Ask us about Freemasonry - Who keeps the Bitcoin system down? We do!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Ask us about Freemasonry - Who keeps the Bitcoin system down? We do!

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

Just filled out the application form to join Freemasons Victoria, the guy I've been speaking with so far firmly believes that becoming a Freemason was the best decision he's ever made. So, uh, here goes, I guess.

# ¿ Sep 22, 2019 13:30

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 00:37

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

Loomer posted:

Our last WM spent a lot of his time down there. Speaks highly of Victoria's masons.

They contacted me today to see about taking my application further, and I'll be speaking to someone from one of the Ringwood lodges tomorrow. I'm kind of nervous but excited, the masons I've had contact with all say it has been a very positive thing for them.

# ¿ Sep 25, 2019 09:36

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

I�ve just been for a quick tour of the Ringwood Masonic Centre in Melbourne, and the guy I�ve been speaking is going to introduce me to a few lodges that meet there and see which one suits me best.

It�s happening!

# ¿ Oct 1, 2019 11:31

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

On the way to visit my first lodge, here goes!

# ¿ Oct 17, 2019 10:49

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

At a Christmas party for a lodge in Melbourne, they�re some of the kindest and most welcoming people I�ve ever met.

Apparently my name was read out in lodge for the first time last month, and if all goes well I�m looking at possibly doing my first degree in April next year. This lodge has had a sudden influx of younger guys joining and it�s great to see.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2019 10:47

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

Sub Rosa posted:

Forget social media, the really terrible stuff was the stuff I heard in person since after all, amongst your brothers sworn to secrecy is a safe place to say all the racial slurs, right?

This is one of the reasons I�m applying to join the most diverse lodge I could find.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2020 13:46

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

Just had my formal interview last night, going to be doing my first degree in April by the way things are looking.

# ¿ Feb 11, 2020 10:46

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

SimonChris posted:

The Danish Order of Freemasons just shut down all masonic activity in the country until further notice, due to coronavirus concerns. Not just lodge meetings but also administrative meetings, picnics, seminars, etc. I believe the other Scandinavian jurisdictions are following suit.

Are similar things happening in other areas, or are you just using hand sanitizer and taking basic precautions?

Freemasons Victoria just did the same thing, all masonic activity is on hold until May 31 at least. Some lodges are moving to online meetings in the meantime, most are regularly touching base with members to make sure everything is OK.

My initiation was supposed to be this Monday, but that�s on hold until, well, whenever the all-clear is given I suppose.

I�ve also got a new work colleague who is simultaneously terrified of and fascinated by Freemasonry. I�m thinking a visit to the south once all this blows over might clear up some misconceptions.

# ¿ Apr 22, 2020 04:46

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

Now that we can go back to face to face meetings, my initiation is tomorrow.

Here goes.

# ¿ Apr 18, 2021 11:20

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

Ataxerxes posted:

Congratz! I'm waiting for the things to normalize here so that a friend can get his first degree.

knuthgrush posted:

Congrats! It'll be the best degree you've ever had...

Thanks, it was certainly an experience I�ll never forget. Especially the REDACTED. And the goat. Also, I just found out I was the first new initiate statewide this year.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2021 02:27

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

It was a double first degree. We had to share the goat.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2021 03:57

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

knuthgrush posted:

I knew membership in the US was declining but I didn't know we no longer had enough money for livestock!

Does your lodge cover all of the parts of the EA? I'm unsure how other states operate but the monitors where I am have a great deal of info on each degree. Maybe ask a master mason to go over some of it with you. Might be fun to go over along with your lecture, too.

I�m Australia under the Grand Lodge of Victoria so it might be a little different here, but I believe I got the whole experience. I got some reading material for the next degree and a neat bag for my apron and other bits and pieces. They�ve kind of given me a mentor I can talk to if I have any questions, too.

Still a little humbling to think I�m in such company as George Washington, King George VI and Buzz Aldrin.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2021 05:19

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

Yeah, I�m told Australian lodges have a good reputation when it comes to things like ritual work, but this is literally my third day as an entered apprentice so I don�t have a lot of perspective.

Still, it feels good to be a part of it, and they even let me in on some more secrets (the location of the hidden beer fridge)

# ¿ Apr 21, 2021 03:26

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

I just met one of my dad�s high school teachers at lodge tonight. Really is a small world.

# ¿ May 17, 2021 14:59

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

Aaaaaand this months lodge meeting is canceled due to COVID lockdown.

# ¿ Jun 11, 2021 05:20

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

That�s pretty cool. Makes me wonder what kinds of Masonic things Buzz Aldrin brought with him.

# ¿ Sep 18, 2021 00:28

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

This explains a lot of things I saw in my initiation.

# ¿ Nov 25, 2021 00:41

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

There is one big thing I�ve gotten out of Freemasonry, I never used to be able to just strike up a conversation with a complete stranger, it always felt really awkward.

Now I have absolutely no problem with it.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2021 00:09

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

shame on an IGA posted:

what on earth I'm not even a mason

Then become one ya dingus

Also I just found out I'm being passed to Fellow Craft this month, wish me luck

Bargearse fucked around with this message at 14:39 on Mar 1, 2022

# ¿ Mar 1, 2022 14:01

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

knuthgrush posted:

it was nice knowing you... it really was.

but seriously, you're gonna have a blast. the fc is my most favoritest of all the degrees. so much packed into it. congrats!

Thanks! I�ve been drilling myself on the questions and I think I�ve got it right. Rehearsal is this Monday so we�ll see how that goes.

# ¿ Mar 9, 2022 01:47

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

There was no way grand lodge could have put you in touch with the lodge secretary?

# ¿ Mar 13, 2022 04:29

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

Ok, I think I have the �usual questions� for the second degree memorised. Here goes for tonight.

edit: welp that�s it, I�m a Fellow Craft now. I screwed up one of the usual questions slightly but aside from that it all went well and a good night was had by all.

Bargearse fucked around with this message at 01:09 on Mar 22, 2022

# ¿ Mar 21, 2022 01:38

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

felixdrkmessnger posted:

I am currently preparing for my EA degree, I was supposed to complete it this month, but not enough people to do it. I did have the amazing experience of seeing an open officer install last year, and met the Oregon Grand Master and most recently the Deputy Grand Master. So far enjoying it more than I thought I would. Excited to get started on my fellowcraft.

Getting involved in Freemasonry was one of the best decisions I�ve ever made, you won�t regret it.

Just be warned, if it�s a double first degree you might need to share the goat with the other candidate.

# ¿ Apr 14, 2022 07:44

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

If you get enough like-minded people under one roof some amount of networking is bound to happen but if that is your reason for joining there are other organisations better suited to you.

# ¿ May 16, 2022 00:37

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

I don�t recall if there are any Australian Freemasons here, but one of the unique things about Australian Freemasonry is that the dress code is a bit more strict than in most countries. Here, when you've done your third degree you need to wear a dinner suit with bow tie. I've been keeping an eye out for good second hand dinner suits for a while now and I think I found the perfect one:

This apparently came from the estate of Charles "Bud" Tingwell, an Australian TV and film actor who started out as a junior radio announcer just before World War Two, while still in high school. During the war he volunteered with the Royal Australian Air Force, flying the Spitfire fighter and Mosquito light bomber with 680 Squadron in the Middle East. He made his first film appearance in 1946, starring in Smithy, a biopic based on the life aviation pioneer Charles Kingsford-Smith. Bud Tingwell went on to star in over a hundred films, and made countless TV, stage and radio appearances.

He was also a Freemason, having been initiated in Lodge Carinya No. 719 in January 1950, passed to Fellow Craft in July that same year, and raised to Master Mason in 1951. Lodge Carinya merged with a number of other lodges, finally ending up as Lodge John Willams No. 148 where he remained an active member of the lodge for the rest of his life.

I'm a little humbled to wear the same dinner suit he would have worn to so many of his lodge meetings, and genuinely surprised that it fits me so well. Looks like the Great Architect really came through.

# ¿ May 16, 2022 15:34

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

Yep, white gloves. At my initiation they gave me some with the square and compasses on the back.

Edit: I've just been doing some reading, most Australian lodges would probably be considered TO lodges in the United States. They take the dress code and ritual work really seriously.

Bargearse fucked around with this message at 00:21 on May 17, 2022

# ¿ May 16, 2022 22:31

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

The most disappointing kind of bigotry is the kind that comes from people who, at least nominally, should be holding themselves to a higher standard.

# ¿ Oct 6, 2022 05:43

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

Looks like GBS just discovered Freemasonry

# ¿ Oct 26, 2022 04:58

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

Depends on your jurisdiction. If you�re not having any luck contacting local lodges directly, you might try reaching out to your states Grand Lodge and see if they can point you in the right direction.

I�m in Australia under the United Grand Lodge of Victoria, they just have a form you fill out on the website, your regional Grand Lodge may have something similar. At the very least they should have a phone number you can ring.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2022 23:53

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

Nessus posted:

Youd think the aliens or the goat would provide better UX.

Geez just give all the secrets away why don�t you, weren�t you taught to be cautious

# ¿ Nov 16, 2022 23:35

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

I was trying to explain Freemasonry to my girlfriend, she ended up describing it as �a bunch of nerds cosplaying the Illuminati�. She�s not exactly wrong.

# ¿ Nov 18, 2022 15:34

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

As of last night, I have now been raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason. It was an unforgettable experience, and very deeply moving.

That said, if I'd known about the goat in advance, I'd have worn something a little more appropriate.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2023 04:15

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

I try to steer clear of Grand Lodge drama, though we did have a Past Grand Master expelled from Freemasonry not that long ago, for reasons I�m not clear about.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2023 04:50

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

jrgnsn_tjf posted:

Well done, young man. Well deserved. Plenty of pissheads in that jurisdiction.

The third is a remarkable night.

Don�t feel compelled to join other orders right away as folks will push it on you, not in a bad way, they just do with the best of intentions.

And yeah GL can be problematic. Steer out of that crap. Leave it to the old pasties to bemoan!!

Great job!!

Thanks, everyone involved did a great job and it certainly was a memorable night. Our WM even made allowances for my girlfriend to visit us in the south afterwards and I even got to let her in on the secret location of the fourth floor beer fridge.

I've had a few people approach me about joining Mark and Chapter, and I think I may take them up on the offer, at least get to see what it's all about.

I've found that there's a lot you can learn from GL drama, and apply those lessons to your own Freemasonry, but only when observed from a safe distance. Popcorn optional but recommended.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2023 16:38

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

About to go to my first lodge since moving house three months ago. Had to get really creative with public transport schedules to make it happen, though. Tonight we�re having a lecture from a visiting American mason, Shawn Momen if anyone here has heard of him.

# ¿ May 15, 2023 09:30

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

Always the most disappointing when it comes from people who really should know better.

# ¿ May 16, 2023 23:26

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

There very much seems to be a changing of the guard happening in Freemasonry in my jurisdiction. Like, everyone in my lodge seems to agree that for Freemasonry to stay relevant some things have to change, but for it to remain Freemasonry some things must never change, but nobody can agree which is which.

# ¿ May 22, 2023 09:30

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

I can only speak for myself here but the higher power stuff was the main reason I didn�t pursue Freemasonry earlier in life. It turned out it was way less of a big deal than I thought, my beliefs wavering between vague agnosticism and deism aren�t a problem except for some bodies that require you to be explicitly Christian.

# ¿ May 24, 2023 23:19

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

2B1ASK1 lol

# ¿ May 26, 2023 12:44

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 00:37

Bargearse: Nov 27, 2006; 🛑 Don't get your pen🖊️, son, you won't be 👌 needing that 😌. My 🥡 order's 💁 simple😉, a shitload 💩 of dim sims 🌯🀄. And I want a bucket 🪣 of soya sauce☕😋.

Sub Rosa posted:

But it should be a big deal, imo.

OG 1700's masonry mentioned Deists in the same breath as Atheists.

And that�s fair. All I can really say is that my belief in a supreme being is much stronger than it was before I got involved with Freemasonry.

Cope posted:

Yeah I ain�t reading that

# ¿ Nov 25, 2023 02:01

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Ask us about Freemasonry - Who keeps the Bitcoin system down? We do!