HILARIOUS Kung-Fu Auditions

Watch and die laughing :)

My favorite are the guy who runs across the room and completely misses the dummy, and the guy who starts off with an impressive backflip but then completely loses his sense of balance.

Never Stop Dreaming!

I read this in my favorite acting newsletter by Bob Fraser:

"=====================

BIG TIME INSPIRATION
=====================

As you are no doubt aware, I get a lot of email from actors who
want to know if they 'stand a chance' at making a go of their
acting career dreams.

Some are worried about their looks, some about how old they are,
some complain that they live in a place where pursuing their
goals is next to impossible.

Well, if you're worried about what you look like, or that you are
too old to start, or that your little town is keeping you from
the things you want most in life ... please click this link to
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3qvCJNSwSM&feature=related

... and see a reality that puts these worries in a waste
basket

I know this woman will inspire you."

------------------------------------------

I watched the link and was really moved. How easy it would've been to take all those skeptical looks and jeering calls to heart, to have become a nervous, self-doubting wreck. But no, this woman Susan Boyle, just BLEW them all away! Really inspirational.

Vacation Notes - Goa

More precisely, Calangute Beach in Goa. There's this restaurant looking out into the sea where we went to for dinner. The live entertainment there was this guy playing a guitar with karaoke track accompaniments.

He was really good! He sang English, Hindi and Goan songs on request. His rendition of "Masakkali" was awesome. Check out his rendition of "Kabhi Kabhi Aditi" from the movie "Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na" in this video:

For some reason most of the English songs being requested there were from 80s/early 90s. And this is true throughout India - where even now they keep playing Bryan Adams, George Michael etc. Even Bamboo Garden in Atlanta, the Indian-Chinese restaurant, seems to have a CD from 92 that they play all the time. Why? What's the fascination with this period? Ruksana and I also put in requests for songs. For some reason, all my requests were not performed but all hers were! I guess my esoteric taste in music was too much for him to handle. Or else my requests sucked :)

And oh, before I forget there were a couple of people who had had a few too many drinks and were causing much embarrassment to the audience with their inebriated maneuvers in front the singer. Here's one couple:

But if you do go to Goa, and have sense enough not to go during the monsoons (which we didn't) be sure to visit Souza Lobo. They even have a website: http://www.souzalobo.com/. The food is great, the atmosphere's relaxed, the live performance rocks and you just might catch some drunk couple careening across the dance floor. And please, think of songs from the 21st century to request.

Vacation Notes - Singapore

One of my favorite foods in Singapore was "Chicken Rice".

Simple dish - white rice boiled in chicken broth and served with roasted chicken on top of the rice. Add tomatoes and cucumber on the side. The best places were at a couple of restaurants very close to Shaw Tower on Beach Rd. Yummmm...anybody know where I can get this in Atlanta?

Nation of Givers

Have you heard of Freecycle.org? It is quite simply a wonderful online community of folks where you can give away things you don't need and ask for and receive things that you want, for free!

Basically it is run via Yahoo Groups. And there is one freecycle yahoo group for each area across the nation.

Recently gave away my old faithful karaoke machine - it was battered too much from all my off-key singing. Also gave away a small 15" TV, a relic of electronics that we never really used. Might give away my old desk as well. Trying to get to simple existence, with minimal gadgets. I mean, beyond my laptop, blackberry, color printer, shredder, portable hard drive, Roomba...what else do I need? :)

Oh yes, I could use a nice big LCD TV, a new Macbook Pro and a Nintendo Wii. But beyond that not much else at least till end of this year. Heh heh.

So check out freeycle.org. And live life happy knowing that you are not only helping others out but also helping avoid littering the environment.

The Hood Gets Outsourced

A Maybach, a Maserati and a Porsche in the driveway. Large fancy mansion. Loud music. Scantily clad women and men in jeans that are barely hanging on. High-end HD video camera and crew. What can this be???

That's right - the shooting of a hip-hop music video. Yesterday, I took part in the first music video of my life. Being an Atlantan, I had to start out with hip-hop. This video is a promo video for the song "Catalina" by the artist Raekwan (ex-Wu Tang Clan member). Expect to see this video on MTV, VTV, BET and the like. The video has a plot line that I won't reveal but watch out for me - I'm playing a jewelry expert, fancy suit and loud tie and all that bling bling!

The hood just outsourced jewelry expertise to India :) Raekwan, the director Greg and the rest of the crew were very professional and courteous. Also met a bunch of other actors - always good networking. It was a blast and I learned a lot. One more step into the showbiz world.

Vacation Notes - Singapore/Malaysia

One of my most anticipated aspects of the visit to Singapore and Malaysia was the abundance of expert massage services. Folklore (okay my brother) told me that the massages here are not only awesome but very affordable. And in addition, they even have the foot massages that claim to cure all kinds of ailments, real and imaginary. As an aficionado of massages and complainer of prices, I was very much looking forward to getting massages in both these countries.

And I am happy to say, yes the massages here are indeed plentiful and awesome. For the equivalent of USD 30, you can get full hour's worth of massage. Malaysia was even cheaper. My favorite one in Singapore was at Shaw Towers, in the shopping plaza area. Very skillful but a little talkative. I just like to drift off to la-la land while the massage is going on.

Word of caution though. If you've never had a foot massage, it can be INCREDIBLY painful, depending on how much pressure is applied. Apparently, there a zillion nerves there that you probably don't know about but which with appropriate pressure will SCREAM their presence to you. There was one massage place at Cameron Highlands in Malaysia where I begged the masseuse to stop but she glared at me and said "Can can. Look TV". So I watched a rerun of Rambo: First Blood with occasional yelps of pain. But after the massage, man, it feels really good!

So while in Malaysia/Singapore, do yourself a favor and get a foot massage. Worth it!

But there was one major disappointment for me - mens hair saloons/parlors don't offer shaving services. At least the ones that I saw. Now, I love me a good well lathered shave at the hands of an expert barber. But that just was not commonly available. Is this because facial hair is less common among the majority of male population in these countries??? I did find one after doggedly searching for such parlors in Kuala Lumpur. It was run by an Arab guy who made a great show of wiping my stubble clean. But later Ruksana pointed out to me that his work was highly incomplete. I tried to sink my face into my shirt collars as we headed back.

PS: India on the other hand offers expert shavers at every street corner and sidewalk. All of them well versed in the fine art of clearing the stubble in two passes. But massages are just not that widely available in India. Typically massages are always the Ayurvedic oil massages where you are basically naked except for a loin cloth around your waist, flat on a hard wooden bench and are manhandled by burly men with large moustaches. Scary! Surely, putting up a Chinese/Thai/Swedish style massage parlor will be great business? Or at least a chair massage? Somebody out there listening?

Vacation Notes - Bus Travel

Bus travel between Malaysia and Singapore rocks! Esp between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The coaches used on these bus routes are double-decker, with top deck for passengers and bottom having a mini-conference room plus, of all things, a karaoke system! The coaches come with a stewardess who also offers hot meals (mmmm, squid curry and noodles). There's only one row of seats on each side. Each seat is comfy enough to be worthy of being in Singapore Airlines business class. Each seat comes with its own entertainment system including movies and games. Movies included Hollywood, Indian, Korean and Japanese fare. The restroom breaks are well timed and the restrooms along the way are quite clean. What's not to like? Oh yes, one thing - when the bus gets into Singapore, the entertainment system is disabled. 'Coz, like, the movies being played on the buses are violation of copyright. Well, I say then, disable all you want. Just let the Indian movies play. 'Coz Indian movies by definition are violation of a copyright somewhere :)

Vacation Notes - Durian

It has been over a month since we returned from our extended vacation through various countries in Asia. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime(though not if I can help it!) kind of break that working in corporate America never seems to offer. And during this trip, I did and saw many things that were personal firsts for me. It would be a shame to let them regress into distant memories. So I'm going to post a series of such vacation notes. Here's the first:

Location: Singapore (behind Bugis Junction)

Activity: Ate Durian

The Durian is considered the King of Fruits by many Southeast Asians. However, it has an overpoweringly distinct smell. A smell that most people find disgusting. So disgusting that the fruit is banned from most public places and hotels in Singapore and Malaysia. So disgusting that Andrew Zimmern, the host of the Travel Channel show "Bizarre Foods" couldn't even swallow the fruit! Twice! This is the only food that he's not able even swallow. Strong repulsion from the man who can eat fried Madagascar cockroaches and eat roasted bats fresh from the caves!

I knew I HAD to try it! It was not commonly available in Singapore however because it was the end of season. And a few times that I did see it, I had to desist because - 1) I was a little worried whether I would be able to handle it, 2) Worse, I was scared of offending others esp since I was taking public transportation. But eventually my curiosity got hold of me and I went up to a roadside stall and bought a box full of fleshy chunks of Durian for SG $3. And I took a bite. It was quite tasty. The smell was...different but not strong enough to put me off. The texture was fleshy with slight fibre. Hmmm...not bad at all. So I ate. And ate. And polished off the whole box. All around me were entire families digging in. As I wiped my mouth, I let out a big Durianny burp. Somebody smiled at me. I smiled back. The world was good. And I was tough. Take that, Andrew Zimmern!

Vacation Notes (Draft)

Other Singapore notes

2. Can can, play play

bicycle ride 32km,

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1. Got fish therapy

2. Chocolate dipped strawberries at night market in Camerong Highlands

3. Strawberry picking

India

1. Finally drove my brother's motorbike down the streets of Navi Mumbai. Also drove a car driving in Mumbai and Goa,

2. Sleeper coach to Goa. Highly not recommended. Also bad toilets. In general, bad timing going to Goa during monsoons.

5. Chennai airport update

6. tea with celebrity,

7. singer in Souza Lobo,

Karunanidhi at Mahabalipuram, JSB, the best salesman I've seen selling Rs. 10 perfumes on a Mumbai local train, Kalarippayattu, Kathakkali

Dubai

1. Blondie and Dubai Safari, Burj Dubai, Atlantis on the Palm, Ibn Batuta Mall

Other random notes:

one movie in every city visited

1. Mumbai - The Hangover

2. Chennai - Angels & Demons, Star Trek

3. Dubai - Terminator Salvation

4. Goa - Kambakht Ishq

5. Kuala Lumpur - Ice Age 3

6. Singapore - Harry Potter

A new look at income

One of my favorite blogs is Steve Pavlina's blog - http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/. He posts regularly on the issue of income. Here's one: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2008/12/how-to-make-lots-of-money-during-a-recession/. Here he talks about looking at income generation from the following perspective: turning "Value" into "Income. His philosophy is: 1) create value, 2) deliver value, 3) receive income.

I'm already working on my core income stream - making and selling movies. My first movie, The Bombay Connection, is in post-production. It is still at the "Create value" stage. When it finally gets done, I'll look to sell to distributors ("Deliver value") and finally (hopefully!) receive income. The moviemaking and selling cycle is, by nature, a long and complex one. So meanwhile I still need to get other avenues of creating and delivering value. But before that I need to figure out exactly what are my value-producing skills, what I'm good at, what I can do that won't force me to take my eyes off the core purpose. Sigh.

I've taken the path less trodden but dammit, I need a torch here to guide me 'coz the less trodden path runs right through a jungle!

INDIA vs. PAKISTAN

Got this via email forward today. Feel free to replace with countries of your choice :)

--------------------------------------------------

India vs Pakistan

India and Pakistan recently realized that, if they continued political tension, they would some day end up destroying each other.

So they sat down and decided to settle the whole dispute with a dog fight.

The negotiators agreed that each country would take five years to develop the best fighting dog they could.

The dog that won the fight would earn its country the right to rule Kashmir .

The losing side would have to lay down its arms.
The Pakistanis found the biggest, meanest Dobermans and Rottweilers in the world. They bred them together and then crossed their offspring with the meanest Siberian wolves. They selected only the biggest, strongest puppy from each litter, killed all the other puppies and fed the lone dog all of the milk. They used steroids and trainers in their quest for the perfect killing machine, until, after the five years were up, they had a dog that needed iron prison bars on his cage. Only the trainers could handle this beast..

When the day of the big fight arrived, the Indians showed up with a strange animal: It was a nine-foot-long Dachshund.
Everyone felt sorry for the Indians. No one else thought this weird animal stood a chance against the growling beast in the Pakistani camp.
The bookies predicted that Pakistan would win in less than a minute.

The cages were opened. The dachshund waddled toward the centre of the ring.

The Pakistani dog leapt from his cage and charged the giant wiener-dog..

As he got to within an inch of the Indian dog, the dachshund opened its jaws and swallowed the Pakistani beast in one bite.

There was nothing left but a small bit of fur from the killer dog's tail.
The Pakistanis approached the Indians, shaking their heads in disbelief.
"We do not understand. Our top scientists and breeders worked for five years with the meanest, biggest Dobermans and Rottweilers. They developed a killing machine."
"Really?" the Indians replied. "We had our top plastic surgeons working for five years to make an alligator look like a dachshund!!!"