I mentioned on this blog that 2019 was the year my Dad’s health went sideways. Other than a bad back, he’s like the Montana version of Clint Eastwood. A rare brain condition damn near sent him to Jah’s Heavenly Choir.
Long story short: Jan.-June was a distracting nightmare of back and forth with my Mom reporting grim news and discouraging progress. Calls and texts to my brother and sister who all feel helpless hundreds of miles away.
Here is what Papa Bob had to recover from in 2019:
NPH – Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus – spinal fluid build up on the brain which leads to dementia, incontinence and “gait deviations” — inability to walk
My Pops has spent more nights in either a hospital bed or “rehabilitation clinic” (aka nursing home) than he spent at his Snowbird spot in Sun City West, AZ. Retire and then get seriously ill. Life is not fair.
Long story short: The Mayo Clinic in Phoenix “fixes” NPH by installing a shunt in your skull. It’s like the condensation hose on your AC unit. Excess fluid drains away and is absorbed, harmlessly, into the abdomen.
A medical equivalent of this installed in my Dad’s skull to treat NPH
I was there in Arizona when he turned a corner and now is walking with a cane, where he was formerly wheelchair bound.
Mayo Clinic. Wow, awesome. Thank you! Dr. Bendok; Dr. Krishna. All killer, no filler!
****
So I have been basically “clenched” for seven months. It affects everything and I was keeping all days free in case I had to make an emergency trip to Phoenix. So once Dr. Krishna told my Dad “the pendulum is swinging in the right direction”, it was like Pops had permission to return to the way things were.
One day he said, “Hey go get my book.” He reads these detective novels one after another. Went back to reading the local paper. We watched the Chernobyl Mini Series on HBO together and he was totally engaged. Phew!
I was encouraged enough to think I could engage in a little self indulgence. No more Family With Medical Leave Act for I ‘n’ I.
Now, I want to go on vacation: cratedig, road trip, herbal excursion, concert. While everyone else was dealing with the chaos of the first week of school I was on my way to Denver for a comedy concert.
Jimmy Dore – best political comedian since George Carlin
My Version Excursion Itinerary:
I 70 to Green River for lunch at the Tamarisk Cafe’ my bredrin Aqua Boy recommended.
Stop in Palisade, CO at a dispensary. My weed concierge seemed a little grumpy. Hey fella, you could be slopping Slurpees at the Sev. Answering all my questions on my Seven Leaf purchases should be like a wine vendor sampling his wares. Come on man, you see Utah on the Driver’s License. It’s like having to talk to a toddler. But I don’t care — I’m on vacation. Just gimme my stash and choke on my cash!
Drove through the most beautiful stretch of country I have ever been on: Grand Junction to I 25 approach to Denver. Had it all: fruit stands, wineries, rivers, dams, mountain passes, tunnels, ski resorts, Amtrak. Treacherous driving even in the Summer at nearly 11,000 feet. Wow!
Idaho Springs, Colorado
Check into my hotel in Denver. Hit the liquor store. Stealth vape in my room while I plot my book and record store mapping, neighborhood by neighborhood. Successful cratedig: picked up around $200 of fresh Reggae vinyl
Twist & Shout Record Store: spent about 4 hours hearing combing the racks. Vinyl is Vital
Had Dinner a couple nights with my friends who flew in to see comedian Jimmy Dore and because I hate flying, I had my car.
Listened to KGNU Boulder’s “Reggae Bloodlines” show on Sat. 1-4pm. Having a session and a cocktail just like millions of you all do every Saturday during Smile Jamaica. Reggae Bloodlines sounded like Smile Jamaica with more Rebelution type reggae than Mutant Dub I ‘n’ I play, but straight up killer roots!
Sat. 4:20 vape like a viper before the show
Call Uber
Standing online with about 75 fellow Tulsi Gabbard and Bernie Sanders fanatics wearing my brand new Ilhan Omar T shirt which got many thumbs up from the Progressive audience in attendance
A round of cocktails with my friends to combat cotton mouth and settle in for nearly 2 hours of gallows humor with comedian Jimmy Dore surrounded by fellow travellers on the Far Left political spectrum. Single payer or death!
Sunday morning sunrise return trip via I 80. Thermos full of bad coffee grinding out flat and bland prairie. Cruise control at 73 MPH churning up the mile markers as my Pops loves to say, “feeling like a whore in church”, watching for Johnny Law on the 525 mile stretch back to SLC.
Gassed up in Rock Springs and called my Mom and that is how I found out my Dad doesn’t need a cane around the house. Praise Anu!
So yeah, good week after a brutal year. Selah!
bless, Bobbylon
One Love to the Green Solution for their great service and love of my Giorgio Aliens Tee
Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: Jah-gust 17, 2019 Annotated Playlist; 43 sec.
Set 1:
Earl Zero – Only Jah; Only Jah Can Ease the Pressure (Freedom Sounds) ’79 JA vinyl
The Supersonics – Treasure Isle Dub vol. 2 (Treasure Isle) JA vinyl dub set of the hour
No Xmas until Black Friday. No Xmas Reggae til Dec. 1. So enjoy some Holiday Reggae set (including a Hanukkah jam).
<Happy Reggae Hanukkah; 53 sec.>
Just got back from Las Vegas on a cratedig. So we hear the fruits of that labor. More vinyl than CDs. The CD is going, going, gone. Vinyl, even rare vinyl for I ‘n’ I as a collector, was really a good trip.
And in the land of 10 down (with 40 to go), I wasn’t a criminal. Here was my stop in Vegas. Since I’m an Ancient Astronaut Theorist, (who believes in the 12th planet Nibiru), of course my go to Vegas dispensary was Planet 13.
bless, Bobbylon
Smile Jamaica Annotated Playlist: Jah-cember 1, 2018: 1 min. 54 sec.
Set 1:
Al Campbell – Words of Wisdom; Rainy Days (Hawkeye) ’78 UK vinyl
Soul Syndicate & Big Youth – Inside Out; Reggae Gi Dem Dub (Nichola Delita) ‘ JA vinyl dub album of the hour
Sammy Dread – Jah Guide; Roadblock (Hitbound) ’82
Zema – Joy in the Morning; Black Sheep (Melchizedek) 2003 So Cal female
Johnny Clarke – Waiting in Vain; Sings Bob Marley in a Dancehall Style (Rhino UK) ’77 Bob Marley cover
Dillinger – Hearsay; 12″ (A & M) ’81 US picture sleeve
No matter where you come down on the election: from Blue Wave to Purple Puddle, cannabis did well at the polls. Took 3 out of 4.
Green Wave at the ballot box:
<Green Wave: 19 sec.>
Michigan legalized the Seven Leaf
Utah medical marijuana
Missouri medical marijuana
10 legal + DC + all of Canada
33 states medical marijuana
<Without seeds; 23 sec.>
Had a great conversation with my window installer this summer. He was a young Mormon man with a family. We got to talking based on my Reggae/cannabis menagerie of posters up in the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives.
He has excruciating pain in his back. None of the official pain meds were tolerable: gave him terrible constipation and nightmares. His wife was offered pharmaceutical anti-nausea medication while pregnant. Later the drug was found to cause birth defects.
Both of them relied on cannabis for pain and nausea relief. Not CBD. Cannabis. Smoked not eaten. My Dad uses it for neuropathy and carpal tunnel in Arizona. It’s a medicine. Congrats to Utahans for exercising their free agency.
Utah’s Prop 2 legalizing medical marijuana
So what will 2020 bring?
I’m predicting these states go for it:
Wisconsin
Ohio
Illinois
New Jersey
Florida
Montana (my homeland!)
New Mexico
Arizona (second try)
Hawaii? (they should be no brainer)
10 down, 40 to go! Maybe Pres. 45 will legalize it nationally if he wants to get re-elected?
Wow. That was quite the election without objection. Say what you want about Pres. 45, he motivates people to the polls. Although 5 billion dollars seems like quite a squandering of resources for such lack of choice.
But listening to Reggae for 3 plus decades, I learned to give the Hairy Eyeball to the isms and schisms.
So, this Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives delves into the real politik. And the same thing for breakfast.
I also think The Cream has it on the money too….
<Same thing for breakfast & The Cream’s Politician; 85 sec.>
The Cream – Politician
I’m a political man And I practice what I preach I’m a political man And I practice what I preach So don’t deny me, baby Not while you’re in my reach
I support the left Though I’m leaning, leaning to the right I support the left Though I’m leaning to the right But I’m just not there When it’s coming to a fight
The Cream – I support the left, but I’m leaning to the right aka “The Same Thing for Breakfast”
Best outcome for I ‘n’ I
Michigan legalized the collie weed
Missouri medical MJ
Utah Proposition 2 – Medical Marijuana puff puff passed
I am going through a home remodel. Pretty much since the beginning of March, my whole house has been chaotic as the contractor built me a real Ark-Ive. No more having to search through dozens of book boxes looking for that Mutant Dub herbtune recorded by a female singer.
I was handling the topsy turvy nature of workmen, dealing with the contractor, weather delays, etc. 4 months of inconvenience for a lifetime of organization.
The room looks great. New roof, siding? Awesome.
Time to unpack and fill the shelves in the brand new, good for you, Smile Jamaica Ark-IveNo more life as a music/media hoarder
Until the garage….the charlatans who sold me my house in 1995 scammed me. Rotted wood of the detached garage on my alley way. Put on dirt, not concrete footings. Filled the walls with cardboard filler and some sort of cotton candy junk. I can’t believe the whole thing never collapsed after 20 years of snow storms on that roof.
So they had to demolish it rather than repair it. $13k later. Parking my car on the street in the Sugarhood. It seems like it’s taking forever.
Has looked like this for 2 weeks. I think they did roofing and siding on my house in about the same time it is taking them to work on the garage. Grrr. Home remodels
Long story short. I had a home emergency right as I was leaving for last week’s Smile Jamaica. I told them I had no choice. I would have to get the show started, try to call a substitute and then rush home.
So I did just that. Got home about 5:30 for a five minute consult. Enjoy this Mutant Dub showcase cooked up in my Secret Dubratory to make amends for cutting and running last Saturday over the Airwaves.
bless, Bobbylon
Smile Jamaica’s Digital Dubplate: Mutant Dub Endless Summer of 2017
0 – 30 min.
Doctor Dread feat. Bob Dylan – I and I Dub; Theremin Dub (Tsosume) 2013
2 Bad Card feat. U Brown – Equality and Justice; Hustling Ability (ON U Sound) ’95 UK + JA DJ
In the middle of Spring fund drive at your station that rules the nation. So in order to keep fresh roots on the podcast version of Smile Jamaica, I cooked up three hours of my specialty: Mutant Dub.
Requested by a Twitter follower. These are the heavy bass and echo with Jamaican drum ‘n’ bass with modern electronic and echodelia.
Play loud so the bass pulsates!
bless, robt
Princess Leia pon the riddims
Smile Jamaica Digital Dubplate – Mutant Dub Mash-down Playlist:
0-30 min.
Thievery Corporation – Let the Chalice Blaze; The Temple of I & I (ESL) 2017 DC herb instrumental
Afro Omega – Set in the Sky; Love Emergency (Afro Omega) 2008 SLC dubbers w/ female vox
Benga – Light Bulb; Diary of an Afro Warrior (Tempa) 2008 UK
Bass Communion – Ghosts on Magnetic Tape IV; Ghost on Magnetic Tape (Headphone Dust) 2003 UK
The Herbaliser feat. What What; The Blend (Cuban Blend); CD Single ’97 UK feat. Female vox
Thievery Corporation – Temple of I & I – best of 2017
30-60 min
Bentley Rhythm Ace – Do the Christmas Rush (EMI) 2000 UK
Chris Joss – Get With It; Teraphonic Overdubs (ESL) 2007 Fr.
Black Star Liner – Swimmer; Bengali Bantam Youth Experience (Warner) ’99 UK Hindi-dub
Ancient Astronauts feat. Phat Old Mamas – A Hole to Swallow Us; We are to Answer (ESL) 2009 Germ. w/ female vox
Audio Active – Happy Shopper; Happy Happer (ON U Sound) ’95 Jah-pon
Nightmares on Wax – Da Feelin; Thought So… (Warp) 2008 UK
4 days to climb into the Top Ten! Yes I! Get the Fever! O.J. Fever!
3 hours of All Killer, No Filler per usual on Smile Jamaica
Been harvesting nuff Roots to my iPod. Gathered up enough for a likkle set devoted to Neoliberal hit man James Bond.
Dr. No filmed in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I always root for the villain in the Bond movies
But wait! There’s more!
4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement plus bonus set devoted to the Seven Leaf
Roots Dawtas: Sister Aricka Militant Steppers, American Blues-Reggae from Jessica Burks; trance dubbers Alpha & Omega; Bob’s girlfriend Martha Velez Reggae-rock high-brid; Maybe even some Sly & Robbie meets No Doubt. Last song World-dub via Al-jaherian songbird Natacha Atlas
Debut from Mutant Dubstress and Lovers Rocker Hollie Cook Twice
Absolutely perfect album: dubby riddims, sexy and dreamy female vox, contemporary mutant dub. Smile Jamaica Grades this an A+
Wailers Family Tree: Tracking Bob’s last show in Pittsburgh, Jah-sylvania. More rarities for sure-ty off Peter Tosh’s Equal Rights. Finishing up Bunny Wailer Rootsman Skanking
Vinyl is Vital: Black Wax World Tour
Mutant Dub: Last half hour. Bassgasmic!
bless, robt
Smile Jamaica live every Saturday 4-7 PM Mtn. Time:
Ark-Ive. Here on Smile Jamaica blog; without commercial interruptions
Twitter: SmileJ_KRCL for live alert and stream upload/blog posts
“I am not a Dread. I kill for the 1%”
Smile Jamaica is hosted by Robert Nelson on 90.9 FM KRCL in Salt Lake City, Utah (Saturdays, 4-7 p.m. MT). Ark-ives available weekly here at the Smile Jamaica blog.
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Smile Jamaica 