Artwork by Brendan Fernandes has been selected for exhibition in  DIASPORArt: Strategy and Seduction by Canadian Artists from Culturally  Diverse Communities in works from the collection of the Canada Council Art  Bank. The work was recently purchased by the Canada Council Art Bank  and will be installed in the Ambassadors Room, Rideau Hall, the official   residence of Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor  General of Canada. ( seen in above photo with Brendan).The opening event  was held on Monday, September 21, 2009 and the exhibition will remain  installed for approximately one year and open to the public.

His parents, Rudolf & Hazel Fernandes, of New market, and Uncle, Warren  Lobo, are naturally very proud of him. Brendan is also the great-grandson of  John Camillo Gracias, one of the founder members of the Railway Goan  Institute (founded Nairobi, 1909) .

TEGSA’s 6th ANNIVERSARY DANCE

September 13, 2009
at
Qssis Banquet Hall

by Muriel Lucas.

Now that the summer season has come to an end, with the initial rush and euphoria of the summer break and things seem back to normal, the TEGSA group are back in the swing of things again, after a long break, with their most important event for the autumn season – their Anniversary Dance.

On 13th September, 2009 the doors of the Qssis Banquet Hall swung open as members and guests filed in enthusiastically , and were greeted with a warm ambience. The day was celebrated with an aura of elegance and sophistication and an abundance of music, wine, food and entertainment for all, throughout the evening.

The evening started with our M.C. Joaquim Menezes reminding us that 6 years ago a few East enders decided to form a club in the East end, as they were turned away from other clubs due to size limitations. He then introduced the founder members. From small beginnings TEGSA has now grown to 700 members.

Hors’ Doeuvres were served and dancing followed with our band, “Dream Katchers”. A new feature was that the band played 3 numbers, starting again after we changed partners.

It was time for our sit down dinner. Grace before meals was recited by Melba Menezes. The appetizing meal accompanied by 2 bottles of wine consisted of salad, roast beef, fillet of salmon and vegetables which was followed by a mouth watering dessert of Tar Toufo Amaretto. The food was delicious and the service was impeccable with offers of second helpings.

President, Charles Fernandes welcomed all those in attendance and thanked them for their support. He added that many exciting events were being planned for the coming months. He then introduced the committee members and thanked them for their dedication and hard work, and then came the surprise announcement. TEGSA is going to have its very first New Year’s Eve Ball! The news was greeted with enthusiastic applause. Details to follow soon.

The Presidents Table
Click to enlarge

As the “Dream Katchers” struck the chords to play “The Anniversary Special,” couples took to the floor to enjoy and swing to the music. The dancing continued to the end of the evening with some old time specials, which included a variety of music to suit one and all.

A performance by Sheila D’Souza followed, entertaining us with an astounding rendition of songs from My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music.

Hence, it goes without saying that TEGSA is brimming with excitement to bring to you, all sorts of inspirations for you to get out and enjoy everything that their executive committee has to offer, as the months unfold.

Special thanks go out to their hard working Social Secretary, Martha Menezes and her helpers, especially the talented Tony & Myra Misquita for the colourful centre pieces, which were beautifully displayed at each table.

What a fantastic evening it turned out to be! The Hall was beautiful, the dinner was excellent, the band was superb, the atmosphere was electrifying and the service was impeccable. What more could one ask for! A perfect end to a perfect evening!

Google Bringing Rare Books to Paperback
http://www.pcworld.com/article/172225/google_bringing_rare_books_to_paperback.html
Ian Paul | Sep 18, 2009 10:34 am

You will soon be able to print your own copy of rare and hard-to-find books thanks to a deal between Google and On Demand Books, the maker of the Espresso Book Machine. Dubbed the "ATM for books," the Espresso Book Machine can print a "library quality" paperback book in less than five minutes for "under a penny a page," according to the manufacturer.

On Demand's deal with Google puts approximately two million public domain books from Google's digitized book collection--Google Books--into Espresso Book Machines, which you could then print off at your local library, bookstore, or coffee shop.

There's no official word on how much a single book will cost, but the Associated Press is reporting the average price will be about $8. Google and On Demand Books will each take a dollar from every transaction, and donate the rest of the proceeds to charity, the AP says.

Young foreigners look at China for good jobs
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/business/india-business/
21 September 2009,

BEIJING: When the best job Mikala Reasbeck could find after college in Boston was counting pills part-time in a drugstore for $7 an hour, she

took the drastic step of jumping on a plane to Beijing in February to look for work. A week after she started looking, the 23-year-old from Wheeling, West Virginia, had a full-time job teaching English. ‘‘I applied for jobs all over the US There just weren’t any,’’ said Reasbeck, who speaks no Chinese but had volunteered at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In China, she said, ‘‘the jobs are so easy to find. And there are so many.’’

Young foreigners like Reasbeck are coming to China to look for work in its unfamiliar but less bleak economy, driven by the worst job markets in decades in the US, Europe and some Asian countries. Many do basic work such as teaching English, a service in demand from Chinese business people and students. But a growing number are arriving with skills and experience in computers, finance and other fields. ‘‘China is really the land of opportunity now, compared to their home countries,’’ said Chris Watkins, manager for China and Hong Kong of MRI China Group, a headhunting firm.

‘‘This includes college graduates as well as maybe more established businesspeople, entrepreneurs and executives from companies around the world.’’ Watkins said the number of resumes his company receives from abroad has tripled over the past 18 months. China’s job market has been propped up by Beijing’s $586 billion stimulus, which helped to boost growth to 7.9% in the quarter that ended June 30, up from 6.1% previous quarter.

The government says millions of jobs will be created this year. Andrew Carr, a 23-year-old Cornell University graduate, saw China as a safer alternative after classmates’ offers of Wall Street jobs were withdrawn due to the economic turmoil.

Passing up opportunities in New York, San Francisco and Boston, Carr started work in August at bangyibang.com, a web site in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen that lets the public or companies advertise and pay for help in carrying out business research, getting into schools, finding people and other tasks. ‘‘I noticed the turn the economy was taking, and decided it would be best to go directly to China,’’ said Carr, who studied Chinese for eight years. Most of his classmates stayed in US and have taken some unusual jobs — one as a fishing guide in Alaska.

China can be more accessible to job hunters than economies where getting work permits is harder, such as Russia and some EU countries. Employers need government permission to hire foreigners, but authorities promise an answer within 15 working days, compared with a wait of months or longer that might be required in some other countries. An employer has to explain why it needs to hire a foreigner instead of a Chinese national, but the government says it gives special consideration to people with technical or management skills.

Reasbeck said it took her two months to find the drugstore job after she graduated from Boston’s Emerson College with a degree in writing, literature and publishing. She said she applied to as many as 50 employers nationwide. Today, on top of her teaching job, she works part-time recruiting other native English-speaking teachers. She makes 14,000 to 16,000 yuan ($2,000 to $2,300) a month. ‘‘I could have a pretty comfortable life here on not a very high salary. English teachers are in high demand,’’ she said.

Konstantin Schamber, a 27-year-old German, passed up possible jobs at home to become business manager for a Beijing law firm, where he is the only foreign employee. ‘‘I believe China is the same place as US used to be in the 1930s that attracts a lot of people who’d like to have either money or career opportunities,’’ Schamber said.