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Hodapp

chodapp

About Me


Freemasons For Dummies and Solomon's Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington D.C. , and the co-author of the newly released The Templar Code For Dummies , with Alice Von Kannon.
. As you might expect, I'm a Freemason and a Past Master of Broad Ripple Lodge No. 643 and Lodge Vitruvian No. 767 , Free & Accepted Masons of the State of Indiana. I am also a member of Delaware Lodge No. 46 in Muncie, Indiana, and an honorary member of Ancient Landmarks Lodge No. 319 and Logan Lodge #575 in Indianapolis, and African Lodge No. 459 F&AM , Prince Hall Affiliation, in Boston. I am a member of Indianapolis Chapter No.5 Royal Arch Masons, Indianapolis Council No. 2 Cryptic Masons (Royal and Select Masters), and Raper Commandery No. 1 Knights Templar. I'm a 32 Mason in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Indianapolis Valley. I'm a charter member of Allied Masonic Degrees Imhotep Council No. 434. I am also member of the Ancient Arabic Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Murat Oasis, as well as the Madison County Shrine Club.
I'm a member of the Southern California Research Lodge, the Scottish Rite Research Society, the Philalethes Society, the Grand College of Rites of the USA, and the Dwight L. Smith Lodge of Research.
I'm a co-author of "Laudable Pursuit: A 21st Century Response to Dwight Smith", as one of the Knights of the North , a group of "progressive traditionalist" Masons dedicated to European Concept lodges. I have written for the The Indiana Freemason magazine on both Masonic history and current practices, and have reported on Masonic customs in the UK, France and elsewhere. I am a moderator for Hiram's Forum, a Masonic internet project of the Grand Lodge of Indiana, and I'm a member of the Internet and Publications Committee of the Grand Lodge.
I'm a member of the Indiana Historical Society, the Indiana Historic Landmarks Foundation, and a lifetime member of the Indiana Railway Museum.
I am an alumnus of Brebeuf Jesuit High School in Indianapolis. I have attended Indiana University, the University of Southern California, Los Angeles Valley College, California State University at Northridge, and Indiana/Purdue University at Indianapolis. I have spent more than twenty years in advertising as a commercial filmmaker for Dean Crow Productions in Indianapolis, editing more than 700 commercials and feature films. I've written scripts for corporate and non-profit clients, and my voice has appeared in many television and radio commercials.
I am the author of the monthly feature, A Pilgrim's Progress: Rustic Tales of an Organic Greenhorn in Texas Home Gardener Magazine. My wife Alice, an author in her own right, and I are approaching our 30th year of being positively besotted with each other, and in our copious free time, we attempt to train our aptly-named poodle Wiley, while owning and managing an apartment complex in Anderson, Indiana.
We encourage everyone to rent, not buy.

My Interests

- Freemasonry and its appendant bodies - Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite; York Rite - Royal Arch, Cryptic Masonry, Knights Templar; Ancient Arabic Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (Shriners); Allied Masonic Degrees; Grotto; Tall Cedars of Lebanon; and all other things Masonic.
- Medieval and 19th century history
- Railroads
- Architecture and historic preservation
- Pipes and tobacciana
- Movies before the arrival of color
- World travel
- Red meat, red wine, red baiting.

Music:


Movies:

The Man Who Would Be King; Network; Brazil; Restoration; The Lion In Winter; every Road Picture (except the last one); every Thin Man picture (except the last one); National Treasure; Murder By Decree, and I'll even admit to the guilty pleasure of Pirates of the Caribbean.
On suicidal days, I still think 1984 is a master work of art
I still love every frame of Citizen Kane - I've still got enough film school nerd in me for that
Yes, War of the Worlds worked for me. Both 1953 and 2005.
If it's Star Wars, it must be Episode V-Empire Strikes Back
If it's Star Trek, it has to be STII: Wrath of Khan, for there is no other Captain of the Enterprise but Kirk.

Television:

Blackadder, Mr. Bean, Fawlty Towers, Jeeves & Wooster, the Prisoner, all Avengers with Emma Peel.
If some kind cable or satellite company would just sell me Turner Classic Movies, A&E, the History Channel and its spawn, BBC America and Fox News, I would be a happy man.

Books:

Anything by P.G. Wodehouse
Check out my Masonic library here.

My Blog

Grand Lodge of California Friday night 9/28

If any of you will be at the Grand Lodge of California in San Francisco on Friday and Saturday, I'll be speaking about my book "Solomon's Builders" at the Henry Wilson Coil Library and Museum on Frida...
Posted by Hodapp on Thu, 27 Sep 2007 09:28:00 PST

"Laudable Pursuit" Now In Paperback

Thanks to the ingenious print on demand services of Lulu.com, the Knights of the North have made available a new paperback version of Laudable Pursuit. Click here: http://www.lulu.com/content/1159452W...
Posted by Hodapp on Sun, 02 Sep 2007 10:42:00 PST

Check out this video: OK GO treadmills

Check out this video: OK GO treadmills Add to My Profile | More VideosI mean it's just so stupid, yet totally choreographed, you have to shake your head and ask, how much time did they hav...
Posted by Hodapp on Wed, 15 Aug 2007 04:47:00 PST

I made the paper, sort of

The Indianapolis paper has its own weekly giveaway called Intake, billed as being "written by Gen-X-ers, for Gen-X-ers." Dubious recommendation, to be sure. Anyway, I led a reporter and his friend on ...
Posted by Hodapp on Thu, 09 Aug 2007 11:09:00 PST

US News & World Report Special Edition on Secret Societies

U.S. News & World Report had done several articles about Freemasonry over the last few years, and they have been pretty evenhanded with us. And since the publication of The Da Vinci Code, the magazine...
Posted by Hodapp on Fri, 20 Jul 2007 09:34:00 PST

10,000 Famous Freemasons Available

Sounds like a creepy come-on, doesn't it?The strictly Masonic publishing business is, frankly, a terrible business to be in. Any man who wakes up one morning and says, "You know, I think I'd like to b...
Posted by Hodapp on Thu, 19 Jul 2007 09:16:00 PST

Templar Code For Dummies

Here's a bit of shameless self-promotion. My newest book, The Templar Code For Dummies, co-written this time with Alice Von Kannon, has been released as of July 2nd. It is an introductory book to the ...
Posted by Hodapp on Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:57:00 PST

Solomon's Builders and the Iowa Lodge of Research

Many thanks to the brethren of the Iowa Lodge of Research No. 2 in Des Moines for inviting me out to speak to their annual meeting about Freemasonry and the founding fathers. I was especially honored ...
Posted by Hodapp on Wed, 18 Jul 2007 01:26:00 PST

INDIANA MASONIC HOME FESTIVAL

I'll be signing books at the Indiana Masonic Home festival this Sunday. Hope to see you there!
Posted by Hodapp on Wed, 16 Aug 2006 12:06:00 PST

RAPER COMMANDARY .1 WINS FIRST PLACE IN HOUSTON TRIENNIAL

My own Knights Templar Commandary, Raper Commandery No. 1 in Indianapolis, has won First Place in the Class B Drill Competition at the 63rd Triennial of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar in Hous...
Posted by Hodapp on Wed, 16 Aug 2006 11:58:00 PST