*Lil Wayne's 'Medicinal' Marijuana*

"Inside of the phantom, and it's lookin like a sauna, and I still stay high, and I still got my dipoloma." Those are some lyrics from Dwayne Michael Carter Jr, otherwise knows as Lil Wayne. If his name is spoken today, there probably aren't many people who don't know of him. He is probably one of the most talented rappers around, and some people wonder where he gets all of his 'creativity' from.

It is no secret that Lil Wayne likes the many pleasures of life. However, those indulgences in life have certainly caught up with him. Growing up in New Orleans, Lil Wayne was a bright kid and even enrolled in the gifted program in school. He came up with this first rap at the age of 8, and showed that he was truly destined to be a rapper. However, his life was not all roses and sunshine. He lived in a struggling area, one of the most poorest neighborhoods, and even lost his virginity at the young age of 11. Although he put out his first album when he was 12, he accidentally shot himself in the chest in his home at the age of 13. A year later, he dropped out of school. So here was a bright and talented young man who seemed to have a bright future ahead, but experienced struggles at an early age.

Things started to look up for Lil Wayne when he signed with the Hot Boys rappers in 1997 when he was 15. He recorded on the album, and began creating tons of tracks. He also got his girlfriend pregnant and had a daughter (He ended up having 3 other kids by 2 other women.) It probably does not come as a shock that lots of rappers use marijuana and other drugs. Lil Wayne was and has been no exception. In 2007, his marijuana use caught up with him. He was arrested after one of his performances in NYC for smoking marijuana near his tour bus. While the police searched the tour bus, they also found a pistol near the rapper. He was then charged with possessing a weapon and marijuana. A few months later, police had accused him of possessing a controlled substance, but that charge was dropped.

In January of 2008, Boarder Patrol stopped the rappers tour bus and found quite a problem. Not only was over 100 grams of marijuana found, but also 41 grams of ecstasy, over $20,000 in cash, and 29 grams of cocaine. Obviously he was not only doing drugs, but he was selling them. Why he would feel the need to sell drugs when he was already making millions is beyond me. Lil Wayne was then charged with 4 felonies. After he was taken into custody, he was released on a $10,185 bond. In May of 2008, Lil Wayne went to court and pleaded NOT guilty to the 4 felonies (possession of dangerous drugs, possession of narcotic drug for sale, misconduct involving weapons, and possession of drug paraphernalia.)

In February 2009, Lil Wayne was interviewed by Katie Couric on CBS. During that interview, Lil Wayne admitted that he liked to smoke "medicinal" marijuana for his migranes, and drink codeine cough syrup, though he is not addicted. In October 2009, he plead guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. As if he didn't already learn his lesson, Lil Wayne was taken in to custody again at the boarder patrol checkpoint when marijuana was found on two of his tour buses in December 2009. On March 8, 2010, Lil Wayne received a sentence of 1 year in prison, which he is currently serving. He has a possibility of only serving 8 months in prison, if he behaves.

So we can clearly see that Lil Wayne has some patterns. He likes to smoke marijuana and has been caught several times. Whether or not he gets out of prison in 8 months for good behavior, or he spends the whole year in prison, there is no doubt in my mind that Lil Wayne will still be smoking marijuana. There is no doubt that he will still be drinking codeine cough syrup. I don't know if he will still be selling drugs, but I definitely think he will still be using them. Lil Wayne is a millionaire. He has collaborated with so many artists and has performed at so many different places, that none of this legal trouble will hurt his career. It is his persona.

People know what kind of person he is. They know he enjoys doing drugs and rapping. He is obviously talented and quick when it comes to rapping and making new tracks. Do I think he is only creative because he smokes marijuana? Absolutely not. I believe that a person has to possess that type of creativity anyway. If he didn't smoke marijuana at all, I still think he would be able to spit out great raps. It might take him longer, but I know he possesses that talent. He doesn't even write down his lyrics. He just records them, and he remembers them. Somone who was really affected by Marijuana, probably would not remember the lyrics after they record them. It's not like he was smoking marijuana when he was 8 and wrote his first rap. It wasn't until he was 11 that he smoked marijuana! Anyway, don't think that Lil Wayne will be phased by this. Sure he will miss his family and children, but we all know he is busy writing other lyrics, and he will no doubt put out a hit record when he gets out.

Here are the 2 youtube videos that feature Lil Wayne's interview with Katie Couric on CBS Evening News. I suggest watching the entire interview, because it is kind of interesting, and funny seeing him explain his life to Katie.

First half: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyI26E5agM4&NR=1
Second half: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM2VAbYgJPQ&feature=related

Thanks for reading,
Samantha

*Harding plays dirty*

There are many sports in this world. Many teams, and many players and participants. We all have views on what it takes to become an athlete and what kind of person those athletes are. When I think of figure skaters, I think poise. I think grace and preciseness. Tonya Harding was an amazing gold medalist figure skater. She was talented and poised. Until she wasn't. Tonya proved that she doesn't have a poised bone in her body.

Case and point. Tonya Harding was a phenomenal and talented skater who won the 1991 United States Figure Skating Championships. She also took home silver in the World Championships. She possessed the talent of landing triple axels, and knew how to use them in her routines. Instead of embracing her talents and having good sportsmanship, Harding decided to risk everything. Her main competition in the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships was Nancy Kerrigan. Kerrigan was kind of the sweetheart in figure skating. She was very kind and also a very talented woman. I suppose Harding was threatened by her talents and wanted her out of the competition. How could she make this happen? Tell her ex-husband to get someone to hurt Kerrigan so she could not perform of course! That is exactly what Harding's ex-hubby, Jeff Gillooly, did.

Gillooly and Harding's body guard hired a man named Shane Stant to hit Kerrigan on the knee. Stant instead ended up striking Kerrigan on her thigh at a practice session. This caused her to have to withdraw from the competition. Harding ended up winning that event, while Kerrigan spent it in the hospital trying to recover. Harding admitted to conspiring the attack on Kerrigan, and the Olympic Committee decided that they wanted to try and remove her from the Olympic team. Harding then threatened to take legal action on the Commitee, so they backed down and Harding remained on the team.

She ended up finishing in 8th place at the end of the Olympics. Kerrigan recovered from her injury and finished in 2nd place. I suppose Harding was kicking herself because she still lost to Kerrigan, even after she was attacked. Harding pleaded guilty to conspiring, and received a fine of $160,000, three years probation, and 500 community service hours. Later on, the United States Olympic Committee revoked Harding's 1994 title, and forever banned her from participating in any of their events.

As if that were not enough to ruin Harding's reputation forever, she ended up having a sex tape scandal. She also gained a lot of weight and became a wrestler. In 2000 she punched her ex-boyfriend and threw a hubcap at him. Because of that, she received 10 days of community service, and spent 3 days in jail. In 2002, she was driving drunk and got into an accident. In 2005, Harding called police claiming that she was assaulted by 2 men who were masked in her home. Police arrived and Harding's boyfriend at the time said that Harding attacked him and she was drunk. Her boyfriend was found guilty of assault and was told to stay away from Harding. Finally, in 2007, Harding called the police again claiming that there were 5 intruders trying to steal her car and hide some rifles on her property. The police said that Harding was "agitated" and her story did not make sense. She was disoriented and claimed that she was "seeing animals." Harding's agent claimed that her actions could have been from a bad reaction to her prescription drugs.

Obviously Tonya Harding has lost her mind. It was clear in 1994 when she decided to play dirty and sabotage her opponent. She was a great skater and was going places. Instead of embracing that, she fell off the wagon and forever ruined her reputation. When I read reports of her life drama, I feel like I am reading something that should be in a movie. I feel like no one in their right mind with so much potential would throw it all away. I really don't understand what goes through her mind. I believe she is probably on some sort of drugs. Whether those are legitimate prescription drugs or not, she could be abusing those prescriptions and she could have a problem with drinking. I honestly don't think she will ever be great or respected again, because she has gone cuckoo for coacoa puffs!

Here is a video of Nancy describing the incident, and some clips of her right after the attack occurred: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T09XWRkq5M

Thanks for reading,
Samantha

*Bill Gates is a Bad Ass?*

When I say the name Bill Gates, most people automatically think Microsoft. Gates is one of the richest men in the world, and could probably buy a few countries if he wanted too. However, even this intellectual rich genius is guilty of breaking the law. Granted his crimes are not that severe, but they are still illegal!

In 1975, Gates was busted for driving without a license and speeding. Then he was arrested again in 1977 for driving without a license. He was caught because he ran a stop sign. Twelve years later in 1989, Gates was arrested for driving while intoxicated. I'm not exactly sure why, but that DUI charge ended up being dropped. Now Gates was 20 in 1975, so I have no clue why he did not have a license. However, that was the year he really began exploring with electronics and computers, which ulitimately lead to the creation of Microsoft.

I guess I am bringing his arrests up because I think it is kind of funny to see this photo of a skinny nerd genius, who was about to get his big break. This just goes to show you that even the smartest people in this world have their moments. I guess I just called him a "Bad Ass," because I personally think it's kind of cool that he is a real person, and even though he is smart, he is human. Some people might say it was kind of rebellious for him to drive without a license, but the first couple of times he was probably on his way to the lab or some scholarly place. Now in 1989, he was already a billionaire. So perhaps he was just taking a walk on the wild side after creating a new multi-million dollar computer program, and decided to drink some brandy and drive his porsche? I'm sure there are many opinions....

Gates ended up kind of mocking himself in the 2008 Microsoft ad with Jerry Seinfeld. The commercial begins with Jerry walking through the mall, and then he sees Bill Gates in the Shoe Circus store. Then Jerry proceeds to help Bill find shoes and try them on to find his size. When the cashier asks if Bill has his shoe circus club member card, and when Gates flashes his card, it has his mug shot picture on it. Then of course the end of the commercial has Seinfeld talking about computers, because well it's a Microsoft commercial. I do however find it kind of funny how Gates held up his mug shot photo. I don't think he has any shame for his arrests. I know if I were in his position, I would not have an ounce of embarrassment or shame. If I did, I would just go buy a couple of ferrari's or something like that to make me feel better!

Here is the link to the Microsoft commercial. The part where Gates flashes his "show circus member card," is at the minute mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11NOblvuEpU

Thanks for reading,
Samantha

*Life isn't so great in the fastlane*

Many of you recognize the name Hulk Hogan. Of course I still have flashbacks of my brother running around our house when we were little, in his red spandex and yellow boa. Some of you may have also seen Hulk's family reality show, "Hogan knows best." I have watched every episode of that show, and I was and still am a fan of it. I don't know why, but the show is kind of funny with Hulk. However, what I thought was a happy and stable hollywood family, turned out to be just another family tragedy. One reason this family fell apart, Nick Hogan. Born as Nick Bollea, he has had his share of wrecklessness.

Throughout the show, Nick had always been featured with his cars, or talking about drifting and racing. However, the topic had always seemed to pertain to the race 'team' he was on. He competed legally on a track. I guess that wasn't enough for him. I'm sure he had been illegally racing and speeding since he got a license, or maybe even before. In September of 2006, Nick was stopped for speeding two different times, in the same trip. Although he was let off with a warning after the first stop, he didn't listen and was later stopped and ticketed for driving 115mph in a 70mph zone. At the beginning of 2007, he was ticketed for driving 57mph in a 30mph zone. In April of 2007, he was ticketed for driving 106mph in a 70mph zone. The last ticket caused him to receive four points on his driving record. Finally, on August 10th 2007, he was ticketed for driving 82mph in a 45mph zone.

So, within one year's time, Nick was stopped five times for speeding, but only got ticketed 4 times. Each time he was stopped, he was 'wrecklessly' driving. I don't know what kind of chats his parents had with him, or if he was ever punished or received consequences. Obviously the kid loves speed, but maybe if his parents had taken away some privelages, he might have eased up a little bit. Then again, this is Hulk Hogan's son who has probably gotten everything he wanted throughout his life. Little did he know, he would end up being punished.

Sixteen days after his last speeding ticket, Nick was driving his yellow Supra with his marine friend, John Graziano in the passenger seat. He was speeding of course and while driving in the outside lane, the car spun out across the road and smashed into the median and then to a palm tree. The supra was totalled. After both Nick and John were flown to the hospital, Nick was released the next day with no major injuries. Unfortunately for John, he suffered eye and brain injuries, and he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Doctors say that he will most likely need to have nursing care for the rest of his life. I forgot to mention one thing, after the wreck, Nick's BAC was 0.005.

So because this 17 year old was drinking and speeding, his friend will be stuck in a nursing home with people having to take care of him for the rest of his life. Nick was charged with wreckless driving involving bodily injury, use of a motor vehicle in commission of a felony, underage drinking and driving under the influence of a BAC higher than 0.02, and illegal window tint. He turned himself into the police in November of 2007, and was release 10 hours later with a bail of $10,000. Witnesses of the crash believed that Nick was actually racing his car with another vehicle of his drift team members.

In May of 2008, Nick pleaded no contest, and was sentenced to eight months in jail, 5 years probation, 500 hours of community service, and got a suspended license for 3 years. Tape recordings between Nick and his father were released to the public containing comments he made about John being 'negative.' This of course ticked off John's family and friends, and made Nick look ten times worse. Nick claims that he was in a bad place in jail and was going kind of crazy, and he said things he did not mean. However, he was released in October of 2008 for good behavior.

The problem with John's family is that they do not feel that Nick got a stern enough punishment for what happened to their son, brother, nephew, cousin, etc.....That is the debate that still goes on today. Nick is not completely free, but he is out of jail, while John lies in a hospital bed trying to get through the day with many helping hands. I'm personally not sure what to feel on this. I think that Nick was a stupid kid for speeding as much as he does and not thinking that anything bad can happend with his wrecklessness, but in the same token, he did not know that he would crash that night. Sure he had to thought it was a possibility, but if he had of known the outcome of that night, I'm sure he would have reconsidered his actions.

Nick probably thinks about this incident every single day of his life, as does his family and John Graziano's family. They are angry because they will never have John back fully as 'himself.' Nick is upset because he will never have his friend back as himself. I'd say I am 50/50 on this one. I don't think Nick should have to stay in jail forever or anything, because he will pay for this the rest of his life. I honestly feel bad for both guys, but I definitely feel worse for John who will never have a 'normal' life again.

Here is a photo of John Graziano before, and after the accident.

Thanks for reading,

Samantha

*Gilligan's "High"-Land*

I'm sure almost all of you know someone who smokes marijuana, or perhaps you've even tried it yourself. There are so many debates on whether or not this drug should be made legal. Medical marijuana is now legal in 14 different states, but some people do not think that is enough. They want marijuana to become legal for pleasure, and not just medical use. More Celebrities than people realize are guilty of using, and abusing marijuana.

Here is an example of a Celebrity who you probably did not know smoked marijuana, but are probably not surprised. Bob Denver....AKA, Giligan. I honestly do not know anything else that Bob has acted in, because nothing has ever been as successful as his role as Giligan on "Gilligan's Island." We all knew him as the airheaded-goofy guy on the show. Maybe now we know why he was always so spaced out. It turns out in 1998 that Bob signed for a FedEx package delivery. The package contained 30 grams of marijuana. A drug-sniffing dog had spotted the marijuana, and an undercover cop acted as the FedEx delivery man at Denver's home. After Bob signed for the package, the police raided his home for over 2 hours and also found more marijuana, and 2 marijuana pipes.

The most interesting part of this story is who Denver said the package came from. He claimed in a police report that Dawn Wells (AKA, Mary Ann), sent it to him. Denver said that Wells had been supplying him with marijuana since 1995. Wells of course denied any involvement in this situation. However, narcotics police found 16 checks that were made out to Wells from Denver. The amounts ranged from over $300-$700. Police said that this is about the amount that the marijuana would cost. When questioned about Well's involvement with the marijuana supply in court, Denver replied, "some crazy fan must have sent it." So he ended up changing his story, and no one knows if Wells actually supplied the marijuana. He ended up receiving 6 months probation.

Personally I think that Wells probably had been supplying marijuana to Denver. He claimed that she had on the day the police came to his home, and he probably changed his story in court just to help her. The checks don't lie. Even though they do not state what the money was for, it is pretty good evidence that there were some sketchy things going on. It turns out that in 2008, Wells was arrested for possession of marijuana. When questioned about the incident, she stated, "It was my birthday and I was coming from a dinner. The marijuana found in the car was not mine. The marijuana charge was dismissed and the person whom it belonged to went to jail. There was no DUI charge. I want to make it clear that I was charged with a traffic offense."

So there you have it. Her story wreaks of guilty to me. Here is the link the a video of Wells appearing on ET to try and squash rumors. http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/03/59607/index.html

Here is Wells on her fun-filled Birthday night....in jail.

Thanks for reading,

Samantha

*Hugh finds a cheap date*

The other day I was hanging out in my room watching E! news, and for some odd reason I started to think about Celebrity men who have turned to coming into physical contact with prostitutes. These are wealthy, attractive, popular, talented men who can have any woman in the world. Why do they choose prostitutes? A better question, is why do they choose to hook up with a prostitute when they have hot celebrity girlfriends? A good example of what I'm talking about can be demonstrated by my man Hugh Grant. Most of us probably know Hugh from his roles in Nine Months, Notting Hill, Mickey Blue Eyes, Two Weeks Notice, Love Actually, or Music and Lyrics.

I would say that Hugh is a very attractive man and he also seems very charming. Maybe these are the guys to stay away from, because they know that they can sweet talk a woman in to believing anything. Hugh was in a 13-year relationship with actress Elizabeth Hurley. They met in 1988, and fell in love. They were always in the spotlight as each of their fame grew. They seemed to be so happy and in love, that no one could imagine what was about to happen. In 1995, Hugh was arrested in a prostitution sting operation. He was arrested for a misdemeanor lewd conduct in a public place with prostitute Divine Brown. He ended up paying a fine of about $1,000, had to complete an AIDS education program, and was on probation for 2 years.

A couple of weeks after his arrest, Hugh kept his already scheduled appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. During his appearance he was of course asked about the incident. He candidly replied, "I think you know in life what's a good thing to do and what's a bad thing, and I did a bad thing. And there you have it." I think a lot of viewers appreciated his honesty and how he didn't deny anything. So now that he seemed to maintain his fame and 'likable' quality, what was going to happen to his relationship with Elizabeth Hurley. Well, they didn't split up in 1995. They actually stayed together for 5 more years before calling it quits. I must say that Elizabeth must be a very strong woman to stay with a guy who betrayed her trust. I would have guessed that with her beauty and talent, that she would move on and ditch him, but I was wrong.

Most men that I hear about cheating on their significant others, or attempting to cheat and getting caught, I really have no tolerance for. But for some reason, I still really like High Grant. I don't know if it is his good looks or british accent that has me hooked, but I just feel like he is such a good guy. I would hope that he learned his lesson to never cheat on his significant other again, but then again, he's friggen Hugh Grant....So it probably doesn't matter. He will always have people wanting to pay him money to be in their films, and women wanting to be his significant other.

Here is a photo of Divine Brown on the night of the arrest, and Elizabeth Hurley. You can see yourself what he risked losing....

Thanks for reading,

Samantha

*Celebrities vs. Paparazzi*

For this weeks blog, I figured we would take a break from Celebs doing drugs and beating their significant others, to Celebrities fighting for their privacy. It is no surprise that when someone reaches a level of fame, that they will undoubtedly be stalked by reporters and photographers. It is the price they pay for being in the limelight. However, some Celebrities can handle it better than others.

Who can forget the infamous moment when Britney Spears buzzed all of her hair off? Most people thought that she buzzed it off because she was on drugs and was trying to eliminate any trace of drugs so that Kevin Federline wouldn't get full custody of their kids. As if randomly getting rid of her hair wasn't crazy enough, Britney also had an altercation with the paparazzi. Here is the video....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezJhl3pYXqY

Although it is very hard to see, Britney clearly shouts "F$&# you!F$&# yourself!" Now at the time of this incident, Britney had been in the limelight for a decade. Obviously she knows that she will be hounded wherever she goes. However, this was right after she went crazy and cut all of her hair. I don't know whether I feel bad for her in this video, or feel like she brought this on herself. I guess I really have to put myself in her shoes. I do know that I would hate to have people following me and taking my picture all the time. At first, I would probably love that people think I'm so special that they have to take my picture and ask me questions, but then I would definitely hate it.

Another celeb who went psycho on paparazzi was singer Bjork.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYyyqIZTvYY

Now Bjork hasn't really been in the 'spotlight' in quite some time now. If you listen clearly to the video, the reporter actually says 'Welcome to Bangkok.' Apparently Bjork doesn't like people being polite and welcoming her anywhere. I think that there are definitely times when reporters and photographers deserve what they get, but in this case, I don't think that particular reporter deserved to be attacked.

Finally I want to talk about a celeb who has recently been in the tabloids for attacking paparazzi......Sean Penn. Now Sean has had very strong opinions about the paparazzi for years, and he has had no problem showing those opinions. In 1986 he had gone to his hotel and found a reporter in his room. I think that he then did what I would have done in this situation, which is hang the reporter over his balcony by his ankles. Okay, maybe I wouldn't have gone that far. But I can understand how he might react that way. He probably had a mixture of feeling pissed off, and scared of this random guy who is in his hotel room.

Last October Sean had another big altercation with a photographer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5fpWpXHuVo

I'm not completely sure what he was really upset at this photographer for, but I do know that this incident occurred just a couple of months after his wife Robin Wright(or as we know her, Jenny from Forest Gump), filed for divorce. I really want to give Sean the benefit of the doubt and say that he was just going through a rough time from his split with his wife. However, I'm sure Robin didn't just wake up one morning and decide that she wanted a divorce without any warning. Most couples split up or divorce because they have had so many disagreements and arguements that they cannot go on being together. I guess Sean just felt the stress of being in the public eye, and having his business broadcasted everywhere...So what does he do? Makes a public scene with a photographer....Great job buddy!

So I guess I do feel bad for celebrities who have paparazzi follow them all day and night. But I do also feel like it comes with the territory, and celebs know this. I think that if they try hard enough, then celebs can bare the paparazzi long enough to get away from them, and let out there agression or anger in private.

Thanks for reading,

Samantha