Inspired by the “Boat-on-Wheels” (a.k.a. DID or the Damsel In Distress), which was featured in the first part of Finding Bangladesh, the “Loo-on-Wheels” is another eco-friendly vehicle designed and created by the Finding Bangladesh team.
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FINDING BANGLADESH: BEHIND THE SCENES
INTRODUCING THE NEW “LOO-ON-WHEELS”
One of the greatest joys of life is listening to music and thinking about the universe while taking a big dump. Unless, of course, you have to go to school in 10 minutes or less; in that case you can sneak in small naps between the poop sessions.
Unfortunately, the Poop Gods had brutally denied this simple pleasure to our Finding Bangladesh crew. No music, no toilet seat and forget naps! Our crew had travelled to the remotest corners of Khulna and Barisal to conduct research for the film. Often, they found themselves miles away from a decent bathroom. Often times when nature called, they had to… erm, attend nature's call “with nature”. Ehm.
On the rare occasions when they did find a bathroom, the ambience inside was intriguing at best. Ignoring the goo-ey decorations inside, most of the bathrooms can be re-named as, “deadly gas chambers.” The Nazis would have been proud at our excretory powers. So when our crew actually headed out for shooting the film, things got complicated and the most important question in the universe at that point was, “Where do we poop?”
Ah! But our crew is a brilliantly innovative group of people and so they came up with an awesome solution to this not-so-awesome problem.
We give you, the “Loo-on-Wheels”! (a.k.a. the L.O.W.).
A toilet attached to a motorised three wheeler so they can take their own loo wherever they want, taking a dump whenever they want; pooping with style, even while on the move (it's on wheels!).
Inspired by the “Boat-on-Wheels” (a.k.a. DID or the Damsel In Distress), which was featured in the first part of Finding Bangladesh, the “Loo-on-Wheels” is another eco-friendly vehicle designed and created by the Finding Bangladesh team. Since the Boat-on-Wheels had suffered (spoiler alert!) a tragic demise on its journey, and since this new vehicle would have to be driven all the way to Barisal and Khulna, the crew decided to play it safe this time. They designed the new vehicle so that it would only function on land.
What they came up with is a prodigy; a love child of the first motor-wagon from 1886 and our ever so fascinating rickety rickshaws. With awesome Harley Davidson-like handlebars and heavy influences from the classy 1950s “Woodie” Station Wagons, the entire vehicle rests on delicate wood panelling. Powered by a 13.5 Ampere 48 Volts DC Motor, the five-wheeler may not be the most capable racer, but it satisfies the most important criteria for the crew - a fully functional, plastic rimmed and spotlessly clean private enclosure for healthy pooping. As the final cherry on top, it is also a smoking free zone.
The Loo-on-Wheels was a dream come true, that came true (how many times does that happen?). And so they traversed the whole of Khulna and Barisal with this rickety motorised loo as people ogled this new wonder. Can't wait to see it in action? Finding Bangladesh 2, coming soon!
For exclusive photos of the Loo-on-Wheels and our crew being silly, visit www.facebook.com/ findingbangladesh
By Anika Ali & Adnan M. S. Fakir
Photos courtesy of Finding Bangladesh
By Neshmeen Faatimah
The last three Ice Age movies were, and this is an understatement, unbelievable box office hits. As they say, too much success leads to success being taken for granted and as such, Blue Sky Studios, producers of Ice Age, appears to have discovered that all they have to do now is show up and be sure to make truckloads of money. Some of the content have a familiar feel to them, like you have seen them before, perhaps in the same series. However, that does not mean that the film is entirely awful. It supplies you with plenty of jokes and it's very entertaining as a family blockbuster by itself.
The story begins with Scrat, the squirrel who messes up the inside of Earth's core in his endless hunt for the acorn, which leads to the breaking up of the supercontinent Pangaea into the modern continents. As their home breaks up, our heroes, Mammoth Manny (Ray Romano), Saber-tooth Tiger Diego (Denis Leary), Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) and, somehow Sid's senile grandmother get stranded on an ice floe adrift at sea, desperately trying to get back (One might wonder if the entire 'end of the world' show was just designed so that this could happen, since in spite of the title, the movie wasn't even about the destruction of the supercontinent or the formation of the world). Nevertheless, plenty happens on that ice floe. Manny and friends are captured by Super Evil Pirate Ape, Gutt (Peter Dinklage) and his crew, who try to lure and intimidate them into joining their gang. We meet a whole bunch of interesting characters at this point: deranged rabbit, Squint (Aziz Ansari), female saber-toothed Shira (Jennifer Lopez), adorably dumb English elephant seal, Flynn (Nick Frost), Bengali badger, Gupta (Kunal Nayyar) and a host of other animals, all part of Gutt's crew, who try to repeatedly kill Manny and friends throughout the movie.
In conclusion, it has to be said that Continental Drift is fun, but nondescript, somewhat paling in comparison to the other animated family films released this summer, like Madagascar 3 or Brave. Nevertheless, it is definitely a recommended watch as it is still quite fun.
MUST WATCH TV
VEEP
By Orin
"True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.” - Kurt Vonnegut.
Optimistic interpretation of this quote would be that politicians are people; not hormonal teenagers maybe, but crazy nonetheless. And politics has everything needed in a funny show - drama, absurdity, tension and crazies. Unfortunately TV show makers often don't use them very well. HBO's latest comedy Veep tries to, and succeeds to some point.
Selina Mayer, played by Seinfield's Julia Louis-Dreyfus, has been thrust into the role of Vice President of the United States after her unsuccessful presidential run. No one wants to be the second best, but Selina is stuck with it. She wants the high power, but hates the mid-afternoon photo ops at the local yoghurt shop, sucking up to the senate for passing unimportant bills handed over to her and basically being completely ignored by the president. However, Selina tries to portray the picture of a strong and powerful political leader with the help of her loony and completely stressed out staff. Chief of Staff Amy tries to put an end to the countless slipups made by the loose cannon VP of Communication Mike and relentless opportunist Dan while Selina's personal aide Gary (Buster from Arrested Development) whispers titbits of information in her ears.
If you like witty, dry humour and have a thing for political comedies, this is for you. Creator Armando Iannucci is a master at political comedies with 'The thick of it' and 'In the Loop' under his belt. The acting really is top-notch and the characters very believable as people trying desperately to climb up the political ladder. But it's small things like Selina asking her assistant everyday, “Has the president called?” and always being answered, “No”, or using a dead senator's widow at a conference to shield herself from angry lobbyists or her constant love for profanity that gives this show that extra edge. It might seem a bit similar to Parks and Recreation, but without all the cutesy happy feelings. Although only in its first season, Veep looks promising and should entertain for at least a few more seasons, if the network decides to stick with it.
ALBUM REVIEW
Smashing Pumpkins: Oceania
By Neshmeen Faatimah
There are a few bands in the history of music which have always relied on one band member to propel them to success. Very few of them ended up successful. Even fewer are as dependent on one member as The Smashing Pumpkins are to one of the most talented vocalists and songwriters in the music industry today, Billy Corgan. There have been accusations from many a naysayer that Billy had lost his touch and could no longer write the kind of music he once did. With Oceania, Billy (and the rest of his band, as if they matter) took a few giant steps in proving them wrong.
Oceania was initially a part of a 44-song long project titled Teargarden By Kaleidyscope. The original plans for the whole thing releasing at once were shelved, thank the lord, and thus came this incredible album. I was slightly fearful initially, playing Wildflower. But my fears turned out to be unfounded as the perfect beginning rolled on to great songs one after another - Panapticon, a rocker which shows how much drummer Mike Byrne has improved over the years; The Celestials, an appeal to the masses song - a bit of a downer, but beautiful and Violet Rays, a masterpiece, potentially head and shoulders the best song in the album if not for the title track.
Then there was a win for the entire band - One Diamond, One heart, the one song not dominated by Corgan. Even Billy himself described it as: 'That's why it's such a good band record, because it's not just me creating the majority of the picture. It's a wider set of influences, a wider palette.” He never was modest, was he? Glissandra followed, with possibly the best guitar riff in the album and The Chimera and Quasar - two more heavy songs. There was also Inkless, pleasantly surprising with its old Smashing Pumpkins-ness. Pinwheels turned out to be boring, and so did Pale Horse (had a Joy Division feel to it, and while I'm a huge fan of JD, the song just doesn't cut it). My Love is Winter wasn't too special either.
And finally, *drumroll* Oceania - The song is a journey in itself, a nine minute epic with guitar solos from both Billy and Schroeder. It begins with a melodic, almost eerie mixture of synths. Then slows down as the writer attempts to get back his love. Then steps it up again with incredible guitar riffs near the end. Awesome.
Corgan described the album's theme as partly about "people struggling to find a social identity in today's fast-paced, technology-rich culture. I think alienation seems to be the key theme - alienation in love and alienation in culture.” Guitarist Schroeder stated that the album is less heavy than past ones because “In this day and age, with what's going on politically and socially, it just feels right to play something that's a little more spacey and dreamy. We want music to move people on an emotional level.”
Whatever they wanted to do, they didn't fail.
