In Karma's Web

The scene is an old downtown cafe in Little Town U.S.A.   The cafe is bustling during Saturday breakfast, with the waitresses skillfully navigating the plates  between the booths and tables, even with the occasional foot sticking out in the aisle.

Ham, eggs, bacon and sausage seem to be on every plate, with eggs, of course.

In the middle of the dining area are two farmers discussing next seasons crops and of course, planning for their  livestock entries into the state fair.

They are enjoying their time together, discussing old fair victories over coffee, breakfast and the newspaper.

What they don't realize is the sudden quiet and emptiness of the cafe.

Shift to the taller building across the street and you will see a sight you indeed would not be looking for.  A short pig is climbing the fire ecape. A pig with an eye patch, a black trench coat and a snipers rifle.  Clearly mercenary in nature, but with a deep conviction  for this particular job.

In the cafe, the two gentlemen look around and realize they are alone, except for a large old rat in a very stylish leather overcoat and beret.  The rat is in the corner booth, and says in a mocking tone," you know I found the pesticides in her corner. "

The farmer nervously says," I don't know what you are talking about. It was natural causes."

The rat says, " Willie, he did not take kindly to the news. He was grateful for what you did for him, even though you ate his Uncle. He had been in the Sudan for quite some time, but found time to come back home.   By the way, you should finish those hashbrowns. One more bite of bacon and this may not be as clean as planned"

The farmers got up and came toward the well dressed rat.  He calmly spoke the word "clear" into his cell phone and it was over. Two shots.

The rat finished the toast and hashbrowns , smiled his big toothed smile and said to the corpses "Salutations, bitches."

The pig and the rat drive away, a last wish fulfilled.

 The final  message in the web was 'Avenge Me!'.

--Mark Burkenbine

Written 11/12/13 by Mark Burkenbine  copyright 2013

Search Engine Optimization?  Sounds like another marketing buzzword that someone chases , like searching for gold at the end of a magic rainbow.   A mystical service that promises results, if paid for.

Hashtags.  Does that REALLY work?  Hashtags?

Length of article?   Why should that matter? Isn't that just saying we have a flaw in our system and need a longer article to find you? Why does size matter in authorship?  It is unfortunate for me that I am the character challenged author that cannot seem to fulfill the needs of  the web crawlers.  It is a shame. They just don't know what they are missing. Perhaps I can compensate for my inadequacies by being prolific??

Obviously, I am just a guy that started typing.  I am not trained in any way, shape or form to be a writer or marketer.  I am not a blind follower to anything, but I do enjoy watching the wolves and sheep from a distance.  It is quite amusing.

Maybe all the services and tricks out there make sense in the business world, where you have to be ready to go to any length to manipulate systems, cheat if you can to get ahead.  A business only exists to make money.

hmm.  I am trying to use this blog thing to find what marketable skills I may possess & services I can provide.

Crap.  Maybe I need a marketing firm to take over my little campaign.  

Sleeping with the enemy. Be careful when you question authority, sometimes authority makes you its booty call.



--Mark Burkenbine.  Twerking with Authority.

Is it actually bad to occasionally re-post an old post? I still do not quite understand site rankings, just know that I am low enough on the totem pole that they shouldn't matter.  TOP BLOGGER does not appear to be achievable.I am happy to know someone  smiles at my 'content' now and then.    I have also been told that my posts need to be longer to improve rankings.  I have read many a blog that had repeated information in it just to make it longer.   Nah, I will pass on that.    To all the search engines crawling on me, there has to be a better way.   Length of an article should have nooooo bearing on anything.
So, bucking the 'rules' once again, I double dare you and Re-Post

Yaks and Yeti

So....we are setting in the living room of our two bedroom cave in the Himalayas, enjoying a few cold brews and cold pizza.  We are watching the Yeti chase the Yaks around in the valley just off the deck. Yes, we have a wager on who wins.  I says to Salman, "so what did you do to end up here? "

He replies, "well....I am a writer. A well educated man that created a well written book that was badly received by an entire religious sect.  I fear for my life constantly, and I can never let my guard down. I have been condemned by an entire way of life and there is a price on my head."

He tosses his bear bottle into the fire, and takes another bite of Pizza,( can you believe we found an all night delivery in the Himalayas...that was awesome.) 

"What, my new friend, ...what the hell did you do?"

I picked off the anchovies and black olives off my side of the loaded combo #7 w/ original crust.  

"Well....I  led my entire life like a Rube Goldberg machine. Did the easiest things the hardest way possible."

"How does that get you here?"  he says while burping like a college freshman.

I replied,   "Well...I decided honesty was the best policy. I decided there are things in my life that need fixed. I decided I needed a new profession and that I liked to write and create things. I am an odd person and following others doesn't seem to be a strong point.  I wanted to get paid to be me."

"an admirable ambition. I commend you " he says. "But..?"

Here we go.  Crap , that's the last beer.  Man, other than the pizza guy, there is nothing out here. This may be the most isolated spot on earth. Looks like the Yeti won again, but didn't beat the spread.  It's a sucker bet. Yeti always win, but Yaks run out the clock.  Salman pays for the beer and pizza again.

I finish my story. "  I wrote some very honest essays. Put it on this thing called BLOG.  A few people saw them.  Now, I owed money to some but money is what I am trying to make out of this eventually, so my argument with them is look...I am BROKE and trying to fix that. I cannot make enough at my job anymore, so it is time to find a new job."

Salman says " dude you are long winded, get to the point. If you owe money and the collectors aren't what you are worried about, what the Hell got you worried enough to be in the middle of freakin' nowhere?"

I said , " Chill out. Man you get edgy after losing a bet. Just once, take the Yaks and the point."

I continue, "  I wrote some personal stuff down , about my kids, about my views on life ( Salmans  left brow lifts from under his doo rag).  "and", he says?

"Well, I may have mentioned some exes or eluded to one or two. " I mutter, " and there may be an angry old girlfriend with an angry Lesbian aquaintance."

Salman takes the beer out from where he had been saving it for a needed occasion and bites the cap off. I keep telling him those are twist offs.

"dude" he says, " I have been chased around the world by a people that are relentlessly  chasing me to avenge their GOD, and you....are screwed. It is time for you to go."

Mumbles something about me being there for a month, they must be onto me, time for a new identity again, maybe Atlantis?.,,angry lesbians.....

welcome to my world!

---Mark Burkenbine

A long ,long time ago, I was filling out a bio for a bowling tournament I had entered.  A friend of mine had described his occupation as a student of the game.  I then looked around at the field and determined that several of the regulars where not just competitors, or students.  I realized they were the characters of the game.

Everybody has baggage, and is irritating at some point. Have you ever noticed that even people you cannot stand, or just don't know, have something interesting and entertaining that can captivate you for a few moments. It can be a smile, an attitude, just a way they do something.

We all have our quirks. Some quirks are more fun to watch than others.

Find those people. The ones that just thinking of  makes you smile and feel good.  It could be a neighbor, a friend, a person who works at a store.

Dig through your memories and find 140  characters of your life.   It seems to be a successful number.

Thanks for your time

-Mark Burkenbine

Anyone know of any call center work a husband and wife team can do at home?  We are both literate and comfortable speaking to others. Wife has B.S. in Business Administration with majors in human resources, management and accounting.
 I tinker in creating blogs, videos and web content. www.Allthingsburkenbine.com is the home to that project.
 I also have:
* three years experience in financial institution  occupancy and quality control property inspections
* ten years experience managing retail sporting goods, specifically bowling  pro shops, and have a lifetime involved in bowling.


I can bowl a little bit, shovel snow, mow a lawn, and drive incredible distances. We are willing to look at all above the board possibilities.   Any of the projects on my website will always be on the table to be completed.

Dispatcher, office manager, call center, answering services,manage a small business?
We would prefer to work together if possible, but again, almost anything will be considered.

Thanks for your time

Mark & Amy Burkenbine  , Missouri
mbowl@hotmail.com