Blelvis

On a recent trip to Wonderland I had the pleasure of running into DC's two wackiest celebrities: Newt Gingrich and Blelvis. I couldn't think of anything clever to say to Speaker Gingrich, but had a nice conversation with Blelvis.

For those of you who don't know, Blelvis ("The Black Elvis") is a slightly neurotic street entertainer who's been around DC for years. Actually, if youtube is any guide, he's been around since at least 1988. (Does Blelvis have a wikipedia page? Why am I too lazy to actually check?) His schtick is that he knows the lyrics to every Elvis song ever recorded and he asks you to name a song for him to sing. Of course, you know you can't stump him and you sort of want to walk away, but then he asks you for one word and says he can sing a song about it. It's amazing. I think I've done "hot dogs", "Christmas trees", and "diamonds" and gotten a legitimate Elvis song every time. He also works in some jokes and gives a little story about his background, then you give him a few dollars and he goes on his merry way.

Seeing Blelvis is always a treat.

Anyway, I've been talking for years about having him be the entertainment at a party. Unfortunately, I just can't decide if it's a good idea. Like, no one has ever felt threatened by him, but there's always the risk that he's a drug addict who would steal stuff from my house. (It happens. Lindsay Lohan stole stuff from one of my friend's houses in LA. Addicts do stuff like that.) A bigger risk is that he wouldn't leave or would start sleeping on my porch or something. I have no idea.

The potential pay-off, though, is that I think I could force him to unveil his new character that he's been talking about for years: Blincoln. I'm totally serious. Is it worth it? Let the commenters decide!