Getting new friends can help (ask Britney)

So much has been written about Britney Spears, which has dedicated an entire file to her (Coping with Life: General Mental Health Issues (Britney Spears file)).

But now she's proving that, sometimes, the road to mental stability can start with a simple move: getting new friends.

Based on her appearances on television and in the gossip magazines, the former pop star appears to be getting it together.

On Wednesday, an attorney for Britney Spears said he will not seek an extension for a restraining order against Osama "Sam" Lutfi, but that doesn't mean the pop star wants her former sidekick back in her life.

"Britney has made clear to everyone that she does not want to be further harassed or contacted in any way by Osama 'Sam' Lutfi, now or at anytime in the future," Spears' attorney Samuel D. Ingham III said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Lutfi, for the time being, seems willing to go along with those wishes, according to the AP.

He called the AP late Wednesday and released the following statement: "Mr. Lutfi and Mr. Spears have mutually agreed in private that no hearing or order is necessary at this time."

He declined further comment.

Attorneys for Spears and her father, James, are expected to appear in a Los Angeles courtroom Thursday morning to give an update on the conservatorship, according to the AP. A hearing on a temporary restraining order barring Lutfi from having contact with the pop singer was also scheduled for Thursday. The order issued earlier this year required Lutfi to stay 250 yards away from Spears or her homes.

Lutfi represented one of the strangest twists in Spears' downward spiral earlier this year. The singer's mother accused Lutfi — who described himself as a friend and sometime manager — in court papers of keeping Spears a hostage in her own home, drugging her and taking over her finances, according to the AP.

He was a fixture in Spears' life during a period when the star exhibited erratic behavior, including being photographed without underwear, and occasionally looking dazed in public and had to twice be hospitalized.

Spears' father has control over his 26-year-old daughter's personal life and finances.

That power negates the need for a restraining order against Lutfi since James Spears' role as conservator allows him to decide who sees his daughter, according to Ingham's statement.

He serves as a court-appointed counsel representing Spears' interest in the ongoing conservatorship case.

"During the temporary conservatorship, the conservators have the power to insure that Lutfi will not harm Britney anymore," Ingham wrote.

Thursday's hearing had originally been scheduled to decide whether the conservatorship should be made permanent, but Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz decided weeks ago that she would instead consider other issues, according to the AP.

It is unclear how long Spears' affairs will remain under her father's control, but Ingham wrote that he does not expect her feelings about Lutfi to change, according to the AP.

"If Mr. Lutfi makes any future attempt to contact Britney after the temporary conservatorship has concluded, Britney has made clear she will take all appropriate legal action," Ingham wrote.

Shooting Star by Bad Company

Johnny was a schoolboy
When he heard his first Beatles song
Love Me Do I think it was
And from there it didn't take him long

Got himself a guitar
Used to play every night
Now he's in a rock and roll outfit
and everything's all right
Don't ya know

Johnny told his mama
Hey, Mama, I'm going away
I'm gonna hit the big time
Gonna be a big star someday

Momma came to the door
With a teardrop in her eye
Johnny said "Don't cry Momma,
Smile and wave goodbye."

Don't you know

(Chorus)
Don't you know
That you are a shooting star...(don't you know, don't you know)
Don't you know that you are
A Shooting Star
And all the world will love you
Just as long..as long as you are?

Johnny made a record
Went straight up to number one
Suddenly everyone loved to hear him sing his song
Watching the world go by
Surprising it goes so fast
Johnny looked around him
And said "Well I made the big time at last."

(chorus)
a shooting star.....

(chorus)

Johnny died one night
Died in his bed
Bottle of whiskey, sleeping tablets
By his head

Johnny's life passed him
by like a warm summer day
If you listen to the wind
You can still hear him play

Don't you know...