carl sandburg, galesburg, IL

plans today call for seeing the carl sandburg home in Galesburg, IL, about 2 hours from Iowa City. also want to find where emerson hough is buried, sounds like it is nearby.
   having continental breakfast was delightful. saw a classmate who recognized me and we sat down for a little while, then he had to hit the road to give a speech in Harlan. the waffle attendant, not used to seeing one as I am used to making my own waffle, spoke of knowing elvis Presley when serving in the military in Germany. among other things, like a grand-niece in Chicago-land that was interested in his time as an entertainer, tap dancing I think.
 

baseball exhibit, mall of america

I was at mall of America last night and saw something about a baseball exhibit nearby. so I will have to see it before I leave town for Iowa City. this is the final day of the traveling exhibit, according to one online article I found it had been in St. Louis recently.
   when I get to the state line, I will have to check the maps at the Iowa welcome center and see about any road closures due to the flooding in eastern Iowa. haven't heard about any on the 'avenue of the saints', my normal route there, yet. will hope for the best.

sanity break

I heard two people in my department arguing at the office so I announced to my 'work spouse' that I was taking a walk, normally I don't announce it. I considered it to be a 'sanity break', hopeful that it would be over before I got back, and it seemed to be as it looked like my boss intervened. I don't know what it was about, I don't care either. another colleague, who is on maternity leave, brought in her kid and I saw it during this break and even spoke of what I was trying to avoid. I was on  my own covering the payoff report and new titles as my cohort was out of the office. but I found a way to get it all done close to my normal leave time.
   I saw the attorney when I was riding the bus home, she spoke of having strep throat last week. and how movies in a park are one thing that fills the void since there aren't many drive-in movie theaters left. in the evening I went out to eat as I didn't have much food left at my home and didn't feel like going to the grocery store. I went past a comedy venue first and it was no surprise seeing somebody I knew, it was Maryland. we hugged and I said I needed to go eat. so I found a pizza place and had one slice, along with those little potatoes. I was pleased to see something about a nearby baseball exhibit, so I will have to go to it soon.
   I made it to the performance venue eventually, went on near the end. some stories were about what had happened earlier today, like the arguing at the office or even what I saw at the mall.

right back at you, babe

after I performed tonight I had somebody blow me a kiss as they liked my set, and I said 'right back at you, babe'. I was thinking of the line from the movie 'look who's talking'. many of the jokes were like the ones from the previous day.
   I said 'it was shock waves' when there was an announcement by email saying our i.t. man was not retained. I saw the Filipino man and said I had bought a travel guide over the weekend about his native land, and he was impressed to hear about this. I am hopeful to get plenty read from it soon  when at my hotel room.

hula hoop dancer

tonight I was waiting for our show to begin and liked seeing what appeared to be a burlesque how. I got  a picture of the hula hoop dancer. after a while we didn't wait for this show to end and had ours on a different stage. the presidential debate was on the TV monitors in the bar area, and once it was over it went back to showing Monday night football and music videos.

small town politics

I called my dad tonight, and at first he wanted to talk about small town politics. it was something that I know very little about, especially when I no longer live in a small town. he invited me to call in a letter he sent recently. sounds like he got the card from fringe festival, and the postcard fro new York city, both sent last month. I said I may have bought something at midway books, though I was there to see if they had any emerson hough books and it looks like they didn't. for some reason I am thinking I still bought one, about Abraham Lincoln, by carl sandburg.
    I liked how I got my chores and errand running done early today, all but taking out the trash, before going to perform this afternoon. I thought about going to a 'booya' soup serving at a church but knew I wasn't going to make it in time. I stayed in and got more items into souvenir binders, some were comedy-related and some weren't. it meant going through two bags of items I saved from my travels, knowing that I did some performing out of town. so I found items like a beer coaster from karaoke in suburban st. louis, and a show announcement flyer from new York city.
   performing went fine, I was near the end of the lineup. I started off with one about how I had been to Michigan, in reference to international falls making up fake credits about a Michigan magazine voting me some kind of honor. she was doing this for all of the comics.
  

paris je t'aime

I needed another photo album for my postcards and went to Walmart to get one. I chose the one that said 'paris je t'aime' as it reminded me of French class in high school. it was one a few places where I stopped for shopping today. barnes and noble was another, to get a travel guide about the Philippines. and to target, where I returned a DVD from last week and got a big poster frame for an e-bay order, an 'up in the air' movie poster in german.
   I performed tonight in arden hills as I knew the headliner, chalm-skinn. I arrived more than a 30  minutes early as I read the facebook invite as 8:30, so I arrived just after 8pm and found out the show started at 9pm.

bachelor party at concert

I went to a bachelor party tonight at triple rock in Minneapolis. opera singer was the guest of honor, and I arrived before he did. I spoke with a man wearing a Minneapolis Moline before then, as it reminded me of going to tractor shows with my dad. the first band was all right, I liked their song about being on the same page. the second band had a frontman who  was wearing a trench coat, and his guitar was shiny blue. it said 'minneapolis' and had the area code, 612, on it as well, under the strings. I was getting tired so I left in the intermission. the guest of honor admitted to being drunk, as a way of explaining why he kept hugging me. I said I don't mind, as i would have liked being hugged more often when I was young.
   I was double booked tonight. the first show I attended was a comedy show at a micro-brewery, and I got stage time there. first time I had been there in a while.
   I have been monitoring the news about the flooding in iowa.

lodge at crooked lake

tonight I took a long walk around the neighborhood and I saw some clothing on the pavement. when I found a safe time to pick it up, I did. this was a hoodie that said 'the lodge at crooked lake', in siren, WI. I've never been there, but I found out this place is about 100 miles northeast of the twin cities. the Wikipedia entry spoke of a town, and a village, called siren. both had a listed population of under a thousand. the website described it as 'rustic' and with a north woods theme. why this clothing was left on the road, I don't know. but I got a picture of it and then threw it in a trash bin near a traffic light, it stank. I had to turn it inside out to see what was on the front of it.
   as expected, most of what I found was the typical food and drink containers. this is why I bring a plastic shopping bag with me. I also found some coins, 18 cents in all, a dime and 8 pennies. most was found at the car wash. I started off the night finding one penny at the taco bell. I had dinner there, I had dozed off for about 30 minutes and then knew it was time to eat. i fell asleep shortly after the syndicated rerun of 'big bang theory' had ended. it was when penny ruined a valentines day dinner. Sheldon made amy his emergency contact.
   at work i did some special requests for the first time in a while, as my 'work spouse' has other duties now. not too hard for me when there wasn't that many, two in all. one was already logged out as a settlement, so it meant finding the printout and i only needed to close the request. the other was a copy of a title request. there was an advisory board meeting in the afternoon, looks like we may actually be getting around to our mission now after just discussing things for a while. i also took some time to look through my desk drawers for the first time in a while, and found some headphones. so i sent them home tonight to see how they work for my portable CD player, and they work fine. these are the ones put inside the ear instead of resting outside on top. i had those but the pads were either missing or worn, so it was no longer comfortable.
   i am starting to get annoyed with a colleague that recently moved into my area, as i keep getting unsolicited advice about things like how to eat, and my 'at a meeting' and 'out of office' signs. i did say 'can't believe i am being challenged about this' and 'i live my life my way'.

olympic scarf snoopy

I checked my plush collection at home and noticed the met-life snoopy given by a fellow comic wasn't the same one. so I gladly accepted the one from my boss. the one I had was a blue camouflage snoopy, the newer one has an Olympic scarf.
   I performed at the comedy club tonight, and I did acknowledge having the patriotic shirt on. others were much like earlier in the week, like cupcakes at the office, and lunching after the interview.
    in the morning I noticed a penny near a bus stop, so I went back and picked it u. actually it was four pennies. it was downtown, and I counted it as part of my walking that I do before I finally arrive at the office. there was a senior leader convention, I made it for what was the last 15 minutes as there was goodies. this meant some pringles chips, and trail mix. there was a drawing for those who were present, but I didn't win anything.

mock interview

I had a mock interview today near midday. I feel like it went well as I was prepared for it, though I was informed of things I can improve. we ate at a nearby restaurant after it, where I had a Cuban reuben sandwich. plenty of games there, board games like checkers but also skee-ball. I had wanted something like a mock interview all along, thankful it finally happened.
   I also made it to the performance venue. this was one of the things I covered in my set. I do respond to things said in my introduction as well, in this case I was described as a hero and was told I knew what I did. so I also made it a joke about a dominos pizza. and I referred to picking up a coin on the bus as I pick up loose change most anywhere I go.

talbots wooden coat hangers

found four talbots wooden coat hangers tonight in the parking lot of a Walgreen after leaving the performance venue. they appeared to be perfectly good to me so I claimed them, though I still plan on cleaning them first. Wikipedia said it was a specialty retailer, known for women's clothing. the company website listed 7 stores in Minnesota.

lightning crashes, live

I went to a volunteer orientation at the soap factory in Minneapolis this evening and during this time I heard the song 'lightning crashes' by the band called live. it is a reminder of my college days. I found the video on youtube. much of it depicts a woman in labor, then it ends with her baby being delivered and being kissed by her. there is another woman in it that lays dead and eventually somebody puts coins on her eyelids. hard to ignore the 'bald angel' in it. this is definitely a solemn song. also memorable was seeing a room where the singer is in and there are all of these books on the floor and some of the pages are turning, as if being moved by the wind.
   on some level it is hard to believe that we are at the point where one must start thinking about the fall, and Halloween. but doing a haunted house like the soap factory is on the indicators of the season. I did admit how I sometimes forget how important these sessions are, but once I get there I understand why we have them. they are valuable due to needing to warm up, and of course be aware of the changes from one year to the next. at one point we were told that what we saw was actually soap from when the place was really a soap factory. I would expect that I was not alone on signing up for this particular session because it was the last one offered.
    I did laundry for the first time in nearly a month, had no choice. I had done it just before I went to visit new York city. then I did dishes and ventured over to the performance venue. when I saw 'parking, $50' at the lot I told myself 'don't bother'. eventually I did see a message on facebook saying it was canceled due to the Vikings game, even though it was a 7pm start. I guess people were showing up really early for it. I found other things to do, like go to dairy queen and use for 2 for 1 blizzard coupon. much like before, I eat one there and take one home. the flavor of the month is pumpkin spice, so I got that one. the other was cookie dough, not what I ordered but I didn't say anything, as I am not too picky.
   I didn't do much after getting back from the soap factory, just grocery shopping and resting. nothing wrong with that at all.

don't let me down, chainsmokers

I was driving home after a show tonight and heard the song 'don't let me down' by the chainsmokers on my car radio. I have heard this one fairly often lately. besides the title itself, other notable lyrics were 'need a miracle', 'I need you right now', and 'losing my mind'. the video takes place in a wooded area, where two men are in a classic convertible car. it stops for some ladies that are on the road, and one of them is the singer, Daya. I like the instrumental parts when 'don't let me down' is sung, a good interlude. I checked the Wikipedia page for this music act, and found out the chainsmokers are a DJ duo. it was hard to tell when I mainly recalled their song 'selfie'. I found that song to be annoying, but it didn't surprise me at all that somebody did a song about selfies as it became a phenomenon. I do like what DJs can do at times for songs, like when the lana del rey song 'summertime sadness' was remixed by a DJ. david Guetta has done well as a DJ on various songs as well, most notable to me was with nicki minaj, 'hey mama'.
    I was no doubt active today once I left my home and got some things done. this meant going to the post office, nothing in my box but no e-bay or amazon orders lately. then on to the car dealer to have a free oil change done, first since I got the car in june. it was where I found out that the iowa hawkeyes lost to north Dakota state, as the college football scores were on in the waiting room as they had ESPN 2 on. I made an appointment and it was for an hour later, so I went to got shopping nearby at a target store. I hadn't eaten yet so I got a reese's peanut butter in addition to some media- a rolling stones greatest hits CD, and a DVD. I had the rolling stones on cassette tape, but I prefer being able to replace these with CDs whenever possible. it explains why my cassettes have dwindled to less than ten, as I junk them when a replacement is found. I will have to return or exchange the DVD, as I got home and found out I already had the movie. thankfully this doesn't happen too often.
  after the oil change I went to rice park in downtown st. paul and went to the Oktoberfest event. it was all right, but I like the one in new ulm way more. some of the displays there reminded me of what they have at german fest at the former Schmidt brewery. I had a bratwurst and bottled water, much like at other big events the beer was expensive so I didn't drink any. I was there for less than an hour, and during that time I had to fend off a bee multiple times while eating the bratwurst. at one point it was right in front of me when I was biting into the food! then it was off to the library, where I printed a few things, arriving just about 20 minutes before closing, which is 5pm. when I got home and said I was tired enough that I wanted to fall asleep in my car, but knew it wasn't practical. so I got inside and fell asleep in my easy chair. I slept for a while, and woke up just before 8pm. then I was on the road again, to see a comedy show in uptown Minneapolis. I saw the facebook invite, one of two for the night. I figured it was somebody's home as in that part of uptown it is just homes, I know this from going to that neighborhood for movies at the lagoon theater. at first I was bored, having to listen to some inane conversations before the show, people I didn't even know. then I saw them perform improv, two separate acts, and understood they were probably just warming up. it was things like batman and polar bears. the button performed stand-up comedy as well. one of her jokes was about being told she isn't fat. I hadn't seen her perform in a while. this was a basement venue. it took a little while to find a parking spot as it meant parking on the street.

dark side of the moon, pink floyd

I went to a burlesque show tonight and one of the musical numbers was 'dark side of the moon' by pink Floyd. I had heard this song many times before, I recalled the line 'and everyday the paperboy brings more' well. also common in this song is mention of a lunatic. I also liked hearing 'SOB' by the night sweats as  a musical number. the dancer held up some signs during that one. they said 'divorce' and 'self loathing' and were then torn up.
   first event I went to tonight was a high school football game. north st. paul was playing tartan, and when I arrived tartan was up 13-0 early in the 2nd quarter. I left when the game was put into a weather delay due to lightning early in the 4th quarter, tartan was up 34-13 by then so my guess is the outcome of the game was a tartan win.
   at the office, I had to cover for my cohort so it was busier than typical for a Friday. there was over 200 new titles, but I found a way to get them all perfected and filed by the end of the day.
   the Filipino man said his daughter's 5th birthday is this weekend. I happened to hear his voice in the hall when he was hanging signs, directing people around the floor like the signs at a museum.

st. thomas fellowship

I missed two buses this evening that were within a minute of each other, but what made it more enjoyable to wait was seeing the attorney arrive during this time. she spoke more at length about her work history, and one of those jobs was a fellowship at st. Thomas. it was multiple roles, such as professor and supervising other, younger  attorneys as I recall. I learn more when I listen more, and I did say when I was leaving how thankful I was for her sharing. also about work schedules and wanting to be a stay at home mom but wanting to be more marketable in terms of experience. some of this was in reference to hearing about the perks I see in corporate America that she doesn't see at a nonprofit like the treadmill that arrived this week, or kids in the office for trick or treating, or the company buying us lunch. it sounds like she had those at earlier roles.
   as expected, it looks like a picnic scheduled for tonight was canceled due to the rain, and there was plenty of rain. the invite said 'rain or shine' at como park in st. paul but I get over there and don't see anyone, and there was an hour left in the event. so I went to have dinner at popeye's chicken instead. then I went home and tried to watch a don rickles video, called 'mr. warmth', but I fell asleep in my easy chair.
   work wasn't too hard today, we got things done even though the boss is on a business trip for the rest of the week. but it is annoying that one thing I am in charge of is being done by someone else, and they aren't telling me this in advance so I have to find other ways to stay occupied in the afternoon after the payoff report and new titles are done. I did look at what was sent for a mock interview, next week. and I liked seeing the Filipino man of course in passing, I spoke more about the role I have meaning I don't have to make or take calls but he has to constantly since he is an underwriter. I said I did do calls before, but don't miss it at all.

slanted bus stop bench

i was waiting for the bus home after work and was standing for a while, then saw a bench to sit on. although a slanted bench is harder to sit on, at times I felt like I was sliding off so balance is important. the bus wasn't on time, unsure as to why.
   I went to the performance venue and it was nice doing some new jokes like a new treadmill arriving at the office. although I had to step off as it was going too fast for me, and the facility manager had to adjust the setting to one mile per hour which was much easier for me. another was about our 'news to know' message that normally arrives on a Friday.
   the Filipino man at my office tells me that most people in his native land speak English, though I think I still might want to learn some tagalog words before a visit to the Philippines. I said it is now a question of when as this does interest me. the next thing would be to go to a book shop and get a travel guide. I have found some online articles, but a book should have more. pleased to find out that no visa is needed if I am just planning on being there for a week as a tourist.

i don't even know your name, alan jackson

tonight at the performance venue I thought of the alan Jackson song 'I don't even know your name' when a patron asked if another patron was my spouse. and I said how we don't know each other's names. I recalled the video for this song, comedian jeff Foxworthy is in it. the song about buying a mercury (car) is another one I recall well by alan Jackson. it was also nice to talk with what appeared to be an employee who was having dinner, he said he liked my mention of 'growing up in a cauldron of verbal abuse' and I said I tag many of my jokes this way, how I wish I was making that up. he spoke of being a musician and boxer, and had a Cambodian flag pinned to his denim jacket. he gave me a card or sticker, that must have been the name of the music act he is in. also notable about the show was mr. pibb giving mention of my blog there but not the address, after I said I liked a joke about a knife and arby's. fargo Moorhead had a good one about how he is married, taken.

castle in denver

I shared a bus ride with the attorney this evening for the first time in a while, definitely before my NYC visit so it had been at least 2 weeks. she spoke of attending a wedding at a castle in Denver, I liked hearing the story. I spoke of not only new York, but also what I did this weekend, in new ulm and northfield, she made it just before the bus left its stop in the downtown area.
    I performed this evening. some of the jokes were like the previous day. I did ones about Walgreen, new ulm and northfield, 3 about the office, and the high school football game.
   I liked how it was a slower day than typical at the office for a Monday, this made it easier all around. the payoff report was lower volume, and no new titles arrived, so it was easier to complete more settlement offer letters.

best american science writing

I wanted to do some errand running before hitting the road today. one of those stops was to the US Bank ATM. I noticed a book next to it, so I picked it up after my transaction was done and said 'you have been claimed!' it is called the best American science writing, 2008 edition. it says the editor is Sylvia nasar, author of 'a beautiful mind'. I don't read science much, but what caught my eye about this one was seeing former vice president al gore as a contributor. his piece was called 'moving beyond kyoto', and was in the new York times. it mentions his nobel prize win in the introduction. there is a sticker on the back cover that gives the web address for 'book crossing'. it shows a book with legs and arms, and says 'i'm a good book! please take me home. I promise i'll behave. it gives a BCID number inside the front cover, and this sounds like the 'where's george' thing with dollar bills. this would be where entries are made online about where the dollar bill has been.
   I made it to northfield just before 12noon to attend the jesse james festival. so I saw the final bank robbery re-enactment of the day, at 12:30. it was the typical looking around at familiar places, though all I bought was the festival button. I have missed this festival only once since 2007, and that was when I was in florida, since I was in a relationship then. I had a chocolate shake, pork chop on a stick bottled water, and some popcorn. I knew I wanted to 'get out of dodge' before the parade began at 2pm, also because I wanted to get back to the twin cities and perform at the donut party. my set did include mention of things I had done this weekend, along with jealousy about who got NYC postcards as well as comments about a haircut. I was able to do my Walgreen joke- about leaving off the 's'- as international falls was there this week.
  I was tired before the comedy show ended, so I knew it was best to go home and sleep for a while after it, and I did. I woke up after 8pm, and knew I should eat so I had the little godfather's pizza I got at the bobby and steve's near the performance venue. I still had more chores and errand running to do, so I went to the grocery store to get my full order for the week. last night I just got mile and orange juice right before closing at midnight as I wanted to stay in for a little while this morning. then there was dishes, recycle, and trash. I also watched the news, but it was on late likely due to pro football games that ran over. there was a show on after it about the election, some of it was about the 'fact checking' of TV ads. there was also mention of the 'bobble head election' that the st. paul saints had last month. I did not attend it as I was in new York city during that week.

new ulm battery, hermann fest

I went to new ulm and saw Hermann fest this evening, largely due to knowing they fire civil war-era cannons at this event. I saw a facebook video from the town's tourist bureau and had to ask when they fire the cannons, as I usually just make it for Oktoberfest. I found out it was a month earlier. the organization in charge of the cannons is called 'new ulm battery', though a journalist for the local paper said there are some cannons that arrive from other states for this event. it sure was loud, no surprise there. but since I was expecting it this didn't startle me at all. they were fired in a park next to a baseball or softball field, down the hill from Hermann heights where the Hermann the german statue is located. I saw how somebody was in charge of what cannons were fired and when, seeing his gestures. thankful I saw it, aside from fort snelling I am not sure where else I have seen cannons. on my way there after parking my car up the hill I heard 'lonely people' by America. and I liked the 'silver cup' line, a reminder of hearing it in a class when watching a film. a cover band was playing country music, but when I heard 'chicken fried' by zac brown band I said there should be a fiddle player as well. I liked making it to town just before 5pm, in time to hear the final performance of the day at the bell tower. I also made a brief visit to german park in the middle of town, where I arrived just before a wedding party did for their photos. it became part of my photos for the day. after the cannons and cover band, there was a fireworks show nearby. then I started my drive home, stopping at the Hy-Vee at the edge of town for fuel and a candy bar. I made just one stop along the way, in st. peter to get a can of Coca-Cola. I did start yawning eventually, but I was nearly home by then.
   it worked well as usual to bring CDs for the drive to and from there. the four were: 'up in the air' movie soundtrack, Charlie daniels band 'decade of hits', 'essence' by Lucinda Williams, and 'no need to argue' by the cranberries. on the drive there I also stopped in st. peter, to get a candy bar and go to the bathroom. it was at a grocery store on the way down, at a holiday gas station on the way back.
  I made two visits to mcdonald's, first was a breakfast sandwich in the morning, my usual thing on the weekend. the other was in the afternoon, when I met Ronald McDonald. I ordered a strawberry shake on the second visit, and had a feeling I knew the actor playing Ronald from the comedy circuit. since that event started at 1pm I knew I had to delay starting my drive to new ulm, but no big deal as I still got to what meant the most to me. there was also printing some emails at the library. I added a few more things to my album about this year's fringe festival. I was getting annoyed with the road closures due to construction, be it in the twin cities or around new ulm. between Mankato and new ulm it meant being on a 2-lane highway for much of the way, not a fan as there is little or no margin for error.  

i'm not the only one, sam smith

I watched a video that a comedy friend, the button, did live on facebook. when I had the time, so I didn't see it live like others did. she did 3 songs while putting on makeup, and the third was 'i'm not the only one' by sam smith. it had some catchy lyrics, not sure if I had heard it before. I liked lines such as 'vows, for better or for worse', 'had my doubts', and 'I still need you here'. the middle song was 'someone like you' by adele. the first was 'you know i'm no good' by amy winehouse. I recall being asked by a dental assistant before what I thought of amy, and said 'I thought she was a train wreck' as I heard more about her drug problems than her music. notable lyrics for this one included 'meet you downstairs in the bar', 'I told you i'm trouble', and 'stuck the knife in first'. I think I have written about Adele's music before. I said I liked the passion in these three, especially the adele song. this friend is known for doing karaoke, so I think this was done in a  karaoke format.
    in the evening I went out to a high school football game. the contest was st. paul highland park vs. Minneapolis washburn. seeing the flow of the game, it didn't surprise me much how it ended, as washburn won 27-21. washburn was up 14-0 at the half, and 21-0 early in the 4th quarter. there was a flurry of action near the end, highland park made it interesting, but of course it wasn't enough. the two washburn TDs in the first half were aided by a short field, a short punt (the first) and a fumble (the second). washburn did not punt at all in the first half. the oddest thing was seeing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, against washburn, with just over a minute left. washburn was up 27-7 at the time, why would any of their players be upset about anything? it may have been after a pass interference call, but still didn't make sense. as the saying goes, cooler heads prevail. there was another interference penalty after unsportsmanlike conduct, this time in the end zone. then the squib kick worked. but after the margin was narrowed to 6, there was no squib kick, and the final play was a kneel down. this is sometimes called 'victory formation'. a kid asked me why he kept talking, which is a good question. I correctly guessed what the penalty was. hopefully he learned his lesson about how to conduct yourself around the refs.
   this game did remind me why I like high school football, dating back to watching these games while growing up in iowa. it is dirt cheap, as it was free parking, game ticket was $5, and my food and drink order was another $5. and I had plenty of food and drink- bottled water, hot dog, doritos, and reese's peanut butter. I will probably see more of these games here in the twin cities this season. I haven't seen a game in my hometown of newton, IA, since 2007, and I would like to think I will see another game there someday but not sure as to when.
  

ria money transfer

tonight I got off the bus and noticed there was a tent in my neighborhood that said 'ria money transfer', also the Spanish translation. so I went out on a fact-finding mission and found there was food available, celebrating the independence of an african nation, or the new year, hard to tell based on what was told or heard from a microphone. I hadn't heard of this organization, but they had water bottles available. I turned them down as I already have plenty of water bottles. the food was good, the meat appeared to be beef in chunks, and rice, some salad, and bread. I had some bottled water to go with it. there was a 'bouncy castle' for the kids, and it did remind me of what I have seen before with national night out. I have an 'after-work routine' that includes checking email, so I went back when I was satisfied with my progress. also since the rerun of 'big bang theory' I had seen before, when howard returns home after being in space. the prime time episode I had seen before as well, where Sheldon still was condescending when offering a gift to howard and Bernadette. then I spent some time on youtube, and found my set from the comedy marathon earlier this year, hadn't seen it yet. then I ventured out again and did a long walk around my neighborhood. I found the typical trash, which was tossed in a bin along the way, and two pennies, which went into my change bank.
  this was an easier day at work all-around, lower volume on all things I do. I did a refresher course on special requests since my 'work spouse' is taking on another role and needed to hand off these duties to others.

soccer ball in cart

I get back from performing tonight and I noticed a soccer ball in a shopping cart in my neighborhood. so I took a picture of it. I see weird things like this all the time and I want to remember them. but I knew I couldn't spend too much time on it as I needed to go to the bathroom.
   it went well performing, I spoke of things like my boss explaining why he said 'my precious'. and my payout from fringe. and the 'me myself and i' song. or how I learned an office colleague is an ex-new Yorker after sending a postcard to someone else. and what I saw in sauk centre. or how I may have a good match from internet dating for a change. or getting a haircut. and the music I heard at grunge night at the saints game. I liked seeing some people I hadn't seen in a while, one of them was a rapper. I said it would be nice to see another one of his shows. he got a business card once he heard I have a blog. I liked a song he performed tonight that sounded like an auto-bio, about things like what didn't seem fair in his upbringing. but performing was a saving grace. of course I am paraphrasing here. I found it to be relatable.

me myself and i, g-eazy and bebe rexha

recently I heard a song on my car radio that caught my attention, as it spoke about fame. it was 'me myself and i', by g-eazy and bebe rexha. the 'me myself and i' part is sang by bebe, and I liked another line of hers as well- 'music fills me good'. the rap parts were performed by g-eazy. I found many of his lines to be relatable as well, like 'be alone, fake friends' and when he speaks about fame. this would be 'now that i'm famous, everyone knows this lifestyle is dangerous, but I love it the rush is amazing'. the video was found on YouTube, and mostly takes place at a private home, his birthday party, a surprise party. the part with the most profound effect on me was the spoken part, when he is alone in the bathroom and talking to what looks like more than one image of himself in the mirrors. and one of them said 'you signed up for this'. I have had to tell myself this about performing as well, I signed up for all that goes with it- the good and the bad. so I like how two different kinds of music appear in this song, and both of them work for me.
  my normal open-mic tonight was called off, a musician was booked at the venue instead but we were told it will be on again next week. I made the most of it, deciding to get around to some things that had been delayed for too long. one of those was listening to the 'dollop podcast', a fellow comic told me about it and I liked hearing how much of it covered history. I first listened to one about the 'molly maguires', which I recalled from history class as they figured into the history of labor unions in the 19th century. I think this may also have been the name of Pittsburgh's baseball team for a short time in that era as well. the other was about 'ten-cent beer night' at a Cleveland Indians baseball game in 1974, against the texas rangers. it was all right, but hard to keep up with as one of the moderators of the podcast kept making jokes about everything. I am aware that it is done by comedians, but at times it was still a little too much for me. but I still liked how somebody helped me feed my need for history. another notable thing was getting paid for my role in the fringe festival last month. I checked what my account number was from my paypal account but found out I just needed to supply my email account, in my case Hotmail. so I wear it as a 'badge of honor' to have another paid gig, and I did say to the resistable comic, our show runner, that it helped me pass the 'century mark' on my total earnings for performing.
  as expected, it was a long day at work as it was the first day back after the holiday. besides the payoff report I did one pack of contracts, and not many letters. the new titles will wait another day.

short skirt long jacket, cake

on facebook tonight I got the reference on one posting, where there was a pie chart and it was a reference to a song by cake, called 'short skirt long jacket'. I found the video on youtube, it was a fairly short song at two and a half minutes. it shows the band playing outside, and a young lady smiling, but wearing jeans fairly often. at the end of the video she is wearing a short skirt and a long jacket, and is walking in an apartment building while a man is sitting down on the floor. there is talk of cars in the lyrics as well, trading an MG for a white Chrysler lebaron.
   in the afternoon I went to the renaissance festival, and it was nice to see some people I knew out there. I saw the radio personality, and brawler. and of course I did the 'blues brothers moment' with brawler. it reminds me how I have a standing offer to tour a radio studio, hopefully I can find the time soon since I am less busy when the summer is over. I did many of the typical things at ren-fest, such as tour the museum depicting various torture tactics as it is cheap, at $1.25. I had a corn dog, and a bottle of water, and made it to the robin hood show where I know two of the actors in it. one of them I still work with, the other I understand is now a full-time actor. also nice to see the mermaids. I picked up a nickel on the shuttle bus and it was part of what I gave at the mermaid exhibit.
   in the evening after 'big bang theory' I did a long walk around the neighborhood. it yielded the typical finds, plenty of trash which was thrown into a bin at a super-America. I also found 3 pennies, each one at a different place. before going to the festival I liked getting some chores done, such as logging into linkedin for the first time in months. I trimmed my contact list a little, it was necessary. I have done the same thing with facebook and twitter, where I wanted to stress quality, and in some cases I just didn't recognize their names. I did send out some connection requests as well, and I think two have already been accepted, one of them was from the Filipino man. I knew this was a good day to get things crossed off my list. when I was coming back from the festival I stopped at a super-America and got an ice cream sandwich, sparkling water, string cheese, and a pack of nutter butter. I knew this would hold me until I got home.

hype! documentary

this morning , I watched my VHS copy of 'Hype!',  a documentary about the grunge music groups from Seattle in the early 1990s. so attending the recent Saints baseball game, which featured music of the grunge era, continues to influence me. I recall getting this VHS copy when I was living in suburban Chicago from 1998-2004, at a blockbuster video store, it was 'previously viewed'. on the back it says it has a nirvana exclusive, the first-ever performance of 'smells like teen spirit'. other exclusives are with pearl jam- an interview with frontman eddie vedder- and with soundgarden. it does remind me of how I have a VHS collection that has dwindled over the years, where they are junked if I find the same movie on DVD. so it did inspire me to check amazon to see about ordering the DVD copy there, and possibly the movie soundtrack as well. I liked how there was mention of the movie 'singles' in it, I already have it on DVD, and the soundtrack. it also reminded me of having some plaid flannel shirts when I was in college. so this may inspire me to find another one, although it might mean checking what is at secondhand stores. it is hard to say what the biggest takeaway was from seeing it again, although I like documentaries and biographies so it meant the interviews in it I really liked. I recall one interview saying something about 'doing it our own way', so of course that resonated with me.
    this afternoon I performed at the 'donut party', though international falls couldn't make it so we had a sub as the MC, who spoke of delivering for jimmy john's. I did most of my set about my recent travels to new York city, and to sauk centre. then I went home and rested for a while before I went to another show in the evening. school bouncer closed that show and got me another 'snapchat' interview, though I still haven't seen any of them since I haven't joined yet. the group is called 'the brothas', and I was bummed that one of them couldn't make it from Chicago but it was still a good show to attend. some of these performers I don't see that often, like a tall, thin dude who is high-energy, I said I wished I had his energy.
 

sinclair lewis, sauk centre

I made it up to the Sinclair lewis home in sauk centre this afternoon, knowing that time was running out on seeing it this season. I did get some souvenirs as well. there is a button from the centennial in 1985, a laminated card listing his novels and plays, and some postcards. one of them had the postage stamp he is on, stamped like a 'first day cover' envelope. I am trying to think of what I learned from the tour, though there was mention of a stepmom that was an influence and it reminded me of what I had read about Abraham Lincoln. and I found out he had plenty of novels that I hadn't heard of. looking at the card I said I knew most of them from 'main street' (1920) to 'dodsworth' (1929) and that was about it. and I understood he got the nobel proze shortly after this time, in 1930. I got pictures of other things in town, like the movie theater, and a bar that had the front end of a car sticking out above the front door. I spoke with the man who was in front of the bar for a little while, a patron. I had lunch at the casey's convenience store, a slice if pizza and a bottle of tea, before I did the tour. then after it my last stop before leaving town was the holiday gas station, for an ice cream sandwich. another patron in the bathroom there spoke of getting treatment for cancer. I was tired on the drive home, but I made it fine. late in the evening I went to a comedy show, small world is the show runner. I got the 'how right I was' feeling early on in the show, when the heard the jukebox on the upper level playing 'say it aint so' by weezer. after the show ended I liked hearing 'time of your life' (good riddance) by green day.

hunger strike, temple of the dog

I loved going to the st. paul saints baseball game tonight, as they played music from 'grunge era'. during the fireworks one of those was 'hunger strike' by temple of the dog, which had members of various bands. I knew it as having chris cornell from soundgarden and eddie vedder from pearl jam, there is mention of mother love bone as well, a forerunner of pearl jam. I liked the video, it shows cornell, and then vedder, singing by themselves, with vedder in the grass. then scenes change fairly quickly, with the band playing on a beach and other views. memorable is the line 'I don't mind stealing bread from the mouths of decadents'.
   the saints played the Lincoln (Nebr.) Saltdogs, and lost to Lincoln 5-2. the saints never led in this one, though they tied it twice. I liked walking around the stadium for a while after I arrived on the shuttle from gabe's bar. I use this shuttle less often since the saints moved from midway stadium to CHS field, but I still like using it once a season since I got to know the shuttle driver a little. it was crowded on this little bus, I was standing both times but I didn't mind, I just wanted to get somewhere. and when I got back to gabe's bar I had a bottle of grain belt beer and then I left, as I wanted some airline miles and this establishment is on the 'dining for miles' program. sadly I had to deal with some annoying people near my seat. one lady kept picking on a 'special needs' man and I wanted to say and do something, but what? I thought about doing something extreme but I didn't want to get ejected. I liked talking to this man throughout the game, he really liked the fireworks.
   it was hard to keep up with all of the music I was hearing but, as expected, it was a reminder of my college days in iowa city. 'dummy pictures' of the opposing team members on the big video board happened to be members of the band nirvana, and just before the fireworks the team showed a video inspired by their song 'smells like teen spirit'. like many people, now when I think of this song I am just as likely to think of the weird al yankovic parody, 'smells like nirvana'. dick van patten was in the video, for the parody. it reminded me how I have the movies 'singles' and 'hype!', about the grunge era, the former on DVD and the latter on VHS. I also have the 'singles' movie soundtrack. I knew one of my favorite bands, smashing pumpkins, had a song on the soundtrack and nirvana did not, even though the pumpkins are a Chicago band and not considered to be 'grunge'. during the fireworks I heard 'teen spirit' by nirvana, the aforementioned 'hunger strike', 'man in the box' by alice in chains, and 'evenflow' by pearl jam. there was trivia questions at one point between innings, and I liked seeing the images that were rebuses. one had 'alice in chains' as alice in wonderland. another was stone temple pilots, not a seattle band, although I have two of their CDs and I liked hearing 'interstate love song' during the game as well. actually, grunge went back a little farther for me. 'teen spirit' was a hit on MTV when I was a senior in high school. then a year later, pearl jam was a big thing, and I was at college in iowa city by then. and after that, smashing pumpkins. I liked being able to see pearl jam in concert twice, both times at alpine valley, WI, in 1998 and 2003. it also meant sharing the story about renting a car to get there as I had just moved from iowa to suburban Chicago, and my car had just broken down. I even heard a red hot chili peppers song, 'give it away', although the peppers were around before the grunge era, having been in the movie 'tough guys' back in 1986. I also mentioned Green Day, which is from that era, although not from Seattle and actually punk.
   during my lunchtime I went to a nearby building and got a haircut, by a barber that is also at the saints games. first time I had been in the building, when I walk in the skyway I am usually going the other direction, as the shop is in the degree of honor building. the workday was an easier one as expected, low volume on not just the payoff report but also the new titles and settlement letters.

minnesota territorial pioneers

I went to the Minnesota state fair today and saw something I hadn't before, a building for an organization called the Minnesota territorial pioneers. I bought a paul bunyan postcard there and liked seeing a display about prominent citizens in st. paul in the 19th century, kind of on a small chalkboard. I said it explained some of the street names in the town, like larpenteur, goodhue, and rice. as usual I had a pork chop on a stick, I did this shortly after arrival at 2pm. also had an ice cream cone, a ride on the carpet slide, a box of popcorn, and some root beer. I walked around pretty much the entire fairgrounds, and I liked seeing the artwork in the fine arts building. I voted for the one of the intersection of university and snelling, showing light rail, a book shop, and the mcdonald's. also liked a parody of grant wood's 'American gothic', in another building. there was another photo from kemps ice cream, with the cow 'photo bombing' me, and the newspaper museum.
  in the evening I went to CHS field and saw the st. paul saints baseball game, it was german night. great to see a fellow comic there performing, the Philadelphia native. the saints beat Winnipeg 1-0. it was scoreless for a while, then an intentional walk loaded the bases in the 9th. a sacrifice fly drove home the winning run for the saints, so it was in 'walk off' fashion. there was a celebration after it on the field by the players, and the video board said it clinched the playoffs for the saints. I also have a ticket for the Friday game, but a different opponent.