What Hub Opera Ensemble Means (to me)

In addition to keeping this blog fresh with content, being a pseudonymous author, working on a Science Fiction novel, and keeping a (almost) daily journal, I also do the bulk of the writing for the website for the Hub Opera Ensemble.  I was recently moved to write an essay describing what Hub Opera means to me, by way of how I came to be an Opera lover (hint:  it involves the Mrs.).  The essay is over on that site, but here's the first paragraph to whet your appetite for more of my words:

     As a child, my parents made sure to expose me to classical music, and I took a liking to it; the orchestral kind, that is. Until I took Music Appreciation at HCC (then HJC) with Dave Warner, the extent of my Operatic knowledge was from two Bugs Bunny cartoons and some instrumental arrangements I had played in a concert band. When Francesca and I met, I had an academic appreciation for the form, but didn't know much about it beyond fat bearded tenors and buxom blondes in breastplates and horned helmets. I had so much to learn.

To read the entire essay, click here. And come see Carmen in June.  It's going to be awesome.

Avocado (dis)Information

     Avocados roam the pampas in herds comprised of extended family units. One adult male and up to a dozen adult females protect their young communally. They subsist mostly on yeoman's clover and secrete a blue milk that smells faintly of boysenberries.       A herd of avocado is known as a number. The male is known as a guac and the female a mole. Proper guacamole is made from an entire small family group, tomatoes, onions, garlic, cilantro, lime juice and salt.