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Spotlight
Keeping those memories intact
Have
you opened a box of old videotapes that are now redundant? Do you plan
on throwing out those tapes and the memories that are in them? Well
don't make that mistake because now there's a way to keep those memories
intact. Now you can convert your redundant videotapes into fully functioning
CDs that you can watch over and over again. And Elephant Video is just
the place to go.
Elephant Video is
a store that specializes in converting old videotapes into CDs. It takes
one day to get the job done and if it is an emergency, you can sit at
their store and get it done on the spot. They charge Taka 200 for such
conversions.
Elephant Video also
records events such as weddings, birthdays, conferences and other social
events. A four-day wedding gala (gaye holuds, wedding, walima) will
cost you Taka 7000. And that's not all. If there is a special program
you want to watch on TV but you'll miss it, Elephant Video will record
it for you for a charge. So what are you waiting for? Go get those tapes
converted.
Their address is
Elephant Video, 19/5 Elephant Road, Telephone- 8622707
By
Tahiat-e-Mahboob
Event
Brikkho
mela at Sher-e-Banglanagar
Good
news for those who love to adorn their living room and lawn with variety
of greeneries. At the Sher-e-Banglanagar Parade ground, a fifteen-day
Brikkho mela is on full-swing.
This
year there are 109 stalls in the mela. When we went, the mela
premise was bustling with enthusiastic people, strolling around and
looking for their favourite houseplants, varieties of flower plants,
cactuses, medicinal plants and so many other rare seedlings.
Among
all the varieties and rare species things to check out in the mela
are different kinds of orchids. Orchids in full bloom will cost around
tk200 and will go up to tk350. Bonsai is attracting a huge crowd. Bonsai
prices start from tk1500 and can go up to tk5000. Different types of
cacti are being exhibited. Their price starts from tk30 and will go
up to tk6000. Gladiolus seeds cost around tk10. Your favourite bely
seedling will cost tk10. If you believe in the goodness of a neem tree,
you can get yourself one at the price of tk15. Organic mosquito coil
made of neem leaves cost around tk30. Different fruit and medicinal
plants would cost around tk30.
Pesticides,
fertilisers both organic and chemical, water spray bottle, clay tubs,
books on gardening is another attraction of the mela. Each bottle of
pesticide costs tk30, a pack of fertiliser would cost tk15 to tk20.
Water spray bottle cost tk50 to tk60. Pure honey from the Sundarbans
is also available. A 500ml bottle would cost around tk110. Books on
gardening start from tk60 and will not cost more than tk150.
Different
techniques of easy gardening are being demonstrated. One interesting
method you do not want to miss is the Hydroponic system. Using this
method you can grow any types of plants without soil.
Prices
vary in different stalls. If you want cheaper deals visit the stall
by Bangladesh Krishi Unnoyon Corporation. To enlighten your knowledge
with the sight of different rare species visit the Botanical and Boldha
garden stall.
It
is a long walk inside the mela. The smells of pesticides used
in every stall will make you thirsty or dizzy in some cases. You can
cool yourself down with a scoop of ice cream from the Dolce vita and
gelato stall. There are also food corners where you can savour your
favourite chatpati and foochka.
The mela
is open from 9am in the morning till 10pm at night and it will end on
June 15th.
By
Shahnaz Parveen
Diary
of a Food Obsessed Person
By
Sam Q
Diary of a food
obsessed person
Name: Sam Q (Well, hi there)
Weight: 102 kgs. (b-u-d-g-i-n-g)
Age: will not budge
Marital status: happily married ... sigh ...
only 38 kgs to go.
Children: the exalted one is still going through his 'o' levels.
Really charged up today. I have finally managed to move the thin black
arrow in my scales to the left. I am 2 kgs down, baby. The twin icebergs
on my hips are shifting, the bulge is moving, I am Shakin’. Wow!
I have worked up quite a sweat just by flailing my arms like a mad woman.
The downside of this excitement is, this has happened before. This weight
loss, yo-yo dieting, this exuberance, loss of focus, loss of patience.
I have been there, seen that, done that so many times before. The positive
side is, at this point of my life, I am just at the end of my tether.
I can't take this constant, uncomfortable feeling of getting out of
breath, not planking down on the floor in a milad, crossing my legs
daintily, asking a petite friend of mine to make tea for my guests in
my house, and many other stuff which thin people do in their thin little
world.
This time I have to do it. I have to give it my best and only shot.
If I fail this time, I will never, ever attempt to lose weight again.
I will just give in to my worldly temptations .... which is, to cook,
feed my friends, shop at Agora, open a bakery and lead a simple, single
life. Why did I say single? Because, surely my husband is not going
to stay with the Titanic. The funniest part is, I actually hate fat
people. I just can't stand having fat people around me. If my husband
puts on a mere 5 pounds or so, I make such a hue and cry that even I
get startled at the ferocity of my feelings. The look of bewilderment
on my husband's face is a thing to see, though. The look says, "Do
you know what you are saying?" To that my answer is, "I can't
see me, but I have to see you."
Comment of the day: A good friend of mine (owner of an Indonesian restaurant
was telling me the other day, when she was in school she had a teacher
who wore sleeveless blouses and when she wrote on the board her upper
arms jiggled. She hated that and swore to herself that she would never
let her arms venture out that far.
She has kept her promise.
Well, I am a teacher. I write on the board. My arms jiggles, I hate
it. Well, I never promised.
Healthy recipe for the day:
Thai Chicken Broth
This dish is very filling. You can have this as a meal by itself.
1 tbsp olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cubed
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 medium red chillies, de-seeded and finely diced
1 lemon-grass stalk, finely sliced
2" fresh ginger finely chopped
2 tbsp vinegar
1 litre chicken stock
203 rice noodles or egg noodles
8 coriander sprigs
403 string beans, trimmed and halved
403 bean sprouts
4 onions sliced
2 tbsp fish sauce
juice of ½ lime
(1) Heat oil in a large pan then add the chicken pieces, garlic, chillies,
lemon-grass & ginger & cook for 5 mins till chicken turns opaque.
(2) Add the vinegar, bring to boil. Add the stock bring to boil till
chicken is cooked.
(3) Add the boiled noodles, chopped coriander, beans. Cook for 3 mins.
(4) Add the bean sprouts, onions, fish sauce, and lime juice. Bring
to the boil and taste for seasoning.
I just love this broth. It is tasty, filling and doesn't make me want
to snack at night. So, let's go and get those fat cells burning.
Until next week ...... bon apetit.
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TIPs
Fight
the chewing gum
Chewing
gums are the hardest kind of sticky stuff seen around. If you have
small kids at home then we are sure that they must have for once stuck
bubble gums to clothes, hair and even home accessories like tables,
chairs and carpet. No matter how gluey they are, there some wonderful
ways to remove chewing gum.
The
easiest of the ways is to rub some ice on the affected area and scrape
the surface after the gum freezes.
The
white of an egg also removes chewing gum from most things, even your
hair. Just coat the concerned area with egg white and leave it like
that for a few minutes and then gently remove the gum with your fingers.
Mayonnaise
also does magic in removing chewing gum. Just apply mayonnaise on
the affected area for a couple of minutes and then use your fingers
to remove the gum.
You
can also use vinegar to remove those annoying bubble gums from things.
Soak the area in vinegar and you will see the gum dissolving.
If
any of your clothing is ever affected by chewing gum then saturate
the area in lemon juice. Just like vinegar lemon juice also helps
to liquefy the gum.
Many
of us think that it's quite impossible to get rid of chewing gum from
our clothes and things. However, this idea is mistaken. If you are
ever faced with any chewing gum dilemma in the near future, just try
out the above tricks.
By
Wara Karim
Hanging
Out
Hanging
out Igloo Gelateria
It's summertime, the perfect season to try out cool
stuffs like ice cream and slush. Our very own Igloo now prepares premium
quality ice cream for the ice cream lovers of Dhaka. Situated on Kemal
Ataturk Avenue, Igloo Gelateria specialises in mouth-watering ice
cream.
Igloo
has a wide rage of ice cream preparations. Pictures of delicious Arabian
Delight, Fruit Valley, Royal Salute etc hang from the wall of Igloo
Gelateria, making the consumers crave to smack at least one preparation.
Igloo's
Arabian Delight will cost you tk.160, Fruit valley tk.165, Twinkling
Stars tk.110, Royal Salute tk.110. Each single scoop of ice cream
from any flavour will cost you tk.60. Igloo Gelateria also serves
hot coffee priced tk.20. Each serving of their Black Forest cake will
cost you tk.50. And each glass of slush will cost you tk.60.
This
outlet of Igloo has been beautified wonderfully with little chairs
and red round tables. The staffs are friendly and stand ready to serve
their consumers. The shop stands on the main road so there's no way
you can miss it when you pass along Kemal Ataturk Avenue. In this
season to relieve yourself from the burning sun and unlimited heat,
stop at Igloo Gelateria on one sunny afternoon.
Address:
57/B Kemal Ataturk Avenue, Banani, Dhaka.
By
Wara Karim
Outrageous
Killing of 9 people
in arson attack on a double decker bus, where will we go next.
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