A ⁿ ⁿ ' s ZONE

Expressions of Whirlwind Emotions, Thoughts, Life and Everything Possible and Impossible.

So I still have colds and terrible cough. Whenever I cough I feel like my lungs will break into pieces and I still chill. A lot. I don't like medicine because it gives me reactions, an alergy and I'm not even allergic with any kinds of medicines. That's horrible. I can't take that! It is so hard to accept that you are sick when you think that you are healthy and you are careful with the food that you eat just to stay HEALTHY!!! Damn it! But I'm calm. lol

The real cliche, the story will begin. Now. haha! So yesterday my Mom and I went out to buy some stuffs for my sister's wedding. I still have to chose which paper to use to make her wedding invitation. I have to figure out what style, fonts and colors to use and put in the invitation. I paid my debt but not all, unfortunately. I don't have that much money to pay everything but I'm good on keeping up. It feels great! HURRAY! Going back to my story. My soon-to-be brother in law went to the same mall to buy something but technically he went there because I need a ride. Went to starbucks to drink my fave toffee nut frap (YUM YUM YUM) and he needs to drink espresso latte to wake him up! hehehe! So went to a hardware to buy something. In the parking lot, he noticed that he didn't know where his keys are. SO PANIC. We were like Dumb at that moment because aside from the fact that the keys was not on his bag, not on his pocket; we were hungry!!! Big Time! The officer came to us and asked if there's something wrong. So to make the story very short and interisting, the officer found the keys on the motorcycle, plugged in the motorcycle. So what do you think happened if the officer was not standing nearby his motorcycle?! The helmets will be stolen by now. hahaha! It was really freakin' whatta experience! We were like crazy for a moment and just drove home. Then told my sister and of course sister was nagging to her fiance. hahaha! Bit thankful it was not my sister who was with him when it happened. Because if it was her, she will have an early labor! JK! That was really funny and very scary. And also he gave the officer a Christmas gift. Award?! haha!

Lesson learned: BE ATTENTIVE. BE CALM. Chill.

ps: I wrote this one yesterday, it did not allow me to post an entry. I had errors in my pc.


Still working now... xoxo everyone!

Welcome Year of the OX!!! MY YEAR! My son's year! mwah

Trying to feel better is not really working. Thinking or pretending to be fine is not working either. I'm really sick & it is really tiring. I'm at work right now while making this entry. I need to go to the comfort room because I'm coughing really, really hard & my Supervisor is not on his desk. So help me God. My tears are starting to fall. My body is shaking because Mother said that its an allergy or reaction with medicine that I'm taking. I've took this medicine before & it didn't have any reactions. My heart palpitates & I'm having chills. I spent Christmas without a voice. I know my son was wondering why Mommy sounded really, really bad. I sounded like a caveman! Getting sick & staying home makes me feel calm because I get a chance to be with my son. That is either I'm sick or his sick or we're both sick. This time, we are sick. Bittersweet! I was absent for like 3 days & I thought that my Supervisor will eat me whole or slice me into pieces & then eat me! lol But thanks to the new Boots, its providing his feet comfort & his in a good mood. He loves the Boots! Saved!

Change. I was just randomnly browsing blog sites (to be honest: I only visit Christopher's blog site hahaha). He is soo sooo sooooo cute! Intelligent, super intelligent, deadly gorgeous, patient man, kind, calm, a dream date for me! But unfortunately, he confessed just recently that his dating someone who is now studying Canada. I'm giving your clues now! hahaha! I just love him. He is really a good man. His face & his actions says it all. Chris had a great Christmas. Which he deserved.

On Break. My lips hurts, its hot & I don't know why. It's bothering me. I'm not sure if I'm hungry. It's already 12:09 noon, lunch time here & I need to take me medicine. I don't have a choice because I will be out 2:00pm so I have to eat my lunch during that hour. And someone just passed by singing Jingle Bells! hahaha! So cute! His wearing black by the way & his tall. lol W---- Anyway, my team mates are making a countdown in our chatroom because they get so excited for our rest days! It's our day off for work! Today is our last day of work this week so we're just kinda anticipate this day. First day of work, we actually call it first day syndrome. All of us are so lazy to come to work most escpecially my BFF's! hahaha! It's mostly fun going to work because I get the chance to see people that is good to my eyesight. lol It will get sucks when you feel the pressure of passing your score. The work is really tiring. But all you have to do is combine work with playing. Playing with a good reason. Answering calls, helping customers & be human. But remember, its just business. You can be emotionally attach sometimes because of the fact that you're a human too & you have emotions. It's just business. If you are pissed, don't hit throw away avaya or the headset or do not break the monitor or the little mouseeeyy thing. Relax. Chill. They are talking about Bella & Edward again... haha!

YAY! ROBERT HAD A HAIRCUT!!! SO TOTALLY DEADLY CERTIFIED CUTE, H.O.T!!!

PS: have to review the bill now lol

take care & God Bless...

xoxo



Christmas (IPA: /krismas/), also referred to as Christmas Day or Christmastide, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that marks and honors the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.[2][3] The birth of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini system of dating, is thought to have occurred between 7 and 2 BC.[4] December 25 is not thought to be Jesus' actual date of birth, and the date may have been chosen to correspond with either a Roman festival,[5] or with the winter solstice.[6]

Modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, church celebrations, and the display of various decorations—including the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes and holly. Santa Claus (also referred to as Father Christmas, although the two figures have different origins) is a popular mythological figure often associated with bringing gifts at Christmas. Santa is generally believed to be the result of a syncretization between Saint Nicholas and elements from pagan Nordic and Christian mythology, and his modern appearance is believed to have originated in 19th century media.

Christmas is celebrated throughout the Christian population, but is also celebrated by many non-Christians as a secular, cultural festival. The holiday is celebrated around the world. Because gift-giving and several other aspects of the holiday involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, Christmas has become a major event for many retailers.

Etymology

The word Christmas originated as a compound meaning "Christ's Mass". It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038.[3] "Cristes" is from Greek Christos and "mæsse" is from Latin missa. In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ. Since the mid-16th century Χ, or the similar Roman letter X, has been used as an abbreviation for Christ.[7] Hence, Xmas is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas.

History

For many centuries, Christian writers accepted that Christmas was the actual date on which Jesus was born.[8] However, in the early eighteenth century, some scholars began proposing alternative explanations. Isaac Newton argued that the date of Christmas was selected to correspond with the winter solstice,[6] which in ancient times was marked on December 25.[9] In 1743, German Protestant Paul Ernst Jablonski argued Christmas was placed on December 25 to correspond with the Roman solar holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invicti and was therefore a "paganization" that debased the true church.[5] In 1889, Louis Duchesne suggested that the date of Christmas was calculated as nine months after the Annunciation on March 25, the traditional date of the conception of Jesus.[10]

Winter festivals

A winter festival was the most popular festival of the year in many cultures. Reasons included the fact that less agricultural work needs to be done during the winter, as well as an expectation of better weather as spring approached.[12] Modern Christmas customs include: gift-giving and merrymaking from Roman Saturnalia; greenery, lights, and charity from the Roman New Year; and Yule logs and various foods from Germanic feasts.[13] Pagan Scandinavia celebrated a winter festival called Yule, held in the late December to early January period. As Northern Europe was the last part to Christianize, its pagan traditions had a major influence on Christmas. Scandinavians still call Christmas Jul. In English, the word Yule is synonymous with Christmas,[14] a usage first recorded in 900.

Dies Natalis Solis Invicti

Dies Natalis Solis Invicti means "the birthday of the unconquered Sun." The use of the title Sol Invictus allowed several solar deities to be worshipped collectively, including Elah-Gabal, a Syrian sun god; Sol, the god of Emperor Aurelian; and Mithras, a soldiers' god of Persian origin.[15] Emperor Elagabalus (218–222) introduced the festival, and it reached the height of its popularity under Aurelian, who promoted it as an empire-wide holiday.[16] This day had held no significance in the Roman festive calendar until it was introduced in the third century.[17]

The festival was placed on the date of the solstice because this was on this day that the Sun reversed its southward retreat and proved itself to be "unconquered." Several early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus.[3] "O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born...Christ should be born", Cyprian wrote.[3] John Chrysostom also commented on the connection: "They call it the 'Birthday of the Unconquered'. Who indeed is so unconquered as Our Lord . . .?"[3]

Patristic developments

The New Testament does not give a date for the birth of Jesus.[18][3] Around AD 200, Clement of Alexandria wrote that a group in Egypt celebrated the nativity on Pachon 25.[3] This corresponds to May 20.[19] Tertullian (d. 220) does not mention Christmas as a major feast day in the Church of Roman Africa.[3] In Chronographai, a reference work published in 221, Sextus Julius Africanus suggested that Jesus was conceived on the spring equinox.[20] The equinox was March 25 on the Roman calendar, so this implied a birth in December.[21] De Pascha Computus, a calendar of feasts produced in 243, gives March 28 as the date of the nativity.[22] In 245, the theologian Origen of Alexandria stated that, "only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod)" celebrated their birthdays.[23] In 303, Christian writer Arnobius ridiculed the idea of celebrating the birthdays of gods, which suggests that Christmas was not yet a feast at this time.[3]

Feast established

The earliest reference to the celebration of the nativity on December 25 is found in the Chronography of 354, an illuminated manuscript compiled in Rome in 354.[24] In the East, early Christians celebrated the birth of Christ as part of Epiphany (January 6), although this festival focused on the baptism of Jesus.[25]

Christmas was promoted in the Christian East as part of the revival of Catholicism following the death of the pro-Arian Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced to Constantinople in 379, and to Antioch in about 380. The feast disappeared after Gregory of Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by John Chrysostom in about 400.[3]

Middle Ages

In the Early Middle Ages, Christmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in the west focused on the visit of the magi. But the Medieval calendar was dominated by Christmas-related holidays. The forty days before Christmas became the "forty days of St. Martin" (which began on November 11, the feast of St. Martin of Tours), now known as Advent.[26] In Italy, former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent.[26] Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25 – January 5); a time that appears in the liturgical calendars as Christmastide or Twelve Holy Days.[26]

The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned Emperor on Christmas Day in 800. King Edmund the Martyr was anointed on Christmas in 855 and King William I of England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066.

By the High Middle Ages, the holiday had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely noted where various magnates celebrated Christmas. King Richard II of England hosted a Christmas feast in 1377 at which twenty-eight oxen and three hundred sheep were eaten.[26] The Yule boar was a common feature of medieval Christmas feasts. Caroling also became popular, and was originally a group of dancers who sang. The group was composed of a lead singer and a ring of dancers that provided the chorus. Various writers of the time condemned caroling as lewd, indicating that the unruly traditions of Saturnalia and Yule may have continued in this form.[26] "Misrule" — drunkenness, promiscuity, gambling — was also an important aspect of the festival. In England, gifts were exchanged on New Year's Day, and there was special Christmas ale.[26]

Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival that incorporating ivy, holly, and other evergreens.[27] Christmas gift-giving during the Middle Ages was usually between people with legal relationships, such as tenant and landlord.[27]

Reformation into the 19th century

During the Reformation, some Puritans condemned Christmas celebration as "trappings of popery" and the "rags of the Beast."[28] The Roman Catholic Church responded by promoting the festival in a more religiously oriented form. Following the Parliamentarian victory over King Charles I during the English Civil War, England's Puritan rulers banned Christmas, in 1647.[28] Pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities, and for weeks Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans.[28] The Restoration of Charles II in 1660 ended the ban, but many clergymen still disapproved of Christmas celebration.

In Colonial America, the Puritans of New England disapproved of Christmas. Celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681. At the same time, Christian residents of Virginia and New York observed the holiday freely. Pennsylvania German Settlers, pre-eminently the Moravian settlers of Bethlehem, Nazareth and Lititz in Pennsylvania and the Wachovia Settlements in North Carolina, were enthusiastic celebrators of Christmas. The Moravians in Bethlehem had the first Christmas trees in America as well as the first Nativity Scenes. Christmas fell out of favor in the United States after the American Revolution, when it was considered an English custom.[29] George Washington attacked Hessian mercenaries on Christmas during the Battle of Trenton in 1777. (Christmas being much more popular in Germany than in America at this time.) By the 1820s, sectarian tension had eased and British writers, including William Winstanly began to worry that Christmas was dying out. These writers imagined Tudor Christmas as a time of heartfelt celebration, and efforts were made to revive the holiday. Charles Dickens's book A Christmas Carol, published in 1843, played a major role in reinventing Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion as opposed to communal celebration and hedonistic excess.[30] In America, interest in Christmas was revived in the 1820s by several short stories by Washington Irving which appear in his The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon and "Old Christmas", and by Clement Clarke Moore's 1822 poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (popularly known by its first line: Twas the Night Before Christmas).[31] Irving's stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted holiday traditions he claimed to have observed in England. Although some argue that Irving invented the traditions he describes, they were widely imitated by his American readers. The poem A Visit from Saint Nicholas popularized the tradition of exchanging gifts and seasonal Christmas shopping began to assume economic importance.[32] In reaction, this also started the cultural conflict of the holiday's spiritualism and its commercialism that some see as corrupting the holiday. In her 1850 book "The First Christmas in New England", Harriet Beecher Stowe includes a character who complains that the true meaning of Christmas was lost in a shopping spree.[33] Christmas was declared a United States Federal holiday in 1870, signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant.

Nativity of Jesus

The Nativity of Jesus refers to the Christian belief that the Messiah was born to the Virgin Mary. The story of Christmas is based on the biblical accounts given in the Gospel of Matthew, namely Matthew 1:18-Matthew 2:12 and the Gospel of Luke, specifically Luke 1:26-Luke 2:40. According to these accounts, Jesus was born to Mary, assisted by her husband Joseph, in the city of Bethlehem. According to popular tradition, the birth took place in a stable, surrounded by farm animals, though neither the stable nor the animals are mentioned in the Biblical accounts. However, a manger is mentioned in Luke 2:7 where it states "She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Early iconographic representations of the nativity placed the stable and manger within a cave (located, according to tradition, under the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem). Shepherds from the fields surrounding Bethlehem were told of the birth by an angel, and were the first to see the child.[34] Many Christians believe that the birth of Jesus fulfilled prophecies from the Old Testament. Many modern scholars view the two Gospel accounts as theological fictions.[35]

Remembering is a central way that Christians celebrate Christmas. There is a very long tradition of the Nativity of Jesus in art. The Eastern Orthodox Church practices the Nativity Fast in anticipation of the birth of Jesus, while much of the Western Church celebrates Advent. In some Christian denominations, children perform plays re-telling the events of the Nativity, or sing carols that reference the event. Some Christians also display a small re-creation of the Nativity, known as a Nativity scene, in their homes, using figurines to portray the key characters of the event. Live Nativity scenes and tableaux vivants are also performed, using actors and live animals to portray the event with more realism.[36]

Nativity scenes traditionally include the Three Wise Men, Balthazar, Melchior, and Caspar, although their names and number are not referred to in the Biblical narrative, who are said to have followed a star, known as the Star of Bethlehem, found Jesus, and presented gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.[37] The including of the Magi in the nativity would be in conflict with the Biblical account, as it indicates that they found Jesus approximately two years after his birth, rather than on the exact day (Matt. 2:7–8, 16).

In the U.S., Christmas decorations at public buildings once commonly included Nativity scenes. This practice has led to many lawsuits, as groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union believe it amounts to the government endorsing a religion, which is prohibited by the United States Constitution. In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Lynch vs. Donnelly that a Christmas display (which included a Nativity scene) owned and displayed by the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island did not violate the First Amendment.[38]

Santa Claus and other bringers of gifts

Originating from Western culture, where the holiday is characterized by the exchange of gifts among friends and family members, some of the gifts are attributed to a character called Santa Claus (also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas or St. Nikolaus, Sinterklaas, Kris Kringle, Père Noël, Joulupukki, Babbo Natale, Weihnachtsmann, Saint Basil and Father Frost).

The popular image of Santa Claus was created by the German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840–1902), who drew a new image annually, beginning in 1863. By the 1880s, Nast's Santa had evolved into the form we now recognize. The image was standardized by advertisers in the 1920s.[39]

Father Christmas, who predates the Santa Claus character, was first recorded in the 15th century, but was associated with holiday merrymaking and drunkenness.[40] In Victorian Britain, his image was remade to match that of Santa. The French Père Noël evolved along similar lines, eventually adopting the Santa image. In Italy, Babbo Natale acts as Santa Claus, while La Befana is the bringer of gifts and arrives on the eve of the Epiphany. It is said that La Befana set out to bring the baby Jesus gifts, but got lost along the way. Now, she brings gifts to all children. In some cultures Santa Claus is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, or Black Peter. In other versions, elves make the toys. His wife is referred to as Mrs. Claus.

It is often claimed that the basis for the North American figure of Santa Claus is the Dutch holyman and bringer of gifts Sinterklaas. During the American War of Independence the inhabitants of New York City, a former Dutch colonial town (New Amsterdam) which had been swapped by the Dutch for other territories, reinvented their Sinterklaas tradition, as Saint Nicholas was a symbol of the city's non-English past.[41] The name Santa Claus supposedly is derived from older Dutch Sinte Klaas. However, the Saint Nicholas Society was not founded until 1835, almost half a century after the end of the American War of Independence.[42] Moreover, a study of the "children's books, periodicals and journals" of New Amsterdam by Charles Jones revealed no references to Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas.[43] However, not all scholars agree with Jones's findings, which he reiterated in a booklength study in 1978;[44] Howard G. Hageman, of New Brunswick Theological Seminary, maintains that the tradition of celebrating Sinterklaas in New York was alive and well from the early settlement of the Hudson Valley on.[45]

The current tradition in several Latin American countries (such as Venezuela and Colombia) holds that while Santa makes the toys, he then gives them to the Baby Jesus, who is the one who actually delivers them to the children's homes. This story is meant to be a reconciliation between traditional religious beliefs and modern day globalization, most notably the iconography of Santa Claus imported from the United States.

In Alto Adige/Südtirol (Italy), Austria, Czech Republic, Southern Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Slovakia and Switzerland, the Christkind (Ježíšek in Czech, Jézuska in Hungarian and Ježiško in Slovak) brings the presents. The German St. Nikolaus is not identical with the Weihnachtsman (who is the German version of Santa Claus). St. Nikolaus wears a bishop's dress and still brings small gifts (usually candies, nuts and fruits) on December 6 and is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht. Although many parents around the world routinely teach their children about Santa Claus and other gift bringers, some have come to reject this practice, considering it deceptive.[46]

Decorations

In many countries there are many different types of decorations used depending on the traditions and available resources.

The Christmas tree is often explained as a Christianization of pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice, which included the use of evergreen boughs, and an adaptation of pagan tree worship.[47] The English language phrase "Christmas tree" is first recorded in 1835[40] and represents an importation from the German language. The modern Christmas tree tradition is believed to have begun in Germany in the 18th century[47] though many argue that Martin Luther began the tradition in the 16th century.[48][49] From Germany the custom was introduced to England, first via Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, and then more successfully by Prince Albert during the reign of Queen Victoria. Around the same time, German immigrants introduced the custom into the United States.[50] Christmas trees may be decorated with lights and ornaments.

Since the 19th century, the poinsettia, a native plant from Mexico, has been associated with Christmas. Other popular holiday plants include holly, mistletoe, red amaryllis, and Christmas cactus. Along with a Christmas tree, the interior of a home may be decorated with these plants, along with garlands and evergreen foliage.

In Australia, North and South America, and to a lesser extent Europe, it is traditional to decorate the outside of houses with lights and sometimes with illuminated sleighs, snowmen, and other Christmas figures. Municipalities often sponsor decorations as well. Christmas banners may be hung from street lights and Christmas trees placed in the town square.[51]

In the Western world, rolls of brightly colored paper with secular or religious Christmas motifs are manufactured for the purpose of wrapping gifts. The display of Christmas villages has also become a tradition in many homes during this season. Other traditional decorations include bells, candles, candy canes, stockings, wreaths, and angels.

In many countries a representation of the Nativity Scene is very popular, and people are encouraged to compete and create most original or realistic ones. Within some families, the pieces used to make the representation are considered a valuable family heirloom.

Christmas decorations are traditionally taken down on Twelfth Night, the evening of January 5.

The traditional colours of Christmas are pine green (evergreen), snow white, and heart red.

Christmas stamps

A number of nations have issued commemorative stamps at Christmastime. Postal customers will often use these stamps to mail Christmas cards, and they are popular with philatelists. These stamps are regular postage stamps, unlike Christmas seals, and are valid for postage year-round. They usually go on sale some time between early October and early December, and are printed in considerable quantities.

In 1898 a Canadian stamp was issued to mark the inauguration of the Imperial Penny Postage rate. The stamp features a map of the globe and bears an inscription "XMAS 1898" at the bottom. In 1937, Austria issued two "Christmas greeting stamps" featuring a rose and the signs of the zodiac. In 1939, Brazil issued four semi-postal stamps with designs featuring the three kings and a star of Bethlehem, an angel and child, the Southern Cross and a child, and a mother and child.

The US Postal Service regularly issues both a religious-themed and a secular-themed stamp each year.

Economics of Christmas

Christmas is typically the largest annual economic stimulus for many nations. Sales increase dramatically in almost all retail areas and shops introduce new products as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies. In the U.S., the "Christmas shopping season" generally begins on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, though many American stores begin selling Christmas items as early as October.[52] In Canada, merchants begin advertising campaigns just before Halloween (October 31), and step up their marketing following Remembrance Day on November 11.

In most areas, Christmas Day is the least active day of the year for business and commerce; almost all retail, commercial and institutional businesses are closed, and almost all industries cease activity (more than any other day of the year). In England and Wales, the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 prevents all large shops from trading on Christmas Day. Scotland is currently planning similar legislation. Film studios release many high-budget movies in the holiday season, including Christmas films, fantasy movies or high-tone dramas with high production values.

An economists analysis calculates that Christmas is a deadweight loss under orthodox microeconomic theory, due to the surge in gift-giving. This loss is calculated as the difference between what the gift giver spent on the item and what the gift receiver would have paid for the item. It is estimated that in 2001 Christmas resulted in a $4 billion deadweight loss in the U.S. alone.[53][54] Because of complicating factors, this analysis is sometimes used to discuss possible flaws in current microeconomic theory. Other deadweight losses include the effects of Christmas on the environment and the fact that material gifts are often perceived as white elephants, imposing cost for upkeep and storage and contributing to clutter.[55]

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/

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If I'm as rich as Oprah, as popular as Britney Spears, I know that I have made a lot charity events & have donated a lot of dollars to organizations! Christmas is for everyone. I got a chance to do a little sharing & it happened when I had my laboratory examinations. I was alone & when my way out the clinic there were dozens of street children begging or asking for money or food. I was so pissed & tired even hungry that time & was in hurry to go inside the fast food restaurant. Out of the blue I took my gift certificates & did buy burgers but I was thinking giving it to my BFF. But when I went out the ff restaurant I just handed the burgers to the children. They were so happy. I refused to cry. That was a little act of kindness. I know they appreciate what I did & they even said thank you. That was really real! I really love the feeling of helping & making other helpless & hopeless people happy. Sharing hopes & the goodness of giving is really help you mature. It makes you appreciate what you have & be contented with it. Christmas is all about love. Just love. Like what Jesus did. He loves us too much... Unconditional & endless care...

MERRY CHRISTMAS Everyone! Happy Birthday to our Savior Jesus Christ!

xoxo

11 hours from now, we will celebrate Jesus birthday! It's almost Christmas! No snow here but feeling so cold. Weather forecast for the holidays Eastern section of Central Luzon, Southern Luzon and Visayas will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers. Mindanao will have mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms. The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to at times cloudy with isolated rain showers. Moderate to strong winds blowing from the Northeast will prevail over Luzon and Visayas and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the Northeast with slight to moderate seas except during thunderstorms. I'm not sure if I will enjoy Christmas. I'm so sick. Had fever and I think still have now. My colds is driving me nuts! I have cough and I don't know what medicine to take because my doctor (I think) forgot to prescribe me one. I believe I will be absent again tomorrow for work. I've been 2 days absent and still I don't feel like going to work. I'm too tired and so sick. Not to mention my son is also sick. Nothing's change. But I'll be ok, just needed a little rest.


Updates. Since Bob won Survivor Gabon, I didn't get the time to post the photos for the last episode or the season finale of the show. I just can't find the photos and website is not yet updated. Also, Britney just got back from Japan. She is still beautiful.

Here's a Christmas Card for the fans from Britney, JJ & Preston:




And she will be spending New Year's eve with his boys! Exciting!

After being hospitalized last Friday, Backstreet Boys singer Brian Littrell's 6-year-old son has been diagnosed with atypical Kawasaki Disease, an inflammation of the arteries that typically afflicts children. A letter from Brian and Leighanne Littrell, Baylee Thomas Wylee Littrell was released from Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital in Atlanta on December 20, 2008.



Before being admitted Baylee had been treated for or thought to have had; strep throat, hand, foot, mouth disease and erythema multiforme. After receiving a biopsy, blood tests, an EKG and 2 echocardiograms, Baylee was finally diagnosed with A-Typical Kawasaki Disease. We would like to stress A-Typical because Baylee did not have text book symptoms of any of the viruses they thought he had.

Kawasaki Disease causes inflammation in the coronary arteries as well as the walls of the small and medium sized arteries throughout the body. Unfortunately Baylee’s coronary arteries were effected. He received an IVIG, which is a treatment to bring down the inflammation in his coronary arteries. Baylee will be closely monitor ed for the next 6-8 weeks by a Pediatric Cardiologist to see if the treatment was effective.
We want to thank every one who prayed for us as well as all of the emails and phone calls. Your love and support means so much to our family. The Hospital Staff were absolutely amazing. They made an extremely difficult time in our lives as comfortable as possible.
We are humbled by the love and compassion that people have for our son all over the world, thank you.
I was worried. But Baylee is a strong boy and a fighter like his dad.

I will post another entry later. I'm coughing really hard right now. My chest hurts.

Take care.

xoxo

Who among you are scared of surgery? Me? I'm not really sure. I gave birth. I was deadly nervous but I think I was not scared to face those sharp needles. It was an experience. Since then, never been admitted to the hospital. But this year I'm diagnosed with a rare hyperthyroid or goiter enlargement. I forgot what its called but with my doctors explaination, its 80% normal hyperthyroid enlargement but 20% cancerous. The word Cancerous is alarming. So per doctors adviced, I need to have a surgery to remove my right thyroid. I will not post an entry about goiter but about the procedure that I will soon experience. Surgery.

So according to Wikipedia Surgery (from the Greek: cheirourgike, via Latin: chirurgiae, meaning "hand work") is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, to help improve bodily function or appearance, or sometimes for some other reason. An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical procedure, operation, or simply surgery. In this context, the verb operating means performing surgery. The adjective surgical means pertaining to surgery; e.g. surgical instruments or surgical nurse. The patient or subject on which the surgery is performed can be a person or an animal. A surgeon is a person who performs operations on patients. Persons described as surgeons are commonly medical practitioners, but the term is also applied to podiatrists, dentists and veterinarians. Surgery can last from minutes to hours, but is typically not an ongoing or periodic type of treatment. The term surgery can also refer to the place where surgery is performed, or simply the office of a physician, dentist, or veterinarian.

DEFINITION: Surgery is a medical technology consisting of a physical intervention on tissues. As a general rule, a procedure is considered surgical when it involves cutting of a patient's tissues or closure of a previously sustained wound. Other procedures that do not necessarily fall under this rubric, such as angioplasty or endoscopy, may be considered surgery if they involve "common" surgical procedure or settings, such as use of a sterile environment, anesthesia, antiseptic conditions, typical surgical instruments, and suturing or stapling. All forms of surgery are considered invasive procedures; so-called "noninvasive surgery" usually refers to an excision that does not penetrate the structure being excised (e.g. laser ablation of the cornea) or to a radiosurgical procedure (e.g. irradiation of a tumor).

TYPES OF SURGERY

Surgical procedures are commonly categorized by urgency, type of procedure, body system involved, degree of invasiveness, and special instrumentation.Elective surgery is done to correct a non-life-threatening condition, and is carried out at the patient's request, subject to the surgeon's and the surgical facility's availability. Emergency surgery is surgery which must be done quickly to save life, limb, or functional capacity. Exploratory surgery is performed to aid or confirm a diagnosis.

Therapeutic surgery treats a previously diagnosed condition. Amputation involves cutting off a body part, usually a limb or digit. Replantation involves reattaching a severed body part. Reconstructive surgery involves reconstruction of an injured, mutilated, or deformed part of the body. Cosmetic surgery is done to improve the appearance of an otherwise normal structure. Excision is the cutting out of an organ, tissue, or other body part from the patient. Transplant surgery is the replacement of an organ or body part by insertion of another from different human (or animal) into the patient. Removing an organ or body part from a live human or animal for use in transplant is also a type of surgery.When surgery is performed on one organ system or structure, it may be classed by the organ, organ system or tissue involved. Examples include cardiac surgery (performed on the heart), gastrointestinal surgery (performed within the digestive tract and its accessory organs), and orthopedic surgery (performed on bones and/or muscles).Minimally invasive surgery involves smaller outer incision(s) to insert miniaturized instruments within a body cavity or structure, as in laparoscopic surgery or angioplasty. By contrast, an open surgical procedure requires a large incision to access the area of interest. Laser surgery involves use of a laser for cutting tissue instead of a scalpel or similar surgical instruments. Microsurgery involves the use of an operating microscope for the surgeon to see small structures. Robotic surgery makes use of a surgical robot, such as the Da Vinci or the Zeus surgical systems, to control the instrumentation under the direction of the surgeon.

HISTORY OF SURGERY:

History of surgery and Prehistoric medicineAt least two prehistoric cultures had developed forms of surgery. The oldest for which there is evidence is trepanation,[1] in which a hole is drilled or scraped into the skull, thus exposing the dura mater in order to treat health problems related to intracranial pressure and other diseases. Evidence has been found in prehistoric human remains from Neolithic times, in cave paintings, and the procedure continued in use well into recorded history. Surprisingly, many prehistoric and premodern patients had signs of their skull structure healing; suggesting that many survived the operation. In ancient India, remains from the early Harappan periods of the Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300 BC) show evidence of teeth having been drilled dating back 9,000 years.[2] A final candidate for prehistoric surgical techniques is Ancient Egypt, where a mandible dated to approximately 2650 BC shows two perforations just below the root of the first molar, indicating the draining of an abscessed tooth.The oldest known surgical texts date back to ancient Egypt about 3500 years ago. Surgeries were performed by priests, specialized in medical treatments similar to today. The procedures were documented on papyrus and were the first to describe patient case files; the Edwin Smith Papyrus (held in the New York Academy of Medicine) documents surgical procedures based on anatomy and physiology, while the Ebers Papyrus describes healing based on magic. Their medical expertise was later documented by Herodotus: "The practice of medicine is very specialized among them. Each physician treats just one disease. The country is full of physicians, some treat the eye, some the teeth, some of what belongs to the abdomen, and others internal diseases."[3]Other ancient cultures to have surgical knowledge include Ancient India, China and Greece.Sushruta (also spelled Susruta or Sushrutha) (c. 6th century BC) was a renowned surgeon of Ancient India, and the author of the book Sushruta Samhita. In his book, he described over 120 surgical instruments, 300 surgical procedures and classifies human surgery into 8 categories. Sushruta is also known as the father of plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery. He was a surgeon from the dhanvantari school of Ayurveda.The Hippocratic Oath was an innovation of the Greek physician Hippocrates. However ancient Greek culture traditionally considered the practice of opening the body to be repulsive and thus left known surgical practices such as lithotomy to such persons as practice [it]. In China, Hua Tuo was a famous Chinese physician during the Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms era. He was the first person to perform surgery with the aid of anesthesia, albeit a rudimentary and unsophisticated form.In the Middle Ages, surgery was developed to a high degree in the Islamic world. Abulcasis (Abu al-Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas Al-Zahrawi), an Andalusian-Arab physician and scientist who practised in the Zahra suburb of Córdoba, wrote medical texts that shaped European surgical procedures up until the Renaissance. He is also often regarded as a Father of Surgery.[4]In Europe, the demand grew for surgeons to formally study for many years before practicing; universities such as Montpellier, Padua and Bologna were particularly renowned. By the fifteenth century at the latest, surgery had split away from physics as its own subject, of a lesser status than pure medicine, and initially took the form of a craft tradition until Rogerius Salernitanus composed his Chirurgia, laying the foundation for modern Western surgical manuals up to the modern time. Late in the nineteenth century, Bachelor of Surgery degrees (usually Ch.B.) began to be awarded with the (M.B.), and the mastership became a higher degree, usually abbreviated Ch.M. or M.S. in London, where the first degree was M.B.,B.S..Barber-surgeons generally had a bad reputation that was not to improve until the development of academic surgery as a specialty of medicine, rather than an accessory field.[5] Basic surgical principles for asepsis etc are known as Halsteads principles.


MODERN SURGERY:

Modern surgery developed rapidly with the scientific era. Ambroise Paré (sometimes spelled "Ambrose"[6]) pioneered the treatment of gunshot wounds, and the first modern surgeons were battlefield doctors in the Napoleonic Wars. Naval surgeons were often barber surgeons, who combined surgery with their main jobs as barbers. Three main developments permitted the transition to modern surgical approaches - control of bleeding, control of infection and control of pain (anaesthesia).

Bleeding

Before modern surgical developments, there was a very real threat that a patient would bleed to death before treatment, or during the operation. Cauterization (fusing a wound closed with extreme heat) was successful but limited - it was destructive, painful and in the long term had very poor outcomes. Ligatures, or material used to tie off severed blood vessels, are believed to have originated with Abulcasis[7] in the 10th century and improved by Ambroise Paré in the 16th century. Though this method was a significant improvement over the method of cauterization, it was still dangerous until infection risk was brought under control - at the time of its discovery, the concept of infection was not fully understood. Finally, early 20th century research into blood groups allowed the first effective blood transfusions.

Infection

The concept of infection was unknown until relatively modern times. The first progress in combating infection was made in 1847 by the Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis who noticed that medical students fresh from the dissecting room were causing excess maternal death compared to midwives. Semmelweis, despite ridicule and opposition, introduced compulsory handwashing for everyone entering the maternal wards and was rewarded with a plunge in maternal and fetal deaths, however the Royal Society in the UK still dismissed his advice. Significant progress came following the work of Pasteur, when the British surgeon Joseph Lister began experimenting with using phenol during surgery to prevent infections. Lister was able to quickly reduce infection rates, a reduction that was further helped by his subsequent introduction of techniques to sterilize equipment, have rigorous hand washing and a later implementation of rubber gloves. Lister published his work as a series of articles in The Lancet (March 1867) under the title Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery. The work was groundbreaking and laid the foundations for a rapid advance in infection control that saw modern aseptic operating theatres widely used within 50 years (Lister himself went on to make further strides in antisepsis and asepsis throughout his lifetime).

Pain

Modern pain control through anesthesia was discovered by two American dental surgeons, Horace Wells (1815-1848) and William Morton. Before the advent of anesthesia, surgery was a traumatically painful procedure and surgeons were encouraged to be as swift as possible to minimize patient suffering. This also meant that operations were largely restricted to amputations and external growth removals. Beginning in the 1840s, surgery began to change dramatically in character with the discovery of effective and practical anaesthetic chemicals such as ether and chloroform, later pioneered in Britain by John Snow. In addition to relieving patient suffering, anaesthesia allowed more intricate operations in the internal regions of the human body. In addition, the discovery of muscle relaxants such as curare allowed for safer applications.


DO YOU WHAT NEOPLASIA IS?

Neoplasia (new growth in Greek) is the abnormal proliferation of cells, resulting in a structure known as a neoplasm. The growth of this clone of cells exceeds, and is uncoordinated with, that of the normal tissues around it. It usually causes a lump or tumor. Neoplasms may be benign, pre-malignant or malignant. In modern medicine, the term tumor is synonymous with a neoplasm that has formed a lump. In the past, the term tumor was used differently. Some neoplasms do not cause a lump.

TYPES OF NEOPLASIA:

A NEOPLASM (that's what I have) can be benign, potentially malignant (pre-cancer), or malignant (cancer). [1]Benign neoplasms include uterine fibroids and melanocytic nevi (skin moles). They do not transform into cancer. Potentially malignant neoplasms include carcinoma in situ. They do not invade and destroy but, given enough time, will transform into a cancer. Malignant neoplasms are commonly called cancer. They invade and destroy the surrounding tissue, may form metastases and eventually kill the host. Because neoplasia includes very different diseases, it is difficult to find a definition that describes them all. [2] The definition of the British oncologist R.A. Willis is widely cited: A neoplasm is an abnormal mass of tissue, the growth of which exceeds and is uncoordinated with that of the normal tissues, and persists in the same excessive manner after cessation of the stimulus which evoked the change.[3]This definition is criticized because some neoplasms, such as nevi, are not progressive.

CLONALITY

Neoplastic tumors often contain more than one type of cell, but their initiation and continued growth is usually dependent on a single population of neoplastic cells. These cells are presumed to be clonal - that is, they are descended from a single progenitor cell.Sometimes, the neoplastic cells all carry the same genetic or epigenetic anomaly which becomes evidence for clonality. For lymphoid neoplasms, e.g. lymphoma and leukemia, clonality is proven by the amplification of a single rearrangement of their immunoglobulin gene (for B cell lesions) or T-cell receptor gene (for T cell lesions). The demonstration of clonality is now considered to be necessary to identify a lymphoid cell proliferation as neoplastic.[4]It is tempting to define neoplasms as clonal cellular proliferations but the demonstration of clonality is not always possible. Therefore, clonality is not required in the definition of neoplasia.

Neoplasia vs tumorTumor (Latin for swelling) originally meant all forms of swelling, neoplastic or not. In current English however, both common and Medical, tumor is now considered synonymous with Neoplasm. [5] Note that some neoplasms do not form a tumor. They include leukemia and most forms of carcinoma in situ.

Survivor Gabon is already over! I didn't get the chance to watch it live because I was out. But I have to watch in the internet if I have the time. Anyway, the last days in Gabon was actually amazing! Yes! BOB won! I knew it since the show started. His 57 years old and he is an intelligent human being! Kenny is a funny guy. I so love the show. I hate Randy. Just want to mention. Sugar is so sweet! hahaha! I love her. She is a fighter and so beautiful. So here are recaps abour the show. I will be posting pictures probably next week because I'm si busy with work now.


Season 17: Episode 13: The Good Guys Should Win in the End

Matty storms back to camp after a close call at Tribal Council, where Corinne was voted out with only one more vote cast against her than Matty. Aware that his close ally, Ken, had a hand in the plot against him, Matty immediately confronts Ken for stabbing him in the back. Ken explains that his reasons for voting Matty were strategic: “I voted for him and that was strategically a move to gain me jury votes in the final three. I have been calling the shots since day one out here. I am the mastermind behind everything going on.” Matty picks up on Ken’s deceptive plans to oust him, which raises concerns from Crystal and Sugar, who believe that he is overreacting. Crystal sees Matty as a huge threat: “I am really regretting not writing Matty’s name down tonight which is probably the stupidest move that I have made in this game so far. Hopefully Matty doesn’t win immunity at the next challenge, and Matty needs to go.”


A BIG DEAL

Later in the night, Ken panics and attacks Bob for deceiving him with a second fake immunity idol. “I trusted you and Corinne and you lied to me, and now my game is messed up,” he complains. “I risked everything to try to save you and Corinne and this is what I get for being a nice guy.” Bob becomes ridden with guilt and offers Ken the deal of a lifetime: he agrees that if he wins the next immunity challenge, he will give the immunity necklace over to Ken. Bob assures Ken of his intentions of honoring his word because he feels horrible for lying to him the way he did. “I wanna be a man of my word,” Bob pledges.


REWARD CHALLENGE: SWAMP MONKEYS

The Nobag Tribe arrives on their mat as host Jeff Probst explains the rules. They will race out into the swamp through a series of obstacles, and retrieve a ball. They will then race back to the start and toss the ball into a net, and then head back out to retrieve the next ball. The first person to get three balls in their net wins a trip via helicopter to Loango National Park’s gorilla sanctuary, sponsored by Africa’s Eden. They will receive a nice meal, a good night’s sleep and a shower, returning to camp the next morning. In addition, the winner will choose one person to go to Exile Island.
As the challenge gets underway, the survivors bolt out into the swamp, making their way through nets, across planks, and to a station from which they each retrieve a ball. Bob, Matty and Ken manage to toss their balls into the net, while the women struggle to make their first basket. The men keep the lead as they race across the swamp to retrieve their second ball. All three men are dead even after sinking their second ball into their baskets. Meanwhile, Sugar, Susie and Crystal still struggle with their first ball. Matty gains an advantage as he makes his way back with his third and final ball. His efforts consistently fall short as Ken and Bob catch up. Ken, Matty and Bob race to sink their final ball. In the end, Bob wins the reward, and is given the opportunity to choose someone to join him. He selects Crystal, and is then asked to choose a second person to join him in the reward. Bob immediately chooses Ken without hesitation. He sends Susie to Exile Island, and is off in a helicopter to his reward.


THE GORILLA SANCTUARY

Ken, Bob and Crystal take in the breathtaking view of Gabon from above as they glide through the air on a helicopter ride. Upon arriving at the sanctuary, the three are given an assortment of meats, fruits, and tropical drinks. After a brief feast, the trio gets down to business. Ken and Crystal put Matty on the chopping block, asking Bob to jump on board with them. Bob agrees, hoping that they can persuade Sugar to join them. Ken carefully reminds Bob of his promise to hand immunity over to him if Bob were to win it at the next challenge. Bob again assures Ken he has nothing to worry about because Bob is a man of his word and has every intention to honor their deal. He then revises the plan, telling Ken that if during Tribal Council Ken feels that he is in danger, he should signal Bob to give him the immunity necklace. Ken accepts this offer, and the dealing is done.
Crystal and the others become invigorated after taking a shower for the first time in thirty-four days. They are then visited by representatives of Africa’s Eden, who take them out to see the gorillas. Ken, Crystal and Bob watch in awe as gorillas ranging from small babies to giant silverbacks stand a few feet from them. Bob comments on the spiritual connection he felt while observing these amazing creatures. “I’m not usually spiritual, but it was a feeling like there was a connection between these great apes and myself how they were looking at us, and we were looking at them. It sort of rocked my soul.”


COMFORT ZONE

On Exile Island, Susie chooses comfort over clue and enjoys the great abundance of fruit in the gazebo. “The one great thing about being at Exile is that it takes you away from the game. You can just step away and say ‘I don’t have to think about anything right now.”
LIKE BROTHER AND SISTERBack at the Nobag camp, Matty complains to Sugar about not being able to enjoy the reward, and resents Ken and Crystal for being chosen. Sugar defends Bob’s decision and argues that they hadn’t had the chance to enjoy a reward until now. She then warns Matty that he is on the chopping block. Matty criticizes Sugar for aligning with Ken, and tells her that Ken is lying to her because Ken’s greatest ally is Crystal. Upon reflecting on the situation, Sugar admits that she is in a predicament. “I’m sure Kenny is probably lying to me but Matty is the stronger physical threat. I don’t know who to believe, I don’t know who to turn to.” The two continue to quarrel over the situation and, in the end, Matty comes to the conclusion that he got himself in a bad position.

THE RETURN

A helicopter drops off Ken, Bob and Crystal back at the Nobag camp. Matty is openly hostile about Ken and Crystal being chosen to go on the reward with Bob. Ken calls Matty out for making camp tense, which ultimately leads to another argument between the two regarding Ken flipping on him at the previous Tribal Council. “Matty’s super paranoid ever since his name was written down,” says Ken. “It was a strategic move on my part, but this is a game. People write down names.” Crystal fumes at Matty for lying to her when he denied being aligned with Susie, and continues to threaten to vote him out if he tries to go against her alliance with Ken. Sugar watches in dismay as Matty is chewed out by Crystal. “Matty doesn’t deserve to be yelled at,” she whimpers. “Kenny acts like he’s this weak little meager guy and he spins all these lies and Crystal is just a big bully.” Sugar pulls Matty aside and takes him over to the dock. “I believe you now,” she cries. Sugar then assures Matty that she will make sure that Matty does not get voted out, targeting Crystal instead. “If Sugar really is telling me the truth, then I have hope,” says Matty. “I’m just praying that I can find the strength to finish.”


IMMUNITY CHALLENGE: MASK MATCH

The Nobag Tribe arrives on their mat as Susie returns from Exile Island. Host Jeff Probst explains the rules. Each person will be blindfolded. They will study the features of a Gabonese mask and then grab a bag of mask pieces and make their way through a series of obstacles in their own roped-off lanes to a station where they will find a second blank mask. They will use the pieces to fill in the missing features. The first person to collect all three bags and successfully recreate the mask wins immunity.
The challenge is on, and the survivors begin studying their mask’s features. They are then off through the course and begin retrieving their mask pieces one by one. Crystal has difficulty staying on the course, and spends most of her time trying to find her lane. While the others attempt to solve each mask piece one at a time, Matty’s strategy is to gather all of his mask pieces first before attempting to solve the puzzle. Crystal finally makes it to her station with her first bag of mask pieces. Bob rapidly moves through the course and is the first to assemble his mask. Bob is wrong, and heads back to the start to check his mask. Ken thinks he has it and is also wrong. Susie is completely off of the course and struggles to find her way back. Bob races back and assembles his mask. Jeff checks his mask and determines that Bob is right. Bob wins immunity, guaranteeing him a spot in the final five.

THE REAL MASTERMIND

As soon as the tribe returns to camp, they scatter and proceed to strategize. Ken meets Crystal in the jungle and decides to get Bob to give him his immunity necklace as planned, then blindside him. The two realize that they made the mistake of not getting rid of Bob early on and are now paying the price since he has become an immunity threat after winning four straight immunity challenges in a row. Ken plays the game by acting scared in front of Bob in hopes of manipulating him into handing over his immunity necklace, fulfilling their deal. Bob becomes suspicious of Ken’s actions and asks that they first find out who is voting for whom. Ken reports back to Sugar, Crystal, Matty and Susie that, in order to convince Bob to hand over immunity to him, they must all play along with the idea that Ken is on the chopping block. Unbeknownst to Ken, Sugar has other plans. She comes clean with Bob about Ken’s plan to blindside him and suggests voting for Crystal. “I really have a big place in my heart for you,” she confesses to Bob. Sugar returns to camp and tells them that she talked to Bob and he is on board to give Ken the immunity necklace. She brings Matty into the loop, telling him to vote for Crystal and asking him to just let her do the thinking. “Just as long as Matty listens to me and Bob knows to trust me, everything’s gonna be fine,” Sugar comments.

TRIBAL COUNCIL

At Tribal Council, Bob’s winning streak is brought to light as being a significant threat. Matty expresses gratitude regarding Bob’s dominance because he thinks that Bob deserves to stay in the game. Ken divulges the details of his deal with Bob to everyone in an attempt to guilt Bob into giving him immunity. Bob admits that he and Ken have since renegotiated the deal so that if Bob feels that Ken is going home, he will give him the necklace. With Sugar wearing the hidden immunity idol necklace, Jeff reminds everyone that this is the last time that it can be played. He then gives Bob the option of keeping or giving up the immunity necklace that he won, but Bob decides that Ken is not in any danger and keeps the necklace for himself. In the end, Sugar gives her hidden immunity idol to Matty, voiding all votes that were cast against him. With the remaining three votes cast against her, Crystal is blindsided and voted out of the game. Crystal Cox, the 29 year-old Olympic Champion from Durham, North Carolina, became the thirteenth person voted out and the fifth member of the jury of SURVIVOR: GABON: EARTH’S LAST EDEN.


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Season 17: Episode 14: Say Goodbye to Gabon

The final five return to camp after blindsiding Crystal at the last Tribal Council. Sugar boasts to her tribemates about how she intelligently used her immunity idol to protect Matty and oust Crystal. Ken, on the other hand, had no idea what was in store. “I was out of the loop tonight and I do feel a little bit betrayed,” he says. Ken made a pact with Bob dictating that if he felt that he was in danger of being voted out, Bob would hand over immunity to him. Feeling like Bob did not keep his word, Ken tries to guilt trip Bob by asking him to give him immunity at the next Tribal Council. “Why don’t you get your own idol,” Bob responds. “By announcing this little deal in front of everybody, I think he was sort of trying to embarrass me if I didn’t stand by my word. For me, it’s a little bit on the annoying side. That means all promises are off.”


FINAL THREE PACT

The next morning, Sugar whispers to Bob about taking him to the final three with herself and Matty. The next two people that she would like to vote out are Susie and then Ken. Her new plan is to make Ken feel safe so that nothing gets in the way of her plans. She then takes Ken for a walk and assures him that if Bob loses immunity, Bob goes home. Ken concurs, and the two suggest that if Bob wins, they’ll vote Susie out. “Last night, I felt like I got blindsided and I felt a little betrayal from Sugar,” Ken reveals. “I feel comfortable now. I feel that Sugar has no alliance to Susie, so I feel that Sugar really wants to take me to the final three with her.” Ken then reads treemail to the tribe and reveals that everyone will paint their faces and dress themselves to look like traditional Gabonese warriors before heading to the next immunity challenge.


IMMUNITY CHALLENGE: A-MAZING GABON

The Nobag Tribe arrives on their mat dressed as Gabonese warriors. Host Jeff Probst comments on Bob’s attire, which resembles something closer to “The Village People” than a Gabonese warrior. Jeff then explains the rules of the challenge. Each person will dig under a wall and make their way across a series of planks which will lead into a maze filled with Gabonese huts. Inside three of the huts are bags of puzzle pieces. Each time someone finds a bag, they must make their way through the maze to the finish platform, drop the bag, and then head out to find another one. Once they’ve collected all three bags of puzzle pieces they will use those pieces to build a replica of a Gabonese hut. The first person to build it correctly wins immunity.


The castaways begin the challenge, digging a hole underneath a wall. Susie is the first one to dig a hole large enough to wriggle through, and her tribemates are not far behind. They then carefully tip toe across the series of planks in an effort to make their way through a raised maze. Matty falls off and has to go all the way back to the start. Everyone else makes it through as Matty begins the maze again. Sugar, Bob, Ken and Susie navigate through the final maze as Matty finally completes the first maze. Everyone is now dead even as they find their bags of puzzle pieces one at a time. Sugar and Bob are the first two to find all of their puzzle pieces and start solving the puzzle first as Ken and Matty struggle to keep up. Susie cannot find her third and final bag of puzzle pieces. The race is on between Sugar and Bob as both build their puzzles at a furious pace. Bob solves his puzzle just moments ahead of Sugar, winning immunity and guaranteeing him a spot in the final four.
WHO TO TRUSTWith Tribal Council looming, Ken admits that he feels secure in his new pact with Sugar, and that it is safe to say that Susie is going home. Matty confirms Ken’s suspicions that Susie is the next to go, but tells Ken not to tell her until the last minute that she is going to be voted out. Susie confronts Matty in a paranoid state, asking him to tell her if she is on the chopping block. Matty tries to ease her fears and tells her to go with her gut feeling. Matty meets Sugar in the hut and frantically drives home that it is him, Sugar and Bob until the end no matter what. Sugar, however, is still on the fence. “To get rid of Susie would be great because I have no allegiance with Susie and I don’t trust her. I would vote for Kenny because he is a liar and he could manipulate Bob or Matty, so I just have to think really hard about what should be done.”


TRIBAL COUNCIL

At Tribal Council, Jeff points out that Bob’s fifth consecutive win ties him for most consecutive wins in the history of Survivor. Bob admits that he is a major target and must continue his winning streak in order to stay alive. Susie confesses that she is not strategically making moves to stay in the game which makes her an outsider. Ken whines about Bob backing out on his deal to hand over immunity to him, and Bob immediately counters his attacks by making everyone aware that it was Ken who backed out on their deal by organizing an assassination on him if Bob were to give up immunity. Ken still tries to persuade his tribe that Bob agreed to sacrifice his spot in the game in order to uphold their deal, to which everyone’s response, including the jury, is laughter. In the end, Bob decides to once again keep the immunity necklace for himself and, with three of the five votes cast against him, Ken is voted out of the game. Ken Hoang, the 22 year-old professional gamer from Westminster, California, became the fourteenth person voted out and sixth member of the jury of SURVIVOR: GABON: EARTH’S LAST EDEN.


RITES OF PASSAGE

The next morning, Sugar, Matty, Bob and Susie face their final immunity challenge as Matty reads treemail, which tells them that they will be paying their respects to the castaways that are no longer in the game. They head to Exile Island and grab the torches of their fallen tribemates. “To be able to pay my respects to the fourteen that went before me is huge for me,” says Matty. “They’re all quality human beings, quality competitors. They definitely deserve respect and I’m just honored to be a part of it.” They each pay tribute to each of their former tribesmen and women, then make their way to the top of the savannah. The final four burn a memorial bonfire as Gabonese warriors chant in a celebratory dance.


IMMUNITY CHALLENGE: HOUSE OF CARDS

The final four arrive on their mat at their final immunity challenge. Host Jeff Probst explains the rules. They will each have 200 wooden tiles. When Jeff yells, “Go!” they will use those tiles to build a house of cards. The first person to build a house of cards ten feet tall or the person to build the highest tower in the thirty minute time limit will win immunity.


Each castaway takes their own unique approach to building their house of cards. Bob spends most of his time forming a large base, while Sugar proceeds precariously stacking the cards one on top of the other. After nine minutes, everyone’s house of cards collapses, forcing everyone to start over from scratch. Sugar and Susie make it past the five foot mark, but Sugar loses everything. Susie’s cards collapse shortly after. Sugar regains her lead once again, surpassing six feet with Susie right behind. With only five minutes left, Susie and Sugar are neck and neck. Bob and Matty are not even close, still toiling with the bases of their towers. At slightly over eight feet and in the lead, Susie decides to stop building and ride out the clock. Sugar gains on Susie but, with only seconds left, her house of cards collapses. Susie wins final immunity, guaranteeing her a spot in the final Tribal Council.

ONE LAST HOPE

With Tribal Council looming, Bob accepts the fact that he will be the final person voted out. Sugar, Matty and Susie hug him and congratulate him on a game well-played. Sugar becomes emotional as she tearfully admits that Bob is going home because no one can win against him in the final Tribal Council. Susie becomes overly excited that she is in the final three and drives it home with Bob to the point of agony. Susie then asks Bob if he would like to go up against her in the final three. “We don’t need to talk about this, you know the score, we don’t have to keep repeating it,” Bob snaps. Sugar tries to explain to Susie that Bob knows he is going home and doesn’t need to be reminded constantly of Susie’s victory and his own failure at the immunity challenge. “I really really pictured Bob up there in the final three,” Sugar cries. In order to give Bob and Matty a fair chance, Sugar contemplates causing a tie at Tribal Council. She hints to Bob that she might do this, which would cause him and Matty to compete in a tiebreaker challenge that could include fire-making. Bob sneaks off into the jungle and practices making fire in a final attempt to keep himself in the game.

TRIBAL COUNCIL

At Tribal Council, Susie gleams with the knowledge that she is guaranteed a spot in the final three to plead her case for one million dollars. Bob admits that he has never been more vulnerable and scared at any Tribal Council thus far. He does not have immunity for once and has a pretty big target on his back for being a jury threat since he is well-liked. Sugar sobs as she confesses being in a predicament since Matty is like a brother to her and Bob is like a father. Bob chokes up when he says that he is flattered that Sugar views him in this light because he is a father already, and had a great example from his own father. With this, the final four cast their votes, which ends in a tie: two votes Matty, two votes Bob. The two then face off in a fire-making challenge. Bob and Matty must build a fire high enough to burn through a rope using a flint and husk. Bob is the first to get fire, but it is short-lived. As Matty rapidly hits his flint, Bob attempts to revive his fire. He successfully brings it back and nurtures it until it reaches the rope. Bob’s fire burns through the rope, guaranteeing him a spot at the final Tribal Council and sending Matty to the jury. Matty Whitmore, the 29 year-old personal trainer from Los Angeles, California became the fifteenth person voted out and seventh member of the jury of SURVIVOR: GABON: EARTH’S LAST EDEN.


THE LAST DAY IN GABON

Bob marks off a notch in the tree branch for Day 39, and the final three Nobag members count off the days almost in disbelief. “I’m here on Day 39! Is that crazy? It’s insane!” Susie exclaims. The trio finds a surprise at treemail: a feast consisting of pancake batter, eggs, and mimosas. After devouring their brunch, Bob sets off to make his final invention: a fiery goodbye to the Garden of Eden. The 57 year-old self-proclaimed pyromaniac prepares to set the hut ablaze, signifying the end of the game. “I still got one more major thing to do in Gabon and that is convince the jury that my behavior, my work, my participation in this game is worth winning a million dollars over Susie and over Sugar,” says Bob. The final three watch the hut burn as they walk out to their final Tribal Council.


FINAL TRIBAL COUNCIL

The final three make their opening statements to convince the jury they are worthy of the million dollar prize. Susie’s defense is that she was not confident on Day 1, but went against incredible odds and became very confident on Day 39. Bob tells the jury that he did not outwit or outplay anybody, he simply outlasted them. He cordially thanks everyone for making the game one of the most exciting adventures of his lifetime. Sugar admits to having to lie and sacrifice some innocents, but points out that she was a free agent, having been on Exile five times in a row and on different tribes throughout the game. Jeff then directs the jury to ask their questions to the final three. They unleash harsh criticism and name-calling to the final three, which comes to a head when Corinne expresses her hatred for Sugar’s mentions of her recently deceased father. Randy attacks Sugar for laughing at him when he played the fake immunity idol. Bob apologizes for his actions, but Sugar refuses to budge on the matter. With that, the jury casts their votes, and with four out of the seven votes, Bob Crowley, the 58 year-old physics teacher from Portland, Maine becomes the Sole Survivor, winning the million dollar prize of SURVIVOR: GABON: EARTH’S LAST EDEN.


QUICK Info about the Sole Survivor Gabon, BOB:


Robert Crowley: Hometown: Portland, MaineOccupation: Physics Teacher

Robert Crowley considers himself a hybrid of Indiana Jones and Robinson Crusoe. He loves the outdoors and is always ready for his next adventure.
Robert is a high school physics teacher in Gorham, Maine and holds both Associate and Bachelor degrees in forestry from the University of Maine - Orono and a Masters of Education degree from the University of Southern Maine. However, after the school bell rings, Robert becomes an entrepreneur. His wide range of jobs span from being a first mate on a research boat for the Smithsonian Institution in Canada to an entomologist for the USDA, to a skunk relocater, as well as President, Vice President and Chief Negotiator for his local Teacher's Union.
When not on an adventure, Robert interests include journal writing, story telling, photography, bone collecting, archeology and camping.
This tree climbing scientist, who describes himself as honest, adventurous, resourceful and witty, built his truly "green" summer cabin back when green was only referred to as the color. His "green" cabin was completely built with recycled material and requires a fraction of the energy of the average U.S. home. He's built numerous structures from recycled material including wharfs, saunas, a chicken house and a hunting cabin.
Robert strategy is to be a provider and to fly under the radar on SURVIVOR. He's out to prove that nice guys can make it to the end of the game.
Robert and his wife Peggy reside in Portland, Maine. They have two sons, David and John, one daughter, Page, and a high maintenance cat named William. Robert's birth date is February 25, 1951.

CONGRATULATIONS Bob! Cheers!

xoxo


In the wake of Randy’s blindside at Tribal Council, things heat up as the Nobag Tribe returns to camp. Bob immediately becomes agitated with Sugar for immaturely laughing hysterically at Randy after he played the fake immunity idol. He expresses his sorrow for lying to Randy, but scolds Sugar for taking things too far by humiliating him in front of everyone. Corinne joins the argument, calling Sugar a hypocrite for judging her when it is Sugar that should be judged. Sugar retaliates by stating that Corrine is guilty of constantly talking about people behind their back. The two erupt in an aggressive shouting match until Corinne bites her tongue. “I am now in a camp of mutants, none of whom I like,” she says. “So it is very difficult for me to pretend to be nice to them. That’s not something I’m used to and that’s done.” CATCH OF THE DAY The next morning, as Bob teaches Ken how to fish, the two pull up a giant catfish out of the net. They proudly bring it back to camp and show it off to their tribemates. Ken boasts on his latest catch of the day. Sugar points out how creative Bob can be as he hammers away at metal can to flatten out into a baking dish. Ken describes his feelings on Bob’s strategy: “Well Bob doesn’t look out for himself. He doesn’t know how to play this game at all. He’s just here to build things, and that’s stupid, you know? You know he’s taught me a lot out here, but as far as playing the game, he’s not very good at it, so I don’t mind getting rid of Bob.” REWARD CHALLENGE: NOW OR NEVER The Nobag Tribe members arrive on their mats as host Jeff Probst explains the rules of the challenge. The tribe will divide into two teams of three. The teams will then race out into the swamp, tethered together, to retrieve sprocket-shaped puzzle pieces. Once they’ve collected all seven pieces, they must then arrange the pieces so they work together allowing them to raise a flag. The first team of three to raise their flag moves on to the final round where they will square off against each other to solve a slide puzzle. The first person to solve the slide puzzle wins reward. Before the competition commences, Jeff brings everyone to tears when he passes around a Samsung Instinct phone by Sprint that includes video messages from their loved ones. After everyone has seen their heartfelt messages, Jeff reveals that the winner of the challenge will receive pizza, beer, brownies and the opportunity to watch their loved ones’ message in its entirety. Everyone draws stones for team captains and Crystal and Susie are the winners. Crystal picks Sugar and Bob, and Susie picks Matty and Ken. To her disappointment, Corinne is not chosen, and must sit out of the challenge. Both teams dash out into the swamp, making their way to the puzzle pieces. Crystal, Sugar and Bob are the first to make it, with Matty, Susie and Ken right behind. Both teams head out to retrieve their second set of sprocket pieces. Ken, Susie and Matty make it first, with Crystal, Sugar and Bob lagging behind. Ken, Susie and Matty extend their lead, and are the first ones to make it back to their final station. Crystal, Sugar and Bob finally grab their second set of sprocket pieces and make it to their final station. Matty, Susie, and Ken struggle to put together their sprocket pieces, and are defeated by Crystal, Sugar and Bob, who were quickly able to assemble their sprocket pieces and raise their flag. In the final round, Crystal, Sugar and Bob race to solve the slide puzzle. Bob solves the puzzle almost immediately, winning the reward. BOB’S REWARD In a remote picnic area, Bob sits on a bench and views the entire video phone message from his wife, Peggy. In the message, Peggy tells Bob that she wants to show him something and steps away off camera. Bob stares intently at the phone, pondering what she wanted to show him, as Peggy herself sneaks up behind Bob and surprises him. The two lovebirds embrace and erupt in uncontrollable laughter. Peggy comments on the food Bob won, and he jokingly offers her termites to eat. “I was completely convinced, as was everybody else, that the loved ones sent a video,” Bob admits. A SPECIAL VISIT The Nobag Tribe screams in shock as Bob and his wife, Peggy, stroll into camp. Bob introduces everyone to Peggy, and then whistles loudly. Suddenly, everyone else’s family members appear from around the corner and greet their fellow castaways. Soon everyone is weeping as they embrace with their loved ones. Corinne reflects on how she felt when her brother, Chad, arrived at camp. “Seeing my brother and seeing somebody who loves me and who knows me and who gets my sense of humor and who knows how mean I am and loves it was such a cool…like, I was overcome with emotion.” After the initial greeting, the castaways and their loved ones scatter. Ken spills the beans with his sister, Jenny, telling her that he is the mastermind in the game, and boasts about orchestrating five recent blindsides. At the dock, Sugar and her sister, Rena, scatter some of their Dad’s ashes across the lake as Sugar pays her respects. “I didn’t speak at his funeral because I was a big mess, so it felt good to say a few words because I really needed him here and I feel like he’s, I already felt like he was here but, I feel like, um, I brought him to Africa and he got to stay.” Matty escorts his girlfriend, Jamie, down to the dock, where they hold each other and take in the beautiful scenery of Gabon. Matty gets down on one knee and asks Jamie to marry him, and gives her a necklace that he made for her while at camp. She immediately shouts, “Yes!” and the two tearfully confess their love for each other. At the end of the day, the loved ones say their goodbyes and depart from camp. THE DEVIOUS INVENTOR STRIKES BACK The next day, Corinne and Bob separate from the others as they get treemail. Bob suggests that this would be the perfect time to blindside Matty if he were to lose at the next immunity challenge. Back at camp, Sugar instills confidence in her fivesome alliance by stating the obvious fact that either Bob or Corinne should be voted out next. In the meantime, at treemail, Bob tells Corinne that during the tribe switch feast, when Marcus and Randy threw the immunity idol into the ocean, Marcus actually kept the idol for himself and hid it around camp and showed Bob where it was. Bob then holds out something wrapped in cloth, and Corinne asks if it is a legit idol. Bob laughs and tells her that it is not, but uses that story as his pitch to improve their positions in the game by fooling the fivesome alliance. Bob’s plan is to instill fear into the others so that they will think twice before voting either of them out. Corinne points out that in order for the plan to work, one of them must win immunity at the upcoming challenge. IMMUNITY CHALLENGE: Q&A, BOMBS AWAY The Nobag Tribe arrives on their mat as host Jeff Probst explains the challenge. He will ask questions about Gabon. Each tribe member will receive one ball for each correct answer. They will then takes turns throwing their balls over a cliff toward a target divided by zones. The person who lands their ball closest to the center wins immunity. Jeff asks four questions about Gabon, and the castaways each take their best shot at answering them using their answer cubes. In the end, Sugar winds up leading with four balls, followed by Bob and Corinne, each with three balls, Ken and Matty with two balls, and Susie and Crystal with only one ball each. In the ball-throwing half of the challenge, Ken sets the first mark to beat, sixth zone from the center. Matty beats that by getting his ball into the fourth zone from the center. Sugar, Susie, and Corinne attempt to beat Matty’s mark, but are unsuccessful. With his first toss, Bob beats Matty by getting into the third zone from the center. Crystal, Ken, Matty, Sugar and Corinne are unable to beat Bob’s mark. Bob is up again, and is able to improve his mark by rolling his ball into the zone adjacent to the center. Corinne, Bob and Sugar all make attempts to beat the new high score. In the end, Sugar is the only one to come close, but fails at setting a higher mark. Bob wins immunity, thereby executing the first crucial step to his devious plan for keeping himself and Corinne in the game. THE IDOL CONSPIRACY After winning the immunity challenge, Bob brings Corinne into the jungle to work out the logistics of their plan to fool the other five Nobag members into thinking that they are in possession of a legitimate immunity idol. Corinne proposes that Bob puts out hints around camp that Corinne will use this idol at Tribal Council so that after hearing this, the other tribe members will not cast any votes against her. Their ultimate goal is to blindside Matty. Corinne executes her plan by manipulating Ken into thinking she has the idol that Marcus supposedly threw into the ocean. Ken buys it, and discusses taking out Matty. Bob asks Ken to bring Crystal into their alliance, and soon things are in motion. Bob gets to work constructing his second fake immunity idol. He then shows this idol to Crystal, who is shocked by Bob’s story about the idol. Ken conspires with Crystal to vote for Corinne in order to flush out the idol, and use their other three votes from Ken, Bob and Corinne to vote for Matty. Ken’s hope is that when Corinne uses the idol, it will flush it out and send Matty home. TRIBAL COUNCIL At Tribal Council, paranoia sets in for Corinne and Bob as they admit to being on the outs. When asked if she is paranoid, Sugar smugly claims that her only hope is that her alliance does not get duped by believing lies. Ken reveals that the vote tonight is very important, and that several people are going to be shocked, asking who voted for whom. In the end, Corinne does not play the fake idol as Ken expected, sending Corinne home instead of Matty.


With four out of the seven votes cast against her, Corinne Kaplan, the 29 year-old sales rep from Los Angeles, California, became the twelfth person voted out and fourth member of the jury of SURVIVOR: GABON: EARTH’S LAST EDEN.



PS: Samsung Instinct by Sprint was featured. Cool. Congratulations Bob.

Yeah. I know. I don't want to change my template but every time I view my blog I can't breath! hahaha! Edward is just staring! Hungry! Am I scared? No. I want him to bite me like he did to Bella & Tyra Banks! hahaha! The fact that Twilight fever won't ever stop. There's no way. Well, its a new month & I guess a new template for my blog. There's nothing wrong about it. What's the big deal? lol

I'm just talking weird & lousy here. Just talking.

xoxo

With both Taylor Swift and Britney Spears releasing new albums, it's time we thought about teen idols, doncha think? Who doesn't love a teen idol? After all, they're so young! And as we age and slowly become decrepit, we look back at our youth and wonder at the innocence of it all. For the most part, I tried to stick with performers who were actual teenagers when they inspired their peers. However, Davy Jones was clearly a bit older when he swooned Marcia Brady's heart and he is the very definition of a teen idol, as was David Cassidy. These days, we're much better at making sure our teen idols are teenagers. Or at least were teenagers. Funny thing is they eventually grow up--like Britney. And develop into fine, fine citizens of the world. Or not. Anyhow ranking them seems a little silly. I know from past experience that many of you dear readers will complain about someone's position on the list. I sympathize. If I woke up tomorrow to do this ranking system it would come out differently. There are no hard, fast rules here. Just me typing a name out and thinking that it looks nice in that spot. Or someone's got to be cut from this list. And since most of the people appearing on this list didn't get back to me about some "bonus" issues, well, we'll just let karma and fate and my accountant settle things once and for all. No matter how you feel about these people, please remember to brush your teeth at least twice a day and stay away from those sugary snacks. Wheat Thins are in! And careful with that cellphone. Who knows if it really causes brain cancer? I'd hate to be on the wrong side of that argument. Which is why I prefer the U.S. Mail. Write a letter to your friends instead.

25) 98 Degrees: I remember when a friend of mine was telling me about these guys. His daughters were really into them. But he kept calling them 38 Degrees and I kept wondering what was the significance of being six degrees above freezing.


24) Tiffany: We just featured Tiff in our "Where Are They Now?" column and she's still out there remaking herself as a danceclub diva. But back in the 1980s she was the girl next door singing at the mall, raking in the money and making you wonder why your band couldn't get that gig. After all, you didn't need Tommy James covers, you'd written an entire concept album called The Mind Of Walter.

23) Brandy: I went looking to find out more about this wonderful singer and came across this information: "She is the sister of singer and actor William Raymond Norwood and a cousin of blues singer Bo Diddley and rapper Snoop Dogg." Is this true? If so, is everyone in the music business related? I've heard we're each other's brother and sister, but this is taking things too far.



22) New Kids On The Block: These kids were huge in their day and these days they can't even get a reality TV show, can they? I'm told they released a new album this year. Did anyone notice? I'm told the album debuted at #1 on the charts and has gone Gold. But who bought it? Teens? Fully grown adults who remember them back when? Who are these people?

21) Frankie Lymon: His life was tragic. "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" guaranteed him success and then his voice changed and the people who managed him weren't very good to him and he was introduced to heroin and he died of an overdose at 25. Sometimes success isn't exactly success. Hey, Artie Lange, keep an eye on yourself (we went to high school together, this is true!)

20) Shaun Cassidy: His amazing version of "Da Doo Ron Ron" remains one of pop music's all-time classics and certainly everyone should own a copy. If you don't, do not pass Go, do not collect $200 and go directly to jail!

19) Debbie Gibson: Deborah to us now. And recently featured in my "Where Are They Now?" column. She was the cleanest, most wholesome of the lot and then she poses in Playboy to shatter our image of her and to promote an album called Naked. You expect certain folks to do these things, but not our Little Debbie! (Great snack food, too.)



18) Ricky Nelson: From The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet to more than 50 Top 100 Hits to "Garden Party" to siring two sons who would go on to ‘80s rock fame as Nelson, Ricky had done it all. He set the standard for others and yet never quite got the respect that many other less successful artists received. He should've filed a petition!

17) ‘N Sync: I guess any band with Justin Timberlake and Lance Bass should be considered a "Supergroup" of sorts. I mean, even I've heard of them and I wouldn't know these guys from Backstreet Boys, who I'm ranking higher because they have a better name, or 98 Degrees, who I ranked lower because of their lamer name. It's not an exact science, folks.



16) LeAnn Rimes: It's a shame she grew up because she made a great teenager. But we all knew it was bound to happen. We saw it happen with Alyssa Milano. So there was previous proof. She's currently 26! And she continues to have success--proving she wasn't just some teen flash-in-the-pan, but a force of a nature.

15) Silverchair: I've already been taken to task for not realizing that these guys still had a career going after their first initial success. Damn. I should've known something was up when I saw they worked with Van Dyke Parks. That's not someone you call upon when you want a hit. That's who you call when you want prestige and to sell no records whatsoever. Unless you're the Beach Boys, then you call him because you want to get weird--and annoy Mike Love.

14) Hanson: Who didn't think these guys were the best? They always looked uncomfortable and awkward and you figured the little drummer boy in the back would eventually become a terror. They had to know that "MmmBop" wasn't going to help them be taken seriously. Catchy tune. Big hit. But it's kind of like farting on your first date. Everyone remembers, but not everyone is impressed.

13) Backstreet Boys: Given the 13th position strictly because I like their name. They've sold over 120 million albums but not one of them to me or anyone I know and I assume that most of those albums--CDs?--are now sitting in a landfill somewhere alongside my old computer and my Atari 2600. Damn, I miss that thing.





12) Jonas Brothers: I've been to Wyckoff, New Jersey, so there's a chance that I once ran into these guys when they were little tykes probably trying to run me over with their tricycles. These days, they could buy and sell me. I just hope these talented young men are putting away their money into smart, retirement plans because even though right now the horrors of old age may seem to be in the distant future it will come sooner than they think. But, hey, for now, let's celebrate!

11) Taylor Swift: Maybe Joe Jonas can dump her in 27 seconds on the phone, but just for that we're putting her one spot ahead of those guys--to teach them a lesson! We here at List Of The Day will not stand for guys breaking up with girls over the phone. That's what the mail is for!

10) Menudo: What I liked about this group was how you got kicked out after you got too old. It didn't matter what you had contributed, it was time to move on. Imagine if we could do that to all those old, senile high school teachers who keep reading from the same yellowed notes year after year. Or to the mail delivery person who no longer can remember which box is which and keeps giving my mail to the neighbors. Forced retirement at age 17 might seem a bit extreme, but reality burns sometimes.

9) Donny And Marie: She was a little bit country and he was a little bit rock n' roll, and we do mean a little bit. These two had their own variety show that if I remember correctly was on Friday nights, which served as a reminder that you were HOME on a Friday night. They had so many teeth there should've been a dental inquiry.

8) Lulu: I'm including her because of her name. It's a great one. And she was a teen star. And I'm figuring about 3 per cent of my reading public remember her. And the rest will just ignore this entry and move on to the one about Michael Jackson or maybe Avril. Our attention spans are like that.

7) Tanya Tucker: These days young ones are so much more commonplace but back in the 1970s, it was always as if they had "blue laws" stopping youth from happening. Tanya took over the country world with "Delta Dawn" at 13 and "Would You Lay With Me (In A Field Of Stone)" was among her hits that caused people to raise their eyebrows and wonder where the world was headed. They would've shuddered to learn about Gangsta Rap, that's for sure.

6) Michael Jackson: Michael wasn't even a teen when he started his career. He had so much of a head start on everyone else it practically wasn't fair. That it turned out he had actual talent must've been a surprise to everyone. I mean, when a kid is nine, you can't map out what he'll be doing at 20 or 30. Weathermen can't even figure out what's going to happen in three days!

5) David Cassidy: Another one of these guys who was a little old by today's standards. But he had that show--The Partridge Family--and maybe he wasn't always crazy about performing on the show but I'm pretty sure Willie Aames would've killed for the opportunity to perform regularly, as his band only got to perform once on Eight Is Enough, which was a show that starred Dick Van Patten, an absolutely legend here at Y! Music.

4) Avril LaVigne: She made skater kids go mainstream and took the punk she found at the mall and went for it. I don't imagine she'll ever be teaming up with the guys from Fear or Black Flag, but then who knows? Weirder things have happened. And often do--if you live long enough.

3) Miley Cyrus: I can't get over how much more teenager is left in this girl. It seems like she's been popular forever. I can barely remember a world where she wasn't dominating the lunch box market. But then I can barely remember where I put my shoes.

2) Britney Spears: Her songs have always been catchy. Which when you're performing pop music really helps. And she's been controversial, which when you're performing pop music really helps. And she likes attention, which when you're performing pop music really helps. And we here at Y! Music really like her too, which when you're performing pop music really helps.

1) Davy Jones: This is where my own bias has to show. It's impossible to really determine a #1. So, considering his A-1 performance of "Girl" on The Brady Bunch and his agreement to attend the prom with Marcia, well, what a swell guy. He did attend the prom with her, didn't he?




Number 13, not bad. That's my birth number, birthdate, its my number! Way to go Boys!