Punk gets rocked at the WWE Elimination Chamber: Rock is Champ!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img alt="Former MMA competitor and professional wrestler, Carter Lee, breaks down the Rocks victory at WWE's Elimination Chamber. " src="http://media.washtimes.com/media/community/viewpoint/entry/2013/02/18/rock1_s640x427.jpg?73b8e21685896c3f2859310aaa5adb253919b641" /><br /><br /><div id="mainimage" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="small caption" style="font-size: 11px;">Photo: WWE.com The Rock victorious at Elimination Chamber</span></div><div class="full left byline mb mt" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 5px; color: #666666; float: left; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 3px 0px; width: 1060px;">Monday, February 18, 2013 - <a href="http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/behind-links-mixed-martial-arts-mma/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Behind the Links of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)</a> by <a href="http://communities.washingtontimes.com/staff/carter-lee/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;">Carter Lee</a></div><div class="full left byline mb mt" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 5px; color: #666666; float: left; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 3px 0px; width: 1060px;"><div style="color: black; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;"><strong>HOUSTON,</strong> February 18, 2013 — On January 27, 2013, The Rock returned to the squared circle and defeated CM Punk to win the WWE Championship for the eighth time and for the first time since 2002. The two had their rematch last night at the WWE pay-per-view, Elimination Chamber, live from the New Orleans Arena, in New Orleans, LA.</div><div style="color: black; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">The first time these two combatants met, it was a good match but not a great one. What made it exciting was the history that it presented. The Rock returned to the title scene after a decade-plus hiatus, and CM Punk held the Championship for 434 days. Lacking was continuity and chemistry between the two competitors. This rematch was much better than their former contest, and the best we are going to get out of these two competing together.</div><div style="color: black; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">This was one of those matches where the crowd significantly added to the atmosphere, split down the middle; one could hear a “let’s go Rocky” chant immediately followed by a “CM Punk” chant.</div><div style="color: black; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">The match was a seesaw battle leading up to the climax of the main event. Punk was able to deliver his trademark finisher, the GTS (Go to Sleep), and pinned Rock for a certain three count; but there was no ref to count the three mark and make it official. The referee was injured a few moments earlier and was sent flailing to the outside of the ring after he got caught between Punk and Rocky.</div><div style="color: black; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">The two continued to battle, both competitors taking their turn of near falls but missing the three count by milliseconds.  Each time, the rival would kick out of the others attempt at victory. In the end, Punk got rocked; the Rock caught CM Punk with the Rock Bottom, slamming Punk to the mat. Rocky pinned the former champion for the victory and retained the WWE Championship.</div><div style="color: black; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">Between becoming the Champion, and the anticipated upcoming release of his sure to be hilt film <em style="font-style: oblique;">GI Joe: Retaliation </em>(co-starring Bruce Willis), The Rock has been on fire and has received great media attention. The road of success continues for the Brahma Bull as he is now set to headline Wrestlemania 29, and will defend the Championship against number one contender, John Cena. Minus the Championship being in play, this is a rematch from last year’s Wrestlemania, where the Rock defeated Cena. That match is five weeks away, leaving fans salivating for the match. As for last night; Rocky has millions, <em style="font-style: oblique;">upon millions</em> of fans asking yet again; <em style="font-style: oblique;">do you smell what the Rock is cooking?</em></div><div class="mce_image_container" style="background-color: #efefef; border: 1px solid rgb(235, 235, 235); color: black; float: left; margin: 10px; padding: 3px; width: 272px;"><a href="http://communities.washingtontimes.com/multimedia/image/wrestlemaniajpg/" style="color: #164a6e; padding: 2px 2px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://media.washtimes.com/media/community/image/2013/02/18/wrestlemania_t268.jpg?7f6c82c4e3ebc52dbf2e980dcc8631719b6d5f11" style="border: 0px;" width="268" /></a><div class="mce_image_caption" style="background-color: #ebebeb; clear: both; font-size: 10px; line-height: 18px; padding: 3px 0px; text-align: center; width: 272px;">Wrestlemania promo photo via: Associated Press</div></div><div style="color: black; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Full Card Results</span></strong></div><div style="color: black; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">Alberto Del Rio defeated the Big Show to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.</div><div style="color: black; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">Antonio Cesaro defeated the Miz via disqualification to retain the United States Championship.</div><div style="color: black; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">Jack Swagger won the Elimination Chamber match, making him the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio at Wrestlemania 29.</div><div style="color: black; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">The Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins) defeated Ryback, John Cena and Sheamus.</div><div style="color: black; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">Dolph Ziggler defeated Kofi Kingston.</div><div style="color: black; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">Kaitlyn defeated Tamina Snuka to retain the WWE Divas Championship.</div><span style="color: black;"><br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></div>

WWE Punk gets rocked at the WWE Elimination Chamber: Rock is Champ!

Photo: WWE.com The Rock victorious at Elimination Chamber Monday, February 18, 2013 -  Behind the Links of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)  by  Car...

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10 best plays from NBA All-Star Game (VIDEOS)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="asset-metabar-wrap" style="clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 20px 0px 23px 70px;"><div class="asset-metabar" itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid rgb(230, 230, 230); display: table-cell; margin: 20px 0px 0px; width: 888px;"><div class="asset-metabar-ribbon asset-metabar-ribbon-sports" style="background-position: -72px -42px; float: left; min-width: 90px; width: auto; z-index: 100;"><h4 class="asset-metabar-ribbon-title asset-metabar-ribbon-title-sports" style="background-color: #eb1e00; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4) 1px 1px 2px; color: white; font-family: 'Futura Today Bold', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; height: 12px; line-height: 11px; margin: 2px 0px 0px -3px; padding: 6px 10px; text-transform: uppercase;"><a class="asset-metabar-ribbon-link" href="http://www.usatoday.com/blog/gameon/" style="color: white; text-decoration: none;">GAME ON!</a></h4></div><span class="asset-metabar-author asset-metabar-item" itemprop="name" style="float: left; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 14px; margin: 6px 0px 5px; padding: 2px 10px; position: relative;">Adi Joseph, USA TODAY Sports</span><span class="asset-metabar-time asset-metabar-item " style="border-left-color: rgb(225, 225, 225); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; color: #999999; float: left; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 14px; margin: 6px 0px 5px; padding: 2px 10px; position: relative;">3:17a.m. EST February 18, 2013</span></div></div><div class="asset-double-wide double-wide" itemprop="articleBody" role="main" style="color: #222222; float: left; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative; width: 600px;"><div class="article-metadata-wrap" style="float: left; height: auto; margin: 0px 30px 0px 60px; position: relative;"><div class="article-metadata" style="position: relative;"></div></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Forget Saturday's slam dunk contest. The NBA All-Star Game was where the highlights lived.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Sunday's game was a showcase for dunks, passing and ball-handling, with Chris Paul and LeBron James leading the way. The <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/allstar/2013/02/17/chris-paul-kevin-durant-all-star-game/1927287/" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/allstar/2013/02/17/chris-paul-kevin-durant-all-star-game/1927287/">Western Conference won 143-138</a> behind Paul's 20 points, 15 assists and four steals, but both sides produced highlights.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;"><b>THE BIG MOMENT: </b><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2013/02/18/kobe-bryant-lebron-james-nba-all-star-game/1927339/" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2013/02/18/kobe-bryant-lebron-james-nba-all-star-game/1927339/">Kobe shuts down LeBron in fourth quarter</a></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;"><b>GAME: </b><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/allstar/2013/02/17/chris-paul-kevin-durant-all-star-game/1927287/" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration: none;" title="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/allstar/2013/02/17/chris-paul-kevin-durant-all-star-game/1927287/">Paul leads entertaining contest as West emerges</a></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Here are our 10 favorites:</div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;"><b>L.A. confidence, y'all:</b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;"><b><br /></b></div></div></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pTfhGMHaiTs?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Paul to Kobe Bryant to Blake Griffin. If you wanted a unification of the Los Angeles NBA teams, this was it. Bryant had a big passing day, finishing with eight assists. And we all knew Griffin could fly.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;"><b>LeBron James will alley-oop forever:</b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;"><b><br /></b></div></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zZvgm3ABdk0?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">The man can jump. The first was better than the second, with him delivering a quick pass to Dwyane Wade who returns the favor in transition. But the second, on a lob from Carmelo Anthony, was almost as nasty. The lesson: Don't even bother defending James in a fast break. It won't work.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;"><b>Chris Paul will embarrass you with his handles and passing:</b></div><div class="embed" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; max-width: 560px; padding: 20px 0px 0px 60px;"><object height="315" style="max-width: 100%;" width="560"><embed wmode="transparent" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EadpXkWqd3w?hl=en_US%26version=3%26rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></object></div><div class="embed" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; max-width: 560px; padding: 20px 0px 0px 60px;"><object height="315" style="max-width: 100%;" width="560"><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A day after Bryant joked about playing with Chris Paul, he showed what they could do together. Well, Paul showed it. The stutter-stepping ball-handling is impressive enough, but then he finds Bryant streaking with no problem. Paul is a perfect fit for All-Star Games and had nine assists in the first half.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><b>Tony Parker will embarrass you with his handles, too:</b></p><div class="embed" style="max-width: 560px; padding: 20px 0px 0px 60px; "><object height="315" style="max-width: 100%; " width="560"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NHE1KB1r0sY?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></object></div><div class="clearfix"></div><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Oh, Chris Bosh. First, the Miami Heat star was strangely chosen to start the game in Rajon Rondo's place because it was Heat coach Erik Spoelstra's choice. Then he<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2013/02/17/chris-bosh-airball-miami-heat-nba-all-star-game/1926867/" title="http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2013/02/17/chris-bosh-airball-miami-heat-nba-all-star-game/1926867/" style="color: rgb(25, 144, 229); text-decoration: none; ">airballed his first shot</a>. Then Paul dribbled it between his legs. Then Tony Parker later did the same, though not quite as nastily.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><b>Big men have handles, too:</b></p><div class="embed" style="max-width: 560px; padding: 20px 0px 0px 60px; "><object height="315" style="max-width: 100%; " width="560"><embed wmode="transparent" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IR9tCLzw-hE?hl=en_US%26version=3%26rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></object></div><div class="clearfix"></div><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Joakim Noah likes to call himself a point-center, and he has the dribbling skills to merit that tag. Here, he crosses up Zach Randolph because Zach Randolph can't handle this. That's a 6-11 guy showing off that nasty crossover. It may not be Paul-level, but it's easier to dribble when you're only 6-0.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><b>Dwight Howard hit a three-pointer:</b></p><div class="embed" style="max-width: 560px; padding: 20px 0px 0px 60px; "><object height="315" style="max-width: 100%; " width="560"><embed wmode="transparent" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/84UIsz6Rtw4?hl=en_US%26version=3%26rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></object></div><div class="clearfix"></div><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">There doesn't need to be much more said about this. But <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2012/12/01/dwight-howard-three-pointer-lakers-nuggets/1738823/" title="http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2012/12/01/dwight-howard-three-pointer-lakers-nuggets/1738823/" style="color: rgb(25, 144, 229); text-decoration: none; ">here's his last three-pointer made</a>.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><b>Old friends are still friends:</b></p><div class="embed" style="max-width: 560px; padding: 20px 0px 0px 60px; "><object height="315" style="max-width: 100%; " width="560"><embed wmode="transparent" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4X-Q1LC3MB8?version=3%26hl=en_US%26rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></object></div><div class="clearfix"></div><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">James Harden and Russell Westbrook used to play together for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets. Now they don't play together. So they made up for lost time quickly when getting off the West bench, with Harden throwing a lob in late transition to Westbrook, who threw it down with authority.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><b>"That's a surprise, sneaky dunk right there":</b></p><div class="embed" style="max-width: 560px; padding: 20px 0px 0px 60px; "><object height="315" style="max-width: 100%; " width="560"><embed wmode="transparent" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/n8WYvjALwT8?version=3%26hl=en_US%26rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></object></div><div class="clearfix"></div><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">We're not sure what TNT's Reggie Miller meant with that comment, but it seems to fit Jrue Holiday's slam dunk in the first half. Holiday is a surprise, sneaky player, after all, a guy not many casual fans would name as one of the NBA's best point guards but a guy who definitely belongs in the conversation.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><b>Kevin Durant should be in the dunk contest:</b></p><div class="embed" style="max-width: 560px; padding: 20px 0px 0px 60px; "><object height="315" style="max-width: 100%; " width="560"><embed wmode="transparent" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5b-lLQLPimU?version=3%26hl=en_US%26rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></object></div><div class="clearfix"></div><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">We all know Durant is a great scorer and shooter, but don't forget about his dunking ability. Bryant found him in transition, and the results were spectacular. His reverse slam here is pretty awesome. Durant had 19 points to lead all scorers.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><b>Maybe Tyson Chandler should be, too:</b></p><div class="embed" style="max-width: 560px; padding: 20px 0px 0px 60px; "><object height="315" style="max-width: 100%; " width="560"><embed wmode="transparent" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3gZD2mULoMA?hl=en_US%26version=3%26rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></object></div><div class="clearfix"></div><p style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px; font-size: 14px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">We didn't expect this one. The Knicks center is known for his defense, and while he has thrown down many great alley-oops in his past, he's rarely regarded as an elite dunker. But he had to jump out the gym to catch this lob, and he threw it down with no problem. NBA players are good athletes.</p></object></div><div class="embed" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; max-width: 560px; padding: 20px 0px 0px 60px;"><object height="315" style="max-width: 100%;" width="560"><br></object></div></div>

Game (VIDEOS) NBA All-Star 10 best plays from NBA All-Star Game (VIDEOS)

GAME ON! Adi Joseph, USA TODAY Sports 3:17a.m. EST February 18, 2013 Forget Saturday's slam dunk contest. The NBA All-Star Game was wher...

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Downton Abbey Watch: Endings

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img alt="Downton Abbey" src="http://timeentertainment.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/970_ent_downtonabbey_0218.jpg?w=360&h=240&crop=1" /><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">Is that the sound of the <em>Downton</em> theme music, with no dog butt to welcome us in? It must be a very special two-hour episode—which is a promise that pays off in the Season 3 finale. (The episode aired in the U.K. as the 2012 Christmas Special.) “Special” means a lot happens and <strong>spoilers follow here. </strong></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">Seriously, you’ll have to wait months and months for another new episode after this one, so don’t you want to watch it before you read?<strong> Again: Spoilers. Big ones.</strong></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">So, a year has passed, as years tend to do at Downton. The family is headed up to <a href="http://topics.time.com/scotland/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Scotland</a> for a ten-day journey to the Highlands, via the cutest train ever, to visit the Flintshires, Cousin Shrimpy and Susan and Rose. There’s a new maid with a glint in her eye, Jimmy and Thomas coexist in an uneasy truce, and—<em>drumroll, please</em>—Mary is eight months pregnant.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">The Flintshires’ home, Duneagle Castle, is a straight-up Cinderella dealio, but clearly all is not well between Shrimpy and Susan. There’s also a foul mood downstairs at Duneagle, where the staff is very solemn; you know it’s bad when Miss O’Brien meets a kindred spirit, Susan’s maid Wilkins, who is even more unpleasant than she is. Also, if you couldn’t already tell that this episode takes place in Scotland, here comes a bagpiper, just circling the dining table in his bagpipe-y way. At dinner, Edith is told to invite her editor Michael Gregson (who just so happens to be in the area on a fishing trip), and the family looks forward to the Gillies’ Ball, a dance that’s a highlight of the Scottish social calendar.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">Cousin Shrimpy tells Robert that he’s been sent to a distant post somewhere in the Empire, later revealed to be Bombay. Susan is dreading it—particularly because the couple isn’t getting along in the first place, and if they bring Rose it’ll be even more of a problem, because Susan and Rose are at each other’s throats too. Mary gives Edith a hard time about Gregson visiting, and she’s proved right when he shows up: he dressed in tails, so it’s clear he didn’t just come to fish. Or at least not in a stream, know what I’m saying? Gregson admits to Edith that he, in fact, did come to try to get on her family’s good side, even though Edith reminds him that—even if he loves her—the facts of his <a href="http://topics.time.com/marriage/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">marriage</a> cannot change. Mary teases Matthew about being nice to Gregson and inviting him hunting, but Matthew assures her that he knows she’s really a nice person too because he’s seen her naked. (Oh, is that how that works?)</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">On the hunting-trip day, Robert and Shrimpy go out in their Sherlock Holmes deerstalkers and kill a stag, so they get to have a picnic by the Loch with the ladies, but Matthew and Gregson have less luck so they agree to go fly-fishing the next day. So many beautiful landscapes! Is this an ad for the Scottish tourism bureau? (Don’t they already have <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/stop-what-you-are-doing-and-look-at-ponies-in-swea" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">ponies in sweaters</a>?) Gregson confides in Matthew about his wife, who he says doesn’t even recognize him anymore. Matthew is sympathetic but he can’t encourage Edith to get involved in something that can’t lead anywhere. He thinks that Michael should use the ball to say good-bye to Edith.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">(<strong>WATCH</strong>: <a href="http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/12/22/watch-man-makes-gingerbread-replica-of-downton-abbey" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Man Makes Gingerbread Replica of Downton Abbey</a>)</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">Meanwhile, back at Downton, Carson does his best to get the house staff to clean every inch of the estate while the family is gone, but you know what they say happens when the cat’s away. Tom Branson and Isobel Crawley and baby Sybie and Isis the dog are the only family members who have stayed behind, so much of the upstairs-downstairs dynamic is shifted, particularly because the new maid—Edna, already causing trouble—has her eye on Tom. Every time they’re alone in the same room it’s just wince-worthy bad-news-tempty-harlot-blurgh-blurgh-go-away-blurgh. It’s not just that Edna is incredibly forward (she dines alone in a pub, which is daring on its own, and she doesn’t even pretend she didn’t do it to run into him) but that she makes Tom feel like he belongs back downstairs, like he’s not a member of the family. She’s a real PUA, it seems, <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=neg" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">negging</a> him with accusations that he’s ashamed until he finally agrees to eat dinner with the servants. (Isobel doesn’t help matters: even though she promised to keep an eye on Tom, she tells him that he shouldn’t be so eager to please the family that he acts awkwardly with the staff.)</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">A new salesman, Jos Tufton, comes to Downton with an order for Mrs. Patmore, He gets a taste of her cooking—and she gets a taste of his flirting. Tufton tells the staff about an upcoming fair in Thirsk and they all want to go, except Mr. Carson, who knows they won’t be able to have fun with him there. Mrs. Patmore bought a new outfit so Ivy is sure she has a “fancy-man,” and she’s right: Mrs. Patmore shows Mrs. Hughes the flirty note Tufton sent her about squiring her about the fair. It’s the 1920s version of sexting!</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">Dr. Clarkson and Isobel have been spending a lot of time together and commiserating about the medical life, since Isobel is the widow of a doctor and understands Clarkson’s life. They decide to go to the fair together too.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">At the fair, Branson, Alfred, James and Thomas compete in a tug-of-war. Insert gratuitous shot of Morris dancers. James puts some money on the 10-to-1 odds for the Downton team to win, demonstrating that an earlier reference to his ability to get money pretty much confirms he’s a gambler. He spends his winnings on booze and giving Ivy and Daisy (now, apparently friends) money for games—and generally flashing his cash everywhere. Totally drunk, he wanders off into an ominous tunnel, where he’s set upon by two muggers. Thomas shows up, and takes the beating. Dr. Clarkson asks Isobel if she ever thinks of marrying again, but she says that she likes her life the way it is, especially with friends like him. It’s unclear if she’s really that oblivious, and before they can say more, Jimmy runs up and tells the doctor to come quick because Thomas is hurt.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">On the carousel, Edna pretends she needs Tom to steady her…and “Eagle Eye” Hughes sees it all. She also spots Mr. Tufton, who’s like Dick Van Dyke in <em>Mary Poppins, </em>only instead of loving to laugh, he loves to flirt—even kissing a random girl. When they get home, Mrs. Patmore tells Mrs. Hughes that Tufton wants to get married, Mrs. Hughes said she saw him flirting—and Mrs. Patmore admits she’s relieved to have a reason to get rid of him. Meanwhile, Edna walks in on a shirtless Tom changing. She doesn’t leave when he says she should go, instead asking him to have lunch—and then kissing him and leaving before he answers. SHE IS THE WORST. UGH.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">(<strong>VIDEO: </strong><a href="http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,1367801530001_2103829,00.html" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Highclere Castle: Inside the Real Downton Abbey</a>)</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">Back in Scotland, the night of the big party has arrived. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY_bhVSGKEg" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Let’s go to the ball!</a></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">Susan won’t let Rose wear a fashionable dress—even though a princess has one just like it, she thinks it’s slutty—but Shrimpy overrules her decision. It’s so fun to write about princesses and balls. <em>Princess! Ball! Princess! Ball!</em> Mr. Molesley shows off his skills, doing a little jig alone in the corner. Typical Mr. Molesley. Rose is making her way through the little silver goblets of punch with quite some speed, and Cora warns her that it’s quite strong. O’Brien finds out that Wilkins spiked her punch—and she’s happy to know she needn’t have any loyalty to the other maid, whose job she clearly wants to steal—but Mr. Molesley drinks it in one gulp and gets totally wasted. Typical Mr. Molesley. Anna, who got dance lessons from Rose, gets a chance to show off her reeling skillz. Bates can’t dance because of his leg, but he does a great job at gazing at her adoringly while violins soar.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">Michael breaks the news to Edith that he hasn’t convinced Matthew to be on his side, but she pulls a total Edith move and refuses to take no for an answer. (That ended badly before but she can’t get left at the altar by a man who can’t marry, so maybe not such a terrible idea?) Shrimpy tells Robert that he’s not just uphappy because of Susan: he failed to modernize Duneagle the way Robert did for Downton, so he’s out of money and will have to sell. Robert realizes how lucky he is to have Matthew as a son-in-law. But Mary isn’t feeling so hot. She tells Matthew she’s going to go home before the rest of the family, but he should stay so the rest of them get to enjoy their vacation. Susan and Cora have a chat about babies, and it’s clear that Susan judged Sybil and Mary’s choices—but now that Rose is a teenager she understands what Cora went through, and Cora is sympathetic because Rose reminds her of Sybil. They arrange for Rose to live at Downton while Susan and Shrimpy are in India.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">(<strong>MORE</strong>: <a href="http://entertainment.time.com/2013/01/03/a-proper-talk-with-actor-jim-carter-downton-abbeys-mr-carson-talks-to-time/" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;"><i>Downton Abbey’</i>s Mr. Carson Talks to TIME</a>)</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">The staff back at Downton gets ready for Mary’s early return. Getting ready includes Jimmy thanking Thomas and saying they can be friends, and Mrs. Hughes firing Edna. Mrs. Hughes and Branson have a heart-to-heart about it and she tells him he shouldn’t be ashamed of his new life, and that Lady Sybil would have been proud. Which makes Tom—and, let’s be honest, us—cry. Way to put a stop to that nonsense, Mrs. Hughes. But when Mary gets off the train, she doesn’t come home: she goes straight to the hospital.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">She’s in labor! Shortly after, Carson gets the call: Lady Mary and the baby are both doing well! Matthew races home from Scotland! Mary is holding the baby, his son and heir, his dearest little chap! Matthew gets to hold the baby! They’re happy! She’s tired but also happy! They’ve done their duty to the estate! There’s finally an heir! They’re all dancing jigs like drunken Mr. Molesleys! Matthew is sure Mary is going to be a great mother, because his Mary is so nice even if Edith’s version of Mary isn’t! Happy, happy, happy! The others are back and the house waiting to see them! Matthew speeds back in his cute car to give them the good news!</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">But:</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">A car races in the other direction! As Robert reminisces about the entire plot of <em>Downton Abbey</em>, Matthew’s car lies overturned in a ditch. You maybe knew this was coming if you heard any casting news for Season 4, but it’s still a shock. And there he is. Matthew. Under the car. Blood on his head. Empty eyes. Mary, in the hospital, not knowing what has happened, holds the baby.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">Seriously.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">That’s the end of the episode. And of Matthew. There’s only one thing left to do.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">BE SAD FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS UNTIL THE NEXT SEASON.</div><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>

Downton Abbey Downton Abbey Watch: Endings

Is that the sound of the  Downton  theme music, with no dog butt to welcome us in? It must be a very special two-hour episode—which is a pro...

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New restrictions on painkiller prescriptions take effect Saturday | syracuse.com

<base href="data:" class=""><div style="color: black; text-align: left; " class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline !important; float: none; " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">Syracuse, N.Y. – Central New Yorkers with prescriptions for Vicodin and other painkillers containing hydrocodone will not be able to get them refilled starting Saturday unless they go to their doctor for a new prescription.</font></span><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">The change is required by the state's new I STOP law, designed to address the <a href="http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/05/the_troubled_path_to_painkille.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; " class="">epidemic</a> of prescription painkiller abuse and addiction sweeping Central New York and the rest of the nation.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">Hydrocodone will become classified as a schedule 2 drug Saturday. That means refills will no longer be allowed for hydrocodone prescriptions. Even people holding hydrocodone prescriptions authorized for more refills won't be able to refill them starting Saturday.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">"What we've been doing is warning our patients that they will need a new prescription the next time," said Selig Corman of the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">Hydrocodone is a type of drug known as an "opioid." Opiods can create intense feelings of euphoria or well-being. They are synthetic versions of opiate drugs such as morphine and heroin, derived from the opium poppy. Hydrocodone is usually combined with other drugs such as acetaminophen. Some of the popular brand-name prescription drugs containing hydrocodone include Vicodin, Lortab and Tussionex.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">Dr. Brian Johnson, director of addiction medicine at Upstate, said patients are often prescribed enough hydrocodone after surgery to last them several months, when they should only get enough for a few days.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">The number of prescriptions written in Central New York for the two most popular prescription painkillers — hydrocodone and oxycodone — soared between 2007 and 2011, according to the state Health Department. <br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; " class="">Hydrocodone prescriptions increased more than 50 percent, from 181,993 in 2007 to 274,293 in 2011, while oxycodone prescriptions jumped by nearly 90 percent, from 64,755 in 2007 to 122,415 in 2011.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">Also starting Saturday, Tramadol, a prescription muscle relaxant drug, will become classified as a schedule 4 drug as part of the I STOP law. Brand name versions of the drug include Ultram, Ultacet and Ryzolt. There are no limits on how much Tramadol can be prescribed now. Under the new classification, doctors will only be allowed to prescribe a 30-day supply of Tramadol with five refills. People with prescriptions for Tramadol issued before Saturday can get them refilled as long as the prescription is not more than 6 months old and the number of authorized refills does not exceed five.<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; " class=""><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; " class="">Johnson of Upstate is happy about the changes. "It has to do with raising consciousness of how addictive these drugs are," he said.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">Patients are often incorrectly told Tramadol is not addictive, then they end up in detox programs, Johnson said.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">The new restrictions may create problems for some chronic pain patients and their doctors, said Dr. Joseph Catania of the New York Spine and Wellness Center, a pain management practice with offices in North Syracuse and DeWitt.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">Catania said he agrees with the law's intent to curb diversion and abuse of painkillers. "But this prevents a medical office from using some judgment to determine the required follow up visit," he said.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">Patients who are stable and only need to see their doctor every several months now will have to schedule office visits monthly, he said.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">"This is going to create a flood of patients into the medical community who may not have that type of routine access to care," he said. "It will impact all of us in how we take care of patients."</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">Under the new regulation, doctors can prescribe 90-day supplies of hydrocodone for chronic pain patients.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">The prescribing changes are just the first of several provisions in the I STOP law designed to overhaul the way prescription drugs are distributed and tracked in New York. The law will require doctors beginning Aug. 27 to consult an electronic prescription database when they are prescribing controlled substances. The database, being developed by the state, will include information about controlled substances – drugs regulated by federal law -- dispensed by pharmacies on a real time basis. The intent of the database is to prevent "doctor shoppers" from obtaining prescriptions from multiple physicians.</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">The law also will eventually mandate that all controlled substances be prescribed electronically.</font></div><div class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'"><br class=""></font></div></div><a href="http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/new_restrictions_on_painkiller.html" class=""><font class="Apple-style-span" face="'Helvetica Neue'">http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/new_restrictions_on_painkiller.html</font></a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; " class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

New restrictions on painkiller prescriptions take effect Saturday | syracuse.com

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Mindy McCready's personal demons overshadowed early success

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><br /><div class="storyBlogByline" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -5px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="source" style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: nimbus-sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">CBS/AP<span style="border: 0px; color: #c4c4c4; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 6px 0px 8px; vertical-align: baseline;">/</span> </span><span class="time" style="border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 0.85em; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">February 18, 2013, 9:01 AM</span></div><h1 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: nimbus-sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 3.3em; letter-spacing: -0.07em; line-height: 0.87em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 13px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline; word-spacing: -0.04em;">Mindy McCready's personal demons overshadowed early success</h1><div class="storyMediaBox" id="storyMediaBox" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="image620 " style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; height: 350px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;"><img alt="In this undated file photo, country singer Mindy McCready performs in Nashville, Tenn." src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/02/18/04Mindy_620x350.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: 1;" /></div><div class="imgText" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-size: 0.8em; font-style: inherit; outline: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">In this undated file photo, country singer Mindy McCready performs in Nashville, Tenn. <span class="greySplitter" style="border: 0px; color: #c4c4c4; font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">/</span> <span class="creditImg" style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: nimbus-sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">AP PHOTO/MARK HUMPHREY, FILE</span></div></div><div id="inlineSocialBarTopPlaceholder" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="shareBar inline-sharebar" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: nimbus-sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 0.8em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;"><span style="font-size: 0.7em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 900; letter-spacing: 0.07em; line-height: 1.6em; text-transform: uppercase;">hEBER SPRINGS, ARK.</span></div><div class="storyText" style="background-color: white; background-image: url(http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tron/overlays/bkg-highlight-620.png) !important; background-position: 50% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat !important; border-top-color: rgb(232, 232, 232); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Perhaps there was one heartbreak too many for Mindy McCready.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The former country star apparently took her own life Sunday afternoon in Heber Springs, Ark. Authorities say McCready died of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot to the head and an autopsy is planned. She was 37, the mother of two young sons.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Her death ends a series of tumultuous public events that marked much of the singer's adult life. David Wilson -- the singer's boyfriend and father of her 10-month-old son -- was believed to have killed himself last month. McCready said in an tearful interview on Jan. 29, "He didn't just touch my heart. He touched my soul. He was my soul mate."</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">McCready's body was found on the same porch where Wilson died.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><ul class="arrows gray" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="background-image: url(http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/cbs/generic/genericSprite.png); background-position: -15px -911px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-57569832/country-crooner-mindy-mccready-dies-at-37/" style="border: 0px; color: #b12124; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Country crooner Mindy McCready dies at 37</a></li><li style="background-image: url(http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/cbs/generic/genericSprite.png); background-position: -15px -911px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505270_162-57569845/mindy-mccready-died-on-same-porch-as-soul-mate/" style="border: 0px; color: #b12124; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mindy McCready died on same porch as "soul mate"</a></li><li style="background-image: url(http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/cbs/generic/genericSprite.png); background-position: -15px -911px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-57569856/mindy-mccready-stars-mourn-country-singer-on-twitter/" style="border: 0px; color: #b12124; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Stars mourn country singer Mindy McCready on Twitter</a></li></ul><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I think it obviously speaks on the pain that she was feeling, that, for whatever reason, she chose to go to the same location and do the same thing that he did," said Shane Tallant, a friend of McCready's.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In a June 2010 interview with CBS News, McCready addressed reports she had attempted to commit suicide multiple times.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><a data-assetid="50141262" data-assettypeid="14" data-nodeid="207" data-overlay="1" data-overlayenabled="true" href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50141262n" style="border: 0px; color: #b12124; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="storyEmbed" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); border-bottom-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; clear: left; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 4px 20px 20px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 220px; zoom: 1;"><figure class="video" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px 0px -32px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 40px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 220px;"><img class="image220" src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/02/18/81495143_640x480_220x157.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; height: 140px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 220px;" /></figure><div class="meta" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 0.85em; font-style: italic; line-height: 22px; margin-top: 4px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 220px; z-index: 11;">Play <span style="border: 0px; color: #b12124; font-family: nimbus-sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">VIDEO</span></div><h3 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: none; color: #202022; font-family: nimbus-sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.07em; line-height: 1em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 220px;">Mindy McCready, dead from apparent suicide</h3></div></a><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I was never in a state in which I was conscious and with it and said, 'Oh I want to die,'" she said then.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In an interview that same year with the Associated Press, McCready smiled wryly while talking about the string of issues she'd dealt with over the last half-decade.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"It is a giant whirlwind of chaos all the time," she said of her life. "I call my life a beautiful mess and organized chaos. It's just always been like that. My entire life things have been attracted to me and vice versa that turn into chaotic nightmares or I create the chaos myself. I think that's really the life of a celebrity, of a big, huge, giant personality."</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This time it seems the whirlwind overwhelmed McCready.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Like so many times before, McCready showed a little toughness in the midst of a personal storm following Wilson's death, again endearing herself to her fans. But as usual, the brave face for the camera hid a much more complicated internal struggle that surfaced publicly time and again over the last 10 years.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This time, along with her remembrances of finding Wilson as he lay dying, she also answered questions about whether they'd argued earlier that evening about an affair and if she'd shot him.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Oh, my God," the "Today" transcript reads. "No. Oh, my God. No. He was my life. We were each other`s life."</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><a data-assetid="10003093" data-assettypeid="49" data-nodeid="207" data-overlay="1" data-overlayenabled="true" href="http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-207_162-10003093-1.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b12124; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="storyEmbed" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); border-bottom-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; clear: left; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 4px 20px 20px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 220px; zoom: 1;"><figure class="gallery" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px 0px -32px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 40px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 220px;"><img class="image220" src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/02/18/05Mindy_2_220x157.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; height: 140px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 220px;" /></figure><div class="meta" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 0.85em; font-style: italic; line-height: 22px; margin-top: 4px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 220px; z-index: 11;">25 <span style="border: 0px; color: #b12124; font-family: nimbus-sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">PHOTOS</span></div><h3 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: none; color: #202022; font-family: nimbus-sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.07em; line-height: 1em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 220px;">Mindy McCready: 1975-2013</h3></div></a><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It's unclear what circumstances led to McCready taking her own life, but it appears she was struggling again with twin issues that have persisted for years — substance abuse and the custody of her children. She checked into court-ordered rehab and gave her children up to foster care earlier this month after her father asked a judge to intervene, saying she'd stopped taking care of herself and her sons and was abusing alcohol and prescription drugs.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It's not clear where her sons, 6-year-old Zander and infant Zayne, were Sunday.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A deputy stationed outside McCready's home Sunday night referred questions to the Cleburne County sheriff, who was unavailable. Yellow crime-scene tape cordoned off the front yard and a dark-colored pickup truck sat in the driveway.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">News of McCready's death spread quickly Sunday night on Twitter, with major country stars paying their respects to the onetime Nashville darling.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Too much tragedy to overcome. R.I.P Mindy McCready," wrote Natalie Maines of The Dixie Chicks.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And Carrie Underwood added: "I grew up listening to Mindy McCready ... so sad for her family tonight. Many prayers are going out to them..."</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Melinda Gayle McCready arrived in Nashville in 1994 still in her teens with tapes of her karaoke vocals and earned a recording contract with BNA Records. She had a few memorable moments professionally, scoring her first No. 1 hit almost immediately.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Guys Do It All the Time," a self-assured dig at male chauvinism, endeared her to female fans in 1996. She also scored a hit with "Ten Thousand Angels," and her album of that title sold 2 million copies.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Beyond that, though, she's mostly remembered for a string of dramatic moments as she spent the next 15 years chasing another huge hit. Her problems included a custody battle with her mother over one of her sons, arrests, overdoses and discord in her love life.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She made headlines in April 2008 when she claimed a longtime relationship with baseball great Roger Clemens. Published reports at the time said she met the pitcher at a Florida karaoke bar when she was 15 and he was 28 and married. Clemens denied the relationship. A decade earlier she was engaged to actor Dean Cain, but the two never married.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She also had a turbulent relationship with Billy McKnight, a country singer who is the father of her oldest son. McKnight was arrested in 2005 on charges of attempted murder after authorities say he beat and choked her.</div><div style="border: 0px; color: #202022; font-family: Georgia, 'Time New Roman', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">During this period she also pleaded guilty to obtaining the painkiller OxyContin fraudulently at a pharmacy and got probation. She violated the probation with a drunken driving arrest in May 2005, a few days before McKnight was arrested. And in July 2007, she was arrested in her hometown of Fort Myers, Fla., on misdemeanor charges of scratching her mother, Gayle Inge, on the face during a scuffle and resisting sheriff's deputies.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Less than a year later, McCready was arrested and charged with violating her probation by falsifying her community service records relating to the 2004 drug charge. A month later, she entered an extended care facility for undisclosed treatment, and followed that with a 60-day jail sentence. Inge took custody of Zander.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There were at least three suicide attempts between July 2005 and December 2008.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She tried to get help in an unusual way, joining the cast of "Celebrity Rehab 3" with Dr. Drew Pinsky. McCready came off as a sympathetic figure during the show's run. Pinsky called her an "angel" and in an interview in 2010 said it appeared McCready was doing "rather well."</div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Pinsky helped treat McCready for love addiction on the show and said he'd referred her to professionals who could continue to help her afterward.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"A love addict basically is somebody that really didn't have a good model for intimacy in their childhood, often times traumatized in one way or another, thereby intimacy becomes a risk place, becomes an intolerable place," Pinsky said. "And so what they tend to do is attach themselves to idealized, bigger than life, unavailable others, specifically go after some public figure that's married or go after some rock star who is himself a sex addict and not interested in a relationship, and then idealize that person and actively pursue them to the point of obsession."</div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">McCready suffered a seizure in one of the show's scarier moments. Tests showed she has suffered brain damage, something she attributed to her abusive relationship with McKnight.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">McCready is the fifth celebrity to pass away since appearing on Pinsky's show and the third from Season 3. Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr and "Real World" participant Joey Kovar both died of overdoses.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the months after her stint, McCready said she found some peace, telling The Associated Press in early 2010 that she hoped to get her career restarted, write a book about her experiences and begin production on a reality show with her brothers. She'd just met Wilson and talked openly about their relationship, although the producer and musician declined to speak on the record.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">With a publicist, reporters, cameras, makeup artists and musicians swirling around her during a press day for her last album, "I'm Still Here," McCready fended off questions about a sex tape and said she and Wilson started out as friends.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"And I've never had a relationship like that before where we started completely as friends," she said. "It turned into friends really caring about each other and then it turned into love and I've never had that happen before."</div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">At the time, Pinsky thought the relationship was on the right track: "She's an easy person to like and to care about and we hope she does well," Pinsky said. "So far so good as far as I can tell."</div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">McCready said her main goal in 2010 was to pull her family back together: "I would like my son back with me and for my brothers and I and he to be able to go and do this (TV reality show), and I think after that I will be a pretty happy girl."</div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The new album debuted at No. 71 and failed to gain radio airplay. McCready's plans never materialized and she soon was in legal trouble again, this time fighting for custody.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">McCready took her older son from her mother, the boy's legal guardian, in late 2011. She fled to Arkansas without permission over what she called child abuse fears. Authorities eventually found McCready hiding in a home without permission and took the boy into custody.</div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She and Wilson had their son in April 2012.</div></div><br /><br /></div>

Mindy McCready Mindy McCready's personal demons overshadowed early success

CBS/AP /   February 18, 2013, 9:01 AM Mindy McCready's personal demons overshadowed early success In this undated file photo, country si...

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Ergun Caner - the Lance Armstrong of Evangelical Christianity - Finally Returns to Prominent SBC Pulpit, Where Decade of Deceit Began

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5aPTxcqb8TZYbTx2f3QPHzXFaRK1FtNaiYEC-GaF2jsPZzfddP9HnX2VO_5U-__QjRZLvbezg7yjr0iYOMnbVxC-LCtVduOvSUh9fkr3MgQSVeQh5ZK3m1bJGZ2bpe8NmsdSFHg6mcQU/s1600/CanerAtJax.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5aPTxcqb8TZYbTx2f3QPHzXFaRK1FtNaiYEC-GaF2jsPZzfddP9HnX2VO_5U-__QjRZLvbezg7yjr0iYOMnbVxC-LCtVduOvSUh9fkr3MgQSVeQh5ZK3m1bJGZ2bpe8NmsdSFHg6mcQU/s400/CanerAtJax.png" width="400" /></a>Sad to report, but Ergun Caner has returned to prominence within the Southern Baptist Convention, as Caner was granted the privilege on February 17th to preach once again in Jacksonville, in the same pulpit where Caner began his well-chronicled "decade of deceit" in 2001. At left he is grinning from ear-to-ear as he is being introduced to the congregation just before he preaches.<br /><br />For a prominent SBC church and pastor to once again feature Ergun Caner - the evangelical version of Lance Armstrong - in a pulpit to preach to the youth choir and congregation is nothing short of a tragedy, and it is just an example of the sorry state of the Southern Baptist Convention.<br /><br />Caner quickly became an SBC darling after his <a href="http://fbcjaxwatchdog.blogspot.com/2010/03/ergun-caners-november-2001-fbc-jax.html" target="_blank">2001 sermon in Jax</a> - in which he claimed: <br /><ul><li> to be "raised in Europe", coming to America at age 15;</li><li>that he spoke broken English in high school;</li><li>until age 15 he was in "Islamic Youth Jihad";</li><li>that he was a trained terrorist, "trained to do that which was done on 11 September";</li><li>that he wore full Islamic gear to high school, praying to Mecca;</li><li>that he was called a "sand monkey" and ridiculed for being a devout Muslim;</li><li>said "Jesus strapped a cross on his back so I wouldn't have to strap a bomb on my back"; </li><li>that he knew how to speak Arabic, even using a phony dialect in his sermon. </li></ul><br />The only problem is; Caner never was raised in Europe or trained in terrorism. It was all made up. Caner and his family moved from Sweden to Columbus, Ohio at the age of 3. All of the above lies and deceits were spoken in that one single sermon to dupe the entire SBC, with former SBC-president Jerry Vines giving nods of approval while Caner spoke. Caner fooled the entire congregation, including myself and my family who were at the service. Caner and his brother Emir leveraged that one single sermon to launch them to become authors and seminary presidents and Christian speakers. The whole mess is what James White coined the "Great Evangelical Cover-Up". <br /><br />Why rehash all of this? Because I want the record to be crystal-clear, no re-writing of history by the SBC'ers: it was in Jacksonville that Caner set the groundwork, established his phony-baloney storyline that <a href="http://fbcjaxwatchdog.blogspot.com/2010/04/ergun-caner-growing-up-i-learned-about.html" target="_blank">he would follow for the next 9 years</a>, until he was finally exposed by bloggers - including this blogger - and <a href="http://fbcjaxwatchdog.blogspot.com/2010/09/james-white-speaking-truth-on-ergun.html" target="_blank">Christian apologist James White</a>. Caner's fibs even went so far as to lead him to lie to our military troops <a href="http://www.witnessesuntome.com/2010/08/united-states-marines-duped-by-pretend-jihadist-ergun-caner/" target="_blank">during 2005 training sessions</a> in which Caner posed as an expert in Turkish culture - preparing our troops to engage the enemy's culture. Can you believe it? It is true - Caner put our fighting men and women at risk by posing as someone he wasn't, as an expert in something he at best had only read about.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMiCWxWYEs17sAwVT_8OimJ3Vyq9h-zw-y53l6hxtR2vfavohDrVx91U5v6oyeBqsSmoRx0QnX4wjKKDbT8pUQ0vzsltgURbkFDKcINZTLhM-vVg7RALl1i-6V_j8LJxRJxJt0n7Cbf2OC/s1600/CanerTroops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMiCWxWYEs17sAwVT_8OimJ3Vyq9h-zw-y53l6hxtR2vfavohDrVx91U5v6oyeBqsSmoRx0QnX4wjKKDbT8pUQ0vzsltgURbkFDKcINZTLhM-vVg7RALl1i-6V_j8LJxRJxJt0n7Cbf2OC/s1600/CanerTroops.jpg" /></a><br />So here Caner is back in the SBC - all is forgiven apparently, and he never has publicly apologized for his decade of deceit, or for the way his defenders attacked James White and others who tried to get Caner to come clean - sounds like Lance Armstrong, doesn't it? Caner's friends and defenders will tell you he has apologized for making a few misstatements of fact over 10 years. But it is just not so. In fact, after Caner was removed as president of Liberty University's seminary president in 2010, at one of his first public speaking engagements at a <a href="http://www.newsadvance.com/archives/article_d8dbe50c-e6b4-5ff2-bbce-78ff15628fd5.html" target="_blank">Bristol, VA prayer breakfast</a> he said his troubles were due to "bloggers" and said they were just "frustrated people in their basement". He also said "it will take more than edited videos to take me down." <br /><br />And to make matters worse, if they could be worse, the media outlets for the Southern Baptists and Florida Baptists never, ever had reported on the Caner scandal. Why? Because prominent SBC leaders who have authored books with Caner and have been involved in promoting Caner after 9/11, would be too embarrassed. Too much potential damage, so the Baptist Press and Florida Baptist Witness - who purport themselves to be Christian news organizations - pretend Caner's decade of deceit never happened. And now that Caner is back in a prominent SBC pulpit, Joni Hannigan, one of the editors of the Florida Baptist Witness, <a href="https://twitter.com/JoniHannigan/status/303303011294404610" target="_blank">tweeted last night</a> during the Caner sermon: "So blessed to hear my friend @erguncaner preach tonight...", and she tweeted photos of her beloved Christian hero, Ergun Caner.<br /><br />In Caner's sermon last night, he asked an excellent question: after citing statistics that we have about 75,000 Baptist churches in America, with 55 million people claiming to be "born again Christians", Caner asked the following:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>"...don't you reckon we [the church] would be further along? Don't you think we'd have a bigger impact on our culture?...We spend 8 billion dollars on church growth resources in America every year. What are we missing? We've got all the new programs, we've got more churches, with more land, more money, more members than in our history, so why aren't we seeing revival?"</b></i></div><br />Great question, Ergun. The answer to Caner's question, in part, is staring right back at Caner in the mirror. It is Caner himself, and those who have defended him and who continue to promote him, that are partly responsible for the ineffectiveness of the Southern Baptist Convention to gain new converts, and their failure to keep the young ones raised in SBC churches. Young people are growing up and seeing that their most prominent pastors and preachers have lied to them for personal promotion and financial gain, and the lies were mostly ignored and never dealt with openly. All of this causes people - especially young people who are prone to doubt during the early years of their faith journey - to question the entire validity of the Christian message.<br /><br />You, Ergun, are the man. How ironic is it that one of the many books Caner has coauthored is entitled <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Why-Churches-Die-Diagnosing-Poisons/dp/0805431810" target="_blank">"Why Churches Die - Lethal Poisons in the Body of Christ"</a> - when Caner himself, and those who promote him, are part of the lethal concoction infecting the Southern Baptist Convention today. <br /><br />Thank goodness most professional groups or societies in our culture deal harshly and swiftly with known liars within their own ranks. They know the effectiveness of their cause and the validity of  their message can go down the tubes in a heartbeat with one prominent phony left unchecked. Unfortunately, Baptists haven't figured this out, and I don't think they ever will. As their numbers decline and their churches die and get snatched up by larger churches, they'll just complain that we are a "post Christian nation" and blame it all on the devil - and of course the Calvinists. And the bloggers.<br /><br />I remember my former pastor Jerry Vines saying many times that Christianity is a faith that can stand up to the test of intellectual debate and inspection. He would say that a person doesn't need to check their brains at the church door to become a Christian.<br /><br />Unfortunately with an unrepentant Caner still roaming SBC churches, being promoted by prominent SBC preachers, I'm not sure that is true anymore.

Ergun Caner - the Lance Armstrong of Evangelical Christianity - Finally Returns to Prominent SBC Pulpit, Where Decade of Deceit Began

Sad to report, but Ergun Caner has returned to prominence within the Southern Baptist Convention, as Caner was granted the privilege on Febr...

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Monday, Monday

I'm taking this week off at <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.archidose.org/wp/">A Weekly Dose of Architecture</a></span>, so check back next week for an update on that website. I'll still be posting daily on this blog all week.<br /><br />: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">American-Architects <a href="http://www.american-architects.com/en/pages/50x50">Building of the Week</a>:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.american-architects.com/en/projects/project-current-review/40059_university_of_connecticut_social_sciences_and_classroom_buildings">University of Connecticut Social Sciences and Classroom Buildings</a> in Storrs, Connecticut, by Leers Weinzapfel Associates:<br /><a href="http://www.american-architects.com/en/projects/project-current-review/40059_university_of_connecticut_social_sciences_and_classroom_buildings"><img alt="this week's Building of the Week" src="http://c214210.r10.cf3.rackcdn.com/files/projects/40059/images/900:w/UConn_OakHallviewtoLaurelHall.jpg" title="Current Building of the Week on american-architects.com" width="640" /></a>

Monday, Monday

I'm taking this week off at A Weekly Dose of Architecture , so check back next week for an update on that website. I'll still be pos...

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mirror mirror

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!<div><br /></div><div>We are still recovering from a weekend of 2-year-old birthday party fun and now preparing for the 2-year-old check up that will be happening in just a few short hours. (how I hate when my wee ones get shots)</div><div><br /></div><div>But before I go I thought I would leave you with some mirror eye candy. I noticed lately that I'm pinning a lot of mirrors. The irony of which is not lost on me as I just got a hor.rif.ic haircut and won't be looking in a mirror for quite some time. Maybe I should start pinning hats too.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mirrors are one of the best decorating tools available as they can instantly change a room, and great ones are available at every price point. When in doubt about what to put on the wall, add a mirror. You can never have too many. (I have an extra 6 in my basement 'store' right now)</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cQriFNtZTtDVZgeYDN6FVhmPu1dRu9H6z7Zcg3_EtCh4IB_0fH1vkT-xJm_FtAR6gk2ErCGx_j1Lhk3ccbbNw1ian_8a7q5dLFECvk8UzcTq6Ed1NJ5YymnfSOrlrFx3z3wm0zkfS3Ov/s1600/cool-designer-alert-anne-hepfer.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cQriFNtZTtDVZgeYDN6FVhmPu1dRu9H6z7Zcg3_EtCh4IB_0fH1vkT-xJm_FtAR6gk2ErCGx_j1Lhk3ccbbNw1ian_8a7q5dLFECvk8UzcTq6Ed1NJ5YymnfSOrlrFx3z3wm0zkfS3Ov/s640/cool-designer-alert-anne-hepfer.jpeg" width="470" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9sHHdC7GErnYse7IW-fWue1vMiXm0tpTSGZElETXQtnTNzhxyQ9rgYMR2klam3hdwT6_sueJWzZWoHu1FiktHjC36Tj86p8dTWUFyPIG7MPrLdLsPhBAoCfCrU2OlegAyWwu5SzoWNEVG/s1600/Screen%252520shot%2525202011-03-24%252520at%2525208.37.21%252520AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9sHHdC7GErnYse7IW-fWue1vMiXm0tpTSGZElETXQtnTNzhxyQ9rgYMR2klam3hdwT6_sueJWzZWoHu1FiktHjC36Tj86p8dTWUFyPIG7MPrLdLsPhBAoCfCrU2OlegAyWwu5SzoWNEVG/s640/Screen%252520shot%2525202011-03-24%252520at%2525208.37.21%252520AM.jpeg" width="524" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAmtqwnuRe7uGu3E-hLpMX3dySNw1nSFRUV8KK43SMK4oBaG60pwjwwIolwPImLHgyBfNXSxkWVdR32lGZ3Yo6fmEM_ev_v9VPIDwj8wEwq-cupWPh3jHEFwSbDh90PpQIYBLnN1tPRRwP/s1600/The-Painted-House-Ablenay-Wall-Mirror~CNRA1028~E3286.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAmtqwnuRe7uGu3E-hLpMX3dySNw1nSFRUV8KK43SMK4oBaG60pwjwwIolwPImLHgyBfNXSxkWVdR32lGZ3Yo6fmEM_ev_v9VPIDwj8wEwq-cupWPh3jHEFwSbDh90PpQIYBLnN1tPRRwP/s640/The-Painted-House-Ablenay-Wall-Mirror~CNRA1028~E3286.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEeBEmq69BR1lzqNq1iq6u0HIRxyW-WyLRInBYVSU2XUgV849pvcMMCQ_cD0e2fcbyjfDjLtBCJ41EQl2S1UjAz7Va_OhsWLsCYLkvSfOS623SAjAel0h9SJFkzQaYTbhif4kROlxjZHdJ/s1600/heart-pounding-red.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEeBEmq69BR1lzqNq1iq6u0HIRxyW-WyLRInBYVSU2XUgV849pvcMMCQ_cD0e2fcbyjfDjLtBCJ41EQl2S1UjAz7Va_OhsWLsCYLkvSfOS623SAjAel0h9SJFkzQaYTbhif4kROlxjZHdJ/s640/heart-pounding-red.jpeg" width="466" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY9MFaxLtFVzGRXyL32v0QngWwSL8Nldmmzt6MEjf3blBiVVMs2K3n-odX9bbFr9oRc3Muojs2Auq6zOWEjFCZtDrbpjcjPJNGvqFkCQL4H-o7X418l-C-OoCc1SuMGC5Odn1daM8St2lA/s1600/438.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY9MFaxLtFVzGRXyL32v0QngWwSL8Nldmmzt6MEjf3blBiVVMs2K3n-odX9bbFr9oRc3Muojs2Auq6zOWEjFCZtDrbpjcjPJNGvqFkCQL4H-o7X418l-C-OoCc1SuMGC5Odn1daM8St2lA/s640/438.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-n27sQ0cjbmX_9eOK7lTNHbp7CBRxyV5-iJMo-h0iDgd2ErDyTaVz475eu5mmuFGW8Jm7vt2DivklD_3suS_cvsZqoyTlmTgx4-jnVwPAGJSIkmJRRzVKWDTusWfB9hSEn4I7WQ2WSHD/s1600/1137919.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-n27sQ0cjbmX_9eOK7lTNHbp7CBRxyV5-iJMo-h0iDgd2ErDyTaVz475eu5mmuFGW8Jm7vt2DivklD_3suS_cvsZqoyTlmTgx4-jnVwPAGJSIkmJRRzVKWDTusWfB9hSEn4I7WQ2WSHD/s640/1137919.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Find these images and more on my <a href="http://pinterest.com/ladybaum/mirror-mirror/" target="_blank">Pinterest board</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Do you have a favorite mirror? Have you found/seen any cool ones lately? Any suggestions on how I get my hair to grow at lightening speed?</div>

mirror mirror

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! We are still recovering from a weekend of 2-year-old birthday party fun and now preparing for the 2-ye...

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