Spoon In The Street

After getting back from the comedy club tonight, I saw a spoon in the street. Don't know how it got there, with most things there is a story. I kicked it to the curb, which is what I do with trash every so often. But I do my best to throw it in a trash bin if there is one nearby.
   A notable thing I did today was decide to quit an online program. It was a survey site I didn't use much, I currently had just 10 points in my account. I had earned enough for airline miles earlier this year but was annoyed at how it took them a month to post it. I answer more surveys on another site and they post miles immediately. I get a few points by answering a quick survey, but the real points are earned by signing up for things or buying things, didn't want to to do that. Though I did ask for an insurance quote to get enough for the airline miles, and later didn't get the insurance. It's one less email I will be getting, but I know there may be other mailing lists I can unsubscribe from to lower the volume greatly. I saw plenty that said make donations before the deadline tonight, since it is an election year. There was mention of getting some points just by returning to the site, and this message was what prompted me to withdraw. I had meant to do it much earlier, maybe as early as when the miles posted. I've been trying to get rid of what I don't use in my home as well, with limited success.
   On the bus tonight after work I heard somebody mention the old TV show 'Gimme a Break' which starred Nell Carter. Hadn't heard about the show in quite a while. At the comedy club tonight I said hi to a few people but didn't speak to anyone at length. As expected, there were some jokes about the Olympic Games. Topical humor tends to go well.

Lew Ford

I read the paper at lunchtime and was pleased that Lew Ford will be back playing major league baseball again, just not for the Twins. It will be for the Baltimore Orioles. I liked Lew when he played for the Twins, met him at a fanfest and at a proshop as well. But I also understood he was expendable when he wasn't hitting, and he eventually ended up playing in Japan. I recall sending an email to a college roommate (then in the Navy) about how I had recently seen a Twins game where Lew had done well, plenty of hits. This was 2005, I was on vacation in New York City at the time.
   When I arrived at the comedy club tonight, I was greeted by somebody who called me a 'con artist'. I said I would inquire further about it once I went inside and got signed up. This is somebody that I had called 'Red' before, due to her hair. It may well be like what another fellow comedian does, where the old saying applies: if they didn't like me they would ignore me. I think it is best to file it under that category. Somebody was being disruptive near the end of the show and was ejected, thankfully this doesn't happen too often.
   At lunchtime today, I went to mail a letter. It was my membership to the Loft in Minneapolis, where I have taken writing classes. On the way in the skyway I saw somebody stenciling a warning message 'No sitting, No loitering' every so often on beams between windows in the skyway. Didn't know this was a problem at all. I know I haven't done this, aside from one time in a different part of the skyway where I wanted to stay until the end of a song that like listening to. But eventually I was told to move on, but I did say why I was there for whatever it was worth.
  

Katy Perry: Part of Me

I went to see the music documentary movie 'Katy Perry: Part of Me' with my date at the Eden Prairie cinema. We had hoped to find a closer theater showing it, but it appears to be in limited release now. I looked at the weekend box office numbers, it is doing fairly well despite being limited release as it is in the top 20 and has grossed $24 million in ticket sales. It went behind the scenes for her tour, and interviewed fellow musicians (pleased that one of them was Lady Gaga) as well as her family. I liked the statement about how she had to do things her way, wanting to be the 'first Katy' instead of the 'next someone else'. Some of the sets at her concerts looked extensive and expensive, reminded me of what Lady Gaga's shows had.
  It was a little nerve-wracking trying to get to the theater on time, as there was plenty of road construction. It slowed to a crawl on one road so I decided to take an alternate route. In reality, we were late as we arrived after the scheduled start time. But there must have been plenty of previews and advertisements as we didn't miss the feature presentation at all. Upon arrival, we saw them do the final song from 'Grease', 'You're the one that I want', unsure why. I know this is an anniversary year for Paramount, the studio that did both movies, their centennial.
   In addition to finishing up chores and errand running, I did call my college roommate who lives in Pennsylvania. He spoke of how he will be back in Chicago next month to visit family and do the fantasy football draft. We are hopeful that it works on making it to a holiday celebration in South Dakota, where his sister lives, but that's still a ways off of course.

Jackson Street Roundhouse

I went to a museum with my date in the afternoon, it was the Jackson Street Roundhouse in St. Paul. It is part of the Minnesota Transportation Museum system. It was nice taking a ride on a caboose, though it seemed to take too long getting it spun around while in the roundhouse. We saw an inquisitive little boy near us during the ride, he said I didn't look happy. I said I had another comedy but, saying I think I normally didn't look too happy. The stopping and waiting contributed to this demeanor. I did like seeing a former Chicago commuter traincar there, as it looked really nice inside with maps on the table tops. It is one of various train cars that can be rented out for private parties, such as birthday parties. When I lived nearby and drove past it often I thought about touring it but didn't for some reason. I liked getting it crossed off my list, finally.
  In addition, there was another place I finally stopped at. It was a park near Phalen Boulevard that celebrated famous people from St. Paul's East Side like hockey coach Herb Brooks. I got plenty of pictures there as well. It had descriptions of how it had been a vibrant community with many manufacturing jobs like at Whirlpool, Hamm's Beer, and 3M. The park apparently is on the site of what was a Hamm's Beer facility. In the evening, we watched 2 episodes of 'History Detectives' which had been recorded earlier in the week. Some were about music, such as a song that had been recorded by the Klan when they had many followers in Indiana in the 1920s. It was a ripoff of the church hymn 'Old Rugged Cross'.
     I looked through a box where I have many of the Emerson Hough items I own, such as seven books and a 'Covered Wagon' movie poster, along with the movie itself on DVD. I found some expired coupons from the Minnesota Twins fanfest. Surprised that I didn't use some of them right away, especially when one of them was a Dairy Queen Blizzard coupon as I like ice cream quite a bit. It expired at the end of March, the festival was in January.  

A Contest and A Birthday

I went to the comedy club tonight to support a friend in a contest. He didn't advance, but I thought he did well enough. Those contests are competitive. I was asked to get him a beer, along with one for myself, before the show began and put it on his tab. To me it was much easier for me to pay for both, as I owed him one after causing a spill at another club earlier this year. He understood this once I explained it later on when he had the time to hear my explanation. I felt bad back then and wanted to do more about it than what I did. I noticed I was not alone on being a repeat visitor at the contest, I was sitting next to them as well next to a wall in the back. I saw another fellow comic after the show, he wasn't part of the contest but I still liked seeing him of course. I didn't know he was in town.
  Then after this show, I did a rare thing. I went to another club for a second show. Another friend was having a birthday party, same one who was competing in the contest on Wednesday. It was funny near the end where some comics decided to do impressions of others. I did discuss a few intellectual topics, though it was still in reference to jokes I had heard earlier in the week. One of them was about Condi Rice, as a possible running mate for Mitt Romney. It prompted me to look up her Wikipedia page and I found out she had dated Rick Upchurch, an NFL player for the Denver Broncos. Also met somebody who was for Obamacare, saying it helped her with mental health issues.
   While at work during lunchtime I did a walk around downtown, and noticed two couples in the park. One couple seemed comfortable, sharing a seat while both had a cigarette. The other was dealing with hair, one was tying up corn rows for the other.

Punch Pizza in Eden Prairie

For lunch I went out to Punch Pizza in Eden Prairie, as I was invited for another appreciation event related to the mentoring programs I do at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis. The food was all right but I didn't know at first what to order. I like mushroom and pepperoni, there was salami and mushroom, among other things, so I ordered that one. Seemed close enough to what I know and would like. Also got a Caesar salad and something in a can that tasted like lemonade but not quite. Saw a cool classic car in the parking lot and got a picture as I was leaving, judging by the hubcaps and license plate it was a 1933 Ford, painted orange.
   I performed at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis tonight, it went well but I decided to change some jokes on the fly as I could tell some of them fell flat. I was tired by the end and decided to claim a bar stool and sat on it near the back. One comic wondered if I was being 'politically correct' by staying until the end, I saw it was they saw me so I should stay for them. I like to think of myself more as non-controversial, if anything at all.
    A song I heard while driving home was a reminder of having just moved to suburban Chicago in 1998. Found out it was 'Flagpole Sitta' by Harvey Danger. When I hear 'Been around the world and found that only stupid people are breeding' I respond by saying 'Isn't that the truth'. Found some controversy when I confirmed the song title and performer on Youtube, as well as researching lyrics. For some reason in both cases there was mention of 'Paranoia' by Green Day. Though the comments did say it wasn't a Green Day song. In other cases, it was a Green Day song, but it was another title, 'Basket Case'. This proves what I've said many times before: no requirement for accuracy on the internet. One would think that inaccurate things, like saying it was a Green Day song when it clearly isn't, would be taken down promptly. Don't know much about how the site polices itself, but I think I have heard of times where videos were taken down for various reasons.

World Series of Comedy

I went to the World Series of Comedy tonight, as I wanted to support some of my friends who were competing. One of the local comics did advance, out of the three who advanced tonight. But I didn't know too well the local comic who advanced.
  I plan on returning on Friday to see another friend in the same contest. Already made a reservation at the end of the show as there was mention by the MC how there was a discount for advance reservation.
   One of those competing tonight was visiting from California, funny that this friend called me 'little buddy' when I said I'm not that little. But I still like it. She had some family in the crowd, I referred to them as the 'entourage'. This venue is the typical or customary one for where I go for comedy on this day of the week. But it was packed, unlike on an open-mic night, so I ended up sitting next to three other comics near the back wall. One of course must site where the club owner assigns you, and it made sense to keep us comics together especially when we brought all no guests apparently. The owner asked about my date, I said my date usually isn't with me at the comedy club.
   A friend asked me what 'Flandering' meant as it is from 'The Simpsons'. Something about it being used in a conversation overheard in an elevator at work. I had to look it up online at the Urban Dictionary. Most of the definitions there referred to the Ned Flanders character on the show, as the term is inspired by his mannerisms like confusing the listener in a conversation. One term I use every so often, 'Economic Darwinism', is there, which doesn't surprise me much.

George Jefferson

When I arrived at the comedy club tonight, I saw a cherry picker in the parking lot. This was odd to me, thankful I had my camera with me so I got a picture of it. I was impressed how they got it into a parking spot so well. One friend wanted a picture of me in my patriotic shirt which I got at a Cracker Barrel this weekend, he thought I was posing in it as I had my denim jacket draped on one shoulder. Will have to find out if he posts it on Facebook. There were a few comments at work about the shirt, the most memorable one was at the club. The same one who wanted a picture said I looked even more like a 'murderous psychopath' than typical. I didn't know how this was possible, I said, when I'm told I already looked creepy. When I spoke of the Clint Eastwood movie 'Bronco Billy' I spoke of my memory of the circus tent at the end being made of American flags, and playing the John Philip Sousa song 'The Thunderer'. He then spoke of 'jingoism', I knew this was a reference to patriotism and I said 'you made me think'. I wasn't necessarily expecting this at the comedy club, though some jokes do make me think. I liked his new joke about People magazine being lame, whoever named it was lazy he claims.
  I had to read the Top Ten on Yahoo to find out why Sherman Hemsley was listed, found out he had died. I knew him from more than just 'The Jeffersons' but I did like that show quite a bit. I watched it often as syndicated reruns, but I did see some first-run episodes. I liked seeing him match wits with the Helen character. Also liked 'Amen', a show he did later on, where he played Deacon Frye. The role was in many ways very close to George Jefferson in terms of demeanor.
   While riding the bus home from work tonight, I saw a man board with a blindman's cane. He had a Snoopy keychain and a Times Square New Year's Eve shirt from 2002. There were some notable holes in the shirt. He also had an eyepatch over his left eye. Definitely liked the keychain, but didn't speak to him at all. When I write about people I see but don't know I prefer to observe more than interact.   

Pearl Jam's 'Just Breathe'

I heard the song 'Just Breathe' by Pearl Jam on my car radio on the way to the comedy club tonight. I know it as the 'Uh-Huh' song since these lyrics are said often at the end of some of the lines. It was a
good show all around. I went up to a comic after the show to let him know it was me who laughed, and caused him to respond 'and somebody who wants to kill me'. I've been the type who laughs so hard that I can start laughs from the crowd, they tell me my laugh is distinct. I said I am more than just a seat filler.
   I pay attention fairly often to music on the radio. I also heard 'Over My Head' by The Fray, the line standing out to me was '8 seconds left in overtime'. Driving home, I heard 'Old Alabama', by Brad Paisley. I had heard the latter before as there were many references to Alabama's music in it. i know enough of their songs that it was relevant to me.
   On the bus tonight after work, there was a bearded man, mostly gray hair, who showed a picture to an attractive young woman in a Delta Airlines uniform and said 'you look like my daughter'. She said 'she looks pretty'. I noticed how she in many ways was deflecting comments away from herself by saying this. Hard to say why, maybe since she was a little uncomfortable with a stranger saying it. But since she had an airline uniform on, she may have been a flight attendant, so she should be used to comments about how she's attractive. I of course don't know her at all to know for sure, even though I do concur with the man if he was implying that she's pretty. It's an adventure each day on the bus, which is what I like about it. One doesn't know from one day to the next who you might see.

New Entry to Fitness Center

I had to find another way to get into my company's fitness center as the Macy's store in downtown St. Paul is now closed on sundays. So I went through the parking ramp for a little while before finding an elevator, then a security guard. He told me to go through the Wells Fargo building, which will connect me with the skyway. This happened to be on the same side of the street as the Macy's, and adjacent, so it was just a slight detour for me.
     I had just under 5 minutes on an exercise machine before having to go back to the locker room as it was nearing 5pm when I arrived, which is closing time. A man was already in the shower when I got there, we spoke briefly when I was about to enter the shower. He said the center should have longer hours on the weekends. What I've learned is one must make the most of the hours of operation given, no matter what the establishment is. If somebody wants to get there bad enough, they will find the way.
   After the fitness center, it was doing laundry, and one dryer wasn't running hot so I decided to combine loads midway through. I checked after getting an Oscar Mayer Lunchables meal at a grocery store nearby. I got most of friday's Minneapolis paper read while I was there, as expected. Then it was home to get laundry put away, but not in time to watch 'The Simpsons'. Then I still needed to do the dishes, take out trash and recycle, and get groceries. Once again, you do what you can with the time given. I would have liked more of a rest break of course. But it's a good idea to have clean dishes and clothes. So I see these are done regularly.

Pirate Exhibit at Science Museum

I was tired of seeing a popped, or deflated, basketball on the roof of my home so I finally decided to get it down. It took more than one attempt since it was hard to reach. I got out a chair and my broom and snow shovel, since it was hard to see I needed the chair. Finally got it down with the shovel, then got a picture of this Spalding basketball before it was thrown in the trash. Since it was wet, must have rained overnight or still light rain this morning, I did think of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' song. How I could say that word and it was truly how I felt with this accomplishment. Also how it was wet, and the line 'you saw her bathing on the roof' was also relevant. I did see some storm damage, as a big tree branch fell into the street and cars had to change lanes to avoid it. I got a picture of it right away, knowing it may not be long before the police calls a crew to remove it.
   I went to the bank and got my change counted and deposited into my savings account. It can be fun to do this, as a machine does it for me. And I use a Charlie Brown and Snoopy can for transport to the bank, it is smaller. As I recall it was the liquidation sale at Borders Books. It is a can inspired by Lucy doing psychiatric help. No surprise how the coin volume had plenty of pennies, but not quite a dollar's worth. I pick up other people's coins, as pennies are still worth picking up to me. More surprising was how many dimes, $3.50 worth. No surprise on just two quarters, as I use those for laundry and for buying a paper on Fridays. Those quarters are more valuable to me so I save those for later use more often than not. In all it was $5.32, not much but I like seeing it gets in the bank fairly often. It does me no good inside what was a gallon beer can given to me by a college roommate.
   I went to the pirate exhibit at the Science Museum earlier today with my date, we had tried to go before but it was too busy on Memorial Day weekend. I figured we could find another time which would work before it closes on Labor Day, and I was correct. It did remind me of previous exhibits at Minnesota's science museum, how it was found after being lost for a long time. In this case it was more than two centuries. Not much different from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Titanic, or King Tut. I liked how they researched it well to put it into proper perspective on the timeframe it came from. Piracy was a rampant thing then, and steps were eventually taken to combat it. But I could also understand why some became pirates, as the pay in other jobs wasn't all that great, if they were paid at all. The man profiled, who became the captain of the pirate ship, was motivated by a lost love who was told by her family he wasn't marriage material, being a poorly paid sailor. Also liked mention of other pirates, famous ones like Blackbeard. Kind of funny how Blackbeard threatened to burn the city of Boston to the ground, it's still there of course. A few things reminded me of being at the Renaissance Festival, like the torture/execution device used as well as actors to make it look more authentic as a pirate exhibit. I probably learned something while there, such as a 'privateer' being a government-sponsored pirate apparently. I just knew of a college in New Orleans have athletic teams called 'Privateers'. The other was 'sloop' being a type of boat, a small but fast one. I had heard of a song on the 'Forrest Gump' movie soundtrack being called 'Sloop John B'. I got a few small souvenirs, 2 postcards and a sticker. The sticker had a 'Jolly Roger' on it.

Blue Goo Frozen Yogurt

I had some 'blue goo' frozen yogurt in a cone at lunchtime earlier today. I've always enjoyed twist cones at McDonald's as I like the mixing of the flavors. But I had to eat it quick since it was melting. I stayed a few minutes later to finish up my work, but one colleague was still there after me. I was busier than typical this afternoon as I had to cover for somebody who was out at midday. It made the day go more quickly, but those who think Fridays are easy don't realize it's a popular day to take off.
   I am still looking at Charlie Brown and Snoopy statue leads online, though many of them we've already found. As expected, with the St. Paul series it looks like some of them made their way to the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California. I knew two of them did, a Charlie and Linus, in the garden. Saw them in my 2004 visit. But according to some pictures I saw on various sites, some others did, at least one from each year of the 5-year series. These can be in gift shops, near the research center, or inside the ice rink, known as 'Snoopy's home ice'. So I see myself making a return visit somebody, unsure when. I'm still surprised how we've found well over 100 and haven't run out of ideas yet. But then again, much of our research has been done online, and there is likely a wealth of information still to be discovered. I've lucked out just with the keywords I've been using on searches, in hopes of sponsors keeping them. Either that or news feeds that mentions 'where are they now?' if bought at auctions or donated to schools or hospitals or camps. I am doing my best with clues in the pictures, or narrowing it down by neighborhood so then it's easier to try and scout it out myself.
   I drove to the ATM tonight and then over to the Little Caesar's for my once a month visit for pizza. Had to wait a few minutes for pepperoni, no big deal. Well worth it when it's cheap, a large still for just five dollars.
    I accepted an invite to be part of a comedy show next month, and now I'm wondering what I will do with my stagetime. There was mention of sketches, haven't done much script writing yet. But the first idea that comes to mind is doing one about the search for these statues, as there have been some good stories from it all. Like how we're still at it after more than a year.

Classics Illustrated

An item I ordered from Ebay arrived earlier today, 'Covered Wagon' as a comic book. I read the Wikipedia article saying Classics Illustrated liked doing popular novels as comic books. There was even mention of how these were part of a scene in the movie 'Major League', when Jake Taylor wanted to become familiar with the novel 'Moby Dick' to impress his on-again off-again lady friend. Some of what was in the Emerson Hough bio was laughable, as not all of it was correct. It spoke of him being born in Virginia, when I know full well he was born in my hometown of Newton, Iowa! Same is true when it said 'Wagon' was his last book, when it was just the last one released while he was still alive. Others were released posthumously. There was also a few pages about Great Britain in the Middle Ages, but I haven't read it cover to cover yet.
  I heard from my college roommate tonight, he gave me some advice about a job search. It seemed to fall in line with what has been advised before- work for the feds, since he does. But I've got to be me, and I don't think it's a good fit. I tried applying for government jobs out of college- per his recommendation- and it was hard to get interviews, let alone hired. It helps to have a military background on the civil service tests, as one gets a few extra points in the final score.
   I did say I hated job searches, but I have to tell myself all of what he told me was true. Nobody's going to chase me down with a good job, I have to chase them. This was true of colleges I applied to- some chased me down, but not the school I wanted (and later graduated from)- the University of Iowa. I've had to tell myself I'm not the same person who kept saying 'I'm a failure' when I couldn't get a job right out of college and was unemployed for three and a half months. Or even the one during my first year in Minnesota, when I spoke of 'twin failures in the Twin Cities'- being a misfit at work and nothing but quick failures in my dating life. I'm way more experienced now, and have better interviewing skills. If I can go onstage and tell jokes, then my speaking skills are really good. I will find a way through it, though it can be frustrating at times and I hate to admit that I still can get frustrated.
   When I was at a convenience store tonight, I heard a song I liked, '1979' by Smashing Pumpkins. I also thought it was funny to hear it there as part of the video takes place at a convenience store. The most memorable scenes were filmed there, like bowling over full bottles.

Waiting Room With TV Screen

I had an appointment with my primary physician earlier today, and don't recall seeing a TV screen before at the reception desk in my previous visits. The monitor was always tuned to the weather, but different networks broadcasting it and not the Weather Channel. I don't think much about the weather during my workday since I'm staying inside most of the time. The main exceptions would be an appointment like this one, or deciding to take a walk during lunchtime. I am thankful I didn't get soaked on the way there as I had no coat with me. It was light rain, and I was able to duck under the overhang on some tall buildings for most of the walk over to my car. I will have another appointment next month.
    At the comedy club tonight, I lost count of how many times I nearly fell asleep during the show as I was tired. It was why at one point I decided to step out and go to the bathroom and stretch my legs. The club owner did speak to me after the show, asking me if I enjoyed it, which I did. There was mention at the end of the show by the MC of next week's event: the World Series of Comedy. It's hard to say how many nights I will attend, but I saw the lineup and saw two of my friends will be in the contest, on different nights. I will want to support them. I was in the club's contest last summer, this one is being held at other clubs across the nation and apparently the winner will get to perform in Las Vegas. I don't know all of the comics listed, but a decent number of them.  

Black Pepper Spam Meat

I finally decided to use the black pepper Spam I bought at last year's state fair, it tasted pretty good. I like having reminders of New Orleans, so I cooked it in some Zatarain's rice. Hadn't cooked much lately, as I usually just get TV dinners. One can definitely taste the pepper in it. I bought it since they bring out the rare flavors at the state fair. I usually don't buy a 12-ounce can, however. If I want it I usually get a single serving pouch as that's all I really want and then I don't have plenty of leftover product to deal with. But in this case, it was no big deal. With rice or Tuna Helper, I have it over two days so the other serving will be for tomorrow.
   At the comedy club tonight, I liked one comic doing jokes about parades and poor imagination, along with another doing one about his lady friend being an aggressive cuddler. The show closer is well-known with the Twin City scene, back from New York, specifically Brooklyn. I had no idea he was originally from Prior Lake. I jsut knew him as friends with many of the comics here, especially the show runner. This is why he eventually became a Facebook friend. My dad would say he looks a lot like a hippie. He did do a few jokes about drugs, but they worked well.
   I fell asleep in my easy chair, when I woke up I saw 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' on TV. No surprise there, as I had been watching ABC's 'Nightline' show when I fell asleep. There was a segment about a wonder drug on 'Nightline'. The musician on Kimmel was a doing a song with catchy lyrics: 'Reach for the sky, keep your eye on the prize'. There was some mention of Matisyahu, if it was him he looks way different now. Either that or I was just too groggy to know for sure since I had just woke up and wasn't paying close attention. I found out the song is called 'Sunshine', I viewed it on Youtube. I liked his song 'King without a crown' from a few years back.

Wearing a Norway Shirt

The comedy show ran long tonight, the show closer wanted another performer to fill in for his friend.
He said his friend had quit comedy, and I had knew him as many did in the Twin City comedy scene. Unsure as to why, all I had been told before was he had been laid off from his gig at this club. He had a tirade one night where he ripped into some of the people there like the manager and the owner. The stand-in looked nothing like him, which made it a little funnier how he was expected to be the fill-in. I did like how he gave somebody another chance in the spotlight, found out he will be doing a contest night soon.
   I really hadn't noticed how late it was running at first, but I think he was well over the allotment he gets as show closer, 10 minutes. After a while, the MC in the back said 'just tell some jokes'. The show closer did allude to it by responding that he probably wants to go home, and was likely not alone. Many crowdmembers may have felt this way as well. I liked his joke about mowing the lawn in the rain, and about raising a duck. Something about how it was eaten by a dog shortly after it was set free from the garage. I did talk to him before the show as I hadn't seen him in a while. He was holding court when I saw him, and I stepped on his feet but didn't mean to. He had a Norway shirt on, one that don't see too often. May have been an athletic shirt like a soccer uniform jersey.
   Another comic asked me to watch her purse. It was placed on the back of a chair near me while she was onstage. I liked her joke about 'bases'.

New Prague Tour

I rode down to New Prague with my date earlier today, a fun little tour. It was a fairly short drive to and from since it is near the metro area, in fact in the same county as Shakopee, home of Valleyfair.
We arrived in the early afternoon, then went to eat at a McDonald's attached to a Shell gas station. We liked seeing some of the murals in town. There was one at the edge of town with a map of Czechoslovakia, as it was settled by immigrants from that nation. The Catholic church looked impressive as well, we got a picture of it. I did a quick search online after getting back, and found out what in town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This church is the only property listed, but it made sense how it's on the list as the church has some rare architecture. The parks were nice as well, one had a small tower with a weather vane on top of it. This was Philipp's Park. There was a gateway inside another park we found on the opposite side of town, Greenway Park.
   For a town of  just under 4,000 residents, it was not too surprising to see just one property listed. My hometown is about 15,000 residents and has six.
   I had to chuckle when I saw the sign at one establishment, as it said 'Cranky Alice'. The tagline was 'your house, your rules'. This sounds like a good name for a bar or a comedy club, or both. There was an ancient Maytag washing machine nearby, so I got a picture of it as well. We saw the same Mohawk carpet ad inside two businesses, a fun one for us since Pigpen from the Charlie Brown and Snoopy comic strip was in the ad.

County Fair and Bastille Day

Went to the Ramsey County Fair in Maplewood today, it is a small fair. A few things were different compared to recent years, like the pig races instead of a puppet show. But I didn't see any pig races going on when there for a few hours with my date. We got a good look around, I got just one picture of a marker that spoke of it being the 'county poor farm' explaining the cemetery section. I noticed my camera battery was low and I didn't want it to 'crap out' on me there. We did eat a little, I had a big slice of sausage pizza. We also had snow cones, I chose cherry. None of the midway rides or carnival games interested us. The art exhibit was nice, some art was related to the anniversary of the Girl Scouts being celebrated this year, the centennial. This building also had the winning food entries along with the art winners. The 4-H building had some school projects in it, I informed my date this is where they have 'Fright Farm' when haunted houses are in season. We saw somebody getting help from the EMS when exiting, it may have been too warm for them. The last big thing we saw was the petting zoo, some of the animals were 'attention whores' especially the goats, who were climbing up on the fences of where they were penned in.
  We also went to a Bastille Day celebration through the French Alliance, it was at the Hotel Sofitel in Bloomington. I had been there before for some events, I think mostly related to the writers union. It was fun to ride in a Citroen, a French car. I had rode in Renaults, as they once owned American Motors. It sounded like we were in a 1972 model, this was near the end of the time when these cars were sold in America. It was comfortable in the back seat, and I noticed it was a manual column shift, I haven't seen those much before. We took a ride over to a nearby lake and back, two dollars each, a good deal in all. We had a smoked salmon sandwich inside along with an eclair, and heard them play some music including the national anthem, La Marsellaise. I liked seeing a man playing an accordion there, he was wearing a stereotypical French beret and a striped shirt. We finished the evening with some drinks at thebar, I wanted a French beer and found a Fischer, made in the Alsace section which was once part of Germany. Also picked up some small souvenirs, like a fleur-de-lis magnet and a postcard of the hotel and a luggage tage which said 'not worth taking' in French. We had heard about the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, would be in the ksy tonight, from the news. But we went out about when they were expected to be visible and didn't see any, they may have been too hard to see in a big metro area like where we are in the Twin Cities.

'Push' Sign On Stage Door

I like hearing from the theater guy at work. He told me a story about working security at an event one time and had the 'slacker' job of being at the stage door to let people in. And how he got a cheap thrill from putting a 'push' sign on the stage door, which was locked, and then arresting those who tried going through it and weren't authorized. I keep telling him he should write a book about his adventures. Or I can write it and it can be 'as told to'. He also told me how he met a member of the Zac Brown Band entourage, and then became friends after they fought- also when working as a security guard.
   I went to eat later than typical, at 8pm. I don't know if getting soaked after getting off the bus had anything to do with it. But when I got on there was no rain and then it 'cut loose' as my dad would say. It wouldn't surprise me if there was flash flooding in some areas as the rain did fall quickly. Some tried to get all of the windows shut on the bus, but one was stubborn so some people moved away from it. Then a woman tried it and it did shut. I waited at the bus shelter until the light turned green to cross the street, and so did another passenger. My feet were soaked rather quickly from being splashed by cars going by. Most important thing is to get wet clothes off right away, and I did do this. It meant hanging them up in the shower.
   I did like where I chose to eat, the Chicago hot dog place in St. Paul known as Chris and Rob's. As a former resident of the area I like the ambience there. I spoke with one of the employees for a while and he shared a story about living there, something about living in a rough neighborhood- in the city of and of course I was in an O'Hare suburb- as there was a power struggle within the Latin Kings gang after their leader was put in jail. Where I lived for most of my nearly six years there wasn't quite on the map, but the Rosemont Horizon/Allstate Arena is so I liked seeing it as I did attend events there fairly often like Wolves hockey games and some concerts.
   Before I ventured out again I reminded myself to go online to do a transaction. I wanted to dump more miles into my Delta Airlines frequent flyer account from answering online surveys. Had to wait a month, now the month is up, so I can convert survey money into the miles. Keep the balance low on survey money so I don't forget about it. Might be a while before getting another free trip, but I like knowing 500 miles from surveys is available when it's expensive if from a plane ticket. It's the 'house minimum' when flying on short flights. Sometimes I have to wait a little longer until there's enough in the account to dump miles, but usually not too long. I may not qualify for surveys much, but each quarter and dime for surveys I attempt does add up each month.
   I went to a friend's comedy show tonight, he was the feature and another fellow comic was the MC. A little surprised to know both of the openers, but shouldn't be. I think the headliner was a New Yorker, he did well on jokes about relationships. Nobody said anything about my outfit, as I had a t-shirt on but no other one over it like what I wear at the office. This was due to getting soaked.
It was the 'London, England' shirt with the Union Jack in the middle, acquired when I was there last month. First time wearing it since I keep it with the other tourist shirts, not part of the regular rotation. Made sense to get it out and wear it after speaking of the Iceland socks earlier this week, which I did wear on Thursday.
   I was called 'robber baron' by the feature, a new term but I like it. I had a snappy comeback to it, how I read about them in history class. He did do some of my favorite jokes, three in all. The one called 'Lugar' where he does an excellent voice impression of the trainer from the 'Rocky' movies. Along with reading about a 'morning hooker', and real estate brokers. Some crowdmembers at my table were talking a little too much but I also noticed they drank plenty, draining multiple bottles of vodka if I'm not mistaken. They left early, so I didn't have to see them after a while. One girl was almost forcibly marched in by her companion, don't know why for sure though it may have been a joke. Also liked the MC's jokes about his neck tattoo, and getting a GED signed by then-Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Even saw the comedian from this week's CD release party leaving as I was arriving at the club, he said he was on his way to another club.  

'Ticks' By Brad Paisley

I am reminded of the Brad Paisley song 'Check You For Ticks' today as I found another tick on my leg while showering this morning before going to work. I found out the official title is shorter, 'Ticks', but one still easily finds it online with what I espected the title would be, with the 4 words I mentioned. Less likely to find it with one word, unless the performer is included in the search.
   One had been found on the same leg in the past two weeks, a little lower. I don't know how they are getting there, when I wear long pants so it would be hard for any critters to get in there. But it was no big deal to take it off me, despite not having a 'tick remover' like a friend has used on me and their dog as well to see one gets all of the tick off of the body. Coincidentally, the same friend has this Brad Paisley song as the ringtone on their cell phone. But they usually pick it up before it gets to the part of the song that refers to checking for ticks. I haven't had any infections yet from the bites, so no news is good news. I will have to ask my physician about it at next month's appointment, since I had been tested for deer ticks before and was told it was due to them being common in this state. The test came up negative, but at that time I don't recall seeing any tick bites either. Though one time I was concerned about them when I saw a bug in my hair at lunchtime from work, but was told it was just a harmless beetle.
    I got a parking ticket at a Minneapolis park tonight. An extra quarter would have saved me forty dollars. Now I have to weigh my options, as it does mention changing it into a 'permit' to lower the fine. Don't know if this is applicable. Though I have found out about ways to reduce the fine paid, even if some of them mean that it goes onto one's driving record. So in many ways it looks too much like blackmail. I don't enjoy having to haggle about things, but I may well have to do so here. Either way, I don't plan on paying it right away. If I have 30 days, I will likely pay it right before the 30 days is up. I got there shortly after the meter maid did, and they were just getting started.
   At lunchtime today I was out walking downtown and saw a kid sucking his thumb, though he seemed to be too old for that. He was also brushing his hair every so often. But I said nothing about it, as maybe he likes it that way and didn't know anything different. I do my best to observe people without interacting with them if at all possible.

Iceland Socks

I went to another CD release party for a comedian friend tonight. Good show, plenty of comics before the headliner since it's open-mic night. Much like before, I bought the CD. And I got a shout-out, which happens often and I enjoy each time. I was asked what I liked about the previous one, couldn't lie about how I hadn't listened to it yet. Hated coming up with excuses for it, as I was reminded of what my football coach in high school said about it. We had to complete the phrase 'excuses- are for losers'. So I already sent a message on Facebook saying I would get both CDs listened to before I go to another friend's show soon. I said it was a deadline that got me into comedy, so I figured it would work once again on motivating me. I have listened to the first one now, didn't take long as it was just 40 minutes. Many of the bits I had heard before, but they were good ones. It in many ways was a more extended set, so I liked this greatly. He is an Iowa native like me, so I liked his joke about the annoying acronyms for the state name. Some of them I hadn't heard of before, but others sounded familiar. I definitely liked the one about being a 'big kid' and liking the log ride at a theme park, coaxing kids onto the ride while a school chaperone. Since it ended with 'who wants Dippin Dots?'
   When I think of how sometimes I buy things and don't use them right away, I have to think of some of my souvenirs from the recent visit to Great Britain for a wedding. We stopped in Iceland on layover and I got some socks. But after tonight, I reminded myself how those Iceland socks were still in the main souvenir bag and of course not yet used. I made sure to go put them in the rotation, and now they will be used! It is why I tend to buy things, especially apparel. They are really nice-looking socks, mostly blue with some red. Both socks say 'Iceland' twice, and there is a puffin bird on it which I think looks like a little penguin. The comedian doing the release party may like that since he does a penguin joke. There is also a red stripe surrounded by two smaller white stripes, and the puffin is superimposed onto it. I like how these truly are reminders of the national flag, since all three colors are there and the stripes are like the off-center cross on the flag, same style as the other 4 'Nordic' nations of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland.
    So I am thankful that a comedian friend motivated me. Sometimes we still need motivation, though at times I downplay the importance of it. One would think I wouldn't need it when I've had so many life experiences and 'teachable moments' along the way.

Yes, I Have A Converter Box

I tried to watch some of the All-Star Game from Kansas City tonight on TV but fell asleep. I said I wanted to watch one inning before heading out to the comedy club. I fell asleep before the first inning ended, and woke up about an inning later. The National League was ahead 5-0 by the end of the first, and 8-0 by the time I made it to the club. I was listening to it on the radio on the way over. So it was a 'snoozer', in more ways than one. One fellow comic at the club made that joke when I spoke of it and it was a good one. I was impressed how they knew the score, while being inside the club, as it wasn't on the the TV screens in the bar. But I know I am behind the times a little, even though I have a cell phone. Since it is not a 'smart phone' where I can check the Internet on it. I tried to do this once on my phone and it was expensive so I disabled this part of it. The phone had a small screen to look at anyway. I do some text-messaging, one good thing about it is it forces me to make the message count when it has to be much smaller than an email.
    I liked saying hi to two of my fellow comics there, who were sitting next to each other when I arrived. One is having a CD release party soon and the other will be the feature act at the same club this week, explaining being the show closer tonight. This is two of the four in my 'ring of honor' pictures. The former is the one who knew about the baseball game.
 I tried to watch 'Nightline' on ABC tonight, but to no avail. I kept trying to re-scan the right channel and it just wasn't coming up. But I know having a converter box means I have more problems than others will. So watched a 'companion channel' instead, and it meant reruns of 'Friends'. This channel is one that has more problems than the others, but since I think of myself as a news junkie then I am more willing to try to figure out what will get it working again. I knew about things like Craigslist due to watching this show. So I trust that I will get better reception real soon. Some may be surprised how I haven't bought an HDTV set, but I haven't seen the need for it yet.

Third Time, Midas Touch?

I sent my car to the shop this morning at Midas, this time hopefully it is corrected for a while. I know my car is getting old as I've had it for 9 years now, longer than any other car I have owned. But I also know I'm doing the right things, by doing the oil changes regularly. I didn't do this as much with some of my previous cars, especially when I was in high school and college. Though I am also reminded now of my dad getting disgusted with car repairs, just by the way he would say 'parts shucking out'. Now I am doing this, and didn't think I would. I am not his clone though, as I know I am not as excitable as he is.
  At work, we had the typical I.T. issues which was annoying, but what can you do? As usual, it was a busy Monday, but it was also due to two people being out and having to cover for them. Ugh! I'm bored with having to do the same payoff report because of the high volume. But I was fine with letting some others finish it when asked as they wanted to get it submitted to the boss more quickly. So I was actually doing double duty today, and decided to take a shorter lunch but told no one about it. One of them, the theater guy, will be back soon, and I like working with him. The other is a new person and don't know quite as well. But I like how she does the assignment I just hated doing: making copies of paid accounts before we mail them out. I'm qualified to do more than that.
   I was a little too leisurely on the way to the comedy club tonight, making it just minutes before the sign-up period ended. The most important thing is making it in time, but I don't like cutting things too close and when I park across the street temporaily that is cutting it too close. Since I don't want to pay for parking there and usually just go to a free spot on the street since the parking enforcement is done for the day by then. I liked discussing Woody Allen with one fellow comic tonight, as I referred to a documentary on public TV I watched with my dad about fame. It said Woody typified the spirit of the time (or 'zeitgeist') when his movies did real well in the 1970s: by being nervous- looking. Then the other comic said it explained the success of Phil Donahue's talk show, a thankful reminder of how there were talk shows before Oprah Winfrey. I also said I understood some shows better after seeing Woody's movie 'Annie Hall'- since they copied the subtitles of what they were thinking, which was usually nothing like what they were saying. 'The Jeffersons' did this real well, when Florence the maid had a blind date with Bentley the neighbor, and U.N. translator. Since she didn't know who Truffaut was, a French movie star, and spelled it 'Trufo'.  

Airport Hilton St. Louis

I just arrived back from St. Louis as of this afternoon. I did more than just look at all of the posters and photos on the walls at the hotel. I enjoyed getting pictures of the TWA posters at the Airport Hilton St. Louis. They were everywhere, but the ones in the restaurant were full-color. The ones in other areas were more likely to be black and white. Many of them near the elevators were of famous people, mostly actors. Near my room were ones of Tony Randall and James Garner. Others I noticed were of Nelson Rockefeller, Bob Hope, Red Skelton, Marilyn Monroe, and Roger Maris. The desk clerk said this was part of the ad campaign as many were afraid to fly. Considering that I didn't know all of the names, and how the photos were black and white, these were likely from the 1950s. I know it is truly a different era than what we live in now.
   There wasn't much I did this morning aside from check out of the hotel after packing up. I made it to the Denny's nearby and had breakfast, liked seeing a cheerful server there much like in my previous visits. Also stopped at a trailer park along the way, as it has plenty of signs up I like reading such as 'live simply so others may simply live' or 'believe in what you do, do what you believe in'. I try to live my life by these sentiments. I would have liked taking a swim in the indoor pool at the hotel, but it was hard to find the time while there over the weekend when I had so many things planned. Hopefully it works out on getting a good deal again to stay at this hotel, as there may be a few things left to be discovered.
   If there was any trouble at all, it was the rental car, and even that was minor. I had a hard time finding the fuel release lever when I went to top off the tank before returning, I had to keep guessing. Then I was told by the Enterprise rep how there would be an incident report filed due to what looked like a common heel mark on the passenger side of the car, a VW Jetta. I rubbed at it with 2 fingertips and noticed it was coming off, so it was decided no report would be filed. I had no idea how it got there, and it wasn't a scratch or dent so it would have seemed unnecessary anyway.
  On the flight home I liked reading from the airline magazine, provided by Delta. There were interviews with actor/comedian Denis Leary, as well as Chris Elliott and his daughter. Others were with actors from famous ad campaigns like Flo from Progressive Insurance, and 'Mayhem' from Allstate Insurance. I tend to like somebody more after seeing them get interviewed,. as there can be so much to be learned from it. Upon arrival back at MSP, I got over to the Godfather's Pizza to get a picture, and this was all. I thought about eating there, but I had eaten some Godfather's just over a week ago. I liked their sign which said 'when you want the best, you want Godfather's.' I did take over a hundred pictures over the weekend, and need some time to get a look at them more closely to see which ones are worthy of being in my Facebook album.
   I saw an online article which spoke of  how actor Ernest Borgnine has died at age 95. I know him well as the sheriff in the movie 'Convoy'. For some reason the song was on my mind quite a bit recently, maybe since it was linked to another song from the same timeframe I had listened to on Youtube, 'Dueling Banjos' from 'Deliverance'. Though I noticed the song in the movie was slightly different than the one my parents had on a single record. Found out on Wikipedia how the song inspired the movie, and the song was changed a little for the movie. The performer was CW McCall, but I knew of no other songs by him.

Funny Bone in Westport

I went to the 10pm show at the Funny Bone comedy club in Westport Plaza in Maryland Heights tonight. It was just a few miles from my hotel. I think I had seen the headliner, Jeremy Essig, before in the Twin Cities. The joke about the menagerie in rural Ohio sounded familiar. The MC explained a few jokes that didn't need to be explained, the feature was pretty good. It was the kind of jokes I had heard before, like date rape drugs, the Penn State scandal, and pet insurance. When the headliner said he suffered from depression, he then said 'hello comedy'. I laughed, but normally I would have said 'yep', meaning I'm agreeing with it but didn't necessarily think it was funny. I can relate as to how and why I got into comedy, as well as writing. Both were a healthy outlet. He handled it well when there was an outburst from the crowd, something about Al Gore inventing the internet. He asked the crowdmember if he came for other dated jokes like Monica Lewinsky. Then I noticed the club manager came around and warned him, how he would be ejected if he did it again. There was some good art on the wall inside the club, like Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, and Jay Leno. Another was of  Jim Belushi, if I'm not mistaken. At the club entrance there was a Chris Farley portrait, I got a picture of that one. I had a local beer, Schalfly (sp?), brewed right in St. Louis according to the label. The server went through beer choices, I wanted something different and was told it was a pale ale, so I was fine with it.
  The day began with getting the rental car from Enterprise at an airport suburb, Berkeley. It is spelled just like the famous college town in California. I got a piece of lemon poundcake and some orange juice before getting on the shuttle, hadn't found breakfast any earlier and wanted to be close to the reservation time when there was a schedule to keep. Then it was on to the post office in the same town, the Enterprise employees had no idea where it was even after I gave them an address I found online. It meant going just a mile or so, and right off the interstate exit. It was an 'Aloha' stamp I got so I could mail a card to a friend back home.
   After this it was on to the Cathedral Basilica, an idea I got from a Youtube video, a song by Jewel. The tour was in progress, but I was there early on so I did partake in the lion's share of it. I was craning my neck a lot to look at the mosaics on the ceiling, and there was plenty about the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1999. I often refer to him as 'JP2' as others have, since he had rock star status.
   My meal schedule is off on this visit, as I didn't have lunch until I got to the stadium for the Cardinal game in the mid-afternoon. The Cardinals beat the Marlins 3-2. Plenty of runners were left on base, same as Friday, but they scored enough to win. The errors were lower, which helped. I stayed in my seat for the first 5 innings, but the sun moved and I was right in the sun after a while in the upper deck. So I left my seat and didn't return for the rest of the game. I wanted to stay where it was cooler, and I found some places where one could see the action real well while being shielded from the sun. I was not alone, I could tell. There were heat warnings on the video board as well. Wanted to continue keeping score, and I did.
   After the game, I got a few more pictures nearby. Some were of the hotel downtown near the Tums building (yes, the antacid) as I recall staying at the hotel as a teenager with my dad. He thought I had run off, I just wanted to know which front desk was for the Clarion hotel. He stayed there as he wanted to get close to everything so he wouldn't have to drive much while in town. He hates to drive in big cities. I also recall him getting a 'wrong number' saying the caller expected a hooker in the room, per what the man's buddy said. My dad matter-of-factly said 'All I have here is a teenage son' so some comic might turn this one into a joke somehow.
   Also got some pictures of events at the Arch, where a festival was happening. I got up to the Arch and touched the bottom of one end of it. There was samples of a new kind of Pepsi nearby. The server wanted to see my schedule of events to see who was playing music on the stage at that time. Apparently, the headliner wasn't on just yet.
    After getting back to my hotel I did have dinner at the restaurant inside the hotel, and they did have toasted ravioli available as an appetizer. The manager came out to ask how everything was, I said I saw George Clooney's picture on the computers and was told that the movie 'Up In The Air' was filmed at the hotel. Liked seeing the TWA posters in the dining area, a holdover from their time doing plenty of business in the area. It was advertising many of the places the airline would fly to, a good number of them were international destinations. The airline no longer exists, bought out by American Airlines over a decade ago. The Rams stadium, the football dome downtown, once had the name 'TWA' or 'Trans World' but the naming rights were re-sold to Edward Jones. This was the sponsor of the replica World Series ring giveaway on Friday. The server heard my plans to attend a comedy show tonight and said 'don't bust a gut'.

Car In An Elevator

I have had some really odd dreams recently. One was about having my car in an elevator at work, next to a typical hauling cart for the office. How it got there, I have no idea. The next one was having 2 dogs in my home, but in reality I don't own any dogs. Then I was at a bar, and I spoke of how I 'fired a friend' and there was somebody who didn't understand why I had to do this. Finally I was at an event where somebody recognized me, and I asked for their name, it was Jeanette Gonlow Bloom. I was left wondering how and where I knew them. This is an unusual name. I usually analyze my own dreams, my best guess is these are things I had been thinking about quite a bit recently. I know I often think about my car, especially when it has been in the shop due to the check engine light but nothing found yet. The part about an ex-friend I think is due to me for some reason liking the sound of saying 'you're fired' as it is something often said in a drama part of a TV show or movie. I don't think anyone really enjoys being on either end of those words.
   I went to Auto Zone on University Avenue in St. Paul this morning, as my check engine light was on again, the third time in a week. I was told it was the O-2 sensor, for real. After I was done, I liked looking at the archival photos at the TCF bank nearby, as it is on the site of a former baseball field. I had passed by it before and had taken pictures of the marker, but knew there was more inside the bank. Though it was hard to tell if any of the inside photos were at all different from on the marker or the outside of the building.
     Then it was on to the airport, and my flight to St. Louis for the weekend. It is warm here, reached the century mark. I could tell how hot it was while walking from the airport to my hotel, and this was a fairly short distance at less than a mile. The same was true when I went over to Subway for a drink and cookies, after a break while channel surfing. So I had no problem deciding to take the airport shuttle, since it was offered at check-in. The shuttle takes guests there not just for flights but also to the light-rail system, known as Metro Link.
  I did take plenty of pictures already, like the rainbow effect when water was turned on from the fire hydrant near the baseball stadium. I got a pair of Cardinal socks at Busch Stadium, and went to my seat before getting food and drink. I did get food and drink at the Hardee's after 2 innings, it was on the same level as my seat. Actually there are two, the other is in the main concourse on the lower level. Love the Hardee's burger, and the drink was a strawberry shake. Also got up for water and a bottle of Sprite later on. A bank clock at the stadium had the temp at 87 degrees near the end of the game, still warm for nighttime. I liked seeing a group of drummers outside the stadium after the game, which the Cardinals lost to the Marlins 3-2. Three errors and leaving plenty of runners on base were the big causes. I said 'you're good, kid' to this kid who was likely no older than age 7 and part of the drumming group. He was doing a small drum on top of a milk crate. Some of the money from onlookers went directly to him, so I was not alone in feeling this way. But I left my donation in the main box for all instead of directly to one performer. I didn't mind taking the time to watch the drumline, as it also meant I had a shorter wait for the train back to the airport. The crowds can be enormous right after a game. Some panicked about getting on the 'wrong' train, as it branches off eventually. But I was quite aware of what train I was on, just wanted to take the first one available and get away from the crowds as quickly as possible. No big deal as long as one transfers at Forest Park or earlier. Then at the end of the line, which is the airport, a security guard gestured to us, or maybe just me in particular. I figured out he probably wanted to know the result of the game instead of just saying 'hi'. So I did a head gesture meaning 'no' since they lost. Earlier, I had company while online. It was somebody trying to send a fax at the copier next to me, he said it was hot in here. I said it was hot outside as well. I let him know I was at the Cardinal game, so we spoke about the Cardinals some. I like how sports can unite people, when at times few other things can. Same is true with knowing I noticed a man's southern accent when he let me pass on the stairs after the game. I asked Arkansas, I was correct, as he said he was from Fort Smith. But this is a regional team, I knew it was possible. Some might have been surprised to know I was there all the way from Minnesota.

What's Up Buttercup

I stayed a little later than typical tonight at work, which is common for being out of the office the next day. I want to see that things are caught up so I lower the risk of getting yelled at when I get back. Then my joke is 'I will get yelled at for using the term getting yelled at' since the supervisors say they don't yell.
    When I did leave the building, the escalator was blocked, as some kids were treating it like a toy. So I politely said 'I would like to go down now' and was told they didn't see me. I could hear them  later on repeating what I had said. It must have sounded funny to them, but I wasn't trying to be funny at all as I was tired. I've learned a long time ago to ignore things like this, no need to take the bait.
  I tried watching 2 episodes of 'Big Bang Theory' tonight but fell asleep in my easy chair. I knew the first one was about an easy chair that Penny, the neighbor, found on the street. I had seen it before, but it was worth seeing again. I liked her snappy responses to Sheldon's knocking on the door, 3 that went well together. It was: 'what's up buttercup, what's the word hummingbird, what's the gist physicist'. I finally got out of my chair after watching the start of 'Person of Interest' and took a walk around the neighborhood, including picking up trash I had found. When I got to the Superamerica I found a trash bin for it all. Also decided to keep 4 pull tabs from pop and beer cans as we've been collecting them at work for the Ronald McDonald House.
   When I got back I decided to finish the mustard container, there wasn't much left. I had to reach in with a butterknife of course. It was tasty, and I knew I needed to finish this one as I wouldn't start the other bottle until it was the only one in the refrigerator.
  I don't understand why Reggie Jackson, the Hall of Fame baseball player, was ranting so much in an interview. In his opinion, Twins star Kirby Puckett, among others, didn't belong in the Hall. It was mentioned on the late local news tonight.

Eagan Water Park

Saw the '44 Presidents' play at a Lutheran church in Minneapolis tonight. It was put on by a community theater group known as Pro Rata. It was really well done. Much of it was familiar from studying history before. Plenty of artwork for each president available there, but some had already been sold. Others were not for sale at all. It was displayed on the support beams of the church basement, behind the seating area.
   I got most of the jokes in it, like John Quincy Adams arriving to the tune of the theme song from 'Leave it to Beaver'. It came across as a joke about him being the unqualified son of a former president. Naturally, they were unable to go in depth on the presidents as there are so many, and it was a 90-minute play so it meant about 2 minutes each. There was an intermission, and even this I caught as a joke since it was right after the first term for Grover Cleveland was covered. 'We'll be back', and so was Cleveland, since he was president number 22 and 24. A constant drum beat about Lincoln being surrounded by death, first in his own life and then as the Civil War president, captured him well, along with being assassinated. It went in a loop, about all of those close to him who died, along with mention of certain Civil War battles like Antietam.
   I also made it to the water park in Eagan with my date, but I didn't bring my undies for after I was at the park. So even as I write these words, I am not wearing any. It still seems fairly comfortable, maybe since it is so warm. I liked going on the waterslides there, though I wasn't expecting one of them to be so fast, the enclosed one. So I had to duck right away, as it likely otherwise would have hurt more than the typical thing I deal with. This would be hitting my head on ceiling fans. It was crowded there, as expected, since it was a day off from work for many.

Completion of Suspended Game

A long night at the St. Paul Saints baseball game, as it was actually two games. First there was the completion of a suspended game from the past month, which began in the other city and was called due to the league's midnight curfew. It's not too often that one hears about this, especially when it was in the 7th inning by then, already an official game, and the Saints were leading as well. They went on to win it, but we didn't see any of it as I was en route with my date while it was happening. I got an email from the club about the plans for the night, and how the start time was moved up an hour. But since I was working I said I was keeping the same schedule. I need a good reason to knock off work a little early, and a baseball game usually isn't one of those things. A medical appointment is a more likely reason, and those are relatively rare.
  Naturally when there's the big annual 4th of July fireworks show, there is also the ceremonial events. Different military moms were honored, such as a 'Gold Star Mom' for those who lost a son in combat. I had heard of this kind of day before, such as when my parents got a big flag to display. There was a brochure along with it about the days to display it, and one of them was on Gold Star Moms Day. Don't recall for sure what month, but I think such a designation goes back to World War I, same as the Veterans Day observance.
 The game started late, and it became a high scoring one at 13-6, where the Saints beat the Lincoln (Nebraska) Saltdogs. The Saints trailed for a while but then had a big inning that put them ahead for good. Then finally, the fireworks. But it was well worth the wait for the fireworks, as it was a good show and playing music along with it adds so much to the experience. Much of it was patriotic, but it doesn't have to be. I liked hearing 'These Are Days' by 10,000 Maniacs at one fireworks show.  

Reboot The Sensors

I had the mechanic reboot the O-2 sensors on my car earlier today, after the check engine light appeared again. Auto Zone said this is what was needed. Thankfully it cost me nothing. While there,  I picked up a can of A&W cream soda they had in a little refrigerator. It reminded me of having to reset computers or copiers at work in the office, as shutting off and turning the machine back on can clear an error message.
   I got a text message from a classmate, still trying to figure out if it works to meet them while in town for the holiday this week. The friend likes the Nook in St. Paul, I've been there once. When I think of the establishment, I understand how it lives up to the name as it is small. I know it has the same ownership at the Shamrock, also in St. Paul. The Shamrock is a place where I have done comedy, but not in a while. Now I think I know somebody who is a bouncer there, a fellow writer.
  At the comedy club tonight, there was a guitar player who had his own versions of nursery rhyme songs that were meant to be pedophile jokes. Rare to see this kind of act, much like seeing a ventriloquist, but it is a nice change of pace. Best advice I was able to give him was to see that you're ready when your name is called. He seemed to be familiar with the rule about the timelight, so he must have been doing comedy for a while in other cities.

Moonrise Kingdom Movie

Saw the movie 'Moonrise Kingdom' at one of the Oakdale theaters earlier today, the more southern one. Liked it, plenty of jokes in it, probably hard to catch all of them when there were so many but I likely caught most of them. Good cast all around, I like Bill Murray, as well as Bruce Willis, even Ed Norton, as Ed was in 'Fight Club'. I could guess real well how they were going for the New England backdrop for the island, I was thinking Massachusetts but the closing credits said it was filmed in Rhode Island. Plenty of music by Hank Williams (Sr.) that I recognized. Directed by Roman Coppola, son of 'Godfather' director Francis Ford Coppola. I was already familiar with some of his work, as he has directed some music videos like Green Day's 'Walking Contradiction'. Other movie directors have done music videos as well, like 'Good Will Hunting' director Gus Van Sant. I was surprised how it was being shown at 15 different theaters in the metro area, as it seemed to be more like an independent movie which would get a limited release. But it made the top ten for the weekend in ticket sales, at number 8.
  I decided to change my profile picture on Facebook, to something more recent. Eventually I chose to crop a picture from the class reunion. At first I had to go back to Walgreen since I was given the wrong pictures on the CD, none of them were of me and all appeared to be from the 70's. But they corrected it , at no extra charge to me, so I was fine with it.
    I had two odd dreams this morning, one was while driving my car and I said to my date 'I'm about to go into the median' but somehow corrected it before I did. I may have been distracted like trying to read a map. It likely was due to a memory of skidding off the interstate and into the median in college, as it was a icy winter day. I wasn't hurt, thankfully. I learned to be more careful during winter driving due to it. The other was seeing a friend, we didn't talk at all, but I did talk to the friend's dad.