PLANET RS
The past is good for a visit but not for living in. It’s not as gold as people remember it to be. Journals were a thing of secrecy where people wrote down their wishes only to be discovered by termites on a mission. Now we have Facebook and blogs where you tell the world everything on your mind. Bangla movies were terrible the last few years in terms of technicality. Our latest action hero and meme generator Anonto changed all that. Whether good or bad, these are changes and changes are inevitable.
~ Ehsanur Raza Ronny, RS Editor
Of Numbers and Insanity
Story: Mastura Tasnim
Illustration: Prithi Khalique
When my grandfather showed me how to write the numbers as a kid, I didn't know how I would cope with all the variety in them. I mean, what was with that sudden downward curve in '5'? And why, oh why, did my '8's always look like I just glued together two zeroes (which of course, was usually the case). With time though, I became familiar with them all and it even went to the point that I could find characters in all of them. For example,
 |
| 1 has always reminded me of a lean looking guy with wavy hair that falls to his eyes. He's confident and successful and quite the ladies' man. |
2 is obviously his bob-haired, peppy girlfriend who fawns over her him all the time. Notice the curve at the top? |
3 is the chubby and jealous best
friend
of 2.
She
loves
to
meddle into everything. |
4 wears glasses
and tends
to be
quiet
as he ponders about philosophical questions. His
best
friend, |
5, is
the
bulky clown
that
every classroom needs. |
6 is the drop-dead hottie of the number-world. She's also smart and popular and she dates |
7, who is a gangly teen who loves to break all
the rules. |
8 is a motherly figure who takes care of the lot of them. She usually gets along fine with |
9, the sleek corporate executive. 9 can be pretty selfish though, and numbers tend to avoid her. |
 |
10 is everyone's guardian as he's the first fully grown number after all the single digits. He's a widower who's madly in love with 8, but will probably never let her know.
I could go on and on till infinity with these numbers but something tells me you're pretty freaked out as it is. |
In Case Of Fire
By Sarah Nafisa Shahid
The number of fire break outs has been more frequent lately.
We had a whole neighbourhood blazing in Nimtoli in 2010 and then more recently there was Nilkhet and the list goes on and on. One would wonder how fire prone our environment has to be that we have so many accidents. Or maybe we are just that careless to heat up the already heated nation.
So, since we know that you never pay attention to fire drills in school, here are some things you have probably missed out on that you shouldn't have.
Firstly, when there's fire in the house or anything please don't try to put it out yourself. You are not the Man of Steel even if you think you are.
Next, try to get out of the house as soon as you can. Don't take anything with you. Don't stop back for anything. Yes, that does include Facebook status updates and tweets. Nothing.
Escaping from the house as fast as you can does not mean you can jump off the building or anything. Repeat, not Man of Steel
The smoke is more harmful than the flame itself so pretend that you're a guerrilla commando and crawl through the escape route. Keeping low will prevent you from inhaling more of the poisonous gases.
If your clothes catch fire, pretend you're a rolling pin and roll on the floor.
If you cannot get out of the house, do not make it hard for the fire fighters to search for you by hiding inside a closet or under the table.
If you are trapped in, don't call a friend for help. Friends would be perfectly useless in this case, unless his/her father is a fire fighter.
Lastly, we do have a Fire Brigade Hotline: 199. Save the number on your phone and make sure it's easily accessible.
Even if it takes the fire brigade extra time to make through Dhaka's traffic, they will come to rescue nonetheless. So if there's a fire, Keep Calm and call 199.
Not so Dahl
Today is the birthday of a man who reshaped children's literature forever. Roald Dahl is a man of such varied talents that it is astounding. Creator of the ultimate chocolate factory that a kid could imagine, this Norwegian-born British novelist lived a life to envy. He was a fighter pilot for the RAF during WWII and is a confirmed Flying Ace. He was also a spy, part of a group that included Ian Fleming; you know, the guy who created James Bond.
What does all that say? Good writers make awesome spies.
Watch out next week as we discuss more about his books.
CONTEST NEWS
You know how
to use a camera?
If yes, then you might be interested in an international contest being held, titled The Children's Eyes On Earth. If you win it, you will get to travel to Azerbaijan.
What: It's a photo competition centred on the environment for anyone aged 17 years or less.
How: All entrants must submit two pictures, one on the theme “I Love Nature” and another one on “I Fear Pollution”. The entries will be assessed by an international judging panel. But a special 'Your Choice' prize will be awarded based on public votes.
Where: All entries must be in digital format and can only be submitted through the official Contest website
www.childrenseyesonearth.org.
When: Deadline for submission is the 15th of September.
The Prize: All winners [1st, 2nd, 3rd and Your Choice] will receive SLR cameras, a number of gadgets, such as laptops, iPads and photo printers. But the best part is, they will get to travel to Azerbaijan with one legal guardian and participate in The Children's Eyes On Earth Photography Festival And Exhibition. They will also attend an exclusive photography workshop with award winning NatGeo photographer, Reza Deghati.
The event is organised by IDEA (International Dialogue for Environmental Action), AINA World, WPO (World Photography Organisation), National Geographic Kids UK, Azerbaijan Ministry of Youth and Sports, among others.
For more info, check out www.childrenseyesonearth.org,
