Purple People Eater...

...In case anyone else was really, really confused during Chemistry class today.

Mario Frangoulis

Mario Frangoulis was born in Zimbabwe to Greek parents, but went to school at the Campion school in Athens; during this time he excelled at drama class and starred in school plays. After graduating in 1985, he went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London to study acting for three years, graduating in 1988.

In the following years he won two different musical awards and played starring roles in both Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. He also studied with the famous tenor Carlo Bergzoni. 1996 brought Frangoulis' first film role ever- in Symposium- and in 1999 he recorded his first CD, Lover's Moon. Later that year he performed in the Millennium Concert at the Acropolis (in Athens). The year after that, he recorded a CD related to that, titled The Acropolis Concert. He also played the role of Tony in West Side Story. 

In 2001 he debuted as a classical actor in the play The Bacchae, and toured Europe with the Moscow Opera Company. He released his third CD soon afterwards; it was titled Sometimes I Dream. In2004 he opened the Paralympic Games in Athens, and his US debut concert took place the following year in May. 

Centenarians

What is a centenarian? Good question. It's someone who's lived at least a hundred years or more. Let's take a look at some statistics: 90% of them are are female; and centenarians who are women are twice as likely to have children after the age of forty than women who live to the age of 73.  Centenarians usually report good health into their 90s, which is quite an achievement, and 15% of them live by themselves. 

But what's the secret to longevity? Well, studies have shown that healthy lifestyle has an affect on it. An optimistic outlook on life also increases lifespan. But how about centenarians themselves: what do they say? 

There are 50,000 in the USA alone, but this is to be expected in a country so big. However, there are certain 'hotspots' of longer lifespans scattered throughout the world. One of these is the Greek island of Ikaria. Residents of this island have said that a close-knit circle of family and friends is a greatly contributing factor. Also, their diet and the fact that a good portion of them still do work of some kind on a regular basis is a distinct reason for longevity. Being a centenarian, they say, is all about lifestyle.

For all my besties

This is for all of my best friends... you all know who you are :)

The teenager song

Yeah, cause teenagers totally act like that. Actually, in some ways it's scarily accurate *shiver*

What Halloween's Like in Oakvale (English HWK)

Halloween in my home town is never a boring occasion. It all started one Wednesday late in October, on the front stairs of the school...
"What are you wearing for Halloween?" asked my friend Kinnie excitedly, brushing her bangs (which this week were dyed purple) out of her face. "My mom's helping me make a costume. I'm-"
"Wait, no no... let me guess. You're going to be an ALIEN!" said our friend Josh, laughing at her. Kinnie is always, every year, without exception, an alien for Halloween. It's been like this for years: each year a different suit (yellow, purple, orange polka-dotted...), but each year, without fail, an alien.
What she said next made my jaw drop to the floor.
"Actually, I've decided to be the Statue of Liberty this year." Then, with a farewell wave, she left me and Josh standing on the front staircase of the school like retarded goldfish.
As soon as he had regained the ability of speech, Josh asked me, "What just happened? Is she serious?"
I could only shrug and wonder what tonight's Halloween party would bring.

Josh Sherman and I have been neighbors for years now, so we always get into our Halloween costumes at his house. This year he was going as a vampire. Milly (my sixteen year old sister) was going to her friend Melissa's party as a cat that somewhat lacked paws. Or, for that matter, fur.
"What's that thing on your head?" I asked her as we headed over to Josh's house to help him and his two siblings to get ready for trick-or-treating.
"Ears, obviously," she said, like it was the clearest thing in the world. I muttered something about diseased pieces of cabbage stuck to a hair accessory as we knocked on the Shermans' door. Josh opened it. His black velvet cape was hanging haphazardly from one shoulder, and half of his face was bone-white while the other half was his normal skin tone.
"Milly! Tessa! Thank goodness you're here! I need help. Brandon can't get his T-Rex tail on straight, Tracy won't let anyone braid her hair for the princess costume, and my parents are gone because Sheldon fell down and sprained his wrist!"

Josh let us into his chaotic house. His family weighs in at nine members, including his parents, the baby twins, his three younger sibs, plus their two pets (a guinea pig and a dog) and Josh himself. Needless to say, the cacophony of the Shermans' family can be ear-shattering, and there's things lying around everywhere. On our way to the playroom, Melissa and I stepped over several Barbie dolls, a broken bicycle wheel, and a spilled glass of Coke. 

Brandon, who was five, kept stepping on his T-Rex tail and it wouldn't stay on straight. After I had rigged up a tail holder with some string and Milly had successfully braided Tracy's hair, we headed out to trick-or-treat.

"Alright," I said to Brandon, "We can do two more houses and then you gotta get home to your mom, okay?" He nodded solemnly. Brandon was an extremely well-behaved five-year-old, but he had a tendency to trip over anything that was within three feet of him. He had already fallen down three times tonight. 

"Yeah," said Kinnie. She had turned up, in full Statue of Liberty regalia, to help me take Brandon around the neighborhood. Her copper-colored sheet ('I don't want to be the rusty version, I want to be the real Lady Liberty' was her response when anyone commented on the color) was losing its stiffness and her torch, which she had long ago tired of holding above her head,  hung on a string around her neck. 

Our last trick-or-treating house belonged to the Roshvilles. They were a family even bigger than Josh's, with ten kids ranging from age 2 to 25. Their driveway and lawn were strewn with toys, wheeled forms of transportation, and the occasional wooden plank (used for tree house construction). 

As we were walking up the driveway, a black cat walked across it. 

"Kitty!" shouted Brandon and started running after it. 

Unfortunately, the Roshvilles' front lawn was a danger zone. As he ran towards the midnight-colored cat, Brandon tripped over a mini hula-hoop and stepped right onto a board, which happened to be supporting a bucket full of water. 

The bucket, propelled by the board, flew slowly into the air. It landed (in a most comical fashion) right on Kinnie's head, drenching her in muddy water. 

Kinnie has always had an apt sense of theatrical timing. Standing there, with a bucket over her head and dripping with a dirty liquid, the next words out of her mouth were, "I think I'm going as an alien next year."

Suddenly we realized that Brandon had hurt himself on the board. We made 'uh-oh' faces at each other and quickly called Mrs. Sherman. 

We rushed him to the emergency room. It turns out he broke his ankle when he tripped over the hula-hoop and had to put a cast put on. He cried a lot at first. But don't worry, he loves the cast now- hops around all day trying to get people to sign it. 

Halloween in my hometown is most certainly never a boring occasion.

The best shoes ever!

I love these shoes! Lucky me, I actually HAVE a pair :)

But mine are cooler. Much cooler.

First is the worst...

Hey... so this blog is actually for English class. But technically we're allowed to put on anything that's cool, interesting, or just downright craaaaazy. Within the limits of sanity, of course (heh, which are slightly wobbly in my case).