Hey all. In case you hadn’t noticed, um, SCHOOL’S OUT! For most of you, this
is the first Monday of the summer. For me, it’s… another Monday at OWL!

It’s a good thing, too. If I had summers off, who would show you the awesome YouTube clips below? If you dig back in the memory banks, you’ll remember we’ve talked about the best softball catch, football play, and basketball shot(s)
on the OWL blog, but we haven’t talked soccer. Let’s fix that right now!

I found two clips boasting that they’re the “best” or “most incredible” goals ever, and they’re totally different. I’ll let you be the judge. Here’s the first one:

Cool, huh? Here’s the second clip:

What do you think? Is it harder to deke out six players on the way to the goal or score from midfield? Both are pretty much impossible. My favourite part about that last clip was how it took a couple seconds for the crowd to react. Evidently, they couldn’t believe their eyes.

Let me know in the comments!

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

Editor’s note: we interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for a word from OWL’s amazing associate editor, Mandy Ng. (Craig will be back next week.) Enjoy!

Last Friday, I attended the red-carpet premiere of the Disney movie Princess Protection Program. As you may know, the movie stars Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez, and both showed up at the screening to talk about the movie. Here’s my report!

The movie is about a princess named Rosalinda (Demi Lovato) who is forced to flee her country and hide out in rural Louisiana. The prim and proper princess then has to pretend to be a normal girl while living with Carter Mason (Selena Gomez), a tomboy teenager who would rather be doing anything else than living with royalty.

Princess Protection Program is a classic story of two people coming from different worlds and finding out that they actually do have stuff in common.

Here are a few observations about the movie:

1) Princess Protection Program has a great message: “Never judge a book by its cover.” Which takes me to my next observation…

2) Being a princess isn’t just about having a crown and pretty dresses. In fact, to quote OWL’s art director Susan, “Princesses are pretty on the inside, too!” You don’t need to wear a crown to be a princess (or prince). It’s what inside that really counts.

3) The stars of the movie — and real-life BFF’s — Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez were awesome and have great on-screen chemistry. (Fun tidbit: Demi originally auditioned for the part of Carter Mason and Selena tried out for the part of Princess Rosalinda. But in the end, the actresses realized their personalities fit the opposite roles and they switched. Good choice!)

Overall, I thought it was a sweet movie with fantastic performances. Before the screening started, Selena told the audience that you should watch this movie with your best friend because it is all about friendship.

Grab a pal and catch it tonight on Family Channel or Disney Network at 8 p.m. You can also rent the DVD starting on June 30.

Bye for now!

Mandy, owlblog@owlkids.com

Hey blog readers! Have you checked out OWL’s Back Talk survey yet? If so… thanks! If not, here are five good reasons to stop everything and fill it out right now:

1. It’s easy.
2. It’s fun.
3. It’s a trip down memory lane. (Remember the October OWL cover?
   Those were the days…)
4. It’s your chance to help us make OWL even better.
5. It’s got a built-in contest. That’s right. Five lucky Back Talkers —
   chosen at random — will receive an Uglydoll school planner. Nice!

So, what are you waiting for? Tell us what you like about the magazine. Tell us what you don’t you like about the magazine. We want to hear it all.

Click here to fill out the survey. Then come back here to let me know what you thought. For instance, is there anything we forgot to ask? Post a comment below with all your ideas.

Check you later!

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

By my calculations, we’re two days away from summer. That means we’re also crazily close to the annual OWL Summer Digest. Three cheers! This year’s edition is chock full of comics, puzzles, quizzes, DIY’s, book recommendations, and a bunch of other stuff.

To celebrate: a reverse mailbag! Instead of you asking me the questions this week, I’m going to ask you the questions. Then you post a comment below with your answers.

Ready? Here we go:

1. Do you believe in aliens?
2. Which is the coolest constellation? (Here is a website to help you decide.)
3. What’s your favourite dessert?
4. Which do you prefer: baby bunnies or baby pigs?*
5. Would you rather have 10 siblings or none at all?

–

That’s it for me, guys. Thanks to Mandy for helping out with the questions.

Can’t wait for the answers!

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

* Note: this is Round #5 of the OWL Blog Cute-off. Baby pandas beat skunks and otters in Rounds #1 and #2. Then penguins knocked off pandas in Round #3, before getting shocked by bunnies in Round #4.

Remember back in October when I told you guys about The Great Houdoggie,
a beagle named Sofia who could break out of her kennel? Well, YouTube has uncovered Sofia’s arch nemesis — a cat who can climb walls!

Check it out:

Cool, huh?

Apparently, Charlie the Spider-Cat likes going outside, but not for very long. If he has to wait more than a minute to get back in, he takes matters into his own hands — or, you know, his paws — and climbs the two storeys back up to his apartment. Crazy.

In conclusion, here’s a tough “What Would You Rather Do…” question for you: would you rather have an escape-artist pup or a gravity-defying feline? Let me know in the comments below!

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com