hyphenated twentysomething

As I took in my daily dose of the Chicago Tribune online today(while procrastinating at work), I came across this interesting/weird article on the new moms of our generation. Now, I have very little knowlege about Yoga. And none about motherhood. But....I do like to think that I know a little bit being hip;), if I may say so myself. I mean, this could be us in 10 yrs!! (or earlier for some..ahem...Shaz:).Out with the Soccer Moms, and in with the ultra hip Yoga Moms. Here is the article. (Free subscription required). I realize that the company actually promoting the term "yoga mama" is trying to have a little fun and shake it up. But. Really???Some of the comparisions are actually funny:

" Soccer mom ... Attributes stomach flu to a virus and takes ailing child to the
doctor.
Yoga mama ... Figures out why her child has a third chakra imbalance;
takes her offspring to the doctor, acupuncturist and therapist."


Some try to be all empowering and spiritual:

"Soccer mom ... Puts her own life and needs on hold to help others.
Yoga mama ... Is empowered from within and takes time for friendships, career and hobbies."


And then, there are others that are just plain bad. And confused. Oh, and well, misunderstood.

"Soccer mom ... Outfitted her children at Gymboree, The Gap and Talbots Kids.
Yoga mama ... Her kids wear organic cotton shirts and clothing made from pesticide- free hemp.

Soccer mom ... Carried a $30 Winnie the Pooh diaper bag from Target.
Yoga mama ... Totes a $200 diaper bag of houndstooth and red Asian brocade.
(Yes thank you for making a vague Asian fashion tribute. I find that so appealing!)

Soccer mom ... When someone hurts her child's feelings, says: "He'll
get what's coming to him."
Yoga mama ... "Now that's a yucky piece of karma."

Notice, how karma all of a sudden becomes the "hip" response to bully behavior. Umm...whatever happened to just saying, what goes around comes around. Oh right. I forgot. That's too much to say. It's now called karma. Geeez, get with the program. Personally, I prefer a little "Oh no she didn't", [followed by snap, snap, snap].
But seriously, I always interpreted karma as more of an action, more of one's own doing rather than saying. And of course, doing something because it is morally right and doing it so that it can aid and benefit others rather than simply doing something just because. But of course that's only my interpretation of it. But it seems like karma is being used a lot these days. On Sunday, tv show Grey's Anatomy seemed consumed with Karma after George realized no matter how he felt, Meredith was never going to love him. And Meredith couldn't seem to figure out why she kept making mistakes in her overly messed up life. They all left it up to karma. Yep, when you can't seem to blame anyone else, or choose not to 'fess up to your actions, blame karma.
Well anyways, I guess it's kinda of nice that people now know that the word exists. But if only it could be perceived correctly.
Moving on....back to the article, mom now becomes mama because, of course, (say it with me) its just so like hip!

"Stewart prefers the term "yoga mama" over "yoga mom" because, she said, "When
you think of the word 'mom,' you think of a teenager whining, 'Mooooooooooooom!'
as a preface to some complaint or demand. The word mama just seems so much more hip and appealing."

So now, I guess, after all these years, I should try to call my "mummy", mama. After all, 'Maaaaaaaaaaama!' sounds so much more...18th centuryish(Think Pride and Prejudice, the movie), oh and of course hip:)

Picture: Courtesy of indianidol.sifymax.com

I have a confession to make. I admit it. I actually like Will Smith. Yes, you've read correctly. Big Willie, Mr. Party Starter, whatever you want to call him. Mr. Jada Smith is rather appealing. While I think at times he talks a little too much about his marriage and his music is not always exactly my cup of mocha, his personality makes up for all of that. I mean, seriously, everytime I see him on tv, he is smiling and seems extremely happy for just existing. And he really does seem to brighten up my idy bidy tv screen by acting all goofy and making it seem like everything is just fine and dandy. He seemed just as comfortable in front of an Indian audience on a rather interesting Indian tv show as he is on say Oprah.
Forget the bird flu, Bush's visit to India, and the Aids epidemic. If Big Willie is in town, just get jiggy with it. So what brings out this sudden burst of admiration. Well, as I continue to find new ways to become bored, I started to watch the ridiculousness that is Sony Enterntainment Asia. And, sure enough, on tonight's Indian Idol, the Prince of Bel-Air decided to visit the studios. And of course, the public went crazy and gaga over him. And, for some reason, I got caught up in it. What is Big Will doing in India? Because, that was my first question. Well, Will Smith was in India to promote a new English language movie channel. But, seeing that he's such a big music star, he some how made his way on to the Indian Idol stage and into my tv screen.
He was only on the show for about 5 minutes, in which he encouraged singers to sing confidently and really connect with the public. Fine. That's all good. But the thing that actually made me stop and stare (and made me smile) was when a contestant asked him to sing a few lines from a Bollywood song. He sang a few lines from "Aati kya Khandala". And, quite frankly, he pronounced the words pretty well. I was quite impressed. However, Sony ended up dubbing over his actual dialogue with Hindi which frustrated me. I understand they wanted those who may not know the English language to be able to understand what he said, but it seemed to defeat the entire purpose of having him chat with the host. And to top it off, the contestants decided to make him their hero/maharaja and crowned him with a pagh, which he of course proudly wore. Overall, it was very entertaining and made me wish he was on the show a little longer. But then, just as I had scrounged up a little respect for the show, the Koffee man himself showed up as the guest judge. Yes, yes, it is our favorite cheesy and annoying host, Mr. Karan Johar. ick. Enough said.
But what I really wonder is what motivated Will Smith to show up on Indian Idol aside from just publicity, maybe some money, and well a good time with eager fans. Of course, not that that is not reason enough. But I just really found it interesting that he suddenly showed up on the show where I don't think any other American celebrities have shown up. Well, if nothing else, at least he's musically admired somewhere:)

P.S. Oh and by the way, Will, I forgive you for Wild Wild West. It's okay. But Hitch....