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June 2016
Count your words
Be careful about what you post to social media
Day of Destiny
June 16, 1976 revisited
Dress to impress
Tips for the matric dance or big date
Good from the bad
Can disasters have a positive effect?
Age means nothing
Teen sports stars
The June Index
6
Click on any video below to view
How much do you know
about movie theme
songs? Take our quiz and
find out.
Hipe’s
Wouter
de
Goede interviews former
28’s gang boss David
Williams.
12
The old South African
Defence Force used
a mixture of English,
Afrikaans, slang and
techno-speak that few
outside the military
could hope to understand. Some of the terms
were humorous, some
were clever, while others
were downright crude.
Part of Hipe’s “On the
couch” series, this is an
interview with one of
author Herman Charles
Bosman’s most famous
A taxi driver was shot characters, Oom Schalk Hipe spent time in
dead in an ongoing Lourens.
Hanover Park, an area
war between rival taxi
plagued
with
gang
organisations.
violence, to view firsthand
how
Project
Ceasefire is dealing with
the situation.
Hipe TV brings you videos ranging from actuality to humour and everything
in between. Interviews, mini-documentaries and much more.
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Cover Story
Count your words
page 6
What you say may not only hurt others,
it could also end up hurting you.
Features
Day of Destiny
June 16, 1976 was a day that would go
down in history.
16
Pirates of the Beat
19
Did you know?
20
The ABC of better grades
22
Every radioactive cloud has a silver lining
26
Ready, steady, impress
Music piracy is not a new thing. After all,
they were doing it back in 1976.
page 26
A few interesting facts and figures about
South Africa.
There is unfortunately no way around it.
If you want better grades, you’ll need to
continue with the “ABC” of studying
Great things happen despite disasters
and, in fact, sometimes great things happen because of disasters.
It’s the big night - the matric dance and
it’s your chance to shine. Are you going
to impress, or are you going to make a
mess? Here are some tips to consider.
Front Cover Photo
Exploring the rocks at low tide.
3
the
editor’s
beat
PUBLISHER
on’t you love being Hipe Media
conned into doing
EDITOR
something?
When my old friend asked Ryan Murphy
me if I would write a column
or two for Hipe Magazine I SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
reluctantly agreed. I’ve been Ryan Gould
doing it for nine years now.
Next thing I know I’m the CONTRIBUTORS
editor of their new magazine. Gwyneth Bowman, Cindy Fineman, Raymond
I agreed, but with certain Fletcher, Stix Mkhize, Matt O’Brien, Johnny
conditions. First of all I didn’t Rodrigues, Matt Tennyson.
like the original name of the
magazine. Our readers are 2day’s Teen is published on-line every
not tomorrow’s teens, they’re month. Articles in 2day’s Teen are copytoday’s teens. And tomorrow righted and may not be used without prior
they will be adults and future permission from the editor.
leaders of our country.
Secondly I get to choose The views stated in this magazine do not necthe content of the magazine. essary reflect the views of 2day’s Teen, the
I want content that is interest- editor, the staff, or Hipe Media.
ing, relevant and thought pro2day’s Teen
voking. I want content that
P.O. Box 31216, Tokai, 7966
you want to read. So what are
South Africa.
you waiting for then? Let me
know what you want to read.
email
[email protected]
D
r
o
t
i
Ed
4
Entertainment
30
Goodies & Gadgets
32
The Beat Box - Forever Young
34
Ten of the Best Teen Movies
37
38
40
42
A look at some of the ‘must have’
goodies and gadgets. Get your geek on.
Teens that huge hits.
Gwyneth Bowman lists her Ten Best
Teen Movies.
page 30
Gaming: Mirror’s Edge Catalyst
Matt O’ Brien is living on the edge
again. On the Mirror’s Edge to be precise
page 32
Health
Seeing Red
Cindy Fineman examines some ways
of getting you looking all bright-eyed.
The Strains of Stress
Stress is part of our daily lives, whether we like it or not. Understanding the
symptoms can help reduce the likelihood of stress.
Sport
The Perfect Ten
page 44
The next time that someone tells you that
no-one is perfect, just mention the name
Nadia Elena Comaneci
44
Age means nothing
Experience comes with age - and that’s
something that should have been explained to these champions and record
breakers.
5
2day’s Teen cover story
Count your words
What you say may not
only hurt others, it
could also end up
hurting you.
N
o-one is quite
sure where the
phrase “Sticks
and stones may break my
bones, but words will never
hurt me” originated. We do, however, know that it’s been around
for a long time.
I’m not all that convinced that it’s
an accurate saying. Anyone that says
“words will never hurt me” has obviously never been hit over the head
with a dictionary.
And let’s face it, anyone that has
ever been teased or verbally bullied
will tell you that words can hurt. Often they can hurt a lot.
Most of us, at some stage or another, have been involved in a bit of
name-calling - even if it was while we
were still back in primary school.
What about nicknames? As often as
they are used for affection, they are
also used to ridicule. When I was at
school I was very thin and my nickname was ‘skeleton’. It didn’t bother
me in the least. There was, however,
6
a girl in my class that suffered from
really bad acne. Her nickname was
‘pizza face’.
Years after I left school I bumped
into her. Or rather I should say she
bumped into me. Because there was
no ways I would have recognised her.
She recognised me. The drop-dead
gorgeous woman with the flawless
skin that greeted me looked nothing
like the teenager I remembered from
school.
We went for a cup of coffee and
spent about half an hour reminiscing
about school. She told me how much
the nickname she had been given at
school hurt her. She would often cry
serious damage to a person’s relationships, career, reputation and social
standing.
So the whole premise that “words
can never hurt you” is false. Not only
can they hurt you. They can destroy
you.
Yet how many of us realise that
what we say can not only hurt others,
it can also end up hurting us.
Making false or hurtful statements
that harm the reputation of an individual person, business, product, group,
government, religion or nation is
against the law in many countries. It is
known as defamation.
It is not always easy to prove defa-
There is no way that you can claim not to
have said something if it’s there
for everyone to see.
herself to sleep at night. It made be realise that we need to watch what we
call people.
And it’s not just calling people
names that can be hurtful. Most of
us love to listen to gossip and stories
about people. Some go one step further and can’t wait to spread any gossip or stories that they hear.
Often the stories that are spread are
not true. Yet this doesn’t stop people
from spreading them. Hey, it doesn’t
even slow them down. Sometimes
these stories can have serious ramifications.
Not only can they hurt an individual’s feelings they can also cause
mation. When someone accuses you
of defamation you can always deny it.
Or you could say that the person misunderstood what you said. Very often
it will be a case of their word against
yours.
If, however, you’ve made a false or
hurtful statement in writing it is much
easier to prove. There is no way that
you can claim not to have said something if it’s there for everyone to see.
This is called libel and is defined
as defamation by written or printed
words, pictures, or in any form other
than by spoken words or gestures.
Another huge problem is hate
speech. In the law of some countries,
7
Celebs that sued
Robin Williams - Williams sued his
celebrity look-alike who, with the
help of his agent, was pretending to
be the actual Robin Williams.
Kiera Knightley (pictured above)
- The Daily Mail published accusations that Knightley had an eating
disorder and had been responsible
for the death of a young lady with
anorexia. The actress went to court
and was awarded several thousand
dollars which she handed over to a
charity.
Cameron Diaz - The British Sun
newspaper hinted that Diaz had an
affair with Shane Nickerson, a friend.
When the article was published, she
and Nickerson were in relationships
and the hardly recognizable imaged
posted with the article caused damage to both relationships, so Diaz
sued for defamation. But no one is
sure of the amount of money Diaz
was awarded.
8
including South Africa, hate speech is
any speech, gesture or conduct, writing, or display which is forbidden because it may incite violence or prejudicial action against or by a protected
individual or group, or because it disparages or intimidates a protected individual or group.
In South Africa, hate speech (along
with incitement to violence and propaganda for war) is specifically excluded from protection of free speech
in the Constitution. The Promotion
of Equality and Prevention of Unfair
Discrimination Act, 2000 contains the
following clause:
No person may publish, propagate, advocate or communicate words
based on one or more of the prohibited grounds, against any person, that
could reasonably be construed to demonstrate a clear intention to:
• be hurtful;
• be harmful or to incite harm;
• promote or propagate hatred.
The “prohibited grounds” include
race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital
status, ethnic or social origin, colour,
sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.
The crime of crimen injuria (“unlawfully, intentionally and seriously
impairing the dignity of another”)
may also be used to prosecute hate
speech.
If something you say can be regarded as defamation, libel or hate
speech then you have to realise that
you may be held accountable for your
actions. It may even result in criminal
or civil charges being laid against you.
Should a defendant be found guilty,
the Equality Court may issue an order
that requires them to apologise, pay a
fine or pay an appropriate order of cost
to the victim.
If this is the case then why do people still insist on posting hurtful, hateful and just plain stupid comments on
social media for the entire world to
see?
Yes, some people will respond by
saying that they’re exercising their
freedom of speech. After all, freedom
of speech is protected by our constitution. But there is a big difference
between hate speech and freedom of
speech. And most of us know when
we have crossed the line.
If you use any form of social media
then you need to be very careful about
what you post.
You may post something because
you are angry, or you may think that
you’re being funny and giving everyone a good laugh. But post the wrong
thing and you could end up in a world
of trouble.
You may post something and then
regret what you have said a few seconds later and remove the post. Yet
it will probably already have been
seen. And someone may have taken
a screen shot of your post. The next
thing you know there is an outcry and
complaints against you have been filed
with the South African Human Rights
Commission (SAHRC). Charges may
even be laid against you with the South
African Police Services (SAPS) and a
criminal case may be opened.
Take the example of a well-known
model. In 2012 she posted a series of
racist tweets. No fewer than 45 cases
were opened against her.
So you really need to count your
words before you post anything on social media. Think before you send an
e-mail or SMS. Is there any way that
what you have said could be regarded
as defamation, libel or hate speech?
Here are a few rules to remember
when using social media.
• Be aware of what you’re saying: In defamation cases, you
are liable not just for what you
say expressly, but what ordinary people will read between
the lines. You are also liable for
publishing a defamatory statement made by someone else,
even if you quote them accurately.
• Control the meaning: You
should try to eliminate ambiguity and convey your meaning
precisely.
• Only say what you can prove:
Ask yourself what evidence
you could put before a court if
someone challenged you, and
how convincing that evidence
would be. Do you have sources? Are they credible? Do they
have first-hand knowledge?
Would they be willing to give
9
evidence? If you’re relying on
documents, do you have someone who can authenticate them?
• Take particular care with allegations of criminality and
allegations about what’s going on in someone’s mind: If
you’re accusing someone of a
crime, or of (for example) lying, you need to have particularly strong evidence. It is difficult to prove someone’s state of
mind, so you are better off talking about the person’s conduct
itself (what she said was false/
misleading) rather than stating
baldly that she lied.
• Bear in mind who you’re dealing with: Some people are much
more likely to sue than others.
Politicians, for example. Business people. Celebrities. People
whose reputation is important
to their livelihood and have the
resources to take action. Also,
take extra care writing about
police and journalists. And, of
course, lawyers.
If you are blogging or writing on
your Facebook page, or submitting
comments on someone else’s blog
or Facebook page, make sure that
you have all of your facts absolutely
straight before posting your statement
to the internet. Once you have clicked
“send,” you can’t take it back.
Or, alternatively, if it is a close call,
why say it at all? If you don’t know all
10
2day’s Teen feature
Before you
THINK!
T - is it true?
H - is it helpful?
I - is it inspiring?
N - is it necessary?
K - is it kind?
the facts about something, then rather
say nothing.
In submitting posts or comments
online or on social media, it is a good
idea to exercise the utmost caution
and avoid making any “gray area”
statements that could be construed as
defamation.
Can you really afford to pay someone a couple of million rands because
you said something hurtful, hateful or
stupid? If you can’t then you really
need to count your words before you
speak.
If there is even the slightest doubt
about what you’re saying, then rather say nothing at all. And remember,
you words may not only hurt someone
else, they may hurt you as well. u
THANKS
a lot
Please and thank
you are words that
should be used often.
Let’s show you how.
S
ometimes it’s the little things
that can make a difference.
Let’s say you’re travelling or in
an area where English is not the first
language. And let’s say you need help
or information. Being able to speak a
few phrases of the local language will
often make the locals more inclined to
offer you assistance.
This is how you would say thank
you in a number of languages. Over
the next few months we will look at
other phrases such as goodbye, thank
you, how are you and so on.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Afrikaans - dankie
Arabic - shokran
Bosnian - hvala
Chinese - xièxiè
Croatian - hvala
Czech - děkuji
Danish - tak
Dutch - dank u
French - merci
German - danke
Greek – sas ef̱ charistó̱
Hebrew - toda raba
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hindi – dhan’yavāda
Irish Gaelic - go raibh maith agat
Italian – grazie
Japanese – arigatō
Korean - gamsahabnida
Malay - terima kasih
Maori - kia ora
Nigerian - e se
Norwegian – takk
Polish - dziękuję
Portuguese - obrigado
Russian - spasibo
Sotho – ke a leboha
Spanish - gracias
Swahili – ahsante
Swedish – tack
Tamil – nandri
Xhosa – enkosi
Zulu – ngiyabonga
Chow for now. u
11
2day’s Teen feature
Day of Destiny
June 16, 1976 was a day that
would go down in history. It
was a day that the youth drew
a line in the sand and said “no
more!” It was a day that the
youth united and made their
voice heard.
12
O
n Sunday, 13 June 1976, a meeting was held in Orlando, Soweto
in which 400 students planned a
mass demonstration against the use of
Afrikaans in schools. The government
at the time had decreed that Afrikaans
would be used a teaching language in
what was then the Transvaal province.
Most students had been incensed. They
saw Afrikaans as the language of the oppressor – the apartheid regime.
They all made a pact not to tell their
parents as they felt that their parents had
become immune to the laws of apartheid. But as students they were no longer
prepared to put up with it.
On Wednesday, June 16th 1976 the
mass demonstration took place and no
one could have ever imagined the consequences of it, how much of a huge role
it would play in the dismantling of apartheid, and how it would affect our lives
today.
Before 1970 the state of education
for black South Africans was shocking.
Classrooms were overcrowded, many
teachers were not even qualified and in
some cases they had not even finished
school themselves.
Schools were in a terrible condition.
No new schools had been built in Soweto as the government was intent on driv-
ing the blacks out of the townships and
back to the Homelands and therefore did
not want to build anything that would
encourage them to stay.
Then, in the early ‘70’s, the business
sector called for better trained workforce. A few new schools were built and
there was a vast increase in the number
of youth attending school, especially
high-school.
This had a significant effect on the
youth culture. Previously, youths had
spent the time between Primary school
and getting a job in gangs. These gangs
were not politically motivated, but once
students began attending high school
they began to gain political insight.
It was also around that time that Steve
Biko began the Black Consciousness
13
Movement, which encouraged blacks
to be proud of who they were and unashamed of their heritage. While it began at the universities it soon spread to
the high schools.
The South African Students Movement (SASM) was originally formed in
1972 as a forum to voice student grievances. Later they began to work closely
with the Black Consciousness Movement to raise political awareness.
On June 16 the plan was to march
peacefully to Orlando West Secondary
school where the students would gather
to pledge their solidarity and sing Nkosi
Sikeleli ‘iAfrika. Once they had made
their point they would return home.
was set alight and killed. The crowd surrounded the police, and the police panicked, opening fire on the crowd with
live ammunition.
This only increased the panic and
confusion and all the policemen began firing into the crowd of students.
After that all hell broke loose. Students were running in every direction, they continued to throw stones
and other objects at the police. They
began setting fire to all the government
buildings and white owned shops and
businesses, which they saw as symbols
of apartheid. Vehicles were overturned
and set on fire.
Many people had seen the famous
The students of 1976 understood that alone
they were nothing but together they created
a very powerful force.
Witnesses later said that around
15 000 to 20 000 uniformed students arrived at the demonstration that day and
the Security Police, the branch of the
South African Police (SAP) responsible
for South Africa’s internal security, was
caught completely off guard.
A police squad was sent in to form a
line in front of the protestors. Unfortunately they were not adequately trained
to deal with large scale protests, nor for
riot control. They ordered the crowd to
disperse immediately, instead of giving
them sufficient time to do so. Police attempts to calm the crowd verbally and
with tear gas had no effect. Even the use
of dogs was unsuccessful. A police dog
14
photograph of 13 year old Hector
Peterson taken by journalist Sam Nzima.
This photograph has become synonymous with June 16 and most people believe that Peterson was the first person to
be killed. He was not.
A young boy by the name of Hastings
Ndlovu was actually the first person to
be shot.
Sam Nzima’s photograph captured
the agony of that day. The photograph
appeared on the front pages of newspapers worldwide. It became a symbol of
the struggle, a testament to the injustices
of apartheid and a shocking example of
the lengths the government was willing
to go to enforce apartheid.
The battle between students and
police continued well into the night.
Army helicopters dropped teargas on the
students still gathered and riot vehicles
manned by the SAP Anti-terrorism Unit
were sent in to restore order. Roadblocks
were set up at all the entrances to Soweto
and the township was sealed off in an effort to contain the riots.
As the winter sun rose over Soweto on
June 17 it reveal burnt out cars and trucks
blocking the roads, virtually every liquor
store, beer hall, and community centre
burnt to the ground. And dead bodies in
the streets. A total of 25 people died on
June 16, the first day of what was to become known as “The Soweto Uprising”.
This total included 23 blacks and two
whites. At the end of the uprising it was
estimated than over 600 people had lost
their lives. Many more had been injured.
The rioting had spread from Soweto
to other towns on the Witwatersrand,
Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town, and
developed into the largest outbreak of
violence in South Africa’s history as
coloured and Indian students joined their
black comrades.
Unlike the riots of 1952 and the Sharpeville riots of 1961, the police were unable to gain control over the rioters, even
with the use of excessive force.
Students showed reckless disregard
for their own safety to vent their frustrations. A new generation had made their
voice of opposition to apartheid heard,
and they were determined that it would
be heard.
They proved that they were not go-
SHOCK AND HORROR: Mbuyisa
Makhubu carries Hector Peterson’s body
as Hector’s sister runs alongside them.
PHOTO: SAM NZIMA
ing to back down as their predecessor
had done in the past, no matter what the
government tried to do. The students of
1976 understood that alone they were
nothing but together they created a very
powerful force.
June 16, 1976 was a day that changed
history in South Africa. One could
almost say that it was the first step down
a road that would eventually lead to
South Africa’s first democratic election
in 1994.
And it was not heads of state, presidents politicians or organisations that
took that first step. It was the youth of
the country. u
15
2day’s Teen feature
Pirates of the Beat
Old School
Style
Music piracy is a big thing and it reportedly costs the industry millions of dollars a year. Yet according to JOHNNY RODRIGUES copying music is nothing new. After all they were doing it back in 1976.
J
ust thinking about 1976 brings
back memories, as I’m sure it will
for anyone that was a teenager
during the 70s.
I had just turned 13 and was officially a teenager and, like many boys
my age, I was into my music.
Joe Dolan’s Lady in Blue was the
big hit of the year. As was Don’t go
breaking my heart by Elton John and
Kiki Dee, December ‘63 (Oh what
a night) by the Four Seasons, and of
course Dancing Queen by Abba.
Back then we had three ways of listening to music. You listened to the
radio (Radio 5 was the most popular
teen station), or listened to cassettes,
or you put on a vinyl record.
If you were lucky then your parents
owned a decent hi-fi set. It would normally consists of an amp, tuner (for
the radio), twin cassette deck, record
turntable and two speakers.
With a hi-fi you could listen to radio, cassette or record. Yet it wasn’t
exactly portable. For that you needed
16
a boom-box, also known as a ‘Ghetto
Blaster’. Some of these were massive
and weighed a ton.
Most of them would consist of a radio tuner and either one or two cassette decks. It was portable, gave
pretty good sound, and went through
batteries at a phenomenal rate.
So how did we copy music back in
those days? After all we had no Internet, computers, fancy software, ipods, MP3 players or anything else.
What we would do was copy music onto cassette tapes. Blank cassette
tapes were either 60 or 90 minutes
long. A 60 minute tape would give you
30 minutes on each side. A 90 minute
tape would give you 45 minutes per
side.
There were a number of ways to
record music onto a cassette tape. If
you had a boombox or radio/cassette
player you could record directly from
the radio onto cassette.
You would press the play and record
buttons at the same time and whatever
was playing on the radio would be recorded onto the tape. There were, of
course, a number of problems with
this.
Most of the radio presenters had a
habit of talking during the intro of the
song, and very often they would not
play the song to the very end. I somehow suspect that this was in an effort
to stop people at home recording the
music. Look, you could still record it
but you’d have some idiots voice over
the song. Or you would not have the
complete song.
Another problem was that you had
to be very accurate as
to when you hit the
play and record buttons. It was not uncommon to miss the
first few seconds of
a song while the tape
got started.
One of the best ways
of copying music was
to use a record player
and cassette deck to-
gether. Most hi-fi systems allowed this
option. You would then play the vinyl
record while recording it at the same
time onto a blank cassette.
The third option was to use a double
cassette deck and record from tape to
tape.
Nearly every album that was released would be available on both vinyl and pre-recorded cassette. What
you would do is have someone buy
the album and then all of their friends
would copy it onto a blank cassette.
Naturally this was frowned upon by
the recording companies because it
was taking revenue away from them.
What was even worse, however, was
‘bootleg’ cassette tapes. These were
blank tapes on to which an album had
been copied. They would then make
a colour photostat of the original cassette cover and then sell them at about
a third of the price of an original.
So it’s clear to see that music piracy
has been around for a lot longer that
most people think. In fact if you’re
currently a teen then there’s a good
17
chance that your parents were doing
it.
One of the favourite
things to do was make
‘compilation’
tapes. Most of
the girls would
have a compilation of their
favourite love
songs, while
the guys may
have a compilation of rock,
pop or whatever
type of music they
were into at the time.
It was also common for
guys to make compilation tapes
for their girlfriends. And when they
broke up with you the first thing they
would do was record over your tape
that you had so lovingly put together
for them.
Cassette tapes were bulky and the
covers were
flimsy and
always
18
seemed to break. The more you listened to a cassette the more the
tape would stretch. Eventually it would sound
as if the person was
singing at half
speed.
Another problem was that
you could record over the
tape and often
your
brother
or sister would
record over your
favourite
album.
I clearly remember
wanting to strangle my
little sister because she went
and recorded over one of my
favourite albums.
Yet
cassettes
were how you
listened
to your
favourite music in the
car, at the
beach,
or
anywhere outdoors.
These days you can get special
cassette players and turntables so
that you can transfer all your old
cassettes and vinyl records
onto PC and then burn them
to MP3 format. I guess that
these days we’re spoilt for
choice. u
2day’s Teen feature
Did you know?
A few interesting facts and figures about South Africa.
• There are 18 000 indigenous vascular plant species in South Africa
of which 80% are uniquely South
African.
• South Africa has mines deeper than
any other country in the world, at
depths of almost four kilometres at
the Western Deep Levels Mine.
• The only street in the world to
house two Nobel Peace prize winners is in Soweto. Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond
Tutu both have houses in Vilakazi
Street in Soweto. The world’s first
heart transplant was done in Cape
Town, South Africa in 1967 by
South African Dr Chris Barnard.
• The world’s biggest hospital,
Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital,
is in Soweto.
• There are only 12 countries in the
world that supply tap water that
is fit to drink, and South Africa is
one of them. Our tap water quality
is third best overall in the world.
• South Africa has hosted the World
Rugby Cup (1995), the World
Cricket Cup (2003) and the World
Soccer Cup (2010).
• South Africa is the second largest
exporter of fruit in the world.
• South Africa has 11 official lan-
•
•
•
•
•
guages, from A-Z: Afrikaans,
English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho,
Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda,
Xhosa and Zulu.
When Graça Machel married Nelson Mandela on 18 July 1998, she
became the first woman in the
world to have married the heads
of state of two different countries.
She was previously married to
Samora Machel, the first president
of Mozambique who was killed in
a plane crash in 1986.
The Kruger National Park nature
reserve supports the greatest variety of wildlife species on the African continent.
Kimberley’s ‘Big Hole’ is deeper
than Table Mountain is high. Plus
Kimberley has the only drive-in
pub in the world.
More than 50% of the Paragliding world records have been set in
South Africa.
South African grasslands have
30 species per square kilometre,
greater than the biodiversity of
rainforests.
We hope that you learnt something
new about this amazing country that
we call home. u
19
2day’s Teen feature
The ‘ABC’ for
better grades...
There is unfortunately no way around it. If you
want better grades, you’ll need to continue with
the “ABC” of studying:
A - Apply
B - Butt
C - to Chair
Hard work will always be rewarded and the
secret is in perserverance. Here are a few tips
to make staying in front of your books a little
easier:
1. Make sure you get enough sleep.
Try to go to bed every night at the same time to keep your sleep cycles as normal as possible. A well rested mind will act as a sponge to new info.
2. Eat proper food.
Study times might be snack time galore. However, unhealthy snacks like
sweets, chocolates or fizzy drinks will cause your blood sugar to shoot through
the roof and tumble down like a piano from the sky- leaving you tired and unable to concentrate.
3. Time management
You know you have to study and therefore need to plan for it. Record your
favourte TV shows and give your buddies a rain cheque on going to the mall.
4. Set yourself short term and long term goals.
Reward yourself for achieving those goals. E.g. study one chapter at a time and
do few test questions on it. Reward yourself with a steamy cup of coffee only
once you are satisfied that you know that chapter. Repeat with the following
chapter. A long term goal can be to work towards a specific grade or to get into
varsity.
5. Take frequent, but short breaks.
E.g. study for 45 minutes, break 15 minutes. Repeat. After four sessions, take a
longer break of one to two hours where you enjoy a meal or terrorize the dog. u
20
21
O
2day’s Teen feature
Every
Radioactive
Cloud
has a
Silver
Lining
22
Throughout history our world
has been subject to terrible
disasters. Yet this has always
been balanced
by the great
things that
happen. Great
things happen despite
disasters and,
in fact, sometimes great
things happen
because of
disasters.
BY
RAYMOND
FLETCHER
ne of the definitions of the
word ‘tragedy’ is ‘An event
resulting in great loss and misfortune’. And let’s face it, the world
has seen enough tragedies to put any
soap opera to shame.
Throughout history there have been
natural disasters, epidemics, accidents
and wars that have caused havoc and
often resulted in huge loss of life and
caused billions in damages.
While no tragedy or disaster can
ever be regarded as good, especially where lives are lost, good things
have sometimes transpired because of
these tragedies and disasters. Take the
‘Black Death’ for example.
The Black death, also known as
‘The Plague’, was probably the most
devastating pandemic in human history. It lasted for two years, between
1348 and 1350, and killed an estimated 100 million people. It is also
though to have killed 30–60% of Europe’s population.
So how, you may well ask, could
one of the deadliest pandemics in human history have any positive outcomes?
Before the plague Europe had been
overpopulated. So much so that many
European countries were ravaged by
poverty, famine and disease due to
poor sanitation and overcrowding.
The Plague left behind a sudden
shortage of labor, thus landlords were
forced to compete for workers by offering higher wages and better treatment. A lower population also brought
cheaper land prices, more food for the
average peasant and a relatively large
increase in income among the lower
classes over the next century.
Nuclear Fail
Turning to more modern history the
Chernobyl tragedy is another classic
example.
Nuclear power is a double-edged
sword. It can have devastating effects,
as witnessed by the atomic bombs
dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
during World War Two. Yet many
countries throughout the world rely
on nuclear power as a
source of energy.
While nuclear
power is a fairly
cheap and clean
source of energy,
you have to re-
23
member that they are using the same
basic elements that are used in constructing nuclear weapons. There is
always the possibility that something
can go wrong. And in 1979 it came
pretty close to doing just that.
On March 28, 1979 the Three Mile
Islands power plant in Pennsylvania,
United States suffered a partial nuclear meltdown. It was the worst accident
in U.S. commercial nuclear power
plant history, and resulted in the release of small amounts of radioactive
gases and radioactive iodine into the
environment.
The incident was rated a five on
the seven-point International Nuclear
Event Scale.
The positive thing to come from this
incident was that it resulted in new
regulations for the nuclear industry.
Then on April 26, 1986 the accident
that people have been fearing for years
finally happened.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant
was situated in Ukraine which, at the
time, was part of the Soviet Union.
Nuclear power uses sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. The nuclear reactor that creates
the nuclear fission has to be kept cool
at all times.
Engineers at the Chernobyl plant
were planning an experiment. If there
was a power failure they wanted to see
if they could keep the cooling pumps
going by using power from the reactor.
Now I’m no nuclear scientist, but
24
even I know better than to go around
fooling with things like this.
The experiment was a failure. Two
huge explosions blew off the reactor’s
roof, the highly radioactive contents
were spewed into the atmosphere, air
was sucked in which ignited carbon
monoxide gas and the reactor was set
on fire for nine days straight.
100 times more radiation was released than in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings combined.
The city of Prypiat was built in 1970
to house workers for the Chernobyl
Nuclear Power Plant. At the time of
the disaster it housed just under 50,000
people, including more than 5,000 children.
They were exposed to the effects
of the radiation and Soviet authorities
only decided to evacuate the city on the
second day of the disaster.
Besides those that died in the initial
explosion, the International Atomic Energy Agency claimed that up to 4,000
people eventually died as a result of
the radiation. A book released in 2010,
however, challenges this figure.
Chernobyl: Consequences of the
Catastrophe for People and the Environment was published by the New
York Academy of Sciences. And those
that wrote the book know what they
are talking about. The authors include
Russian biologist Dr. Alexey Yablokov,
former environmental advisor to the
Russian president; Dr. Alexey Nesterenko, a biologist and ecologist in
Belarus; and Dr.Vassili Nesterenko, a
physicist and at
the time of the
accident director of the Institute of Nuclear
Energy of the
National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
Its
editor
is Dr. Janette
Sherman,
a
physician and
GHOST TOWN: Prypiat 30 years after the disaster. It will probably
t o x i c o l o g i s t never be inhabited again.
long involved
in studying the health impacts of radio- radiation sweeping over Europe from
Russia, and The Kremlin was forced
activity.
The book concludes that based on to break its customary silence after 48
records now available, some 985,000 hours.
Russians president Mikhail Gorpeople died, mainly of cancer, as a result of the Chernobyl accident. That is bachev was forced to be completely
between when the accident occurred honest, and give journalists “unparin 1986 and 2004. More deaths, it alleled information,” and access to
nuclear officials and doctors. This
projects, will follow.
Taking all of this into account, how was the turning point of “Glasnost,”
could Chernobyl have had even the Gorbachev’s policy of freedom of the
slightest positive effect? Well it did press that had gotten mostly lip service up to that point.
help bring the Cold War to an end.
Once the average Soviet citizen was
When the disaster first happened the
exposed
to the western media they
Russians did what they normally did
with things like this - they kept quiet. soon discovered that their government
They stuck to their communist policy had been lying to them for years. And
of “ignore the disaster and hope it will the mighty Soviet empire began to
go away.” The only problem was that crumble like a deck of cards.
So Chernobyl helped end the Cold
you can’t just explode a nuclear reacWar
which, for decades, had always
tor - and release a cloud of death in the
process - and expect nobody to notice. carried the threat of nuclear attack
Officials in Sweden raised world- and retaliation that could easily have
wide alarm about the huge levels of wiped out our planet. u
25
2day’s Teen feature
Ready, Steady, Impress
It’s the big night - the matric dance and it’s your chance to
shine. Are you going to impress, or are you going to make a
mess? Here are some tips to consider.
By Matt O’Brien
F
or most young South Africans
the matric dance is a tradition
that stretches back to our great
grandparent’s days. It is a night that
most of us look forward to with a mixture of excitement, anticipation and
sometimes even dread. Unless you’re
one of those few that enjoyed matric
so much you want to do it again and
again, the matric dance is a once-off
event. You only get one shot at it, so
you had better do it right.
Now the best place to start anything
is at the beginning, and that’s what
we’re going to do here. Unless you’re
planning on spending the night of
your matric dance doing break-dancing you’re going to need a partner. Yes
that’s right, you’re going to have to
find a date to accompany you and this
can be the tricky part. So there very
first step in making your matric dance
a night to remember is asking a girl to
be your date.
Don’t, under any circumstances,
take anything for granted. You need to
ask a girl to be your date for the matric dance. Even if the two of you have
been dating since you were both in
26
Grade One don’t just assume that she
will go to the matric dance with you.
She still wants to be formally asked.
Now sit up and pay attention because
here are your first few tips.
Don’t leave it until the last minute.
If there is a girl you really want to ask
to the matric dance make sure you do
it as early as possible. If you leave it
to late there is a strong possibility that
someone will have already asked her.
And there is only one way to ask her.
Do not ask a friend to ask her. This
may have been fine when you were in
Grade Two but you’re a big boy now,
so ask her yourself. Do not send her an
SMS, or ask her via WhatsApp, Twitter or FaceBook. This is a big no-no!
Go up to her and in a confident voice,
ask her if she would do you the honour of accompanying you to the matric dance. The worst that can happen
is that she can say no.
Okay, so now you’ve asked the girl
of your dreams to the matric dance
and she said yes. This is when you really need to spark. The success or failure of whatever happens now hinges
on one word – communication. You
need to take charge and make sure that
everything is organised. Not only will
it ensure that things run smoothly, it
will also show her that you know how
to take charge of a situation.
Communicate with your date before
the big night. Let her know what time
you will be fetching her and how you
will be getting to and from the dance.
If the dance has a theme make sure
If you’re buying your clothes
from ‘Pimps-R-Us’ the you’re
probably not even going to
get past the front door.
Saying something like
“Wow you look stunning” will
probably work. Saying “Your
boobs look great
in that dress” will not.
she knows about it. Maybe she wants
to dress accordingly. It might even be
a good idea to let her know what you
will be wearing in case she wants to
wear something that matches.
There are other things that you will
also need to arrange. While there will
probably be a photographer at the
matric dance you will probably want
27
a few photographs taken of the two
of you before the dance. Make sure
you have a photographer or at least a
decent camera to do the job. A grainy
photo taken with a cellphone is just
not going to do it.
Now we’re going to let you into a
little well-kept secret about girls. All
of them come with a combination
tracking system, lie detector, radar and
armed reaction mechanism known as
her parents. So you not only have to
impress the girl, you also have to impress her parents. And this is by no
means an easy task. Once again the secret here is to communicate with them
and try and put their minds at ease. Let
be using the R9.99 special aftershave
you bought at the flea market. Look
good but whatever you do, don’t try
and look better than your date.
Here are a few tips for when you arrive at her house to fetch her on the
big night. First of all, go up to the
front door. Do not, under any circumstances, sit outside and hoot. Buy
your date some flowers. She will appreciate it far more than you realise.
If you buy the flowers from your local supermarket or an all-night service
station just remember to remove the
price tag. Make sure that when you
fetch her you take the time to greet her
parents and once again reassure them
Look good but whatever you do,
Don’t try and look better
than your date.
them know how you will be getting
to and from the dance. Also let them
know that whoever will be driving
has a driver’s licence and will not be
drinking alcohol in any shape or form.
Find out is she has a curfew or at least
what time her parents want her home.
Then make sure you get her home on
time. Win the parents over and half
your battle is already won.
You need to look your best on the
night. If necessary hire an outfit just
for the night. Just make sure you book
it well in advance because everyone
else will be doing the same thing. Get
a decent cologne and deodorant so that
you smell nice. This is not the night to
28
what time you will be bringing their
daughter home. Above all, make sure
that you are on time.
Remember to compliment her on her
looks. She had probably taken a lot
of time and effort with her dress and
make-up, so let her know that the effort has been worth it. And for goodness sake, think before you speak.
Saying something like, “Wow, you
look stunning” works well. Something like, “Your boobs look great in
that dress” does not. Also remember
that saying something like, “For a fat
chick you don’t sweat much” is not a
compliment.
Another thing to remember when
greeting her and paying her a compliment is to look in her eyes. Chances
are that she may be wearing a low-cut
dress and while it may be difficult,
you need to look into her eyes and not
at her boobs when complimenting her.
When escorting her to the car, open
the door for her. When you arrive at
the dance get out of the car and open
the door for her again. And make sure
that you open doors for her the entire
evening.
Once you arrive at the dance the first
thing you’re going to see is all your
friends. Don’t abandon your date and
rush off to greet them. It’s okay to
greet your friends but remember to introduce your date to them. Introduce
your date by name and try to avoid introducing her as your chick, goose, or
stukkie.
Now sit up and pay attention. There
will be many really stunning looking
girls at your matric dance and you will
be distracted. There is nothing wrong
with looking at other girls, just don’t
let your date catch you doing it. Only
stare at her or any other girl when she
is not looking. Remember to ask your
date for the first dance.
At 99.9% of matric dances alcohol is
not allowed in any shape or form. But
we all know it is there in conspicuous
and creative amounts. Avoid getting
sloshed at all costs, especially if you
are driving. You will not impress your
date and her parents will be even less
impressed when you take her home.
And whatever you do, don’t try and
get your date sloshed.
Now while most matric dances are
fun we all know that the real party is
the one that takes place after the dance
– the after party. Now we’re not going to try and tell you not to attend the
after party because you probably will
anyway. But just remember that you
have certain responsibilities. If you
have agreed to have your date home
at a certain time, make sure that you
stick to this. Even if it means that you
go to the after party by yourself. Just
make sure that your date is home at
the time you agreed.
When you take her home walk her
to the front door and make sure that
she is safely inside before you leave.
Don’t forget to thank her for the evening. Within 24 to 48 hours after the
dance phone her and thank her once
again for being your date.
Just remember that girls like to talk.
Her friends will all be getting a second-by-second replay of every moment of the matric dance. Mess it up
and you can be sure all her friends and
their friends will know about it, so
you can forget ever trying to get a date
with any of them. Impress her, however, and you could soon find your social
calendar full.
Try and remember these tips and not
only will you have an enjoyable matric dance, chances are that the girl will
go out with you again. u
29
Star Wars Stormtrooper Cookie
Jar
2day’s Teen entertainment
Goodies & Gadgets
Keep your cookies protected by the
elite soldiers of the Galactic Empire.
Removed the head of the Stormtrooper
to reveal your stash of cookies or sweets.
Why not keep Oreo cookies in it, a balance between the dark side and the Jedi.
Officially licensed by Lucasfilm.
A look at the goodies and gadgets that we just ‘have’ to own.
Some are useful, some are essential, and some are just gimmicks that are really cool.
Lightsaber Chopsticks
Never eat in the dark again. With a
simple push of a button on the highly detailed lightsaber hilt the “blades” glows.
Features:
• Premium quality chopsticks
• Easy to clean
• Officially licensed
• Detailed Lightsaber look
RRP: R495.00
Toxic Laundry Hamper
Anyone every tell you that your dirty clothes
should be declared a toxix hazard? Then you need
an appropriate laundry basked to keep it in before
it’s washed.
The Toxic Laundry Hamper’s bright green color
and the bold black radioactive sign and lettering
ensure that no one comes within smelling range,
let alone actually taking a look inside. It’s made
of polyester and is collapsible, so you can fold and
tuck it away out of sight when it’s not in use,
RRP: R325.00
30
RRP: R799.00
Radio Controlled Battle Tanks
Go up against your friend in an epic tank battle. Each tank moves on a pair
of caterpillar tracks and is equipped with an infrared cannon and sensor. Manoeuvre into position and take aim at your opponent’s tank sensor, then pull the
trigger and watch your tank rock back with recoil as it fires an IR round.
This RC Battle Tanks set includes
two remote control tanks, one in
desert and another in jungle camouflage, as well as the controllers
needed for each.
RRP: R645.00
Candy Chemistry
Explore chemistry as you cook up candies and chocolates in the kitchen! Make
gummy candies, chocolate shapes, and hard
sugar candy using the special tools included:
plastic and metal molds, candy thermometer,
spatula, dipping fork, and more. Finish them
with foils, paper cups, sticks, and wrappers.
RRP: R415.00
31
Forever Young
2day’s Teen The Beat Box
Would you like fame, fortune, and a Number One hit - all before the age of 21? Well these people managed to get it right.
A
ccording to tradition you are
not officially an adult until
you’re twenty-one years old.
In fact is many countries it’s a law.
Bearing this in mind it’s no wonder
that many people think that teens are
not capable of doing anything useful
until they become an adult.
Yet, as history has proved, there are
many teens and even pre-teens that
32
have achieved success.
Take a look at the artists below.
These are just a few of the teens that
have achieved international success.
Stevland Hardaway Morris is an
American singer, songwriter, and
multi-instrumentalist and has had hit
after hit.
He has been blind since shortly after birth, but this has never slowed
him down. He had his first #1 hit at
the age of only 13 with a song called
Fingertips (Pt. 2). Oh, and you probably know him better as Stevie
Wonder.
Back in 2002 Avril Lavigne was
only 17 when she released her debut
album, Let Go. The album produced
not one, but two #1 hits. The first was
Complicated and this was followed by
Sk8er Boi.
Billy Joel is the third-best-selling
solo artist in the United States and his
compilation album Greatest Hits Vol. 1
& 2 is the third-best-selling album in
the United States.
Joel had his first hit, Piano Man, in
1973 when he was 24. But his involvement with music began way before
that.
When he was 16 he played piano on
the Shangri-Las’ hit Leader Of The
Pack.
Sometimes music runs in the family.
This was certainly the case with The
Osmond Family. They had success as
a group but three of the family, Donny,
Marie, and Jimmy, all had solo #1 hits.
Donny Osmond was 14 when he
had a #1 hit with Go Away Little Girl.
His younger sister, Marie Osmond,
had a hit with Paper Roses when she
was 13. It reached #1 in the US Country Charts.
Little Jimmy Osmond was only
nine when he had a smash
hit with Long Haired Lover From Liverpool.
David
and
Shaun
Cassidy starred as brothers in the 70’s TV series
The Partridge Family. And
they were real-life brothers as well.
Both had success as solo artists. David
was 20 when he had a hit with I Think
I Love You. Shaun was a year younger,
19, when he had his hit with Da Do
Ron Ron.
Tiffany Darwish, better known as
Tiffany, was 16 when she did a remake
of I Think We’re Alone Now in 1987.
It went on to become a #1 hit.
The Spice Girls were an English pop
girl group formed in 1994. The group
consisted of five members, who each
later adopted nicknames initially ascribed to them: Melanie Brown (“Scary
Spice”), Melanie Chisholm (“Sporty
Spice”), Emma Bunton (“Baby Spice”
who was 20), Geri Halliwell (“Ginger
Spice”), and Victoria Beckham, née
Adams (“Posh Spice”). They were
signed to Virgin Records and released
their debut single, Wannabe, in 1996.
Long time rivals Britney Spears and
Christina Aguilera both has success
while still in their teens. Spears was
17 when she released Baby One More
Time while Aguilera was 19 when she
released Genie In A Bottle.
Taylor Swift was only 18 when
she had a US Country #1 hit with Our
Song. Kisean Anderson, better known
as Sean Kingston was 19 when he had
his hit with Beautiful Girls.
South African Gwyneth Joubert, who
sang under the name Gwyneth Ashely
Robin. had a hit when she was 13 with
Little Jimmy. Tragically she died in a
light aircraft crash three years later.
Teen heart-throb Justin Bieber
was 16 when he had his first hit,
Baby. Yet he has only reached #1 in
Canada and France.
The King of Pop, Michael Jackson
has many #1 hits during his career, including a number of hits with the Jackson 5. His first solo #1 hit was Ben,
which he recorded back in 1972. He
was 13 at the time.
And lastly, how about young Scottish lass Lena Zavaroni. At the age
of just 10 her single Ma! (He’s Making Eyes At Me) charted in quite a few
countries, including South Africa.
So don’t think for one moment
that age is a factor when it comes
to being a star. u
33
2day’s Teen Ten of the Best
TEN OF THE BEST
TEEN MOVIES
Seeing as how June is Youth Month we decided to make the
Top 10 all about teen movies. We asked GWYNETH BOWMAN to
come up with a list of ther Top 10 favourite teen movies. This is
what she gave us.
Click on the box covers to see the movie trailer.
Sixteen Candles (1984)
Samantha’s (Molly Ringwald) life is going downhill fast.
Her “sweet sixteenth” birthday becomes anything
but special as she suffers from every embarrassment possible. Will anything turn out right for her?
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Five high school students, all different stereotypes,
meet in detention, where they pour their hearts out to
each other, and discover how they have a lot more
in common than they thought.
34
10 Things I hate about you (1999)
Based on Shakespeare’s play The Taming of the
Shrew the new kid must find a guy to date the meanest girl in school, the older sister of the girl he has
a crush on, who cannot date until her older sister
does.
It stars the late Heath Ledger.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Ferris is determined to have a day off from school,
despite of what the principal thinks of that.
When Ferris takes the day off, so must his best
friends, Cameron and Sloane. The trio get into all
sorts of trouble, including ‘borrowing’ Cameron’s
dads Ferrari.
Clueless (1996)
A parody of Jane Austen’s novel Emma, about
Cher (Alicia Silverstone), a popular girl who spends
her days playing matchmaker, helping friends with
fashion choices, advising the new girl at school on
a makeover, and looking for a boyfriend.
Not another teen movie (2001)
Jake, the hottest boy in the school, has been challenged to take the ugliest girl in the school to the prom.
Not only that, he has to get her picked as Prom Queen.
This movie rips off and makes fun of just about every teen movie from the past decade or so.
35
2day’s Teen Gaming
Grease (1978)
Good girl Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) and greaser
Danny (John Travolta) fell in love over the summer.
But when they unexpectedly discover they’re now in
the same high school, will they be able to rekindle
their romance?
Some really memorable music will get your toes
tapping.
The Craft (1996)
A newcomer to a Catholic prep high school falls in
with a trio of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft and they all soon conjure up various spells and
curses against those who even slightly anger them.
Yet when the new girl decides that she no longer
wants to be part of the group, they turn against her.
The Karate Kid (1984)
You may have seen the 2010 re-make of this movie
starring Jackie Chan.
This, however, is the original. Pat Morita is brilliant as Mr. Miyagi, the gardener who just happens
to be a karate master.
He teaches a young boy to stand up for himself
and sort out the other boys that bully him.
Freaky Friday (2003)
Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her teenage
daughter Anna (Lindsay Lohan) do not get along.
When two identical Chinese fortune cookies cause
them to swap bodies for a day, they soon realise
what the other has to put up with on a daily basis.
36
MATT O’BRIEN is living on the edge
again. On the Mirror's Edge to be precise, and he's loving every minute of it.
D
on’t get me wrong, I’m a huge
fan of First Person Shooters and
RTS games. But sometimes they
can all start feeling the same.
That’s why I love it when a game
comes along that’s a bit different. And the
original Mirror’s Edge was one of those
games.
free-roaming environment. In addition to
the campaign’s mission, side activities
such as time trials, races and environmental puzzles will be featured.
Once again you get to play the part of
Faith Connors as you attempt to overthrow a totalitarian conglomerate of corporations who rule the city of Glass.
You use Faith’s
running and parkour movements
and quick meleestyle attacks to take
down or evade her
enemies.
Mirror’s Edge
Catalyst is due to
be released on June
7 and I can’t wait to
get my greedy little
There’s no big guns to use, no armour
to wear - it’s just you and your parkour paws on it.
Until then I’m still enjoying Fallout 4
skills.
Unlike the original game, Mirror’s and still having fun with it. u
Edge Catalyst will feature an open-world,
Publisher:
Electronic Arts
Genre:Action-adventure
Platforms:
PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One
RRP:
Price to be confirmed.
37
2day’s Teen Health
Seeing Red
On your passport where it says “colour of eyes” does it say “red”?
Do people think you’re an extra from a vampire movie? If so then you
may just be suffering from an eye irritation. CINDY FINEMAN examines some ways of getting you looking all bright-eyed.
M
ost mornings my eyes were
so red that I scared my cat.
And I must admit that when
I looked in the mirror I scared myself.
The eyes that stared back at me were
usually so red that it looked as if I had
consumed a bottle of brandy for supper and a bottle of vodka for breakfast.
The thing is I’m only 15 and I
promise you that I have never tasted
so much as a drop of alcohol in my
life. One of my teachers at school is
convinced that I’m a drug addict. She
even asked me once if I smoked weed.
It was kind of embarrassing, but she
did have a point. My eyes did look
shocking to say the least.
My problem is that I have very sen38
sitive eyes and they can become irritated for the slightest reason. I also
wear contact lenses which I suppose
doesn’t help. Another thing is that
swimming is my main sport and passion.
I swim six mornings a week - summer or winter - and this includes during the school term. I train at an indoor
heated pool from 6.00 to 7.00 am, then
rush home and get ready for school.
The chlorine in the pool didn’t help
my eyes in the least.
I became rather tired of being called
vampire girl by my classmates and decided to see what could be done about
my constant red eyes. What I discovered was most helpful. In fact you
could say it was an eye-opener.
If you suffer from eye redness you
must realise that it could be caused by
one of many things. A red eye may
simply be dry or slightly irritated, or
it could be a sign of chronic or acute
glaucoma, inflammation of the eye, or
a conjunctivitis. If your problem persists then you should see a doctor and
have it checked out.
For red eyes that are caused by everyday irritants such as long hours in
contact lenses, air-pollution, allergies,
fatigue or dry air, here are a few tips
to help.
Give your eyes a lube job
Use lubricating eye drops to stop
your eyes from drying out. Don’t
use them for more than a few days
though.
Apply a compress
You can apply either a warm or a
cool compress to the eyes - whichever
one suits you. Soak a face cloth in either warm or cool water and use it to
cover the eyes for a while.
Use an over-the-counter antihistamine
is easy - get some sleep.
Wear goggles in the pool
This was one of the biggest causes
of my red eyes - chlorine in the pool.
All I needed was to buy myself a pair
of well-fitting swimming goggles and
it sorted out 90% of my problems. So
if you’re spending time in the pool I
suggest you do the same.
Use eye drops when flying
If you have to travel somewhere by
air, use eye drops before your journey.
The air in the cabin of an aircraft is
very dry and it contains less oxygen.
Both of these will dry your eyes out
and causes redness.
Sport some shades
If you have sensitive eyes, like I do,
then you should really consider wearing sunglasses when you go out in the
light. Bright sunlight and sunlight reflecting off bright surfaces will irritate
sensitive eyes. So wear sunglasses.
The nice thing is that they can look really cool as well. I’ve got a letter from
my doctor which says that I can wear
my sunglasses at school.
If your red eyes are a result of an
Try these tips and see if they help
allergy such as hay fever, then treating you. And remember, don’t mess about
the allergy will help your eyes as well. with your eyes. They’re the only ones
you will ever have. If the problem
Get a good night’s sleep
carries on then you really need to go
Late nights and a lack of sleep will and see your doctor about it. There’s
give you red eyes. If this is what is no reason why you shouldn’t look all
causing the problem then the solution bright-eyed. u
39
2day’s Teen Health
The strains of stress
Stress is part of our daily lives, whether we like it or not.
Understanding the symptoms can help reduce the likelihood of
stress.
W
e are living in a very fast
paced world, if we are not
emailing, we are Tweeting or Facebooking, maybe holding
two jobs to make ends meet, doing
the school run, managing homework
and at the end of it all, still trying to
maintain a social life if you are lucky
to still have one. We are all stressed,
but we cope with it differently.
Stress is the body’s way of rising to
a challenge – it can be good, even fun
– but unlike animals, which shut off
their fight or flight stress response, humans can’t seem to find the off switch,
40
and rather than ‘letting go and breathing out’, we allow the stress.
“We look at people who multi-task,
are always busy, sleep less, are Type A
and we admire them,” says Prof Shively, a US-based stress researcher. “We
ask how we can be more like them.”
In reality, most of us are not Type
A and not many of us are able to cope
with multi tasking or doing everything
on our own.
And don’t think for one minute that
it’s only adults that are affected by
stress. It is something that can affect
teens as well. Think about peer pres-
sure, not to mention the pressure of
Here are some tips from the Stress
exams, relationships and the normal Clinic on how to reduce the likelihood
pressures of the transition from teen of stress.
to young adult. All of these can cause
stress.
• Try not to take on any new projFor those wishing to find out more
ects that will demand a lot of
regarding stress, visit SADAG’s Faceyour time.
book page (The South African De- • Take care of the routine work in
pression and Anxiety Group) or click
advance.
here to go directly to their website.
• Ask: Can someone else do it?
Can something be delayed? Is it
Symptoms of Stress
essential?
Physical
• Concentrate on the most imporFatigue, headache, insomnia, mustant tasks first.
cle aches/stiffness (especially neck, • Visualization.
shoulders and low back), heart palpita- • Volunteering – churches, hostions, chest pains, abdominal cramps,
pitals, SPCA, Old Age Homes,
nausea, trembling, cold extremities,
etc.
flushing or sweating and frequent • Walking – even just down the
colds.
road.
• Try something completely difMental
ferent – ice skating, hiking.
Decrease in concentration and • Yoga and Relaxation Techmemory, indecisiveness, mind racing
niques.
or going blank, confusion and loss of • Deep breathing.
sense of humour.
• Develop and maintain a positive
attitude.
Emotional
• Do something nice for someone
Anxiety, nervousness, depression,
else.
anger, frustration, worry, fear, irrita- • Eat a healthy diet.
bility, impatience, and short temper.
• Get plenty of rest – it doesn’t
mean sleep.
Behavioural
• Hobbies.
Pacing, fidgeting, nervous habits • Hot bath or shower.
(nail-biting, foot-tapping), increased/ • Exercise.
decreased eating, smoking, drinking,
crying, yelling, swearing, blaming and
The trick with stress is that you’ve
even throwing things or hitting out.
got to keep it under control. Don’t let
it control you. u
41
2day’s Teen sport
Click here to watch a video of Comaneci in action.
The Perfect
10
The next time that someone tells
you that no-one is perfect, just
mention the name Nadia Elena
Comaneci. In 1976 she showed
that not only was perfection
attainable, but that she could do
it seven times.
BY SETH MORGAN
Y
ou’ve probably heard the saying, “No-one is perfect.” Well
back in 1976 a 14-year-old
girl proved them all wrong.
Nadia Elena Comăneci was born
in OneSti, Romania on November
12, 1961. At the age of only six she
was selected to attend Béla Károlyi’s
experimental gymnastics school after
Karolyi spotted her and a friend turning cartwheels in a schoolyard.
She was just eight when she came
13th in her first Romanian National
Championships in 1969. The following year, at the age of nine, she became the youngest gymnast ever to
win the Romanian Nationals.
At the age of 11, in 1973, she won
the all-around gold, as well as the
vault and uneven bars titles, at the Ju-
42
nior Friendship Tournament.
Her first major international success
came at the age of 13, when she nearly
swept the 1975 European Championships in Skien, Norway, winning the
all-around and gold medals on every
event but the floor exercise, in which
she placed second. She was named the
United Press International’s “Female
Athlete of the Year” for 1975.
It was at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada that
Nadia would stun the world. After she
had finished her routine on the uneven
bars on July 18 her score was flashed
up on the electronic scoreboard. Her
score was shown as 1.00.
At first the crowd was confused and
they began to boo the judges. Then
they realised what had happened. The
scoreboards only went up to 9.99 and
Nadia had just become the first gymnast in Olympic history to score a
perfect 10.00.
Over the course of the Olympics,
Comăneci would earn six additional 10s, en route to capturing the allaround, beam, and bars titles and a
bronze medal on the floor exercise.
The Romanian team also placed second in the team competition, capturing silver.
She was the 1976 BBC Sports Personality of the Year in the overseas
athlete’s category and the Associated
Press’s 1976 “Female Athlete of the
Year”. She also retained her title as the
UPI Female Athlete of the Year. Back
home in Romania, Comăneci’s success led her to be named a “Hero of
Socialist Labor”; she was the young-
est Romanian to receive such recognition during the administration of
Nicolae Ceauşescu.
In November 1989 she defected
to the United States of America and
in 1996 she married former gymnast
Bart Conner.
In 2000 Comăneci was named as
one of the athletes of the century by
the Laureus World Sports Academy.
So the next time someone tells you
that no-one is perfect just say two
words to them.
“Nadia Comăneci.” u
43
2day’s Teen sport
Age means nothing
T
hey say we’re young and we
To break a world record or become
don’t know, we won’t find out
a world champion takes hard work,
until we grow, or so said Cher
dedication, and experience. And
in the hit song I’ve Got You Babe
experience comes with age - and
that’s something that should have
which she sang with her late husband
been explained to these champions Sony Bono.
and record breakers.
Let’s face it, age sometimes does
count against a person. You can’t leBY STIX MKHIZE
gally vote, drive a car, or have a drink
until you’re 18.
Yet when it comes to the world of
sport age isn’t always that important.
In fact often age means absolutely
nothing. Just take a look at some of
these world champions and record
breakers.
Sebastian
Vettel
44
Yohan Blake
At the 2011 IAAF (International
Association of Athletics Federations)
World Championships held in Daegu, South Korea everyone knew that
Usain Bolt would win the 100 metre
sprint.
After all the 26 year-old Jamaican was the reigning world
champion as well as the 100
metre world record holder.
Someone should have told 21
year old Yohan Blake.
Blake, another Jamaican,
finished the race in a time of
9.92 seconds, beating Bolt
into second place. Although
Blake’s winning time was slower than
Bolt’s world record time of 9.58 his
win did mean that he was now the
new 100 metre World Champion, and
the youngest ever 100 metre World
Champion.
following year, 2011, saw the 18-yearold become the youngest ASP Women’s World Surfing Champion.
Since turning professional she has
already earned more then $250,000
Dollars in prize money.
Wilfred Benitez
Fu Mingxia
In 1976 at the age of 17 years and
three months, Wilfred Benitez stepped
into the boxing ring to meet WBA
Light Welterweight champion Antonio Cervantes in a world title fight.
Benitez was still at high school and
many of his classmates had come to
watch the fight. 15 rounds of boxing
later and Benitez became the youngest
boxer ever to win a world title.
Mike Tyson
How many teenagers get the International Olympics Committee to
change the rules? Well 13 year old Fu
Mingxia did exactly that.
In 1991 she took the gold medal in
the 10 m platform diving event at the
1991 World Swimming Championships in Perth, Australia. She was 12
Carissa
Moore
‘Iron’ Mike Tyson is probably remembered for all the wrong reasons
- such as his temper, brushes with the
law, and his world title fight where he
bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s
ear.
Yet at the start of his career Tyson
was one of the most formidable boxers ever to climb into the ring. He won
the world heavyweight championship
title at the age of only 20. The youngest heavyweight ever to do so.
Carissa Moore
Standing 1.70 m tall and weighing
only 64 kg, Carissa Moore doesn’t
look like a world champion.
Moore, from Honolulu, Hawaii, finished school at the end of 2010. The
45
at the time.
The following summer, Fu took
gold at the Barcelona Olympics aged
13, which prompted diving’s governing body to rule that all future divers
must be at least 14 years old by the
year of the contest in the Olympics,
World Championships or World Cup
to enter.
She went on to win four Olympic
golds and two world championship
golds in total.
Sebastian Vettel
At the age of 19 Germany’s Sebastian
Vettel became the youngest driver to race
at a Grand Prix meeting, plus Vettel became the youngest driver to score world
championship points when he came seventh at the 2007 US Grand Prix.
He was also the youngest driver ever
to lead an F1 race, along with being
youngest driver to have claimed a pole
position and the youngest to have ever
won a Formula One Grand Prix.
At the age of 23 he became the youngKaren Muir
est ever Formula One world champion
How about our very own Karen when he took the 2010 F1 Drivers’
Muir? In 1965, at the age of only 12, she Championship.
set a new world record in the 110 yards
backstroke.
Alexis Thompson
During the next five years she would
A five shot victory at the Navistar
go on to set fifteen world records in the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Assobackstroke at 100 metres, 200 metres, ciation) Classic in Alabama, USA saw
110 yards, and 220 yards.
16 year old Alexis ‘Lexi’ Thompson
become the youngest golfer to win an
LPGA event.
Laura Dekker
Alexis Thompson
44
16 year old Dutch teen
Laura Dekker became
the youngest sailor to
complete a solo circumnavigation of the world.
And she had to fight for
the right to even make
the attempt.
The Dutch government
said that she was far too
young to attempt to sail around
the world alone. So she took
them to court where she even-
tually won permission to make the attempt.
Jahangir Khan
Anyone that knows anything about
squash will know the name Jahangir
Khan from Pakistan.
In 1981, at the age of 17, Khan won
the World Open Squash Championship
when he defeated Australian, Geoff
Hunt, who was the previous year’s
world number one and four time World
Open champion. It was the first of six
World Open titles that Khan would win.
Miscencu and Mary Lee Tracy. She
earned her first National Team berth at
age 10 and represented the United States
in various major international competitions at the junior level. She was the
all-around silver medallist at the 1992
Junior Pan Am Games and the 1994 junior U.S. National Champion. In 1995,
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis
Nicknamed the ‘Swiss Miss’, Martina Hingis was only 12 when she
won the French Open junior title.
Two years later she became the
youngest player to win a Grand
Slam match when she beat Jolene
Watanabe-Giltz in the Australian
Open aged 14 years.
Two years later, at the age of 16, Hingis won both the Australian Open and
Wimbledon singles titles.
Naomi Kutin
Naomi Kutin set a world record for
the 97 pound (44 kg) division in the
raw squat event by lifting an astounding
215 (97.7 kg) pounds at the RAW Unity
weight lifting championships in Texas.
And she was only 10 years old.
Dominique Moceanu
Moceanu trained under coaches Marta and BélaKárolyi, and later, Luminida
45
at the age of 13 and a half, she became
the youngest gymnast to win the senior all-around title at the U.S. National
Championships. She was the youngest
member of both the 1995 World Championships team and the gold medal-winning 1996 Olympic squad, the Magnificent Seven, and was popular with both
Dominique
Moceanu
the public and gymnastics fans. She is
the last gymnast to compete at an Olympic Games legally at the age of 14.
Take a different look at a career...
Let’s not forget about...
• The youngest stock-car racing driver - Dustin Jackson (10).
• The youngest professional soccer
player - Mauricio Baldivieso (12).
• The youngest world chess champion - Hou Yifan (16).
• The youngest player at a Soccer
World Cup - Norman Whiteside
(17).
• The youngest person to climb Mount
Everest - Jordan Romero (13).
• The youngest golfer to score a
hole-in-one - Eleanor Gamble
(5).
•The youngest person to win an
Olympic medal - Inge Sørensen (12).
•The youngest chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen (13).
• The youngest test cricket player Hasan Raza (14).
And there you have it. Some remarkable champions and, with the exception
of Yohan Blake, all while still under the
age of 21.
So when it comes to achieving something in sport, or any other field for that
matter, don’t let a little thing like age
hold you back. u
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46
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48