Sita Sings the Blues...At Last...

Have you seen "Sita Sings the Blues"? It is am amazing piece of work, as it stands alone, but also because of the struggles its filmmaker, Nina Paley, had to endure in order to get the film to see the light of day.

The movie is a sort of witty, swinging 20s jazz-influenced rendition of the Ramayana, in the context of a woman with a broken-heart. The heartbreak is based on Paley's own life experience (check out her blog for all the gut-wrenching details). Earlier this year, Roger Ebert called the film “astonishing original” and something that has him “smiling from one end of the film to the other.” And, truly, no words can capture how amazing the animation is.

Paley did everything in the movie herself--she wrote it, she scored it, she animated it, she edited it. Everything. And the film was complete in 2005. Between then and now, Paley was in her own personal hell, going nearly bankrupt trying to let the film free. The problem? She did not properly license the jazz songs she uses in the film. After a recent screening in SF, Paley walked onto the stage and said, "You've all just participated in an illegal act."

As explained in the New York Times: "Though...[the] recordings are not protected by federal copyright, those who own the rights to the songs themselves charge tens of thousands of dollars that Ms. Paley does not have to use them — which is also more than independent distributors have offered for a theatrical release."

So what does renegade Paley do? The obvious thing: Release the film for free.

If you haven't seen this you have to. It is smart, irreverent, hilarious and just plain beautiful. Your kids will love it too. And if you want to support Nina Paley's vision, and her crusade against what she considers "oppressive copyright law," buy one of these super cool tshirts.

I Heart Pixar

We went to see Pixar's "Up" this weekend and it was such a remarkable, beautiful piece of story-telling that I have no guilt at all about spending a sunny afternoon in a dark movie theater.

If you haven't seen "Up" yet, go--with or without your children. I know it's a cliche but: You'll laugh, you'll cry...Seriously you will.

It made me so incredibly happy to watch this movie with D. I have learned to tune out the cloying voices of the Bearenstein Bears (it is not true that the only difference is that they live in a tree!); the creepy faces of Thomas; and an assortment of other bizarre-o sights and sounds associated with he random content that is ostensibly created for children (If Thomas isn't nightmare-inducing I don't know what is). So it was a pleasant reminder to see that a "kid's movie" doesn't have to be crappy, watered-down, or just plain annoying. In fact, "Up" proves that if you look hard enough, you can find wonderful content for kids that also happens to be wonderful content for adults.

Cailou be gone!

Will You Be Visiting "The Motherhood"?

Just got a sneak peek at the new ABC show that debuts tonight: "In the Motherhood." Have you heard all the buzz about this show? There is an admittedly great lineup--Cheryl Hines (of" Curb Your Enthusiasm" fame); Megan Mullally (Karen is back! Where's my cocktail!); and Jessica St. Clair (don't know her, but I heard she is famous...!) star as three moms with different styles of parenting and different backdrops. The topics are near and dear to all of our hearts--juggling work and family; raising kids properly; laughing and crying at the intensity of it all. But, regardless of the star power and the resonance of the subject-matter, my first thought (before seeing the two episodes ABC released pre-debut) was: Why should I watch this, I live it! It's the same thought I have about many novels that are based upon mom characters ("The Other Mother," "Babyville," "The Ten Year Nap"). Sometimes you want your entertainment to be an escape, not resemble you're everyday.

That being said, the episodes I saw were funny and I am going to give the show a shot. It works better when it sticks to the relationships between the characters and the comedy of everyday motherhood (e.g., when one of the characters decides to raise her children without lying and tells him that there is not Santa, which leads to disasterous results at preschool), and less on sitcom-y schtick (one of the episodes centers arond unionizing local nannies). The greatest strength of the best chick-lit (and make no mistake--this is most definitely chick-lit...for tv...) is the way it makes bells ring in our minds--the way it humorously reveal those thoughts or embarrassing little secrets that so many of us have not admitted to ourselves, let alone others. And this show has those moments. I worry that, as it continues, there will be less of those and more generic, LCD jokes--but I laughed out loud a few times and that's enough for me to check out at least another episode.

If you're interested, ABC wants your stories and it promises that "your stories could end up on TV!" Despite the fact that, um, shouldn't ABC have writers?--there is some appeal at seeing some of the really hilarious things our kids do on network television, no? For more info, check out the ABC site.

Celebrating New Year's Eve with Kids

New Year's Eve isn't the easiest holiday to celebrate with kids. First, of course, there is the issue of timing--keeping kids up, I now know, does not necessarily bring CPS to your door but you almost wish it did the morning after, when you have uber-cranky and unruly monsters on your hands. Plus, the stuff of New Year's Eve--sparkly dresses, flutes of champagne, reminiscing about the year--is just very adult. That being said, New Year's can be lots of fun with your little ones and it's a great opportunity to make traditions that can be part of your family folklore for years to come. Some ideas on how to celebrate the mark of 2009 with your children:

Noon Year's Eve Party

Create a party at 12 p.m. instead of 12 a.m. Invite some kids to come over to your house at 11 a.m. on Dec. 31. Have the kids watch the ball drop in Times Square (taped from the year before). Make a ginger ale toast, make festive hats, blow noisemakers, dance under disco lights, make sundaes, be festive. Or you could have the party at 12 p.m. on Jan. 1 and show the taped recording from this year.

Indian New Year

Since India is twelve and a half hours ahead (the half! why the half!), you can start celebrating New Years in India right around noon (on the west coast)--Indian midnight. Make it fun for adults and kids alike by shaking up some easy Indian cocktails, like a Tamarind-margarita or one of many concoction based upon Sub-rosa vodka, with its decidedly Indian notes of toasted cumin, lemony orange, ginger, black peppers, and red chilis. You could do this for any country. Try an Italian New Year and have a pizza party starting at 6 p.m.--midnight in Italy. And check out these recipes for some cool kids cocktails so the babies don't feel left out of the imbibing...!

Clock Party

My friend A. started a tradition of making clocks with her kids every New Year's eve. Her kids are now 8 and 4, and they have quite a few clocks in their collection. There are many ways to do this, but why not start simple? This kit comes with a step-by step poster for easy assembly. And here are 4 other basic kits. (For the classic Indian over-achiever mom, check out this site for actual clock parts.) The basic clocks are super colorful and, according to A., making the clocks together affords you the opportunity to teach your kids about time, as well as places around the world, since you can set the clock to the time of different countries. Gotta love the fun with the hidden educational component. Kind of like sneaking those green beans into the spaghetti sauce.

Once you have made our clock, you can set it 's alarm to whatever time to you deem to be "midnight" and herald in the new year.

Time Capsule

This one's my favorite. You and your kids can fill a box with all sorts of circa-2008 items--toys, photos, magazine collages. There's no limit. You can use anything as a time capsule as long as it's waterproof and airtight. If you have any of those popcorn tins from the holidays lying around--those are perfect. And, depending on how young and/or interested your kids are, you can unearth the capsule as soon as next year or as late as, say, your eldest's high school graduation! The fun part is making it an adventure and explaining to your kids that you are a bunch of explorers in your house, searching for artifacts to bury. Make tinfoil hats as necessary, and turn hiding the capsule into the centerpiece of the event.

Bubble Wrap Stomp and Balloon Drop

Two fun add-ons to any of the above ideas, or parties in their own right. For the bubble wrap stomp, all you need is a bunch of packing materials. Attach bubble tape to any surface and let the kids at it. Make sure to get the bubble wrap with the big bubbles (which pack more of a firecracker-like sound than those puny bubbles) and synchronize the stomp with whatever time you are calling "midnight." The fun is in the sound, and in the contagious energy of a bunch of kids jumping and dancing on the stuff at the same time.

The balloon drop is a little more involved but kids LOVE it. Here's how to do it:

• Line up two rectangular paper tablecloths and punch holes every 2 to 3 inches down one long side of each.

• Stitch the tablecloths together with yarn, leaving a foot or so at the end for a rip cord. Tape the cloth to the ceiling on three sides, leaving the side opposite the rip cord open. Tape the cord up separately, so it's accessible. Let the center of the cloth hang down to allow space for the balloons.

• Inflate at least 75 balloons, buy thin streamers and metallic confetti.

• Stuff the cloth with balloons, then add the confetti and streamers on top. (Reverse it, and the confetti will weigh down the cloth and filter out ahead of time.) Tape up the last side of the cloth.

• Let her rip! Just one strong pull tears through the paper, releasing a cascade of balloons and confetti--and some seriously amused children .

Forget about it and get a Babysitter

Always a good option!

Enjoy, and here's to great things in 2009!

What Election? Let's Go To The Movies!!

[Happy Election/Regime Change Day, U.S. readers!

Before I start this post, I feel like I may actually be condemned to reincarnation as a cockroach if I don't tell you to go vote, and specifically, for Barack Obama. So, if you haven't already, GO VOTE. And if you're undecided, VOTE OBAMA.

xoxo, My eternal soul.]


Today, I needed a quick diversion from all the election coverage. And what better diversion is there than the movies?

As a Devi, I get a tingly feeling whenever I see American Desis on the silver screen. It doesn't matter whether the movie is painfully bad (ABCD, American Desi, East is East -- I used to call these "identity excretion movies") or surprisingly good (Bend It Like Beckham, Monsoon Wedding, The Namesake, Kissing Cousins). I just love being able to relate when I see some poor Indian girl sneaking around with a non-Indian guy behind her parents' back, or the "homeland moment" -- those few seconds when an American Desi visiting India first falls in love with the country.

I'm always on the lookout for quality films by or about brown people, and it looks like there are two hitting theaters at the same time, right now.

The first is Slumdog Millionaire, already a smash hit at the festivals and reportedly an Oscar contender. (They're calling it "this year's Juno.") It's a story about an 18-year-old orphan from the Mumbai slums who reaches the final of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" -- only problem is, everyone thinks he cheated. It's directed by Danny Boyle of Trainspotting fame, and was shot over six months in my birth state of Bombay, so the cinematography should be rich and thoroughly satisfying. Bonus: Anil Kapoor and Irfan Khan star in it. Fox Searchlight just picked it up, and they're holding free promotional screenings all over the U.S. Go here to see if it's playing near you.

The second film is called Crossing Lines, and comes with a disclaimer: I used to know one of the filmmakers, which definitely adds to the intrigue, but the film sounds fascinating nonetheless. It's about a young Devi, Indira Somani, who struggles to stay connected to India after the loss of her father. He and Somani's mother migrated to the U.S. in the 1960s, and like many of us, Somani grew up with one foot in the West and one in the East. She never really thought much of that foot in the East until the death of her father. From the review in India-West:

Somani’s description of growing up will strike a chord with many second generation Indians -- the dual life, being Indian at home, with a mom wearing sarees on weekends, Indian food, and the outside lifestyle that was American -- dancing, music, proms, dating. (For Somani, dating was absolutely off limits.)

Her father, a medical professor, was a no-nonsense patriarch, whose values were frozen in a time warp of the ’60s in India. Yet it was not a relationship devoid of affection. Far from it. This is the terrible dilemma for Indian Americans growing up: They seethe with frustration at the stern strictures of their parents who are often woefully insensitive to what their kids are going through, yet it is the same parents who are their emotional anchor in a sea of cultural hostility.

It has to be said that a girl child has a particularly rough time. Indian Americans are loathe to admit this but many households, have a definite sexist slant -- father is boss, his word is final, and that is that. That’s the Indian parampara, so deal with it. Somani went through all that, but that didn’t mean her father didn’t love her. He did, passionately. And so his death really shook her up. “I felt like I lost my sense of security,” she says in the voiceover. “There is so much that I never got to say to him while he was alive.”

Dual life? Dating being off limits? Stern strictures of clueless parents? Sounds familiar. I can just tell this is the type of documentary that'll get me in the gut -- and I absolutely love films that get me in the gut. The only issue is that it's lacking major distribution, and screenings seem to be scattered. Here's to hoping a studio elects to pick up the film soon.

Speaking of electing... GO OBAMA!!!