John's Soapbox: The companion to OAImages.com. All about OA Patches … with ocassional comments on current events, UNC basketball, or just about anything else I find interesting. Remember any changes to Order of the Arrow policies and programs will be announced through official channels, not here!
Many of us have been wondering for years what will happen with Blue Book. A new version has not been published since 2006. At 1pm today Jason Spangler will broadcast part one of an interview with Roy More where they discuss the future of Blue Book.
Back in 2010 I announced the formation of Tschipey Achtu lodge as a result of the merger of Ty-Ohni 95 and Ganeodiyo 417. At the time I was told they would use the number 397, which is also their council number. This created a bit of controversy as that number is currently in use by Chilantakoba lodge in Louisiana. I also announced their first flap. Other than a 2010 Jamboree issue no further news from this lodge made it to me.
I was talking with a Roger Ward last night who was at the recent Winter South Carolina Trade-O-Ree. He tells me it has not been quiet in that lodge. The use of 397 was problematic. Many wanted to choose a different number. Some wanted to claim the number zero, but that was not well received given the special place Unami 1 holds in the Order of the Arrow. The Scout Executive, I am told, stepped in and told the lodge they will use the lower number from the two merged lodges.
The lodge is now known as Tschipey Achtu 95. I have updated the site to reflect this current information. Several new issues have also been added.
My friend Jason Spangler, also known as the Santee Swapper and host of the Scouting Hot Finds newsletters and podcast has assembled a free guide to spotting the fake Chinese made OA patches currently appearing on eBay.
This is an extensive 24 page treatise on these patches, with many illustrations. It documents the fakes produced by various sellers over the past several years. It also discusses the marketing strategies of those who produced these fakes including the stealing of images from this website.
I have written several posts on this blog about patch designs that appear to have been copied or "inspired" by other designs, quite often from different lodges. For example see the first and second posts using this same title. Another example is this post on more "inspired" patches.
The patch pictured at the top of this post was a recent chapter event issue from Piankatank chapter of Wahunsenakah lodge. (Editor's note: Please see correction in comments). The lodge is chartered to the Colonial Virginia Council which could easily explain the American Revolution theme of the design. However, the lodge totem is a duck so the hawk's head might appear to be an unusual choice.
A friend gave this to me. He acquired it a Trade-O-Ree and thought of me once he saw the design. It's obviously taken from Tsoiotsi Tsogalii's 2010 SR-7B conclave flaps, listed on this site as S34? and S35?.
Perhaps someone in Wahunsenakah can fill us in on the story behind Piankatank chapter's choice of patch design. The artist of the lodge 70 flaps should be flattered that someone in another lodge was so impressed by his design that he chose to adapt it for his chapter's event patch.
"One of these things is not like the others, One of these things just doesn't belong, Can you tell which thing is not like the others. By the time I finish my song?"
How many of you remember this song from "Sesame Street"? I saw a friend of mine at the Winston-Salem Trade-O-Ree last weekend. He usually has a great assortment of patches, many classic material and items from our area. However he wants it to be known that he isn't just interested in old patches, so he puts the frame pictured here on his table. I'll let him remain anonymous unless he chooses to step forward here.
One of those patches seems oddly out of place (really two but one sticks out more!). Do you see it? It's not quite as obvious as recognizing letters and numbers, but still very easy to see! Every time I see this frame I chuckle a bit. It's a good way to start a conversation. Now you all can join me in a good natured chuckle.
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Posted in Scouting News by John E. Pannell on April 2nd, 2009 at 2:58 pm
An important change was announced yesterday on arrow-l, an Order of the Arrow listserv, regarding the preparation and serving of food at this Summer’s National Order of the Arrow Conference. Given the date of the announcement this was widely accepted as a hoax or April Fool’s Day joke. It was not.
Lodges will not be allowed to prepare and serve food at NOAC. Open beverages will not be allowed. Only commercially prepared pre-packaged foods may be distributed by the lodges. The official word is:
April 2, 2009 – I expect these companies will get to the moon before we return. I’ll also predict that China will reach the moon before a NASA led mission returns there.
Catawba lodge has recently issued a patch that is awarded to those who help staff the the “Indian Village” the lodge runs during its Fall Fellowship. Thanks to Larry Banks for news and the image of this piece.
The words “Awenhake Utenay” are prominent on this patch. I am told they mean Indian City, which is as close to to “Indian Village” as the lodge was able to find. I do not know what language this was taken from.
Posted in Scouting News by John E. Pannell on April 2nd, 2009 at 9:20 am
This is a great video about what Scouting is… at least what it should be.
Those in the US need to pay attention. “Scouting” is not a large corporation. “Scouting” can happen without a legion of professionals and highly structured environments. It does not happen in a classroom where badges are “earned” for attending the class. It can even happen with girls and boys working together!
Posted in Tar Heel Basketball by John E. Pannell on April 2nd, 2009 at 3:00 am
In preparation for the UNC men’s basketball team’s appearance in the Final Four this weekend, I plan to share some interesting and funny videos here.
This one recreates UNC’s 75-74 victory of Duke in Durham earlier this season. ACC basketball fans, especially UNC fans, will get the humor. Some others might be lost.
Back in 2010 I announced the formation of Tschipey Achtu lodge as a result of the merger of Ty-Ohni 95 and Ganeodiyo 417. At the time I was told they would use the number 397, which is also their council number. This created a bit of controversy as that number is currently in use by Chilantakoba lodge in Louisiana. I also announced their first flap. Other than a 2010 Jamboree issue no further news from this lodge made it to me.
I was talking with a Roger Ward last night who was at the recent Winter South Carolina Trade-O-Ree. He tells me it has not been quiet in that lodge. The use of 397 was problematic. Many wanted to choose a different number. Some wanted to claim the number zero, but that was not well received given the special place Unami 1 holds in the Order of the Arrow. The Scout Executive, I am told, stepped in and told the lodge they will use the lower number from the two merged lodges.
The lodge is now known as Tschipey Achtu 95. I have updated the site to reflect this current information. Several new issues have also been added.
Some of those who know me personally, know that I have gone over to the "Dark Side" and have started using Apple products. I bought an iMac a couple of months ago and just recently got an iPad. My brother is trying to tell me that my Droid's days are numbered.
I really like my iPad and started day dreaming about an OAImages app for it. I have no idea how to go about writing this and it would take me into an entirely new area from what I know. It's not something that would happen easily or soon. Here's your chance to give feedback. What do you think about an OAImages app? What would you put in it? Do you have any thoughts on how it would be distributed or how much it would cost?
Please feel free to comment. Comments are moderated for those who have not successfully had a comment published on this blog before in order to control spam. I will do my best to approve comments as quickly as possible in order to facilitate a discussion.
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October 4th, 2011
Indian Summer and Summit Corps Patches
I have added special pages on this site for the 2011 Indian Summer and 2011 Summit Corps. I still have a few images to add but most of what I have images for is now on the site. Thanks for Rick Horne for most of these images.
It's kind of odd to come out of hiding to post about a topic like this.
I'm hearing from some brothers that there have been gullible readers to this blog over the years. I would have thought it was obvious from the context of the posts, but the various posts made on this blog throughout the years that have appeared on APRIL FIRST are all satire. None of them are true. Read them and chuckle but please do not complain to your friendly OA National Committee members, Scout Executives, lodge advisers, or official website administrators about the "changes" that are "announced" in them.
This is strictly an "FYI" post for those familiar with the issues facing those who maintain blogs and message boards where readers can post comments.
Recently I had been having issues here with comment spam getting past this blog's filters. I deleted the inappropriate posts as quickly as I could but this was still unacceptable to me, as well as additional work. I since have required that readers register before they're allowed to post comments here. That seems to have stopped the spammers.
I still see a number of probable spammers, mainly from Russian domains, registering on this blog but so far none have had their comments posted successfully.
I may test my luck for a short period of time in the near future. At some unannounced time, I will turn off the registration requirement for posting comments for a day or two. I want to see if the spammers have been chased away, or if they're just awaiting an easy opportunity to push their garbage
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February 11th, 2011
Change in Comments Policy
This blog is being hit with a large number spam comments lately. There have been over 12,000 attempts to spam the blog with comments just within the past 60 days. Recently a few dozen comments, hawking service and goods I deem inappropriate for this blog, made it past the filters. Since I don't desire to spend more time deleting the spam as I find it and don't want inappropriate information to sit on my blog, I am tightening up the policy on commenting here.
Those who wish to comment must now register and be logged in before being to post comments. Registration is free and is not the same as membership to this site. This is a common practice on many blogs especially among sites run by more "traditional media" type companies.
Posted in Scouting News by John E. Pannell on April 2nd, 2009 at 2:58 pm 
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