Kinoki Foot Pad Test

For the next two weeks, I will be helping out WBAL TV with a story on the Kinoki Detox Foot Pad. According to the Kinoki web site, it’s a product that is made to “assist your body in the removal of heavy metals, metabolic wastes, toxins, and other chemicals, ” and will “Boost Your Energy Level” as well as, “Improve Your Health and Wellness.” Please see the informative commercial here:

Now, the commercial and website do lead to some skepticism, but, in the name of science, I am keeping an open mind to see if these detox pads will actually lead me towards a more energinic and health life. WBAL TV will be following my progress and I will be updating and changes here on Laur Versus Laur.

Last night was my first night using the pads. The pads were easy to put on and I found I was able to sleep easy, just as if I had a band aid on my foot. The pads did excrete a small smoke smell. When I woke the next day and removed the Kinoki pad, I noticed the pad did change color – a kind of bad banana brown. And the smoked smell was now a more pungent beef jerky smell. Here is video of Kinoki Foot Pad Test Night 1:

Check back on LvsL for more updates:

Cut Copy at Sonar (Baltimore)

cut copy, 5.17.08, sonar

If you have not checked out the band Cut Copy, do it.






They tore up Sonar last Saturday and the heat in the room told the story. It was straight bonkers in there! Here is a review of the show.

Wedding Countdown is at 11 days (by the time someone reads this at least).

John’s 1 Week of Diverse Concerts. Show 4: Kanye West

Line up: Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D., Rihanna, and Kanye ta the

Date: May 17th 2008

Venue: Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ

Weather: very nice, then a little drizzle

The Crew: John and Bobbie

Mechanical Bulls: 0

The Crowd: Teenie boppers, lots of them, and lots of them passed out drunk

What did I wear: Chucks, jeans, black hoodie

Beverage(s?) of choice: Captain and Diet/Jack and Diet, very expensive

Show lowlight: missed Lupe- very sad

Show highlight: oh so many! I really enjoyed N.E.R.D.’s set with this little sample of the White Stripes

Video highlight:\


Comments: Bobbie and I had a blast at this show. So many great highlights. Lupe joining Kanye on stage one of my favorites “Touch the Sky,” Rihanna coverd M.I.A. and N.E.R.D. reminding me how great “Rockstar” is.

John’s 1 Week of Diverse Concerts. Show 3: 98 Rock’s Miller Lite Night

Line up: Airbourne, Theory of a Deadman, Alterbridge

Date: May 15th 2008

Venue: Powerplant Live

Weather: clear night skies

The Crew: John, Bobbie, 98 Staff, and the Bob Mould Fan Club

Mechanical Bulls: 0

The Crowd: 98 Rock P1’s

What did I wear: Chucks, jeans, indie t-shirt

Beverage(s?) of choice: Miller Lite, of course

Show lowlight: Douche bags

Show highlight: Lead singer of Airbourne scaling to the top of the stage and doing a guitar solo.

Video highlight:


Comments: Miller Lite Night before Preakness is a classic 98 rock tradition that isn’t so much just a concert but an excuse to get really, really drunk. So that’s what we did - drank and did Cult sing-a-longs.

Next Show: Kanye West’s Glow in the Dark Tour

John’s 1 Week of Diverse Concerts. Show 2: Radiohead

Line up: Liars, Radiohead

Date: May 11th 2008

Venue: 7th Ring of Hell, er, I mean Nissan Pavilion

Weather: rain, lots of rain, and minor flooding

The Crew: John, Troy, Mat Turney

Mechanical Bulls: 0

The Crowd: wet

What did I wear: Chucks, jeans, t-shirt, black zip up hoodie, and a blue poncho

Beverage(s?) of choice: Coors Light (thanks Turney)

Set List:
All I Need, Jigsaw Falling Into Place, Lucky*, 15 Step*, Nude#, Pyramid Song#, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi#, Myxomatosis#, Idioteque#, Faust Arp#, Videotape#, Paranoid Android#, Just#, Reckoner*, Everything In Its Right Place, Bangers + Mash, Bodysnatchers

Encore 1: Like Spinning Plates, Optimistic, Karma Police, Go Slowly, Planet Telex

Encore 2: Fake Plastic Trees, National Anthem, House of Cards

* = songs we heard
# = songs we saw

Show lowlight: I don’t know what is worse - having numb feet or sitting in a car for 8 hours for only 1 hour of music.

Show highlight: a great light rig helped on tracks like Paranoid Android and Idioteque

Video highlight:


Comments: See Troy and Turney’s video review. Also, the problems with Nissan’s traffic issues have been well documented, but how would planning of a concert venue allow the traffic to be so bad? Apparently, Disney is to blame. Check out this article - Anatomy of a Bottleneck.

Next Show: Airbourne, Theory of a Deadman & Alterbridge @ Power Plant Live

John’s 1 Week of Diverse Concerts. Show 1: Kenny Chesney

Line up: Gary Allen, Leann Rimes, Big and Rich, Brooks and Dunn and Kenny Chesney

Date: May 10th 2008

Venue: M&T Bank Stadium, Home of the Baltimore Ravens!

Weather: started cloudy and cool, then got sunny and warm, then got dark

The Crew: myself and Bobbie

Mechanical Bulls: 1

The Crowd: mostly white dudes in jeans and t-shirts with cut off sleeves and gals in jeans and tank tops.

What did I wear: Chucks, jeans, t-shirt, black zip up hoodie

Beverage(s?) of choice: Miller Lite and Captain and Diets

Show lowlight: Sammy Hagar was mentioned on the original line-up but never showed. Bummer!

Show highlight: Kenny doing “Back Where I Come From”

Video highlight:

Comments: My first ever full country show, it wasn’t too bad. Bands where pretty entertaining, it was a beautiful day in Baltimore, and I could tell that Bobbie was really enjoying it.

Next Show: Radiohead @ Nissan Pavilion

The Water, a band I know and halfheartedly give decent advice to on occasion.

the water, 13th floor, 2.29.08

Dan Cohan once told me, "You know what I did with it, I bought all of this" and showed me his recent purchase of 20+ cases of Natty Boh. James, drinking a Boh next to me could only chuckle and it was then that I knew what fueled The Water.

Why The Water?

For me it's the bands combination of glass-blinking drums, looped thrash guitar and symbiotic melodies from Klink's key-IPOD-axe setup that orchestrates their own blue collar sound

What do you think? Give a listen to this video below.

Of late they have been spending their time fine tuning a new EP at their east Catonsville apartment. Both James Klink and Dan Cohan live together and also makeup the two person outfit. The band is preparing for two upcoming shows in the Baltimore area at the 13th Floor (may 23rd) and the SOWEBO festival (may 25th).

Recently, The Water opened up for another electro-noise band, the Benevento/Russo Duo at the 8x10 Club in Federal Hill. The Duo has come a long way since their early days performing in the New York City alt-jazz scene with famed residencies at the Knitting Factory making $100 bucks a night playing indie songs stretched out in twenty minutes jams.

Similar in layout, the Water's two person sound machine might be quickly compared to the Duo because the rigs looks so damn similar. But let your ears be the judge. This summer The Water will be working the ports of Baltimore, playing wherever there is an outlet and a cooler. Get out to one of their shows and have a little taste of true Boh-driven, balmer Water; trust me, it's refreshing.

Gooey Butter Cake?

You would figure as a guy who spent many years in Missouri I would know a thing or two about Missouri traditions. But I don’t. I have just recently heard of a St. Louis tradition known as the Gooey Butter Cake, and I can’t tell if it looks good or not. According to Wiki, the Gooey Butter Cake has a “bottom layer of buttery yellow cake and a top layer of either egg and cream cheese, or butter and sugar. It is generally served as a type of coffee cake and not as a dessert cake.” The Office's Phyllis says the cake will in fact put you in “immediate cardiac arrest,” and that sounds delicious. Watch this video where Steve Carell talks to Phyllis about Gooey Butter Cake:


I think I may try to make this myself using this recipe. Keep checking LvsL for taste results.

3 Random things to do

Here are three things I offer for you to do today:

1. In case you are meeting with other people today in a professional setting, here is an article I recommend.

How to Deliver Effective Presentations - wikiHow

One of my go to tips, is to write an outline before you give the speech, lay it out in front of you and then take a step back and direct eye contact across the room.

2. But if your just feeling down, like no one cares, no one fuckin cares and your the only with a car, then watch the clip below:

3. Do whatever the hell you want.

Maybe even record a few jowlers (or as my crew calls them, wobblers) or research kickass cars.

It's your day buddy.

The Drive Home

Just call it fun with the Flip Cam, but one day I decided to document my drive home and put it to music. My daily commute home starts on TV Hill at the WBAL building, goes through Woodberry and Hampden, continues onto the JFX, and ends on the corner of St. Paul and Biddle in MT Vernon. The video is shortened for time constraints. The song used in the video comes from the Athens, GA group known as The Whigs. Its called "I Never Want to Go Home" from their last release Mission Control out on ATO records.