Ocarina Time!

May 21, 2007 7:41 PM

Want to make your own ocarina? Fair enough; a bit of clay goes a long way. But the legends say that only a true master can construct them out of broccoli or carrots.
posted by Greg Nog (25 comments total)

Say it three times: broccoli ocarina broccoli ocarina broccoli ocarina. Wheeee!
posted by wendell at 7:46 PM on May 21, 2007

Remake your own Ocarina?
posted by grobstein at 7:52 PM on May 21, 2007

but can he travel through time with that vegetable?
posted by ScotchLynx at 7:56 PM on May 21, 2007

That has got to be the worst rendition of Swanee River I have ever heard on a carrot.
Awesome.
posted by agentofselection at 8:03 PM on May 21, 2007 [2 favorites]

There's some folks who are taking this whole idea a lot further. The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:09 PM on May 21, 2007

My son wanted a real ocarina after he became of fan of The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time... I found one, completely by chance, at an old variety store. He was thrilled!... Now I'll have to tell him that we could have made one out of broccoli.
posted by amyms at 8:10 PM on May 21, 2007

flapjax beat me to it while I was distracted, wandering around in the old days of the blue. I was looking for when we discussed the V.V.O. back in September 2002.
posted by LeLiLo at 8:21 PM on May 21, 2007

amyms: My son wanted a real ocarina after he became of fan of The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time.

It seems that in this he was not alone.
posted by Western Infidels at 8:31 PM on May 21, 2007

Very cool.
posted by vronsky at 8:49 PM on May 21, 2007

Lovely post, G-Nog!
posted by Dizzy at 9:00 PM on May 21, 2007

This is pretty awesome. Related?
posted by boo_radley at 9:01 PM on May 21, 2007

And all this time I've been using potatoes to make bongs.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:16 PM on May 21, 2007

And can your play the Macarena on a broccoli ocarina?
posted by wendell at 9:20 PM on May 21, 2007

Or Ocarina Me Amadeus?
posted by wendell at 9:21 PM on May 21, 2007 [1 favorite]

What if you marinated the broccoli for 24hrs first. Then how would the ocarina sound?
posted by vronsky at 9:28 PM on May 21, 2007

Yes, but has anyone made an ocarina of thyme?
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 9:28 PM on May 21, 2007 [9 favorites]

and justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow wins.
posted by Grod at 9:36 PM on May 21, 2007

Viva la broccolarina! I got a good laugh, thanks.
posted by luminous phenomena at 10:21 PM on May 21, 2007

In Australia, a guy that played carrots and potatoes as instruments actually made it to the grand final of Australia's Got Talent (a variety show)!

Says a lot about Australian talent, doesn't it? :)
posted by ranglin at 11:55 PM on May 21, 2007

Oh, and his name was (wait for it), Col E. Flower! :)
posted by ranglin at 11:56 PM on May 21, 2007

I wnat to add that carrot rendition of Swanee River to the 'Saddest Music' thread, because it made my ears cry.

And bleed. Copiously.
posted by maryh at 1:57 AM on May 22, 2007

Loved your post Greg Nog, (fun name). There was something very likeable about this man, his tone of voice before playing the totally silly looking hunk of broccoli ocarina brilliantly in the kitchen, with his little kid at the table behind him. He's handsome too, nice mouth and twinkly eyes as he prepared to play with an inviting enthusiasm. It was the kind of thing that made me think what a cool world this is.
posted by nickyskye at 5:29 AM on May 22, 2007

CARTER! What is it?. NSFW. Occarina-monty-python-youtube-filter. For those in a hurry, 5:10 is the place to start.
posted by lalochezia at 5:48 AM on May 22, 2007

Can someone explain to me how the Ocarina was important in both China and Meso-america? Where they the same instrument or just similar? That wiki article is confusing.
posted by empath at 6:57 AM on May 22, 2007

Nickyskye: Totally agreed. That and skill at using household objects in completely new ways gives him the Jackie Chan of the Vegetables vibe.
posted by artifarce at 1:05 PM on May 22, 2007