i think we're alone now, tiffany

I was driving to the performance venue tonight and an oldies radio station was doing 1987 songs. what caught my attention was 'I think we're alone now', by tiffany. I was aware of this being a remake of a tommy james song, of course they now say 'cover' instead of remake. tommy james music was what dad played to wake me up for breakfast and church on sunday. mention was made by the DJ of another tommy james remake doing well, 'mony mony' by billy idol.
   I got a lot done today, but it meant staying in for a while. it all started due to wanting to find out what books by bill Bryson I already had. since I just placed an amazon order this weekend for another book by this author. I have two, but not the one I just ordered, 'a short history if nearly everything'. I did my best to group books by the same author, such as the ones by Michael moore, and the 'chicken soup' series. it also meant filling a box I had claimed a few weeks ago. since there were plenty of books on top of one bookcase. I also got business cards and comedy souvenirs into binders. and I found a gas and car wash discount card I was given by the dealer I bought my car from. I used it right away as I needed gas this afternoon. it is a good deal, with holiday stations. it gives a 10-cent discount per gallon when the card is swiped. the discount is smaller with the super-America loyalty program, just 3 cents.
   the ones I did at the performance venue include you're late for lunch, taking one for the team, French weekend, and saying no to a match from internet dating. also about common courtesy, or lack thereof.

cezanne and me movie

saw another French bio-pic tonight. it was 'cezanne and me', at the lagoon in Minneapolis. it was about the friendship between writer emile zola and painter paul cezanne. I was more moved by this one than the one on Friday, since it was about artists. like how cezanne said he was a 'lifer' when it comes to painting. and zola saying one of his books was a metaphor, and I like to write and use metaphor. there was also what a man said about artists, how they 'live an entire life for one minute of applause'. as usual, I recall enough French from studying four years of it in high school that some of the dialogue was not literally translated.
   it was a typical weekend day, filled with chores and errand running. besides going to the post office box to pick up some orders, there were other things to do. there was printing things at the library, and making a visit to the barnes and noble book shop on nicollet mall in Minneapolis as the paper said today was the last day it would be open. I bought two postcards and a baseball book, things were half-off. I saw it as a photo-op as well, got plenty of pictures inside and outside the store.
   some other things I wanted to do included checking out a store called Tuesday morning that I had heard of and is near me but for whatever reason hadn't been to. it appears to be a general merchandise store, and I didn't need much of what they were selling so I left without making a purchase. and I checked on tickets for a play that is closing in less than a month, found out most shows still have some tickets left. so this pleases me, as I should be able to wait a little longer on getting a ticket. and after the movie it meant going to the grocery store, which I did after watching 'life to the max', on after the 10pm news on WCCO, as there was a feature about the st. paul saints baseball team. so much like many other recent grocery visits, I made it just before closing time. but it doesn't take me long to make it through as I know what I need, as I am just buying for myself.

madame curie movie

I went to another movie at the MSP film-fest. this one was a bio-pic about scientist madame (or marie) curie. the screening was at metro state university in st. paul, hadn't been there much before. as a stodgy academic I do tend to be comfortable at a university. there were some funny lines in it, snappy comebacks to the sexism she was dealing with. one scene was mostly in English, early in the movie, but subtitles were up anyway. I recognized them as the british form is English, especially seeing words like 'rubbish' and 'mum'. like many other bio-pics I have seen, it seemed to give a warning: being famous isn't easy. it mainly covered the height of her fame, many bio-pics are like this. parking was in a ramp nearby, and it was nice how it was cheaper than what I paid bear st, Anthony main heater in Minneapolis last year. I ordered an advance ticket, a good idea as I don't need to wait in line for a ticket.
   after it I went to see a burlesque show. some acts were new, some were not. it was nice to see moonshine matinee do a musical number to 'SOB' by Nathaniel rateliff. it was a good night for joke writing, so much I saw when out and about. it is not too often where I am inspired to write as many jokes as I did tonight, but we can't ignore who we are and I want to be able to write down something.

about last night movie-1986

there was two movies I had on loan from the library, and I got the second watched tonight after my walk around the neighborhood. it was 'about last night', the one from 1986 with a Chicago setting and starring Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Jim Belushi, and Elizabeth Perkins. as usual, I learned something from it. the opening credits said it was based on 'sexual perversion in chicago', found out this was a play. according to Wikipedia, the play went back to 1974. I had seen at least some of this movie before, but not sure if I had seen all of it. I just recall when it was new, saying 'I noticed how movies in that city usually have a setting on the cubs side of chicago'. I correctly predicted one scene in it, when he goes out to argue with his lady and gets locked out of his apartment. the movie does take an honest look at relationships, so I liked it. like many other belushi roles I have seen, he plays a pervert. I know I have seen the later version, from 2014, still have the poster on my wall. the poster was given out at the comedy club as it was part of the promotion of advance screenings.
    I watched two 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when howard returned from space and nobody seemed to care all that much. prime time episode was when Sheldon tried to learn how to use a unicycle and howard found Bernadette's ventriloquist dummy. then I took a walk around the neighborhood, after looking at some mail. and noticing some of my member cards needed to be added to my wallet, since I had renewed the memberships and I wanted current ones in there. it was a nice yield on finding coins, but less of it was found at the car wash this time. it was 24 cents, a dime a nickel and 9 pennies. the nickel and dime wasn't found there.
   I also had a craving for some spam, so I went to the grocery store and got a single serving. along with some string cheese, and a small bag of chips. pleased to find some microwave popcorn in the discount bin, so I bought it as well.
   at the office, there was a donut fundraiser in the morning. I did not buy any, it was a dollar apiece, but some colleagues did and offered some to me. I had two, the first was offered just minutes after I had stamped in. I had passed over the part about how they weren't free.
  on facebook I finally did the posting that many others did, a top ten and one is a lie. it was about music acts I had seen in concert. it was more fun than I expected, as I got comments about it. usually I just get likes. it took a while to see some of those acts, but thankful I got to see them. some I have seen twice.

eraser found

I went to get the mail and noticed an eraser was bear my mailbox, so I claimed it. odd place to leave an eraser, along with a penny. so of course the coin went into my change bank. I try not to use erasers much, but sometimes they are quite necessary. I have them available at my home and at the office.
  I performed at two different venues tonight. this is not typical for me, but the second one is my regular place to perform on this night of the week. it meant leaving just before the first show ended so I could get signed up for the second. I did ones about a meetup group, a sister fight, do you want a friend?, the TV show 'making history', 50-cent, and an internet dating match I should have screened out. I said I wanted to see pictures of software developer's kids, but that did not happen and not sure why. it was in reference to one of the jokes in his set. 'extra murder' comic spoke of being in france.
   at the office, new titles arrived in the second half of the day, which is not typical. but I didn't mind as I was busy for the entire day.

lunch bag retired

today I decided to retire a lunch bag that was given to me by my employer. what made this decision easier was finding another one in the breakroom. I had seen it there the previous day and it went unclaimed for a while so I figured it was fair game. I did one thing that I've done before when retiring some items- I kept a piece of it. I cut off the front part, which was part of a pocket, that said 'health coach' and a toll-free number on it. it was all torn inside, and the zipper often got caught on a corner and I had to help it along at times. I noticed some of the corners had holes as the stitching was coming apart. this one had a good run, I had it for a while. I try to keep things around as long as I can, as long as they are useable.
   tonight I was part of a comedy contest, and I liked how I had some office colleagues there. two in all, the site leader and his wife. some others said they could make it a few days earlier but then said they couldn't make it. I did ones about taco bell, being asked invasive questions, gifts on a first date, 50-cent, and performing in costumes. I did not advance but it is hard to advance. I knew two of the judges, facebook friends. one was the bus fare comic. I briefly said hi to big dog after the show was over but he was busy probably talking business with others there, so that is all I got to do.
 

stroh's beer sign

tonight at the performance venue I saw a stroh's beer sign. hadn't noticed it before, though I had been to this venue many times before. it said 'welcome aboard beer lovers'. it does remind me of seeing plenty of TV ads for stroh's beer in the 1980s. it often said 'stroh's is spoken here'. and in a box of buttons I bought at an auction house, I found a button with this slogan. they even had a dog for a mascot, called alex. and of course in the tone loc song 'funky cold medina' they reference this dog, as well as spuds Mackenzie. I did ones about a meetup group, pretzel at a baseball game, a sister fight at the office, do you want a friend?, and garage door opener.
   it was a busy day at the office, being the first day of the week. it was more than 200 cases closed on the payoff report. my cohort decided not to do any of the new titles, and I was in accord with that. they can be moved back a day. I did do some contracts though. and I let our I.T. man that after looking at the st. paul saints schedule I think I would like to visit texas in july. I like seeing saints games enough that I like choosing them by nightly themes. but of course I would still need to figure out how many days, probably four or five. and what airport to fly into.

   

allegheny uprising movie

I watched a movie on loan from the library this morning, 'Allegheny uprising', starring john wayne. it was from 1939 apparently, just after his breakthrough role in 'stagecoach'. this one was about an event that was before the American revolution, and john wayne played the leader of the insurrection. or some people would call it 'uprising', since that word is in the title. I know it wasn't in any of the history books I had read, but I have said this before. there was a spirited lady in the movie as well.
   I went to another college baseball game this afternoon, it was the Minnesota gopher game vs. Nebraska. gophers lost 9-4, and never led during this game. ground rule double scored the first run, and another was scored on a double play when Nebraska went up 3-0 in the third. Minnesota did narrow the gap to 5-4 at one point, aided by two home runs. I got in free as I was waiting in line for a ticket and a man offered me one of his. I looked at it and it said general admission, and said 'works for me'. I had a soft pretzel there, but in the future that isn't likely as I didn't like the bitter salt on it. I just didn't want a hot dog two straight days.
   I made it to the performance venue tonight. I spoke of being rejected by a meetup group, going to see college baseball games, a sister fight, and a lady at karaoke night. I did stop for gas on the way home, saw how much was left and said I am not a gambler.

let's play two

as I recall, it was ernie banks who said 'let's play two'. well I went to a college baseball doubleheader at the saints stadium this afternoon, hamline was playing Concordia. hamline lost the first game 4-0 but won the second, 9-4. it didn't sound right to me about having the seventh inning stretch being played, since it was an instrumental version. this was only in the second game, which was 9 innings. the first game was 7 innings.
   I made it to a friend's comedy show tonight at a micro-brewery in Minneapolis, the second show. wanted to get chores and errand running, like grocery shopping, done first.

face in the crowd movie

after having an evening meal at taco bell tonight, the first time in a while, I watched another DVD on loan from the library. it was 'face in the crowd', starring andy Griffith and walter Matthau. a friend from the comedy circuit had mentioned it on facebook and this is what prompted me to find it. it was about a man's rise and fall, starting as a drunk in a county jail in Arkansas. this is a compelling story, about the influence he had for a while. I had to go back and watch some scenes again as I was afraid I had missed too much due to being tired, laying down in my easy chair while watching the movie. as the saying goes, 'what goes up must come down'. I watched some of the special features as well, putting it into historical perspective better. it was released in 1957, not long after the joe McCarthy witch-hunts. it seemed to be a warning how television, still a new medium at the time, can make or break people. apparently not many understood it then, as it was a box-office flop, but many understand it now. I guess it explains why the movie became popular enough to be released onto DVD. the main character greatly relies on the woman that discovered him at the county jail. and one scene reminds me of a saying that my dad has about politicians he doesn't like- 'wouldn't want them for dog catcher'. although I responded one time by saying they might be good at being a dog catcher, but not in political office. he reminded me how it is just a figure of speech.
    at the office we had a pizza party with a tropical theme, but I did not have a tropical shirt so I wore a shirt that the company had given me. the food was nearly an hour late as we were told the order was entered as '11:45pm' instead of 'am', in terms of when the delivery was to be made. no big deal to me, as I found things to do, namely work, while I was waiting. I often don't go to lunch until about 12:30pm anyway, so for my purposes I was basically still eating close to 'on time'. my cohort brought in some banana bread in the morning and I had some of it as well. my boss was out of the office today, he said his in-laws were in town and wanted to see some more of them before their flight departed. it also looks like I have some interest from office colleagues on seeing me perform in a comedy contest next week. I sent a message to them saying free tickets were available.

SS eastland, chicago

I was getting an oil change for my car tonight and was reading sports illustrated while waiting. there was a 'what if?' article where some of the scenarios interested me. one of those was an event I hadn't heard of, a boat called the SS eastland that capsized in Chicago in 1915. George halas, who later founded the NFL's Chicago bears, bought a ticket for that boat but was late and it had capsized by the time he had arrived. I liked that studying history has given me a love of learning, so I am still willing to read whatever I can find. not sure why it has been largely forgotten by the history books, as the death toll was high, over 800. it was just three years after the sinking of the titanic. two others if interest to me were about the babe ruth trade. it could have easily been to the white sox and not the Yankees. and how mr. trump wanted to buy the NFL's buffalo bills, but was outbid. I had heard about the third one, but not how it had ended- being outbid. it did make me think of some 'what ifs' in my life. the most notable was when I was looking at jobs in early 2009, wanting to 'quit dorking around with temp agencies' as I was advised by my then-roommate. there was two offers on the table, I accepted the one with the signature group and turned down the one from TCF bank. would I still have ended up in Minnesota had I accepted the one from TCF? possibly. as I recall, I didn't want to work in a super-market location on a sunday and being in sales. call center work was more appealing, but I found out it was hard work.
   I did watch some 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when howard found out his space station mission conflicted with his wedding to Bernadette. prime time episode was when Sheldon kept hurting himself as he was jealous of a colleague that got an award. it ended with them being in the studio audience on the 'ellen' show. after this I had the oil change done, scheduled in advance and wanting to free up the weekend for other activities. when I got back I did the customary walk around the neighborhood. it did mean a nice yield on coins, 37 cents in all, as usual most were found at the car wash. it was 2 dimes a nickel and 12 pennies. I also found a foreign coin, and had to check it online to find out where it was from. it was a 1-birr coin, and the search said it was from Ethiopia. not much else I recognized on the coin in terms of the wording. one side had the justice scales, the other has a lion  head. I have to remind myself how this is an international city so finding some foreign coins is not too big of a deal. I also know well enough to pick them up when I see them as I don't know when else the opportunity will present itself. as the saying goes, 'get while the getting is good'.
   in other issues, I saw two women arguing at the office this week and thankful that my boss intervened. it was two sisters. I had said that when this happens, I just leave as I have seen too much drama in my life. I also cut two people from my facebook friends list, both accounts were inactive. and I essentially replaced both in the same week. the two cut I hadn't heard from in a while, and the two I added are from the comedy circuit. I stress relevance and quality in my friends list, and I do review the list from time to time and make changes when needed.

do you want a friend?

I decided to do karaoke tonight as I knew my normal open-mic would be unavailable due to showing the wild hockey playoff game. I did two songs there. it was 'here comes the rain again' by the eurythmics, and 'the middle' by jimmy eat world. I met someone there that liked my hat. I will have to thank the yemen native as he said I should get the hat back in November. I said I don't struggle with performing, I struggle with dating'. this was in reference to this new friend speaking of deciding to go out, which can be terrifying. the response I got was 'not wanting you to seduce me, do you want a friend?' and I am fine with friends. we all need people that understand us, have been through some life experiences that we can relate to. so I was given a name and was told to search the name on 'the book of faces'. I said this reminds me of what they might say at renaissance festival.
  and to think I was ready to write about drinking Perrier this week. guess I still could do that. or what I got at Walgreen before heading for the karaoke venue, which was some more discounted easter candy, potato chips, and 3 bars of soap.
  

dressed like a turtle

tonight when I was taking the stage the show runner, soap opera, said I was 'dressed like a turtle'. not sure why, the hat maybe? I know I wasn't wearing green. I did ones about the easter church service, fish frys, and 50 cent as well. at work I am told that my boss's boss is out, he is ill apparently. we got started printing barcodes en masse for imaging, though I think at times we may have been butting heads. since the system showed 'deleted' for some of my entries and I had to re-enter them. only one person in the system at a time is sometimes the best option. I submitted a email with my biography for auditions for a festival later this year, will hope for the best.

hockey stick found

I was driving to the comedy club tonight and saw a hockey stick on the pavement. after I parked I went over to claim it. except it didn't fit in the trunk of my car, so it had to go into the back seat. not sure why I claimed it, as I don't play the sport. did I want a weapon? hard to say. it went well performing. I did ones about fish frys, my easter meal, 50-cent, and another one I got started near the end of my set. I liked hearing from various crowd members how they liked it. I said it is easier and more fun the more I do it.
   the office job wasn't much fun. it was a high-volume Monday and there were I.T. problems. so I had to wait on logging out anything after pulling all of the documents. but we got it all done by the end of the day. and after I was at the comedy club I went to Walgreen and got some of the discounted easter candy, mostly Russell stover. but I also got a bag of lay's sweet southern heat BBQ chips, for whatever reason I was craving those.

easter meal at IKEA

after going to church for easter services and then doing laundry, I needed a midday meal. first place had a brunch, but out of my price range, 21 dollars. I said 'thank you' and left. their sign from the road didn't say how much. next place was a taco truck, but the machine to run debit card transactions wasn't available. only found this out after they had taken my order. even though the sticker in the window said they accepted them, he said his boss wasn't there. hmm. so I started driving to the mall of America, and reminded myself that IKEA is nearby and I like the food there. so I ate there, I had some cheesecake and the Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes and green beans. I tried watching a DVD movie on loan from the library, but I fell asleep in my easy chair so I will have to try again soon. I also stopped at a Walgreen after IKEA as I wanted some microwave popcorn.
   I made it to the performance venue in the evening. I spoke of where I did and did not eat, a clothing donation, Vivian maier, the easter services, fish frys, and we are not related. the route from last week worked well again, the number of stops at a light are minimal.

say anything movie

I got two movies on loan from the library this afternoon, and I watched one of them already. it was 'say anything'. I have been reading a book about karaoke and one chapter had a list of songs for different occasions, for lack of a better term. one list was 80's teen movies, and mentioned 'in your eyes' by peter Gabriel, which was in this movie. it was the song played in the scene when the john cusack character was serenading his lady. there are various things about this movie that left a lasting impression. some of those were found in the closing credits, like the music being used in it. some of the songs were from seattle bands, since this was the setting of the story. and I recognized the band names as being part of the 'grunge movement' of the 90's, which happened just a few years later. this included mother love bone, a forerunner of pearl jam. and soundgarden as well. of course some others were the actors in it, such as john mahoney playing a father in it. then having bebe neuwirth in it, a reminder of 'cheers', and its spinoff, 'frasier'. the cars were another thing, as john cusack drove a chevy Malibu from the 1970s in it. and how he tried to teach his lady how to drive a stick shift, a compact ford car. and I saw some familiar names behind the scenes as well, such as Cameron crowe and james l. brooks. since I know jim brooks doing the TV show 'the simpsons'. it reminded me of a john hughes movie, except it wasn't one. some things in it were relatable, on how people handle relationships. like when he sees his friends in a gas station parking lot. but he found out they weren't the best people for advice about relationships. I had to learn this as well, being careful about who my advisors are that is. sometimes it means knowing what to do without needing to contact one.
   this was like many other Saturdays, as there was errand running to do. I went to get a breakfast sandwich at a holiday gas station, instead of the typical visit to McDonald's, as I needed to get to an ATM anyway. then it was on to my P.O. box, and some orders were waiting there. then on to the library to print things, where I got the two movies. I picked up a sandwich for my midday meal at a super-America, but I was tired by the time I got home. I knew it was a good idea to rest before trying to see the movie, so I fell asleep and watched the movie after I woke up. it was early evening by then, and I went over to the bobby and steve's in Minneapolis and got a little godfather's pizza there. I was on my way to see a movie at the MSP film-fest, it was 'all governments lie', a documentary about investigative reporting. I got another postcard there advertising the festival, I like the art on it and I like collecting postcards. I may see another movie later on in this festival. I like the view when I leave the theater, as I see across the river to the Minneapolis skyline. after I got home I watched the news, and Worthington was in it helping promote a benefit event at a local comedy club. I went to the grocery store after the news was done, knowing how important it was this time to get there before midnight as they are closed on easter sunday. before the movie I did reach my credit card company on a disputed charge from car rental in Chicago, and they are adjusting the amount as I was overcharged by nearly 18 dollars.

fish fry, north st. paul VFW

I made it to another fish fry, for this good Friday. it was at the north st. paul VFW. I did like this one more than last week's. I had the right amount of food there as I started feeling full around the time I had finished. I liked seeing the crinkle-cut fries there. for dessert they had cake, I said it looked like wedding cake. the free drinks were water and coffee, so I had water. beer would have been extra. during this lent season I had fish somewhere on each Friday. three were at VFW locations, two at churches. one was at a gas station, bobby and steve's. and one was at mcdonald's, on a night when I was performing so I didn't have that much time to eat. there were some things I liked about each one. as expected, I found out it was best to get there as early as possible. this runs counter to how I normally approach the evening meal on a Friday, since I like watching the 6pm news and then a rerun of 'big bang theory'. but I know well enough to find a way to adapt, if I want something bad enough.
   after I was done there, I took a walk around the neighborhood. I found 10 cents, all pennies, mostly at the car wash. I also went to the family dollar and got some supplies I needed, a bottle of mustard and some toilet paper. the cashier noticed I looked at the CDs and DVDs but didn't buy any. I said I have some that I bought and haven't watched yet, so I know it is a good idea to be picky. while at the office I called to get an auto insurance quote as I got another one of those shell gas gift cards. I tried to call about putting a charge in dispute from the car rental when I visited Chicago in February, but I wanted to tell them what the estimated charge was so they would know how much of a difference it was. then when I found it they were closed for the night, so I have to try again the next day to present what I have. also at the office, we finished up finding the titles for another sale project. this one didn't take as long, two weeks. but it was easier to do when we didn't have to log out not founds or contracts. there were no contracts to find. and of course having to print contracts is time-consuming as well.
   

great lakes fish study

there was an envelope in the mail tonight that said it was a 'great lakes fish study'. I finally looked at it well after getting back from a CD recording at a micro-brewery in Minneapolis. it is a survey, and a $2 bill was clipped to it as a 'thank you' for completing it. so the incentive works for me. at some point soon I will likely complete this survey. it is from the state of Wisconsin, department of health services. there is mention of an even bigger incentive if selected to complete a phone interview.
   normally this is a night off from the clubs, but I like attending CD recordings. it was crowded there though, and I was standing for the entire show. happy meal was the headliner, and he did do this joke. He has recorded before, and I have his CD of crowd work. Worthington was MC, and he did do a set. but he said he wanted someone else to introduce the headliner formally for the sake of the CD as his voice meant that he sounded ill. so he got the club owner, who was another opening act, to do it.  I picked up a card that advertised a later show at this venue, in just over a week. hopefully I will get to see the first member of the 'ring of honor' there as he is scheduled to perform, and since he now lives out of state I don't see him much. once the crowd cleared out after the show, I saw more people that I knew. and I was able to find a chair to sit in. I wanted ice cream after the show, but it was after 10pm by then and I knew some options- such as soft serve- would be harder to find. so I got an ice cream sandwich at super-America. happy meal has a joke about that place as well.

popcorn, then karaoke

I knew there was a chance that my normal open-mic would be canceled tonight due to the Minnesota wild hockey playoff game. and it was, as there was a screen on the stage showing the game. so I walked over to a place selling popcorn and got a small box. then it was back to my car and over to a karaoke bar. I have read 4 chapters in a book about karaoke that I acquired this week. and I knew it was a good idea when wanting to fill a gap in my typical schedule of stage time each week. so I went to a place where the button often goes to, and I have performed at as well, though she wasn't there tonight. it didn't take long to get my first song in, it was 'don't mean nothing' by Richard marx. I still had most of my beer with me that early. the other was 'control' by janet Jackson. the former seems appropriate to what I deal with in performing, and I know I had written about the song back in 2015 apparently when searching the site. the latter also works well for me, as I respond well to 'my life' songs like that one. it was a replacement song as I was told that somebody had already done the billy joel song I wanted to do earlier in the night. no big deal, as I have plenty of songs I still want to perform. besides beer, I also used the quarter candy vending machine as it had m and m's, but also hot tamales. both are known as movie candy.
   before I ventured out I did watch two 'three's company' reruns. at work, when I had the time I researched various ideas for performing coming up as well as traveling. hard to believe how some of my summer is already filling up. this included looking up information about an easter brunch at a Hy-Vee grocery store, as well as selecting a movie or two to see at the upcoming MSP film-fest.

dinosaur lady

tonight I was taking the bus home from work and saw who I call 'the dinosaur lady' as she often has a bag with a t-rex on it, along with some hard plastic figurines on her coat. I hadn't spoken with her, but somebody recognized her and it was the first time I think I had hear her speak. as the saying goes, we all have a story. she spoke to this man about how both of her brothers had died a few years back. one was from a rare muscle disease and the other from an abdominal aneurism. she herself said she was 66 years old. no surprise how she usually gets on the bus near the xcel center and the science museum when she likes dinosaurs.
  I made it to the performance venue. I saw the fancy comic, much like the night before, but this time he was on early and I did see his set, unlike the previous night. I did ones about the grocery store, super-America, Walgreen, and kohl's. when I was introduced it did make me think of the 'SOB' song as that is what he called me. but I already knew it was an act, we are 'frenemies'.

i'm not in the house

an office colleague said 'I was in the house' when I was in the breakroom having lunch today. but as I have said before, it's not a house but an office. just before this, I had the last of the cake that was left on a table. not sure what event it was from, but food is left in there all the time as most everyone knows it will get eaten there.
    I made it to the performance venue tonight. I did ones about places I visited over the weekend. using up gift cards on Saturday, and errands I ran on sunday like grocery shopping and a stop at Walgreen. I also responded to what the show runner had said about trying to find a song before the internet, reminding me of a song with two titles. one performer said this was her last open-mic as she will be going on to music school in southern California.
  when I was taking the bus to work this morning, it felt kind of chilly. I wanted to see of there was an open window, and there was. when a woman in that row made it to her stop, I claimed her seat and closed it. except it didn't stay closed for long. so after trying to close it twice and see it eventually re-open on me, I decided to leave it that way.

road hard movie

I was behind on watching DVDs so this afternoon I saw the movie 'road hard', starring adam corolla, about doing stand-up comedy. it scored well with me on covering the various gigs available to comics, though I didn't enjoy the scenes with family drama in them. for those who know me well, they know why. I have had too much drama in my own life! I recognized many of the comics that had cameos in it. this was ordered from amazon, and I decided to place another order there. it was for the 'joanne' CD by lady gaga, deluxe edition. it is available in stores, but it is cheaper on this site especially when I have gift cards to use from answering enterprise rent-a-car surveys.
   I also made it out to the performance venue, but a different one than before as I was looking for a replacement after the donut party ended. happy meal is the show runner there. I did ones about making visits to my neighborhood grocery store, a super-America gas station, and a Walgreen today. also about the green day CD I played while driving there, and another internet dating failure.

archduke franz ferdinand

tonight I went to see a play about the assassination of archduke franz Ferdinand, which sparked world war one. it was done by a theater troupe I was familiar with, as it includes whopper and the david spade look-alike. whopper played one of the assassins, and david played the Kaiser. as a history major I liked seeing this play, and it was well-done. I was told that the car they used in the scenes that depicted the assassination was a car they built themselves. the storyline mostly covered the three months leading up to the 'main event', along with flashbacks to when the archduke wanted to marry sophie. there was some comedy involved with the telling of this story.
    a big part of the day was shopping, using up gift cards. I went to best buy, kohl's, and macy's to do so. I got two Green Day CDs at best buy. at kohl's it was Charlie brown and snoopy sleepwear and some socks. at macy's it was jeans. I also made it to a hobby shop where I got a die cast model car with a Charlie brown theme. there was also another visit to the antique shop for postcards, 15 in all. it might be a while before I go back, as I have acquired plenty from there recently.

move your body, sia

well sia did it again, I found another song of hers that I really like. this one is 'move your body'. when I searched for it on youtube after hearing it on the radio recently I also found a beyonce song of the same name, uploaded 5 years ago. but I haven't listened to the one by beyonce yet. I did check and it appears to be the third sia song I have written about. in 2016 I wrote about the other two. there was 'elastic heart' in january, and 'cheap thrills' in july. I figured I would have written about 'alive' as well, but I had not. I did like many of the lyrics in it as well, especially 'all in spite of you', 'you never noticed that I was in pain' and 'I knew what I wanted, went out and got it'. either that or it was under another title. since I did write about the pearl jam song of the same name.
   but back to the sia song. as you know, readers, I pay attention to the lyrics a lot, but the instruments also made this a song I couldn't ignore. it is fast, and lively. and yes, good lyrics too. what stood out at first was 'your body's poetry' along with 'oh oh oh'. the 'in-between' part in the chorus is also catchy. 'speak to me, won't you let me be your rhythm tonight, move your body. I want to be your muse you refuse.' and the setup is there early in the song, 'poetry in your body you got it in everyway. want to free you with my rhythm.' the video seems to depict the lyrics well, especially later ones like 'free the beast from its cage free the rage like an animal'. since the video takes place at a photography studio in 1987, although it is not accurate. in the background it says 'mall of america' and a 612 area code, but this mall wasn't open yet, not until 1992. same is true with cell phones, most people didn't have them then. but I understood what it was depicting. it is a young sia that runs away from her parents during the photography session and puts on the two-tone wig that also hides her face. and she dances with some of the other customers. I've said it before how 'we can't ignore who we are' so this is why it works for me.  and in this case, I couldn't ignore how well some sia songs really work for me. I said this about green day, and Eminem, as well. it was why I bought two of her CDs in November, and still feel the need to play them every so often since then. 'move your body' is on one of them, 'this is acting'.
   I find that writing about music is easier than some other subjects, so it was conscious and very intentional that I decided to write about it tonight as opposed to other subjects. at least in terms of what became the primary subject, and the title. I did go to a fish fry, at a church in Maplewood, but the line was a slow-moving one. this is decidedly different from others I have been to. and the excuses given- how the fish was made- were invalid. I also had a date at a coffee shop after the fish fry, but this is internet dating we are talking about so I can't expect much. especially when my date's body language seemed to say 'stand-offish' since I saw crossed arms a lot. I am used to seeing plenty of 'one and done' dates so it wouldn't surprise me too much if this one fizzled out quick like many others do. even though I liked the intellectual stimulation, from discussing the subject of history, something I don't do as often as I would like. it can be hard to find the opportunities to do so, at least with others. this is why I am often going to museums by myself, not knowing who else in my circle of friends wants to go. put another way, I can sum up my mindset about this date by saying 'it helps to have expectations in line with reality'. it would be nice if there is a second date, but I saw enough clues to tell me not to expect it.
 

alumni assocation merger

i saw an email stating that there was a merger involving the university of iowa alumni association. there was limited information, but said my membership is now good through june of next year. I had sent in the renewal check in the past month. I do like staying connected due to this membership. one of the benefits is being able to order a football ticket early, for a game of their choosing. usually this is homecoming, and now this is my annual visit to iowa city. it looked important enough that I kept it in my inbox. most emails are deleted right away. it also serves as a reminder of other memberships that are up for renewal.
   I watched two 'big bang theory' episodes tonight. syndicated rerun was when leonard and penny got back together but didn't want to tell anyone at first. prime time episode was when Sheldon got drunk and wanted to know what happened when he got drunk. it was at a cowboy bar, which seemed appropriate as his character is from texas. then I did my customary walk around the neighborhood. it netted plenty of coins, especially at the car wash. I found 35 cents, 2 dimes and 15 pennies, and it went into my change bank. I also saw a food truck selling tacos, but did not have any.

cloverhill bear claw danish

I went into the main breakroom at my office for lunch and saw a bear claw Danish. this is not typical. but after seeing a few others not claim it, I did. I took it home and it was my snack in the evening, after 30 seconds in the microwave oven. it is made by cloverhill, and cherry cheese flavored. the package said this bakery is based in Chicago. it tasted fine, though usually I am not buying these. I have cut way back on what I buy from the vending machines.
   I learned a valuable lesson from last week at the performance venue, and put it to good use. I showed up more than 30 minutes earlier to get signed up for stage time, and I did go on this week. I did ones about a fish fry, performing at the office, a children's book, are you a cop?, and what a fellow comic said to me. another was about calling myself a 'stodgy academic' in response to another performer, a lady rapper, seeing me in the crowd and must have noticed I wasn't animated during her first song. I made a reference to going to an Eminem concert at MSG in 2005 and how I didn't know the music of the opening acts- little john and 50 cent- that well.
   I was pleased with the finds I still make while out and about. I picked up some show announcement cards near the venue, bit outside, as they are good souvenirs. they will eventually end up in the binder, since I like the art on them and it is a good way of documenting my performing career. I also found two coins, one was a penny. it went into my change bank. the other was a Canadian quarter, and it will go into a plastic bag that is part of my Winnipeg fund as I want to visit that city this summer. it took a while, but I am finally over the ten-dollar mark due to finding the quarter. all about paying attention in terms of the finds that I make.

watch my beer

a fellow comic asked me to watch his beer when I was at the comedy club tonight. I did not get anything for watching it though. I also did ones about a children's book, are you a cop?, and doing a comedy marathon. I also did a callback to sub teacher's joke about the great depression, saying I am a history major. he gave me a shout-out, knowing my laugh, while he was doing his m.c. set.

worms everywhere

I saw worms everywhere on the pavement tonight when I got back from the performance venue. it had rained, but it was light rain by the time I was driving home. I did karaoke, two songs. it was 'island in the sun' by weezer and 'Eleanor rigby' by the beatles. both had meaning to me, as usual, explaining why I chose them. the former was in a 'simpsons' episode and the latter was a song I heard when I was young on the 8-tracks my parents had. it was a haunting song about loneliness, and even then I know something about the subject.
   it was a long day at work. not only was there the high volume on the payoff report, but also two meetings during the first half of the day. I am used to having none of them. though the second, the advisory board, was shortened to 30 minutes.

duets movie

I watched a DVD movie around midday, 'duets' about karaoke competitions, starring Gwyneth Paltrow. she was directed by her late dad, bruce, in this movie. musician huey lewis is in it, as well as paul giamatti. each character seemed to have some kind of sad story to tell in it, in some ways explaining their hopes to find redemption through winning the prize money. in some ways it is a 'road movie', and I tend to like those kinds of movies. since I do karaoke it meant something to see it, and it was recommended to me by my 'cohort'. though I will admit that the ending left me perplexed and in many ways unsatisfied. I haven't heard of karaoke competitions like what was depicted in this movie, at least in this area. I still have a backlog of DVD movies to watch, one was bought from amazon much like this on and the other I found at a target.
    I made it to the performance venue this afternoon, it was the final 'donut party'. the show runner, international falls, said the bar owner canceled all sunday events. I was show closer, which was nice that she gave me this particular slot. it meant I got to do a final 'traffic report'. I went to a Walmart after it and got another photo album. I did some more re-arranging of the postcards, so now one photo album had world's fair postcards in it instead of photos. I wanted one that held a similar number of photos as the first one, and a comparable size as well. I did watch 'the simpsons' and 'making history' tonight. the former was about a for-profit university, and the latter was about going back to Chicago in 1919, the year of the black sox scandal.

comedy marathon, phoenix theater

I performed at the comedy marathon this afternoon, its fourth year and my second straight year. I got some reese's peanut butter at a Walgreen across the street from the phoenix theater, in uptown Minneapolis, then found out there was plenty of food available for performers once I arrived. even though it was a longer set than what I normally have, there was no problem filling in nearly 30 minutes. I made a few references to the one from last year, as I had watched the video. I decided to wear the same emerson hough hoodie as before. I got to most of the jokes on my list, which felt good. and I know I got plenty of laughs. I liked how the stage lights were on high enough that I wasn't distracted by what the crowd looked like. first time performing there, only other time I think I had been there were for the fringe festival last august. the Charles schulz impersonator was doing his show there. I did make a reference to Charlie brown and snoopy near the end. I liked seeing pizza in the performers room. I had some of it and also the trail mix, as well as little muffins. I did see a new comic there, we spoke for a little while. I stayed for his set and then I left. I knew that once I left I wasn't coming back. for one thing, this was a new venue this year. before, it was held at suburban hotels, and hotels have way more parking. I was not only thankful for the stage time, but also a gift bag. there was a sticker on it that said 'I survived' and there was a thank-you card in it, among others things. I saw some candy in the bag, as well as advil, Pepto-Bismol, and yogi honey lemon throat comfort. at some point I will have to try some of it.
   I moved up my typical chores and errand running so I would be at the venue 30 minutes before my performance time. this included going to the post office box, and turning in change at the bank. I saw a man struggling with his PO box, as it was full, he said he hadn't checked it in a month. the total on the change turned in was over 17 dollars. a man was ahead of me, waiting for a full bag to be switched out. he had nearly a thousand dollars. no surprise how with mine that the value of the pennies is still more than the nickels, as I am picking up pennies all the time. I printed some things at the library about the comedy marathon, then it was on to uptown. after I was done performing I went to the antique shop, much like a week earlier. I got one of the Charlie brown posters that I had seen but not bought. it has snoopy and linus on it, and says 'somehow I have the feeling I bore people'. with Charlie brown and snoopy I prefer collectibles with the most characters on them, and this one fit the bill as the other two had fewer characters on them. I did see a friend's once a month show in the evening, but I didn't know that many of the performers at this one. I also was tired by then, as I had woke up this morning earlier than I wanted to, so this made it harder to enjoy the show. but I made it home fine driving my car despite being tired.