tears in heaven, eric clapton

my stagetime tonight was karaoke, 3 songs. 'tears in heaven' was the first. I recall when this song was a big hit, 25 years ago. and I was familiar with the story about how it was inspired by the death of Clapton's young son, who had fallen out of an apartment window. it was in a movie called 'rush', but I haven't seen it yet. the video I found on youtube does have scenes from the movie, which is typical for movie songs. hard to say when I will see the movie, as I know this was before DVDs. so the odds of me finding it aside from ordering it from amazon are not that high, is my guess.
    I also did 'give a little bit' by supertramp, and 'wild world' by cat stevens. I am running low on ideas from the list I had made, but sometimes just looking through the books at the venue will yield something good. I like doing a wide variety of songs, and one can easily do so when there are thick books to look through. after the first song, there was a man in a football jersey, number 21 for the chargers, who said he liked hearing it, there was a couple at my table who said the same thing later on. so I like knowing, as usual, how performing is something that doesn't just make me happy.
 I got some poster frames at target. one was for a movie, and another was a show I performed at. these had been waiting for a while for a frame, as I know it can be expensive to get them. it was nearly 20 dollars for these two. there was a dust-up about the self-checkout I was using, as it wasn't printing receipts. somebody had to be called in, and it still wouldn't print them, at least itemized ones. all I got was the total, and the method of payment. I was told that no security guard was going to have a problem with it, but I still get paranoid about these things. as I have had experiences before of being accused of doing things I wasn't even doing. I got some peanuts, and a little pumpkin pie. and a pack of Charlie brown Christmas-themed bookmarks. these bookmarks were in the dollar section near the front of the store.
    at the first venue I made an appearance in, I did not perform. but it was blake that told me how the live shows at the studio are on hold for a few months. it seemed odd, as I had just filmed two more reviews just over a week earlier. I will look forward to them being on again, as I really enjoy the exposure and somebody believing in my abilities.

dotting the 'I'

the second 'simpsons' episode on tonight had plenty to do with ohio state university. it started with mention of how principal skinner got an acceptance letter to the school, as he wanted to dot the 'i' as part of the marching band, in the word 'ohio'. I will have to ask my 'ohio friend' if she has seen the episode. there was also a joke about expanding the big ten conference.
   my car got the day off, I didn't really go anywhere today. there was plenty that I found to do at home. it meant getting more comedy souvenirs into sheet protectors and binders, and of course doing the dishes. although I should be starting another binder by now, the fourth. the third was started at the end of October last year, a page about acting at a haunted house was the first item. also got the pack of 100 baseball cards into a separate set of binders. thankfully there weren't many duplicate cards, less than five. I also checked some online auction listings. the inspection of the equipment is in a few days, just a day before the bidding ends. there are more than 400 listings, but just 12 are of interest to me at all. this is for various reasons, such as the size of the items and how much I think I can use them. most items have no bids yet, but I am the type that likes 'the path of least resistance', where it is easier to bid on what hasn't been bid on yet. in terms of getting it for lower prices. It does remind me of buying some buttons at an auction house a few years back. I was the only bidder for the item, or 'lot'. there was also some skype conversations with friends. it does seem to be a fine tool for communicating, although still fairly new to me.

have you ever seen the rain, CCR

I did karaoke after going to a friend's comedy show, and I performed 'have you ever seen the rain' by CCR. I said I had to do a rain song, especially when it had been a steady, but light, rain for much of the day. also since I was told that somebody had already done my first choice, 'tears in heaven' by eric Clapton. I got there near the end of the night, so I really had time for just one song. the comedy show was one I have performed at before, it is held once a month.
  it was a busy day of getting things done. of course it meant going to my PO box. not much there, but my renewal for the PO box was there, I renew it every six months at the end of the month. then it was on to the world war one exhibit at the Minnesota history center. it is closing soon, in a week, so I knew I needed to go now. great seeing some movies and music of the time there. I listened to songs by al jolson, as well as sophie tucker. the movies were starring Charlie chaplin, and mary pickford. as usual, I learned something. there was a profile about baseball player Christy Mathewson, who was a pitcher for the new York giants. he did military service in this war, and was gassed and didn't live long after it, died less than a decade later. I was more familiar with all of the famous athletes that served in the second world war. I took plenty of pictures there. I liked what was in the music and movies section. about how pop culture- as it always does- provides a welcome break from the grim realities of life.
   I also stopped at the library to print some things, arriving just before closing time. and then the grocery store, followed by a play, 'suddenly last summer', written by Tennessee Williams. it is a reminder of how he is a brilliant playwright, good drama in it, and often relatable. although sometimes it is hard to watch drama when there has been so much of it in my own life, my own family. I had seen 'glass menagerie', another play of his, at a different venue. and some of the movie adaptions of his plays as well. I arrived just before the play began, as I often say I live 'the manic life of a comedian'. sub teacher was the show closer at the comedy show, and chalm-skinn performed as well. the button's friend was at the karaoke venue, and she did 'wrecking ball' by miley cyrus.

monster trucks, regular trucks

i did the 'think fast' comedy show tonight, and I couldn't wait to get onstage. it meant doing somebody else's set and I did fine. there was one about monster trucks, and another about regular trucks. also about puppets, and pizza rolls. I liked seeing what somebody could do with my set as well, which included ones about karaoke, and burlesque. although it seemed like most people were struggling to tell jokes with the list they were given. I had done this show before, when I was filling in for somebody that didn't show up.
   I did hear from one agency, but just how there was no response yet from where my information would be forwarded. I was wondering what was happening after my two calls were unanswered, so I sent an email this time.
   I ate at the A and W at Mall of America in the evening, before I went to go perform. still want to see the Crayola exhibit sometime at this mall. it helps that I got a free ticket in a state fair gift bag.
   I also watched one of the movies on loan from the library, 'get a job'. anna Kendrick was in it, who was in 'up in the air'. I liked it as it does serve as a 'message movie'. since not only the recent college grad was looking for work. his dad was as well, after getting laid off. it would be considered a comedy, some notable gags in it like an 'initiation' for one of his friends who wanted a job. and had to prove how badly he wanted it.

arguing at pool table

I went to a karaoke bar tonight and witnessed the bouncer deciding to close the pool table for a short time. a cardboard sign was put on it saying 'no more pool tonight, thank you'. but it was re-opened, saying 'as long as you aren't arguing'. the pool table was over by the quarter candy vending machine I use after getting a beer, so hard to ignore what was happening. I did two songs tonight. first was 'gangsta's paradise' by coolio, and second was 'walking contradiction' by green day. the second was inspired by somebody at my table doing a pat benetar  song, one of the lines was 'talk is cheap'. and I knew a green day song had that line as well. people really liked the coolio selection. I had seen the couple before when I was performing at this venue.
   also this evening, I watched my first episode of 'young sheldon'. it followed 'big bang theory'. I like how it was different enough from 'theory', which is a farce. 'sheldon' seemed to be more about satire, and I like satire. I offer up Sheldon reading a self-help book by dale Carnegie as evidence. he decides to meet who checked it out before him, and their rantings were hilarious while he plays the straight man. some of the gags on it were introduced in 'theory'. I really liked watching 'theory' tonight as bob Newhart was a guest star again. there was interest in doing a re-boot of professor proton, so it made sense to have Arthur on it again. although of course he died in an earlier episode, so it is in a dream sequence where only Sheldon sees him. this would be Bob Newhart's fifth guest appearance if I am not mistaken, he was killed off in the third.
   I had another interview this afternoon, and I feel like this one went real well. although I have this feeling all the time and I am hardly ever correct. I will hear soon enough if it was successful. I did my best to prepare for it. after I got back I had some jambalaya rice with chunks of spam. it is two servings so I will have some more of it soon. and before I made it to the karaoke bar I returned two more movies to the library and got two more. 

hickok movie

I got 2 more movies watched today. first was 'hickok' about wild west figure wild bill Hickok. it covered his time as a lawman in Abilene, Kansas. he is well-known for his death, which was in a different town, also due to the 'dead man's hand', as he held the aces and 8's. I liked seeing some actors in it that I knew, although I didn't know who played wild bill, or his fellow lawman, Arkansas. but bruce dern was in it as a physician, and kris Kristofferson as the mayor. it sounded like the evil businessman that wanted wild bill dead was played by a country musician.
   the other movie I watched was 'the phenom'. it was about a young baseball pitcher that went to see a sports psychologist, as he couldn't find the strike zone after a while. paul giamatti played the shrink, and ethan hawke played the pitcher's domineering dad. I grew to dislike the dad a lot, but as I have been told before, you're not supposed to like him. one scene served as a reminder of being careful, or cautionary. the main character is at his motel, and talks to a lady that speaks of her husband who is a creep. he picks her up, and when they are making out, she pulls a fast one on him and he gets robbed. so she was the bait. the movie doesn't have many baseball scenes in it, but I didn't mind.
   in the evening I got a text message on my phone stating I was at 75 percent of my minutes for the 30-day period, which we are currently halfway through. guess I have been on the phone more since I went on vacation. so I will want to cut back on usage for a little while. I know one office I have been on contact with has been more than once, and kind of lengthy calls as well.
    I watched some of the world series tonight, the decisive game 7. the astros got an early lead, aided by a throwing error, and beat the dodgers 5-1 to take the series. I was onstage when the final out was recorded, hard to ignore when it was on a TV monitor nearby. my set included ones about being at 2 haunted houses, doing karaoke after one of them, the song 'gangsta's paradise' by coolio, a dream about a bicycle, famous people are different, logging onto skype, and 'the phenom' movie.

eau claire visit

tonight I drove out to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to get stage time at a friend's comedy show. I am told there are musicians in this open-mic as well. the music part was first, then the comedy part. the comedy friend that told me about it wasn't there though. but it was no problem finding the venue, having to make just 2 turns after getting off I-94. the venue was a bar in the middle of town, and I found parking about 2 blocks away. plenty of art on display, there was a tank in front of the children's museum. I liked how I didn't need to make a stop on the way back to the cities. didn't need a bathroom break and I wasn't tired enough to stop for a bottle of Coca-Cola. I made one stop on the way there, in Hudson, for the bathroom, and to get gas. I did make it to a venue before then, said hi to some people and got a beer so I would get airline miles. the show at the first venue did not happen, not enough people there for a crowd. guess this happens on Halloween. there was some candy near the front desk, I claimed a small pack of m and m candy on my way out.
   in Eau Claire I saw that I picked up some show announcement cards as souvenirs, I do that whenever I am performing somewhere so I have something to include in my comedy binders. I listened to game 6 of the world series on the radio on my way there, the Dodgers beat the Astros 3-1 to force a decisive game 7. I also brought a CD to listen to, by Lana Del Rey, and listened to it on the way back, after the game was over. when I performed I did ones about being at 2 haunted houses, doing karaoke after one of them, the Coolio song 'gangsta's paradise', Weird Al as an imitator, attending a burlesque show, a dream about a bicycle, power walking, weekend at Bernie's, and my previous visit to Eau Claire as well as attending my cousin's wedding in a different part of Wisconsin.
   I got an oil change done for my car this afternoon. I liked reading an article about baseball in the Atlantic magazine. odd how there was a coupon hanging in my car after it was done.