infamous celebrity antics

the week's entries from About.com/Alcoholism;

Charlie Sheen Loses Custody Battle

Former "Two and a Half Men" television star Charlie Sheen has lost a fight to gain custody of his twin boys in a Los Angeles courtroom. The children will remain with their mother, Brooke Mueller, as determined in their previous custody agreement, sources said.

Nicolas Cage Arrested in New Orleans

Academy Award winning actor Nicolas Cage has been arrested after a loud, drunken argument with his wife on a residential street in the New Orleans French Quarter. Police said the 46-year-old actor was so intoxicated he was arguing with his wife about which house they were renting. He was arrested for domestic abuse battery, disturbing the peace and public drunkenness.

Elena Ford Sentenced For Driving Drunk

Elena Ford, heiress to the Ford Motor Company apologized through tears after pleading guilty to operating a vehicle under the influence while her 11-year-old son was in the car. She was sentenced to 24 months probation and 93 days in jail, which will be suspended if she does not violate her probation.

Bucs Assistant Charged With DUI

Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant coach Jayson Kaiser has been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving by St. Petersburg police. Kaiser refused to take a field sobriety test and refused a breathalyzer test while denying that he had been drinking. Police said his speech was slurred and he smelled of alcohol.

Sheriff Accused of Dealing Meth

Residents in Carter County, Missouri believe they have discovered why their county has been home to very few methamphetamine busts as the drug thrived in surrounding counties. The county sheriff, Tommy Adams, has been arrested for meth distribution after he was caught selling the drug to an informant.

Maine Has Highest Rate of Oxycontin Treatment

The state of Maine has become a battleground for the Oxycontin prescription drug epidemic with the nation's highest rate of residents who are in treatment for drug abuse. The state has also recorded the country's largest number of pharmacy robberies.

Monday quotes

You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water. Don't let yourself indulge in vain wishes.

- Rabindranath Tagore

The highest form of wisdom is kindness.

- The Talmud

Reality is a mysterious changing thing, because one's perception of it never remains the same.

- Joe Tan

The greatest evils, are from within us; and from ourselves also we must look for the greatest good.

- Jeremy Taylor

I make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes.

- Sara Teasdale

The world is a looking glass. It gives back to every man a true reflection of his own thoughts.

- William Makepeace Thackeray

Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.

- Margaret Thatcher

Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others.

- Danny Thomas

Do not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness.

- James Thurber

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.

- Brian Tracy

weekly roundup

this week's celebrity escapades from About.com/Alcoholism;

Lucy in the Sky Lyrics to Be Auctioned

The original lyrics to The Beatles' song "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," handwritten by John Lennon, will be auctioned off next month in Beverly Hills. Lennon denied that the song was about the drug LSD, in spite of its strange lyrics. The auction house Profiles in History said it expects the item to bring more than $200,000.

Ravens Line Coach Convicted of DUI

Baltimore Ravens offensive line coach Andy Moeller has been convicted of driving under the influence, his third alcohol-related incident since 2007. Team owner Steve Bisciotti warned Moeller that he is on his "last chance" with the Ravens.

Former Gator Basketball Player Charged With DUI

Dan Werner, a former University of Florida basketball player and now a professional in Hungary, has been arrested for driving under the influence. Werner was stopped after police spotted him driving with no tag light.

Judge on DUI Task Force Charged With DUI

A member of the Montana DUI Task Force has been charged with driving under the influence of drugs. Judge Robert Lee was charged with driving to the county courthouse under the influence a methadone, a powerful narcotic pain reliever.

Mom Gets DUI After Daughter Calls Cops

Apparently, Lisa Thompson-Phillips' 12-year-old daughter had a good reason to call 9-1-1 from her mother's car to report her driving under the influence. When officers tested the 43-year-old soccer mom's blood-alcohol level it was three times the legal limit.

Feds Raid $10M Pot Farm in New York

DEA agents said they busted at $10-million-a-year marijuana growing operation and confiscated more than 100 pounds of pot worth an estimated $2.5 million. The agents found 450 mature marijuana plants growing in a Staten Island, NY garage.

genetics and behavior

Insightful article from Medical News Today;

Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System have uncovered a new link between genetic variations associated with alcoholism, impulsive behavior and a region of the brain involved in craving and anxiety.

The results, published online April 12 in Molecular Psychiatry, suggest that variations in the GABRA2 gene contribute to the risk of alcoholism by influencing impulsive behaviors, at least in part through a portion of the cerebral cortex known as the insula, says study senior author Margit Burmeister, Ph.D., research professor at U-M's Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute.

"Scientists often find a statistical association between behaviors and various genes, but the mechanism that's at work frequently remains unclear," Burmeister says. "Here we took some steps toward explaining how specific genetic risk factors are influencing behavior and the brain."

Individuals under distress who also have the risky genetic variant tend to act impulsively, a behavior that may lead to the development of alcohol problems, says lead author Sandra Villafuerte, Ph.D., a research investigator at U-M's Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychiatry.

Individuals under distress who also have the risky genetic variant tend to act impulsively, a behavior that may lead to the development of alcohol problems, says lead author Sandra Villafuerte, Ph.D., a research investigator at U-M's Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychiatry.

"Developing deeper understandings of the various genetic and environmental factors involved in risky behaviors may guide prevention and treatment efforts in the future," Villafuerte says.

quotes for today

Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I look at victory as milestones on a very long highway.

- Joan Benoit Samuelson

Simplicity is the most difficult thing to secure in this world; it is the last limit of experience and the last effort of genius.

- George Sand

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.

- Carl Sandburg

The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.

- Jean-Paul Sartre

Being defeated is only a temporary condition; giving up is what makes it permanent.

- Marilyn vos Savant

Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons.

- Ruth Ann Schabacker

In actual life every great enterprise begins with and takes its first forward step in faith.

- Schlegel

Always look at what you have left. Never look at what you have lost.

- Robert H. Schuller

Life is too short to waste. Dreams are fulfilled only through action, not through endless planning to take action.

- David J. Schwartz

weekly antics

the latest celeb antics from About.com/Alcoholism;

Lohan, Rehab Worker Heard Yelling on 911 Call

According to a recording of a 9-1-1 call from the Betty Ford Center, Lindsay Lohan hit a center employee with a telephone as the worker tried to call police after a confrontation with the actress. The incident occurred with the employee tried to give Lohan a breathalyzer test.

Ford Motor Heiress Arrested for DUI

Henry Ford II's granddaughter Elena Ford has been arrested on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and child endangerment, because she had her 11-year-old son in the car. Ford is currently the company's director of global marketing. She failed a field sobriety test.

Vince Neil Charged in Fight With Ex-Girlfriend

Motley Crew singer Vince Neil, recently released after serving a short jail term for a DUI conviction, has been charged with battery and disorderly conduct for allegedly jabbing his ex-girlfriend with his finger at a Las Vegas theater. His attorney said the rocker will fight the charges.

Susan LeFevre to Write Book About Prison Escape

A woman who escaped prison in 1976 after a heroin conviction and moved to California, changed her name and became a soccer mom, is planning to write a book about her experiences. Susan LeFevre, who was living as Marie Walsh, when she was captured in 2008, as written "A Tale of Two Lives."

Former Gator Arrested for Possession of Viagra

Former Florida football player Louis Murphy was charged with possession of a drug without a valid prescription by Gainesville police. The charges were filed after police searched 23-year-old Murphy's vehicle and found 11 pills - of Viagra.

Teen Found at Meth Lab Bites Officer

When police went to a Daytona Beach home searching for a missing teenager, the house turned out to be a meth lab and the teen turned out to be a biter. Police said the 16-year-old girl bit one of the officers as they tried to restrain and search her after finding drugs in the house.

Previous Headlines

Lindsay Lohan Won't Be Charged for Rehab Scuffle

There is finally some good news for actress Lindsay Lohan. Riverside County prosecutors have decided not to pursue misdemeanor battery charges stemming from a scuffle that she got into with an employee of the Betty Ford Center. The employee said Lohan had gotten physical with her when she tried to administer an alcohol test.

quotes for today

Figure out what your purpose is in life, what you really and truly want to do with your time and your life then be willing to sacrifice everything and then some to achieve it. If you are not willing to make the sacrifice, then keep searching.

- Quintina Ragnacci

The winds of grace are always blowing, but you have to raise the sail.

- Ramakrishna

You can spend all your life trying to be what others expect you to be, but you will never be free.

- Chris Rea

Life is really about a spiritual unfolding that is personal and enchanting -- an unfolding that no science or philosophy or religion has yet fully clarified.

- James Redfield

It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

- Agnes Repplier

Time is not measured by the years we live, but by the deeds we do and the joys we give.

- Helen Steiner Rice

No matter what a man's past may have been, his future is spotless.

- John R. Rice

The successful person is the individual who forms the habit of doing what the failing person doesn’t like to do.

- Donald Riggs

A life isn't significant except for its impact on other lives.

- Jackie Robinson

If it takes a lot of words to say what you have in mind, give it more thought.

- Dennis Roch

Even if you're on the right track you'll get run over if you just sit there.

- Will Rogers