Ivanka wore a wedding dress by Vera Wang lace gown paired with $130,000 diamond drop earrings from her Ivanka Trump Collection. Her hair and makeup were done by Alexa Rodulfo.

  [Photo: Brian Marcus / Fred Marcus Photography / Getty]

Ivanka Trump’s Vera Wang wedding dress was inspired by the gown Grace Kelly wore when she married Prince Rainier in 1956.

“For Ivanka’s wedding, she very definitely wanted to be covered,” Wang tells Entertainment Tonight. “It hearkened back to another time which is incredibly romantic.”

The intricate dress, which Wang describes as “majestic” and “demure,” has three different tiers of hand-appliquéd lace in different shades of ivory.

Celebrity wedding planner Preston Bailey coordinated the wedding for 500 guests which included the bride’s father, Donald Trump, along with Regis Philbin.

[source]

Ivanka’s wedding dress is undoubtedly super gorgeous and definitely goes into my Top 5 celebrity wedding dresses. It wasn’t fussy, it wasn’t frou frou and just exudes elegance and so regal.

Any of you out there getting married in 2010, don’t fret and don’t panic.. you can read my article on How To Choose A Wedding Gown , or you can view Oscar De La Renta’s Spring 2009 and 2010 bridal collection . For further inspiration, you can check out celebrity weddings at my Wed Me Wednesday (WMW) or Bridal Fashion section!

Happy browsing!

Amanda Seyfried has definitely been popping out in films like mushrooms.. from Jennifer’s Body to her latest film, the Nicholas Sparks film adaptation of Dear John (where she stars opposite Channing Tatum), she also stars in Letters To Juliet opposite Vanessa Redgrave, Gael Garcia Bernal and Christopher Egan.

Letters To Julia, directed by Gary Winick (13 Going on 30, Charlotte’s Web, Bride Wars) is a film about a young American (Amanda Seyfried) who travels to the city of Verona, home of the star-crossed lover Juliet Capulet of Romeo and Juliet.. There, she joins a group of volunteers who respond to letters to Juliet seeking advice about love. After answering one letter dated from 1957, she inspires its author (Vanessa Redgrave) to travel to Italy in search of her long-lost love, which sets off a chain of events that will bring a love into both their lives unlike anything they have ever imagined.

Below is the movie trailer for Letters To Juliet:

(more…)

Recently, I’ve been subject to (and all right, contributed to a teeny bit, though it didn’t last too long) a deluge of “I can’t”s, both in my gaming life and in both my primary job and the teacher test prep gig I moonlight in. What I find odd/interesting is how I’ve been reacting to them differently dependent on context, and why it’s come across that way—and of course, the perennial question of what to do about it.

When it’s a prep student, I tend to react immediately by trying to prop the ego back up; the fastest way to fail the CSET is to decide you’re going to fail the CSET, and it’s my job to give them the best chance of passing I can—and then when they’re gone and I’m done being supportive, I get all sad that I couldn’t get through to them. That kind of learned helplessness is an old pet peeve of mine, from back when I didn’t realize that it wasn’t just confidence and love of learning but a whole number of things that I had as a child and others didn’t that set me apart from my peers, so I was pretty sure that it was only their fervent belief that they weren’t smart that kept them back. At work, usually it’s a coworker who’s practically the most cheerful person I know, laughing at the things she hasn’t learned (it helps that her I can’t is usually ‘I can’t—yet’ rather than ‘I can’t at all’), so I chuckle along with her but squirm a little about it. But when it’s one of my players, I tend to come exceedingly close to losing my temper.

I’ve always been particularly bothered by “I can’t” in an RPG, and I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe it’s a run of luck with some of my GMs; they had a tendency to put me into situations the character’s stats said I really shouldn’t have been able to handle, and I tended to think my way out of them one way or another, so I figure it’s just a matter of will. Perhaps it’s that nowadays, when I hear “I can’t” in an RPG, the inability being referred to is something that lets the player bypass a plot-bit I’ve been planning for a while and really looking forward to—and that the games in which I delivered similar “I can’t”s pretty much required me to get over those blocks, whether it was the one where I had convinced myself I couldn’t do combat or the one where I thought I couldn’t handle social characters to save my life.

The counter to “I can’t”, of course, is “you can”, but that’s where it gets difficult to go beyond. I used to defend with “I did”, but now that I understand my own privilege that strikes me as a blasted awkward thing to say, unless I know they think us to be mostly parallel in history. “You can” is difficult because you have to prove it. And “If you say ‘I can’t’ one more time”, followed by some sort of inventive threat, may be satisfying, but it’s not going to address the fact that the person claiming right of can’t either genuinely believes that he can’t do it, or is trying to use the inability defense to weasel out of it. If you’ve got the latter type, confronting him over it can work, but there’s always the risk that you’re reading him wrong….

The only solution I’ve found effective for the people who genuinely believe they can’t is to apply a little trick from writing that we all know I’m near-obsessive over: good old ’show, don’t tell’. In this case, though, it’s a hard sell, since I’m having to demonstrate to them that they can. It tends to involve being the training wheels, or the mentor, or both, and guiding them through the process of whatever it is I need them to do, asking questions rather than giving answers. A long process, that, and more frustrating the more they push against it—and of course, the more they believe they really can’t do it, the more they push.

Then there’s the risk you’re dealing with someone whose can’ts work like mine do. I don’t see myself as the kind of person who goes for learned helplessness, so I don’t like admitting that I can’t do things; as a result, when somebody tells me that I’m wrong about not being able to do something, I lash out, because it cost me a lot to claim that in the first place. But on the other hand, I also consider it my job to be brave for other people, so the fastest way to get me out of a can’t slump is actually to agree with me that it really is a bit too hard, then sit back as I manage to pull a crazy plan or a little extra resolve out of some unexpected orifice just to prove the doubter wrong. Oppositional tendencies are a powerful thing, don’t you know?

It’s the can’ts I don’t really know the roots of, I suppose, that drive me crazy; they’re the ones I want to fix, and the harder I try, the more frustrated I get.

(This post brought to you by the fact that tonight seemed like the wrong night to decide that I couldn’t push out an original post in one hour and thus give up and do a retrospective.)

The next rumor is somewhat strange.  The long rumored Superman reboot might be getting some more attention.  And this time, Nolan will be a mentor to the movie.  Talk about coming out of left field.  Although I’m far from the biggest Superman fan, this does have me interested.  Sure, whoever’s directing will have a the final say on most issues, but Nolan on board is nothing but great news for the direction.  I doubt we’ll see a crossover of the two worlds, and Batman will continue to exist in his own little continuity.  However, I don’t see any reason for a Superman reboot that doesn’t crossover with the rest of the DC properties.  He fits in perfectly, and they all have similar sci-fi-ish origins anyway.  This could be another step towards a live action Justice League movie if Green Lantern goes well.  I can’t see Nolan refusing to allow Superman to participate in such crossovers, since it doesn’t detract from the mythos at all.  I can’t see this as anything but great news.

 We also have plenty of other updates that will have to wait.  Marvel’s Avengers comics, Ant-Man actually getting made, and Green Lantern picking up a talented new cast member.  Oh, what a big, big week it is.

Submitted By : Riya Tiwari

Dr. Judith Beck, Ph.D. of Philadelphia, PA reports success in long term weight loss and control. She has over 25 years experience in using CBT in treating obesity.

She suggests doing the following:

Change the way you think about hunger. Thin people think of hunger as a temporary condition. They can wait for their nest meal. Obese people think of hunger as bad, intolerable and in need of immediate fixing. Unless this way of thinking changes, there will never be long-term weight loss success.

Make a healthy eating plan then look for thoughts that sabotage it, such as “dieting is too hard” or “it’s not fair I have to diet.”

Write down reasons for losing weight. Read these reasons every day, throughout the day. Overweight people need to remind themselves constantly of why they want to change to counteract their thinking patterns.

During times of temptation, say “Okay, I have a choice. I can eat this food that I hadn’t planned to eat and get momentary pleasure and then feel badly afterwards, or I can remind myself of all the reasons why I want to lose weight and feel very good about myself.”

Learn to say “no” to those family and friends who push food. Stop worrying about disappointing other people. Convince yourself that losing weight is legitimate and important. Say, “ I’m entitled to stick up for myself as long as I do it nicely in order to control my eating.”

Dr. Beck wrote a book for the public titled The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person that is based on the principles of her CBT weight-loss program.

On February 16, 2010, Allods Online opens beta thanks to Gala-net.  Allods Online is a free-to-play online browser game.  The access allows the entire game to open for North America.  There is no restriction to join.  Allods Online is a sci-fi fantasy MMOPRG.  Allods Online is developed by Astrum Nival, the creator of Heroes of Might & Magic V. The League and the Empire is a warring factor to control of islands floating in Astral space known as allods.   Allods Online features the Astral space ships that may be customized, crews formed by player to assume their role on the ship.  To name a few, assume the role as the navigator, gunner, or a helmsman.  Fight Astral demons, piracy and explore the uncharted allodes.  Along with the two fractions, there are twenty-eight classes, six races, eight archetypes, and 2,000 quests. The free-to-play online browser game uses full motion-capturing animation and award-winning artist.  The soundtrack is produced by Mark Morgan.  Who has composed for the hit television series Dexter.  Right along with both the Fallout video games. Beta Sign in at the gPotato site.  

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With Maryse taking on Gail Kim at Elimination Chamber, focus must be on what is going on over in that Raw diva feud. I am very glad that they decided to insert some form of a storyline into this feud. They could have just killed the few weeks in between the match with meaningless tag matches, singles matches with Maryse saying how beautiful she is on commentary, or random backstage segments. They may have chosen to put the attention solely on the prestigious Diva’s Championship. Yeah, that’s a winner of an idea right there. Over the past two weeks, I have mentioned what they were probably trying to do. Now it is time to consolidate my thoughts a bit.

The story here is based on an extension of Maryse’s French gimmick. When she talks in English, she is all nice and respectful. When she goes into the French bit, which she has done to end both of the promos she gave this week and last week, she turns her heelish character back on. She wants only a good match, but she turns and says that she will end up with the title anyway. That last part may not sound very respectful to a credible challenger like Gail, which is why Maryse would say it in French. Clever? You can ask why she would even bother. To play with Gail Kim a bit? Mock her? With so little time before the match, I doubt the WWE will do the kind of angle in which Maryse manages to convince Gail to completely trust her, just to stab her in the back when the time is right. That is the kind of story that I would have liked. Would have had more heated emotion and development to it. I do not think the WWE has done enough to make Gail Kim trust Maryse just like that. I do not think they will do it next week.

If I may give it a bit of criticism, I do not like the French bit of the story so much. It does make it unique, but I would have preferred for Maryse to just tease being face right until the moment she is ready to strike. How hard is it for fans to go online to figure out what she said? For those who know French, it is even easier. Also, does it not make Gail Kim’s kayfabe character just look a bit stupid? Canada’s Gail Kim has never come across French in her life? She does not have the curiosity to find out what Maryse is saying? She would not think something is fishy about Maryse acting so nice in English and following up randomly by speaking French? Of course, Gail Kim is not coming off as humiliated as Mickie James was recently. The goal is not to get Maryse thunderous heat, but just to make her look like a clever and arrogant heel. That is where your entertainment should be found.

Speaking of Gail Kim, another thing I do not like is that this story does not seem to be developing to make her look interesting at all. Once again, it is all about Maryse. Gail has gotten some time to speak recently, but she did not have to say anything too great. Will she get the last laugh by winning the title?

Once again, it is not much, but I like it. It is a bit clever. If they really did not include the French bit, you would basically have the same angle Cade & Murdoch had in the WWE a few years ago. They were heels who tried to act respectable. They did not need to contradict themselves when giving promos by speaking in Japanese to mock the Hardy brothers after saying something respectful. I do not know if it will get Maryse over, but it may make her look interesting for a while. And what happened to her being a psycho? They had her laughing every two seconds when she was giving promos at one time. Cole used to talk about her not being the same since losing the title. Depression. The WWE may try a million things to get Maryse over, but it looks like the French gimmick is here to stay.

“One of my nightmares is falling asleep and not being able to wake up”. Said the teenager in a recent interview.

(Below is a video interview with Louisa and her dad).

Louisa says that she has hard times staying awake, she said that she has sleep for weeks and even during vacations. Her father is scare because Louisa is missing her best years of her life thanks to the genetic condition and missing weeks of school.

Louisa Ball, the real-life sleeping beauty, is seriously losing weeks of her life at a time. Her parents have to wake her up by shaking her and force some food down her throat and have her hit the bathroom before she falls asleep again.

Kleine-Levin syndrome is incredibly rare with only less of 1000 of people having the condition world wide. She’s likely to fall asleep for days at a time for a few years more, then grow out of the syndrome. Here’s hoping that her real-life sleeping beauty sickness doesn’t last much longer!

Come to a different place to enjoy a little bit of pop culture

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The Ghost Inside,  For the Fallen, Dreams, Suffokate, and Your Demise rock out the Westcott Theater (524 Westcott St.) starting at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20.

At the clubs

• Caddyshack Tavern (402 Old Liverpool Rd., Liverpool) - Karaoke with Cornell Entertainment, 9 p.m.
• Copper Top Tavern (3380 Milton Ave., Camillus) – Ryan Burdick, 6 p.m.
• Dinosaur Bar-B-Que (246 W. Willow St.) - Black Earth Band, 9:30 p.m.
• Edgewater, 2 Oswego St., Baldwinsville) – Pat Hodson, Former Lead Guitar player in Fab Five, 10 p.m.
• FloJo’s Restaurant (9022 Plainville Road, Lysander) - Mike Farrar, 7 p.m.
• Jake’s Grub and Grog (7 E. River Rd., Brewerton) – Just Joe, 7 p.m.
• The Mill (1417 W. Genesee St.) – Karaoke Mike, 9 p.m.
• Red Roosters Pub (4618 Jordan Rd., Skaneateles) – The Barrigar Brothers, 9 p.m.
• ShamROCKS! Rock and Roll Irish Pub (109 E. Taft Rd., North Syracuse) - Silent Fury, 9 p.m.
• Sheraton University Inn (801 University Ave.) – Gary Frenay and Arty Lenin, 5 p.m.
• Shifty’s (1401 Burnet Ave.) – Open Mike with Mark Gibson and Mike Ranger, 9 p.m.
• Woody’s Jerkwater Pub (2811 Brewerton Rd., Mattydale) – Dave Hawthorn, 6 p.m.

Here I am laid up in the hospital, trying to breathe. When I came in, I thought that I would just get a shot, a breathing treatment and a prescription and I would be sent home. Apparently, I was a lot worst off than I thought.

So, as the morning turned into night, the night turned into day. And one day turned into two days and finally a wee., I wondered how bad I really was? Throughout the week, like clock work, the nurses and aides came in for examinations, injections and the breathing treatments that I thought would get me out. Each examination showed improvement, but for the first three days, improvement meant that instead of hearing no air movement, there was air movement with wheezing.

There were some good moments, which consisted of friendly staff and good food. I wasn’t used to laying around. During the times when I could breathe decently - with the help of the oxygen, it almost seemed like I was on a vacation that I’ve never had. That thought usually left when I had to get out of bed and move. Then I realized that I was there to get rest and recovery.

Near the end of the week, there was talk about me being discharged. This was good news, but I was a little concerned due to the fact that while my breathing was better, it didn’t take much for me to be fatigued and breathless. It was at this point that I was told to practice walking, as physical therapy. And that’s what I did. My goal was to move from a two or three minute walk around the hall to a five to seven minute walk.

Finally the day came for my discharge. It was a bitter sweet time. I actually enjoyed being there, but I was looking forward to getting out and going home. When my brother came to pick me up and I was wheeled to his car, I was feeling good. Emotions can really play tricks on you. They had the effect of making me think that I was doing better than I actually was. So, in one move I got out of the wheel chair and almost jumped into his SUV. That was a bad move.

I was indeed doing a lot better, but I was in no means back to my old self. My little jump winded me and let me know that I still had some recovery to do. And as the doctor had mentioned, my breathing had to get back under control, but also, my lungs had to heal. Therefore, my family and friends put me on house arrest. I was to rest and not go anywhere.

And so, now as I heal and learn to rest, I’ve come to realize that asthma is a real condition that is not to be played with. But, more importantly, I learned that people care about me and when I do dumb things like not taking care of myself, it translates to not caring about myself or others. That’s an unacceptable situation. Now, I’m taking it slow as I recover and putting in practice what I’ve read and learned about living a holistic lifestyle. This is where the rubber meets the road for the sake of all involved.

Idol has brought 181 people to Hollywood and have split them into two groups that will sing for survival over the course of two days. The auditions are being held at the Kodak Theatre - the place where the Idol finale used to be held.

We speed through the various rounds, showing only a handful of performances, and highlighting people we “met” along the way. First up are Katie Stevens (Alzheimer grandma) and Ski-Bo-Ski (of the many mugshots). Ski-Bo-Ski kinda skeers the judges with his rendition of “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and Katie sings “For Once in my Life.” Katie gets the nod to advance, but it’s the end of the road for Ski-Bo-Ski. (more…)

Currently reading this book.

Winter Olympics! I love ice skating!!

Not a new album, but I just re-discovered my love for Mika. Really like the song “Blame it on the Girls.”

NARS orgasm lip gloss. NARS has some great stuff. I don’t actually have this one but use it all the time at my sister’s!

Have a nice Valentine’s Day dinner at Shaw’s with my boyfriend.

xoxo

2.9.2010

As the director of The Literary Journal (An active roundtable discussion), I am reaching out on behalf with my colleagues in search for writers/artists/intellectually-minded individuals currently practicing in their chosen form. The organization is a global group with a communal approach to discussion of the arts, sharing ideas, networking and finding value in pursuing creative endeavors.

If you are interested in learning more about the Literary Journal please send a message to Reggie Fox, New York, NY on facebook or e-mail The Literary Journal at majesticescapenyc@hotmail.com

Best,

Reggie Fox

The Literary Journal (An active roundtable discussion)

Currently we are using facebook but as the group continues to grow (not necessarily in size) we expect to move to a new site with a clear mission and new group name.

A site dedicated to an intimate group of literary individuals made up of writers, intellects, artists and those who feel a common love for the written word and the many forms of art.

The goal is that each member will bring to the table a topic of discussion revolving around great works of literature, art, (concepts, ideas, styles) or the topic of creative writing and fine art in general. In response other members will give their own feedback based on knowledge/intuition and expertise on a weekly basis.

Each person was chosen for this group based on the genre in which they write, a specific literary background, cultural and artistic influences and the expectation they will reach out and have a positive and influential effect on all of us in hopes of expanding our knowledge.

NOTE: Participation in this group is paramount to remain a member. It is necessary in order for all members to ask questions and give feedback (no matter how large or small).
For the general good of all members and to remain active in the group please reach out to other members and keep an eye on discussions! All feedback is welcome and encouraged.

Also, please feel free to attach your working page of literary prose/poetry etc. on the link page below and feel free to attach any photos of any group members in the photo area.

We will use the discussion board to discuss all literary content only.

Our wall should be to reach out and meet one another, leave questions etc.

Dark, young adult stuff is going in the creepy town of…Sunnydale?

Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic

So the Animatrix formula has split over into video game franchises. Can’t to see one for Guitar Hero. I’ll bet the Japanese could draw Slash like a zombie.

Dead Tone

Don’t think prank calls are dangerous? Well, they’re not, but here is a counter-point anyway.

Hurricane Season

I thought Forest Whitaker was an Oscar-nominated actor? What the heck is he doing in a DTV with Lil’ Wayne and Bow Wow?

Ice Castles

Sadly, there are no castles made of ice in this movie. I guess they couldn’t push it as Ice Princess 2, so they chose the next best title.

Midget vs. Mascots

Gary Coleman and his midget army take on mascots for some reason. This is a movie?

Peter and Vandy

Love can be frustrating especially when it’s told as disjointedly as this movie.

Polar Storm

OH NO WERE ALL GOING TO DIE BECAUSE OF…some…CGI?

DVD Dump Pick of the Week:

Shoot First and Pray You Live

Here comes a western to save an otherwise bland week of DTV movies. A little long in the title, but I’ll take it.

It’s interesting how many people define honor and the many relations they give to the word but much at the end is the same “to defend the trustworthiness of an individual” basically that is honor a synonym of trust. When you gain trust you gain honor and respect from fellow individuals and it’s something to value because you have the trust of your fellow men and women in your shoulders. I been thinking about this word lately mostly because of personal experiences in which I’m mostly a watcher; I see people which they treat their fellow individuals less because of the salaried positions they have or because they think they are the best, those people don’t have honor at all because they don’t respect equality. Equality is the next concept and is a word that is always attached to honor, we are equal no matter what and having honor is also to respect your fellow men because nobody is better than other people and respect is a quality that many people don’t have.

Respect can be earned but also respect is shown by saying thank you or being polite even if you don’t know the person. It’s quite interesting how many words can be attached to Honor and so many concepts, I know that this entry has been a little chaotic but I have too many ideas right now, too many thoughts and I think I will leave this entry as where is now.

As we grew older she would take me downtown.  She would put me in a cart, and when we got to the store, she would take me out and I would look around.  I would go every place she went.  She would take me visiting.  I grew up a normal little girl.  She also had my brother to wrestle with.  He was quite an active little boy.   He was not easy to control.   I wanted to do everything he was doing, which kept my mother busy.

I don’t remember her ever complaining about doing all the things she did.  She would put me on the bicycle.  I would fall, and she would pick me up.  At first I had rags to tie my feet to the pedals.  That was ok, because I was doing what I wanted to do.  She told me later that her and my dad didn’t know anything about what to do with a child with a disability, so she just did what she would do with a normal child.

When I got older, she would take me to school.  I still wanted to do what my peers were doing.  So, whatever I wanted to do, she would help me with a smile.  I remember her coming in my room as a teenager, pulling up the shades, and saying  what a beautiful morning it was.   She would sing “what a beautiful morning”.     Sometimes I wouldn’t think it was beautiful.  But I would get up, go to school, and do whatever there was to do.

As she grew older, she loved her grandkids so much.  She would do anything for the grandkids, as she did for her own kids.  She told me once that she wished she had the patience with us as she did with the grandkids.  She said that when you grow older it’s not so important to do things like keep the house up; it’s more important to spend time with the grandkids.  I told her she did a good job with us.

When I got married and moved to where I live now, I would call her and dad.  She would tell me what is going on with my brother and his kids.  That’s how I kept up with the family.  Now that she is gone, it seems very strange to not have the contact person.  You don’t realize the roles parents play.   For us mom and dad were a go between the family.  Mom kept up with the cousins as much as she could, and  with my brother and his kids.   So, as I am here today, I want everybody to know  how important it is that we appreciate our parents.  Altho we know that they are better off where they are at, we still have a feeling that we have lost a great attribute to our lives.

After appearing together at Monday’s arraignment for Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson’s family issued a series of statements decrying the doctor’s not-guilty plea to the charge of involuntary manslaughter.

“He’s lying. He’s guilty. Nobody was there but him,” Jackson’s mother, Katherine, told the assembled media while leaving court. “He’s just trying to save his own behind. … He killed him. He wasn’t monitoring him.”

Murray, who faces up to four years in prison if convicted, didn’t make a statement following his court appearance, during which he did not interact with the Jackson family members, according to reports. The Houston-based doctor is expected to leave Los Angeles after posting $75,000 bail.

“Dr. Murray is doing fine. … He’s in good spirits,” attorney Edward Chernoff said during a press conference after the hearing.

As one expert suggested in an interview with MTV News, it could be hard to find an impartial jury in Los Angeles, a reality Chernoff said he was ready to deal with. “It’s going to be tough, but I think if we get the right jury, the right result will come in,” he said. “This has been a nightmare for [Murray] for many different reasons, and one of the reasons is that he lost a friend.”

Murray was hired as Jackson’s personal physician several months before the singer was slated to leave for England to begin his planned 50-show residency comeback stint at the O2 arena. The cardiologist told investigators that he administered the surgical anesthetic propofol, as well as other tranquilizers, to Jackson several times in the hours leading up to his June 25 death. The coroner has ruled that the singer died of lethal levels of the drug. Murray obtained propofol legally, but is accused of negligence in the administration of the drug, a stance prosecutors came to after speaking with more than 10 medical experts.

Outspoken family patriarch Joe Jackson went on CNN’s “Larry King Live” following the hearing and called Murray a “fall guy” in a wider conspiracy. Speaking to King after attending the hearing with his estranged wife, five of his children and a number of grandchildren, Jackson reiterated, “I was looking for justice, and justice, to me, would be a murder charge.” According to legal experts, Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter because there was no proof the doctor purposely acted in a fashion intended to cause death or serious injury to his patient.

“To me, he’s just a fall guy,” Jackson claimed. “There’s other people, I think, involved with this whole thing. But I think that he’s interrogated - he would come clean and tell everything he knows.” According to Joe, Michael Jackson told his mother that he feared he would be killed in the lead-up to his London shows.

“He was afraid to even do all of these shows, because he was afraid that he wouldn’t get a chance to finish all of the shows,” Joe Jackson said. “He couldn’t do all those shows back-to-back. Even his kids say that he had told them that he would be murdered.”

Sister La Toya Jackson issued a statement later in the day, which read, “Michael was murdered, and although he died at the hands of Dr. Conrad Murray, I believe Dr. Murray was a part of a much larger plan. There are other individuals involved, and I will not rest and I will continue to fight until all of the proper individuals are brought forth and justice is served.”

La Toya and Joe Jackson have not elaborated on their allegations and neither has named any other suspected conspirators. Police have not named any other suspects in Jackson’s death, after focusing almost exclusively on Murray during their nearly eight-month investigation.

We also perpetrate all these euthanasias by buying purebred animals from breeders who will indiscriminately kill pups or kittens that don’t meet their standards, or are slightly deformed. And mill breeders will kill undesireable animals any way they can, look at how Michael Vick killed his, by electrocution.

Then I was reminded by another friend the 10 reasons people consistently come up with for “NOT” altering their pets:

THE TEN WORST REASONS NOT TO SPAY OR NEUTER YOUR PET:

1. Just one litter and we’ll have Fluffy spayed.
Studies show that nearly the entire pet overpopulation stems from the “Just one litter” mentality

2. My dog doesn’t run loose, so he/she doesn’t need to be fixed.
Murphy’s law says otherwise

3. We always find a home for the kittens/puppies
And that means that an equal number of kittens/puppies with be euthanised at your local pound.

4. I want my children to witness the miracle of birth.
RENT A VIDEO!!!

5. My dog/cat is so cute and unique, there should be more of him.
The shelters are full of cute and unique dogs and cats with only a few days left to live!

6. It’s just not natural.
There hasn’t been anything “natural” about dogs or cats since we began to develop breeds thousands of years ago

7. I just couldn’t look my dog in the eyes if I had him castrated
GET A LIFE !!!

8. A female dog/cat should have at least one litter for health reasons
Medically, factually and ethically INDEFENSIBLE.

9. Neutering my dog/cat will make them fat and lazy
Too much food and not enough exercise make your pet fat and lazy

10. Fixing my pet will change his/her personality
The primary influence on an animal’s personality is the kindness and care with which it is treated.

And then if you can read all this above and still say oh, but this would never happen to my “Fluffy’s” offspring, think again. Then look at this poster from the Humane Society and rethink it all. This poster says it all:

So…. think again, and I would ask you how you can justify allowing your pet to breed indiscriminately or how can you justify paying money for a “purebred” animal, and allow so many other souls to die?

Simply put, this is one of the top beats produced in 2009 and these Booth Bros didn’t feel that Malice & Pusha T really came as hard as they should’ve. So I’ve posted a link to the “I Could” version here, as well as a you tube embed of the Clipse “I’m Good” so you all can compare versions, and leave a simple comment as to who’s version you think is better!

Clipse feat. Pharell “I’m Good”

Booth Bros (Bullet Kaution Kue) “I Could”

Yes, I’m a little behind and I’m posting again on this blog because I still don’t have enough image space on my other blog however I’m sure that will be fixed very soon!  In the mean time enjoy pictures from Brandon and Wayne’s basketball game.  The school had a faculty vs kids game which was great since my son and his daddy both got to play! 

During halftime the boys dressed as girls and the girls as boys to fight for the crown. It was really a lot of fun!

A 2-week-old grey fox sleeps in donated fur in this photo released by The Humane Society of the United States.

So, if you’ve got a fur coat gathering dust? The Humane Society suggests the ultimate recycling — giving it back for use for other animals. The Coats for Cubs program by the Humane Society of the United States helps orphaned, injured or sick wildlife by gathering fur coats and using them for nests, bedding or cuddly replacements for mom and dad. The fur is used for bedding for orphaned wildlife infants to help provide comfort, and reduce stress, thereby increasing the odds for survival.

The coats go to wildlife rehabilitation centers that take in baby raccoons, chipmunks, squirrels, coyotes, skunks and other animals, and has helped thousands of animals since it began in 2005 with the Fund for Animals.

The furs are always needed, but they are especially welcome in winter. The current Coats for Cubs coat drive technically ends on Earth Day, April 22, but the Humane Society will accept coats any time of the year.

Dear First Lady: Please, please stop this madness. If your momma were not living in the white house and sitting in an apartment that is cold, needing medicine and food, would you be telling her to send money to Haiti? Instead of pushing us to send money we desperately need to heat our homes, take our medicines and eat a meager meal to a foreign country you should do the following.

Walk down the hall there to the East Room, push the door open, go straight to the desk, point your finger in his face and say: “Look here fool, you need to get off this health care crap, get your head out of your butt and get this social security mess straightened out. Otherwise we are going to have about 50 million pissed off old farts, including my mother, on the lawn and you do not want to piss off my momma.”

Go to it.

Here are some ways to save money with the microwave.  Use it to make hot water for instant coffee or a fast cup of tea, especially if you are not going to be around to drink a pot of brewed coffee. We do not use the microwave to actually cook a meal, but it is great for warming leftovers. 

We DO use it to cook with, though, in ways that save money.  If the recipe calls for sauteed vegetables, we chop celery and onion in a microwave-safe bowl, add a couple of tablespoons of water and plastic wrap, and microwave until tender.  We heat water for Jell-O or desserts, and make lemon pudding in the microwave.  We brown the meringue in the regular oven, and that takes only minutes.

Before using the stove top and burners, consider what you could do in the microwave oven to save energy, money and time.  Use it to thaw items from the freezer, cook vegetables and rice, bake potatoes and sweet potatoes, help yeast bread rise.  You notice I squeezed in the rice and sweet potatoes, typical Cajun cooking at our house.  We have probably saved enough money by cooking rice in the microwave to be rich. We’re not, but frugal living would be fun even if we were rich.

You are up to the challenge of money saving, whether you do it for fun or necessity.   The microwave oven is a good tool to help save money, energy, time, and the planet.

We have time to share money saving tips because we use the microwave.

See you soon!