Kelley LeBrock

Dry drunks and drug treatment

2009-11-19T07:18:00.000-08:00

AA (Alcoholics Anonymous for those who don't know) pointed out decades ago that there were such people called "dry drunks". These were the people who might have managed to stay off the demon booze: but who still had the underlying pathologies which had led to their addiction in the first place. The 12 steps program is as much an attempt to deal with those pathologies as it is to stay off alcohol. In one of the more significant advances of recent years in drug treatment we've also incorporated this insight into drug addiction treatment.

The point is that just as millions drink lightly and responsibly there are those who take drugs who do not become addicts, even under the widest definitions of addiction. But there are those who most definitely do and we'd like to know what is the difference between these two groups before we try to design a program of drug treatment. For it might be that the underlying problem is what leads to the addiction, not purely the intake of drugs (or alcohol or anything else).

This insight has led to the development of dual diagnosis drug treatment. We can see clearly and obviously the problem of the addiction: but what might be the underlying pathology which leads to it? Clearly and obviously, we're only going to be able to cure the addiction if we can also deal with that underlying cause. For some of course the cause of the addiction is clear: it can indeed be simple physical addiction to the substance being taken, it can be to the psychological (as opposed to the physiological) effects. Or it might be some more deep seated disturbance in either the body or the psyche.

One of the treatment centers working with this dual diagnosis paradigm is the Pat Moore Foundation: click through any of the links to find out more about these techniques.

Gordon Brown's letter of condolence

2009-11-09T01:21:00.000-08:00

This is absurd.

This is also the letter of condolence that Gordon Brown, who we might remember is the Prime Minister, sent to the family of a soldier who died in the line of duty.

It is packed with spelling mistakes: good grief, he even manages to get the family name wrong.

And please, just look at the handwriting there. This is a disgrace, a foul calumny even.

The least we can do is have a Prime Minister who is actually capable of writing a few words on a piece of paper: and getting them right.

Holmes, no, Not Sherlock, Katie

2007-06-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

Katie Holmes has a new site dedicated to her: and to brining you thenews you need about one of your favourite celebrities, Katie Holmes.

There's a collection of news stories and photographs of her, both with and without her husband, Tom Cruise.

There's even a section on Katie Holmes' marriage.

It's the best resource on the net for all of your celebrity news needs, it even has video feeds of he major stories about her!

Slicing the Top Off

2007-06-17T07:23:00.001-07:00

When people discuss circumcision it very quickly degenerates into an argument about bodily mutilation. Which is a pity:

There are definitely health benefits but are these outweighed by the loss of sensitivity, and thus the loss of sexual pleasure?

There's actually a very good argument that the loss of sensitivity itself leads to greater pleasure, not lower.

So, err, that argument against circumcision thus fails, don't you think?

Mr. and Mrs Rodriguez

2007-06-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

Alex and Cynthia Rodriguez are said to be reunited and attempting to stave off a dovirce after hubby's dalliance with Joslyn Noel Morse.

I have to admit I've never realy known why it is that the moment a man gets out of the wrong bed everyone starts baying about divorce. We all know that infidelity is rife, that alpha males (and alpha females too) get more than their fair share and that this is just the way the world is.

So just because he gets up with a few high jinks with a stripper, as Joslyn Noel Morse is, why all the fuss?

Kenney Chesney

2007-05-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that when I hear the word "entertainer" I begin to worry:

Kenny Chesney proved he was king of the boy’s club at the Academy of Country Music awards on Tuesday with his third consecutive entertainer of the year award. The award featured a host of male country singers (there were no female singers nominated) – including George Strait, Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts and Tim McGraw.

During his acceptance speech, Chesney gave tribute to some of his country music heroes – including Strait and Keith Whitley.

In his acceptance, Chesney stated: “When I first started playing music, I was in college and I would go rent all my equipment and put it in the back of a pickup truck. The only thing I wanted to do was cut a record as good as Keith Whitley did, and I listened to that music over and over again.”

Note that he's not being honoured for creating good music or anything.....

Why Get a Mosquito Ringtone?

2007-04-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

A lot of people may laugh at the thought of mosquito ringtones for your cellphone. There are a lot of free ringtones and free MP3 ringtones on the Internet, so why get a queer ringtone the sound of a buzzing mosquito in your phone?

There is actually a reason for this. Studies show that the human ears would lose their ability to recognize high frequency sounds as it ages. As one gets older, the inner ear and the eardrum are becoming less active and flexible. If this happens it can no longer recognize high frequency vibration sound. So if you were a teenager living with an adult or your grandparents, they probably won’t be disturbed with the high-pitched sounds of your mosquito ringtones.

So get the best usual free Cingular Ringtones or free Sprint Ringtones now and leave these buzzing sounds.

Little House on the Prairie

2007-03-18T10:54:00.001-07:00

Melissa Gilbert will be starring in a stage show version of Little House on the Prairie:

Patrick Swayze and Melissa Gilbert will star as Pa and Ma in an April workshop presentation of "Prairie," a musical version of Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House on the Prairie."

Gilbert played middle daughter Laura Ingalls in the long-running NBC television series from 1974-83. She was recently president of the Screen Actors Guild.

Beth Henley, who won a Pulitzer for "Crimes of the Heart," wrote the book, Donna DiNovelli wrote the lyrics and Oscar winner Rachel Portman ("Emma") composed the music. Francesca Zambello will direct.

Imagine, being so associated with a part that you end up playing your own fictional mother!

Marisa Tomei

2007-03-10T10:08:00.001-08:00

Marisa Tomei is due to star in a new CBSpilot:

Marisa Tomei will play the title role in CBS' comedy pilot "The Rich Inner Life of Penelope Cloud."

The Oscar winner will play a brilliant, opinionated writer struggling to deliver the follow-up to her acclaimed first novel. She has an epiphany and tries to recapture her youthful optimism.

Tomei is currently in movie theaters with box office champ "Wild Hogs." Her TV credits include a cameo as herself in an episode of "Seinfeld." She won an Academy Award for her supporting turn in 1992's "My Cousin Vinny" and was nominated nine years later for "In the Bedroom."

If you're not sure how these things work, yes, going from being an Oscar winner to a TV show is indeed a step down in the world.

Natalie Portman to Direct?

2007-02-13T10:57:00.001-08:00

What is it about actresses? Natalie Portman says she wants to direct a movie:

Hollywood actress Natalie Portman has expressed interest in directing a film version of Israeli writer Amos Oz's internationally acclaimed autobiography, a production spokesman said on Thursday.

Portman, 25, who is best known for her starring roles in the recent Star Wars trilogy, may also act in "A Tale of Love and Darkness" if it is brought to the big screen, Jerusalem Capital Studios spokesman Danny Levy told Reuters.

"JCS has met with Portman to discuss the possibility of her participating in and directing a film version of the book," he said.

"A Tale of Love and Darkness" describes Oz's upbringing in Jerusalem amid the fighting during which the Jewish state was founded. Israeli media said Portman was interested in playing Oz's mother, who committed suicide when the author was a youth.

Don't people realise that having a pretty face, even being a good actor, doesn't then mean that you'll be a good director?

Technorati tags: natalie portman, amos oz

Joss Stone's new look and sound.

2007-02-02T10:25:00.001-08:00

Joss Stone's album is about to be released in the Us : "Introducing Joss Stone":

When she made her debut several years back at only 15, Brit belter Joss Stone was an instant wow, a young girl mining soul's past with a voice beyond her years.

Now 19, with a stunning new album, "Introducing Joss Stone," due in March, she's proving to be the true heiress to Aretha Franklin as this generation's queen of soul. Her sold-out show Wednesday at the Sunset Strip House of Blues not only drummed up interest in the upcoming release, it announced that she most definitely has arrived as a superstar.

After an intro instrumental from her soul revue-style band, led by producer Raphael Saadiq, that included horns and backing singers, a new Stone took the stage. This wasn't the blond girl next door of past years; she sported a whole new look of long, permed magenta hair and wore a tight gold and silver minidress. She was instantly captivating.

Bit weird though, I thought that album had been out in hte UK for a year or two?

Technorati tags: joss stone

Sidney Sheldon

2007-01-31T09:35:00.001-08:00

Sidney Sheldon, the best selling author of all those novels you would be ashamed to let others see you read (but you really enjoy them all the same) has died:

Sidney Sheldon, an Oscar-winning Hollywood screenwriter who went on to become one of the world's most prolific novelists, died in California on Tuesday at the age of 89, a publicist said.

Sheldon died of complications from pneumonia at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, near his Palm Springs home, said Sean Rossall, publicist at Warren Cowan and Associates.

Sheldon became an American icon in the 1970s with novels like "The Other Side of Midnight" and "Bloodline," bestsellers spun out of international intrigue and the sexual liberation of the era. Strong women were often the main characters.

He sure found a successful niche:

He published 18 novels and sold 300 million copies, making him a paperback stand staple for decades. Translations into 71 languages in 180 countries won him a listing in "The Guinness Book of Records" as "the world's most translated author."

I don't read them any more but I do remember them: he certainly knew how to keep a narrative going.

Technorati tags: Sidney Sheldon, novels, books, obituary

Indian Condoms

2006-12-11T04:08:00.001-08:00

Over at the Lindsey Lohan blog a super little tale about Indian Condoms.

No, I won't spoil the punch line for you by giving it here but one part of it is all entirely sensible and believable. The question is whether the last line was delivered with a straight face or not?

If it was a native English speaker I would have sdaid not, it was done tongue in cheek, but with someone not completely at home in hte language, well, it could have been inadvertent.

Windows Live

2006-12-10T09:36:00.001-08:00

So does this windows live product actually work?

I'm trying it out on a number of blogs. So far it seems to keep up.

Technorati tags: windows live writer

Ben

2005-06-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what job to do? Thought about working for someone else, getting a job, a career, simply doing the nine to five?

Of do you hanker after something a bit more interesting, risks thrown in but fabulous rewards if you get it right?

You might want to think about starting your own business in that case. An example of thesort of training you will need can be seen in this biography of Ben Padnos, an internet entrepreneur.

Kelly LeBrock

2005-06-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

Kelly LeBrock is the ex-wife of Steven Seagal and the mother of his three children. Born in New York and raised in London she started her acting career in 1984.

Amazingly, for someone with three children, she wears size 8 clothes and by some co-incidence also has size 8 feet.

Her latest movie, due out in 2005, is Zerophilia.

A full listing of her film career is here.

There is also a very nice series of photos of Kelly LeBrock at this website.