THE CEPHALOPOD COFFEEHOUSE: MOM & ME & MOM BY MAYA ANGELOU

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Before I discuss today's book, I have something very important to say:

Happy Birthday, Dr. The Hurricane!

Now it's time for The Cephalopod Coffeehouse, hosted by The Armchair Squid.

The idea is simple: On the last Friday of each month, post about the best book you've finished over the past month while visiting other bloggers doing the same.  In this way, we'll all have the opportunity to share our thoughts with other enthusiastic readers.

My book for this month is Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou. I'm cheating because I didn't finish the book this month. It's been a while since I read it, but I left it sitting out so I could feature a quotation from it on Dr. The Hurricane's birthday.

I was sad when Maya Angelou died, but I was grateful for her extraordinary life and the way she chronicled it in a series of memoirs that began with I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. I encouraged The Hurricane to read Maya Angelou's books.

Maya's mother, Vivian Baxter, sent Maya and her brother to live with their grandmother when they were young children, leaving Maya with feelings of abandonment. In this book, she describes her relationship with her mother over the years--a relationship that grew into a great love.

Here's the quotation from the book that I dedicate to my darling baby girl:

My mother stopped me and said, "Baby."

I walked back to her.

"Baby, I've been thinking, and now I am sure. You are the greatest woman I've ever met."

She continued. "You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my mother--yes, you belong in that category. Here, give me a kiss."

The chapter ends with Maya taking in what her mother said to her. She writes: Imagine I might really become somebody. Someday.

Wherever you are today, my baby girl, I send you love, blessings, hugs, and kisses. You are already somebody.

Franklin sends you kisses, too.

Mom & Me & Mom and The Hurricane earn The Janie Junebug Seal of Highest Approval. 

I purchased this book on Amazon at http://goo.gl/IOz6JW.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

PLEASE VISIT ME AT SHADY DELL MUSIC & MEMORIES

Dear Hearts and Gentle People,

I am not in my bloghouse today. A kind gentleman named Shady Del Knight allowed me to write a guest post for his blog, so I'm at Shady Dell Music & Memories. It's a good thing he lives in Florida. If I had to travel all the way across the country I would get very tired.

Therefore, I ask that you read my inspiring guest post at Shady Dell Music & Memories, and if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all, is my advice.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

FRANKLIN FRIDAY: YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT MOM DID

Hi! hi hi hihihihihihi, every buddy! It's me! It's me! Franklin the Bordernese. Mom says I am the bee's knees.

I don't know what that means. It sounds kinda silly.

I wrote you won't believe what Mom did, but it's really what Mom didn't do. I always get a biscuit when we go to bed. Sometimes it's on the rug in the bedroom. Sometimes it's on the tile in the bathroom. 

I don't care where it is as long as I get it.

Last night we went to bed, and I could not find my biscuit! Mom actually got in her bed without giving me my biscuit. She was about to put her head on the pillow, and I didn't have my biscuit. I had to stare at her and look all around to show her I didn't have my biscuit. She remembered my biscuit then. It's a good thing she did because I don't sleep well without my biscuit.

Do you know that Middle Child is getting merried? I think that means she'll be happy.

This next part is what Mom wants me to write. She says that on Monday she'll have a guest post on Shady Dell Music & Memories. She hopes lots of people will read the guest post and comment on it, and I will like it if the comments are nice.

Mom might have forgotten my biscuit, but I won't forget to read her guest post on Monday. 

I loves my mom.

Okay I love you bye-bye.

Franklin the Bordernese

BOTB: A CLEAR WINNER FOR LA VIE EN ROSE

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Today I announce the winner for my recent Battle of the Bands. It's

Celine Dion with twenty-one votes.

Her competitor receives a respectable thirteen votes, including my own:

Thanks for turning into a serious singer, Lady Gaga.

Now, let's enjoy a couple of other versions of La Vie En Rose.

Some of you mentioned Satchmo, so here he is:




Thank you, Louis Armstrong. That was wonderful. We miss you.

Last but never least is the woman who wrote the song and made it her signature tune: The great Edith Piaf.



Thanks for voting! I enjoyed all the battles.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

WE MUST EDIT

With Franklin by my side, I edit away. I'm shutting down comments here, but please go to

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: I CAN'T RESIST LA VIE EN ROSE

to vote for Celine Dion or Lady Gaga, if you haven't already voted. 

You have until midnight EST on Monday, July 20th, 2015, to cast your vote.

Woof!
Thanks, Franklin.
I appreciate your assistance.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: I CAN'T RESIST LA VIE EN ROSE

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

It's time for the July 15th, 2015, smack down of the Battle of the Bands. Mr. Stephen T. McCarthy provides us with this information about the bloghop:

The whole thing is really quite simple: You select two different versions of the same song (versions you feel might give each other some competition in the voting) and you post them on the 1st and the 15th of each month.

On the 7th and 21st of each month, you add your own personal vote to the mix, total up all the votes and announce the winner on your blog.

Beyond that, just try to have fun with it and let your readers/voters have fun with it.

I perused The Huffington Post on July 14th, and there was Lady Gaga singing La Vie En Rose. She dedicated the song to her parents, and said she had always wanted to sing La Vie En Rose while wearing a pink dress made by her sister Natali, a fashion student. This particular performance was at Radio City Music Hall. Lady Gaga has toured with Tony Bennett of late, but here she sings solo:




If you're a regular reader of my blog, then you might recall I am gaga for Gaga, whose parents named her Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. When I first heard about Lady Gaga, I didn't know what it meant. The Hurricane explained to me that Lady Gaga was a singer, but more of a performance artist. When I saw her on TV, I thought she was cool.

Then on the most recent telecast of The Academy Awards, she sang a medley from The Sound of Music, and wowed me with the power, range, and beauty of her voice.

So your first possible choice is Lady Gaga. 

The second is Celine Dion. I am not a Celine fan, but I know many people are. She is French Canadian so the French words and accent come naturally to her. Here's Celine, who is also known for the power, range, and beauty of her voice:



I think I like Celine better when she sings in French. I didn't like that song from the movie Titanic because for months I heard it everywhere I went. Her style was too dramatic for me. She sings in a simpler and more natural style here.

This performance by Celine is a younger version of her on a TV show in Paris during 1993. My ability to read French is rather limited, so I appreciate the subtitled lyrics in English. "I see life in pink" is similar to seeing the world through rose-colored glasses.

I wanted to pit Lady Gaga against the great French singer, Edith Piaf, but when I listened to a recording of her signature song, I felt it wasn't fair to make anyone battle against the Frenchwoman who wrote the song in 1945 and released it as a single in 1947.

We'll listen to Edith another day--perhaps when I announce the results.

Let's recap: The song is La Vie En Rose. Please vote in your comment for Lady Gaga or Celine Dion.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

LET'S VISIT SHADY DELL MUSIC & MEMORIES

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Today I send you away. Go! Shoo!

Please visit Shady Dell Music & Memories.

Now sing us on our way, Helen.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug



I remember how excited I was when Helen Reddy won a Grammy for I Am Woman. Helen thanked God because SHE makes all things possible.

It's always made sense to me that God is male and female at the same time. God created the universe, as a woman creates a child. I'm not trying to create controversy; I don't want to argue. It's simply what I believe.

SOFTLY AND TENDERLY JESUS IS CALLING

Dear Hearts . . . and Gentle People,

This version of Softly and Tenderly is from the movie Junebug. What a great title.

This film is the first time I remember seeing Amy Adams. She immediately became one of my favorite actresses.

Sing us on out, boys, and let's all have a good Sunday. It's okay if you're not a Lutheran.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

HELP!

HOW DO I TURN  OFF THE INSERT KEY ON MY COMPUTER?



It's just one thing after another this week. Good thing tomorrow is a new week. I can start the shit all over again.

HARPER LEE'S LONG ANTICIPATED NOVEL

Atticus . .  . and Scout,

You can read the first chapter of Harper Lee's first novel that has become her second at http://goo.gl/gGRHG0.

Willy Dunne Wooters and I have been quite concerned about the possibility of Harper Lee's exploitation to grow the coffers of her lawyer, and who knows what else is going on? 

Go Set A Watchman was Lee's first novel, the one that was rejected, but a publisher encouraged her to write the story of the young woman in the novel and to make the time period Scout's childhood. That novel became the much-loved, major seller To Kill A Mockingbird.

It's estimated that Mockingbird brings Lee a million dollars a year in royalties. She's a very wealthy woman.

Until a few years ago, Alice Lee served as her younger sister's lawyer. Alice Lee grew old and finally retired at age 100 or 101--I'm not sure from the online depictions of her life. I do know that she died in 2014 at age 103. She turned over Harper Lee's legal affairs to another lawyer when she retired 

The Wooters man and I are suspicious of the literary event because Harper Lee is profoundly deaf, nearly blind, and will sign anything put in front of her, according to some old friends. Others claim she's as sharp as a tack.

Harper Lee, now 89, before she had the stroke
that sent her to an assisted living facility.

Wooters and I thought a reason existed that Alice Lee suppressed Watchman all these years. Harper Lee claimed--for various reasons--that she had never written another novel. Well, it's true: She didn't write a novel after Mockingbird. She wrote one first.

Anybook, I read the first chapter, so afraid I would be disappointed.

But I wasn't. 

Perhaps Harper Lee had a great first novel in her after all.

I now have hope for Go Set A Watchman. I wasn't going to buy it, but I believe I have changed my mind.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

FRANKLIN FRIDAY: MOM HAS A ME GRAIN

Shhhhhh.

Hi, hi, hi, Every Buddy. You need to be quiet today. Mom has a me grain.

I'm guarding Mom.
I hope I look sooper mean even though I'm bootiful.

Wait a minute. What's that noise? Is that you, Mr. Pot? I can hear you over on you blog. You are making too much noise.

Be Quiet!

Oops! Mom said that made her head hurt worse. She is all worn out from computer troubles and telephone troubles. and Willy Dunne Wooters is a poopy pants, she says. But she still loves him.

She has the kind of me grain that makes it hard for her to see. She's going to put on the Bat Woman mask that Middle Child gave her. It blocks out light, and I'll make sure all the neighbors behave. 

I love you, Every Buddy. I love you. I love you. 

Oh, sorry. Mom says that's enough I love yous.

Okay I love you bye-bye

Franklin the Bordernese

Mom's good friend Cherdo made this drawing of me and Sir Shady and Cherdo's pissy  little poodle Coco.Maybe we can be quieter in a drawing than in real life.

P.S. Mom wants me to tell you something. If you follow her blog and she doesn't follow yours, then please send her some URL. She wants to follow all our friends. She says we have lots of new friends, and some of our old friends have disappeared. She doesn't know if they still blog.

Now let's all be on our best behavior so Mom can rest.

Oh, wait! She thought of something else. She says some buddy gave her an award not very long ago. She can't remember the award and who the giver is. If it's you, will you please remind her? Just be very quiet when you leave your comment.

Shhhhhhh!

WOW! IT WAS A LONG THIRTY HOURS

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Is it possible for time to stand still?

My answer is YES. For example, when I was in labor with my two darling children (I didn't have them both at the same time; Wow! Can you imagine twins six years apart?), time stood still. Or came pretty close. Thirty seconds of a contraction felt like thirty hours.

Time has been slow lately because my computer hasn't worked well. It did weird stuff all last week, and Tuesday it quit working completely--except for the damn browser that had taken over my browser. So thirty hours, a technician, and some $ later, I think the computer might work.

Please, God, let it work.

I have lots of catching up to do on editing, reading your blogs, and reading and writing comments. Please be patient with me.

Now let's let the former and forever mop tops play us out with their homage to California Girls.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

First, a reminder of author E.C. "Middle Child" Stilson with editor Janie "Junebug" Goltz in 2013.




Warning: The Beatles video has a couple of split second scenes of nudity.

Wow! I just came across this gem. I can't leave it sitting on YouTube, beautiful but lonely.

BOTB: BEACH BOYS V. DAVID LEE ROTH

Good morning! I hope my computer works long enough to write this post.

Perhaps you'd like to see what the Beach Boys looked like in 1965, before they turned into drug-addled geezers:



Now how about David Lee Roth when he WAS Van Halen?



Don't you think that first move broke his b-a-l-l-s?

I figured I should spell it out in case children, such as Shady and Cherdo, are in the room.

Let's get to the winner of our contest now. Remember, it's Beach Boys v. David Lee Roth on California Girls.

I hope my count is correct. I have computer problems, and the numbers say, Let's go ahead and jump to make it hard for the Junebug to read us.

It's not a shutout:

Beach Boys 19

David Lee Roth 11


Infinities of love,

Janie Lee Roth


Let's take it away with my favorite Beach Boys song:

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

"What are three things that you'd do tomorrow if you weren't blocked by fear?"

Can't wait to see your response!

Thanks,
Michael G D'Agostino

I'm sorry my post might not look great. I have computer problems that I thought I had fixed, but guess what? I hadn't!

This question is harder to answer than I thought it would be.

It's not blocked by money. It's blocked by fear.

1. I would look for a job in England. As long as it paid enough to live on, I would go, even though it would mean leaving Franklin with Favorite Young Man.

2. I would write a book.

3. If I couldn't go to England, I would start a no kill animal rescue organization, and all the people I found who had been mean to animals would have to suffer. I'm not sure how, but they'd suffer.

Thank you, Michael!

Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

HELP! I NEED SOMEONE TO HE-E-ELP ME

When I was younger so much younger than today,
I never needed computer help in any way.
But now those days are gone
Not having a computer is so done
Now I find I've lost my mind
A computer is needed for sure.

Help me if you can I'm feelin' down
And I do appreciate you being round
Help me get my computer off the ground
Or it will ki-i--il me.


Okay. Here's the problem. I look at stuff. It opens tabs. The tabs won't close.

This problem occurred last week. I managed to look up what to do to fix it. It said click on this little box in the right corner and click on more tools and click on clear browsing data.
I did that last week. The tabs closed.

Now it's doing the same thing again, but the tabs won't close.

He-e-elp me!

NO GO

I didn't get the editing job I was trying to get because it wasn't even an editing job. It was a job full of misunderstandings. It's good that I'm not involved in this project.

I have a second run through to do on another book. The writer has improved her work so much I can hardly stand it. I don't know what to say because I'm filled with joy for her.

When the book is published, I will let you all know.

It's is by Murees, who is a blogger. She's a good person, too.

I don't want to be involved with people who don't say straight out what they want.

Love,
Janie Junebug

P.S. My laptop and email aren't working well, so if I disappear, you know why. My desktop computer doesn't work at all now.

NICHOLAS WINTON DIED

If I make a lot of mistakes in this post, it's because of the tears in my eyes, though I don't cry.

Sir Nicky was 106. Here he is in 2014:

Most of his life, no one knew what he had done--what made him a great person. But in 1988, his wife found a scrap book in their attic, and then the truth began to come out. He was a London stockbroker who learned of a program called Kindertransport to get Jewish children out of Germany and Austria into England. No such program existed in Czechoslovakia, so Nicky started one.

He bribed Nazi officials, and when he couldn't get enough contributions, he gave the money himself. He saved 669 children. The last train with 250 children on it was stopped. The children were never seen again.

When the war ended, few of the children had parents living.

I learned of Sir Nicholas's contribution last year when I watched a documentary called Nicky's Family. Here's what Nicholas Winton looked like during the war:

I watched the documentary on Netflix Streaming. You should watch it, but you might cry.

Anyway, Nicky has gone to the Great Continuum, but he's not forgotten. The children he saved and their descendants now number about six thousand.

Wow. That was hard to write. I hope it makes sense.


Junebug

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: I'M DIGGIN' THESE SUMMER VIBRATIONS

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

It's time for the July 1, 2015, smack down of the Battle of the Bands. Mr. Stephen T. McCarthy provides us with this information about the bloghop:

The whole thing is really quite simple: You select two different versions of the same song (versions you feel might give each other some competition in the voting) and you post them on the 1st and the 15th of each month.

On the 7th and 21st of each month, you add your own personal vote to the mix, total up all the votes and announce the winner on your blog.

Beyond that, just try to have fun with it and let your readers/voters have fun with it.

Because I want to celebrate summer, our song today is California Girls, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for their very popular at the time band, The Beach Boys. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965. Take it away, Beach Boys, performing live in Japan in 1972:






What a bunch of old geezers. I almost want to say, "Look at poor Brian Wilson with his brain damage," but he did it to himself--with encouragement. I would have preferred showing the group in '65, but the only video I could find was from some dumb TV variety special. The performance is so bad that some of the "boys" are still playing their instruments after the song ends.

I love this song, though. It objectifies women, especially women hanging around in bikinis who must want to be objectified. It's catchy, too.

Here's how I used to earn a living:

Twenty years after the Beach Boys released California Girls, David Lee Roth covered it. The cover also reached #3. Remember this guy from Van Halen who used to be kinda hot?

From 1974-1985, Roth was Van Halen's original lead singer. He re-joined them in 2006 for a very successful tour, and made an album with Van Halen in 2012.

As for the influence of California Girls, The Beatles' Back in the U.S.S.R. is an homage to the song. It's been covered many times, including by The Chipmunks. It influenced Katy Perry's 2010 hit California Gurls.

Now it's up to you to vote in the comments section, and yes, I have comment moderation enabled. Your comment won't show up until it has my seal of approval. On California Girls, do you prefer The Beach Boys or David Lee Roth?

Maybe you should close your eyes when you listen to the video of The Beach Boys. They aren't much to look at anymore. Of course, David Lee Roth has also changed a lot since 1985.

Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

P.S. You know you can join this hop. Visit Stephen T. McCarthy. He'll get you signed up.