big bang theory trivia box

after work I went to the family dollar and got a few items, this included a 'big bang theory' trivia box. it is still in the shrink wrap. it says it has 20 character cards, and hundreds of trivia questions. I had a different one already, called 'fact or fiction', bought at a Walgreen. the other items I bought were some toilet paper, a 'star wars' plastic drinking cup, and a small bag of doritos. the doritos happened to be why I went there as I wanted something for the evening meal to go with the burrito I already had.
   I did watch two episodes of 'big bang theory' tonight. syndicated rerun was when howard decided to hide from Bernadette, under the table. prime time episode was when leonard and howard was caught in a lie, they were at the movies. and Sheldon decided to take amy to his storage locker.
   after that I did take my customary long walk around the neighborhood, bringing rain gear but I didn't need it for long. it was before the midway point of the walk, and around the time that I needed to go to the bathroom so I went inside a restaurant and used their bathroom without saying a word to anyone. as usual it was worth it to stop at the car wash as well, as I found 3 pennies there.
   my facebook news feed was full or postings about the police shooting in falcon heights. it affected me the most when I saw the one from school bouncer. why, I don't know for sure. I said 'I am here if you need me' and I got a 'like' in response to it. one of his sentiments was 'tired of protesting'.  

unwritten rule book

went to the saints baseball game tonight, saints beat Joplin 3-2. got the giveaway item, the unwritten rule book, and had it signed by hall of fame player rich gossage. after the game I went to perform.

cryptic communicator

I sent a text message to an old friend saying I would be in town soon. since I have a flip phone, a small keyboard, my messages are short. I was told I was a 'cryptic communicator' and had to look it up as I first thought of 'tales from the crypt'. the meaning I found online was 'mysterious in meaning, puzzling, ambiguous'. I had to laugh, and I decided to put this bit in my set tonight. I said I could wear it like a badge of honor, as I feel like I could play a menacing crackpot well. most of my jokes were about going to a museum, and a baseball game, on the 4th of july. in order to keep track of them I said 'number one' and so on, since five of them were inspired by being at the game.
   I got some help with the payoff report, so it wasn't too bad coming back after the holiday. there still are some new contracts and titles waiting, but I would like to think those can be done quickly. not too many letters to do, so the box is at zero which I like.
   I am seeing more related to the fringe festival show I am in, so now I will likely have to figure out what bio I want on the website.

chuck jones exhibit

I went to the chuck jones exhibit at the Minnesota history center this afternoon. as usual, I learned something while there. I knew he was an animator for warner brothers, as he did characters like bugs bunny and others. I found out what he did after leaving warner brothers, and this included 'the grinch' TV special. not much photography was allowed at this particular exhibit, just two places. one was at the beginning, with bugs bunny. the other was near the back, and it showed an anvil overhead, made me think of wiley coyote and the road runner.
   I also saw the exhibit next to it about people from india who have immigrated to America. notable was seeing mindy kaling mentioned, who was on the TV show 'the office'. I noticed how bobby Jindal was left out, not sure why. is this because he is a politician? it looks like it was a good idea to go when I did, as both exhibits were scheduled to end soon. the chuck jones exhibit closes in the middle of august and the india exhibit closes next week.
   sometimes I have no choice but to do some chores on a holiday, but I liked what I got done. I decided to empty another bookcase and re-fill one that had 'half collapsed' earlier this year. the one that I emptied was in bad shape. now I must figure out when I am going to get another bookcase from bed bath and beyond, as I have two gift cards to use there. the only sturdy one I have owned, out of three, was bought there. the other two were from target. I got a photo of the one I retired after pulling it pout of the corner, then I folded it up and put it on top of a grocery cart to haul it to the dumpster.
   in the evening I went to the saints baseball game, the saints beat Joplin 9-2 after falling behind early 1-0. the saints were aided by a grand slam among other things, which put them ahead 6-1. I had a chili cheese dog and bottled water at the game. after the game ended I went to look around at the souvenir shop and got some saints stickers. one of them was put on the back of my car, as I wanted this new car to carry a saints sticker just like the previous one did. it was delightful to sit next to a boy who said he was 11, he wanted a foul ball and he did get one thrown his way in the 7th. when I arrived I saw some people  I knew from the play 'george', they were in costume promoting the play as it starts soon at a nearby venue. after the game I got an ice cream sandwich at a super-America, but not the one near the stadium. at first I was a little un-nerved, it sounded like something was hitting my car, then I told myself 'it was just the fireworks'. this was a busy fourth of july, but I very much enjoyed myself.
  

shoes at kohl's

I went to kohl's to get some shoes after performing this afternoon. I had a gift card that arrived recently that helped knock the price down. I thought it was odd to see another Star Wars- themed item there, even some shoes were promoting the movie. I got a picture as evidence, but didn't buy those. for one thing, there weren't many left. I found them in the discount section. and it meant there weren't any in my size. I didn't want to be there for long, get in and out, as there other things I wanted to get done before watching 'The Simpsons' tonight. It was one about Homer buying a grill instead of a washing machine. I went to the kohl's at Maplewood mall, or as I sometimes call it 'maple-weird', and thankfully I found a comfortable walking shoe quickly. it was the only pair I tried on, Fila. I had tried Vans and they didn't seem to last long. same is true with those I got at target in February, as a winter shoe for trudging through the mud and snow, a pair of Merona shoes. these were marked down even before the gift card was used, and there was a discount added by the cashier as well, so there was discounts galore. then it was on to a nearby McDonald's where I got a vanilla ice cream cone, and liked seeing a classic Chevrolet pickup in the lot so I got photos of it. I had been nearby this weekend to go to the library, and liked seeing some Charlie brown and snoopy statues, well this was why I wanted to get back in the area but needed a reason besides just photography. I had to take a frontage toad to get there, but I found them. there was two, a Charlie Brown, and a Lucy. it appeared to be outside a car dealer, the kind where the cars are kept inside. and since it was Sunday I got free rein on pictures, no chance of anyone saying 'what are you doing?' I had run out of ideas on finding some that I hadn't found yet, as I have already found over 170. and many of them are now in private collections. it has been much easier to get access to those on public display, no surprise there. I think these are the first that I had found this year, and the last one may have been behind the new saints baseball stadium last year.
   I did perform at the donut show this afternoon, I closed the show. I spoke about seeing 'The Lobster'  movie  and my recent Facebook posting about being single, along with seeing a fellow member of the writers union. we could get an extra minute if we did an America bit, so I did one about John Philip Sousa marches, such as 'The Thunderer', and 'Stars and stripes forever'. the former was in a Clint Eastwood movie, 'Bronco Billy'.

the lobster movie

this afternoon I went to see the movie 'the lobster' at the highland park theater in st. paul. it served as a replacement for being unable to tour a museum. when I got to the museum in south st. paul I saw a sign on the door saying 'closed for the holiday'. after researching online I decided on this movie as I figured this dark comedy was just what the doctor ordered, laughing about my being single. I will admit that even though I knew the premise, it was still a weird movie to me. single people are sent to a resort, and if they don't find a mate after 45 days they are turned into an animal. I probably should have laughed more often as some observations about life that were made were 'spot-on'. good cast, I recognized many of the actors in it like colin Farrell, Rachel weisz, and john c. reilly. the ending seemed to be a 'choose your own adventure' as it was left unresolved as to what happened to the main character in it. thankful I saw this movie though.
   I also went to a comedy show, and performed at it. finally did some jokes that I had meant to do recently, but forgot to. and I did mention seeing this movie. another one was about my facebook posting this week, 'I am single because I am an idiot' seemed to be the way I decided to sum it up.

mainstreet bar and grill, hopkins

I went to another meetup event tonight, it was at mainstreet bar and grill in Hopkins. I think it was the first time I had seen the town. I arrived at 10pm, an hour after the event began, and shortly after this the event coordinator decided that the group get up and take a walk around the area. then he went home, and the other 2 attendees did as well. I got a good look  at the comedy venue there, across the street. and I got a small bag of peanuts before heading home myself, along with some string cheese at a super-America farther down the road. I didn't get the chance to have a drink at the event, so after th others left I headed back there and had a grain belt beer.
  I stayed a little late at the office tonight, but wanted to see that I was caught up with the letters since the holiday I coming up. and I did pay by phone on two bills, though it was tougher on the second as I had to find an alternate number to call on the website since 'technical difficulty' meant I was being kicked off the number I was supplied from the billing statement.