What would I write about without Tom?

I swear, Tom Cruise is making coming up with diary entries SO EASY.

His latest stop on the "Mental Breakdown/Selling The World on Scientology Tour" with Matt Lauer:

Cruise: I've never agreed with psychiatry, ever. Before I was a Scientologist I never agreed with psychiatry. And when I started studying the history of psychiatry, I understood more and more why I didn't believe in psychology.
And as far as the Brooke Shields thing, look, you got to understand, I really care about Brooke Shields. I think, here's a wonderful and talented woman. And I want to see her do well. And I know that psychiatry is a pseudo science.
Lauer: But Tom, if she said that this particular thing helped her feel better, whether it was the antidepressants or going to a counselor or psychiatrist, isn't that enough?
Cruise: Matt, you have to understand this. Here we are today, where I talk out against drugs and psychiatric abuses of electric shocking people, okay, against their will, of drugging children with them not knowing the effects of these drugs. Do you know what Aderol is? Do you know Ritalin? Do you know now that Ritalin is a street drug? Do you understand that?
Lauer: The difference is —
Cruise: No, no, Matt.
Lauer: This wasn't against her will, though.
Cruise: Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt —

Tool, tool, tool, tool.

Lauer: But this wasn't against her will.
Cruise: Matt, I'm asking you a question.
Lauer: I understand there's abuse of all of these things.
Cruise: No, you see. Here's the problem. You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do.

"I do." Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. DICK.

Lauer: Aren't there examples, and might not Brooke Shields be an example, of someone who benefited from one of those drugs?
Cruise: All it does is mask the problem, Matt. And if you understand the history of it, it masks the problem. That's what it does. That's all it does. You're not getting to the reason why. There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance.
Lauer: So, postpartum depression to you is kind of a little psychological gobbledygook —
Cruise: No. I did not say that.
Lauer: I'm just asking what you, what would you call it?
Cruise: No. No. Abso— Matt, now you're talking about two different things.
Lauer: But that's what she went on the antidepressant for.
Cruise: But what happens, the antidepressant, all it does is mask the problem. There's ways, [with] vitamins and through exercise and various things... I'm not saying that that isn't real. That's not what I'm saying. That's an alteration of what I'm saying. I'm saying that drugs aren't the answer, these drugs are very dangerous. They're mind-altering, antipsychotic drugs. And there are ways of doing it without that so that we don't end up in a brave new world. The thing that I'm saying about Brooke is that there's misinformation, okay. And she doesn't understand the history of psychiatry. She doesn't understand in the same way that you don't understand it, Matt.

I love that he thinks vitamins and exercise will cure WHATEVER mental problem you may have. Schizophrenia? Take some B-12! Manic Depression? 50 push-ups and some Vitamin A! Listen to Dr. Tom, people!

Lauer: But a little bit of what you're saying Tom is, you say you want people to do well. But you want them do to well by taking the road that you approve of, as opposed to a road that may work for them.
Cruise: No, no, I'm not.
Lauer: Well, if antidepressants work for Brooke Shields, why isn't that okay?
Cruise: I disagree with it. And I think that there's a higher and better quality of life. And I think that, promoting — for me personally, see, you're saying what, I can't discuss what I wanna discuss?
Lauer: No. You absolutely can.
Cruise: I know. But Matt, you're going in and saying that, that I can't discuss this.
Lauer: I'm only asking, isn't there a possibility that — do you examine the possibility that these things do work for some people? That yes, there are abuses. And yes, maybe they've gone too far in certain areas. Maybe there are too many kids on Ritalin. Maybe electric shock —
Cruise: Too many kids on Ritalin? Matt.
Lauer: I'm just saying. But aren't there examples where it works?
Cruise: Matt. Matt, Matt, you don't even — you're glib. You don't even know what Ritalin is. If you start talking about chemical imbalance, you have to evaluate and read the research papers on how they came up with these theories, Matt, okay? That's what I've done. Then you go and you say where's the medical test? Where's the blood test that says how much Ritalin you're supposed to get?
Lauer: It's very impressive to listen to you. Because clearly, you've done the homework. And you know the subject.
Cruise: And you should. And you should do that also. Because just knowing people who are on Ritalin isn't enough. You should be a little bit more responsible in knowing really —
Lauer: I'm not prescribing Ritalin, Tom. And I'm not asking anyone else to do it. I'm simply saying, I know some people who seem to have been helped by it.
Cruise: But you're saying this is a very important issue.
Lauer: I couldn't agree more.
Cruise: It's very — and you know what? You're here on the "Today" show.
Lauer: Right.
Cruise: And to talk about it in a way of saying, "Well, isn't it okay," and being reasonable about it when you don't know and I do, I think that you should be a little bit more responsible in knowing what it is.
Lauer: But —
Cruise: Because you communicate to people.
Lauer: But you're now telling me that your experiences with the people I know, which are zero, are more important than my experiences.
Cruise: What do you mean by that?
Lauer: You're telling me what's worked for people I know or hasn't worked for people I know. I'm telling you, I’ve lived with these people and they're better.
Cruise: So, you're advocating it.
Lauer: I am not. I'm telling you in their case, in their individual case, it worked. I am not gonna go out and say, "Get your kids on Ritalin. It's the cure-all and the end-all."
Cruise: Matt, but here's the point. What is the ideal scene for life? Okay. The ideal scene is someone not having to take antipsychotic drugs.

Duh, Tom. Of course the fucking IDEAL scene is to not have to take any medication. No one wants to take anti-psychotics, you stupid ass. But giving your kid vitamin C and a hug every day isn't going to calm him down if he has ADD (I am not a big supporter of ritalin, either - but I have seen it work with some kids).

I really resent his dismissal people who have serious mental issues, thinking that vitamins and exercise and his cult can cure whatever ails them.

Apparently, insanity and self-righteousness is exhausting. Look at the bags under his eyes.

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I completely screwed up my template last night trying to change my email address. Somehow, I ended up merging my locked diary and this one. Don't ask.

I don't really like this one too much.

I think the honeymoon is over with Diaryland.

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I found out that a really fucking stupid fun way to spend your Saturday night is driving around a city you don't ever go to because it's full of thugs and drug dealers, looking for your drunk Mom.

My Mom and Dad went to some reggae festival (interesting, given I am the only one in my family who likes reggae) yesterday afternoon, both got drunk, and on the way home got into a fight. My Mom decided that she wasn't going to ride in the car with him, because he was too drunk to drive. So she got out while he was stopped at a light and told him she was going to walk home. They were about ten miles from their house.

Christ. My parents suck.

I was hanging out with my sister when my Dad came home and told us what happened. He was pissed off enough that he was going to let her walk home. If it happened in the area we live, I would have laughed along with him and let her walk, but she wasn't. She was in a shitty neighborhood full of dodgy people.

So Jackie and I got in my car and we went looking for her. Having a general idea where she was, we drove around for about an hour and a half, but never found her.

Around nine o'clock, she came stumbling through the door, with no shoes on (she took them off in the car and forgot to grab them when she jumped out). She walked home, drunk, ten miles, with no shoes on. Oh, my spunky, hard-headed little lush of a Mother.

Her make-up was smeared from crying, and she wasn't talking to anyone. I took her upstairs to her room, and ran her a bath. She kept telling me what happened, but of course, I couldn't understand a word of what she was saying because she was so hammered. I just nodded and agreed when she paused.

I stuck her in the tub, and she pulled me down next to her, and said, "Thank you. You're a good daughter. Don't tell your sister about any of this, either. I don't need Andria yelling at me about this."

She was so shit-faced she thought she was talking to my sister. I could see how she'd mix us up: Jackie's 20, 5'2, 100 pounds, and blonde. I am 31, red-headed, 5'8, and NOWHERE near 100 pounds. It's an easy mistake.

Kind of like mixing up a red cat and a black one.