Fading Into Obscurity

It's pouring like a mofo out. Given the great weather we've had lately, I can deal.

I am kind of bummed this week. I was out for a long run Sunday morning and about 30 minutes in, I felt my lower back tighten up. I walked for a little bit and was able to keep going, hoping it would pass, but it never did. Three days later, it's still pretty sore. It hurts when I get up from a seated position, or bend over to pick something up. I got a massage today and the therapist said it was likely caused by the tightness in my hamstrings and quads from all the running. So I haven't been able to work out the last few days, which drives me nuts. Hopefully I'll feel okay to run by the weekend.

Dog will hunt:

• Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Fisher-Price has rolled out a new Elmo stuffed toy that laughs so hard, he rolls around on the floor, slaps his knee and pounds his fists on the floor. This thing was so under wraps only 50 people had seen before it was unveiled today. And get this: it's called the T.M.X. Elmo, as in Tickle Me Extreme. I shit you not.
• Apparently, they can transplant just about anything these days.
• The new Sloan album, Never Hear the End of It, is out today in Canada, but the band doesn't have a U.S. deal in place yet. I'm hoping Newbury Comics will have it, otherwise I'll have to order it through a Canadian retailer.
• So the band on CBS' Rock Star: Supernova reality show found out it had to change its name because another band had been using it since the early '90s. So what did they come up with? Probably the least original moniker they could think of.