Might as well face it, you’re addicted to love!

OK, so some of my younger readers not get that reference (and if you don’t, here you go), but according to Grazia Daily, our beloved Rihanna might be addicted to love–specifically, Chris Brown’s love.

(If you’ll remember, Rihanna and Chris Brown began dating in 2006, but split up after Brown assaulted her after a pre-Grammy party in 2009. Since then, their on-again, off-again relationship has been a roller coaster of restraining orders, anger management, probation appearances, and tense media interviews.)

Reportedly, Rihanna is considering spending a six-week break from her current Diamonds World Tour getting some relationship and sexual recovery, or what the media are referring to as love therapy and love rehab.

Why?

Truth Is, The Unfolding Chrianna Saga Scares Us

Grazia Daily‘s source claims Rihanna is having an extra tough time moving on after her most recent split with Brown.

Rihanna is still desparately [sic] in love with Chris. It’s like she’s obsessed with him, and although he’s told her it’s over, she just can’t get over him.

So, where does one obtain love rehab?

Sources say Rihanna is looking at The Ranch, a 2,000-acre horse and cattle ranch in Nunnelly, Tennessee. The Ranch specializes in treatment programs for a wide array of issues, from eating disorders and PTSD to substance abuse and sexual addiction.

If this is true, Rihanna would check in to The Center for Relationship and Sexual Recovery at The Ranch, which has separate programs for men and women:

Our primary therapeutic goal at The Center is to disrupt and eliminate problem patterns of sexual behavior, while helping our clients regain dignity, self-respect, and the trust of those they love. Both men and women can suffer from these types of issues, which are often exacerbated by alcohol and drug abuse, unresolved grief, and related life stressors, such as early trauma, neglect, and abuse. The Center’s treatment process is designed to help identify and resolve these concerns, often found to be the underlying catalysts for sexual acting out and intimacy disruption.

Some parts of that description seem to resonate with what we know of Rihanna’s situation as it relates to Chris Brown and her relationship–romantic or otherwise–with him; other parts–such as acting out sexually–I don’t think we know enough, if anything, about to comment on.

Where Does Rihanna Go From Here?

What are YOUR thoughts, readers? Do you have any experience with “love rehab,” personally or professionally? What are your opinions on it?

Do you think this sounds like something that could benefit Rihanna?

Image Credit: Liam Mendes

I suppose this could be a Weekend Listening post, too, because guess who got back together and released a new album last week?

Filter!

Why, yes, I am excited about it!

Filter’s first album, Short Bus, was one of the first CDs I owned, and their 2000 hit “Take a Picture” off Title of Record was a pretty regular jam during my freshman year of college.

Just in time for the band’s sixth and latest studio release, The Sun Comes Out Tonight, Filter frontman Richard Patrick talked exclusively with The Fix about how both his past drug and alcohol abuse and his current sobriety have played a role in the band’s failures and successes.

Even though Filter had all this success, eventually I’m 33 and bent over a coffee table, addicted to cocaine as well. My dreams were being put on hold just to handle this addiction and minimize my insecurities.

His ongoing alcoholism and cocaine abuse finally spiraled completely out of control in 2002, leading Patrick to cancel most of the promotional tour for the band’s 2002 flop, The Amalgamut.

That’s when Patrick checked himself into rehab and the now 45-year-old rocker has been sober since 2002. Several years ago, Patrick sought mental health treatment and is now properly managing his ADHD with his wife’s help.

Filter joins Live, Everclear, and Sponge (geez, my 90s self is seriously hyperventilating over here) for their Summerland Tour 2013.

Can’t make it? Or, just can’t wait to check out the new tunes? Spotify has the entire The Sun Comes Out Tonight album; there’s some language, so beware. (I particularly like “Surprise” and “First You Break It.”)

Enjoy!

Image Credit: Samantha L. Quigley

Here’s a sweet way to start the week, kiddos!

(What? Normal people start their weeks on Monday? I was at an Ashtanga workshop all weekend–cut me some slack!)

Another edition to our Celebrities Without Makeup series!

They might not be movie stars or topping the Billboard, but these ladies have some of the most recognizable faces in the world…

…or, do they?

Do Stars Without Makeup Help Boost Your Own Confidence?

GirlsGuideTo recently posted a series of before-and-after photos of Victoria’s Secret models. Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima–the gang’s all there!

Even Elle Macpherson!

Photoshopped Celebrities: Before and After Pictures

Of course, the models are beautiful in both their before and after photos, but a few of them are outright unrecognizable without their game faces on.

I share this Victoria’s Secret Model installment of Celebrities Without Makeup because, unfortunately, these models all too often are the “standard” so many of us look at when measuring our own physical “beauty.”

If we’re not as tall as Gisele Bundchen, if our cheekbones aren’t as high as Alessandra Ambrosio’s, if our boobs aren’t as perky as Miranda Kerr’s, if we’re not as thin as Lindsay Ellingson, if our complexion isn’t as dewy as Adriana Lima’s, if we don’t look like Elle Macpherson when we’re on the brink of 50…

Well, then, we’re just not up to snuff, right?

Yeah, right.

How Would You Look If You Looked Like What You Are?

These women are beautiful, no doubt, but we’re all beautiful. You don’t have to have sky-high legs or a tiny waist or “flawless” skin to be beautiful. If that were the case, things would grow really boring, really fast!

So, take a look at these pictures and remind yourself that we’re all human. None of us roll out of bed ready for the cameras, and even if someone’s belly is still flatter than yours–with or without makeup–it doesn’t make her any more gorgeous than you.

GirlsGuideTo: Victoria Secret Models Without Makeup

Image Credit: Laurent Jean Philippe

UPDATE: 06/06/2013: US Magazine reports that Paris’ uncles Marlo, Jackie, and Tito Jackson have confirmed with TMZ that Paris is now “safe” and “doing fine.”
____________

Original Story

Paris Jackson was rushed to a hospital early Wednesday morning after what some sources have confirmed was a suicide attempt.

Paris, the 15-year-old daughter of the late Michael Jackson, has reportedly been dealing with severe depression, possibly stemming from her father’s death in 2009.

Celebrity Or Not: Suicide Warning Signs To Look For

Although CNN reports a hospital source “stopped short of calling it a suicide attempt” but did say it could be a cry for help, another source tells TMZ that Paris has “tried this in the past” but “this was far more serious. It was not a cry for help.

Several websites have commented on the teenager’s most recent Twitter posts, one asking “why tears are salty” and another quoting the Beatles’ “Yesterday.” Both tweets were shortly before the 911 call came in.

Near-Suicide Stories Can Help Others Reach Out

Let’s keep the Jackson family in our thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult and confusing time.

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I follow a lot of Harry Potter-related social media accounts and websites because, well, I’m obsessed.

I have multiple versions of the books and copies of the school books in the series; I’ve dressed up for movie premiers; and I have quality lightening bolt jewelry.

I jam “Hedwig’s Theme” and “Buckbeak’s Flight” in my car.

I regularly reread the series and every ABC Family marathon is a national holiday.

Pretty much the only thing missing is the tattoo.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Reviewing Life Lessons

The point is, I understand people’s various levels of Potter appreciation (unless you have none, and then I just don’t know what it is you’re doing with your life), but I got chills when I read one person’s anonymous confession that Harry Potter had saved her life.

The Common Room, a popular Facebook page for Harry Potter fans, regularly posts Potter-related images with fan confessions. Some of them are funny, others trigger “A-HA!” moments, and some express frustration.

A few weeks ago, one of the fans confessed she struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts, until she started reading the Harry Potter books. She claimed getting lost in the story was her way to escape the depression and suicide ideation.

I was floored, but in a good way. I have no idea who this person is–how old she is, whether she receives counseling or takes medication, whether she’s even a she–but I felt instantly connected to her. Not because Harry Potter saved my life, but because I understand how big an impact stories can have on our lives.

Not just stories. For some, it’s movies, music, art. A particular song or album or band, or a book we read back in fifth grade that’s stuck with us for decades. Sometimes it’s the message itself, and sometimes it’s just the opportunity to escape our own problems and enter another world.

What’s your escape, readers?

Do you have a song, album, or artist who’s saved your life? What about a book series? Or a movie you watched at just the right time?

Share with us in the comments below!

Image Credit | CC

Philip Seymour Hoffman is out of rehab and back on the sobriety wagon, folks!

What, you didn’t know he’d fallen off?

Neither did I, but apparently Hoffman had been abusing prescription drugs for the past year. Also, he started using heroin just one week before entering the east coast detox program.

Hoffman, who is well known for his roles in Capote and Moneyball (and, if you’re me, as Lester Bangs in the most ridiculously best movie of all time, Almost Famous), saw his backslide after an impressive 23-year sober stretch.

After graduating from New York University’s drama school, Hoffman began abusing drugs and alcohol, “anything [he] could get [his] hands on…[he] liked it all.”

It wasn’t long before Hoffman got his act together, though:

I went [to rehab], I got sober when I was 22 years old. You get panicked…and I got panicked for my life. It really was just that.

The 45-year-old actor is already back on set in Europe, working on God’s Pocket, an indie film with Mad Men‘s Christina Hendricks. He recently finished filming The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which hits theaters November 2013.

Hoffman reportedly credits “a great group of friends and family” for helping him get sober again.

Can any of you relate to Hoffman’s story, readers? Have any of you ever fallen off the wagon? If so, who helped you get treatment?

Image Credit: Georges Biard

Here’s a sweet Weekend Watching for you comedy fans:

Showtime airs a new Richard Pryor documentary, Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic, tonight at 9 p.m. EST.

You might be wondering why we’ve added yet another Richard Pryor documentary to the shelf, and Pryor’s fourth and seventh wife (the man married five women over seven marriages), Jennifer Lee Pryor, tells Rolling Stone she wanted to make sure at least one of them didn’t portray him as “the guy that said m***** f***** all the time.”

There’ve been a lot of pseudo documentaries. E! True Hollywood stuff that was never satisfactory to Richard or myself. Very superficial, instead of something that was in depth and authorized by the estate. People think about Richard in terms of cocaine, the fire, women. And indeed it is sensational, but there was much more to him. He was an artist, and he had a lot of struggles and challenges in his life, starting from childhood.

Jennifer Lee Pryor played an instrumental role in the documentary, teaming up with Roy Ackerman as an executive producer. Emmy-winning filmmaker Marina Zenovich (Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired) directs the film, and explains how it

For Richard, you have to omit the logic because of the way he was raised. He didn’t have a normal life – he was raised in a brothel, his mother was a hooker, and his uncle and dad were pimps. That makes you see the world in a completely different way. I think he had very different rules.

The 84-minute documentary features commentary from Pryor’s wife and son, Richard Pryor, Jr., as well as bob Newhart, Whoopi Goldberg, and Robin Williams.

Omit the Logic made its world debut at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival to fairly favorable reviews (though, most critics noted it wasn’t nearly long enough to do Pryor’s life and career justice). Watch it tonight and decide for yourself.

Image Credit: Paul Howzey via Creative Commons

Here’s an upcoming Weekend Watching for you, sweet readers.

The 2013 Cannes Film Festival ends in a couple of days, and something else was going on amid all those glamorous red carpet appearances, hopeful debut filmmakers, and all those directors vying for the coveted Palme d’Or.

Focus Features International reportedly spent some time shopping a new Amy Winehouse documentary.

Winehouse’s wildly successful career was cut short in 2011 when, after publicly battling substance abuse, she died of alcohol poisoning at 27. Her legacy certainly has lived on, though, with the Amy Winehouse Foundation and her father’s book Amy, My Daughter.

Amy Winehouse Foundation Offers New Scholarship Program

Award-winning director Asif Kapadia (Senna) and producer James Gay-Rees (Exit Through the Gift Shop) are set to work on the still-untitled film and have released a joint statement about the project:

Amy was a once-in-a-generation talent who captured everyone’s attention. She wrote and sung from the heart and everyone fell under her spell. But tragically, Amy seemed to fall apart under the relentless media attention, her troubled relationships, her global success and precarious lifestyle. As a society, we celebrated her huge success, but then we were quick to judge her failings when it suited us.

The film will feature previously unseen footage of Winehouse and, according to Kapadia and Gay-Rees, will “look at Amy’s story sensitively, honestly and without sensationalizing her.”

Are you an Amy Winehouse fan looking forward to the new documentary? What do you hope to see (and not see) in the film?

[Rolling Stone; New York Times]

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Earlier this month, U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske presented former Friends star Matthew Perry with the Champion of Recovery Award for “giving a voice to millions of Americans in recovery.”

How has the 43-year-old actor done that, you ask?

By being so vocal about his own addiction and recovery and supporting President Obama’s efforts to fight alcohol and drug abuse in America, to the White House’s way of thinking.

Specifically, his staunch support of America’s drug courts.

Perry, who struggled with prescription pain killer addiction for years and entered rehab twice before getting a grip on his own addiction, first learned about the drug court system several years ago when a friend asked him to speak at one.

It wasn’t long before Perry decided drug court provided addicts with an option to work on recovery without prison time:

Drug courts are a wonderful solution to the ever-growing problem of addicts being caught up in the criminal justice system. For first-time nonviolent drug offenders, drug court gives them an opportunity to not just be thrown into jail, but to recover–to get in a process of recovery.

According to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP), drug courts are doing a lot to keep those drug offenders out of the system. For example, studies show crime is reduced as much as 45% more with drug court than other sentencing options, and 75% of drug court graduates remain arrest-free for at least two years.

Congratulations to Matthew Perry on his White House award, and here’s to hoping the drug court system continues its success.

Do you or does anyone you know have experience with the drug court system? What are your thoughts? Share with us in the comments below!

Image Credit: Rex Chen via CC

It’s a sad day for NASCAR fans and the family of racing legend Richard “Dick” Trickle.

On Thursday, May 16, 2013, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department received a phone call informing them they’d soon find the dead body of the 71-year-old “White Knight.”

Upon investigation, authorities found Trickle dead from a gunshot wound outside his pickup truck at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boger City, NC.

According to reports, authorities believe the phone call came from Trickle himself, and Sheriff’s Lieutenant Tim Johnson has stated they do not suspect foul play.

Trickle’s fellow race car drivers have taken to Twitter to speak out on the tragedy, expressing sadness and sorrow for his family.

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France issued the following statement:

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Dick Trickle on his passing today. Dick was a legend in the short-track racing community, particularly in his home state of Wisconsin, and he was a true fan favorite. Personalities like Dick Trickle helped shape our sport. He will be missed.

I will update this post as further details become available, and in the meantime, my thoughts and prayers go out to the Trickle family.

Image Credit: Spikerogan