Surreal Running

Tonight I went on a run with my Dad, but it wasn't the usual scorching run in the sun. Day light savings had finished so we left with a pink sky and ended up coming home in darkness. Today our route took us along Whangaparaoa Road, to Big Many Beach and looping back around Manly and The Circle, through the Manly Bowling club and up the steep Browns Walk leading back again to Whangaparaoa road.

Running down on the beach there was a pink sky with swirls of white clouds. The pink from the sky reflected on ocean creating a calm sea of pink. I didn't feel tired at all running, it was as though i could go on forever. The usual sun wasn't out blinding my eyes and shinning on the water. The whole scenery felt so dream like, it all felt so surreal, like I was in a trance.

Continuing to run around Manly it was getting dark and before I knew it, it was pitch black. Street lights scattered here and there and the tiny glimmers of stars were the only sources of light. It felt like I was back in India, when me and my best friend would go to the park at night time.

When I reached home and finally stoped I didn't feel that tired, it was a very bizarre run, surreal running.

The 'misunderstood' Hairstyle

Dreadlocks. Most people look at them and think 'eww', 'yuk', 'why would they do that?'. I used to be one of these people, but after looking up about the hairstyle I realise that you 'can't judge a book by its cover' and can't assume things. It turns out there is actually nothing disgusting or gross about the hairstyle, it just looks different. There are many rumors about dreadlocks and these are the truths I discovered behind them.

1. Dreadlocks are meant to be dirty, they are never washed.
This is completely wrong. Dreadlocks need to be washed because clean hair locks up faster and easier than oily and dirty hair. Dreadlocks need to be washed with residue free soaps and shampoos though because the residues, found in most cleaning products, prevent the hair from locking up.

2. You can get dreadlocks just by not brushing your hair.
This is true, but only one way to get dreadlocks and it is called the 'neglect' method. By not brushing your hair at all over several years dreadlocks will form, but not many people use this method for it takes too long. It is easier for people with African-textured hair to form dreadlocks using the 'neglect' method.

3. Only black people have nice dreads.
It is easier for black people to have nice, smooth and tight dreads because of the texture of hair, it is possible for people of all races to have nice dreads if they put some work into it. The first month is pain, as they tighten but when the dreads mature they are basically maitenence free.

4. If you no longer want dreads, you have to shave your hair off.
This is not true, although you do have to cut your hair to get rid of them. At least its not your whole hair! This is why girls should really think before deciding to have dreadlocks. It would be impossible to comb them out once you fully have dreadlocks and they are muture.

5. Mayonaise, Toothpaste, Honey, Glue, Rubber Cement, Mud, Chewing gum, Peanut butter, Shave butter, Candle wax and hair gel are great for staring dreads.
Some people will do this, but they have had no experience or prior knowledge. There are good ways that are saffe for your scalp, clean and healthy.

There are many different ways to get dreads including
- Backcombing
- Wool Sweater or Wool hat rubbing
- Neglect
- Twisting
- Dread perm
- Rub things in your hair!

So next time you see someone with dreads don't think EW, YUK. Their hair is completely clean, they just prefer that sort of hairstyle!

First game of the Season

Saturday the 5th of April was to be the first soccer game of the season. I hadn't played soccer in such a long time and was worried that I had forgotten how to kick the ball. To add onto that fear this year we were being put up into 17th grade. We were going to get thrashed. These thoughts hovered my mind for days, and when the day came I was so nervous.

The team met at the Plant Barn in Silverdale, which is what we would do last year, and find the feilds together so if one of us got lost so did everyone else. There I got given my soccer strip. Which is not even a top, its more like a dress, a giant ugly dress. How would I ever play in this? We made our way down to Western Springs in a chain, which broke off many times, being seperated by other cars. When we got down to the feilds I was practically peeing my pants. The team we were up against was already down there and practising and they looked big and they looked scary. I had the horrible feeling in my gut that I always do before games. The feeling would come and go as i worked myself up and calmed myself down when we warmed up.

The first thirty seconds after kick off was nerve racking but after that it felt like I hadn't left the feild at all. Our team was playing really well and taking main possesion of the ball. We scored two goals and our confidence was up. Then they scored a fluke and we scored another goal. When they came back on after half time we had lost some of our spark and they had the drive of wanting to win. The last fifteen minutes I was completely dead, the girl I was marking was as well, we were talking the whole time and couldn't wait till the game was finished (even though she was loosing!) They scored another goal and started going hard for at least a tie but as the whistle finally blowed the game was over! We had won!

Teeth

Humans need teeth because they grind up food to be digestible. Teeth are the very start of the digestive system, chewing and biting food. There are different types of teeth including
- Canines, teeth which rip and tear up foods such as meat
- Molars, teeth that are wide and flat to grind and mash up food

Apart from the obvious reason of eating we even use teeth to show beauty and even to make certain sounds. Not very many people naturally have perfect sparkling white, straight teeth but this is what is desired. If someone was to have a beautiful face but they opened there mouth to a full set of brown crocked teeth they wouldn't be considered as pretty. Hollywood would have a big part to do with this, in every movie every movie star has perfect teeth, but it is seen as normal. If an actor playing a normal person on a film came on with not so perfect teeth they would be critisied and the audience would think it was part of their character to have those teeth. In Countries like Canada and the U.S you will find almost everybody had braces when they were young and now have perfect whitened teeth. But not so much in other countries where appearance isn't such a big deal, for example New Zealand.

Going to the dentist is something dreaded by all children, sitting in the waiting room looking around at all the different posters of teeth, smelling the distinct smell and hearing the drills is a terrifying experience. The dentist is mostly all around feared because of the fear of pain. Today there are injections to numb the gum and all sorts of fancy gadgets but in the past the dentist was a simple place with just tweasers and cotton buds. Back then there were no crowns or anything, once a tooth fell out a wooden one would be its replacement. The appearance of teeth weren't such a big deal back then, unlike today. Even in movies of the past where they had brown rotten teeth, movie stars have perfect pearly whites. I think teeth shouldn't be such a big deal, but how can one person make the change.

When a baby is six months to one year old its primary teeth will start to come through the gums, all together there should be 20 primary teeth. Commonly from the ages of six to fourteen these teeth will start to fall out and be replaced with 32 permanent (or adult) teeth. Later come the wisdom teeth which appear at 17 to 21 years of age, these are known to cause alot of pain and many people end up taking them out.

The Pregnant Man

Watching the news the highlights showed of the first ever pregnant man. I was so amazed, how was it possible for a man to have and carry a baby. I thought 'science has come so far, would the next thing be a time machine?!'. I waited in anticipation for the miraculous story to come on, but as it did i was let down.

It turned out that a Thomas Beatie was to be giving birth to a baby soon, but the catch was he was once a she. It was only a woman who had a sex change but decided to keep his/her reproducing organs. My Mum's Dad had always said that the first man to have a baby would be rich, we still don't know if he was right because it hasn't even happened.

Different people share different opinnions on the story but personally i beleive that it is very unfair to the child. Imagine growing up and being teased by being brought into this world by your Dad. And technically your parents are actually both woman, that would be a hard enough fact to grasp as it is. The child will be scared and chances are won't have a very pleasant or normal childhood. Already the media is swarming around her abnormal family.

The parents beleive that they are just a normal family even though in fact they are far from it and i beleive that they should have thought this through carefully. They are just being selfish and should think about the baby first. The transvesite (Georgina) parliment MP commented on this and thought that it would grow up a normal child with a normal childhood but I think this is just what she/he wants to beleive. There has been alot of commotion against her already, what would become of a child who was born from its father's stomach.

Shape the Eye

Eyes are very important. They can show emotion, beauty, connection (eg conversation), and give us the ability to see. They are a very big part people, and their faces. They come in all sorts of colours, hazel, green, blue, brown but people don't tend to notice as mcuh the shape of the eye. There are many different eye shapes.

Wide-Apart eyes: eyes are quite far apart on scale to the face, this gives the face an open look and youthful look.

Close-set eyes: eyes that are spaced out closer than one eye width are considered close-set eyes and are said to look dramatic.

Evenly spaced eyes: eyes that are evenly spaced with eachother on the face, one of the most common eye shapes.

Small eyes: eyes that are in proportion to the whole face are quite small, giving the other features more attention and the impression they are bigger.

Almond eyes: eyes that have an upswept lift at the upper corner, they are considered to be in perfect proportion, and are the most desired eye shape.

Prominent eyes: eyes that are set far foward in the face and are dominant over facial features, the eyelids are said to be very or too pronounced (noticed, or big).

Hooded eyes: eyes that are set back in the face that the crease of the eyelid is not so easily seen, also making the brow bone more noticable, said to give an aluring look.

Deep-set eyes: eyes that are far back into the face, the eyelids seem quite big but the crease is not noticeable.

Oriental eyes: eyes that have very little lid and a very distinctive lift at the corner of the eye.

What shape eye do you have?

Gucci, Prada, Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton!

When I watch shows like 'The Hills' which show of Paris and the elegant fashion shows I wish for their items could be my future clothes. Watching thin girls with absolutely no expression parading down long runways doesn't amuse me at all but watching what they wear is fun. I would never wear what they make at this age but when I'm older I would love to dress in those intricate wearable peices of art, thousands of dollars a peice.

Recently when I went on holiday to Malaysia and stayed in Kuala Lumpur, we stayed in a hotel oposite the Petronas twin towers. At the bottom of the towers is a shopping mall with all designer shops like Gucci, Prada, Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren and Louis Vuitton. Going to these shops i wished that i could say that I own one of these peices, but sure enough Mum wouldn't get one for me. Looking through the racks of garments I realised that I actually don't really like most of the clothing. I just like them for the name. But this didn't stop me from wanting them, i will just have to settle for wishing them to be my future clothes.

American Idol

American Idol is a singing talent show done by 'FOX' in The States. The very successful television show seeks to find the most talented young singer in the country. It started off in America in June 2002 and hit off. The show originally was Pop Idol, in the Uk, but creator Simon Fuller brought it to America. It is hosted by Ryan Seacrest.

The show goes through three main different stages, auditions, Hollywood and preforming on the two main stages. Auditions take place in many different states throughout the whole country. Millions try out, of most which couldn't sing to save their life. People all over tune in to watch these people make a fool of themselves on national television and get critiqued by three judges, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell. The nice, sweet judge is Paula, Randy is the cool fifty fifty judge and Simon is by far the hardest to please. For his mean comments the world laughs and loves him, he has a large crowd of followers, including some maniacs who sit through hours of waiting to audition and see him. It is many peoples favourite part of the show. Another stage is Hollywood, if they are lucky enough to get through auditions they are to go to Hollywood and go through different tasks there to show off their singing. During these few days the contestants can get very stressed and lash out, and all is revealed on the camera which many find quite amusing to see. People also forget their words alot and like to blame other people for what they do wrong. Then the top 24 make it to the stage of American idol and everyone preforms solos. Now the public can vote by either ringing or txting for their favourite preformer. After twelve people are eliminated the twelve contestants left sing on the big stage which is when people start singing two songs and the competition gets really intense. The judges are still there to give feedback but the country are who decides who stays and goes.

Quite often the show turns into a popularity show rather than a singing talent show. But those who have talent and are on American Idol are exposed to different agencies who might want to sign with them, so in a way almost everyone gets somehting out of the competition. For example Chris Daughtry came sixth in American Idol but is now very successful with his band. In this way it is a show full of many oppurtunites and can give alot of people their dreams.

The winner of the whole show receives a contract with SONY and always goes very far.

Knocked Up Movie Reveiw

'Knocked Up' is a movie about two completely different people getting together to have a one night stand and falling pregnant. Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) is a responsible young woman who's career is on the fast track at E! but runs into a 23 year old bum, Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) at a bar. There they get blindly drunk and go back to her place, which is a pool house at the back of her sister's house. When Alison wakes up she realises what a mistake she has made and decides to get rid of him as quick as possible. Later at work she continuously is sick and finds out she is pregnant. She decides to keep the baby and tell Ben. Together they have to work through their differences and become happy with an adorable baby girl.

I thought that it was a really good movie and had a nice ending. When I had heard of the movie I thought that it didn't sound like a very good movie, it seemed like it wouldn't have a good story line and would leave me feeling disgusting and yuk. I continued to think this throughout the movie, whenever Ben would do drugs or mess up and Alison freaked out I could feel her pain, worries, doubts and regrets. Which makes for a good movie, making the audience feeling as though they are being taken through a journey with the characters. I had a very strong feeling that it wouldn't turn out rainbows and daisies but they turned out to be happy and i beleive they had, or will have, a happy life.

Overall I think the moral of the movie was that sometimes life is hard but we need to suck it up because it will be worth it in the end. Don't give up without a fight, or without trying.