Eewww, eeww. Just saw a vintage Madonna on Oprah special, from around the time when she was doing press for her first children's book, The English Roses. Now, it's never fun when celebs get spiritual, but Madonna, talking about the Kaballah, came across as an especially vapid twat. There were times at which Oprah, who usually goes nuts for this kinda stuff, was playing along in a bemused, "you idiot" kinda way: "oh yeah, because it's a life force, right, right... we are the light".

There was one bit that particularly irked me, which was when Madonna started talking about how we have to "own" both our successes and failures, e.g. take responsibility for the good things that happen to us as well as the bad stuff. One of her examples was illness - she was basically saying that we should "own" the reasons for which we become ill, which, reading between the lines, would be our "disconnection" from the "light". I cannot stand this "blame the sick for being sick" mentality, which seems to be cropping up everywhere within the realm of self-help, not to mention organised religion. In reality, it's just a means through which the healthy can feel like they have some control over their health - "I'm a good person, so I will not get sick...". But, while the healthy can feel safer, you're basically saying that the ill deserve to be in the state they're in, which really is not that compassionate, or rational for that matter. Madonna! Stop being such a wanker!