X-Oriente

Where is X-Oriente?

To all the brethren who have written, thanks. The show? It's almost there. I have to travel to Philadelphia tomorrow, then I'll be back in town with a little more free time, and you can expect a few shows in pretty quick succession. These past few months have been filled with business travel, work on a contract that has been very demanding and of course being Master of Oriental, which has kept my hands full. But in bits and pieces I have been taking notes for shows and recording bits here and there, and we'll be back on. Next show is my interview with MW Jerry Butler, PGM of the PHA Grand Lodge of Illinois and rhythm and blues pioneer. We'll have book reviews, my report from Washington and more interviews soon. We're also going to start a new series on esoteric thought, so if you are interested in contributing to that, drop me a line and let me know. Talk to you soon!

What makes a good Worshipful Master?

On Sunday, I will be installed as Master of my Lodge, Oriental Lodge No. 33. As the date approaches there is much to do, and our very next meeting we'll be conferring a third degree! Yikes! I'm excited and a little trepidatious. More than anything I want to be a good leader for these guys. They're my guys. My peeps. My tribe. My brothers. I want to do everything I can to give them a good Masonic year. I'm going into this thinking it ain't about me, it's about them.

So how can I improve? What makes a good Master? I need your advice. Share your wisdom with me. Were you Worshipful Master? What worked? What didn't work so well? What would you do over if you had the chance? What should I watch out for?

Call the SkypeIn line at 847-380-1881 and leave a message, or send me an audio file with your advice. I'll put them all together and ask some of my friends and we'll talk about it on the show. I'll share some of my plans, and maybe we'll do a group chat or something over Skype. Thanks!

Hello World! Again

It seems like forever, didn't it? Work has been crushing and I am just finishing up a project that has been consuming most of my time since I got back from DC back in February. My next item on the agenda has been to get some interviews. I have one on Thursday and hopefully the first of the next batch of shows will be ready by this weekend. I'm still around and X-Oriente is still alive. Lots of things are going on right now, but our hiatus will be over soon and we'll be back at it. Listenership has grown tremendously and that is thanks to you.

Now I need help...the last episode was one of the best we've done, and it was because I could travel to cover an event. So now I am looking for a sponsor to help the show grow a bit. I would like to be able to travel around the country to so we can do more shows like the last one. I'd also like to create a traveling audio kit so others can contribute too. If you have something you'd like to contribute drop me a line and let me know. this show is a conversation and conversations should go both ways. I am exploring ways to raise funds, but you can help by making a donation in the tip jar. When I find a sponsor I'd like it to be be Masonic or Masonically related. I am putting together an ad kit now, and I may do some Google text ads in the future. You can help by supporting the advertisers once they are there. Every little bit helps, and all of it goes back into the show. This is NOT a money-making venture for me, and if I am ever in a spot where I have more money than i need to do the show, rest assured that any leftovers go right back into the Fraternity. We all win. When you support the show, you are making an investment in your Masonic Podcast and helping to make the Craft better.

Thanks for your patience. Please understand that this is a one-man show and that sometimes life gets in the way of the show, but I am committed to carrying on. Bear with me just a little longer.

Episode 11 is on the way!

It's been a very hectic month what with all the travel I've been doing, but I finally got to sit down for a few minutes and record part 2 of "It's About Time!" I will edit it on Sunday after Father's day Festivities and hopefully it will be on your 'pod by Monday morning!

Working hard

It's coming, it's coming! Episode 008 will be part one of a 2 part interview of W. Bro. Michael Toth who has released on DVD his film The Freemasons: The Mystery Myth and Truth. I'm editing it now, and it is a little more editing than normal what with all the clips from the film, and commentary and the like. One more evening ought to do it!

The new RSS feed is online

The new RSS feed is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/xoriente you can paste this in your Podcast aggregator, or use the link in the right hand column.

I've submitted a new listing to iTunes and will be taking the old one down as soon as it is active. All new shows will be posted to the new feed. Look for 005 in the next day or so.

Still a few bugs to work out of the new system but we're definitely at the tail end of the migration.

We're back online!

Welcome to the new blog. The design is a little cleaner, but it has much more capability. For one thing there is a link to my AIM status so you can instant messenger me if I am around. Also, we have the capability to do more lists, photos, the archives are better...it should be a better experience all around. It will certainly be easier to update and that means more content more often. Tell me if you agree!

Now I am working on getting the new RSS feed in place. Because the bandwidth is a bit of a hog, it's a little complicated but I should have the details ironed out over the next day or so. More soon!

IMPORTANT: FEED IS CHANGING!!!

I am going to be switching hosts starting with the new year. As soon as the feed actually changes I will post again and announce it. I will also be posting a special audio message with the same information. For those who listen to the show here at the site, it won't really change anything. Well we probably won't have that nice flash player, though I am working with my Flash gurus to make that happen too.

This will mostly affect those of you to subscribe through iTunes. itunes is somewhat cryptic and I have been trying to gracefully migrate the feed without success. Therefore it will probably be necessary to take down the itunes feed and re-list it. I'll keep you informed, but if the show suddenly disappears from iTunes you can resubscribe right here, or wait for it to re-appear on iTunes.

Thanks everybody!

Xmas show coming...

The Xmas show is in post-production now...if you want a Christmas greeting in the show, please submit by Thursday morning. The show will go up Thursday night.

Registration now required :-(

Well, brethren I was hoping this little site could fly under the comment-spam radar, but it alas, is not to be. I have had to delete two comment spam for porn already today. Henceforth, to keep our space clean and unspotted of the world, I will now require registration through TypeKey to post comments. I know it is kind of a pain to have to register first, and 'm really sorry to have to do it, and I hope it will not deter you from commenting. But the alternative is spam and spam is something entirely unmasonic. Thanks for your understanding...

The comments have been sparse as of late. I am working on the next episode, which will include some changes to the format. Anyone have any suggestions?