Snake in Phaaradm

Last Wednesday (26th Nov 2008) some members of my company found a snake near fire test room area in the afternoon. They managed to snap a couple of photos and also killed the snake.

However, they also suspect that there could be more of them hiding inside the company. Scary thought, eh?

So, where did the snakes came from all of sudden? You see, there is a construction going on just beside my company. The contractors have cleared up a small jungle beside the company to make way for Shah Alam Memorial Park. Therefore, these animals have nowhere to go and migrated to our company. No wonder some of the members have been complaining about monkeys at the car park area.

This is what happens when we clear up jungles without regard for creatures living there. Thus, these uninvited guests will have nowhere to go and will start claiming space in our habitat.

Secret behind David copperfield's flight

Ever wondered how did David Copperfield fly?

Just when you thought you had it all figured out, he does some new trick to prove that he's not suspended on cables. So, how did he do it?

The actor that I admire

I've been meaning to publish this article on November 7th; on the actor's birthday....

Some info about the actor I admire in Tamil film industry.


Name: Kamal Hassan

Date of birth :November 7th 1954

Place of birth : Paramakudi, Ramanathapuram ,Tamilnadu

Father :Srinivasan Iyer

Mother : Rajalakshmi (His daughter Shruthi Rajalakshmi also named after his mother)

His critic: He is a keen critic of himself.

His avatars : Actor, Director, Singer, Writer, Dancer

Milestones in his career:

• 16 Vayathinilae : Released in 1977 (Character potrayal)
This Tamil movie which was trend setter during 1970’s with power packed performances by Rajini , Kamal and Sridevi.This movie was a major hit and stands out due to the portrayal of the character “Chapani”. It is so popular that mimicry artists use a dialogue spoken by this character to imitate Kamal Hassan ("Aatha aadu valatha, kozhi valatha....").

• Marocharithra ( Remade in Hindi as the Block Buster – Ek Duje ke Liye): Released in 1978 (Romantic genre)
The story revolves around a simple ’’Telugu - Tamil’’ neighboring girl and boy falling in love and later their family interfere and ask them to remain separate for the whole year which makes the story end in tragedy. The movie ran for a year in Madras.
Kamal’s romantic portrayal made him the the heart throb of South India (Kadhal mannan).

• Moonram Pirai : Released in 1982 (Character potrayal)
This Tamil Movie directed by Balumahendra had near perfect performances by the lead pair Kamal Hassan and Sridevi. Kamal’s outburst in the climax will bring tears to even the stone hearted.The movie without doubt was a great blockbuster hit and Kamal bagged his first national award for this movie.

• Salangai Oli : Released in 1983 (Dance)
This cinema deals with the tragedies in the life of a talented dancer.Kamal Hassan proved to all those parents who are afraid of their sons joining in dance studios that male version of classical dance is glamorous, masculine, tasteful and elegant. Even though he was trained in Bharata Natyam, in this film Kamal Hassan performs many other styles too (kuchipudi, kathakali, etc..).

• Punnagai Mannan : Released in 1986 (Tragedy + Black & Slapstick comedy)
This movie is a cult one. Kamal donning roles of a love wreck and a aging Comedian swept the audiences. This is the movie where Kamal had the idea of playing a dwarf germinated.

• Nayakan : Released in 1987 (Character potrayal)
Nayagan is the story of a Tamil youth who grows up amidst the slums and become a Don. Directed by Mani Ratnam , and Velu Nayakar played by Kamal Haasan, the film was a trend setter. It fetched Kamal Haasan the 2nd of his National Best Actor Awards.

• Pesum Padam (Puspak Vimana) : Released in 1987 (Silent movie)
This kannada movie is a tribute to Silent Cinema, This movie proves languages are no barriers to understand human feelings.

• Apoorva Sagothararkal : Released in 1989 (Shape transformation)
Although with poor screenplay, this movie was elevated to an all time hit status by Kamal's performance as a dwarf. The various methods handled by Kamal acted to appear as a dwarf is still a closely guarded secret.

• Guna : Released in 1991 (Character potrayal - psycho)
This Tamil movie is a painting in canvas about a obsessive lover. Kamal transformed himself into a psycho alter-hero in this classic movie of all times. The Rumour was Kamal had spent around a month and a more in mental asylum to study for this character.

• Devar Magan : Released in 1992 (Directorial debut)
Kamal teamed up with Sivaji to come up with a gem of a village story of warring factions.

• Mahanathi : Released in 1994 (Sorrow)
Its about the transformation the river undergoes right from its origin and the impurities addition till its reaches the ocean / sea similarly this movie is about a life of a good man which was simple and the changes it undergoes. Highlight many social issues such as child prostitution, financial fraud, etc..

• Sigappu Rojakkal (Thriller)
A slick psychopath movie of those early days. Given today's technology, this movie could have made 100 times of an impact.

• Indian : Released in 1995 (Technology - Make up)
Kamal in this movie was involved so much after a long period of time.The small expressions were all natural and Shankar used kamal in the best possible way. This movie highlighted the importance of make up in movies. It fetched Kamal Haasan the 3rd of his National Best Actor Awards.

• Other milestone movies in his career
Varumaiyin Niram Sigappu

Oru Kaithiyin Diary (thriller)

Micheal MadanaKamarajan (Quadruplet roles, comedy)

Kuruthippunal (Patriotism)

Hey Ram (Critisism)

Aalavanthan (Technology - Motion control camera)

Virumandi (Technology - On spot recording)

Vasool Raja M.B.B.S (Comedy)

Dasavatharam (Screenplay)

Who owns who?

The automobile industry can be pretty confusing in terms of ownership, shareholding or joint venture.

But this scanned image from a magazine shows the map of the global car industry and would definitely give you a clearer picture of the global automobile industry today.

Click on the picture for Fullscreen view

The entire automobile industry seems to be dependent on one another.

But if you study carefully, you'll notice that Proton-Lotus partnership is isolated from the rest of the automobile industry. (I wonder why? No promising growth?! or unfavorable terms?!)

...And don't be shocked to find that SAMSUNG is also making cars!! You can find it somewhere inside there.

Rainbows

How often does anyone sees a rainbow?

How often do you see double rainbows?

I managed to capture a double rainbow while on my way home after a heavy rain. Click on the pictures to get larger view. Try spotting the second rainbow.

Luxury cars and fancy number plates

Luxury cars and fancy numbers go hand- in-hand.

Some people choose fancy number for showing off;
some choose them because its their lucky number;
some people choose them to match their vehicle model (ie: CLS 350 for Mercedes C-Class CLS 350 model, DB 9 for Aston Martin DB9. Btw, these 2 numbers are real and owned by some tycoon in Malaysia. Spot them on the roads if you're lucky!!);
while, some prefer all their vehicles to follow suit (same numbers for all the vehicles)

Here are some of the cars I managed to capture on camera while on road. Click on the pictures to view them in larger size.


2nd runner up: The wicked one (WCK 9, BMW 6 series, I bet you can find more 7 series on road than this one ;-))

1st runner up: The exotic one (MAU1, Benz...dunno what class, caught it at the lobby of Bukit Jalil Golf & Country Resort)
Grand prize: The royal ride (BMW 7 series, just look at its number man.....)

So, why am I talking about cars suddenly? Just watch out for my future posts.