My bro Naveen has done a series of wacky commercials for the Tata Ace, built around a mock game show that uses the “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” lifelines, ignorant angrez (foreigners) and circus midgets. Take a look. Think he could give Regis, Amitabh and Shahrukh a run for their money?

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

So, with the World Cup being in full flow now, but slightly disappointing in the lack of thrills so far, I had to bring up an interesting theoretical question. Which of the following teams, based on the showcase ads from the two big sports companies, is better?

I guess Team Adidas is at an immediate disadvantage because they don’t have a goalie. And they decided to give up on a defensive line and load up the midfield. Still, having Messi and Villa up front, supported by Kaká probably means they would control the ball and run away with it. And even though he is retired, Zidane would be awesome off the bench.

One thing there is no doubt about – Nike’s “Write the Future” is definitely the better ad by miles. And Messi is the most awesome, unselfish soccer player on the planet.

Last night I experienced an extraordinary night of comedy. I went to Radio City Music Hall for Conan O’Brien’s triumphant return to New York City, performing live on “The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour“. It wasn’t his first stop on the tour, but I knew that this one would be special, seeing how he would be performing not more than a few 100 feet from his old ‘Late Night’ studio (and studio bosses). After the very public and acrimonious break up between him and NBC, this was going to be amazing.

And it was. The warm up act, Reggie Watts, was really funny, kicking things off with the right amount of wackiness. I look forward to seeing more of him in the future. Then Conan’s old band (minus Max Weinberg) came out to pump up the crowd. And finally, the pale-faced one came out, wearing his new beard (which was prominently featured in a little movie used in the opening act) and brandishing his trademark self-effacing humor.

But he didn’t hold back in any way, firing salvos at everyone, from Leno to Kim Kardashian and the Jersey Shore craze (”they have shows and I don’t???”). Of course, the choicest shots were reserved for NBC execs. There were a lot of musical numbers, where Conan sang popular songs that were suitably modified for the jokes (”On the Road Again” quickly turned into “Take me Off the Road Again”). Overall the show was like an extended ‘Late Night’ monologue, with assistance from his usual sidekicks – Andy Richter, La Bamba and others.

But all that would have only made for a pretty good night of comedy. What really pushed the show over the top was when Stephen Colbert stepped onto stage to challenge Conan to a dance-off for the title of “King of New York”. They kissed (!!!), they danced, it was amazing. And then Colbert pulled a hamstring, and was almost forced to default, when…well, see the video below.

Yes, that’s Jon Stewart coming to the rescue of Colbert. When he walked down the aisle to the stage, the crowd went absolutely bonkers. It was absolutely the best, most un-rehearsed, completely hilarious thing I have seen since, well, since the famous Stewart-Colbert-Conan crossover episodes during the writers strike.

After that, Conan pulled out an old favorite – the Walker, Texas Ranger Lever – with help from special guests Bill Hader, John Krazinski and Paul Rudd. He also introduced the replacement for a recurring character that cannot be mentioned on a family-friendly blog like this one. And Triumph the Insult Comic Dog brought down the house in his own inimitable style.

It was an amazing evening of comedy, and Conan got a well deserved standing ovation from a loving New York crowd. I don’t think any show on this tour will ever be able to top this one, not just because of the guests but because of the unique context of the show. In any case, I was glad that I was lucky enough to be there to experience Conan (and the next chapter of the greatest crossover ever) in full glory.

You know World Cup mania is approaching fever-pitch when the requisite Nike ad comes out. And the 2010 WorldCup edition is absolutely brilliant. Not only is the soccer imagery dazzling, it mixes in today’s soccer greats like Rooney and Ronaldo with non-soccer greats like Kobe, Federer and Homer Simpson(!). And the Facebook “like” button makes it in there as well.

Nike Write The Future from Wieden + Kennedy London on Vimeo.

Write The Future from Nalden on Vimeo.

The Wayne Rooney segment is just hilarious, but given the way our stock markets have been (mis)behaving recently, some of it hits a little too close to home. And it’s obvious that Nike couldn’t predict Ronaldinho not making the Brazilian squad, or they wouldn’t have featured him so prominently. I only wish Messi (the world’s greatest player right now, without doubt) were in the ad too. Oh, and as a Manchester United fan, I miss Ronaldo and I hate Ribery!

“Write the Future” indeed. I cannot wait for the World Cup to begin. Should be amazing.

I found this talk and Q&A with Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk to be very authentic and insightful. I’m definitely not a writer, but there was a lot in what he said that I found to be personally relevant to my work and how I approach it. It’s a little long, but it is definitely worth your time if you have about an hour to spend.

Chuck Palahniuk from Grub Street on Vimeo.

Thanks to Crystal King for sharing this via her Twitter page.

Our last day (Day 4) in Barcelona was a gray, dreary day. There was a continuous drizzle that dampened our plans. But we stuck with it, and spent the day walking around trying to take in the architecture of Barcelona. Which is completely worth all the trouble. Nowhere else have I seen such diversity and range of architecture, from the historic to the bizarre to the modern. It was simply amazing.

The big influence of course is Gaudi, whose Casa Milá and Casa Battló are two of the most distinctive, intriguing and weird buildings you will ever see. Casa Milá looks like it could have been hewn out of a mountain face or something.

Casa Battló is probably one of the most exotic buildings in the world, looking like something straight out of a fairy tale.

And the Casa Comalat, designed by the Gaudí-influenced architect Salvador Valeri i Popurull, is an unusual looking house that has two different facades, formal at the front, more playful at the back.

And then there were the modern looking buildings that dotted the graceful Passeig de Gràcia.

The day ended with us trying to seek shelter from the rain at a children’s play area, followed by another round of delicious  tapas. And just like that, four lovely days in one of the most intriguing cities I have visited came to an end.

Day 3 has been all about exploring some of the diversity in beauty that this city has to offer. Our first stop was the beach, where the Sunday crowd was out in force to enjoy the sun and the sand. Not too many people were in the water though, which was pretty cold. But the beach was a fun place to hang out, and the fact that it was right there in the city (it didn’t take a 1 hr drive or 2 hr train ride to get there) was awesome.

We also enjoyed some excellent fideuàs (paella with noodles instead of rice) at the grand Can Majó. Sipping sangria while enjoying the food, the sun and the view of the blue water was exactly what this vacation needed.

This was followed by a trip up the mountain of Montjuïc, the largest green zone in the city and home to a castle, the Olympic park and lots of greenery. But be warned – don’t try this trip with a stroller or you will be dead by the time you are done!

In the evening, we descended to the base of Montjuïc for a unique spectacle. Dancing fountains may be all over the world now, but the Magic Fountain outside the MNAC is pretty spectacular, built as it was  for the 1929 world’s fair, and still one of the best (better than anything in Vegas, even if the musical set started with Disney tunes).

Excellent tapas at Taller de Tapas rounded out the night, though their attempt to solve the mystery of tapas by spelling everything out in English does need to be matched by understanding service. Even getting caught in a downpour on the frantic walk (run) back to the hotel did nothing to dampen our spirits from the day of fun.

Again, random photos from our trip have been uploaded to this tag on my flickr account.

It’s been 2 days in Barcelona, and here are some random thoughts from two tiring but inspiring days in a city I am coming to love.

Day 1 was all about being reminded that I was definitely in Europe. The bus ride from the airport to the main plaza near my hotel was painless and a pleasure. The bus was clean and new and definitely kid friendly, in that the windows went all the way down so Arav could look out while sitting down the whole ride. There were grand plazas, fenced in by historic buildings on one side and great sidewalk cafes on the other, and there were grand avenues to walk down, admiring the sights and sounds of a grand European city.

Day 2 was all about Gaudi, the most honored of Spanish architects. We started the day in Parc Güell, a place for which the word “whimsical” would be an understatement. It’s like someone who grew up on a steady diet of Hans Christian Anderson went wild and started creating a fairy tale world in a park.

We then topped that by a visit to the world famous Sagrada Família, a cathedral unlike any other in Europe, whose unique shape and adornments are amazing to behold. The fact that it is still being constructed is ridculous in of itself.

A visit to the not-too-bad aquarium was added to the end to make the day a bit more palatable for the munchkin, who greatly enjoyed the excellent children’s play area at the end of his tour. And a fitting end to the bizarre and wonderous sights of the day was an all-dessert dinner at Espai Sucre, where our 3 and 5 course meals of all dessert based dishes was a true joy, and a fitting reward to 2 days of walking our soles thin.

I can’t look forward to what else Barcelona has to offer in the two more days I have here. I am going to keep uploading random photos from our trip to this tag on my flickr account. Check it out if you can.

It was a great day to be a Yankee fan in New York. For the second year in a row, I went to the home opener at Yankee Stadium. Last year it was the inaugural game for the new stadium. This year, I was there to join in the final celebration of the 27th Championship win for my Yankees, as the players got their World Series rings.

It was so great to watch the Yankees getting their rings, especially the core of Jeter, Mariano, Posada and Pettitte getting their 5th rings. Jeter is now halfway to Berra’s mark of 10 championships, who was there to hand out the hardware along with Whitey Ford.

But the ceremony was made all the more sweet when the Yankees took advantage of the scheduling that brought the Angels to town and gave Matsui his ring. The Yankee fans gave the World Series MVP the standing ovation he deserved. It was actually one of the rare occasions that someone else garnered louder cheers from the Yankee faithful than Jeter.

And it was really cool when after Matsui got his ring from Girardi, he got mobbed at the mound by his ex-Yankee teammates. It was a thrilling moment.

The game was great, as the Yankees won 7-5 (it wasn’t as close as the score indicated, but the late grand slam did allow us to get our first taste of “Enter Sandman” in 2010 as Mo came in for a 2-out save). As we left the stadium, it was surreal and a little painful to see the old stadium being torn down across the street. The grand old lady is finally coming down, piece by piece, and it is good to know that “aura and mystique” have officially moved across and taken residence at the House that Jeter built.

You can check out all my photographs from this day here.

On last night’s episode of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Grant Imahara gave an update on the creation of Geoff Petersen, future skeleton robot sidekick to Craig Ferguson. And the coolest thing is that he actually used the Three Laws of Skelo-Robotics that I came up with a few weeks ago. Check it out:

Grant gave me credit in a tweet today, and also said that he gave me credit in the filming but it got edited out. Nice of him to do that, because as a devoted member of the robot skeleton army, I really don’t expect credit for anything I do for my overlord, the great Craig Ferguson. To have something I created used on his show makes me feel just as lucky (if not more so) than the naked hobos that get to be in his presence every day. And it was especially satisfying to see how well the laws worked when Geoff encountered Helena Bonham Carter.

My work here is done!