Carryin' the Bieber

Here I sit, reporting from a table for one at Panera. What can I say ...a broccoli & cheddar breadbowl and free public wifi are acceptable company when a big ol' gust of wind knocks out the power at your place when you're hungry, alone, and mid-entry. It's an occasion that calls for blogging!

This past weekend, I discovered what may be the best thing on Youtube since the Numa Numa guy: Audio/Video mash-ups of today's best (and worst) pop music with dance numbers from one of my absolute favorite movies of all time. I've known every single line and the note to every single instrumental number and every single lyric since I was about 10. I used to watch it constantly with my sisters, and when we weren't watching it, we were listening to the soundtrack and frolicking around the family room while pretending to be part of Jack Kelly's crew. That's right, I'm talking about the 1992 Disney musical classic Newsies.

When I began perusing the Newsies mash-up merchandise, there were a lot of promising ones to choose from: "Seize The Day" and "King of New York" dancing to Backstreet Boys, Kesha, Miley Cyrus, and Lady Gaga. However, thanks to some expert searching and some hints from fellow Newsies fans, I found the two winners:

And in second place, I am sorry to say, is the newsies flawlessly backing up Justin Bieber. Though the Biebmeister reminds me of a scrawy, scruffy, pig-nosed mouse who is constantly drowning in cargo and has the personality of a piece of mulch, I must admit that his songs are a liiiiitle bit catchy. I have been known to be caught humming a chorus or two. Especially after finding this video, which I've since been watching about 2-3 times an hour ...

Needless to say, I'm on a bit of Newsies kick since finding these vids. Not only did I watch the movie again and remember that it is the sole reason why I've always had an obsession with Christian Bale (despite his questionable behavior), but I also found out that a stage version is at last! in the woiks. Praise the musical heavens above! Gather up the cutest, most talented 20-something men, dress them in newsboy slacks and unbuttoned blouses and put them on stage to sing and dance for us. Yes please :).

As I conclude here with my soup and my meal, I pose this question: how do I eat this soup-soaked breadbowl without looking like a caveman?

"Oh, you mean JACK Kelly. Yeah, he was heah. But he put an egg in his shoe and ... beat it."