Suchita_Vadlamani's Blog

 

There's a surprise hit movie that's generating all kinds of buzz, so I had to check it out!  The fact that it's set in India, with Indian actors, of course appealed to me as well!  It's got romance, adventure, heartbreak and humor all wrapped up into an uplifting modern-day fairytale.  "Slumdog Millionaire" is the rags-to-riches story that audiences around the world are cheering.  Jamal is a boy born into a Mumbai slum, who faces all kinds of obstacles and hardships in a quest to find his lost love.  HIs journey is tied in with his appearance as an unlikely contestant on the Indian verision of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire".  A touch of Bollywood coming to Hollywood.  Enjoy!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!  Hope you're able to spend it with family, friends and lots of good food.  This morning, we had an early celebration with celebrity chef Virgina Willis.  She showed us how to make a fantastic feast for four under 70 dollars!!    So yummy....We've got all the recipes on our website, so check them out.    Have a wonderful holiday and see y'all Tuesday  :-)

Take a box of Kleenex when you go to see the new movie  "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"  It's a heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between two young boys during the time of Nazi Germany.  I must admit, I tried to hold it together, but I cried my eyes out!  The movie was very well acted and beautifully shot.  One thing that did strike me as odd was that rather than being a German film, all the actors spoke with  a British accent.  In fact, the woman who plays the mother is an American actress who puts on a British accent!!  I would have preferred the film in German with subtitles...it would have given it more authenticity.  Nevertheless, don't miss it....it's a lovely, but terribly sad film

So, I was at the airport recently and in line for security when I witnessed something very peculiar.  The woman in front of me was caught up in some sort of lengthy discussion with the TSA officials.  We all wondered what the hold up was about...that is, until she finally gave up arguing and headed to the trash bin with her "contraband".  Turned out, it was a GIANT jug of Liquid Drano!!!! I guess she thought she should have been able to take it through, because, after all,  she had put it in a GIANT Ziploc bag.  I was getting impatient, but when I saw that, I couldn't help but laugh, and wonder what in the world she was thinking!  Have you seen anything strange at airport security?

YIKES!  It's been quite a roller coaster ride for Wall Street this week.  On Monday, the Dow had its single largest one day drop...777 points!  But get this--while all the stocks were tanking, one company saw a RISE in share price. Only one company in the entire S&P 500. Can you guess which it was??  Campbell's Soup!  Guess when things seem really bad, folks take comfort in comfort food.  Did you stock up? Mmmm mmmm good.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/calgarybusines
s/story.html?id=d0fca126-b5ea-47ce-a4d2-e0546d90b3bb

 

There's a news anchor in Maine who bears a striking resemblance to Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin. She says she's flattered by the comparison, but now is receiving hate mail as a result.  What do you think?

It really is scary to think about driving along and just running out of gas. Thank goodness for my short commute!  But I've definitely cut down on running errand, trips to the mall, grocery store, etc.  Every drop counts!  How has the gas crisis affected your routine?

it's the coolest exhibit you will NEVER see! enter into a world of darkness and be enlightened. over 6 million people around the world have enjoyed the "eye-opening experience" and now you can, too! intrigued? so were we! dialog in the dark has been raising awareness about the visually impaired and creating discussions for 20 years now, and to mark the milestone, they've have opened their newest exhibit in atlanta. mark and i checked it out, and suffice to say, it was mindblowing!! don't miss it...

Three Starbucks in a two block radius-- a pretty common sight, right?   Well, it's apparently become too much of a "good" thing.  In a sign of the times,  the company announced it will close 600 of its underperforming stores and lay off more than 12,000 employees!   While I feel for the employees who will be affected, I'm not too torn up over the news...never been a fan of $4/cup joe. Where do you get your lattes?

"Meet Dave" is the name of Eddie Murphy's new movie and here's the premise:  miniature aliens operate a spaceship that has a human form (Murphy), but encounter problems when the ship becomes smitten with a sexy  Earth woman.  Hmmmmm.....sounds sketchy.  In fact, I've been kinda disappointed with many of his recent comedies...of the Norbit, Daddy Day Care, Pluto Nash, Dr. Doolittle etc. variety.   Nothing can beat his old school humor from movies like "Trading Places", "Coming to America",  "Boomerang" and "Beverly Hills Cop"!  I've probably seen "Trading Places" close to 50 times!!  It just kills me.  Keeping my fingers crossed for "Meet Dave"...we'll see!

Are you an Eddie Murphy fan?  What's your favorite movie?

While all my girlfriends got dolled up to see sex and the city,  i  threw on jeans, a baseball hat and an old t-shirt  to check out a horror flick-- "the strangers"!  since i'd never seen a single episode of the  satc series, i have to admit, i just didn't feel the urgency to go to the movie. 

so, instead, i settled into my seat and braced myself for a few screams.  well, i ended up howling for pretty much the entire 80 minutes!  and i wasn't alone.  everyone in the theater was jumping out of their seats. we'd all scream at the top of our lungs, and then let out a few giggles....surprised at how silly we were being  :-)  my poor friend probably had a whole bunch of bruises on his arm, from my squeezing it!  when the lights finally went on, my heart was still pounding and it felt like i had run a marathon!  thanks to "the strangers" i had a few nightmares, too.  i love scary movies, but hate them at the same time.  what gives?

Wake Forest University has decided to drop SAT scores as a requirement for admission.  They say it's not an accurate way to gauge student success and puts too much weight on one aspect of academic performance.  I still remember how much anxiety SAT's caused me!  UGH! 

In your opinion, what role, if any, should standardized tests have in college applications?

He found fame as the winner of American Idol 2008 and thanks to the show, he may have also found love!   David Cook and Season 2's Kimberly Caldwell are officially an item!  She co-hosts TV Guide's "Idol Tonight"..and it seems like she has a great personality!  Very funny, smart and vivacious.  Wishing them both the best!

Seriously.  All you do is sautee your veggies/meat of your choice/tofu in a pan, add the Curry Simple sauce from the packet, and you're done!  Atlanta entrepreneur, Mike Moran, took his 5 years of working at Surin restaurant, and ventured off on his own to create this SUPER YUMMY and totally authentic line of Thai cooking products.  He visited us on GDA a few days ago and made an appetizer, soup and an entree in 4 minutes.  Dinner is served!  The packaging incorporates NASA technology---and has a shelf life of 18 months---no refrigeration required!  So no matter when you decide to use it, it's unbelievably fresh and flavorful.  Restaurant quality!  Incidentally, my favorites are the Red Curry and Green Curry.        :-)
Check out currysimple.com 
or go to Whole Foods or Cook's Warehouse to find the sauces.  Mike is also a regular at the Piedmont Park's Green Market on Saturdays.    Enjoy....

For days, everyone in the building had been buzzing about supermodel Cindy Crawford coming on GDA.  The "Face of the 90's"..."Girl next door of your dreams"..and one of the most enduring beauty icons EVER.  Beyond her striking good looks, she was also INCREDIBLY down to Earth, sweet and personable...not to mention intelligent!  It's always nice when a celebrity exceeds your expectations  :-)