Bruce and I fell asleep on the couch last night while watching something about the Freemasons on the History Channel. I can’t remember if we watched a little of two shows or it it was just one, but I distinctly remember something about their origins and something attempting to link the Knights Templars to them. Interesting stuff. I was explaining it all to Amanda when she got home today. She tried to run away from my conspiracy history lesson.

So here’s what I learned (some of which I already knew): The Freemasons started out as a guild of stone masons. Due to their highly skilled and demanded work, they were able to travel pretty much wherever they wanted to go in the Middle Ages. Democratic ideas were fostered in the fact that each member, no matter their social status, was considered equal and was able to vote in the guild.

The Knights Templar get thrown into the mix when they’re hunted down and disbanded. The rumors say that some of the remnants joined other societies to carry on their taditions and knowledge. Basically. There were a lot of things that tied them together, like the design of some Freemason lodges or something having the same design specs as the Temple of Solomon. Or something. I was dozing off and on while watching it.

Work today was work, nothing big to report. The first thing Amanda told me about after getting home from work was that she got rear ended on the way home. She was stopped at a light and talking on the phone to her aunt Anna Frazelle when some college chicky bumped her. Fortunately there wasn’t even a scrape, but Anna was apparently surprised by how feisty Amanda can be.

Amanda watched some stuff on TV that I don’t watch, and I’ve been working so much on editing wedding pictures lately that I decided to take some time to play a bit of Rome: Total War, which I haven’t in a little while. I’ve got most of central Europe.

I was reading an article about Haditha, Iraq tonight.  Apparently there was a coverup of some Marines that went through the town and killed a crapload of civilians.  The article was a very fair one, talking about how the young troops were trained to kill in open battle, not how to combat insurgency.  But it also talked about some of the terrible stories coming out of there, like one from a twelve-year-old girl who was the lone survivor of her family.  Her mom was shot in front of her and she found her dad dead on a floor.  Some people think it may have been the Marines sending a message in response to a roadside bomb that killed one of their own that day.  One interesting point the artile brought up is how much more humane war is now compared to ancient times, when an invading force would rape and steal and pillage and murder.  I’ve never been in a situation like the soldiers over there are, and I can’t imagine it any more than I can imagine the mindset of Islamic extremists.  To that end, I feel it would be completely unfair of me to even try to pass any judgment without knowing all the facts about whatever happened in Haditha.