Becoming Britney in Dubrovnik

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Mike (at right), 37-year old court prosecutor, entertains his male fans with a stirring rendition of Madonna's "Like a Virgin." I joined a big group of court people on a weekend trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia, and on Saturday we decided to hit up the town's karaoke bar.

My friend Rob, who works for the Defense, and I decided to jump up on stage and perform Britney Spears' timeless classic "Baby Hit Me One More Time." Naturally, this decision was made after a few bottles of liquid courage. We poured our heart and souls into the performance, including enthusiastic and artfully-executed dance maneuvers, hip jiggling and chest rubbing, and plenty of falsetto. The tourists in the bar lapped it up -- indeed we were later accosted in the street by some Kiwis who screamed "Hey look! It's the Britney Spears guys!" My first "Wow, I'm a celebrity" life moment.

But apparently the Croatians take their karaoke very seriously, as they all looked on with crossed arms and furrowed eyebrows. The ensuing, straight-faced performances of soft rock classics by beefy Croatian men confirmed this.