Entertainment

Reality series to follow teens

New York — MTV will premiere what it calls television’s first “reality drama” series, “Laguna Beach — The Real Orange County,” on Sept. 14.

The drama will follow the lives of seven teens who grew up in Laguna Beach and attended the same high school, the music network said last week.

“From spring break to prom to graduating and applying for college, they invite us along for the ride and into the real-life dramas that unfold during their pivotal junior and senior year in high school,” the statement said.

There will be no on-camera interviews or confessionals, but the dialogue, reactions and situations are real and unscripted.

“Our goal is to show the lives of this incredible group of teenagers — authentic and unscripted — yet shot to look like our viewers’ favorite dramatic series,” said Tony DiSanto, MTV’s senior vice president of production.

“It will be a unique viewing experience, unlike anything else on television, and all the more compelling because the drama is real,” DiSanto said

Your turn

Submit original poetry

We’re looking for original poetry to publish in 18 & Under. Please include your name, age, grade and school on your work. You may drop it off at 645 N.H. or e-mail it to teens@ljworld.com

Here’s the latest entry to the Journal-World:

‘Preventable’
When I go to school today
I hope that we will get to play
We used to have so much fun
Until the day he brought a gun.

People running, bullets flying
Parents, teachers and children crying
All the anger and senseless hate
Increasing at an incredible rate.

Looking back we realize
We missed the sadness in his eyes
We all heard what people said
We didn’t know how the words
sounded in his head.

If only someone could have seen
Maybe they wouldn’t have been so mean
Someone should have paid attention
And don’t let me forget to mention.

No one meant for it to be this way
We’re just kids, what can I say
We rarely think before we speak
It’s put us on a losing streak.

It’s high time we made a change
Things are gettting way too strange
Put others feelings at the top of your list
Lend a hand instead of a fist.

— Scott Jones, 15, Lawrence

Safety

Helmets must fit properly

It’s important to wear a helmet whenever you ride a bike, but it’s also crucial to wear it correctly. Here’s a quick safety checklist, from Parents magazine:

• The helmet should rest low on the forehead, no more than two adult-finger widths above the eyebrows.
• The strap should be taut and fit around the ears in a “V” shape.
• The helmet should be fastened tightly enough under the chin that it can’t slide back and forth.

Survey

Mmmm, shaved ice

Journal-World Teen Advisory Board member Brittany Mailand recently surveyed 30 people to find out their favorite summer treats.

Here are the responses:

• Shaved Ice, 30 percent
• Dairy Queen treats, 18 percent
• Bucky’s ice cream, 17 percent
• Homemade ice cream, 13 percent
• Frozen lemonade, 10 percent
• Popsicles, 7 percent
• Culver’s treats, 3 percent
• Sonic Slushes, 3 percent

— Brittany Mailand attends Woodlawn School.