunct for my weak and befouled memory. Mostly it is a public picture album with commentary for my friends. If a friend comes to one of my parties and then wants to see their picture online on Monday I try to oblidge. It places that event as a sign post in my memory and makes it more lasting. I can't imagine someone who didn't know me reading this rambling crap with pictures of people they don't know? Now, I admit, that most recently I have uploaded pictures that might be of interest to the general male population, however that is not the norm.
I will not let this disturbing information dissuade me. This blog will remain self-indulgent, rambling, and as boring as it ever was no matter what lurkers in the shadows might be trying to peck away at it.
My other random thoughts include a commentary on the book series by Orson Scott Card about Alvin Maker. The first book in this series "The Seventh Son" is really quite remarkable. It is an incredibly enjoyable fantasy novel that was deeply satisfying. My friend John Oberschelp introduced me to the series by giving me his old copy. Like much of Orson Scott Card's work, the series tends to degrade in quality as it continues. I had a very difficult time getting into the second book. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the third and found it very compelling. As I was about three fourths of the way through the third book I had this nagging feeling that the author might be a Freemason as there were so many allusions to some of the same themes we often touch upon in Freemasonry. So, I did a google search on Orson Scott Card and found out I was wrong, but perhaps a little bit right as well. It turns out that Orson Scott Card is a very influential Mormon apologist who writes numerous position papers on the topic. He works themes from "The Book of Mormon" into most of his novels. The Freemason connection comes from the fact that Joseph Smith and many of the early leaders of the Mormon religion were Freemasons and incorported allusions to Freemason ritual into a number of the temple ceremonies. I won't get into details about my opinions of the Mormon faith since it would be impolite. I will end my commentary here with the simple observation that I found this information to be quite interesting in light of the novels I am still enjoying reading.
Finally, I will end my rambling blog entry with this important note about the "Prophet Yahweh". The Prophet Yahweh is an interesting fellow who is creating a major internet sensation by promising to summon a UFO to hover over Las Vegas for a day and a half around July 15th. Not just any UFO, but a big ass space ship straight out of a science fiction movie.
The "Prophet Yahweh" sent out a press release to this effect on May 25th, encouraging TV stations to put him to the test. While his press release was generally ignored, one small ABC affiliated TV station did send a reporter our to do a humor piece on the story. Initially the TV station got what they wanted, a generally crazy black man rambling on about insane things and praying to Yahweh (a super being in a spaceship from another planet). However, things didn't go as expected when a UFO showed up and hovered over the area while the film crew recorded it.
Since this event the internet has been buzzing about the great Prophet Yahweh, Seer of Yahweh. The man has certainly garnered a great deal of attention. If you google "Prophet Yahweh" you will get thousands and thousands of hits about the story. Of course, now everyone is just waiting for the 'big event'.
I find this story generally quite amusing. First of all the 'UFO' the film crew recorded was most likely a very large balloon released near the field by one of Prophet Yahweh's accomplices. However, that is beside the point. As an internet and cultural phenomena I find it fascinating. I subscribe to the Prophet Yahweh's mailing list and I receve several bat-shit crazy messages a day. It's like watching a reality show or soap opera interactively. I get to send the Prophet Yahweh cryptic emails enticing him to respond with more insane gibberish. Let's face it, there is nothing good on TV this time of year and if you can't watch a certified lunatic summon super-beings from another planet what else are you going to do with your 'free' time?
I will keep this blog abreast of interesting Prophet Yahweh developments, such as when on July 16th, after the spaceship fails to show up, he says "You all really pissed off Yahweh and to punish you he has cancelled the public demonstration. He will not return until the human race is ready to receive him...", or some such excuse.
I continue to keep my calendar updated and it gets more crowded by the minute with scheduled events and potential activities in the area. There has been plenty going on with my Mason affiliated activities as well. Last Wednesday my nephwew Charlie was passed to the degree of fellowcraft and on Thursday Alex turned in part of his obligation to DeMolay. Last evening I attended the school of instruction in Wentzville to practice for Charlie's third degree on Wednesday. Charlie has his second degree education on Tuesday, his third degree on Wednseday, preceeded by a lovely dinner hosted by the Eastern Star ladies, and on Thursday Charlie will witness a third degree in Wright City; his first time sitting in lodge from beginning to end as a Master Mason. It looks like there is a possibility that both Charlie and myself might sit in a chair next year; which would be a really cool thing if it happened.
Our lodge goes dark in July and August, but there will still be activities throughout the summer with installations and such. Also, our neighbor lodge of Troy is not going dark and will be initiating a young man there shortly. All of these activities combined with DeMolay should keep me off the couch and watching TV. Additionally I will be playing tennis in both my league and with my children. On the weekends we have concerts, dances, float trips, boating, and other fun activities.
You might wonder, with this swirl of summer activity, where does my job fit into all of this? My job fits in right where it belongs, with a focused and dedicated effort during the time alloted for it. The reality of the matter is that your job is not your life, the two are clearly distinct realms of your being. It is for this reason alone that my blog rarely mentions my job and, when it does, never in any detail.
This brings me to another topic. I heard in passing a comment along the lines of "So and so is a big fan of your blog." Now, this really freaked me out. This self indulgent rambling is only targeted for myself. It is an adjunct for my weak and befouled memory. Mostly it is a public picture album with commentary for my friends. If a friend comes to one of my parties and then wants to see their picture online on Monday I try to oblidge. It places that event as a sign post in my memory and makes it more lasting. I can't imagine someone who didn't know me reading this rambling crap with pictures of people they don't know? Now, I admit, that most recently I have uploaded pictures that might be of interest to the general male population, however that is not the norm.
I will not let this disturbing information dissuade me. This blog will remain self-indulgent, rambling, and as boring as it ever was no matter what lurkers in the shadows might be trying to peck away at it.
My other random thoughts include a commentary on the book series by Orson Scott Card about Alvin Maker. The first book in this series "The Seventh Son" is really quite remarkable. It is an incredibly enjoyable fantasy novel that was deeply satisfying. My friend John Oberschelp introduced me to the series by giving me his old copy. Like much of Orson Scott Card's work, the series tends to degrade in quality as it continues. I had a very difficult time getting into the second book. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the third and found it very compelling. As I was about three fourths of the way through the third book I had this nagging feeling that the author might be a Freemason as there were so many allusions to some of the same themes we often touch upon in Freemasonry. So, I did a google search on Orson Scott Card and found out I was wrong, but perhaps a little bit right as well. It turns out that Orson Scott Card is a very influential Mormon apologist who writes numerous position papers on the topic. He works themes from "The Book of Mormon" into most of his novels. The Freemason connection comes from the fact that Joseph Smith and many of the early leaders of the Mormon religion were Freemasons and incorported allusions to Freemason ritual into a number of the temple ceremonies. I won't get into details about my opinions of the Mormon faith since it would be impolite. I will end my commentary here with the simple observation that I found this information to be quite interesting in light of the novels I am still enjoying reading.
Finally, I will end my rambling blog entry with this important note about the "Prophet Yahweh". The Prophet Yahweh is an interesting fellow who is creating a major internet sensation by promising to summon a UFO to hover over Las Vegas for a day and a half around July 15th. Not just any UFO, but a big ass space ship straight out of a science fiction movie.
The "Prophet Yahweh" sent out a press release to this effect on May 25th, encouraging TV stations to put him to the test. While his press release was generally ignored, one small ABC affiliated TV station did send a reporter our to do a humor piece on the story. Initially the TV station got what they wanted, a generally crazy black man rambling on about insane things and praying to Yahweh (a super being in a spaceship from another planet). However, things didn't go as expected when a UFO showed up and hovered over the area while the film crew recorded it.
Since this event the internet has been buzzing about the great Prophet Yahweh, Seer of Yahweh. The man has certainly garnered a great deal of attention. If you google "Prophet Yahweh" you will get thousands and thousands of hits about the story. Of course, now everyone is just waiting for the 'big event'.
I find this story generally quite amusing. First of all the 'UFO' the film crew recorded was most likely a very large balloon released near the field by one of Prophet Yahweh's accomplices. However, that is beside the point. As an internet and cultural phenomena I find it fascinating. I subscribe to the Prophet Yahweh's mailing list and I receve several bat-shit crazy messages a day. It's like watching a reality show or soap opera interactively. I get to send the Prophet Yahweh cryptic emails enticing him to respond with more insane gibberish. Let's face it, there is nothing good on TV this time of year and if you can't watch a certified lunatic summon super-beings from another planet what else are you going to do with your 'free' time?
I will keep this blog abreast of interesting Prophet Yahweh developments, such as when on July 16th, after the spaceship fails to show up, he says "You all really pissed off Yahweh and to punish you he has cancelled the public demonstration. He will not return until the human race is ready to receive him...", or some such excuse.
Comments