An Apology and a Question

I'm writing to apologize for the joke I included in my please-leave-me-a-comment-so-I'll-feel-read-and-loved post last week.

I posted the joke, which I found in the comments on another blog, because I thought it was hilarious and unexpected. My husband, who also thought it was funny, emailed it to a few friends. One of them wrote back to ask why he was forwarding racist jokes.

Huh?

Then I read it again. And suddenly I remembered the controversy earlier this year surrounding a New York Post cartoon about the president's stimulus bill that showed two police officers and a dead chimp. Some critics, including Al Sharpton, were highly offended because they saw the cartoonist comparing Barack Obama with a rabid chimpanzee because the president is African-American.

So for the record, my associations with monkeys are generally of the Curious George variety. I thought the joke was an ugly-baby joke and it made me laugh. If I had thought it was intended to be racist, I never in a million years would have posted it. I sincerely apologize for offending anyone who saw the joke as a racist statement.

And for what it's worth, after my husband shared his story with me, I realized that when I had visualized the joke as I was reading it for the first time (because I'm a visual learner and that's what I do), I saw myself (or someone who looked like me) in the "mom" role in the joke.

What did you see or hear in the joke? Am I offensive or overly sensitive? Comment and let me know (and not just because I love to get comments, although I do, but seriously I want to know what you think on this one)...

What's in a name?

Speaking of pseudonyms, lots of people have been asking where I got the names Junius and Pippi. Some have assumed it's an obscure literary reference. Others wondered if they were take-offs from the old family tree. Still others speculated some bizarre movie or TV character.

Actually, they are the kids' real-life nicknames. Because giving them four legal names just wasn't enough. Here's how they happened (the nicknames, that is, not the very long real names -- that's another post)...

"Junius" evolved slowly, starting from my husband calling my growing belly "Junior." As my husband was singing to said belly one day, it turned into a "Juni, Juni, Juni, Juni, Juni, June" riff a la "Hey Jude." This seemed fitting since the baby was due in June (little did we know he wouldn't arrive until July). Over time, "Juni June" turned into "Junebug." After the baby arrived and we discovered he was a he, my husband expanded "Junebug" into the formal "Junius T. Bugg" (the T. stands for "the") -- and so he became Junius.

Pippi seemed so tiny when she was born (a healthy 8 lbs. 5 oz., but still a lot smaller than her suddenly very big brother). But she was also quite noisy, always squeaking, grunting or snorting. So I started calling her "pipsqueak." That turned into "Pip," which evolved into "Pippi" -- who also happened to be one of my favorite childhood book characters (Pippi Longstocking, whose full name was Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Ephraim's Daughter Longstocking, but it's hardly a nickname when it's longer than your real name).

And there you have it. So does a Junius or a Pippi by any other name still look as cute? Absolutely.

Photographs by Kimberly Naranjo at Evolve Studio Photography.

The name's Marco...

Last week was our monthly-ish trip to the local library. Junius likes to run through picking out the same Curious George, Clifford and Berenstain Bears books every time while I search for something new (this trip's winner so far is The Dumpster Diver) and try to keep Pippi from unloading all the shelves.

After we've made our selections, we do the self check-out because Juni likes to "help" at the computer. It's a little tricky because the scanner is kind of sensitive and you have to hold the book just right for the code to work, so it actually takes longer than just waiting in line for the librarian. But it's free entertainment, so who am I to complain.

As we were scanning our books last week, Juni starts hopping around saying, "Stan Marco! Stan Marco!" While I'm looking around trying to figure out who in the world is Stan Marco, I realize he's actually repeating what he hears in the computerized voice announcing instructions to us as we attempt to check out our pile of books.

It's saying, "Scan barcode."

When he picks the name "Stan Marco" as his alias one day, at least we'll know why.

Musiciancarnation: China Forbes

Note: New Music Monday will be on hiatus for a few weeks while the kids are home -- no preschool or summer camp, so we're on the move to keep us all entertained. Instead, I'm introducing a new occasional feature called "Musiciancarnation," that is, if I could be reincarnated as a particular singer, this is who it would be.

In my next life, I want to come back as China Forbes.

She gets to wear sparkly, sexy dresses while singing fabulous songs in at least nine different languages, her gorgeous voice dancing along with ten amazing musicians. When she came out on stage Saturday night for the Pink Martini show at the Museum of Art, my husband's comment was, "She is saucy." Rrrrrrrrrrarrrrr.

And she sings her true-story song, "Hey, Eugene," about a guy she met at a party who asked for her number and then never called her. Doesn't he feel like a dumbass now.

And as if that weren't enough, she's a new mom, too.

Take a listen to one of my favorites here (plus a couple other good ones)...

Pink Martini - Concert at Portland - Part 3 of 6
Uploaded by blackethylene. - Explore more music videos.

Photo of Ms. Forbes from http://www.lasplash.com.

Friday's Five: Covers

I missed New Music Monday this week since we were at the beach, so it seems appropriate to have a musical Friday's Five instead.

Recently on Back Porch Music, I was surprised to hear a cover of a Nick Drake song -- took me a bit to realize what it was because it sounded so different, yet so familiar. I think that's what makes a good cover song -- one that takes its own path while still honoring the original.

Here are five songs, listed with their primary artist first and the cover artist second. In each case, I can honestly say I like both versions. I think #1 is the best twist and #5 is the most surprising. Take a listen and see if you have a favorite...

1. "Kiss" by Prince and Tony De Sare
2. "If I Had a Boat" by Lyle Lovett and Eddie From Ohio
   
3. "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper and Eva Cassidy
4. "Northern Sky" by Nick Drake and Bill Evans and Megan Lynch
   
5. "Hey Ya" by Outkast and Ted from Scrubs
   

Hello? Anyone out there?

My neighbor got me reading a blog called Chicken & Cheese (among others) because she knew I had WAY too much free time on my hands and needed more good things to read. So in yesterday's post, Mrs. Chicken asked people to leave comments on her post with jokes, rants, whatever, just to see how many comments she could get.

Until I started writing this blog, I never understood how much bloggers liked comments. Turns out, it's really cool to have people comment (in writing) about what I wrote and makes the whole process much more interesting. (Many thanks to those of you who faithfully comment -- am trying to do the same for you.)

So here's the deal. I'm going to share with you the MOST hilarious joke I read in the comments (thanks to Karen Sugarpants) on Chicken & Cheese. Then you write back with a comment of your own -- can be a joke, funny story, soapbox issue, pet peeve, whatever. Then I will know you're out there and will feel loved and appreciated.

Here's the joke:

A woman gets on a bus with her baby. The bus driver says: “That’s the ugliest baby that I’ve ever seen. Ugh!”

The woman goes to the rear of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to a man next to her: “The driver just insulted me!”

The man says: “You go right up there and tell him off – go ahead, I’ll hold your monkey for you.”

Hah! You're welcome. Now it's your turn!

Becoming Grandparents

One of the many interesting things about becoming a parent has been watching my parents become grandparents. The transition appears to have been a fun one for them, but it's a joy for me, too.

Last weekend was our first beach trip with Nanna and PopPop since Pippi was born, which made it all the more wonderful to be there with them. I'd forgotten how exhausting it is to be at the beach with a sand-eating, shell-tasting, seaweed-sampling toddler who likes to wake up before sunrise (literally).

Even though it was supposed to be my parents' vacation, they happily took my two little crazies on bike rides around the island and walks on the beach, built sand-roads and sand-hockey arenas (no castles for Junius this year), shared watermelon and cooked meals. They snuggled and wrestled and raced and practiced yoga together. It must have been the most exhausting three days of vacation my parents ever had.

But no matter how much we must have worn them out, they were really enjoying their role as grandparents and beach playmates. When we left on Tuesday so that they could have the last part of the week to themselves, I actually believed my parents when they said they'd miss us.

Still, I think they'll somehow find a way -- between watching peacefully from their deck as the sun rises and sets over the sound -- to get by without us.