Who are the Masons? The history of Freemasonry studies the development, evolution and events of the fraternal organization known as Freemasonry. This history is generally separated into two time periods: before and after the formation of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717. Before this time, the facts and origins of Freemasonry are not absolutely known and are therefore frequently explained by theories or legends. After the formation of the Grand Lodge of England, the history of Freemasonry is extremely well documented and can be traced through the creation of hundreds of Grand Lodges that spread rapidly worldwide. A great schism in Freemasonry occurred in the years following 1877, when the Grand Orient de France (GOdF) started unreservedly accepting atheists, and recognized Women's Masonry and Co-Masonry. The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) deemed this to be irregular and a violation of the ancient landmarks of the Fraternity. UGLE withdrew its recognition of GOdF. The majority of Grand Lodges around the world, especially those in the English speaking world, followed UGLE's lead. However, a minority, mostly in Europe and South America chose to follow GOdF's example. Thus Freemasonry was split between the Anglo-American concept of Freemasonry and the Continental concept of Freemasonry. Adding to the tensions between these to systems, French Masons tended to be more willing to discuss religion and politics in their Lodges; unlike the English who banned such discussions outright. The schism between the two branches was occasionally, (unofficially or partially) breached, especially during the First World War when American Masons overseas wished to visit French Lodges. Between the years 1885 and 1897, Léo Taxil maintained a hoax against both Freemasonry and the Roman Catholic Church, by making increasingly outlandish claims regarding Freemasonry. On 19 April 1897, Taxil called a press conference at which he claimed he would introduce the "author" of his books to the press. He instead announced that his revelations about the Freemasons were fictitious. Nevertheless, the material is still used on some anti-Masonic websites today. See origin theories of freemasonry and name origin theories at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Freemasonry
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A palimpsest is a manuscript page from a scroll or book from which the text has been scraped off and which can be used again. The word "palimpsest" comes through Latin palimpsēstus from Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος (palímpsestos, “scratched or scraped again”) originally compounded from πάλιν (palin, “again”) and ψάω (psao, “I scrape”) literally meaning “scraped clean and used again”. Romans wrote on wax-coated tablets that could be smoothed and reused, and a passing use of the term "palimpsest" by Cicero seems to refer to this practice. The term has come to be used in similar context in a variety of disciplines, notably architectural archaeology. A number of ancient works have survived only as palimpsests. Vellum manuscripts were over-written on purpose mostly due to the dearth or cost of the material. In the case of Greek manuscripts, the consumption of old codices for the sake of the material was so great that a synodal decree of the year 691 forbade the destruction of manuscripts of the Scriptures or the church fathers, except for imperfect or injured volumes. Such a decree put added pressure on retrieving the vellum on which secular manuscripts were written. The decline of the vellum trade with the introduction of paper exacerbated the scarcity, increasing pressure to reuse material. The best-known palimpsest in the legal world was discovered in 1816 by Niebuhr and Savigny in the library of Verona cathedral. Underneath letters by St. Jerome and Gennadius was the almost complete text of The Institutes of Gaius, probably the first student's textbook on Roman law. See other famous examples includinging the Archimedes Palimpsest (a work of the great Syracusan mathematician copied onto parchment in the tenth century and overwritten by a liturgical text in the twelfth century) at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palimpsest#cite_note-2

Lost and Found: The Secrets of Archimedes, an exhibit at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, running from October 16, 2011-January 1, 2012, reveals texts from the ancient world discovered by conserving and imaging the palimpsest. The Archimedes Palimpsest contains the remains of seven erased books, including the only surviving copy of two treatises by Archimedes—The Method of Mechanical Theorems and Stomachion.
Read extensive description at: http://thewalters.org/news/releases/pressdetail.aspx?e_id=279

Beet and Red Cabbage Salad with Lentils and Blue Cheese
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/beet-and-red-cabbage-salad-with-lentils-and-blue-cheese
Skillet Corn Bread with Figs, Feta and Rosemary
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/skillet-corn-bread-with-figs-feta-and-rosemary
Grilled Shrimp with Apple and Charred Scallions
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/grilled-shrimp-with-apple-and-charred-scallions Recipes from Food and Wine Magazine November 2011

Dickens and Shakespeare, the two biggest beasts in the English literary jungle, are to be celebrated as never before during the next 12 months. Last week, the British Council announced an unprecedented global program of Charles Dickens-themed films, art exhibitions, discussions, public readings, theatre experiences and educational events for next year. It stretches across more than 50 countries, embracing Iran, Burma and Zimbabwe along the way. Highlights include a touring festival of classic Dickens films; Claire Tomalin, David Nicholls and other leading writers travelling to literary festivals; and the immersive theatre company Punchdrunk mounting a production in Pakistan. The British Council project supplements a battery of Dickens-related book publications, museum shows and new film adaptations timed to mark the 200th anniversary of the writer's birth in Portsmouth in 1812. Tomalin's monumental biography Charles Dickens: A Life was published in early October, one of four new biographical works out in the next few months. The Museum of London has Dickens and London running for a year from December, while the Charles Dickens Museum reopens in November after a pound stg. 3.1 million ($4.9m) restoration project. The BBC is also serialising Great Expectations for Christmas, with David Suchet and Gillian Anderson, and has filmed The Mystery of Edwin Drood, an adaptation of the author's last, unfinished book. It would all amount to a unique investigation of a single writer were it not for the even greater focus looming on Shakespeare, to coincide with the London Olympics. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/dead-literary-lions-set-to-roar-next-year/story-e6frg8n6-1226162475099

Julian Barnes described the Booker Prize as “posh bingo”. October 18, at the fourth time of trying, Barnes’s numbers finally came up. The 65-year-old writer won for The Sense of an Ending, a 150-page novella about a middle-aged man looking back on his younger days. The former head of MI5, now a spy novelist, said: “I’ve had a long life in varied, different careers and I’ve been through many crises of one kind or another, against which this one pales.” Accepting the award, Barnes said: “I would like to thank the judges – who I won’t hear a word against – for their wisdom, and the sponsors for their cheque.” He declared himself “as much relieved as I am delighted” and likened himself to Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentinian writer who was considered by the Nobel Prize committee year after year but always overlooked. Barnes said: “When asked, as he continually was, why he had never won the Nobel Prize, Borges used to reply that there was a cottage industry devoted to not giving Borges the Nobel Prize. Over the last years, in occasional moments of mild paranoia, I have wondered whether there wasn’t some similar, sinister organisation operating over here.” Barnes triumphed 27 years after his first Booker nomination. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booker-prize/8834464/Julian-Barnes-wins-the-2011-Man-Booker-Prize.html