Update on the Mutiny
Ummm ok so remember, don't shoot the messenger:)
So it may turn out that the whole, fight for the mutiny, support the Sepia movement is all just a big joke in time for April Fools Day. Rights? Support? Legal Action? Who needs them anyways. There is this
petition going around. Is it authentic? Who knows. I really don't know anything anymore;)
And well, if it is, I WAS fooled! Seriously, I'm barely awake, and even less rationale on a Friday morning so how could I have not been fooled. Especially without coffee (and maybe some donuts!) and when it concerns the Mutiny!!!
So anyhoo, if this is all a joke/prank, bravo SM, you pulled off one hell of a stunt. However, if this is for real (i doubt it, but lets not lose complete faith in the truth and honesty of my mutineers), then by all means, put away your apathy and ignorance and fight for a cause!
By the way, the product descriptions are hilarious. The best things I've read in a really really long time. Seriously, some of the funniest stuff you've ever read.
Alas, this has been such a crazy day, too much drama/shock/humor indeed!
Op Eds on Immigration
As some of you may well know by now, I'm interested in immigrants rights and issues such as increasing the number of legal immigrants who come to America. Moreover, I support giving out visas to foreign workers and family members. Of course with this whole immigration issue, there are many things to consider. Especially, the costs, effects on communities, and most importantly, the problem of assimilation (or lack thereof). Here are two great op ed pieces from the Chicago Tribune today that discuss this concerns and the real problem that many Americans have with immigration. Let's face it, many don't want their neighborhoods to become burrows for different communities, languages, and religions, and "corrupt" or "change" their "American" way of life.
One is titled
"Clash of Cultures" asking people to get their real attitudes on immigration out in the open and face the real problem: Bigotry. I agree that people don't want to face the real attitudes and problems associated with immigration due to fear of being considered "narrow-minded." However, I don't necessarily think it is
always a "Clash of the Cultures"problem in the sense that many may still appreciate other cultures (even if they are ignorant at times) and some even want to take part in it even for a short time. It's just that, many don't want it integrating, "interfering", and "associated" with their lifestyles in the future. Maybe its just titled inappropriately, but the problem can't simply be blamed on just discrimination or bigotry. I think it has to do more with how many view assimilation, and exactly how much assimilation should be desired. Besides, can someone tell me exactly what constitutes "American Culture?"
Permanent and legal immigrants associate with being Americans in different ways, and finding differences and similarities with their own cultures, traditions, and beliefs. So in my opinion, it's not so much of a clash as it is a misunderstood, stubborn, and ignorant attitude regarding how immigration is really affecting them. Many feel that immigrants bring upon only a lack of immersion into a community, low skills, low education, and lack of resources when they come. But these are the same immigrants who are coming here for opportunities to better their lives and do jobs, that many Americans don't want to do-in which case the complainers are actually benefiting. Also, instead of complaining that our costs increase by educating and providing benefits to these immigrants, why don't we come up with a more secure, reasonable plan that results in a more educated, independent, and well-rounded immigrant community. A lot of times, we want them to do our jobs but then in return, not provide the resources to make sure that they are actually bettering themselves and learning the English language among other skills. And let's make sure that those immigrants also take advantage and make use of those resources so that our efforts aren't futile.
While that may focus on illegal immigrants, many legal immigrants may have a good level of education and actually contribute to society in meaningful ways. Sure there is some hatred, but there's also a lot of misunderstanding based upon stereotypes and not realizing the value that immigrants can have in a community.
In the other piece, titled
"Analyzing Illegal Immigration", deals more the advantages and disadvantages of immigration and disapproves of the "guest worker" program. Instead, it proposes to add generous immigration quotas, especially for Mexico, and work on integrating current illegal and legal immigrants into American life. Basically, immerse them in the English language, give them a chance to develop and learn, and allow them to grow in their jobs. Fix the immigrants problems that we face currently and don't allow immigrants to seclude themselves in their ethnic communities forever. Because that often stunts their growth in the English language and decreases their chances of finding better jobs and opportunities as they try to live out the so-called American dream.
Of course there are many economic and social concerns that go along with this issue, but these two articles really hit upon the point that immigration is going to happen no matter what, legally or illegally, and its about time we faced the problem in a rationale, practical manner.
It's Time to Join the Mutiny!
"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! Wait....What is going on??.....OH MY GOD!"
This is what our reaction was when we sat down to check out our favorite blog on a lovely, sunny, warm Friday morning and proceeded to procrastinate at work. No really. This is just gist of it. We said Oh My God, like a million more times, and decided we really needed to take a deep breath and possibly drink some coffee. Seriously, Sepia Mutiny, WE LOVE YOU! and Well, how will we survive an entire day in our little cubicles at work without your distraction?? Without hitting the refresh button every hour (ok, more like every 15 minutes) , and what about all of our news, and events?
There is only one solution my friends. We all must join the MUTINY! Seriously, show your support by going to Sepia's new temporary weblog:
http://sepiamutiny.blogspot.com/ . And send all the hate mail you can to those
imposters at the former site:
http://www.sepitamutiny.com/sepia who stole their domain and are now using it to sell stupid exotic crap. So, be a good citizen, blog-enthusiast, and defender of rights, by showing some love to SM!
Our Music List
Since Tanvi and I are so good at making lists;), I thought we should add music suggestions too. Again, please do comment and give us your suggestions. We're open to anything , well maybe not country:). But, we'd love to hear your comments and reviews, so tell us what tunes you're into!
Here are some bands and artists I'm listening to now or would like to check out:
Karsh Kale's Broken English
James Blunt
Arctic Monkeys
Matisyahu
Franz Ferdinand's You Could Have It So Much Better
Himalayan Project's Wince at the Sun
Gayatri's Suggestions:
- Gorillaz
- Maniac Street Preachers
- Fiona Apple
- dEUS
Maybe...HR Visual Aids?
From one of my favorite comics, by
Secret Asian Man. It's titled,
"The New Majority":
(image courtesy of www.imdiversity.com)
Also see.."What's in a name."
Hmmm...Maybe this could be used as an HR visual aid?? ;) Kidding, of course.
I know, I may need some anger management help;)
Episode 2: HR Training 101: Annoying Small Talk
Scene II
Event: Calling the PC help desk (which surprisingly is not in some call center in Bangalore!)
Characters: The Help Desk man and Me
Location: My desk
Time: Friday afternoon
Mood: Frustrated (with my stupid computer program) and so ready for the weekend to begin
Narrator: Payal has to call the PC help desk because her password for a particular application is not working.
Man: Hi. May I have your name please?
Me: Payal Shah. P-A-Y-A-L. S-H-A-H. (spelling it out real nice and slow)
Man: ( in a very curious, "What did you just say, I've never heard of such a thing before, Are you sure that's your name?" voice) Excuse me. Could you repeat that?
Me: (A little loudly and with more emphasis) Payal Shah. P-A-Y-A-L. (pause) S-H-A-H.
Man: Hmm..that's an interesting name. (awkward pause, as if he's trying to think if such a name actually exists and what "exotic" place it comes from) I've never heard of that before. Where's that from?
Me: (Going through my head, but restraining from speaking out loud) DEAR GOD! I don't ask you what kind of name Mike or Robert or whatever other stupid name out there is, and I certainly don't care to ask you "where that's from!" Why do you even CARE! Just do your job! GEEZ! Dude, its Friday afternoon and I want to go HOME! There is no time for small talk when freedom is so near!
Me: (saying it kinda quickly) Um... my name is Payal Shah, and its Indian, Any questions? (praying silently: for the love of god (my hindi god;). Please don't ask any questions, please don't ask questions. I promise I'll tell you all about the meaning of my name and its roots, and all about this so-called "exotic" land in East the next time I call but, please, can you just fix my password? pretty please?
Man: Oh..no. (still astonished that such a name would exist and someone might actually name his or her child that) It's just such an interesting name. (not realizing he had just said this ) Never heard of it before. Cool..Cool.
Me: Yeah.....so um, Bob (randomly pulling it out of thin air, totally forgetting what he said his name was at the beginning of the call. Come on. After all, how could you expect me to remember such an uncool, common, "American" name ?) What's the deal with my password? I mean, this is really not cool. I've never heard of such a problem like this before.
Man: Ok..yeah...(realizing the whole purpose of the call and well, his job!). Let me check on that.
End of Scene.
So yeah, maybe this is just a little:) exaggerated or mean, but he really did say those things, in that tone of voice. And of course, you can never truly tell what someone is thinking just over the phone. But man, people NEED to stop asking that in a tone of complete astonishment, especially over the phone. It's different when you meet somebody and you're just interested in learning more about them and you ask kindly and curiously. But, this was not like that. This really sounded like, "Huh? Payal? What is that?" Seriously, I should have just said, "It's a "terrorist name", any questions?" I kid. I kid. Remember, we don't condone violence or evilness(but bitchiness is ok) on this blog;)
A Multi-Hyphenated Identity
Here's a great essay in Slate Magazine by Amartya Sen. This essay is from his new book: Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny. It an interesting essay commenting on the problem when one tries to evaluates someone's identity simply by their religion or from any singular point of view.
"The insistence, if only implicitly, on a choiceless singularity of human identity not only diminishes us all, it also makes the world much more flammable. The alternative to the divisiveness of one pre-eminent categorization is not any unreal claim that we are all much the same. Rather, the main hope of harmony in our troubled world lies in the plurality of our identities, which cut across each other and work against sharp divisions around one single hardened line of vehement division that allegedly cannot be resisted. Our shared humanity gets savagely challenged when our differences are narrowed into one devised system of uniquely powerful categorization."
This goes well with the whole hyphenated (well in this case, multi-hyphenated) theme of the blog:)
Also, here's a great post (much better than this one) by blogger Jai Singh who discusses Sen's new book and has some very interesting observations on it.
Update on Conan in Chicago
Hey everyone,
Here's an update on the Late Night with Conan O' Brien show which is coming to Chi-town on May 9-12th. Here is
information on how to get tickets. Please note, you have to email them. So hurry up and do so! All information regarding location and timings are on that webpage linked above. Click on it now! Also please note the following important info from his website:
Requests for more than 2 tickets WILL NOT BE HONORED. Ticket "reservations" are sent out in excess to seating capacity please be advised that no "reservation" guarantees admission. Audience line up time: no later than 3:15 pm, day of show you are assigned. Please be advised that lines may form earlier. First come, first served.
Stand by tickets will be given out the day of each show at 12 noon. A line will be formed outside the theatre entrance along the building and one stand-by ticket will be given out per person. You will be asked to re -form a line in an alternate area later in the day in numeric order. No ticket guarantees admission.
See Oh Conan, How I Love Thee.
Feminist, Machoist,...Humanist
In light of my recent conversation with Tanvi about her human rights class and our feminist "quote of the day" today (March 28th),
"Because women's work is never done and is underpaid or unpaid or boring or repetitious and we're the first to get fired and what we look like is more important than what we do and if we get raped it's our fault and if we get beaten we must have provoked it and if we raise our voices we're nagging bitches and if we enjoy sex we're nymphos and if we don't we're frigid and if we love women it's because we can't get a "real" man and if we ask our doctor too many questions we're neurotic and/or pushy and if we expect childcare we're selfish and if we stand up for our rights we're aggressive and "unfeminine" and if we don't we're typical weak females and if we want to get married we're out to trap a man and if we don't we're unnatural and because we still can't get an adequate safe contraceptive but men can walk on the moon and if we can't cope or don't want a pregnancy we're made to feel guilty about abortion and...for lots of other reasons we are part of the women's liberation movement.
"
-- Unknown
I thought I would post this interesting transcript of
Suketu Mehta's speech from India Today Conclave 2006 with the theme of "Bridging the Divide." India Today is a South-Asian magazine and the purpose of the conference was to bring together leaders from various arenas to discuss India's future.
INDIA TODAY, the largest and most influential weekly newsmagazine in South Asia, presents the fifth INDIA TODAY CONCLAVE, an international event that will see a convergence of great minds to chart the future of India in relation to the world.
(link)
Mehta makes some interesting comments on his observations of traditional vs modern marriages, the roles of women, similarities and differences between NY women and Bombay women, relationships between men and women or between same sexes, and the evolution and role of feminism and its counterpart, machoism. In the end, roles of women will differ based on their location (ie urban vs. rural or NY vs Calcutta) and power structures will differentiate depending on the relationships between women and men, and between women and women. However, women and their roles should not be labeled, boxed, and stereotyped into some neat little box just because their culture, religion, or society perceives them to be. Some women are modern, some are more traditional, some are aggressive, and some are passive. Some are athletic and some are clumsy. Some have careers and some don't. Some are mothers and some are not. Some are married and some are single. But none of these contrasts denies the fact that women are strong, nurturing beings who deserve the right to form their own identities without being subjugated to what "society" tells them to be. More importantly, they are humans like the rest of us and should be treated as such. Moreover, as Mehta points out in his speech, the strongest people he ever saw were the dance girls in Bombay. Sure many would like to write them off as dirty, uneducated, and corruptive beings who should be ignored. But with deeper insight, one will notice that they too have lives, families, and in their own ways contribute to feminism and the meaning of being a strong woman. Of course, this is a much more complex topic, but my point is that being woman and being proud of it, willing to fight and defend it, does not equate you to being an extreme, man-hating feminist. It simply means that you realize that women too have special needs and their own rights, and that they themselves, dictate how they want to live their life.
Moreover, women of today from Chicago to Bombay are making great strides in all fields and are great leaders, mothers, teachers, inspirers. And yet it should not be forgotten that violence, abuse, and ignorance of women still exists and that it will exist for a long time. Yes, many women in India and around the world are still treated as inferiors and subject to violence. However, a lot of women are also independent, educated, and hold powerful positions. Let's not look at women in just these two black and white categories. Instead lets explore all of what women have to offer and what they can be, even the grey areas, in all parts of the world.
But what's most important is that these two ideas, feminism and machoism, can co-exist and even blend to create powerful women when one puts down all their labels, and is simply a humanist. When one is willing to be strong, passionate, moral, and understanding of each others' needs whether it be at the workplace or in a personal relationship, then only will we create meaningful dialogues and build better relationships (even between the most extreme feminsts and machoists). Of course, this is easier said than done. But hopefully we can all just be better human beings in our own way and create our own identites, appreciating our own traits, while also the differences in others.
I particularily like these paragraphs from his speech:
But the Westerners are also partly right. Last year, five thousand women were burnt alive because their families couldn't give the dowry their husbands' families demanded. In the last century, fifty million Indian girls were aborted or killed immediately after birth, for the simple crime of being female. More than half of all Indian women are illiterate, compared to a third of Indian men. These are issues where men and women can should not just be talking together but fighting together. You don't have to use the 'f-word' - you don't have to be a feminist to see that a man beating a woman because her father hasn't come through with the dowry, or a woman earning half the wage for the same amount of work as a man, is just wrong. You don't have to be a feminist; you just have to be human. Humanism could replace feminism and whatever its converse is - machoism? Masochism?
The modern urban Indian woman doesn't need anybody to fight on her behalf. She's perfectly capable of taking on the world on her own. The middle-class women that I know in Delhi and Bombay are powerful, resolute, and successful. They have the love of extended families, and are far more comfortable with fathers and brothers than most of the women I've seen elsewhere. Indian women like their men. They even love some of them. And if a man expresses interest in them, they know how to handle it; they know how to say no and they know how to say yes. If their boss makes a pass at them, they are perfectly capable of kicking him in the balls; if he then denies them a raise, they know how to sue him, and win.
Please, go read his speech. If nothing else, it's thought-provoking.
Our Film List
For the past couple months, payal and I have been creating a mental list of films we would like to watch when we finally get a free moment. As you can probably guess, we keep finding more and more movies we want to see. So, we finally decided to be smart about it. We realized we need a LIST. Why, you ask. Well, do we really need a reason to make a list. I think not! And since "making lists" is just about the most excitement in our lives at this time, you can understand how thoroughly psyched we are about this. So here goes...
Films that need to be watched...
English Films
- Good Night, and Good Luck
- Brokeback Mountain
- Transamerica
- The Godfather series
- Capote
- Lord of War
- Hustle & Flow
- Avenue Q
- Real Women Have Curves
- Junebug
- You, Me, and Everyone We Know
- The Squid and the Whale
- Pulp Fiction
Foreign Films
- L'Auberge Espagnole
- Y Tu Mama Tambien
- The Motorcycle Diaries
- Kalpurush (Memories in the Mist)
- Tsotsi
- City of God
Crossover Films
- Punching at the Sun
- Water
- Fire
- Everybody Says I'm Fine
Documentaries
- Nalini by Day, Nancy by Night - a film on outsourcing in India
- Spellbound
- Born in the Brothels
- Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
- March of the Penguins
- Mad Hot Ballroom
Short films
Well, that's what we have come up with so far, however, I can guarantee that we have forgotten many amazing films. So, friends, family, and strangers we need your help. PLEASE send us your suggestions for movies we should add to our list. All suggestions are welcome, except for stupid ones of course! ;-)
"She's Hindi"
VS.
Episode 1: HR Training 101: Cultural AnnoyancesScene:Event: Breakfast
Characters: Me, My department's VP, guy#1, guy#2 (thirty-something Indian-American>>>aka "Hummer" for those who know)
Location: Company's cafeteria
Time: Insanely early on a Monday morning
VP: Hey Payal, what would you like for breakfast.
Me: Oh,....I'll just have a hash brown please.
(smiling and selecting the toppings I would like in it)guy#1: Oh, you don't want eggs or bacon? They're really good here.
Me: No, I'm fine. Thanks.
(smile)guy #2: [Looks away]VP: Are you a vegetarian? You're a vegetarian right?
Me: Yes, yeah I am.
(smiling)guy #1: Oh, you're a vegetarian?
(in shock) Wow.
(absorbing such unbelievable, unheard of information). I didn't know that.
(still reeling from such a drastic revelation).guy#2: (Looks directly at cook, who is busy cooking according to all the orders.)guy#1: (still trying to comprehend such a decision) So...let me ask you...how do you get your amino acids? What sort of foods do you eat?
Me: Umm...Well, I get my protein by eating a lot of lentils.
guy#2: Really? And that is sufficient?
Me: (a little exasperated; becoming a little awkward at realizing that this is turning out to be a lecture on vegetarianism 101) Yes, it's quite sufficient. I have lentils every night. Also to maintain a balanced diet I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.
guy#1: (relaxing, nodding his head) Wow, that's great!
(Shaking his head) I didn't know that.....Meanwhile guy#2: (Looking away...Looking away...)Me: (in my mind to guy#2: Say something you idiot! Act like you have heard of vegetarians!!! Or for that matter, Indians!)VP: Yeah, actually I visited India a few years ago and I noticed that when you order at restaurants, usually you can choose from veg or non-veg.
guy# 1: Wow. (
apparently the only word that kept coming to his mind to evaluate feelings of astonishment, appreciation, shock, and bewilderment). Well that's nice.
(apparently, not knowing what to say, but nevertheless very impressed. By what exactly? Who knows.) ...Pause......Awkward Silence...Narrator: And then as if this wasn't already turning out to be an awkward morning, the bomb drops.
VP: Yeah, you know, she's
HINDI.Me: Going through my mind: (WHAT!!!!!!!....Trying not to laugh, give a smart-alec answer, or tell my boss, REALLY? IS THAT REALLY WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY? WHY DON'T YOU THINK THAT OVER FOR A MOMENT. YOU KNOW, GO BACK TO YOUR "WORLD RELIGIONS" CLASS WAY BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL OR WHATEVER AND TRY TO REMEMBER THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A RELIGION AND A LANGUAGE!! NOW, IS THAT REALLY WHAT YOU WANT TO COME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH? Especially considering the fact that you toured India?!) VP: (
Still smiling)Me: You mean
Hindu. Yeah, I'm
Hindu. (trying to emphasize the "u" and still attempting not to laugh)guy#2: (
Finally looks over. Smirk comes to his face when he realizes the slip-up. But then quickly looks away to absolve himself from any part of that conversation.)VP: Right. Yeah, Hindu
( or as she pronounced it..Hindoooo).
guy#1: Wow. I didn't know that about Hinduism. So are all Hindus vegetarians?
Me: Well, some are and some aren't. Not everyone necessarily practices it or believes in it. You know, everyone just does what they believe in.
(really hoping this doesn't turn out into a long teach-in about the ethics, history, and practices of Hinduism. I mean I'm proud of it and all, but I'm not in the mood to give any sort of lecture, especially on a Monday morning.) guy#1: Oh. okay. Interesting.
...
Cook: Your orders are ready.
Me: [
Thank God (my Hindi god that is;) ]
End of Scene.So..maybe that was a little too harsh. But really, can we get some decent diversity training in our corporate world? Or for that matter, proper education in our schools and history classes. And no, not like the one
proposed in California. The sad thing is, these so-called "characters" are actually really really nice, intelligent people
(yes even guy#2. although, maybe not so nice). And I mean, for guy#2, a fellow second-gener Indian-American, I wasn't expecting him to provide some sort of defense or explanation. Just simply to act like he knew what I was talkling about and act like he had heard of India and Hinduism before. Even acknowledge his presence during the conversation. Is that too much to ask??
Anyways, I know, I'm a bitter, angry woman.
T-shirt motto for the day: I need help and therapy. What's your excuse?Stay tuned next week, for the continued adventures of
"Payal, angry woman, and her gripe against (fill in the blank)." Next week: The eternal question: "
So..hmm. Payal...That's an interesting name. Where is that from?" Believe me you don't want to miss it:)
Mystic India
This March, there is a unique and inspiring film called
Mystic India coming to Chicagoland.
The first epic large format film on India, this film follows the journey of an extraordinary 11-year-old child named Neelkanth as he treks for 7 years, 8,000 miles, barefoot across the length and breadth of India. Walking with this young yogi, experience the colorful traditions and festivals of an ancient land, explore a diverse country of deserts, tropical forests, mountains, and plains.
Mystic India is a journey of exploration, a journey of education, but above all else a journey of inspiration. Through all its colors, breathtaking landscapes, and intriguing faces, Mystic India has one simple message – the universally inspiring message of Unity in Diversity. As he narrates the film, Peter O'Toole highlights the theme of Neelkanth's journey: "We are all one people; we share the same sky, walk the same earth, breath the same air; that we are a single human family." It is a film about a nation increasingly in the international spotlight. The film's message and central theme of unity and diversity in one that is continually relevant in our communities.
Filmed by award winning cinematographer Reed Smoot, directed by the respected Keith Melton, with music by the renowned Sam Cardon, Mystic India has been acclaimed at film festivals around the world. In Paris, Mystic India took the "Audience Choice Award" at the 10th Annual International Large Format Film Festival.
Also some interesting points (
link):
- A large format Epic on a scale never seen before.
- A period film that transports you back to 18th Century India.
- Experience India's intricate architecture, colorful festivals, traditional rituals, fascinating peoples and landscapes.
- A land of ancient civilization.
- An amazing true story that has the power to inspire millions across generations.
- 11-year-old child, 7 years, 8,000 miles, one incredible journey.
- Filmed in over 100 locations all over India, from the freezing Himalayas to the scorching deserts.
- A cast of 45,000.
I saw the movie in India and it was simply amazing, from the music, visual scenes, cinematography to the actual acting and premise. I understand that the version showing here in America is going to be a little different in terms of certain scenes used. Nevertheless, I know it will be an extremely unique showing.
And, no, despite the "mystic" title, and the fact that it contains many colorful costumes and numerous locations, I did not feel that it was meant to exotify India or reveal some sort of ancient, mysterious culture far away in the East. I admit, I am not too fond of the movie's title, but one must keep in mind that it is advertised as a period piece. Upon viewing it, I felt that it simply tried to show different types of people, traditions, cultural practices, landscapes, and festivals that are celebrated and a part of what is truly India, an extremely diverse nation. While the film focuses on Hinduism, it does show pieces of Sikhism and Islam among other religions and practices. Also, it is meant to be shown from the point of a young yogi, travelling the subcontinent, so much of movie is like a tour of India. It almost reminds me of those new Incredible! India commercials, but more focused on a certain period in time and in particular characters.
It will be opening at the
Cinemark IMAX Theater in Woodridge. If you would like more information about the film please visit
www.mysticindia.com . It has a lot more information and some great stills, a trailer, and the soundtrack from the movie. The Cinemark IMAX Theater in Woodridge can be reached at (630) 434-2629 or at
mailto:groupsales403@cinemark.com. The movie will be
playing for at least a month until mid-April before moving on to other cities nationwide.
I will be going to the first show on Sat. April 1st. If you're interested in going on that date, please email me at the this blog's email address (listed at the bottom of the page) and I can get tickets for you.
...And that ends my plug for the day!
Sita Ram, a musical
Going along with my recent post on musicals, here is an interesting musical/dance perfomance called "Sita Ram." In collaboration with
The Lookingglass Theatre and the
Chicago Children's Choir, the
Natya Dance Theatre puts on a multicultural, east-west hybrid, and overall vibrant performance on an adaptation of the Hindu epic, "Ramayana." Currently the show is sold-out, but considering its high popularity and acclaimed reviews, I'm hoping that there will be more future performances, possibly on a larger scale. I admit, I'm personally biased to this performance and its positive reviews because I was formerly a Bharata Natyam student of guru Smt. Hema Rajagopalan, founding director of Natya Dance Theatre. In my opinion and from personal experiences and performances, I have not seen more stellar, structured, and creative classical Indian dance performances anywhere else. If you are interested in Indian classical dance, I would urge you to check out the Natya Dance Theatre's site (click on the link above) and go to any one of their performances and events coming up.
As for "Sita Ram", I am especially delighted that this particular performance involves many different groups (as mentioned above), ethnicities, and creative elements to create a performance that holds onto the original Hindu story without undermining it, and also appeals to a wide audience. It is interesting to me the different ways in which Bharata Natyam is being portrayed, included, and adapted in more American performances, especially alongside rock music and other dance forms such as ballet, jazz, etc. I think such growth is beneficial and empowering especially to future Indian classical dancers as we try to integrate this cultural, ancient dance with other cultures and art forms that surround us and interest us in our lives. It brings a different perspective to this art form. However, I am always hesitant when such development turns into degrading and manipulating this art form just to appeal wider audiences or for the sake of modernization. Evolvement and integrations are important and to a certain extent necessary, but there should be limits and a fine line between diluting a dance and enhancing it.
In addition, exotification is a whole another issue, and I've heard some remarks about this. Unfortunately, I only saw part of the performance, and really only paid attention to the choreography and Indian dance moves, so I'm really hoping that they haven't drained the quality of the musical with a "foreign", "so-out-there" vibe.
Nevertheless, the performers are young and have a wide diversity among them and I believe this is what really makes the performance come alive and connect with the audience. And it all comes from Chicago! This is the creation of director-writer David Kersnar with assistance from choreographer Kritika Rajagopalan and music composer, Grammy-nominated Jai Uttal. Here are two reviews from the
Sun-Times and the
Chicago Tribune. The CT's review is much better, at least on the eye, as it doesn't exotify the entire performance. The ST's review on the hand, is just painful to read. Manish on Sepia Mutiny, writes a
great post on this. Go read it. Enough said. Both however, do give great reviews in regards to the overall performance. Here is the
official press release from The Lookingglass Theatre.
Information:
"Sita Ram"
When: Through April 2
Where: Lookingglass Theatre, 821 Michigan Ave.
Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Tickets: Sold out
LOTR and the Indian Connection
So for many of my friends and some of my family, The Lord of the Rings has held a special place in their hearts. They've read all the books, seen all the movies, bought the DVD's, and have obsessed over everything that is LOTR. Personally, I enjoyed the movies and even read the second part of the trilogy, but I've never been thoroughly infatuated with it as have many of my peers. But now there's a new twist to the LOTR.
This week's TIME magazine informs us that our lovely neighbors, the Canadians, have decided to jazz up LOTR and bring a whole new audience to it. That's right folks. It has become a musical. Apparently music has always been involved as the "original three-volume story was filled with music--more than 50 songs." ( link)
And of course, where music, singing, and interesting choreography is involved, we desis must also get in on the game. The magazine states,
If it occurs to you that the idea is mad, you aren't the first. "I thought it was foolish," said director Matthew Warchus. He believed it would be "instantly plausible" to do the Ring as a spoof. "It's such an earnest story, and people are so protective of it." Still, he signed on. Then he and musical supervisor Christopher Nightingale chose to break with the Broadway songwriting style and go for an ethereal, world-music sound. Two sounds, in fact: one from A.R. Rahman, the best-selling composer of Indian musical films; the other from the Finnish group Värttinä." ( link)
Hmm. I wonder how much of the "ethereal, world-music" vibe they were going for? I haven't heard the music yet, but I wonder how much "world"="exotic" feeling there is in the music, if any at all.
Nevertheless, kudos to Mr. Rahman who has already dominated the Bollywood music world and who is now slowly conquering the Broadway arena. Rahman also composed the music for Meera Syal's musical, Bombay Dreams. I only saw the musical in London, and therefore do not know how the U.S. version of it was. But, I will say, that I really enjoyed the music. So, if nothing else, I would be interested in seeing this particular rendition of LOTR just for the music. The magazine gives a pretty decent review of the musical overall and for the composed music as well. However, the musical won't come to U.S soil until 2007. Who knows, maybe by then, Rahman may have finally composed music for an American musical!
The Story of My Life...
The Boondocks by Aaron McGruder (
Courtesy of ucomics.com)
Oh Conan, how I love thee
That's right fellow Chicagoans (Suburbanites included) and Conan lovers.
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is coming to CHICAGO!!!! From today's Chicago Tribune:
"Late Night with Conan O'Brien" will broadcast four shows from the Chicago Theatre starting May 9, NBC announced Monday.
O'Brien will tell viewers how to get tickets to the Chicago broadcasts on the March 28 edition of his show, which airs 11:35 p.m. weeknights on WMAQ-Ch. 5. [ link]
Apparently Conan has some Chicago connections. He lived in Chicago for awhile and many of the writers on his show have roots in Second City and ImprovOlympics theatres. I'm thoroughly excited! His dancing (come on, you know you love it when he does his "puppet" dance), his self-depreciating humor, and of course his little video bits are all coming to the Windy City! I don't think we've had such excitement from the late-night talk show world since Letterman came in 1989 (And no, I am not counting Jay Leno. Nice guy, cheesy humor).
Anyone interested in going! I'm so there. Maybe we can have a group outing (read: like the 3 people that read this blog) ;)!!!
Hmmm. I wonder what places he will visit in the city. And if he'd even show up on Oprah. Now that would be reason to check out her show.
Anyways, stay tuned. I'll post more details as they come. If you're interested or know more about his upcoming visit, please I beg of you, for the love of God and for me, PLEASE COMMENT!
Cheers.
"Bollywhat?!"
Bollywhat?! is a truly interesting site, whose goal is “making Bollywood accessible to fans everywhere” by serving as a “guide for clueless fans of Bollywood films.” The site has many great features, including lyrics and vocab translations, biographies, music info, movie reviews, opinion pieces, links etc. I highly recommend checking out the site for yourselves, I am sure you will find something that will interest you.
The other day, when I was browsing the site, I stumbled across a HILARIOUS song, which I promptly fell completely in love with. The song was written by one of the Bollywhat?! song translators who was thoroughly exhausted of the same old lyrics. I’m sure everyone has heard them… the famous but physically impossible “I'll hide you in my eyelashes,” or the classics “I can’t sleep at night” and “I can't live with you,” and even my personal favorites “my heart beats just for you” and “you've stolen my peace/sleep”. You gotta love ‘em! Well, the author come up with a great alternative, “a song no Bollywood startlet will ever croon,” entitled "Uff Yeh Kya Hua Mujhe".
Uff Yeh Kya Hua Mujhe
uff yeh kya hu'aa mujhe
Ugh, what's this that has happened to me?
yeh kya hu'aa mujhe phir se hu'aa mujhe
What's this that has happened to me yet again? Again it's happened!
jahaa.n bhii dekhuu.n mai.n tumhii ko paa'uu.n
Wherever I look, I find only you,
chaahe baazaar "disco" yaa "P.O." jaa'uu.n
whether I go to the market, the disco, or the P.O.
mera piichha kyo.n karte ho
Why are you following me?
bekaar aashaa karte ho
You've got no chance.
mere sapno.n me.n tum nahii.n aate
I don't see you in my dreams;
mere chain ko tum nahii.n churaate
you don't steal my peace.
mujhe nii.nd har raat jaldii se aatii hai
I fall asleep each night very quickly,
aur sote sote bahut hii mazaa aata hai
and I get great pleasure from it.
tere li'e nahii.n roz sa.nwartii huu.n mai.n
I don't get dressed up each day because of you;
"fashion" hai isli'e aisa kartii huu.n mai.n
I do it because it's the fashion.
tere samajh me.n kyo.n nahii.n aata yeh
Why don't you understand this?
tujhe dekhkar mera dost tera mazaak uRaata hai
When my friend sees you, she calls you an idiot.
tuu sachmuch "stupid" hai ya koii "stalker" hai
Are you really stupid, or are you a stalker?
besharm hai yaa apne aapko "hero" sochta hai
Are you shameless, or do you think yourself a hero?
mujhe koii farak to nahii.n paRta rapaT likhwaa duu.ngii
Makes no difference to me; I'm filing a report!
tujhe palko.n me.n nahii.n qaid me.n chupaa'uu.ngii
I'll hide you not in my eyelashes, but in prison!
uff yeh kya hu'aa mujhe
Ugh, what's this that has happened to me?
yeh kya hu'aa mujhe phir se hu'aa mujhe
What's this that has happened to me yet again? Again it's happened!
mera piichha kyo.n karte ho
Why are you following me?
bekaar aashaa karte ho
You've got no chance.
mere sapno.n me.n tum nahii.n aate
I don't see you in my dreams;
mere chain ko tum nahii.n churaate
you don't steal my peace.
mujhe nii.nd har raat jaldii se aatii hai
I fall asleep each night very quickly,
aur sote sote bahut hii mazaa aata hai
and I get great pleasure from it.
tum zaruur sabse judaa ho is shahar me.n
You're definitely unique in this city,
aur yeh bhii ho sakta hai ki saare duniya me.n
and it's also possible that in the whole world,
tere jaise koii "idiot" nahii.n...
there's no idiot like you...
aakhir sach hai ki Sanjay aur Raahul ne bhii sataaya
After all, it's true that Sanjay and Rahul also annoyed me,
par bhaag gaye jab mai.n ne "Daddy" ko bulaaya
but they ran away when I called Daddy.
tere bina jiite hu'e aTHaarah saal ho gaye hai.n
I've been living without you for eighteen years,
aur tere bina aasaanii se jiya karuu.ngii mai.n
and I'll quite easily keep living without you.
mera dil dhaRakta hai mamii-paapa kii vajah se
My heart beats because of my parents (giving birth to me);
sirf sirdard ubharta hai terii to vajah se
on your account, the only thing that pounds is my head.
yeh kya hu'aa mujhe
What's this that has happened to me?
yeh kya hu'aa mujhe phir se hu'aa mujhe
What's this that has happened to me yet again? Again it's happened to me!
mera piichha kyo.n karte ho
Why are you following me?
bekaar aashaa karte ho
You've got no chance.
mere sapno.n me.n tum nahii.n aate
I don't see you in my dreams;
mere chain ko tum nahii.n churaate
you don't steal my peace.
mujhe nii.nd har raat jaldii se aatii hai
I fall asleep each night very quickly,
aur sote sote bahut hii mazaa aata hai
and I get great pleasure from it.
uff yeh kya hu'aa mujhe
Ugh, what's this that has happened to me?
yeh kya hu'aa mujhe phir se hu'aa mujhe
What's this that has happened to me yet again? Again it's happened!
Wasn’t that just brilliant? I HEART “Uff yeh kya hua mujhe.”
Who is 'delicate'?
Faithful readers, your prayers have been answered. The identity of the intelligent, insightful, fascinating, and just plain fabulous 'delicate' will be revealed momentarily. If you haven't already used the process of elimination or a few brain cells to figure it out, then here is the answer you await.....
delicate = tanvi
Indeed, it is I! I am the genius that is 'delicate'! My partner in crime, Payal, and I have decided that there is no need for posing. We are not ashamed of who we are. And until we come up with better user names, we will proudly display our true names.
Prison Break is back!!
Oh, pretty boy, why must you make me wait!
Finally the time has come. The only highlight of my Mondays.
Prison Break and pretty pretty Wentworth Miller:). But of course, I watch the show for the drama, not for the pretty boy;p
Anyways, what an episode! Burrows is going to the chair, and that Scofield just stood there hopelessly. And Burrow's kid, (tear, tear) that was the saddest speech ever! And, that stupid, evil, good-for-nothing Captain Bellick just kills me. Especially when he walked into Scofield's cell and told him that it was time to visit his brother. The look on his face was all, "What, you really didn't think your smart ass could push back your brother's inevitable death, did you?" Damn. He is so going to get it. And don't get me started on the despicable, inhumane death penalty.
Anyways, I love this show and loooove that it takes place near Chicago, and I just had to blog on it. If you haven't been watching this show, you are missing out my friend on a truly exciting, unpredictable show! Ok, now you can stop pretending like you care and get back to your "real" life. Until next Monday of course;)
Formerly known as anklet
I give in. Revealed. No longer just another poser. So much for the mystery. But really how far can a translation take you? In the end, you've gotta
represent.
Oh and there's an updated profile.
For real.Peace.
A Chicagoan, An Activist: Someone you should know
Its nice to see a young Indian-American fighting against racism, discrimination, and empowering others to fight for their basic rights. It's even nicer to see that this kid decided not to follow a "traditional" career but rather use his education and time to help out others in his community and especially the growing, diverse immigrant population in the Chicago area. His name is Prateek Sampat and he is the Outreach Coordinator with New American Initiatives for the Albany Park Neighbourhood Council (
APNC). APNC's constituency is primarily South Asian and Latino immigrants (
link).
In the US, said Sampat, racism was a system that 'has institutionalised one race over the other. It should not be an option that you can exploit one class of people more than the other'.
At the APNC, New American Initiative sets new immigrants on the path to citizenship. 'Our long-term goal is to build political power in the immigrant community,' said Sampat.
We need more people like him and especially students, young professionals, volunteers, and activists who want to do something both within and outside their ethnic communities to contribute to a more equitable and safe society. His work and those of many others like him is always very inspiring and encouraging. It's good to see young South-Asian Amercans doing something to increase awareness and civic participation. I wish I could be more like them!
Learning with a mission
Here is an
article I read today on CNN.com, regarding a school in Brooklyn, NY with a special focus and mission: Human Rights. Usually I hear about schools with special focuses on military, sports, or arts and drama, but I hadn't heard of one where social causes were at the root of the school's academic curriculum. Especially interesting is the fact that the school officials want the kids to "have a strong sense of justice and violence," said Jessamyn Waldman, who represents HREA, the school's lead partner, which helps organize its curriculum and activities. "What we don't want to do is make them more angry. What we want to do is empower them." How enlightening and wonderful!
By incorporating topics such as the death penalty, poverty, and genocide taking place in their local environments as well as nationally and internationally, the school is really trying to help students think about issues objectively and gain a better understanding of what is truly going around them and possibly what they can do to change that. In my opinion, I don't think the school is telling them what to think, or what their opinions should be, but rather how to think and providing a source of action, resource, and a touch of compassion and humanity to their normal classes. It is especially great that it is a
small public school with a diverse population. I could only imagine what sort of discussions and dialogues result in such an environment. Now if only we could get something like that in Illinois!
3.14159265358979323846264338327950...
Happy π Day!
(March 14th at 1:59 pm = 3.14159 = π)
Pi Day is a special day in the lives of many-a-nerd. Just like normal people celebrate Valentine's Day or National Pancake Day, nerds around the world will gather and join hands in the shape whose ratio of its circumference to its
diameter is the most revered mathematical constant in the known universe. (Source: WikiHow)
MATH GEEKS of the world, Unite! Rejoice! Dance! (okay, may not dance. that might be too traumatic for the rest of the world.) Frolic! Today is our day!
Pi Day!
Today, no one can stop us from basking in the glory of our unique GEEK-ness. Today, we are “COOL”. (please note the quotations "cool". not the actual cool. lets not get ahead of ourselves here.) Today the rest of the world is forbidden from making fun of us. (note: rest of the world, today you are forbidden from making fun of us. FORBIDDEN, I say!) So, make the most of this glorious day and celebrate yourselves, Mathematics, and the wonderful relationship between the two!Sincerely,
A fellow MATH GEEK
My Opinion of "Crash"
This post is my response to recent articles and reviews I have read in regards to the movie "Crash", especially after it won the Oscar for Best Movie. I read the
article in the Nation as well as the two links that the post referred to in reference to the movie, Crash. And I do agree with some of their criticisms, but I certainly don’t think it was the worst movie of the year. However, is it the best movie of the year? I don’t know. Frankly, I haven’t seen all of wonderful or highly acclaimed movies in 2005 and I haven’t even seen the other movies that were nominated along with Crash in the Best Movie category at the Oscars either. But, I would say, that in the limited number of movies that I have seen recently, Crash is definitely up there. I think that both the article and some of the other opinion pieces that I have read quite frankly expected too much of the film and wanted it to mean much more that it really should. In my naïve opinion, I never felt that the movie was a didactic film on race relations and how we can all learn to be more tolerant and improve race relations in America in the 21st century. I just think that’s a bunch of bs and people are expecting a little movie to really change their lives and their outlooks forever. That’s not the purpose of the movie. Yes, I do think it’s meant to be taken seriously, but not to the extent that it will change how we all interact in the future. Rather, I felt it touched on some key points that I felt were necessary to be shown, especially post 9/11 and that is why I really found the movie to be intriguing and observational. Not necessarily life-changing.
I liked the fact that the scenes were graphic, in-your-face, abrupt, and sharp. To me, it showed the sharpness and directness of racism and particularly discrimination in the U. S. As much as we don’t talk about it, or like to think about, race is always in our minds (sometimes in the back of it, but still there nevertheless). Also, in the movie, each character is not able to see the other for the actual person he/she is. So of course, it is only when he/she crashes that another side of them is viewed. And then each character is a little better for it. Like Roger Ebert said, better does not mean wiser, or happier. It just means that they have added a new perspective to their lives. Will it forever change them? Who knows? Probably not. But what’s hopeful and unifying about the movie, is that all people, regardless of race, class, city, religion all have fears, stereotypes, and certain misconceptions when it comes to people that are different than them. Heck it even comes within a very democratic, multicultural society and basically one-race nation such as India. Even within races, I’m sure a Gujarati may have certain prejudices and stereotypes of a Punjabi and vice versa. Not always a bad thing. But always present nevertheless. Diversity does that in any nation. If we are to believe that America is a nation of immigrants (which is what I like to believe even if it’s a little romantic at times), then diversity will result in prejudices and stereotypes. Let’s confront them and get them out into the open. And as the movie portrays, let’s CRASH into each other. Because then hopefully we’ll see another perspective and think about our motives and reasons behind our prejudices.
Also, the movie of course does have its flaws. It does not portray the Asian-American population with much depth and the whole human trafficking issue was a little out there (meaning that the way it was depicted in the movie was very soft and a little romanticized). In addition, no, maybe it’s not an accurate portrayal of L.A. or for that matter, any other U. S. city. But I think those racist sentiments of which some are hidden and some are blunt, some are learned and some are inherent, the idea that we want to be open to diversity and yet are hypocritical because we don’t often take the time to learn about other races, is all a part of us, even if we deny it. We all have prejudices that sometimes contradict what we are taught to believe and or what we want to believe. That’s in my opinion what the movie is about. Prejudices. Sometimes we do away with them or actually confront them if a life-changing experience occurs that may make us see everything a new light (like what all the characters go through). But I don’t think that necessarily means that the prejudice is gone or that we are forever changed, and will from that point on, look at all races equally or reconsider how we treat others. Because in the end, we do all motives, stereotypes, and other parts of our behavior that just cannot be changed. Nevertheless, this does NOT mean we should always assume the bad motives in others. Life’s not that easy. We are all not flat characters. Sometimes we rise above are moral gravities, and sometimes we don’t. On a much larger note, something that I thought about after the movie was that we should not always be asking others to stop spewing their stereotypes. Rather, we should take the initiative and use our strength to educate others about our race/religion/ethnicity so that we can build stronger, more understanding race relations in the future.
Also, as far as race movies go, I prefer movies that ask “white” people to take a step back and to observe and interact with society from a “non-white” perspective which I don’t think this movie did necessarily well. Yes it shows prejudices, uncomfortable scenes, and redeems some of them, but it still doesn’t undermine the white (majority) sense of privilege which they believe they still have. A good racial film (especially for whites) should be one that makes them uncomfortable, frustrated, and helps them feel unprivileged since they are not used to seeing things from a minority point of view. Because that is often the position for many non-whites-aka muslims, latinos, blacks, etc. I hear that movies such as Avenue Q, Cache, and Manderlay do just this and therefore are much better films in regards to race relations. And I’m sure that’s correct.
I’m sure there’s a lot more I could say and argue against for some of the claims that were made. But I haven’t seen the movie in a long time and therefore don’t remember all the nit-picky details to use in my defense. Anyways, here’s my opinion for what its worth.
International Women's Day
Yesterday, March 8th 2006, was International Women's Day (IWD). IWD is celebrated worldwide and is even considered a holiday in many countries. It is defined as "a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women" (Source: Wikipedia), as well as “an opportunity to unite, network and mobilize for meaningful change” (Source: United Nations).
Knowing that this day would mean so much to women worldwide, I expected stories to be pouring in through the newswires about IWD celebrations around the globe. I spent most of the day online, waiting for news about all that has been accomplished as well as, all that still needs to be accomplished by women. At the end of the day, I was thoroughly disappointed. Yesterday was International Women’s Day! A worldwide celebration! How can that not be considered headline news? I was astounded by the lack of reporting on IWD. An event that, in my opinion, should have been one of the main, if not the main, focus of yesterday’s news. It was the perfect opportunity to discuss problems that are too often ignored. Instead, it was just another day to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that there are no problems, greater than our own.
I finally decided that if the news wasn’t going to come to me, then I was going to go find it myself. The initial results of my searches were also pretty disappointing. Nearly every article I found was either a rehash of UN Secretary General,
Kofi Annan’s speech, given earlier that morning or a fluff piece about children giving their mothers flowers to celebrate the day. After using spending a few hours digging around the Internet, I finally found a few articles that actually had some interesting insights about IWD.
I really enjoyed a piece entitled, “
International Women’s Day: Cutting through the crap”, in which the author address people’s “extreme ignorance of IWD and its role in the long-drawn-out effort across the world to establish the equality of human beings irrespective of sex (and other differences) and to secure women’s entitlement to fundamental human rights.” In addition, she mentions the other problem I encountered of IWD being “hijacked by commercial interests seeking to capitalize on anything and everything, it has in many ways been shorn of meaning and purpose, and placed alongside Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and so on, as an occasion for celebratory consumption.”
A large amount of articles I read, would mention all the positive accomplishments made by women, and never once touch upon the subject of what problems still exist. Therefore, I am thrilled that the author of “
International Women’s Day 2006” saw it necessary to inform readers that there exists a vast difference between government rhetoric and practice. Furthermore, she warned readers not to be “lulled in to complacency” about the struggle women still face. She urges that, “society too must take its responsibility and stop being complicit through its apathy, tolerance and silence.”
Another IWD article, entitled “
International Women’s Day: Time to rise up”, motivated readers to act by stating the necessity for gender equality and women’s empowerment to achieving fundamental human rights for women worldwide. In addition, the authors mention several startling facts about the current status of women.
- Of the 1.3 billion people living on less than a dollar a day, 70% are women.
- Only 16% of the world’s parliamentary seats are help by women.
- Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury in nearly every country.
- Each day, over 6000 girls undergo genital mutilation.
- Women constitute two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population.
I hope that the articles I found have been, if nothing else, a bit more informative than the more common articles about IWD. Now, go forth and spread the knowledge. And if you have a few minutes to spare, and would like to learn more about International Women’s Day, try the sites listed below:
Oscar Rant
So this is a few days late. But did any of you (read: all of like the 2 people who actually read this) watch the Oscars on Sunday? Before you read on, please note:
Rant Alert!Boring-Hell yes. But it did have its moments of weirdness. Like what was up with the whole montage bit every freakin' five minutes! No one cares to see how many movies Hollywood has made based on biographies or on westerns or whatever else they decided to show a montage on. I'm glad Jon Stewart actually made a joke on it because after about the 10th montage, it was just absurd. The only montage I actually cared about was the one that showed movies which were "relevant" issues (aka about politics, social justice, racism, etc). And even that wasn't necessary. I just liked it because I wanted to know if I could name all the clips or not in that segment.
Jon Stewart. It really really hurts me to say this, and even though it still has not tarnished my image of him, I don't think he was at his best. After the extremely funny opening video about everyone else turning down the hosting gig, the rest of his bit was just not funny. Sure he pulled out his insults immediately, but they didn't fly and I just felt like it wasn't him. It was just too planned and rehearsed. However, he was extremely witty and quick when he was improvising like when he made the joke about pulling down the "Oscar statue" in an attempt to help democracy flourish in Hollywood. Or when he mentioned that maybe it was easier for a pimp out here after all, after the song, "Its hard out here for a pimp" won the oscar. That's when he was at his best. I only wish there was more of that, and less of the easy giveaways and soft humor.
Speaking of the hip-hop performace by Three 6 Mafia, I just thought the whole thing was hilarious and the climax of the show. I mean the performance was cool and all, but they had the weirdest dancers in the background. And when the camera scanned out into the audience, everyone just looked awestruck like, "Wow, are we really watching a rap performance in our extremely expensive, fugly outfits in a prestigious auditorium at what is supposedly the most glamourous night in the world??!!!!" It was especially great since it came after the slow, subtle number from Crash.
My favorite dresses (that I saw): Reese Witherspoon's and Sandra Bullock's. Although I was not too fond of Sandra's "Look, I have pockets in my dress" statement.
Favorite Male dress: George Clooney. No explanations necessary. And yes, he's old. GET OVER IT!
Ok end of rant! That's my extremely short, and very late opinion of the Oscars. Here's hoping the whole show is revamped next here and that Jon Stewart (if he hosts again) actually just improvises his whole comedy bit. I mean, it really can't get worse than this can it?
I Say, Jeeves
It's a cold, snowy day outside today in Chicago. So what better way to spend the day than watching an old British TV show with 2 of the most talented British actors I know of. I just saw a few episodes from the first season of
"Jeeves and Wooster" starring
Hugh Laurie (Dr. House) and
Stephen Fry. Hilarious. Genius. And so British. As it should be.
I still haven't gotten around to reading the books by P.G. Wodehouse (But its on my list! Of course my list is going over a 100, so who knows when I'll get to it. But someday I will. I am determined to!) So when I saw the DVD at my local library, I jumped at the chance to watch it. And I'm lovin' it. Stephen Fry is always exceptional and funny, but I had only seen him in the TV show Blackadder and the movie
Wilde before this. And of course, I was even more impressed.
As for Laurie, I am a huge fan of
House, and I had seen him in a few other movies (Stuart Little, Sense and Sensibility) but it was great to see him as a young, rich, Brit chap. The two actors play off of each other so well and the man and master relationship is so well acted and comedic. The hilarious scenarios and personalities are sometimes so unimaginable and unpredictable that you can't help but devour it.
So if you're ever completely bored, depressed, or stuck inside due to a snowstorm let the British comedy amuse you for a few hours. Or just watch it anyway. Fry and Laurie never fail to entertain.
Forget yoga, hip mamas look no further
Don't get me wrong. Yoga is good and all. But this might be another way to become a
"hip mama." I know, I know. I keep posting random articles. But some of these articles just scream, “Please read me and SHARE them!” Here’s an article about a magazine for South-Asian American children called
Kahani. I think this would be a great resource for South-Asian mothers, teachers, and aspiring writers who are especially interested in children features. Once again it comes from the
Chicago Tribune. Gosh, I really need to renew my subscription to the NY times and Wall Street Journal again;)
Anyways, I think it's admirable how these women of various career paths and educational backgrounds (publishing, business, web design,etc) are using their talents and education and integrating it with their passion (their children) and entrepreneurial attitude. Perhaps, this will be one way future generations will maintain their
cultural ties as grandparents and families pass on.
Thank you Jhumpa Lahiri
As everyone is probably well aware by now, Newsweek Magazine talks about the emergence of India, preparing for Dubya's visit this week. In the issue, author
Jhumpa Lahiri (picture: courtesy of Newsweek) writes a truly wonderful article titled, "My Two Lives." This article has been mentioned all over the news and on numerous blogs, but I just had to mention it here. It was one of the best essays I have read in awhile and it so eloquently describes the hyphenated identity that many Indian-Americans live with. It's also coincidental because
delicate and I were just talking about how it is only through our parents that we are able to maintain our cultural ties. They keep us rooted in many traditions and values through their own lessons learned, memories, and experiences of growing up in India, their homeland. In the future, I really wonder if I would be able to teach my children my Indian culture, language, the significance of certain holidays and traditions, and other little bits of information that are so much a part of being a
desi. After reading it, all I could say is thank you Jhumpa for writing such an articulate piece that really describes what many of us, children of immigrants, often feel.
Here is the
article. Enjoy!
Do you know your freedoms?
An interesting, yet not shocking,
article about the ignorance of constitutional rights is in the Chicago Tribune today (the link I’ve provided though is from Yahoo news so that you don’t have to subscribe to read it).
In the article titled, “Study: Few Americans know 1st Amendment”, marketing firm,
McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum, conducted a study on 1,000 participants to find a larger percentage of Americans know the five characters of the TV show “The Simpsons” than the five freedoms granted by the
First Amendment. Now, to me that’s not shocking at all. I mean I’m sure even half of my friends (as smart and knowledge as they may be) may not be able to bust out all five freedoms (which by the way are: speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition for redress of grievances) in a moment’s notice. Heck, even I forgot the last one-petition for redress of grievances.
But I what I found really funny, incredulous, and rather depressing is that people actually thought that our forefathers had been smart enough to add this particular right: the right to own a pet (no, I’m not even kidding):
“It also showed that people misidentified First Amendment rights. About one in five people thought the right to own a pet was protected, and 38 percent said they believed the right against self-incrimination contained in the Fifth Amendment was a First Amendment right, the survey found.”I realize that this article merely states what many us already know. Pop culture and entertainment knowledge often trumps political, historical knowledge. And of course, it is always easier to remember little factoids about sports or our favorite TV shows than all that boring stuff you had sit through in school. But it still concerns me how unaware or ignorant we are about our constitutional rights as citizens. I mean if we don’t know our rights, and especially the freedoms afforded to us by the 1st amendment, how can we expect ourselves to fight for them, or use them to our advantage?
Often times, as I think about having a future career in the legal profession, I think I could really benefit people like our parents, family members, and others in the South-Asian community (who either have recently immigrated or who have been living in America for a few decades) to become aware of the freedoms and rights they are given by becoming American citizens. Many parents who immigrated here are still learning to become comfortable and empowered with their citizenship even after so many years. And many times they just really want to stay under the radar in fear of harassment from the government and the police, especially after 9/11. In my naïve mind, I used to think that that was just among the immigrant community, and in particular the South-Asian community because they did not see a notable presence in the government that would provide assistance to their needs, concerns, and desires. Nevertheless, after reading this article and many others with similar themes, I realize that Americans, as a whole, too often take their rights for granted. Hopefully, lawyers, teachers, journalists other communicators, and we as citizens ourselves can do something to change this not only within immigrant communities but also nationwide. Some day, my friend, some day.
