The Wise Guys Pizza at 360 Degree Pizzeria – MOZZARELLA, CARAMELIZED ONIONS, CRUMBLED ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND BACON.
Month: June 2017
ISP Issues….Again!
I’m getting really tired of my ISP, Asianet Broadband. For almost three years (it will be three years by the end of July) I was happy with them but nowadays, they are sucking really badly. Once in a while Asianet’s service would go down but they usually fixed it within 3-4 hours and since it’s only once in a while, that was pretty much ok. I mean, these kind of things go down right? It’s not flawless and I don’t expect any such service to be flawless. But I do expect solutions for the issues.
Lately though it’s been bad. For a few weeks now I have noticed that the connection goes down atleast once in a week and then it started going out almost on a daily basis. An outage like yesterday, which was city wide I believe, is understandable and they fixed it in 4-5 hours. But then again today it goes down. I have had so many days of outages that it’s crazy. And their customer care is so robotic. The people who attend to your calls in their call center, have been given nothing to work with. It’s mostly girls who can check your status and then raise a complaint with a generic statement.
Seriously it’s so funny and yet not funny when I call them. Most of the girls who pick up (it’s mostly girls for some reason) try to speak rather fast when they know there is an outage, promising that the issue has been raised and that it will be fixed as soon as possible and seem in a hurry to just close the call. I get the same answer each time. Finally today I asked for a supervisor and she said the same thing. I was also promised a call back by 6pm which never happened. Shows you what kind of customer care they are running right now. It’s pathetic!
RIP Stephen Furst
Stephen Furst, perhaps best known as Flounder in Animal House & Vir Cotto in cult scifi tv show Babylon 5, died Friday from complications with diabetes, the actor’s rep told The Hollywood Reporter. He was 63. His two sons Nathan and Griffith Furst announced the news on the actor’s Facebook page, paying tribute to their “brilliant and prolific actor and filmmaker” father. The actor was also known for playing the role of Dr. Axelrod in the 1980s medical TV drama St. Elsewhere, and he also directed a few episodes of B5. After his breakout role of Kent “Flounder” Dorfman in 1978’s Animal House, he had several guest appearances on TV shows such as Newhart, CHiPS and The Jeffersons until he landed the role on St. Elsewhere, which aired from 1982-1988.
In 1979 he played the role of an overweight high school tuba player coerced onto the wrestling team in Kieth Merrill’s feel-good underdog film, Take Down. Also in 1979, as pointed out above, he reprised the Flounder character in the ABC sitcom Delta House. He also reprised the character and repeated his famous line, “Oh boy, is this great!” in the Twisted Sister music video for “I Wanna Rock.” In 1980, he played the character of Harold in the cult classic movie, Midnight Madness, and the character of “Junior” Keller (the unseen) in the horror movie The Unseen. In 1983, he also appeared in a supporting role as Aldo in the provocative ABC TV movie The Day After. In 1989, he played the character of Albert Ianuzzi in the film The Dream Team. Although not a regular, he also appeared in the short-lived 1992 TV series The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys.
In the 1995 animated TV series Freakazoid!, he voiced the character Fanboy. Also in 1995, he took a hiatus from Babylon 5 to star in a short-lived TV series, Misery Loves Company. In 1997, he played Derby Ferris in Little Bigfoot 2: The Journey Home. He also voiced a young Colonel Hathi in Season 2 of Disney’s Jungle Cubs, had a starring voice role as Booster in the 2000 series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, and also played a hulky walrus named Dash in the 2000 Disney movie The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. He starred in Magic Kid and its sequel. In 2002, he guest starred in an episode of Scrubs. Furst directed many independent and/or low-budget movies, including the low-budget movie Title to Murder starring Christopher Atkins and Maureen McCormick in 2001, and the direct to video children’s movie Baby Huey’s Great Easter Adventure.
Furst directed three low-budget movies for the Sci Fi Channel, Dragon Storm in 2004; and Path of Destruction and Basilisk in 2005; he also co-starred in both of the latter two films. Furst produced My Sister’s Keeper based on the Jodi Picoult novel starring Cameron Diaz and Alec Baldwin. Furst produced other several films under his production company Curmudgeon Films. Atomic Shark aired in August of 2016 on Syfy during Sharknado Week. Christmas in Homestead premiered on the Hallmark Channel during the holiday season of 2016. Cold Moon, a psychological thriller based on the Michael McDowell book, is set for a theatrical release in October 2017 in the United States. Cold Moon won “Best Horror Film” at the 2016 Laughlin Film Festival. Furst had two sons, both in the entertainment business. His older son, Nathan Furst (b. 1978), is a television and film composer. His younger son, Griff Furst (b. 1981), is an actor, director and musician. He was married to Lorraine Wright, an entertainment lawyer.
Kochi Metro Flags Off
Ever since the construction of Kochi Metro began in June 7, 2013 the Kochi residents had a tough time commuting through the city. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) barricaded roads and diverted traffic which resulted in traffic blocks and congestions. People had to travel long hours to reach their destinations. The dirt and dust from the construction sites made them sick. Often water and power supply were disrupted when underground pipelines and cables were damaged. There were people who lost their livelihood and businesses due to metro works. Some lost land as the government carried out land acquisition.
It was not easy living in a city which massive construction works took place. However, Kochi Metro Rail Limited is the country’s first government agency to hire transgender people. The PM commended the Kochi Metro’s ‘Make in India’ vision. He also spoke about the importance of a “people-centric approach” to infrastructure development. Nearly 1000 women and 23 transgenders are being selected to work in Kochi Metro rail system. It took 45 months to complete phase 1 – 13kms, 11 stations and the total time it takes from Aluva to Palarivattom is reduced from 45 minutes (in usual traffic) on road to 23.
The full plan for the Metro is to cover 25kms. Each station of the Kochi Metro will showcase a theme, such as maritime history, western ghats as well as the local history of the city, among others. Each station will also have solar panels, which will focus on producing 35 per cent of the total power usage. The construction of the Kochi Metro began in 2013 and was tasked to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The DMRC which was once headed by Mr E Sreedharan, who also acted as an advisor in the new project. According to the Kochi Metro website, the project cost an estimated Rs. 5,180 crore. The fare will vary from a minimum of Rs. 15 to a maximum of Rs. 30.
Apart from the regular tickets, it has also adopted a single card, single timetable and a singular command and control. This debit card along with the Kochi One Mobile App will allow passengers to access all modes of public transportation as well as be utilized for mercantile and internet transactions and will introduce the ‘click and collect’ feature in the near future where goods ordered online can be collected in the metro stations. In November 2016, KMRL began the land acquisition process for an extension of the metro up to Infopark. KMRL will widen the Kakkanad-Infopark corridor to a 22-metre-wide stretch, and construct metro pillars in the centre of the stretch. Palarivattom Junction, Palarivattom Bypass Junction and Collectorate Junction will also be widened. The 11.2 km extension will link Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium to Infopark via Kakkanad, and is estimated to cost ?2,024 crore (US$310 million).
Worst Saturday In A Long Time
I hate my life. I am such a loser. I am in a situation that is of my own doing because I am too lazy. And I don’t know how I am going to get through it. I am stuck with no knowing what to do for the next few days and come Monday I have no idea how I am going to face things. And it’s all my fault. I just hope I can fast forward the days until this is sorted out but I am still not sure as to when it will get sorted out.
And today was an awful day as well. I was at home as I have to be at home and not only do I have be bothered about this, I couldn’t really enjoy myself or relax. I keep fidgeting and fussing and worrying about this problem which isn’t going to go away. Before I knew it, it was already 5pm. I showered and I got coffee and…..the internet went out. A quick check revealed that my ISP had a city wide outage which means it would only come back on by 8:15 pm or so. And then the power went out! But it was back on in less than 45 minutes.
So I plan to relax with a drink – vodka with apple juice if you are interested – and I ordered in some fried rice with chicken tikka and butter chicken for dinner with the parents. Later I will watch a movie or maybe some episode of my fav shows. I hope Sunday is better.
John Wick : Chapter 2
John Wick: Chapter 2 is a 2017 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Chad Stahelski and written by Derek Kolstad. The second installment of the John Wick series, the plot follows hitman John Wick, who goes on the run after a bounty is placed on his head. It stars Keanu Reeves, Common, Laurence Fishburne, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ruby Rose, John Leguizamo and Ian McShane, and marks the first collaboration between Reeves and Fishburne since appearing together in The Matrix trilogy.
Set 4 days after the events of the first film, John Wick tracks down his stolen 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 at a chop shop owned by Abram Tarasov, brother of Viggo and uncle of Iosef. John dispatches Tarasov’s men in a violent fight that heavily damages his car. He then spares Tarasov under the auspices of peace and returns home. with the dog he had taken from the clinic. He returns home and feeds the dog he rescued from the clinic at the end of the film. He gets Aurelio to take his damaged car for repairs the next day and gets a visit by Italian crime lord Santino D’Antonio by night. It is revealed that to complete his “impossible task”—which allowed him to retire and marry Helen—John asked D’Antonio for help. As a form of contract, D’Antonio swore John to a “Marker”, an unbreakable promise symbolized by a “blood oath” medallion.
D’Antonio presents the medallion to demand services from John, but John refuses, claiming that he is “retired”. In retaliation, D’Antonio destroys John’s house with a grenade launcher. John goes to the Continental hotel in New York City, where Winston reminds John that if he rejects the Marker, he will be violating one of the two unbreakable rules of the underworld: no killing on Continental grounds, and Markers must be honored. John reluctantly agrees to the ob for D’Antonio which is to assasinate his sister Gianna D’Antonio so he can can claim her seat on the “High Table”, a council of high-level crime lords. At a huge party in Rome John meets Gianna, who chooses to commit suicide by slitting her wrists instead of a bullet. Santino’s men then attack John to tie up loose ends but having predicted such a betrayal, John had hidden weapons all over and kills most of the men. He ends up fighting Gianna’s bodyguard Cassian but their brutal fight ends as they crash into the Continental’s windows. As the two reluctantly share a drink, Cassian vows revenge for Gianna’s death.
After John returns to New York City, Santino opens a $7 million contract for John’s murder under the guise of avenging his sister, leading numerous assassins to attack John – unsuccessfully. Cassian too confronts John in a subway train; John wins the ensuing fight, but leaves Cassian alive out of professional respect. Injured and desperate, John seeks help from the underground crime lord The Bowery King, whose subordinates treat his injuries and guide him to D’Antonio’s location. John kills D’Antonio’s bodyguards and mortally wounds Ares, but D’Antonio is able to escape to the Continental. Santino smugly says that he intends to stay in the Continental forever and despite Winston’s warnings, John shoots and kills Santino.
The next day, Winston sends for John and explains that, per the High Table, the contract on John has been doubled and offered globally. John is declared “excommunicado” from the Continental, losing all access and privileges to underworld resources. Winston delays announcing John’s excommunication and global posting of the bounty on him by one hour to give him a head start. Winston also provides him with a Marker for future use. Before leaving, John says to Winston: “Tell them, tell them all, whoever comes, whoever it is, I’ll kill them, l’ll kill them all…” Suspicious of everyone as hitmen all across New York set their eyes on him, John then flees on foot with his faithful dog alongside him.
Brutal and bloody (but not gory) the fighting and shooting again is well choreographed. There is some awesome cinematography too, with the Rome scenes looking mind blowing. I find this closely guarded and secret underworld filled with assassins fascinating and the very thought that anyone could be after you to kill you and get your contract money is scary and thrilling. Although I liked the first movie better, I give this one an 8 outta 10 as well!
TV Tamasha In Mallu Land
I don’t watch Malayalam serials on tv but now and then I catch a few scenes or two as my parents watch them and when I am at home and have lunch, the tv is usually on as they watch these incredibly mind-numbing shows with plots and dialogues that will lower your IQ just by watching them. Now I have ranted on in the past about the ridiculous stuff that goes on in the Mallu tv land but here’s some more for fun.
The Malayalam serials equivalent of violins playing for sad scenes is a man or woman singing “ahhhha aaahhhhhhha aaahhhh” in tune! Every episode of every single soap in Malayalam has a woman crying for ……anything under the sun. And this “aahhh aaahhhh aaahhhhhh” sung in tune goes on and on. And the kid – in of these shows I have seen this kid who has got to be the most annoying kid in the entire country. He acts like an idiot and makes fuss for things that no kid his age should be doing. And the dialogues he says is so beyond anything any kid his age would say. And it almost feels like the sky is falling when he does his ridiculous tirade.
Dear Malayalam serials, if your character has some mental issues, she is PYSCHO — NOT PSYCHIC! Please stop saying rubbish. Get your facts right! Funny thing is even my parents think that the shows are terrible but they won’t stop watching them. Thousands of people their age or younger agree. And therein lies the victory of those who make these shows.
Why Did You Keep The Mousetrap?
No Pain, No Gain, No Mullah!
Do you agree with Jane Fonda’s favorite exercise motto, “no pain, no gain?” Is it impossible to attain greatness without considerable hardship?
I think not. No matter how much we think the ultra-rich and famous people have it easy, they have had to do something in the form of pain that ultimately gave them their wealth or increased what they already had. Like if you think someone was born into wealth, they still had to maintain that wealth by doing things to get more money. It just doesn’t grow on trees.
Sure there are those “celebs” who seem to be famous just for being famous and it seems that for no reason they keep getting paid large sums of money to keep being famous. I dunno why that is so but at some point or the other they either have to do crazy things to keep themselves in the spotlight and maintain their fame or work hard at just what it is that they are famous for. And hence keep the money rolling in.
It’s a strange world out there for famous people.
Prompt from The Daily Post at WordPress.com
The Mighty Alcohol
New Wrinkles
You wake up one day and realize you’re ten years older than you were the previous night. Beyond the initial shock, how does this development change your life plans?
Well if I woke up tomorrow and found out that I had suddenly turned 50 – retirement would be up in a few years! The end would come much faster. I’d be 50. Fucking 50. An age which it felt like just a few years ago was centuries away. That’s how devastating it would be for me.
I like life and I like doing whatever it is that I feel like doing on any free day. I would feel that at 50, this dude would be inclined to stay at home much more and drinking coffee and liquor every Saturday and Sunday evening and order in more than going out. I dunno, but being a bachelor is lonely most of the time and hence, going out and seeing happy couples and families is taxing for you.
I would also probably look around and see what changes I could make to my life and make it more comfortable and healthier would also be in the works. I’d probably also save a lot more. I don’t think much else would change.
Prompt from The Daily Post at WordPress.com
Amazon India Buying
I usually used to buy mostly on eBay but I’ve recently become an Amazon convert for several things. Back in 2015 October I made my very first really big purchase on Amazon India and that was this laptop I am typing on. My Dell Vostro 3558 Corei3 15 in. But other than that it’s been mostly eBay. However I recently began using Amazon a lot more and signed up for Prime and well, I have bought a few things online. This weekend too I was browsing and going through things and I bought just a couple of things.
First up is the first Fidget Spinner I have bought. I want to see just what the fuss is all about. I also bought this neat looking football design bottle opener for my beers. Mind you I don’t have the items yet.
Amazon’s grocery list is also kinda good. My first purchases are these two 1 litre juices from a company, Paper Boat I have known about but haven’t seen in the supermarkets in my town. They have lots of products and they come in nice packaging.
Oh and I also bought these three items that you see here for a friend who was leaving the company I work for. I knew she wanted a diary/journal with a lock that you see here on the left. This one was the nicest that I could find. Then I bought a steel travel mug for her since she loves coffee as much as I do and a leather covered pencil stand as well. I also bought her a poster but I can’t find an image for that poster.
Food Review #168
Parmesan Chicken Wings at 360 Degree Pizzeria – oh so good. That melted cheese dip for those hot and crispy wings! Delicious.
The Mummy
The Mummy is a 2017 American action-adventure directed by Alex Kurtzman and written by David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman, with a story by Kurtzman, Jon Spaihts and Jenny Lumet. It is a reboot of The Mummy franchise and the first installment in the Dark Universe film series. The film stars Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance and Russell Crowe. Although I label this in the horror section, it is not a scary movie and it is not really a horror film.
In ancient Egypt, Princess Ahmanet is first in line to succeed her father Menehptre, only to be stripped of her birthright when his second wife gives birth to a son. Determined to claim the throne for herself, Ahmanet sells her soul to the god Set, who gives her a special dagger to transfer his spirit into a corporeal form. After murdering her family, Ahmanet attempts to sacrifice her lover to give Set physical form, but her father’s priests slay him and mummify Ahmanet, sentencing her to be buried alive for eternity. In current times Iraq, soldier-of-fortune Nick Morton and his partner Chris Vail accidentally discover the tomb of Ahmanet after staging an airstrike on an insurgent stronghold. He is confronted by archeologist Jenny Halsey, an ex-lover, who has the backing of the military who arrives with soldiers. Nick, Chris & Jenny are told by the commanding officer Colonel Greenway to quickly investigate the tomb.
Jenny concurs that it in fact is a prison and not a tomb, being far away from Egypt. After extracting Ahmanet’s sarcophagus from a pool of mercury, Nick’s superior, Colonel Greenway, places the sarcophagus on a transport plane headed to England. In-flight, Vail becomes possessed by Ahmanet’s power due to being bitten by a camel spider while inside the tomb. After attempting to open the sarcophagus, he kills Greenway and attacks the group before Nick shoots him dead. A huge wave of crows then assault the plane, causing it to crash and kill everyone on board except for Jenny, who is parachuted off the plane by Nick. Nick awakens a day later in a morgue in Oxford, and learns from Vail’s ghost that he has been cursed by Ahmanet, who seeks to use him as a replacement vessel for Set. Ahmanet herself escapes from the sarcophagus and begins feeding on rescue workers to regenerate her decomposed body. Turning the workers into zombie minions, she lures Nick and Jenny into a trap, forcing the two to fight off the minions as they unsuccessfully try to escape. At the last second, unknown soldiers appear and subdue her.
heir leader, Dr. Henry Jekyll, explains that Jenny is an agent of Prodigium, a secret society dedicated to hunting supernatural threats whose base is under the Natural History Museum of London, and contains such objects as the hand of the Gill-man and a vampire’s fanged skull. He confirms that Nick was cursed when he unlocked Ahmanet’s tomb and reveals his intention to complete her ritual and allow Set to possess Nick in order to destroy Set and end his evil for good. Meanwhile, Ahmanet takes control of a Prodigium technician using another camel spider that sneaked into the complex and frees herself from captivity, wreaking havoc, death, and destruction in the process. Jekyll succumbs to his own dark impulses and transforms into Edward Hyde, his murderous and psychotic alternative personality, nearly killing Nick before Nick manages to stop Hyde with the serum Jekyll uses to suppress himself. Nick and Jenny then escape Prodigium, while Ahmanet steals back the dagger, summons an army of deceased English crusaders to serve her, and creates a massive sandstorm that ravages London.
Guided by Vail, Nick and Jenny flee into the subway tunnels under London, but are attacked by Ahmanet’s minions. Ahmanet captures Jenny and drowns her, hoping to break her hold over Nick. Nick puts up a fight, but gives up and lets himself embrace Ahmanet, using it as a ruse to steal the dagger and stab himself. His body is possessed by Set, who proceeds to join Ahmanet to uphold his end of the bargain until he sees Jenny’s dead body, at which point Nick regains control and uses Set’s powers to suck the life out of Ahmanet, turning her back into a shriveled mummy. Nick uses Set’s powers to resurrect Jenny, saying goodbye before becoming overwhelmed by Set’s power and disappearing. Soon, Jenny links up with Dr. Jekyll and they discuss if Nick, now fused with Set, is good or evil and whose side he’s on as Ahmanet’s corpse is lowered into a locked pool of mercury within the Prodigium base for safekeeping. It is also revealed that Nick has resurrected Vail, who protests as to what they will do now, to which Nick responds, “Where is your sense of adventure?” The two ride off in the desert as a sandstorm trails behind them, with Jekyll telling her that as long as a part of Nick’s humanity remains, he will continue to search for a way to become human again.
It’s a good film but I think it will fail to really ignite interest in the public movie going audiences for a Universal Monsters franchise reboot. Every studio is thinking franchise these days with the success of Marvel and stuff. I dunno if this was the right way to do it for monsters under its shared universe Dark Universe. I give it a 7 outta 10! It received negative reviews from critics and has grossed $151 million worldwide.
RIP Adam West
American icon, actor Adam West (born William West Anderson), best known for his portrayal of the title role in the 1960s ABC series Batman and its theatrical feature film, has passed away at the age of 88 after a short battle with leukemia. His acting career began in films in 1959. He played opposite Chuck Connors in Geronimo (1962) and The Three Stooges in The Outlaws Is Coming (1965). He has also appeared in the science-fiction film Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964), opposite Paul Mantee. He has done voice work on The Fairly OddParents, The Simpsons and Family Guy (he voiced fictional versions of himself in all of those animated series) and also Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders.
Born in Walla Wala, Washington he is of Swedish descent from his father, and English, with small amounts of Welsh, German, Irish, and remote Scottish from his mother. At age 15 he moved to Seattle when he was 15 with his mother following his parents’ divorce. Drafted into the United States Army, he served as an announcer on American Forces Network television. After his discharge, he worked as a milkman before moving to Hawaii to pursue television. in Hawaii, West was picked for a role as the sidekick on a children’s show called El Kini Popo Show, which featured a chimp. West later took over as star of the show. n 1959, West moved with his wife and two children to Hollywood,[10] where he took the stage name Adam West. In his autobiography Back to the Batcave, he explains he chose ‘Adam’ simply because he liked the way it looked and sounded with ‘West’, his middle name. His close friends and family still call him “Bill”.
He appeared in the film The Young Philadelphians including Paul Newman, and guest-starred in a number of television Westerns. On three Warner Bros. Westerns aired on ABC, Sugarfoot, Colt .45, and Lawman, West played the role of Doc Holliday, the frontier dentist and gunfighter. He portrayed Wild Bill Hickok in the episode “Westbound Stage” of the 1960 NBC Western series Overland Trail, with William Bendix and Doug McClure. He guest-starred on Edmond O’Brien’s syndicated crime drama Johnny Midnight, and soon snagged a supporting role as police sergeant Steve Nelson in the crime drama, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor. He made a few guest appearances on Perry Mason in the early 1960s and appeared once on Walter Brennan’s sitcom, The Real McCoys. He starred as Major Dan McCready, the ill-fated mission commander of ‘Mars Gravity Probe 1’ in the 1964 film Robinson Crusoe on Mars. In 1965, he was cast in the comedy Western The Outlaws Is Coming, the last feature film starring The Three Stooges.
Producer William Dozier cast West as Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman, in the television series Batman, in part after seeing West perform as the James Bond-like spy Captain Q in a Nestlé Quik commercial. The popular campy show ran on ABC from 1966 to 1968; a feature-length film version directed by Leslie H. Martinson was released in 1966. In 1970, West was offered the role of James Bond by Cubby Broccoli for the film Diamonds Are Forever. West did not accept, later stating in his autobiography that he believed the role should always be played by a British actor. West’s first post-Caped Crusader role was in the film The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1969). For a time, West made a living doing personal appearances as Batman. He acted in several movies in the 70s and reprised his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne, first in the short-lived animated series, The New Adventures of Batman, and in other shows such as The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour, Tarzan and the Super 7, Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (succeeding Olan Soule in the role).
In 1979, West once again donned the Batsuit for the live-action TV special Legends of the Superheroes. He would appear as himself in several comedy and other tv shows. West received the 2,468th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 5, 2012. In February 2016, West guest-starred as himself on the 200th episode of The Big Bang Theory. Since 2000, West has made regular appearances on the animated series Family Guy, on which he plays Mayor Adam West, the lunatic mayor of Quahog, Rhode Island, his role giving him a new wave of popularity since Batman. He married his wife Marcelle in 1970; they met when she was the wife of the Lear Jet founder and they posed for a publicity photo at Santa Monica Airport, with him in his Batman costume. (They each had two children from their previous marriages, then added a couple of their own.
Slice Of Spice & Masala
One of the places that I really wanted to try was Slice of Spice near Saritha theatre. I had seen so many reviews of people praising their food that my taste buds were intrigued. Plus I live quite near them and not having been until today is something that I cannot find an excuse for. Today I wanted to go there for lunch before my usual weekend movie. I skipped breakfast and survived on only coffee and by 12:15 I was so hungry that my pangs made go to SoS and I ordered and sat waiting in anticipation. Things did not go as I planned.
After going through the menu I asked for al shrouf chicken and kubbos. After discussing with one of the servers, as he said that it would take some time, I asked him about what dishes can be brought quickly, and on his suggestion I ordered two pieces of al-fahm and I asked for kubbos. Another server asked me what I wanted to drink and I ordered a lemon iced tea off the menu. Something went wrong in the translation.
They brought me a hot lemon tea which I said I didn’t want. He went back and 10 minutes later said that they didn’t have iced tea. So I ordered cold coffee. Then he brought me two chicken al-fam pieces and….naan. By now, I was too tired to disagree and being famished I started to dig in and my fingers expected juicy flesh of chicken …..and got a nice lathering of oily masala. The chicken was so coated in that masala that I could only taste the chicken in a few sections. Especially on the second piece, the masala was slapped on like — makeup on a clown or the makeup on a kathakali artist! I found it hard to swallow at one point.
I am sharing a pic take of the chicken and my plate at the end of the meal. If you took all that grease and liquefied it, you could lubricate the engines of a couple of cars. Saving grace was the cold coffee which was really good and the mayo that comes with the alfam.
Even though I am so disappointed so many of you have raved about this place, I will go there other day and try something else. Who knows, maybe the chef was having an off day, broke up with his girlfriend and was listening to emo music in anguish as he cooked my meal. But I am not looking forward to tomorrow morning after coffee!
Till next time Slice of Spice.
Kerala to Re-open 3 & 4 Star Bars!!!
In a major move, the Kerala government on Thursday approved the new liquor policy under which all closed down bars in three and four -star hotels would be allowed to reopen. The timing of the bars has been changed from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., while in tourist places it will get an hour’s extension, from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. The minimum age to drink liquor has also been raised from 21 years to 23. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, announcing the new policy, said he has full regard for the anti-liquor campaigners but “this is not a feasible and practical solution” and hence they were forced to come out with the new policy. He said toddy will be allowed to be served in star hotels, which was not allowed earlier.
These bars were closed two years ago during the previous Congress-led government, which sought to make Kerala a “dry” state with total prohibition on alcoholic drinks by 2023. Only five-star hotels were permitted to serve liquor. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said prohibition has been ineffective around the world because the record shows people go to any extent to get high, even narcotics. His government would rather give priority to abstinence than a blanket ban. “The previous government’s liquor policy was a flop, statistics show. There was no let-up in consumption. Besides, we have to consider the plight of 40,000 employees working in the sector,” he said.
The Congress, which is in the opposition now, rejected the chief minister’s remarks. “Our government closed the outlets in view of the alarming consumption rate. This government removed all restrictions. It is suicidal,” party leader Ramesh Chennithala said. Church organisations too criticised the government’s move, saying it is chasing money at the expense of people’s health. Liquor revenue accounts for around 25% of the Rs 40,000 crore the state earns from various taxes and services.
Never Again
Have you ever gone to a new place or tried a new experience and thought to yourself, “I’m never doing that again!” Tell us about it.
I’m never going to be fooled again. I’m tired of being open and inviting hurt and pain and that part is just so over. I’m tired, jaded and I am too old for such drama and bullshit and I am just not going to let it happen. I don’t want to end up hurt and feeling like I’m the one left in the dirt.
I give up on feeling bad and empty and I feel better when I did that. I do not want to be the one sitting in the dark and wondering where everything went wrong and worry and brood. Not that guy anymore, I have better things to do. And the whole point is that you just do not trust too much. Be it with friends, relationships, family and your work. The number one thing should be you and everything else should be secondary.
Cynical? Jaded? Resentful? Talking wounded? Vindictive? Maybe but it’s better than being sad and sorry for yourself. At the end of the day you can laugh and move on.
Prompt from The Daily Post at WordPress.com