Friday, June 6, 2008

Comedians

Saleem Kumar
He is a comedian, but has handled serious roles in films such as Achanurangatha Veedu.Saleem Kumar is an actor entertain malayalees with his on style of dialogs and expressions. He has done his best on various stage programs in many part of Kerala.
'Glamour ellakillum oru vakkilanno' from Meesa Madhavan look simple but every one enjoyed it. He proved Glamour ellakillum oru comedian akkam ennu.

Few from YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atn2KF2cB38
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8QTmyR4iBo

Suraj Venjaramoodu


Suraj came out with the Trivandrum ascent and conquered the audience. I watched his Ujala Asianet Award nite performance and he is quite superb. Also got a chance to watch live his stage performance at Mohanlal US program in 2007, he performed very well even though the entire US program was a flop. He is a down to earth guy, which reminds me of Kalabhavan mani when he started in movie.

'Thallea evan pullianno' is one of the best. Hope he will be able to deliver more comedy varieties to Malayalam.

Few of the best:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyW7HHnGkLk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDMIRsyCjhY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiFAJfHfX_E

Thursday, June 5, 2008

My Vacation


My two week trip to India was not only a vacation but an experience for sure. It all started at DFW airport. After just the security check I was ready for my vacation to be over and to go back to work. I strongly recommend wearing your house clothes to the Airport and changing into your good clothes after the security check. After a 2hr wait at the Airport we entered the plane for a 10hr flight to Frankfurt, Germany. We requested bassinet for our daughter so we got the middle seat, right behind the business class. This is the worst place to sit in a plane because you can see the great treatment given to business class passengers.

Dfw- Frankfurt is the longest flight of the trip, so you better find a way to entertain yourself. We get 2 meals and have to pay $5 for liquor; of course! By the time we reached Frankfurt I lost track of the time zone. From the plane a bus took us to 'a' terminal. One thing you should learn before landing in Germany- People are rude! Considering I was wearing a NYPD labeled T-shirt they were 'not' that rude. After a long walk we reached the correct terminal where we can catch our connection flight. Guess I have to rephrase the word 'terminal' as there were no seats to sit until you pass the security check. Since we were little early we waited at the 'terminal'.

Finally someone showed up at the counter and started the check-in process. Here comes the next surprise; hand carry weight restrictions are different and you can carry only 25lbs (It was 40lbs at Dallas). Sure enough, here comes the next surprise- me and my dad have the same seat on the same flight. Somehow we solved the de lima and moved to waiting area; we have a place to sit now. But that waiting area doesn't have a restroom, a water fountain or anything. Just a small square area with a few seats where about 200 people have to wait. After a small wait we entered the plane for the next 6hr fly to Bahrain.

Surprising enough, the liquor was FREE on this plane and I took advantage of that. I forgot to mention the plane seat features. Due to the fuel prices there are no more jumbo planes, only airbuses. Now they have 5seats in the middle, which used to be 4. I have to wait for the person sitting next to me to finish eating so that I can take a bite, so now you imagine the seat space we have. Granted I gained weight, but its ridiculous how narrow the seats are now. I killed my time by watching the treatment given to the business class passengers, thinking to myself that one day I will also fly in business class.

We reached Bahrain and waited for our next connection flight. I would say we need signals and stop signs at that airport because it is so crowded. We got into the plane after a small wait at the ticket counter. One thing you need to be aware at the boarding pass counter- carry all the documents you have. Some airports need just the boarding pass, some need passport, and some 'great' airports need visa, passport and the boarding pass. Don't make me repeat about the seats inside the plane- it was spacious. After few hours they stopped the A/c. The fan is on but it feels like hot air coming thru the vent. I informed the flight attendant the 'A/c' wasn't' working and she went inside to notify the Captain/Pilot. 3 sec later she came back and stated everything has been taking care of. I know she never did anything, she just acted like she spoke to someone. I had to come up with plan B; I used the magazines provided in the plane as a fan to cool myself down. We were sweating inside the plane. I guess they figured we are going to INDIA so we needed to get used to the heat. This was suppose to be the shortest flight but it turned out to be the longest flight.

Finally we reached our destination- Gods own country and had a great vacation regardless of the hot climate. I'm writing this so I won't repeat the same mistakes on next vacation to India.

LESSONS IN BRIEF

1.Avoid Gulf Air (Narrow seats and waste of time in change over)
2.Avoid going thru Frankfurt or Paris
3.Never go on vacation in summer to India
4.Less hand carry makes the trip smoother

Best Cartoon I can possibly get,