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It's A Brand New year

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, the holidays are always a bit time consuming for me and my family. Wishing you all a Happy New Year! Did you get what you wanted, or was that special something just what you needed?

Post some comments and let me know how your Christmas and New Years was.

I'll be back fresh again in a few days. Until then,

Shawn

The Duggar Family welcomes a new addition

ROGERS, Ark. – An Arkansas woman has given birth to her 18th child. Michelle Duggar delivered the baby girl by Caesarean section Thursday at Mercy Medical Center in Rogers. The baby, named Jordyn-Grace Makiya Duggar, weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and was 20 inches long.

"The ultimate Christmas gift from God," said Jim Bob Duggar, the father of the 18 children. "She's just absolutely beautiful, like her mom and her sisters."

The Duggars now have 10 sons and eight daughters.

Jim Bob Duggar said Michelle started having contractions Wednesday night. She needed the C-section, her third, because the baby was lying sideways. Jim Bob said both baby and mother were doing well Thursday night.

"We both would love to have more," he said.

The cable network TLC broadcasts a weekly show about the Duggars, called "17 Kids and Counting." Chris Finnegan of TLC — which handles public relations for the Duggar family — said the show's name would be updated to account for the latest addition to the family. He said TLC also will air a show Monday on the baby's delivery.

Jim Bob Duggar is 43, a year older than his wife. Their oldest child, Joshua, is 20.

The other Duggar children, in between Joshua and Jordyn-Grace, are Jana, 18; John-David, 18; Jill, 17; Jessa, 16; Jinger, 14; Joseph, 13; Josiah, 12; Joy-Anna, 11; Jeremiah, 9; Jedidiah, 9; Jason, 8; James, 7; Justin, 6; Jackson, 4; Johannah, 3; and Jennifer, 1.

"Our whole family is excited about Jordyn's addition to our family," Jim Bob Duggar said. "She's just perfect in every way."

Top 10 Christmas Toys for 2008

Well, here it is. Every year, consumers try to get that toy for their kids that for some reason, can't be found on retailers shelves. Things like "Tickle Me Elmo" or the Playstation 3 that caused such trauma as any one can remember in years past. Well, this year proves to be no different. So , get ready to fight your way into the retailers isles and make sure you have a full tank of gas for those multiple trips around town. Proving that what you found on-line is only worth a second of truth once you arrive at that "in-stock" location. So here they are: The top 10 toys of Christmas. (In no particular order)

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Published by the Toy Retailers Association

Baby Born With Magic potty
This cute little baby has 8 life like functions, she drinks from her bottle, eats special food, needs her nappy changed, cries real tears, uses her potty and even moves her limbs.

Bakugan Starter Pack
These very cool collectable toys will activate when rolled over a metallic card, a little like pokemon cards but with alot more interactivity.

Ben 10 Omnitrix Watch
This watch allows your child to dial the evil aliens from the Ben 10 tv program

Catch Beast
This toy is a massive hit in Japan selling over 1.5million units, this is because this truly genious game allows you to hunt for invisble beasts who live all around your house, simply use the fishing rod like toy to find those beasts and then reel them in when you catch them.

Gourmet Cupcake Maker
This fabulous little gift will allow your children to make and decorate their own cupcakes, this fantastic set contains 4 flavored cupcake mixes, 4 frosting mixes, 1 tube of sprinkles, 1 mixing bowl, 1 spoon/spreader, 4 multi-designed cupcake cups, 1 cupcake cup holder and 2 recipe cards.

Elmo Live
Elmo is back with some new features and completely new technology, Elmo Live can sing, dance, tell stories & even jokes. This truly interactive toy is very expressive watch as he tells stories he will wave his hands, giggle & even blink.

FurReal Biscuit My Lovin pup
FurReal friends have done it again, this time they hace created a life size interactive golden retriever that doesnt leave any mess. This cuddly robot pet dog is as close to the real thing as you can get, clap the dog behind his ears, or on his back and he will wag his tail in delight, Biscuit also blinks moves his head and chomps on his bone

Dance with me Teletubbies!
Eh Oh! the Teletubbies are back, but this time they dance. The teletubbies have two dancing modes: dance with me mode and musical statues mode, join in a game of musical statues with Tinky Winky, Dipsy, La La & Po.

On a side note, there was another list I came across while searching for the top 10 toys for Christmas. It is as follows:

1. Biscuit, My Fun Lovin' Pup from Hasbro

2. Speed Racer Sky Jump Track Set from Hot Wheels

3. Pacific EyeClops Night Vision from Jakks Pacific

4. Elmo Live from Fisher-Price

5. Tag Reading System LeapFrog

6. Kid-Tough Digital Camera from Fisher-Price

7. Kota the Triceratops from Playskool

8. Lazer Tag 2-in-1 System from Hasbro

9. Anything Hannah Montana

10. Giddyup N' Go Pony from Little Tikes

Taylor Swift Gets Zip—and Other Grammy Surprises

Los Angeles (E! Online) – John Mayer has a reason to get a date (like he needs one). Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus have a shared reason to grouse. Jennifer Hudson has a reason to smile.

We've outlined the top Grammy nominations. Now we're going to sort through all the Grammy nominations—the noteworthy, the weird, and, yes, the snubs. Here goes:

• Mayer earned his annual ticket to the Grammy party with five nominations, including one for his non-euphemistic duet with Alicia Keys ("Lesson Learned," up for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals), and one for his artistic contribution to The Bucket List ("Say," up for best song written for a movie). • Swift cohosted the "nominations concert," watched ex-Joe Jonas and his brothers score a Best New Artist nod—and got nothing. Not a single nomination. (Her just-released album Fearless wasn't eligible, but some of her earlier released songs were.)

• Like fellow teen Swift, Cyrus didn't rate any nods for her Breakout hits. • One day after her estranged brother-in-law was charged with killing three members of her family, Hudson notched three nominations, including one for her Best R&B Album for her self-titled debut. • Hudson's success helped make for a solid Grammys for American Idol. Fellow alums Jordin Sparks, Fantasia (who dueted with Hudson) and award-favorite Carrie Underwood also represented. Which is good for the show since the likes of Blake Lewis didn't.

• Tia Carrere—yes, that Tia Carrere—scored as many nominations as Mariah Carey, who can be thankful that the Best Gospel Performance category—she's up for a group sing-along—saved her from getting zip. (Carrere, the former Wayne's World vixen, is up for Best Hawaiian Music Album for her collaboration with Daniel Ho.) • Simon Cowell endorsement or no, Leona Lewis, up for three Grammys overall, failed to crack the Best New Artist field. • Where was Robin Thicke's name? Listed in the fine print of Lil Wayne's Album of the Year nomination. Thicke was one of the producers and mastering engineers. He received no other nominations. • At a combined 126 years old, Paul McCartney and James Taylor are this year's Tony Bennetts in the Male Pop Vocal category.

• At 50 years old, Madonna is still the Madonna of the Best Dance Recording category. She's also up for her collaboration, "4 Minutes," with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. • One last age thing: Mayer is the only under-40 nominee for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance. • Kylie Minogue and Cyndi Lauper are both up for Best 1980s Survivor Electronic/Dance Album.

• Wayne Brady did not forget the lyrics to "A Change Is Gonna Come," up for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.

Wal-Mart Employee Trampled to Death by Customers

Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- A worker at a Wal-Mart in New York City’s Long Island suburbs was killed when a throng of shoppers broke down the doors to the store early this morning and knocked him to the ground.

The event involved a temporary employee and was “a tragic situation,” Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s biggest retailer, said in a statement. “The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if any shoppers or workers have been killed during similar incidents during sales on the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally known as Black Friday.

“We do not know of an incident such as what happened today,” Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman for the Washington-based National Retail Federation, said in an e-mail. “It is a horribly tragic situation. Retailers are reminded of the importance of employee safety.”

At least four shoppers were hurt in the melee at the store in the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, about 13 miles (20 kilometers) east of New York City, Nassau County Police said in a statement. The injured include a 28-year-old pregnant woman who was taken to a nearby hospital for observation and three people who suffered minor wounds, police said.

The 34-year-old worker, who wasn’t identified by police, was knocked down by the crowd shortly after 5 a.m. local time and taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:03 a.m., the police said. The county medical examiner will determine the cause of death.

Temporary Employee

The man was working for a temporary agency on the company’s behalf, Wal-Mart said in the statement.

About 2,000 people had gathered outside the store as it prepared to open, Newsday reported, citing police Detective Lieutenant Michael Fleming, who spoke at a briefing. Shoppers in the back of the line pushed those in the front into the doors, which then came off their hinges, the newspaper said.

Hundreds of people then surged into the store, knocking over the worker and trampling him, Newsday said, citing Fleming. Authorities are reviewing surveillance video and are considering criminal charges although it may be difficult to identify individual shoppers, the newspaper said.

Some people continued to shop despite the efforts of upset store workers, who attempted to get them to leave, Newsday said, citing Kimberly Cribbs, a shopper from Far Rockaway.

Store Closed

The store was later closed by police, said Carolyn Kasdorf, a department spokeswoman.

U.S. retailers including Wal-Mart opened their doors as early as midnight and discounted merchandise as much as 70 percent on the day after Thanksgiving to counter what may be the weakest holiday shopping season in six years.

Retailers promoted “doorbuster” deals to attract customers on Black Friday, so named because the day after Thanksgiving was said to be when retailers started to make their annual profit, having paid off their costs from sales earlier in the year.

The Valley Stream store was offering discounted merchandise including a $128 Magnavox DVD player, a $97 Garmin GPS navigation system and a $69 Samsung digital camera, according to a promotional flyer posted on Wal-Mart’s Web site.

Axl Rose Accuses Dr Pepper of Malpractice

Los Angeles (E! Online) – All is fair in Chinese Democracy, except when the citizens are denied the opportunity to drink what the Dr ordered.

Axl Rose, wholely mum when Dr Pepper announced that it would bestow a free 20-ounce bottle to all Americans when Guns N' Roses' years-in-the-making album finally dropped, is taking the company to task via his attorney after learning that not all customers were served.

The soft-drink slinger had arranged to bestow online coupons to any thirsty freebie-seeker who visited its website on Nov. 23, but the site crashed due to...well, high traffic brought on by people's insatiable desire for free stuff.

The promotion was extended for another day, but the site was unreachable for most of it, per Rose.

And despite what surely is Rose's sympathy for those who have trouble meeting customer demand, his lawyer is calling the attention-getting ploy an "unmitigated disaster which defrauded customers."

In a letter to Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc, Beverly Hills-based Alan Gutman demanded that the company extend the promotion and place full-page apologies in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

Calling the campaign an "exploitation of my clients' legendary reputation and their eagerly awaited album, Gutman wrote that "mocking undertones" in the Dr Pepper promotion made for a "raw and damaging commercial exploitation of our clients' rights," which was then made even worse by the "shoddy execution of your disingenuous giveaway offer."

Oh, and the band would like some money now, too.

Threatening further legal action if no reparations are made, Gutman requests "appropriate payment...for the unauthorized use and abuse of their publicity and intellectual property rights."

UPDATE: In a statement to E! News, a Dr Pepper rep says: "For us, this was a fun giveaway that has always been about the fans, and we've taken great steps to fulfill it, including:

• extending the window for the giveaway from 24 to 42 hours • Adding a toll-free line to handle consumer requests for the coupons • Setting up an interactive voice recorder to accept coupon requests This was one of the largest responses we have ever received for a giveaway, and we're happy we were able to satisfy the thirst of so many Dr Pepper fans."