The Burning Taper

Long-time readers of The Burning Taper know that I find stories about the bizarre things people do in the "name of Jesus" fascina...

The Burning Taper offers its condolences to Bro. Randy Reddick of Deerfield Beach, Florida, in the aftermath of the tragic accidental shoot...

While more and more mainstream state grand lodges seem to be joining the 20th century by accepting the existence of and/or "recognizing...

This is post number 1,000 on The Burning Taper . What a long, strange trip it's been. Just in time for Christmas there's a reason fo...

Bro. Dean Kennedy, co-creator of the podcast Masonic Central , was interviewed on Oct. 20 by the Canadian website Haligonia.ca at the B2B E...

AMC's mini-series The Prisoner debuts Nov. 15-17, 2009. Based on Patrick McGoohan's British television series from the late 1960...

Police found the beaten and mutilated body of a man in his late 50's, with its tongue cut out, hanging by its neck from a bridge in Tiju...

Dan Brown's new novel, The Lost Symbol , hits bookstores tomorrow. Will the wait have been worth it? He'll sell a zillion copies, pr...

According to Masonic-Crusade.com : The MW Grand Lodge of WV and MW Brother Frank J. Haas's attorneys met in mediation and failed to meet...

Who needs comedians when you have Christian mega-churches to make fun of? Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, Florida, is making news to...

In a recent Huffington Post article about human trafficking, Robin Sax, a former district attorney, writes: Trafficking happens right here ...

On August 19, 2009, the Grand Lodge of Georgia finally moved into the 20th century. (Yes, I know it's the 21st century now.) Grand Maste...

This nine-minute trailer for AMC's mini-series The Prisoner debuted at Comic-Con last month. The "re-creation" (not remake, t...

Georgia on my mind.... Watch below, or read about it here . Georgia | Congressman David Scott | Town Hall Meeting | Burning Taper | Burn...

It's been way too long since The Burning Taper has received hate mail. Finally, over the weekend, we got one, and it's from an old ...

"Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?" Glinda asked Dorothy. Apparently in Fiji, it doesn't matter what kind of witch you are...

This excellent essay was submitted by Bro. James C. Stewart of North Bay Lodge No. 617, in Canada. Thank you, Bro. James. Cats Don't Go ...

This just in to our All-Monkey News Network news desk: Owners of a Richardson, Texas gardening store were burglarized by a monkey, surveilla...

Shriner and former Potentate Ray Highsmith, of Khedive Shrine Temple in Hampton Roads, Virginia, is in federal custody after agents discover...

For years, Bro. Chris Hodapp of Freemasons for Dummies fame and I have had an unofficial competition going on, even if he didn't know i...

A few weeks ago Toldeo, Ohio's Heritage Christian School principal Tim England suspended 17-year old student Tyler Frost after Frost too...

So we're now living in the Era of Change, are we? New president, new vice president, new name for the War in Iraq. For the past three Me...

I'm perplexed as to what the point is of this video (see below). It seems to be something produced by your typical conspiratorial "...

The sadness in Robert John Ward's eyes in this photo reminds me of the look on the face of alleged Mason and alleged murderer Leroy Tell...

An "alleged" Texas Mason has been charged with murder in the disappearance of his female friend. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Inve...

Here's more television footage from Buffalo's WIVB on the Royal Order of Jesters scandal. This one is about former law clerk and pro...

Here's a video news report about Royal Order of Jesters' members Ronald Tills, John Trowbridge and Michael Stibeck, from WIVB-TV, Ch...

Our blogging brother at The North Eastern Corner wrote the other day about how the face of Masonic blogging has changed over time. He notes...

One of the three Masons who pleaded guilty to transporting prostitutes across state lines to service brothers at Royal Order of Jesters'...

Last weekend I was driving home from the grocery store. As I approached an intersection, I noticed a fez-wearing Shriner standing in the roa...