Why are you/they called Freemasons?

Originally posted by Mirthful Me

Originally posted by AlexKennedy
Arrgh! Houisted bye mai owne Picard!

Didn't figure you for a Trekkie AK...

Oh, please, not Trekkies! Now, there's a totally misunderstood group.
*running and hiding from the mere mention of anything trekkie*

Originally posted by AlexKennedy
This is the essential Canadian experience. Drink, drink, drink, 'till you can't tell it's -27 out, then head to Timmy's for a six of doughnuts and one of those big coffees that I swear must contain horse steroids or something. Then head back into the jalopy with no heat and head to your friend's acreage to sleep it off. Ahhh, college days.

What are you talking about? With the exception of -27 degrees, that was last night.

It's easy to tell which injunction is the correct one -- it's the one that scans properly, and has the right number of syllables:

li-quor then beer, in the clear
| u u | | u | (7 syllables)

beer then li-quor, ne-ver been si-cker
| u | u | u u | u (9 syllables)

This poem obviously the first line of a modified elegaic couplet, similar to the writings of Virgil or the ribald genius Ovid. The second line has sadly been lost to the ages.

Now let's see MM's barbaric verse:

li-quor af-ter beer, have no fear
| u | u | | | | (8 syllables)

Beer af-ter li-quor, al-ways si-cker
| u u | u u u | u (9 syllables)

As can be clearly seen, the stress pattern in this verse doesn't match any classical style, even if we stretch the styles considerably. Plus, we have the absurd use of two unstressed syllables in the "al-ways" in line two. Plus we have the odd diction choice: "always sicker?" What does that even mean?

Clearly, this is a derivative work, possibly scratched out by someone who had a little too much beer, then liquor

[edit on 26-8-2004 by AlexKennedy]

Originally posted by ZeddicusZulZorander
I too would consume much suds and then go for a sixer of crullers at Tim Hortons, eh?

Originally posted by AlexKennedy
This is the essential Canadian experience. Drink, drink, drink, 'till you can't tell it's -27 out, then head to Timmy's for a six of doughnuts and one of those big coffees that I swear must contain horse steroids or something. Then head back into the jalopy with no heat and head to your friend's acreage to sleep it off. Ahhh, college days.

Tim Horton, Hockey player, purveyor of coffee and doughnuts, Mason...

Dave Thomas, Adoption Advocate, provider of on demand grease of extraordinary quality, Mason...

Contributors all, of those that suffer the late night "passions", and fail to keep them in due bounds.

p.s. Wendy's International now owns Tim Horton's, and I'm currently just a mile away from Dave Thomas Blvd. and the world headquarters of that august institution, coincidence... or conspiracy... you decide.

Careful, dear uncle, or someone will say that the evil Masons are conspiring to take over the fast food industry and, then, the world

*disrespectful niece, running for cover*

Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe
Careful, dear uncle, or someone will say that the evil Masons are conspiring to take over the fast food industry and, then, the world

*disrespectful niece, running for cover*

You mean the fast food industry who have taken over the world?

Hmmm, time for a big mac with extra special sauce....and a stick of butter.

Hmmm

Ah, mirthful . . . a member of the grammar police ;-)

So, am I to assume you have an OED sitting on your desk, rather than a Webster's?

To the trekkies: The correct phrasing is "To go boldly." Don't split your infinitives.

Originally posted by Mirthful Me
Dave Thomas, Adoption Advocate, provider of on demand grease of extraordinary quality, Mason...

The Dave Thomas on the right? Take off, eh?


AK, never actually been to Tim Horton's in my life. Didn't have those back when I was actually IN the Great White North. As for -27...I remember -54 with wind chill in Jasper.

Topic:
Thanks all who jumped right out to clear up the actual question of this thread. For a group with a bunch of secrets, plots to take over the world, and who worship satan...you're a very helpful bunch.



*Note - the above references to the Mason are ALL humor for those just joining. Wouldn't want to start some cult of NeoZedds thinking I was actually exposing something.

Civilization is based on civis which is building, meaning civilization requires life in cities. These buldings are built by brick and stone -masonry-. Trades organized into guilds to protect their trade and jobs etc. (good ole keynesian protectionism). Then some of them turned into secret and "free" masons (free in a secret group bound by oaths and the like sounds like a contradiction to me, but hey thats just me).
Now.. go figure who built the cities and who runs "civilization".

Yes I am NOT a MASON, and therefore "shouldn't" have anny knowledege of the "craft" (woner how many can still cut rock) and there fore anything coming out of my mouth (make that keyboard) is mason bashing fallacy, i know. But reversing the argument.. any info coming from the mouth (keyboard) of a self proclaimed (no real proof possible of membership to the uninitiated via this text medium) mason must be misinformation as they are sworn to secrecy. Ok little details can come out and do, but te rea jiucy stuff obviously doesn't.

Absolutely. The plans for world conquest through the establishment of a glorious "Masonic Reich" would be kept secret, naturally. There is also a powerful, clandestine group of Masons called "The Ten', who control the worldwide supplies of uranium. Between the 15th and 20th degrees, a Mason who has distinguished himself as particularly talented and loyal, will be visited by a representative of "The Ten", called a "Secret Adept", who will groom the Mason so that he may be ready to be taught the dark powers consonant with the highest levels of masonry. These include: sophisticated mind-control techniques that can be used to hold hundreds of thousands of people in thrall, the skills to lead vast armies, and the ability to communicate witth demons, but not travel back in time, unfortunately.






Hehe . . .

[edit on 27-8-2004 by LTD602]

We're working on the travelling back in time thingy...

Originally posted by Corinthas
(no real proof possible of membership to the uninitiated via this text medium)

Oh really?

Go to this web page. Now scroll down to where it says "Inner Guard." See that name there? Look familiar? Notice this is Avon Glen #170 on the Grand Register of Alberta, like I've always said is my Lodge.

Originally posted by LTD602
Absolutely. The plans for world conquest through the establishment of a glorious "Masonic Reich" would be kept secret, naturally. There is also a powerful, clandestine group of Masons called "The Ten', who control the worldwide supplies of uranium. Between the 15th and 20th degrees, a Mason who has distinguished himself as particularly talented and loyal, will be visited by a representative of "The Ten", called a "Secret Adept", who will groom the Mason so that he may be ready to be taught the dark powers consonant with the highest levels of masonry. These include: sophisticated mind-control techniques that can be used to hold hundreds of thousands of people in thrall, the skills to lead vast armies, and the ability to communicate witth demons, but not travel back in time, unfortunately.

LTD, you do realise that someone is going to use this as an "actual admission by a genuine 33rd degree Mason !!!!!111!!!one!!!!!!!!!" at some point, and your silly joke will be immortalised as yet another BS attack against Masonry?

Alex:

LOL . . . . uh . . . alright, I'm thinking of that scene in Goodfellas when Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta and the other boys are in the restaurant and Pesci gets all serious with Liotta; Liotta listens to all of it, shocked and even scared, pauses for a few moments (everyone completely silent, waiting for what'll happen next), and says: "c'mon, get the f--k outta here!" and starts laughing along with everyone else.

So Alex, are we in the same scene here? Are you a serious? Will someone ACTUALLY believe what I wrote? Or maybe you're not serious and I dropped my sense of humour when I got up this morning?



[edit on 27-8-2004 by LTD602]

I think it was meant tongue in cheek.

But who knows? That statement may come back to haunt you if you progress quickly through to the top of our Order.

When you become our Reptilian Imperious Grand Poobah Leader one day, people may use those words as proof.

Yet another reason why the Masons should perfect time-travel. Time to shift some of those initiation fees and yearly lodge dues into R&D.

Originally posted by LTD602
So Alex, are we in the same scene here? Are you a serious? Will someone ACTUALLY believe what I wrote? Or maybe you're not serious and I dropped my sense of humour when I got up this morning?

I am "ha-ha, only serious," serious. The fact is, I suspect someone somewhere will either believe what you have written, or portray what you have written as a serious admission (no doubt by a "33rd degree Mason.")

Actually, there is a basic rule of the Internet (I call it "Kennedy's rule of the Internet," because I'm very humble) which currently has two parts:

i) If you are capable of imagining a sexual fetish, it will be catered to in some part of the internet.

ii) If you are capable of imagining a philosophy (no matter how flawed), it will be expounded on some part of the internet (often, in an angsty LiveJournal entry). As an example, I give you the Otakukin.

Now, keep in mind, this rule seems to imply that imagining something suddenly makes it available on the Internet -- this is not strictly true. What I really mean to imply is that if something exists in the zeitgeist sufficiently that it will come up in everyday conversation, even as an absurd idea, then someone far more removed to the fringes than the speaker will have used the idea.

A similar rule applies to anti-Masonic lies. Some anti-Masons are so desperate for new material which will "prove" we are aliens or devil-worshippers, or whatever, that they will take any chance they can, any joke, or misstatement, or whatever.

Doesn't mean you shouldn't make jokes -- it's simply an observation.

Heck, my brother, in my experieince, the masonic critic isn't hobbled by anything so prosaic as facts... innuendo and outright lies seem to be their coin... that and a healthy does of paranoia...

Straight answer to the topic question is from Page 816 of Morals & Dogma by Albert Pike:
It was (supposedly) the code name for the Knights Templar when they went undercover to escape the purges of the Catholic church.
Their symbol was the sword and trowel carried by 2 brothers on a single horseback.
So they used the French name Freres Macons (Bretheren Masons), this was bastardized into Freemasons when the rite was brought to England.

The whole stone masonry thing is a cover of convenience from the acquisition of much of the now defunct British Stone Masons guilds.
At the time of the advent of Freemasonry, stone masonry had shrunk into a very small and specialized trade which really only revolved around the maintenance of historic monuments and buildings, the age of the bricklayer had arrived.
Strange no one else brought this one up.

your point would be....?