I went to St Paul Friday night for the monthly trip to Trikkx for their bear night, which was packed as usual. We wanted to get a bite to eat beforehand, and I thought I’d be able to do a quick review of the new Fuji Ya that opened up there, replacing a sushi place that was already there. I guess it must be popular, because the wait was such that we moved on. Actually, the wait wasn’t that bad, only 30 minutes, but more than we wanted to wait.

On Jeff’s recommendation, we walked around the corner to Ruam Mit Thai Cafe, and am I glad we did. It has to be one of the best Thai places I’ve been to in a long time. I think I had the Pad Mee, which was wonderful. The place isn’t very big, but it has a nice atmosphere, it’s clean, the food is great, and the service was very good. Jeff had told us going in that the food was great, but the service was lousy. However, we did get great service, and Jeff admitted that he had only been there during the lunch hour. I’ll have to go again soon, and try the pad thai, pretty much my standard Thai dish. I have been branching out though, lately, trying different things as it’s recommended to me. I haven’t quite gotten the bravery to go too far afield on my own, though.

I think the Halloween candy secondary market is one of the greatest insights into a person you’ll ever get. Kids go through the neighborhood gathering currency for the real action that only happens afterward. They bring it home, pay their taxes (Dad taking his cut :) and Mom pretending she didn’t) and settle in for the trading. Some of the candy is universally despised and is tossed aside along with the toothbrushes, apples and tracts about how God would save your soul if you’d turn away from the demonic intent of such a night. There are more important things on the mind of a kid preparing for the trading than health, dental hygiene and their eternal soul. After all, only one house in the neighborhood gives out that one kind of candy that just makes the eyes roll back in the head.

And, for every kid, it’s something different, which is what makes the trade work so well. I was always trading anything with almonds in it for as many Milky Way’s as I could get my grubby hands on. What were your primary candy currencies?

We’ve gone to the St. Paul Jaycees setup in the caves by US Bankcorp the last 2 years, but I’m wondering where the best haunted houses are here in “the TC” for Halloween? How about the best yard setups to take a look at? Any in your neighborhood? Personally, I’d rather go look at these setups than the Christmas ones. On Monday I’ll probably be handing out candy. Next year I hope to set up a little better to scare them, but this year I need to get an idea of how many kids there will be and if they’ll put forward any effort. At my old house in St. Paul, virtually none of the kids even bothered with costumes.

I went to see a preview show of the brand new interactive theater show here in the Twin Cities, “We Gotta Bingo!” I have to say it was a hoot. I have never been able to see an interactive show before, so I have nothing to compare it too, but I still say it was a hoot.

For those of you who don’t know what interactive theater is, think “Tony ‘n’ Tina’s Wedding”. Think “The Awesome 80’s Prom”. It is a group of actors that are in character and “on stage” for almost the entire show. The audience is usually part of the show as well. For instance, “We Gotta Bingo” places the audience in the beer room of a brewery as patrons of a Bingo night to raise money for a church. Hilarity…and Bingo…ensue. I never won at Bingo, but i got really close a few times. It is silly how exciting a stupid game like that can be. There are mostly scripted bits, but the characters all wander around freely and talk with you all night. It was a fun thing to be a part of. Oh, they feed you, too. It was a yummy meal of lasagna and “bars” for dessert. Go check it out when it opens next Friday!!

I just got an email saying they are needing a ton of extras for a local zombie movie being filmed tonight. It is over in Bryn Mawr park just west of downtown Minneapolis. They are meeting in about 5 minutes, but I bet if you showed up late, you might still be able to do it. They might need you till ten, it doesn’t pay anything, and you need nothing but your body. They will provide all the make-up. So go and get ‘em dead guys!!

I flipped on MPR at noon and Midday is airing Thursday night’s debate between R.T. Rybak and Peter McLaughlin.

In the interest of being an informed citizen, I listened. But now it’s been a half an hour and it sounds just like any other debate. They spend all their time accusing each other of not doing this or that or not promising this or that and twisting facts to make their points.

So I had to turn it off. I’d rather just read this stuff on paper and make my comparisons that way, without all the sniping and bickering. I’m not learning anything, and listening to these grown men act this way makes me not want to vote for either of them.

Minnesota must be the place to live if you want to be a bestselling author! Vince Flynn, who lives in St. Paul, is currently at #4 on the NYT hardcover fiction list with his most recent book Consent to Kill.

I am a huge fan of the espionage/spy genre, and I must say that Mr. Flynn is really developing into a great writer. This is the best book he’s written yet! If you get a chance, pick it up.

Calling all mp3-enabled commuters who use FM transmitters - what is the best frequency in the Twin Cities to avoid other radio stations? I typically use 87.9, but it doesn’t fare well in downtown areas.

I’m positive there’s a secret band somewhere on that dial that’s crystal clear.

I’ve ridden the bus to my downtown job from many neighborhoods–Como Park, South Minneapolis, Lake Calhoun and now I live in North Minneapolis. I love how absolutely different the busrides are. The Uptown commute was quiet and every sat still in their seats. There’s usually always someone crazy at the front, talking to the bus driver and driving them crazy. But today was the best.
Today, I was running late, which means I rode with my favorite bus driver. He’s my favorite, because he’s a riot–genuinely chipper, cracks jokes and is always helpful. When I got on the bus there was a previous conversation going on and Church was in session. I realized that 6 or 7 people were taking turns talking and saying mmm praise God. The driver was talking about responding to those cussing you out and said, “there are ways to cuss people out and still be a good Christian.” He then innumerated with examples like, “you say to the guy, ‘hey I forgot my Bible, can I borrow yours?’ or ‘Get behind me Satan’ or ‘You should go to Church’.”
It was one of the funniest bus rides because it was 15 minutes of hillarious Church–that is if Church sermons were centered on cussing people out and whether its ok to protect yourself if someone is trying to attack you.

The Freakonomics blog (book well worth reading if you haven’t) via Stephen Dubner (one of the authors) is saying: