The other day, a post on Chiodos frontman and solo artist Craig Owen’s website said that he had almost O.D.ed on drugs and was taken to a hospital, then a nuthouse for observation. The post was quickly taken down, but Owens has now updated his blog with the details of the event, the situation surrounding it and his plans for the future. It’s kind of tl;dr but if you’re bored here it is:

So, it’s no secret that I have recently went through one of the hardest times in my life. On Sunday, July 20th, I attempted to overdose on prescribed Xanax at my home here in Michigan. Flash ahead 12 hours later, I woke up in the emergency room surrounded by my family and best friends, with an IV in my left arm, and hooked up to machines. I felt confused, angry, selfish, and completely embarrassed. After being admitted to the hospital for a couple of days, I made my way to recovery and built up enough strength and courage with the support of my loved ones enough to make it back home.

I am okay, though. Thankfully, I had no permanent physical damage to myself from this.
This isn’t something that I went through by myself. I am, by no means, alone in this. My family and close friends have been by my side each minute since the incident and, you, my fans, have been right there with me too.

I have received an incredible amount of MySpace messages, comments, emails, instant messages, text messages and voice mails supporting me through this time in my life. So many people loved me more than I ever thought and the amount of happiness that this brings to me is more than I ever could describe.

You have all shown me a new, blinding light within myself and from that ray you seem to shine on me with every one of your beautiful comments (and I read every single one of them), not to mention your undeniable support. Thanks to you, I’ve already began to return to my “normal” self- a person that I had forgotten all about.

Why did this happen?

I have been battling with manic depression, bipolar disorder, and constant anxiety attacks for years. This disease has caused me to hide in my bedroom for weeks at a time, push away the most important people in my life, and learn to hate myself even. I have tried to remain strong through the years, fighting off urges and using the undying support of my fans, friends, family, and loved ones to turn my depression into an art- a music to share with the world.

I also have been speaking with a therapist for around a year now, maybe more. This has helped me to come in touch with who I am as a human being and why I do the things that I do. Rationalizing my imperfections and trying to wear them as if they were badges of honor is something that I had learned to pride myself off of- until this incredibly selfish and stupid act I pulled.

What’s next?

I’m looking towards the future and have been blinded by the brightness of it. After taking care of myself over the past few days, and talking through this situation with my family, friends, and managers, I am committed to creating only positive actions out of the deepest and darkest low I have found myself in with this. I will not be canceling any upcoming shows, with the exception of this Sunday’s show (7/27) in Albany, NY with P.O.D and Everclear. My solo show this Saturday (7/26), WILL STILL BE HAPPENING, and will be an emotional and therapeutic experience, to say the least. With it being in Detroit, and being able to perform softly, with spoken-words, and seeing all of the people that have been by my side though this entire thing, I hope to find a new bliss within this rut I have found myself in.

I cannot wait enough to get back out onto the road with Chiodos for our just-announced headlining tour this August to October. Being in front of all of you gives me such strength and if I hadn’t been home so much for the past few months, thinking too much and allowing darkness to overcome me, who knows if this would have even had happened.

I have a long road ahead of me, no doubt, but I feel that this experience has, oddly enough, given me new strength to take control of my situation and it has shown my loved ones (and myself) the seriousness of what I’ve been struggling with too.

I will not stop playing music, writing, or opening myself up to the people that matter most to me. All we have is one another and this entire situation is nothing but a GIANT reminder that we ALL need to stay strong and hold one another up during even the hardest of times.
I love you- Craig.

Heather Locklear is going through some major hardships in her life right now. Locklear recently entered rehab treatment due to her severe anxiety and depression. The 46-year-old actress divorced from rockstar husband Richie Sambora in 2006. Since the traumatic divorce process, Locklear has been battling deep depression. Sambora is a tool anyways. Earlier this year, in March, a friend feared for her life and called 911 because they thought Locklear was going to commit suicide. Keep ya head up! & damn she looks good for 46.

“Suicide Is Painless” would be a pretty bad ass final quote to scrawl in the dust on the hood of your car right before you did a swan dive off a bridge, at least that’s what Samuel Israel III thought. The convicted “hedge fund swindler” was supposed to report to federal prison after being sentenced to 20 years in April for being a thieving little bastard. He convinced investors to put more than $450 million in to Bayou hedge funds, which have since collapsed, and was ordered to pay back $300 million to his victims.

Too bad this whole thing is guaranteed to be a farce. The FBI says there has been no body found, and nobody saw anybody jump. I can’t say I blame the dude for faking it though. I mean, if somebody was like “show up at my office in a few weeks to report to prison where you are sure to get used like a dick receptical for about 20 years straight” I would probably find a way to fuck off in the meantime too.

Word from the Hillary Clinton camp is that she is going to FINALLY fuck off and back Barack Obama on Saturday. But I think we all know the truth: she is making her play to become his running mate as Vice President.

The country did pretty fucking well while Ol’ Bill Clinton was getting his cock sucked by slightly overweight slags in the Oval Office for 8 years, so having an Obama/Clinton ticket could do pretty well. Not because people want Hillary in the White House, but because they want Barack Obama in the White House and they trust Bill Clinton to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t royally fuck things up.

At the same time, if I were Barack (we are on a first name basis) I would tell Hillary to kiss my ass in the county square for dragging this bull shit out for so long and talking too many people out of voting for me and ask John Edwards or some other safe white dude. Thanks to her, now it’s going to be a huge uphill battle to beat crusty ass Republican John McCain at a time when people should be clamoring to vote for anything with a “D” next to it on election day because George W Bush has been a total slap dick for 8 years straight.

So, thanks for the gesture Hillary, but I have a hard time buying it. You’ve been getting cheated on with multiple partners for most, if not all of your marriage, but liked the power of the office too much to tell Bill to kick rocks like any self respecting woman would have done, and this is no different. Veep is better than nothing!

“Barack!! I didn’t mean all that shit I said about you bro! You know that’s just business. We’re still cool right? ….right?”

A 14-year-old Japanese girl committed suicide by mixing laundry detergent and cleansers, then unwittingly poisoned 90 of her fellow neighbors with the pungent waft as a result.

The girl’s suicide Wednesday night was part of an expanding string of similar deaths that experts say have been encouraged by Internet suicide sites.

A 31-year-old man outside Tokyo killed himself inside a car early Thursday by mixing detergent and bath salts, police said. A local police spokesman refused to give further details, but Kyodo News agency reported the man put a sign reading “Stay Away” on the car window.

Reports of another similar case emerged Thusday afternoon when a 42-year-old woman in Nagoya, central Japan, was found dead in a bathtub. According to Kyodo, there was toilet cleaner and bath powder nearby, along with a sign outside that read, “Poisonous gas being emitted. Caution.”

Internet suicide sites?! What the hell is wrong with us? Not to mention, what the hell is wrong with Japan?

Japan’s government has long battled to contain the country’s alarmingly high suicide rate. A total of 32,155 people killed themselves in 2006, giving the country the ninth highest rate in the world, according to the government.

Suicides first passed the 30,000 mark in 1998, near the height of an economic slump that left many bankrupt, jobless and desperate.

The government has earmarked $220 million for anti-suicide programs to help those with depression and other mental conditions.

Last year it set a goal of cutting the suicide rate by 20 percent in 10 years through steps such as reducing unemployment, boosting workplace counseling and filtering Web sites that promote suicide.

It’s a good thing we’re too distracted by Lost and Britney Spears to be anywhere near the top 10 most suicidal countries. America Wins again!

According to the Norwegian tabloid Verdens Gang, Kaja Bordevich Ballo, daughter of Norwegian Parliament member Olav Gunnar Ballo, reportedly took her own life [English translation] after scoring poorly on a Scientology personality test. There is some skepticism as to the validity of the report. The results of the test were time-stamped just hours before Ballo’s death, but this could merely be an excuse to cover up the real cause of death, given that Kaja comes from a politically motivated family.

As you may have heard, the personality test, also called the Oxford Capacity Analysis (OCA) or American Personality Analysis, is offered free by the Church of Scientology and comprises an integral part of their recruitment efforts. The test however, has been extensively criticized as it almost exclusively yields negative results. Here are some testimonials from people who have taken the test:
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