The Daily Whatever, July 9: Karaoke stories

Hey Everyone!I always enjoy chatting with Dana Dubois, though I wish Lawrence Winnerman had been there. We had a nice time chatting about karaoke. I’m constantly astounded how fast these 1 hour sessions can go by. Karaoke was a big deal for me and my wife when we were first dating. We’d play poker with the American immigrants (I refuse to call them expats), and then we’d take our winnings and go to the movies or sing karaoke.It was pretty rare that we didn’t win the card games. Part of that is because I leaned into my “country bumpkin” persona. I’m from Wisconsin, so I’m considered a rube. I am a rube. I grew up on a farm. I also earned a minor in Physics. Once you learn the math of poker, it’s a lot easier to win.Drinking was also involved and people from Wisconsin can outdrink people from anywhere else. Nobody believes me when I say this, but it’s true. A tolerance for alcohol and a basic knowledge of math funded a lot of our dates when my wife and I were first together.That was a fun time. It is better to go out singing and drinking if it’s with money you won. We always kept the stakes low for our games, so it wasn’t like we were leaving anyone destitute. In fact, I insisted on keeping the stakes low. We’d do a S/. 20 buy in, which was about $6.I need to write more of those stories, it helps me to forget everything that’s going on in the US today.Anyway, enjoy the conversation! Thanks for tuning in!Thank you Robin Wilding, Polly Walker Blakemore, Ashley Schmitt, John Pearce, Jeanne Elbe, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dana DuBois!You all make this newsletter happen! Thanks for your sponsorship! I have payment tiers starting at as little as twenty dollars a year.Upgrade at 30% offUpgrade at 40% offUpgrade at 50% offUpgrade at 60% offI'm so happy you're here, and I'm looking forward to sharing more thoughts with you tomorrow.My CoSchedule referral linkHere’s my referral link to my preferred headline analyzer tool. If you sign up through this, it’s another way to support this newsletter (thank you).I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe