Jenny Charlesworth

Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester embraces her poetic side

Leighton Meester wants to talk about Chanukah. No, not the sacred festival of lights, but the sidesplitting song Adam Sandler wrote “for all those nice little Jewish kids”.

“That’s a classic!” the 26-year-old star of Gossip Girl turned singer tells the Georgia Straight on the line from her L.A. home. “It would be awesome to do something with ‘Chanukah’.”

Meester held her own with Lil Wayne for their collaboration on “Make It Rain”, so a kooky duet with funnyman Sandler—with whom she costars in the upcoming comedyThat’s My Boy—might not be a total flop.

And besides, she’s done a pretty good job of balancing two careers. We’ve seen Meester go from rich-bitch Blair Waldorf to honorary Cobra Starship singer. (Those are her delicious vocals on the band’s 2009 single “Good Girls Go Bad”.) Even when she went Nashville for the 2010 movie Country Strong, it seemed to work—which cuts her some slack on her recent revelation that she’s embracing Joni Mitchell as one of her major inspirations. So if Meester wants to take on “The Chanukah Song”, we’ll happily raise our gin and tonic-ahs to that.

But before the face of Vera Wang’s Lovestruck perfume can add anything else to her Day-Timer, she’s determined to release her long-delayed and still-untitled record.

“Hopefully, we can put it out sometime this year,” Meester says. “I wanted my album to come out at the right time so that I could promote it and tour. It’s been hard because shooting a TV show is probably the most gruelling schedule you can have.”

But the Gossip Girl gig hasn’t been all bad for Meester’s music career. It’s afforded her a built-in fan base and one-on-one time with Cyndi Lauper.

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Why a hockey pool makes for a great study tool

Photo: The U.S. National Archives

Today’s Parent online editor, Jenny Charlesworth, discovers that a hockey pool can be a fun educational tool for kids.

Before making my playoff hockey pool picks earlier this week, I decided I need some pro advice. So who did I turn to? My seven-year-old nephew Taylor.

Like most second-graders, Taylor knows what 10 X 10 is and can sound out some pretty serious syllables. He can also perfectly pronounce AND spell the tricky names of hockey stars like Henrik Lundqvist and Daniel Sedin. Now, that’s not to say Taylor is some sort of spelling bee super kid,  but he certainly knows his stuff when it comes to the NHL (so much so he’s currently ranked 18 out of 46 in our pool).

Most of us think of sports pools as a pastime for jocks and armchair athletes, but they’re also a great way for kids to tune up their spelling and mathematics skills. With stats and surnames galore, there’s plenty of opportunity for children to learn — while having fun!

In our pool, Taylor is one of a handful of pint-sized hockey fans keeping tabs on players and game scores as eagerly as the hockey-loving moms and dads. So for families who watch games together, sports pools can make for a fun study tool — without labouring the point to your little ones that they’re actually learning.

If your kids are tech-savvy they can chart their progress online. Or, better yet, get the whole family involved with a wall chart to track team stats. By helping your kids to join a sports pool, you’ll be firing them up on the game AND boosting their brain power too!

Check out the fantasy pools in our Rogers family of sites: Sportsnet Radio’s Fantasy Hockey Pool and Sportsnet’s Playoff Hockey Pick ‘Em game. (Please read all rules and regulations for age requirements.)