get down, jess kent

recently I had written about how I liked hearing a song that was in a target commercial, it is 'get down' by jess kent. not much online about her, born in great Britain and moved to Australia when she was 11. it may just be a half-minute commercial, but the song is catchy and I liked what I heard enough to find the full song on youtube. I liked the original video that I found, as it had plenty of
little animated images depicting the song lyrics, like monkeys covering eyes when they get to 'oh my gosh'. one line appears to be 'don't got a lot of dutch' which I understand to mean 'money' based on the images at that point in the song. I had to check more than one listing when looking for lyrics, some of them had a racial slur in it but I had to listen more closely to the song and understood they were singing 'knickers' as in a term for 'underwear' that isn't widely used in the USA. further searches led to mention of a song by chumbawamba, called 'all fur coat, no knickers'. the meaning I found for this term was- basically- 'superficially positive appearance'. a synonym given on 'wiki' was 'beauty is only skin deep'. so I liked learning something from it. but then again, I learn when I go to the comedy clubs as well since people are talking about real life. music and comedy have some important things in common. another line I respond to well is 'still alive and I don't know how'. but I really like the chorus, the 'hook'. no surprise there. 'sitting, watching, waiting, wishing'. it looks like the song was released late last year, so it had been out there somewhere for a little while, not necessarily in the USA, before being used in the commercial. as for the mis-heard lyrics, this is not a new thing. it happened with 'yellow ledbetter' by pearl jam, and there is no requirement for accuracy to post something online. although I take a lot of care to research things before I post them.
   I did perform at the comedy venue tonight, I accepted a challenge to tell a joke about an American war as I majored I  history. others were about being in Mankato, the burlesque show, and the softball game on memorial day.
  

comic softball game

I was pleased to have made it to the comic softball game this year, after being unable to attend it last year. I enjoyed it way more than expected, as I was able to laugh at what I had done in little league. I legged out a dribbler for a hit for the first at-bat and went 3 for 4, one run scored. I hugged some there, and was in some photo ops, at one point having to be prompted it was my turn at bat. I played outfield, though the glove was a 'fashion accessory' as I didn't use it at all. I was mainly just fielding it barehanded and getting it back into the infield. it was my little league glove, given to me when I was 8, so it doesn't fit my hand that well now. I did take a bottle of water out to the field, when this arrived. there were two games, I played in the first but the second was shorter as many wanted to get to the potluck and BBQ. I brought a vegetable tray. there was plenty of drinks, including lemonade in a big mason jar. a pitcher of pabst beer was served, I had some, and later on some orange juice. I tried most of the food on the table, and spoke to most of the people at the potluck as well. chalm-skinn was the manager for my team. I shared on facebook how a standout was discussing music, especially pink songs, but not with mason city. it was with a member of the turkeys, not sure what name he was given by me. another standout was near the end, discussing the need to perform with Nebraska.
Though I liked how we did more than just 'talk shop' there. I did find out that Oklahoma opened for amy schumer recently, though it sounds like the gig didn't go well for him. I got plenty of photos of the event, the final one was of the memorial day poppy that I had sticking out of a pocket of my denim jacket when draped on a chair. one was of Belarus wearing patriotic pants. he said it was from a 'napoleon dynamite' website. I thought it was odd to see a hockey rink next to the field we were using, but then I said 'only in Minnesota would one see this'. some were at the game but not at the potluck, and apparently vice versa. but I understand we all have different schedules to keep, explaining why some didn't make it. but in spite of any no-shows, I really enjoyed being there as this is my circle of friends. I have to compare it to the other holiday gatherings I have been to, or the two weddings I was invited to as it is rare to get so many of us at the same event. it was hardtop say how many 'ring of honor' people I saw there, now sometimes this is how I keep track. I counted at least 10 at the softball game. so of course I liked having many people to say hi to. I did wish two friends well who are in a contest final soon, one of them is the button.

one last purple game

I went to the st. paul saints baseball game tonight, and the theme was 'one last purple game' honoring prince. red corvettes were on the warning track before the game began, and his music was played throughout the game and during the fireworks show as well. but I recognized how it wasn't full songs during the fireworks show. I did like hearing part of 'sign of the times'. the final song during fireworks was 'purple rain'. purple was everywhere during this game, the pigs behind the stadium were painted this color. the balloons during the karaoke segment. the saints players uniforms, and there were symbols instead of uniform numbers. the jerseys were auctioned off. one of the employees at the information desk had an outfit on like prince was wearing in 'purple rain'. and then there was the salted nut roll candy bars after the game as one is leaving. I opened it and noticed it was purple in the center. the wrapper had a special label on it saying 'from one Minnesota icon to another'.
  it was a food truck day, I got in line early and for this reason didn't have to wait long. I got a hot dog with cheese and bacon bits, the side item was tater tots. the saints beat the Kansas city T-bones 4-1. the starting pitcher had a shutout entering the 9th, and it was in doubt as to if he would get the complete game but he did. I noticed a pitcher was warming up in the bullpen if needed. the manager came out to the mound but left his starter in, many fans liked the confidence he had in his pitcher.
   after having oatmeal this morning, I returned the rental car. first I filled up the gas tank of course. the final song I heard while returning it was 'nothing compares to you', the version by chris cornell, ex-frontman for soundgarden. after checking Wikipedia, it is hard to tell if 'ex' is correct. there is mention of his solo career but also about the band soundgarden re-uniting. either way, I did like hearing the song. for a while I only knew it as a sinead O'Connor song, but later found out prince wrote it.
  dad called while I was still at the saints game, I didn't notice the call until the game ended. I made the callback after I got home, taking the bus. it was nice seeing the union depot near the saints stadium before the game, more artwork like murals had been added. naturally I had to go see the Snoopy statue, near the track.

coat of many colors, dolly parton

I went to Le Sueur and toured the Mayo home today. After that I went across the street and had the lunch buffet at the pizza ranch. as I was leaving I heard the song 'coat of many colors' by dolly parton. I don't know if I had heard the song before, but it made me pause so it had an impact on me. even though it was from a while back, the 1970s according to online searches. I had heard of the show 'joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat'. it was even part of a children's sermon at church one time.
   I am thankful I got this historic site crossed off my list. I had meant to tour it before but had passed by the turnoff every time on the way to new ulm for Oktoberfest. I liked getting some souvenirs at the home, some postcards and greeting cards. the greeting cards had food company cartoon characters on them, as the founder of the green giant company lived there after the mayo family left for Rochester. this included the Pillsbury doughboy, the trix rabbit, and the green giant. after this I went farther south, to Mankato, and found the Dakota war memorial, across the street from the library. as a history major I needed to see it. I also took a walk next to the Minnesota river and saw '99 solutions' spray-painted, answering the jay-z song '99 problems'. I liked how the trek didn't take all that long, as I was back in the twin cities in time to see the 6pm news. I got started earlier than some weekends, by picking up a rental car. then it was on to the post office to pick up the e-bay orders there. it included the Canadian days buttons I had ordered, along with a movie poster. it was 'ship of souls' from 1925, based on a book by emerson hough. after I got back into town, I got a frame for it. considering what I paid for it, getting a frame made perfect sense as it's called 'protecting my investment'.
   my playlist for the drive today was 2 CDs, the 'twister' movie soundtrack, and 'country grammar' by nelly. the latter was just acquired at a family dollar. as a baseball fan I liked 'batter up' on the latter CD. The songs by Van Halen and the Goo Goo Dolls was likely why I bought the former. There was an Amoeba sticker on it, so it must have been bought on my vacation to San Francisco in 2004. I did see the movie at theaters, in Iowa City just weeks after I had graduated from college.
  Although I've noticed I still listen to the music on the radio some even when I bring CDs. so besides the Dolly Parton song, ones I heard include 'I will always love you' by whitney Houston, 'let her cry' by hootie and the blowfish, 'paper planes' by MIA, and 'poker face' by lady gaga. when I got back I heard a catchy song in a target commercial again, so I had to look it up. it was 'get down' by jess kent. I couldn't find much about her, just something about a contest in Australia. I wiped away a tear when I heard Whitney's song, why i'm not sure, but I still haven't seen the movie it was in, 'the bodyguard'. I must have been thinking of some friends, even if I hadn't said those words to their face. they know who they are.
   I did eat at the Chicago hot dog place in the evening. then it was on to oakdale and the Hy-Vee grocery store, as I wanted to use the gift card that Dad had given me for my birthday. it probably took longer than typical when I am used to a different store, but I didn't have anything else planned for the night so it didn't matter. there is under four dollars left on the card, started with $25. I got plenty of pictures for me and for Dad, though I cut back on the ones inside after I noticed I was on camera when I was getting some in the entryway. I didn't want to get yelled at, being asked 'what are you doing?' as this had happened before. when I was driving home I had to stop at a Walgreen to check my order, and thankfully the card and letter from Dad was there. I did move the groceries to the feet part of the back seat instead of the butt part as they weren't going to move around as much.

gas pedal, sage the gemini

I went to a burlesque show tonight and an early song appears to be 'gas pedal' by sage the gemini. first I had heard of this song and this performer. the dancer did have what looked like a 'firesuit' that race car drivers have. it seemed appropriate as memorial day weekend means the Indianapolis 500 is here. she did hold up some checkered flags as well. other notables were 'unchained melody' and 'see what condition my condition was in'. I recognized some of the acts as reruns, this was true with a dancer doing velma from Scooby doo, as well as the A-team. but I got in free so I am not complaining about the price. after the show I was driving home and at a light. I saw a van in front of me that kept backing up, even after the light turned green. I said to myself 'please stop going backwards!' and eventually they did go forward. the second half of the show was tough for me as I was tired but couldn't help the yawning and micro-sleep.
   I did get caught up at work, though it was annoying how many of the copiers were broken. had to go with a fourth option on where to print.
    I called a bus friend about a house warming party, sounds like it will be in june now.

jumpin jack flash, rolling stones

I was taking a long walk tonight around the neighborhood and saw the flyer that was from somebody looking for work. it was on a light pole, but what caught my eye was the line 'schooled with a strap right across my back!' I knew I had heard this somewhere before, and searched it online. found out it is in the song 'jumpin jack flash' by the rolling stones. what I recalled most about this song, from hearing it before, was 'it's all right, in fact it's a gas'. besides the title of course. I knew this was the name of a movie as well, from 1986 starring whoopi Goldberg. I haven't seen the movie. I found the typical things for the trash bag I took with me, the food and drink containers. when I got to the super-America to place it in a trash bin I was asked what the time was. I also found 15 cents, a dime and 5 pennies, but not at the car wash.
   I watched two 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was about the 'penny blossoms' that penny was making. prime time episode was when Sheldon went on an 'apology tour' and the episode ended with the gang going to las vegas.
   it was a rough day at work. not once, but twice, I had I.T. problems and it meant at least one, maybe two, hours of productivity lost. all on a day when I was covering for a colleague. i canceled out of an advisory board meeting in the afternoon for this reason. we had two food outings, one was cake in honor of a retiring colleague and the other was ice cream for memorial day. but since I was way behind on my normal duties I just got it and went back to my cube. I didn't even have my typical lunch, a can of soup, as I decided to use the second 'break buck' and get some peanuts instead. so it seemed to be a lot like a Monday for me, high volume.

haunt like liberace

recently I saw a facebook posting from mason city, who mentioned liberace. it reminded me of how he is name checked in a lady gaga song, 'dance in the dark'. the line is 'haunt like liberace'.
  it went fine performing at the comedy venue tonight. I did one about how I have accepted that I have somebody to match wits with again. also liked hearing some Chicago blues music, so I made a reference to the movie 'adventures in babysitting'.

machine hates my card

I went to the comedy venue tonight and had to wait in line to pay for parking my car. the young woman in front of me was having trouble with it and eventually gave up, saying 'the machine hates my card'. she told me good luck, I said I will need it. the machine accepted my card just fine, and it meant I had those two dollars available for a big cookie at the venue. I do like having that in addition to the beer I get there. one of the jokes I did was about deleting an internet dating match when the match got to email stage as I start off with the standard question, 'tell me about your line of work'. the profile said social worker, but the match revealed being unemployed, actually the euphemism 'between jobs' was used so I had no choice but to end it right then and there as I don't like being lied to. I am fine with holding out for a better offer. I also noticed some words were spelled wrong in the profile. on another site there was a mutual wink and I did decide to go further in the process. always hopeful, even though it rarely does pan out. I also did one about hearing French music on the radio on the drive into the venue. I recognized some words from French class in high school, 'regardez les filles' would mean 'look at the (young) women'. I fell asleep for a while in my easy chair and arrived at the venue after the show started, so I was near the end of the lineup. after the show I did walk around a little before going back to my car, and ended up with 4 pennies tonight that went into my change bank. one was found on the ground near a 'stoplight pandhandler' and I was surprised that he didn't want it at all. I found it hard to believe that he wouldn't have noticed it there. but I knew full well to be quick about picking it up and be gone so it was less likely that I would get noticed. I prefer to avoid confrontations if at all possible.
   at the office it was still busy and I stayed a little past my normal end of shift to get caught up. I rode the bus with a man who spoke about missing some work due to a car wreck and being in contact with an attorney, needing a judge to issue a form to the insurance company to see he gets paid for the time off work. it all started with me saying 'what's the deal?' when he boarded the bus, we were in the back. but I was told I was fine, as I moved my bags to give him more space.
 

pleased to meet me, replacements

well I have written about husker du after seeing the play 'complicated fun', so now it is time for the replacements. I have their CD 'pleased to meet me', acquired after hearing some of the songs on drive-105 here in the twin cities when it was still alternative. it was released in 1987, through sire records. the standouts for me was 'alex chilton', and 'can't hardly wait'. I think it is funny on some level that alex chilton himself performs with the band on this CD, but on a different song, in fact the latter one. 'wait' was memorable to me as it was quoted at a funeral, an office colleague that had died of cancer in 2008. it was unnerving as he wasn't much older than me. and this event led me to start performing. the imagery is good in it, like starting off with 'write you a letter'. though I do like 'alex chilton' more, it mentions Memphis often and that helps as I am reminded of visiting that city when my college roommate lived there. it is faster, and more upbeat as well. according to Wikipedia, IOU was inspired by iggy pop, and 'the ledge' was banned by MTV as it was about suicide. 'red red wine' made me think of UB40, but it is not the same song at all. I think I like the husker du CD  more, but this one is still fine.
   there was a dust-up about a comedy venue that may have to move, I signed a petition about it and I am one of three thousand that has so far. it went fine performing tonight, I liked hearing songs like 'the gambler' and 'wagon wheel' so I spoke of both in my set. many of the others were jokes I had done the previous day.

candy apple grey, husker du

this weekend I saw the play 'complicated fun' and it reminded me of having CDs for both Husker Du and the Replacements. I recall moving to Minnesota in 2004 and listening to drive-105, a radio station that was alternative at the time. it was the first that I think I heard both twin city bands, and it led me to get some of their CDs. with Husker Du it was 'candy apple grey', their first CD with a major label, warner brothers, released in 1986. the song of theirs I knew had the most impact was 'sorry somehow'. I recall saying how had I heard it years earlier it might have taken less time to come to terms with a disastrous relationship in high school and college. the song said many of the things I was thinking and wanted to say. some of the lyrics were profound, like 'life too can cut you and I've cut you out of mine' and 'it's not my fault and you're not getting one from me'- about expecting an apology. 'too far down' was another one with impact, the next track. lyrics profound in this one include 'if it was so easy to be happy, why am I so down?' and 'let someone else be happy by setting my own self free' and 'you don't want the emotion, because the taste it leaves is for real'. I can't forget an earlier track, 'don't want to know if you are lonely'. the lyrics I liked here include 'from the beginning we both knew it wouldn't last'. though even better is the final lines, 'phone is ringing and the clock says 4am, if it's your friends well I don't want to hear from them, please leave your number and a message at the tone, or you can just go on and leave me alone'. I know one of the band members, Bob Mould, has a star at first avenue in Minneapolis, close to Prince's, so it has been shown on the news often whenever the media is at this venue.
   even though it was a sunday, there was plenty to do. I did the dishes in the morning, and then got an oil change done on my car. once this was done I had a sandwich at subway and got some dish soap at family dollar. by then I knew I needed to get on my way to the comedy venue, the donut party. many of the jokes in my set were callbacks to what other comics had said. this included one that made me think of a surgeon general. others were about nannies, and lyndon Johnson. another was inspired by what I heard at the saints game last night, the debate about great basketball players. or how I haven't seen 'weekend at Bernie's'.
  
  

lonely teardrops, jackie wilson

this weekend I heard 'lonely teardrops' by Jackie Wilson on my car radio. naturally the first thing I will think of is hearing this song in the movie 'la bamba'. this did prompt me to find the song om youtube, and to look up the Wikipedia article. it was tough to read the story of this musician there. he died in 1984, and was just 49. although this has happened to other performers as well. I was reminded also of another song of his being in a movie, as 'higher and higher' was in 'ghostbusters 2'. I also read with interest how he was from Detroit, and did work with berry gordy early in his career. of course gordy later founded Motown records.
   I went to an estate sale this afternoon, as I kept seeing signs for it all around my neighborhood. when I arrived I said my interest was in books, especially baseball and history. I walked away with three items, and it cost just $2.10. I liked finding some glossy photos of leading hitters in the American league, copyright 1990. it was Kirby puckett, ruben sierra, fred McGriff, and rickey Henderson. these four went into a binder with other baseball photos. I found one book, from the 'chicken soup' series, this one was for the sports fan's soul. and the third item was a CD case, as I wanted to replace a cracked one. it was a CD-ROM from GE Medical Systems. after this I went home and went through a box of buttons I had bought at an auction in 2012. I told myself I should donate them to goodwill since I have no use for most of them. and that is what I did, getting them into five plastic shopping bags, and then into a shoebox. I have about 50 left that I really wanted, after starting off with hundreds.
   in the evening I went to my first st. paul saints baseball game of the season, the saints beat gary 18-8. it was star wars night. the saints scored in five of the first six innings. looks like there are a few changes from last season at the stadium, which should be expected of course. it was annoying to hear somebody want to say 'Jordan is better than curry' while in the bathroom after the game had ended. I picked up a quarter when I was leaving, surprised it stayed in my row for a while. I had a hot dog, chips and bottled water at this game. I arrived just before the national anthem was played, and I prefer to arrive even earlier than this.

complicated fun play

tonight I saw the play 'complicated fun' at the history theater in downtown st. paul. it is about the Minneapolis music scene in the 1980s, especially the venue known as first avenue. prince is mentioned often, along with some of his songs, but none of them are played by the 'house band'. a big theme of the play seemed to be the 'rivalry' between fans of husker du and the replacements. I am thankful I saw it, as expected I learned something from it. I generally go to one play a season  at this venue. I found it to be annoying during intermission when somebody saw the painting of prince out in the hall and said 'the last line is no longer accurate' as he passed a month ago. I said to the lady how the captions say the painting was done in 2007. when asked if anyone had a sharpie marker to change it, I said 'that is vandalism'.
    after the play I did go over to a comedy venue but arrived after the show started. it was still worth it to make an appearance though as I liked seeing the big dog there. we were able to joke around, and talk some business as well. he can be hard to find at times so I make the most of any chance I have to speak with this friend from the comedy circuit.
   I also thought of Canada more than once today. I ordered some more Canadian days buttons from e-bay, and got another Canadian penny as change added to my collection as I didn't have that year yet. due to big dog's schedule I may have to change when I go to Winnipeg. but I don't mind having to move that visit back a few months until after labor day as summer will be busy for me.

kraft macaroni, star wars version

I don't cook much at home, but I did tonight. I knew the box of star wars kraft macaroni and cheese was reaching the expiration date. so recently I did get some butter, along with a can of spam. what I like about cooking is that it becomes two meals for me, and doesn't take all that long if I am willing to devote the time to it. I chopped up the spam into chunks before putting it in, but some of it I ate before it went in, and I knew full well this was going to happen. I bought it at the family dollar and it said 'collect all 8 boxes'. this one has darth vader on it.
   on some level, it likely was appropriate to prepare it tonight. I say this because one of the 'big bang theory' episodes I saw was the one from December when the movie premiered and bob Newhart was a guest star. of course I like the ones when he appears. but some others had good lines in this episode, like amy Farrah fowler saying 'you shut your mouth' when her friends told her Sheldon's plans for her birthday. the syndicated rerun I saw tonight was the one where Sheldon is trying to figure out how to make a friend. also this week, maybe Tuesday, I liked seeing the one where leonard is dating dr. Stephanie and he keeps saying to penny 'we're not living together'. it is not my favorite episode, but close. my fave still is the one where howard's mom is in the hospital, because Bernadette said 'me?' when his mom wanted to talk to her first.
   after I was done watching the second episode, I took the long walk around the neighborhood. I picked up most of the typical trash, but was pleased to find 5 pull tabs from cans (as I collect these for my employer) and 4 pennies at the car wash (which went into my change bank).
   I also read an online article about the 12 words not to say on a first date. one of them was 'googled'. I know one match did this to me, proof of how it is hard to date when being a performer. and yet I still tried hard to get the first date, and crushed when I heard it was a 'one and done'. why? the date didn't 'knock my socks off'. of course I am referring to one of the three from January. it made me standoffish to hear I was googled, and I didn't want to admit it for a while. more often now, I am asking myself 'am I interested?' instead of just 'what must I do to keep my date interested?' I know  there are worse things than being single. I still lead a full life, in part because of performing, in spite of being single. sure it would be nice to meet somebody great, but I've learned it helps to have expectations in line with reality.

the logical song, supertramp

tonight while performing I referred to a supertramp song as I liked hearing a saxophone player before me. I called the song that I was thinking of 'wonderful', which is an early lyric, but found out through an online search it is called 'the logical song'. I liked hearing this one again on youtube, and I think it was in a simpsons episode before. it has profound observations, 'there are times when all the world's asleep' and 'please tell me who I am'. the song is from their best known album, 'breakfast in america', and was a hit in 1979. other lyrics I liked, sad but true, was 'sent me away, intellectual, cynical'. after checking the Wikipedia article I did recognize other songs of theirs. this included 'give a little bit', 'it's raining again', 'bloody well right', and 'take the long way home'.
   always seems to be an adventure out there. I was taking the bus home after the st. paul saints season-opening block party and noticed a dude wearing a boston ball cap, but not the red sox. there was a big b on it and then 'boston' on the bill. he kept bothering some girls near me, asking if they had been to india, and kept saying 'excuse me'. he asked if they were laughing at them, and was told no, but I think they were. one of the girls was wearing a st. paul academy jacket. he got out at my stop, but thankfully he left me alone. as the saying goes, give a man enough rope and he will hang himself. eventually I expected him to get picked up by a cop, as the way he acted says he likely had too much to drink.
   at the office there was a dust-up about the settlement letters I do, though the boss doesn't like that term. I said I had no back-up, he said this isn't true. well it looks like things will change soon, all because I was willing to speak up. one thing I shared was how I got confronted a few times for rejecting letters, even though I rarely reject them.
  I liked the saints block party as usual, this time it was early evening instead of over lunch hour. I picked up a softee baseball like in previous years. I liked meeting an employee that I played catch with when this part of the program happened, as the event is officially known as 'the world's largest game of catch'. I said I have a ticket for a game this weekend. hopefully I can perform at a game like I did last year. I had a pulled pork sandwich and a Bauhaus beer, and briefly spoke with mayor chris coleman, who was in plainclothes for this event instead of a suit.

starting one hour later

went to the performance venue tonight and at first I couldn't find anyone I knew. then I saw soap opera, who was eating at the bar. he said the show was starting one hour later. I found ways to stay occupied, like walking around the neighborhood. it went fine performing, one of the jokes was inspired was hearing somebody talk about manual transmission cars.
  at the office I did 47 settlement  letters, by far a record for the day. after a while I said 'please stop sending requests' as I hadn't been inundated like this before. hopefully the volume will drop back to normal levels soon, as I have other things I prefer doing at work like entering new contracts.

where? he owes me money

the senior leader at my office sometimes does a joke when I greet him. it is 'where? he owes me money'. it's because I call him 'mister so and so'. it leads me to believe he may not like so much formality, but that is who I am.
   I did go to the performance venue tonight, and spent more time at home before I went as I only went to one. the earlier one had another event booked besides an open-mic. I used the time well, resting more than usual and reading more in a book on loan from my dad. I am halfway through it now after not reading it for a while. it went fine performing tonight, I did mention book reading in my set. others were about being hassled in the parking lot on my way to the art museum, and the dream about being in japan. the MC gives me an into that is a southern accent so I did think of mention of a ten-gallon hat again, due to seeing the video for 'cruel summer' by bananarama.
  busy day at the office, high volume for the payoff report and new titles. also for the settlement letters, but couldn't get to all of the letters. I got my sandwich order in early as I didn't want to get too busy and forget about it. we are having a lunch paid for by the company on Tuesday.

kansas city lights, steve wariner

this weekend I was listening to music on my car radio and heard the song 'Kansas city lights' by steve wariner near the end of my drive home. I must have heard it before in my lifetime as I do recall at times as a kid trying to sing 'Kansas city life'. as in romanticizing wanting to live there when I became an adult. why? was it visiting there to see royals baseball games? this is something that my family did, and I recalled also seeing the harry Truman museum in nearby independence, and staying at the green crest motel.
   as usual, I went to find it on youtube after hearing it on the radio. some things do really work for me. I understand the song is about the longing for someone. this is evident in lyrics like 'I think of her', and 'I've been away for too long'. naturally also memorable is mention of the lights, 'in my mind they shine so bright', and 'shine for me tonight'. though what I liked most had to be lines like 'it's just sometimes it feels like no one cares', and mention of the act of writing, 'as I take my pen to write'. and since I like traveling I like the imagery in 'as the plane touches down' as I have spoke of planes touching down before, but mostly when and not necessarily how I felt since I am often on a tight schedule. this was a hit song in 1982. and the performer, steve wariner, is a member of the grand ole opry and the music city walk of fame, according to Wikipedia. it was not a number one hit but it said he had many other songs that were.
   I got laundry completed around midday, and walked away with 13 cents left on the floor, a dime and 3 pennies. I also got started on reading a book on loan from my dad that I hadn't read in a while. I ate and did dishes and then went to the comedy venue. one of the jokes was inspired by somebody using the term 'history buff', a term that I don't like at all as it is my college major. I also told a prom story to get more stage time. and I liked telling one about being hassled when parking my car on the way to the weisman art museum this weekend, along with finding some chewing gum in the gift shop that spoke of opinions and pizza. I did get an invite to another open-mic in the evening bur I didn't go. first I had heard about it and I was too tired. I drove home from the donut party and fell asleep, missed the start of 'the simpsons'. it was about homer doing improv comedy.

weisman art museum, u of Minnesota

I made my first-ever visit to the weisman art museum at the u of Minnesota this afternoon. I had been to other museums in the area, and many other events at the university, but for whatever reason hadn't been to the weisman. an office colleague had informed me about an exhibit that interested me, called 'cowboys and indians', a series of paintings by andy Warhol. this did include one of john wayne, the movie cowboy. I got a photo of Theodore Roosevelt, the cowboy that became president. emerson hough would have bene proud as this was hough's friend. I did get some postcards as souvenirs- surprised? though there weren't any of the current exhibit. I also got some chewing gum as I liked the sentiment on the box. it was in reference to pizza, and not asking for any opinions.
   I just finished eating some reese's pieces, bought at the grocery store as part of my weekly visit. nothing unusual there, but it was in a bag that was shaped like a carrot.
    I went to a friend's comedy show at a micro-brewery in Minneapolis tonight. actually I was allowed to see both shows, sometimes it helps to know the event coordinator. I had some trouble getting there due to some wrong turns and the construction.

cruel summer, bananarama

recently I was driving home from the comedy club and heard a radio station playing 80's music. it was two songs that stood out for me- 'break my stride' by matthew wilder, and 'cruel summer' by bananarama. and I have written about the former already. I do recall 'cruel summer' being a hit, due to the song being in the movie 'karate kid'. according to Wikipedia, the song was a top ten hit in great Britain in 1983, and America a year later. I also recall this British band having a hit when they remade 'venus', originally a song by shocking blue. there are some scene changes in the video, found on youtube. it starts with the three ladies working at a gas station. it ends with the new York city skyline in the background, including the world trade center. I also liked Wikipedia saying the song 'played on the darker side of summer songs'. with those that know me well, know I can relate all too well to the darker side of things, because we can't ignore who we are. also notable is seeing a payphone in it, not common now when cellphones are the thing. at first I didn't quite understand the part when a police car arrives, and one of the officers is wearing a 10-gallon hat. but the article said this was a takeoff of the TV show 'dukes of hazzard'. it continues with a sticker with the band's name on it going up in the cab of a mack truck that arrived at the gas station before the police did. the band is also shown eating bananas and throwing the peels at the police car. I know the bananas have some meaning when this is the band's name.
   some of the lyrics really work for me. it starts with 'trying to smile but the air is so heavy and dry'. and I like unanswered questions in music as well, and this is covered with 'what did they say?' when I hear 'too close for comfort' of course I think of the TV show of the same name. but what I really like is the music played in the chorus, or 'the hook'. and the contrast also works, with 'city is crowded my friends are away and i'm on my own'.
   I did find out it has been covered, there is a version by ace of base in the 1990s. I listened to it and it is a decidedly different version. I like the 80's version more, and it looks like this is also what one commenter said on youtube. I had to check IMDB to confirm, and yes it is listed in other movies besides 'karate kid'. I saw 'romy and michele' and it is in that movie as well.
   I went to two shows tonight, after eating at a hardee's. the lid-lifter was a comedy show, Michigan was in town as the headliner. I said it's not too often that I consistently laugh throughout a show. I liked how he at times would emphasize a joke by repeating a line with a different voice tone for effect, sometimes I do this as well.  signed up for the open-mic but wasn't picked, hadn't been there for their open-mic in a while for this reason. the bossman said that things had changed some on who gets picked, but since I was disappointed about the lack of stage time months ago I decided to do other things on that night of the week. this will probably continue for a while, as I do have interests outside of comedy. in addition, this is coming up on 'baseball, and museum season', where I tend to be out of town more. he was the last one i spoke with, after seeing chalm-skinn and Nebraska on the inside. the nightcap was a music show, also at a bar, I arrived near the end. the lady lead singer of the band, who I know from one of my regular nights of performing, played 'purple rain' by prince as the final song. it was something I was used to hearing from her previous times onstage. I am thankful I still made it to the second show, as I hadn't seen her in a while. she was in demand after the show, but we briefly spoke and she told me she noticed when I arrived.

third bus survey

I participated in my third bus survey on the way to work. this one was more involved than the previous two, which was being given a card and giving it back at my stop.
   I went to a friend's show at a Minneapolis bar tonight, it was opera singer's band. I went out there and did some dancing after working up the courage to do so. and waiting to see others out there.

lunch with senior leader

it was nice having lunch with the senior leader today. I got the poker chip as a colleague couldn't make it. I did go on record about how I have been working without a back-up on one of the duties I am in charge of.
   it went fine performing tonight, I went on late as there were plenty of people signed up. great to see radio ali and spoken words perform. another musician did what sounded like a bob Dylan cover, need to look up the song. hopefully I can find it with the lyrics I wrote down. there was one dude that I talked with for a little while after performing, he had seen me there before and said he liked my set. but I had a hard time ignoring how it looked like he was going to fall over, his legs seemed unsteady. not sure why, but at a drinking establishment it is most likely due to having too much to drink. hope he is all right.   

pineapple in cup

the spirited office colleague who was disappointed that I am single did me a nice favor when she brought over a cup of pineapple chunks from the smaller break room. I do like pineapple and I liked how she was paying attention. I noticed the trays also had some cheese chunks, and I like those as well. as expected, it was mostly gone by the end of the day. so I am thankful I decided to 'get while the getting is good'.
   it went fine performing this evening. I started off with an answer to the intro I got, saying I had been called a 'legend' before by a high school classmate. I am still not sure what I have done that is legendary though. others were about the 'old hippie' and the movie 'girl interrupted'. actually it is one of three movies mentioned in the set. 'field of dreams' was mentioned in reference to the old hippie, and 'running with scissors' in the same story as 'girl, interrupted'. I also noticed a beer sign at this venue that looked familiar. it was pilsner urquell, the Czech beer I drank when I was in Chicago-land visiting some of my 'old haunts' in march. besides beer tonight, a surly beer made in Minneapolis, I also had a chocolate chip cookie. I like seeing them at this venue.

pay toilet postcard

I prefer 'buy it now' on e-bay, but sometimes the items I want are bid-on. this was true with some cartoon world's fair postcards. I already had seven, five others I didn't have yet. as expected, one was easier to acquire than the others as I got outbid on the other four. the one I acquired depicted a pay toilet, a 'century of progress'.
  it is still hard to keep track of the 'busiest monday' on the payoff report, but this one was over two hundred and that is rare. I got hard-boiled eggs and some v-8 juice at a convenience store in the skyway as I decided to do a quick lunch due to the volume.
   I did perform at the comedy venue tonight, and I am working on more stage time like in the summer. the fancy comic also performed at this venue.

rightside mirror on car

i was driving back from performing and noticed the outside mirror on the passenger side of my car was moving around way more than typical. I looked at it constantly and managed to get it home, then decided to investigate. some of the glue had stopped working. so I got out some duct tape and placed some in the middle to stabilize it. looks like it is working fine, and I got this done before I went to perform again in the evening. this time it was the black dog in st. paul. I think I had been there before on a date, but it had been a while.
   I did listen to 2 CDs this morning. one was a music CD, the 'purple rain' movie soundtrack. the other was a comedy CD, both were ordered from amazon. now it means getting the reviews uploaded soon. I tried to shortly after I had finished listening to them but it kept spinning, the proverbial 'holding pattern'. in the evening after performing I walked around the neighborhood and found carts to return to the grocery store, 10 in all. good exercise for me. also went over to the laundromat just before closing and picked up the trash and put it in the bins. I also claimed a penny and a plastic hanger. so that made a total of 3 pennies picked up at various places, surprised to see so much loose change out there. naturally it goes into my change bank. or maybe it shouldn't surprise me, as I have seen how some of it ends there, just not too often. people can be careless when reaching into their pocket for something else like keys, and that is when I hear the coins falling out on the pavement. then there was the recent online article that I still need to read about how much change is left at the airport security screening stations, well over a half million dollars a year. I think this is comparable to what I had just described. people are in a rush and don't think to pick up everything, so who cares about a few coins that are left behind? I had a done a bit before about how I feel a kinship with a penny, as I feel like it 'needs me' as I at times felt like I was forgotten or left behind. but it is also being a history major and recalling quotes from people like ben franklin, saying 'a penny saved is a penny earned'. true, pennies by themselves don't buy that much. but last time I checked, save them and eventually you'll have a dollar and one can still buy things with that amount.   

cow belle ice cream bars

I used an online coupon at the grocery store to get some cow belle ice cream bars. it is a 6-pack, I chose vanilla as it appealed to me more than the other flavors. I would have preferred the ice cream sandwiches but those were a 12-pack. it was free for the ice cream as my total bill was over $25, and it usually is for my weekly grocery run. before that I went to an antique store and got some postcards, 2 were from the Chicago world's fair of 1933. and most that I picked up from the post office today was from that fair as well. at the antique shop I liked getting one of the cow palace in san Francisco, and three from new ulm, minn.
   tonight I went to a friend's comedy show, and big dog was one of the performers, along with bus fare and international falls. this was small world's regular show, first Saturday of the month.

he has that right

I went to a meetup event in the evening, Brazilian jazz again near my workplace in downtown st. paul. but I didn't see the postal service accountant this time, one of the musicians said he was out of town. then I said 'he has that right to go out of town', just like I do. there was an older man in a business suit at a table I was sitting at for a while, he was fairly quiet and then he left. when there was a break in the music the event coordinator for the night approached me and I enjoyed our conversation. I did speak of performing. but my Achilles heel still is trying to reason with people that can't be reasoned with. I found this out after the show, where I heard this man drone on for a while about his life philosophies and give me unsolicited advice. he contradicted himself, as he spoke of living in Berkeley, CA, in the 1970s but also said 'live in the now and don't hold onto the past'. it was hard to get a word in edgewise with this 'old hippie'. I was getting annoyed as he didn't listen to me that well, and he did one thing that doesn't impress me at all- pointing out he is older than me. so what? does he think he's better than me? and why didn't I just leave a lot earlier than I did? am I too polite? did I just think of it as comedy material? there were some chances to leave way earlier than I did, especially when he talked to somebody else for a few minutes- that was leaving- and then came back to me. well I know this much: whenever something like this happens, I try to learn a valuable lesson from it. what is typical is that somebody can get away with this stunt only once, and after it I avoid them like the plague. I've said it before how trying to tell me how to live my life- which is what he was doing- is the cardinal sin, and I have ended friendships over this. I think what this lackluster event has taught me is that I should try harder to attend a wide variety of meetup events. so far I have only done this one, and it is once a month. I did speak of the first event, at an art museum, getting canceled and that was tough to handle emotionally. I am hopeful to find events that don't interfere with my normal performing schedule.
   at the office my boss took a day off, and another manager spent time talking to some of my colleagues about how he is obsessive compulsive. it was a busy day for me, and I may have underestimated how busy it would be. my 'tag team partner' also took the day off so I had to cover for her on the payoff report and new titles. thankfully I got everything finished and still left on time. I don't mind the challenge of a busy day, as I told my 'work spouse', but I am thankful I don't have it too often.

lala yogurt smoothie

after watching 'big bang theory' tonight I did a long walk around the neighborhood. one of the first things I picked up on this walk was a lala yogurt smoothie, tropical mango. I didn't eat it, like most  of the other things I picked up it went into a plastic grocery bag and put into a trash bin when I arrived at the super-America. also found was 3 pennies, all at the car wash. another thing found was women's underwear, black and white stripes. I passed by a kid's backpack as well, a pink Barbie backpack, but I didn't touch it at all. odd to see it abandoned. I made it back just before the 10pm news began. the TV shut itself off around the end of the news, and as expected a fuse went out. I lucked out that the grocery store in my neighborhood had some fuses, but I had to go back and confirm which one besides just a 20-amp to avoid buying the wrong one. so I decided to be demonstrative and just unscrewed it and brought it with me to the store, then it wouldn't be in doubt as to if I got the right one. odd thing was when I went to turn on a light that went out with the TV, another fuse blew. good thing it was a 2-pack, as it meant I had another one to screw in. thankfully I don't have to replace fuses much.
  I watched two 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when howard said 'be a tool' about leonard dating leslie again. it ended with leonard and leslie arguing. prime time episode was when Sheldon took a stand about somebody cutting in line at a movie. and stuart was being hired to do odd jobs, like stand in line for Sheldon and deliver bad news.
  on facebook it said it was the 7-year anniversary of being friends with the D.C. native. it is a reminder of how I have gained a circle of friends from performing. and the godmother shared another photo of a Charlie brown and snoopy statue, but I think I had already found that one. she did help with finding two that I couldn't find on my own. at the office a loopy colleague, that recently sounded disappointed about me being single, announced being out of the office on Friday. I went to my 'work spouse' and said I wondered if sending a typed letter to the loopy colleague made a difference. I said dating is hard, I am not good at it, I spend plenty of time performing as it makes me happy. sometimes I need to be creative, imaginative, or just plain assertive. also at the office, we had 'designer donuts' this morning to celebrate re-signing a client. I had one with peanut butter and some potato chips on top of it, and it was jelly-filled. I had hoped for pancakes or waffles since they said it would be breakfast but kind of expected the donuts. the donuts were from 'mojo monkey' if I am not mistaken. after work I did share a bus ride with the attorney. she did speak of routines after work, after I spoke of mine. in her case it is very much related to having 2 kids, ages 3 and 1. so that includes plenty of cleanup, besides baths then also the kitchen, and sometimes it allows for watching something on a streaming service like the 'downton abbey' show that I haven't seen yet but has been mentioned on 'the simpsons'.

sound cloud

tonight I finally logged onto sound cloud, where music can be found. after last week's social media show it reminded me how I hadn't been there yet. a different setup than youtube, which I am already quite familiar with.
   I had some popcorn before performing tonight. I did some of my set about the movie 'girl, interrupted' as I seem to use the term 'ambivalent' a lot and they do cover the definition in the movie.

talk in hall

twice I had office colleagues say to me we had to talk in the hall. somebody complained I guess. hard to understand why somebody would be so nit-picky. haven't heard of any other department telling us this. even my 'work spouse' hadn't heard about it.
   I did perform tonight, first time at this venue. they had cookies but I didn't have one, just got beer. I answered a world war two question as the comic didn't have their facts straight.

garfield the cat

I saw a facebook posting tonight after work and before heading to the comedy club where it started out as 'mondays'. I made me think of the cartoon cat that hates Mondays. so my response was 'ok, Garfield the cat'. and people liked it! although unfortunately like many things on this site it can morph into something different, devolve. I didn't swear at all even though a later commenter did. I said I have a hard time saying anything bad about anyone. but it does prove I belong in the comedy community when I have good comebacks, where I've said I can match wits with the best of them. I did my best to do some politicking, or another comic said it was better to call it 'self-advocating', hard to say what it will lead to. I liked how 'extra murder' comic gave me an idea about what to do after not getting picked tonight. I had two CDs at home that I hadn't listened to yet. one was a music CD, opera singer's band, and the other a comedy CD, tetris. I had tried to listen to the first one but fell asleep after four songs. I should know by now how it is a bad idea to try listening to CDs while laying down and tired. I liked both CDs. with the music CD there was 7 of 9 tracks that were songs with lyrics. I prefer it this way, as instrumental songs don't work as well for me. I liked 'settle down and do it' the most, but they all seemed to work for me on some level. with the comedy CD I liked 'train tracks and taco john's' as well as '1994!' but most of it worked for me as well. it had been a little while since I had acquired both, with the music CD over a month ago, so it was good that I listened to both tonight and posted my findings on facebook. I wasn't sure when else I was going to remind myself to get it done. Belarus was wearing a shirt with a price tag still on it, but he hadn't heard of Minnie pearl so hopefully he will now look up who this is. I had to explain to somebody what a 'work spouse' is, this still surprises me when it is a wikipedia article. I also showed a photo from the 2010 lady gaga concert that was in my wallet. this surprised some people as well, being a fan of her music.
   the volume was lower than typical for a Monday at work on the payoff report, but I was still busy up until the end of my workday with other things like perfecting contracts.

tipped over chair postcard

I went to an art sale at a micro-brewery in Minneapolis this afternoon before performing at the donut party across town. I liked finding some postcards there, and I bought four from one seller. two had tipped-over chairs in them. two others were plastic ballerinas lined up. I liked it because it was different, not what one would expect to see. but that is why it is called art, as there are different interpretations of what one sees out there. I also got two greeting cards, from a different seller. one was of cut oranges, it reminded me of how I like drinking orange juice. the other was called 'sleeping beauty'. I made some wrong turns trying to get there, the construction didn't help, so it took longer than expected to arrive. while performing I answered a joke that a new comic had. he was from south Dakota and most of his set was about the tourist sites there. he made some mention of 'grumpy old men' and didn't have his facts straight. but when it comes to a subject I know well, like history, I am going to answer what I am hearing. I also did ones about an 'internet dating coda' about one match in particular, the sears loyalty program, and going to the nightclub the night before.
  in the evening I had just dropped off my recycle at the bin and on my way back at the bus stop I saw something that asked where your favorite place was on the map. I planted a flag where I lived, where else would I pick? there was an older woman asking me about it, and eventually we spoke about more plans for light rail lines in the twin cities. she also spoke of somebody she knew that had a drinking problem. one of the solutions she offered was God, taking it to the Lord in prayer. she also spoke of doing day labor through temp agencies, and had one of those collapsible grocery carts. our conversation lasted all the way up until the bus arrived. I like sharing the stories of others. it does remind me of the Amanda marshall song about how 'everybody's got a story that will break your heart'. in the morning I liked getting more coins stapled into mylar covers and then into an album. there's not much left in the candy tin I kept them in, about ten coins now. this took care of the half-dollar sized coins, as the mylars were a recent e-bay order.