The week in re(ar)view

The storm bloweth
Last Thursday the country faced one of the biggest cyclones ever. Those living in the city never actually know what goes around the fringes but this time around everyone got a taste of nature power. Electricity was disrupted for over 36 hours. No electricity meant no water, no fuel and no movement either. It was an apocalyptic movie set.

For the first time in Bangladesh's history, the BTV's transmission was disrupted for three hours which considering the quality of the shows, frankly wasn't enough.

The cyclone Sidr ripped through the country in the early hours of Friday leaving an estimated 5-10 thousand dead. It was one of the 10 fiercest cyclones that had hit the region of Bangladesh in the 131 years between 1876 and 2007.

Unlivable
The property market is facing a slump in apartment construction. According to those in the business, huge quantities of building materials are now being stockpiled throughout the country with demand falling by around 40 percent.

REHAB (Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh), estimated that apartment sales have fallen 50 percent in the ten months to the end of October. Apparently the government's anti-corruption drive has had a strong impact as developers and buyers are both worried about government cracking down on their source of wealth.

As a result day labourers seeking work are suffering. Fewer construction means more unemployed. With the spiraling rise of food prices, it's just a short step away from more crime.

Dubiously degreed
Private hospitals, paramedical institutes, tutorial schools, and coaching centres must pay certain amounts of annual fees to respective local governments for running their businesses and must be re-registered with respective governments, stipulate the draft ordinances on local governments of different levels.

That's all good as now they will be government accredited but how do you still ensure the quality of the education that they impart? The degree handed out will be guaranteed to hold some value but will the students still learn anything?

Murderous tactics
What's the best way to deal with rivals? If you watched a rerun of movies like Kill Bill, then you would answer “chopping of rival heads to leave fountains of blood spurting all over the place” or something like that. Well, there are more brutal and effective ways. You simply buy out your rival and make them your own, to increase their shares. Question is, who's selling?

Mommy, look what I stole
Here's our solution to solve the country's unemployment problem. We have a optical fibre line near Cox's Bazar and Feni that handles the country's Internet and overseas telecom services. This particular line is prone to thieving as people are repeatedly cutting it to take home a piece of technological wonder. This disruption deprives the BTTB of revenue of 70,000 US dollars per hour.

Apparently there is no resale value of this optical fibre cable but authorities undermine our ingenuity. We can sell anything.

Now back to the unemployment problem. Why don't' we just hire these people to guard every meter of cable. Pretty sure the salaries would be less than the loss in revenue form disrupted service.

The future of cricket is pink
The white ball used in one-day cricket could be replaced by a pink one if tests prove it is more durable. Apparently the red ball on the other hand lasts much longer.

Now that makes you wonder how suddenly the colour pink has better aerodynamics?

"It's about the quality of the ball and the fact the white one doesn't last 50 overs," a spokesman for the game's lawmakers, the MCC, told BBC Sport. Maybe they meant it gets dirty very quickly.

By Gokhra and Mood Dude

Are you on crack, man?

There are some days when you just don't want to live anymore. Especially on days when you see things that make your blood boil. When I see people committing acts of 'coolness', according to them, my blood boils and you can use my head to melt steel. To the point, when people commit such acts, I only want to ask them this: “Are you on crack man?” Let's see some such situations.

1. Blaring loud music while traveling in a car- let me clarify this, no one in the world cares what kind of music you listen to. I listen to music for pleasure not to become deaf and I personally don't care what people think of my musical preference, so I see no point to play “Are you still down” at the max volume with my window rolled down. It's stupid and you boys just seem attention seeking. Don't do drugs and turn THAT VOLUME DOWN!

2. Wearing revealing clothes- Cover up people, your belly button is not an eye's idea of a good idea, unless wanted. It's repulsive. And if you forget to cover up and wear clothes so tight, your heart and lungs are almost visible as they protrude through your clothing, people will stare. And your guy friends will have to accept that you are an eye candy for everyone, from rickshaw pullers to cops and everyone else. It's a city, you un-informed soul and not a sea beach in California.

3. Picking your nose in public- As much as I would help you to acquire gold as we dig deep, I will certainly not assist you when you feel it to be located deep inside your nose. Stop poking your nose; get a room, preferably a bathroom.

4. Macho Brawls- I understand men like to fight. Perfectly understandable until you start picking on people younger than you or much too older than you. It's more stupid when you pick a fight with a senior citizen. And just because you knocked out a guy who stood alone while you came with a group of 15, doesn't make you strong, it just shows that you are a coward, a mama's boy who would hate to get his hands dirty. To all the wannabe thugs out there, your crew can help you for so long but when the cops come blaring sirens, you are going to scram like the little mice that you are. Do something worthwhile instead of being a weakling.

5. PDA (Public Displays of Affection) - To a certain level and when done discreetly in public, I would say its fine. Not because I am a hypocrite, but I really consider it to be fine. But when you indulge in producing live adult movies, you not only tarnish your image but you disrespect your significant other. It's not sweet; it's creepy. Respect others around you; the norms of our culture are yours to keep intact. Don't forget the bigger responsibility.

6. Staring- I see girls walking and a cute one may catch my eye, but she doesn't carry my eyeball with her all the way home. No, its time to lower gazes because a) it's cheap to stare, b) it's stupid, c) my significant other would kill me. Those are three very good reasons. And before passing comments or eve teasing, ask yourself how you would feel if your mother or sister were in such a situation. Be a man, respect women and protect them.

7. Don't do drugs- Just don't. There's no point. Really…

So if you ever see anyone indulging in such activities or in such a situation, stop take a breather and ask them whether they are on crack or not, or are they just plain dumb. You are not doing any wrong and you should certainly not feel scared. Remember, everyone will support you when you are right. Be girl or boy, help uphold a peaceful and respectable (a word I was taught by a genius) an affable environment. Till next time, keep the faith!

By Osama Rahman

Jerry sat in the corner of his room, shivering in fright. He had never before experienced such a violent storm. The house was deserted except for his older sister, Mary, who was in charge. Jerry's parents had gone on a hunting trip, but he wondered what they could be doing outdoors in this storm. His sister neglected her duties and spent all her time talking on the phone or sleeping. She did not prepare proper meals for Jerry and he was quite hungry.

The storm had been raging for two days straight and yet there was no sign of it abating. The rivers had overflowed and flooded the land. All the school and been closed, due to the fact that the floodwater was now three feet high. All the drains were clogged and the water level kept rising. Every few seconds the thunder rolled and the lighting flashed across the sky.

This was one of the worst storms seen in living memory. The rivers had swollen, breaking its banks. A dam had burst overflowed into the land, flooding it. Trees had been uprooted by the wind. The village had suffered great loss. Many of the poorest people died and a lot of them were left homeless.

Jerry sat in his room, hugging his knees, shivering and missing his parents. He was mortified by this storm, particularly by the thunder that sounded like a monster in the sky growling. He was only five years old and had never experienced such a storm before.

Just then the bell rang. As Mary was sleeping, he rushed to the door to open it. It was his mother! Jerry was happy, until he saw his mother's tearful face and become grim again.

Jerry's mother woke Mary, too sad to scold her for neglecting her duties, and then announced with a shaky voice, that their father had died. This had happened when Jerry's parents were in the forest. The had slipped in the mud and fallen into the river, where, not knowing how to swim, he drowned. People would go to recover the body after the storm and he would be buried.

Marry looked as if she would faint. The colour drained from her face, as tears trickled down her cheeks. Jerry's mother was still crying. Jerry was quite young and did not know exactly what death was. But he did feel that he would never see his father again. His father's face drifted before his eyes. Tears came into them at the thought of him never seeing his father again. He also started to cry and cuddled up in his mother's arms.

This storm was a very sorrowful experience for Jerry. His father had died due to a storm and since then he detested storms.

By Numaya Shahriar