Pop life

Life how you want to live it

Growing from a Spore

We got some great entries for our "Win a Spore" contest. World's seasons change in a week, insects rule the land, Merfolk and Krill live peacefully, and disputes are decided by Floogal-Ball. Others kept the world we know, arguing that it's already amazing, but would be better if adults could play video games all day.

Sixth-grader William Schultz, who lives in Raleigh, was just plain funny. One line: "Anyone who uses "literally" as a synonym for "really" will be literally torn apart by wild beavers. Here, "literally" means "yes, wild beavers."

We laughed so much at his piece we sent him a copy of NHL 09 for his Xbox.

But in the end, we chose Chapel Hill's James Grubbs' world. He's 12 and in the sixth grade. This is the first writing contest he's entered. His mom, Sandy, hopes it will inspire him to write more.

Us, too. Because PL believes the children are the future. Teach them well. Let them lead the way.

Now the essay:

My World

If I could create my own world, it would have half the world in water and the other half of the world on land. It would also have dragons that could be used for transportation and for a pet. The only wars would be in computer games. The towns would have schools but you could go to any class any time you like, and you can go to school whenever you want and get out of school when you like also. The government would still be ruled by adults though kids would get to vote on important things like, for president, for new laws, and for other new stuff. It would have computers that make you feel like you are actually in the computer games. There would be no viruses or hackers on the computer so you never had to worry about glitching up your computers. You can go anywhere in my world with just a push of a button on your computer. You could go to the movies, the mall, visit your cousins or you could go to the vacation you always wanted in the south. When something went wrong or something really bad happens you can always use the reliable "time machine," to go back in time and fix that problem. All you have to do is type in the time, date and year of the problem and it will take you back to that time to fix the problem. I would be the king of the town and have my own personal adviser to give me good suggestions on what to do. There would be a meeting of everybody in the whole world about any big problems that can't be fixed by the time machine. Also in my world there would be a shield that protected the world from any asteroids that may hit the earth or damage any other planet. So we would all live together happily and be friendly with one another.

Walking that fine rated-R line

Years ago, while attending NYU, Clark Gregg met a young man (and a future N&O columnist) by the name of J. Peder Zane. And now, years later, Gregg has directed a film about sex addicts.

Coincidence?

It appears that hanging out with our favorite erudite reprobate back in the day isn't the only tie the 46-year-old actor/filmmaker has with the Triangle. (He attended high school in Chapel Hill.) Best known for his roles as Julia Louis-Dreyfus' long-suffering ex-husband on the CBS sitcom "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (whose new season just started this week) and most recently, as a mysterious S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in the monster summer hit "Iron Man" (don't ask him for news on the sequel -- he doesn't know anything yet), Gregg has finally brought Chuck Palahniuk's 2001 novel "Choke" to the big screen. (See review, Page 26.)

Pop Life got a few minutes on the phone with the man, who told us about making the movie. He also gave us some surprising X-rated memories regarding this part of the country.