Looks Will Fool You

Dumping on the Miss America Pageant is so easy to do; few reporters pass up the opportunity and instead, in their haste to display their wit, most reporters miss the point of the pageant which is:

Life is short. Most women want to be attractive to men, and most men want to be attractive to women. Being attractive to the opposite gender is not an altogether unpleasant experience but we don't decide on our own what is attractive. We take our cues from other people. Most of all, we take our cues from the media, which are happy to provide us with an endless supply of beautiful people to watch and emulate.

Eliminating the swimsuit or evening gown competition from the Miss America Pageant would not make women less interested in looking good for men in their lives or make men less interested in women who look good. We are after all, born into a world with two genders, where are differences help define who we are (or want to be). Biology (dare I say it?) is still part of our destiny.

Why am I not surprised by the racist and sexist attitudes of the Miss America Pageant? This Pageant should represent all Americans: white, blacks, Jews, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans and other ethnic minorities and should celebrate a young women's character, intelligence, talent and inner beauty. Instead this annual charade mirrors all the faults of our society: blatant racism, sexism and pervasive sleaziness.

Miss New York, Marisol Montalvo, who, stated by the media, "no beauty queen and has a big overbite". I beg to differ that any young women who can raise six younger siblings, put herself through college and become a talented opera singer is truly a beautiful person.

The Miss America Pageant is hiding the fact that people who support their neighbors, take care of their family, participate in charities, work and study hard to be successful in life and to just be beautiful in the inside rather than the outside is truly a charming person.

A Magical Nightmare

I'm sure everyone knows Harry Potter from J.K. Rowling's successful series of fictional books. I have read all of the Harry Potter books and I thought they were amazing but a real 20 year old person named Harry Potter from Portsmouth, England has had the misfortune of sharing the name with the fictional character Harry Potter and is clearly sick of all the jokes.

At first, Potter thought that it was neat to have the same name as a famous fictional wizard but the jokes have gotten so bad that he is the only one at his job that doesn't have to use his full name when talking on the telephone. What made this situation worse is that he has a scar on his forehead just like the fictional counterpart, however, its not shaped like a lighting bolt. Potter wished J.K. Rowling had never used his name. Personally, I think that having the same name as a fictional character is pretty cool but I can understand all the comments and jokes people would probably make and how annoying it could become.

This article inspired me think what other fictional characters could possibly suck to share a name with?

Fudge from "Superfudge" and "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing"- If your parents named you Fudge your life is hard enough that you were named after a type of chocolate.

Ramona Quimby- Teachers will be keeping an extra eye on you if your named after Beverly Cleary's famous troublemaker.

Bella Swan from "Twilight"- Wouldn't you hate to be mistaken for a clumsy girl who is obsessed over a vampire? It could possibly be worse for a person named Edward Collins.

Always Tired?

Did you know that 90% of teens are sleeping less than 9 hours of sleep? Did you know 10% of teens are sleeping less than 6 hours of sleep? These statistics seem pointless to most teenagers and most of us would be thinking who cares? Or why does it matter? Lack of sleep can result in harmful physical changes such as obesity, diabeties and high blood pressure. Teenagers can also fall asleep in class, lose concentration and forget assignments. Personally, I think all teenagers need an appropriate amount of sleep. To be honest, I go to sleep around 9pm and wake up around 5 in the morning on weekdays. I could go to sleep earlier but I have soccer practice, after school clubs and homework. Many teenagers have the same issue that I have and I understand the position your in but my busy schedule made me realize that I have to manage my time which helped me through busy afternoons.

Those who like to go to sleep late on weekdays and catch up on their sleep on the weekends are most likely to do poorly at school. This is true because our bodies are so used to going to sleep late on the weekdays that on the weekends it effects our bodies. For me, I do the exact opposite. I go to sleep at a reasonable time on weekdays but on weekends I prefer to go to sleep late. This has a minor effect on me compared to teens going to sleep late on weekdays.

Many teenagers have problems going to sleep. Some have mental issues, others are stressing over school and pressure from parents. Personally, I have those nights where I stay awake in bed for about two hours. Others have the same problem and some simple tips can help you get a good night's sleep.


Simple Tips for A Good Night's Sleep

~ Don't eat anything 2 hours before you go to sleep because your digestive system is not fully finished breaking down your food until at least 2 hours. If you go to sleep before 2 hours after eating, all the food will turn into fat.

~ Try to keep away from any caffeine after 1pm in the afternoon. That means no soda, coffee, decaf or tea.

~ To all those book worms out there, don't read any fiction before bed. Fiction can stimulate your mind and will not help you relax before bed.

~ Don't look or even glance at a computer screen or television 30 minutes before you go to sleep.

~ exercise daily

~ Drink some milk. Milk has an acid that focuses on particular parts of the brain that slows brain activity down.

~ Take a warm bath. This will relax your muscles.

American Idol Winner: Kris Allen

Everyone thought the rockin', hot, idol contestant, Adam Lambert was going to win American Idol 2009, but with a record of over 100 million votes Kris Allen surprisingly won. Even Simon Cowell was astonished because he recently was on a famous talk show declaring that Adam Lambert was one of the best and most original contestants they have EVER had on American Idol, and declared he was a star, but the same thing happened with the previous season when Simon declared David Archuleta was going to win but then David Cook ended up winning it all.

Just Imagine...

Adam and Kris, shoulder to shoulder as Ryan Seacrest is opening the envelope. "And the winner of American Idol season 8 is... Kris Allen." Lights center the spotlight on Kris and fireworks shoot up in the sky, as Kris opens his mouth in total astonishment. Hugging Lambert and then managing a thank you to all of his fans that voted for him he sung his winning song, No Boundaries. Finishing on the edge of tears, he is greeted by his family, ending the show with a triumph of screaming fans and a close up of Kris hugging sister crying at her shoulder.

The final contestants were an absolute hit for every fan. Kris singing 'Aint No Sunshine' in week 9 was a hit but the next week he really shined by remixing songs and singing, 'Falling Slowly', 'She Works Hard For The Money', and 'Heartless'. 'Heartless' was the last song he sang for the finale. Each judge loved it BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL!

In other words, Kris Allen totally was shocked and unprepared for his winning of American Idol Season 8.

Twilight Sequal Script Found in A Trash Bin

The famous hollywood scripts, "New Moon" from the "Twilight" Series, and a diffrent movie titled "Memoirs" were recently found in a trash bin by a woman named Casey Ray. When Ray found these hot hollywood scripts, she was considering on leaking them to the NATIONAL tabloid but decided against it and returned them to Los Angeles-based Summit Entertainment LLC (the studio creating the films), even though she was going to hold on to them as collector items. In return, she was invited to attend the movies' premieres, her lawyer said.

Casey Ray was waiting for her fiance to finish work outside a hotel where some actors were staying during a St. Louis shoot for an upcoming movie, " Up In The Air". While wondering outside, she noticed two scripts (specified in the first paragraph) lying limply in a trash can. She did not know how they got there but some suspect it was an actress named Anna Kendrick, who is playing in "New Moon", because she was also acting for the movie, "Up In The Air" at the same time this shocking event happened.

The "Twilight" movies are based on the novels of Stephenie Meyer, so many of the plot turns are well known to readers. But keeping the "New Moon" script written by Melissa Rosenberg out of the public eye preserves which elements of the book will be included in the films.

Last year's "Twilight" film made more than $350 million worldwide!