Silver Fox Booya

   I liked how it was a fairly leisurely day, as Sundays usually are. I did have some Booya soup at Highland Park, an event done by Silver Fox, an athletic club. I watched some pro football today, Packers beat the Bears. It was hard to find a parking spot near the park, so I went to a side street. I just discovered this soup servings last year after a colleague got media attention as he was going to so many of them. So I am still amazed to see people standing in a separate line with plastic ice cream containers as they want this much of the soup. I had a single serving cup, and this was a shorter line. I also had some popcorn and Reese's peanut butter cups.
   I got the wedding pictures and some other photos- like 'Ring of Honor'- added to Facebook as I went there to get prints and a CD. It was the most I had added in one day- 62. When I did the photo order at Walgreen I decided to walk around the store while waiting for it to be processed. I got the 'welcome' greeting from another employee, I asked if I looked lost. I am still asking people if they have heard of street photographer Vivian Maier, even this photo guy, and most say they have not. I did say that he may one day be asked for an interview about me for a documentary, as I feel like I found a kindred spirit after seeing a documentary about Vivian in April.
    I did watch the Simpsons-Family Guy crossover episode tonight. It had some charm to it, though I was a little surprised it was done when there has been a Simpsons joke before about crossover episodes. This was no doubt promoted a lot.

Celebrity Skin, Hole

    I started the day at Mille Lacs Casino, and ended it at the comedy club. While driving back from the comedy club after the show I liked hearing 'Celebrity Skin' by Hole on my car radio. I have the album of the same name, and I like two other songs on it- 'Awful' and 'Malibu'. My college roommate said the songs were better on this Hole album as Smashing Pumpkins front-man Billy Corgan helped write some of the songs on it. I really enjoyed the show, the Milwaukeean was MC and the laundry comic was the feature. The headliner was a New Yorker, from Brooklyn to be more specific. I liked his joke about using bath mats a lot.
   At the casino/hotel this morning I got my breakfast at the gift shop, a Rice Krispies bar and a bottle of orange juice. I am not much of a gambler, so I didn't do the slot machines. I found an arcade with a Simpsons game as well as Skee-ball. I ended up winning 85 tickets and it was enough for a pliable 'Jokester' keychain and two Tootsie Rolls. I did stop briefly along the way at a few places to take pictures, at one place I didn't leave my car. I made it back to the Twin Cities just in time to see a high school football game. St. Paul Highland Park was playing a Wisconsin school for homecoming, I could hear player introductions while I was walking to the stadium after parking my car. At first I felt bad about not bringing pen and paper from the bag in my car, but didn't need it. The home team played poorly in this one, trailing 28-0 at the end of the first quarter and the final was 42-0. They couldn't stop the end runs, and when they got close to the goal line they got intercepted twice.
   After the football game I finally made it home and went through email, not much postal mail. Then it was on to the grocery store for my weekly order. After getting back from returning the rental car I fell asleep in my easy chair while trying to watch the 6pm news, was woke up by a 'Please stand by' message. Then I went out to eat my evening meal, a sandwich at Subway. I was pleased with what I got accomplished before attending the show tonight.  

The Merger, AKA A Wedding

    I am attending a 'Merger', as the happy couple is calling it, or just a 'Wedding'. I have my rental car for the drive up north by Mille Lacs Casino. I have CDs ready for the drive as well, a little cheesy and appropriate at the same time since some of them are comedy CDs. It is a comedian friend getting married. On Facebook I was told that weddings are good for taking bathroom selfies. International Falls suggested this. Haven't tried one yet but I will have to see how it works. Before I made it to the rental car place this morning I liked going to McDonald's for a breakfast sandwich. I saw a man with his young son, age 4 I would guess. The kid kept saying 'I want this one'- a toy in a display case- and I said 'I don't think he heard you'. I also liked seeing a shipment arrive at a liquor store, plenty of cases of beer out front. So I got a photo of it before they started carting it inside the store.
   I really had a great time at this wedding. I think I attended my first wedding at age 9, my mom's cousin, in southern Iowa. I have 40 photos from the ceremony or from where it was held. I saw 13 of my comedian friends there. This includes Mason City, Oklahoma, Bathtub, Kentucky, Roller Grill, Knowledge, Grizzly Adams, (actually both members of Valley Meadows, not sure what name I have given the other member), IED/IUD, Louisiana, Bossman (from a basement venue), Tetris, and a member of The Turkeys that doesn't have a name yet. Unless it's 'Pizza topping', from the diner skits (or sketches) I was in. A few others didn't make it, had gigs or in the case of the Alabama photographer she said she was ill and so was her son. We are not sure why the big dog didn't make it, but I would have liked seeing him of course. I liked hearing perspectives from others about my blog, Tetris said to his lady, who does comedy (but as far as I know I haven't seen her perform yet) that he no longer does the joke. He said it was a 'Comedy newscast'. Since I just report what jokes I hear. The bride, who I had called the lone female member of The Turkeys, said I was 'Meticulous' with it and I like hearing this as I care about getting things right. This after all does seem to be what the word means. She asked me about the writings, when I was finally first in line after a long wait, but this is her day. She said I like to do day trips to Iowa, I said I do more of this travel during the summer months, as I call it 'Baseball and museum season' since that is the peak time for both, and I enjoy both of these things a lot. I got some joke material from it, without a doubt. I got to my hotel an hour before the shuttle left for the wedding. I drove straight through to Onamia, and took pictures in that town like the welcome sign and Smokey The Bear and an old tow truck, then found out at a little grocery store that I had 10 more miles to reach the casino. So I had to stop with the pictures. In my rush to get ready for the ceremony, I still had my glasses on when I started to shower, but when I realized this I quickly took them off and placed them on top of the toilet tank. The other was being so excited about seeing more meatballs being brought out to the appetizer table, and I slid down a little hill trying to get there, though I didn't fall and didn't drop or spill anything which was nice. Reminds me of a 'Peach cobbler' story when I was in college.
   I met some new people while there, like the wives and lady friends of my fellow comics. But also family members of the happy couple. When I arrived I was sent to the bride with the question about where to leave gifts, didn't seem clear cut to me. I said 'I know you're busy, but they sent me to you'. The bride sent me with who I found out was her matron of honor, who has the same name as my sister's middle name. the program has her listed below maid of honor, not sure what a 'matron of honor' is but I know 'matron' is a British term for a somebody's mother. I kept my program though the request during the ceremony was to make them into paper airplanes. I did make one, but it was a page from my note pad from the hotel.
    I was busy taking pictures after the ceremony. Then dinner was served, and I didn't know for sure what seats were left. The groom's dad said there was a seat left at his table, so a shout out of thank you is in order to him. I also liked hearing stories about living in Colorado from the groom's uncle. The pictures were of the nearby petting zoo, and I thought of my dad when getting one of them, it was an old Allis-Chalmers tractor. A raccoon was in this petting zoo, in a cage. Others were just fenced in. The couple chose well on the singer, and this was one of my photos, a woman wearing black, including her hat. I liked hearing 'Moon River', and 'Sea of Love'. I know the former as being in the movie 'Breakfast at Tiffany's', a movie I saw after there was a hit song of the same name. The latter was in a 'Simpsons' episode. Really good sound bites were from the happy couple, in the vows if I am not mistaken. The bride spoke of a 'Dime store mouse' and the groom, who doesn't have a name but can easily be given one like LaCrosse native, speaking of a 'Cynical commitment-phobe idiot'. Among the notables I met was a man in a top hat, he said he was a musician with Phantom Tales. I gave out my business card to some at this event, after they heard about how I write a blog. One of these was the bride's mom's cousin, who said she is a literature instructor at Sarah Lawrence college. I said I knew it as the school where actress Julianna Margulies, from 'ER' and 'Good Wife', attended. I spoke of my inspiration as a writer, Emerson Hough, who I said was friends with Teddy Roosevelt. I was asked if I had seen the Roosevelt documentary by Ken Burns on public TV. I have not, but I hope to eventually. It is probably bold of me to admit it, but I am hopeful for her approval of my writings in the worst way. Writing is her line of work, and this is somebody I can learn from. I know I am good at writing and take a lot of pride in what I write, but pointers from a professional is great to have when available. To the literature instructor: if you are reading, I will say that I made a note of your name but I usually don't use names in my blog as it gives my writings a more universal appeal. This was a lesson learned from a writing instructor in high school, who said 'Nobody cares who your friends are, what if somebody in San Francisco is reading it?' I am still thankful for these lessons, this was somebody who pushed me, saying I can do better, and she was right. I got some pictures with comedian friends, Oklahoma and Pizza Topping, they will be numbers 39 and 40 in my 'Ring of honor'. I did a selfie as well, but it took me 4 tries, 5 if you count the first try being inside a porta-pottie.  I liked seeing chalk boards with messages saying 'Turn off your cell phones'. I needed to look at all 40 pictures to try to remember as much as possible to write about. I haven't seen what I filmed on video camera, the first 20 minutes then the card was full, but I am still a newbie with video cameras. We sat on hay bales covered up by bed sheets, I was next to the bathtub comic and his wife. They are good people. When we did the photo booth pictures, she invited me to be in theirs but I turned her down, saying not enough space. I wanted them to have a serious, formal photo of their own. So I did one by myself. But she invited me again later, a comical theme, and I accepted. I put on these big green sunglasses and a cowboy hat for it and just was behind them. A third was with the maid of honor, who I liked meeting at the going-away party for the couple when they moved to California 3 years ago. She is now in Montana, and spoke of a Youtube site- 'Don't hug me I'm scared'. She liked hearing how I got pictures of the chalkboards, she said she did those. Two men walked down the aisle together, one was a 'Bridesman', Roller Grill. The other was Knowledge. I liked speaking to the help, the bartenders, as a working class kid I understand this is a part of formal events- those working it. One of them asked me to tell a joke, after hearing I knew the couple from the comedy circuit, and I did two about internet dating, including the one I call 'Cajun Cougar'. They loved it. There was a piñata at the taco table, I had the tacos as well as the rice, there were separate tables but long lines for a while. Cake was served, cupcakes. CDs were next to it, of the songs played at the ceremony. And I liked all of the signs in the bridal suite, like one that started off with 'If I live to be 100'. I liked hearing Roller Grill philosophize about stars and galaxies, since it was easier to see the stars outside of the metro area. I said it was probably the most fun I ever had at a wedding. I am pleased that I was able to get so many notes down on a note pad from the hotel/casino I am staying at. When I got back to the hotel after midnight, I started to think of my former boss and mentor from work in suburban Chicago. It is because I was wearing one item that is brought out for special occasions like these, and she gave it to me. I felt so much emotion that I felt the tears in my eyes. My notes said 'Tears for mentor', not to be confused with an Eric Clapton song, 'Tears in Heaven'. Along with the pictures I will be posting on Facebook, I am hopeful that the happy couple is pleased with my extensive- or should I say meticulous?- documenting of the event.            

Don't Go Back To Rockville, REM

    Tonight was about getting ready for attending a wedding. I bought gifts at two different stores. I got another loyalty card at one, and ate there as well. I have decided to be cagey about what the two stores were, as I know the bride-to-be likes to read my blog and I want it to be a surprise if at all possible as to what the gifts are.
     I liked hearing some music at the first store. The lid-lifter was 'Don't go back to Rockville' by REM. Some of the lyrics are truly melancholy, but it is well-written. 'Cause it's so much easier to handle all my problems if I'm too far out to sea. But something better happen soon or it's gonna be too late to bring me back'. Then even better later on in the song is 'It's not as though I really need you, if you were here I'd only bleed you'. I may have said it before how I like hearing of towns called 'Something-ville'. This likely goes back to what I knew in my native Iowa. Though I have found with my travels this kind of town name is everywhere. So it is comfortable. And of course it suggests a small town, in most cases, like where I grew up. At first I had hoped the song was another one by REM, 'Driver 8', with a railroad theme. I like that one a lot. And of course I needed to listen to it a little, especially in a store where it can be hard to hear, to know which one it was. The closer song was 'Vacation' by the Go-Go's. It also speaks of a relationship, but has a decidedly different theme. Where a vacation was needed to get over somebody. I still think of it as being in a Michael Moore documentary, 'Fahrenheit 9/11'. This was where Moore makes fun of President Bush being on vacation often.
   I think about music a lot. Those who know me best know this about me. Thanks to Wikipedia I found out the song 'Tide is high' was also covered by Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall. It is lively, but hard to top Blondie's version. Actually, his version is known as 'Numba 1'. I know some of his other songs better, like a remix of Lady Gaga's 'Just dance'. Or his own song, 'Dangerous'. Because I like some clever lyrics such as 'Everything locked like a 2-3 zone'. Also recently, I found some more Eminem songs on Youtube, that were suggested to me based on previous searches. This included '3 am', and 'Just lose it'. The former I didn't like that much, but I really like the latter. He is peerless as a wordsmith. With lyrics like 'That's just a metaphor, I'm just psycho'. His mentor, Dr. Dre, and actor Erik Estrada are also in the video. Of course Estrada is playing a cop, as he is best known from the TV show 'Chips'.
   After I got back from the stores, I decided to try on my formal outfit. It is mostly just brought out for events like weddings. I like knowing it fits fine, it helps that I lost some weight since May. Really not much else left to do on preparing. I have a digital camera and a video camera I plan on taking there. At work I may have annoyed some of my office colleagues by saying more than once how I have the next day off for a wedding, but weddings are fun. Also notable from the office was when I went for my weekly weigh-in I decided to look down inside a hole in the desk where the scale reader is kept. I noticed a nickel, and the stick of lip balm that I lost there months ago. Thanks to the coin, I decided to go find a way to fish both items out. I was able to, but a drawer now will not slide back in like it had before. The nickel was from the Lewis and Clark series of a decade ago, and was placed in my change bank. The political science guy amused himself by shooting rubber bands.

Bank Of America Commercial

    I was watching TV tonight and saw a Bank of America commercial. It included part of the song 'Tide is high', the version by Blondie if I am not mistaken. It made me think of the Mason City native as we had discussed this song before. I may have written about it before, and had it as the blog entry title. I did speak of how this song helped me find courage to talk to somebody. I heard it inside a Walgreen store and was starting to lose the nerve, but after hearing the song I said I don't want to end up hating it for being timid. I am careful with music, as I know it helps me remember the good as well as the bad. And with my mind, I don't want any help with remembering the bad. It did prompt me to find earlier versions of the song on Youtube, by The Paragons, as well as John Holt.
   I turned down an event invite from the Maryland native, it was for auditions for Last Comic Standing. I did the right thing, as I got stage time at another club. I like to support my friends at their shows, but stage time for me comes first. I had said it before when I am inundated with Facebook invites- I am more likely to show up if I, um, am offered stage time. Considering another posting mentioned all of the comics there, it is no surprise how I was able to get stage time. I had way less competition! The new jokes are working well, it was a shorter set by one minute compared to the night before. I did one joke that I didn't do earlier, and it was the leadoff and worked well. It was about having to talk to a cop over the weekend. I also did two inspired by interactions with the big dog- 'Ear wax' and 'Indentured servant'. The former got laughs early on, right after announcing having such a procedure. Broken watch and 4-hour coffee date were the others I did.
   I got some pictures before leaving the club, as outside there was two cars available to win in a drawing at a benefit event this weekend for a police officer killed in the line of duty. The bartender did a Facebook posting about my interaction with the bronze comic after the show, and made a reference to a unicorn and leprechaun. I responded by saying it was perfect joke material. I added how others seem to have been entertained with my interactions like with an office colleague I called 'Filibuster'. 
   At work I got a laugh from the political science guy near the end of the day when I spoke of how he should fax the form to a different name- it happened to be the Romanian leader who was murdered in the 1980s. I recalled a Saturday Night Live skit where people at the funeral home shot up his corpse in the casket to make sure he was dead. This guy does like this kind of humor. Also notable was a colleague, who said she grew up with comedian Louie Anderson, telling me stories about arranged marriages in the Italian communities in the Twin Cities. Apparently suitors would be brought over from Italy and the marriages would happen even though one of them didn't speak English. When I had previously spoke of how the new Saints baseball stadium will be in Lower-town, she said she worked at the shampoo factory that was on the site.
    Tonight's MC did jokes about working at Blockbuster Video, and about his lady's stuff in the apartment. A comic I haven't written about much before did one about saying 'no you won't' to his wife, in response to having magazines to read. International Falls did ones about a 3-4 birth control pill night, a street harasser, a dog rescue, and her IUD. The Fancy comic did ones about being the 'best looking man in comedy', baseball hot dogs apple pie, wow that's fancy, and being your closest star. Software developer did one about 'tequila and a compliment'. Laundry did ones about his kids telling street jokes, and lawn mowing. The crow did ones about using a gun to back up saying 'do it', and Alanis song, another song about 'you're mine', and not going anywhere. The Wisconsin girl did one about it being an 'ageist economy'. Michigan did ones about a 2-dude wedding, Elton John and Liberace, and his stolen wallet having just $3 in it.

Hines Ward

    I was onstage at the comedy club tonight. The MC was the Milwaukeean, and he is a Steeler fan. He was wearing a Hines Ward jersey, number 86. I read through the Wikipedia page and it spoke of his appearances on 'Dancing with the stars'. I said I still have a Steeler trash can. I had liked the team after reading about their Super Bowl wins in the 1970s, with the 'Steel curtain' defense and the likes of Franco Harris and Terry Bradshaw on offense.
    It went really well performing tonight, I did all new material which was bold. Two of the jokes were inspired by interactions with the big dog, who also performed tonight. These jokes were what I call 'Indentured servant' and 'Ear wax removal'. I also did ones about my watch, the 4-hour coffee date, and a coworker who would like to see me perform when her schedule allows. I found out Mason City is attending the same wedding as I am this weekend. This shouldn't surprise me much when it is a comedian friend getting married, but I hadn't spoken with many so far about if they would be there. I still need to find a gift but the registry said I can look at Target and IKEA, and the latter is one I haven't seen for a while so it may be the perfect excuse for a return visit.
   A boss in another department said in the afternoon he would be doing the letters, I was about to start them when I was notified. I didn't have much heartburn about this, especially when I had an earlier message asking us to help out the political science guy with things like the special requests I have done before. Two of the three were on the payoff report, I had crossed them out expecting someone else to do them. At midday I went to a nearby Walgreen and used a postcard for points on the loyalty program for the month. I got a bag of Old Dutch 'Puffcorn'- like popcorn- and a bottle of flavored water. I needed the card as it had a barcode to be scanned. I had meant to use it Sunday when I was doing the photo order. I would like to think I will make another visit this month to get more points. It seems to be hard to figure out how to get points when it is on select items or if one spends over a certain amount.
     I liked how I found enough time to go to a community center a few miles away for a spaghetti dinner this evening before I had to head to the comedy club. This is an annual event, I had attended it before. I got plenty of pictures, including ones of what I found nearby like a tennis court, a football practice, and railroad crossing.
     Besides me, there was a good lineup all around. Mason City did ones about Zoloft, 'fight or flight', Ace of Base, visiting angels, half day kindergarten, and Paul Bunyan. Resistable did ones about seeing a psychic, a hipster roommate, air mattress, and drum kit. Others were about talking about Nicki Minaj at Applebee's, adopt a highway, a waterbed, carpet matching drapes, and colorblind. Auto correct did ones about scrap booking, babies have good credit, and you're so brave. Big dog did ones about bad porn, where's your furniture?, suicide by cop, and Bruno Mars. Laundry comic did ones about a polar bear plunge, a funeral procession, mowing the lawn, and having 4 kids. The red faced comic did ones about DUIs, birthday wishes, and working at a pizza place. A comic who hs performed at Sturgis did ones about 'pizza in oven', door to door alarms, and a tortilla maker. Fantasia did ones about role playing, a Batman shirt, his mom's CIA mind control, chain smoking and Rockford Files, and the Illuminati. International Falls did ones about a 2-3 birth control pill night, a street harasser, dog rescue/police dog, and an IUD. The Milwaukeean did ones about the Dukes of Hazzard, she is affordable, redneck woman, and Lazyboy furniture. Others were about not being Calvin, as DNA makes it impossible. Even others were about Halle Berry, a Midwest physique, and parents who mis-pronounce words.

Revlon Emery Board

    I see all kinds of things on the public buses I use. Recently one of these items was a Revlon emery board. It is mostly green, a partial flower in red is on it as well. It is near the middle, Revlon is spelled in black letters to the left of it. This was found in a plastic sleeve with a barcode on it, so it can be sold as an individual unit. Sometimes items will say 'Unit not labeled for individual sale'.
    It was a good night as usual at the comedy club. I saw the big dog at the bar when I came out to write down notes about the show, and check in on the football game, Bears-Jets. I said I had an idea about a joke on being overly gracious, inspired by our interaction over the weekend. I realized this is a pattern for me. What prompted me to become aware of the pattern was mention of my former boss and mentor. The difference now is being able to work through things I struggle with through my comedy, and of course writing about it is available much like before.
    I recognized many of the comics tonight. The rapper comic did the recipe joke. The jersey video comic did one about Packer QB Aaron Rodgers. Turtle check did one about hunting, and St. Cloud as well. Fantasia did ones about weed and reruns, as well as a bedpan. The 'Resistable comic' did ones about a hipster roommate, her dad, and talking about Nicki Minaj at Applebee's. The Yemen native did ones about learning English, teaching Arabic, volunteer work, and shoplifting. Louisiana did one about Neosporin. Fever did ones about wanting to be a stepdad, cake with birth control, deer suicide, and the gold rush. Postage stamp did one about 'Let's call the whole thing off'. School bouncer did ones about a 100-year-old at his show, and Ice Cube. Maryland did ones about dating as a non profit, a girl at a gas station, yoga pants, and his condo. Conga line did ones about getting a garage, Kenny G, and a dog clown car. Mason City did ones about Zoloft, fight or flight, his grandma at Visiting Angels retirement home, and pin-balling. Extra murder did ones about Verizon birth control, man cave, I can drive, food trucks, and a donut burger. Three by three, who had been called 'founding father' before, did one about battle scars from being in band. Bathtub comic was show closer, he did this joke as well as ones about mopeds, role playing, proposing to his lady, and stolen babies.