Location- Political Rally

What to Bring- Pickets, brick-bats and companions
Why there? - Why not? It's the most frequently occurring thing, pre-elections and even post-elections, so it's the best place to hang out. Its probably the only place where a large group of volatile, rowdy, clueless and suspicious homo sapiens gather, without raising the alarm. Just pick a few friends and head to the nearest rally taking place. Chew on some peanuts and learn the art of 'Lying, Deceiving and Eye-washing for Dummies.' Take notes if you will and do not forget to scream yourself hoarse. Now, it should be duly noted, that no matter how unfamiliar you are with the exact propaganda taking place in the rally or who everyone is rooting for, all you really have to do is scream like the others. Scream as much as you possibly can and whatever you proclaim doesn't even have to be sensible or coherent. It could be just plain noise, much the same as George W. makes when he gives speeches. You will obviously come across some funny accents and some funny people and those could be conversation pieces for you and your friends for weeks to come. What else could you possibly ask for? Now, such events are bound to be colorful and you will also learn some truly flowery language. Forget what Obama said, our politicians can pull the ranks on their knees when they apply their beautiful language. Though, rallies here tend to be less inspirational and more provocative, wreaking havoc on complete strangers and damaging properties can be useful for getting your points across and releasing pent-up anger and frustration.

Pros- Besides all the radi-cool benefits, you may also be given a packet of sweets/tehari and near about 50 taka for attending the processions. Also, most people present are hired, unemployed out-of-towners so you can learn a lot about leading a useless life. Also, you will gain first-hand insight into 'our' political scene, which is not a chip off the old block. Stop raving about Obama, his coming into 'their' office, will do nothing for us. Let's focus on our elections, please.

Cons- Well, it seems the party-pooping Chief Adviser has outlawed all such gatherings, so they may take place less often, but never low-profile. The problem is that cops may swoop on you all of a sudden and beat you to pulp. That's where the damn brickbats come into play. The danger of serious physical damage may put you off, but then again, the danger only adds to the thrill.

By Osama Rahman

RS Mailbox

Send us the love, hate, advice, rants and money to risingstars@thedailystar.net. We especially like the money. If you want to send a contribution for publication, it should be within 800 words. We reserve the right to make changes of any submitted work if published.

Literature for all
I've been a long time reader of the Rising Star and I figured I'd take the time to send you guys an email just to tell you how I think you all are doing a good job of keeping up a literate and moderately entertaining periodical. It's a pretty impressive task and y'all do it with aplomb :D. I do miss the older parts of RS though, like the Girl Next Door article that used to appear. But the new stuff is good, especially the book reviews. I'm glad at least somebody is trying to educate the Bangladeshi youth.

I was wondering if there is some process by which a person can submit articles of their own. I'm not really sure how it works though.
Good luck and keep it up RS crew.
Maira

We get this letter often asking how people can write to us. So from now on we've added that as part of our mailbox intro.
- RS

A letter to somebody
“A letter to nobody” by Nuzhat Binte Arif and “School Daze” by Dark Lord both created that lump in the throat situation for me. I was a kid in school when RS came out. And all us friends would talk about the latest female celebrity featured in a section called superstars. Then we grew up and got busy. A lot of us still keep tabs of RS and each other and nostalgic memories often get things choked up.

Amidst all the pressure of living, getting jolted to remember the school times was tough but refreshing.
Apu

Nuzhat Binte Arif's “A letter to nobody” last week reminded me of all my friends especially those with whom we got into scrapes in school. We spent enough time in front of the principals office, sometimes holding our ears. Those were great times. Well, maybe not the holding-ear part especially when girls walked by.
(this is for Rony, Abir and Tausif)
Tareq

Vote for goat
We've got a lot of people excited about the US elections. It makes sense that they define a lot of what happens to everyone but what about our own elections? Is anyone bothered about that or are we just silently going to watch someone grab power again? Is there anyone worth nominating even?
Sunny

That's our question too - RS

Writers wanted at RS

Get paid to write and make millions in cash overnight. If that's a dream for you, then this may not quite be the job. But if writing is a passion, then get your typing fingers flexed.
We are looking for young people bursting with ideas and opinions. And yes, we will pay.

Job type: Part-time
Preferences:
Great writing skills, obviously
Absolutely no fear regarding talking to people, animals or politicians.
Commitment of at least one year

How to apply:
Mail a hard copy by post or drop it off at our office in 19 Karwanbazar, Dhaka 1215. Alternately, you can also email us at rsrecruits@gmail.com.

Send us a sample article within 600 words on any subject that truly interests you. Also include your personal details and a contact number.
Applicants will be short listed and contacted. Details will be posted right here.

Application deadline: December 4, 2008

Rejoinder

A letter from Md. Mizanul Islam, Head of Physical Education, Sunnydale, regarding a report on Second Annual Sunnydale Basketball Tournament (Rising Stars, October 30, 2008), wrote:

We acknowledge the news coverage by Samama Rahman on the recently concluded Inter-school Basketball Tournament hosted by our school and avail this opportunity to provide our official response to specific points referred to by Ms Rahman in her article.

It is standard practice in all basketball tournaments hosted by Sunnydale to have a committee made up of representatives from all participating schools. This tournament was no exception. In order to have complete transparency the tournament committee is empowered to arbitrate any complaint or grievances related to the standard of refereeing and the general running of the tournament. Ms Samama has made several observations in her article which range from 'poor refereeing' to 'a lack of integrity by Sunnydale officials in managing the tournament'. To the best of our knowledge, no official representative from any school including the losing finalists SFX Greenherald and Sunbeams have submitted any oral or written complaint regarding any aspect of the tournament. All participating schools have accepted the results, the awards and the acknowledgements that their respective tournament positions entail.

In light of our response, we feel that it would be a useful exercise if Ms Rahman were to closely review the overall basis of her conclusions regarding the basketball tournament at Sunnydale in her future roles as a young reporter.

Our reply:
The report was written by Samama Rahman who is not a staff of Rising Stars. We decided to run the contribution (received by mail) as it was a current event. It contained certain observations that the writer did not verify from the tournament committee. We agree with Mr Islam that Ms Rahman should get the views of all parties involved in any future reports she intends to write. Reports are strictly not opinion pieces. We regret any inconvenience.

Until the mid 1750s, navigation at sea was an unsolved problem due to the difficulty in calculating longitudinal position. Navigators could determine their latitude by measuring the sun's angle at noon. However, to find their longitude, they needed a portable time standard that would work aboard a ship. The purpose of a chronometer is to keep the time of a known fixed location, which can then serve as a reference point for determining the ship's position. Conceptually, by comparing local high noon to the chronometer's time, a navigator could use the time difference to determine the ship's present longitude.

The problem of creating a seaworthy timepiece was difficult. Until the 20th century, the best timekeepers were pendulum clocks, and the rolling of a ship at sea rendered the ordinary, gravity-based pendulum useless. John Harrison, a Yorkshire carpenter, invented a clock design using a fast-beating balance controlled by a temperature- compensated spiral spring whose motion was not influenced by gravity or the motion of a ship.

This general layout remained in use until microchips reduced the cost of a quartz clock to the point that electronic chronometers became commonplace.