Wits Show, Peter Sagal

   This evening I went to see the Wits show at the Fitzgerald in downtown St. Paul. I went to this edition as I like 'Wait Wait Don't Tell Me' on public radio and the show's host, Peter Sagal, appeared. One of my comedian friends performed early on, it was her bit about a cabin in Wisconsin. She has done jokes about playing football as well. And there was the music. Before the show I liked hearing 'Tennis Court' by Lorde. I liked being a part of the sing-along near the end, it was 'Birdhouse in your soul' by They Might Be Giants. There was also a story about the Adele song 'Someone Like You', where little kids were dancing to it. Though even funnier was telling the story of Leonard Cohen texting himself, and how his song 'Hallelujah' was written. In my notes I said 'Lenny'.
    Before the show I liked hearing songs on public radio and one ad to guess what they were. It was 'Why do fools fall in love', Don't you want me', and 'Do you realize'. While waiting at the Fitz for the show to begin it was 'You don't own me' by Lesley Gore. Certain lyrics really resonated with me, suc as 'Don't tell me what to say' and 'Just let me be myself'. The show started off with Peter Sagal doing a 'Wait wait' joke, and another was about Garrison Keillor since 'Prairie Home Companion' is based in this venue. Then there was one about Steve King books, 'Christine' and 'Carrie'. Later ones were about Spider-Man, Steel Magnolias, Cuban Revolution, and Dirty Dancing. Then references were made to two rappers, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z, followed by the Beatles, Shakespeare, and Little Women. After intermission, a bit was about tough choices to make. Lincoln or Einstein, Clooney or Damon, comedy or pizza. More book references were made, to Charlotte's Web, and Slaughterhouse Five. One star reviews were read from online.
    It was a good day in general for hearing music, likely due to the warm weather. I went to a festival in Eden Prairie, called Schooner Days, and heard a DJ playing some country songs. The first was 'Water' by Brad Paisley, the second was 'Chicken Fried' by the Zac Brown Band. On my car radio while on my way to run an errand I heard what sounded like a Hank Williams song, and it was. It was 'Riding the rails under God's blue sky'. The title was 'Rambling Man'.
   I had a date at a Caribou Coffee shop inside a grocery store this afternoon. I haven't seen this type of setup too often, usually I see it in its own building.

Serving Trays

    At work in our 'News to know' weekly message there was mention of serving trays available in the executive side break room. I went there shortly after seeing it, knowing they may not last long. Both of them are plastic, one is round and the other is square. I said it looks like I could serve pizza in the round one, though it seems to be bigger than even a large pizza. I am sure I will find a use for both of them. One thing I mentioned was putting electronics on it to prevent scratches on furniture.
   It can be an adventure taking the bus to and from work. In the morning I decided to sit in the back, and it meant not sitting next to the woman I have talked to on a regular basis. I find that she is hard to talk to, either being kind of negative about many things or just plain not being on the same page when we discussed subjects. It is easier to read from the book I carry in my backpack when I am by myself anyway. In the evening I had to deal with a man that had too much to drink. He was talking to a man who had his lady friend's young son, age 3 think, with him. This man had an unopened can of beer with him, Natural Ice. He was advised by his new friend not to open it on the bus, but eventually he did anyway. When this happened, the driver asked him to get off the bus, and he did about two stops later, also my stop. The man swore at me and asked me what my problem was, claiming I was touching him but I did nothing of that sort. I said I'm not the one sitting in the aisle.
   I went to a friend's comedy show in Minneapolis tonight, actually there were two shows. It was The Turkeys. I know many of the members of this troupe, having performed with them before. Before the show I said to 'The big dog' when I was greeting everyone that I am here if you need me. I had enough time before the show began where I was able to go get dinner. I had hoped to get a little Godfather's pizza but all they had was cheese, I need more than that on a pizza I am eating. I got a chicken ranch wrap sandwich. Many of the skits I had seen before, but there were some new ones. I laughed quite a bit at most of the jokes I heard during the show. This also includes self-checkout, Grizzly Adams since he once did a joke about looking like this character, and the Oklahoma native. The second show had some variations on the stand-up sets, so it was worth staying for. I also liked being able to speak at length with the skit director after the show, at first about Harvey Pekar books since he said this blog has a writing style like Pekar's. I do like discussing more than just comedy. Some of it was also about dealing with people, wanting to avoid what I would call being too extreme. We agreed it was best to be neither too naïve nor too cynical about people. I don't think I have a name yet for the lone female member of this troupe. I know she went to Augsburg College. She played the co-MC of a debutante ball in the first show and was in some of the skits as well. I did see plenty of pictures on Facebook recently that she shared about getting a pet pig. When I made a reference to the movie 'Mad Dog and Glory', about the nightclub owner booking himself for the comedy shows, I liked how the skit director got the reference. It was about how I mostly write about the performers, though there are some exceptions. I also enjoyed the shop talk with Grizzly Adams after the show.
     The skits, or sketches, started off with Gorilla Fingers. Then there was the conference call and the sequel. Another was about scars and tattoos, ending with inhaling redi-whip. Grizzly Adams did a joke about the Island of Misfit Toys. Self Checkout did one about his Ford Escort car being retired. Another was about shopping at Wal-Mart, and Macy's. I think the Ricky and Joe show is brilliant, making fun of some local sports stars. Grizzly and the Oklahoma native played those roles. The erotic novelist skit was next. The big dog was next with jokes, doing one about living with his lady for 7 years. He said Bruno Mars was a joker. He would like to be screamed at. He did a voice impression of his dad calling that I really liked. Others were about watching porn, calling in sick, chivalry is dead, zealot love, and some more skits. We saw another jewelry commercial, and Leon, which is inspired at least in part by Old Yeller. Grizzly did more jokes. One was about walking cats, followed by why leave? you're an idiot. There was also ones about a thumbs up at a car wreck, and visiting the ultra-sound clinic. More skits, the third date and then the third jewelry commercial. The Oklahoma native did jokes. This included one about it making perfect sense, followed by how it will work this time with his lady. There was also the boob-less joke, grabbing valuables in a fire, retirement plans, broken stall, and haircuts.
    There was some variation with the second show. Oklahoma did one about stocks you should have sold earlier, followed by buying a car on Craigslist. There was also one about people with a blue tooth, and I got a shout out. Grizzly did one about 'We got you, perverts'. We all look at porno. He then plays a recording. Self checkout did one about not blaming us for the weather. He is thankful he is married. He does a joke about friends picking up girls in bars, ending with 'Bravo!' The big dog did one about finding a dead body, followed by music about dying for his lady. There was one about porn, and sliding salami. He called the crowd depressed people in a basement. There was one about eating at Denny's, and somebody doing a shoulder drop in the bathroom and then saying 'Good evening'. There was one about going after the words, and do I call him a slowpoke. I liked hearing a voice impression, 'You need to be more creative'. He caught a yawn from an ugly person, and there was 'Suicide by cop'. The closing song was 'Help' by The Beatles.

Boarded Up Windows

    On my bus route I have noticed this week how there are now boarded up windows at the hardware store near the Xcel Center. So their liquidation sale must be complete now. I went there once, got a hammer and some duct tape. It is sad to see boarded up windows and empty buildings anywhere. I have accepted it as what I call 'Economic Darwinism'. I noticed this term can already be found in the Urban Dictionary.
  At work I completed an online class. I usually don't take these seriously as the classes have little or nothing to do with my actual job duties. It is about banking regulations. So I quickly went through the screens and failed the assessment on the first try, passed on the second. I also got a self-evaluation sent to my boss, it was accepted despite being a day late. I was getting caught up on emails and noticed this had no action taken on it yet. The volume was low enough on the payoff report, new titles, and letters that I did get caught up by the end of the day. It still was a full day for me.
   I watched two episodes of 'Big Bang Theory' tonight. The syndicated rerun was when a colleague died and a tenured position opened up, and it got competitive. The prime time episode was one I don't think I had seen in full yet, I had just seen part one but not part two. It was when Sheldon discovered something by mistake, then later retracted it when it was disproven by Leonard. Barry was in both of these. He is more annoying than Sheldon, which says a lot.
   I walked around the neighborhood after it was done, and picked up some trash, along with five pull tabs from pop cans. I made it a shorter walk than typical as I wanted to be back in time to see 'Last Comic Standing' on NBC as some of my comedian friends are on it. I think I fell asleep in the middle of it and missed some, unsure how much. I recognized one of the comics who advanced, she is from Chicago and has performed in the Twin Cities before.

I Give It A Year Movie

   I did more searching of versions of the song 'Don't dream it's over' by Crowded House. I yielded more than expected, thank you, Youtube! I listened to two more versions, so now I've heard a total of four. One was by Susan Boyle, and it may have been the first time I had heard her sing. I knew she achieved fame on a talent show, I usually don't watch those. The other was by Lolo, or Lolo Pritch, and was in the movie 'I give it a year'. IMDB said it was a British comedy, from 2013. Looking at the cast, I recognized one name- Minnie Driver, who was in my favorite movie, 'Good Will Hunting'. I would expect it to be hard to find, especially since I don't use Netflix. I prefer Redbox.
   I did go to the comedy club tonight, but I was tired and had a hard time staying alert. So I decided to move around a little and ended up in a different seat. It worked out fine as I was asked to be a fill-in on the light. The show closer was familiar, I think he has done an Aunt Jemima joke. He is also memorable as he has a brother that does comedy. He did one about his lady having a conception watch. Kind of odd that I hear about news at the club, in this case it was the passing of Maya Angelou, the writer. I did see her speak at St. Kate's in 2010, and finished her book 'Caged Bird' just before the speech.
    This morning I got off the bus a few stops early after seeing a Charlie Brown and Snoopy statue in Rice Park. It happened to be Linus with his blanket. At the time there was nine in the park, a tenth was unveiled by midday- Charlie Brown. These are part of the celebration of the Twins hosting the All-Star Game this summer, and a children's festival sponsored by the Ordway performing arts center. I got pictures of the front and back of each statue, as they were wearing Twins or All-Star uniforms with their name on the back and '14', for the current year. Since Schroeder had the catcher equipment on, he's the only one where no name or number is seen. I had seen this in other cities that have hosted the All-Star Game, like when I went to Atlanta in 2006 since they had some left over from 6 years earlier. Another was St. Louis, where the All-Star Game was held in 2009. No surprise how the ones in St. Louis were arches, inspired by the Gateway Arch.
    At the comedy club tonight, the Happy Meal comic was MC. he did one about having a tooth pulled, and going to the ER. The Netflix comic did one about being filled with regret, along with asking her exes. Others were about a happy to be me doll, and Jane Goodall. The exercise guru did one about losing weight, Magic Cards, and debt collecting. The laundry comic did one about movie night at his house, watching Steve King's 'It' and 'Deliverance'. Another was about bakery, prison, and hookers. The Hillary Clinton look-alike did about a Brazilian wax. Others were about a DUI, passed out in a swimsuit, her parents divorcing, and Weight Watchers. Magic Man did ones about how nobody showed up at a performance, and shovel your walk. The Kentucky native did one about this is my face. Others were about having a cat, and eating a banana. The rapper comic has a son, and one about a water boy. Another was about fireworks. The godmother did one about a bucket list, along with a recent Boston visit. Her dog had surgery. The Texas native and barber was the one who spoke of Maya Angelou. He also spoke of Candy Crush. The Perkins employee did one about a family cruise.

Try To Catch The Deluge

    At midday I wanted to take a walk outside but I noticed it was raining hard, coming down in sheets. And for some reason I thought of the phrase 'Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup'. I looked it up and found it was from the Crowded House song 'Don't dream its over'. I do like metaphors, and I understood this one well. It's about attempting something that is foolish. After my online searches for the lyrics- and listening to their version along with the later one by Sixpence None The Richer- I understood the song had nothing to do with rain, but relationships. I hadn't heard the song in a while. The deluge part was early, and later lyrics were also brilliant. This included 'Get to know the feeling of liberation and release' as well as 'Walking again, to the beat of a drum'. I tend to like any song where a lyric about a drumbeat is in it. I've probably said it before how I understand the importance of a drummer in a band. The drummer is the forgotten member in the back, but very necessary. I identify with drummers as I often took those 'Lesser or forgotten' jobs in the back when I was young- like dishwasher and janitor. I liked hearing Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl say in a magazine interview basically the same thing, though more bluntly. How 'Your band sucks without a good drummer'.
     After the comedy show tonight, I saw a Facebook posting from the Mason City native where a song was being shared. First time hearing of it, it was 'Get up Edina' by Desmond Dekker. The posting said it was early 1960s Jamaican ska music . Memorable was the lyric about sending somebody back to their mama. I liked how I was thought of when this song was being shared on Facebook. But I know those who read these words know I often write about music, as I hear plenty of it. This is especially true when driving someplace as I usually have my car radio on. Naturally the first thing I thought of was how it was spelled the same way as the name of a rich Twin Cities suburb. He is right, they probably don't listen to much ska there. But it's a good joke, and we are comedians.
    There was another edition of the contest tonight at the comedy club. The 'Resistable comic' and the turtle check comic were in it. Turtle check advanced, one of three. He will be added to my 'Ring of honor', as a photo was done after the show. The Maryland native will be added as well. I liked hearing not just the sweater joke from turtle check but also the variation on a swear word.

Cashew Butter By JIF

      I like trying things from the discount table at my neighborhood grocery store. This weekend I decided to try some cashew butter by JIF. It is a small plastic jar, 12 ounces. I have eaten most of it already. I like peanut butter, and I like cashews as much as peanuts so I was willing to give it a try.
   I had the day off for Memorial Day and it meant getting caught up on some things. One of these was getting baseball cards into binders, now that I have more of the plastic sheets for it. I had about 170 cards waiting to go into the binders, and had just 6 duplicates which is good, less than 5 percent. I am still destroying the duplicates, not sure what else to do with them. I got some orange juice and a breakfast bar at the convenience store across the street this morning. I liked watching 'Who wants to be a millionaire' and 'Jeopardy' of course. Cedric the Entertainer, host of 'Millionaire', was in a 1970s costume as it is decades week. Florence Henderson from 'The Brady Bunch' asked one question.
   In the evening I went to Walgreen and got more pictures onto a disc to upload to Facebook. It was nice largely staying in until then, having a can of Hormel chili for the evening meal. Two photos of comedian friends were added, so now I have 18 comedians in my 'Ring of honor' if I'm not mistaken. Already got some comments about them. Those added were the Tetris comic and the Wisconsin couple. So now 4 of the 5 contestants from 'Last Comic Standing' are in it.

About Last Night Movie

    I saw the Redbox movie earlier today. It was 'About Last Night', the remake that was at theaters earlier this year. It had been promoted at one of the comedy clubs I frequent. I usually will eventually see those movies they promote. I think I have seen the original from the 1980s, but it has been a while. There is a clip from the original in this version. I liked one of the couples more than the other. This would be the characters played by Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant. They were more sensible than the other couple, played by Kevin Hart and Regina Hall. But I understand that Kevin Hart is a comedian so as some would say 'There is a reason behind the madness'. Kevin was in it for comic relief. As a baseball fan I liked seeing baseball as part of the storyline, where one date was at a Dodgers game and he wears a Fernando Valenzuela jersey. Also familiar when he answers his office phone by saying 'Yeah', which is often what I do. In fact I got the idea from a movie or TV show. Another line I liked was when Joy's character is on a business trip in Chicago, and meets her ex. She says 'I forgot how nice you are' and he says 'I hate that about me'. I liked it as it was an honest depiction about dating relationships, the good and the bad. Plenty of good points were made in it.
   I did watch one segment out of six on a DVD I got at Walgreen recently, it was a mini-series. This was an adaption of Carl Sandburg's book about President Abraham Lincoln. Hal Holbrook played Lincoln, and it was from 1974. I watched the segment known as 'Prairie Lawyer' where Mary Owens refuses to marry him. It does not appear to depict anything related to his relationship with Ann Rutledge, based on what I have seen so far. I know this part of Lincoln's life still interests me, ever since I rode an Amtrak train from Chicago to St. Louis where the train was named Ann Rutledge.
    I went to the St. Paul Saints baseball game tonight, the Saints beat Sioux Falls 3-2. The Saints went ahead early 1-0 on a solo home run, then fell behind 2-1. But they went ahead 3-2 after a throwing error in the 7th. I saw two people I know tonight, one of them was a comedian friend. This is the one that moved from Arizona and does a joke about having a lisp. He is an airport bartender if I'm not mistaken. The other was an old friend that I hadn't seen since August. Actually it was somebody I had dated for more than 2 years. We spoke about baseball games we had attended this season, Twins as well as Saints. Also about movies attended, and how I had bought a Brad Paisley CD at a dollar store in my neighborhood. This was my old friend's favorite musician. We found each other after the game, it was food truck and fireworks night as this is Memorial Day weekend. After we spoke for a few minutes, we hugged and I left. I watched the fireworks at another location. I like how we spoke again. What I also like is not just what I said, but didn't say.

30 Second Dance Break

   This was a rare day for me, attending two comedy shows. The first was in Uptown Minneapolis, around midday. I performed at it. I said to a co-host how we hadn't done the 30-second dance break yet. This was the school bouncer. Well I enjoyed these, as I know dancing can be good exercise. I wasn't on the original list for this show but said I would show up anyway in case there were no-shows. It still reminds me of an SUV commercial with a pro football player, who said 'Opportunities are seldom perfect, but you have to take them as they may not be offered again'. The food was pretty good there, I had some Italian sliders along with my first-ever Stag beer. The can said it was made by Heileman, well known for making Old Style. The can looks cool, with a deer head on it.
    The other MC was the International Falls native. She did the one about a bar on every corner,
and world peace. Others were about Washington and the Constitution, and mistaken identity in Milwaukee. Mr. Pibb did the one about looking like somebody's 55 year old friend. Others were about a tag on a stuffed animal, and his lady's IUD poking. Turtle Check did ones about changing shapes, the Xanax and boxed wine diet, and the Discover Card commercial 'We treat you like you treat you'. Resistable did ones about spiced latte, and her hair being too red for Target. The next comic is an ex-Chicagoan, was wearing a Morton Salt shirt, and spoke of some Simpsons episodes. The university accountant did ones about cat whiskers, the Rubik's cube, That's so Raven, and the Tootsie Pop. Tortoise and Hare did ones about cemeteries, cremation fire and wheel, along with sliced bread. Rut-Roh did one about Bob Seger, and the co-exist bumper sticker, as well as Smash Mouth. Buffalo Chicken did one about spending too much time alone, and getting weird. The Maryland native did one about being called 'Urkel' in a fight, and how a marketing degree has helped him sell things on Craigslist.
    The Wisconsin couple was show closers. She joined an Improv class, they are crazy. She was in a show choir playing clarinet when she was young. Another was about the Renaissance Fair, and people she knows who have 'Gone Ren'. He did one about shopping at Goodwill, and donating undies. Another was about morons in Florida, due to the snakes in the Everglades. Others were about death solar panels, too much laughter in the house, and how his dad sold Fry Daddys. Their friend was there as well, who they are performing with this week. He did one about a golf course at a cemetery, mowing the couple's lawn, and a Snoopy shirt in a Renaissance painting. Also memorable was how the school bouncer yelled at somebody out in the street, of course he had to open a door to do so. I did ones about being at the Lady Gaga show, buying a box of buttons, along with dealing with an annoying patron at Walgreen. Others were about my dad talking about lead paint, and internet dating stories.
   The second was one I just attended, it was a contest night. There were three contestants, I felt like the right comic won as I knew her jokes best. She was given tickets to a Saints baseball game next month. She did ones about back rubs, and tinted windows. The contest was part of the regular show, and the Wisconsin couple was performing. I liked how the headliner involved her husband, who was MC, in her set. At times she included the feature act as well, and I really liked it when he did voice impressions like of Mickey Mouse. It proves having range to do impressions, I say. I got the couple in my 'Ring of honor' after the show. I had hoped to get one of their CDs but all they had for merchandise was shirts. I have some comedy shirts, but I value CDs more. The MC did ones about Edmund Fitzgerald beer, along with thrift store shopping and donating undies. Others included how his dad sold Fry Daddys, the Target walk-in clinic, Obamacare lies, and the snake problem in Florida.
    The feature act told a crowd member to uncross his arms. He said he is originally from Chicago, and noticed plenty of bridges in this town. Another was about the song 'Let's call the whole thing off'. There was mention of a molecular biology degree. He did jokes about fearing spiders, 'And robot' at an LA bakery, and how gum commercials have changed. I really liked one as it was relatable- somebody saying 'I don't mean to be'- but I know she is.
   The headliner started off with one about an imaginary oxygen tank. Another was about joining an Improv class, like choir kids. This was followed by ones about ostrich and camel racing, the bay area, her mom has a pet raccoon, and Hazelden. One was about a sibling giving up freedom. There was the stripper sex pole, along with cranberries on Turkey Day. Two were about her mom. She wants grand kids, and takes anti-depressants. Others were about wearing makeup, a crossword champion, we all feel bad, and too many RVs on her family's land. She was proposed to at a rest stop.
    Between the shows I did get some errand running done. It meant going to Maplewood Mall to pick up a book I ordered about the Chicago World's Fair, which told the story in postcards. I then made it over to the Saints stadium and got a ticket for Sunday's game, the food truck rally day. Finally I went to the grocery store for my weekly order. I picked up a Redbox movie at McDonald's this morning, when I was there having an Egg McMuffin. I should be able to find the time to see it soon.

Cat Stevens Greatest Hits

    When I was walking to the comedy club tonight I passed by a bench at a bus stop. There was trash all over it, and one of the things on the pavement was a Cat Stevens cd- it said the 'Very best' so it was greatest hits. So I got a picture of it.
   My 'Bestie' was one of those performing tonight. His name will be changing to 'Big Dog'. This was due to a Facebook posting this week saying we were dogs. And I confirmed this is a good thing, he said because dogs run together. He did jokes about bringing lunch for his lady. Others included discovering a dead body, along with taking things for granted. And something about sniffing his dad's sport coats. The Tetris comic, who was just on 'Last Comic Standing', did one about being at Comic Con. It included a reference to 'Free Willy', saying he wanted to free a famous person from this convention. And he did the one about breakup songs. I did see his set from 'Last Comic' before departing for the show tonight, it was on Youtube, just over four minutes. I am told just a small part of this set was actually shown on TV. I had heard most of the jokes before but still liked them. One was about a train operator stopping to get Taco John's, along with home use catheters.
     The Mr. Pibb comic did one about doing a photo with some people who said he looked like their 55-year-old friend. And about his lady's IUD poking him. The laundry comic did one about movie night at his family's house. He let his kids watch Steve King's 'It', along with 'Deliverance'. Next in his plans is Philadelphia. Another was about bakeries, prisons, and hookers. The Hillary Clinton look-alike did one about her parents divorcing, which led to her being enrolled in Weight Watchers despite being really young. Others were about Brazilian wax, and her DUI performance. The red-faced comic did one about spotting somebody at a concert if I'm not mistaken, I'm not dead yet was what he heard. Another was about a fake ten-dollar bill, and a variation of an earlier joke- can't you not tip instead of tell. The school bouncer did one about arriving at work early. The next comic was show runner at the Die Laughing show I performed at. He did ones about Buffalo Chicken, and Dairy Queen. The Rut-Roh comic did one about a Bob Seger song, the usage of the word ghetto, and the movie Noah. The Netflix comic did ones about being in a casual open relationship, and being sad. The International Falls native did ones about dog rescue, and animal violence. The next comic said he doesn't call it tortoise and hare, but turtle and rabbit because he's an American. He also did jokes about inventing fire, the wheel, and jean shorts.   

Shrek Play, Children's Theater

     I went to see the Shrek play at the Children's Theater in Minneapolis tonight. I still have fond memories of seeing the original movie in 2001. My former boss and mentor gave me tickets for an advance screening of it. I ended up buying many of the action figures.
   I noticed the play did follow the storyline of the original movie very closely. The actors playing Shrek and Donkey were well chosen. Their voices did sound like Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy. Not so much with who was playing the lord, or the princess. I was in the upper balcony, but still a good view. I think I had been to this venue just once before, for a play about Jackie Robinson last year.
   Notable was how I parked about 10 blocks away. It meant walking across the Franklin Bridge over 35W. It was good exercise though, and I made it just minutes before the play began. It was enough time to pick up my ticket and go to my seat. I bought nothing at intermission. On the way back to my car I did stop at a Wendy's along the way and got a sandwich along with some lemonade. I finished the sandwich and I left, and brought the drink with me. I got some more pictures along the way. One of them was graffiti, it said 'Impeachy loves you'. I thought it was going to say 'Impeach some politician'. I also got one of a sign at Electric Fetus, a music shop I had heard of but hadn't been to yet. But I didn't want to be taking pictures for long, it was getting dark and it was an unfamiliar neighborhood. I walked with a purpose the rest of the way. There may be some advantages to looking 'Undesirable' or dare I say 'Creepy'- as it may mean people are more likely to leave me alone.  

Old Enough, Young Enough

     I saw something on Facebook about media attention my comedian friends are getting for 'Last Comic Standing'. Five of them were profiled. One of them is part of the Wisconsin couple, and when asked about her age she said 'Old enough to have a baby and young enough to have a baby'. Funny answer. Others include the 'Tetris comic', 'Bathtub comic', and Louisiana native.
   At the comedy club tonight, the Hillary Clinton look-alike was MC. She did jokes about eating at Jimmy Johns, her DUI performance, and donating plasma. The laundry comic did one about his wife giving birth. The International Falls native did one about mistaken identity while visiting Milwaukee. The self checkout comic did stage time, but what I wrote down was hard to read. As I recall it was an honor student joke and about wearing a hoodie. The 'Tetris comic' did ones about blood plasma, breakup songs, and a public service ad at Mall of America. The pottery barn comic did one about being engaged, and elephant teeth. The Texas native and barber did one about motorcycles.         \
    The godmother did one about acronyms in education, her bucket list, the cashier, seeing neighbors again, and differing parental advice. The Kentucky native did the 'Cirrhosis/Psoriasis' joke, along with his awkward smile. The university accountant did ones about a bird nest and the Rubik's cube. The software developer did one about a birthday gift from his son. The 'Conga line' comic did ones about truck nuts, and gay marriage.  

Lady Gaga, Artpop Ball

     I went to the Lady Gaga concert at the Xcel Center in St. Paul tonight. It was my 2nd Gaga show, the first was 2010. Thankful I made it. I got a good workout dancing to many of the songs. It was no surprise how many of those played were from the latest album, 'Artpop', as concerts are usually about promoting the new music. I did my best to keep track of the songs played, scribbling something down whenever I could. I wrote down 22 songs, just one of them was in the encores, 'Gypsy life'. 'We belong together' was the first, it appears to be the title song from 'Artpop'. 'Applause' was number 20, near the end of the main set. I am not too familiar with many of the songs from 'Artpop' yet, though I now have the CD and have listened to it in its entirety a few times. So of course I really liked hearing many of the earlier ones like 'Just dance', it was when I first decided to get up and dance. 'Alejandro' and 'Bad romance' would be the others. There is some charm to 'Donatella' and 'Mary Jane Holland' as well, these two of course are from 'Artpop'.
   I liked getting a photo before the show, much like at the earlier show. It was a set of four, like at a photo booth. I was wearing a hat with a brim and put up a handlebar mustache. It was made available by the 'Born this way' foundation. I bought no souvenirs this time, but the photos are good to have.
    I also liked being able to go home for a little over an hour after work to go through postal mail and email before going back downtown for the concert. It is very much a part of my routine on weekdays. An E-bay order arrived, some World's Fair postcards, a lot of 7. Now I am up to 112 for the Chicago world's fair of 1933 and 1934.

Step Up Movies

     The 'Tetris comic' was added to the 'Ring of honor' tonight, before the comedy show. He did a joke about 'Step up' movies and other dance movies, along with having a Chrysler 200 as a rental car.
    It is now contest season at the comedy club. The Maryland native did one about a 31-year-old posing as a high school student. The university accountant did one about the twerking of Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana. The 'Extra murder' comic did one about plans to attend a wedding in his native Kentucky, a teenage bride who wasn't pregnant. And about his friend, the 'Fire truck and cake' joke. The Worthington native did a high energy set, mainly about seeing a Brock Lesnar wrestling match. The Louisiana native did one about trying to quit smoking, and how he has done mushrooms.
   The opera singer did a skit called 'Cat chat' with the trailer park girl. She did her own set later on, going to the doctor who spoke of the 'Laughter is the best medicine' sentiment. The Wisconsin couple was there as they will be headlining this week. He did one about donating undies to Goodwill, she did ones about bus stories. This included wet seats, as well as ants crawling on someone. And there was the one about too many campers on her family's land. The Perkins employee did one about his mom liking cottage cheese, and a family cruise. The sub teacher did ones about Wells Fargo greeters, as well as 'Smitten kitten'. The bathtub comic did ones about a destroyed bird's nest, calling an electrician, and touring the Coors brewery. The show closer is working with the Wisconsin couple this week. He did one about being stopped for DUI on a scooter, along with who he saw later on at the police station.
   There was 35 emails waiting for me when I returned to the office earlier today. But many of them were letter requests, so I quickly deleted them. A busy day with the payoff report, I didn't do as many letters as I would have liked. Thankfully I also had one about a vacation day request being approved for next month.

Wrong Holiday, Charlie Brown

     I watched the Simpsons in the evening, and it was the season finale. It dealt with getting a 4th of July fireworks show off the ground. When it happened there was a character who didn't speak- with the same costume that Charlie Brown had in the Halloween special, the ghost sheet with plenty of holes in it. Nelson said 'Wrong holiday, Charlie Brown'. I like seeing this comic strip being referenced, as it means it is staying relevant.
   I stayed in for a while today, as I went online and got some more World's Fair postcards ordered. Also ordered a ticket for a play which is in less than a week. Eventually I knew I needed to get going on my errand running. It meant going to Maplewood to do laundry and get a winter coat dropped off for dry cleaning and maintenance. After this I went to Target and got two poster frames. I got a Simpsons poster framed that I brought back from a visit to St. Louis. It has classic quotes from various characters. The other was a caricature of me from a company outing at Valleyfair, the artist signature on it says 2008. It sounds about right, as I think they haven't had such an outing since then. In 2009 they did the 'Biggest loser' weight loss program. Finally it was to Barnes and Noble to order a book about Chicago World's Fair postcards. I had seen it on E-bay but with the problems of some orders getting stolen apparently I still prefer picking up the book at the store. I liked seeing how they had some Simpson Legos, quite a few actually. The Walgreen I go to was already sold out. So I got one, it was Nelson. After watching the Simpsons eventually it meant getting to Walgreen to get more pictures added to a CD so they could be uploaded to Facebook. There were 18 on the disc, I wanted to upload 9 but the system didn't cooperate. I got just 2 uploaded, one of them was another comedian friend added to the 'Ring of honor', the 15th.

Fed Up Documentary

     I read the paper and saw a movie of interest to me in the entertainment section. It was 'Fed Up', a documentary about the food industry. It was a movie done by Katie Couric. It put the blame for the childhood obesity epidemic on sugar being in so many foods. Whenever Congress apparently wants to change things to benefit the public more, the lobbyists prevent it from happening. It did make comparisons to how the tobacco lobby was for a while. I liked seeing them use cigarette ads from TV as examples, since I hadn't seen many cigarette ads before. Big Tobacco's reach was far, as one of the ads was on 'The Flintstones'. Some prominent politicians were willing to be interviewed about the food industry, including ex-President Clinton and U.S. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, my native state. But others were not, including Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, as well as First Lady Michelle Obama. Apparently Amy K. fought for a Minnesota company, Schwan, since there was a threat of the government changing the laws with school lunches and it would have meant pulling pizza from these lunches. Schwan was a big supplier of pizza. Will it change the way I eat? Possibly. I did change things up a little today after getting back from the Lagoon theater in Minneapolis where I saw it. I did my weekly grocery shopping and got orange juice with a lower sugar content. And I got a sugar-free snack from the discount table.
    This evening I went to a St. Paul Saints baseball game, my first of the season. They beat the Gary South Shore Rail Cats 6-4. The Saints led early, 1-0 after the first inning, then extended it to 2-0. They fell behind 4-2 and retook the lead 6-4 in the 7th, aided by a 3-run home run. I did take plenty of pictures, and tried harder to get closer as I know this means they are usually better ones. One of these was of an 'Usher-tainer', the nerd. I didn't seem to see them do the Cub Foods 'What's in the bag' promotion between innings, it is my favorite. The shuttle bus driver from Gabe's Bar recognized me.

Pinstripes In Edina

     I had another day off from work, today it was for attending a mentoring event. It was the year-end event, at Pinstripes in Edina. My student was a no-show again, but I was paired with another one whose mentor didn't make it. We did a project where we designed a paper airplane. Ours didn't go very far but it won an award for style. I liked bowling a game there. At first I wasn't sure if I would be able to finish the game, due to time allotment. Especially when there were 6 players on the lane. But three were taken off, and I was able to finish my game but it was lackluster, under 100 after starting off with a strike and a spare. A blister on the middle finger of my throwing hand was a hindrance. I saw somebody there who said she always wins due to being a Packers fan. But I know full well that the Packers don't win every game, no team does. This is a reminder of why I added sports to the list of taboo and divisive subjects, along with religion and politics.
   I did go to the comedy club tonight, unfortunately it is hard to read all of my notes. This is why I am writing in all caps more often as it is easier to read. I will do my best to capture the spirit of the show. The boss man did confirm how he had read every entry of the blog back to February. He said I was 'Dedicated' to it if I'm not mistaken. Well I do enjoy writing. He wondered if he had been written about, and I said he had been. This is one exception, usually I just write about the comics. I haven't seen him do comedy yet. The IED/IUD comic did one about her family moving from Russia to South Dakota, along with one about the Liam Neeson kidnapping movie. The poster artist did one asking why shirts are called 'T-shirts'. I would have to call the next one the laundry comic since I once saw him while doing laundry. He did jokes about two songs I was familiar with, that I think he was annoyed by, 'Zombie' by the Cranberries as well as 'Ironic' by Alanis Morissette. Then there is one I would call the Pap Smear comic since she did a joke about getting one. She has red hair, but that is not unique enough as a nickname. The Mason City native did one about the song where the city is run by pigs. Others were about a trap door in Wisconsin Dells, and liking things on Facebook. Then there was what I would call the Fantasia comic as he asks why Disney has Mickey Mouse as their mascot when he has done just one good movie, Fantasia. The bartender did one about robots. He is a bartender at more than one club. The International Falls native did one about Syria and Egypt, but I am trying to recall the premise. The Happy Meal comic did one about uncrossing arms and his mustache.

Grocery Cart And Leaves

      I did a long walk around the neighborhood in the evening after watching 'Big Bang Theory'. I noticed a grocery cart from before was still there. So I did something about it. I went down a little hill and pulled it back up to the sidewalk. When I made it back to this spot in my walk I wheeled it back to the store and said 'Good luck' as I released it into the cart corral. I got a picture of the cart, which had some leaves in it as it was near a tree. I also got one of an animal carcass near the curb, but hard to tell what animal it was since it was disfigured by then. I gleaned 5 pull-tabs from beer or energy drink cans, I found mostly typical trash like food and drink containers.
   I watched two episodes of 'Big Bang Theory' tonight. The syndicated rerun was where Sheldon and Howard feuded over a parking space. The prime time episode had the feeling of a season finale, with Sheldon deciding to ride the rails and Leonard saying he went on sabbatical when Amy inquired about it. Stuart decided to be the caretaker of Howard's mom, after he needed a home. There was a joke about a fire being set just to collect the insurance money. More people were told about Leonard and Penny getting engaged. Sheldon didn't want to accept change, and this event coupled with the university not supporting his idea of changing his research he decides to leave. He is seen at the train station waiting to board a train and 'Live off the land'. Raj spoke of seeing Emily again, but of course this wasn't the big news he hoped it would be- compared to his friends it wasn't.
    I had the day off from work, but as usual it was no problem staying occupied. I got caught up on a few things like an online survey as well as completing a comedy contest application. But after a while I knew I needed to get on the road, and take the light rail to the Twins game. The Twins were playing the Boston Red Sox, a matinee. The Twins won 4-3 in 10 innings, after leading 3-0 early, aided by a 2-run home run. I like seeing one Red Sox game a year, a way of keeping the memory alive of my favorite movie, 'Good Will Hunting', which changed my life. Though I didn't think about the movie much today. It was mainly leading up to attending the game when I spoke of these plans to work colleagues or to comedian friends.
    Notable was the weather, chilly to say the least. I brought a Simpsons blanket with me but after just 3 innings I left my seat in the upper deck, first base side. I moved around every half-inning as I knew walking would mean I was warmer than in my seat. I was mostly standing next to 'The shelf' just beyond the seating area where fans could place their food and eat while standing up and still get a good view of the game.
   I had no heartburn at all about going to the bathroom to blow my nose, then to answer nature's call, as it was much warmer there. I even ended up in '2 Gingers pub', all were welcome, but it was hard to see the game there aside from the TV monitors. But I liked getting a photo of the stadium organist there, some others did the same. It did remind me some of baseball games I had seen in Chicago before, where it was chilly even in May. Or what I once read about San Francisco Giants games at Candlestick Park, where patches were given out. 'Veni, Vidi, Vixi'. Which meant 'I came I saw I survived'.

Delta Wings, Batman Watch

    When I rode the bus home tonight, I saw somebody with wings from Delta Airlines and he was wearing a Batman watch. He was wearing a black sweater vest, and there was a bright red hankie in the pocket. Also had plenty of 'Griz', but wouldn't call it a beard, and sunglasses, probably what are known as aviators. I stayed late to try to get caught up on work before being out of the office for two days, so I took a much later bus than typical. It was a busy day at work. I took my lunch early so I could attend the St. Paul Saints season opening block party nearby. I got a Softee baseball much like before, and some pictures. The first was of the Little Caesars pizza mascot with the Saints mascot, Mudonna the pig. I have one of the team being introduced, and the ball pig. I liked seeing Saints boss Mike Veeck milling around in the crowd, this event in a previous year was where I got the Facebook photo with him. I did have some Little Caesars pizza there, and my employer furnished lunch as well, Subway sandwiches. It was their Health Ahead fair day. So it was the typical 'Complete your passport' like a punch card, including having a finger pricked by a nurse for health screenings. Late in the afternoon I went to a meeting in the main conference room where we heard somebody speak about compliance. I said to myself she isn't a good public speaker, seemed to hesitate or stammer too much.
   At the comedy club tonight, I find out there is high interest from many comics about this blog. Some haven't been written about yet. The International Falls native was MC. Since I was scheduled to perform I was getting ready with my material, so I don't recall as much of her set as I wanted to. But I recall hearing the animal violence joke. The speech therapist did one about running, and how she's not pregnant. The Kentucky native did some crowd rap about strict religious upbringings. One comic did a joke about her hair, and locks of love. I was fifth in the lineup, and did some about the Saints block party as well as seeing my dad over the weekend. The internet dating jokes also worked well. The Mason City native did one about dealing with a bathroom attendant at a Chicago venue. The bathtub comic did one about wearing sunscreen at night, along with one about a horse from a carriage ride. The exercise guru did some about his weight loss. The godmother did one about her bucket list, and the one about having candy bars and ranch in the checkout line. Others were Youtube life coach, latex gloves, and being at the Boston comedy festival. The conga line did one about being Lebanese as her leadoff, as well as being a seeing eye person. The Tetris comic did one about having a rental car since his car is in the shop. Another was about the movie 'Eyes wide shut'.
    One comic asked for a particular nickname, but his common outfit of sweater vest isn't unique enough. He is more likely to be known as 'Software developer' since it's his occupation as I recall. He described himself as a horrible person. He did a joke about errand running for cigarettes. And he did what is likely his best joke, about adopting from China. One comic shook my hand just before taking the stage, he moved from Arizona if I'm not mistaken. He did some jokes about having a lisp. The Louisiana native was show closer. He did one about e-cigarettes, as well as dog discipline. The dog theme continued, with one about being the 'Magic bathroom man'.  

San Francisco World's Fair

     I decided to get caught up on my mail tonight since I didn't on Monday. It meant getting more postcards from E-bay orders into the photo albums. Twelve cards arrived, 10 were from a single order. It had 3 each from New York, Seattle, and San Francisco. The tenth was from Chicago, the Black Forest village. I did have one postcard from the 1915 San Francisco world's fair, and these three were the first I have acquired from the 1939 fair. It was surprising how there were 2 fairs in the same year, as New York also had a world's fair in 1939. It shows the Temple Compound, the Court of Reflections, and Court of Flowers. The last one also had an ad for Union 76 on it. I now have four from the 1962 Seattle world's fair, in addition to one from the 1909 Seattle fair. And now I have 9 from the 1964 New York fair. Some of them are just of the Unisphere. With 3 from different orders, I now have 96 postcards from the 1933 Chicago world's fair. One of those that just arrived was of a Braniff plane taking off near Chicago's lakefront to deliver the mail.
     It was no problem staying busy at work today, as a colleague was out and we had to see that all duties were covered. I did most of the payoff report, and all of the new titles, nearly 200. I perfected and filed contracts from one of the two Fed-Ex packs. What I liked was how it got me out of doing letters, as it can be hard to keep up with the letter process.
    At the comedy club tonight, this edition of the contest had the godmother as leadoff comic after the MC. She did well with jokes about JV landscaping and being married to a cop, but did not advance. An announcement was made about an executive decision, it led to 3 comics advancing to the next round instead of two. I made it earlier there than typical, and decided to eat at the show. There was a big interest in the hockey game, as the Wild were playing in Game 6 of the playoffs against Chicago.

Monday Night Comedy Show Anniversary

     I went to the Monday Night Comedy Show anniversary tonight. I put on my costume after arriving, the slasher from the 'Scream' movies. Notable was hearing the song 'Manic Monday' by the Bangles when I was getting a beer. Another comic, who likes the bands Black Flag and Slayer, said the song was written by Prince.
   Some awards were handed out tonight. Recipients included the Mr. Pibb comic as well as the roller grill comic. The latter had a paper grocery store bag on his head, so I said he was the 'Unknown comic'. The bus fare comic did his Goldilocks and the 3 bears joke, along with one about picking up somebody at the airport. The preschool teacher did a joke about being raped by a catheter. The resistable comic did one about how her hair was too red for Target. The show closer was from the band known as the Dirty Curls, and she did one about her mom being British.
    I did get plenty of pictures in costume, one of them was with a comic who said he liked reading my blog. He does the Happy Meal joke I like, and in crowd rap he tells people to uncross their arms. When I had one photo done before he showed up I said I was afraid to cross my arms. There were door prizes, I ended up with a Rocking Rollers Moose Skier and it appears to be taller than my Christmas tree. So I am not sure yet what to do with it.  

Stockman House, Frank Lloyd Wright

    On my way back to the Twin Cities today I stopped in Mason City, Iowa, and toured the Stockman House. Frank Lloyd Wright was the architect. It is the third F.L. Wright building I have seen, the other two are a gas station in Cloquet, MN, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. I did see plenty of brochures there about touring other buildings he designed. For a long time I would drive near Mason City and see the sign from the road about this house but I seemed to be in a rush to get somewhere else so it was hard to schedule for a while. I figured I had enough time today to see one of the two buildings he designed in this town. I am hopeful I can see the other, a hotel, later this year. I bought a set of 8 postcards of the house while there.
   It took me a while to make it back home today. I left Mason City shortly after 2pm and finally made it back at 6pm. I am more leisurely when driving back home as I tend to get tired and make more stops. In addition, there was a construction delay and I had to figure out how to re-route myself. It was a parking lot on I-35 and I was able to get off at the Lakeville/Farmington exit, though I still needed some time to get home from there. I made it back with the rental car before the scheduled return time. I like having somebody receive the car and this service ends at 7pm, I got back just before 6:30.

Iowa Cubs Game Vs. Nashville

    This is what I call baseball and museum season. I was hopeful to get to both today, but I headed to Des Moines, Iowa, and made it around 3pm. Museums I wanted to see like Camp Dodge or the Bob Feller museum closed for the day an hour later, 4pm. I did get over to the Anderson Erickson dairy and got a picture of the famous cow and calf. On a visit later this year I can hopefully see one of those two museums. I liked how the drive didn't take long once I got started. it helped that I made just one stop along the way, at a Casey's in Clear Lake, IA. I got some pizza there, along with a pack of baseball cards. It is a nice place to stop since it is close to the midway point of the drive, and close to I-35 as well- easy in, easy out.
   I went to a minor league baseball game, an annual visit to an Iowa Cubs game. They lost to Nashville 10-1. They were shut out for a while. I recall the Nashville Sounds were also the opponent when I saw the Famous Chicken (or San Diego Chicken) perform back in 1987. But I think they had a different parent club then, a Cincinnati Reds team and currently a Milwaukee Brewers team. I still have the photo and cup that The Chicken signed. Notable was how it was hard to get to sleep after the game at the Motel 6 room I shared with my dad, since somebody's car alarm kept going off.
    Before I left town I got some errand running done this morning, and had to push myself to make the bus, not knowing when the next one would be.

Coconut Candles

    It probably wasn't your typical night at the comedy club, as some talked about this blog since one comic mentioned it on Facebook. But I like how my writings are getting attention. I am told the boss man at this club read plenty of entries, dating back months. I know he asked on Facebook who certain comics were, since I use nicknames. I liked seeing the skits director, back from California.
     My 'Bestie' was one of the performers tonight, doing a joke about taking things for granted which led to something about coconut candles. He did some new jokes, including Mike Tyson and dreams. I really liked the one about bringing lunch for his lady. The Rut-roh comic did one about the Bruce Springsteen song 'Glory Days', saying people are pathetic if they think high school is the best years of their life. And there was one about a small bank withdrawal. The 'Extra murder' comic did one about how his wife likes George Clooney, spurred by Clooney recently getting engaged. And he brought back the 'Extra murder' joke since he moved recently. He also did one about his car's check engine light. The ex-TSA agent did ones about his car and swearing in winter, along with slapping people who stutter. The movie reviewer gave fake movie reviews, I shouted out two of my favorites, 'Rain Man' and 'Good Will Hunting'. The hipster detective did one about looking like Shawn White, the Olympic athlete. The International Falls native did one about bears working at K-Mart. The show closer was the Mr. Pibb comic, who did do the Mr. Pibb joke. He also did ones about fidgeting as a kid, and online banking wanting certain passwords. There was also a one-legged comic.
   Even though a colleague was out of the office today, it was no problem seeing the work was covered due to the lower volume at the end of the week. For once this week I left on time. After eating at Taco Bell in the evening, I did watch some of the two reruns of 'Monk' shown on channel 29 tonight. It looks like after showing what must have been the final episode last week that they started over with the early ones.

Brad Paisley on 2 1/2 Men

    This was the typical 'Get caught up on paperwork' night. I watched plenty of CBS shows, including 'Two and a half men' where Brad Paisley, the musician, was guest star. He showed up when Alan was about to get married to his ex-wife, played by Kimberly, Brad's real-life wife. It was really funny when Alan made a joke about why Brad's character got divorced, saying the story sounded a lot like a song from country music. Then he said he was more partial to hip-hop.
   I did watch 2 episodes of 'Big Bang Theory' tonight. The syndicated rerun was where Howard annoyed all of his friends with talk of being in space. It ended with Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin, the astronaut, as guest star. I liked the Halloween costume party, as Amy was Raggedy Ann and Sheldon was C3PO. The prime time episode was where Penny got fired from a movie role, along with Wil Wheaton. Then she gets engaged to Leonard. Raj saw Emily, an ex, at a movie theater with another man. Howard and Bernadette take care of Howard's mom after she gets injured. Sounds like next week is the season finale, and there will be more about the engagement.
   I participated in a festival at midday near my workplace. I got a button as a souvenir. It says 'I love gateway corridor transit'. Much of what I saw seemed to be about bike riding. I got plenty of pictures, starting with one of Mounties in Mears Park. I also saw a news van from Kare-11. And I was given a booklet full of bike cartoons, including what kinds if bikes certain artists would own like Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso. There were plenty of chalkboards as well, and one said 'Imagine'. I wrote on it how I am looking forward to the new Saints baseball stadium, which will be nearby.

The Boogie Man

    At the comedy club tonight, the show closer was the Kentucky native. He did jokes about Justin Bieber, Little House on The Prairie, picnics, as well as his dad's warning about the boogie man. he took off his zip-up hoodie during his set.
   Mr. Pibb did one about gunshots from rappers. Auto correct did one about Skyping with a life coach. Rut-roh did one about playing chess with Bob Seger, and the one about Rodman in North Korea. Capital city, who I hadn't seen in a while, did her janitor joke. Bus fare did ones about 'Poop in this bar' and his payday joke. Conga line did ones about dogs, a clown car for them as well as one going into the woods. Two comics ran the light.
    No surprise when I researched Chicago World's Fair postcard listings on E-bay that I got plenty more ideas. But of course I am not going to get them all at once. It is easier to get the 'Lone listing' ones first, when I know I have more chances with the others. Trying different key words like 'vintage' and 'set' can also make a difference on the finds. I already know this with entering 'lot', when I want to narrow the search. But I have so many postcards now that it is harder to find those where I don't have at least one of them. Though this is not really a big deal, when I need to narrow it down. Price is another way. A recent listing may have had 45 postcards in it, but just 3 were of the World's Fair. So I questioned the wisdom of getting it.   
   We did do Wii dancing late in the day. One of the songs was 'What are you waiting for', by Gwen Stefani. Another we did was 'Night boat to Cairo', since the event coordinator liked doing it before. There were no spectators this time, though an IT guy saw me on the way to our game room and said she is waiting for you.

Airborn Hat

    This morning I saw a morbidly obese man while waiting for the bus. When I boarded he eventually sat next to me in the front. He wore a blue Airborn hat, that said St. Paul on the back. He had a 4-pronged cane and a brace on his left ankle. Not sure what it is, but with a name like this, and close to the airport, it likely is something related to aviation.
   There was another edition of the contest at the comedy club tonight. The International Falls native was one of the two that advanced. She did the animal violence joke. I also got the MC, half of the comedy and rapping act known as Valley Meadows, into my ring of honor after the show. I've had the CD for a while and the other member of this act was added earlier. So this would be the 14th comedian honored. I hadn't seen him much lately, aside from the VM show in February, so it was hard to remember to ask. The Tetris comic was performing while the votes were being counted. He did the one about break-up songs, as well as boat names. He did the photo and should be in the ring of honor as well- since he is written about often.

Barbie Girl, Aqua

    At the comedy club tonight, the bathtub comic was show closer and was brought on with a song. I thought I heard enough of the lyrics correctly, but I had not. Online searching yielded nothing when I searched for 'I'm a funky girl, in a funky world'. I think I stumbled upon how it was 'Barbie Girl' by Aqua when I changed the key words to funny girl, funny world instead of funky. Then I found the video on Youtube, over 120 million views. It was catchy on some level, I understand it was likely making fun of Barbie and Ken dolls as the video when coupled with the song seemed really cartoonish. While he was doing his set, at first he had to compete with this song. He did do some jokes I was familiar with, like having a pet put down and somebody getting mauled by coyotes.
   There were plenty of notable jokes tonight as usual. The Kentucky native did one about discovering music, having grown up in a strict home. The opera singer did one about cooking with flax seed. The Yemen native did one about how his favorite movie is Batman, but didn't say which one. The Netflix comic did one about one man's trash is another man's treasure, and brought back the Netflix joke. The resistable comic did one about shopping for wigs on E-bay. The bus fare comic did ones about payday, and bathrobes. The sub teacher did one about his dad wandering in the woods. The Maryland native did one about having a degree in marketing, how it helps him in selling himself on dates. The Perkins employee did one about living with his mom. The Tetris comic did one about going to comic-con. The university accountant did one about Marie Osmond lotion.
   I think there are two comics I am now writing about for the first time. I have their CDs. Point of Entry did one about being red-faced at a Target, and saying 'Can't you not tell?' to another patron. The fever comic did one about deer as suicide bombers.

Behind The Eye, Park Square

     This afternoon I went to a play at Park Square Theater in St. Paul, it was 'Behind The Eye'. It was about World War 2 photographer Lee Miller. There was a decent amount of swearing in it, especially related to having sex. But this didn't bother me much as I prefer to hear raw emotion and passion,
as there seems to be plenty of honesty when this exists. The program said her life was anticlimactic after the war ended, and this was evident with what is depicted in the play. It lasted for just over 90 minutes, no intermission. Her camera seemed to be much like Vivian Maier's, a Rolleiflex. I spoke with patrons seated on either side of me before the play began. I ended up giving my business card to both, as both seemed to be interested in how I do comedy. The woman on my right was pleased that I keep my comedy clean, saying she gets tired of hearing comedians talk about their private parts. I brought my camera and got one picture while there, of the poster in the window seen from the alley. After this I decided to wander around downtown some more and get more photos. I got some at a light rail stop, which is not yet operational. And I walked down to Union Depot and got a nice one of the mural at Station 4, a music venue, across the street. Two Pabst Blue Ribbon beer cans are depicted in the mural, on top of a skull. I got another one of a mural on a nearby building, one sign below it said 'Warehouse studio'. It depicts various separate images, one of them is of the planet Saturn and its rings. I passed by a liquor store on the way to the play, and stopped there after it as a mural was being painted there. I liked getting one of it in progress. In the evening after watching the Lego episode of The Simpsons I went out for a walk around my neighborhood. Even though I brought my camera with me, I took no pictures during the walk. I did pick up plenty of trash, mostly food and drink containers, especially beer cans and bottles. I claimed a plastic grocery store bag at the start of the walk and this helped out a lot, since I was willing to pick up more when I had a bag with me. One notable thing I picked up was a Minnesota Twins 'Diversity Day' poster. It was tattered, and I threw it out as well, but after I got a picture of it. This was after I got home. The bag of trash was finally tossed into a barrel at a bus stop. I gleaned 9 pull tabs from beer cans that go into a box at work, where I am collecting them for Ronald McDonald house. I also found a nickel in a parking lot, which was thrown into my change bank. And there was a little kid's hoodie.
   The day started with going over to McDonald's to get a breakfast sandwich, an Egg McMuffin. While there I saw a conversation get loud between an employee and possibly her boyfriend. When I left I saw a late-model Audi in the parking lot, rap music playing, motor running, may have been his car. After this I did chores, dishes and recycle. Then I searched things online, inspired by the call with my dad last night. He made mention of Gould and Fisk, in reference to bank robbers like Jesse James, saying Jesse was no worse than these two. I found out Gould and Fisk were railroad robber barons. They were involved with Tammany Hall, the political machine. Their main claim to fame, according to the Wikipedia article, was Black Friday in August 1869, when the two tried to corner the gold market.  

Laughing Matters, AM 950

    I listened to myself on Laughing Matters on AM radio 950 tonight. I thought I sounded fine but I hesitated at times. I think it is because it was out of my comfort zone to do such a show, and I am used to prepared statements kind of like the comedy I do. Before this aired in the evening I did some errand running like getting a ticket for a play this weekend. Since it was in downtown St. Paul, close to Candy-land, I went to Candy-land and got a little box of popcorn. I liked getting more points on my loyalty card, first time using it at this place. I had previously just used it at the Nectary, a downtown sandwich shop in the skyway.
   Then it was on to the Minneapolis Warehouse District where I found the Vivian Maier exhibit. The gallery was inside a warehouse just blocks from a comedy club I frequent. I also bought a thick book containing many of her photos. I watched some of the BBC documentary about her while there. This was different from the one I saw at the Edina Theater a few weeks ago. After this it was the library to print things, and to Kohl's to get some replacement jeans and pants. The gift cards took care of most of the total. I called my dad back in the evening after the errand running was done. We spoke for a while as usual about various subjects, like how he thinks he sounds like Bo Hopkins, an actor, when he hears his recorded voice. It was in reference to hearing about the radio show I was on. Another subject was about bank robbers like Jesse James, comparing him to robber barons like Gould and Fisk. So I have more things to look up soon as I am not entirely familiar with Gould and Fisk.

Oh Captain, My Captain

     I got more responses to my Facebook posting about Twitter. One of them said Oh Captain, My Captain. I guessed it as Monty Python or Shakespeare, but it was a Walt Whitman poem about Lincoln's death, and it was in 'Dead Poets Society'. I haven't seen the movie in a while.
   There were plenty of stories from being at the comedy club. The bus fare comic asked if he was likeable. Actually this was not part of the show, but before it. I wondered who had said to him that he was unlikeable. The Tetris comic did one about breakup songs when you chose to end it. I wonder if he has heard of the one called 'Breaking up is hard to do'. The rut-roh comic did one about Dennis Rodman in North Korea. The roller grill comic did one about having a nametag and uniform job. The IED/IUD comic did this joke along with ones about a Liam Neeson kidnapping movie, as well as a party where each person represented a nation. The Mr. Pibb comic was show closer. I was onstage as well, doing ones about a Linus blanket, Walmart orders, and onions on pizza. The first one was inspired by date I was on recently, and the other two inspired by my office interactions.

Bob Newhart As Obi-Wan

    I watched 2 'Big Bang Theory' episodes tonight. The syndicated rerun was the one where Howard gets married and goes into space. I had seen it before but I liked seeing it again, a reminder of some weddings I have attended. The prime time episode had Bob Newhart as guest star, appearing to Sheldon in a dream as Obi-Wan. It was a 'Star Wars Day' episode since May 4th is in a few days. I liked seeing a new spin on the 'Star Wars' story. Seeing him have fun with a light saber was hilarious. I have called a former boss and mentor 'Obi-Wan' since she taught me well and had patience with me when others didn't. This was Newhart's 3rd appearance on this show, and each one has been a treat. I even said so on his Facebook page. 
    At work a colleague said she would be a Twitter follower of mine if I ever end up on Twitter. This colleague knows I do comedy. I posed the question on Facebook- do I really have enough to say in a short format that people will be interested? I already got some responses to it. I said I was afraid of being prone to faux-pas, like Hugh Grant in '4 Weddings and a Funeral'. Also at work, when I was out running some quick errands at midday I saw somebody with a parrot on their shoulder. We were inside at the time. This is something one doesn't see everyday, and I felt bad that I didn't have my camera with me.
     This day of the week is well-known for when I try to get caught up on paperwork, and I did so after watching both episodes of 'Big Bang Theory'. Much of it still is event planning, seeing that the logistics work on getting to all of the events I am interested in. We are getting into what I call 'Baseball and Museum' season so it is more challenging but doable. I went to my neighborhood grocery store and got a snack- cashews- along with a special edition of People Magazine about the Beatles arriving in America. I liked seeing at checkout how the St. Paul Saints pocket schedules are finally available! So I picked up two. One for me and I am sending the other to my dad along with a Twins schedule. It replaces the one I had on my wall which was the printed pages from the website. One page was the actual calendar schedule and the other was their list of promotions and nightly themes.