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Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Paula Abdul admits problem with drugs
In other news, Yao Ming is tall. The pope wears a hat that may be considered humorous and the economy has a cold.
I must admit, I am watching “American Idol” this season for the first time ever. Maybe it was my girlfriend who got me hooked. Maybe I was just taking my new DVR for a test drive. Or maybe I am getting old and boring and lame.
Whatever the reason, I have watched almost every episode this season. I won’t here get into how boring and average most of the performers have been or give a nod to the Rocky Horror Led Zeppelin Picture Show (Adam) or Fake Matthews Band (Chris). What I want to mention is the much maligned and ridiculed Paula Abdul. Certainly the woman has had a successful career in music and if you listen closely, out of the rambling and slurs, you hear her mention things like “phrasing,” hitting certain notes, etc. So she does know her music. It’s just so hard to take her seriously when it seems so obvious that she has had a problem, one that seems to have been denied or overlooked for years. Oddly, I hear she actually seems more together than years past.
Well, the (MC Scat) Kat is finally out of the bag. Paula Abdul has admitted to “Ladies’ Home Journal” in its June edition that she has, indeed, been battling addiction to drugs.
Now, drug addictions, in all of their varied forms, are no laughing matter. But neither is profiting off of the wacky behavior of drugs addicts, as it seems “American Idol” has done at times over the past few years. Abdul says she is now off of the drugs for the first time in 12 years.
The former pop star, who turns 47 this month, has never looked better. In previous years she acted erratically, at times slurring her words or appearing disoriented. This year she’s got it together. And for a reason: For the first time in 12 years Abdul says she’s no longer dependent on medication. The rumors that her sometimes-bizarre behavior was fueled by drugs just may have been true. Abdul was taking heavy-duty pain killers, though she claims she never shot an Idol episode under the influence. But last Thanksgiving, determined to overcome her habit, she checked into the La Costa Resort and Spa, in Carlsbad, California, to wean herself off her medications in one fell swoop. “I could have killed myself…. Withdrawal — it’s the worst thing,” she says. “I was freezing cold, then sweating hot, then chattering and in so much pain, it was excruciating. But at my very core, I did not like existing the way I had been.”
When we meet at her Mediterranean-style home in the San Fernando Valley, Abdul is eager to talk about her transformative journey. Sitting at her dining-room table, cradling Bessie Moo, an aggressively affectionate white Chihuahua with chocolate-brown spots, Abdul is wistful about the past years. “I’d been working nonstop,” she says. But she wasn’t really living. Instead, she bought into the showbiz saying, “the show must go on.” “I’m an old-school professional,” she says. “Never let them see you sweat.” But doing so became increasingly difficult for Abdul, who for years has suffered from chronic debilitating pain caused by an unusual series of accidents, the first of which occurred when she was a 17-year-old cheerleader.
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“It’s been an amazing journey,” says Abdul of her 20-year career. “American Idol has been a gift. Nothing makes me happier than nurturing talent and seeing them rise and take flight. It’s my true calling in life.”
As wack as she is, Abdul does seem to have a soft spot for these kids and truly champions their talent and dreams, which is admirable. For someone who worked so tirelessly to get to the top of the game 20 years ago, it is heartening to see her devote her energy to helping others while fighting her own demons. Let’s just hope she can stay clean.
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Your A-List: Best Punk Group
- SoundCheck360: Listen to Spin Alley
- World Burns to Death, 45 percent
- Midgetmen, 1 percent
- Riverboat Gamblers, 1 percent
- Krum Bums, 1 percent
- Flametrick Subs, < 1 percent
- Manikin, < 1 percent
- Sex Advice, < 1 percent
- Camp X-Ray, < 1 percent
- The Teeners, < 1 percent
- Hex Dispensers, < 1 percent
- Sacred Shock, < 1 percent
- Me vs. Everybody, < 1 percent
- Finally Punk, < 1 percent
- Total Abuse, < 1 percent
- Deskonocidos, < 1 percent
- Naw Dude, < 1 percent
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Your A-List: Best Patio
Sitting outside is nice. Booze is nice, too. Drinking booze while sitting outside is really nice. Especially when you can do so on a balcony patio with stellar views, hence the victory in this week’s poll by the Stephen F. Austin (40 percent of the vote).
The swanky hotel has a popular, highlighted with some serious Texas touches (see: mounted longhorn over the hand-tooled leather bar and cowhide barstools). But arguably the greatest attraction of the Stephen F. Austin’s bar is the terrace that wraps around the hotel, offering views of the Texas Capitol, Congress Avenue and Seventh Street. When the weather is nice, it’s hard to find a better spot in town to have a drink.
Others receiving votes
- Oasis, 14 percent
- Hula Hut, 11 percent
- Hotel San Jose, 6 percent
- Opal Divine’s, 5 percent
- Doc’s Motorworks, 3 percent
- Vivo, 3 percent
- Freddie’s, 3 percent
- Mozart’s, 3 percent
- Iguana Grill, 3 percent
- Little Woodrow’s, 3 percent
- Z’Tejas, 2 percent
- Rio Rita, 2 percent
- Trudy’s, 2 percent
- Cedar Street, < 1 percent
- Cedar Door, < 1 percent
- Mesa Ranch, <1 percent
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