Saturday night, one of our Kalbi Club friends threw their annual Karaoke Party.  Having grown up in the US, I'm not really a fan.  But karaoke is huge in Korea - I have no idea why.  Probably just an excuse to take a break between pub crawls.  Having grown up with a terminal case of tone deafness and a monotone voice, it's pretty hard for me to get excited about singing.

We've seen the hosts enough now where I'll have to give them a name...  I think the "Flintstones" is good because their last name reminds me of "dinosaur" (he's half Italian) and they have twin girls.  I'll let them fight over which one is going to be Pebbles and which one is going to be Dino.  The Flintstones throw a mean party - they rented a professional karaoke system, they had the food catered thru a Korean restaurant (including tons of braised ribs), and they served a lot of nice wine.  For those of you who like wine, my favorite of the night was probably a Caymus Cabernet 2008 (I think it's like $60) - kind of surprised it was so good considering it was only two years old.  One guy brought some cigars, so we smoked them outside.  I think it was only like the second or third cigar I've ever had in my life.  Not really much of a smoker, but I don't find cigars as objectionable as cigarettes.

Life Lesson:  Always wear safety gear.  I hadn't seen one of the guys in a while and it turns out he was in a mountain climbing accident a few months ago.  It was not considered a difficult mountain, so a lot of people didn't wear a helmet.  He thought he should, just in case.  Well, it turns out he fell 50 feet and smacked his head on the side of the mountain (and when he landed LDO).  He fractured his spine, but will make a full recovery.  But he probably would have been dead had he not worn his helmet.  Always wear safety gear (helmet, seat belt, goggles, parachute, jock strap, condom, whatever).

TIPS

Speaking of near- death experiences, in case you ever find yourself being dragged to a Karaoke bar, and you can't sing a lick, here are a few suggestions for songs:

* Try a group song.  Usually, in the beginning, people are a little reluctant to start singing, but you can break the ice by singing a groups song... like Sweet Caroline, or Don't Stop Believin', etc.

* Pick a song that requires very little range.  Since most of you guys play poker, "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers is usually a good choice.  Rap songs generally require very little vocal range, altho try to pick one where the words don't go by too quickly.

* When all else fails, try "Tequila" by The Champs.  There is only one word in the song, "tequila," repeated three times.  If you can't sing this, you have some major issues.  Make sure you give a convincing performance / swaying to the music, lest you be asked to go again.