Artwalk By Ordway

   At lunchtime in downtown St. Paul I searched for the art I had heard about in the 'Artwork by Ordway' event. As expected, some of it was better than others. But I liked much of what I saw, and got a few pictures. Also saw a woman painting the Snoopy statue outside the Candy-land store. I said I liked how they are repainting it after acquiring it.
   In the evening I went out to Taco Bell to have 'The box', I like it a lot. After this I stayed in and worked on the baseball cards some more. I am not quite halfway through the box of a thousand but I did make a big dent in it. One of the binders is essentially full so it likely means getting out the fourth binder. I am still grouping them by team, but noticed it was a good idea to group by series as well. I bought mostly Topps cards, but in the box of a thousand they are mostly non-Topps cards. This makes it easier to spot any duplicate cards. There have been some but not many so far, which is a good thing.
      I got confused this morning at work when I saw an email where the lollipop girl was copied on the same message as me. I later found out she changed back to her maiden name as she got divorced a year ago. I had said my aunt also did this before she married again.

Pitbull Summer Concert Tour

   I was recently informed about Pit-bull doing a summer concert tour, but how he isn't scheduled to perform in the Twin Cities. Closest I found was suburban Chicago, and Milwaukee. I had been to the suburban Chicago venue, in Tinley Park, when I lived in the area. But I haven't been to Summer-fest, which is the site of the Milwaukee show. It is likely a better idea to buy a CD as I don't have one yet. Traveling requires some time, money, and energy, and I don't necessarily have all of these resources.
   I did find something online about visiting the Chicago World's Fair in 1933- journal entries, traveling from Canada. I did print what I found. It included images of postcards, but I don't have any of the ones depicted yet. I did recognize some of them like the Sears building, hadn't seen one yet for Walgreen. Some of the places mentioned were familiar, in terms of postcard listings I had found like the Lincoln Group or Fort Dearborn. I have just four postcards from this fair. I also found something about Thompson Restaurants, which was a sponsor of the Avenue of Flags at the fair. It did mention how they are largely forgotten, which explains why I hadn't heard of them until seeing the postcard listings. I still think what I've found is fairly representative as it's user-driven. I may want to expand my search- and interest- beyond postcards, as there may be other souvenirs that interest me. Though I am finding out it seems to be the most common souvenir. It's all about how one searches on a site like E-bay, what key words are used.

Gambia Baseball Stamps

    I am still making some finds on E-bay, and now it is baseball movie stamps from Gambia. I did recognize many of the movies depicted like 'Field of Dreams'. But when I had the time to organize the printed pictures of listings that interested me, I was better able to remind myself of ordering priorities besides the stamps. There still are the World's Fair postcards, but over a hundred. It's mostly from the fairs in Chicago and New York. It was also helpful to look them up again and see what was still available, and if the price had changed. Some did, but not many. Most of these won't be ordered right away, if at all. I like printing the pictures so I have a better idea of what is out there, and do the comparison and contrast.
   At the comedy club tonight I saw a fellow comic tend to his dog in the car, it was part pit bull. Considering this is a large dude with some tattoos it didn't surprise me much on the choice of dog. I wouldn't have expected a poodle or a little terrier. A friend was show closer, he did a new joke about soccer goalies and pro wrestlers that I like. Even said so after the show ended. This was a big deal as normally I need some time to like the new jokes.

The Oversized Check

   The finals of the comedy contest was tonight. The winner was presented an oversized check. It was the Yemen native that won. I knew two of the top three fairly well. The third place contestant got a bottle of wine. The second place contestant got a golf package, including a putter. I said to the wine winner that I hope they like wine more than I do. I spoke of how I got some wine when I was in Sonoma, California on a vacation and didn't drink it until about 7 years later.
   I am seeing messages about the election for delegates for the writer convention but nothing official yet. Little or no acknowledgement was made when I said I would like to be a delegate again. It appears there may be bigger problems with the chapter than this particular issue, as there has been little activity since the last convention. Hopefully I will still hear something soon. I had the understanding it would be by the end of the month, which is fast approaching.
   Work was what one could expect for the day after the holiday, as there was plenty of it. I was unable to print some of the contracts needed for the payoff report. I had a colleague try it but to no avail. So I am not sure how it ended up. I know I can't do much about I.T. issues.

Des Plaines Pool Pass

    I spent most of the day inside doing sorting and cleanup. Didn't have much to eat for a while, an oatmeal cream pie for breakfast and a single serving of Wells Blue Bunny ice cream for lunch. So of course I was weak by the evening, when I went out to get some Little Caesar's pizza.
   I accomplished plenty. More boxes are labeled now, and I did find a few things I like seeing again. This included my Illinois driver license and my Des Plaines pool pass. And I did find my baseball card made at the 2009 All-Star Game Fan-fest. Since these items are the size of baseball cards, at some point I would like to get them into an album. After I had the pizza in the evening eventually I did go to Target and got more sheets for the baseball cards and a photo album, as I have filled one from the E-bay orders.
   I can tell how there is even more to be done, but I think I will be satisfied eventually. It's better to do things piecemeal and have breaks in order to avoid getting burned out by it. I am used to doing these cleanups and I know eventually I will run out of steam. I think this is why it was a good idea how I still did something with the baseball cards tonight. This meant getting the 1987 edition cards from the Iowa Cub game in the albums. I have decided to sort them by team and currently have two separate binders that I am putting most of them in. A third is being used for offbeat cards, mostly non-baseball cards. I liked how these cards mean I have added quite a bit to my collection for this particular year. Many of the teams have full pages now just from this edition.

Food Trucks and Fireworks

  I enjoyed the food trucks and the fireworks at the Saints baseball game tonight. It was after they beat El Paso 3-2. I had the Italian Sloppy Joe. There were some trucks that didn't make it back this year. I was hopeful to see the fire engine that served pizza, but it was a no-show. In spite of this there still was 16 trucks. At first it was hard to tell how many, as just 3 made it onto the infield. But the others apparently just needed more time to make it from where they were parked.
   During this game I noticed TC Bear, the Twins mascot, made an appearance in a Saints uniform. This was likely a cross promotion for the upcoming game where the Twins will be wearing some throwback uniforms, a game I went to last year.  The mascot of course was available as the Twins are on a road trip currently.
   In the evening I did get some more done with the baseball cards, after going to Wal-Mart to get more sheets. It was surprising how much different they were from Target on this item: it was in packs of 10 and not the 70 I had found at another store. So I bought 30 sheets for about $10, and the same amount got me more than double at their competitor's. I do have the hard plastic packs from Walgreen in the albums now.    

Big Ten Baseball Tournament

   I was hopeful to see the Big Ten baseball tournament this evening at Target Field, the Twins stadium. Thankfully I did see the game as the weather held up. I didn't know until arriving at the venue as to what teams were playing. There were three teams left in this double elimination tournament: Indiana, Ohio State, and Nebraska. There was a game in the afternoon, and it determined the matchup in the second game. Nebraska won and faced Indiana. Nebraska won 7-6 so the two teams must play again tomorrow to determine the champion. When going through highlights, sponsored by Motel 6 in the 6th inning, the video board revealed it was a blown call on an Indiana home run: it was foul. But Nebraska won in spite of it, but needed extra innings, they won in 11. The crowd was what I expected, as college baseball doesn't interest most people, it was just over a thousand. I liked seeing the out of town scoreboard there so fans could follow the major league games.
  I also went to see the State Capitol Civil War tour with my date. I've been there many times before, but I did find something I hadn't seen before. It was a painting of the Sioux Uprising- or Dakota War- in a hearing room, it was where we started the tour. It was revealed how a notable benefactor of the building construction was the Grand Army of the Republic, explaining why there were Civil War soldier statues on an upper level of the building. I did get a souvenir there, a pack of 6 trading cards of some of Minnesota's Civil War soldiers. There was a man near me when I was checking out and he kept wanting to talk about this subjects, a very specific one, and I knew very little about so I was bored. I am thankful it didn't take long to pay as I didn't want to be stuck talking to him for long.
    I also found a hobby shop in Little Canada, after lunch at the nearby Subway shop, that had a state quarter map for the National Park series. I have 13 of the first 15 quarters. Would also like to find a map where I can place the 6 quarters from the territories on the Series One state quarters. At the outset Congress approved just the 50 states, so all I had was a quarter map with 50 slots on it. It may be hard to find so I am prepared to look on E-bay for it.

Crisis In Office Before Holiday

    I should have predicted it, how there would be a manufactured 'Crisis before the holiday' in the office. I said to my work spouse how it is the proverbial Cinderella story, 'What, are we going to turn into a pumpkin if we don't get it done before the end of the day?' I spent more time on a residual issue (that I call a 'weed' as it came back from the previous day) than I should have in the morning. Then I decided I needed to get to new business- and my normal duties. One has to draw the line somewhere.
   I did get some of the E-bay orders today, it was the only items in today's postal mail. Most of the stamps are here now, except one coming from Great Britain, a first day cover. It was odd to see some of them spelling two player names wrong on the stamps from Somaliland: Mantle was 'Mackey' and Yaz was spelled with a 'w' and not an 'm'. It might be why they are in demand. I liked getting a Dizzy Dean card in with one of the stamp orders, but I need more time to go through all of my cards. I have three more binders available. I am hopeful it is enough to get all of them properly displayed and preserved. But of course it means finding more sheets first. didn't have the time tonight to do so, but I am thinking sometime this weekend I will.   

Cardguard 9-Pocket Pages

  I was telling a coworker about going through my box of baseball cards, and how I would like to get them into an album. I was told the sheets are available at Target. I like how a simple name was given: Card Guard, it's what they do. I got a pack of 70 sheets, 9 cards a page, and after getting home tonight I ended up using 90 percent of them. So my first binder is nearly full with over 500 cards! And there still are some complete sets I haven't arrived at yet, along with the box of a thousand unsearched cards. But I have been collecting them for a while. In many ways this reminds me of going through the postcards last year.
   There were a few surprises in what I just found in my collection but not many. Most of them really are baseball cards. The first three pages are not, but the rest are. Two of them are hockey cards. I got one as a throw-in on an E-bay order, and the other for free when in South St. Paul for Kaposia Days as the former player's wife was running for office- state legislature. It was Phil Housley for the Calgary Flames. One is from a comedian, given instead of a business card. Another is Al Franken, when he was running for Senate. This does remind me of many of the buttons I have, another common collectible- they are a simple advertising tool. There are 13 football cards, notable that one of them is Fred Dryer, who later became an actor on the TV show 'Hunter'. He played for the then-Los Angeles Rams. Just four of them are basketball cards. The overwhelming majority are from Topps, as that is all I bought and most of these were purchased instead of given to me. This will likely change when I get farther into it, including the packs from Walgreen. Even the ones I found in cereal boxes, two cards together, were from Topps, they were in Post cereals. As I recall I bought this particular cereal for the cards. It was likely Fruity or Cocoa Pebbles which had the Flintstones characters advertising them. These were bought in the era when there was just 26 major league teams. Of the four expansion teams from 1993 and later I have just two cards- both from the cereal boxes. I think there are some more from the unsearched box of a thousand. I liked knowing how there were a decent number of Hall of Famers already recognized in the hundreds now in the binder. It's hard to say what the collection is worth, I may need to go to a 'Comic book guy' like on 'The Simpsons' to find out.
   In many ways I will have to give some credit to the E-bay orders I have placed, in terms of finally doing something about it. Speaking of this, I did place another World's Fair postcard order. Both are from New York's 1939 fair, and one has a saying I've seen in a liquor store- 'Remember the donut and not the hole' which is why it moved up the priority list after finding it. The other was advertising Cuban cigars, now illegal in America. It has a map of Cuba in the background. So this would make it 12 World's Fair postcards. I'm still being picky about what I order.

Mid-Iowa Baseball Cards

   After discovering how one E-bay seller had some Topps trading cards of non-baseball players like Presidents I decided to go through my box of cards to see what was there. Notable was the hard plastic case of cards I won at an Iowa Cub game as a youngster, the address label was still on it. These were from Mid-Iowa Baseball Cards in Des Moines. It was one of the few times I could recall winning anything with my lucky number scorecard, along with a six-pack of Pork and Beans one time. The infielders were even known as the 'Pork and Beaners' due to this.
   Also notable was some cards from the History Channel Club, of which I was a member at one point. There were six, along with coins. There was Union and Confederate battle flags, the flag raising at Iwo Jima, the Liberty Bell, the Betsy Ross flag, the B-17 bomber, and the Sherman tank. Some were given to me, like at the Minnesota Twins Fan Fest, others were game night giveaways for the Iowa Cubs, Minnesota Gopher hockey, and the St. Paul Saints. There were some that came out of cereal boxes, and there was the order for 'a thousand unsearched baseball cards' from when I took calls for a shopping catalog. That box had various card companies in it, besides Topps (the best known) there was Donruss, Fleer, Score, and Upper Deck. This also seemed to be true for smaller cases I had bought at Walgreen, but I haven't opened them yet.
   At the comedy club tonight I did go onstage, was third in the lineup. I did do a joke about what I was finding on E-bay, along with recently having to move things for an exterminator. I even got some laughs shortly after taking the stage and before telling any jokes. But for whatever reason, I have known this to be typical.

Shut Out Of Yoga

    I had hoped to do yoga at my employer's fitness center at the end of my workday but it was not to be. I was shut out as I didn't have the key card to the fitness center on me. The keycard for the workplace doesn't work there. Hopefully I will have the chance again sometime soon as part of this new health program I just signed up for. I did a body scan after the yoga session was a no-go.
   I'm still finding some good items on E-bay for the stamp collection. I ordered a first day cover of the baseball player stamps from Grenada, and Ozzie Smith is on it. I had to bid on it but was the only bidder. So now I will have all three of the Cardinals from this series. I'm still finding stamps from countries I've never heard of like Malawi. Nicaragua has some as well, but I have heard of it.
  There was plenty of complaining on the bus in the evening as many were left standing- the bus was crowded. Eventually I did get a seat in the back. I take comfort in knowing it doesn't happen all too often. I just hated to hear all of the complaining about it.
   There was another edition of the contest at the comedy club tonight. All three who advanced were men. I knew most of the performers as usual and exchanged greetings with many of them after the show. I also saw plenty of painted pianos this evening. I think I have seen this art project around town in previous years.

Somaliland Republic Stamps

     I found some more baseball player stamps in foreign countries. This time it was a place I hadn't heard of, Somaliland Republic, which I think is somehow related to Somalia. This is based on how the Wikipedia article was written. I ordered a sheet of 9 stamps on E-bay that were made there. It does include Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst much like the series I found from St. Vincent.
   At the comedy club tonight I did inquire about the contest and was told by the manager that I should hear something soon. I had to start asking as it had been a little while since submitting my entry form. Usually it is a quick turnaround.
   It's hard to say how far and how long it will be before I run out of ideas on baseball player stamps on E-bay. If it is anything like my previous orders my interest will ebb and flow, based on interests I have at that particular time. There still are some World's Fair postcards available as well. I hadn't done the stamp collecting in a while. I did have an album when I was young but my interest in it didn't last long. Hard to say why, other than I mostly had American stamps. There were other things I did then anyway. It requires some time, money, and energy- same as any other hobby.
 

St. Vincent and Grenadines Stamps

   After going to some antique shops this weekend I got more ideas for what to research on E-bay: baseball player stamps from foreign countries. Since the ones I saw were from St. Vincent and Grenadines, I started with them first. I was amazed with what I found for pictures on Yahoo before going to E-bay. There were politicians like Churchill, Obama, and Kennedy, along with musicians like Charlie Parker, Elvis Presley, and Michael Jackson. Some were animated characters like the 3 Little Pigs, Incredible Hulk, Mickey Mouse, and Betty Boop. Then there were British royals like Elizabeth II, William and Kate, and Princess Diana. There was Star Wars, Star Trek, Monty Python, and the Saturday Evening Post. There were more sportsmen, like tennis star Bjorn Borg, and race car driver Kyle Busch. There was even children's writer Hans Christian Andersen, the Titanic ship, and explorer Christopher Columbus.
   For the baseball players I saw Frank Thomas, and two juniors- Cal Ripken and Ken Griffey. When I narrowed my search on E-bay to baseball players, it was manageable at 125 listings. So I picked a lot of 2, both St. Louis Cardinals- Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst. I did this one early in the day. I had seen something about Grenada stamps as well, another island in the Caribbean. I tried the ones from Grenada in the evening. This time I also got a Musial stamp, but no others with it. There was something about a first day cover with 3 Cardinals on it, the others were Dizzy Dean (from the Gashouse Gang days) and Ozzie Smith, who was an active player at the time if the series was done in 1988. I liked how it didn't cost much for these stamps, just over six dollars. I did remind myself of seeing various foreign countries honoring president Abraham Lincoln with stamps, E-bay confirmed it but I didn't order any just yet. It's baseball season so I am thinking more about baseball. I do have some Lincoln stamps from 2009.
   Speaking of baseball, I did go to the Twins game today against the Red Sox. It was put into rain delay after the seventh inning stretch with the Red Sox leading 3-1. The movie 'Sandlot' was being shown on the video board, but I didn't stay long with my date. After about the first hour of the rain delay, we left and we were not alone. We later found out online that it was a total of three hours in rain delay, thankful I didn't wait it out. Also since the Twins still lost, 5-1.  

Baseball Game, Weather Permitted

   I made it to the St. Paul Saints game tonight. It was raining this morning so like many things it was 'weather permitting'. But the rain was done by around midday so this was enough time to get the field ready. My date didn't make it, had a dinner to attend with country music friends. I've done baseball games before by myself, so it was no big deal to me. I knew the Saints split their first two games this season. They won tonight, 14-8, beat the New Jersey Jackals. It looked like the lineup on the 'usher-tainers' changed a little but 'Gert the Flirt' was there, who looks a little like a bag lady. I spoke of my dad referring to 'Morgana the Kissing Bandit' when he heard about Gert. But I said I don't know if she kisses people like Morgana, and I think Morgana was better looking as Dad said she was an exotic dancer.
    This was a notable game for me, as I got two free items. The first was a foul ball when I was getting my food and drink in the first inning. The ball fell to the pavement about a yard away from me and I wasn't paying attention as I had just got my bratwurst and RC cola so I lucked out that it didn't injure me. I knew well enough to run over and get it as these things don't happen too often, there like a bolt of lightning. I do have a home run ball, also from an independent league game, in 2002. I wrote the day and the teams on it. The other item was a bag of peanuts, from the 7th inning stretch. I don't get these too often either.

4 Holes Of Mini Golf

    I went to the year-end event for the Roosevelt Mentoring Program today at Centennial Lakes in Edina. My student didn't make it. One of the activities was mini golf. On our rotation after lunch we got in 4 holes and had to quit due to the rain and the awards ceremony. There were four activities in the rotation. Some I liked more than others. Making snack packs was fine, the first thing we did. A juice box, granola bar, and a fruit cup. I said it felt like I was writing out fortunes for fortune cookies on the bag. This included 'live laugh, and love', 'do what's right for you', 'you are one of a kind', and 'you are talented'. I wrote them on the back of the wristband I was given. there was two, one for me and the other for my student. There was two buses and I was hopeful he would be on the second, which was a little late. We also did lawn bowling before lunch. It was the rotation after the snack packs. I did the lawn bowling last year and liked it again. Though I needed a few throws to get the hang of it again. The first event after lunch was inside like the first, trying to make a house of cards. I'm not good at it so I liked being able to move onto the golf.
  When I was done at this event I tried to do errand running, but was slowed down by traffic. It was likely due to the rain and the construction, as it wasn't rush hour just yet. I got done what I wanted to, but finally made it home to watch 'Jeopardy' while it was in progress. I did make it to the library to print things and get tickets for the St. Paul Saints game this weekend.

Miller Beer Bottlecap

    After watching 'Big Bang Theory' tonight I switched over to NBC for the final episode of 'The Office'. I had mostly watched it as syndicated reruns. 'Theory' appeared to be a season finale as Leonard was off to the North Sea, much like the previous season when Howard went into space. Raj had another date with Lucy, but she later broke up with him via text message, saying she wasn't attending the going-away party for Leonard. The syndicated rerun for 'Theory' tonight was one where Sheldon was told to learn how to drive so others wouldn't need to give him rides. The episode ended with Sheldon living at the office.
   I decided that I wanted to get my home even more back to normal, which meant moving things out of the middle of the rooms and into the corners and walls again. When I was doing this with the couch, tipping it onto one side, I heard some things fall out. But it wasn't money. It was a Miller beer bottle cap! Not sure how it got there, unless it was from when my dad visited as he likes this kind of beer. It's bent, almost curved together now, and says 'Miller High Life' on it. This did prompt me to call my dad, and try to figure out when I am traveling to Des Moines this summer for an Iowa Cub baseball game. I was fairly well satisfied with what I had accomplished tonight before calling. A few more things are left to be done but it's more livable now, as I can find things more easily. I did realize how it was easier to move the big bookcase (I have 3) if I emptied it of all of the books first. Well now I have the table set- literally- for making the list of the books I own (much like I did for the music and movies) and hopefully move out the ones that no longer appeal to me.   

Vacuumed Rugs

    After I got back from the comedy club tonight I wanted to get right to returning things to normal in my home. This included more cleaning, specifically vacuuming the rugs as this hadn't been done in quite a while.
   At the comedy club the show runner did a joke about sock puppets that I liked. I also liked how the sub teacher is doing more jokes about his day job. He said this was because they're relatable, as most of us recall having sub teachers in school.
   At work there was a Health Ahead Fair. I attended it after taking an early lunch. I wanted to be at the St. Paul Saints block party downtown. Some were offering pocket schedules, I said I already had them. I had a slice of Little Caesar's pizza, along with a bowl from Noodles and Company. The Health Ahead Fair lasted four hours, I finally did partake of it after it had been going for two hours. I said I probably wasn't going to get caught up on work until all of my colleagues had left so I might as well go to the fair now. It was hard to compete with the activity nearby in the hall anyway. It was the punch card or passport system, and the final one I did was the health screening held in the main conference room. There was chair massages available as well. Some of the prizes looked familiar, ones I had received in previous years. The final station was the "Plinko" chip board, and I won a lanyard. I said it would go next to the one I have advertising the surfer movie 'Blue Crush', which is on my hat rack. It was given to me after a Weezer concert in suburban Chicago about a decade ago. I think I also have one that is red and maroon, through the Roosevelt Mentoring Program. The health screener liked to hear how I was at the Saints block party, so we talked about baseball quite a bit during the session.

Prepping For The Exterminator

    I dreaded having to get ready for the exterminator arriving at my home tomorrow. It meant spending some time after work getting things moved around, away from baseboards. I was using a tape measure to see it was far enough. I got most of it done before departing for the comedy club. They are still having the contest, now the first semifinal. There were 8 performers tonight, and 3 of them advanced. I knew 2 of the 3, one of them was the Yemen native. I knew most of the judges as well.
  After the show I continued with the prepping. I got imaginative on where to move objects. My refrigerator is usually close to empty, but now it's full! Plenty of space available for food, or food and drink containers, inside. It means I should take pictures to prove it. All of this meant checking email later than typical and not watching TV tonight, as I knew I would get more done this way. In many ways it is helpful as I did some sweeping in areas I hadn't cleaned in a while. Now the tough thing will be putting everything back where I want it. I would expect this to be done piecemeal, as I am used to a fairly leisurely time most of the week. This is especially true on nights when I go to the comedy club. As expected, I decided to move a few more items to the office. This includes the die cast model cars, the Ford Mustangs.

Reparking The Car

   At the comedy club tonight I wanted to find a free parking spot. So I got out of a pay-lot and after driving around a little while I ended up re-parking the car in the lot I was originally in. But I had to try. There is some construction in the area and the Twins are home tonight, so this explains the limited parking spaces. A fellow comic returned to the club tonight, we were pleased to see each other. He was wearing a White Sox hat. Just before the show began he said he quit his job, as his soul was dying due to it. I know his job kept him busy for a while, explaining his being absent for a while. A few comics did try gay marriage jokes as the Minnesota legislature just passed the law, and the governor said he would sign it.
   I am still doing research on World's Fair postcards, tonight it was Chicago. I will admit how it can be tedious. When using Chicago as the key word I got 971 listings under 'Buy it now' and under $10. Using 1933, it is 692, and using 1934, it is 122. Of course this doesn't add up. Hard to say if it's worth it to see what the remaining ones are, 157 to be exact. I gleaned plenty of ideas from the ones I have already seen. This included seeing some of CBS Radio broadcasting from the fair. It has been helpful to see the aerial views as it gives me a good perspective of where it was held, on the lakefront in what is now known as the 'Museum Campus' close to Soldier Field.    

Shea Stadium- World's Fair

    I did a Mother's Day event with my date this afternoon. We had pizza from Papa John's, followed by cake and ice cream- Well's Blue Bunny ice cream. As an Iowa kid I am quite familiar with this brand of ice cream.
   In the evening I did get the typical errand running done like groceries. Then I decided to look at postcards to order on E-bay. By accident I apparently found out how many postcards are available on the entire site- just over two million! Not too surprising to me. To some it is likely a big deal how the total of postcards I own is nearing a thousand. Last fall I counted how many I had before getting them into photo albums, it was about 700.
  With World's Fair postcards, there are plenty to look at. Even when narrowing the search down to a particular city, there can be a thousand. So I do go further- like 'Buy it now' only and under a certain price like $10. At times this still doesn't narrow it down much. But I would have to say, based on the research, that I likely won't get many of Expo 67, the Montreal World's Fair. I have five vintage postcards so far of World's Fairs, one of them is Montreal. There may not be many that interest me of St. Louis either. This leaves mostly Chicago and New York, which is plenty.
   After looking around some, I did order one World's Fair postcard tonight- of New York's Shea Stadium. I had to check first to see if I had one already, since I did visit New York City in 2005. I did have a decent number of the city, like Madison Square Garden and Central Park, but not Shea. There was one of Yankee Stadium, an image of inside, though the description just speaks of the team and not the stadium. Two of the five I already own are from New York's two fairs- both from General Electric buildings. The one from the 1964 fair has an image of the unisphere in one corner, and on the back it says this object was presented by U.S. Steel. The Shea postcard has this image in the corner as well. The one I already have I noticed has a perforation on one end, suggesting it was part of a series- at one point inside a pack or booklet.
    Besides the Shea postcard, I did order a Maytag postcard as well. It was a cool one with images of various products they made apparently in the 1940s, with the factory as a backdrop. I am still researching postcards from Chicago's two World's Fairs, though I seem to be finding more from 1933 (as opposed to the earlier one in 1893). One of the five I own is from Chicago's fair- the Wonder Bread/Hostess building, actually stamped 1934 as this fair did run for two years instead of one. Some from Chicago are not too surprising, as I am finding postcards of meat companies. At that time there were plenty of stockyards in Chicago, and of course they need to have food available at a fair. I am also finding replicas of buildings like Washington's Mount Vernon and Lincoln's log cabin. This of course is in addition to Fort Dearborn.   

Mud Movie- Reese Witherspoon

    I went to see the movie 'Mud' with my date at the Eagan theater this afternoon. Really enjoyed it. While Matthew McConaughey was the lead in it, Reese Witherspoon was in it as well. She played somebody with a checkered past, same as Mac did. Their characters had been an item, off and on. I know she had played a bad girl before, in a movie called 'Freeway'. It was early in her career, and I think it is still not well-known. It was a knockoff of the 'Little Red Riding Hood' story- She was 'Red' and Kiefer Sutherland played the 'Big Bad Wolf', aptly named Bob Wolverton. I had grown up in small-town Iowa and much of the scenery was familiar in it, but of course it took place in and was filmed in Arkansas. What left me a lasting impression was how Matt's character liked eating 'Beanie Weenie' right out of the can. Well it has to be filling, with all of the protein. Much of the story, with him playing a fugitive, reminded me of movies like 'Sling Blade', 'Winter's Bone', and 'A Perfect World'- since he befriends a kid despite being wanted by the law.
   This morning I decided to do more researching on World's Fair souvenirs, especially postcards. I had wondered if other sports arenas were depicted besides Chicago's Soldier Field. Found out New York's Shea Stadium is depicted as well, when it was a new stadium for the 1964 fair. It happened to be close to where the fair took place. Still finding plenty of other postcards, mostly American corporations like Coca-Cola and Pepsi. I got my laundry done this morning as well, after doing the research. It snowed on the way to doing laundry but didn't last long.

A Haunted House Movie

     In the evening I rented the movie 'A Haunted House' from Redbox. Thankful I had a discount for the first day, just enter the code when renting. It wasn't that great of a movie. I know this as my litmus test is how long before I check my watch while watching it, and it wasn't long. It was too silly to me. When I think of a haunted house or ghost movie I guess I don't think of it being a comedy at all. It was nice to see Cedric the Entertainer in it, but he had a small role in it. Many of the jokes were about other ghost movies or scary movies. I watched it as it was one of the movies being promoted at the comedy club, earlier this year. I got a poster from it. So now this leaves two others to see that were promoted there.
   Before renting the movie I went to Taco Bell and had the 'Loco Taco Box', I like ordering this and have done so ever since there was a free Doritos loco taco due to a stolen base in the World Series. After the movie I did more research on World's Fair souvenirs. As expected, there were plenty of postcards available. But I'm still wanting to be picky before ordering more. Many of those found were from three fairs: Chicago 1933, and New York in 1939 and 1964. This was due to some corporations having their own buildings- usually industrial companies. It was a reminder of the History Channel series 'The men who built America' being accurate about the robber barons that still dominate the American economy in some form or another. Besides General Electric, there was the Big Three auto makers and Firestone tires. Also found some railroads, Westinghouse Electric, Travelers Insurance, Havoline Oil, and U.S. Steel. Even found the German Black Forest from the 1933 Chicago fair.
   At this point it's hard to say what to order next. Besides postcards, there are stamps and coins, and guidebooks. I may want to get a guidebook first as this may give me a better idea as to what to search for. When researching the Fort Dearborn replica from the Chicago fair I did find a photo about another souvenir besides the postcards I've already seen. It was a Lincoln log set! There was one available on E-bay, but it was over two hundred dollars so I'm not interested. The American fairs mean the most to me, and after this Montreal as I have been to that city. I haven't been to a World's Fair- just county and state fairs- so studying the history will have to do.
   Canada has had just two fairs, the other was Vancouver in 1986. Haven't been to this city yet. There usually are remnants of these fairs long after they are over. I did see La Ronde in my Montreal visit in 2002, an amusement park. I was more familiar with what was left after the 1976 Olympic Games than 'Expo 67'. I knew their baseball team was named after the Expo. Foreign language, and foreign country, may be why I knew less about Montreal's fair/expo legacy.  

Bane Of The Carriage

   After watching the prime time episode of  'Big Bang Theory' tonight I decided to read more from the papers. I finished another Friday edition so now I've read through the end of April. I liked reading the funny columnist in the Minneapolis paper as usual, as this time he wrote about potholes on the road. He decided to use a different pronunciation of the word, saying 'Poh-tho-lay', claiming it is French for 'Bane of the carriage'. There was something about email alerts when potholes are reported. There was also a joke about E-bay, thinking he was bidding on something on that site. But it was to have the sidewalk shoveled.
   On the front page was a photo of the dedication of Bush 43's Presidential library, attended by all of the living presidents, current or former. The political cartoon was also about it, as it had his VP, Dick Cheney, urging somebody to talk- in contrast to a typical library where they ask you not to. Plenty of writeups in the sports page about the NFL draft, and the NHL regular season was wrapping up while the NBA was already having playoff games. The movie 'Mud', starring Matthew McConaughey, had just premiered. Still would like to see it, I respond well to good writing and the movie critic rated it well. Advice columnist Carolyn Hax printed a letter titled 'Daughter, 27, wants out of marriage'. It was from her parents, and she said she answers with misgivings as it's not your problem to solve. In the business section a billionaire investor bought a nearly 8 percent stake in retailer JC Penney. There was an article about 'New signs of life arise in Las Vegas'. Haven't been there yet. In politics, the state legislature voted on the 'Practice Freeway' on 35E in St. Paul, I've driven on this before- speed limit is 45 mph.
   I did watch two episodes of 'Big Bang Theory' tonight. The syndicated rerun was one I had seen before, where Leonard was going to have his first-ever birthday party and Howard has an allergic reaction to peanuts on purpose so he has to go to the ER to stall for time. The prime time episode was about the group spending time apart for a while, separated by gender. Raj had another date, but she bailed again even though Raj still likes her. Amy Farrah Fowler wanted to be more intimate with Sheldon, and said this near the end of the show as she felt like the relationship was treated like a joke by the others. In many ways this episode was a letdown from last week, when I liked seeing Bob Newhart guest star. I should have expected it since few episodes had been more highly anticipated by me than last week's. I was a little preoccupied as well, rearranging postcards in some of my albums. Even though the postcards weren't going anywhere.
   After reading the paper I decided to go out to the McDonald's and have a shamrock shake as the sign from the road said they have them. I'm surprised they do since it's no longer March, I'm used to them being a seasonal thing around St. Patrick's Day. I did check to see what was available at Redbox but didn't rent anything just yet.   

Quarter Candy Vending Machine

   I had lunch with a colleague at a deli on the lower level of our building. It was the first time we had lunched since she had returned to the office recently as an underwriter. I spoke about various subjects including my family and my car. It was nice to get caught up on things. I spoke with a senior leader just before then and said who I was having lunch with, then she passed by and he said 'speaking of the devil'. I hadn't been to this deli much before as it's easier to go into the skyway, more options available as there is a decent-sized food court. But I know well enough to be accommodating, and I am open to new experiences as it helps me grow.
At the comedy club tonight I saw a quarter candy vending machine. I do see these from time to time, at various establishments like the grocery store i go to. They can have candy in them, but at times they have toys or stickers instead. It had Hot Tamales and Reese's Pieces, I opted for the latter. I said to the bartender how I noticed they've been pulled from the Mall of America, unsure why. I would expect these to be profitable in most places as they're fairly low maintenance.
   A friend did do some new jokes, one was about his brother's new sunglasses and another was about his family calling while he's with his lady friend. There was something about the gestures she made while he was on the phone if I'm not mistaken. I spoke with the show closer before the show and she said she was moving from Nashville to Chicago and will be featuring at this same club this week. I liked her joke about those who are pushy about their religious beliefs. She doesn't like these kinds of people and neither do I. Write what you know is what I said, something I had been told before. It's a good idea to do relatable jokes of course.  

Women, Money, Weed

   When I was waiting for the bus in the evening after work I saw a young man with a shirt on that said 'Women, money, and weed: all I need'. I could have said he would also need food and drink, but then I am reminded of a 'Simpsons' episode in reference to this. Homer had to remind himself how finding money was good, as it can buy goods and services. He was looking for food in the couch if I'm not mistaken.
   At the comedy club tonight was another edition of the contest. I arrived while the first comic was onstage, and she ran the light so of course she didn't advance. I did know all of those who did advance, including the Rochester native that is an older woman. She decided to pull out her pantyhose to show to the crowd. I did see a fellow comic and asked if he was in the contest, but he said he was not. All he said was he doesn't work, is on disability, so he really can't claim a dayjob. I think he said he once worked in New York City and graduated from Ohio State.
   After the show I looked more closely at what was in the strongbox, and changed the lineup a little. One card advertising a comedy show I moved into the tin that has notes in it as I did write on the back of the card. It was a 'Men With Hats' show at the Corner Bar in Minneapolis. I also looked more closely at the preferred cards I had for two grocery stores I frequented in suburban Chicago, Jewel-Osco and Dominick's. If you can believe it, I kept them glued to the letter they were on, and I hadn't detached them- until tonight. I haven't used them in a while so it's hard to say if they're still valid in any way. I destroyed some of the cards as they were duplicated. I kept the full-size Dominick's card and one of the keychain Jewel-Osco cards. Don't know what happened to the other full-size card. I do recall how they were across the street from each other where I lived, so this is why for a while that I went to both. I also went to a place called Butera, and have found out in recent visits back to the area that the Butera I went to has closed. We all know how change is constant. I did go to a Jewel when I was visiting in February. Seeing these cards does lead to me reflecting back on my time there. I know I've said before how I feel my life is better now in the Twin Cities. But my time as a Chicagoland resident is still a part of who I am now.

Northern Lights Playhouse

   Two E-bay orders of postcards arrived earlier today. One of them included a card advertising the Northern Lights Playhouse in Hazelhurst, WI, 'The best of Broadway in Wisconsin's beautiful northwoods'. Never heard of it. This was a throw-in card with the one of the minor-league baseball stadium in Des Moines, known as Principal Park, where the Iowa Cubs play. This had happened before when ordering postcards, and at times I am intrigued with them. I know how postcards are a simple way of advertising, explaining why one tends to see them everywhere. The other card that arrived was of the One Minute Manufacturing Company, a defunct washing machine company that was based in my hometown of Newton, Iowa. This card arrived from Tennessee.
   At the comedy club tonight I saw a newer comic who had plenty of questions, and I was fine with answering them since I like discussing the craft with others and sharing my knowledge of it. He said he had a film school project to do and this was why he wouldn't be staying for the show since he didn't make the list this week. I also let him know about the summer contest, as there was a box for the sign-up forms on the counter. I did get my form in this week, didn't see any forms last week. So I should hear about my contest night soon.
   There were some time-honored jokes told tonight that I liked hearing. One of them was from my friend's friend who did the one about the corporate gig, 'Want to buy some green beans?'  

Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen

   I was reading the paper earlier today and the Minneapolis paper had an article about upcoming summer movies. One of these was 'Great Gatsby', starring Leonardo Dicaprio and directed by Baz Luhrmann. I recognized this name as Luhrmann also had a song in 1999. I had to look up what the title was as I hadn't heard it in a while. It was called 'Everybody's free to wear sunscreen'. It was a song I discussed with a military recruit when I was taking the Amtrak train between Chicago and St. Louis that year. I said the best advice I could give was two things: do the simple things well, and be a doormat to no one. The recruit said it made him think of this song. I knew it wasn't the typical song as it was performed more like spoken word, meant as advice to those who were graduating.
   It's hard to say how many of the movies mentioned are ones I will go see, but 'Gatsby' is one on my list as I liked reading about the music in it which includes Jay-Z. I also liked reading about the Superman movie, 'Man of Steel', due out in June. I found out that Hans Zimmer is doing the music for it. He also did the music for one of my favorites, 'Rain Man'.
    I didn't do much with my date today, who was ill. We did watch the Wild's playoff game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Wild won 3-2 in overtime. This hockey game was on NBC. We also went out to Godfather's Pizza in the evening, and with this purchase I have enough points for a free large pizza. We did watch 'The Simpsons' after we got back, which was delayed after a stock car race. They brought back the 'Bleeding Gums' Murphy character, a jazz musician Lisa liked, as a hologram.

Festival of Nations

  I attended the Festival of Nations at the St. Paul River Centre this afternoon and evening with my date. It was my first time at this event. There was plenty of food and drink as expected, along with music. I got a free program near the front gate and on the cover it says 'Think global, discover local'. There was cultural exhibits as well as a section for folk art demonstrations and an international bazaar. We went to see the dancers, found out this was inside Wilkins Auditorium. We did see the Hawaiian dancers, shortly after we arrived. In the bazaar section I did get two postcards. One was a generic postcard of the festival itself, and the other was of the lesser- known Custer. Not George, the general, but his brother Thomas, a captain. It said he fell at Little Bighorn along with his brother. It made me think about how being famous is sometimes a family affair. I got a passport and got plenty of stamps in it, and some of these were nations I had never heard of. Some were signed instead of stamped as we were told how some of the stampers were stolen.
   We did have food there, near the end of our time at the event. I liked having a cheese sampler from the Swiss cafe. I had Pancit from the Filipino cafe, which is sauteed noodles with chicken and vegetables. We picked up a cream puff from the Dutch cafe on the way out so we could eat it later at home. We had to wait for the bus for a little while outside, saw some limousines pull up as there was a high school prom happening nearby. I spoke with one of the employees while in the eating section as he liked seeing my St. Louis Blues hockey sweater as it reminded him of living there. I said I've had it for a while as it's a durable piece of clothing.
  I did more digging into boxes and bags I hadn't looked at for a while, before I went anywhere this morning. I found a few more postcards to get into the photo album. One was from a comedy club advertising a contest, and two were from the Lady Gaga concert I attended in 2010. It's nice to keep discovering, or in this case re-discovering. I decided to use all of the copy paper boxes from the office to make things look less overwhelming. So now a larger box is gone, sent to the recycle bin. In its place is six smaller boxes.

Salsa Tasting, Repeat Potluck

   We had a salsa tasting at work at lunchtime as our way of celebrating Cinco De Mayo. I liked the one with peaches in it, but it didn't get the most votes. I didn't want to vote for a spicy one. The repeat potluck went well, most of the food was eaten. I had a kind of roll that I didn't have on the first day.
   In the evening I got started on another cleanup project. It meant going through a big box and as usual I found a few things! This included postcards, which I am sticking into a photo album. It should be full soon.
   It was entertaining to ride the bus this morning. This was true from the word 'go'. When I boarded the bus I saw somebody with a fold-up grocery cart who was putting a plastic grocery bag on her head. but at first it looked more like she was going to suffocate. It was snowing this morning, which is not typical for the month of May. Somebody near her said something about the comments she hears about the cost of daycare- $800/month. That's a mortgage blah blah, they're raising your kid for you. We passed by a restaurant that was closed, she said 'if it's out of business it should be a shelter'. Then she said there was a real nice shelter in Arden Hills, which tells me that somebody who talks about shelters this much likely is homeless and had used them before. We passed by another restaurant, this one was open. She said it's nice to see a Denny's here. (It wasn't a Denny's) Then she said there should be a Denny's in St. Paul. It reminds me of jokes I've heard at the comedy club, how this isn't a high-end restaurant by any means. She asked somebody across the aisle- 'Freida, do you like garlic cheese bread?' She sure seemed to speak a lot about food. I also heard 'they don't teach this in college', but I don't think it was from her. I liked it when she shut up for a while since others boarded the bus and were the buffer zone. It ended with her saying 'see you tonight, you know where to be'.

Bob Newhart on 'Big Bang Theory'

    I had really been looking forward to this week's prime time episode of 'Big Bang Theory' after hearing Bob Newhart would be a guest star. He played a former TV star, the host of a kid's science show, and Sheldon wanted to meet him. I like how he still does some roles, like at the end of the movie 'Horrible Bosses'. I liked his line to Leonard, saying 'Is she your girlfriend?' about Penny. Then he said you're the genius, instead of Sheldon. He also guest starred on another favorite show of mine, 'The Simpsons', when Krusty the Clown faked his death. I have claimed Bob Newhart as a comedy influence, as he is good at the dry, dour, deadpan comedy. I found a picture online from 'The Bob Newhart Show' and it is now on display at the office. This show was what made me a Newhart fan, as I liked watching it on syndicated reruns back in high school. When I spoke of this earlier in the week at the comedy club another comic said he liked how he is still relevant. He referred to his role in the movie 'Elf' as the North Pole dad. And I liked seeing him do a comedy show when I lived in suburban Chicago, went out to Rockford to see it in 2002.
   I would have liked seeing the first syndicated rerun tonight, but I just caught the ending where Sheldon had a Snoopy snow cone maker. I tuned in for the next one, but I had already seen it more than once. It was the one where a North Korean refugee arrives at the university, and he's a competitor to Sheldon.
     I hadn't eaten by the time the prime time episode had aired, so I didn't want to be distracted by running the microwave oven. But I didn't notice right away that I was hungry, as we had the potluck at the office today. I finally had something to eat after watching a Halloween episode of 'The Simpsons' as I went to a nearby convenience store. I got two small Doritos bags, but had to be careful as two of them had already been opened. The clerk was playing country music, didn't recognize the song. I just recall one lyric in particular, as I kept hearing about 'Going downtown'.
   I did read some more from the paper, three editions, two of them Fridays. There was a writeup about the Jackie Robinson movie, and a cartoon about the winter weather in April. It was 'Chip chip' instead of 'Chirp chirp'. Former Iowa basketball coach Steve Alford apologized for actions in 2002 when a player was in trouble with the law, Pierre Pierce. Alford was just hired as the UCLA coach. There was more about the younger Pitino hired as the Gopher coach. Plenty of writeups about the MSP Film Fest, but I had limited chances to see any one movie, usually just two screenings.  So I didn't go at all. Carolyn Hax had an advice column about a guy friend who was verbally abused by his wife. The funny columnist lamented his neighborhood Caribou Coffee closing, and spoke of the Wi-fi there. It would be like your parents going to the counter at Woolworth's and demanding a radio and typewriter.
   The non-friday edition was a St. Paul paper, after the Boston Marathon bombing. One blurb was about new stores to open at the Mall of America. A letter to the editor lashed out at political correctness- related to a court case involving the atrocities of an abortion doctor. Then there's the other Friday edition. One article spoke of former college football coach Lou Holtz at Wells Fargo, sounded like he was a motivational speaker. Carolyn Hax had an advice column about alarms going off about a new boyfriend. She said that waiting indefinitely for a visit from the tact fairy is cruel. The funny columnist write about weather sirens going off while it's snowing, then about having a huge flashlight. Something about people in Duluth would wonder what movie was premiering in the Cities, then about National Poison Licorice Month.

Empty Roundup Container

    It was a little unsettling to see a visitor in the breakroom at work today at lunchtime. He had an empty Roundup container and proceeded to fill it with water from the sink. When Roundup is a herbicide it just seems to spell trouble when having it in a room where people are eating. But there was more of the story to find out. He was there to defrost one of the refrigerators. I had to do this with the one I had in an apartment in West Des Moines, Iowa. After a while it really accumulates. So I saw that this was done shortly before I moved out.
   At the comedy club tonight, there was a 2-person act where one was feeding lines to the other. The MC called one of them 'The Handler'. This is the one who likes to talk about a swear word sometimes pronounced with an 'H' in the middle.
   After the show I figured it would be a simple thing to find a fruit tray for a company potluck. But it was not to be. So I went to a grocery store in another town. What I ended up with was more like a fruit bowl. Hard to say how much time it took all told, but I am used to it being leisurely after a show. So I didn't like having to line up alternate plans of course. I did get small bag of Doritos as well, and ate it right away. The bowl doesn't have the sweet dip like the tray does.
  I liked the syndicated rerun tonight of 'Big Bang Theory'. It was one where Sheldon was ill and his friends were at screenings of 'Planet of The Apes' movies, wearing ape masks.