Summer Has Begun

Dave Lieberman remeinds me of Tin Tin. Yes, I can tell white men apart, but sometimes I think they dress alike on purpose to confuse us.

Here's a cultural lesson: your white friends tell each other apart using hair and eye color, while the rest of us tend to use skin color and hair style. Asians talking about each other often rely primarily on ethnic archetype and and vocal impressions, since we all that the same hair/eye/skin color and hairstyle, right?

Yes, that was a trick question. Did you pass?

See? They look just alike.


I saw "Cars" last night with T & H. It was fun, althought T criticized it for a slow start. It was visually stunning, rather ethnically diverse, but with a surprising lack of sex and kung fu. Lots of car chases, though. I've been trying to remember what movie formula this is.... Big city talent gets stuck in a small town, falls in love, learns about friendship, goes back to Hollywood and realizes he was happier back in the sticks. "Doc Hollywood," yes, but there was one before that, wasn't there?

So at the end of the year, some of the members of the faculty continue the post-graduation party with karaoke, and this year it was a blast. Best karaoke ever. And part of it was before we left for karaoke, we were standing around at the party trying to convince people to come with us.

You know how karaoke newbies have all this anxiety, because they think it's all about singing, and (worse) they think it's all about them? Well, the remedy for that, I have discovered, is Jedi Mind Trick. It takes some training and brain power. The theory behind it is that even the most anxiety-ridden, self-preoccupied karaoke newbie has one key song that will turn them to the Dark Side. Sometimes I just mention the key song in conversation, (i.e., "Who was it that sang "Mercedes Boy, do you remember?") or sometimes I'll sing the first line of the song, ("I can show you the world, shining shimmering splendid!") and then suddently the newbie is all about getting directions to the karaoke place. Often their change of heart is accompanied by a "ok, but I'm NOT getting up there," but everyone in the room knows that it's bullshit.

And then once they get there they see that it's not about singing, it's not about them, and then they're over it. And that's when they become dangerous. J for example, changed to the dark side very suddenly, and her key song was "A Whole New World." At the party, I sang her the first line, she finished the verse and sang a chorus, and it became apparent to everyone that she had turned to the Dark Side. When we got to karaoke, we put in "I'm Every Woman," and tried to pull the "who me? I didn't sign up for that song! I don't know that song!" but I told her to get over it, and of course she picked up the mic and asked the host to put in "Man, I Feel Like A Woman," which she sang like a bird.

That was a Tuesday. On Thursday I got an email saying that she wanted to go again on Friday. Welcome to the Dark Side. The Birth of a Karaoke Junkie. I think she was on stage three times that night, more than anyone else. At one point, she was singing "I Got You Babe" with her cousin. "They're cousins!" I yelled, and he yelled back "and we have SEX!"

It was a joke, everybody, calm down. It was brilliant. And was mild compared to the grandpa who sang "Dont' Close Your Thighs" (instead of Eyes).

Ok, time for breakfast. I need to find a way to eat some bacon now.