These are some of the things that take place when 3 people descend upon a New York City karaoke bar that has a song list bigger than the white pages and take over during their slow hours on a Sunday night. (Thank goodness my performance of The Rain by Oran' Juice Jones was not captured on film. That's one that's best left to see in person. Or never at all.)
We headed back into Providence this week to one of Paul's college bars. We wanted to go off-season to try to capture the Lovable Locals instead of dealing with the youngsters and it turned out that the Lovable Locals were...us. Yes, we arrived at the bar at 8PM and were the only people there aside from the people working there until 3 guys came in around 10:30. What made it fun was that it was the first night that they were doing karaoke at the place so we ended up with a surprise karaoke bonus. This also meant that aside from the karaoke hosts, we were the only ones singing. Over and over and over again. It was like our own private show and it was awesome. We pulled out all kinds of random songs as well as songs we would never normally do and some we will never do again (I'm looking at you, Vibeology. Paul and I tackled that one and found out that it's not really a song and it is also quite ENDLESS.) Anyhoo, back to the bar - this was our first Bar Tuesday bar with a cover. $5?! Eh, it probably paid for the karaoke so I didn't mind. The bar itself was pretty fun inside. It was really small and it had a jail theme, complete with chain-link fences around all of the booths. We rolled VIP in the booths as usual and found them to have the smallest tables in the world:
We knocked that table all over the place. Each booth was named after a different criminal and had his newspaper articles on the wall. We sat in the Al Capone booth. We also had a special appearance by Brent's fiancee Nicole, who brought a friend along to experience his first Bar Tuesday:
Our pal Lindsey also made her return appearance to Bar Tuesdays:
It's good to have you back, girl!
Of course, you know we couldn't let those fences go to waste while there was a camera around:
When Paul looked at his picture in my camera window, he FLIPPED out over his supposed double chins. I told him that it was just the way he was posing, but he was still saddened immensely by the whole thing:
The other thing we clearly were not letting go to waste in that bar was the Mug Shot wall. We decided to pose how we would like our mug shots to look like should we ever be arrested:
As opposed to what they would probably look like:
I love how Lindsey is all glamorous in both of hers while I'm a little too happy to be picked up for hitting on a 17 year-old boy. Not that I would ever do that. (As long as they have a license it's okay, right? No? Okay, I'll shut up now...hey, is that a unicorn over there?)
In terms of the karaoke, Paul, Lindsey, Brent and I kept it going along with the hosts until those guys came in later and joined in the fun. Here's Lindsey belting out some Alicia Keys:
But once again, what good are pictures when I have short video clips? Sadly, the other patrons missed these performances. Well, sadly for Paul's Survivor and Lindsey and Paul's take on Promiscuous, but not so much on my pulling out some Little Mermaid shit. But really, how can you NOT sing a Little Mermaid song when it's in the karaoke book? It's so random that you have to do it. It may very well be required. I was just doing my civic duty, people. In any event, here are the clips:
Oh, Mug Shots - you allowed us to sing all kinds of things with no one there to listen. Thank you, and we'll be back.
And let's just all hope that none of those fake mug shots come true....
Next week: More Bar Tuesday karaoke at a bar with a name that was MADE for us. See you then!
I have other entries to write, but no time right now so instead I thought I would share with you some clips from the public access karaoke show that Paul and I guest host. This is the one where we go shopping at thrift stores and dress like morons just to make it more fun. The first clip is from our most recent hosting gig - check out my GORGEOUS necklace - and the second is from our All-Stars show. You'll see why we called it that when you watch the clips. Let me know what you think in the comments because I've got plenty more where these came from if you want to see them. Enjoy!
So my list of 101 Things to do in 1001 Days may have expired 9/28/07, but I am gleefully crossing this one off of the list, even if it is quite belatedly. Good things do come to those who wait, because after being friends since March of 2003 or something crazy like that, I FINALLY got to meet my friend Shelly in person last weekend and I had the BEST time. I had tried to get out her way for her wedding in December of 2007, but plane fare was quite high at that time, so I had to sit it out. But thankfully, I decided to check plane fares on a whim a few months ago and found a great rate to Minnesota so I just decided, "I'm going to go visit Shelly!"
And that I did.
It's so funny to meet someone that you've been friends with online because in some special cases, that person knows a LOT about you. Sometimes it's easier to tell Internet pals things that you may not share all of with your home friends just because they're outside of the situation and can give you good advice or just listen and share their stories with you. And although it seems like it should be a little awkward or weird if you finally meet in person, I have found that it never is. Shelly was no exception - we fell right into our groove as if we've been hanging out for years. I mean, we virtually "hang out" through regular e-mails and sometimes on the phone, so I suppose it should come easy. Still, nothing beats kicking it in a hotel hot tub together while engaging in some good ol' fashioned girl talk. It was little moments like these that made my fun trip even better. And Shelly's husband, Todd? Totally awesome. We all just had an easy-going kickass weekend, and I thank them for taking me on a tour of the town and showing me an amazing time. And kudos to finding a FANTASTIC dive bar to hit for karaoke - it was a perfect Bar Tuesday establishment and may need to move its location up here immediately. The clientele, too. Plus, I'm forgetting to mention one of the most important things: MALL OF AMERICA. That's right, I conquered that bitch.
But what good are words when I have pictures of our adventures? There are many, so I'm going to put them all on the next page so as not to take up my whole page with pictures of me on the flume ride at the mall. Oh, yes.
So, if anyone has been wondering where I've been lately instead of updating here, the answer is simple: in front of my laptop. And why is that? Oh, we all should know this by now. It's because this just came out:
I'm still on the fence about how I feel about it. I like some things, and some I don't. Either way, I'm spending a lot of time discovering how I feel about it. In fact, this is what anyone would see when walking by my room the past few days:
In my defense, that's only when I was home. I did leave the house to go out and do things. Of course, the minute I got home I was firing up that laptop. But really, all the new style/color customization takes time to make my house look quite Pam-like! And who just joined my household as my new hubby? Who else?
I had two other boyfriends first, but he kept coming over and whipping out a guitar and playing for me. My Sim is not made of stone, people. She, much like her human counterpart, is a sucker for a musician. He should watch his back, though, because my ex-Sim boyfriend Chris Hardwick keeps calling and coming over to use my computer. I think there's still a little torch there, we'll see.
Oh my God, I have no life.
Well, I have an exciting Sims one! Vicarious living never hurt a soul!
Speaking of which, I should get back to it. In the meantime, do enjoy this video of Paul dirty dancing up on his 85 year-old girlfriend from the local VFW karaoke night. WARNING: It is a bit creepy:
Oh, Paul. Every week that woman comes just to dance with Paul - she even carries his picture around in her purse, showing people her "young, tall, handsome gigolo." Aww. Okay, maybe it's not that creepy now. Sweet. Just no grinding on the woman, Paul!
We've had a fun last couple of days, starting with karaoke at a local VFW Hall on Sunday night, which is now our New Favorite Place to go. The crowd was amazing, the drinks were cheap, our singing was much appreciated, and Paul met his new lady-love, 86 year-old spitfire Lucy:
Lucy is the greatest - she was up on the floor every time Paul sang, dancing right along with him. People, you have not lived until you've seen Paul and Lucy doing the Destiny's Child Survivor arm-pump dance together. It was pure magic. We may have also all gotten up to peform the Thriller dance when Frito busted that out. I can't wait to go again next week.
Then, Paul and I headed up to our favorite public access karaoke show last night - the hosts have been out of town for the last couple of months and the fill-in host has been sick, so Paul and I have been hosting the show for the last few weeks and it just gets more and more fun. We didn't know if last night was going to be our last night to host, so we decided to assemble a guest list of our 3 favorite guests from the past for our own personal All-Star show. As always, we went to the thrift store to find St. Patrick's Day inspired outfits and I settled on a green sweater dress while Paul upped the ante with a black and green Cosby-ish sweater and green ladies pants. He also wore a gigantic green sequined bowtie and a green Mad Hatter's hat with a blinking shamrock on it. We looked...I don't even know. Paul looked amazing, but my dress made me look like a crayon or Olive Oyl. I wore a belt with it, but it fell off during the show. We actually have that moment on video - The Professor was in the studio taking pictures and he was able to capture a video of one of our guests reprising what we have all come to know as The Greatest Performance in the show's history. When I called him and asked him to sing this song, he said he would only do it if he had someone to sing backup. I immediately offered, and thus, this event occurred (watch for the shots of Paul in his outfit, jamming out):
There are no words to describe how much I love that man. He RULES.
So yes, we're still coming down from last night's festivities, but while we recover, please do enjoy this clip of Paul after we got back to his house last night. He was having the time of his life with those ladies pants and somehow it all turned into a DEAD-ON Sally O'Malley impersonation (SNL viewers will know her as the Molly Shannon character who is 50 years old and likes to stretch and kick!):
Perfection.
(We'll try to get more clips from the public access all-stars show up soon!)
Another trip to the public access show, another show of jackassery. Also? Another Paul & Pam Show. This time we appeared on the Valentine's Day episode of the public access show and really outdid ourselves with our thrift store outfit finds. I didn't think anything could top my Latoya Jackson/ringmaster inspired ensemble complete with WIG until Paul busted out some pink ultra-suede ladies pants. Did I mention his white vinyl cap? Oh hell yes, he did:
Paul wasn't a scheduled guest on the show that night as I made up the final crew, but I brought him along for a loving duet. You can catch a clip of our performance that David filmed in the studio during this week's Paul & Pam Show. Also watch for appearances by David, Bryan, the wig, and our favorite pizza waitress:
I have other posts to write, but I also have Lost to watch, and my friends, we know which one will win that battle. So in the meantime while I am off to the island, here's a short new Paul & Pam Show from karaoke the other night at Rosie's Lounge. Special appearance by Rosie herself followed by a very dark karaoke clip. Rosie keeps that place dimly lit, y'all:
Y'all - I am sick, so I'm making this one a photo essay just because I want to go crawl back in bed soon. Plus, I'm lazy. Win-Win for me! Wow, the sick is seeping in and bringing the crazy, so I should just get started on this before it ends up with me writing things like "purple dentures make unicorns happy." I'm heading that way, friends, so let's just get to it.
Anyhoo - The Professor and I headed to New York City on New Year's Day in the hopes of catching up with my pal Eric (aka Nun Clown), who was going to be in town for the day before heading back to L.A. Sadly, we didn't get to meet up as Eric and Dan's friend had a baby that day, so I'll just have to make a trip to the west coast soon to catch up. And attend a Slow Roll, obviously. In any event, The Professor and I had a great time anyway. And I was excited for The Professor to finally see more of the city since the only other time he's been to New York was for the Gavin video shoot and he spent 11 hours on set, so it was time for him to branch out. We actually were having such a good time that we stayed an extra day, which worked out quite well as some places we wanted to go were closed on New Year's Day. Also? New Year's Day was ass-out FREEZING. I'm talking below-zero wind chills, and when that wind hit? Oh, lordy. But we made the best of it and survived, even if I did have to sacrifice fashion and wear my little ski parka because it has down filling. That was much needed.
Anyway, here's a brief summary of some of the things we did during our trip: we hit Times Square and Rockefeller Center, met up with Shmuel for karaoke, went shopping in the east village where I bought some great things, went to Magnolia Bakery (of course), experienced Pinkberry for the first time, and of course, ended our last night there with a trip to The National Underground. I had so much fun at the bar that night and it was crazy because it was 3 days shy of the one-year anniversary of when I first went there, and the same band was playing and Chris Barron from The Spin Doctors was there hanging out again. So to sum up - fun trip - freezing cold, but good times. Here's some pictures and a few video clips from our adventures:
That was my first time seeing the tree at Rockefeller Center and it was gorgeous.
I love how The Professor looks like the most excited one to be in the 2-story Barbie townhouse in Toys R Us.
Karaoke! I actually have a couple of video clips from our night. First is Shmuel busting out some German on one of the verses of 99 Luft Balloons:
Awesome.
The other is a video The Professor took of me performing It's Oh So Quiet. He recorded the full song, so you get to see all of the screaming and jackassery in its full glory. I may get into this song a little too much:
Wow, bam, indeed my friends.
Pinkberry!
Oh, Pinkberry and Fruity Pebbles. Apparently, there is a way to pose while eating Pinkberry that makes it look quite delectable:
Then there is this:
I may look a little creepy, but at least I'm not trying to make out with any posters on the street:
I save that for the privacy of my own home, of course.
Here's my mannequin shot that we took before heading to the bar:
And then, the bar!
And, of course, my pal Sasha:
And Joey, who thankfully went back to the goatee after the moustache experiment that made him look child molestery:
The next morning, we said our proper goodbyes:
...And then headed to the only place to go on the ride home:
Oh, Duchess. It was The Professor's first foray into the land of Duchess and I'm sure it will not be his last.
Oh, and on the way home we did get to experience my favorite saying by the love of my life, my GPS guide Count Wackula. He only says this when you are taking a left exit, which is unusual for me, so it's always a treat to hear:
Oh, Count Wackula - we will ALWAYS be going to my mummy's house.
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Awesomeness of the Day: Check out the Dr. Horrible sock monkey that The Professor made for me for Christmas:
Isn't that one of the greatest things EVER? Sock Horrible!
Paul and I were invited back to be on that local cable access show again last week because they had two people cancel. We got the call to come back and accepted right away. Paul is addicted to the show now and wants to go on every week. This week, we learned that we are now the musical director's favorite guests. I imagine our fondness for going on there looking like total fools may have some part in it. We have SO much fun, though, so it was nice to hear it. This just means Paul will get to go on even more, which thrills him to no end. Anyway, last week's show was to be another Christmas episode, so as is our custom, we found ridiculous outfits and hit the stage. I wasn't sure that we could top Paul's old man ensemble from the first time we went on the show together, or even our Christmas outfits from the week before, but I'm pretty sure that we may have done it. Behold:
I still have to make video clips from all of our appearances on the show, but in the meantime, we were lucky enough to have our pal David record some video clips while he was watching the taping. They show up in the middle of this week's Paul & Pam Show - we are jackasses:
I forgot that Paul wants everyone to guess our ages. Oh boy. Anyway, I will try to get the other clips online at some point, because there are things that you need to see. Seriously. In the meantime, enjoy Paul in his antlers, working his snowman pin.
