get down, jess kent

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

comic softball game

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

one last purple game

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

coat of many colors, dolly parton

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

gas pedal, sage the gemini

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

jumpin jack flash, rolling stones

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

haunt like liberace

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