Carol: Ali Is Still Working Off the Turkey

Ali Velshi: I won’t be back “until December 12th! Lots of travel.” Where in the world is Ali? American Morning co-host Carol Costello knows but she was not telling this morning. As she introduced herself and co-host Christine Romans, she “explained” Ali’s absence, laughing, “Ali is still working off the turkey!”* For AM viewers who miss Ali and want to know where he is, Carol’s Thanksgiving joke may be wearing thin.

Fear not, Ali acolytes, your  “hairless prophet of doom” has not altogether abandoned you. When one Twitter follower asked, “When r u coming back???,” he responded, “Not until Dec 12th! Lots of travel.” Later, he explained that he was doing a “bit of vacation” but “mostly work.” Furthermore, he chronicled his travels to his native Kenya, CNN studios Abu Dhabi, his friend and former AM co-host Kiran Chetry‘s birthplace Kathmandu, etc.

Apparently, Ali has been enjoying some “r & r” as his American Morning co-anchor role ends next year and is now preparing for his new CNN International Asia “World News Today” co-host position which begins in January 2012. But, he will be back albeit briefly on “December 12th.” Mark your CNN calendars.

*American Morning – 11/30/11 (@6:01 a.m. ET)

Ali Velshi: [I] Miss Kiran Chetry Every Morning

Yesterday American Morning co-host Ali Velshi pined for Kiran Chetry, his  gorgeous, exotic former AM co-host. After her hubby, meteorologist Chris Knowles, appeared anew on A.M.: Wake-Up Call for a weather segment, Ali Tweeted, “@chrisknowlestv nice to see you on our air. Miss @KiranChetryTV every morning.” And who could blame him?

After Kiran tearfully left AM for a mysterious “very special opportunity” on July 29, he has co-hosted the program with Christine Romans and Carol Costello. For the cosmopolitan Kenyan-born Canadian, his two former Iowa farm girls may seem a mite too plain and prosaic in comparison–especially, if the lovely ladies’ recent dress and mien are any indication. On one hand, Christine, overly cloaked in her high-collared tops and school marm midis, appears determined to play the earnest advocate: On the other, Carol, too oft in her Kyra Phillips slacks and/or Mary Jane shoes, seems to strive to be the studied cynic.

Unfortunately for Ali, AM‘s Aphrodite has left the the Time Warner Center: And, the sexy Nepalese beauty has not been replaced. Only Kiran’s personally dubbed “resident fashionista” Alina Cho may have come somewhat close. But, alas, Ali was gone that day.

Missing Kiran, Ali? So do your American Morning viewers!

Zain Verjee: “The Delilah of Kenya”

Zain’s “Love Lines.” CNN correspondent Zain Verjee revealed her sexy radio roots to CNN Newsroom anchor Kyra Phillips Monday. After a CN story on the launch of MTV thirty years ago with the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star,” Zain was ready to give her report on Amy Winehouse. Before she did, Kyra queried, “Zain, I want to bring you into this discussion….You say that’s actually the first song you played as a radio D.J.?”

Zain answered, “Yes, it was in Kenya and I was doing the love show, which was called “Love Lines” at the time.” Mellifluously, she added, “Kind of like the Delilah of Kenya almost.”

Then, more to Kyra’s point, Zain remarked, “When we launched this private radio station [in Nairobi], it was a big deal because in Kenya at that time everything had been [under] state control. So, it created all this buzz and that was the first song that was played on the breakfast show on Capital FM radio, “Video Killed the Radio Star.” It also launched my career.”

“The Delilah of Kenya“: No Philistine.

[Author’s aside: Elaborating on her radio show in a 2010 interview in Kenya’s Standard, Zain said, “It was called Love Lines and it was just sort of playing romantic music, reading people’s love letters, and dispensing of advice that I was ill positioned to give.”]