The Truth about Super Heroes

Remember the times when you were a kid, you always dreamt that you could be a super hero? Super heroes like Superman, Batman, Spiderman always thrilled us with their super-human strength, cunning intelligence and witty remarks. Kids even go to the extent of worshipping these heroes and look them up as role models.

I remember when I was a kid, I would always look for similarities between my dad and Superman and I am sure most kids today do the same. Watching these super heroes in action really made my day and gave me the aspirations that one day I will be exactly like my favorite super hero. Or as I thought……….

When you delve into the matter as to where these super heroes have come from you will surely be disappointed. One common thing these super heroes share is that they all have a tragic past. Their lives are based on the fact that "Everything has a price". To make the matter more concise I have jotted down information regarding certain super hero's past. Superman does not have a place of origin as his whole planet perished along with mother and father. He lives with his foster parents and when he found out about his past, only then did he become Superman.

Batman was the only child of the richest man in Gotham City. It was only after the death of his parents to which he became batman, the dark knight of Gotham City, despite still being the richest man in the city.

The whereabouts of Spiderman's parents are unknown and even though he had super powers way before his uncle died, but that incident triggered him to be come a defender of justice.

Daredevil had super powers ever since he was kid. He got blind in an accident and according to the story; the loss of his eye sight gave his other four senses extra powers.

So after finding out the true reason for these people to choose their careers as super heroes, it dashed all my aspirations and hopes of becoming a super hero. I really do not want to have that many problems and tragic incidents in my life and become a super hero.

And if there are some of you who think it's worth it, then think again. Most super heroes are wanted by cops whilst the rest usually lose the persons they love the most. Daredevil ended up losing the girl of his dreams and the Hulk and Spiderman can never go on a date with their girlfriends as they are always chased by the cops.

In my opinion, it's simply not worth it. Another common feature these super heroes have is that they all got their super human powers after they had a radioactive accident. Be it an experimental spider, or a barrel of radioactive stuffs, or a having a lunatic father for a nuclear physicist who tests his experiments on his sons. Some way or the other radioactive elements are involved. One certain aspect all super heroes seem to share is that they do not get any sleep.

You will find most super heroes to have a day time job and at night they go out and scout the city in search for crimes. So when do they sleep? I reckon as they are super heroes they really do not need any sleep.

So the criterion of being a super hero includes, a close relative being killed by a super villain, having an accident involving a radioactive element, not to get any sleep and being the most unpopular figure to the cops. To some this article may not make any sense and I don't blame you because this writer happens to be fictional as well.

By Gokhra

I, Hamlet

Psychological character analysis (Hamlet and Devdas)

“To be or not to be that is the question…'- it's simply not easy to forget this striking line quoted by Hamlet in one of his soliloquies. Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is one of the immortal characters invented by William Shakespeare.

Hamlet is also one of the most misfortunate and melancholic characters of Shakespeare's Tragedies. In the drama 'Hamlet' the spirit of Hamlet's dead father imposes upon him the arduous task of bringing his killer to justice. His ardent aim is to avenge his father's death by killing his villainous uncle Claudius, the present king of Denmark. However, at the same time he is formidably restrained by moral ethics and a confusingly ambivalent inner personality, which bewilders him relentlessly. He is at the same time impulsive and repulsive. He suffers from a constant indecisiveness.

As a result he fails to do the right thing at the right time. He thinks a lot but fails to act effectively. Consequently, he confronts tragic calamities and commits self-destructive blunders. His lover Ophelia says about him: 'O What a noble mind here is overthrown. (Act 3, Scene 1).' Externally he is courageously magnanimous. Nevertheless, deep inside he is feebly sensitive and innocent. He curses his fate, and resents the destiny, which his fate has stored for him. He persistently believes himself to be best suited for the romantic aspects of life. Tragically though his destiny entitles him to a life characterized by revenge, insanity, intrigue and bloodshed. His tragedy is that he knows he can't avert his fate, nor could he reverse the unwanted destiny.

He is well aware of the fact that he has to keep doing what he doesn't want to do. This melancholic self-realization torments his mind and drives him to utter insanity. As a result he becomes wearily pessimistic. In this perspective, Hamlet is a symbolic character, which epitomizes the indecisiveness of life and the inevitability of human destiny.

Proportional characters are available in Bengali literature. Renowned novelist Saratchandra Chatterji's Devdas is one of those characters, which fail to act in a realistic manner. Similar to Hamlet, Devdas is not ignorant or naï
ve. He is capable of thinking in quite a positive way. Nevertheless, he fails to do what has to be done. Eventually this ambiguous behavior entitles him to a baneful life. In the novel Devdas the central character Devdas makes frequent mistakes and later when it's too late he remorsefully regrets. After being beaten by fate he utters: "I had decided never to love again for one thing it is very painful to love and lose, and on top of that falling in love again would be the biggest follies." A critic comments about Devdas: "After everything, it is now his destiny to hurtle on relentlessly on the path of self-destruction."

It's evident that Hamlet and Devdas have many things in common. Let's juxtapose a few basic characteristics of these two ever-memorable characters and discuss the similarities and dissimilarities between them. Hamlet and Devdas, both are heroically noble.

None of them is supposed to be the person they eventually transform into in their lives; both make serious follies, which brutally seal their fates. For instance, in Sarat's novel emotionally disturbed Devdas hastily writes a letter to his first love, which ends up breaking their liaison; while in Shakespeare's drama Hamlet mistakenly kills his lover Ophelia's father Polonius. Consequently, Ophelia becomes insane and commits suicide. Both of the characters (Hamlet and Devdas) face tragic deaths after going through an agonizingly difficult phase of life. Both of them are entitled to a life of luxury but their vulnerable fates prematurely hurl them to the obscure paths of ceaseless hardship, both suffer from severe mental anguish and indecisiveness. Both are extensively self-criticizing and do a lot of introspection; nonetheless, each fails to find an exact solution out of it. Both are philosophically cynical about life and neither suits the lives, which they are destined to live.

However, in spite of all these similarities there are indeed a few dissimilarities between these two affirmative characters. Hamlet is a man with a mission, while Devdas is completely distracted from the reality and is utterly aimless; Devdas's main passion is his first love; on the other hand, Hamlet is obsessed by the urge to avenge his father's brutal murder.

Literature is the artistic reflection of reality and it won't be wrong to assert that the reality is full of Hamlets and Devdases, men who are unable to reconstruct their fate. According to Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883) "there are two categories of human beings: Hamlets and Don Quixotes. There are ones who can think but are unable to act, and there are the others who can act but fails to account reality." Personally, I do not entirely disagree with him. If someone asks me which category I belong to. I'd sarcastically say, 'I am one of the Hamlets'. Ask yourself which category you belong to: Hamlet, Don Quixote or someone else.

By KH. Asef Safa Kabir(Upal)

Oddly Enough

Rapper 50 Cent disappointed that no one has shot his bullet-proof cars
Rapper 50 CENT is disappointed nobody has tried to shoot him while he's been out driving - because he spent $200,000 (GBP105,000) bulletproofing two of his cars. The MAGIC STICK hitmaker, who was shot nine times in an attack before rising to fame, has spent a lot of time and money on ensuring he's safe when he's on the road - but he's never had the opportunity to put the efficiency of the safeguards to the test.

He tells BLENDER magazine, "I have two (bulletproof vehicles), one in New York, one in LA, and it was about 100 grand each. "I'm actually disappointed though: Nobody's shot me. I spent a lot of money on that s**t!"

And when he's outside of his vehicles, 50 Cent, real name CURTIS JACKSON, relies on the efforts of just a single bodyguard. He adds, "I don't like everybody around me like that. The biggest security detail I've rolled with was about 10. That's when you had me, LLOYD BANKS and YOUNG BUCK together." -contactmusic.com

Purse snatcher shocked to discover, in midchase, that the purse he just stole belongs to a running champion
A Chinese thief stole a girl's money but never expected the girl would turn out to be a running champion. Chu Weiwei, from Chengdu city, was stopped by a man on her way shopping. She explains: "He said to me that I had a good temperament and that he wanted to recruit me as his company's image representative." Chen chatted with the "boss" in a nearby cafe but he ran off with her purse. When she sprinted after him he threw the purse towards her. She said: "He never knew I was the running champion of Shandong province." -iol.co.za

Shopkeeper keeps unruly teens away from his store by playing Gregorian chants on a continuous loop tape on outdoor speakers
A family has hit upon a bizarre, but effective, way to deal with rowdy teenagers - blast them with medieval music. The family had reported rowdy teenagers hanging around their shop so often they were on first-name terms with local policemen. Gangs of loud-mouthed youths swilled beer while they shouted abuse at the small general store's staff and customers.

But in a moment of inspiration, Rod Nedahl stumbled across a musical idea to shoo the gangs away and end more than a decade of torment. Since he started playing medieval religious music out of the shop, troublemakers have vanished from the pavement on Treorchy High Street, in the Rhondda Valley. For the past six months Mr Nedahl, 62, has played a Gregorian chant on a continuous loop every evening. Teenagers who once plagued the shop find the music so annoying they have abandoned the area in search of another drinking spot.

"It does a world of good for the kids. They don't like it," Mr Nedahl said. "We have been suffering with the problem for 14 years and since Christmas it has done the trick." - icwales.icnetwork.co.uk

Judge rules Florida must warn bathers that the ocean is a dangerous place filled with water and swimming things with teeth
Cities that make their public beaches attractive to swimmers have an obligation to warn the public of dangers such as rip tides, the Florida Supreme Court has ruled.

The ruling came in a 1997 case in which two people drowned off a beach in the city of Miami Beach that had food shops and a place to shower and change, but no life guards nearby. "The city engaged in affirmative actions that effectively designated the beach as a public swimming area and derived revenue from that activity," the Judge wrote. He wrote that the ocean is filled with hazards that are "simply inherent in the use of these waters." "There are sharks, barracudas, stingrays, jelly fish, undertows, riptides, sandbars, coral reefs, lightning, and literally thousands of other natural dangers," Wells wrote.

Since the 1997 drownings, that Miami Beach has put up a lifeguard stand. - news.findlaw.com

Compiled by Ahmed Ashiful Haque