Happy Holidays!! Here is the CDQ verison of the popular Reflection Eternal track. Stay on the look for Revolutions Per Minute in February.

DOWNLOAD: Reflection Eternal – Just Begun (ft. Jay Electronica, J. Cole & Mos Def)

Cheryl Cole surprisingly landed on the best albums of 2009 compiled by Q magazine. So, now, it’s time for a full-on spread and these are the results of the session.

“Our Mysteries”

December 22nd, 2009

As Scrubs continues into its ninth season, one can’t help but feel as if the greatest mystery is why said season needs to exist.

It’s not that “Our Mysteries” or any other episode of the season thus far is terrible, but rather that what we’re seeing lacks any sort of emotional punch beyond a desperate play at some sort of nostalgia. And unfortunately, that was already the focus of the show’s creative resurgence in its eighth season, which I found myself absent-mindedly revisiting over the weekend. There, the show used a new crop of interns in order to raise questions of maturity and “moving on” in the characters we knew and loved, which was a good strategy for transitioning a character like J.D. from buffoon to father/husband.

However, the problem with the ninth season thus far is that it seems to want to go beyond that, to actually build these med students into characters, and yet the only parts of their stories which are really connected on an emotional level (Scrubs’ strong suit) have more to do with the returning characters than Lucy, Cole, or Drew.

And what that is, precisely, is still a mystery to me.

I don’t dislike Lucy, but I also know nothing about her character beyond the fact that she’s neurotic. So when the show gave her a storyline they gave to numerous med students/interns in the show’s original run, the inability to perform basic procedures due to nervousness, it seemed like this was an ideal chance to just let the character have a straightforward bit of character development: she leans heavily on J.D. for support, which does little to strengthen her resolve considering how blindly supportive she is, but then is forced to do it without him and is able to demonstrate her ability to learn from his help rather than rely on it. There’s an important lesson about how you deal with mentors there, something that J.D. and Dr. Cox went through early in the series.

In fact, it was so important then that the storyline can’t help but transform into another stage in Dr. Cox and J.D.’s relationship, which makes it somewhat more interesting (in terms of tapping into eight seasons of history) but also makes it largely irrelevant to the show’s quest to make its new characters more compelling. The moment when Lucy learns that she can draw blood from someone other than J.D., following his method rather than relying on his presence, means more in terms of Dr. Cox putting aside his efforts to get the students to hate him in order to help facilitate Lucy’s journey. And we see it in those terms because the episode spent a whole lot of time with J.D. and Turk wasting time as bi-racial Hardy Boys searching for the source of a bad evaluation (Perry), playing into J.D.’s insecurities in a way that just isn’t entertaining. So when we finally get to the heart of the matter, demonstrating that J.D. is capable of sitting back and letting his students learn and that Dr. Cox is willing to accept that sometimes he needs to step forward even if with a disgruntled look on his face, it has absolutely nothing to do with Lucy in the grand scheme of things since said scheme is eight seasons old.

At the very least the show is allowing Denise and Drew to go off largely on their own, with Dr. Cox serving as a peanut gallery to push the story in particular directions, which is one of the characters’ strong suits. But even here, as much as Muhney is doing some solid work as Drew, this was all about Denise, the character we knew going into this season. They’ve spent a lot of time softening the characters’ edges (although acknowledging her fatty period here), and while the new balance is working (her moment of realization as to when they were in a real relationship felt like a good fit with the character) it isn’t doing anything all that interesting. It’s just decent, like it’s happening because the show needs to create stories more than because the actions make any logical sense. Sunny’s return didn’t feel logical from a character perspective, it felt logical because we knew the actress would probably be brought back at some point – the organic qualities of this world just don’t exist anymore.

I wrote a piece comparing the show to Avatar on Sunday, and while I’ll admit that was probably a bit of a stretch I think Scrubs is having problems deciding what perspective to take on its universe. If this really is J.D.’s last episode, I like that they didn’t make it all about him, but at the same time the way the story was structure pretty much did make it all about him in the end. It just seems like sitting in the space in between nostalgia and progress is resulting in a show that is neither old nor new, neither stale nor fresh. It’s just “there,” and while I prefer it to Scrubs as its most wacky and bizarre it’s not doing much to draw me into this new (yet old) universe.

Cultural Observations

• I like Ken Jenkins, but Dr. Kelso needs to go – the character serves no purpose, and as a viagara-popping sex addict it’s just plain sad.
• Cole continues to be wasted – I thought he was better last week, but having he and Lucy in a relationship seems like a justification for the character to be around rather than, you know, an actual relationship. We just haven’t seen enough of these characters for them to feel like they “fit” where they are.
• The wordplay was quite solid in some places here (I in particular liked Denise and Drew on their shared passion for sex, other people’s pain and the  hatred of art), but Scrubs was always about more than that, so a few good lines of dialogue isn’t enough.

I know, I’m one day early. I plan to post nursery pictures tomorrow so I decided to think ahead and go ahead with a RPW post today.

The Huntsville, Alabama group, “Cole Boyz” bring in Devin The Dude for this cut off their upcoming debut album Da Heartz Of Dixie, due out next month on Cole Blooded Entertainment. Good look on incorporating Devin the Dude, one of my all time favorites!

DOWNLOAD: Cole Boyz – Pleazure (ft. Devin The Dude)

Cheryl Cole is on the cover of the February issue of Q Magazine. Among other things, She talks about her rival Lily Allen.

Archie, Brooklyn, Carter, Charlie, Cole, Cooper, Dominic, Edward, Felix, Gabriel, Isaiah, Jackson, Kingston, Leo, Leon Lincoln, Luka, Luca, Lucas, Marcus, Mason, Noah, Phoenix, Riley, Sebastian, Seth & Toby In 2008.(Names top 100 2008 not in 1998)

Sean, Mitchell, Bradley, Jonathan, Timothy, Taylor, Anthony, Jared, Jarrod, Patrick, Scott, Brandon, Peter, Taine, Campbell, Richard, Kaleb, Louis, Jeremy, Trent, Jason, Justin, Lewis, Regan, Shaun, Kevin, Kieran, Keegan In 1999 (Names not in top 100, 2008).

Funnies From the Greats : Koterba, Luckovich, Grondahl, Stahler2, Margulies, Stahler, Ramsey, Heller, Rogers, Fairrington, Darcy, Keefe, Fitzsimmons, Bagley, Garner, Darkow, Benson, Granlund, Bish, Harville, Beattie, Cole.

Source

I was sad yesterday afternoon as I watched the large group of people leaving for Mexico.  I so very much wanted to go with them.  They are bringing Christmas gifts to the children at Casa Hogar Elim, an annual thing started last year by Jeff Harrell.  We collect shoe boxes, fill them up with small age-appropriate toys and sugar-free candy, then wrap them up.  Now these gifts aren’t just for a boy, age 6, or a girl, age 10, there’s a package for each individual child with their name on it.  We can’t put bows on these boxes, as they would be crushed under the weight of all the supplies in the cars and vans.

There are so many people from our church that want to go to Casa Hogar, they don’t even need to advertise the trips.  If you’ve been there, you’re a walking billboard for CHE.  The Thanksgiving trip even had a waiting list this year.  The ‘regulars’ have gone so many times, they can’t even tell you how many trips they’ve made.  We love these kids, and for those of us whom visit often, these kids are our extended family.

You know the old saying, ‘you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family?’    I beg to differ.  I was thinking last night about family and friends, and all of the funny ways God placed them in my life.  God clearly has a sense of humor!

I moved into my house three years ago, although my kids didn’t start attending the local school until two years ago.  We live at the end of the street, walking distance from the elementary school.  I noticed a house that had some fun yard decor, more specifically, ‘little skeleton girl’.  She was out for Halloween, dressed in her hippie costume, but she stayed out for other holidays.  What!?  Could this be?  Could I really have a soul sister on my street?

I was intrigued.  Why did I think this was my soul sister?  I have a full size mannequin named Darla.  You can learn more about her on Facebook at facebook.com/luvplasticpeople.  Anyway, I wanted to meet little skeleton girl’s mom.  I did, and her name is Patty.

Patty loves to volunteer her time for great causes, so we cross paths quite a bit, not only walking down the street, but many other places.  Patty was at Victoria Gardens with me when I met Flo, the ghost of Christmas future.  I can’t wait to go to Casa Hogar with Patty!  I live in a great neighborhood, as it’s filled with fun, caring people like Patty.

As I said in yesterday’s post, I was an only child until my teen years.  I really don’t remember ever bugging my parents about wanting a baby brother or sister.  I don’t know if that’s because I didn’t want one or because I knew it was a horrible idea for my parents to have anymore children.  I guess God knew I needed some siblings, but decided to bring them in under different circumstances.  At the age of 14, I got a step brother, two step sisters, and soon after, a half brother.

The funny thing about this is my sister Jo.  We are not blood related at all, yet we are just alike.  Our beliefs, our personalities, our creativity… and the list goes on.  The more perplexing thing here is our kids.  My son Joe and her son Isaac, again, no genetic relation, not only look alike, but act alike.  Jo lives in Wisconsin, so we don’t get to see each other too often.  We were on vacation in Florida several years ago, Joe and Isaac both ’sitting’ on their heads on the sofa watching TV.  Jo says, “Look, Isaac taught Joe to do that.”  I replied, “What?  Joe’s been doing that for months.”  Both kids had been doing this separately for months.  And just for the record, they look alike right-side up too.

This next one isn’t as much humor funny as it is implausible funny.  Let me just start by saying it’s an extremely rare occasion when I can find anything good to say about my ex-husband.  The aftermath of an interaction with him frequently results in misery and relational mass destruction.

Dawn and Genna live near Kansas City, so we don’t get to see them very often.  Genna is my step-daughter and Dawn is her mother.  The boys and I took our family vacation up there this past summer and we had a blast!  Okay, I know what you’re thinking.  You probably think it’s odd that we’re friends, so this next statement will really throw you.  We consider ourselves family.  Yes, family.  You may not be able to choose your genetic family, but through love and friendship, you do choose your ‘preferred’ family.  One of the definitions of family is “a group of people who are generally not blood relations but who share common attitudes, interests, or goals…”   Yes, that’s us.  I’ve realized one thing this Christmas, one very big positive thing to say about the boys dad.  Without him, I would not have my boys, nor would I have Dawn and Genna.  As you can tell by the photo, they are obviously ‘related’, as they are a bunch of little camera junkies!  Genna is a very talented photographer and is doing an internship right now.  The boys like to make funny YouTube videos, a couple that have gone small-time viral.

God has brought many other people into my life in unexpected ways, from church and Facebook to a lady at church who accidentally door dinged my beat-up car.  I’ll take 100 of those kind of door dings!  Oh, wait, I have 100 door dings, but only one has a great story behind it.

So what does all of this have to do with Christmas?  This is the time of year when many people experience strong feelings of loneliness, seemingly endless despair and high levels of stress.  I’m no different, but as these feelings arise, I have this faint awareness of hope.  I appreciate my friends and family, realizing I don’t tell them that nearly enough.  I also appreciate you for taking the time to read my 25 days of Christmas blog.  :)

Cheryl Cole’s second single “3 Words” from the album of the same name includes a b-side called “Boys.” The song was penned by Adele even if it doesn’t sound like anything she would do. Click below to listen to it.

Aurelia, Audrey, Beatrix, Cassia, Cordelia, Dulcia, Eulalia, Freya, Holly,  India, Imogen, Isadora, Imala, Inez, Kezia,  Lucretia, Mabel, Novella, Orla, Olive, Olympia, Poppy, Penelope, Polly, Phoebe, Rhea, Saffron, Saskia, Tatiana, Tuscany, Tallulah, Thora, Thea, Vivienne, Vienna, Vera, Willa, Wren, Willona, Zora, Ziva, Azura, Aviva.

Ambrose, Arthur, Barnaby, Baxter, Cole, Dexter, Emmett, Emilian, Felix, Gulliver, Harvey, Ivor, Jasper, Lucian, Lysander, Malachi, Moss, Oakley, Orlando, Perrin, Rowan, Rain, River, Sommett, Tybalt, Troy, Thor, Thorn, Tychius, Vincent, Wilbur.

actually, it has been looking a lot like christmas for about a month now.  pretty much since thanksgiving actually, and in some places, since before thanksgiving.  i’m so excited.  one week from today will be christmas eve.

i guess christmas time really is “the most wonderful time of the year” in many ways:  people are cheerier than usual, decorations are always nice to look at, there are lots of great sales, families come together, there is usually lots of good food, the list goes on and on i suppose.  but christmas time can also be pretty sad and dangerous.  winter time can be in general.  it seems like people go crazy this time of year, sometimes.  some people will do almost anything to get their hands on shopping money or gifts, the latest technological gadget or toy for their loved ones, whatever.  recently a family that i know had their home broken into during the day while everyone was at work or school.  i imagine it’s a pretty crappy thing to come home to, your house, that is, wide open with your television sets and computers missing.  everything strewn out like it’s just a dump or something.  it would definitely have to suck.  winter time is also kind of depressing, just because of the lack of sunshine and warmth outside.  but i guess some people like it, i’m just cold-natured.

anywho, christmas is coming up fast, and i’m way excited.  my boyfriend will be home for a few days, which will be great.  i miss him so much.  i can’t wait to find out what he has gotten for me; he says i will love it.  of course, i don’t care much about presents and i would rather give gifts than receive them..  but i’m still looking forward to it. 

well, i don’t have a lot to say right now.  i just wanted to post really quick while i had the chance so i will go ahead and wrap this up.  i promise to write something more interesting, and most likely longer, when i have time.

hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season.

peace.

Also referred to as the day I aged twenty years overnight.

Cole

Almost a year ago Cole gave us all quite a scare.  He was 6 years old at the time and was quite the handful.  He’s since been diagnosed with ADHD, but at the time was still in full Cole mode and every day was a new adventure.  At the same time, Paul was getting ready to deploy overseas to spend 3 1/2 months in Qatar for the Air Force.   He was away on pre-deployment training, so I was on my own with the kids.

On this particular morning, I was at the hairdressers getting my roots touched up and for some reason, even though my phone was right in front of me, I initially never heard it ring.  Fortunately, my mom knew I was getting my hair done that day and after the school was unsuccessful in reaching me, they called her, and she in turn called the salon.

When one of the salon employees approached me with the message that my mom was urgently trying to reach me, I knew it was about one of the kids, and it was something bad.  At that exact moment, the school called me again, and this time I heard the phone.

They told me that Cole had swallowed a quarter in the cafeteria, and while he was okay, he had already tried to vomit it up once.  They said he could breathe, but thought he needed to go to the hospital immediately.  I still had a bunch of foils in my hair, so I called my mom, knowing she could reach him quicker than I could.

I instructed her to take Cole to the hospital by my house, and I would meet her there.  I don’t know how fast I drove that day, but despite being delayed with my hair, I arrived at the hospital only 10 minutes behind them.

As soon as I saw Cole, I realized that the quarter was lodged in his throat and he couldn’t swallow.  I was horrified.  He was very stoic about the whole thing, but kept having to spit into a dish every couple of minutes as the saliva backed up into his mouth.  I asked Cole what had happened and he told me that he was playing with a little girl during lunch and he put the quarter on the tip of his tongue and stuck it out at the girl and she tried to snatch the quarter off of his tongue.  But she missed and instead knocked it back into his mouth where it shot down his throat. Oh my God, I couldn’t believe that he hadn’t choked to death.  He was only 6 years old and the quarter seemed way too big to be able fit down his throat, without it obstructing his breathing.

Very quickly the doctor got him into x-ray and sure enough, the quarter was stuck right at the base of his throat, below his Adam’s apple.  I stayed very calm, but inside I was shaking and kept thinking, how are they going to get that out?

After we got Cole back to his room, I placed several calls to friend’s asking for assistance with my other children, knowing that I would be there for quite some time.  Everyone was wonderfully supportive, thankfully.  I also called Paul several times and luckily was able to reach him quickly.  I told him what I knew about Cole’s situation, but didn’t know initially how the doctor’s were going to proceed.  I know Paul was frantic and desperately wanted to come home.  But he was in Florida and there was no way he could get home in time to be of any help anyway.

Finally, after several hours, the doctor’s determined that Cole would need laproscopic surgery to remove the quarter, but they didn’t have a doctor on call there to perform the surgery.  Instead, Cole would have to be transported by ambulance, to a hospital in Baltimore where there they would perform the surgery.

One of my friends, Christine, very generously offered to meet me at the other hospital and be with me and Cole during this ordeal.  She used to be a social worker and was familiar with the hospital and was a wonderful support to us both.  My mom went back to my house and stayed with my other kids.

Things started getting interesting when the ambulance finally showed up.  The EMT’s were very professional, but since it was just a transport situation, they were relaxed, friendly and jovial with us both.  It helped a lot.

Cole rode in the back of the ambulance, of course, and I rode up front with the driver.  I kind of wish we could have had the full effect: lights and siren.  But it wasn’t considered an emergency trip, so no drama there.  I think Cole was a little disappointed.

After we arrived at the Baltimore hospital, it was another round of x-ray’s to confirm the first diagnosis.  This time, being in an inner city hospital was a different, more sobering experience, and the patients surrounding us in the x-ray waiting room were very scary looking.  There was one woman next to us that reeked of alcohol and was completely passed out.  Across from us was a man severely battered and bruised and possibly bleeding from a gunshot wound.  Cole still remained ever calm and said very little.  He was in no real pain, thankfully, but the discomfort of having the quarter lodged in his throat and having to spit constantly, kept him very quiet.  He was more than the model patient, he really was.

After the second round of x-rays confirmed the first, Cole was scheduled to be moved upstairs to be operated on within the next few hours.  It was late afternoon by this time.  The pre/post op area was very quiet and much more relaxed.  The staff was very kind to Cole.  They were captivated by this little 6 year old boy that was so calm and sweet and patient.

To add to the drama that day, Cole was recovering from a cold.  When the anesthesiologists came to discuss how they would proceed with the procedure, there was some concern about Cole’s cough and whether he could contract pneumonia from the anesthesia and whether they should delay the surgery for a day.  Up to this point, I had stayed very calm and collected, but hearing that he could be in even more danger than just the normal risks from the anesthesia, was very difficult to take.

When they finally made the decision to proceed then with the surgery, they immediately gave Cole a sedative and gave me just a few moments to say goodbye to him, before moving him out to the surgery area.  I fell apart the  moment he left the room.  Thank God for Christine being there to comfort me, prop me up, and take my mind off the next couple of hours.  She forced me to go downstairs with her and grab a bite to eat and kept me occupied while we waited to hear from the doctor.

The time passed quickly, and finally the doctor came to the waiting area holding a specimen jar with the quarter clinking away in it.  I jumped up and gave him a hug.  I couldn’t have been more relieved.  I know I called Paul as well, but all of that was a bit of a blur, and next thing I knew, I was back with Cole in the recovery area.

While we were trying to get Cole to wake up, suddenly Christine started feeling ill behind me.  We never were quite sure what happened, but said she felt awful and started going in and out of consciousness.  I didn’t know what to do and suddenly the staff seemed less inclined to help her out and I struggled to pay attention to Cole who was waking up, and trying to get the staff to help my friend.

Finally, they called the EMT’s to come upstairs and have a look at her.  They put her in a bed across the aisle from Cole, and I rushed back and forth between the two of them, while they tried to determine what was happening with Christine.  Cole, in the meantime, was coming around nicely and was very chipper and happy to be able to swallow again.

Several tense minutes passed and no real progress was made with Christine (who was still going in and out of consciousness) so I called her husband, Max.  I didn’t know if they were going to check her into the hospital there, or if he should come up and get her, or what.  I was overwhelmed.

After Cole was cleared with his last x-ray, the staff presented him with an Orioles backpack and some souvenirs from his stay with them, including a doll in a hospital gown that he could decorate with boo-boo’s and bandages when he got home.

The EMT’s decided to move Christine down to the ER area, but being a hospital in the city, the place was overrun with patients and people were spilling out into the outer hallways.  Christine was more or less feeling better, so I made the decision with Max and Christine to get Christine’s car from the parking garage, pick her and Cole up and drive us all home.  I dropped Christine off at her home and took her car with Cole back to my home.  Max later wound up taking Christine back to the ER at the hospital by our house (this first one that we took Cole to earlier that day) and Max came by the next day and picked up their car. I still don’t really know why she took ill.

On the car ride home, I called Paul and had him talk to Cole who declared that it had been a fun day after all.  Souvenirs make it all better, you see.  I wish I could have said the same.

.this is actually called ‘Sex Panther’… if your turn the bottle around thats what it reads… def cop it