Brother Guy Fieri?

Question of the Day: Is Guy Fieri a Mason?

I have noticed recently in a couple of episodes of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives that the iconically retro-cool host, Guy Fieri, is wearing a black onyx signet ring with what I believe is a square and compass emblem on its face. Now Guy is the kind of guy who may just be wearing his dad's or grandfather's ring because it is cool, or he may even have picked it up at an antique store because it is a hugely cool ring, but I am wondering. On the one hand, he is a bit garish compared to the Masonic set I have been familiar with, but, on the other hand, the Masons do love their bling and their bowling shirts.

I have found a couple of references on the Internet posing this same question, but no solid answers yet. This is a bit of trivia that I really want to know!

Valentine's Day for the Thoughtless

A Guy's Guide to Last-Minute Valentine's Day Ideas
Last minute ideas for thoughtless guys to salvage Valentine's Day for the girls they love the most.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1460163/a_guys_guide_to_lastminute_valentines.html

My Other Favorite Car

Though I do love the American LaFrance Roadsters, my true automotive loves are the Bentleys of the 1920s. I love both the Speed Sixes and the less common Blower Bentleys. I gave up on owning one many years ago, as their availability is limited (there were only 55 Blower Bentleys made!) and when they do show up, they sell for prices in the millions of dollars.

Nonetheless, these are the cars of James Bond and John Steed. They are the stuff of legend. They are elegant and nimble and fast as lightning. They have the finish of the best British craftsmanship, and they look so darned good!

Another Crappy TV “Chef”

The English. At their best they build world dominant empires, subjugate native peoples and are universally despised oppressors. They are explorers, superspys, swordsmen and sailors. They are gentlemen who will best you at fisticuffs and be so gentile about it that you will thank them for the privilege.

At their worst they are cooks. They are the worst cooks in the world. They tell lies about Irish cooks just to take the attention off of how bad the English cooks really are. The very worst of the cooks end up calling themselves "chef". Gordon Ramsey is a creation of the BBC – he represents the worst that the UK has to offer with none of the breeding nor the refinement of the truly great chefs, and the very worst of what the cooking industry has to offer as well. This is obviously a winning combination, so now they are cramming another lousy English cook down our throats, Marco Pierre White. White bills itself as a "great" or even "the world's greatest" chef.

Startlingly, the truly great chefs would have blushed to have that moniker expressed to their faces. Escoffier was self-effacing to a fault, as was René Verdon. Jacques Pepin is the same. They all struggled to get to their lofty positions. Yes, they had a great deal of talent, far more than either White or Ramsey have, but they maintained a sense of great humility throughout their careers.

I have worked as a chef and a sous-chef in my time, and I will grant you that there are times when tempers flare in the kitchen. It is a high pressure environment demanding high levels of production and quality at the same time, and it is natural that voices will be raised periodically. To cultivate a reputation as a person with a short temper, however, is not indicative of being a good chef, much less a great chef. It is indicative of being a juvenile fake, as these two embarrassing exponents of the once great Empire both are. I am sure that either of them can flip a burger with the best of them, but that is all. It is another embarrassing condemnation of the American television audience that anybody knows these creatures' names – they should be as anonymous as those other abominations of the kitchen, Rachel Ray and Sandra Lee.

Jenn

Sweet Pea
by Amos Lee

Sweet pea, apple of my eye
Don't know when and I don't know why
You're the only reason I keep on coming home

I'm like the Rock of Gibralter
I always seem to falter
And the words just get in the way
Oh I know I'm gonna crumble
And I'm trying to stay humble
But I never think before I say

Sweet pea, keeper of my soul
I know sometimes I'm out of control
You're the only reason I keep on coming
You're the only reason I keep on coming yeah
You're the only reason I keep on coming home