Ahhhhh! I’m feeling like I might get a cold! And I don’t want to have a cold!!! Who has time for such things? There are movies to see and friends to meet and sports to do (and maybe a little household chores as well :)) - Who has time to be sick?!? Not me!

What tricks to you have to stop a cold when you feel it coming on? Please share all your secrets - QUICK!!!

your(achooo!)KEWLteam

Usually, film festivals are filled with edgy, independent films by people you haven’t heard of and starring actors you’re not familiar with…yet! They are a great place to see movies that may never go to the normal theatres, see parts of life on this planet you wouldn’t otherwise get to see, and sometimes just see the artistic visions of some really creative filmmakers who aren’t interested in reality, but more in visually representing the feelings certain situations bring out. It’s really fun and exciting, and even though there is the odd movie that is so out there you can’t find anything to like about it, there are plenty of great experiences to be had!

If you go to a film festival with your parents, make sure to ask about appropriate movies for kids, and let your parents discuss what kind of things they allow you to see with the ticket people. They can help you choose movies that are fun, new and interesting, and help you stay away from the ones that might not be great for family viewing. And lots of film festivals even issue a family guide to help in your decision making.

Last night, this staff member saw a really amazing animated feature that is really not intended for kids (and people who were trying to bring their kids inside were being gently warned at the door!), but also saw a fun family comedy with a cast of mostly unknown actors who were great!

With a film festival, you take a big risk, since you don’t know much about the films ahead of time, but I think those are the best movie experiences of all - being totally surprised by a story and characters when you have no expectations!

Oh, yeah! And the star was Gossip Girl’s Michelle Trachtenberg, who will also star in Zac Efron’s upcoming film Seventeen Again! She’s one of the judges who will decide how the prizes for the film festival are awarded! Hopefully she liked the family film as much as we did!

yourKEWLteam

Lots of things have changed in our world since yesterday…and even more things if you happen to be a resident of the United States! The country has elected a new president, from a new party, and for the first time in a long time, he’ll be working with a legislature that is from the same political party.  That means that he has a much better chance of getting the changes he has promised passed as laws than any president for a very long time! Whether you are a fan of Obama or not, it should be very exciting to see our government working together for a change!

There were also elections for officials in the separate cities, counties and states of the country, so a whole lot is set to change in the coming year all over the place!

With this air of change, it would seem anything is possible - so why not change something in your world? Make it a positive change - something shows how tolerant and loving you can be, and you’ll be sure to find supporters all around. It’s kind of what the leaders of all the world’s great religions did - they expanded people’s ability to love and accept others!

Congratulations to us for accepting change!

yourKEWLteam

It’s weird how all the stores can manage to change their decorations almost overnight from scary and creepy to bright and snowy white, but there you have it! This holiday season, we’ll all be relying more on good deeds than consumer products, and ‘handmade with love’ will be seen under more and more trees, hannuka bushes and kwanzaa tables.

It rarely ever snows in LA, but we’ve been having some beautiful, cool and rainy weather here for a few days, and it’s such a nice change from the endless days of  blue sky and sun to see different layers and shapes of clouds floating by, and to hear the dripping of rain…gotta love it!

Whatever your plans for the holidays, you can get started now and avoid the rush! Two months is plenty of time for handmade stuff - two days, not so much! We’re reading books and collecting prizes for the Holiday Gift Guide now, so just in case, you can start saving up your allowance for those special gifts that simply can’t be made by hand…unless you happen to be a computer scientist!

yourKEWLteam

This past weekend, our KEWLcrew was on hand for the JDRF Diabetes Walk, beginning at Dodger’s Stadium in LA. The opening lap of the walk was taken by none other than Diabetes sufferer Nick Jonas himself, using his celebrity to bring awareness to the cause, and hopefully to help bring in more funding for research into finding  better treatments, and maybe even a cure!

The place was awash with girls, of course! And our team had a hard time getting past the fans to Nick, even with our connections! Nick gave a short speech, thanking everyone for coming out to help, and letting them know how much it meant to him personally that people were getting involved in the fight. Then Nick took the opening lap with a select group of lucky walkers, and sent them on their way. After all, he had to get on a plane to join his brothers! To learn more about JDRF go to:

www.walk.jdrf.org

What’s your cause? What do you work for that helps others? If you don’t have one yet, now is a perfect time to find one as we come into the season of Thankfulness and Giving!

And if you already volunteer, tell us here for what group and what kinds of things you do (keep it place un-specific!). That way, other readers can get ideas for different things they could do!

yourKEWLteam

Of all days for it to rain in Southern California!!! But that won’t dampen our spirits one bit! Slowly, our costumed interns and staffers are showing up, and then leaving again to go and make a visit to the set of Devon Werkheiser’s new movie! We’re taking him a Pleo to meet, and maybe even to sign one to give away to you guys! If you haven’t seen a Pleo yet, check them out on line! They are soooooo cute! And we’ll be featuring one signed by a celebrity (well, the box at least!) in our Holiday Gift Guide as a prize you can enter to win! I’m already having a hard time letting the one we’re only borrowing out of my sight - so adorable!

This staffer will be going to the premiere of a zombie movie she acted in - but hopes none of you ever see! I was in the only funny part of what is supposedly a terrifying movie - I may not make it through the whole thing! The funny part is, I don’t even like scary movies! But somehow, acting in one was no problem…Kind of like how horror stories scare the pants off me, but I can tell them with no problem at all… Must be the performer in me taking over!

All over LA there are kewl installations on people’s front lawns for the holidays - lot’s of movie set decorators do some incredible stuff with holograms, music, wind and breathing tomb stones right on their own property!  I even passed a mansion today that had a sign up promising a haunted house in their own house tonight! And it’s right in the same neighborhood where Miley and the Jonas Brothers live, so who knows who might be throwing the bash!!?

Let us know what you’re wearing to celebrate the best dress-up day of the year!

yourKEWLteam

Okay, maybe that’s slightly overdoing it…but we sure had a lot of fun. Last night this part of theKEWLteam went to see Matt Nathanson play at the House of Blues in LA. OMG! SO GOOD! We found out about this incredibly romantic rocker from Camp Rock co-star Jasmine Richards in an interview in the spring, and have been listening to him ever since. He may not be a teen or tween, but his songs will make you swoon! Promise!

The rest of theKEWLteam was out supporting Savvy & Mandy at their CD release party at the Gibson Showroom in Beverly Hills, California. There was a red carpet, music by the girls and fun was had by all! The girls have had a lot of airplay on Radio Disney, and are really working their rockstar images. Why not check them out at www.savvyandmandy.com!?

Dance to the music!

yourKEWLteam

It’s the end of the month, and all of us at KEWL are grown-ups who have to pay bills and rent and all that jazz. No one enjoys it, but the better you are at it, the less money worries you’ll have later! Keeping track of your money and where it goes is a great lesson to learn, and the best way to teach you to save for the future.

Get yourself a small notebook, or even a check ledger that your parents don’t need (they might have an extra, or the bank might let you have one if you ask nicely :). One of your parents, or even a teacher, can show you how to fill it in to keep track of the date, when you recieve money, and when you spend it and on what. Then, when it comes time to save up for something special, you’ll know what things you can do without for a while in order to save up enough! Yep! This is what most of us really need math for! It gives you more control over your life!

If you really want to get a taste of how important this kind of math will be when you’re older, hang with your mom or dad when they do the bills sometime - there are more of them than you can imagine! And for much higher amounts than the cost of that kewl new skateboard or jacket you’ve been saving up for! It’ll make you positively energized to start working and saving!

yourbusyKEWLteam

It may be the week before Halloween, but at KEWL, we’re feeling thankful for our families. Just hearing about the awful things that have happened to Jennifer Hudson’s family this week should make us all go home and give an extra hug to our families. Show your appreciation as often as you can, because she couldn’t have imagined this happening to her, just like we can’t imagine it happening to us. There is no way to expect a tragedy, but you can live every moment giving as much love and joy as you can. Then you can always know that you didn’t waste any of your precious time together.

That’s all.

yourKEWLteam

So amazing! Yesterday at the Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times Halloween fundraiser, we totally scored for you guys! We not only brought tons of things with us for the teen celebrities to sign, but we got four gift bags signed by the kids for you guys!

This kewlstaffer couldn’t be there (family stuff) but lemme see if I can read the names off the bags…both Cole and Dylan Sprouse gave up theirs, along with Jennette McCurdy, Emily Osment and Jason Dolley! The bags are HUGE! And they’re filled some really kewl stuff, but I can’t let all that out of the bag yet! They’ll be in an upcoming for you guys to win, so you’ll have to keep checking the mags and the site to see when they come up! Is that mean of me?!? Sorry!

More later! Hope your weekend is starting out as kewl as possible!

yourKEWLteam