Take Part in 2009 South Florida Rally for Recovery

To show your support for National Recovery Month, take part this week in the 2009 South Florida Rally for Recovery. Intherooms.com will be hosting the event, and all proceeds raised from the $9.00 participation donation will go towards recovey scholarships for people in the community. Intherooms.com is one of the biggest online recovery social-networking sites with 45,000 members whose combined recovery time totals more than 131,000 years. Below is the day-long scheduled events list. For more information, click the following link: Take Part.

2009 South Florida Rally for Recovery Event Schedule

7:00 AM
Gates open for registration and package pick up.

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
5K Walk over the MacArthur Causeway

10:30 AM – 10:50 AM
Rhythm Flow (Spiritual Drum Circle)

10:50 AM – 11:10 AM
Proclamation by Miami Dade County Mayor
SPEAKER: Ivette Torres – SAMHSA
Proclamation by City of Miami Mayor

11:25 AM – 12:10 PM
Aces Up Kings: Amazing Classic Rock Cover Band

12:15 PM – 12:25 PM
SPEAKER: Howard Finklestein – Broward County Public Defender and Star of Channel 7 TV Show “Help Me Howard”

12:30 PM – 1:00 PM
Kristin Cappiello – (Sober Singer) Acoustic Guitar accompanied by an electric violinist

1:00 PM – 1:15 PM
SPEAKER: Judge Giselle Pollock – Broward County Drug Court Judge & Judge Jeffrey Rosenik – Dade County Drug Court Judge (Retired 2009)

1:25 PM – 2:10 PM
Richie Supa with Ricky Byrd of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and the Hep Cat Boo Daddies. Ricki Byrd will be playing his hit song “I Love Rock and Roll” and the Hep Cat Boo Daddies will be backing Richie Supa and Ricky Byrd on “Amazing”, “Pink”, and “In The Rooms”.

2:25 PM – 2:35 PM
SPEAKER: Mr. Raynor – SAMH Corp. of Florida

2:35 PM – 4:00 PM
Eric Burdon and The Animals

In the Rooms Makes Facebook App to Personalize Recovery

Just today, IntheRooms.com unveiled a new Facebook app for users that personalizes their profiles by showing their recovery time to friends. Additionally, the new ITR Facebook app shows the combined recovery times of all ITR members, which now totals over 100,000 years. Finally, the IntheRooms app also serves as an easy way for friends who may be struggling with recovery to register for free and get help at ITR.

For those who have never heard of IntheRooms, it is at the forefront of the online recovery community with more than 50,000 members worldwide that connect regularly to form one of the biggest recovery social networking sites on the web. The great thing about the idea behind ITR is that it is free and open to all fellowships. This is unique because it opens all the recovery knowledge from all the fellowships to everyone.

This way, an AA member with 30 years in recovery could mentor a new Gamblers Anonymous member with any questions or concerns and help them stay on the path to recovery no matter if it’s a meeting day or not.

IntheRooms.com Launches National AA Meetings Database

Just this week, IntheRooms.com launched there National AA Meetings Database. The website and project are truly one of a kind, as it uses similar technology to Wikipedia, which allows users to update the pages themselves and make any necessary corrections.

Not only does the IntheRooms.com National AA Meetings Database serve as a internet space where anyone can find an AA meeting locally, it can also be accessed by anyone nationwide, free of charge, in order to find an AA meting locally or while in a visiting city. As it stands, the AA Meetings Database is divided by country, state and city/county.

For those who are unfamiliar with IntheRooms.com, it is the premier recovery network site on the internet. IntheRooms.com has more than 40,000 members with a combined recovery time of over 100,000 years. Further, anyone can join free of charge and begin connecting with others in recovery across the globe, and across fellowship lines.

Please find the database at:
http://meetings.intherooms.com/wiki/AA_Meetings

Khloe After Dark Radio Show Debuts in Miami

This last Friday, June 1st marked the debut of Khloe Kardashian’s new radio show, “Khloe After Dark.” The first installment of Khloe After Dark (Miami) offered music, as well as an interview with drug recovery experts, co-founders of IntheRooms.com, Ron Tannebaum (RT) and Kenny Pomerance.

Although, some local news sources in Miami criticized Khloe After Dark, as far as a radio show, for its lack of organization, I found that the interviews with the founders of IntheRooms.com was informative and helpful to the recovery community and the community as whole. I also thought that Khloe Kardashian’s co-host Terrance did a great job and that Khloe was more then good for being a newcomer to celebrity interviews.

In a phone interview with IntheRooms.com co-founder Ron Tannebaum, he said: “I thought the show went great. Khloe is a very nice person.” He also said that at first people were calling in about to ask about drugs, but that he and Kenny quickly turned the conversations to recovery and getting help at IntheRooms.

Over the next couple of months, Khloe After Dark will air on Miami Y100 radio station, every Friday between 11pm–2am.

Heavy Rain Addiction and Recovery Video Game

A lot of buzz has been circulating over the last year about the yet unreleased, video game, “Heavy Rain.” So why is this DanJ09 news, you may be asking? Well, the game features a “One-of-a-kind” scenario that we find relevant to recovery and addiction. Still, the video game Heavy Rain deserves full attention, as people are already denoting it as a “possible classic” after only seeing a few previews and demo versions.

A longtime coming, Heavy Rain was developed by the French video game developer Quantic Dream. When asked about the game, Heavy Rain director, David Cage, recently explained to reporters: “Story is the core essence of the experience.” Cage added: “You need to create moral choices for the player that won’t be black and white that will be really difficult to answer. We want players to ask themselves, ‘What would I do if it were happening to me?’ and the answer [to not be] obvious.”

So what exactly is Heavy Rain director David Cage talking about, well, the video game features FBI profiler Norman Jayden as it main character, who is not only fighting the demons in the game by trying to hunt down and capture the serial killer, the “Origami Killer,” but also fighting his own demons; namely, his prescription drug addiction to a fictionalized drug called “Triptocaine.”

In Heavy Rain, Norman Jayden uses Triptocaine (prescription psychoactive drug) to function in his everyday routine. However, Jayden has built a serious addiction and really wants to wean himself off of Triptocaine. In short, players must make crucial decision that affect Norman Jayden’s life and Triptocaine addiction by choosing when to give him doses and when to make him quit altogether. In the screen shot I saw, there were buttons that players could choose at crucial moments that read, “cold” (assuming, cold turkey), “withdrawal,” or “Triptocaine.”

A&E Obsessed TV Series Premiere

On Memorial Day (May 25th, 2009), A & E will premiere the latest installment of their “Original Non-Fiction TV Series,” called “Obsessed.” Similar to their hit TV show “Intervention,” A&E Obsessed will also portray a very realistic (uncut), documentary-style TV Series that deals with treatment. The difference is that instead of dealing with addiction, “Obsessed” deals with the mental health condition, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

As part of an eleven episode TV Series, A & E Obsessed will air weekly at 10pm ET/PT. Each TV Show will be an hour long and focus on a different person living with anxiety disorders, including Panic Disorder, Hoarding and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

For those unfamiliar with OCD, the DSM says it is “characterized by obsessions (which cause marked anxiety or distress) and/or compulsions (which neutralize anxiety).” Often, a symptom of people living with OCD is uncontrollable rituals of repetition such as, hand washing, door locking, counting, and cleaning often. If the ritual is not performed, it only results in further anxiety.

Marshal University Football Players Plead Guilty to Possession of Marijuana

Huntingtonnews.net recently reported that two starters of the Marshall University football team entered guilty pleas to possession of Marijuana charges this last Monday May 11th.  The two Marshall University football players implicated are Darius Marshall and DeQuan Starling.  The judge that oversaw the cases, Magistrate Darrell Black, sentenced both players to six months of unsupervised probation.  Under current state law, both players will be able to remove any record of the cases upon completion of probation.

Originally, the two players were busted by police while smoking marijuana in a curbside parked car.  The nature of the crime would have warranted that the incident be treated as a felony rather than a misdemeanor, but as admitted by both players, they “dodged a bullet.” However, the Marshall University football players weren’t as lucky on the filed as both were suspended indefinitely from playing.  Before the incident, tailback Darius Marshall was considered an NFL prospect, leading the team last year in rushing with 1,117 yards and five touchdowns, but it will be unclear as tohow severely the situation will affect him until he comes up for the draft.  Here at DanJ09, we wish the two football players the best and hope they are able to get help and return to the game soon.

In the Rooms Releases “Rally for Recovery” Charity Walk Logo

As part of National Recovery Month in September, In the Rooms announced that it will be hosting a charity walk to be called “Rally for Recovery.” For those unfamiliar with In the Rooms intherooms.com, it is a new social networking website especially dedicated to connecting recovering addicts around the globe. It has been up on the web for less than a year and already has 40,000+ members. ITR members like to think of it as a place where people in recovery can go between meetings to support each other.

The In the Rooms Rally for Recovery charity walk will be taking place on September 12, 2009 at the Bicentennial Park in Downtown Miami. It will be an all day affair that will begin in the morning with the charity 5k walk from Bicentennial Park across the MacArthur Causeway and back. Later in the afternoon and into the night, there will be food, speakers, a slew of events and a concert. Please check back often to DanielJ09 for more information. We’ll give it you as soon as we get it. For now, enjoy the new In the Rooms Rally for Recovery charity walk logo located above the article.

Paula Abdul Finally Admits to Drug Addiction

After her animate denials of drug abuse, Paula Abdul has finally come clean with the media and fans alike about her drug addiciton.  In a recent interview featured in Ladies Home Journal magazine, Abdul confirmed what so many suspected when she admitted to an addiction to painkillers, which nearly took her life.  Abdul said that her addiction stemmed from mild use of prescribed drugs to treat pain left over from her dancing career.

In a recent article published in the TampaBay.com’s blog, reporter Eric Deggans writes how he always suspected that Abdul had an addiction.  He notes how he met with her several times during a Los Angeles press tour, of which he described Abdul’s behavior as, “During both interactions, she slurred words, seemed to lose her train of thought easily and generally acted as if her brain was wrapped in gauze.”

Although the rest of the article was a little harsh, we here at DanJ09 really hope that this is a first step for Paula Abdul in seeking an authentic recovery for her addiction.  Although many addicts have to hit rock bottom before being able to really begin the path to recovery, admitting that one has a habit is a huge first step.  Congrats Paula.  We wish you the best.

Swimmer Michael Phelps’ Suspension Lifted

After a three-month suspension for a photo that showed Olympian Michael Phelps smoking marijuana, the suspension has finally been lifted by USA Swimming.  The lift of the suspension and the reinstatement of Phelps to international swimming competitions was made official as of Tuesday (May 5).

Phelps set several world records and won eight Olympic gold medals in the 2008 games in Beijing, China.  However, throughout his suspension, Phelps wasn’t always sure that he would return to swimming.  In an article recently published in the Seattle Times (online), Michael Phelps admitted: “There were days I would just come and warm up and say, ‘I’m not feeling it.’ I would just go home.  If I woke up and didn’t feel like going in and working out, I would stay in bed and watch TV.”

Nonetheless, Phelps acknowledges that his entertainment of the thought was due to his stagnation and that he was never really considering quitting: “What am I doing even thinking about quitting? I’m 23 years old. I’m not retiring at 23.”