gridiron glory exhibit

I went to the football exhibit at the Minnesota history center in st. paul at midday, called 'gridiron glory'. it is a traveling exhibit on loan from the pro football hall of fame in canton, ohio. I have been to canton to see the hall of fame a number of years ago, as I recall 2009 on a side trip from Columbus. no surprise how one section was dedicated to the local team, the Vikings. it did seem to be a comprehensive exhibit. I probably learned a few things while there, first one that comes to mind was how walter payton got a call from president Reagan when he broke jim brown's career rushing record. great to see some things about the football players in movies, even going back to the 1920s and the ones that 'galloping ghost', red grange, was in. there was a DVD copy of the movie 'brian's song' as well, I recall watching it as a good behavior movie in elementary school. it of course was about Chicago bears player brian piccolo. one could even try one some shoulder pads for size. I did try the place kicking and throwing a pass, as expected I wasn't that good. as a graduate of the university of iowa I liked seeing something about duke slater, as I lived in a dorm building named for him. not much about rival leagues, such as the now-defunct USFL or the Canadian league.
   I went to a play in Plymouth as well, 'away in the basement'. I had seen some other plays in the series, there are now six. it was the final day of its run, and I chose the 3pm performance as I wanted to keep my evening free. when I got home I eventually fell asleep and woke up just after 8pm. then I was on the road again, to perform a guest set a micro-brewery. pleased to get stage time on new year's eve, it seems to be a big thing to be performing on that day. first time I had done so. I did day thank you to the headliner, conga line, for the stage time. I did ones about Walgreen is open, a nicki minaj song, the football exhibit, and the Christmas play. I led off with one inspired by one of her jokes, about a Christmas song that mentions a parson. it reminded me of art class in grade school where we were learning about grant wood. I even helped with the drawings, two of them. one was for some Charlie brown candy, another for a shirt. great sharing the stage with the button, laundry, and mr. pibb as well.

lincoln portrait

I went to perform at a venue tonight that had a Lincoln portrait near the stage. it didn't look like the typical one though. the show runner, resistable comic, saw what the price was. then I looked at the other four and found out Abe was the bargain! I meant to allude to it in my set, but didn't. I did ones about Walgreen is open, bartender holding up restroom key, attending a Christmas eve service, a como zoo mold-a-rama, and a nicki minaj song. this was at a micro-brewery.
    on facebook there was mention of my posting from 6 years ago, it was about 2 songs, 'coming home' by diddy dirty money, and 'umbrella' by rihanna. I still like these songs but listen to the latter more often. tonight I listened to both, finding them on youtube.
   it was a typical Friday at the office, low volume on the payoff report. I perfected some contracts as well, and I got a writing submission ready.


  

como zoo mold-a-rama

there were various things on my list to do today, as I was taking a day off from work. one of those, but not the first thing I did, was to go to como zoo in st, paul and get a mold-a-rama souvenir. I chose the seal. it reminded me of visiting san Francisco as I saw some seals on the pier, barking it up and enjoying the sun. it is my third, and it is red like the scale model ford mustang. now I am wanting to out it on my list to get one during my annual Chicago visit early in the new year. but where? so many to choose from in that city. when mine was being made at the zoo, a little girl who was there with her dad liked watching the machine. I said 'that is so cool!' but it sounded like she wanted a different animal, maybe the polar bear. it was all I really did for this zoo visit, besides go to the bathroom.
   the first thing to do today was to get an oil change for my car at the dealer in  inver grove heights, same place where I bought it in june. CNN had stories about the deaths of carrie fisher and Debbie Reynolds. other things done was an air filter, brake light bulb, and wiper blades. then on to the zoo, and after that lunch at bobby and steve's. I was confused with the problems on wanting to redeem points on my loyalty account, there was a new employee involved. but it ended up with me keeping my points and getting the godfather's pizza and juice for free, so I am not complaining about that. then it was on to the Roseville library where I wanted to get started on writing something for one of the organizations I've joined, an annual submission. there was printed online articles to look at, and the previous writings I had sent. I can get it typed up and submitted the next day. no real deadline that I was made aware of, even after asking about it, but I am giving myself one.
    I did watch an episode of 'big bang theory' tonight, but just the prime time one. it was about Sheldon giving Bernadette a fun day that she wasn't getting since she's pregnant. then after this I went to an event I was invited to from facebook, one of the open-mics I just started going to. the food was good, but I was getting annoyed with some of the comics there who wanted to workshop jokes and try to turn everything into a joke. I don't feel the need to be 'on' all the time. they probably all were new comics, but that is not an excuse. I liked hearing the event coordinator share about being an instructor at one point in her life.

green tree publication

I made a nice find at the office as the painters are still there. they have moved on to painting locker doors, and it is a rare chance to look inside them. I found a green tree publication from 1995, and I did wonder if there would be anyone in it that I recognized. this is one of the old names for the office. there was one, he is a senior leader, now our site leader. I put it in my backpack and sent it home tonight. it did talk about how he moved from st. louis for this company. not sure if I should say anything to him about finding it. due to my janitor mentality, it was hard to ignore what I was seeing when I would pass by. so I looked inside that locker and found a few other items in addition to the one I kept. there was a button, and a pen. found out there was no ink left in the pen, so it was thrown in the trash with the button that looked like it belonged on a sweater. one item was left in the locker, it was a pair of high heeled shoes. but it is hard to say if the owner is still in the office, or knows they are there, as it was tucked behind the publication. as the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure.
   I confronted a colleague in the afternoon as I was getting annoyed in our conversations that weren't work-related. she did admit to playing devil's advocate, which I don't enjoy at all. I made it part of my comedy set in the evening. along with various other subjects, like one thin object being mistaken for another one. 

water under the bridge, adele

I have been hearing the song 'water under the bridge' by adele fairly often lately. I liked finding it on youtube, after hearing it on my car radio. except I didn't find an actual 'video' there, just some live performances or strictly audio. as usual, sometimes I need to listen to a song before I really like it. in this case, it was the line 'why do I hate the idea of being free?' after 'if you're not the one for me'. since I am single, and often can't complain much about it, some might not understand why I envy those in relationships and want one of my own. the other lines I liked were also questions. I was aware of this when I poured my emotions into my writing when I was young. I may not have had many answers, but at least I was asking the questions. in this case, I liked 'what are waiting for?, and who are you hiding from, and have I ever asked for much?' I have said before how it is doubtful that adele would be a popular singer if she only sang happy songs. like many other lady singers, she does well when singing about relationships. the passion is there. some performers are hard to ignore, since one can see how talented they are. I said this when I heard Adele's 'someone like you' 5 years ago. I said 'she sure has some pipes'. and I do like the video for that one, where she is wrapped up tightly in a black coat, walking around while singing, alone with her art, her thoughts. and it has continued since, with 'hello' being a big hit. that video is in the 'one billion club' for views on youtube. I don't have any of her CDs yet, but it was just this year where I finally decided to get some of Sia's CDs. sometimes the motivation isn't there when plenty of music is available online.
   it was a fairly ho-hum day at the office, though I did like how near the end of the day I did speak a little about music with my new boss. and I got the Christmas cards ready to send and in the mail. in the evening I went to return two DVDs to the library, and got a st. paul winter carnival button, before I arrived at the performance venue. I did ones about who told me about the passing of carrie fisher, karaoke photo, waffle photo, Walgreen is open, and dad watching the dick van dyke show. I also answered a joke where I spoke about soup cans. after the show it was nice that I found 20 cents from my customary walk, which went into my change bank.

I'm Your Man, Wham!

With the passing of George Michael being announced, I had to think of what songs I recall best from Wham! or as a soloist. In many ways I think of 'I'm Your Man' by Wham! I recalled two classmates wanting to dance to it at 6th grade graduation. they even had shirts that had the song title, and the artist, on it. The thing I recalled best about the song is the line 'if you're going to do it, do it right'. this can be interpreted in many ways, but I understand the song being about a dating relationship. I do quote it when I say I am doing things in life that have nothing to do with dating. in many ways I saw it as being like the line I have heard in another song, that is now in our lexicon, 'go big or go home'. I watched the video on YouTube and it depicts a live performance of the song. George Michael has a tambourine and another performer has a saxophone. it is a black and white video. getting a closer look at the lyrics, after finding them online, I noticed one section above all others. 'first class information, I'll be your sexual inspiration, and with some stimulation we can do it right'. as a soloist, I recalled songs like 'I want your sex' and 'Faith'.
   I took an accordion bus to and from work this morning. I had a hard time finding a food outlet that was open. eventually I said to myself, 'how about Walgreen?' and they were open. I am used to how that store hardly ever closes. I got some orange juice and oatmeal raisin cookies there. I did have a one on one meeting with my new boss in the afternoon, he is doing this with all in his unit.
   I did get to the performance venue tonight. it was kind of odd how one comic asked me about my dating relationship, I said it ended over three years ago. I spoke about what I dealt with since many places treated it like a holiday, Facebook activity like photos posted on my wall, and Mold-a-rama. I did look through a box of souvenirs at the office after seeing  some of these machines at Como Zoo. I showed the two I had to my cohort. It was a scale model 1965 Mustang from the Henry Ford Museum in suburban Detroit, and a railroad locomotive from the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. now it means figuring out when I am going back to the zoo with two dollars to get one. there are four animals to choose from. I made it a Twitter posting as well, which may help the most on seeing this gets done sooner rather than later. I liked reading the history of this kind of souvenir going back to World's Fairs in the 1960s, in Seattle and New York.

the way we were movie

I watched the other DVD on loan from the library this evening, 'the way we were'. I think I was first familiar with it when tom hanks was asked to sing the song of the same name in the movie 'big'. after that sometimes I had heard about the movie, like being shown on TV (maybe WGN) but just didn'r see it for whatever reason. but when I have been interested in the McCarthy witch-hunt era, I said I needed to see it eventually. it is still hard for me to understand why those witch-hunts were allowed to happen. but of course this was just the backdrop for the story. it was a love story between opposites, played by Robert redford and Barbra Streisand. redford played the athlete, she was the political activist, when they went to the same college, in the 1930s. the movie was all right, but I am not a big fan of romantic movies. I did watch the bonus features, which told the story of the making of the movie. this included two scenes that were deleted. I liked seeing the closing credits, it did confirm one thing. I was thinking that james woods had a bit part in it, and he did! he was dancing with Barbra and then redford cut in.
    it wasn't the only video I saw today. it started off with watching a DVD I own, 'Charlie brown christmas'. since the previous night the organist played 'hark the herald angels sing' but the choir didn't sing it and I wanted to hear it sung. I still like watching it. there was another TV special included, 'it's Christmastime again'. after that I did take a long walk around the neighborhood. I ended up with over a dollar in change, just by checking the drive-through windows at four food outlets. I figured I would have less competition, since they would be closed for the holiday, and I was right. I did see a car at one point at one of them, but that was all. I yielded, then resumed by search. one coin was a Canadian penny, a year I already had, so I am not keeping it. plans are to send it to a wishing well soon. two others, also pennies, appeared to me too mutilated so they were placed in the trash after getting it all home to inspect.
   then I did another walk, after coming home for lunch. I had a bowl of spaghetti-o's, heated up in the microwave oven. I went to a walk at the como zoo in st. paul. at first I didn't know what to do about not seeing anyone from meetup, so I just started looking around at the indoor exhibits near the front door. it was after I got home that I found out it was officially canceled. I did take my rain jacket with me to put on over my winter coat, as it was raining hard as I was about to leave. I met a man while there, in the giraffe building, who said he was there for the meetup walk as well. after I spoke of being a performer, he did say he had seen some local comics. this man also spoke of how relationships can be hard, and he would like to meet Filipinas. he was not as well-dressed for the weather as I was. it also reminded me of how there are 'molded souvenirs' available there. I saw them during the thanksgiving walk, but still don't have one from there. I have at least two from other places. one is from the museum of science and industry in Chicago, the other is from the Ford plant in suburban Detroit. it is just two dollars, and I saw at least four animals to choose from. I saw a seal, polar bear, lion, and gorilla. at some point it means putting it on my list to go over there and get one, but that means writing it down to remember it of course.
   in the evening I did watch 'the simpsons'. it was about krusty the clown converting to the Christian faith. then I put in the movie. I had a can of steel reserve beer with my meal, a burrito and potato chips. I figured it was a good idea to wait on the beer until I got back from the zoo, as I knew I wouldn't have anywhere I needed to go by then. it was really wet out there, and I had to take off my socks and shoes when I got home as they were soaked.

double indemnity movie

tonight it worked better on seeing a movie on DVD, since I fell asleep for a while before trying to watch it. instead of during. it was 'double indemnity'. I was inspired to watch it after seeing a video on youtube that had clips of the movie, and the background music was 'sorry somehow' by husker du. I had worked in life insurance before, so much of the terminology was familiar to me. the story was about adultery and insurance fraud. fred macmurray played an insurance agent and he thought he could help the Barbara stanwyk character kill her husband for the insurance money. Edward g. robinson played macmurray's boss. robinson spoke of having a hunch that was always right about when claims were fraudulent. the story was told in flashback, where the insurance agent is dictating what happened into a recorder. it served as the narration. I did watch the special features as well, though one segment was rather long about the movie. it spoke of how it led to many 'copycat' film noir movies. I did like scenes where he is at a bowling alley, and at a grocery store (or market).
   it was a fairly busy day for me, since it is a holiday weekend. in the afternoon I went to alary's bar in downtown st. paul to watch the bears football game against the Washington redskins. Chicago lost big, 41-21, intercepted something like 5 times. I left with about a minute left as I wanted to get to the grocery store before it closed early for the day, at 4pm. I said 'leaving this interview' when somebody wanted to argue with me on the way into the store about something trivial and petty. I got the line from a nicki minaj song. in the evening after the movie was done I tried to order takeout, to be picked up tomorrow around midday, from buca di beppo but it was not to be. don't know if the site was accepting online orders at that time. so on the way to Christmas eve church services I stopped at a super-America and got a can of steel reserve beer and a can of spaghetti. these two items will serve as my dinner for the day.  the church service reminded me of how I am a big Charlie brown fan. one of the scriptures, from luke, is what linus reads from in the TV special. and the final song, 'hark the herald angels sing', is also at the end of the TV special. though the organist played it and I didn't get to hear the choir sing it.
   most notable thing about the day likely was having waffles with a friend from the comedy circuit at the original pancake house in Roseville. I hadn't seen her at the clubs for a while. but I had seen her facebook postings fairly often about her 'cubs', her two kids. I liked doing an event with somebody away from the clubs, as this doesn't happen very often. she did post a photo on facebook of us being there, she was wearing a santa hat. first time at this establishment, it was fine. hadn't heard of them before. but it looks like there are plenty of locations. they were closing early for the holiday, we arrived just after 10:30am and they closed at 12noon.

eminem presents the re-up

I went to a music shop with a list after going to print things at the library. I was pleased with the finds I made. I got 2 CDs, one was the lady gaga CD of duets with tony Bennett. the other was by Eminem, must be a rare one as I hadn't heard of it before. 'the -re-up' where he is executive producer. there are 22 tracks and I have listened to most of them already, from driving home and then to and from the performance venue. Eminem performs on some of the tracks but not all of them. notable to me are the ones known as 'jimmy crack corn' and 'public enemy number one'. he speaks of 9/11, Tupac's murder, and the kennedy assassination in the latter. it is from 2006, so it was after the movie '8-mile'.
    this was another day off from work, but for a while I stayed in. but eventually I said I needed to get things done. it meant scheduling an oil change for my car, it will be next week when I have another day off. and I signed up for another meetup event, for this weekend. this of course is in addition to going to the library to print things and to return two DVDs. I got two more. I tried to watch one of them tonight, 'double indemnity', but I fell asleep and missed much of it. so I will have to try again soon. I have a week to watch it, but I think I can find the time this weekend and won't need the entire week. I got to everything on my list except sending out Christmas cards.
    I loved performing tonight. I did ones about the article and having a hater, a nicki minaj song, seeing a burlesque show, not running a charity, and a facebook group about my former job. the button was running sound at the venue. I liked seeing international falls, who was there doing the early show but did not perform at the same show as me.
    it was also nice to find more coins from the walking I was doing throughout the day, as 39 cents went into my change bank. I made plenty of stops for the errand running I was doing, like going to a gas station to use the ATM.

inspiring others

tonight I went to a holiday gathering for performers. it made me laugh when one of them, the Wisconsin girl, said I inspired her. as I recall, it was in reference to how I spend less time watching others perform as I got more serious about my own performing. I said 'just supporting friends' isn't good enough anymore. also being inspired to write because of me I think. I sure was flattered as I am thrilled to share the stage with her, she is a brilliant comic. our styles are a lot alike, kind of dour. others made me laugh. I spoke with mason city's lady and said she did when she asked if there was any good news for her. and the bossman's lady as well, as she wanted to be name-checked in the article about me that was published last week. I said not even he was. and there was plenty of banter about my 'ring of honor'. I said there are 94 in it, including the late bill young. and i was trying to count how many i saw there at that event, it was at least 15. it was much like going to a comedy venue to perform, in terms of how many i saw. i was doing that count with brawler, after Louisville (and my fellow Bears fan) was asking me about it. some jokes about how some may not belong, like how i added the puppeteer and her guy but he isn't a comic. but i said he was still part of a notable gig, directing the turkeys sketches. and i said i added chameleon, who is a musician. i was thankful to make it as some of these people i hadn't seen in a while. one of them was an Omaha native. it was hard to ignore who wasn't there of course, that i would have liked to see. i know some had gigs, like international falls. and of course there was the big dog, and i was told he is always invited but hardly ever attends these events. i liked having some yuengling beer, i understand somebody brought a case of it as they had just been out east. it reminded me of being in new York city this august as i drank a can of it there, and brought back the can as a souvenir. along with the narrangansett can from the new York visit the previous year. i brought chili cheese chips, bot all were eaten so i brought them home with me.
   i stayed for a while after i finally got there. i said i would arrive at 6:30pm at the earliest but life happens. i made it just after 7pm. i stayed about 30 minutes later than typical at the office, wanting to get caught up before leaving as i would be out on Friday. i was on my own doing the payoff report as my cohort was taking the day off. it meant the volume was comparable to my share on a Monday, a fairly big volume. it was coupled with plenty of new titles, i did just over half of the 200. and special requests, there was three that i did during the extra half hour.
   i liked how i didn't look at my phone for a while at the event. i look at it to check the time. it means i am having a good time if i am not looking at it. but it was hard to ignore the time when some started leaving later in the evening. i at first was interested in what i understood was trivia on a video game platform, but found out i couldn't play as i still have a flip phone. i did go on home shortly after that, but i did say i was thankful i made it to the hosts of the event. actually i called the bossman 'the moderator' saying he had to be all things to all people. so i understood how it took a while for me to be first on the lsit of people to talk to.  

bodyguard movie

I watched the movie 'bodyguard' on DVD this afternoon, on loan from the library. I liked some of the kevin Costner lines in it, like when he said to whitney Houston 'I am here to keep you alive not help you shop'. sounds like something I would say, being dour. I know it had been parodied on 'the simpsons' and now I understand the references to it better. like how the hit song 'I will always love you' was at the end of the movie. great seeing the special features as well, like how the script was originally written in 1975, for steve McQueen and Diana ross. it was a nice touch to hear two versions of the song in the movie, Whitney's was the one at the end.
   I also drove out to Plymouth and got a ticket for a church basement ladies show, the Christmas show. only day with tickets still available was the final day, the 31st. I am going in the afternoon, wanting to keep the evening available as it is new year's eve.
    I also took some walks, before going to Plymouth and in the evening. it netted 48 cents that went into my change bank. as expected, it helped to try the car wash in the evening.
   I performed tonight, after I called my dad back. he did talk about the dick van dyke episode, colorized, that was in prime time recently. so I did refer to it in my set, along with what he said my grandpa called that actor. some others included the office colleague, the burlesque show, and the movie I just saw along with going to Plymouth.

karaoke commandments

I went to a karaoke bar tonight that was new to me and I heard them evoke the 'commandments'. it was how nobody was allowed to go perform back-to-back, even if it was part of a duet the second time. I liked getting stage time in after the typical show I go to. I sang 'perfect' by pink. I knew it was a song I could sing well with passion. the button told me about the place and I was told she had dome two songs before I got there. I did see her perform an Elton john song. I got a photo of her onstage during an interlude in her song. I was tagged in a facebook photo when a drunk patron wanted to dance with me. I said sometimes drunk people can be fun to be around.
   at the office we had a lunchtime meeting to get to know the new boss, who happens to be the Filipino man. we ordered sandwiches from erbert gerbert. I might have learned a few new things from the meeting, hard to think of what at this point. I did see that he got the photo from the dance marathon by the end of the day, along with my gift to his two kids. I like writing and both got one of my writings. it was saying how I work with their dad and how I was offering my advice.
   I was pleased with how many coins I found while on a walk past a car wash at a gas station tonight. I said 'bumper crop!' a total of one dollar ten cents was put in the change bank. it was 65 pennies, 4 dimes, and one nickel. I did not count the Canadian penny that was included with it. looks like I already have that year penny so it likely means sending it to a wishing well.

parmesan cheese

at the performance venue tonight, I saw a shaker for parmesan cheese so I had some. I guess somebody had some pizza. it went well on the stories I told. it was just move your car, the article, the side to side song by Ariana grande and nicki minaj, the burlesque show, the painters at the office in the breakroom, and a rabbit hole.
   plenty of holiday food everywhere, I had some cake at the office. also had a little cupcake at the comedy club. I said one was enough there.

santa at the show

santa claus and an elf was at the show I performed at tonight. I got a photo of them after the show. they were also in one on the stage that was requested by restaurant management. first time I think I had seen a santa at a show I was in. it went well on doing the one about 15 minutes of fame, in reference to being introduced with mention of the article this week.
   still cold for much of the day. I drove to a gas station to use the ATM and get fuel for the car. also picked up a hash brown and a candy bar, looking like a caramel apple with nuts. then it was off to a date at a coffee shop. it lasted two hours. then I went to Walgreen to handle a photo order. it meant scanning some photos from my time working at the signature group from 1999-2004, seven in all, wanting to use the highest quality ones. I included on the disc two that were of souvenirs, my two plaques and the 'welcome to GE' shirt from 1999. five others were on the disc. one was a snoopy item, one was of d.c. native performing last week. one was a sign of a place I have performed at, one was a ring of honor photo, first add since august. the last was a selfie in a hat.
   

broken blossoms movie

I was at the library this afternoon and I saw some DVDs of interest to me. one was 'broken blossoms', starring Lillian gish. I thought of how an album by the band smashing pumpkins was named 'gish' for her. it was a touching story, but also a sad one. it was about a Chinese man who moved to London, England, and took care of a girl that was being abused by her dad, a boxer.

waterloo, ABBA

I loved attending a burlesque show tonight, and one of the musical numbers was an ABBA song, 'waterloo'. I said 'I get it' as I saw the dancer come out with a napoleon outfit. the video I found on youtube does show a bust of napoleon in it. and this is a metaphor, if I am not mistaken, for a relationship. I had to look at the lyrics more closely. as a history major I loved it! 'at waterloo, napoleon did surrender. I have met my destiny in quite a similar way. the history book on the shelf is always repeating itself.' later on it does allude to a relationship. 'knowing my fate is to be with you, finally facing my waterloo'. and 'feel like I win when I lose'.
    there were good musical numbers all around. one was velma from Scooby-doo, dancing to 'what a feeling' from the movie 'flashdance'. a belly dancer chose 'jingle bells'. another number in the first act was 'hungry eyes'. and another was dressed like a poinsettia plant, and danced to 'nutcracker'. and the companion to 'waterloo' at the end of the first act, was 'take a chance on me' and had 'PAC dancers'- all politicians. the MC was the Melissa joan hart look-alike, and did one number in the second act. she was wearing presents or gift bags, and I didn't quite place the song but it sounded like 'destiny's child' was name-checked and part of it was '12 days of christmas'. I liked the belly dancer choosing 'linus and lucy', the official name of the theme song for Charlie brown and snoopy specials. others I recognized and liked were 'everything I own' by bread, and the weird al yankovic parody of the kinks song 'lola' changed to the star wars character 'yoda'. first time I had heard it. with the bread song the dancer did have a bag of bread ready as a prop, a nice touch. the show closer was a producer, and she did the cher parody that I had seen before, of 'turn back time' and 'got you babe'.
   I spoke with a man at the bar when I arrived to get my beer, and noticed he had a pie. but it wasn't fruit-filled, it was a chicken pot pie. he did watch the show, and I sat at his table. when I spoke of the MC and what she looked like he said it was his lady friend. I found out I have some of the same friends from the comedy circuit as this man. he did follow me on twitter, and I will have to return the favor sometime soon.
   I went to the Chicago hot dog place tonight, the place looked deserted likely due to the snow storm. I looked around at a nearby grocery store after I was done, and bought a box of expired fiber one bars. it was in the discount bin. I took it home along with the star tribune paper I bought at a super-America. then after a few minutes I ventured out again to get to the burlesque show.
   at the office the Filipino man did move his work station over to my department in the afternoon, as he is becoming the manager as of Monday. we did speak some about my interests on visiting his native land, and it sounds like I need to narrow down what time of year to go. he said do not go in the warmer months where I would have to shower 3 times a day.

signature group

my former boss and mentor added me to a facebook group. it is those who had worked for the signature group. this is where I worked when I was living in suburban Chicago. the office was in Schaumburg, near woodfield mall. I was there for nearly five years, and moved to Minnesota after I was laid off. looking at the group list there were many memories that flooded back for me. I did say I would have to see what pictures I had, and it meant finding out what albums they are in. there are some, but as expected not group pictures. I was a loner then, and I still am. so it was usually just me or one other person with me in the pictures. in my 'thank you for the add' posting I said it reminded me of how I haven't heard from one co-worker in a while, tanika. I was pleased with what I found, as one of them was me with a TV I won for signing up club memberships. still have it still use it, more than a decade later. and another was a diversity quilt. my patch on it was the iowa hawkeyes logo, and the Canadian flag was the one representing my former boss and mentor. she was born in montreal. there was mention of some in the postings, people that hadn't been heard from in a while. the response often was that those people hate social media.
   did I make the most of my day off? depends on who you ask. I know I stayed in for a while. I wanted to respond to some of the things on facebook and twitter related to the article that was about me and performing. I also shared the article in case some of the people on my 'friends list' hadn't seen it yet. great to see all of the recognition I am getting from friends about it. when I shared it I referred to the kim basinger acceptance speech for the Oscar for 'LA confidential'. she said she wanted to 'thank everyone she has ever met in her entire life'. but she did say more, according to the video I found on youtube. I did tag ten people in my comment on the share, people who had been name-checked in the article. all of them were people I had been given valuable stage time, or had shared the stage with. I said I even have at least one hater, which means I must be doing something right. at least that is what rap music keeps telling us, or even the taylor swift song  'shake it off'.
   I think I learned a valuable lesson today. I know my dad said he didn't want to just eat oatmeal on top of the microwave oven, something I usually do. well today I tried taking it to my table that the laptop is on, and balanced it on top of my coffee mug that had orange juice in it. I ended up eating none of the oatmeal as it all spilled out, but the bowl didn't break. as the saying goes, 'no use crying over spilled milk'. so I just told myself to clean it up and I was stuck with eating something else for breakfast. I will try not to forget how disappointed I was in myself and how foolish it was.
   at about 1:30 in the afternoon I laid down and figured I wouldn't be asleep for long, but I awoke about 3 hours later. by then I said I at least wanted to get to the post office before it closed at 5pm. I did, and just one item was waiting. it was the two state quarters from this year that I didn't have yet. so I put them in the collector map I have. I had planned on doing more, like printing things at the library, but that will have to wait until the weekend. I also decided to check to see if I had a book about Madison square garden before ordering it online, and I did. thankful I checked. so I read through it. this is the one about 125 years, published in 2004.
   in the evening I did watch 2 'big bang theory' episodes. syndicated rerun was when Sheldon's twin  sister visited and his 3 friends were all hitting on her. prime time episode was when Bernadette had her baby, and it was on amy Farrah fowler's birthday. I eventually took a walk around the neighborhood, but it was shorter than what I typically take as it is cold out there, sub-zero. I did go return some carts to the grocery store. and I wrote 'please forward' on a bank statement not for me and put it back in the mail. I also found some coins, and 24 cents was put in my change bank. so it looks like I will have slightly more to turn in at the bank this weekend than the last time, 2 months ago. guess it helps to pay attention wherever I go.

growler magazine

around midday I checked my facebook account and there was mention of how an article about me and performing was published in growler magazine. I did this interview back in march and I asked about it only once since then, when the interviewer wrote about himself. I didn't recognize all of the photos at first. there was three. one was from my 'ring of honor', the other two appear to be from my sets that are found on youtube. although one of them was credit to another comic's facebook page, Nebraska. there was six shares already, and I liked and commented on each one as I recall. I said I was flattered that somebody wanted to interview me about performing. the response was 'Me?' as I was surprised, as opposed to 'Me!' when I am picked for coveted stage time slots. it was shared on twitter as well, and I re-tweeted when I saw it there. most people loved the article, but there was one hater. and I said I must be doing something right if I have haters. I found my 'work spouse' first and said 'you!' figuring it was appropriate on who would hear about it first at the office. then it was my boss, and the Filipino man, who were sent a link to the article.
   tonight I did go perform, even though it is really cold out there. first time I ventured out was to pick up a package from a UPS store in my neighborhood. it was a 2-item order, but only one was sent as the other is still listed as being on back-order. it went fine performing, I was on near the end. I did ones about snow stories, last week's appointment, pizza at the office, move your car, and the movie 'girl, interrupted'. I also made mention of the article that was just published. I am hopeful that it leads to more gigs of course.

just move your car

I was wanting to get into a parking lot tonight that was near the performance venue and saw a car with its hazard lights on, nobody in it, blocking the way. after a few minutes of waiting, I went inside the restaurant and said that 2 cars were waiting to get into the lot. and the man had an empty pizza carrier in his hand and said he was an uber driver. I was thinking to myself that I was hoping he would just move his car, didn't need to hear his story. there was just one car waiting by the time I got out, mine. there was a buick behind me that was honking and I guess they gave up and parked somewhere else.
    this was a day off from work for me, using up days before year-end. but I still went into the office at midday, for about an hour. there was 5-minute chair massages, and after that I got some water and went to the pizza party for the advisory board I am on. it was from pizza luce, and I had the sausage and pepperoni. I did take some home as well, and was thankful that they let me use one of the boxes as this made it easier to take it on the bus. I did say I liked having the regular gig now doing a how-to article for the newsletter. I even quoted a song when referring to it, 'me myself and I'. 'everyone knows this lifestyle is dangerous, but I love it the rush is amazing'. I was referring to how I feel the same way about writing as I do about performing. it might be challenging, but I enjoy it.
   since I had the time, I watched 3 movies on DVD. the first one was before going to the office, it was 'romy and michele'. then when I got back it was 'she's all that', followed by 'girl, interrupted'. all of these were recent orders from amazon. the first two were replacing VHS copies. and the first two I do recall seeing at the theater. 'romy' was when I lived in west des moines, and 'all that' was when I lived in suburban Chicago. hard to say when I will place another amazon order, I do have on unused gift card code that was just awarded last month. looks like I was given more gift card money due to being on the advisory board, so there will be more I can put towards amazon from there.
    it went fine performing tonight, I did ones about the three mistakes one match made, going into the office today, just move your car, and fine by me about the office colleague. the first one I did was in reference to the MC's set, the tall guy who said he looked like a 40's basketball player. he saw a shiner beer sign at the venue, and I wanted to satisfy my curiosity and asked the bartender if it was on tap currently, and it wasn't. I then said it might be hard to take beer signs down, I know the signs can be worth a lot of money as well.

trailer park christmas musical

I performed tonight, and I saw at the venue some postcards advertising a show there. it is called 'the great American trailer park Christmas musical'. also found a program there. it is called a sequel to 'the great American trailer park musical, and says the gang is back from armadillo acres. there is a disclaimer saying it is intended for mature audiences only. on one side of the card it looks like a parody of the Charlie brown tree. one character is named 'linoleum'.
   it went fine performing, I did better when doing my latest taco bell joke. I had multiple stories about the snow and winter weather. some were from a while back, like in college, or about mowing down a stop sign many years ago. there was one about my appointment last week, and a big purge of facebook pages I like.
   I was just in time to catch the morning bus after moving my car for the snow ordinance. and in the evening I rode with the attorney. she said many of her sick days are used when her kids are sick. and she spoke of how the kids were left with the grandparents a little longer due to the snowstorm, though it meant being late for their Christmas pageant. I saw the Filipino man when I was on my way to get the bus and asked 'what are you doing here?' I was surprised to find out he was back in the office, I figured he wasn't due back just yet. I said I was aware how he started  a new role next week.
    also at the office, it was the first day back after having Friday off. and I found some reasons to go in on Tuesday though I have that day off as well. there are 5-minute chair massages, and an advisory board I am on is having a pizza party. so I was careful about how I scheduled one of those, so they would be around the same time, didn't want to wait too long between the two. naturally the pizza has a long enough allotment, an hour. it was a typical Monday, busy with the payoff report. I showed my cohort the postcards I bought from a convenience store in the skyway. there were seven. two were about elvis Presley, one of those was a parody of the painting 'American gothic'. then there's 'custer's first stand', 'barky bark' ( a parody of the musician, marky mark), a recyclable condom, 'get over it', and 'they drive different here'. it depicts bumper cars. I like the art on postcards, and I like how they are cheap as well, three for a dollar. I had bought some from there before.

scars to your beautiful, alessia cara

a song I have been hearing quite a but lately is called 'scars to your beautiful' by alessia cara. the video shows various people, sharing their stories. this does make the song longer by a minute and a half. but as we all know, I like seeing people get interviewed. the song is mainly aimed at women, but I think some men will find inspiration in it as well. there are so many brilliant lyrics in it. 'she tries to cover up her pain and cut her woes away'. but the part I liked was the hook, 'you should you're beautiful just the way you are. and you don't have to change a thing, the world could change its heart'. and much like in no doubt's 'just a girl', I like how they turn something around. in that song it was 'lucky me', in alessia's song it is 'no scars to your beautiful, we're stars and we're beautiful'. and of course when pain is mentioned again, 'she says beauty is pain and there's beauty in everything'. and then there's proof of the social commentary that the song is, and I do like those who are willing to have social commentary in their art. 'let me be your mirror, help you see a little bit clearer, the light that shines within'.
   I had to pause the video so I could have more time to read the 'disclaimer' at the end. it was a personal message signed by alessia. 'oftentimes, the world both directly and indirectly tells us that we shouldn't be happy with ourselves if we don't fir certain beauty standards. 'scars to your beautiful' is a reminder that beauty isn't only one look, shape, size, or color. it isn't even always tangible. it comes in an endless amount of forms and we need to recognize that. this is the feeling I got from listening to the song, but I still like the added message. I know it isn't the first time I have written about alessia's songs, as I have also liked 'here', about how she doesn't like parties.
    I stayed in for a while today due to the snow. I did have to venture out to do my laundry, but I still waited as long as I could to dig out my car. I didn't do this until early evening, to pick up a photo order at Walgreen and then it was on to an open-mic to perform at. first time at this venue, I wanted to fill a void left by the 'donut party' being paused for a month. it served Mexican food, I hadn't eaten much after having oatmeal for breakfast so I did get a burrito, enchilada style, and some tecate beer. it went fine performing, I did two taco bell jokes. I led off with a reference to looking a little careless when wanting to finish my can of beer before taking the stage. others were about my snow shovel, taking a grocery store cart through the snow, chopping facebook pages, and ice cream at mcdonald's.
    after the show I did add plenty of photos to facebook. some of them already have likes to them. I created a new album, called 'new York/new jersey', as some were from my visit to new York in august. as usual, not all scanned onto the CD were added, as I wanted to stress quality. and I looked at the ones added previously. some were deleted for this same reason, wanting quality.
   

east caribbean states

recently I found a coin that said 'east Caribbean states' on it. I didn't notice the difference at first as it was the same size as an American quarter. I think the tip-off was seeing an image of the queen on it. but this wasn't a Canadian coin, it looks different in multiple ways. for one thing, it says 'queen Elizabeth the second' instead of 'Elizabeth II'. there is a ship on the other side of the coin, and it was made in 2000. I did look it up online and it was an eye-opener to me. this organization was founded in 1981, and has 10 member states, mostly former british colonies. this does include grenada, one guess of mine. but also the british virgin islands. it will go into my coin album. I don't mind getting it as change, even though others might.
   another coin I found was actually a transit token, but I hadn't seen anything like it before. in the middle it depicts a train on one side and a bus on the other. then it says 'Minneapolis st. paul' on the train side and 'valid for one base fare' on the bus side. I will like having it as a souvenir as well.
   having breakfast with a friend was a no-go, due to illness on the friend's part. so I did what I often do, and that was having an egg mcmuffin at mcdonald's. I also picked up another book from the post office, I guessed it was there as amazon said it was delivered. and I did two online transactions. oen was renewing my membership in the American historical association. the other was ordering some bowl game items from the iowa hawk shop. eventually I did get on the road to do other things. one of those was to order some prints on photos at Walgreen. I hadn't done that or get a CD of photos to upload to facebook since august, just a few days after the fringe festival ended. some were scanned onto a zip drive, and had been added to that device back in October.
    I went to the comedy club tonight, since I wanted to see the d.c. native perform. I did, but was also pleased that I performed as well, they got me a guest set. it also became a paid gig, and after the show I said to the button, who was running the sound booth, how I keep all of my earnings at the office. I liked how the set went well. I admitted that I was working without a safety net as I didn't write down any notes before it. but as I have said before, I have been at it for a while. if I don't know how to fill in 5 minutes of stage time, then something is wrong. the MC I had seen at 10k laughs festival, based in des moines, iowa, but originally from Louisiana. it did make me think of living in west des moines for a year and a half after college in iowa city. so that was my first joke, and the importance of the movie 'good will hunting' was covered as well. i spoke of doing a horse drawn carriage ride, and liking egg nog. and how it means something to hear 'I love you'. and having pizza in new York, something I had discussed with the headliner before the show. I got a drink ticket and used it, so it was a night of 2 glasses of grain belt beer. most of the time I do just one beer. I decided to take it easy on the driving to and from the venue, due to the snow. and I liked watching some Christmas specials tonight on CBS, first 'rudolph' and then two versions of 'frosty the snowman'. the original, and then one that was sort of a sequel. I didn't like 'frosty returns' much as I saw it as a rip-off of some ideas from 'Charlie brown and snoopy'. since one character is called Charles and some of them looked like characters from the comic strip.

orphan train play

tonight I went to the history theater in downtown st. paul and saw the play 'orphan train'. I tend to get to this venue annually. I am not sure if I learned anything from the play, but I was interested in the concept of sending orphans to the Midwest. I know I didn't like one of the characters at all, it was Aloysius, but as I would expect my dad to say, you're not supposed to like him. the display in the lobby said the story took place in 1889. it looks like, based on another display, that it had been done by this theater before, in 1997. a fog machine was used in both acts, I had a hard time seeing some of the stage at first since I was close to the stage, at the edge of it. I wasted no time leaving my seat during the intermission as I needed to get to the bathroom. I was pleased to find two quarters left behind in the change chute in the vending machines.
   this was a day off for me, using up days before year-end. I spent much of the morning wanting to continue with the purge I was doing of pages I like on my facebook profile. I got it down to under 300 pages, after starting the week at a thousand. I wanted to stress quality, and it meant paring the list of Huguenot pages I liked from 14 down to 4. I guess I under-estimated how much things could pile up over more than 7 years of social media activity. I had already done this with my friends list this year, cutting more than 100 people there.
     eventually I knew I needed to get going, and it meant going to the post office to see what was waiting there. but the line was long so I went back after my appointment with a physician. it was my first in more than 2 years, and with a different one this time. wasn't thrilled about having to put on a gown of course, or doing two blood draws, one in each arm. I went back to the post office after the appointment. one the first visit there was two items in my box, a postcard for me and a letter not for me. I wrote 'return to sender' on the letter. surprised a little how I am still getting letters not addressed to me when I have had the box for 2 years now. much like he others, I took a picture of it before putting it back in the mail. it was something about a limousine company. there was one book that I picked up, it was an amazon order. I was surprised that it was only one was I expected two, and when I checked amazon it said both were delivered. so I have a reason to go back the next day and ask about the other one.
  and there was another problem with logging on to my laptop. so I called geek squad again and they helped, but said it was a problem for most anyone. and if it happens again I would need to call my internet provider for help since it is a provider problem.

my next how-to article

I submitted another how-to article at the workplace this afternoon. I really like doing them, helping out others in our weekly newsletter and I end up learning something as well when researching before writing it. naturally I knew I had to find something with wide appeal to the floor. I was at a loss for ideas and kind of wasn't ready for my turn again even though it is just once a month. so I went to my boss and he gave me an idea. the first one was about how to schedule a conference room. I did stay a little past my normal leave time to see that it was done right. but this is typical for what I do when I have the next day off. I was wanting to get through so many things in the afternoon after having some meetings in the morning. this included one being moved to tell us who our new boss will be, and it is the Filipino man. he was just at the holiday dinner the previous day. he has been taking some time off since he just became a father for the second time. the other meeting was about the holiday party, since I was on the committee. as usual they had a hard time sticking to the allotted time, since much of the discussion early on is about the budget. the other things I wanted to get done in the afternoon, besides the article, included finishing up two online classes and perfecting some new titles.
    in the evening I went to a holiday party at the historic street car station at como park in st. paul. it was with one of the organizations I had joined. I had seen this place before, and liked getting some photos of the displays on the wall that spoke of its history. naturally I liked reading about the part known as the 'WPA era', as my favorite era of history to study is the great depression era of the 1930s. since one part of it was 'alphabet agencies' like this one that helped with infrastructure.
    I also finally called the geek squad through best buy about a problem with my laptop. I was asked to type in some commands and it seemed fine again. I said when I got in that I was at the 'where to next?' page and the first image and article was about the death of  the astronaut and politician, john glenn. a feature on the local news, WCCO, spoke of how a school in Maplewood was named for him after he made headlines for orbiting the earth.

deviled eggs, potatoes

at the holiday party at the office at midday, I really liked the deviled eggs. they were more fancy than what I was used to at church potlucks when I was a kid. the potatoes were good too, a caterer brought some over to me as I was bummed that they were taking the pan away as they were going to get a more full pan apparently. I did get photos with some colleagues, one of them is a big Vikings fan. another was a history instructor, and he has helped me out greatly with that subject. most recently it was telling me about a facebook group with a history theme.
   I am thankful I made it to work on time as I woke up late, but I was aided by having mostly green lights on the way to work, and finding a parking spot close to the entrance.
   and of course there will be some performing tonight.

super patient award

tonight I took a walk after I was done performing. it meant going past a gas station. it was a bumper crop for finding coins, near the gas pumps and the car wash. though one I found wasn't legal tender. it said 'super patient award' and had a smiley face on it. on the back is lines going to or from the center. seems kind of odd to be the one that gets this coin, when I am not known for my patience. naturally most of the coins I found were pennies. I had nearly 20 of them that went into my change bank. two did not, I noticed they were better sent to my coin collection. one was an American wheat ear penny from 1948, the other was a Canadian penny from 1988. I didn't have that year yet.
   it was fairly bust at the office as my cohort was out. but it was no big deal covering the payoff report and new titles, along with helping with decorating for the holiday party on Wednesday. I still made it out on time as I knew the barcodes and copies from the titles could wait until the next day. I saw the attorney when riding the bus home. I spoke of being an extra over the weekend. she said it would be the first Christmas that her son will likely recall, as he is 3 or 4.
   my set tonight included starting off with a call-back to the MC, I think this would be soap opera, making mention of growing up Presbyterian. so did I. others included another taco bell joke, and trying to keep myself busy while decorating. 

molly shannon, rewind girl

I went to do karaoke tonight and I was trying to figure out what movie that had molly Shannon as the 'rewind girl'. it was apparently 'superstar', based on her 'Saturday night live' character, the catholic school girl. another patron found out on his smart phone. I did like performing two songs tonight. it was 'closer to fine' by the indigo girls, and 'ode to my family' by the cranberries. I spoke of the meaning behind both to me. with the former it was hearing it when I was moving to Minnesota over a decade ago. with the latter it was a song I played often after my grandma died 8 years ago.
   it was a busy day of work, doing the payoff report and some new titles. looked like my 'cohort' was out for part of the day and then later returned. another notable thing I am doing is a big purge on facebook, liking fewer pages. I have chopped well over a hundred pages in the past two days, it has helped unclog my pages feed a little.

spirit of st. louis movie

I watched the movie 'spirit of st. louis' on DVD around midday, on loan from the library. it starred jimmy stewart as Charles Lindbergh. much of his life story was told in flashback during the famous flight from new York to paris. I was familiar with much of it as I have toured the boyhood home in little falls, MN, twice. I liked how it included mention of those who weren't interested in being a part of it, and those who tried before him and died in the process. these stories needed to be told as well. I laughed when he spoke with a fly that was in the cockpit. it did remind me of other films starring jimmy stewart, such as 'liberty valance'. I also watched the special features that were included, one was a comedy short about a housewife that wanted a job and ended up replacing her husband. another was a cartoon short with speedy Gonzales, and there was a disclaimer before it about how there were stereotypes in it. and there was footage of the premiere, as well as the theatrical trailer. I know it was based on a book written by Lindbergh, but I haven't read it yet.
    I did go to the performance venue in the afternoon after watching the movie and I did speak of it there in my set. others were about jokes at the airport, heavy metal concert, burned hair, seeing a flirt, and my family. I returned the movie to the library after the show and I got annoyed dealing with a man who was holding up traffic in the return lane.
   after I watched 'the simpsons' I did take a walk around the neighborhood. the first stop was taking a Canadian penny from 1978 to a fast food place where it became a charitable contribution. already had one from that year. it was from coins I found earlier in the day. then it was picking up trash and finding more coins. I picked up 13 cents, all pennies. no surprise how I found nearly half of it at the car wash. eventually I will go turn in the change at the bank, when the card is full, this will likely be in the next week or two.

tv show extra

I loved being a TV show extra this afternoon. I heard about it on facebook from auto-correct and it was at the fitzgerald theater in downtown st. paul. I did have to step out to move my car, but aside from those 10 minutes I was there for nearly 5 hours. it was great to meet the stars of the show as well, and get a picture with them. tetris was there with his lady as well, but otherwise I didn't know who all was there. I did speak up to the producer saying he asked for snacks and the producer helped with that. tetris saw how I had some trail mix and I said there probably is more. we got bottled water before the trail mix. I liked getting the 'how right I was' feeling during one break near the end, in fact it was when I was eating the snack. I recall thinking 'minnesota' right before then. not the first time I got this feeling this weekend, as I felt it at the end of twin cities live on Friday when the musical guest was performing. I do my best to keep track of these 'self-validating moments'. I had been through filming segments before, and it was not much different. there was plenty of waiting around. but as usual, I liked seeing things behind the scenes and being a part of something. I think of it as stage time.
    before getting to the theater I went to shoreview for the used book sale that was happening as the library is moving. I got 6 books and 2 CD cases, just three dollars total. one was about minor league baseball, I will like having it. another was written by john f kennedy, about great Britain before world war two.
   tonight I went to a comedy show in Minneapolis, and I knew many of the performers. perkins was show closer. I spoke of being in the entourage of my friends after the show, my way of saying I wanted to be introduced.

goalie got dumped

tonight I went to Mariucci arena and saw the Minnesota gopher hockey game against ohio state. I saw a rare thing, a goalie got dumped. around the 5-minute mark in the 2nd period, ohio state replaced their goalie as they were trailing 4-1. my seat was near one of the goalie nets. I arrived after the game had started, and entered from a different way than before, at the back of the arena. there was two ways up to the action, one for the students and the other the public. I quickly went over to my seat and before I got sat down, ohio state went up 1-0, just before the midway point of the 1st period. I hate arriving late and I am trying to think why that happened. one would think that allowing an hour to get to the arena would be enough. even though I ate before getting there, I wasn't at bobby and steve's long. I went there to get a little godfather's pizza.
   this was the only time that the gophers trailed, as they were ahead 2-1 by the end of the period. the second goal was in the final minute. then they scored two more early in the second, and right after the 4th goal was when ohio state dumped their goalie. ohio state did get 2 goals near the end of the 2nd to make it 4-3, but Minnesota tacked on another one just past the midway point of the 3rd. that ended the scoring, as Minnesota won 5-3. I learned something while there, surprised me a little when I look around as much as I can while there at least annually. I looked at the Olympic exhibit more closely and it said herb brooks did play on the Olympic team, in 1964 and 1968. but the only talk in what has been written about the 'miracle on ice' team that he coached in 1980 was that he was cut from the 1960 team. guess it sounds more dramatic to point this out, much like Michael Jordan being cut from his high school basketball team. when in reality, he still played that year, just not on the varsity team.
   this was a day of events, as I was also in the studio audience for twin cities live. I like doing this event annually as well. I saw a fellow comic as I was on my way in, I think she is called locks of love. she does work in radio. the food for the audience was from rock bottom brewery, I haven't been there yet. one of the hosts caused a firestorm of debate when he said he didn't like the movie 'it's a wonderful life' on the previous day's show. when this was covered again during this edition I said 'shots fired'. I had seen this term on facebook and it sounds cool. I did look up the definition on urban dictionary and it is in reference to somebody being disrespected.
  in the morning I watched my VHS copy of the movie 'breakfast club', I hadn't seen it in a while. I may end up replacing it with a DVD copy from amazon, but I already have some other movies on order from there. and it would be a good idea to watch those before ordering more. I had seen it many times before, but one thing made more sense to me now. it was when bender fell through the false ceiling. this was after he was put in solitary as he was causing trouble in the gym. then I printed some things at the library and picked up a DVD there. after twin cities live I found a physician office and I made an appointment for a week from now. it will be my first in over two years. I decided to shop for another one as I don't think the one I had truly had my best interests at heart. now the other thing would be to find another dentist, something I may be able to do when I return to the office on Monday. there are two dentist offices I have seen in the skyway.

lean on, major lazer, dj snake, mo

I performed a guest set at the comedy club tonight. although, maybe as expected, I wanted to pay attention to the music I was hearing in the bar area after the show. as I knew a certain song would help me remember the night well. I was hearing 'focus, fire gun, need someone to lean on'. this was enough to look it up when I got home. found out it was 'lean on' by major lazer, DJ snake, and MO.
  the video takes place in various dance sequences, on a painted up bus, in a small pool or hot tub that had plenty of flower petals in it, and in a fancy carpeted room. as expected, since I am writing about it I thought it was a pretty catchy song. the Wikipedia article said it was a collaboration of three performers. an American electronic music group (Major Lazer), a French producer (DJ Snake) and a Danish singer (MO). actually there is a line through the 'O' but I can't find such a choice on my keyboard. I will have to admit that it was hard to listen to the lyrics the first time I found it on youtube. the video is very well-done, so I was looking at the dancing a lot. and the music itself was good too, hard to ignore the 'interlude' especially. it was 'eeh-oh', sounded like a weird laugh. but I did search for the lyrics before listening again, and it made more sense to me. as well all know, I respond, most of the time, to the words more than anything else. this I guess is natural when I enjoy writing a lot. I really liked lyrics such as 'all we did was care for each other', 'we would only hold on to let go', and then some consecutive ones. 'what will we do when we get old? will we walk down the same road? will you be there by my side?' profound! so, like many songs, it is about relationships. and even though it was, and should be, about enjoying the moment, it is also about wondering what the future holds, and being a little insecure about it. so it is relatable to many.
   I was amazed at what I was reading about this song on the entry. it is a fairly recent song, from 2015. it is from the 'peace is the mission' album. and with the scenery in the video, no surprise how it says it was filmed in india. but also how it is in the 'one billion club' on youtube, this is a stat I noticed on my own. it is the 9th most viewed video on that site. and yes, as expected the search for lyrics meant it was hard to hear them correctly when at the club. it is actually 'blow a kiss' instead of 'focus'. I like how what I write down for key lyrics is usually close enough.
   well I should probably write some about actually performing. I did ones about johnny cash, egg nog, internet dating, smile and laugh more, and going to a heavy metal concert with a date 7 years ago. no surprise how I spoke of music some in my set, hard not to when I have said before about some songs inspire me, some motivate me, some empower me. mention was made of sia's 'alive' song, as well as Eminem's song about his mentor, dr. dre, 'need a doctor'. the latter one led to a shout-out to those I shared the stage with tonight that gave me some great opportunities, big dog being one of them, he was MC, the other of course was the headliner, who is originally from Canada but now lives in the los angeles area. I did remember to bring my video camera with me and film it, though I left it in the back kind of early so some of the MC's set is on it. I liked how the headliner said normally he wouldn't arrive as early as he did, but he wanted to see my set. I know he has said it before, but it still makes me feel good. it tells me this is more evidence that performing is a part of me, it is where I belong. I would have liked seeing more of the feature performer's set but I wanted to visit with the headliner, who I don't see that often. he asked me how I was doing, I said it was hard to think of what to say about some things in my life like my office job. I sometimes talk about it in my sets, but not in this one. I guess there are more fun things to talk about than my line of work. I did say it has been a good year for me in terms if performing, picking up some notable gigs along the way. he said he does read my facebook postings but usually doesn't like or comment on them. only when he is worried he will, but I guess he isn't worried much then.
   I know one reason why we visited then was that I like going out to a more quiet, and well-lit, area to check my notes to see how much I got to on my list. I feel good when I get to most things on it, I got to all but one tonight. better to have too much than not enough. and I said how I got better at it, and enjoy performing more, the more I put myself onstage. and this year I have stepped up my game, he was impressed with how it is most of the time I am performing somewhere 4 nights a week. he said the crowd notices if the performer is enjoying it, how true. I laughed a lot tonight, so it proves that I also enjoy seeing my friends perform. headliner is a 'guilty pleasure' of mine, he can get me to laugh at things that I didn't think I would laugh at. I had heard some of the jokes before, but they are still funny to me. he did speak of mr. trump every so often. and he does the crowd work well, I think he spoke with everyone in the crowd, even the servers, and even me. he did share one joke that I thought of while we were at the bar area, about a foolish stunt I did while in college. it was inspired by seeing a rerun of a basketball game from many years ago, and I spoke of what I was doing then.
   big dog, the MC, did ask me to take notes of his set. at first was I not planning on doing so. I did recall his first set, before me. I took notes right away during his second one, before he brought out the headliner. he did ones about hard core porn, his wife, wet chips, and morning hooker. then there was hook for a hand, and heroin addict. I did say before how the last one, heroin addict, was one I couldn't laugh at for a while. and it think it bothered him some. but I do laugh at it more than I did, as the heroin may not be funny but the stories surrounding it, the family reactions, are. he was good as usual, I think I had heard most or all of these jokes before but I still like them. nothing with doing what works. oh, and it does remind me how I did start off my set with how we were once called 'besties' and I had to change that. then I made it a 'big bang theory' reference since amy Farrah fowler speaks of 'besties'.  I did say how it would be great to share the stage with big dog again sometime soon, even on his podcast which it sounds like started recently. big dog did speak of the late gus lynch, who passed nearly 2 years ago. gus had worked with the headliner on  a movie. laundry was feature performer, I did see the end of his set where he spoke of one of his kids. I arrived before any of the other performers did, 30 minutes prior. laundry was the first to arrive after me. I have the understanding of how it is a good idea to arrive this early as I hate to disappoint people. because of it, I ordered more than just beer, as I hadn't eaten yet. I got a sandwich and fries. I liked getting some souvenirs to add to my comedy binders. the headliner had a postcard, and he also gave me a complimentary ticket. and I claimed a promo card from the club which has the headliners for the month on it.
    and yes, there was a day at work before all of this happened. it started off in a way that I didn't enjoy much, as I woke up late and had to take a later bus but I was still on time to work. I was on my own doing the payoff report and new titles, as my cohort was out. I had a meeting to attend in the afternoon as well, about planning for the holiday party next week. thankful that it stayed closer to the allotted time compared to other meetings, but it still ran over by 5 minutes. as expected, since I have the next day off, I stayed a little after 5pm. I wanted to get loose ends tied up, and part of it is having the 'out of office' messages up. it meant I wasn't home for long after getting off the bus in the evening, less than an hour, as I got back around 6pm. but it didn't take all that long go through emails and pick up the postal mail as well. more proof of how I live the 'manic life of a comedian', but I don't think I would have it any other way. when I was driving home from the club I listened to the ending of the Vikings- Cowboys game. Vikings scored a late TD but came up short on the 2-point play, and lost 17-15.

accidental inventions

tonight at the comedy club I heard a comic try to do a joke about inventions discovered by accident. except he didn't do it well at all. so when I went onstage I started off by answering his joke, saying there were many inventions discovered by accident like the x-ray. so it is really not a big deal. the set went well, part of it was about what I did for thanksgiving. and egg nog. and asking a friend for advice. then when the show was over I went to another venue to perform. and I made more references to various songs at the second venue. liked how some liked hearing how listening to heavy metal music one time at a long concert gave me the healthy 'I don't care' attitude that I needed and was lacking for too long.
   I met with my boss in the afternoon for my performance evaluation. at first I was unnerved to hear he wanted to meet with me, through i.m., as I wondered what I had done wrong. but it went fine and I said I wanted to go on record about what qualities I want in the new boss since he got promoted. I don't want to work for a micro-manager. it was hard to stay occupied at work since there wasn't much on the payoff report, due to the holiday as it is typically on a one-week delay. I did help with hanging some holiday decorations, some garland and bulbs. and another vacation day off has been requested for the final month of the calendar year.

whatever, godsmack

recently I recall fargo Moorhead quote a song I was kind of familiar with when he heard my standard line 'doing the best I can'. I knew the next line was 'now go away'. it was 'whatever' by godsmack. the video I found on youtube takes place at a live performance. there are times where heavy metal songs like this one really works for me. so many good lines in it, like 'I don't like you anyway'. or 'you're pathetic, in your own way'. and besides 'the best I can' I also like how they follow it with 'the best I ever did'. this band, according to Wikipedia, is from Lawrence, MA, and the map states this is north of Boston.
   tonight I was at the performance venue, and the fancy comic showed up later on and was show closer. I did ones about thanksgiving dinner and walk, facebook arguments, annoying people at work, seeing 'napoleon dynamite', a call from a dental office, and an emergency drill.
   at the office my 'cohort' was out, taking a day off, so I had to cover the payoff report by myself. no big deal, makes the day go faster.
    on facebook it looks like there is already some activity from joining groups related to an interest in visiting the Philippines. I will have to let my colleague know about this as he has already said he is willing to help me with understanding the culture and customs of his native land.

tony danza shows

tonight I went on at the comedy club. I also liked getting shout-outs from two other comics, university accountant and tetris. with the former, she did a joke about tony danza jokes that I laughed at, which led to the shout-out. of course this was 'who's the boss' and 'taxi'. and a reference to some music group where part of their name is his. it did remind me of when I saw 'the simpsons' play at the Guthrie and another attendee said she wanted to see it as she liked 'cape fear'. except it wasn't that much about it, just inspired by the episode that was a parody of the movie.
  it went well performing tonight. I did ones about egg nog, my thanksgiving day, seeing 'napoleon dynamite', and a match from internet dating saying she was 'taking a break'. before the show I used my 'doing the best I can' line and fargo Moorhead spoke of a song that I was familiar with, I knew the next line was 'now go away'. it is 'whatever' by godsmack. I then spoke of an alice in chains song as a musical number at a burlesque show.
   as expected, hard to go back to work after 4 days off. but I found a way through. notable was getting another emerson hough item ordered, it was a flyer advertising the movie 'man next door' at an opera house. I knew this was one of his books, but it was hard to find how it also became a movie. this happened a lot in the silent era, sketchy records. but there was a listing for it on IMDB, and according to what I found, it was released in may 1923. this was a month after his death. this means it was the same year as 'covered wagon' which was a best-selling book and popular movie. for 'door' I will have evidence that it was based on his book, and much like 'ship of souls' there would be enough reason to update IMDB to list Hough as the writer.  also notable was getting a letter to the editor published in my hometown of newton, iowa. it was given a title of 'lessons learned in newton'. it was shelved for nearly a year but of course I finally re-submitted it over the long weekend.

napoleon dynamite movie

I saw the movie 'napoleon dynamite' this morning, it was on loan from the library. some might wonder 'what took me so long?' but it has been a while since I was a teenager. I did make it a facebook posting and there was 15 likes to it. I am thankful I finally saw it, even though it isn't my favorite teen movie. the scene where the main character is dancing while wearing the 'vote for pedro' shirt makes more sense to me now. I think this was the only scene that I was aware of previously. I thought the 'slap fight' was funny. I got annoyed when there were depictions of nerds getting beat up by bullies. this was where I said that this movie reminded me of many things that I do NOT miss about high school. I had a hard time liking the uncle, who lived in the past. I have met a few people like him already in my life, sadly. it is weird, it is quirky, but enough of it works. when I was thinking of comparisons to other teen movies I had seen, I was often going back to 'she's all that'. I think because both had an election in it.
   I liked getting some other things done today. this included placing another order with amazon. it was three items this time, a Michael moore book and 2 movies on DVD. I had to check and it was one of his books that I didn't have yet, and I already have three. the 2 movies would be replacing VHS copies. and no, I am still trying to figure out what to do with 'hype!' I ordered 'she's all that' and 'romy and michele'. as usual, I liked using a gift card code which meant the final total was around three dollars. another one where I could replace the VHS copy would be 'breakfast club'.
    I did make it to the performance venue in the afternoon. I did ones about egg nog, burlesque, bowling and zoo walking, the aforementioned 'napoleon dynamite', my hat, and finally responding to a facebook message. in the evening before watching 'the simpsons' I got a hot dog and chips at a super-America. the clerk had braces, and since I had them I usually will ask about them. she said she got them a month ago and would have them for 18 months, and eventually they would break her jaw. this doesn't sound good at all to me, they didn't have to do that to me. 'the simpsons' was a rerun, where marge went to jail and wanted to stay in longer. after it I still went on a walk, but not the typical route as it was raining. I probably stayed out there longer than I should have, but I liked staying active and I found ten carts to return to the grocery store. I also finally checked my mailbox, from the previous day. nothing special in it, non-profits that wanted my money. and a catalog from Gettysburg. I am saving one page from it as it was funny to see shirts for sale with Lincoln wearing sunglasses saying 'that's so 4-score and 7 years ago'. in reference to his speech there.

loving movie

tonight I went to see the movie called 'loving' at the Edina theater. I liked reading about it in the paper, so I told myself to do my best to see it soon. it is based on the true story of what became a landmark supreme court case about interracial marriage, known as 'loving v. virginia'. it did show many of the things that the couple was up against to be given their rights. it let me feeling proud to be an ACLU member as they helped with the case. since I am a performance artist of course I believe in free speech. there were some things in this movie that I noticed, probably more than others did. when I saw dinner plates being washed, I said the pattern on them reminded me of some that I own. and when I saw a wringer washing machine in the background, I wondered if it was a maytag. eventually I noticed that it was. and it covered how the families felt about it, something that still needed to be told as part of this story. much like what I said about other movies 'based on a true story', it serves as a reminder of how being 'first' isn't easy, much like being famous isn't easy. I am thankful I saw it, and when I posted this on twitter and searched the 'hash tag' for that theater I saw two other postings from me. I do like going there for 'art films'.
    I had wanted to see this movie in the afternoon, but when I got there the parking ramp was full. so I was correct to decide 'don't bother' at the time and just come back later in the evening. the ramp was nearly deserted by then. I knew one of the oakdale theaters was showing it, but after driving over from Edina I noticed I would have a long wait to see the next screening. so I just went home and decided to take some time to figure out my strategy. and it was aided by an evening event being a no-go, seeing a play in downtown st. paul. the nearby ATM wouldn't cooperate, so I only had a debit card available. so I decided to get a ticket for a performance that is in two weeks. I was getting annoyed with one ticket office employee, I was asking fair questions but she couldn't hide being stressed out. some people don't belong in customer service. I know this from working in that field for a while.
   I returned one movie to the library earlier today, and checked out two more. one of them I already watched, after getting back from oakdale. it was 'marty', starring ernest borgnine, a best picture winner from the 1950s. I knew that it was much like a later movie I had seen, called 'only the lonely'. I remember thinking 'some people have a lot of nerve' when they get to a scene where a man is trying to pay five dollars to anyone who is willing to take his date off his hands. my guess is this did happen at that time, and possibly still does. it's also a reminder of how important it is to fight for what you believe in, what you really want in life. his family and friends say he should settle down and get married, and when he finds somebody he likes they don't like her. I know I have to be willing to fight for what I really want, so I think this is why I liked both of these movies as they are relevant to me. or should I say three? including 'loving', as that was also about fighting for what you believe in.
   when I was driving home from the movie tonight I heard a song called 'purple hills' or 'purple pills', by a group called D12, which includes Eminem. it is from 2001, according to Wikipedia, and this also explains the two titles. some mention of the references to drug use made one version wouldn't get radio play, so they had to have an alternate one, called 'purple hills'. I found out it was 'hills' that I heard on the radio. the lyrics I found online proved it.

finally resent letter

I liked having the day off as I got some little things done, had more of the energy for it. one of those was, finally, re-sending a letter to the editor in my hometown in iowa. it was rejected nearly a year ago as it was too long, needed to be 400 words or less. I counted it and it was 455. this time it was just over 300. so I look forward to hearing more soon as to if it will be published. I also got signed up for some facebook groups, such as those who attend bears games at a st. paul bar. and those who post photos for historical purposes.
   I watched some of the iowa-nebraska football game this afternoon, once it was put on ABC. the early game, Houston at Memphis, ran long. but it was still a scoreless tie, when the first game ended, so I guess we didn't miss much. iowa went on to win 40-10, it helped that they took advantage of some big plays in the first half. so now we will wait to hear what bowl game they are going to. it would be nice to attend another one of their bowl games, but it probably won't be this year. I did like attending the outback bowl in tampa, florida, in early 2009, iowa beat south Carolina that day.
   during halftime of the football game I went out to do some shopping. I went to a family dollar and got seven items, including a CD and DVD. the CD was the soundtrack to the movie 'breakfast club'. and the DVD was 'the truth about cats and dogs', starring janeane garofalo and uma Thurman. I also placed an order with amazon, it was for the movie 'girl, interrupted' and for a book about norman lear, the TV show producer. I know I had written about 'interrupted' before. another online order that I placed was for a ticket for a gopher hockey game next week, I go to Mariucci arena annually.
     the amazon order would have been three items, but I was unsure about the options available for the movie 'hype!', about the grunge music scene in seattle. I already have it on VHS, but wanted to get it on DVD. looks like the only options were imports, from france, Germany, or japan. the options were just as limited on e-bay, though I did see an Australian edition there. I want to get it right, it is my money, after all! so no big deal if I wait a little longer to figure it out. attending a st. paul saints game this season prompted me to watch the movie again, since the theme was a salute to grunge music.
   in the evening I went to perform at a micro-brewery, the show runner was the resistable comic, who of course I did a fringe show with in august. I did ones about my hat, my dad, his jacket, online classes at the office, painting the walls, and where I once lived. I liked having some popcorn there, and notable was needing a restroom key. I just gave it to the next person in line, which was how I got the key myself. after the show I went to have some ice cream at a mcdonald's.

on the waterfront movie

I watched the DVD copy of 'on the waterfront' that was on loan from the library this morning. this was a compelling story. I knew it was a best picture winner in the 1950s. the 'facility czar' at my workplace, an ex-new Yorker, said I should see it after saying he liked my hat recently. I liked karl malden as the catholic priest, trying to clean up the corruption at the docks. and of course marlon brando was great in it as well, as a 'monkey boy' for the mob. I liked hearing brando's line 'I could have been a contender' in it. this is one thing I long knew about the movie. I also liked seeing some of the special features included. there was theatrical trailers for this one and two other movies. one was starring lizzie taylor and kate Hepburn, based on a Tennessee Williams play. the other was called 'picnic', with a setting in a Kansas town.
   this was one of two movies I watched today. I did the annual viewing of 'planes trains and automobiles' as well. I did this after getting back from the walk at como zoo. I even saw a fellow comic, happy meal, share an article on facebook about it so I also shared the link. my favorite scene I think still is when they are near the end of the journey and they ride in the back of a semi with the cheese. 'the driver is a little freaky about passengers riding up in the cab'. and then 'we should be in Chicago in less than three hours'. naturally a few things make it look a little dated, but it was made in 1987 after all. for one thing, two airlines in it are now defunct. trans world airlines is seen in st. louis, and an ad at the el-train stop in Chicago says 'the sun run' for America west airlines. but this movie holds up well, as I like road movies.
   after I finished watching 'on the waterfront' I made it over to a buca di beppo restaurant as I had a reservation there. good food as they had the thanksgiving dinner available. even though it was called 'individual' there was enough for two servings for me. so it meant I had the leftovers for my evening meal. and actually, I got full before finishing them. so there is a little stuffing and turkey left. then it was over to como zoo for a meetup event. I was trying to think of the last time I had been there, I kow that my employer has had some summer outings there. the place closed at 4pm so we had a little over an hour to look around as we waited to see if more people showed up. I was one of six people there, it sounded like some others canceled out.
    in the evening I watched two 'big bang theory' episodes. the syndicated rerun was when stuart was hired to do dirty work, and it meant Sheldon and amy were talking through him. Sheldon made a big deal about somebody cutting in line at a movie. prime time episode was about leonard and penny having another wedding ceremony so their families could witness it. I liked one line in it, how penny said she was quickly reminded of why she eloped before. since the families brought a lot of drama to the event. then it was off to do my typical long walk around the neighborhood. not as much fun to pick up trash when it was wet, looked like it was snowing but it wasn't sticking to the pavement. I walked away with plenty of coins though. some of it was at the car wash, but also at a drive-through window at a food outlet. since it was thanksgiving it was easier access to the window. the final total was 93 cents. a quarter, 5 dimes, 2 nickels, 8 pennies. I didn't watch much of the football games today, three in all. but I know the Vikings lost to the lions in the lead-off game.

youtube subscriber

tonight I did one thing that I think I did for the first time: subscribe to a channel on youtube. it was about the Philippines, a place I am considering a visit to. I made a comment on one video already and got a response to it. but the festival being mentioned in Cebu is in January, so I don't see myself getting there that early. I am told that typhoon season is done, so hard to say about when to go unless it means going in the spring. I still want to study as much as I can before I go.
   it was a fairly busy day at the office as I had to cover for my 'cohort' who had taken a vacation day. but I am fine with busy days as the day goes faster. I had a request to do the special requests early, there was five of them. I did them after the 'wired on wires' payoff report was done, which was given to my 'work spouse'. a colleague asked me to get into my i.m. system as my boss had a question. I said hopefully I have an answer. I hadn't spoken with this colleague in a while, first time in months. but it led to us talking about holiday plans, and mine are to stay in the area, the twin cities. some things have to wait, as one system wasn't working. but it was printing makeup barcodes, so low priority, we can easily afford to wait until next week on it as it sounded like there was a problem with one of the drives.
    after watching some t.v. tonight, including the Charlie brown thanksgiving special on ABC, I did head out to the performance venue. I did ones about egg nog, lady gaga, dad and his jacket, online classes, painting at the office, bars, and bowling.

big cookies returned

I liked being at the performance venue tonight. not just that it was stage time, but the big cookies returned. last week there wasn't any. so I had a cookie along with my beer, my typical order of a glass of surly hell, a local craft brew. I did ones about egg nog, painting at the office, calling my dad, churches and bars as well as bowling. I was introduced as 'the best friend of the venue', so I had to do things about a double play and a dog, as the former is a pitcher's best friend, and the latter is man's best friend.
   when I was riding the bus this morning I was sitting next to a woman who said she was an iowa native as well. it was from the town called rake, in northern iowa. I had heard of it as it is near buffalo center, and my grandma was born there. for some reason she spoke of the son of actor marlon brando being a murderer.
    at work I knew I needed to get started on asking for more time off, and that meant four more days in December. it would now mean 5 days off for the month, and two and a half days are not yet spoken for. I can carry some days over into next year, but I am not used to doing that. before long I will likely do something with the remaining days. I was strategic so far on wanting to avoid days when I already had meetings scheduled, and so far just one day off per week. I did speak of this to the attorney, who I saw while riding home this evening. no problem getting home despite the snow, but it wasn't all that bad at the time. but it kept falling into the evening, and I noticed it while at the performance venue. I called it a 'substantial snow', especially compared to the one late last week which didn't last long.
   I did wish the Filipino man a happy thanksgiving, finding out he is out of the office on Wednesday. we spoke of our plans, I guess it means spending some time with his in-laws. we laughed at our family issues that we've dealt with at holidays. I am still trying to figure out the best time of year for visiting his native land. I watched more youtube videos tonight about the subject of their president, and questions were posed about what notable changes can be expected. one spoke of needing a visa, well I will have to check if that is true. last time I checked, it wasn't needed for short-term visits like what I would want to do, a week.