My very own Bolero - La Luna. It is inspired from El Reloj by Roberto Cantoral
La Luna
Luna no dejes salir el sol
Porque el amanecer no quiero
El se ira para siempre
Cuando amanezca otra vez
Recordare esta noche
Por siempre en sus brazos
Y el reflejo en el mar
Alumbrando mi pasión
Luna detén tu reflejo
Porque mi corazón alumbra
El es el fuego en mí
Y la luz en mi vida
Detén la noche sobre el sol
Haz esta noche eterna
Para que nunca se aleje de mí
Para que nunca amanezca
Para que nunca amanezca
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
History of Boleros...
Moving on from environmental issues, not that they shouldn't be addressed or that they get the attention it deserves. Here is a brief look into the history of the Mexican Boleros. Mexican Bolero is modernly known as a romantic ballad that is rich in history (as I found out during my research for a music class at Cal State Long Beach).
I decided to do research on Bolero music because I grew up listening to boleros and my mother is a huge fan. I grew up listening to Los Panchos, Eydie Gorme and other various artists. I wanted to know about the history of boleros and how they got to be so popular in Mexico. I was very surprised by my findings, I had no idea there was so much information about Boleros and so much history in difference countries.
Classic Bolero - Amor Eterno:
I decided to focus on three types of Boleros from three different regions/countries; Spain, Cuba and Mexico. I will briefly introduce the Spanish and Cuban bolero and go into further details with the Mexican bolero. My research was mainly on the Mexican bolero.
What is a bolero? In Spain it is a dance closely related to the Rumba. In Cuba it is dance music which evolved from Trova. In Mexico, it is commonly known as a romantic ballad.
The Spanish bolero is a moderately slow tempo and is performed to music which is sung and accompanied by Castanets and Guitars with lyrics. Seguidilla’s Boleras is the name given to boleros when they are sung and accompanied by guitar.
The dance was known to be for the noble, it is modestly danced and it is restrained due to its specific footwork. Bolero is Spain’s National Dance. Santiago Carezo, a dancer, is credited with inventing the dance in 1780. The bolero dance is composed of five parts; The Paseo, the traversa, the differencias, the finales and the bien parado.
One of my favorite Boleros - Sabor a Mi:
The Cuban bolero evolved from the Cuban genre known as Trova in the city of Santiago during the late 19th century. Jose “Pepe” Sanchez, born in Santiago de Cuba 1856-1910, is known as the father of the trova style and the creator of the Cuban bolero. He composed “Tristezas,” the first Cuban bolero. One of the most important Cuban trios was Trio Matamoros, and its leader – Miguel Matamoros. Matamoros was one of Cuba’s most productive composers. In Cuba, the bolero is usually written in 2/4 times, elsewhere it is often a 4/4. The Cuban bolero traveled to Mexico and the rest of Latin America.
The bolero arrived in Mexico in the first part of the twentieth century, via Veracruz and Yucatan, the ports of entry for all things Cuban (Pedelty, 146).
The bolero name is derived from the Spanish volar (to fly), demonstrating its derivation from an earlier, much faster and more frenetic Cuban dance music (Pedelty, 146).
In Mexico the bolero was softened and became more of a romantic ballad. Post revolutionary era, the people who had left their little hometowns and moved to the big city – Mexico City. The residents were looking to fit in and evolve, so the Corrido’s became history as they emerged themselves into the latest Bolero culture. Boleros replaced the rural Corrido bold promotion of great men, brave horses and enduring love, epic betrayals and strong moral convictions.
Noche De Ronda by Agustin Lara - One of his most famous songs:
Agustin “El Flaco de Oro” Lara, pianist and composer, and Guty Cardenas, Yucatecan bolerista, are credited for birthing the modern Mexican bolero. According to a story, Lara was playing piano in a brothel, Cardenas introduced Lara to his Yucatecan style boleros and he was “smitten.” According to the story, it was in that “pleasurable world” that the modern Mexican bolero was born.
Lara composed one of the most popular boleros, Noche de Ronda, which illustrated the boleros strong sense of loss and longing. Other boleros which depict strong feelings such as: “Lamento Jarocho” – Lament, “Triste Recuerdo” – Sadness, “Dos Palomas al Volar” – soft betrayal.
Urban people at first came in contact with boleros by attending inexpensive live shows, brothels, and theatrical reviews and in the 1920’s via radio and dance halls. In the next decade it continued onto films which formed the core of the post revolutionary culture and mass media.
The Mexican Golden Age of film began 1930’s and went till the 1950’s. During this time boleros became themes for the movies and served as storylines. In addition, some boleristas also acted in these films. The audience would sign along when the title songs were played creating a participatory ritual rather than a passive entertainment.
Here's an old school Bolero - Cien Anos
Lara career spanned nearly 70 years. In that time, he created over 600 compositions. He became known as one Mexico’s most prolific and dearly loved musicians internationally. Most of his songs were about women. He turned Mexico boleros into a “cult of the woman.” He referred to women as “the most beautiful defect of nature and the reason for his existence.”
Contemporary bolero pop icons include: Luis Miguel, who popularized Lara’s “Noche de Ronda” and in 1997 released a CD completely dedicated to the bolero. Ana Gabriel, included several boleros in her repertoire, “Solamente una vez” was popular hit in the 80’s. Gloria Stefan was very popular in the United States. Los Tri-o, a Columbian three member group, recreated Los Panchos style music.
Interesting facts about the Mexican boleros are: Carmen de la Peza, an author, completed an extensive content analysis study and found that 98.48% of the Mexican boleros deal mainly with issues of romantic love. Also, the bolero was the first musical style in Mexico to incorporate a significant number of women musicians. Furthermore, the history of bolero traces the transformation of “mujer” from musical object to active subject.
One can't talk about Boleros and not think of Luis Miguel. Here's several of his songs... not composed by him rather sung by him:
Historia de un Amor:
No Se Tu:
Beyond Mexico, the boleros has reached the Caribbean to Columbia, Chile, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, and back to Spain. In Chile, Lucho Gatica, is a singer of romantic ballads and became a bolero performer. In the U.S., Eydie Gorme and Vicky Carr found fame with boleros as well. In Cuba, bandleader Antonio Machin, recorded “Tributo al Bolero Mexicano and Tributo al Bolero Cubano.”
Modern day trio - Los Tri-0 - Nuestro Amor:
I decided to do research on Bolero music because I grew up listening to boleros and my mother is a huge fan. I grew up listening to Los Panchos, Eydie Gorme and other various artists. I wanted to know about the history of boleros and how they got to be so popular in Mexico. I was very surprised by my findings, I had no idea there was so much information about Boleros and so much history in difference countries.
Classic Bolero - Amor Eterno:
I decided to focus on three types of Boleros from three different regions/countries; Spain, Cuba and Mexico. I will briefly introduce the Spanish and Cuban bolero and go into further details with the Mexican bolero. My research was mainly on the Mexican bolero.
What is a bolero? In Spain it is a dance closely related to the Rumba. In Cuba it is dance music which evolved from Trova. In Mexico, it is commonly known as a romantic ballad.
The Spanish bolero is a moderately slow tempo and is performed to music which is sung and accompanied by Castanets and Guitars with lyrics. Seguidilla’s Boleras is the name given to boleros when they are sung and accompanied by guitar.
The dance was known to be for the noble, it is modestly danced and it is restrained due to its specific footwork. Bolero is Spain’s National Dance. Santiago Carezo, a dancer, is credited with inventing the dance in 1780. The bolero dance is composed of five parts; The Paseo, the traversa, the differencias, the finales and the bien parado.
One of my favorite Boleros - Sabor a Mi:
The Cuban bolero evolved from the Cuban genre known as Trova in the city of Santiago during the late 19th century. Jose “Pepe” Sanchez, born in Santiago de Cuba 1856-1910, is known as the father of the trova style and the creator of the Cuban bolero. He composed “Tristezas,” the first Cuban bolero. One of the most important Cuban trios was Trio Matamoros, and its leader – Miguel Matamoros. Matamoros was one of Cuba’s most productive composers. In Cuba, the bolero is usually written in 2/4 times, elsewhere it is often a 4/4. The Cuban bolero traveled to Mexico and the rest of Latin America.
The bolero arrived in Mexico in the first part of the twentieth century, via Veracruz and Yucatan, the ports of entry for all things Cuban (Pedelty, 146).
The bolero name is derived from the Spanish volar (to fly), demonstrating its derivation from an earlier, much faster and more frenetic Cuban dance music (Pedelty, 146).
In Mexico the bolero was softened and became more of a romantic ballad. Post revolutionary era, the people who had left their little hometowns and moved to the big city – Mexico City. The residents were looking to fit in and evolve, so the Corrido’s became history as they emerged themselves into the latest Bolero culture. Boleros replaced the rural Corrido bold promotion of great men, brave horses and enduring love, epic betrayals and strong moral convictions.
Noche De Ronda by Agustin Lara - One of his most famous songs:
Agustin “El Flaco de Oro” Lara, pianist and composer, and Guty Cardenas, Yucatecan bolerista, are credited for birthing the modern Mexican bolero. According to a story, Lara was playing piano in a brothel, Cardenas introduced Lara to his Yucatecan style boleros and he was “smitten.” According to the story, it was in that “pleasurable world” that the modern Mexican bolero was born.
Lara composed one of the most popular boleros, Noche de Ronda, which illustrated the boleros strong sense of loss and longing. Other boleros which depict strong feelings such as: “Lamento Jarocho” – Lament, “Triste Recuerdo” – Sadness, “Dos Palomas al Volar” – soft betrayal.
Urban people at first came in contact with boleros by attending inexpensive live shows, brothels, and theatrical reviews and in the 1920’s via radio and dance halls. In the next decade it continued onto films which formed the core of the post revolutionary culture and mass media.
The Mexican Golden Age of film began 1930’s and went till the 1950’s. During this time boleros became themes for the movies and served as storylines. In addition, some boleristas also acted in these films. The audience would sign along when the title songs were played creating a participatory ritual rather than a passive entertainment.
Here's an old school Bolero - Cien Anos
Lara career spanned nearly 70 years. In that time, he created over 600 compositions. He became known as one Mexico’s most prolific and dearly loved musicians internationally. Most of his songs were about women. He turned Mexico boleros into a “cult of the woman.” He referred to women as “the most beautiful defect of nature and the reason for his existence.”
Contemporary bolero pop icons include: Luis Miguel, who popularized Lara’s “Noche de Ronda” and in 1997 released a CD completely dedicated to the bolero. Ana Gabriel, included several boleros in her repertoire, “Solamente una vez” was popular hit in the 80’s. Gloria Stefan was very popular in the United States. Los Tri-o, a Columbian three member group, recreated Los Panchos style music.
Interesting facts about the Mexican boleros are: Carmen de la Peza, an author, completed an extensive content analysis study and found that 98.48% of the Mexican boleros deal mainly with issues of romantic love. Also, the bolero was the first musical style in Mexico to incorporate a significant number of women musicians. Furthermore, the history of bolero traces the transformation of “mujer” from musical object to active subject.
One can't talk about Boleros and not think of Luis Miguel. Here's several of his songs... not composed by him rather sung by him:
Historia de un Amor:
No Se Tu:
Beyond Mexico, the boleros has reached the Caribbean to Columbia, Chile, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, and back to Spain. In Chile, Lucho Gatica, is a singer of romantic ballads and became a bolero performer. In the U.S., Eydie Gorme and Vicky Carr found fame with boleros as well. In Cuba, bandleader Antonio Machin, recorded “Tributo al Bolero Mexicano and Tributo al Bolero Cubano.”
Modern day trio - Los Tri-0 - Nuestro Amor:
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Ocean Dead Zones...
I wrote this piece as part of my Senior Seminar first research assignment. "Dead Zones" or areas in a body of water that lack oxygen which leads to the death of marine life. It was an interesting topic and I found out a lot of information I wasn't aware of.
Ocean Dead Zones Lead To Suffocating Consequences
More than 400 oxygen-deprived dead zones are abundant in the world seas and oceans, resulting in the wipeout of marine life, according to a report released by the World Resource Institute (WRI), a global resource and environmental research and analysis nonprofit organization. The number of dead zones throughout the world has doubled every decade since the ‘60s. Most dead zones appear in coastal shallow areas (between 20 and 100 feet in depth) and gulf waters.
Man-made pollutants trigger the growth of dead zones. They include agriculture fertilizer and sewage waste runoffs; as a result algae are overfed and overgrow. The overfeeding rapidly increases the natural life cycle of the aquatic plant. Because algae grow and die at a faster rate, coastal waters are invaded with decomposing plants disrupting marine life and their environment. During the algae decomposition phase, the plants submerges to the ocean floor “eating up” oxygen in the water, resulting in little to no oxygen - making it almost impossible for marine life to survive. The lack of oxygen destroys delicate marine habitat in which many organisms make their home. If there is no oxygen in the water, there are no fish, turtles, snails, et cetera, it is literally a desert in the ocean abandoned and empty with no life.
Dead zones do not happen overnight, much experience a progressive lack of oxygen. however, if the environment is increasingly harmful to marine life and nutrients continue to overpopulate (excessive amount of nutrients feed marine plants), the area become a permanent dead zone resulting in the death or migration of marine life. "Most fish and other marine animals have to move or die," said Janet Sprintall, a scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla. "They cannot live in these low-oxygen conditions."
The world’s largest dead zone is in the Baltic Sea, which experiences lack of oxygen year-round. In the United States the largest dead zone is the Gulf of Mexico which covers more than 8,500 square miles. Its size fluctuates during the year; it becomes larger during the summer when floodwaters flush nitrogen-rich fertilizers down the Mississippi River ending at the Gulf of Mexico. When the nitrogen-rich fertilizers reach ocean waters they feed marine plants causing them to grow and multiply.
Unfortunately, the oxygen deprived zones are often ignored until they starts to affect larger creatures such as fish or lobsters, commonly consumed by humans. When oxygen severely decreases the natural food chain cycle that supports bottom feeders such as shrimp, clams and snails is disrupted. Ocean areas that lack oxygen force marine life to relocate or are left with no oxygen as a result they die. As a result, marine habitat is disturbed or destroyed and organisms in the ocean are no longer available to serve as a food sources to larger creatures higher up the food chain.
The death of fish and their food sources are the direct results these dead zones have on marine life. The indirect results are: changed migration patterns, reduction in healthy habitats, increased vulnerability to predation (a process where an organism “hunts” and feeds on its prey) and disruption of spawning (the fertilized eggs of aquatic animals).
The Black Sea and Baltic Sea have been severely affected by dead zones; most of their fisheries have either been eliminated or severely stressed.
Dead zones affect the ability of coastal communities to provide valuable services such as tourism, recreation, providing of fish and shellfish for local consumption, sport fishing, and commercial fishing. In addition, reduced oxygen levels may have dramatic consequences for coastal economies.
Fortunately, the effects might be reversible and the Black Sea is a great example. It was once the largest dead zone in the world; it had 26 commercially fish species in the 1960s, and in the 1980s it was down to just five. The growth of the Black Sea oxygen deprived zone was caused by the increase of agriculture in the former Soviet Union. However, it is no longer the largest dead zone in the world and it has been in “recovery” mode since the 1990s largely due to the massive reduction in fertilizer use.
The key solution, is to "keep fertilizers on the land and out of the sea," said Robert Diaz, an oceans expert at the US Virginia Institute of Marine Science, in a study released by the institute in 2008. “Scientists and farmers need to continue working together to minimize the transfer of nutrients from land to sea." Hopefully scientist and farmers can work together, therefore dead zones do not keep on doubling, but instead start decreasing each decade.
Ocean Dead Zones Lead To Suffocating Consequences
More than 400 oxygen-deprived dead zones are abundant in the world seas and oceans, resulting in the wipeout of marine life, according to a report released by the World Resource Institute (WRI), a global resource and environmental research and analysis nonprofit organization. The number of dead zones throughout the world has doubled every decade since the ‘60s. Most dead zones appear in coastal shallow areas (between 20 and 100 feet in depth) and gulf waters.
Man-made pollutants trigger the growth of dead zones. They include agriculture fertilizer and sewage waste runoffs; as a result algae are overfed and overgrow. The overfeeding rapidly increases the natural life cycle of the aquatic plant. Because algae grow and die at a faster rate, coastal waters are invaded with decomposing plants disrupting marine life and their environment. During the algae decomposition phase, the plants submerges to the ocean floor “eating up” oxygen in the water, resulting in little to no oxygen - making it almost impossible for marine life to survive. The lack of oxygen destroys delicate marine habitat in which many organisms make their home. If there is no oxygen in the water, there are no fish, turtles, snails, et cetera, it is literally a desert in the ocean abandoned and empty with no life.
Dead zones do not happen overnight, much experience a progressive lack of oxygen. however, if the environment is increasingly harmful to marine life and nutrients continue to overpopulate (excessive amount of nutrients feed marine plants), the area become a permanent dead zone resulting in the death or migration of marine life. "Most fish and other marine animals have to move or die," said Janet Sprintall, a scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla. "They cannot live in these low-oxygen conditions."
The world’s largest dead zone is in the Baltic Sea, which experiences lack of oxygen year-round. In the United States the largest dead zone is the Gulf of Mexico which covers more than 8,500 square miles. Its size fluctuates during the year; it becomes larger during the summer when floodwaters flush nitrogen-rich fertilizers down the Mississippi River ending at the Gulf of Mexico. When the nitrogen-rich fertilizers reach ocean waters they feed marine plants causing them to grow and multiply.
Unfortunately, the oxygen deprived zones are often ignored until they starts to affect larger creatures such as fish or lobsters, commonly consumed by humans. When oxygen severely decreases the natural food chain cycle that supports bottom feeders such as shrimp, clams and snails is disrupted. Ocean areas that lack oxygen force marine life to relocate or are left with no oxygen as a result they die. As a result, marine habitat is disturbed or destroyed and organisms in the ocean are no longer available to serve as a food sources to larger creatures higher up the food chain.
The death of fish and their food sources are the direct results these dead zones have on marine life. The indirect results are: changed migration patterns, reduction in healthy habitats, increased vulnerability to predation (a process where an organism “hunts” and feeds on its prey) and disruption of spawning (the fertilized eggs of aquatic animals).
The Black Sea and Baltic Sea have been severely affected by dead zones; most of their fisheries have either been eliminated or severely stressed.
Dead zones affect the ability of coastal communities to provide valuable services such as tourism, recreation, providing of fish and shellfish for local consumption, sport fishing, and commercial fishing. In addition, reduced oxygen levels may have dramatic consequences for coastal economies.
Fortunately, the effects might be reversible and the Black Sea is a great example. It was once the largest dead zone in the world; it had 26 commercially fish species in the 1960s, and in the 1980s it was down to just five. The growth of the Black Sea oxygen deprived zone was caused by the increase of agriculture in the former Soviet Union. However, it is no longer the largest dead zone in the world and it has been in “recovery” mode since the 1990s largely due to the massive reduction in fertilizer use.
The key solution, is to "keep fertilizers on the land and out of the sea," said Robert Diaz, an oceans expert at the US Virginia Institute of Marine Science, in a study released by the institute in 2008. “Scientists and farmers need to continue working together to minimize the transfer of nutrients from land to sea." Hopefully scientist and farmers can work together, therefore dead zones do not keep on doubling, but instead start decreasing each decade.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Unsweetined - From Child Star to...
I wrote this piece as my Senior Seminar final story. I was supposed to do research on a celebrity that has been out of the spotlight for at least ten years and I chose Jodie Sweetin aka Stephanie Tanner from the show Full House.
From Child Star to Drug Addict and Back
Jodie Sweetin, 27, best known as Stephanie Tanner, the middle child on the television sitcom ‘Full House,’ went from child star to meth addict to mom and most recently has become a published author.
Sweetin’s memoir, Unsweetined, released in November 2009. In the book she talks about her acting career as a child (from age five to 13), her addiction to crystal meth while in college and married to an LAPD officer, her experimentation with cocaine and ecstasy, her first experience with alcohol, two divorces and her daughter, Zoie.
The former child star found she loved attention and the spotlight at an early age. The first time she hit the stage was at three-years-old, at a nursery school dance recital. The first character she played was a Cabbage Patch Kid along with her classmates, “the minute I stepped out there [on stage], I had arrived… I immediately started doing my own thing…” (Sweetin, p.11) It became apparent from her participation in the recital that she was a natural actress, so her mother became her manager and began taking her young child to auditions, voice lessons, acting and dance classes, beauty pageants, anywhere Sweetin could perform, she would. “I told my mom I wanted to be a ‘modeler,’ my name for actors on TV.” (p. 12)
Sweetin became a “modeler” quickly; her hobby turned into a full-time job by the age of five.
Stephanie Tanner was the character Sweetin played in the late ‘80s sitcom, Full House, which ran from ‘87 to ‘95 and it was set in San Francisco. The family show followed a single father, Danny Tanner (Bog Sagat), trying to raise three daughters after his wife died in a car accident. After the tragic accident, best friend, Joey Gladstone (Dave Coulier), and bother-in-law, Uncle Jesse (John Stamos), moved in to help with the girls – the oldest, D.J. (Candace Cameron), the middle, Stephanie (Sweetin), and baby Michelle (played by the then baby twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen).
I, like many kids, grew-up watching Full House, wishing we were as cool as D.J. and as adorable as Michelle. Stephanie was the quirky middle child, who often got left out and would often say, “How rude!” Sweetin remembers, “I became very aware that I was just the middle kid that wasn't the cute one or the oldest one. I wasn’t quite sure who I was - either in character or in real life.” (p.41)
The show ended in 1995 and suddenly 13-year-old Sweetin had no stage or spotlight, the source from where she acquired acceptance was no longer available. So began her quest for self-love and confidence.
In her book, Sweetin talks about the first time she got drunk, at age 14. Her first drunken experience was at her co-star and older sister (in the show), Candace Cameron’s wedding, where she claims to have drank two bottles of wine. The experience with alcohol gave her the self confidence she had been searching for and it set the pattern for the self-destructive behavior she would demonstrate in her early 20’s.
By the time she was in college she had started using Ecstasy then Cocaine; by 22, she was married to an LAPD officer and began experimenting with crystal meth. After six months of using meth she had developed a full-blown addiction, which she kept secret from her husband and family. In 2005, after “a two-day bender of coke, meth, and Ecstasy,” (p.5) Sweetin was hospitalized and the secret was revealed. Sweetin and than husband divorced six months after she left rehab.
In May 2007, according to People Magazine, Sweetin met a film transportation coordinator and after two months of dating they got married. She quickly got pregnant and had to sober up. After just 10 months of marriage she gave birth to daughter, Zoie. The new mother began drinking shortly after giving birth.
Zoie, is Sweetins’ pride and joy, her biggest accomplishment, which is why she’s making better choices, battling addiction and sober living, “You are the most important, and amazing thing I have ever done with my life. There is no greater success that I could ever come close to than having you. You are perfection in every sense of the word… I am blessed to have you.” (p.230) Sweetin wrote a letter to her daughter in the memoir, she hopes her daughter does not go through all the troubles she did, “Most important, I hope you [Zoie] grow into a woman who loves herself. It is not an easy thing, self-love.” (p.231)
Sweetin and the father of her child divorced shortly after Zoie’s birth, he filed for sole custody accusing her of relapsing into substance abuse, which she admitted to having two glasses of wine. According to People Magazine, Sweetin has 50-50 custodial time which takes place at her parents’ home where she currently lives in Los Angeles and a custody court date is scheduled for February 9, 2010.
Sweetin is a young woman trying to figure out who she is away from the spotlight and the stage she became very accustom to at an early age, she is also an addict that battles with sobriety every day, but she must stay clean and sober for her daughter. As of April 1, 2009, when the manuscript for her book was due, Sweetin had been sober 114 days.
From Child Star to Drug Addict and Back
Jodie Sweetin, 27, best known as Stephanie Tanner, the middle child on the television sitcom ‘Full House,’ went from child star to meth addict to mom and most recently has become a published author.
Sweetin’s memoir, Unsweetined, released in November 2009. In the book she talks about her acting career as a child (from age five to 13), her addiction to crystal meth while in college and married to an LAPD officer, her experimentation with cocaine and ecstasy, her first experience with alcohol, two divorces and her daughter, Zoie.
The former child star found she loved attention and the spotlight at an early age. The first time she hit the stage was at three-years-old, at a nursery school dance recital. The first character she played was a Cabbage Patch Kid along with her classmates, “the minute I stepped out there [on stage], I had arrived… I immediately started doing my own thing…” (Sweetin, p.11) It became apparent from her participation in the recital that she was a natural actress, so her mother became her manager and began taking her young child to auditions, voice lessons, acting and dance classes, beauty pageants, anywhere Sweetin could perform, she would. “I told my mom I wanted to be a ‘modeler,’ my name for actors on TV.” (p. 12)
Sweetin became a “modeler” quickly; her hobby turned into a full-time job by the age of five.
Stephanie Tanner was the character Sweetin played in the late ‘80s sitcom, Full House, which ran from ‘87 to ‘95 and it was set in San Francisco. The family show followed a single father, Danny Tanner (Bog Sagat), trying to raise three daughters after his wife died in a car accident. After the tragic accident, best friend, Joey Gladstone (Dave Coulier), and bother-in-law, Uncle Jesse (John Stamos), moved in to help with the girls – the oldest, D.J. (Candace Cameron), the middle, Stephanie (Sweetin), and baby Michelle (played by the then baby twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen).
I, like many kids, grew-up watching Full House, wishing we were as cool as D.J. and as adorable as Michelle. Stephanie was the quirky middle child, who often got left out and would often say, “How rude!” Sweetin remembers, “I became very aware that I was just the middle kid that wasn't the cute one or the oldest one. I wasn’t quite sure who I was - either in character or in real life.” (p.41)
The show ended in 1995 and suddenly 13-year-old Sweetin had no stage or spotlight, the source from where she acquired acceptance was no longer available. So began her quest for self-love and confidence.
In her book, Sweetin talks about the first time she got drunk, at age 14. Her first drunken experience was at her co-star and older sister (in the show), Candace Cameron’s wedding, where she claims to have drank two bottles of wine. The experience with alcohol gave her the self confidence she had been searching for and it set the pattern for the self-destructive behavior she would demonstrate in her early 20’s.
By the time she was in college she had started using Ecstasy then Cocaine; by 22, she was married to an LAPD officer and began experimenting with crystal meth. After six months of using meth she had developed a full-blown addiction, which she kept secret from her husband and family. In 2005, after “a two-day bender of coke, meth, and Ecstasy,” (p.5) Sweetin was hospitalized and the secret was revealed. Sweetin and than husband divorced six months after she left rehab.
In May 2007, according to People Magazine, Sweetin met a film transportation coordinator and after two months of dating they got married. She quickly got pregnant and had to sober up. After just 10 months of marriage she gave birth to daughter, Zoie. The new mother began drinking shortly after giving birth.
Zoie, is Sweetins’ pride and joy, her biggest accomplishment, which is why she’s making better choices, battling addiction and sober living, “You are the most important, and amazing thing I have ever done with my life. There is no greater success that I could ever come close to than having you. You are perfection in every sense of the word… I am blessed to have you.” (p.230) Sweetin wrote a letter to her daughter in the memoir, she hopes her daughter does not go through all the troubles she did, “Most important, I hope you [Zoie] grow into a woman who loves herself. It is not an easy thing, self-love.” (p.231)
Sweetin and the father of her child divorced shortly after Zoie’s birth, he filed for sole custody accusing her of relapsing into substance abuse, which she admitted to having two glasses of wine. According to People Magazine, Sweetin has 50-50 custodial time which takes place at her parents’ home where she currently lives in Los Angeles and a custody court date is scheduled for February 9, 2010.
Sweetin is a young woman trying to figure out who she is away from the spotlight and the stage she became very accustom to at an early age, she is also an addict that battles with sobriety every day, but she must stay clean and sober for her daughter. As of April 1, 2009, when the manuscript for her book was due, Sweetin had been sober 114 days.
What to write? What to post?
So, I have lagged a bit and I haven't updated my blog in a few weeks. I haven't decided what I want to upload and or expose online. I think for now it would be best to just upload assignments and writing samples of mine from school. Later I will figure out what I will do or write about.
In the meantime this will serve as a online database for some of my favorite samples or assignments.
In the meantime this will serve as a online database for some of my favorite samples or assignments.
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