Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

I felt so out of touch. Sometimes on the weekend I don't get access to the news, so I was way behind the curve on the story of Britney Spears shaving her head, which I suppose was just behind Anna Nicole Smith's decomposing body as far as news value goes. Now that more than a week has gone past, I still don't think much about it, other than she doesn't make a bad-looking bald woman. She may be no Sinead O'Connor, but then again who is?

Britney, who previously exposed a different shaved part of her body, certainly seems to be a woman who is on the edge, checking in and out of rehab. I'm not convinced that shaving one's head is a sign of mental instability--you can walk down the street in any major metropolitan bohemian area and see far more bizarre hairstyles, but I suppose for the red-staters that make up most of her fan-base this was an extreme statement. I've heard that she did so they couldn't test her hair for drug use, but jeez, it will grow back. Will she get electrolysis over her entire body?

Clearly this is a young woman who doesn't handle the pressures of stardom well. She and Lindsay Lohan have become characters in a drama written by our tabloid culture, and become known more for their escapades than any actual work they do. Anna Nicole Smith made the ultimate price playing this role, I do hope Britney doesn't come to the same fate. Perhaps she needs to completely remove herself from the scene. Move to an ashram in Tibet or something, where the paparazzi do not go. Or maybe Scientology is the answer. Something, anything.