Pancho's Via (not Pancho Villa)

The Mayor of Johnsonville

2012-01-31T21:26:00.001-05:00

YouTube Video

Sabbatical

2011-11-01T12:37:00.005-04:00

The writers of Pancho's Via are on sabbatical until further notice.Notice will be given when they return, which will happen when they have time and feel that they have a sufficient reason to post things on this blog.In the meantime, please check over at www.oldspeckledhenry.blogspot.com for updates on Lil' Henry, the newest member of the Pancho's Via team.Much love.

Henry Gets Dressed

2011-09-25T12:08:00.001-04:00

Guess who dressed Henry this morning? One hint: It wasn't his mother.-Posted by Christopher Romero Bond, aka Pancho.

My Boy, No Doubt

2011-09-24T08:24:00.001-04:00

YouTube Video-Posted by Christopher Romero Bond, aka Pancho.

Henry Getting Changed

2011-09-21T23:22:00.001-04:00

-Posted by Christopher Romero Bond, aka Pancho.

Dancing with Henry

2011-09-21T19:44:00.001-04:00

Bizarre, yes.YouTube Video-Posted by Christopher Romero Bond, aka Pancho.

Henry at Home

2011-09-20T18:05:00.001-04:00

YouTube Video-Posted by Christopher Romero Bond, aka Pancho.

Mother and Child

2011-09-20T09:57:00.001-04:00

-Posted by Christopher Romero Bond, aka Pancho.

Henry Being Cute

2011-09-20T09:52:00.001-04:00

YouTube Video-Posted by Christopher Romero Bond, aka Pancho.

The Henry Network

2011-09-17T10:37:00.005-04:00

Henry has arrived and he has hijacked www.panchosvia.com! We could not be more pleased with our baby boy, who is perfect (as far as I can tell) in every way. Keep posted for more updates, photos, etc. Mother is safe and sound (and losing puffiness by the minute) and tomorrow we'll finally be headed home. A couple of statistics: He was born on Friday, September 15 at 1:29 PM He weighed 7

Henry Moves

2011-08-12T23:58:00.000-04:00

My son, moving inside my wife's belly.

The Ralph McGibbons Music Hour, Episode 3

2011-07-26T16:57:00.001-04:00

Ralph McGibbons's Music Hour: Episode 2

2011-07-22T15:08:00.001-04:00

Ralph McGibbons Presents..... The Ralph McGibbons Music Hour with Ralph McGibbons, Episode 2, in which he speaks about the importance, beauty, and everpresent nature of music in our every day lives.

Ralph McGibbons's Music Hour

2011-07-21T15:32:00.002-04:00

Half Box/Half Men

2011-07-15T10:42:00.000-04:00

Two highly disturbing glimpses of half box/half man creatures. Watch at your own risk.

Boxing Videos

2011-07-07T16:56:00.001-04:00

Carrots

2011-07-06T19:16:00.001-04:00

Beautiful garden carrots!

Joseph

2011-07-06T15:45:00.002-04:00

I'm thinking of building a clay oven, and I was reminded of a guy that Beth once told me about. I think that he's amazing. http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/topofthetimes/topstories/la-me-weeds-ss,0,4653627.htmlstory

419 Scammers

2011-07-01T12:50:00.013-04:00

Below you will find correspondence that I have recently had with a Nigerian 419 scammer. Enjoy it! If you get bored reading the scammer portion of the dialogue below, feel free to merely skim that part. It is boring and badly written. My emails are in red. His emails are in black. Note: Somehow I lost the original email from Mr. Andy. You can imagine it, though, quite easily I am sure.

Audio/Video Posts Below

2011-07-01T12:25:00.000-04:00

Regarding the audio/video posts below: Bear with them. In both cases, the beginning may be slightly slow, but I've deemed the openings of the audio clips necessary to feel the entire experience of the phone call. Especially in regards to "part deux" -- the wait is, I believe, worth it. Also, coming soon -- correspondence with Nigerian 419 scammers. Exciting!

"Google Services" Part Deux

2011-06-30T13:33:00.000-04:00

"Google Services"

2011-06-30T13:30:00.000-04:00

Enjoy this audio clip.

A Phone Call

2011-06-23T13:23:00.000-04:00

This video was provided to me by a loyal reader who wishes to remain unnamed. Enjoy!

Death of a Bird

2011-06-23T12:15:00.002-04:00

I recently received a gift that was accidentally given to me (I thought it was for my as yet unborn son). I sent it off to its proper owner, but couldn't help but have a bit of fun before packing it up. Enjoy!

Garden Shots

2011-06-06T11:31:00.002-04:00

Some shots of the garden:

Memorial Day

2011-05-31T11:05:00.001-04:00

Memorial Day...a chance to reflect on wars past and present and the sacrifices of veterans throughout history. Also a chance to grill food, drink beer, and if you're up North or in a city, sit in traffic. And, for those of us in the South, a chance to visit shooting ranges (free!) and shoot a bunch of targets and stuff. My friend Xavi and I, and perhaps some others, will be getting our hunting

Gardening

2011-05-27T10:57:00.001-04:00

So far, this is my best garden to date. Much hard work by Beth and me.I'm looking forward to posting more soon, detailing what we are growing and how.For now, you can see the whole thing, more or less, in these photos. The first photo is the back of the garden (farthest from the road). Each photo is progressively closer to the road.We have onions, taters, tomatoes, artichokes, chard, kale,

Unicycle Riding

2011-05-20T10:59:00.006-04:00

I just got to work, after a 7.6 mile ride on the unicycle. It was a great ride, though toward the end, I felt sort of like there was a fire burning in my loins. My friend, the one who taught me to unicycle, has done multiple 50-mile rides, and is currently considering a ride to the ocean from Asheville. It's probably a good thing that my wife is already pregnant. This just can't be good for

Absences Again

2011-05-18T11:37:00.000-04:00

As usual, I'm so busy doing stuff that I'm having a hard time keeping up with my narration of my deeds. On the horizon, post-wise: 1. Garden Recap and Photos: The garden this year is one of my proudest achievements to date. It looks great, it seems to be growing well (though the recent cold has probably slightly stunted growth), and it is much larger than last year. 2. Fermentation

Zither

2011-04-26T22:22:00.000-04:00

My friend Zen just came over and dropped off a lovely gift -- a Hungarian zither. He apparently had no idea what to do with it, and neither do I, but I'm excited. Does anyone out there have any idea how to tune the thing? It's a 16 string zither, which appears, from my research, not to be the most common of zithers. All help is appreciated.

Sirius.B @ The All Go West Festival

2011-04-26T09:51:00.001-04:00

This past Saturday, in West Asheville, about 250 feet from my house, The All Go West Festival took place. This was the second year that it happened, and it was amazing. The weather was perfect, the crowd was immense, the art and music were all top notch. I was quite busy this year, as Beth and I were selling pottery, and I was also playing music with Sirius.B. (All this on top of having

Moto Carry

2011-04-19T12:06:00.001-04:00

Pedro, my loyal steed, has been so kind in his continuing to put up with me loading all sorts of things upon his back. This weekend featured 25 pounds of carrots on one ride, and 200 shotgun shells on another. Thanks Pedro!

Art continued

2011-04-19T12:00:00.001-04:00

In response to a reader's question about a recent art acquisition I made, I say the following:My apologies to James WC Daniel, the amazing artist that sold me the painting of the goldfish shown in a previous post. See his work at www.jwcd3.com

Asheville Bathrooms

2011-04-12T12:04:00.001-04:00

This gas station bathroom had an "out of order" sign, though it was merely a ruse. I actually asked if it was really out of order, and they told me it wasn't. A good trick to keep people out. Even better than the liar sign were these signs.

Mead Bottling

2011-04-12T11:59:00.001-04:00

First batch of mead has been bottled (about two weeks ago). Only 50 or so weeks to wait until it's nice and ready for drinking.All the bottles were collected from a recycling center, thereby making me feel simultaneously wholesome, thrifty, dirty, and conspicuous. As you can see, I bathed them all before using.

Busy

2011-04-12T11:51:00.001-04:00

Nose to the grindstone with family, gardening, music, pottery, and work right now, so little going on on the blog front right now.One note of note: Some members of Sirius.B, after having played a show at the Pisgah brewery, headed to the Orange Peel (a huge and wonderful venue) to catch the end of the Gogol bordello show on Thursday. Not only did we have success in doing so, but afterwards,

Art

2011-04-01T15:12:00.001-04:00

My most recent art acquisition.

Another Day in WNC

2011-03-29T22:43:00.001-04:00

Beautiful Music

2011-03-24T14:32:00.000-04:00

Dear friends: Please, please, please do yourself a favor and go now to http://www.communipawmusic.com/ and listen to and/or buy my brother Brian's album. It is so beautiful and sad and gorgeous and lush. I want to listen to it but I'm a little scared to, since it's so frighteningly intense. Love, Me

Camo

2011-03-22T11:11:00.001-04:00

Haywood county, North Carolina is full, and I mean full, of camouflage.

Sirius.B Wardrobe

2011-03-17T12:28:00.001-04:00

Sometimes Bryshen (accordionist) and I accidentally dress quite alike. Very bizarre.

Motley Crüe

2011-03-17T12:25:00.001-04:00

A motley mix of motorcyclists mounted manly-ly:

Tattoo

2011-03-13T03:46:00.001-04:00

Tattoo work by me:I am impressed. If that speeding ticket from today turns into a prison sentence, I have a profession lined up.

What a Crock!

2011-03-09T12:20:00.000-05:00

Beth has made me a beautiful, wonderful, amazing, utilitarian gift -- a Sauerkraut Crock! It is as yet unfired, but it is so amazing, and I cannot wait to get my kraut on. She'll be selling 'em too, so if anyone wants one, let me know. I'm not sure yet how much she'll charge, but I'll throw in my kraut instructions to anyone who buys one. (Also, I'll put up finished shots once it has been

Mardi Gras

2011-03-08T16:33:00.004-05:00

Some great photos from Joshua James Photography from Sunday's "Mardi Gras Show". I kept calling it our "Dimanche Gras" show, but nobody seemed to really get the joke. If they did, they didn't like the joke. (Note: Mardi means Tuesday, because it happens on a Tuesday. Dimanche means Sunday). We have been playing lots lately, and all sorts of great venues and events seem to keep coming our

Sirius.B Mardi Gras

2011-03-08T11:05:00.000-05:00

This is NOT Pancho

2011-03-01T16:40:00.002-05:00

A video for your enjoyment. This man was introduced to me by stories like this: "I tried to call you and spoke to some f---ing bastard with your phone number. He was so mean! Can you call me?" Apparently, this poor soul has my old phone number. Xavi had the good fortune to speak with him recently. If you have my old number perchance, please don't call it. I think we've done enough.

Sirius.B Shows

2011-03-01T11:03:00.003-05:00

My band, Sirius.B, will be playing a number of shows in Asheville in the upcoming weeks. Come join us at one! March 5th - Jack of the Wood March 6th - Mardi Gras Ball (Pack's Tavern, after the Mardi Gras Parade) March 13th - JCC Benefit Show (former Usual Suspects, now Avenue M) Also, enjoy this video, which I've posted before. It is but a small feeling of what a Sirius.B show is like.

Today's Stinky Jerk

2011-02-23T13:39:00.001-05:00

Farting murder.

How to Make Kombucha

2011-02-23T11:15:00.003-05:00

I have been making Kombucha for some time now, and people often ask me for a Kombucha culture that they can use to make their own. They also ask me what the hell Kombucha is. I love to share these cultures (and my experiences with Kombucha), but I find that I am often at a loss to explain exactly how to make the beverage (when placed on the spot). So, this post is meant as a tutorial for anyone

Monocle

2011-02-22T14:08:00.000-05:00

My friend over at The Thought Police Police turned me on to this. I haven't had a chance to ask him if he thinks its totally awesome or totally ridiculous. I'm assuming somewhere in the middle, though I can't be quite sure. http://www.warbyparker.com/colonel-monocle-frame-tortoise

Libya

2011-02-22T10:55:00.001-05:00

Col. Muammar el Qaddafi is an asshole.

Bruegger's Bagels

2011-02-20T13:56:00.001-05:00

There sure is nothing like "fresh poured orange juice."

Fermenting

2011-02-20T10:08:00.001-05:00

Conversation at the Bond Residence:Me: I'm obsessed with food shopping I think.Beth: Yes, you are.Me: And somehow we never seem to have any food.Beth: That's because you put it all in buckets or stinky jars.

Secret Societies

2011-02-18T10:00:00.002-05:00

Did you know that nearly all motorcycle riders say hello to eachother when passing on the road? I didn't know this until I got a motorcycle, but it's quite true, and nearly universal. Look for it when you are driving. People salute in different ways. Riders of Harleys and other larger bikes (tough guys) always seem to hold their hand down low, almost as if they were dragging their fingers in

Secondary

2011-02-17T19:03:00.002-05:00

I have just moved my batch of banana wine and carrot wine to their next home--glass bottles with airlocks. They had been living for nearly two weeks in food grade plastic buckets covered with a kitchen towel. I was stirring them nearly daily, and it has been incredible to watch them bubble and foam. Also quite interesting was noticing how different their odor has become. I tasted them at

Private Parts

2011-02-17T08:41:00.001-05:00

Have you ever wondered how they transport all of those animal willies and hoohas?Wonder no more!

Atlanta

2011-02-15T11:29:00.001-05:00

This weekend we visited Atlanta, and got to go to the aquarium, which is the largest in the world.I offer that as an answer to the question posed to me by many friends when I told them we were going to Atlanta. That question was: Why?Also, to expand on the answer I now give, we also got to hang out late night at the High Museum, drinking wine and enjoying the work of Toulouse Lautrec and his

Asheville Pillow Fight

2011-02-14T18:01:00.001-05:00

A pillow fight, to commemorate anti-valentine's day. I celebrate both Valentine's Day and its bitter enemies.YouTube Video

Chocolate

2011-02-12T10:03:00.001-05:00

Good chocolate. Great packaging.

Hot Dogs

2011-02-11T22:23:00.001-05:00

A whole lot of hot dogs. From this sort of display comes great anxiety.

Sextapus

2011-02-11T11:03:00.001-05:00

I am no longer the only person in the world to possess a tattoo of a Sextapus, a mythical six-legged sea creature that survives purely on a diet of mustaches. Check out my brother and the beginning stages of his newest tattoo:

The Beauty of Wine

2011-02-11T11:02:00.001-05:00

The spinning, bubbling vortex that is my banana wine fermenting.Also, the strange foamy, bubbly cauldron of carrot wine.YouTube Video

The Eagle Flies on Sunday

2011-02-10T14:22:00.000-05:00

Sunday, February 27th @ The Grey Eagle. Benefit for Loving Food Resources.

Angel Dust

2011-02-10T09:10:00.001-05:00

A dusting of snow in Western North Carolina has resulted in massive school delays, and, in some cases, cancellations.Lucky for me, the school at which I teach was indeed closed. Snow days just never get old.

Beer and Peace

2011-02-08T21:44:00.001-05:00

Just got back from meeting a friend at a bar in the area that I had never been to. Cool place called The Bywater, very homey, warm, and friendly.I saw this in the bathroom:And then I just got home, made some popcorn, and grabbed a beer that my friend left in our fridge after a party. The beer is amazing. This is it:Adios.

Gatsby

2011-02-08T08:49:00.001-05:00

Fitzgerald fans might want to listen to this. I haven't finished it yet, but it is delightful. A look at Gatsby and friends on Studio 360 (an NPR program that I have just discovered, which sadly, we don't have in the mountains of Western North Carolina).Studio 360: Gatsby

John and/or Emily?

2011-02-08T07:40:00.001-05:00

Is that you commenting?

Silly-Ass

2011-02-07T12:22:00.000-05:00

Just in case it wasn't clear in the last post: The term "silly-ass clowns" did not mean SILLY assclowns, but rather SILLYASS clowns. Or, said differently, I wasn't saying "ass clowns", but rather describing those clowns with the adverb "silly-ass". Just so that I don't offend.

Super Bowl Disaster

2011-02-07T12:19:00.000-05:00

I am not a big football fan, but I do like hot wings, funny commercials, beer, and friends, and so I sometimes watch the Super Bowl. Actually, to be quite honest, I sometimes sit in a room in which the Super Bowl is playing and eat wings, drink beer, and talk. Last night was no different from the above descriptions, except that I also, along with friends and family, played with the four

Carrot Wine & Banana Wine

2011-02-05T16:12:00.007-05:00

I just whipped up a couple batches o' wine, so I feel good about the weekend so far. Unfortunately, I won't be able to drink the wine for at least six months or so, and I should probably wait closer to a year for it to be truly right. But man, six months to a year from now is going to taste delicious. Here are the recipes, and a few pictures of the process. The recipes, by the way, are

Wine, ETC

2011-02-04T15:41:00.002-05:00

Regarding last post (email to Sandor Katz): Thanks to all those that so far have provided me with some ideas about things that I can ferment (mostly via facebook). I'm psyched to maybe try out a wine with some greens, wild and otherwise. Keep the suggestions coming.

Sandorkraut

2011-02-04T15:23:00.002-05:00

My email to Sandor Katz, author of "Wild Fermentation", the book I have been raving about non-stop on this blog: Dear Sandor, How are you? My name is Pancho, and I am writing with a few comments and questions. First, let me say that I have enjoyed your books so very much. Wild Fermentation has been a great awakening for me. I am constantly thinking about fermention, talking about

Egypt

2011-02-02T15:16:00.001-05:00

Egypt erupts, violence and mayhem in the streets.

Sirius.B @ MoDaddy's

2011-02-02T13:07:00.001-05:00

For those Asheville readers out there, Sirius.B will be performing this Saturday night at MoDaddy's. Bloodroot Orchaestaar will open.

The Thought Police Police

2011-01-31T18:03:00.002-05:00

Dear All, Please go on over and check out my friend´s blog, The Thought Police Police. I am a little jealous of this blog, since it´s awesome, and really smart, super timely, extremely relevant, and sure to quickly gain a huge following. Plus, it´s really about something. You should hop on this train now, so that when it blows up you can tell your friends how long you´ve been reading it for

Nothing New and Rotting

2011-01-31T17:57:00.001-05:00

This weekend, I failed to rot (er, ferment) anything new. I´m ashamed of myself. Coming soon, however.....BANANA WINE! Any ideas out there for other bizarre things that I can ferment? I´ll surely be making a new batch of beer soon (chipotle porter, I believe), and there are various bubbling concoctions in my fermenting room (onion wine, ginger mead, ginger-chile mead, hard cider), but I am

Scenes From Lumberjackfest 2011

2011-01-31T10:57:00.001-05:00

In honor of friend Xavi's beard, for which he underwent great itchiness and general annoyance.In addition to flannel and axes, the party also featured Lumberjack-tails (whiskey, maple syrup, lemon, bitters, egg white), PBR, and my brother PJ (with his beard).

Motorcycle

2011-01-28T12:03:00.001-05:00

Nice day today here in Asheville. Still cold, of course, but nice enough to allow for semi-comfortable motorcycling.

Box Jumping

2011-01-26T23:18:00.002-05:00

Thought I'd pop up a few humorous videos. Also -- Final analysis of the cucumber kimchee is that you need to go to the store immediately, buy the ingredients, and make it. It is so good! Tonight I ate a half-jar of the stuff, just putting it on every bit of food that I could think of. It tastes like a Korean-Jewish Pickle. Try making it with this recipe and let me know how it goes! Feel

Kimchi Update

2011-01-25T11:38:00.001-05:00

Cucumber kimchi update:I tried it yesterday and it's awesome. A bit salty, but delicious.My friend X, to whom I gave a jar of normal kimchi, has eaten nearly a whole large jar in the last two days. I should start selling the stuff.

Snow

2011-01-25T11:31:00.001-05:00

I hear snow and sleet are once again coming to the mountains of Western NC. Do I smell another snow day for me fellow teachers and me?

New Starts

2011-01-24T12:41:00.005-05:00

I am playing with some changes here at the blog. Feel free to tell me if you like it or hate it. The "labels" section on the right is currently fairly useless, since I generally don't label my posts. Actually, scratch that. I'm taking the label section off until I have some posts actually labeled. That makes more sense.

Onion Wine

2011-01-23T17:20:00.002-05:00

I just brewed up a small batch of onion wine. At present, pre-fermentation, pre-yeast addition, pre-miraculous physical changes, it tastes sort of gross. Really, really sweet. The recipe that I'm using is this one, though I was originally turned on to the idea by fellow fermentation fiend and friend Mike, who owns some strange pamphlet-like book that is chock-full-o' interesting wine recipes.

Cucumber Kimchi

2011-01-23T12:46:00.005-05:00

I am presenting here a how-to primer on a basic cucumber kimchi...this is my first cucumber batch, and 4th kimchi batch overall, so I am certainly no expert, but damn, my kimchi tastes good.Actually, I recently took some of my second batch of kimchi to Kim's, our local Asian grocery market, which is owned by Koreans. After some linguistic confusion, I explained to the woman who owns the market (

Beer

2011-01-22T00:36:00.001-05:00

Just back from making beer at the home of some friends. Tough to make beer, we found, on a crappy flat-top electric stove, as the burner just doesn't get hot enough to heat up 2-3 gallons of water. Thanks to Charlie Papazian's advice, however, we were able to get through the hardship.Charlie Papazian, by the way, is the God of homebrewing literature. His motto is "relax, don't worry, have a

Racquetball

2011-01-20T10:22:00.001-05:00

I have been playing a whole lot of racquetball lately, and it seems that one of the greatest benefits of the activity (besides the feeling of moral superiority that comes with exercising while the world sleeps) is the chance to actually see a sunrise.Check it out:

Sweet Carolina

2011-01-14T16:14:00.002-05:00

My two-year old nephew says that Beth and I live in "North Cakalina".I love that.

Snow and Fermentation

2011-01-14T12:49:00.004-05:00

It´s been crazy snowy here lately. Snowy enough, in fact, that we almost got stuck in Tennessee (out near Gatlinburg) in a beautiful cabin in the woods. For the first time in my life I used snow chains, however, and my loyal steed, Mrs. Breeze, was able to get us home. Things are slowly beginning to calm down from the holidays. A lovely and lively pre-Holiday season slowly morphed into a

Harry Potter

2011-01-11T00:06:00.001-05:00

YouTube Video

2011

2011-01-01T13:38:00.001-05:00

It is 2011. We (Sirius.B) rang in the New Year last night at the Lexington Avenue Brewery, playing to a packed house until the lights came on and the booze stopped flowing.No real resolutions this year, beyond eating more fruit.Actually, I probably have loads of resolutions, but I haven't yet articulated them all. That will come.One thing: I am planning a blog overhaul, and I hope soon to place

Blizzard Photos

2010-12-27T17:09:00.001-05:00

Facebook users: click on "view original post"New York is crazy! Thankfully we have good neighbors keeping an eye out for us back home, since we are currently quite stuck.YouTube Video

Blizzard

2010-12-26T23:50:00.001-05:00

In the thick of a blizzard in NYC, post prandially attempting to help dumbasses that shouldn't be driving try move their cars so they can try and drive some more.So lovely. There is nothing quite like a population thrown head over heels unto confusion.

Xmas Hotel

2010-12-25T10:20:00.001-05:00

We are now in jersey, having left behind the patrician hills of new England, where we celebrated a lively and lovely five days or so of Christmas.Jersey seems more jersey than ever, amazingly. I feel sort of like I am in a movie, something like the anti-city slickers, in which a now semi-hayseed returns to the north. He finds that words no longer have endings, that hair is so large, that

Brooklyn

2010-12-19T11:56:00.001-05:00

Northwards and ever upwards for Christmas.

Migration

2010-12-13T22:39:00.001-05:00

The grand migration of the brand new, early Christmas, ice cream maker. As these fearless makers of a chocolate stout ice cream (made with homemade chocolate coffee oatmeal stout) realized the amount of noise that an ice cream maker makes, the young machine was made to travel around the house.Somehow it seems rather strange and decadent to make ice cream in one's bedroom, but that is just what we

Making Mustard

2010-12-13T15:00:00.001-05:00

Making mustard using a Porter that my brother and I brewed up.

Weirdo Carrots

2010-12-13T11:56:00.001-05:00

Facebook Users: click on "original post"Yesterday, getting ready to make a big batch of kimchee (more on that later), I picked a bunch if carrots from the garden. Here is one of the bizarro carrots that I found.

Bread Aisle

2010-12-13T10:58:00.001-05:00

During a snowstorm.

Working Hard

2010-12-12T11:45:00.001-05:00

Hard at work.YouTube VideoYouTube Video