MUSIC HISTORY NOVEMBER 5

1935 - Composer Nicholas Maw was born.
1960 - Johnny Horton was killed in an auto accident in Milano, Texas at the age of 33. He had the hit "Battle of New Orleans."
1977 - Ozzy Osbourne quit Black Sabbath only to rejoin a few weeks later. He later quit again to pursue a solo career. 
1995 - "The Wizard of Oz in Concert" took place for a Children's Defense Fund. The show featured Jackson Browne as the Scarecrow, Roger Daltrey as the Tin Man, Nathan Lane as the Cowardly Lion and Jewel as Dorothy.
1995 - Queen released their first studio album since the death of Freddie Mercury. Mercury died November 24, 1991 of AIDS.
1998 - Liam Gallagher of Oasis was arrested for allegedly attacking a photographer and damaging his camera equipment.
1998 - ODB, of Wu Tang Klan, was arrested for threatening to kill his former girlfriend. He was stopped while climbing over a security gate at the woman's place of employment.

SOUL FOOD

Barbara Ward-Finneran

Work hard. Expect and choose success - it will change everything. Creating a vision for the future that ultimately settles for nothing less then your best. Follow your heart's insatiable desire to dream big.  Make your spirit soar to dwell in the place where wishes come true.

Keep the promises that you make to yourself!

Photo Courtesy of Barbara Ward-Finneran and Drawn 2 Design, LLC

©  All Rights Reserved

BABY...BABY...BABY??!?!?!?!??

Poor little Justin Bieber, looks like a twenty year old single mother is accusing JB of fathering her child. Mariah Yeater is searching for her fifteen minutes of fame at the expense of Bieber and her son.

On the Today Show Bieber says, "I'd just like to say basically that none of those allegations are true," Bieber said. "I know that I'm going to be a target, but I'm never going to be a victim. It's crazy, because every night after the show I've gone right from the stage right to my car, so it's crazy that some people want to make up such false allegations. To set the record straight, none of it is true."

Mariah Yeater has filed a paternity suit, claiming the 17-year-old singer is the father of her infant baby. Yeater alleges she and Bieber had sex in the bathroom of the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Yeater should really think about this before it goes any further...she could end up in jail.

Sounds to me like Yeater needs a check up from the neck up! STAY TUNED!!

I AM #4

Marion Pellicano Ambrose
Ok, so I happened to catch "I Am # 4" on Showtime. I hadn't planned to, it came on after a movie my husband watched before he went to bed and I was too lazy to change the channel. It turns out that I loved it! Not your typical Sci-fi and the acting was actually very good! I was pleasantly surprised!

The story involves a highschool age boy called "John Smith',who is actually an Alien, one of only a handful of special children saved when their planet was destroyed by another alien race. Each child has a protector. The Darth Maul type bad guys are now tracking down and killing the now grown children in number order. The movie begins with the murder of # 3. You guessed it,John Smith is #4.

I won't tell you too much more; you need to see it for yourself. I will tell you that there's lots of action, a little romance, an unlikely friendship, some great special effects and an adorable Beatle (or is it a beagle?)

I can't wait to see what happens next and if John's new friend ever finds his father, but oops, I'm telling too much! Check it out for yourself; you'll be as hooked as I am!

THE X FACTOR - DAWN BOYLE

For a few weeks now I have been tuning in to watch this American Idol spin-off. First I want to let you all know, I hate American Idol. My husband  has religiously watched since season 1. I really never got into it. So what's the difference between the two? Why am I loving X so much?

Some of the differences I have noticed is that there is no age limit at X. I like that. I really enjoy the stories of the people who are my age and still chasing their dream...and for that 5 million dollar recording contract I am considering getting voice lessons and trying out next season. The mentoring I originally thought would bug the hell out of me, but it's hasn't. The way they put people together for the groups division is also pretty cool. Those girls (forget their name, think is has something to do with rain) are really awesome! 

Seems like Simon is taking happy pills and Paula maybe has stopped taking whatever she was on during her stint on Idol. Nicole (Pussycat Doll) is not too annoying and LA Reid is totally bad ass. I think he might be the most cool dude in America. I bet he is fun to hang out with.

HOLIDAY MUST HAVES... According to the kiddos

This past weekend my kids went through the Holiday Wish Catalogs. After many hours and circled toys - they broke it down to the following. These will be hot toys for the upcoming season. Get out now and start shopping before it's too late!

Animal Planet's Air Swimmers
LEGO Ninjago
Loopz Game
Scrabble Flash
Orbeez Maker
Sing a ma jigs
Fushigi Magic Gravity ball
Fijit Friends
Moshi Monsters
XBox 360 w/ Kinect Sensor

PARENTING 101 - By Deanna

Is It Time To Check Myself Into Reality TV Rehab?

Deanna Verbouwens

They say the first step is awareness, right?

I realized my addiction the other night, as I flipped through reality TV shows faster than... well, Bruce Jenner in the 1976 Olympics. (Now how apropos is that?!)

I was skipping between "Real Housewives of Whatever-City-Is-Filming Now," "Keeping up with the Kardashians," "Jersey Shore," and "Basketball Wives" - the big four of reality trainwreck TV shows. It’s entertaining (and definitely a guilty pleasure) but it’s also staged, edited and in some cases, just really bad.

I became a reality TV addict seven years ago when I was trying to escape the reality of being a new mom. I had the postpartum "baby blues," I was breastfeeding every two hours and I felt like a caged animal (it was February, and I only ventured out once a day to my mother’s for a few hours). I was sleep deprived and irrational. I couldn’t watch the news, crime dramas,or anything involving violating or harming children, parents or human beings in general. It was reality TV, with a few sitcoms thrown in for good measure, and that was it.

Here was my lineup:

• The Real World
• Road Rules (and all the challenges)
• Amazing Race
• Survivor
• The Nanny
• Wife Swap
• Jon & Kate Plus 8
• Apprentice
• Celebrity Apprentice
• Martha Stewart’s Apprentice
• The Biggest Loser
• Dancing With The Stars
• every Food Network Show
• Trading Spaces
• What Not To Wear
• Big Brother
• Blind Date
• The Osborne’s
• Project Runway
• Joe Millionaire
• The Hills

I even watched A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila and Bad Girls Club. Trust me, I had a problem.

See, for me, TV is an escape. I love watching it, in fact, I love it as much as I love to curl up with a good book. But back then, I didn’t have time for books. I couldn’t breast feed and read; I couldn’t read while I was cooking dinner or folding the laundry, and I couldn't completely escape the harsh realities of a newborn baby by absorbing myself in a book, because reading requires focus. I'd have to absorb and process, when all I really wanted to do is stare at the idiot box and not think about a damn thing.

So seven years later, I’m sitting on the couch flipping from reality TV show to reality TV show, when I realized that 80% of these “characters,” “cast members,” or “celebrities,” as they like to call themselves don’t have even a single redeeming quality.

I was disgusted by one episode where Theresa Giudice (from the Real Housewives of New Jersey franchise), behaves like a bratty sixteen year old and trash talks just about everyone, but like any good trainwreck, I continued to watch. The next day, I read that Kate Gosselin was trying to find another TV show to exploit herself and her children on. She said that doing any other job would be giving her children a mediocre life.

Really? So nurses, doctors, firemen, teachers, journalists, and bloggers are all mediocre? Okay, really?

Appalled by my addiction, the clouds parted and it became clear (although it's possibly the editing) that the large majority of the people on reality TV shows are basically living on another planet - they are mean, obnoxious and rude.

So I made a decision: I was going to detox from reality TV. I decided that I don’t need to clog my brain with these individuals and their insecurities, as I have enough of my own to sort out. No more Housewives, Jersey Shore, no more shows that require strangers to live in a home together. From now on, I'm only watching those that serve some sort of a purpose or warrant a prize: The Biggest Loser, Dancing with the Stars, Chopped, Project Runway.

You didn't think I was swearing off reality TV entirely, did you? I said I was detoxing, not going cold turkey!!

Find more from Deanna: www.theunnaturalmother.com

TOUGH LOVE WICKED RE-RUN

Tony Walker

OK so here is a very personal story. A wicked one at that...

A close family member has been dealing with a drug addiction for more than 20 years. Time & time again he's been in jail, through rehab, stolen things from various family members & friends, & has caused so much heartbreak & strife in our family. So many people have tried to help him by giving him money, talking to him, bailing him out of trouble, etc. 

Well last year he ended up in the hospital. All the drugs has beaten his body so bad that his heart was failing. Things did not look good for him at all. Originally the doctors didn't think he would live to see the end of the year! But he is still alive. The bright side to this was that it seemed to be the wake up call he needed. He immediately stopped doing drugs, was taking the prescribed medication, living right, exercising, and most of all he was reconnecting with his family. He was doing so well that his heart was improving. Finally after all these years it looked like we had our boy back.

Well sure enough last week he ended up in jail. Turns out he's been back on drugs for a couple of months now. If last year's event didn't scare him into stopping what will?? While his heart had improved my guess is that it's still not in great shape. The fear is that he will be dead very soon. This will tear up the family. So much pain and guilt. 

You wanna help because it really is a sickness but yet you have to draw the line & cut this person off otherwise he won't bottom out. But it is so much easier said than done. 

Have any of you ever been in this situation? How have you handled it? 

SOUL FOOD

Barbara Ward-Finneran

When you are closer to a goal it can seem more difficult then in the beginning. It is the courage to continue on that counts. The road to success is paved with challenges, sacrifice and perseverance. See the opportunity brought by the difficulties as motivation to encourage you to strive to achieve your greatest potential.

Keep the promises that you make to yourself!

©  All Rights Reserved

HOLIDAY MUST HAVES!!

This past weekend my kids went through the Holiday Wish Catalogs. After many hours and circled toys - they broke it down to the following. These will be hot toys for the upcoming season. Get out now and start shopping before it's too late!

Animal Planet's Air Swimmers

LEGO Ninjago

Loopz Game

Scrabble Flash

Orbeez Maker

Sing a ma jigs

Fushigi Magic Gravity ball

Fijit Friends

Moshi Monsters

XBox 360 w/ Kinect Sensor

THE BEAUTY OF A WOMAN - the Place Where Love Resides

A little boy asked his mother, "Why are you crying?" 

"Because I'm a woman," she told him. 

"I don't understand," he said.

 His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will." 

"All women cry for no reason," was all his dad could say. 

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry. Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked, "God, why do women cry so easily?"

 God said: "When I made the woman she had to be special. I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort. I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children. I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue

HE SAID... SAME SEX KISSING; COOL or CRUDE?

Tony Walker

My apologies to the hotties of The Lounge for being so late with my HE SAID for this week.

As usual my post this week is about sex.

I have a question for you ladies. 

Do you find women kissing as acceptable as men do? Us guys think two guys kissing is gruesome. Do you see 2 women kissing the same?

Most people I know, men & women, find 2 women kissing more acceptable. A few girls have told me that if they're going out drinking that is practically a given that 2 girls in that group of friends will be making out to some degree... I gotta hang out with that group!

I am one of those male pigs who LOVE watching 2 gorgeous women kiss. Most men enjoy that. Why do you think that is?

It's my perception that society as a whole accepts 2 girls kissing over men. If 2 girls kiss it's hot & that's it. If 2 guys are kissing those guys are automatically gay. Yet the girls are not gay. How does that work? Not that I'm complaining!!! LOL

Tell us what you think? Do women find watching 2 girls kissing sexy? Is it gross?

PARANORMAL PUB: The Fifty Cent Piece

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

This is a tale that has been passed down from generation to generation by the people in the little Upstate New York town where my husband grew up. Folks there swear it is not an urban legend but a true account of one couple’s encounter.

A young man and his wife were traveling in their carriage from a trip to New England back to their home in Albany when a storm came up suddenly and they needed to seek shelter. There was no inn nearby but they saw a light glowing in the distance and followed it to a picturesque little cottage at the top of a hill. It was barely dusk, but because of the storm it seemed like midnight. As they approached, an old man met them at the door with a lantern. “Come in, come in” he called, ”You must be drenched to the skin.” They entered to find a cozy room with a blazing fire. The old man’s wife invited them to sit and have tea and freshly baked cake. “You must spend the night my dears” she said kindly ”You’ll never find your way in this storm.” They gratefully accepted the offer and the woman showed them to a lovely room with a hand stitched quilt on a big brass bed. “I’d like to pay you for your trouble.” The young man told the old man’s wife.” “What? Why we wouldn’t hear of it!” she fussed “It’s been our pleasure to have such fine company. Now you both sleep well.”

In the morning, the young couple rose early and prepared to leave quietly so as not to disturb their hosts. Even though the old woman had refused payment, they decided to thank their hosts by leaving a shiny new fifty cent piece on the table. They climbed into their carriage and headed towards home.

When they reached the town, they stopped to break their fast at a local restaurant. The owner himself waited on them and when they told them where they had spent the night he grew pale. “Where did you say that house was?” he asked. The young man explained that it was the lovely cottage at the top of the hill. “That couldn’t be.” said the owner, ”That cottage burned down three years ago killing the old couple who lived there.” After arguing back and forth, the young man suggested the owner ride back with him to see the house and meet the old couple. The three climbed into the carriage and headed back to the cottage at the top of the hill.

When they arrived, all they found was the burned out shell of a cottage. The road was overgrown with weeds. They approached the scorched rubble and the young man shook his head. “ I must have made a wrong turn somewhere. This couldn’t be the same house.” Just then, his wife let out a scream and pointed to the center of the wreckage. There on the black, charred table was a shiny new half dollar piece.

EATERY IS OPEN PUMPKIN SPICED COFFEE

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup ground coffee
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 cups water
• 2 teaspoons half-and-half cream, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon white sugar, or to taste

Directions

Mix the ground coffee, allspice, and cinnamon in a small bowl, and place into the filter of a drip coffee maker. Pour 4 cups of water into the coffee maker, and turn on the machine. When coffee has finished dripping, pour into 2 cups. Stir in cream and sugar to taste.

WANNA LAUGH?!?! - BEST COME BACK LINE EVER

Tony Walker

In summary, the police arrested Patrick Lawrence, 22 year old white male, in a pumpkin patch 11:38 p.m. on Friday night.

On Monday, at the courthouse, Lawrence was charged with lewd and lascivious behaviour, public indecency, and public intoxication.

The suspect explained that as he was passing a pumpkin patch on his way home from a drinking session when he decided to stop...

"You know how a pumpkin is soft and squishy inside, and there was no one

around for miles or at least I thought there wasn't anyone around" He stated in an interview.

Lawrence went on to say that he pulled over to the side of the road, picked out a pumpkin that he felt was appropriate to his purpose; cut a hole in it, and proceeded to satisfy his alleged need. 'Guess I was really into it, you know?' he commented with evident embarrassment 

  

In the process of doing the deed, Lawrence failed to notice an approaching police car and was unaware of his audience until Officer Brenda Taylor approached him. 

It was an unusual situation, that's for sure,' said Officer Taylor. 'I walked up to Lawrence and he's just banging away at this pumpkin.' 

  

Officer Taylor went on to describe what happened when she approached Lawrence .

  

I said, Excuse me sir, but do you realize that you're having sex with a pumpkin?

  

He froze and was clearly very surprised that I was there, and then he looked me straight in the face and said... A pumpkin? Shit ..... is it midnight already? 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

From all of us at DRL...

ENJOY A SAFE 

and

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

May you get more treats then tricks...

HALLOWEEN SAFETY

SOME DO'S AND DON'TS TO REMEMBER


Treats: Warn children not to eat any treats before an adult has carefully examined them for evidence of tampering.

Pedestrian Safety: Young children should always be accompanied by an adult or an older, responsible child. All children should WALK, not run from house to house and use the sidewalk if available, rather than walk in the street. Children should be cautioned against running out from between parked cars, or across lawns and yards where ornaments, furniture, or clotheslines present dangers.

Safe Houses: Children should go only to homes where the residents are known and have outside lights on as a sign of welcome.

CONNECT WITH US ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER

Follow this link to friend us on FaceBook

See the writers and friends comment & interact, as well as get post updates via status post!

Click here to like our fan page:

Follow Us on TWITTER at D_layedReaction

MUSIC HISTORY OCTOBER 30

 1894 - Composer Peter Warlock was born.
1970 - Jim Morrison was sentenced to 6 months in jail and fined $500 for exposing himself in Miami, FL
1973 - John Lennon released the album "Mind Games."
1974 - Kathy Silva files for a divorce from Sylvester Stewart and was awarded custody of their 14-month-old son. Stewart disappeared with his son and was believed to be in hiding.
1978 - The movie "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park" aired on NBC-TV. 
1982 - Paul Weller announced the breakup of The Jam.
1984 - Linda Ronstadt made her operatic debut in "La Boheme" in New York City, NY.
1984 - Barry Manilow opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The shows sold out for $1.9 million. Manilow beat the previous record by $100,000 that was held by Diana Ross.
1986 - The Beastie Boys released the LP "License To Ill."
1988 - Kurt Cobain smashed his very first guitar.
1995 - David Bowie, Tom Donahue, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Pete Seeger, Jefferson Airplane, Little Willie John, Pink Floyd, The Shirelles and The Velvet Underground are inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
1997 - Sally Nyolo (formerly of Zap Mama) began her first U.S tour.
1997 - The U.S. Senate passd the "La Cienega" bill. The bill closed a loophole in the 1909 copyright act that put most pre-1978 music copyrights in jeopardy.
2001 - Michael Jackson's album entitled "Invincible" was released.
2002 - U.S. President George W. Bush signed an act that renamed the Oakwood Postal Station in Los Angeles the Nat King Cole Post Office.

SUNDAY TRIVIA

Did You Know...

Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adulthood we have only 206 in our bodies.

There's only one city in the United States named merely "Beach." It is found in North Dakota, which is a land-locked state.

Baskin Robbins once made ketchup ice cream. This was the only vegetable flavored ice cream produced.

Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell.

Fingerprints serve a function - they provide traction for the fingers to grasp things.

A typical bed usually houses over 6 billion dust mites.

Antarctica is the only continent without reptiles or snakes.

If you go blind in one eye, you'll only lose about one-fifth of your vision (but all your depth perception.)

It takes 17 muscles to smile --- 43 to frown.

An adult bedbug can survive up to one year without feeding.