Just What I Needed! The Cars: 1980 Live In Tokyo

KBFH (Un-broadcast?)
Tokyo, Japan
October 30th, 1980
* - Bonus tracks (raw versions or alternates)

Not real sure if this was ever aired or not.
The trader researched the KBFH archives, but couldn't find any details on this set.

As you can see, it is a fantastic setlist, at a fantastic sound quality, with some alternate takes too. Also included in the zipped file is some CD label artwork for your convenience!

Setlist:

1. Misfit Kid
2. Best Friend's Girl
3. Moving In Stereo
4. Just What I Needed
5. Gimme Some Slack
6. Candy-O
7. God Times Roll
8. Bye, Bye Love
9. You're All I've Got Tonight
10. Panorama
11. Don't Tell Me No
12. Double Life
13. Getting Through


Bonus Tracks:

14. Moving In Stereo *
15. Good Times Roll *
16. You're All I've Got Tonight *
17. Candy-O *
18. Best Friends Girl *
19. Just What I Needed *


Download: The Cars: 1980 Live In Tokyo (zipped)

As always, enjoy!

Born On The Fourth Of July

Last night Gandmom Luh passed away, putting to end a long and protracted series of terrible injuries and hospitalizaions over the past year. I think we all feel about 3 parts grief, 1 part relief, that she is at peace with her husband, parents, brothers and sisters, and old German Shepherd "Fritz." (as a matter of fact, she is proabably up there with MY old dog "Patches" too, who absolutely adored her!!!)

A long and happy life, she lived in pretty much every part of this country (Colorado, Florida, MD, etc) and across just about every important development of the past 84 years. She had 3 sons and 2 grandchildren, who will miss her greatly.

When I was a kid, she picked me up from school every Tuesday (her day off from working at her Hallmark Store in Parkville) and watched me every Tuesday during the summers. Patches and I always looked forward to those days, and I can remember about 100 of them vividly. Childhood frinds of mine lived in her neighborhood, and visits were always looked forward to greatly. I teased her about her awful singing (it wasn't, really) and her awful cooking (It WAS, really), and always enjoyed going over to her house, the general "meeting place" for all of us on every major holiday. Christmas Eves and Easter Sundays, Thanksgiving Nights, Amanda's Birthdays... She was always there smiling and watching football and laughing with everyone, even when her pain and illnesses were more than most people would be able to bear.

Her Birthday was the 4th of July, and she told me when I was really little that all the fireworks and parades? those were for HER birthday... I believed her for a pretty long time. I still always laugh and think of that when Alicia and I watch the Macys fireworks off the coast of Manhattan.

We will all miss her very much.

***Alicia wrote more here.

Gimme Shelter: Neko Case Free Download Benefits Animal Charity

According to Magnet Magazine:

Neko Case and her label (Anti-) are donating $5 to rescue organization Best Friends Animal Society for every blog post of Case’s new single, “People Got A Lotta Nerve.” The song from the forthcoming album Middle Cyclone (due March 3) can be downloaded by anyone for free at Anti-’s label blog, where you can also view Case’s public service announcement for Best Friends. Money will be donated from now until February 3. Additionally, a $1 donation will be made for every iLike user who adds the song to his/her profile. We predict widespread support for this effort, except maybe from this blog. (Why do we even remember that?) To read Magnet Magazine's forecast of Middle Cyclone, click here.

Here's the Song:

Download: Neko Case - "People Got A Lotta Nerve"

Thanks to Tim P. (and of course, Magnet Magazine, above) for the heads up about this AWESOME news!

Well, When you Put it THAT way...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Who Says You Can't Toss a Fish at a President?

The guard at the gate said, "Don't trust the government"
I woke up dirty, wondered where my money went
Who says you can't toss a fish at a president,
Say you're sorry and be on your way?

And you all rise up
When the plant shuts down
Tighten up girl
When your man leaves town
I'll kill the work song
When you're making car bombs.

Well now Jackson from the union is a company man
He got a company song, sings in a company band
The company picnic at the forest preserve
He got what he had coming, got what he deserved
His tires were slashed, his wallet was gone
He was last seen kissing on the owner's son
In the parking lot after the workers went home
He'll never stink of fish
And he'll always fish alone

And you all rise up
When the plant shuts down
Tighten up girl
When your man leaves town
I'll kill the work song
Go on making love, now

Now the girls in the break room, don't trust the union
'Cause Jackson's taking money from their checks for uniforms
Won't back em up on an overdue raise
Don't wanna make it with the fish and messing up the workplace
Some, they wanna leave by the river or the rail
I'm in the slammer, couldn't make the bail
Someone from the fish plant snuck into the jail
It was Jackson with a threat and a pocket full of scales
Pictures of my daughter and one of my mistress
We're naked making love and bringing vodka and the fishes
Jackson is the blind man, the company fool
His bride is my mistress
My kid is swimming in her womb
Yeah!

The guard at the gate said, "Don't trust the government"
I woke up dirty wondered where my money went
Who says you can't take a shot at a president,
Say you're sorry and be on your way?


Download: The Ike Reilly Assasination: Fish Plant Uprising

Loving This Song Right Now... It seemed really relevant to the ecomoy and election. I posted Ike Reilly before, but now I have his full album, We Belong To the Staggering Evening. It was one of my 2 favorite albums I got for Christmas this year... (other fav? Kings of Leon, a post uto itself!) Enjoy.

Death Race - Rad To The Extreme

I know, I know, I know. You're thinking "How on earth could you have brought yourself to rent this? Why not get the cheese-fest classic original?"

To all you doubters out there, let me just say, i loved this movie. It so far exceeded my (albeit SMALL) expectations that I was thrilled. I've got news for you... you don't need to read this post at all... you already know if you are going to love or hate this movie. It is exactly what you hope it will be, or what you fear it will be.

IIIII found it very exciting, fantastically shot (and special effected) and loved the video game carnage and charcter motivations. The villans are BAD. the Hero is TOUGH. The sidekicks are smart and DEVIOUS. The (few) girls that are in it are used for eye candy only (a pretty serious charge one could level at the film) but it's so gleeful (and I would even say, sarcastic) about it, that I gave that a "pass" and still really had a great time. (what else would you expect from Roger Corman, anyway?)

If you think you might not like it, then you will HATE it.

But if you think you might almost like it... well, you MAY LOVE IT.

Count me in the latter group.

Wolf Creek - Now THAT'S more like it!

After the great review at Blog-Sothoth I was very much looking forward to seeing this one. I won't give too much away, but I WILL go on record to say that this was EXTREMELY well done. Acting was stellar. Writing was stellar. Cinematography/DP was beautiful and artistic and terrifying. I thought the pacing was fantastic, and while I knew the "twist" before renting it, I was lulled in and suckerpuncched none-the-less.

It's a shame America doesn't make horror movies like this any more. Thank god the Aussies still do! Up next (for me) is their whacked out Crocodile film... I'm not too sure about that, but I wasn't too sure about THIS one either and I was blown away.

Run, do not walk, to your video house and rent Wolf Creek.

Warning: Not for the squeamish (or cowardly).

Mirrors- Not Worth The Film It's Printed On

Mirrors wasn't even worth the film it was printed on. The acting was OK (Keifer Suterland, et al), but they simply had nothing of quality to work with.

This disappoints me to no end, because, despite the terrible reviews, IIII have a long-stanging "Irrational Fear" of Mirrors... so of all the people in the world this should scare, I should be in the top percentile.

Don't waste your time even with a rental or a Netfix. If it comes on cable for free and you are home alone on a dark and stormy night, I would STILL pass.

Bah.

ATTACK ON AMERICA!

Just 4 days before the inauguration of Barack Obama, a gaggle of geese attacked a commercial airliner over the Hudson River in New York City . The brazen assault, called a "bird strike," happened minutes after USAirways flight 1549 departed from LaGuardia. We urge President Bush to show no mercy to these geese by invading a duck pond.

Update! 7:15 AM According to the Today Show, these geese may have been Canadian. Figures.

courtesy of 236.com

A Beautiful Life Cycle in Advertising

I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the prime of my life
Let's make some music, make some money, find some models for wives
I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin and fuck with the stars
You man the island and the cocaine and the elegant cars

This is our decision to live fast and die young
We've got the vision, now let's have some fun!
Yeah it's overwhelming, but what else can we do?
Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?

Forget about our mothers and our friends
We were fated to pretend

I'll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms
I'll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world
I'll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home
Yeah, I'll miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone

But there is really nothing, nothing we can do
Love must be forgotten, life can always start up anew
The models will have children, we'll get a divorce
We'll find some more models, everything must run its course

We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end
We were fated to pretend

Yeah, yeah, yeah

Download: MGMT: Time To Pretend

Loving This Song Right Now.... Enjoy.

Sacrifice 10 Friends for a Free Whopper

The Whopper Sacrifice, a new Facebook application from Burger King, pushes the limits to see how much a Whopper is worth. It's simple: Defriend 10 friends on Facebook and you get a free Whopper.

As Posted by Andi Wang on Gizmodo:

When I logged into Facebook today, I received a friend request from our recently departed intern, Seung, who I knew I was already friends with.

"Did you delete me on Facebook?!" I asked him. He responded with a cackle and told me that our friendship was definitely worth the cost of a Whopper. A few moments later, I realized that more Gizmodo staffers were doing the same. Goddammit, guys! I'm a human being, not a piece of meat!

Sacrifice your "friends" here.

I wish I could trade in some REAL people from my life and get free Whoppers... Well, I guess there is always Soylent Green.

An Unkindness of Ravens

A group of birds of any type is generically known collectively as a flock. For a number of individual birds, there exist poetic collective nouns particular to the type of bird. Many of these collective nouns are fanciful, and not in common use in English. The book An Exaltation of Larks by James Lipton is a good reference for the collective nouns and their etymology, the third edition being the most well-researched. (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Today's fanciful exaltation:

An Unkindness of Ravens.

13-10 against the top-ranked Titans? A nailbiter, and thrilling from first play to the last 53 seconds!

Way to go, guys! One game away from the big one!

Read all about it here.

Chad Pennington's new career is off to a bad start...

After a diasterous confrontation with the Baltimore Ravens, Chad Pennington tries a new career.

(damn... this sucker doesn't even wait for the TRUCK to stop before he throws that hail mary! Somebody's brand-new something just got smashed!)

On New Years Day... (well, a day late)

I Started posting this latest collection on New Years Day, but since the internet at the Holiday Inn is so slow, it wasn't really finished till now... sorry. But the wait was definitely worth it. Here is a 5 Disc collection of solo rarities from U2's Bono. Sound quality varies from source to source, but in all it is a pretty teriffic collection For U2 or Bono fans, as well as the rarities hunters ot there!

Enjoy! I have RARed each of the 5 x discs seperately for your downloading convenience:

Bono: Solo
Disc 1 of 5

1 - Two shots of happy, one shot of Sad
2 - One
3 - Give me back mu job
4 - In a lifetime
5 - Hallelujah 95
6 - Billy boola 94
7 - Save the children
8 - Silver and gold
9 - Let The Good Times Roll
10 - Tomorrow 96
11 - In The Name Of The Father
12 - Can't Help Falling In Love
13 - I've Got You Under My Skin

Download: Bono: Solo Disc 1 (rar)



Bono: Solo
Disc 2 of 5

1 - Elvis ate america
2 - Slug
3 - Your blue room
4 - Sweet fire of love
5 - Perfect day
6 - Slow dancing
7 - One
8 - Miss sarajevo
9 - Dreaming With Tears In My Eyes
10 - Jesus Christ
11 - I'm Not Your Baby
12 - Testimony
13 - Do They Know It's Christmas
14 - Purple Heart
15 - Always Forever Now
16 - Christmas (Please Come Home)

Download: Bono: Solo Disc 2 (rar)



Bono: Solo
Disc 3 of 5

1 - Lean on me
2 - Re-wired
3 - Mother of the disappeared
4 - One
5 - Mother of the disappeared mix
6 - Audiotrack 02
7 - Don't Take your Guns to town
8 - Miami
9 - All i want is you
10 - North and south of the river
11 - Sunday bloody sunday
12 - Ground beneath her feet
13 - Mother of god english
14 - Mother of god spanish
15 - Interview bono on netaid
16 - Drowning man
17 - Staring at the sun

Download: Bono: Solo Disc 3 (rar)



Bono: Solo
Disc 4 of 5

1 - Bono and the edge - all i want is you
2 - The ground beneath her feet
3 - Sweet jane
4 - wild irish rose
5 - Slide away
6 - Air suspension & bono - mocean
7 - Bono & the edge - she's a mystery to me
8 - springhill mining disaster
9 - Just ask (rare acoustic demo)
10 - Bono and the million dollar hotel
11 - One
12 - Wyclef jean & bono - new day

Download: Bono: Solo Disc 4 (rar)



Bono: Solo
Disc 5 of 5

1 - Stuck in a Moment - Bono and The Edge
2 - Misere - Bono and Pavorotti
3 - What is Going On - Bono and Chris Martin
4 - Falling at Your Feet - Bono and Daniel Lanois
5 - L Incontro - Bono and Andrea Bocelli
6 - Stay - Bono and Graig Armstrong
7 - Jump Start - Bono
8 - One - Bono
9 - Children of the Revolution - Bono and Gavon Friday
10 - Joy - Bono and Mick Jagger
11 - Beat on the Brat - Bono
12 - The Hands that Built America - Bono
13 - Ave Maria - Bono
14 - If You Wear that Velvet Dress - Bono and Jools Holland
15 - American Prayer - Bono and the Wheaton College Choir
16 - Summer Wine - Bono and The Corrs
17 - When the Stars Go Blue - Bono and The Corrs

Download: Bono: Solo Disc 5 (rar)

Happy New Year to everyone out there!

The "Barack the Magic Negro" song parody has received mixed reviews. How hilarious do you think it is?

The "Barack the Magic Negro" song parody has received mixed reviews. How hilarious do you think it is?

A. Mixed reviews? Did some of them find it reprehensible while others thought it was "f**king reprehensible?"

B. My fiance and I have been looking for a first song for our wedding. It's either this or "One in a Million" by G n' R.

C. As a professional magician who is also extremely racist, I found the use of the term "magic" to be inappropriate. Aside from that, awesome.

D. Look, there's just no better way to address the concerns of marginalized civil rights leaders than through the universally respected art of racist song parody.

E. Limbaugh, you've done it again you obese, pill-popping imbecile!

POLL COURTESY OF 236.COM

Merry Christmas #9: Aimee Mann's Off The Wall Christmas Concert 2008

Here's a great little holiday treat for you (better late than never)... A Christmas Concert by Aimee Mann from just a few days ago... great sound quality, lots of christmas songs, lots of goofing around, lots of star studded guest appearances, lots of fun. Originally broadcast on WXPN, Public Radio, PA.


Aimee Mann's Off The Wall Christmas Concert
12/13/2008 - Glenside, PA
(FM broadcast)

01 - WXPN intro
02 - Show intro (Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies)
03 - Calling On Mary [AM]
04 - Paul F. Tompkins intro & banter
05 - Sleigh Ride [AM & PFT]
06 - Nelly McKay (wearing a big red corset) intro & banter
07 - Sleigh Ride (cont’d) [NMK-sung in high voice]
08 - Grant-Lee Phillips (in snowman costume) intro & banter
09 - Sleigh Ride (cont’d) [GLP]
10 - Aimee banter & film introduction
11 - Film pt.1 (The Ghost of Christmas Past) [GLP, Michael Penn, PFT]
12 - Paul F. Tompkins comedy routine #1
13 - Snow Miser, Heat Miser [AM, PFT, GLP, NMK]
14 - Paul F. Tompkins comedy routine #2
15 - I’ll Be Home For Christmas [AM]
16 - Christmastime
17 - Take Me Away [NMK]
18 - Nelly with Rudolph toy
19 - A Christmas Dirge [NMK]
20 - The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) [AM]
21 - Film pt.2 (The Ghost of Christmas Present)
22 - Wise Up [AM]
23 - Save Me [AM]
24 - Aimee introduces Amos Lee
25 - Winter Wonderland [AM & AL]
26 - Christmas In Prison [AL]
27 - Baby I Want You [AL]
28 - Paul F. Thompkins introduces “Willie Nelson”
29 - Voices Carry [as sung by “Willie Nelson” and AM]
30 - Film pt.3 (The Making Of The Christmas Movie) w/Michael Cera
31 - Aimee introduces Grant Lee Phillips
32 - You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch [GLP & AM]
33 - An Old Fashioned Christmas [GLP wAM]
34 - Winter Glow [GLP]
35 - Banter
36 - “The Hanukkah Fairy” (Morgan Murphy) appears
37 - The Immaculate Conception of the Hanukkah Fairy [MM]
38 - Film pt.4 (The Ghost of Christmas Future) [wJohn C. Reilly & Michael Cera]
39 - Freeway [AM]
40 - Dear John [AM]
41 - Long Shot [AM]
42 - Encore Break and Station IDs
43 - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) [All, including GLP in a Rudolph costume]

Download: Aimee Man: Off The Wall Christmas Concert 2008 (zipped)

Some Stuff Santa Brought

Some of the great stuff I got from Santa this year:

Music:

• Ryan Adams, Cardinology
(only 1 new album from Ryan this year? Slacker!)

• Against Me!, Acoustic EP
had a few songs from this, but not the entire thing... awesome

• Kings of Leon, Only By the Night
Am looking forward to hearing this whole thing... review to come

• TV on the Radio, Dear Science
Same with KOL...

• Ike Reilly Assasination, We Belong to the Staggering Evening
I posted 1 song from this a while ago on the blog, nice to hear the whole album!

• AC/DC, Black Ice
Walmart exclusive, and STILL one of Sony's biggest selling albums of the year

• Buckcherry, Black Butterfly
Josh Todd never disappoints!

• Wye Oak, If Children
Local kids (UMBC) make good... on Merge Records, too!



DVDs:

• Monster Road
(Doc portrait of Clay Animator Bruce Bickford)

• The Last 1948 Show
(The Classic Series that preceded and inspired Monty Python)

• The Dark Knight
(along with the rest of America)

• Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Season 6
(Food Items Solve Crimes)


Video Games:

• Dead Space (Xbox360)
Survival/Horror/Action in Space

• Gears Of War 2 (Xbox360)
Blockbuster Sequel to one of my favorite games

• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox360)
dark side of the force... cooooool

• The Orange Box (Xbox360)
5 of the best games ever made (2007's game of the year) all on one disc, on sale for 20 bucks!


Libations:

• Lump Of Coal
(mmmmmm... favorite Chocolate Stout)

• Rogue Chocolate Stout
(mmmmmm...)

• Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel
(had others from them, can't wait to try!)

• Porto Feist 1995 Vintage Port
(hand painted lettering on the bottle!)

• a Healthy mix of Old Dominion and such from Tim
(awesome! awesome! awesome! thank you!)



Various Awesomeness:

• NYT Obama Victory Issue, sealed in plastic
(GREAT IDEA, DAD!)

• 2 x Vintage Macintosh Ads (Think Different) Framed!

• Radioactive Octopus vs Frogmen

• Mad Magazine collection of Star Wars Parodies over the years

• Colored Pencils (w/ pad)

• Stuff White People Like (book)

• Clothes!

etc... etc... etc....

And the greatest gift of all?

• Delivering the Kidney Stone!
Sniff... It's a Cristmas Miracle!

Thank you everyone for what is probably my best "haul" of fantastic presents, I still can't believe this is the year we all decided to "cut back"!!!! I hope you all like what we got for YOU! I know we sure enjoyed giving them all to you! Merry, Merry Christmas, and I look forward to a new 2009 just around the bend! (Go Obama!)

Christmas Wishes DO come True (Merry Christmas #8)

Well, God Willing, it seems like I have passed my kidney stone, just about 10 pm Christmas night. The past 72 hours have been absolute hell, and every muscle in my body is pained and exhausted. The little F#CKER was about the size of a "Nerd" candy and predominantly black.

I don't have much music here with me while in Baltimore (other than the awesome new stuff I got and am still sifting through), so for a late Christmas Night gift, I am posting a collection of all the Pearl Jam Christmas Fan Club Singles from every year released (up until this year, of course!)

A great collection of fantastic rarities (Angel, Driftin', etc) and bizzare ramblings and b-sides (ramblings 1 and 2, Olympic Platinum) and some awesome covers (Ramones, Dead Boys, Split Enz, Elvis, etc), these Vynl 45's come every year* to a member of the Fan Club, and these are every one of them from 1991 - 2007.

Merry Chrismas. I will sleep like the Baby Jesus in the manger tonight.

Tracklist Includes:

1991
-Let Me Sleep (Unreleased)
-Ramblings I (Unreleased)

1992
-Sonic Reducer (Dead Boys cover)
-Ramblings II (Unreleased)

1993
-Angel (Unreleased)
-Ramblings III (live in Indio, CA 11/5/93)

1995
-History Never Repeats (Split Enz cover, live with Neil & Tim Finn)
-Sonic Reducer (Dead Boys cover, live with Joey Ramone)
-Swallow My Pride (Green River cover, live)
-My Way (Elvis cover with Elvis' cousin Terry, live)

1996
-Olympic Platinum (Unreleased)
-Smile (live in Barcelona, 11/21/96)

1997 (joint effort with R.E.M.)
-Happy When I'm Crying (Unreleased)
-Live For Today - R.E.M.

1998
-Soldier of Love (cover by Arthur Alexander)
-Last Kiss (cover by J. Frank Wilson)

1999
-Strangest Tribe (Unreleased)
-Driftin' (Unreleased)

2000
-Crown of Thorns (Mother Love Bone cover, live)
-Can't Help Falling In Love (Elvis cover)

2001
-Last Soldier (live)
-Indifference (with Ben Harper, live)
-Gimme Some Truth (Lennon cover, live)
-I Just Want To Have Something To Do (Ramones cover)

2002
-Don't Believe In Christmas (Sonics cover, live)
-Sleepless Nights (Everly Brothers cover, live with Beck)

2003
-Reach Down (live, with Chris Cornell)
-I Believe In Miracles (Ramones cover, live)

2004
-Someday At Christmas (Jackson 5ive cover)
-Betterman (w/ Walmer High School choir from South Africa)

2005
-Little Sister (with Robert Plant, live)
-Gone (demo)

2006
- Love Reign O'er Me (The Who cover)
- Rockin' In The Free World (N. Young cover w/ Bono and The Edge-U2)

2007
- Santa God (Unreleased)
- Jingle Bells (James Pierpont cover)

Download: Pearl Jam: Fan Club Christmas Singles 1992-2007 (zipped)

* 1994 was the only year they didn't send one, but 1995's made up for it with a double vynl version with 2 albums sent...

You Shall NOT PASS!

This exact scene is happening in my Kidney and Urinary tract right now.

The stone is still there, frolicking around, knocking me out for about 30-40 minutes every 4 hours or so. today has been better, but YESTERDAY was a nightmare. I had to excuse myself from Alicia's family's dinner to go upstairs on their sofa and shiver and teeth-chatter in utter misery. I fell sound asleep, then woke up feeling fine, came down for them to open presents, then we were off to Bob's house to exchange presents there. On the way in the car, I was hit with round 2, and I was down for the F'ing count. I seriously thought I was going to pass out in the car, and by the time we arrived at the house I was delusional and frantic, and I walked straight in, and straight upstairs immediately and fell asleep there for about a half hour or so. Again, I woke up feeling fine, and I came downstairs for presents and holiday merriment. Coming home I was rough, and I just collapsed in bed and fell sound asleep. Got a good night's sleep, and this am we got up early and went over to Grandmom Smiths, then off to Dayna's house in the evening.

6:30, and we are back in the hotel, and I am in for the night. Mild pain, but NOTHING like yesterday (yet).

Christmas presents have been fantastic though, I can't wait to share some of the new music, probably not until I return to NY though...

Tomorow we visit with Grandmom Luh in the hospital, then Mom and Amanda and Chris for early evening and dinner. All in all the pressure has been very low, and the visits have been very pleasant. With the economic downturn, we (along with most of the country, I suspect) just really all seemed to appreciate getting together, eating, drinking and being merry. ChristmasCrazyFest has been kept to a dull roar, and maybe it's just my majorly drugged up percoset outlook, but I sure do like it this year!

Merry Christmas to all. And to ME a good night (hopefully)

Q: When are 2mm more painful than 35mm?

A. When It's a Kidney Stone.

Yesterday evening Alicia and I had dinner with my Mom and Amanda, and during dinner (possibly before) I started getting a weird, dull ache in the lower portion of my back. I assumed it was from carrying presents for the past few days, especially the TV we got for Alicia's Mom and Dad for Christmas, which I was carrying all by myself. Although Back pain is not really a problem I usually have an issue with, I thought " Oh well, I guess I'm getting older..."

After dinner we did a touch more shopping, finishing off the complete list, but the back ache was a bit worse. I laid on the floor, and Alicia showed me some back stretching and relaxation excercises, which DID feel good, but nothing seemed to work.

I went to use the restroom, and while there, became CONSUMED with a ferocious pain now in my front and abdomen. I got a terrible chill, teeth chatering and most of my muscles spasming and contracting involuntarily.

I really wasn't that scared, because at this point I pretty much knew exactly what it was.

11 Years ago, at the ripe old age of 21, I had my first kidney stone. I took an ambulance to the ER in Brooklyn (a. I didn't have a car. b. seriously thought I was dying). Once I passed that one, the doctor told me that if I was 21 and havng a stone, then my body just is going to keep making them, and he could pretty much gurantee that I would have them for the rest of my life.

11 years go by with no incident, but the loaded gun has been pointed at the back of my head the entire time.

I came out of the bathroom last night, and told Alicia with nearly 100% certainty that I had a stone, and needed to go to the ER right now. (it was now 11:30 at night, David Letterman had just come on the tv) She drove us to St. Joseph's er, mercifully only a 5 minute ride (have I mentioned that the Holiday Inn we stay at is in just about the most convenient location in the world?)

Checked in to the ER, was in triage about 15 minutes later (15 looooong minutes of agony, as well as a TV in the waiting room blaring Mike Huckabee on False News) and they weeled me into a room where I proceeded to die and ressurect, not unlike the Phoenix.

4:00am the worst appeared over, so they sent us home with a doping of morphine, a prescription for Percoset, and a bunch of paper strainers to pee into until it passes.

Got a few hours of sleep, awoke for 2 x conference calls for work, and I am officially taking it easy today (not that my body would allow me to do anything differently, anyway!

And to my ever anxious parents, Congrats, you are now Grandparents for the second time! This new baby's name is "Calcie" and she is 2 mm...

let's hope I get 11 more years of peace after this one...

Merry Christmas to me.