Musings & Thoughts for Saturday, May 14, 2022, or: And Now, Something Somewhat Different….

Annoying Phrases

Today on Twitter, I came across a tweet by @KaylaChowShow:

What word or phrase do people use that you can’t stand?

Here’s what I replied:

“At the end of the day.”

“Irregardless.”

“Trump is the best President in U.S. history.”

“Do your own research.”

Karaoke Madness

Before I moved to the Tampa Bay area in 2016, I went to two karaoke events at the Open Stage Club in Coral Gables – a venue that closed its doors in 2020 because the city did not renew the lease – with some of my fellow alumni from South Miami High’s Class of 1983.

I am not a professional singer, nor do I believe I could (or should) be one, but I did have some formal vocal training in elementary school – I was in Tropical Elementary’s first choral group in the 1976-1977 school year – and high school (I sang in both the Men’s Chorus and Mixed (SATB) Chorus in 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th grades. I enjoyed singing on stage then, so the two times that members of the Class of ’83 arranged for a Karaoke Night at Open Stage, I was eager to participate.

Here are the songs I performed on those two occasions:

• The Way You Look Tonight (Frank Sinatra version)
• Just the Way You Are (Billy Joel)
• Strangers in the Night (Frank Sinatra version)
• She’s Always a Woman (Billy Joel)
• Piano Man (Billy Joel)
• Some Enchanted Evening (Rodgers & Hammerstein)

I don’t know if or when I’ll ever “do” another Karaoke Night – here, there, or anywhere – but I had fun singing at Open Stage – even if I was “fortified” by liquid courage, i.e. a couple of Cuba Libres consumed before taking the stage.