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Cruise-Lauer transcript

The Drudge Report has a transcript of the wild Tom Cruise interview where he attacked Brooke Shield’s use of psychiatry and psychoactive drugs to help with her depression. Instead, he recommended vitamins and exercise.

This line of thinking is based on Scientology, though it is not mentioned in the interview.

Cruise Scientology Interview

Radar Magazine, which I think I’ve quoted before, has just come out an issue featuring Tom Cruise.

He’s the cover boy of the magazine. But the article is not too kind, as the topic is Mr. Cruise’s recent ravings about Scientology in the media while supposedly promoting the movie of H. G. Well’s classic novel, War of the Worlds.*

The article has a picture of Tom’s jump-up-on-the-couch-and-scream TV appearance. Rather than attacking psychoactive drugs, he needs them. Valium ™ can be a great comfort.

The article details his rapid rise up the Scientology “Bridge,” I mean, ladder. (Founder L. Ron Hubbard was fond of ships. A 500-acre Scientology resort features huge ship replicas. The highest levels of Scientlogy staff are called the Sea Organization.) After a rough time at some of the lower levels of the church, Cruise was given a respite, because the church didn’t want to lose its most famous believer.

Why would anyone need a break from Scientology? At one level of its teaching, you are told about history of the evil thetans — aliens survivors from an intergalactic disaster — who have poisoned the human spirit for many centuries.

The article is excepted on the Radar website.

* Note: I have real problems with that film separate from Cruise’s starring role: it exploits 9/11 images to give authenticity to its horrors. Of course, they are not actual 9/11 images — which would kept audiences away — but Spielberg’s recreations of them: for example, the posted photos of missing people.

CBS to Release new Magazine

CBS television is about to separate from its parent company Viacom next year. CBS announced they’re going to start a new print magazine, WATCH!. The magazine will feature interviews with stars and news about the entertainment industry.

The magazine will be ad supported, and available free at Paramount theme parks, CBS show tapings, and CBS affiliates.

Will it be TV Guide ™ meets Entertainment Weekly ™ ? One blogger commented, “Why bother?”

OK Magazine = Instant Celebrity

To promote their new gossip celebrity publication, OK Magazine has turned a newstand into a big media event.

C omplete with red carpet, anyone buying a copy of the new magazine gets treated to paparazzi, screaming fans, and gawking tourists, confused — I suppose — by all the hype over buying a magazine.

A new fluorocarbon food risk?

Years ago, there were concerns raised about the safety of Teflon ™ nonstick frying pans. Teflon’s maker, DuPont denies this claim, but does admit that high heat will cause the release of toxic fumes. Opponents claim this dangerous temperature is 350 degrees F., a medium flame. DuPont says 660 degrees.

Nowadays, there’s a new unseen chemical risk in the kitchen: perfluorooctanoic acid or POFA, according to an article in The New York Times.

POFA is a breakdown product of chemicals called fluorotelomers. They are used in many kinds of food packaging — for french fries, microwaveable popcorn, baked goods, candy, pizza. The popcorn is particularly worrisome as the heat causes the chemical to spread into the popping oil.

There is some evidence that whatever the source, POFA is everywhere in the environment. Moreover, it remains in the environment for a long time. In one study by the 3M Company, of 600 children, 96% had the chemical in their blood. In fact, it is believed 90% of all Americans have POFA in their blood.

The EPA began studying POFA in 1999. It describes POFA as a “suggestive human carcinogen.” An outside scientific panel, however, reviewing the same data, has called it a “likely carcinogen.”

The Enviromental Working Group suggests before the government reports are finished, consumers can lessen their foodborne expose to POFA in several ways: heat greay foods in ceramic or glass , not cardboard containers; cook with Teflon pans at lower temperatures; never heat an empty Teflon pan; and microwave popcorn in a homemade popping bag of brown paper with some oil inside, stapled shut.

Tattooed Broccoli?

There’s a new labeling technology out there for those high-tech grocery items: fruits and vegetables. No more little stickers.

No, now it’s laser tattooing. The New York Times has an article on the new process. It is being developed by Durand-Wayland, a fruit grower and distributor in Georgia. The new method will eventually allow tracking produce from the grower to you, for both food safety and distribution efficiency.

Apparently, many customers are annoyed by those little stickers. They either can’t remove them or they damage the produce too much by removing them. (My idea of a vegetable is ketchup on my burger, so I’m not bothered by the stickers.)

The stickers are PLUs or price lookup stickers. They carry information about exactly what kind of produce you’re buying.

But the new laser tattoos can contain far more information than the troublesome stickers, and they can be scanned as well. The scanner will recognize a Bosc or a Bartlett pear, or an ordinary Fuji apple from an organically-grown one.

Military Explosives used in London Attacks?

The New York Times reported today that the bombs used in the devastating attacks in London last week were advanced military-grade bombs.

The bombs contained only about ten pounds of explosives each, leading officials at first to guess they were crude homemade devices.

Further investigation has led investigators to believe they were either of military or commercial origin, such as the explosives used to demolish buildings.

Bombs Kill 37 in London

London was rocked by a coordinated series of terrorist bombings this morning.

A group supposedly affiliated with Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility on its website for the attacks. Targeted at mass transit, the devices were detonated on four subway trains and a bus during Thursday morning’s rush hour.

The blasts began shortly before 9 a.m. and lasted about 45 minutes.

The attacks were claimed to be in retaliation for the UK participation in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Both subway and bus services were stopped as rescue workers tended to those injured.

People have compared these attacks to the horrific blitz attacks during World War II.

For more of this story, see the report in The New York Times.

Brooke Shields replies

The Brooke Shields / Tom Cruise battle is heating up. Brooke has posted an Op-Ed piece in The NewYork Times.

Apparently, Mr. Cruise had quite a run-in with Matt Lauer in an interview. He said Ms. Shields and her new memoir about her depression are way off base: postpartum depression is not a real problem. Moreover, said the star, psychiatry and anti-depressive drugs are worthless.

Instead, he suggested vitamins and exercise as cures.

It’s fine to have these opinions Tom, but keep them to yourself, not on national TV. And do not jump up and down on couches while talking like this, as you did the other day.

You know, you may need some meds yourself.

P.S. I believe Mr. Cruise — as some other celebrities (not Brooke Shields though) — is a Scientologist. Years ago, Scientologists actually picketed against anti-depressive drugs. So there is an unpleasant “party line” stink to Tom’s protest.

I’m afraid I have even less faith in Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard,* its sci-fi writing founder, than Tom has in modern psychiatry.

*True Story: Many years ago, Lyle Stuart, the book publisher and L. Ron Hubbard were in a creative writing class together.

As they pondered their future writing careers, L. Ron said that best way to make a lot of money, much more than writing, would be to start a religion. Of course, that’s just what he did, and it worked. He did become very rich.

Sly Stallone in pudding ads?

Sly Stallone is pitching pudding. At least, it’s high-protein pudding for fitness.
“The world’s first ready-to-eat high-protein pudding” according to its maker, Instone. The fitness supplement company is based in Irvine, California.

Sounds like something of which the governor might approve.