A Reprieve From The Boredom Of Normal - A Poem to Spring

I wonder.  Is there anyone still visiting this blog?  I have my doubts, since not even I have been here since last August, 2012.  Hard to believe I've been absent so long, negligent so long!  I have been remiss, to say the least.  I repent!

Much ado has passed since last I scribbled herein.
Two seasons have gone, now Spring's blooms begin.
O'er glen and dale my eyes follow,
Looking for the flight of the northbound swallow.

Harbingers of Spring are gleefully rushing,
Black squirrels in the Bur Oak, for nest, leaves crushing.
A white eye glances, Grackles are wincing,
My every move, word and motion fearfully convincing.

Then thoughts turn to fungi pushing through humus.
Morel-ian, epicurean, Chanterelle-ian, goodness.
An exodus made, gastronomical parade,
To spaces green, lush, and growing - a glade.

Buckets in hand, tramping along,
Whistling, foraging, singing a song,
I and companions to the woods do we take,
Out of the confines, to the edge of the Lake.

From vineyard and suburb, to forest we turn,
For a moment, perhaps an hour, creature comforts we spurn.
And all for the chance to gather for pleasure,
To eat to the full of Spring's pleasant treasures.

Copyright 2013 Frank J. McAvinchey

Simply Writing

The family is watching Psych.  I'm trying out an online writing program by the name of Writer.  Catchy isn't it?  Yeah, I agree, it's a boring name, but the program is another story altogether.  "Why?", you ask.  I'll tell you why.  This is a great program precisely because it does exactly one thing - provides a non-distractive environment conducive to writing.

It has a retro look to it - green on black, like the old DOS prompts on those archaic monitors from days gone by.  That is somewhat frightening when I think about it.  But, the idea is appealing in that there are fewer distractions, although having Psych playing to my right is quite distracting.

Having a notepad at your beck and call that is larger than a notepad is a good thing.  Not having a gazillion options is a good thing.  This thing is good for writing, period, and that's a good thing.

I also investigated an app by the name of Write Space.  Write Space is program in that it has a black background, but has light tan letters which I find to be pleasant as well.  Write Space is also a minimalist app, with very few options except typing/writing.  I believe Write Space will get the job done nicely.

A third program that I acquired is known as Ommwriter.  Think Zen Buddhist - omm.  This program is an actual program, in that it can be downloaded from it's own website, www.ommwriter.com, and installed on either a Mac, Windows machine, or as an app for ipad.

Unlike the other two apps above, Ommwriter has a few options more, though it is still rather simple when comparing it to a normal wordprocessor like Microsoft Word.  The most obvious feature of oomwriter is it's music.  "Music?", you ask.  Yes, music, sort of.  It makes you feel like you are approaching Nervana's outskirts.  Bells toll, synths play soothingly, and a stray piano or two get their ivory tickled.  Do I like it?  Maybe.  It's hard to say.  I did feel silly working away in that environment, but I have yet to try to produce a project via Ommwriter.  I suspect that if I'm left alone for a few hours, it may prove to be helpful.  Try it out for yourself. Ommwriter, like the other apps, is free.

Panchito

On Barter

For quite some time I've wanted to be involved in the barter economy. One of the barriers that I've noticed is that I'm unable to find one. Yep it's a fact, here in my town there does not seem to exist a barter economy. I am going to investigate the possibilities shortly. Looks like the dollar ain't doing so well, and its time to take many matters into our own hands... 

Quite a number of communities in the USA have their own "Bucks", currencies that represent a set number of hours of work done, or other ways of assigning value to the bills.  Does your area have something like that in place?  Mine doesn't, yet...


 What are your thoughts?

Ciao,

Panchito

In Defense of Parental Authority

Last night a man by the name of Tommy Jordan executed his daughter's laptop as punishment, or perhaps the beginning of punishment for his daughter's ill-advised Facebook post.  After listening to Mr. Jordan's rather thorough explanation of his daughter's antics, his own warnings to her for her misbehavior, and how he had just upgraded her programs and laptop the day before as a favor for the 15-year-old, I found myself firmly entrenched on his side of the situation.  Then, Mr. Jordan read a Facebook post that the young lady had written to himself and his wife, blasting them for her "slavery" at their hands...  Okay, enough of me telling the story, watch the video and make up your own mind.



Kudos to Dad!  Teach the girl about the results of her actions and words.

Ciao,

Panchito

Cool Icons

Here are some coll icons I created for MAC.

On Banter...

Ideological differences, media manipulation, and social agendas are working hard and being very successful at tearing this country apart.
One has to wonder whether outside forces are hard at work as well, behind the scenes, investing heavily to see that the above is carried out.  To think otherwise would be a very naive view point. 

Obviously, over the course of the history of the United States we have gone out of our way to try to topple governments all over the world, or at least to keep them unstable.  Think of Vietnam.  Cuba.  The Banana Republics of Central America.  We even marched into Mexico City, forcing the president to sign away half his country, which now includes New Mexico, Arizona, California and Nevada, Washington and Idaho, and possibly Montana.

America was supposed to be something more than this. I think it stopped being a Christian nation back in the fifties. I understand that we didn't want the communists to take over Vietnam or Korea or any other part of Asia but still... We left France in charge of Vietnam, or at least that was the plan anyway to keep France in charge of Vietnam. We may have been on the wrong side of that fight. Our dealings in Latin America have been shameful at best over the years. We supported United Brands, now Chiquita, for years as they controlled the economy and people of Central America. We've treated Latin Americans as if they were children, while doing our best to keep them under our thumb. Shame on the United States of America. Meanwhile President Eisenhauer spoke about supporting the little guy and not bullying the small countries, all the while doing exactly that behind the scenes. One thing that irks me is that all this time, since the discovery of oil in Pennsylvania, we've been promoting the oil industry, or even not permitting the development of other technologies that have been viable for years, and could take petroleum's place as the main source of energy. I have personally seen quite a number of different apparatuses, machines, and techniques that could pretty much eliminate the need for petroleum. We might still need petroleum for a lubricant for special situations, but mostly I think we could eliminate the burning of petroleum is a fuel. Greed is the thing. Generally speaking humans are greedy and look out for themselves first and foremost. There are exceptions, but generally we are greedy. I've been trying my entire adult life to eliminate that tendency from my own heart with limited success. As it is written, "The heart of man is deceitfully wicked." We suck, fairly often. "What's the solution?" you ask. My answer is, "Be a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth." "Be willing to bleed, to lay down your life, to make that happen." 


 Ciao, 


 Panchito

!

On The Making of Money

Sitting here in heavy concentration, as I am, dropping a few pounds after dinner, I find that I'm thinking of making money, and how, after all these years, I haven't progressed all that much in terms of salary.

I feel like now is the time, despite the fact that we're in a recession. So I'm pulling out the stops. I'm going forward promoting our business, and looking forward to a successful year ahead of us.

I've been watching the news a lot lately, in regards to the president's plans for, or failed plans for, or  attempted plans, for getting the economy running again. He's managed to crank up our debt to an astounding $14,000,000,000,000 or $15,000,000,000,000 now. Look at all those zeros!  It's insane to have even considered getting us that far into debt. To think what I could of done with 14,000,000,000,000 dollars makes me sick.

Last night, I listened to herman cain being interviewed and found that he was very articulate, quite able to stand up to the bullying he was receiving from the news room talking head named David. David, like virtually all newsroom employees, is a liberal.  Did David-the-talking-head ever say he was a liberal?  No!  But, he said everything that said he was a liberal without saying, "I'm a liberal."  David-the-liberal attempted, as do all the other talking heads of this era, to appear non-partisan - for several seconds.  As is nearly always the case now, with in just a few moments David began to show his true colors.  Red is the color I'm speaking of, as in communist or socialist.

The one thing that I was not completely on board with in regards to what herman cain said last night was that in some instances Herman would leave it up to the states as to whether they permitted abortions in the case of r*** or i*****.  I'm not keen on that point.  Otherwise I really like Mr. Cain, so far...

As I'm thinking about abortion, and I believe abortion is murder, I think about who made it legal, how they made it legal, and why they made it legal. The word communist comes to mind, as does socialist, and atheist.

Think about the numbers murdered by Communists in the last century.  We're talking about 6 to7 million by Socialist Nazis, around 100,000,000 killed by Stalinists and the Bolsheviks, as well as an enormous number by the Chinese communists.

To the atheist mind humans are just another animal, and as such have no intrinsic value beyond a relational affection. That's the idea I came away with after reading athiest propaganda.

Since men are not created in the image of any creator according to the atheists, it stands to reason that we should be able to use humans for various different projects. For instance, I own a fertilizer company and humans would come in very, very handy as raw materials for my fertilizers. And let's say I had a penchant  for steak - who's to say that I don't have the right to harvest some of that tasty stuff from human legs. I've eaten frog legs in the past, and they look surprisingly similar to human legs. Perhaps the human ones would be tasty as well. I think I should be allowed to experience that sort of thing. After all, we're just animals, right?

And since I feel that the liberal public, the liberal media, and the liberal politicians are generally useless, if not down right destructive to our country, we really should start with them.  I'm sure there are some tasty individuals out there worthy of a feast!

Now, obviously I don't really think this. The thought of eating people disgusts me, and it would never happen.  But, for the sake of argument, I had to bring this up.  Obviously, it's a ridiculous notion. Eating human steaks is wrong. It's a ridiculous notion just like the idea that humans are merely animals, is a ridiculous notion.

I heard Chuck Missler say today that he answers Atheists by asking them, "What is your backup plan?" That's a pretty good question.

So, those are my thoughts for the day.

If you find that this is a thought provoking conversation/article please feel free to comment. I would love to read what you have to say. I'd love to know what you have to say.

Herman Cain for president!

Ciao,

Panchito

Postponing the inevitable

The plan was to hit the sack early last night, getting an early start on my rabbit work. Reality struck, in the person of my friend John. A call sounded on my cell phone - John wondering about the potential for a campfire at our place - we have a fire pit. After multiple '70s and '80s songs, via YouTube, all blasting through the neighborhood, we found ourselves bleary-eyed at 2am finally going to bed.  Needless to say, I didn't get much done today.

I managed to pick some tomatoes and make salsa! Yum!

We planted a few pepper plants this Spring and they are starting to crank out small, lemon-yellow, hot peppers. It doesn't take many to make the heat come out.

You, likewise can make salsas in your home. You've only got to try.  So get going, the only thing stopping you is you.

Ciao,

Panchito

The New, Improved Gig

So, I’m laying in bed on my back, having just spent the entire week in a sunnier locale than my own, learning how to plug the holes in my “system”, and augment in the extreme my income and knowledge base.  There, that was a long-winded diatribe, no?

My wife and I have just this evening finished a weeklong training conference that will almost certainly catapult our graphic design business into a high orbit.  This is for us wonderful news, as we were not sure that this training was a sure thing.  Baring a complete collapse of our national economy in the next 2 years or so, we will have all the finances we need to purchase a more appropriate location, and all the goodies we need to get ourselves bugged out of Dodge before TSHTF, if TSHTF, that is.

Whew!  I am relieved in the extreme.  We were part of a group of 23 folks from all over the USA who took a course on marketing.  Some of us are self employed, others are unemployed, others work for companies, but all were looking for a new, profitable beginning.  It looks as though we’ve found one, and a very good one indeed.

Upon returning home, we will begin to dig in, setting up the total package that will enable us to garner highly profitable customer bases to finance our concerns well!

So, if you have a company that you’d like to see obtain hugely increased profits, give me a nudge.  I can help.  We’ve seen 400% increases inside of a year.  Nothing to look askance at.

All for now,

Ciao,

Panchito

Lately...

So much happening,
So much goin’ on,
Seems like it never slows,
It never goes,
Never leaves me alone.

Political intrigue,
Apocalyptic creeds,
Lascivious “needs”.
Global, tribal, multi-cultural greed,
All in the name of everyone’s religion.
Piling up death all around us.

We’ve gotta protect,
Against the other man’s thinking.
Can’t trust that he won’t run us down.
Blood’s gotta run in the streets like a river,
Or we’ll never be happy, never be in charge.

I’m getting over myself,
Or so I think…
I think I’m finally over myself,
And then I think…
I stop and smell the coffee,
Check the tea leaves,
Toss the dice,
And what do I find?

It’s not about me,
But everywhere I turn
I just turn up again.
It’s not about me,
But every time I look in the mirror,
There I am again.

Won’t you just leave me alone?
You’re not me, clone.
You’ll never be me.

The Brotherhood of Those Who Planted Trees

Quite some time ago, I was privileged to be part of an amazing experiment in a different way of life.  I was a part of an intentional Christian community for the sum total of 5 years.  I was further subdivided into a small group of, mostly, men, who were basically the work crew that support the entire experiment.  I say experiment because that is one way to look at it.

The Highway Missionary Society (HMS) (later known as the Servant Community) was an attempt, sometimes successful,  sometimes not, to live more like what is described in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles in the Holy Bible.  The Church, at least for the first few centuries, lived a very shared lifestyle, taking in those in need, sharing with one another their material resources, and worshiping and eating together in homes in the Middle East  and generally around the Mediterranean basin, etc.  So how was HMS LIKE that?  It was a ministry that existed to serve, existed to give, existed to bow to King Jesus, and we shared our money as if it belonged to all of us, sort of.  Actually, that was the verbiage used, but in reality the only money I EVER held in my hands the entire time was the grand sum of $4 US.  That aside, I was blessed to be there, mostly (we won't go into that right now).

I have recently witnessed a barrage of remembrances coming at me via Facebook from several of my brethren from HMS, good memories, and that has brought a healing balm to my soul.  I think that God allowed this rehash of goodness at this time for the purpose of healing wounds.  Not everything was roses (with a nod to Mr. Rosas) during my tenure at HMS/Servant Community.  You've heard the old saying, "If you work your fingers to the bone, what do you get?  Bony fingers."  Well, I think another possible answer would be bloody fingers.  And then there's, "All work and no play..."

So, in the interest of further healing, I bring you a short-list of the good stuff of late:

Skipping grouse, Micheals story, Kings Table or the weekly Sunday pancakes. Treeplanters are serious consumers of large quantites of food.

A Trip To A Not-So-Dark Isle

There is an island, somewhere in Michigan where I was recently privileged to visit.  I am withholding the name of said island to protect it's secrecy.  At any rate, suffice it to say that it is really far up there and situated in one of the Great Lakes.   There, that narrows it down for you.

So, three of my brothers, as well as some friends, celebrated my illustrious father's 85 birthday while we were there!  He's an amazing specimen of humanity, my Dad.  For even now, despite his official status as an old fart, he seems to be able to run mental rings around the rest of us!  Pretty amazing.  The poor guy was very worried prior to our departure from his house, due to his belief that I didn't want him to drive.  The truth of the matter is that I have just as much confidence in HIS driving abilities as I do in my own.  I had mentioned that I was going to bring up my 4x4 for the trip, and he made it clear that that was NOT what he wanted to ride up in.  In the end, my truck had a dead battery, and I drove a mini-van, which we left in HIS garage.  We went up in my dad's 4-door sedan, of all the crazy things.  Dad has made this trip many, many times and has always done so in one of his sedans, despite the at times, 4-wheel drive conditions, somehow????

At any rate, the weather was incredible, the sun shining most of the time, the trees blazing in all their glory, and the air crisp and refreshing.  Ah, Michigan, I miss you.

The cabin in which we stayed is part of a very large piece of property, with miles of lakeshore to call it's own, and some really beautiful woods, fields and ponds as well.  The local wildlife includes, at times, white-tailed deer, black bears, cougar or mountain lion, wolves, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, bobcats, beavers, ruffed grouse, woodcock, and many others, making that island on of the most wild in Michigan.

Late Night Ramblings

Yep, it's late.  Today I became friends on Facebook with a lovely young lady, sprung from the Peoples Republic of China.  She's been here for most of her short life, and is an animated little thing.  I am honored to be her friend, and look forward to more amusing moments in her company.  So, thanks for the friend thingy, girl!  You know who you are...

It's late.  I have to work tomorrow, weather permitting, at the above mentioned individuals' abode.  My bud and I are remodeling the basement, which was a disaster area, and is quickly becoming the place to go.  We're good, you see...

The boy, pretty boy that is, is over at his potential squeeze's house at present, watching movies.  Such an odd thing, to watch your boy becoming a man.  We are mistaken for one another on the phone now.  I was speaking with the wife unit today, and heard the other boy in the background.  I asked her, "Who is that speaking?", to which she replied, "The boy, the younger."  So the younger one is now sounding like he isn't himself now, as well.  What is the world coming to when you can't even recognize the voice of someone who has lived with you all their life?

Anywho, just thought I'd throw something up here.

I just checked out the blog of a young girl for Latvia.  She has just finished art school, studying mostly fashion design.  The girl is really good.  Her name is Arta, or at least that is how she signs everything.  Check her stuff out on DeviantArt, it's nice.  She seems to have inspired me to do more painting.  A series of large character sketches, perhaps????

Ciao,

Panchito

Blessed Lake

Good friends from days gone by,
It brings a teardrop to my eye.

A pot of soup gets passed around,
For a mere month they'll be in town.

They've lived their life in a far off land,
And been amazed at the movement of His hand.

I have to smile at the change through time,
We're getting shorter with every ringing of the chime.

Their kids are grown, married off and gone,
Yeah, time flies away like a bird without a song.

You glance away, a moment gone and then,
They switch from little ones to your very best of friends.

So twenty years of living the call,
You can see in their eyes that they're in for the long haul.

They're beautiful, the image of Your face.
They're beautiful, bless their feet and bless their place.

May their house be filled with blessings for the rest of their lives,
A place to find salvation and a rest from the strife.

They're beautiful, the image of Your face.

They're beautiful, bless their feet and bless their place.

They're beautiful, the image of Your face.

They're beautiful, bless their feet and bless their place.

A "New" Style of Cookstove

Tomorrow, I'll be putting together a video on my experiment on constructing a wood-chip burning cookstove.  Check it out at my other blog, Survive magazine, on blogger!  Click here...

http://survive-magazine.blogspot.com/

The Inexorable Pull

It was planned ages ago.  It was written after that.  Time is telling the tale.  Time is marching on.  But the end is in sight.  The end is inevitable.  What has been written is irrevocable, indelible.  And it HAS been written.

Look around.  See the signs.  They are clear, for the few.  To the blind all is dark.  Just as time marches on, so do the blind, stumbling toward the precipice, lemming-like in their hurry.  So much jostling, so much pushing, and all toward ruin, destruction.

As one snatched from the fire, am I, are the few.  I wish it could be different, but no...  Only a fraction will live, a tiny portion of the whole, just as it was written, long ago.

We have to live as secret rescuers, yanking those passing by on their way to the cliff out of the crowd.  In secret, yes, but boldly moving, always moving.  Always asking for the next opportunity to save, like our namesake.  Always laying down our lives, always striving against the tide, inevitable though it may be.

I ask myself, I ask you, have you taken every opportunity?  Have you given till it actually hurt, till the blood spilled?  Not yet, no.  But there is still time, all is not lost.

Simple.  Keep it simple.  No need, nor want, for monuments or temples.  We are the monuments.  We are the temples.  Stone is not holy, stone is not living, nor made in the image.

The shapes, the colors, the smells, the textures - all made in the image, and sacred.  But not all.  Only the chosen, the elected, from before time began.  And after time ends, all will bow the knee, and all proclaim holy.

The evil is rising, at a compounding rate, exponentially greater, faster, harder, uglier.  But it matters not.  It has been written, long ago.  It will surely come, and surely go.

Stand fast.

In From The Wilderness...

I'm back.  A wilderness it is becoming, more and more, as it was in days of yore.  I speak of the wonderful island from which I've recently returned, Tuesday, that is.

We had a grand time of it, my brothers, father and I, as well as several blasts from the past - friends of the family.  The barley pop was flowing, to most if not all.  Cards were played in abundance.  Testosterone was hanging thickly in the air, punctuated by a thin veil of estrogen - mostly in the cookhouse.  The lake was lovely, with it's breakers crashing on the shoreline, in every way looking like it could be nothing other than an arm of the some northern ocean, just lacking the salt.  The almost constant breeze was whispering through the branches and needles of the pines, cedars, and spruces, carrying along the rich scent of conifers wherever it went.  The earthy scent of birch and aspen leaves, freshly fallen on the fertile soils, was like a perfume to my senses in the depths of the forests.

My various companions and I spent hours stalking through the woods, leaves softly crunching under foot, as we sought the elusive avian denizens of the boreal forests there - the ruffed grouse, and woodcock.  Both of these birds were to be found in abundance, a product of the wide variety and quantities of foodstuffs in those fertile forests.

The wildlife of ages past seem to be showing up in greater abundance in the region.  There have been reported sitings of cougar/puma/mountain lions, wolves, coyotes, bears, and moose on Drummond Island, right outside the doors of the cabin where we stayed!  My brother told of an incident where another party of gents were in the cabin, doing the usual sorts of things done there, i.e. card playing, etc., when a black bear shoved his burly front paw through a glass window of the cookhouse, nabbed a gallon can of goodies,  crushing it, and left with a mouthful of their food, and perhaps a tail-full of lead - not long ago.

While we were there, one of the deer hunters was in his tree stand, over-looking a pile of apples, carrots, and sugar beets, watching a deer approach, when the deer spooked, due to the sound of another approaching animal - a bear.  The bear ended up directly below the hunter, who's knees were shaking uncontrollably.  The hunter succeeded in shooing the bear away in the end, but was looking out for a larger one that might have caused him more problems, like happened to someone from his city recently - momma-bear problems.

Anyway, we made it back safely, but miss being there greatly.

I will post some photos of our trip when my family sends them to me, for all to see and enjoy.

Ciao,

Panchito

New Post

Catchy name, no?  I thought you'd like it.

Anyway, where was I?  No where really.  So today, or rather yesterday, since it's now past midnight, was/is my birthday!  Happy birthday, me!  Thanks.  I'm getting older now, nearing the big 5 0.  That, at one time, was REALLY old in my eyes.  Now, not so much.  I can still work a huge portion of the population under the table.  My back is not what it used to be, my knees are in the same boat as well.  My hair seems to be moving in a southerly direction, toward the back of my neck.  My wife has me on alternative treatments, starting today.  This must be some sort of "hinge" day, a pivotal moment in my life.  Why did she wait till THIS day to get me on said "Program"?  The answers to these, and many other questions are simply beyond me.  I'll have to get back to you on that.


It's sleepy time.  Good night.

Panchito

Life on the Island

The dogs of summer are barking daily now.  We've gone through some extended, tremendously hot and humid weeks, ever since July.  It's now mid-August, and we had a two-day break from the oppression, which has been sweet, indeed.

Not long ago, in the last week of July, we purchased a lawn care company.  I had helped a friend of mine get his little company going some five years hence, via designing his logos, letterhead, name, etc., as well as helping him to learn some of the ins and outs of lawn care.  He came away, in the end, with around 23 customers, all residential more or less, which was pretty impressive for a guy who can barely speak English.

Due to some mitigating circumstances, he found himself in need of liquidating some of his assets, in case he felt a need to beat a hasty retreat.  So he offered to sell his company to us at a very attractive price.  Because of the fact that our kids are now at the age where they need jobs, and because we enjoy our time with them, we went for it.

At present, I am working on expanding the company into some commercial situations as well.  We shall see...

So what in the world is up with that Darkisle thingy, you might ask?  My last name is a Gaelic name which means "The clan of the dark islander", or "The son of the dark islander", or some such.  Therefore, I came up with the name Darkisle Gazette.  What is a dark isle?  Who knows?  It just sounds catchy to me.  I hope it does to you as well.  It's all in fun.

Ciao!

A life well-lived. So far, so good...

Just yesterday, my favorite person - my wife, experienced her 50th birthday party, a momentous occasion to be sure.  This lady has lived a most exemplary life, quietly loving ALL those she has come in contact with.  She is an astounding person, patient to the core (unless we're talking about her dealings with her computers, that's another story altogether).  She has successfully raised her first child to a wonderful expression of adult-hood.  She continually pours herself out, like a sacrificial offering, for her family.

I am truly blessed among men.

I love you, dear.

Here's to the next 50!