Lauriol Plaza 2007: The Video!

As promised, here for All to Enjoy is the video of last week's Lauriol Plaza adventure starring Ben, Lee, Dave, Elizabeth and me. It's a nice 27 minute video, and I encourage you to sit down and enjoy your lunch or dinner as you watch it. That way, you can pretend you were at Lauriol with us!

Topics of conversation include:

• What we're up to! (Boring job stuff!)
• One- and ten-year predictions! (Lee will have six children!)
• Who's BlackBerry is better! (Mine!)
• Whether it is possible to perform a passable karaoke version of Hotel California without any real-time musical accompaniment at all! (Indeed it is! But only if the person who starts the song has an impeccable memory of the proper starting pitch. Which she does!)
• And so on!
  

Enjoy, but keep your expectations low for the best experience. And if you're interested, here are some links to products mentioned in the video. Highly recommended:

• Who Controls the Internet? by Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu
• The Game by Neil Strauss
  
• Land of Lincoln by Andrew Ferguson

Enjoy! And if you're curious, here's last year's video:



Don't forget to comment!

Then & Now

Friends Lee, Ben and Dave (Gweepay) and I met up a couple nights ago, as part of Ben's annual "Last of the Petty Cash Tour." Per usual, we went to Lauriol Plaza, one of the most hopping, fun and trendy gathering places in allll of the Dupont Circle area. Also per usual, their delicious margaritas weren't nearly strong enough. After three margaritas, there was still not a buzz to be seen -- despite the fact that I had eaten very little that day. Alas.

But all in all, it was great fun, and The Artist Formerly Known as Sweetie even made it down for a visit. Stay tuned -- there will be video!

EDIT, May 27, 2007: Video is up!

Happy Birthday to Me

IMG_0027 3, originally uploaded by CaseWriter21.

I turned 27 the other day, and invited some friends over for a Poker Party (TM) and some fun. I believe my invitation, sent out to some two dozen people, implored the invited guests to "bring a friend or two, a smile or two, and a bottle or two." Alas, only 5 people responded, none of them brought a bottle or a friend (let alone two), and only 3 or 4 brought a smile.

The party was definitely one of the weirdest parties I have ever had, and I blame this on the low turnout. Six people do not a party make, especially when only 3 of the attendees actually agreed to the $5 buy-in for a good game of poker. Shortly through the game, our resident New Yorker tired of tormenting my parrot with Evil Stuffed Animals, and began strategically placing firecrackers throughout the apartment, including but not limited to in the stove burners. When Anthony and Bekah left to go buy a birthday cake, Rich convinced us all to find out what would happen if we put foil in the microwave. I happened to think this was a Very Bad Idea, but the Vocal Minority usually outshouts the Silent Majority, as seen in the following video...

Alas, the supermarket had closed at 11 pm (not 12 am as the Web site said), so I never did get that birthday cake. But that's okay; before the party, Anthony, Gweepay and I went to Lauriol Plaza, where Mexicans sang happy birthday for me as they presented my Birthday Flan...

Here's hoping Year 27 has a little more structure than Party 27.