Consulting by RPM || Free Advice Blog

Post-Game Show From Iowa

I’m back at my office after the Campaign for Liberty shindig in Des Moines. (Remember, I am the hardest working man in Austro-libertarianism: This weekend I’m in Manhattan for a Mises Circle.)

This was my first C4L event and these people were impressive. One young guy had his Bohm-Bawerk shirt on (not something you often see on the street), and they were also a clever bunch, bordering on cheeky. Tom Woods was the MC for the Saturday panels, and of course his sarcastic putdowns of the New York Times had quickly won over the hearts and minds of the assembled masses.

So when Tom first introduced me, I decided to shamelessly repeat my favorite Tom Woods story, in which an attractive young woman at a Mises U event was gushing over how awesome my books were. She then went to get one for me to autograph, and came back and said, “I’m so sorry, I thought you were Tom Woods.” Absolutely killed the crowd. I could have said, “Let’s hear it for open borders!” and gotten a standing ovation at that point.

So anyway, after our panel Tom and I are signing books at the same table. One girl comes up to me and says, “Is this the line for Tom Woods?” Zing! (She had my Capitalism book for me to sign.)

Then another guy later on was so deadpan I wasn’t even sure he was kidding. We were both in line for the cash bar, and he says, “Oh, I’m glad I caught you! Would you mind signing my Politically Incorrect Guide?” I said sure, and he pulls out this book. Wiseass.

Beyond the prospects for reclaiming liberty, this conference was also significant because we discovered that you can simulate a karaoke bar from the comfort of your own hotel. They had reserved one of the conference rooms to host the cash bar reception on the final night, and my reputation had preceded me. So they hooked up a laptop and a microphone to the room’s PA system, and we were good to go. Obviously it wasn’t as good as an official karaoke setup (with monitors so you can get feedback on your sound), but it worked.

Unfortunately, as always people decide to record me on my first song when I’m warming up, and cut it off before I hit the good part at the end of the song. Ah well.

UPDATE: Just to clarify, there are plenty of karaoke arrangements at YouTube. They didn’t have a few “obvious” songs like a standard karaoke bar would, but they had enough for a good time. In fact things got so crazy I went there. You’ll have to ask Tom if I pulled it off.