A chat with the champ
RS talks with the 2007 WCG need for speed: most wanted Bangladesh champion

This year's World Cyber Games (WCG) Bangladesh Championship drew the curtains on Sunday last week and RS had a chance to have a tête-à-tête with the Need For Speed: Most Wanted (NFSMW) champion Ahmedul Haq Abid. When we came up to his doorsteps the champ greeted us himself and ushered us to his room where we met with a fellow gamer of his, Mashfiqul Alam Farabi. In a corner of his room prominently laid his meter-long memento of the WCG and his gold medal was neatly place on a table beside his computer. We sat there and asked the champ a few questions about this year's event. Here's the conversation we had with the champ.

RS: Let's start from the beginning. What inspired you to be a gamer?

Abid: Ever since childhood I was fascinated by computer games like every other kid, but I never took it that seriously. It wasn't until the WCG started in Bangladesh that I got really entangled with gaming.

RS: Did you have your hopes up for this year's WCG?

Abid: Of course. I wasn't sure about last year but this year I was determined to make it to the finals and get that ticket to Monza. I've been practicing the last six months and I played NFSMW everyday up to two or three hours. It was a bit hard to maintain diligence but I knew it had to be done. After all, practice makes perfect, right? I'm not saying that I'm perfect though. (Modestly laughs and turns to Farabi)

Farabi: Personally, I think he's the best in Bangladesh right now.

RS: How were the races till the finals?

Abid: Well, the first few rounds were somewhat smooth sailing and none of the opponents put up a good race. But in the 6th round I had to face a gamer from my own clan, who goes by the alias Dark. Ours is the first NFS clan in Bangladesh and we call it the S¹ Racerz. Anyhow, the 6th round was a bit tough. At first Dark took the lead but afterwards he made a little blunder and I took the advantage. The results were close nonetheless. I won by 2 seconds. And I also attained an Auto-Birth, which enabled me to skip the 7th round and go straight to the semifinals. The semifinals race was considerably easy.

RS: How was the final race?

Abid: The final race was a stage match and everyone around us was cheering his or her own favorite. I had to race it out with another of my clan members, Devil Rider. It was a tough race but in the end, be it by karma or my Logitech Rumblepad 2 game controller, I made it out as the champion.

RS: How does it feel to be the champ?

Abid: I am absolutely overwhelmed and it feels awesome. But at the same time I feel that a tremendous amount of responsibility has been endowed upon me since I'll be representing Bangladesh in the International Championship in Monza.

RS: How are you preparing for the International Championship in Italy?

Abid: I'm still practicing like before. And I just went through a lot of hassle this morning for the passport. But I hope it won't be like last year. Last year's champions didn't put up a good fight. I intend to win a few races before I leave.

RS: Now that we know all about your WCG experience, tell us more about the “S¹ Racerz”.

This time Abid asked Farabi to explain.

Farabi: Basically, S¹ Racerz is the first NFS gaming clan in Bangladesh. Our clan originated from the dgamerzcrew.net forum. S¹ stands for Street¹, it's because we prefer playing street racing games to circuit racing. Abid and me are members along with several other talented gamers, most of whom made it to the 6th round this year. We're planning to make S¹ Racerz a huge gamers' forum for Bangladeshi gamers in the near future.

RS: Enlighten us about the dgamerzcrew. net forum?

Farabi: It's a gamers' forum for Bangladeshi gamers. The forum focuses mainly on arranging multiplayer games and creates LAN parties and clans. The forum members consist mostly of gamers who play NFS, Test Drive Racing and Burnout racing games.

RS: Thank you for your time guys and best of luck for Abid for his trip to Monza.

Abid and Farabi: The Pleasure is ours.

By Knafice-Man
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Note: For further information about the abovementioned gaming forums log on to www.dgamerzcrew.net or www.s1racerz .com.

Why Smoke?

I really could never figure out what mysterious pleasure humans derive from smoking. Almost always the first time people take in a puff of smoke they start coughing like they have something stuck in their throat.

So, it's not as if cigarette is a delicious mouth-watering treat. Also, there are very few people on this earth who can't smoke if they want to, so smoking is certainly not some fearful challenge only the macho heroes can undertake. It can't be a sign of maturity cause even small children can smoke nowadays. Neither can it be a display of masculinity cause females can smoke too. Then, why smoke?

The physically harmful effects of smoking have been taught to us since we were kids. It increases the chances of having lung diseases including cancer by a huge amount and in case of females the consequences can be even more deadly- their babies may be born with defects or perhaps not born at all. People may argue that even non-smokers can end up having cancers, miscarriages, premature births etc. and every smoker doesn't necessarily have these problems.

But, well, I just don't see the point of taking such a great risk for no good reason. Everyone can die of road accidents but that doesn't mean that you'll go and stand in the middle of a busy highway.

Smoking also gives your breath a pungent odor that's unendurable to many people. For the smoke-intolerant public there is very little difference between entering a room filled with smokers and one filled with people who haven't brushed their teeth for ages the former is likely to be a more sickening experience (I mean literally).

Worst of all smoking is addictive. So once you get into it you'd have a very difficult time getting out- it may even be impossible. It'll make you incapable of handling your own emotions on your own- you just gotta have some cigarette to help.

Whenever you are slightly stressed you'll be craving for your pal and that craving is not a pleasant feeling. Smoking therefore makes you both emotionally and physically dependent on cigarettes.

Moreover you'll end up having a useless expense for the rest of your life. If you had donated that money you could have at least received a thousand blessings from many people.

I'll end by saying that in these days it requires greater courage to not smoke than to smoke especially when it comes to males. So hats off to all those brave young guys who remained undaunted by peer pressure and chose not to let a tiny lifeless being rule their life!

By Tasnia

Peace of Mind

A 33-year-old woman presents with a seven-year history of hand washing for two to six hours a day, as well as urges to check doors and stoves extensively before leaving her home. Her life is restricted, and her family members are upset about her behavior.She is suffering from a mental disorder called OCD.

Peaceofmind.com was born out of desire to do as much as possible toward continuing research not only on Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder (OCD) but on other mental illnesses as well. Much of its contributions also go towards providing treatment for those who cannot afford it. This has been an inspiration and has changed many lives forever. Hopefully throughout the year more and more people will be able to seek the help they once thought wasn't possible. They are also working closely with Dr. Michael A. Jenike, M.D. Harvard Medical School. Dr. Jenike is a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital, a Harvard Medical School Professor and his primary research interest is in Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder. He said that therapies often include talking to the patient and giving them various de-stressing exercises so that they can cope with the disorder. However, there isn't many known remedy for this.

Peaceofmind.com made a contribution and has signed an agreement to pay 1 million dollars a year for the next ten years toward OCD research; which Dr. Jenike leads.

About OCD
What is OCD? OCD is Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder: recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress.

What causes OCD? There are no facts or definite reasoning for what causes OCD. There is not anything that can directly cause OCD that is known, and to our knowledge there are no ways for OCD prevention.

Facts vs Fiction
There are many stories or even jokes about OCD. We must realize that we are shining light on this situation because it is a serious disorder. I am quite sure many of us in Bangladesh unknowingly suffer from the disorder. OCD can be a very debilitating disease, and Peace of Mind foundation often conducts sessions for the OCD victims to help them realize their problems.

For more information on OCD please visit<bi>www.peaceofmind.com/NEJMOCD.pdf<bi>

By Shamma M. Raghib

Children's Film Society, Bangladesh

The Children's Film Society, Bangladesh was formally launched on 10th September, Sunday in German Cultural Center, followed by a three day long film exhibition program. The Chief Advisor of Children's Film Society, Bangladesh, artist Mustafa Monowar, Chairman of Children's Film Society, Bangladesh, writer and professor Muhammed Zafar Iqbal and General Secretary of Children's Film Society, Bangladesh, Munira Morshed Munni, inaugurated the exhibition. A brilliant child filmmaker, Arza Shreshtha who has won various awards for his films from abroad was invited as the guest of honour.

The Society aims at attracting the young minds to the most powerful creative media of present times- cinema; and developing their intellectualism by exercising their artistry in making films. They took up this initiative to make the children more interested in the technicalities of a film and less in the glamour and music. They want to present the children with opportunities to realize their hidden talents and help them get recognition for their efforts and originality. They are also hoping to provide the young kids with an apposite environment where their talents will be fully utilized and nurtured under the care of renowned specialists on this matter.

The society's genuine effort was clearly perceptible and highly appreciated after they exhibited a number of excellent films like The Kid (by Charles Chaplin), Children of Heaven (by Majid Majidi from Iran) etc, in their three day long film exhibition.

Children who are interested, can be a member of this club by collecting forms and mailing it to their address with an annual subscription charge of Tk 200. Being members they can participate in various film exhibitions, workshops, and festivals organized by the Society. Forms are available in the following address: Children's Film Society, Bangladesh, 59/1 North Circular Road, Dhaka 1205. Phone: 8614715, 01711984815.