Although going on blind dates is not her cup of tea she is the sister of a very social and party hoppin brother named Ray J. You would think he could hook her up with some pretty cool kats.

As celebrity gossip would have it she is filming for the second season of Brandy and Ray J on the VH1 reality show. I saw a few episodes of the first season and it is really good. Especially Ray J because he is always up to something.

With a new single and album coming out, Brandy is ready to get back into the studio and produce some more music for her fans. Being a family trying to make it in the music business has its challenges and the viewers get to see first hand what is involved behind the scenes.

Now that she is taking charge of her career she is ready to open up to love while her brother is about to release his new CD.  Ray J has a creative mind and usually has a way with people, he is strong in connecting with his audience and networking for the next big thing in his career.

Most artist agree that songs are more meaningful when they are coming from real life experiences and that is what Brandy is able to share on her new CD.

Image via Wikipedia

The report goes on to criticise Santa for driving a sleigh and suggests a more healthy form of transport such as a bike, jogging or walking. They seem to have missed a vital point – he has rather a lot to carry! The report also questions Santa’s alcohol consumption claiming that he must be guilty of drink driving because of all the refreshments that people leave out for him. Again they seem to be missing the obvious, if Santa was an ordinary man he couldn’t possibly consume that much and even if he tried to do so, most of the night would be taken up with bathroom breaks! They have not accounted for that very special Christmas magic that Children understand so well.

Not content with drink driving the researchers also blame Santa for speeding, dangerous driving (jumping from roof to roof etc) and for not wearing a helmet or seat belt. The report doesn’t mention it but Santa almost certainly breaks the European working time regulations as well, but it really doesn’t matter because unlike the authors of the report, children have no problem understanding the difference between magic and real life!

Image via Wikipedia

Even department store Santas come in for criticism, the report blames them for sneezing or coughing at least ten times per day and potentially spreading swine flu. Everyone has the potential to spread swine flu, people on buses, school teachers, anyone; so it is unfair to suggest that Santa is any greater risk to a child’s health than anyone else.

It seems very sad that the authors of the report have completely missed the magic of Christmas, I hope they find it one day. Meanwhile I wish them a very happy new year and I hope they will find something more useful to apply their minds to next year!

1. Potato Chips – Discovered: Saratoga Springs, New York

   

   Chef George Crum made the interesting discovery of potato chips after a customer complained to him about his potato fries being cut way too thick. Being a wise guy he sliced a potato paper thin and then fried it to a crisp. The diner loved it, thus creating the world’s very first potato chip.

2. Viagra – Discovered: Merthyr Tydfil, Wales

   

   Viagra was discovered by men who were being treated with an erectile dysfunction. It was first discovered in the town of Merthyr Tydfil with the trial medicines they thought could cure the dysfunction. It has since become well known as Viagra, and is used as a male enhancement.

3. Silly Putty – Discovered: New York

   

   Silly Putty was discovered in the 1940s by a general electric scientist named James Wright while he was trying to create a synthetic rubber to use for the war. He mixed boric acid and silicon oil and got Silly Putty. Since then it has become one of the world’s most popular toys. One favorite past time includes sticking it on a newspaper and pulling it off to reveal the imprint of the comic.

4. LSD – Discovered: Switzerland

   

   LSD was discovered by a Swiss chemist named Albert Hoffman. It was the world’s first acid hit. The year was 1943, and he had been working with a chemical called lysergic acid diethylamide. The initial reason for his research was related to childbirth. After the first try he attempted even a larger dose of it and made another discovery, the bad trip.

5. Microwave Ovens – Discovered: Massachusetts

   

   Microwave Ovens were discovered in 1946 when a magnetron melted a candy bar in Raytheon engineer Percy Spencer’s pocket. Microwave emitters powered the Allies radar in WWII.

6. Penicillin – Discovered: Scotland

   

   A Scottish scientist named Alexander Fleming was looking into a cure for the flu in 1928 when he noticed that a blue-green mold had infected one of his Petri dishes, and it had killed the staphylococcus bacteria that had been growing in it. The world’s most effective cure was actually discovered due to a contamination in the lab. What a unique coincidence!

7. X-Rays – Discovered: Germany

   

   X-rays were discovered in the 19th century by several scientists toying with penetrating rays that were emitted when electrons struck a metal target. It wasn’t fully workable until 1895 when a German scientist named Wilhelm Röntgen tried sticking different objects in front of the radiation and saw the bones on his hand projected onto the wall behind him.

8. Artificial Sweeteners – Discovered: Illinois; Maryland; Nebraska

   

   Artificial sweeteners were discovered in much the same way as penicillin. Three of them, Saccharin, Cyclamate, and Aspartame were all discovered in a one hundred year time period, and all by scientists who forgot to wash their hands after an experiment.

9. Brandy – Discovered: The Seven Seas

   

   Brandy was created by wine merchants during the medieval time period by boiling the water out of wine so that their cargo would stay fresh and take up less space when being shipped. After a while it was decided to skip the reconstitution stage altogether and brandy was accidentally created .

10. Vulcanized Rubber – Discovered: New York

    

    When rubber rots, it smells horrible unless it is vulcanized. The ancient Mesoamericans actually had their own variation of the process Charles Goodyear discovered in 1839. He accidentally dropped some rubber-sulfur compound onto a hot stove, creating the first vulcanized rubber.