We Bring the Party With Us!

Over the weekend, I went to visit my brother and his family for Memorial Day. Pictures will be coming soon, as soon as I determine if any of them are fit for posting on the internet. In the meantime, review the email below from the karaoke guy at the local watering hole. That's right - we got name checked. Woot! Woot!

Hi everyone,

I wanted to fire off this e-mail early because I'm on vacation tomorrow for a little R&R and some I&I. (the rumor about rehab is not true). I'll be back in the U.S.A. on June 4th and will be back at Chris-Tina's on the 6th. I may not get the chance to e-mail you again so please put this in your memory bank.

Last night was great. Thanks to everyone who came out. Especially the Clarks. Charlene brought her sister Melissa and Dan brought his sister Melanie. You guys are too much fun. Could you adopt me. I could be like a much older brother. Also let me mention the young group from the New College in NYC. I hope I got that right. They were up here competing with their debating team. Believe me when I tell you the debate is over. You guys rock. Mio please pass this message on to Suzy, Willie, Jim and Aubrey I hope I didn't miss anyone.

We sorely missed those of you who could not be there. I know that this a busy weekend. I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend. Keep in mind the reason we celebrate. Remember the brave men and women who serve in the forces that guard our country and protect our way of life and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice with their lives.

Summer has just begun. This means you/we should be extra thirsty. (amen) There is a remedy for that. Come to see us at Chris-Tina's and drink until you can sing like one of those American Idol people. I forgot their names already, but I won't forget yours. Make sure you have a designated driver. Yea! Pete I'm talking about you "the designated drunk". Thank you Mary.

On the following Sat. June 13th. my buddies "The Kopy Kats" will be at Chris-Tina's with some great 50's, early 60's and swing music. If this is your type of music as it is mine you will be sure to have a great time.

I almost forgot to mention that I not only do karaoke at Christina's, but have ventured out to doing pig roasts and Irish Wakes. Many of the local funeral parlors however have banned me from leaving my business card, but you can always be in touch with me by phone or e-mail. (Wow! I am impressed. I just did a spell check and got every word rite). Hope to see you on the 6th. As always 9:00pm -1:00am.

And - this isn't a one time thing, kids. Here's the email from the day after Charlene's birthday celebration:

Hello Family, Friends,In laws,Outlaws and mainly Karaoke lovers,

Sat. May 9th was great. We had a good turnout. It was Charlene's Birthday. I think she turned 30. I might be mistaken, but,she looked great. She and her husband Dan stop in when they can. You know they have to work. They are an awesome couple and sing some fantastic duets. They really rock.

You have to hear Chip. This man is 90 yrs. old. He's not on my e-mail list so he probably won't read this. He asked me if I had the song "Marajuanaville" by Mark Eddie which is a parody to "Margurateville" by Jimmy Buffett. Go figure, I had it. He raised the bar for the rest of the singers that followed . I also have to mention the ladies that sang my favorite song,"Baby Got Back". Man I thought I died and went to Karaoke Heaven. PLEASE COME BACK.

I have been doing Karaoke for about four years now and have saved enough money to go on a cruise. Yes this summer I will be going on the Captain JP. I understand it is a 3-4 hr. cruise. I am so excited. I could not have done this without you. Thank you all.

Let me get serious only for a second. Over the past four years I have visited many Karaoke Bars and met some great KJ/DJ's and some bad ones. I try to model myself after the good ones and I do not mind dropping names because I don't consider them as competiors, but friends and family. Bob Treffiletti (The Bob Treffiletti Project), Pam Trainer and Tammy LaBrake (U-Sing-U-Dance), Scott McNelis (KTENT1) Johnny Hodgkinson (Kustom Entertainment), Marie Slagen (Face The Music) and Cris and Collett Drennan (Spotted Cat Music). If you want to have a good time check these people out. Where and when? Find out for yourself. Hey how much of a plug do they want anyhow.

Remember Sat. May 23rd. 9 PM-1AM I will be back at Chris-Tina's trying to give you the best of all my mentors and throw in a little extra of my own. Hope to see you then.

Cute Kid Alert: Welcome to the Gun Show!

The apple does not fall far from the tree, kids. Behold:



She is shouting "WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOW!" in case you aren't sure.

I Heart Will Ferrell

No surprise to anyone who knows me, but I love me some Will Ferrell. Old School, Anchorman, Talladega Nights (shake-n-bake, baby!) all never fail to make me laugh. So I was thrilled that he was hosting the season finale of Saturday Night Live this past weekend.

I am not thrilled that none of the clips appear to be online yet. I specifically wanted the Celebrity Jeopardy skit, which brought back Norm MacDonald! I love him! There was also a great "Goodnight, Saigon" skit at the end. But, like I said, these are not online. Instead, please watch this one, which never fails to make me giggle because my own awesome dad drives a Dodge Stratus. Enjoy!

I've Been Around

Sorry I've been a little MIA this week, Musings readers. It's been kind of busy at work and I haven't really been home at night to blog either. Hopefully things will settle down next week and I can get into a more regular schedule.

Anyway, here are my latest runs - you can click the little grey arrow to scroll through them. The pacing is a little off because I still can't get the stupid band to calibrate, but it's close enough for my purposes. And hopefully for yours.

Scenes from The Train: Mel C. and DG Travel to the Burbs

This weekend, Dangordit and I traveled to Hotel Murphy to properly celebrate Cinco de Katie. Pics will be coming soon - but for now, you can entertain yourself with our BlackBerry Messenger chat conversations.

Participants:
-------------
Mel C.,DG
Messages:
---------
Mel C.: Leaving work!
Mel C.: Mama is thirsty!
DG: I can get the beer, can u get pretzels?
Mel C.: Of course
Mel C.: Do you want one or two?
Mel C.: Holy fuck do I hate people
Mel C.: I am perfectly punctual!!!
Mel C.: I see you
DG: I'll have what u have. Where r u?
Mel C.: PING!!!

Participants:
-------------
Mel C., Kate, DG
Messages:
---------
Kate: File: IMG00574.jpg (10 KB) (Editor's Note: This is a picture of sangria.)
Kate: Hello old friend
Kate: We meet again
Kate: Also, it just smells like alcohol
Kate: This has a magnum of red
Mel C.: That is a VAT of sangria!!!
Kate: And a cup each of vodka and brandy!!!
Mel C.: I will drink it
Mel C.: I just put it on fb!
Mel C.: We are totally on train!
Mel C.: Already had a pint
Mel C.: Opened 1st 24
Kate: I just ate a warm-up chicken finger!
Kate: Yay!!
Kate: And some diet soda
Kate: And all of the breakfast crap is at jackie's
Kate: I am SUPER excited
Kate: And now I will ping you
Kate: PING!!!
Mel C.: PING!!!
Mel C.: That's how its gonna be!
Mel C.: PING!!!
Kate: Ji
Kate: Hi
Kate: Phone broke
Kate: PING!!!
Kate: Phone was broken!!!
Kate: Don't shun me!
Mel C.: PING!!!
Mel C.: So lippy!
Mel C.: Not shunning!
Mel C.: Your phone broke! Don't yell at me!
Mel C.: PING!!!
Kate: I'm not yelling
Mel C.: Why does your phone keep breaking?
Kate: Whining in a loud voice maybe!
Mel C.: I ove you
Kate: I ove you too!
Mel C.: If you are whining, I am going to say "I can't hear you when you whine. Why don't you think about it and come back when you can talk without whining?"
Kate: Oh no
Kate: That's not really great
Mel C.: I have to pound a beer in 8 minutes
Kate: You can do it!
Kate: Why the time limit?
Kate: Just for sport?
System message: File sent: IMG00480.jpg. (Editor's Note: This is a picture of soft pretzel)
Mel C.: To stay on pace with my drinking
Kate: Oh good
Kate: How is the beer going?
Mel C.: Super good
Kate: Did dg ask you to conference?
System message: DG has been invited to join.
System message: DG has been added to the conversation.
Kate: Hi
Kate: Does everybody see this?
DG: Hey.
DG: Mel fucking rules.
Mel C.: I'm almost caught up
Mel C.: I keep snorting
DG: Hello?
Kate: Oh no!
Kate: Snorthing!
DG: I'm good now.
Kate: Where are you guys?
DG: Big time
Mel C.: Gordon is rationing my beers cause I just spilled all over my lap
DG: Snorthing! Ha!
Mel C.: Beer bogart!
Kate: Oh no!
Mel C.: So good
DG: Actually rationing b/c her Beer is still so heavy.
Kate: Tell him to give it back!
Mel C.: He's not listening
Kate: I will drink a beer tonight
Mel C.: One?
Kate: Maybe one
Mel C.: I am on the equivilent of my fourth
Kate: Also, where are you guys?
Kate: 4 is good
Mel C.: Gordon is snorting too!
Mel C.: Snorther!
DG: She is on her 5th if the can she's drinking/spilling is more than half gone.
Kate: Awesome
Kate: How many for you Gordon?
DG: Same as the girl.
DG: 1 ahead.
Kate: Wow
Kate: You guys are going to be awesome when you get here
Kate: What are we eating?
Kate: I am starving
Mel C.: Order for us
Mel C.: You know what we like
DG: Subs, homes! Do NOT order for me.
Kate: Melanie, you are having buffalo chicken cheesesteak
Kate: Gordon
Mel C.: Dg said he wants an italian hoagie
Mel C.: With a side of Bud Light
DG: I am eating Mel's sandwich then.
Kate: You are having italian hoagie
Kate: We are all having fries
Kate: And chips maybe?
Kate: Now
Mel C.: Boy, you abt to lose a finger then
Kate: Just fries
Mel C.: Now what?
DG: I 'll go ahead and order my own sandwich, which may or not be the Italian.
Kate: Okay, that's fine
Kate: I am pretty good at the ordering
Kate: But it's fine
Mel C.: Does mine have mozz?
Mel C.: Cause I want mozz
Kate: I will order it with mozzarella
DG: Ok - for me let's do the Italian w/ provolone, oil and vinegar, mayo, roasted peppers, salt and pepper.
Mel C.: And it has blue cheese and buffalo chick? And lettuce and tomato?
Mel C.: Now who is wing?
Mel C.: That's supposed to say "whining"
Kate: We will order when you get here
Kate: These are no longer my orders
Mel C.: I will eat whatever you present me
Mel C.: I almost just died over wing vs whining
Kate: Where are you?
DG: Which makes sense b/c THEY'RE NOT YER SANDWICHES!
Mel C.: 30th st
Kate: That's the 5 beers in a couple hours mel c
Mel C.: Hanging
Kate: I see you point dg
Kate: But here's the thing
Mel C.: I was chokin and chokin!
Kate: I am awesome at eating, thinking about eating, and ordering
Mel C.: And then laughichockn!
Mel C.: That was all blackberry
Kate: That makes me yaff
Kate: !
Mel C.: I typed all the necessary letters
Mel C.: For laughin and chokin
Mel C.: Dg is peeing
Mel C.: Again
Mel C.: He timed it so I can tell you how long btwn
Mel C.: Pants are so wet with bud light
Kate: What is the matter with that kid's bladder?
Kate: Seriously
Kate: Maybe it is like irritable bladder
Kate: Nona just did a big fart
Kate: And seems oblivious that she did it
Kate: Fun
Mel C.: Are you at Nona's now?
System message: File sent: IMG00486.jpg.
Mel C.: Where did you go?
DG: 23 minutes Kate!
Kate: At non's
Kate: Nona's
Kate: I am here dropping sal off
DG: WHAT?
DG: We don't see her tonight?!?
Kate: No way man
Kate: She is sleeping soon
DG: This is some weak shit.
Kate: She is super cranky at night
Kate: You're not missing anything
DG: Sounds like someone needs to focus on raising a Baby that can hang.
Kate: Except she is super cute in her jams
Kate: Alright
Kate: Talk to me when you have a spouse and a 3-year old
DG: Don't YOU get cranky now too.
Kate: Who is cranky?
Kate: Not me
DG: :)
Mel C.: Not me!!!!
Kate: I miss you guys
Mel C.: Except I wish my pants were less wet
Kate: So must be dg who is cranky
Kate: That also makes me yaff
Kate: We can do laundy
Mel C.: Oh no she din't!!!!
Kate: Laundry
DG: Mel McSnorty, am I cranky?
Mel C.: Mommy! You are yaffin so much!
Mel C.: Dg - can't decide if you are cranky over the snorting
Kate: And also, so many jeans are waiting for you!
Kate: I am yaffin so much
Kate: I am not cranky for any reason
Kate: I am hungry for subs
Mel C.: Did you order?
Mel C.: What is john gettin?
Kate: No
Kate: Will order when we get to train stattion
DG: In about 5 minutes? (Editor's Note: we aren't really paying attention and nearly miss our stop.)
Mel C.: Yes
Kate: Approaching train stattion
Mel C.: We are here

The Anniversary of Chicken Parm Friday

Musings readers - as you may or may not know, I recently declared May 1, "Chicken Parm Friday" and asked several of my friends to join in. I'm happy to report that several partook in the new tradition (which might be amended to the first Friday of every month because, well, delicious), but Dangordit took it to a higher level than I could have imagined. The kid does not disappoint. Behold his email below.

Tonight Dangordit and I head to Hotel Murphy to celebrate Cinco de Katie in the manner it was meant to be celebrated. I'm pretty sure the trip is not going to disappoint.

From: Dangordit
Date: Fri, May 1, 2009 at 9:05 PM
Subject: Happy Chicken Parm Day!
To: Mel C.

Thought you'd like these. Hope you've enjoyed the holiday.

Scenes from a Gym: Keep Your Opinions to Yourself, Please!

Mel C. enters the gym elevator, post-workout, wearing her 427th Strength Through Support shirt from her dad's 2008 deployment AND her headphones. Gym douchebag enters right behind her.

GDB: That's some shirt. Is that for someone in your family?
M: (Thinks: Oh good. Talking to strangers before 9:00 AM. My favorite.) Yes. My dad spent a year there.
GDB: Oh wow. That's amazing.
M: Thanks.
GDB: You know, Iraq is the largest producer of oil. Bush and Cheney blah blah blah.
M: (Thinks who said anything about Iraq?) blank stare
GDB: Afghanistan blah blah blah opium blah blah blah
M: (Thinks is this guy for real?) blank stare
GDB: I hate to burst the American bubble, but its all about business.
M: (Thinks he has got to be kidding me) Well, my dad and his unit were training security forces and building orphanages...
GDB: That's the thing. Blah blah blah the businesses and blah blah blah the corporations and blah blah blah.
M: Uh. Yeah. See ya.

Look, clearly, I have some strong and probably biased feelings on the subject. And I get that others might not feel the same. That's fine. So, let's just not discuss it. That's all. We can co-exist and just not talk about it. I generally don't discuss politics with friends or family. But I especially don't want to discuss politics with you if you are a stranger. At the gym. In the elevator. At 8:30 AM. I don't rant at you and you don't rant at me and everyone wins. Inappropriate!

Happy Cinco de Katie!

A Musings shout-out to faithful reader, Kate, who graced the world with her presence on this day back in the late 70s. And oh, what a happy day for all the rest of us!


This picture is from last summer's dangordit party. I'm really looking forward to seeing if I can recreate it this weekend. There will be sangria, so anything is possible!

A Taste of Summer

Had a really great weekend upstate. Went to Vernon Downs and played the ponies for a bit and eventually even won. Sunday walked along the Erie Canal and then had my very first soft-serve cone of the season. It was actually the hardest soft-serve I've ever had (that's what she said), but it was still delightfully satisfying (also, what she said).

Even Tiki got to have some summer loving with a cup of vanilla. Doesn't this picture just make you smile?

PS - Max, baby, you know I still love you. Don't be mad...

Reunited and It Probably Won't Feel So Good (at first)

So, tonight I am rekindling my love/hate relationship with Russ the Trainer. I pay money for him to make me do things I do not want to do so I hate him. But, then my pants look fantastic, so I love him. And really, the timing is perfect, because I just found out I'm going to Vegas in June so it might be time to ressurect Operation Steamy Hot in Vegas, aka Operation Try Not to Die at the Boilermaker. In honor of tonight's reunion, I am bringing back some of Musings greatest hits from this time last year.

May 7: Russ The Trainer Hates Me

May 12: Russ the Trainer Might Not Hate Me So Much (Operation Steamy Hot in Vegas Update)

and my favorite:

May 28: A One-Act Play Titled "Russ the Trainer is Trying to Kill Me"

Wish me luck, kids!