PLANET RS
Being young is tough. The formative years can be a blessing or a trial. There’s so much to take in, so much to decide upon. Some find it a tumultuous period fraught with scary twists and turns. Other revel in it. They plunge like it’s a rollercoaster into a chocolate pool. Why can’t it be a chocolate pool for everyone? That’s what we tackle this week.
- E R Ronny, Editor, Rising Stars
Bits of Bangladesh... everywhere
By Padya Paramita
We Bangladeshis tend to get very excited if we find something abroad that remotely reminds us of home. Or even if we hear someone speak in Bangla, we feel like running to him and having a conversation with this stranger whom we normally wouldn't think of talking to if we met at the dentist's. The Bangali essence is everywhere and almost everyone has that 'desh in bidesh' story to tell.
The most common encounter with home has to be clothes 'Made in Bangladesh' being ever present wherever we go, especially in the USA and in Europe. Big chains such as Wal-mart sell jeans that are the hard work of labours of our land. So how about the awkward moment a girl got his boyfriend a t-shirt from Germany as a present and he looked at the tag and saw 'Made in Bangladesh.'
Don't forget that even a lot of the nations' jerseys in the FIFA World Cup are also made in Bangladesh. You want to go abroad to a Zara or A&F shop and spend dollars on a shirt? How about you check the market opposite Dhaka College for the same shirt at a more reasonable price?
Those spiky scalp massaging things you get on the streets of Dhaka? You can also find them on the streets of Istanbul. Imagine getting this really cool massaging instrument from Turkey for all your friends and coming to see that you can get the very same thing when stuck in traffic jams.
Another very common thing has to be Bangladeshi food being sold off in "Indian restaurants" in places such as London. Not sure if that is marketing strategy or sheer foolishness, you can look around and find hilsha fish and bhorta-bhaaji in places.
People have also found really unexpected tokens of home, such as fuchka in Paris, paan-supari in Australia and Sweden, Pran food goods in India and Bangladeshi soap and juice in Bhutan. And of course there is India, still not cool enough to have bodna's, but they do have mugs and handshowers. So next time you feel homesick, look out for these signs of home and you'll have a great story to tell.
KIDSTARS
If the new era begins
By Ayusha Ariana
12 Years, Cairo American College
Everyone sitting here in the 21st century is probably wondering “The world is supposed to end next week, (in case you were wondering; that's 2012 next week.) The Mayans said so… and ya di ya di da… and so on. Tell you what. The Mayans were slightly off. So, I'll give you a little heads-up. It can also be called a newsflash.
It has happened; rather, it has begun. “The Golden Age of Automatons.”
Basically, the case of “Scientist gets too smart for mankind, mankind pays for it. Hero saves the day. Moral learned… perhaps. However, that is the basics. There's far more to “it” than there ever was.
The scientist's goggles glowed to life as he clicked the gears into place, completing the circuit. A smile formed. Not the kind one might have greeting a family member; but a giddy grin; of one who's hopes and dreams have come true, and has had no thought of the impact on the world.
“Excuse me! A coffee, please!” The server didn't so much as stir. The man remembered he was to say word. He stirred his frail body, stiffly got up, and mockingly whispered; “Combriosis.” The serving automaton whirred to life, & the man repeated his order. It instantly zoomed away, leaving Professor Zebminski to sink back into his chair, and to be left alone with his thoughts. He mulled over his past few years as the most revered and rich scientist of the moment; for his invention of the “automaton”
Vivian's eyes flew open as the early morning light spilled in through the window. She heard her mother crashing about downstairs in the kitchen, which meant she was cooking and that it was the weekend. Her mother was no star in the kitchen. But what had really woken her up was the sound of the truck outside her house; holding the evidence of what had revolutionized the world as you know it.
Professor Zebminski is one of the most renowned scientists of his time; to the point his name was known in every household and the instant the world knew about his amazing invention the phone rang hysterically with all sorts of offers. This “automaton” had changed the lifestyle of every man, woman, & child, regardless of caste; whether to bad, or to good.
The production of the automaton is very resourceful in a bad way. It needs oil to feed on, and all sorts of metals. But it had been a soul. An inhuman one at that. Who would wish to live in a body of metal, manufactured to come at every beck and call of humans?
Danger approaches.
Professor Zebminski looked up from his food as the alarming siren-like noise of the breaking news played. (Hello? Everybody here? Here's the newsflash.) The headlines read “HOUSE ATTACKS BY AUTOMATON “SERVANTS””
His knife and fork dropped on the china plate with a clatter. He hurried out grabbing a cloak on the way. The newspaper was roused to life by the movement. It read “Automaton – Hell OR Heaven?
Advertisements in RS? Recruitment notice? The RS Facebook page was filled with queries about our recruitment process, while we were bombarded for letting ads onto our cover page.
Castiel Seth Stormheart So, what information do we need to include in our CV for application?
The Rising Stars Start with your real name, give us basic contact info, past writing experience (if any) and educational info. Throw in skills and interests if you want.
Sharikul Huda Guys, seriously? You post job advertisements, and then we aspiring writers have our hopes crushed when we realise the post's for those residing in Dhaka only. Come on, why not open an office here in Chittagong, huh? We have talented people here too, you know.
Alif Al-Fiyaz I've got tons of RS papers and read them all. You guys are sick...in a good and way.
Write 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:
Able to interview people, cover events, take on article ideas beyond your comfort zone.
Need to be present at weekly meetings.
Lame excuses are inexcusable.
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.
Application deadline: 31 January
