* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 2008 Toronto International Goan Convention Theme: Goan Identity And Networking Today. http://2008goanconvention.com/index.php
Mario Miranda Festival, July 24-26, 2008 Old GMC Building http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-July/077732.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The two reports below are not directly related to Goa but have parallels here. The first report speaks about a couple being penalised for giving a weird name to their baby. A similar penalty should be imposed on all couples in Goa who give those weird combo-names to their children. They should maybe have "What was I thinking?" tatooed on their foreheads! The second report talks about re-designing roads to accomodate drunks. Where else could be a more appropriate place to do research than in Goa? Cheers! Cecil --------- http://uk.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUKSP590120080726 NZ judge renames "Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii" Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:51am BST WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A young girl so embarrassed by being called "Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii" has won a new name from a family court judge in New Zealand. Judge Rob Murfitt, ruling from the city of New Plymouth on New Zealand's North Island, made the youngster a ward of court so that she could change the name that she hates. Murfitt, in a written ruling released on Thursday, said the girl's mother had not given any thought to the implication of naming her daughter. "In all facets of life, a child bearing this name would be held up to ridicule and suspicion," Murfitt wrote in his ruling that was made in February but only just released. "The court is profoundly concerned about the very poor judgment which this child's parents have shown in choosing this name for her. It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap quite unnecessarily." The name issue arose during a custody hearing for the girl. Murfitt also took a stand against other parents saddling their children with bizarre names despite officials often trying to talk them out of unusual choices, saying this could create "social hurdles" as they grew up. He cited as examples a family who named their children after six-cylinder Ford cars, twins called Benson and Hedges and youngsters called Midnight Chardonnay, Number 16 Bus Shelter and Violence. "Quite frequently judges in the family court are dismayed by the eccentricity of names which some litigants have given their children," he wrote. ----------------------- http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=231572&in_page_id=34 Boffins to redesign streets for drunks Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Hazards like park benches will be removed in drunk-friendly streets Scientists have decided that redesigning streets to make them more user-friendly for drunks could help reduce conflict and violence. After using computer simulations based on the Welsh to mimic the movements of people staggering home after a good night out, researchers came to the staggering realisation that drunk people trip over things. Scientists went on to the streets of Cardiff to get information about drunken behaviour they could feed into their computer model,. breathalysing locals and studying their behaviour. A quarter of the individuals encountered were found to be so drunk they were staggering. Simulations were then run showing crowds in various states of inebriation trying to pass through a narrow alleyway to three different destinations. When a fifth of the people were staggering, progress was reduced by 9%, while a whole crowd of drunks led to a 38% reduction in movement. The scientists believe their findings have a direct association with the all too common phenomenon of fights breaking out at "chucking out time". "Drunks become irritants because they slow people's progress towards their goal," said study leader Simon Moore, from the University of Cardiff, who presented the findings last week at the International Crime Science Conference in London. "They may then become targets of violence." The researchers plan to investigate how moving street obstacles or increasing pedestrianisation might ease congestion around nightspots, New Scientist magazine reported. The model could also be used to look at the effect of a new bar or fast-food outlet opening in a crowded city centre. They hope to come up with street designs that direct late-night revellers safely home to their beds instead of into the path of trouble. ========= --------------------------------------------------------------------------- **** http://www.GOANET.org **** --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tri Continental Film Festival 2008 July 25 - 30, 2008 Goa, India http://www.moviesgoa.org/page/tri_continental/ http://www.moviesgoa.org/tricon/schedule_2008.pdf ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
