My kind of town, Chicago is...

Well, let me throw this out there to see if anyone's interested.

The Annoyance Theatre recently reopened in Uptown after about five years. I used to see their shows when they were in Lakeview and always found them to be shockingly funny. On Friday they do three shows: "Annoyance Christmas Pageant" at 8:00; "President Bush is a Great Man" at 10:30; and "Grabass" (sketch comedy) at midnight. Here's what the Reader said about "President Bush:"

The Annoyance Theatre's Bush-bashing satirical revue, performed by a top-notch ensemble, ladles sarcastic praise on the president in a string of Stepford-esque song and dance numbers. From director Mick Napier's precisely f*cked-up choreography to composer Lisa McQueen's razed-brain paeans to the Decider, a focused surreality holds this compendium of bogus cheer tightly together, bleeding pitch-black hilarity into our long, long national joke.

So, y'know, they do satire and stuff. Tickets to the shows are $15, which is the same as the cover charge at Kingston Mines, so the price is comparable. And the Annoyance is just a couple of doors down from the Green Mill. Anyway, if that sounds interesting, lemme know.

It's fine with me.

Are we still talking about Friday?

Not sure what I am going to be able to make yet, I screwed up my back at work yesterday and seeing a doctor in about an hour from now. Meeting up for some drinks or dinner might be doable but if the pain is the same as it is now I'm not sure how long I would want to be out. Don't rearrange anything on my account.

Yikes! I hope you get some relief and some good news from the dr. Back pain is horrendous!!! You have my sympathies.

Yes, Friday is the plan. I'm planning on driving and can take you both ways if that's any help.

Let us know how it goes this afternoon, k?

This back pain is pretty horrendus, my back has been pretty sore time to time (job hazard) but never like this. I'll let you you know what the diagnosis is this afternoon.

The culprit:



Shipping Weight 466 lbs

I can give you the name of a GREAT chiropractor, if you need one. He doesn't do manual manipulations and is a true wizard. I once crawled into his office with severe back spasms and practically danced out. He's up near me, but it wouldn't be a huge stretch for you from work. He completely changed my opinion about chiros.

Good luck this afternoon. I'm guessing you'll be on happy pills later.

I have always been a bit wary of chiroprators but at the same time have wanted to see for myself, I may take you up on that. Fingers are crossed regarding the happy pills, Tylenol has done nothing.

(OK I'll quit whining now)

Well not much to report, they gave me some pills and said I should see an ortopaedic doctor.

And that cured the pain?

It dulled it but it is still quite noticeable, I am hoping the specialist can give me a better diagnosis after he runs some tests. I will be seeing him first thing tomorrow morning.

All the best!!!

Nice built-in ovens tho.
Geez, that's what I want...

Feel better, sublime. Hope you're doing nothing more than lying down on something warm.

Like laying down on something cold!!! ICE, twenty minutes on, twenty minutes off. Use a bag of frozen peas or corn, if you have one. Stay away from heat for the next few days.

If the ortho guy starts talking surgery, give me a call and I'll give you the name of my chiro for a second opinion. I swear, this guy's a wizard.

Ice huh?

Yeah, I learned that the hard way. I had a problem back that wasn't getting any better. I was using a heating pad for relief. I finally went to a dr and they told me it wouldn't get better as long as I was using heat. Ice first, until the pain/spasms stop, then heat after a few days.

Oddly, I remember reading both when I googled re some of my own recurring back stupidness... but never mind, am not an expert. Cold peas...

I also warn re surgery suggestions, there's a lot of serious questioning about that, including some article in the last week or two. But orthopods I've known or known about don't rush in. Thick article in the New Yorker about it a year or so ago, but I forget which m.d. wrote it up.

Lift with your legs. Your legs!

Want to borrow some classic movies to ease your convalescence?

A lot of people are concerned about you, sublime. I hope the specialist can find the problem and help you get better soon!

My front yard is a lake this morning. By tomorrow it will be a skating rink under 6 to 10 inches of snow -- crazy weather!

Mr B leaves for New Orleans early tomorrow morning. I'll be taking him to the airport around 5:30 (assuming I can get out of my driveway by then) where he'll wait to see if his flight takes off. The normal 45 min round trip to O'Hare and back will be wild (I'm guessing 2 to 3 hours).

Then, I'll get to shovel the 200 ft driveway again so I can drive downtown in the afternoon. We do it by hand because Mr B likes the exercise, grrrrrr. I'll be more than ready for some entertainment by the time I get there. Sublime and I can trade aching back stories (I promise to be in good spirits).

Hope you're feeling better today, Sublime. I hope the happy pills allowed you to get some rest, at least. Let us know how it goes with the new doc.

We haven't heard from Gargamel this week -- everything ok, G?

Well, I was going to suggest that, if it was too much trouble for JPB to come in from the great white north(ern suburbs), that we just cancel, but it sounds like the snow will only increase her motivation. And so, andiamo alla festa!