Funk Up Your Room the cool in your crib Hot Topic Thought Pirates Written in the Stars idea tycoon
tmag
CHECK IT OUT
1
Editor’s Note A weekly production of
DhakaTribune Acting Editor Zafar Sobhan Magazine Editor Sabrina Fatma Ahmad TMAG Team Sabiha Mahmud Sumi Tashhid Abdullah Rubab Nayeem Khan Munira Fidai Afshan Sattar Natasha Rahman Azfar Rahman Saudia Afrin Contributors Abak Hussain FardeenAmeen Tabeen Siddiki Imtiaz Salim Tahsin Momin Graphics Mohammed Mahbub Alam Asmaul Haque Mamun Istela Imam
Student life in Dhaka is incredibly stressful. Not only do you have to contend with time-wasting traffic jams and frequent strikes, and the lack of availability of books, et al, you are also amongst thousands fighting for a niche in a tiny and limited job market. In the face of all this pressure, it’s tempting to cut a few corners in order to get ahead. This week, we talk about how it’s better not to do so, and to try, as tough as it may be, to take the long route and earn your place through merit and hard work. All we have to say about plagiarism is on Schoologistics (Page 3) and Hot Topic (Pages 6&7), so we’ll just put forward some food for thought here. Let’s say a person cheats his way through school and college without getting caught. This person may get the top marks in class and get hired by a company impressed by these grades. How comfortable would you be putting your life in his hands, if he were to be your doctor? Or letting him build your home, if he were an engineer? Think on that, would you? Send your photos, artwork, love letters and hate-mail to tmag@ dhakatribune.com l
8 Written in the Stars Look Who’s Hearing Shariful Islam
4 Beauty Check Trends for your tresses
Love, From the TMAG desk
Production Masum Billah
6 Hot Topic
Advertising Shahidan Khurshed
Cheaters vs. teachers
7 Look of the Week Back to basics
Circulation Wahid Murad Email: tmag@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com
More inside About the cover Plagiarists are criminals. Case closed Models: Syed Samiul Wasi Photo: Homayra Adiba
Status of the week So I lent my ex-boyfriend 300 takas and never saw him again. Must say best 300 bucks I’ve ever spent.
Quote of the week My friends say I’m beautiful. I say I’m a mess. I guess that makes me a beautiful mess.
Lingo of the week Gong show – a spectacular disaster “Dude, last night’s party was a total gong show”
Gossip 3 Event Tweets 12 Teen Confessions picks Of the week 2 Room of the Week Tabassum Salma 3 Doodle of the Week Shuddho 6 Chic of the Week Munawwar Chowdhury 10 Guitar Tabs of the Week Top 2 Learner’s Tabs Your world 9 Fiction Conceit 9 Comic Book Cardboard 9 Book Perfume 10 Music All is one 10 Movie Death at a funeral 10 TV The Walking Dead 11 Car 2012 Honda Insight Hybrid 11 Gadget hunt Playstation 4 11 Web Critic Litfy.com
Horoscope 12 Your Forecast Fashion 6 Wardrobe check I’mma steal your grandpa’s style TMAG’s says 2 Funk up Your Room The cool in your crib 2 FYI Create your own identity 3 School Survival Plagiarism- Avoid it like the plague 10 Playlist Top 10 covers 12 Choose/Lose Your Other Half Real Life 8 Youth Icon An idea tycoon 9 Non-fiction Just another copy-and-paste scenario 12 He Says, She Says: Commenting on Common Teenage Relationship Issues
TM AG TU E SDAY, J U N E 4, 20 1 3
2
tmag
Your Life
FYI
Funk up your room
Create Your Own IDENTITY Identity is something that you build up over the years, the key factors being your habits, your body language, and your general behavior. Teenage is important because it is here that you develop many of those factors. A common problem that many teens face is one of borrowed identity. You admire the way a friend walks, copy it! Like your class snob’s accent? Make it your own. Read on to find out why borrowed identity is a bad bargain:
1 It tends to delude your idea of yourself
If you borrow from others, that which you can easily work on, on your own, you are not giving yourself a chance. You are subconsciously believing that someone is doing something better that you can do for yourself. While learning from others is good, copying is real life plagiarism. And just like in an examination, you are bound to stumble somewhere.
2 It lowers your
self-confidence
When you finally decide to try out your own wings, you will realize that you are probably at a loss with what to do and how to do it. Suddenly your natural walk is not good enough, your accent is too crass and you just hate yourself. It is terrifying to realise that you are so habituated to borrowing from others that noth-
bigstock
ing that comes from yourself is good enough for you anymore. Don’t let it go to that stage.
makes people lose respect 3 It for you
People are bound to realise it when you start picking up things from them or others they know. At first especially, the similarities they see can send off wrong signals. They can start feeling awkward around you and some people with more than one mean bone in them can even point it out to you. This can create an embarrassing situation.
4 It makes you quite a volatile personality
Personality or identity should be consistent and dependable. If you keep borrowing what you like from here and there, you can be tagged as a not-very-stable person and people don’t know how and when you will change. This can confuse people and is a hurdle when you are making friends or meeting new people. Munira fidai
The cool in your crib Racing against the clock, you life is a dash and run between schooling, tutors and a social life. To give your heartbeat a bit of rest and to de-stress your busy mind, here we have your 4 essential goodies that will help you live a little.
Alarm yourself
Your weak alarm clock and your mother’s screeching not helping you wake up for those 8 am classes? Get yourself a mad alarm clock that shall ring at least three times before dying out, every time ringing more insistently than the last. Place it at the farthest end of your room, so that you have no choice but to drag yourself out of bed to stop its pesky nagging. Find these at SRK Show Time at road 11, Banani.
Chill Out
A mini cooler is any teen’s dream add -on in the bedroom. Load it up with your favourite drinks and munchies and never go to bed on a growling stomach. Midnight snacking cannot get better than this. Divide your cold storage food and your hot chocolate in the separate compartments. Bag yourself these coolers from Samsung and Sony showrooms in Bashundhara city, Panthopath.
Lazy factor
Your girlfriends having a sleepover? Pull out your fluffy bean bags and cushion yourselves for a long night of hoopla with your girls. Guys can use bean bags for all night gaming
Bigstock
sessions. Drop down on your bean bag’s fluffy comfort and never fret over it going flat. Bean Bags are the ultimate nap zones for those who need to catch a few winks before zooming off to classes. Grab these comfy bean bags from any Otobi outlet or Kloset in Gulshan2.
Life on board
Invest in a bulletin board and save yourself from forgetful study plans, tutor timings, your favourite movie timings etc. Dazzle it up with colourful post it sticky notes and forget fidgeting on your phone’s calendar or your dreary diary. Scribble out your ideas, checklists, hangouts and everything that is essential to you. Your life pinned down on a board will be much easier to maintain. Natasha Rahman
TMAG’s Room of the week!
Name
tabassum salma Area
Gulshan
Wow. Just wow. From that gorgeous handpainted wall mural, to the collage on the door, this room is packed with life. It completely captures the essence of what it means to be a teen in the city. TMAG is totally digging the details.
TM AG TU ESDAY, J U N E 4 , 201 3
Send in a picture of your room to tmag@dhakatribune.com and you may be crowned TMAG’s room of the week!
tmag
Schoologistics
EVENT TweetS Inter University Basketball Tournament
Monday, June 10 at 2:30am Venue Mirpur Indoor Stadium Registration fee Tk5000 per team Champions Tk25000 Runners up Tk10000 Contact 01849326160 01983027060
FIFA 13 Tournament on PS3 by: The Gamers Friday, June 7 at 8:30am Venue Cafe Hollywood Players 64 Registration fee Tk600 Contact 01611595115
The Bengal Regiment
Saturday, June 15 at 3:00pm Venue Russian Culture Centre Band lineup Severe Dementia; Thrash; Homicide; Dissector; Exalter; Sacrilege Ticket price Tk250
3
TMAG’s Doodle of the week!
This week’s doodle was drawn by Shuddho in Economics class
Discover Dhaka Bicycle Festival 2013 - Safe Driving Saves Lives
Friday, June 7 at 12:30am Starting Point Army Museum field Registration fee Tk799 Contact 0177900926-7 SMS Write your full name, age, location and send it to 01779000926
Acoustic Dilemma
Friday, June 14 at 3:00pm Venue Loiter D85 @ House 85, Road 8, Block D, Banani Band lineup Poraho; Owned; Heal; Absent Element; Biporit; Candle Carmine; Conclusion; Prediktion; Jukebox Mafia; Alleviation; Purple Dime; The L; Trachea Ticket price Tk150
If you are a classroom doodler, email your doodle to tmag@dhakatribune.com and see it in our weekly!
School Survival
Plagiarism- Avoid it like the Plague! Munira Fidai First things first! Plagiarism is not simply cheating. It is serious enough to be a legally punishable crime. When you copy others’ work and try to put it forward as yours, you’re not just stealing someone else’s intellectual property but also demeaning your own abilities. Sometimes, though, it happens without you even realising that you have plagiarised.
Clear any doubts
Never forget to site your sources
Know when to give credit
This is a staple for any research that you do. If you have taken the idea from another source, always credit the writer and cite the source. Make it a habit to copy and paste the link on an MSWord doc so that you do not forget where you got the information from in the first place.
Be time smart
Research shows that majority of students resort to plagiarism because of time constraints and lack of preparedness. When you are handed an assignment, start researching for it well before your deadline. Procrastinating and then using the “copy paste” method “just this one time” makes you a plagiariser, however good a student you may be.
Paraphrase like a professional
When you read material off the net, make it a habit to take your own notes so as not to copy directly from the site. Also, when you take ideas from books or the net, cite your sources. Paraphrasing does not mean the ideas are yours.
When taking help from other sources, be sure you understand what the original writer is saying. This will help you paraphrase better and you will not distort the writer’s work in the process. Be careful while copying stats and figures. A decimal point here or there can make your work lose credibility like nothing else! The only place you do not need to give credit when the information is common knowledge, for instance, a cat is a mammal. For direct quotes, use proper quotation marks, for ideas and research, use citations and at the end of the project, provide a bibliography. This lends credibility to your work and marks you off as an honest and diligent worker. Remember, your teachers and professors expect and even want you to research from a variety of sources-however, that should be a basis for your own remarkable project, not someone else’s hard work with your name at the bottom.
Get familiar with self plagiarism
It may be your own project, paper or blog that you are copying from, but once the information is submitted, in case of academic context, or published, as in your own blog, it is STILL considered plagiarism in the sense that you are basically getting credit for one piece of work, twice - A most common mistake in the world of plagiarisers. bigstock
TM AG TU E SDAY, J U N E 4, 20 1 3
4 tmag
FASHION FACE-OFF
Beauty Check
Wardrobe Check
I’mma steal your grandpa’s style
Dressing
Your Tresses Munira fidai
Keeping your locks off the face in summer is imperative if you want to keep cool. Though it’s a common generalisation that hair framing your face is the best look for you, we at TMAG, beg to differ. Check out some awesome hairstyles that can help you stay cool in this sweltering weather and also give you a unique and classy look
No, for real. Ask your grandpa. You really want his hand-me-downs. Here are four accessories from bygone times that are relevant in a new way and add just the right dose of polish to your outfit. Disclaimer: no grand-dads were harmed in the writing of this article Bigstock
Part your hair from the side and smooth it back into a low ponytail at the nape of your hair. Leave 2 thin sections of hair just above the ear on both sides of the ponytail out for now. Next, braid these sections as well as the ponytail. You now have three braids: one large and two smaller ones on either side. Gently loosen the large braid, then coil it at the base, pinning as you go. Take the two side braids and pin the remaining ends under the wrapped coil.
Side roll-ups Part hair sideways and roll up the front section of your hair. This looks better if you have thicker hair. For thin hair, take thicker sections to roll up. Secure the rolls with bobby pins so that they don’t loosen too much. Next, gather the entire bunch into a ponytail and coil it like a
bun. TMAG says, the messier, the better. Pin your coil up and you have a cool, bun that’s fun and effortlessly efficient.
2
Nerd glasses
3
50 shades of cool
4
Watches
Geek chic is just so hot right now, and what says “geek” better than those chunky Buddy Holly (or Mujib style, if that’s your glass of Coke) frames? Now since Nana bhai’s high-powered spectacles will probably destroy your eyes, you’re better off getting your own retro frames. Take some time off to head to Old Town (Puran Dhaka) and hit the optic stores there for high-quality antique frames for both sexes, at unbelievably low prices. Seriously, it’s the city’s best-kept secret.
Pouf braids Gather up a small section of your hair from the front and pin the pouf up. Next gather up small sections of hair from either side of the pouf and make braids. Make as many braids as you can and keep pinning them up as near the pouf as possible. Work neatly and then gather your hair in a high ponytail or high bun.
Side french braids Make a sideways parting and make a French braid on the side where there is less hair. Make a neat one along the hairline and pin it up. You can bunch up your hair in a messy ponytail now to give it an awesome finish.
Umm. Hello, aviators? Hippiestyle shades? The decades our dadas and nanas lived through had ah-mayzing sunglasses, and you could do far worse than borrow a pair or four to rock the summer in. If Gramps won’t part with his ones, you could check out Bashundhara City for retroinspired eyepieces.
Bigstock
Kheya Mezba
Chic of the week Munawwar Chowdhury Age: 25 yrs Email your street style photo in to tmag@dhakatribune.com and be crowned TMAG’s chic of the week!
TM AG TU ESDAY, J U N E 4 , 201 3
Skinny ties
Have you seen Barney Stinson? Mike Ross from “Suits”? The skinny tie has been back for a while and still going strong. For guys, a vintage 50s skinny tie will add just the right dose of class to your biyebari formals or even your presentation duds. For ladies of the hipster and punkrock persuasion, throw one on over a t-shirt, and you’re ready for that concert.
Bigstock
Braided bun
1
A classic watch is a timeless accessory that pretty much looks good on both guys and girls of all ages, and with most outfits (saris may be the only exception). If clothing items were people, this would be your BFF. Sabrina Fatma Ahmad
tmag 5
FASHION FACE-OFF Look of the Week
Back to basics In the summertime, when the weather is fine, sometimes the best outfit for a night out is a simple, no-fuss blackand-white combo. White shirt, black pants. Classic, comfortable, and you can’t go wrong with it.
Aries (Mar 21Apr 19) Don’t rush into things and make a mess out of them because this will give someone the chance to throw around negative opinions. Getting in touch with an old friend might bode well for the week. Exerting your mind or even your heart might not be a good idea. Taurus (Apr 20- May 20) Your mind is wandering elsewhere and not in a pessimistic way- kudos to you for that! You’ll overreact about certain things; lose that scowl and try to forget about it. Taking criticisms isn’t your forte but taking them into account might bring about positive changes in your life.
Gemini (May 21-Jun 20) Keep calm and listen to others for a change. Try doing something new; if you don’t get it right in the first few attempts you’ll still be pushing yourself to get the hang of it. A stubborn you might pop up when you least expect it. Better turn it around before you get that sinking feeling. Cancer (Jun 21Jul 22) No need to make fun of those who are trying their level best to get the grasp of something. Being generous is good, but make sure you don’t regret displaying your act of kindness. You are still unclear about the major changes you want in life.
HOROSCOPE
Model: Adnan Rahman Photographer: Homayra Adiba
Leo (Jul 23-Aug 22) Aggression can be a good thing, especially if you know how and where to use it. Don’t beat around the bush and wait for your significant other to leave. If you want to put their clinginess to rest then have a solid discussion with them. Virgo (Aug 23Sep 22) This is a good time to showboat the talent you have been hiding for quite a long time. Pay attention to your health; even if you have something as simple as a headache get it checked out. People might taunt you if you try to overrule them. Try a different approach. Libra (Sep 23Oct 22) You are still caught up with your past. If it still means something then you should dig up some old memories. Your current relationships are full of obligations, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. Take a trip out of town with your partner and celebrate your togetherness. Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 21) You are focused on reaching your goals even if the ways aren’t conventional. You might come off as overly ambitious but you should be able to convince your mates that it’s all for a good cause. Don’t get burned out chasing your goals. Relax.
Sagittarius (Nov 22- Dec 21) Even if people are pushing your buttons, try not to have a hissy fit. You need to get out of your surroundings and do something you have never done before. You might encounter something strange over the week. Good luck in solving it! Capricorn (Dec 22- Jan 19) People might give you a cold shoulder. Try to figure it out; if their behaviour doesn’t change they aren’t worth your time. Give voice to your feelings; be loud enough to reach those ears that pretend to be deaf. Aquarius (Jan 20- Feb 18) Don’t feel down in the dumps if you don’t succeed upon trying something. If you commit to it, you will get it right at some point. You’ll see an ambitious side to yourself which will serve you well in terms of acquiring your dreams and goals. Pisces You’re about to take on challenges on your own. But your friends won’t let you go without a backup. Even if you finish first in a race, that won’t be enough to fetch you your hearts desires. You’ll feel a rush of confidence this week. Make the best use of it.
TM AG TU E SDAY, J U N E 4, 20 1 3
tmag
HOT TOPIC
Thought pirates SABIHA MAHMUD SUMI
For years, articles have been written, students have been warned, and professors have been disappointed, and it’s time a solution kicked in. Sadly, a problem that should be squashed at the school level has been spreading to universities. Teachers shouldn’t have to waste time, class after class throughout university, teaching students how not to be a plagiarist, and yet the students still commit the crime and then play the “I didn’t know” card.
Fact remains, if schools out here do not seriously implement an awareness against plagiarism, universities are forced to bear the brunt of it. TMAG brings you the ugly truth.
a o d l
l it! i w I sk
om nary.c dictio ion definit
6
sm pla·gia·ri -riz[pley-juh uh m]
of usance t e s noun in ting th t or an ac losely imita hts of c ug ing or e and tho outaug h langua author wit reprer e e h h t t o an 's nd tion a author thoriza n of that by s a , io n sentat e's ow original as on e h t work g reditin not c o h aut r
actual excuses
v“Consequence? English isn’t my mother-tongue, why should I face consequences for that?” v “I got caught once, my teacher asked me to re-write the paper. I didn’t hand it in because I thought I didn’t need to.”
ur prokjeecat o r o f n e h and t e going to ma we ar
video....
v “I don’t plagiarise, I paraphrase. No consequences there.” With that in mind, this week we bring you plagiarism, the plague that still haunts our education system.
sl s!!
ides how reports TM AG TU ESDAY, J U N E 4 , 201 3
Cha the nge con only is sta nt
tmag
HOT TOPIC
Ahmed Bhuiyan a lecturer at the English department of North South University tells us of his harrowing dealings with plagiarism and more. “Students plagiarise, that’s a fact. I have never faced a semester that a student has not plagiarised. While for small assignments it is of little consequence, the students gets chided and we move on, hoping that the lesson has been learnt. The worst incident I can think of, that occurred, is when a student plagiarised an entire research paper from another student who had taken the course earlier. Even though the student had a different topic from the paper he was copying, he just used it word-for-word, without even bothering to change anything correctly. For that type of blatant cheating, there is only one real thing to do, give the student a zero on a paper that is worth a large chunk of their final grade.” In your opinion what is the average ratio of students plagiarising to those submitting original work now, as opposed to when you first joined NSU? “I don’t believe there has been much difference in the ratio, I would estimate that at least 45% of the students have plagiarised a significant amount of work at one point or another.” There’ve been rumours about teachers not doing enough to combat plagiarism at NSU and some have even said that their teachers encourage it under the table? What is your response to that? “I think that rumour is unfounded. There may be instances that students have been able to pass a paper past a teacher, but to say a teacher is actively encouraging plagiarism is silly, we want to see what the student thinks, we want to see them striving to be someone unique, rather than someone who just regurgitates what someone else thinks. The things we make students write, we get an insight by the way they put their research together, from the way they voice their thoughts, and that is a fascinating
thing to watch. If I wanted to see a professionally researched paper, I would look for it myself in any journal, but these students are asked to develop, to grow, and that is the fun part of teaching, the nurturing part.” Finally, if prevention is better than a cure, what would be your prescribed solution to combating plagiarism? “There have to be two things done in order to combat plagiarism here in Bangladesh. The first thing is to teach students to not be afraid of speaking for themselves. The reason many plagiarise is because they are looking for that “perfect” answer that will give them the A. We have so ingrained students to go for the grade, instead of to learn, that its defeating the purpose of learning. The second is to explain why plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarising is in a way stealing, people have lost their jobs due to plagiarism, prominent people too, such as Fareed Zakaria from CNN and Time was suspended from his job due to plagiarism in a single article! It’s an actual problem and I feel that students are not told properly what can happen to them if they are caught plagiarising in the world outside of academics.”
Do you think the method of teaching through experiential methods, where more active learning is required rather than submitting assignments, has served the students you have taught, well? And do you think this would be exemplary for universities out there with rising plagiarism cases? “The reason why I’m using experiential methods is because of a particular purpose. But it shouldn’t necessarily replace assignments which require students to use multiple information sources. There should be other strategies to stop rising plagiarism cases. First of all, at a school level, respect for anti-plagiarism should be practiced, and then at a university level policies should be enforced and at times it does make sense to be strict about it, by enforcing consequences. For example, if a VC is guilty of plagiarism, he or she should be liable for it. I guess the strategy that you would use to implement a plagiarism policy is pretty similar to strategies you would use for almost any idea, where you need people to start doing an action which is outside their comfort zone. For example, if you want people to clean toilets, you can have a toilet cleaning policy, but you need the leaders to start cleaning their toilets themselves, to be role models for others so the students are being encouraged by this particular leadership.”
Shakil Ahmed, a researcher at the Institute of Educational Development of BRAC University, has taught new teachers, and students about critical and creative thinking which gives a fresh perspective on the cause of plagiarism and why it is so rampant in this city.
Farah Tarannum, of North South University also added in her thoughts on this rising problem.
Any thoughts on the rising problem of students plagiarising in universities in Dhaka? “It’s not just the students. At times, some teachers do set bad examples of plagiarism. There have been incidents where well-established economists seemed to be guilty of plagiarism when presenting at a formal international event. Plenty of examples of plagiarism plague this city including books about interesting math facts being sold across New Market, which are in Bangla, are word-for-word copied.”
Have you faced an incident where you saw another student plagiarise at NSU? If yes, which incident was the worst and how did you deal with it? “Yes. Countless times actually. This one time a student was openly plagiarsing, and the teacher caught him doing it. He was warned. Started again the moment the teacher walked away. Teacher caught him yet again and gave him a final warning, which he again chose to ignore. He was later kicked out of the room and was not allowed to sit for the finals.”
7
When concerning plagiarism, how solid do you think NSU’s policies were in dealing with students? What would you do differently if you were setting those policies yourself? “It depends from teacher to teacher and from department to department really. Some teachers, like the one mentioned above make sure to enforce consequences. Others don't bother. There needs to be an enforceable policy regarding this.” Solution …? “Stricter enforceable policy as consequences. And, may be a small "what is plagiarism" lecture in the first semester. That way poor teachers won't go crazy trying to explain what the student did wrong to warrant any punishment.” When asked whether teachers are too lenient when caught for plagiarism and whether students deserve an expulsion for plagiarism, Nafis Ali Ahsan an IBA graduate from Dhaka University says, “Teachers in our country are significantly more lenient towards plagiarism, but with good reason. One cannot expect a student whose mother language is not English, and has been brought up under Bengali medium curriculum to write a 30-35 page report for his term paper every semester to earn a BBA degree. There should be a course on how to avoid committing plagiarism and the university students need to be slowly phased out from this practice. This isn’t something that can be accomplished over night, but it is still a matter that is possible over a given period of time. To be honest I don’t think the students in Bangladesh realise the gravity of committing plagiarism. Therefore it’s the universities as well as the teachers’ duty to make the students understand that what they are doing is actually committing a crime. This can be done through workshops, tailored assignments and actual case studies. If a student still continues plagiarising after being taught not to, yes, then he should be expelled.”
TMAG has conducted a full-length survey votes are in from 50 students from various based on two questions: The universities across Dhaka city and here are your results. #1
#1 Ateachercatchesa studentplagiarising. Whichofthefollowing doyouthinkthestudent deserves?
8
people think students should be asked to re-write and re-submit the assignment with no warning.
6 31
29
people think students should be asked to drop the course with a F letter-grade
people think students should be asked to re-write and re-submit the assignment with first and final warning
5
9 people think students should be expelled.
people did not seem to have an opinion
3
people think teachers should absolutely be more lenient with the consequences they deal out for plagiarism
9
people think teachers should be more lenient with the consequences they deal out for plagiarism only on the first offence
#2Do you think teachers people think teachers should not be lenient with the consequences they deal out for plagiarism and that students deserve what they get
should be more lenient with the consequences they deal out when they catch students plagiarising?
TM AG TU E SDAY, J U N E 4, 20 1 3
8 tmag
written in the Stars
An Idea Tycoon He started his voyage in advertising as a participator in Project D Youth. Now he is the creative director of his own organisation and winner of the worldwide “Idea” competition. Khaled Shariful Islam never paused in this breathless journey until he arrived at his destination. Saudia Afrin tells the chronicles of this Idea creator
Khaled Shariful Islam, an advertising professional was recently awarded for his greatest idea “Look Who’s Hearing” at Marriott Anheim CA in USA. Although he achieved success in the field of advertising, his background is in engineering; he graduated from the Ahsanullah University of Science & Technology. The switch to advertising started when Shariful was in his final year at university. He took part in a countrywide youth based competition,Project D Youth. Shariful’s idea for an ad was selected as number one in the advertising round of the competition. One of the judges, the creative director of Bitopi, Awrup Sanyal was immensely impressed by Shariful’s talent and opened a doorway welcoming him to join after graduation. Without waiting further, he started working with Bitopi as a Trainee Copywriter as soon as he completed university. “It’s like being on a 24/7 roller coaster ride. It’s demanding, exhausting and frustrating at times. Advertising is the business of ideas. It’s funny how you actually get paid for being a misfit and having weird ideas. And the more uncommon your ideas are, the more likely they are to be accepted” he says. But Shariful
TM AG TU ESDAY, J U N E 4 , 201 3
fell in love with the challenges of advertising and gradually got addicted to it. In school, Shariful wanted to become a scientist like his favourite science fiction character ‘Mohamoti Fiha’ a very talented physicist. Though his dream of being a scientist hasn’t been fulfilled, he experienced the essence of a scientist’s life through a stage drama written by his friend. Though it was a lead role, no girl wanted to play the scientist’s wife, who loved to dance all the time to the latest Hindi tunes. To help his friend, Shariful acted the role and danced for 15 minutes in a sari with a lot of fake padding to create the necessary curves. This is a memory that still makes him smile. He is a huge fan of movies, loves to travel and apart from local food, he is also very fond of Mexican food.
Look Who’s Hearing
More than 1300 people worldwide participated and came up with 413 ideas. Among them, only three ideas won. One of the winning ideas was created by Shariful. This extraordinary initiative was taken, by Oticon Foundation and the nonprofit Ida Institute, named “Ideas, Speak
up -Action and Awareness for Hearing Loss” to eradicate negative images, perceptions and stereotypes and create awareness into the mainstream of public about hearing loss. Shariful thinks statues are one of the ancient sources of beauty. From that point of view, he came up with the Idea of “Deaf Statues - Look Who’s Hearing”. It is an international public art initiative adorning renowned statues in artistic and cultural ways, in major cities worldwide, with hearing aids for a day in a year. Local artists will be invited for stat-
ues’ customisation. He has a magnificent history of work with different reputed advertising agencies in Bangladesh. Currently, he is the founder and Creative Director of Mindcrafts Advertising. Apart from this, he also teaches Creative Advertising at Independent University Bangladesh. “I am a creative professional who truly believe in the power of creativity. I love the 1997 Apple commercial closing line“People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
tmag 9
NON-Fiction
Be careful what you wish for If you were a kid in the 90s you have played Earthworm Jim, still fondly remembered as one of the quirkiest video games of all time. Designer Doug Tennapel returns to mainstream attention with a graphic novel that’s bound to be just as quirky and memorable. The story centers around father-son duo Mike & Cam. The economy has taken it’s toll on Mike to the extent that all he can give his son for his birthday is a simple cardboard box. Despite being picked on by his friends Cam decides to make the best of the situation as father and son work together to mould a cardboard model of a boxer. Imagine their surprise when the boxer comes to life- that’s the basic story but
the fun is derived from watching the journey that unfolds. Doug Tennapel creates a small but lovely cast of meaningful characters that make you think about the simple pleasures of life. Mike needs to come to terms with the passing of his wife. The neighborhood bully Marcus is someone you instantly hate, but he’s actually just polarized and misunderstood whilst Cam just wants to make some friends. The artwork is striking and Tennapel has truly crafted a book with a perfect balance of art, creativity and effective storytelling. This is a truly refreshing story for people of all ages to enjoy. Fardeen Ameen
Just another copy-and-paste scenario I was enrolled into a political science GED course in my 2nd semester of university and by the end of the term I was assigned a team project. My group members were supposedly more experienced than me as they were both so far ahead in their programmes, the girl was in her last semester at university, and the boy in his 3rd year. I was eager to sit with the team and discuss how we were going to handle this project. But, when we finally sat down to discuss it, it had already been a week since we were given the project. Getting down to it, we did discuss the interviews and the written paper that was to be submitted and the girl decided she was best fit to handle the written part of the project.
As her spoken English wasn’t so good I was a little sceptical whether her written English would be any better. I requested that she show me the paper before submitting it. Throughout the week I got my interviews done, holding up my end of the bargain. It was the night before submission that she finally sent me the document and I did not think twice and went right ahead to check for plagiarising. After having found that the entire piece, ie 2000 words were ditto-copy of 3 different articles on the internet, I picked up my phone and called her to ask. She replied, “Yes I copied and pasted, so what? Plus, the teacher told us to refer to the web when it came to the research part of it.” I did not say much, however, I did re-write
as much of the paper as I could within the night and at 8 o’ clock was at the class ready to present. During the presentation my team members seemed least responsive when it came to questions being asked by the teacher and the class,putting the pressure on me to step up and take the lead. When I finally walked up to hand in the paper I had a small word with the teacher regarding the plagiarism involved, to which the teacher concluded as an “Okay” situation as the research part of the paper did not matter so much as the interviews. After the semester had ended I found that that my teacher had graded me a C and the rest of my team members a B- on that very project.
book
comic
YOU WRITE IT
A SCENT TO DIE FOR An acclaimed international bestseller, Patrick Suskind’s “Perfume” illustrates the haunting degree a man’s obsessions can reach. He didn’t have an easy start to life. The story begins on a terribly hot day in the slums of eighteenthcentury France. Grenouille was born with a talent, a sublime gift: his supreme sense of smell. Over time, he became obsessed with capturing the odors of the objects around him, starting from logs to doorknobs. One fine day, after he caught the whiff of one extraordinary scent, he began his quest for the ultimate scent, the ultimate perfume. Told with a seductively narrative brilliance, “Perfume” is sure to challenge your senses and bring you to question your standards of right and wrong. A frighteningly powerful tale of murder, Suskind’s “Perfume” is a must read. Afshan Sattar
Sabiha Mahmud Sumi
Fiction
MICRO-FICTION
Conceit “I guess it makes sense that you came up with it” said the teacher. “Thanks, miss,” replied the student The teacher barely stifled her laughter, awed by the kid’s stupidity. “How did you come up with such a poem?” said the teacher “Well, it just came to me,” said the student “It’s more of a song than it is a poem.” It took the teacher all her restraint to not laugh out. With a massive effort at maintaining her composure she replied, “Oh? Why do you say that?” “Because teacher, you see, there are repetitive statements here; the beats are constant, with a metronome you can record the time signature,” the boy replied in full earnest. “Oh” was her curt reply. A period of silence followed, where the teacher marvelled at the boy’s gall and he merely sat there nonchalant, unaware of his ignorance and how he had over-reached.
“So tell me, why are the lyrics then so dark?” she asked “What are you trying to portray?” “Well, Miss, I am quite fed up with the society that I am living in right now. All the wrong-doings, all the hypocrisy, misguided concepts of right and wrong, they tick me off” he said “On top of that, I felt that it was necessary for me to highlight the evils of society in a way that seemed unorthodox.” It finally dawned on her why he’d thought he’d get away with it. The boy had assumed she would be too backdated. “Hmm” she said and wrote an F beside his name. “May I leave now, Miss?” he said “Yes, you may” she replied. As the boy left, she noticed the title of the song and chuckled to herself. He hadn’t even bothered to change the title. The title was “Smells like Teen Spirit”.
How to be a heartbreaker I knew you were trouble when you walked in. You moved like you owned the place, giving not a damn for how anyone else felt. You remained impassive while everyone fawned over you. We were so far beneath you. And when you left, you left a mess. Stupid Grumpy Cat. Sabrina Fatma Ahmad
Tabeen Siddiki
TM AG TU E SDAY, J U N E 4, 20 1 3
10 tmag Guitar Tabs 2 great intros for beginners
BUZZIN’
This week’s best music
The pioneers of oriental metal music ‘Orphaned Land’ are in the final process of mastering their long awaited new album. This release is the band’s 6th full length and marks another big step forward; it is the logical evolvement from the last studio release “The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR”. The title of the new album will be “All Is One” and it surfaces on June 24th, 2013. Century Media Records recently has revealed the album artwork. The most remarkable fact is the album was recorded in Sweden, Turkey and Israel
Rock you like a hurricane The Scorpions 1|---------------------------------| 2|---------------------------------| 3|-9-9-9--------------5--7-7-----| 4|-9-9-9---5-5--7-7--5--7-7-----| 5|-7-7-7---5-5--7-7--3--5-5-----| 6|----------3-3--5-5--------------|
American Idiot Green Day 1|---------------------------------| 2|---------------------------------| 3|---------------------------------| 4|--------6--6-6-------6----------| 5|-6-6-6-4--4-4-4-4--4--6-------| 6|-4-4-4---------2-2-----4-------|
TV
10 tunes
1. Just like a Woman Charlotte Gainsbourg And Calexico 2. Painkiller Death 3. Soldier of fortune Opeth
5. Oops! … I Did It Again Richard Thompson 6. Comfortably Numb Scissor Sisters 7. Money The Flying Lizards 8. Feeling Good Michael Bublé
9. Sanitarium Limp Bizkit 10. Last Caress Metallica
TM AG TU ESDAY, J U N E 4 , 201 3
MOVIE
to get the actual folk atmosphere. As their vocalist Kobi Farhi said, “The album is very rich in sound with more than 40 people participating (choirs, violins, and many traditional instruments, too). Our secret recipe was always the fact that unlike many other bands, Orphaned Land doesn’t follow one mastermind that writes everything, we work in a way that “All Is One”. The band has already started pre-launching promotional activities through their worldwide tour and social network. Imtiaz Salim
Zombies Unleashed Zombie fans itching for a series about the brain-eaters had their prayers answered when the network to do it was premium cable channel AMC (Mad Men, Breaking Bad) and the creator of the series was “Shawshank Redemption” director Frank Darabont. The Walking Dead is bloody, disgusting fun. Sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) wakes up to find himself in a changed world. Civilisation as we know it is gone and the world has become overrun by ugly, flesh eating living dead creatures (duh) they refer to as “walkers”. After that, it’s all survival for Rick and his friends and family – people he knew before, people he met along the way, and people who will die. The sucky part about being chased by walkers: they are doggedly persistent in their efforts to eat you, one bite is pretty much always fatal and they cannot be negotiated. The good part: they’re simple – they just come at you. Shoot them in the head
TOP cover
4. All along the Watchtower The Jimmy Hendrix Experience
Orphaned Land Believes All Is One
and you’re good. Sounds like every single other horror movie you’ve ever seen? Good. Darabont, adapting from a graphic novel series, does not set out to reinvent the wheel. If you were hoping for one of these things to have grown a charming personality you will be disappointed. If you want a bit of moral ambiguity in killing walkers you will be disappointed. But if you just want to see these lifeless nuisances get shot, stabbed, chopped, crush and eviscerated, you are in for a ride. Three seasons of The Walking Dead have aired so far, the second being the weakest, although that season picks up towards the end. When walkers are not being reckoned with, the show tends to descend into soap opera and the characters aren’t interesting enough for the walker-less scenes to have much dramatic value, but fans will be willing to wait it out. When those awesome scenes of carnage arrive, the rest is forgiven. Abak Hussain
Death at a funeral 2007’s British comedy, Death at a Funeral, might be a pretty old film but for those who haven’t watched it, this is one movie you need to get hold of. Directed by Frank Oz and written by Dean Craig, the movie features stars like Matthew Macfayden, Rupert Graves, Peter Dinklage and others. As the name suggests, the movie’s main plot revolves around the death of Daniel’s father and Daniel’s wish to arrange a proper funeral to bid farewell to him. As surprising as this may sound, even hoping for a simple funeral is too much to ask for at times. What Daniel imagined to be a smooth, respectful ceremony soon turns into a major fiasco, thanks to the arrival of his selfish younger brother, whose success as a writer overshadows Daniel; a whining mother who’s constantly picking
on Daniel’s wife, a cousin’s fiancé who accidentally pops drugs and is tripping like there’s no tomorrow, an idiot chasing after that cousin with his own love interest, a harmless looking old handicapped uncle who proves to have quite the mouth, and a random dwarf who shows up claiming to be Daniel’s father’s former lover! Need you hear more? Death at a Funeral is an unbelievably funny movie that will literally make you laugh out loud. Containing the cornerstone of British comedy, the dry humour in the movie makes it quite a hilarious watch for just about anyone. There are both UK and US versions of the movie. If you’re planning to watch the movie anytime soon, make sure to watch the British version. AZFAR RAHMAN
tmag 11
TECHSTER
WE RECOMMEND 2012 Honda Insight Hybrid The Insight is Honda’s stab at a hybrid family hatchback with green aspirations and the same kind of lowcost, carbon-conscious motoring that we’ve come to expect in recent times. Between the 1.3-litre petrol engine and the rear-mounted electric motor is a lukewarm 97bhp, so thrills aren’t high on the agenda. If you can live with the generally dull nature, the Insight is a clean and reasonably practical way of coping with family life. The Honda Insight is about as calm as it gets on the driving front. Poor handling is not the only problem this car has. There’s a lot of road- and wind noise audible from the inside, and the suspension doesn’t cope well with the roads in Bangladesh, so it’s pretty loud and bumpy. As for the engine/ electric motor, they do a reasonable job of propelling the Insight but the
Game
CVT gearbox really struggles. Honda’s fondness for futuristic cabins is well documented, and the interior is all very space-aged, with an overabundance of neon lights and a digital Speedo. On the plus side, there’s loads of legroom for front and rear passengers and a big trunk, which renders the Honda pretty practical with the 3.19M price tag. Standard features Smart Keys, Adjustable Headlights, Traction Control, Cruise Control, Steering Mounted Audio Control, 1 Disk Player with iPod/Aux/USB, 16’ Alloys, Fog Lights Pros Good fuel mileage, low tax duties, 1 year manufacturer warranty Cons Poor handling, poor rear visibility Tahsin Momin
Tomb Raider “Tomb Raider” begins the storyline with Lara Croft’s journey of survival. In the process of saving her friends from the mysterious Mathias, Lara’s change from an innocent woman to a total badass was incredible. Starting out with merely a bow and arrows, her weaponry progresses with the story as she gains everything from a pistol to a grenade launcher. Lara’s compelling personality and the equally compelling story make for a realistic tale of survival. Besides the standard killing of enemies, there were other cool additions as well. For instance, the climbing axe which allows you to traverse high cliffs and the puzzles, found in the secret tombs. The currency for the game is
web critic
Playstation 4
Car Talk
Gadget hunt
“Salvage”, which can be found thoughout the island, and Skill points, which play a major hand in upgrading Lara, allowing her to gain cool new moves. As for the graphics, they were quite nice, but one might say that they weren’t at par with the best that the gaming console has to offer, which we get from “Uncharted 3”-however one could definitely say that the graphics were “attractive”. Overall, “Tomb Raider” is a solid game, giving the player a chance at unique gameplay, and providing enough storyline to keep the gamer enthralled throughout. Afshan Sattar
Free Classics Adults are good at talking the talk. Whether they can walk the walk is another story. They’re going to bend your ear about how you should read more, but then you look around and there are no bookstores, at least none that offer you a good range at affordable prices. This is why the Internet is your best friend. Sure, a lot of e-readers will offer you a bunch of classics free, but the range is pretty limited. At Litfy.com, you will find a growing library of thousands of books, in a range of formats that you can access online on most of your devices all for free. It also has handy features like
bookmarks, highlighters, and even a notepad app that allows you to take notes on the “margins” of your books. Since, along with everything else, reading has become a group activity, Litfy also has a social networking facility that allows you to post your observations about a particular book so people can comment on it. Whether you’re looking to expand your knowledge, cram for a test, read for pleasure, or meet fellow bookworms, this site is definitely worth a try. Sabrina Fatma Ahmad
After a long wait with tons of rumours and speculations, Sony officials have finally announced the highly anticipated next-gen PlayStation 4 to be released during the Christmas holidays this year. Twelve times more powerful than its predecessors, PS4 will be the most technologically advanced console of the next era. From an engineering perspective, it’s a remarkable achievement. Let’s look at what are new in the console system. The processor The system runs on a single-chip custom processor and utilizes eight x86-64 AMD Jaguar CPU cores, with AMD Radeon based graphics engine powering the way. So it’s very much a PC-based system which is great news for developers, who will find it much easier to code games for the next gen consoles and for PCs. Memory The PS4 will ship packing 8GB of GDDR5 memory. That’s some super-fast stuff right there enabling lightning fast performance. PlayStation 4 eye PlayStation 4 Eye is a camera system that utilizes two highsensitivity camera equipped with wideangle lenses and 85-degree diagonal angle views which can differentiate between players in the background and foreground, enhancing game play handily. DualShock 4 No Start or Select buttons, a so-called option and share button in the rear is introduced instead. The analogue sticks have been tightened up to be more precise featuring a brand new three-axis gyroscopic motion sensor with three-axis accelerometer. Other specs Blu-ray disk support plus DVD, plus HDMI output support as well as Analog-AV out and an optical digital output. PS4 game title launches Deep Down, Destiny, Diablo III, Driveclub , Final Fantasy, Infamous: Second Son, Killzone: Shadow Fall, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Watch Dogs. Tashhid Abdullah
TM AG TU E SDAY, J U N E 4, 20 1 3
12 tmag
TEENARAMA
We’ve heard obsession is a sin. But in today’s day and age, it’s more of a burden. The concept of “space” is lost to obsessive lovebirds. Try not picking up their calls in the first ring, and face their burning wrath. Staying over for a football gaming session is out of the question. Or, a “night out with the girls” is unthinkable to your guy. Here, we have presented three such takes on how “he” and “she” feel about an obsessive lover. How would you deal with an obsessive partner?
He says
I would not. Drama isn’t my cup of tea and if my girlfriend is driving me up the wall because of my childhood friends I would show her the door.
sHe says
My boyfriend MUST call me at least twenty times a day. If he doesn’t then I feel like he is up to something. I need to know that I am on his mind 24/7.
He says
I cannot tolerate it when my girlfriend dresses up. It infuriates me to see other people look at her, let alone admire her. Be it guys or girls, it doesn’t matter to meher beauty is for my eyes only.
sHe says
My boyfriend is very good looking and he used to have women falling over him- left, right and centre. After we started dating, I manipulated him against all his female buddies, and he gradually distanced himself from most of them.
He says
I am ashamed to admit but I am obsessed with my girlfriend. She is the only girl I have ever been with and hence I guard her with my life. I go everywhere she goes, and sometimes I worry, she gets annoyed at my constant presence.
sHe says
I am a very social person. Hangouts, social gatherings and events rule my life. I have too many friends in hand who demand my time. If I suddenly want to be a loner with no friends and no life, I will find myself an obsessive lover.
TMAG tells you to
Choose or Lose I’ve been dating this guy, who just got out of a bad break-up. We really enjoy each other’s company but for some reason he keeps talking about his ex. It’s either about how much she hurt him or how he’s so over her, and whenever we get into an argument, he starts comparing me with her. Should I put up with this drama?
Lose!
He’s selfishly dumping his emotional baggage on you and expecting you to fix the broken mess he is. Teach him a lesson by leaving him to cope with his mess on his own.
It may be awkward at first, but don’t worry, with time you will forget all about it. Or so we hope!
Let us be the judge of your situation. Email your story today to tmag@ dhakatribune.com
TM AG TU ESDAY, J U N E 4 , 201 3
I’m 16 and I’m slightly underprivileged. I know high school is all about popularity but since I can’t keep up, I figured I’d rather stay out of it. But I’m getting bullied in the girls’ washroom everyday anyway.
2
My boyfriend dumped me for my best friend and now they’re both going around badmouthing me whenever our other friends tell them what they did was wrong.
3
I collided with a speeding rickshaw and scraped and injured my knees.
4
I lodged a bead up my nostrils and inhaled it really hard. I was rushed to the hospital.
5
I was sitting on the commode while someone walked in on me. Apparently the latch on the door locks from the inside but not so much from the outside.
6
I was being a hero and went to the beach on a stormy day and I went into the water forgetting that my phone was in my pocket.
My cousin’s ex-girlfriend wants to date me. She’s a really good girl, they both broke up on good terms, and even my cousin is on board with us dating. I like her but I feel very awkward about it. Should I go for it?
Choose!
Blush Much?
1
Got some juicy gossip or an embarrassing anecdote you want to get off your chest? Send it our way! Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us! Email your confession today to tmag@dhakatribune.com