Former “American Idol” contestant Paula Goodspeed was found dead in her car outside of Paula Abdul’s home Tuesday night. Goodspeed apparently committed suicide by taking a large dose of prescription pills.

Goodspeed supposedly had a psychiatric history which included an obsession with Paula Abdul. Goodspeed appeared on the fifth season of “American Idol” where she was ridiculed and rejected and many believe this poor treatment led Goodspeed to her death. Here’s the footage from Goodspeeds American Idol appearance.

Honestly, I’m surprised something like this hasn’t happened sooner. I stopped watching most competition style reality shows because they make me feel so bad for some contestants. I mean, did Simon really have to make lame remarks about her braces? Fine, the girl was not a good singer, but shaming contestants for the sake of ratings is cruel and sadly, very common.

Read the rest of this entry »

The gravestone of Ian Curtis, deceased singer of Joy Division, has been stolen from a cemetery in Cheshire, England. The gravestone bore an inscription of Curtis’ most famous song lyrc, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” the title of the one song that can legitimately be described as a “hit” from his highly influential late 70’s band.

Curtis, whose life has been documented in the acclaimed films “24 Hour Party People“, directed by Michael Winterbottom, and “Control“, directed by Anton Corbijn, tragically hung himself in the kitchen of his home on May 18, 1980, at the age of 23. His band, Joy Division, subsequently reformed as New Order and went on to be one of the most popular British post-punk/new wave bands of the 1980’s and beyond. Joy Division has retained a loyal following since the singers’ death however, drawing in later generations and even fans who weren’t born yet during their short run from 1977-1980, with their influential, often dark, foreboding sound. After the jump you can check out a video of “Love Will Tear Us Apart”.

Read the rest of this entry »

Former NFL running back Herschel Walker released his new book “Breaking Free” today, in which he speaks about his bout with Disassociative Identity Disorder (DID) aka multiple personalities .

On ABC tonight Walker, 46, will discuss the book and his struggle on “Nightline.” Walker says after eight years of treatment he believes the disorder is under control and writing the book was a form of therapy.

For more on DID and other mental health issues visit National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). NAMI is America’s largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons living with serious mental illness.

Reports of mental illness in both children and adults has doubled in English-speaking countries since the early 1980s. Have we really gotten sicker over the last 20 years? Is it simply that a burgeoning therapy culture made us more willing to accept our diagnoses? In his book, The Selfish Capitalist, Oliver James draws parallels between this increase in mental disorders, the increase in wealth of the top 1% of earners in English-speaking nations, and the stagnation (or in the case of the US, the decline) of the real wage since the early 80s.

Read the rest of this entry »