Robert:

Man, work sucks, this is terrible, boo hoo!

Yeah, right. I'm kicking it in Long Beach at this very moment. Note the time: i'm actually posting at around the same time that i always do (Actually it's only 8:26 here). That's because it feels like 10:30 still. It's due to some condition that doctors call jet.. lag? Anyway, just writing to say hi. All of the real content will take place on the tour commentary pages when i get back. Stay warm.
posted by Robert at 10:31 AM ***

Robert:

Well, it's offical. Our tickets for PRICE IS RIGHT are secure, and i am outta work... finally! I aced em at the interpersonal communications seminar with my knowledge of supermarket prices and correct Plinko chip placement. Now, if you'll excuse me, as you can see above, i've got a TON of packing to do... so i'll let you get about your business. I'll try and update you as much as i can as to our surroundings, feelings, winnings... goodnight to you and yours.
posted by Robert at 5:22 PM ***

Jackson:

Man, there is nothing happening today. After perusing all the usual sites, the only item of real interest was an nme article that hints at a PIXIES REUNION, but for some reason none of the links work. Just my luck.

So I find it is my blog-given duty to keep all of you weary workers entertained right now. Hence, i will continue my packing list of items for california. let's see, where did i leave off? oh yes, aspirin, bottled water, a journal, lots of pens and markers, paper, a llama, a deck of cards, my drivers license, my credit card, my ikea card, my library card, my bangkok cafe "frequent-yellow-curry-soup-eaters" card, my antique figurines depicting the cast of The Facts of Life, a fax machine, my lucky ballot-counter, vitamin a, vitamin b, vitamin b12, vitamin c, vitamin d, vitamin e, vitamin x-9, vitamin chex mix, granola bars, my collection of rusty prison bars, socks, shoes, a spoonful of sugar, baby powder, powdered sugar for aforementioned eggo waffles, plastic flatware, a frisbee, a frisbee case, a case for the frisbee case, the case of the missing missle, a toy tank, a tank of water for aformentioned llama, a great white shark, a tank of water for the aforementioned shark, a tank of water for the soon-to-be-mentioned goldfish, a school of goldfish, directions to the shows, directions to the airport, directions in music, a map of the stars' homes, a mobile that i made of the planets in 5th grade, a mobile oil tanker, a sandwich, some witch hazel, my witch-burning manual, my burning airlines shirt (proudly worn in the terminal), my "i got fucking bombed in tijuana" shirt (proudly worn in the terminal), my "i swear i don't have anything in this suitcase that will explode" shirt (proudly worn in the terminal), my fake nerd glasses, my real nerd glasses, my box of nerds, my nerdy friends (bandmates), my fake severed hand, my friday the 13th style hockey mask, my pokemon cards, my picachu doll, my talking picachu doll, my squawking picachu doll, my expletive-shouting picachu doll, my new york dolls backpatch, my backpack, my crockpot, my crutches (just in case), my first aid kit, my unopened mail, m'motive, my plan for world peace, a piece of whirled flan, my flanger pedal, my guide to california forest ranges, my prized captain and teneille record (Powerslave), a carnie from aforementioned carnival to play aforementioned captain and teneille record, a live mongoose, a 350 pound potbelly pig to help soothe my stress, and lastly... a book of crossword puzzles.
posted by Jackson at 12:38 PM ***

Jackson:

Something really odd is happening with affinity right now. Just know that i'm trying to update the hey mercedes site right now.

Again, i feel like David Blaine here at work. Someone needs to do something about this Arctic air. My screen has developed a layer of frost and i can no longer feel my pinky fingers. Hopefully I can hold out a few more hours. My bowling game will go right down the gutter without the use of my pinky fingers!

Nothing really exciting is happening round here, but that's just fine with me. I'm content with just sitting here with my list of items i need to bring to California: 5 shirts, 3 pairs of pants, picks, strings, walkman, CDs, soap, a clown suit, toothpaste, toothbrush, toothpuller, noxema, razor, shaving cream, whip cream, hair cream, cream of wheat soup, earplugs, candy, swimsuit, towel, space shuttle, batteries, batteries for space shuttle, batteries for clown suit, batteries for soap, batteries for soup, guitar cords, pedals, a single plum floating in perfume served in a man's hat, 8-track collection, hair gel, mukluk, ping pong paddles, a pound of pad thai, a sword in a stone, a moon rock, my lucky '76 buick hubcaps, a case of beer, a case of yellow curry soup, a case of pumpkin pies, a case of the jitters, a case in point, a point i was trying to make, damon's ego, some eggo waffles, a waffle iron, my lucky Iron Maiden album (Powerslave), a tractor wheel, a lifesize map of Iowa, one milk dud, a complete tilt-a-whirl carnival ride, a carnie to operate the ride, a carnie to operate the stereo playing Iron Maiden (Live After Death. always Live After Death), Carnie Wilson, an extra driver to help me drive my Price is Right car home, my collection of rusty lead pipes, a pipe organ... and if there's room in my carryon bag, some aspirin.
posted by Jackson at 10:43 AM ***

Robert:

Good morning, all. I'm going to be gone here from 1-4, but to make up for it, i'll post once when i get home. maybe i'll even explain why i was gone. Maybe i'll tell you when you're older... Anyhow, it was good to see Nanette and Brian last weekend together in full force. However... and any fair court in this country will back me up on this, even though i decided to go to a different Flat Top Grill (one i thought would be less crowded), all blame and wrongdoing was erased the second i called nanette's cell phone to tell her where we were! I left a message on the cell phone buried in her bag probably as they were outside of the wrong Flat Top thinking "hmmm. i wonder where bob is." So not another word out of you two, ok? .... I'm just kidding around. I'm not mad. I like to kid. I'm glad you enjoyed the food though. I'm a big fan of the horseradish tofu sauce. I would have recommended it.
posted by Robert at 8:36 AM ***

dan:

Good morning bloggy blog blog blog...Bob, Dr. Flowers,Ladies and Gentlemen....-6 degrees- a dark start to the last day of working in the cold for a short while. I let the "Spanish Angle"warm up a little this morning thinking that when I get into her she'll be all warm but then I remembered that the blower doesn't work making the heater seem nonexistent. The heater does heat but nothing blows out. Thinking about the possibilities of being stranded in the cold I made an effort to wear longjohns and overalls. Shit dang, I love my daggone overalls! hell. But nothing more can warm my sole than a good cup of coffee and NPR. I was stuck yesterday with a no-toothed one-eyed cig-smokin' lady who said she was waiting for a fax to come in..boy did she TalK! Thank god my dog (notorious g.r.t.) was with me to absorb all of the unitelligible chatter while I made like I was doing something on the computer..The fax finally came and I called her a taxi. Oh yeah, she said "I like sitting cross legged in the buddha position I don't even know anything about zen or buddha but I like sitting cross legged in the buddha position." well, I gotta go send somehting to China. hare gato koo da sie', doi tashie musta. I think I said something.
posted by dan at 8:36 AM ***

Dr. Franklin:

Wow. It seems like everybody and their grandmothers have a blog nowadays. In fact, Grandma Flowers just asked me to be on her blog's team. One thing i do know, is i really have to come up with a better template, and fast! Later all. I've got some mixing to do.
posted by Dr. Franklin at 3:23 PM ***

dan:

I sit here trying to type with frozen fingers. brr, it be all cold in here n shit! It's friggin cold as ice outside and I tell you what, I'm not willing to sacrefice my love; for the cold, you know. That's o.k. though in couple a days I'll be livin' it up at the hotel California, such a nice suprise. My pain in my neck is really hurting it's probably level III frost bite setting in, I gotta go check johnson's controls'.
posted by dan at 2:51 PM ***

Dr. Franklin:

I'm wondering now if i can honestly say whether or not i like the song "I'm On Fire" by Bruce Springsteen. I know for a fact that I used to like it. I admired the dramatic and cinematic qualities of the video (probably viewed one late Friday night), where Bruce, as the car mechanic, decides at the last minute not to ring the girl's doorbell, leaves the keys in her mailbox, and turns to begin a long walk down into the city. But what is the song without the video? Not much. Pretty short. Kind of catchy, though. There's that one line bridge that goes "Sometimes it like someone took a knife baby edgy and dull and cut a six inch valley through the middle of my soul." That's pretty cool i suppose... I guess i'll have to think a little more about it. Perhaps someday i'll let you know why i've got this song on my mind. Maybe when you're older.
posted by Dr. Franklin at 2:30 PM ***

Dr. Franklin:

Being a seasoned physician, i have done many studies, focus groups, foam parties, and thee-sees on the importance of sleep in a normal human life. I have recently been unwillingly taking part in a large scale experiment studying the effects of sleep length to amount of refreshment upon waking. As an extra variable, I have thrown in the possibility that UTZ brand pretzels may be the primary cause for umpleasant dreams. Allow me to elaborate.

On Sunday night, upon returning from a humorous "hygeine" play, I went straight to sleep. From 1:00 AM to 6:55 AM, I slept soundly as a med student, with not a dream in sight (not taken into consideration: 3 Bud Lights, 3 Long Island Ice Teas, 2 Lipton Ice Teas, and a polo mallet). I woke up feeling glorious! Ready to take on Monday with all scalpels blazing... Upon returning from the blood-transfusion lab, I felt pretty drained, so i relaxed by the TV with some UTZ brand pretzels. I then settled down for a nap.

I had some pretty terrible dreams. Too morbid to discuss here. I can tell you that one took place at a pool party. Like i said, way too morbid... I woke up at about 10. Walked around dazed. Made some phone calls to patients. Went back to sleep at about 11:30. When i woke up this morning, after about 12 hours of sleep, I felt terrible. I was dragging like a dragon with a big unwieldy tail. What is the diagnosis, doctor?

Well I'll tell you. Number one, I'm never eating UTZ brand pretzels again. You couldn't force me with a pair of forceps... I woke up confused and terrified and eerily smelling of chlorine. Number two, since i've surmised that one needs at least 17 hours of sleep per day to feel totally refreshed, i will no longer go to work and instead use those valuable hours in bed sawing logs. And ninth of all, I should have never agreed to participate in a bowling tournament at a bar on the night before a big flight. Not only will i be nursing sore muscles, but i will also be passed out drunk on the plane when they come around asking "is there a doctor on the plane?" .... They always do.
posted by Dr. Franklin at 12:23 PM ***

Dr. Franklin:

Remember "Friday Night Videos" on NBC? I do. I was the tender age of 9 (i think), when my parents let my friend and i stay up late to watch the debut of THRILLER. Sure, I couldn't sleep that night, because i was scared out of my fucking mind, but it's one of those childhood memories that, similar to a zombie, just won't die. Remember the logo? It looked like a giant pencil that came crashing through the screen. Brilliant. It was truly the PONG of computer animation... You see, for us city kids, we didn't have MTV until 87 or so, so FNV (and for a while channel 50) was our only source for this kinda music entertainment... and we stayed up late and loved it for the next few years. When we got MTV, Friday Night Videos was a thing of the past and it was quickly forgotten. I didn't even know it was still on until i read this article proclaiming the end of Friday Night Videos. Sad, but long overdue...
posted by Dr. Franklin at 9:53 AM ***

Dr. Franklin:

Somebody here got the BOOT. Unfortunately it wasn't my snagglepuss-laughin', attention-gettin'-heavy-breathin', phone-call-gabbin', tazmanian-devil-lovin', french-accent-speakin', poncho-wearin', spanish-accent-speakin', coffee-fillin'-shadowin', 8-ball-trippin', silent-letter-sayin', clown-tie-wearin', pally-pal.... but... he has been transferred to fill the now vacant spot in another area. Free! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, I am free at last! Sure, it's kind of ironic that this happens right in time for me to be gone for a week, but these next two days will be an absolute joy! Joy! Joy! For he was received! Coffee cake for everybody! Another coffee for the doctor, please, and don't skimp on da sugar! Ye-hah! Ride em cowboy!
posted by Dr. Franklin at 9:27 AM ***

Robert:

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! ... Hallelujah! Hallelujah! ... a gathering of angels appeared above my head. they sang to me their song of hope and this is what they said ... Hallelujah! Hallelujah! ... Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
posted by Robert at 9:20 AM ***

dan:

When I'm not helpin the boys out, I ship pkgs. out via ups and fedex, exciting eh? Well it's really exciting around the holidays. I mean frickin' crazy!!! And it never fails that when it's time to work it's time to sneeze and sneeze, I mean jeez what the hell jeeves?! I must have cought a little cold when I was dropping passes on the playing field on Sunday, how crappy a game I had. What kind of football do you expect a out-of-shape hippie,dirt-ball roadie to play? We'll get em next week! cough cough!
my nose is red from the puffs and I would just love for a pretty girl to come in here and there I am all wiping my nose and sneezing all over her talking with that mouth breathers accent , you know breathing through your mouth instead of like a real human who breathes through their nose and eats with their mouth. I hate "mouth breathers" brush yer frickin soup cooler!! I shant be sneezing tomarrow, let it be known that the word "shant" is Bob's word so I don't want to get involved in any kind of legal hearings regarding the aforesaid word. I am here (work) for another hour yippie!
I think my walhist-D is wearing off sooo Ii gottttta goo wow this lookssk jh cool m, bye.
posted by dan at 6:08 PM ***

Oewihnc:

Well, the day is cruising by, like i had expected... Thanks to Missy (see side link), for directing me to the Official Simpsons Website, where you can actually browse the Mr. X Webpage (a la last night's thumbs-up episode) and the Quimby For President site. A great and funny way to waste time, kind of like what i look for 90% of each day... I just heard somebody down the aisle say, "Now, I don't think that VHS will go away," which reminds me, i have to alphabetize my 8-track collection.

I don't have an 8-track collection, per se. Just Aja, and it's totally useless cause it splits "Deacon Blues" onto two programs. STUPID.

Speaking of DVD's, I finally had a chance to dive into the Hard Eight (Sydney) commentary track, and even though i only watched about 15 minutes of it, i walked away excited and enlightened. Paul Thomas Anderson is such a genius for recognizing excellent actors (Philip Baker Hall, John C Riley, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Melora Walters) who had previously been buried into small character roles (Ghostbusters II, Casualties of War, Scent of a Woman, Cabin Boy)... and then writing characters specifically for each of them (Sydney, Reed Rothchilde, Phil Parma, Claudia Gator), tailored so that each actor can just dive right in and shine. In the commentary, he mentioned that he basically went up to Philip Baker Hall, one of his favorite actors, and said "i'm going to make you a star." Brilliant! Who is next?
posted by Oewihnc at 2:41 PM ***

Oewihnc:

I've been pretty busy around here. Busy with some very very important work related issues. I can't really speak about it now, because of a possible breach of security, but i can tell you that it has to do with tracking down URL's of fan sites dedicated to classic game shows. It's top secret. Help us keep the cat in the bag. For Wink's sake.

Thanks to everyone that came out to the show on Saturday. You were witness to three brand spanking new HM songs, and you know, i don't think we screwed them up that bad! The whole show will soon be available for your listening and watching pleasure on everyone's favorite show website Supersphere. I'll let you know when we are at full speed ahead. Ditto for Spin, Insound, and Stop Smiling, whom also have interviews in the queue for my band.

My top 5 REM songs right now are: Hairshirt, Nightswimming, Try Not to Breathe, Daysleeper, Perfect Circle

Oh yeah, there's a big court decision expected today which will hopefully help decide who everyone gets to make fun of for the next four years. More on this when it happens.

My favorite Notwist song at the moment is: Chemicals
posted by Oewihnc at 11:34 AM ***

Robert:

Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba Doo Doo Doo Doo Bang Bang Doo Doo Baa Baa.

That was the theme to the Price is Right by the way. It's exciting to be at work! Does this surprise you? It should, given my usual mental state this early on a Monday... But this Monday is different. It is the Monday of a THREE DAY WORK WEEK. Yeah! (If i wasn't concerned about keeping the margins correct, i'd spell "Yeah" with 1000 characters to express my excitement.) The whole week is planned out to the minute, and right now, i wouldn't want it any other way. This means that i have no time for dilly-dally and ballyhoo and walla-walla and any other sorts of tom foolery at any point in time, making the week go at super, no, ludicrous speed. I love it.

You want to know what i don't love? The gosh darn-it-the-heck-anyway dentist. That drill happy madman did something evil to a top row tooth on the left side of my mouth. I don't know what, but i just had a drink of some cool water and as soon as it hit that spot, BAM, i was on the floor, moaning in agony. I tell you what, I'll knock him so hard upside the head with that thing, i tell you what, i tell you, he won't know what hit em. He seems like such a nice guy, too, which makes my villianous bloodthirst theory so hard to believe. But when he puts on that mask, he becomes a butcher, i swear it. The tooth butcher.

You want to know what I love? A nice jam packed weekend, and let me tell you, i just had one. Friday night, I headed up to Milwaukee for practice, ate some good food, came down on Saturday for the show, the show was incredible (more on this later), afterwards a bunch of us went to my new favorite restaurant in Chicago, Taco Bell, i mean, Flat Top Grill, and then yesterday was a quiet, relaxing Sunday, getting a ton of home stuff done, ending with a hilarious trip to Improv Olympic! Speaking of olympic, didn't i mention this was going to be like a virtual decathlon?

You want to know what i don't love? The frigid cold of Chicago and Milwaukee round this time. It's freezing out there now and it's just going to get colder this week. Luckily I'm going to CALIFORNIA. California dreamin on such a winter's day. Going to California with an aching in my heart. Going Back to Cali... L.A. took a... part... of... me. L.A. gave this gift to me...
posted by Robert at 9:14 AM ***