Britney Spears: A Brief Timeline and History

From Birth to Superstar
And on to Marriage to Media Psycho



1982:

December 2: Born. Britney Jean Spears was born in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana. At an early age she displayed talent, appearing on the Star Search television show.

1991:

Performs as an understudy in 1991's Ruthless!

1992:

She landed a spot on the popular television show Star Search. She won the first round of competition, but ultimately lost.



1993:

While attending the Professional Performing Arts School in New York City, she worked in television commercials and acted in Off-Broadway plays. She then auditioned, and was chosen for, the New Mickey Mouse Club television show. She performed as a member of the cast during the 1993 and 1994 seasons.

1997:

Spears briefly joins the all-female pop group Innosense.

She records a demo solo and signs with Jive Records.

Begins a U.S. concert tour sponsored by American teen magazines, and eventually becomes an opening act for 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.



1998:

November -Debut single "...Baby One More Time", released and became an instant international success.



1999:

January -At the age of 17, Britney Spears' first album, ...Baby One More Time, was released and quickly reached the #1 spot on the pop charts.

April -Poses for her first major magazine publication, Rolling Stone.

December -She wins four Billboard Music Awards, including Female Artist of the Year.

Appears on ABC's sitcom Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, playing herself, and performed the song "(You Drive Me) Crazy", in a cross-promotion for the film Drive Me Crazy, which starred Sabrina star Melissa Joan Hart and was titled after the song.



2000:

January -She takes home the Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist award at the American Music Awards.

May: Release of 2nd album. Her second album, Oops!...I Did It Again sold millions.

Appears on Saturday Night Live as host and musical guest.



2001:

Pepsi gives Spears a multi-million dollar promotional deal which includes numerous television commercials, point-of-purchase promotions and Internet ties between Spears and the company.

November -Release of 3rd album, Britney.

November -Starts the "Dream Within a Dream Tour".



2002:

June -Opens restaurant "Nyla" in New York City, which serves Louisianan and Italian cuisine. However, she pulls out of the business venture in November as a result of debts and management issues. Nyla officially closes down in 2003.

Stars in movie, Crossroads. Receives a Razzie Award for Worst Actress and for Worst Original Song "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman".

Named by Forbes magazine as the world's most powerful celebrity.

Appears on Saturday Night Live as host and musical guest.

Ends four-year involvement with singer, Justin Timberlake.

Limp Bizkit frontman, Fred Durst, confirms he's in relationship with Britney.



2003:

2003 MTV Video Music Awards -Appears with Christina Aguilera performing the song "Like a Virgin", was later joined by Madonna. Spears locks lips with Madonna in a highly-publicized kiss.

November -Release of 4th album: In the Zone. The album's breakout single "Toxic" won Spears her first Grammy Award. It debuts at #1, making Spears the only female in music history to have her first four studio albums to debut at number one.

Toward the beginning of her career, she cultivates the image of virginal wholesomeness. This eventually gives way to a sexually suggestive, adult image, which causes many parents of teen and pre-teen female fans to lose the enthusiasm they had originally shown toward Britney's more respected image.

Her sexually suggestive music videos received nearly constant coverage by MTV, and, combined with her concert tours containing raunchy dance numbers, causes Britney Spears to become a symbol of overcharged teen sex in the late 1990s and early 21st Century.

Appears on Saturday Night Live as host and musical guest.

In an interview with Tucker Carlson of CNN, on the subject of the Iraq War, Spears says, "Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision he makes and should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens." Footage of interview later appears in Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11.



2004:

January 3 -Marries childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander, at The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The marriage lasts 55 hours, ending with an annulment stating that Spears "lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to marriage because before entering into the marriage the Plaintiff and Defendant did not know each others' likes and dislikes, each others' desires to have or not have children, and each other's desires as to State of residency."

March -"The Onyx Hotel Tour" begins to promote the album "In the Zone". The tour's choreography generates much controversy and criticism, with the presence of young children in the audience.

May -Meets Kevin Federline.

June -"The Onyx Hotel Tour" cancels after Spears injures knee filming the video for "Outrageous".

July -Announces engagement to Federline.

September 18 -She marries backup singer and stage dancer Kevin Federline at a wedding chapel in Las Vegas. Several months after the wedding, tabloids begin wondering about her alleged weight gain, sparking rumors of a pregnancy.

September -Becomes involved in the Kabbalah Centre through her friendship with Madonna.

November -Release of her first greatest hits collection, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative.

Endorses an Elizabeth Arden fragrance, "Curious", for which she earns a reported $12 million. After one year of sales, the product nets more than $100 million, and is named the best selling perfume of 2004.



2005:

April - The rumors end on April 13, 2005, with the announcement that Britney Spears is, indeed, pregnant with child.

May -Announced that Britney and her husband will host a reality television show revolving around their lives. The show debuts on May 17.

September -Releases fragrance, "Fantasy" for Elizabeth Arden.

September -Britney and Kevin's son, Sean Preston Federline, born by caesarian section on September 14, 2005.

November -Spears releases her first remix album, B In The Mix: The Remixes. The album ranges from "...Baby One More Time" to "Toxic".



2006:

April -Releases "In Control" fragrance.

May -Announces her second pregnancy on the David Letterman Show.

August -Appears nude and pregnant on cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine.

September -On September 12, 2006, Spears gives birth to second son, Jayden James Federline.

November 7 -Files for divorce from her husband.

December -Releases another perfume, "Midnight Fantasy".



Turns into a party girl, hanging out with Paris Hilton, and, like Paris, takes to clubbing in public places without underwear. The paparazzi have a field day taking pictures of her without her panties. A partially nude Britney Spears--quite a change for a Mouseketeer girl who once claimed a wholesome, virginal appeal to teen girls.

Guest stars on NBC's Will & Grace in an episode entitled "Buy, Buy Baby". She plays a closeted lesbian to co-host with Jack McFarland on his talk show.



2007:

January 21 -Spears's aunt Sandra Bridges Covington, with whom she had been very close, dies of ovarian cancer.

February 16 -Stays in an off-shore drug rehabilitation facility in Antigua for less than 24 hours.



February 17 -At a hair salon in Tarzana, California she shaves her head bald with electric clippers.

February -Gets tattoo on neck.

February 20 -Admits herself to another treatment facility in Malibu, California.

February 21 -Leaves Malibu facility briefly.

February 22 -Returns to Malibu treatment facility.

March 20 -Leaves Malibu, her manager states, "she was released after "successfully completing their program."

January-February -Throughout January and February of 2007, the media reports on Britney's increasingly odd behavior, as she is spotted at many party locations on both coasts.

March -Reaches global settlement with Federline on divorce.

May -Spears produces a mini-tour for the House of Blues under the name "The M+M's", with 6 shows altogether. Does not sing live in the 15 minute shows.

May -Records 5th album "Blackout".

July 30 -Divorce final.

August -Allegedly involved in a hit-and-run.

September -Releases newest perfume, "Believe" for Elizabeth Arden.

September -Official findings in Spears's custody battle were announced by the court. She was ordered to undergo random drug and alcohol testings and to attend parenting counseling. Spears and Federline continued to share joint custody of their two children on a conditional basis.

September -Officially charged with misdemeanor hit-and-run and driving without a license. If convicted, she could face a year in jail.

October 1 -Loses physical custody of her children to Federline.

October 15 -Booked for the hit-and-run charges by the Los Angeles Police Department.

October -Spears released a new album, Blackout, in October, 2007, to positive reviews.



2008:

January 3 -Spears' attorneys in her child custody battle with Kevin Federline, asked the judge to excuse them from the case. The attorneys cited an inability to communicate with their client.

January 3 -Refuses to hand over her children for a court-sanctioned visit with Federline, barricading herself in her home until the police, after a three-hour standoff, are able to access her and take the children. Taken by ambulance to a hospital psychiatric ward, where she tests "negative" for illicit substances.

January 4, 5 -Held for psychiatric evaluation for two days.

January 14 -Visitation rights suspended indefinitely.

January 31 -A Court places Spears under temporary conservatorship of her father James Spears, giving him complete control of her assets. As a result of an order placed by her psychiatrist, she is taken to UCLA Medical Center to be put on a 5150 Involuntary psychiatric hold for the second time in January.

February 1 -A restraining order is issued against Sam Lutfi, a prominent figure in Spears's life.

February 6 -Leaves hospital and her parents express disappointment with her decision.



According to Zomba Label Group, Spears has sold over 83 million records worldwide. The RIAA ranks her as the eighth best-selling female artist in American music history, having sold 31 million albums in the U.S.

compiled by Mondoreb

ALSO at DBKP: Britney's Rough Night Out: Today and Yesterday
Images:
* the planets
* scienceblogs
* ballz
* personalastrology
* consstance
* enjoyfrance
* posters.net
* yousaytoo
Sources:
* Biofiles: Britney Spears
* Wikipedia - Britney Spears
* Britney Spears' Biography



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Oppression et Liberté : Socialist Disillusion from a Former True Believer

Oppression and Liberty was published posthumously by Simone Weil in 1955. How has it stood the test of time? 52 years after it's release, how has it fared?

Is it more popular today as it was when it came out?

The book, a comparative view of political systems, trends and features, looks at socialism and its political system rivals.

A little about the book.

OPPRESSION AND LIBERTY
Simone Weil, Arthur Wills (Translator), Preface by T. S. Elliot
Routledge, reprint (2001)
(published posthumously as Oppression et Liberté in 1955)



"The only hope of socialism resides in those who have already brought about in themselves, as far as is possible in the society of today, that union between manual and intellectual labor which characterizes the society we are aiming at." Simone Weil, Oppression and Liberty (1958 edition), Chapter 1, from The Columbia World of Quotations (1996)

"It would seem that man was born a slave, and that slavery is his natural condition. At the same time nothing on earth can stop man from feeling himself born for liberty. Never, whatever may happen, can he accept servitude; for he is a thinking creature." Simone Weil, Oppression and Liberty (1958 edition), Chapter 4, from The Columbia World of Quotations (1996)

(quoted on Bartleby.com)

In Oppression and Liberty (1955) she [Simone Weil] is concerned with the nature and possibility of individual freedom in various political and social systems, finally opting for liberalism rather than socialism. (from Pegasos website)

PUBLISHER
The French thinker Simone Weil counts as one of the leading intellectual and spiritual figures of the twentieth century. She was a legendary essayist, political philosopher and member of the French resistance, whose literary output belied her tragically short life. Most of her work was published posthumously, to widespread acclaim. Always concerned with the nature of individual freedom, Weil explores in Oppression and Liberty its political and social implications. Analysing the causes of oppression, its mechanisms and forms, she questions revolutionary responses and presents a prophetic view of a way forward. If, as she noted elsewhere, 'the future is made of the same stuff as the present', then there will always be a need to continue to listen to Simone Weil.

BOOK REVIEWS
"...She would not accept, in particular, the Marxist vision of historical development and inevitable proletarian triumph. She understood that it was absurdly simplistic, a-historical and self-contradictory. Weil rejected the suggestion of any inexorable progress in the development of "productive forces," and found it ironic and damning that in making a "religion of productive force," Marxists seemed to share a facile optimism with their capitalist enemies...She was impatient with the suggestion that history was progressing toward some final stage in class conflict characterized by material abundance and culminating in the end of oppression....

...she did not over-argue the potential for change. She hoped at most for action that would 'encourage whatever is capable, in the sphere of politics, economics or technique, of leaving the individual here and there a certain freedom of movement amid the trammels cast around him by social organization.'

It is this emphasis on the individual and the distrust of State authority and bureaucratic elitism—an emphasis on justice, not just rights—that is among the distinctive features of Weil’s progressive outlook...." (from book review by Bob Bauer on More Soft Money Hard Law website)

Oppression and Liberty's author, Simone Weil (1909-1943), gained fame after her death for her writing. The book has had introductions by both T.S. Eliot and Albert Camus.

French philosopher, activist, and religious searcher, whose death in 1943 was hastened by starvation. Weil published during her lifetime only a few poems and articles. With her posthumous works - 16 volumes, edited by André A. Devaux and Florence de Lussy - Weil has earned a reputation as one of the most original thinkers of her era. T.S. Eliot described her as "a woman of genius, of a kind of genius akin to that of the saints."

"What a country calls its vital economic interests are not the things which enable its citizens to live, but the things which enable it to make war. Gasoline is much more likely than wheat to be a cause of international conflict." (from The Need for Roots, 1949)

Nothing makes for a good read like the writings of a disillusioned Socialist.

Simone Weil's Oppression and Liberty is Socialist disillusion in the nutshell.

by Mondoreb
[images:coalitionsquebec & ou.edu]

Source:
Oppression and Liberty
Simone Weil




Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Dennis Kucinich: The Troof is Out There

"And if elected, I can promise you a UFO in every pot..."


Dennis Kucinich, The Progressive Candidate

by Little Baby Ginn

Dennis Kucinich has been a busy guy, a busy guy indeed. Since 2004 the Democrat Congressman from Ohio has thrown his hat into the Presidential race, married a woman 31 years his junior, introduced legislation to impeach Vice-President Cheney, made calls to impeach President Bush. He introduced another piece of legislation to form a new bureaucracy, The Department of Peace, and was forced to reveal he had an encounter with a UFO.

A visit to the dennis4president website one can contribute twenty bucks to the Dennis Kucinich Grassroots Raffle and win one of their “amazing prizes.” Get a special Edition pocket copy of the US Constitution, or find out how to throw a Dennis Kucinich “House Party!”

A trip to the Official Campaign Store and for twenty three bucks you can purchase a Kucinich for President “Strength Through Peace” Home/Party Kit which includes ten buttons, ten bumper stickers, 10 rally signs, 10 balloons, and 10 lapel stickers.

Times must be hard: didn’t politicians running for office used to offer these things… for free?

From Kucinich’s bio on the webpage:

The oldest of seven children, Dennis was born in 1946 in Cleveland, Ohio to Frank and Virginia Kucinich. The family lived in 21 places, including a couple of cars, by the time he was 17 years-old. One of his most vivid memories was watching his family count out money on an old white counter top to see if they had enough for their bills. He attended Catholic grade and high schools.

Kucinich’s public service life began after graduating from Case Western University. He served as a councilman and later Clerk Of Courts. Elected as Mayor of Cleveland at the tender age of 31 his bio relates how he ran on the promise to save the city’s municipally owned electric system.

He was elected mayor of Cleveland in 1977 on the promise to save the city’s municipally-owned electric system which offered customers significantly lower rates than the private utility. A year later, Cleveland’s banks demanded that he sell the city’s 70 year-old municipally-owned electric system to its private competitor (in which the banks had a financial interest) as a precondition of extending credit to the city.

The attempted political blackmail failed as did several assassination attempts. He remembered his parents counting out coins on the dresser and refused to sell the people’s power. In an incident unprecedented in modern American politics, the Cleveland banks plunged the city into default for a mere $15 million despite being offered triple collateral to protect the loan.

Huh?

“The attempted political blackmail failed as did several assassination attempts?”

More from Kucinich’s Political Bio:

The principled stand destroyed his political career. He lost his reelection bid. He was demonized as the mayor who threw Cleveland into default.† Fifteen years later, the citizens of Cleveland - recognizing† he had saved them hundreds of millions of dollars in municipal power bills and also forced the private utility to keep bills low to compete – voted him into the Ohio Senate.†† His campaign signs featured† a light bulb and the expression “Because he was right.”† In 1998 the Cleveland City Council honored Dennis for “..having the courage and foresight to refuse to sell the city’s municipal electric system.”

In 1996 Kucinich’s political career and reputation as a Progressive was back on track. He was elected to the House Of Representatives.

More from the Kucinich Bio:

In 2002 the second great challenge of his elected career occurred.† After analyzing the “evidence” presented by the Administration in its rush to folly in Iraq and actually reading the National Intelligence Estimate, he stepped forward to help lead 125 Democrats in voting against the blank check for the President to wage an illegal, immoral and ineffective war.

Speaking from the floor of the House some 140 times against the war and appearing on over 100 radio and talk shows was a risky political move.† But it did not stop him.† The neo-cons and their complicit friends in media engaged in a frenzy of caustic name calling.

Wait a sec? “The neo-cons and their complicit friends in the media?” So far Kucinich is making Ron Paul look positively… normal. Kucinich’s bio is reading like a melodrama.

More from the Kucinich Bio:

On July 11, 2001, inspired by the strength, leadership and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Gandhi and Christ, Dennis authored and introduced legislation to create a Cabinet level Department of Peace and Nonviolence. Domestically the Department will create programs to deal with domestic violence, spousal abuse, child abuse, racial violence, gang violence and the root causes of all violence in our society. The legislation is now backed by a national movement.

An extremely ambitious endeavor all these new programs ranging from “domestic violence, spousal abuse, child abuse, racial violence, gang violence, and the root causes of all violence in our society.”

Of course, someone should point out that yet another Department added to our already bloated bureaucracy funded by strapped taxpayers which addresses problems which are already addressed at the federal, state, and local levels with hundreds of thousands of laws on the books…

On February 3, 2003, Dennis co-authored legislation HR 676 which he had previously proposed to the 2000 Democratic Platform Committee, to create a national health care system, Medicare for All.


Of course some might call this “Universal” Healthcare. “Medicare For All,” paid for by a few. Does this include the estimated 12-15 million “undocumented” workers who receive free healthcare without paying one peso out of pocket?

In 2004, Dennis ran for President on a platform of peace, universal single payer not for profit health care and fair trade conditioned on workers rights, human rights and environmental quality principles, only possible through the cancelling of NAFTA and withdrawal from the WTO. For the second time he presented a plan to the Democratic platform committee for Medicare for all.

Then “peace will guide the planets, and love will steer the stars” and the “dawning of the age of Aquarius. Aquarius!” Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.

In 2005, on May 4th, British born Elizabeth Harper went to Washington, D.C. during her second week in America, to discuss monetary policy with legislators. There she had an eight minute meeting with Dennis in his office. Though neither had known of the other prior to their meeting, each instantly knew they had just met their life partner, though they had barely spoken to each other. They met by chance again three weeks later in New Mexico, declared their love and got engaged. Dennis and Elizabeth were married on August 21st, 2005.

The best of luck to the both of them. More about Elizabeth from the Kucinich site:

You will understand Elizabeth Kucinich better if you answer one question. How many 18 year-olds do you know who leave their comfortable homes to travel alone to India to work with Mother Teresa's charity?† Or another? How many 14 year-olds do you know who have lobbied their national legislature? Or a last one? How many 28-year olds do you know who have traveled to five continents to work on and organize humanitarian projects?

The answer to those questions give a sense of who Elizabeth Jane Kucinich and the dedication to service and social justice that drives her.

Elizabeth is also Kucinich’s 3rd wife and thirty one years his junior, but I digress.

The Issues

Kucinich is clearly against the Iraq War. He voted against it and against funding. He believes in diplomacy. His policy is called, “Strength Through Peace.”

How to Emerge From the Neo-Con and Neo-Liberal Nightmare of the Arrogant Use of Power
“We need to understand the connection between peace and the environment. We know that life on our planet is threatened by the twin threats of global warring and global warming. They are linked, and we have to understand that as we cognize the world as being interconnected and interdependent, we know that resource wars are passe and that the focus on sustainability will create peace.”
--Dennis Kucinich

Lovely sentiments altogether and makes one wonder about Kucinich, that perhaps he’d be better off shaving his head and donning Ghandi robes. Kucinich obviously suffers from a rather blatant Messianic Complex where if one could only teach the world to sing in perfect harmony…

Kucinich on Terrorism:

We cannot hope to end terrorism by killing terrorists. Hatred feeds on violence and killing. I understand this and am here to offer a more practical approach: to reduce poverty worldwide with bold changes in current U.S. policy. NAFTA and the World Trade Organizations have only served to increase global poverty, thus deepening one of the most virulent causes of terrorism.

Yes, of course, it was poverty that drove those men to the acts of 9/11. Well, no, it wasn’t. Bin Laden was never poor and neither were the men who flew those planes into the World Trade Towers. But no one must burst Kucinich’s Progressive Bubble on how to solve terrorism through misconceptions.

Kucinich and Impeaching Bush And Cheney

Kucinich introduced House Resolution 333 to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney.

RESOLUTION

Impeaching Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United
States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Resolved, That Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of
the United States, is impeached for high crimes and mis-
demeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment
be exhibited to the United States Senate:
Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of
Representatives of the United States of America in the
name of itself and of the people of the United States of
America, against Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the
United States of America, in maintenance and support of
its impeachment against him for high crimes and mis-
demeanors.

Kucinich’s Encounter With A UFO

Shirley McClaine, the women with more past lives than a Cat revealed in a book yet to be released that on a visit to her home back in the 80’s Kucinich had spied a “gigantic triangular craft, silent and observing him. It hovered for about 10 minutes or so and sped away with a speed he couldn’t comprehend. He said he felt a connection in his heart and heard directions in his mind."

How nice of McClaine to put this information out during a crucial time of Kucinich’s bid for the office of President.

To sum up Kucinich’s views on issues, Kucinich is against the Iraq War, believes terrorism can be solved by pointing the finger of blame squarely at the United States. Bush and Cheney need to be impeached and everyone should have peace.

Sources:
Dennis4President
Impeach Bush



Back to Front Page.