Deliverance

Hear the bells toll, thy liberty is near
A savior in the shadowy depths
Brings forth deliverance to all
What fools these mortals are to run and hide?
Though they discern of its futility
Know that when it has gazed upon you,
No man or machine can deter its course
It is the inevitable truth that none can deny
To fear it is useless
Embrace it in joy
It is the most imperative gift given unto man
For surviving the nightmare that is life

Pyramus & Thisby

Jehan Aloysius and Centerstage Productions has done it again with their version of Pyramus & Thisby, with a local touch. Midsummer nights dream as you’ve never seen before. As expected from these guys, it was a different experience.

I was a bit worried when I heard it was going to be an open air event, with our lovely weather being what it is. But the rain gods must be theater buffs too coz the weather held up (for the first night anyway). The play area was the St. Josephs College quadrangle, centered around a huge tree (…now don’t’ ask me what kind). The whole outdoor setting gave an added punch to the play. I personally don’t think it would have been this good in an indoor setting. Anyway who wants to be stuck inside a stuffy old theater?

The acting was of course great. There was a lot of dancing and acrobatics involved and they pulled everything off excellently. Great choreography too. The use of traditional drummers, mask dancers and fire eaters helped to make it more colorful.

All in all it was good stuff. Its adaptation into the local setting was excellent; you almost forget it’s a western classic. And best of all it was funny…

So hats off to Jehan and the gang for a night of unforgettable entertainment.

Cheers!!!

Oliver!

I know it’s been a coupla weeks since this happened but you know how time always gets in the way of life…

For those that don’t know what I’m talking about, Oliver! was the latest production by the Workshop Players that went on the boards during October @ the Wendt. As for me, I had the fortunate experience of participating in this wonderful project (Not acting mind you, but front of house). Mainly because some of my friends were acting and working backstage and to them I say thanks for dragging me into it.

Let me clear something up first. I am not a hardcore theater buff. I didn’t even like theater when I was in school. I got interested in plays and drama after sitting through a performance of the “Lion King” (Workshop Players of course). That also happened because a friend of mine was acting in it and he made some threats. But after watching that amazing production let’s say that I saw the light. So I don’t have the academic qualifications or whatever to criticize them and I’ll leave that to the professionals. I’m just your everyday Joe who likes to catch a play whenever time permits. I personally don’t like to compare one production with another coz each one is unique. Different stories, different directors and different casts. It maybe the same story but depending on the people involved it can have many different interpretations. Of course you may have some ideas about how things should be done, but that’s beside the point. Note them down for the time when you get to direct a play (like that will happen before hell freezes over!!!). I always think of them as something new and approach it with an open mind and so far enjoyed all that I have watched. But then again it all depends on the tastes of the individual as well. Maybe I’m too dumb to analyze and scrutinize, but that’s ok. I just want to be entertained.

Earlier as an audience member I didn’t quite fully appreciate the work that goes into to putting a production on boards. You only get to see two hours of a final product resulting from months of very hard work. But after hanging around backstage with Oliver I have a whole new perspective on these plays. I mean the dedication of these guys and gals are amazing, even the little kids. (Ashamed to say that I don’t work that hard!!!). And to thinks they all do it while balancing work or school. Why do they do it? Simply because they love it. At the end of everything they may not get paid, but they have a priceless satisfaction of doing something amazing.

As for the play what can I say? Truly amazing!!! Stupéfier!!! Überraschen!!! el sorprender!!! Better than Broadway (Of course I’ve never been to Broadway, but I suspect this would have been better) and I’m sure a lot of people who came will agree with me. No point in going on about it coz everybody knows that it was marvelous.

Salute to all the Workshop Players and Jerome De Silva for a great job done well!!!

Can’t wait for the next production

Cheers!!!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

It’s true. Laughter CAN cure all illness, physical or mental…

This is another adventure of that famous Lanka Puthra Mr Udurawana. But consider this, would we be the one writing this letter if we weren’t so tech savvy?

Enjoy!
--------------

Dear Mr. Bill Gates (is that your real name? .....so funny),


This letter is from the Udurawana from the Kandy Hilly's. We have
bought a Computer with Microsoft for first time to our home and we
have big problems, which I want to be bringing to your notices.

1. After connect to internet we planned to open e-mail account so
we filled the form in Hotmail in the password box but something funny
happens only* *****appears (stars), but in the rest whatever we typed
the letters and numbers appears nicely , but we face this problem only in
password box.

The user book told if there is problem check with hardware but when we
went to check it with hardware vendor in the town (Kandy Hardware Stores)
that bugger got angry and shouted and said 'Get out' that he can't understand
the computer problem, so don't tell to check with any hardware in future
because those fellows are crazy. We tried and tried to open thee-mail
account typing stars *****but no success at all. I request you to
check this as we ourselves do not know what the password is.

2.Can you give a secret code for the HOTmail so only I can seethe HOT
stuff .I don't want my wife and child to see any of the HOTmails. Also
give some COOLmail for my wife and TEENmail for my Son.

3. We are unable to enter anything after we click the 'shut down’ button
and have to re-start every time we want to type a new letter. Is it a
Virus? If so to which Doctor should I go to check the Computer Virus ?

4.There is a button ' Start' but there is no " Stop" button.
We request you to check this and put a Stop too.

5. We find there is 'Run' in the menu. One of my friend in
Kandy clicked 'run' and has run and run so far but computer did not still tell him to
stop ! So, he told me not to ever use "Run' we request you to change
that to "sit", so that we can click that by sitting and don't have to run
anywhere ..

6.Is there any 're-scooter' available in system? As I find only
're-cycle', but I have only scooter at my home as I can't cycle due to
leg pain .

7. There is 'Find' button but it is not working properly. My wife lost
the door key and we tried and tried a lot for tracing the key with this
'find', but unable to trace. Is it a bug??

8.Same way even the 'Save' button is not working. Last week we were
going on a walk by the lake and my Mother-in-Law fell into the Kandy
lake so I quickly went home and pressed the 'Save' button but when I got back
to the lake she was dead. But anyway there was some good in that because
now we got her param-parava generation house on the Kandy Hills. But
it is important that it should work from now.

9. Another big problem, every night I am not sleeping well as
I have to protect the 'mouse' from our CAT. So I suggest u to
introduce a DOG instead of the mouse so I can rest in peace !

10.My child learnt 'Microsoft Word' so now he wants to be learning
'Microsoft Sentence', so when can you give him a good Sentence ?

11.I am in doubt so tell me what kind of Curtains should I
buy for your Microsoft Windows & also confused why there are no Doors -
only Windows ???Somebody forgot that know !!!

12.One friend told that there are Bites on his Computer but
he cant receive them. Can you also include some Bites in my Computer -
I mostly like Cadju and Rata Cadju and Bola Kadala but I like to try
anything interesting you also have !

Looking forward to your good service,

Best regards,

Your esteemed customer,
K.P.G. UDURAWANA. (Kiri Panu Gaya)
The House on the Hilly's
KingsTown
Kandy
SIRI LANKA.

Free Souls

What is the purpose of life,
can anyone tell me?
This is the ultimate question
yet none can answer
Is there a higher purpose to fulfill
we have not yet understood
Or are we mere playthings for an unseen deity
A malevolent puppeteer
controlling our every move
Gloating in rapturous glee
by the misery caused by it’s hands
Reflect upon this;
Are we truly free souls?
Or just puppets at the end of a string...

The Wonderful World of the Net

News Flash: New Web Site Launched

Check it out a cool new web site for LightAge Holdings, the best place to get your web sites developed by professionals.

Ok…Ok… doing a bit of a promotion here.

We can’t deny it folks; the WWW is taking over the world. Either you are online or you loose. There maybe cons to it but the pro’s out weigh them and there is no denying that it has made life pretty much easier and interesting for us humans. It has made the world a very small place (A very over used cliché).

From a business point of view the web is the ideal marketing tool. Where else can you get a worldwide exposure with little expense? Not only that but you can even use it as a sales tool doing online sales. The possibilities are limitless.

My belief is that a web site is a very useful tool especially for the small and medium industries. Let’s face it, SME’s don’t have a million Rupee budget to spend on media advertising. So the most viable option for these is online marketing.

So if you are thinking of going online and don’t know how, please come and talk to us and let us help you make the best of the WWW.




www.lightageholdings.com

Cheers till the next time :)

Don't think too much about the future...It will only close your mind to what the present holds for you.

The future is an adventure through unexplored territory and it is a terrifying experience. You cannot know what tomorrow, next month or even next year might bring you. But that is what makes it exciting too. Imagine how boring it would be if we know what is going to happen tomorrow. Where’s the anticipation in that?

Do not waste your today worrying about tomorrow, because if it’s meant to be it will be. You will fail to see the opportunities that lie in the present and believe me there will be regrets later if you don’t take advantage of them. It can blind you to the people who love you and care about you. It will distance them from you and you won’t be able to get them back again.

I’m not saying that you should not have a plan for the future at all. You should definitely have one, just don’t make it too narrow or rigid. Have a clear goal in you life and a path to get there, but that path should not be too restrictive. Allow for roadblocks, checkpoints and detours. Most importantly make sure you allow for pit stops so that you can smell the flowers along the way.

So stop worrying about tomorrow and start living life for today!!! You won’t regret it.