New Parchment, New member, Same MOP.

Gentlemen,
First of all let me express my delight with the great success of our most recent council meeting. The MOP is officially 1 year old, hummmmmmm.Brother McPageturner out did himself, and proceeded over one of the most thoughtful, challenging, and knowledgeable meetings the MOP has had to date. The drink and cigars were simply sublime.

Of course we all know the most important part of the 'Parallel Worlds' meeting, was the introduction of our new member, Brother [TBD]. I think we can all agree that he did a fine job of contributing to the discussion.

He also provided the group with the title of our next parchment, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. A fine choice indeed. I have already purchased my copy and am eagerly anticipating the story that lies between it's covers. So, Go forth ye seekers of the written word, with thou codpiece in hand!

1 Year Anniversary

It's hard to believe that a year has come and gone so quickly - like a shooting star in Michio's heavenly sky's. As we look forward to the week at Bethany Beach I think we can all agree that it has become much more than just a family vacation. In fact, the 'family' has been eclipsed by a higher council - a council of men, a brotherhood of kindred spirits, a collection of minds so ripe with knowledge that the universe itself could not contain it.
Yes brothers, the Men of the Parchment has succeeded; doubters there were many, naysayers there were aplenty, but o have we flourished in the face of such contempt. Ever since that first council meeting lead by the brilliant mind of Brother Leap, our minds have grown tenfold. And as we look forward to growing the council physically - I will always look back with fond memories on the original council meetings - the fab four.
It is an exciting time brothers. Much we have to learn - yes. Much we have to ponder - yes. Much we have to suffer - no.
Hummmmmmmmmmm!

Michio Needs Us to Be Strong.

Parallel Worlds

Michio Kaku is blowing my mind and I'm only 21 pages into his book. How come I never heard of that WMAP satellite before (image from WMAP seen on left)...and why didn't I become a physicist or cosmologist?

Another Bullshit Night in Suck City

I thought I would take the liberty of posting this blog as 75% of the council members are currently 'south of the border' outrunning the law, sampling the local cuisine, and consuming mucho cerveza!

So heres the email that Brother von Pluma sent out after the last council meeting:

Thanks for making this past Saturday such a good council. I wanted to forward a response from the Bethesda Mission woman I was working with:

Colin,
Thank you so much for your help on Saturday. You did a great job! I have heard good things!! Let me know when you want to come back and I 'll let you know what still needs to be done. Have a good week.
Deb King

Feels good, don't it? Oh, that last sentence is because I had offered to come back perhaps. The Prince is growing at a frantic pace. With some big shoes to fill, he is doing a damn good job. Anyway, great discussion, great cigars/whisky/doughnuts/coffee, great third council.

Til the next time,
Von Pluma

Macot

Loyal seekers of the written word,
I feel a discussion might be in order to elect a mascot for this great organization. Count von Warren has presented us with what I feel to be a great idea...to adopt an animal and call it our own. For, to tame a wild beast would show the true spirit and capabilities of our codpieces as well as our society. Future MOPs would marvel at their forefather's for such an act and the beast that we choose could prove useful in future proceedings.

Some of my favorite options so far are:

1. Great Horned Owl-

• Pros: This great predator carries with it not only the ability to take down large prey (even skunks!) but it also comes with the lore of overall wisdom, a great representative of our council.
  
• Cons: The owl's call is not the manliest sounding "hoot" and it would be cool to do our mascot call at every council meeting as Warren stated in the bylaws.

2. Wolf-

• Pros: First of all, it has one bad ass call . Also, wolves travel in packs as do Men of the Parchment. They can take down huge animals such as moose, deer, elk, and caribou.
  
• Cons: Wolves can at times fight and kill each other. They are not as loyal to one another as I would like to see for our mascot.
  

3. Golden Eagle-

• Pros: They have a certain aura of power and majesty. They represent freedom and command respect. The eagle's call rivals the wolves. They represent the best football team in the NFL. Extremely keen eyesight for catching/locating prey and reading parchment.
• Cons: They are already a symbol for so many things in our society. Some of us can't do a very good eagle call.

So, these are some possibilities. There are many more out there and I welcome additions for us to consider.

Seals, Stamps, & Other Bricabrac

Brothers, I thought I would create a blog about our recent MOP advancements, rather than continue the email thread. First, Warren's email:

Let me first say how wonderful it was to see all the council members together again to celebrate the birth of our Lord.

I think I speak for Brother Evan and Colin, when I say how excited I was to see your gift Tyson esq. The MOP seal and wax will add a certain 'cloak and dagger' feel to our invitation envelope. I feel we are moving closer to adding to the already intellectual ranks of the council.

I took it upon myself to purchase something that should prove very useful to the MOP. A wooden handled rubber stamp, that when plunged into the black ink pad (provided) shall magically produce the words 'Men of the Parchment'. This will be perfect for marking the parchments we have read so far.

Yours excitedly,
Master Lloyd of Chevy Chase

I wanted to echo Master Lloyd's sentiment regarding Tyson's yuletide gift. Indeed, a strange, almost sexual sensation came over me when I first laid eyes on that waxed seal emblazoned with the MOP acronym. I have not tried my own hand at it, but cannot wait to seal my first parchment. Tyson, you have indeed opened a new chapter in the Men of the Parchment. Many millennia from now, future peoples will study our ways with wonder and bewilderence, saying, "Who were these 'Men of the Parchment?'" and "Just what can they teach us?"

Lloyd, I am eagerly anticipating the stamp you speak of as well. I cannot wait to mark our readings with the appropriate sign of our vast intelligence and superior codpiece measurements. In addition, our fire table chat was probably the highlight of my New Year's Eve. As we struggled to light the highly flammable, made-for-quick-ignition, self-sustaining log, we certainly had no problem sparking ideas, our flashes of brilliant schemes and clever ploys shooting from our mouthes to match the yellows and oranges crackling from the table. As I type, Evan is beginning the online working document for our bylaws, and henceforth, the meat of this organization will be tenderized and formed into a delicious patty for searing with our sign. I have been constructing a mission statement and will continue to work on the invitational letter.

Indeed, we have come along way, and more than anything, I enjoy the fellowship. Breaking from the olde English guise for just a moment, I love just having the time to hang out with you guys together for a cigar. People know not to disturb us, and even though we are talking about away from everything. Because we set up actual times and dates, it's different from just getting sometimes ridiculous notions (i.e. Randor the Falcon), we really are bonding in the most manly and real kind of way.

I see January and February as high octane MOP months. It will be something to get us from New Years until our next council meeting. I am truly excited about our progress and can't wait to get into ABNISC. Mediocrity is worse than failure: let's do deese.