I just knew that someone would beat me to it! I've been reading Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol." Not quite finished yet, but I am intrigued by what he calls the "33rd degree ritual" of drinking wine from a skull. As a 32nd degree mason myself, I was intrigued by this as going from "black hat" to "red hat" (KCCH) and then "White hat" (33rd) was always considered honorary, based on service. I'm a bit confused by the ritual Dan Brown presents which seems to show a combination of the 3rd degree of masonry with something from 'Skull and Bones.' Sure enough... a little searching on the internet today and I am not the only one. Check out this blog and the comments: http://lostsymboltweets.blogspot.com/2009/09/do-you-masons-really-drink-from-skulls.html

Now, all this comes after Dan Brown uses his character of Robert Langdon to dispel the difference between a "Secret Society" and a "Society of Secrets" on pages 28-32 of the novel. I know, I know. It's only FICTION and fiction based on conspiracy theory at that. I guess I just expect a little more thought to go into something that took six years to write. Surely there must be enough ex-masons out there willing to divulge craft secrets to the masses. After all, the rituals are public knowledge now. Anyone using a search engine can come across a copy of Duncan's ritual...so the curious of mind don't even have to stumble across a relative's old cipher to read up on ritual. (Actually, I'm rather surprised by the regional differences in ritual. Those I find much more fascinating than some standard ritual found online or seen on tv's "Secrets of the Freemason's Revealed!" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa-mdPb77K0). Personally, I'm finding the noetic consciousness connection more interesting thus far. After all, there's folks (yes, even pagans) out there like "Lon Duquette" who write about esoteric subject matter in masonry. His website and publications (see http://www.lonmiloduquette.com/ ) indicate a grounding in some of the more mysterious, and speculative, aspects of masonic lore: qabalah, Solomon's Key, Enochian magick and the Goetia. If that doesn't fall under Brown's dabbling in universal consciousness, then I will eat my hat.

Hi Folks. It's been many years since I was able to sit down and start blogging once again. The time is right! Soon, you can expect more updates from this 'disgruntled academic'. Stay tuned. Next topic ... Dan Brown and "The Lost Symbol." As a freemason myself, I was more than slightly confused by what the heck is going on in the ritual on pages 1-3 of "The Lost Symbol."

Someone's Dead! Someone's Really Dead!

Ok. Now that I got that out of my system. What? You didn't think I'd actually tell you already! Read it for yourself! [But if you must know. The death is asdfdasfa and the Half-Blood Prince is (*&(*&. That is all.]

Yet. I sit here myself, listening to the "Phoenix Lament." I did not wish to complete the final pages. Perhaps, in the hope that my fears would be mistaken. Alas. I must mourn as well.

I will definitely tip my own wizarding hat to JK. She sure knows how to weave one wonderful tale.

I can't say much else tonight. I am speechless apart from being able to say GET 'EM 'ARRY!

From This Morning's "Chronicle of Higher Education" Daily Mailing:

AN UNUSUAL INVESTIGATION into the work of three climate
scientists by a powerful congressman has drawn public
rebukes from another prominent House Republican and from
scientific associations in the United States and abroad.
--> SEE http://chronicle.com/daily/2005/07/2005071801n.htm

Here's a series of excerpts for those who do not have a subscription to the Chronicle:

"An unusual investigation into the work of three climate scientists by a powerful congressman has drawn public rebukes from another prominent House Republican and from scientific associations in the United States and abroad.

Those critics characterize the investigation by Rep. Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, as a form of intimidation aimed at scientists whose work he disagrees with. The scientists have published studies suggesting that the earth is warmer now than at any time in the past 1,000 years.

Mr. Barton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce committee, is a longstanding opponent of international efforts to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, the pollution that scientists say has likely caused much of the recent warming.

It also demanded that the scientists turn over the computer programs they used in their analyses, in spite of statements by the National Science Foundation that such programs are the intellectual property of the investigators. The three scientists received support from the foundation for the climate studies at the focus of the investigation.

In response to the criticism of his studies, Mr. Mann wrote that several other authors have used independent data and methods and reached similar conclusions: that the earth is warmer now than at any time in the past 1,000 years."

on Friday, a group of 20 eminent earth scientists wrote to Mr. Barton that they were "deeply concerned about your approach." A draft of the letter said that Mr. Barton's request for " " The authall working materials related to hundreds of publications stretching back decadescan be seen as intimidation -- intentional or not -- and thereby risks compromising the independence of scientific opinion that is vital to the preeminence of American science. Authors of the letter include Mario Molina, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California in San Diego who won the Nobel Prize in 1995, and John P. Holdren, a professor of environmental policy at Harvard who is president-elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. "


Hmm. Global Warming Doesn't exist. Have any of you read Michael Crichton's "State of Fear?" Well, I have. Apart from, in my opinion, being the worst of his pseudo-science fictions, Crichton's book pulls data from around the world to support that notion that global warming is not true. He focuses on data from the last 50-100 years to show that urban areas have seen an increase in average temperatures, but rural areas have seen an average DECREASE in average temperatures. This seems to support the idea that urbanization is a big culprit in measuring global warming. But nevermind the oceanic recording scales. In his fiction book, Crichton puts forth the "Environmental Liberation Front" (ELF) that is out to cause catastrophic acts of "environmental (eco-)terrorism" as a way to gain international attention to their cause that global warming is happening. It sounds like a radical extention of the modern-day "Earth First" [Greenpeace is non-violent] which has been connected with the spiking of trees to prevent logging operations among other concerns. ELF is a real organization that is often put in alliance with the ALF (Animal Liberation Front) -- an activist side of PETA.

What I find interesting here is that some may find that the acronym ELF has another meaning in the environmental activist side as well. ELF stands for "Extreme Low Frequency" and refers to the U.S. Navy's use of ELF signals that can penetrate the Earth's crust and ocean in order to be used as a global communication mechanism for submarines. These antenna sites have been the site of numerous protests and arrests since the 1980s. There was one of these "bases" near where I grew up. The current word is that the bases are now being shut down in favor of other communication devices, but the point is that inconclusive evidence has been out there for years that ELF has caused interruptions in the natural navigational and behavioral functions of whales, dolphins, seals, and other sea life resulting in beachings and illnesses. While the jury is still out on this, there has been suspicion that ELF affects migratory birds as well and emits harmful radiation that affects all mammals. Read about ELF at the following website:

http://www.nukewatch.com/projectelf/talkingpoints.html

Day 2.

Now I wasn't the first in line for the new Harry Potter book, nor did I join the frenzied droves waiting in line at all, but alas, I could not withstand the urge to buy a copy of the new book in the mail. When my pre-ordered copy didn't seem to arrive with the regular mail today, I had an attack. Being that a weekend is my only time to spend doing other non-academic stuff, I couldn't wait...and off I went to the local Target (er.."discount store") to buy a copy to read. Three hours later, a large venti coffee from a local outlet of a "Northwest Coast Global coffee dominator," I was somewhere in chapter eight. Of course when I got home, my "deluxe edition" had arrived.

People ask me why as an academic I enjoy the HP phenomenon, collect wizards, name my animals after them, and even my wireless routers. First of all, as I am into the study of shamanism(s), the development of modern literature based on the historical development of witchcraft and sorcery in oral myth and legend is interesting to me. Many of the ideas found in these contemporary stories and neo-pagan movements really draw back to the shamanistic practices of indigenous peoples that are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old. I think one of my next projects will be to do an article on the connection between the HP books, modern fascination with them, and the "magic" that lies in indigenous shamanism. Now to find out who beat me to the state license plate inscribed with "Dumbledore" on it in the campus parking lot. I find it ironic that the shamans I work with use wands. Usually for healing practices and honoring native deities, but they are present nonetheless. Likewise, there are good and evil shamans in the culture(s) I research. And to boot, one must be "gifted" (chosen) by the gods to enter apprenticeship as a shaman. Sounds an awful lot like Potter's years of training to me. There are visions, prophecies, and spells as well. People tend to forget that all "religions" are based on some sort of "syncretism" (blending) of religious practices of the past. New ideas are continually adopted into the religious practices of a people to meet additional needs in the dynamic world that is culture.

I saw a documentary the other night on "John of God" (ABC News Primetime Live). It covered the unorthodoxed healing practices of a "faith healer" from Brazil. Here are some links provided for more information on him:

http://www.johnofgod.com
http://www.visionthang.tv
http://www.friendsofthecasa.org
http://www.activeingredients.com/ames

Greetings viewers. This is my first, perhaps futile, attempt at "blogging." Nothing fancy...at least not until I get the hang of this stuff. A little about myself for starters. I'm a professor. Not just your average professor, but one of those people who falls into the category of being a "struggling academic," if anything. I don't have tenure. I don't live in a hidden away secret sanctum while I allow my graduate students to do all the real teaching for me. And I certainly don't subscribe to elitist ivory-tower mentality either. Social scientist and humane philosopher more fit my role. Maybe those are some reasons why I don't have tenure, not even a tenure track position, since I value my teaching and my students more than the lot of my colleagues. And I never fail to be amused by the 3-4 of us who actually show up at commencement ceremonies for students each term. Now that's out of 20+ full-time faculty members and innumerous adjuncts (oops...must be PC...Part-time faculty). And of those 3-4 people, half of us are not permanent faculty. Way to support your students folks! Hope you are having fun sleeping...oh wait, you're writing your next book or article, aren't you? And you say you only know the majors? Try being in my shoes with 4 courses per term with caps of 100-200 students each (usually different classes too, requiring separate preps) and no TAs. In a university of 14,000. Just imagine the number of students I've had in the past 4 years (yes, I even teach 2 classes every summer). Someone care to calculate this for me? Hmm..and its a Friday and they didn't come in today. Too busy. Never mind that I was grading 100 midterm exam essays.

I know you're probably thinking "Who is this guy?" Well, let's see. Four years out of graduate school, I struggle in the visiting and adjunct world. Granted I have had full-time contracts (some semesters, heck, some years, not others), but the uncertainty that is academe leads me to life on the fringes of the academic world. At this small state university in the "South," my office is apart from the "permanent faculty." After all, I'm "temporary" (you call 4 years temporary?) and don't need a sense of belonging and departmental collegiality. I don't receive departmental and college support for my research, and I am inelligible for teaching awards and improvement grants because they are limited to "tenure-track faculty" alone. We won't even touch the health-care situation. Why carry the university HMO or PPO state health-care plan when, if you have ANY TERM when you drop below full-time contracts you, will lose coverage? So what do you do at middle age? You continue to carry your own private health-care plan and pay out the rear in case you have an emergency! Oh the uncertainty that is contract-to-contract teaching!

One other thing to add to this world: I also teach in the realm of online distance learning. Boy, I thought I got a raw deal at the university, but online teaching salaries are abysmal...nearly half the pay for a comparable course offered f-2-f (face-to-face) in a lecture hall on adjunct pay. That's roughly $1500 per 12-week course. That's it. No health care. No benefits. And when you think you might get an "in" at the institution as there is a need for a full-time faculty member in your area, they hire two more online adjuncts rather than create a full-time position. I designed my own course shells, obtained an online instructor certificate after a series of course development and mentor/mentee training, and have yet to see the benefits.

So why am I still here and haven't I moved on? It's certainly had a significant impact on my research and writing. Nothing like coming home from an exhausting day on campus to read student email and manage online classes. Then you get a weekend or take a day off and the complaints roll in. Yes, I've read the "Chronicle of Higher Ed." Heck, I subscribe just so I can keep up with the job postings. Without going into specifics, I am in a relatively specific field of the social sciences and every post I find is looking for biological, physical, or medical specialists, not those interested in the native cultures of North and Latin America. Especially, not one who happens to be a "white male" (note: non-hispanic, non-native). I never get over the assumption by academic hiring committees that assume that just because someone is Hispanic or Native American they know all about Hispanic cultures and Native cultures. Ok. It fulfills the minority hiring quota for the institution, but it is interesting not even to make the first cut stage of the interviewing process because you are not "specific enough" to fit the requirements of those sifting through the 200+ applications for the one job opening in your field.

Alright. This is enough for the first night's post.