Selena Gomez- Actor with the singing itch

Like most teenagers, Selena Gomez too has confidence issues and confesses to have made mistakes. And this is surprising because she is Selena Gomez-- the American actor and singer-- who shot to fame because of Disney’s show, ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’. Her character, (Alex Russo) made fans worldwide with her smart and outgoing personality.

Gomez was born in Texas on 22 July 1992. Her mother was a stage actress. It was she who inspired Selena to pursue acting as a career. Selena appeared for the first time on the show ‘Barney and Friends’. She has been an actor since the age of seven. Even though she had been a part of two Disney shows earlier, it was ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ that won her recognition and accolades. The show went on to win an Emmy for the Best Children’s Programme.

Though she is more of an actor, Selena formed a pop band called ‘Selena Gomez and The Scene’ (SGTS) in 2008 that comprises bassist Joey Clement, drummer Greg Garman, keyboardist Dane Forrest and guitarist Drew Taubenfield. SGTS has three studio albums, seven singles and nine music videos to its credit. Selena did not want herself to be the centre of attraction in the band and hence refused to sing solos. “I want to make music that is fun and that parents and kids can jump around to and have a good time,” she said in an interview.

The band’s debut album ‘Kiss and Tell’ had a distinct rock element to it and was released in September 2009. The song ‘I Won’t Apologise’ was co-written by Selena. The band played this album in a live concert and on various other television shows. ‘A Year Without Rain’ was, their second album was released a year later with similar indie and pop beats. 

Their third album ‘When The Sun Goes Down’ released in June 2011 features Selena’s most popular song, ‘Love You Like A Love Song’.  Her other commercially successful singles are ‘Falling Down’, ‘Naturally’, ‘Round & Round’, ‘Who Says’, ‘Hit The Lights’ and ‘We Own The Night’. Selena had announced that there would be no album releases in 2012 because she wanted to focus on her acting.

Her mother has always been the anchor in her life and unlike most teenagers who have ‘communication problems’ with their parents, Selena confesses that her mother is her best friend and that she takes her advice in every step of her life. “If I am not having fun-- if I am not enjoying it anymore-- she doesn’t want me to do it (acting).”

Selena is friends with singer Taylor Swift and idolises pop diva Britney Spears. In fact, Selena still preserves the tee shirt and glow sticks that she collected as memorabilia at a Britney concert when she was a teenager.

Her filmography includes ‘Monte Carlo’, ‘Another Cinderella Story’, ‘Princess Protection Programme’ and ‘Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie’. While her popularity on the music charts soared the US media branded her as the next Hannah Montana. This sparked controversy and fuelled rumours of competition between her and Montana.

Her being Justin Bieber’s girl friend made his female fans green with envy. The power couple dated for two years before breaking up because of their hectic work schedule. Incidentally, Selena sports a ring on her finger that says, ‘True Love Awaits’.

A self-proclaimed animal lover, Selena rescued six stray dogs that were caught and being taken for extermination when she adopted them.

She is the youngest UNICEF ambassador in the USA and has been a part of many welfare ventures. 

Make your computer fast and smart

Computer users are the most impatient lot. Life is becoming fast and people want to use computers that match their speed. Many surveys state that  people who use Internet do not wait for more than five seconds for a website to open. When users install many applications and load their computers with large files, it slows  the performance of computers.

There are many applications available on the Internet that can increase the speed computers. One of them is ‘Startup Booster’.  Windows automatically starts certain programs. Some programs are required to run the system smoothly and others are unwanted applications such as Instant Messenger, Anti Virus, mouse, webcam, drivers, tool bar and other such applications. 

These applications make the computer start-up slow. Startup Booster is an application that helps in making computers run fast by preventing unwanted software from automatically running during Windows start up.

This Windows start-up configuration tool enables users to control which application should work when the computer starts. The process is hassle-free because users can easily change or remove entries. They can select default settings if they do something by mistake. The software can be downloaded from 1-abc.net.

Another program is ‘StartUp Delayer’ that helps in setting the time  after which selected program should be loaded after Windows boots. For example, users can set their Instant Messenger to load two minutes after start up.

There are many Windows utilities that help in making computers run fast. Users should use the defragmentation and error checking tool of Windows on a regular basis. Disk Defragmenter consolidates fragmented files and folders on hard disks so that each file or folder occupies a single space without fragmentation. Excess usage of hard disk creates bad sectors. It slows down hard disk performance and sometimes makes data writing difficult or even impossible. 

The utility scans the hard drive for bad sectors and also for file system errors to see whether files or folders are misplaced.

Disk Cleanup tool is another Windows utility that helps to  improve the performance of the computer. It frees space on the hard disk. The tool identifies files that you can safely delete and then allows you to decide  whether you want to delete them or not.

Reality check

Myth

A management course is mostly about theory.

Fact

Any good management course aims at preparing professionals with global knowledge and varied experience. It also provides a solid foundation for facing the challenges of a rapidly changing and highly competitive business environment. Students get a chance to explore current issues in management and gain insight into how successful organizations operate. The course is designed to suit the needs of the industry and also cover fundamental-functions of management like decision-making, planning, organizing, leading, directing and controlling.

Management students should focus on the functionality of the course rather than concentrating on the degree acquired. Personality plays a major role in pursuing a course in management. This is so because, right from the screening process — the GD and the interview —various aspects of personality are assessed. Hence, personality traits play an important role in the success of the student not only during the course but also as a professional.

Certain traits like goal orientation, leadership, killer instinct, flexibility, etc., are expected in a student to ensure success in  professional life.

Myth

When you choose a subject you are choosing a career.

Fact

A large chunk of college graduates are successfully employed in fields not related to their academic choices. It is not a thumb rule to continue with the same subject and choose the same career.

Myth

Academic achievement is the only aspect that is essential to improve your chances of career success.

Fact

Courses beyond your curriculum are important too. You will gain valuable experience by participating in extra-curricular activities such as student organizations, sports, social groups and the like.

Volunteer activities will help in strengthening your resume and establish professional contacts in the working field.

Myth

Your first job will determine your career. You ought to be completely sure of your choice when making a career decision.

Fact

You cannot be entirely sure of any decision. Each career has its own merits and demerits. All choices involve risk. Even within a specific field, you are likely to explore new directions.

Myth

Arts students are not employable.

Fact

Students of the Arts stream do have skills and knowledge that are highly valued by employers and are applicable to a wide variety of jobs.

Myth

Engineering is non creative.

Fact

Engineering is one of the most creative jobs. Solving problems requires creativity and inspiration. An engineer solves a problem by using technology or cost-effective solutions but that does not make an engineer less creative.

Classics or Comics?

For some reason many people leave out books: “I learned to read when I was a small child,” they say. “What more is there to learn?”

“I can’t bear long descriptions,” somebody remarks. “That’s why I don’t like historical novels.” It’s true that many boys and girls are put off by historical novels because of their long-winded descriptions. This form of literature was invented by Sir Walter Scott in an age when people, having no radio, television, cinema or car, liked their novels to last through as many long evenings as possible. Scott started a fashion, and even today some historical writers seem to feel that they should be heavier and grander in style than other authors.

PARENTS’ ATTITUDE

Some parents and teachers laugh at the ‘comics.’ Some disapprove them and ban them. Others do not interfere, but are worried and disappointed. What’s the right attitude?

The first thing to remember is that we all have different moods, and in those moods, according to whether we feel tired, unwell, depressed, or full of life and mental energy, we turn to the kind of literature which meets our need. A professor of English may not feel like reading poetry at breakfast: he reaches for the newspaper. At bedtime, after a day’s lecturing and other intellectual employment, he may enjoy a well-written detective story by Dorothy Sayers. So it is with us. There are times when you, for instance, like to try non-fiction, and  no doubt there are other occasions when you prefer a classic, or a thriller or just the stuff to be found in a ‘digest’ or a magazine. It is not reading comics which matters, but it is reading only comics and nothing else. A boy of eight whose favourite reading is comics should not seriously worry anybody.

A lad of 18 who still prefers them to anything else is different. His education has been a partial failure. If we are to grow into civilized, cultural persons, books are something we need. During the years at school, we must develop a taste from the comic to the classic, taking all stages in between.

This doesn’t mean that we end up on a lonely pedestal as highbrows, looking down on everything but literature with a capital ‘L’.—Let’s admit that we will lose some pleasures as we go, but we shall gain on balance. As our taste develops we may find it hard to enjoy the tripe we once devoured. Superman heroes and sinister villains whose fights used to thrill us to the marrow may now make us hoot with critical laughter. Bad English we did not notice earlier may now strike us as painful.

One of the most popular themes in  comics is the journey to the planets. If we look at this theme, treated at various literary levels, we can very soon see the difference between the top writer and the bottom, and some of the grades in between.

CENTURIES AGO

Reading a book was a much more difficult process 23 centuries ago. Alexander’s favourite book ‘Iliad’ took up a dozen 30-foot rolls of papyrus, each ruled into one hundred and twenty narrow ‘pages’ with margins at the top, bottom and the sides. Each end of the roll was attached to a stick. Alexander took the first stick in his left hand and began to unrol the first few eight inches with his right hand, until the first ‘page’ was uncovered. Then as he so read on from left to right, he had to roll up the part he had with his left hand. If he got very excited by the story, or was merely skimming through to find some particular line, he might forget to roll up the book as he went along, and it would fall across his knees and curl round his ankles like a snake.

Today, the whole of the ‘Iliad’ or one of its English translations can be printed in a single book. This is a reminder that a book is something more than the words of an author. The fullest possible enjoyment of books can come only if we learn to appreciate them as examples of craftsmanship. 

‘Horseriding’ to fame

Music has been a part of our lives down the generations. As music has no boundaries, likewise, language too is never a barrier for music lovers. For example, the foot-thumping beats of today make everyone dance their hearts out. When ‘Kolaveri di’ went on air, many people did not understand it as a major portion was in Tamil with a few English words sprinkled in between. However, it became extremely popular.

In the same way, Hip-hop, rock, trance and dubstep have taken their places in the playlists of many, only for their beats. And, now, the latest is a new style that has everyone’s music system belting it out in the maximum decibels that their system can bear. It is ‘Gangnam Style’ that is making music charts go northwards all over the world.

‘Gangnam Style’ by the South Korean rapper, Park Jae-Sang, popularly known as PSY, is his first major ‘hit’. He is a singer, dancer, song-writer and music producer. He is well-known for his comedy videos and stage performances and has been seen in various television programmes such as Good Sunday: X-man, The Today Show, Sunrise and X-Factor.

In ‘Gangnam Style’ he talks about the place where he came from and the life of the people in Gangnam in Seoul, South Korea.‘Gangnam Style’ made its debut on YouTube on July 15 and has gone viral since then. This video has set a new Guinness World Record for the most-liked and viewed video on YouTube.

 It has recorded 531 million views and 4.5 million ‘likes’ and the figures are still mounting. It has surpassed the record of LMFAO’s ‘Party Rock Anthem’ and Justin Beiber’s ‘Baby’.

‘Gangnam Style’ has definitely revived interest in pop culture. This Korean song with its catchy beats and unique dance steps has become popular the world wide even where the language is not understood. 

It is true that in an era of violence and instability, music is the best way to reach out to the people. Oopa! Looks like PSY is spreading that thought with his signature ‘horse dance’ in his own style, the ‘Gangnam Style’ and, who knows, his ‘horse-riding’ may create an aura of peace and harmony throughout the world. At least, we hope so!

What are children doing online?

‘Information technology (IT) is boon or bane’ is a topic of endless debate. It has benefitted human beings in several ways. It has empowered us with tools to communicate fast with family and friends. It has provided us with a sea of information on many topics. However, it is up to us to utilise it for our benefit. One can read articles ‘how to become a successful entrepreneur’ and also ‘how to hack someone’s computer’.

These days, school-going children spend a lot of time on computers to interact with their friends, meet new people and get answers to their unanswered questions. Parents are worried and want to keep track of the online activities of their children to know what they are doing. 

It helps them protect children from the harmful content available online and also from online bullies and stalkers. There have been many instances where bullies have harassed children on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Google Plus.

Technology has provided parents with many monitoring applications to snoop on the activities of their children and sift through information on their computers and e-mail ids. They can instal Key logger applications such as Personal Key Logger, Refrog, Black Box Express, Romaco, etc., to keep a watch on their activities on a local computer or laptop. These applications enable users to see the user ids and passwords of their children and what they have written to their friends.

Parents can subscribe to online monitoring services to receive updates of the activities of their children on the Internet. Online monitoring tools such as Safety Web, Social Shield and GoGo Parental Guidance can be used for a monthly fee of Rs. 500 or more depending on what features are used. 

These websites send users regular updates on the activities of their children online. They also send alerts when potentially harmful activity occurs on profile pages of children. These websites also inform parents when their children talk about sex, violence or suicide online.

Net Nanny is one of the oldest applications available that enables parents to restrict the access of their children to pornographic content or what they consider inappropriate for their offspring. 

The addiction called gaming

“Enemy spotted. I am fagged out. Need backup,” shouts Pyrex into his microphone.

“Affirmative. I am in position. Stick together,” replies Soil who is the team leader of the Evolution Clan.

The Evolution Clan has waged a war against ‘Fragnation Clan’ that is a terrorist squad in a computer game of Counter Strike. Communication between the clan-mates seems frantic and their activities action-packed. All this is happening inside a video game parlour that can accommodate twenty gamers. 

The members of each team call each other by fancy names such as Luca, Cosmo, Jaku, Tantan, etc., and many of them  do not know the real names of their mates though they are playing with them for several months in a same cafe.

Welcome to the world of online and LAN gamers. Online and LAN (Local Area Network) gaming is as popular as Google among youth. LAN gaming is catching up fast among the youngsters of Bhubaneswar. 

There are many gamers who spend more than six hours every day and over fourteen hours on holidays playing games such as Counter Strike, Defence of the Ancients, Team Fortress 2, Unreal Tournament, etc. They play these games over LAN in gaming parlours and on the Internet in their homes.

Explaining the craze of gaming among youngsters in Bhubaneswar, Surya Narayan Sahoo, a cafe owner, says, “Gamers are a crazy lot. A group of gamers played a video game incessantly for seven days in my cafe. They were eating, drinking and playing. When one player went for a few hours’ nap another  took charge on his seat,” said  Sahoo who is among a few cafe owners who brought LAN gaming culture in the capital city.

There are many gaming teams in Bhubaneswar such as D Famers, Psychopaths, The Evolution, and Fragnation that have participated in gaming tournaments organized by engineering colleges in the State and outside. Smarjeet Mohanty is a B. Tech. student and known as Luca in gaming circles. His team D, Famers, have participated in over ten gaming tournaments.

“My team has won the gaming tournament organised at KIIT, Bhubaneswar and one organised by The Zephyr in which teams from Cuttack and Bhubaneswar participated,” he said. His team stood third in the gaming tournament organised during Spring Fest at IIT Kharagpur and were runner-ups in God of Gaming tournament held at Kolkata in 2011.

“Gaming gadgets cost money and winning these tournaments fetch us enough money to buy the gear to play these games efficiently. A gaming mouse costs up to Rs. 12,000 and a headphone up to Rs. 6,000 he added. Playing games in a cafe costs Rs. 10 to Rs. 15 an hour.

Do these gamers get scolded by their parents for spending too much time and money on gaming? “Most of us began playing games after finishing our day-to-day work. I don’t like going out with friends in the evenings and prefer staying at home and game till midnight. 

We lock ourselves in our rooms, switch off the lights and play games online quietly without letting our parents know about what is happening inside the room,” said Siddhant Mishra, a student of class 10+2 of Sai International School. Mishra said, “Sometimes my parents come to know about our late night gaming activity but I know how to convince them.”

Gamers say that it is always a thrilling, exciting and fun-filled experience because they explore new things because these games are updated almost every day to provide a rich gaming experience to users.  They believe that these games help them learn how to work in a team.

Siddhant Mahapatra, an avid video game player, says, “Gaming has helped me to learn how to work in a team. We play strategy games such as Counter Strike (CS) over Local Area Connection (LAN) in cafes. We have to co-ordinate with other team players to perform better than the opponent team.”