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11th May 1997

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Julius Caesar: A dissection of the graphics

By Fahim Farook

‘Julius Caesar: The Anatomy of an Assassination’, a play which is now being staged at the Lionel Wendt has more than just acting to commend it. This is due to the fact that it takes one of the Bard’s masterpieces and clothes it in the raiments of modern technology - the glitter and wonder of multimedia. Feroze Kamardeen’s ambitious project has got oodles of video clips and sound effects in it and showcases the best of technology available at the moment. Most of these involved the usage of computers at some stage or other and the graphics produced for the play are comparable to any others produced elsewhere in the world!

The production of these video clips was in itself a full-scale operation. First, some of the shots which required the actors from the play were shot on tape and were transferred to computer-readable format by digitizing them. Other clips were brought in from various sources such as CD ROMs and stock footage and digitized as well. Once the material had been digitized, it was ready for computer manipulation and the graphics wizards got to work on it.

They split each second of the footage into many frames and got to work on the individual frames by adding effects to them and rendered for hours on end on some of the fastest PCs around. Some of the files generated turned out to be so big that they almost ran out of space on their computers. Once the effects had been added, these animated clips were digitized back and transferred on to tape, ready for screening.

All of these seemingly complicated and incomprehensible tasks were done on your humble PC or Personal Computer. Who did it you may ask - well, the people behind it are Lanka Internet Services Limited and a maverick graphics outfit called Media Solutions - watch out for more by these guys in the near future.


Employees felicitated

At a simple ceremony held recently, Hotel Renuka honoured all its employees for the good work that had been done by them to bring success to the establishment. Thirty two employees received Gold Medals in recognition of outstanding and long service while14 employees who have been in service for more than 15 years received additional awards. In addition to the special awards, all employees received ex-gratia payments at this simple ceremony which was presided over by the Chairman/Managing Director of Renuka Hotels Ltd., Ravi Thambiayah.

Picture shows the employees who received the medals at the ceremony.

Seated from left to right:

F.Jiffry - Restaurant Manager, U. Somasinghe - Engineer, Chula de Silva - Manager, Sita Dominic - Director/ F& B Director, Ravi Thambiayah - Chairman/Managing Director, Nivard Cabraal - Executive Director, S. Wijewardene - Asst. Manageress, K. Vijeraghavan - Front Office Manager, Carmen Joseph - Chief Telephone Operator.

2nd Row: A. Youvarajan, Lal Ferdinando, Dennis Aseerwatham, R.M.P. Banda, Bernie Sirimanne, M.G. Nirmala, M. Thangavelu, B.V. Wimalawathie, N. Sumanawathie, . Dias Wijesinghe, T. Rajakaruna, R. Alahakoon, Edward Fernando

3rd Row: S. Ithayarajan, B.V Premarathne, B.L.S. Joseph, Srilal Fernanado, Dale Markar, M.F. Careem, Anushia Emmanuel, Joseph Silva, Gerard Fernando, K.D. Sarath, Anslom Fernando.


The Festival of Andrew Lloyd-Webber

Going on the boards from May 16 to 18 at the Bishop’s College Auditorium is ‘The Festival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’. Produced by Sri Lanka’s veteran showman Jith Peiris, and directed by Sanith De.S Wijeyeratne, the show comprises excerpts from some of Sir Lloyd-Webber’s best known musicals. ‘Jesus Christ Superstar.’

‘The Phantom of the Opera’, ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ and ‘Evita’ are some of the shows which will be featured. To the Sri Lankan audience, familiar with the work of Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber, this show will provide an ideal evening’s light entertainment.

The cast comprises young experienced performers who have been involved in theater in one way or another for some time, all having taken part in leading productions in the past. Along with these, are several leading professionals who are also playing a major part in the production. Among these will be Noeline Hunter who will make a special Guest Performance, and Ranga Dassanayake who recorded the music tracks. Tickets for the performances will be available at the Bishop’s College Auditorium.


Lankan GM for Yangon five star

Milinda Hettiarachchi, CHA, MHCIMA a senior Sri Lankan hotelier, commenced his new assignment in Myanmar (Burma) in mid March as the General Manager of the 5 star Deluxe Kandawgyi Palace on the Royal Lake in Yangon (Rangoon).

His owning company will also own and operate the Yangon World Trade & Convention Centre.

Promoted thrice in succession by the Renaissance International Hotels & Resorts, in Colombo and placed in London and Vancouver for Career Development in 1994/95, he held centre stage for Colombo Renaissance from 1985 in the most difficult period of the industry.

Professionally qualified and trained overseas, he was firmly committed to empowerment of the Sri Lankan hotel professionals.


An Evening of Theatre

The British Council will present three short plays directed by Indu Dharmasena on May 14 and 15 at 6.30 p.m. each evening. The evening comprises three short plays: ‘The Mad Cow’ and ‘Flight 582 to Zurich’, two original plays written by Manuka Widesinghe and an adaptation of Jeffrey Archer’s short story Clean Sweep Ignatius.

The Mad Cow is based in Europe in 1996. A nationwide plague - the mad cow disease. Europe is accused of the slaughter of ‘holy’ cattle resulting in India’s offering asylum to the cattle! ‘Flight 582 to Zurich’, a political satire, was inspired by the familiar question of ‘life after death: who are they? Where did they come from? Where should they go from here? ‘Clean Sweep Ignatius’, based on a short story by Sir Jeffrey Archer, deals with a corrupt administration and tells the story of Nigeria’s minister of finance - the 17th minister to hold office in 17 years.

Tickets at Rs. 50/- will be on sale at the Cultural Affairs Office of the British Council.


Station Masters Group 55 AGM

C.G.R. Station Master’s Group 55 consisting mostly of retired station masters of railway dept., looking into their social and other welfare matters, held their 11th Anniversary and AGM on 28. 04. 97 at Battaramulla.

Following are the offiice bearers of group 55 (97/98)

President: H.R. Perera

Vice Presidents: K.H. Shanmugaraja, G.D.L.V. Perera

Secretary: T.P. Mendis

Treasurer: A. Kanagaratnam

Editor: R. Mylvagnam

Committee: W.E.T.J. Fonseka, G.C. Gunaratne, Alfred Amunugama, A.M.F. Marickar,I.W.U.W. Indatissa, E. Gajaweera, M.K. Premaratne


New committee members

The following office bearers of the Ceylon Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Association were elected at the Annual General Meeting held on April 27, 1997 at the Sri Lanka Ex-Servicemen’s Association, Secretariat, 29, 1/1, Bristol Street, Colombo1.

President - Lt. Cdr. P.N.L. Mendis J.P., Re-elected

Vice Presidents - L.V. Adihetty, Re-elected A. de S.G. Punchihewa, Re-elected Capt. Patrick Jayasinghe

Hony. Secretary - M.J Samuel, Re-elected

Hony. Asst. Secretary - G.R. Barrow, Re-elected

Hony. Treasurer - K.C.B. Condegame

Hony. Asst. Treasurer - A.M. Nagoor, Re-elected

Committee Members - W.A.D James, D.R.P.B. Medagewatta, I.R. de S. Wickramatilleke, R.J. Gunasekera J.P., T.A.A. Sinnen, Keith A. Raymond, D.C. Sandanayake, J.S.K. Namasivayam, W.S. Botejue, F.R. Meepe, M.C.B. Codippilyand J.M. Woutersz


Moors’ Cricket Club elects new committee

The following members were elected to the Executive Committee of the United Moors’ Cricket Club for the period 1997/1999.

Patron - D.M.S.B Dissanayake, Minister of Youth Affairs, Sports and Rural Development

Vice Patrons - Al-Haj M.F. Ameerdeen J.P. Al-Haj S.B.C. Halaldheen J.P. Attorney-at-Law & N.P.

President - Roshan Razik

Vice Presidents - Zamroon Thowfeek Hazny Thaha

Hony. Secretary - Hilal Faiz

Hony. Asst. Secretary - Rimzan Mujahid

Hony. Treasurer - Azad Farook

Hony. Asst. Treasurer - Afzal Mohamed

Editor - Shazlee Nazeer

Asst. Editor - M. Muhajireen

Committee Members - Israf Deen, Sibly Farook, M. Bary, Afzal Jawzi, M. Imran, M. Siraj, Akiel Dawood, Mohamed Injam Shehan Brantha and Fahim Fassy


The story of the Mt.Lavinia Hotel

by afdhel aziz

There are few hotels in Colombo which have as much history and style as the Mt.Lavinia Hotel - while establishments like the Galle Face Hotel and the New Oriental Hotel would rank in the same league, few others have the range of events and personalities that have been associated with the hotel over its past.

To celebrate its two hundredth birthday in 2006, the Mt.Lavinia Hotel has chosen (somewhat prematurely in my opinion) to commemorate the event in style by publishing a coffee table book entitled "The Story of the Mt.Lavinia Hotel". Written and researched in detail by Maureen Seneviratne , it aims to relate some of the many stories about the hotel, and place it in the context of the history of Colombo.

In these mercenary times, it would have been all too easy to allow this book to become a full scale commercial plug for the hotel, a public relations exercise designed to look good in the lounges of the clientele.

But on the contrary it does seem to be an engrossing read in anyone wanting a painless introduction to both the national and local background of the events in the hotel’s history.

We are taken back to the era when the hotel was just a day dream in the mind of an Englishman-to the time when it was merely a barren rock, inhabited by fisherfolk.

Then the story unfolds, with the Dutch, Portuguese and British converging on the city of Colombo, and the Governor at the time, Sir Thomas Maitland acquiring a small bungalow on the hill. From this basic need for a roof over one’s head (literally, since the governor’s previous residence was undergoing repairs that left him open up to the mercy of the elements) sprang a mansion that would last for centuries .

The romantic legend of the affair amoureuse between the Governor and a dancing girl called Lovinia, from whence the name of the area came, is also evocatively described. After that, the book traces the history of the hotel through the twentieth century, when a series of managers helped take it to whole new levels of sophistication and service.


Hale-Bopp: a magnitude of interest

By Ranjith T. Edward

During the last decade, there has been a tremendous surge of popular interest in astronomy. Undoubtedly many technological milestones - such as space rockets and astral happenings have unmistakably had something to do with this. There has been quite a magnitude of interest, and for good reason. Good luck or plain coincidence one may call it; we have been fortunate enough to witness quite a few celestial exhibitions.

In early 1986, Haley’s Comet made its appearance; Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into the Planet Jupiter just two years ago. Moreover, late last year fossilised life forms were set to be found on the Planet Mars. And now, Comet Hale-Bopp.

It is up in the sky, quite visible to any individual. It is no more the kind of object that only space scientists would look at. It has generated enough curiosity; it is probably the most talked about heavenly object. Every one is talking about it. It is everybody’s comet.

Astronomy is one of the few sciences in which the amateur may still make himself useful. The professional astronomer pays little or no attention to the moon or its surface, to planets, or shooting stars, or even to comets. The larger telescopes are usually focused into areas of specialised interest. This leaves the amateur who decides to turn himself to astronomy into a serious observer, which is always warmly welcomed.

The main requirements are enthusiasm and patience. This composition is not for the serious astronomer. Rather for the beginner - the individual who knows little or nothing about astronomy, but who is interested enough to want to be aware of what goes on in the heavens.

Comet Hale-Bopp clearly has made quite a spectacular entry in many viewpoints. With everyone talking about Hale-Bopp, this seems the ideal time to embark on this journey. A journey that will create enough excitement, fascination and will stretch one’s imagination to infinite limits. However, before going any further a little must be said about comets.

A great comet is one of the most spectacular celestial objects. It may be bright enough to be visible even during daytime, with a tail that may stretch half way across the sky. It may remain visible for a few weeks until it fades into the distance of space. It is not surprising that the ancient people dreaded the appearance of a comet, and believed it to bring evil; in fact such fears are not quite dead even in this century in our country.

Yet, a comet is not so important as it may look. It is made up of relatively small solid particles surrounded by an ‘envelope’ of very tenuous gas, which is commonly known as the head, while the tail is also made up of gas and what may be termed cosmic dust. Clearly, then, a comet is quite unlike a planet. Even if the earth happened to pass straight through a comet’s head no permanent damage would result; on two occasions during the last hundred years or so our Earth has actually passed through the tail of a comet without coming to the slightest harm.

The only similarity they seem to have to planets is that they belong to the solar system. However, their orbits - in almost all cases - are very different from those of the planet, and are highly eccentric instead of being more or less circular. A comet, which depends upon sunlight for its brilliance, is visible only when it is moving in the inner part of the solar system; not many can be followed as far out as the orbit of Saturn.

According to modern theory, comets are very ancient objects, formed in the early days of the solar system. It is believed that a whole ‘cloud’ comprised of them exists at a distance of at least a light year. This is termed as the ‘Oort Cloud’, after the Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, who first suggested its existence. We cannot prove the reality of the Oort Cloud, but it does seem to fit in with the available evidence.

If one of the comets in the cloud is perturbed for some reason, it may start to fall inward towards the Sun, so that after a journey lasting for many centuries it enters the inner part of the solar system. It may simply swing around the Sun and return to the Cloud, not to be back for quite a period.

Occasionally, it may be perturbed by the gravitation of a planet and expelled from the solar system all together. On the other hand, it may be captured by a planet (usually Jupiter) and forced into a small orbit. Which is why, some comets return quite predictably within a short period.

The question that comes to ones mind is: so what’s so special about Comet Hale-Bopp? For one thing, it is quite visible to the naked eye. In fact, it is evidently the brightest comet ‘intrinsically’ in over 400 years (since the great comet of 1577) whose orbit passes inside the earth’s orbit. Its high rate of activity, and the fact that it is a naked-eye object for a few more months, is why some excitement is present in the astronomical community.

Usually, it is only the serious ‘comet hunter’ who gets to experience an event of this nature. In this case, it is up there for every individual. It is everybody’s Comet! Comet Hale-Bopp was discovered independently on July 22, 1995, by astronomer Dr. Alan Hale and amateur astronomer Thomas Bopp from outside their respective locations of Cloudcroft, NM, and Phoenix, Az.

At the time of its discovery, Comet Hale-Bopp was more than 929 million kilometers (577 million miles) from Earth, appearing over 1,000 times brighter than Comet Halley did at that same distance. Right now, it is racing towards the Sun.

It has been quite visible from the Galle Face - in spite of the fact that a lot of city light is thrown into the sky. In the coming few days it will start its return journey after its turbulent swing around the Sun. And then, on its way back it will make quite a show before disappearing into the vastness of space.

The question that one asks is; Where in the sky is the comet now? The comet is now well placed for observation for northern-hemisphere observers only - in the evening sky into early May. Look 1 hour after sunset. One needs an unobstructed northeast horizon (that is, no tall trees, buildings, or hills); a good dark sky without direct artificial lights in the observer’s face is a definite asset, though this comet is bright enough to be visible to the unaided eye from the City.

Given these conditions and a clear sky, one should have no trouble looking toward the northwest and locating the comet with the naked eye. As it is the brightest object currently in that part of the sky (appearing as a bright fuzzy star - as compared to a "pinpoint" star - with a short tail). A pair of binoculars to confirm the large, diffuse/condensed nature of the comet with a tail pointing upward from the horizon may be advisable.

If one still has confusion, the best way for an inexperienced observer to see this comet now is to contact the local planetarium, or The Moratuwa University to find out about the upcoming Comet party.

(Source Information: NASA - Jet Propulsion Laboratory)


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