Comments on: Ten Years of the LUMS Music Society http://insanityworks.org/randomtangent/2009/05/06/ten-years-of-the-lums-music-society/ Ninety degrees of randomness Fri, 11 May 2012 17:27:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Ameel http://insanityworks.org/randomtangent/2009/05/06/ten-years-of-the-lums-music-society/comment-page-1/#comment-550 Ameel Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:39:59 +0000 http://insanityworks.org/randomtangent/2009/05/06/ten-years-of-the-lums-music-society/#comment-550 Faizan: You're very welcome :) Hope you have a fantastic time in the music society and that you keep playing music even after you've graduated from LUMS. All the best. Faizan: You’re very welcome :) Hope you have a fantastic time in the music society and that you keep playing music even after you’ve graduated from LUMS. All the best.

]]> By: Faizan http://insanityworks.org/randomtangent/2009/05/06/ten-years-of-the-lums-music-society/comment-page-1/#comment-533 Faizan Fri, 09 Dec 2011 07:31:22 +0000 http://insanityworks.org/randomtangent/2009/05/06/ten-years-of-the-lums-music-society/#comment-533 hey man I really liked the article it's wonderful to see that alumni who have graduated 10 years ago are still so much involved in the society. I'm a freshman and part of the music society and may I just say sir that your interest has inspired me to develop more as a musician and my pride has exceeded in being part of the LUMS music society. On behalf of the freshmen in the music society, I thank you :) hey man I really liked the article it’s wonderful to see that alumni who have graduated 10 years ago are still so much involved in the society. I’m a freshman and part of the music society and may I just say sir that your interest has inspired me to develop more as a musician and my pride has exceeded in being part of the LUMS music society. On behalf of the freshmen in the music society, I thank you :)

]]> By: Ameel http://insanityworks.org/randomtangent/2009/05/06/ten-years-of-the-lums-music-society/comment-page-1/#comment-121 Ameel Tue, 12 May 2009 13:54:08 +0000 http://insanityworks.org/randomtangent/2009/05/06/ten-years-of-the-lums-music-society/#comment-121 Also, it occurs to me that you probably don't know why the club is named The Alpha Hour, either. It's named after the Alpha waves (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_wave) that the brain generates. Alpha waves are generated during periods of waking relaxation and that state often occurs just before you fall asleep at night. It is said that you sometimes get your best, most exciting, and most breakthrough-type of ideas just before you fall asleep. What the club's founders wanted to do was create a time and place where people would have a whole hour of intellectual and ground-breaking thought and discussion. That they loosely translated into an hour of Alpha-thought time, hence The Alpha Hour :) Also, it occurs to me that you probably don’t know why the club is named The Alpha Hour, either. It’s named after the Alpha waves (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_wave) that the brain generates. Alpha waves are generated during periods of waking relaxation and that state often occurs just before you fall asleep at night. It is said that you sometimes get your best, most exciting, and most breakthrough-type of ideas just before you fall asleep. What the club’s founders wanted to do was create a time and place where people would have a whole hour of intellectual and ground-breaking thought and discussion. That they loosely translated into an hour of Alpha-thought time, hence The Alpha Hour :)

]]> By: Ameel http://insanityworks.org/randomtangent/2009/05/06/ten-years-of-the-lums-music-society/comment-page-1/#comment-120 Ameel Tue, 12 May 2009 13:35:23 +0000 http://insanityworks.org/randomtangent/2009/05/06/ten-years-of-the-lums-music-society/#comment-120 Hi Danish. Thanks for commenting. I've often wondered what Alpha Hour is up to these days but I've never actually gone and checked. Fortunately for me, you found me instead :) Here's a quick history of the club. Alpha Hour was originally founded in 1995 by students from the MBA '97 batch. Their vision for it was an organization where students could examine and discuss exciting and relevant ideas. They'd invite prominent and visionary guest speakers (like Shoaib Hashmi and Alys Faiz) to give talks and would show thought-provoking films. When I became president in 1997, however, I cut back on the guest speakers and increased the number of films we'd show. Very quickly our film nights became hugely popular and I started showing films every Friday night. Soon after that, I started showing a less-serious movie before I showed the serious one. My overall criteria for the films I chose was two-fold: they either had to be good, thought-provoking films (e.g. we once had a Stanley Kubric festival) or films that you'd want to see on the big screen (mostly blockbusters). Eventually, though, Alpha Hour became all about entertainment: I'd show a light-hearted film (a comedy or a cartoon), take a half-hour break, and then show a serious movie (a drama or an action blockbuster). The idea behind this shift in focus for the club was that the students at LUMS seemed to need entertainment and a way to wind down after a hard week's worth of work much more than they needed high quality intellectual stimulation. By the time I graduated and handed Alpha Hour over to the batch of 2002, it had moved to a different place again. The then-president was also a member of the LUMS Student Charity and so they started asking for token donations to cover the cost of renting the film (I used to rent films at my own or my classmates' expense) and the rest of the money they'd give to the Charity. They did stick with the light-then-serious movie showing formula, though. What I like about these changes in the club's objectives and activities is that Alpha Hour becomes whatever the students want and need it to be. I also like that none of the presidents take it personally when they hand the club over to their successors and find a few months later that the club been changed to do something else entirely! I have no idea what's happened to the club since 2003/4. That's where you come in: what does Alpha Hour do now? Hi Danish. Thanks for commenting. I’ve often wondered what Alpha Hour is up to these days but I’ve never actually gone and checked. Fortunately for me, you found me instead :) Here’s a quick history of the club.

Alpha Hour was originally founded in 1995 by students from the MBA ’97 batch. Their vision for it was an organization where students could examine and discuss exciting and relevant ideas. They’d invite prominent and visionary guest speakers (like Shoaib Hashmi and Alys Faiz) to give talks and would show thought-provoking films.

When I became president in 1997, however, I cut back on the guest speakers and increased the number of films we’d show. Very quickly our film nights became hugely popular and I started showing films every Friday night. Soon after that, I started showing a less-serious movie before I showed the serious one. My overall criteria for the films I chose was two-fold: they either had to be good, thought-provoking films (e.g. we once had a Stanley Kubric festival) or films that you’d want to see on the big screen (mostly blockbusters). Eventually, though, Alpha Hour became all about entertainment: I’d show a light-hearted film (a comedy or a cartoon), take a half-hour break, and then show a serious movie (a drama or an action blockbuster).

The idea behind this shift in focus for the club was that the students at LUMS seemed to need entertainment and a way to wind down after a hard week’s worth of work much more than they needed high quality intellectual stimulation.

By the time I graduated and handed Alpha Hour over to the batch of 2002, it had moved to a different place again. The then-president was also a member of the LUMS Student Charity and so they started asking for token donations to cover the cost of renting the film (I used to rent films at my own or my classmates’ expense) and the rest of the money they’d give to the Charity. They did stick with the light-then-serious movie showing formula, though.

What I like about these changes in the club’s objectives and activities is that Alpha Hour becomes whatever the students want and need it to be. I also like that none of the presidents take it personally when they hand the club over to their successors and find a few months later that the club been changed to do something else entirely!

I have no idea what’s happened to the club since 2003/4. That’s where you come in: what does Alpha Hour do now?

]]> By: Danish http://insanityworks.org/randomtangent/2009/05/06/ten-years-of-the-lums-music-society/comment-page-1/#comment-119 Danish Mon, 11 May 2009 17:17:14 +0000 http://insanityworks.org/randomtangent/2009/05/06/ten-years-of-the-lums-music-society/#comment-119 Hey, I just randomly stumbled upon your article. You mentioned being the President of the Alpha Hour back in 1999! Im currently running that society at lums and i believe no one has heard of its history dating this back! From what I heard from my seniors is that this society was formed in 2005?! It'll be really great if i could hear more about this and maybe have some sort of an aniversary ourselves! Do contact me at the e mail adress give! Hey,
I just randomly stumbled upon your article. You mentioned being the President of the Alpha Hour back in 1999! Im currently running that society at lums and i believe no one has heard of its history dating this back! From what I heard from my seniors is that this society was formed in 2005?! It’ll be really great if i could hear more about this and maybe have some sort of an aniversary ourselves! Do contact me at the e mail adress give!

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