Another week, another mailbag! Thanks for all the questions, and all the many comments on the last mailbag. Very cool.

Here we go again:

Q: Can you draw? If you can, can you draw something for an issue?!
— Katherine

CB: Cool question, Katherine! I loved drawing when I was younger, but I think
I’ll leave the magazine illustrations to pros like Dave Whamond (“Weird Zone”) and Kathy Boake (“Talk About It”). By the way, I’m planning to do some more interviews with OWL folks like Dave and Kathy soon. Who else would you guys like to meet?

Q: How do you decide who wins the contests in OWL?
— Mara

CB: Some contests, such as the Movie Awards in December, are decided by random draw. Others, like the poetry and photo contests, are decided by committee. In those cases, the OWL editors and designers get together and decide which entry (or entries) best exemplify the parameters of the contest.
And let me tell you: it’s tough! We get so many great entries for each contest, and it’s very difficult to narrow it down to only a handful of winners.

Q: Has Owlkids ever considered making a magazine for teens?
— Madison

CB: It’s been talked about a lot, but nothing has come of it. We occasionally get letters from kids, parents, and grandparents asking us to make a teen magazine. What do the rest of you guys think? And what would you want to see in a mag like that?

Q: Why is the magazine called OWL?
— Aiden

Q: What does OWL stand for?
— Mara

CB: Whoa. Popular question. I’ve answered this before, but it seems time to do
it again. OWL stands for “Outdoors and Wild Life.” Also, according to Annabel Slaight, one of the founders of the magazine, the owl was always her favourite animal. Cool, huh?

Q: My birthday is on March 3rd. What day is your birthday on, Craig?
— Sydney

CB: Hey, Sydney! And happy early birthday! Mine is just a couple of days after yours: March 5. Just for fun, I looked up my birthday on Wikipedia. It turns out I share a birthday with NBA star Wally Szczerbiak and King Henry II of England. And that March 5 is St. Piran’s Day — a national day in Cornwall, England. Neat, huh?

Q: Can we get more o’ Sinead’s story?
— Hailey

CB: I don’t know. Can we, Sinead?

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That’s it for this week/month, guys. Talk to you in March!

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

Hello, and welcome to the latest episode in the OWL blog’s search for the best sports highlights of all time. As always, I am your host, and you are the judges.

The rules here are simple: if a YouTube clip is called ”The greatest [insert sport here] play ever!” I watch it. If it measures up, I bring it to you guys. We’ve talked softball and basketball so far, and it’s time to hit the field for some football.

Here we go:

What do you think? Pretty awesome, huh? I mean, the runner leaped over a defender to score a touchdown. That doesn’t happen a whole lot.

Let me know what you think in the comments below! Also, just in case you missed the earlier rounds, click here for the greatest softball catch ever, and here for a show-down of the most amazing basketball shots.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

Hey all. You’ve probably heard of The Tale of Despereaux, Marley & Me, and Bolt, but there’s another amazing animal movie out there you may not have heard of yet. Unlike those others, though, this one’s a documentary and might
be a little harder to find in theatres.

The movie’s called Saving Luna. It’s about a very unique killer whale — named Luna, of course! — who lives in an inlet in British Columbia and is friendly with anyone and everyone. Sound strange? Sound incredible? Well, that’s because
it was.

Here’s the trailer:

I recommend this movie to anyone interested in wild life. But here’s a quick warning: there are lots of sweet moments and funny moments, but some sad moments as well.

If this sounds up your alley, check your local listings or the movie’s website to find a screening near you!

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

Hi, guys! Lots and lots (and lots) of questions since the last mailbag. I won’t be able to fit all of them in, so we’ll have to do this again really soon.

But enough with introductions. On with the questions!

Q: Hi Craig, have you written any stories or poems in your life? If you have, you should publish one on the blog.
— Hayden

CB: I have! I sadly can’t find any of the stories I wrote when I was younger, but you can read my creative writing in OWL whenever you want. In fact, I wrote
two comics for OWL’s March issue, and I hope you like them. (As if waiting for the comic issue wasn’t hard enough already!)

Q: What the heck is OWL TV?
— Hailey

CB: Believe it or not, OWL used to have its own TV show. It was called OWL/TV, and it aired from 1985 to 1994. It featured interviews and projects with kids, and segments on science and animals.

Here’s a YouTube clip of the show’s theme song:

Q: I really don’t get the point of curling. Someone scrubs the floor while you zoom forward on a mini vacuum cleaner?
— Lexi

CB: Thanks, Lexi! And congratulations. You win the first-ever Hilarious Question of the Month award. Three cheers!

Anyway, I guess I didn’t do a great job of explaining this last mailbag, so here goes: the “mini vacuum cleaner” (funny!) is actually a heavy piece of granite, and it’s called a rock. Each team takes turns throwing the rock down a sheet of ice towards the large target — called the house. The goal is to get more rocks closer to the centre of the house at the end of the round than the opposing team. It’s a little complicated. Here is a virtual game to help you visualize.

Q: Is it possible to email OWL Magazine or do we have to send our stuff by snail mail?
— Sydney

CB: It’s definitely possible to email OWL. You can even email me directly!
My address is owlblog@owlkids.com, and you can send me anything you need: questions, suggestions, jokes, advice for “Talk About It,” response for “Hot Topic,” or whatever! I’ll make sure it finds the proper department.

Q: Who’s Max, and why is everybody so happy?
— Lexi

CB: “Max Finder Mystery” — featuring a kid detective named Max Finder and
his best friend Alison Santos — was a comic in OWL from 2003 to 2006. It developed quite a following before the creator and illustrator moved on to do different projects. We published all the mysteries in collected casebooks, and they’ve been pretty popular too. Now, at long last, Max is back in the magazine! Let me know what you think of the comic when you get your March issue.

Also, I’m not sure if you’ve seen it yet, but you can read one mystery online. Check it out here.

Q: Why does “Max” have a new artist?
— Katherine =)

CB: Hey Katherine =). As I said above, one of the reasons OWL stopped printing “Max” was because the artist, Michael Cho, moved on to other stuff. Also, it’s quite common for comics to switch up their creative teams to keep things fresh. The new artist, Ramón Pérez, will actually be the third person to draw Max and all his pals (an illustrator named Philip Smiley was the first). Also, did you know that Claude Bordeleau is the third “Alex and Charlie” artist?

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And that’s it, guys! Great questions this week. Have a great weekend!

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

Hey, how ’bout that blog title, huh? Mixing “Ovechkin” with “king of the world”? Pretty impressive for 9:55 in the morning, I say. Anyway, I saw a hockey highlight on TV last night, and I had to share it with you as soon as possible.

Here we go!:

Pretty cool, right? The scorer, of course, is NHL superstar Alexander Ovechkin. My favourite part is right at the beginning when he passes the puck to himself. What?! Who does that? Sneaking the puck past the goalie from his back was mighty impressive, too.

Also, it’s a great day for a hockey highlight considering it’s the start of the
World Pond Hockey Championships in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick. Seriously. People come from all over. I just read an article about a team from Chicago. That’s serious dedication to a sport.

Tomorrow: a mailbag! Talk to you then.

Craig, owlkids.com