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More Toulouse picnic pics

by Alexandra in WMass Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 07:17:06 AM EST

As Afew already reported the ET Toulouse picnic was a big succes both on the food and the discussion side. As for photography we did our best in Colman's absence and given the culinary, conversation and local distractions surounding us.

Here are a few pictures I took while thinking of all of you who could not join in and in hope of having another ET picnic one of these days...


Here we are: Half of Mr. Lupin (a better picture of him is below), Afew, Alexandra in Wmass, Alex in Toulouse, Madame Lupin and Maggie the dog. Click on the pictures for larger versions.

The lemon ritual performed live before the crêpe and jam tasting (after the cheese, sausison, salmon, taboulée, wine and bagette tasting was over):

I didn't get a picture of the bachelorette party next to us, complete with future bride wearing a rabbit ear headress and a pink wand. I did get the fisherman with whom I discussed fishing techniques: worms first to catch small fish to use for catching bigger fish (pictured here saying "hello, can I go back into the water now") that then get released back into the river.

No trip to Toulouse would be co^plete without a demonstration:

Now the only disapointment for me was that the Jam I was getting ready to take home didn't make it onto the train in one piece. While I rescued a very nice dinner from our picnic left overs there was no more Jam. A new Jam tasting is called for! And there is so much more to talk about.

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Sounds like a lovely time (except for the jam!). Hope you had a good trip overall too! Thanks!

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia
by whataboutbob on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 07:27:36 AM EST
I'm still on vacation and away from my usual tech set up so I will not be on ET much for a little while. The Toulouse meet up was really very nice.
by Alexandra in WMass (alexandra_wmass[a|t]yahoo[d|o|t]fr) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 07:50:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Great stuff, Alexandra! Thanks for filling in some of the blanks (cough cough). Especially the elevation of the lemon, on which I think we may now found a new cult.

It really is a pity about that jam. A new tasting is definitely called for!

Have fun and be back soon!

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 08:59:10 AM EST
Could certainly enter the iconography of ET.

It could be portrayed as a Tarot card, or used as a divining pendulum to indicate a bi-polar preference.

I see the lemon also as Magritte-like icon hovering over a map of Europe. There's a pot of broken jam on the Midlands, but the jam crosses the Channel into France where a bust of Jérôme sits in a puddle of oil, with the inscription 'Celui n'est pas un patron', if you'll pardon my French.

It's a beautiful thing, a lemon. A sexy shape, a fresh vibrant colour and it adds zest to everything it touches.

I'm never without lemons. Not just for the G&Ts, but you can hand-squeeze it on almost any food for extra flavour.

The juice is also good for writing hidden messages.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 10:55:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Death tho those who profane The Mighty Lemon Of Toulouse!
by Lupin on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:34:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Are we talking about Alex here. or more mythologically as Kcurie would wish?

You can't be me, I'm taken
by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:39:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Burn them at the stake, that's what I say!
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 03:58:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]
:-( the cheese looks so GOOOOD

i miss that so much.

by fredouil (fredouil@gmailgmailgmail.com) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 11:27:35 AM EST
Set up an import-export business.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 11:29:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Actually you know what (this surprised me too), the shop from which I bought some (I wasn't the only one to bring cheese) of the cheeses you see there, Xavier, which ripens/sells some of the best cheese you can find in this region, has an internet website that delivers abroad (including the US - though certainly not all varieties)!

http://www.french-cheese.com/

(they do not deliver in the countries listed here however, due to customs restrictions ... poor poor Australians!)

by Alex in Toulouse on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 11:36:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
... Egypte...

Sigh.  I never get a break.

by the stormy present (stormypresent aaaaaaat gmail etc) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 12:00:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]
That is a great link - thanks!

You can't be me, I'm taken
by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:15:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I think I have to order Cathare for my 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' theme evening in August at which I shall have a real live Sinclair (St Clair) as guest of honour...

You can't be me, I'm taken
by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:19:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I cross-posted it in a diary on Kos.

Let them eat, er, cheese.

by Lupin on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:18:28 PM EST
Lupin, you look how you are supposed to look, unlike Alex, who should have been a wild-haired bohemian lying on his back looking at the stars.

There is much to be said for F2F.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:21:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Nah, videoconferencing is much better. You can even put a cgi animation of a suspended lemon in the background.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:22:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Now sarcasm, my boy, will get you far.

But remember, in the virtual world, you can get away with not brushing your teeth ;-p

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:27:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Moving from sarcasm to slander, now?

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:27:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]


You can't be me, I'm taken
by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:29:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Admittedly I would need to call your wife to the stand to defend any action for slander against me, and that raises certain difficulties under British law.

But I would fight to have it under the jurisdiction of Finnish Law, which, in a society with a misdirected obsession with cleanliness, would probably allow my lawyer quite a lot of leeway.

But I have a Solomonistic solution - slander me freely and call it quits.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:37:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I call it quits. You slander me freely. Or maybe just take cheap shots.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 05:19:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Truce: I'm disconnected for the weekend, so keep your powder dry. We will return to the project of turning you into an all-round human being in the very near future ;-)

You can't be me, I'm taken
by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 05:42:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Who do you think you are, and who do you think I am exactly?

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 05:45:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
And here I thought you were just playing along too, Migeru... I think you are both brilliant, but obviously in different ways.
by Trond Ove on Fri Jun 23rd, 2006 at 08:47:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I should offer a no-prize to anyone who identifies the logo on my baseball cap.
by Lupin on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:33:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
International Medical Corps?

You can't be me, I'm taken
by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:41:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Nope. It's far more sinister than that.

But if I tell you I'll have to kill you.

by Lupin on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:43:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]
That's OK too. It would save society a lot of money as I dissolve into senility.

There are a lot of alternatives. but I can't match the logo...

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:47:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]
It's the International Machine Consortium from Contact, the Jodie Foster / Bob Zemeckis movie based on the Carl Sagan book. In other words, it's a prop (well, retired prop).

I usually tell people the IMC is there to install chips in their brains.

Then I kill them.

by Lupin on Fri Jun 23rd, 2006 at 12:37:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Ach, I shouldn't have cut my hair, I should have known better. This is what it will eventually look like again (I blurred my face because it would have been too blown-up for my internet-privacy taste)

You have to recognize that I am a mean cut when it comes to my hair (I do it myself, using 2 mirrors). Which of course isn't very difficult when your hair is so long and so messy ... you just cut wildly and it always looks neater.

Though sometimes I get carried away and end up looking like this:

ps: these pics are from an archive on my pc that I decided to create to monitor my hair/face evolution over the years ... maybe I can animate it when I'm 80 years old and make it look cool

by Alex in Toulouse on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 02:32:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Wow, face-less Alex is super scary...

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire
by p------- on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 03:43:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Ok ok, I get it, you want to see the real thing. Let me just put a pic with no face blurring then ...

...

by Alex in Toulouse on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 04:01:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Aiiiiieeeeeee.
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 04:04:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Sleep! Sleep! Alex has murdered sleep!
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 04:06:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I'd like my mother, without whom none of this would have been possible. No actually this pic isn't mine originally (but I can't find the original online anywhere - it's a joke "Vote Conservative" picture)
by Alex in Toulouse on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 04:15:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Well of course I'd like my mother, I meant to say I'd like to thank her.
by Alex in Toulouse on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 04:15:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Ah. More cheese.
by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 08:03:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
..as if your puerile attemptz at conzealment could defeat ze combined powers of ze Umlautzen Brigadishe. Ve have ze image and mit der computer enhanzement zoftwear vi haf identified you vatever your disgise.

You may haf vundered, even as a libertarian (spit) agent, vot role ze lemon played in zis event. It vas our neu superveapeon -the Multimedia lemon viz xe capabilty of recording sound unt picture unt smell. And Lupin - ve know you dropped one at 13.41.

Agent Alexandra - pls reporten till de basen pronto. vi hef news off your next assignment. And recover the lemon!

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 04:00:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Jeezus these diaries scroll quickly; it's already gone.
by Lupin on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 01:44:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I worked for the world's largest vendor of project management software.  I was installing a new version at CNES - Centre National D"Etudies Spacial (I think that's the right expansion).  I was there for several days.  I was amazed at the lunch - including a wine course in the company cafeteria - quite a difference from any US company at which I consulted.  And of course a cheese course.

I wandered around, saw the canals, and in general enjoyed myself.

One regret -- I was so close to Carcassone and could find the time to drive over and see the fabled walled city about which I have dreamed since I was a small child.

Those who can, do. Those who can do more, TEACH!

by teacherken (kber at earthlink dot net) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 02:33:57 PM EST
One regret -- I was so close to Carcassone and could find the time to drive over and see the fabled walled city about which I have dreamed since I was a small child.

Huh? <quick google> Wow. I'd never even heard of that.
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 02:43:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Come over again, teacherken, and we'll organize a picnic in the City of Carcassonne.
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 04:21:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Please send more pics of cheese. Deranged brains need to know :-))

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 03:06:54 PM EST
I've heard there are cheese-porn sites... See also "Royale with Cheese" in brunoken's diary You know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in..
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 04:25:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Cheese porn turns out to be not nearly adventurous enough.

(I'm sure there's going to be some hot citrus fruit action in there somewhere.)

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Thu Jun 22nd, 2006 at 08:10:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Thanks so much for the pics...and a fine time was had by all.
by gradinski chai on Fri Jun 23rd, 2006 at 03:23:33 AM EST


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