PLANET RS
At RS, peace has a skewed and skewered meaning. We find peace on a day when we have more articles than we can throw darts at, blindfolded. We break out in war over the last bit of cake. Peace returns when there are two cakes. Or when the monthly issue of TopGear is delivered and my minions don’t get their grubby hands on it. Peace comes in many shapes, sizes and textures. Tehari on a day out together when the deadlines are met. Or cold, fizzy coke on a hot day. I just realised, peace for the most part involves the availability of food.
- E R Ronny, Editor, Rising Stars
Why is a raven like a writing desk?
By Sarah Nafisa Shahid
If you thought you were crazy, think again. Lewis Carroll is as crazy as crazy gets, crazily creating crazy works like “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass”, which critics liked calling literary nonsense at that time because it had crazy characters like the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat doing crazy stuff. That's an excess of crazy in one paragraph.
Lewis Carroll's writing was insane, prone to fabricating his own twisted logic in the most incomprehensible of situations. He painted the picture of our childhood wonderland with his memorable characters and colorful stories; stories which eventually ended up making money for Disney and Tim Burton.
The British writer was also a mathematician, logician (go figure) and photographer; making him a very cool, multi talented nerd. He spent most of his time at Christ College at Oxford University, where he met Alice Lindell, the dean's daughter, who lent her name to and inspired his life defining work: Alice in Wonderland. The vibrant text not only entertains children's imagination but also contains deep philosophical and psychological insights for adults as well. Even now, some are discovering deeper meanings from Alice's adventures, everyday. Carroll's intricate and out of this world works have gone on to inspire and influence other great artistic works as well, the illustrations of Alice's adventures by Salvador Dali serving as an example, and is celebrated all round the world through a dedicated fan following. RS is a fan of everything quirky and hence, we celebrated this one heck of a crazy writer's birthday on January 27th by finally claiming the tart that was waiting for us in The Hatter's Tea Party.
KIDSTARS
How the continents came to be
This wacky legend is sort of based on the old theory about how the seven continents first came, except now with crazy characters and wild events.
There was nothing on the entire planet other than water, water, water, and a big, huge, enormous, massive whatever-you-call-it chunk of land. The only living beings were seven huge, hairy giants named Asia, Africa, Europe, two twins named America and America, Australia, and Antarctica. One day all the giants agreed that they would divide the land among themselves. Naturally, they started arguing.
“I'll get the most land!”
“No, me!”
“Is this a joke?”
“What about me?”
“I'll take whatever you want me to take.”
“Shut up!”
“I want an ocean view!”
“That's everywhere!”
“Says who?”
The giants argued and wrestled. They punched, kicked, lashed, and swiped. They only noticed that a large crack was spreading through the
Land when the chunk broke into three large pieces.
Asia was beside himself with anger. “Look what you've done!”
Nobody really heard him. Europe, America, and America pounced on one piece excitedly, and Africa, Australia, and Antarctica frantically leaped on the other. CRACK! CRACK! Under all the weight, the two pieces instantly cracked apart into three. Now there were seven large pieces floating around.
Europe was annoyed. “Listen!” she boomed. “We are acting like children! We must decide in peace, like real giants!”
Everyone agreed. They chattered among themselves and agreed to share the land without fighting.
America and America, who always stayed together, chose two pieces that were close to each other and named them North and South America. Europe, Asia, and Africa, who were best friends, made their lands stick together. Australia was humble and unselfish, so he kindly took the smallest land. Antarctica, who liked ice and snow and quiet places, chose an icy chunk of land. They all decided to name the continents after themselves.
And that, everyone, is PROBABLY how the continents came to be.
By Adeeb Chowdhury – Age 11 yrs
Class- 5, William Carey Academy, Chittagong.
Another week gone by and yet again readers and writers alike took to the RS Facebook page to pick fights/ make jokes/ pass snide comebacks and be the all round wise-asses that we're teaching them to be. Are we doing a good job at it? Possibly. Here's what was said:
FH Silas Instead of writing about Wenger, there should have been a piece about Mourinho. Arsene is one of the best managers in the world, but no trophies for six seasons, that's not impressive. Mourinho on the other hand has won 4 league titles in 4 different countries. Not to mention, straghtinng out a Real Madrid team filled with big ego's.
Osama King Rahman I believe that anything written about Mourinho should only be written in a holy book and nothing else. Mourinho gets too much attention as it is. Why cause him more grief?
Shamon Zangetsu Rasengan Thanks for the anime review, guys. Love you even more now! All hail Rising Stars team!
Abid Ebrahim My friend is an aspiring mime and he's offended by the jokes cracked by Doug Savage and Osama Rahman. Maybe. It's hard to tell on the phone.
Write/Draw well GET PAID
Looking for creative/insane writers who can think outside the box so we don't have to use clichéd phrases like 'thinking outside the box'.
Requirements include ability to come up with creative excuses when you don't show up to weekly meetings (that's a requirement, too).
Send two sample write-ups with CV (mention interests) to ds.risingstars@gmail.com. Don't send us reviews. Aim for something you think appeals to our target demographic of 16-24 years old. It's one of the few places you will be able to write on the strangest topics and to fully explore your creative streak.
We are also on the lookout for illustrators and people who draw well. Send your samples in as well to the above e-mail.
Application deadline: 7th February
