I’ve been saving up a bunch of questions from you guys, and I can’t wait to answer them. Can you wait to read this? I thought not. Let’s get to it!

Q: Craig, how do you get to work for OWL? I would love to when I’m older!
— Kennedy

CB: You need to have at least one university degree in physics. And a truck driver’s licence. No! Just kidding. Everyone here has a degree in something — art, design, education, journalism, etc. — but there’s nothing specific that you need to have. That is, other than an interest in creating the coolest magazine possible for a lot of cool readers! (FYI: I have a degree in English. Just in case you were curious.)

Q: Great story! How do I send mine?
— Frank

CB: Frank, I’m shocked! You guys should all know by now that if you ever want to send me something, just drop me a line at owlblog@owlkids.com. I totally want to see your comics, drawings, and stories so send ’em my way whenever you get the chance. You could get published on the OWL blog like Sinead did!

Q: How about having a “What’s Hot” section devoted to books, documentaries, videos, and toys that are all about Earth?
— Madison

CB: That’s a cool idea, Madison. As you can see by the new and revamped version of “What’s Hot” in the September issue of OWL, we’re trying to be even more up-to-the-moment than ever. But we could definitely try to focus on cool Earth stuff in April — especially ’cause it’s Earth Month. If you see anything awesome and want us to review it, let me know.

Q: Who here likes spiders? I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE spiders!
— Hailey

CB: Wow, Hailey, you’re the first person I’ve ever heard say that. Spiders freak me out a little. (A confession: all bugs freak me out a little.) But if you love spiders, then you’re definitely going to love the “Wow Shot” in the October issue of OWL. But that’s all I’ll say.

Q: Has anyone seen Journey To The Centre Of The Earth 3D? I did in 3D. It was awesome. Long, but awesome.
— Kennedy

CB: Good call, Kennedy! I saw it and thought it was great. In fact, my friend gave me a bunch of neon green Journey to the Centre of the Earth T-shirts for my Thursday night basketball team. We called ourselves Journey to the Centre of the Rim. (Get it?)

And, while we’re on the subject, I found a hilarious spoof of the trailer on YouTube. It might be funnier if you know the band Journey, so here are a few facts: 1) they were popular in the ’70s and ’80s, 2) they were a little bit cheesy, and 3) they were amazing.

Enjoy!:

That’s it for this week, guys! Post your questions below and I’ll try to answer them all soon. Maybe next week we’ll do a back-to-school reverse mailbag…

Talk to you later.

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

Looks like it’s a week of goodbyes here on the OWL Blog. First the Olympics finished up in Beijing. Then Earl, my fave Canadian Idol contestant, got voted off the island. Now I don’t even know who to cheer for…

In honour of Earl, here’s my favourite of his performances from the season:

I can see why he didn’t win the whole thing. He’s got a bit of a weird vibe, especially when he’s bouncing around the stage during a song. But when he’s sitting down playing the guitar? Magic! I love that performance.

Now we’re left with three potential Idols: Drew, Mitch, and Theo. Who do you think is going to win? Are voters messing up the voting? Are you guys getting sick of Idol updates? Let me know in the comments!

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

The bad news: the Olympics are over. I know a lot of us were pretty excited to watch the games, and that it’s a little sad to see them go. For those wanting to take a look back, check out the CBC website for some cool videos.

The good news: the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics are just around the corner! OWL has some awesome stuff planned, and it’ll be a great chance for Canada to show off. And OWL blog reader Lina said it best: “Can’t wait for London 2012!”

Also, here’s more good news: it’s time to get excited for basketball season! Training camps for NBA teams begin next month, so here’s a super-inspiring video to get you stoked. It’s about a high school basketball player who overcame huge odds to star in the final game of his team’s season.

Check it out:

Awesome, right?

Are you stoked for basketball season yet?

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

Wow. Who knew the end of summer held such craziness? I always remember being slightly bored by the last few weeks of August, but these are exciting times. The Olympics are going strong and Canadian Idol is definitely heating up. Let’s get to some updates:

UPDATE #1: Canadian Idol
Since my Canadian Idol diary a week ago, a lot has happened. First Amberly got kicked off — not even blog reader and Idol prognosticator Madison saw that one coming. Then, last night, Toronto native Mookie got kicked off. (I don’t need to tell you that OWL’s associate publisher Angela is seriously bummed.) That leaves four competitors left: Drew, Earl, Mitch, and Theo. For the record, I’m still cheering for Earl.

In honour of Mookie, here’s my favourite of his performances from this season:

UPDATE #2: The Olympics
When we last checked in on the subject, Canada hadn’t won a single medal. Five days later, we’ve won 13 medals — that’s more than we won in Athens, Greece, in 2004. Did you notice that Karen Cockburn, the subject of OWL’s “Wow Shot” from June, won her third medal in as many Olympics for trampoline? Awesome. I felt a special connection to that one.

The most exciting Canadian medal for me, though, was the women’s 100-metre hurdles. Talk about a close race! Five competitors all finished within two hundredths of a second of each other, but Canadian Priscilla Lopes-Schliep managed to come out with the head of the pack and claim the bronze medal.

Click here to check out the story — and video — on the CBC website.

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What are your favourite Olympic moments thus far? Let me know in the comments section!

Talk to you soon.

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

How ’bout that blog title, huh? It combines internet sensation with sensational!
I am feeling it today…

Anyway, there’s a good chance you guys have seen this YouTube clip already. It’s a video of a guy named Matt dancing in 42 countries over 14 months. It was posted a month ago and it’s already been viewed over nine million times!

Check it out:

Just for fun, here’s an earlier video Matt did:

Neat, huh?

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com