I used to think...

...that nothing was stranger than a group of musicians....then I became one

.....then that nothing was stranger than a group of choral musicians....then I became one

.........then nothing was stranger than a group of Anglican choral musicians.....yep...became one

..............then the only thing stranger than that was an Organist........then a group of Organists

Today the cycle has been broken. I was just in a room with 250 musicologists. I have found the pinnacle of weirdness. For those familiar with the boyfriend game, let me just say that I was going nuts...

Indy Comes to New Haven

Ok....so they are currently filming the 4 Indiana Jones movie in New Haven, specifically using parts of the Yale Campus as well as a section of Chapel Street as a backdrop for a good sized part of the movie.

As a further surprise they are culminating this filming with a mini-festival tonight including food, rides for kids, and a showing of Raiders on the Green tonight.

So a question comes to mind...how does one explain Hitler/Nazism to an 8 year old?

"Hey Dad, can I ride the nazi with the melting face on the merry-go -round"

You'd better watch your damn mouth....

http://www.yakimaherald.com/page/dis/289128851420717

Get this......in a recent Junior High School Choral Concert, one student stood up and spoke her mind.

I'd like to find a parent who came armed with a video camera and hear exactly what profanities she uttered.

The most well-endowed bivalve you've ever seen....

Allow me to introduce you to the Geoduck (pronounced Gooey-duck, a corruption of its' original Native American name) I first ran across this beast whilst watching Top Chef this eve, only to flip over to Dirty Jobs and see how they harvest these bastards.

I don't get queasy easily, but after seeing this thing in its' natural environment and the subsequent harvesting and preparation of it I have to admit to being a bit skittish about the Geoduck. I don't care how good it tastes, I don't want it anywhere near my person.

A few irreverent and information heavy observations follow:

1. The Geoduck is recognized by many cultures as an aphrodisiac. I don't care how comfortable you are with your equipment downstairs or what the good Lord gifted you with, but I feel a little inferior just looking at the damn thing. For me the geoduck is a definite anti-aphrodesiac along the lines of visualizing Margaret Thatcher naked.

2. I wonder what a Jewish Geoduck looks like. Obviously the one in the picture is Goyim Geoduck.

3. There is nothing remotely duck-like about the Geoduck. If I were to make any assertions of resemblance to other animals I think I'd probably call it a Geohunglikeahorse.

4. The Geoduck in the picture is actually only average-size. They can be bigger.

5. The leering smile the gent in the picture is showing seems more obscene everytime I look at it. The reader is referred to my previous posting on Facial Congruence, Pedophilia, and the Passion of our Lord. Be sure to check out the link to the "Best Damn Page in the Universe" for more information of the "pedo-smile" While this guy is no pedophile, the grin certainly takes a page from the pedo-textbook.

6. I actually believe that a store I once took for an adult boutique was actually a Fishmonger who just happened to have a zillion copies of "Foreskin Gump" and a whole lot of Geoduck (in different colors, no less)

7. Are Geoducks from around the world the same. Urban legends might be extrapolated to say that asian Geoducks are much smaller than their North American counterparts. I don't even want to see what an African Geoduck looks like.

8. Do other bivalves have siphon envy?

9. How does one distinguish gender in a GD?

10. Worse yet, how do GD's reproduce?

So what are your thoughts? Would you eat a GD?

Excuse moi de vous deranger.....

Jaques has been quite remiss of late in blogging. Alas, since my return from the wonders of Perigord and Quercy (duck nearly every day, and Pastis!) I have felt like doing little else but reminiscing about France.

My top 10:

10. Public Urination

9. Other people's public urination

8. "Fumer tue" printed on all packs of cigarettes.

7. "This church isn't very old, it was only built in the 1600's"

6. "This house isn't very old, it was built in the 1700's"

5. The very occasional moments when I faked just enough French to fool the shopkeeper into launching into a fluent speech think I spoke excellent French, only to have me say (in my limited French) "I only speak a little"

4. Duck......and Potato roasted in Rosemary and Duck fat...

3. Seeing my conductors spouse (who has a thick Yorkshire accent) speak French, and ask her typically pointed and almost brusque questions in another language.

2. Sharing my irritation with one of my co-singers with my friends. Nothing like mutual irritation to put us all at ease.

1. Drinking 35 year old Armignac with my hosts and room-mates