Why is there a baby in the stupid cake in the first place?

I was raised Catholic. I know, what a strange way to start a post, but follow me here for a moment...I was raised Catholic, so about this time of year I become very aware of two things, Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday. I've never been to Mardi Gras myself, but I have lived vicariously through friends who have gone and brought me back bags and bags of plastic beads. Beads, which according to mardigras.com are manufactured in China by people who believe it is actual jewelry, but I digress. I have never participated in the festival or madness of Mardi Gras, but I have observed one of its dearest traditions, the King Cake.

I worked in an office, one of those swanky high rise kind of offices, with a New Orleans native who on the occasion of Mardi Gras ordered a King Cake to share with the office. As we were enjoying the imported confection one of the young ladies who worked with us (and who fancied herself superior to nearly everyone in nearly every way) began screaming and threw her cake across the room. "OH MY GOD! THERE IS A BABY IN THIS CAKE! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE, WHY IS THERE A BABY IN THIS CAKE!" Most of our co-workers just stared as the man who purchased the cake and I burst into hysterical laughter. The poor young lady was neither familiar with King Cake, nor the fact that finding the baby in her piece of cake was supposed to bring her good luck. Once it was explained everyone had a good laugh, but I am always taken by surprise by the knowledge we take for granted and or project on to others. Maybe this was a story that you had to be part of to really appreciate, maybe it's called pie...

In other, non-holiday related news, it looks like my friend Oscar's band, the gones, are in the studio! I think it would be really spiffy if you went over to their myspace page and downloaded their songs and check out their blog. Jef, Oscar, & Van are amazing musicians and really cool guys, I know you'll love them just as much as I do.

Today's find: handmade artisan mineral make-up (say that three times fast). Good for you, good for the environment, makes you pretty, it is kind of hard to go wrong there.

Um...let's see...random Mardi Gras story, the gones, the find of the day...I guess that's about it for today...I would like to hear from you though. Do you have a baby in the cake story, want to plug your friend's band, or have a find of the day?