Americano Song

Hey, remember this crazy video from a few years ago?



Today's post is all about the wonderful Italian swing/jazz song featured in it, which I just adore! The song is known by various names, typically "Pa Para Americano," "Pa Pa Americano," or "We No Speak Americano."

According to Wikipedia, however, its actual name is "Tu Vuò Fà L'Americano" ("You Want to Be American") and it dates from the mid-1950s. Written by Nicola Salerno (words) and Renato Carosone (music), it was a huge hit for Carosone and his band. Wikipedia further notes that the lyrics:

. . . are about an Italian who affects a contemporary American lifestyle, drinking whisky and soda, dancing to rock 'n roll, playing baseball and smoking Camel cigarettes, but who still depends on his parents for money. The song is generally considered to be a satire of the Americanization that occurred [in Italy] in the early years after World War II, when southern Italy was still a rural, traditional society.

Here's a video of Carosone and his band performing the song, with English lyrics superimposed by someone who is unaware of the difference between "your" and "you're" (but let's not be picky about that even though it irks me to no end) --



Around 10 years ago, the song's English lyrics were significantly updated by Lou Bega, the German latin/pop star, so that the satire about how Europeans see Americans is much more modern and pointed. It's a fun remake!



And finally, here's a fab 2015 version of the original song by Hetty & the Jazzato Band! Love that clarinet!

No, No, I'm Fine ... *sob* ... REALLY!

Well, the Winnipeg Jets are gone. Eliminated by the Las Vegas Golden Knights. There will be no Stanley Cup for Canada or Winnipeg this year.

The battle for the Stanley Cup will be fought between the Las Vegas Golden Knights (the Western Conference champions) and whoever wins the Eastern Conference championship tonight -- either the Washington Capitals or the Tampa Bay Lightning.

I'm torn about who to cheer for now. I like the whole Cinderella/Underdog story of the Golden Knights, yet I'm very fond of the Lightning too and have cheered for them in the past.

Who would Jesus cheer for?

Royal Wedding TRIUMPH!

Hello everyone. Her Royal Highness the cat reporting back from the ROYAL WEDDING held on the weekend at Windsor Castle.

My VINDICTIVE cousin Betty was true to her word and did EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to make sure I couldn't get into the castle to attend the ceremony. Here she is ON PATROL at the main castle gates -- can you believe it? You'd think the Grandmother of the Groom would have had BETTER things to do with her time . . . .

But my long years in ESPIONAGE (shh, I've said too much) stood me in good stead so I EASILY outsmarted her.

In fact, I simply nipped 'round the BACK and went through the Visitors' Entrance --

Oh, the LOOK on Betty's face later when she saw me among the attendees! PRICELESS!

And of course, I was dressed TO THE NINES as befits my status in the Royal Family. I am well-known as THE fashion-setting GLAMOUR PUSS of the entire bunch. Step back, Kate Middleton -- you may be the Duchess of Cambridge but I am QUEEN OF THE CATWALK!

So, of course, everyone, simply EVERYONE, was raving about my gorgeous outfit at the wedding!

"Oh, THIS old thing?" I purred.

Betty looked like her usual FRUMPY self, of course, compared to MY splendour. I don't know why she even TRIES to compete with me, the poor old dear.

However, let's not lose sight of the MOST IMPORTANT part of this whole event -- my DARLING Prince Harry married the woman of his dreams! I'm SO happy for him and her both!

Because I'm such a ROMANTIC at heart, I'm sure they will live HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

SMOOCHES to them and to you all, my dear fans and supporters! Ta-ta for now!

My Cousin Betty Windsor

Hello everyone. Her Royal Highness the cat here again.

As I revealed in my last post, my cousin Betty Windsor has a LONG-STANDING GRUDGE against me and would gladly EXCLUDE me from this weekend's Royal Wedding.

Frankly, Betty has ALWAYS been jealous of me, ever since she and I appeared together on a gold coin a few years ago. My beauty is so obviously superior that people who used these coins for a coin toss said that I was HEADS and Betty was TAILS. Well!!! Little Miss Sensitive NEVER got over that.

Of course, Betty is also a well-known CAT HATER from WAY BACK. The only animals she TRULY likes are corgis and horses. (*shudder*)

In fact, Betty's dislike of cats is so profound that there is only ONE known photo of her with a cat -- and it dates from when she was still a PRINCESS in World War Friggin' TWO! Believe me, that phoney little backstabber is smiling in this photo ONLY for propaganda purposes to keep up the morale of our brave, patriotic CAT-LOVING Armed Forces!

Anyway, to make a long story short, Cousin Betty has VOWED to keep me from attending the Royal Wedding BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

Will that deter me?

HA HA, I say!

Bring it on!

Do your worst, Betty!

I laugh in your face!

SEE YOU AT THE WEDDING!

Don't worry -- I'll report back after the wedding with ALL the details, everyone!

You know, Betty is just fortunate that I am TOO HIGH CLASS to write a TELL-ALL BOOK about every tawdry and unsavoury family secret I've heard! Oh, the dirt I could dish . . . .

Are You Going to the Royal Wedding Too?

Hello everyone. Her Royal Highness the cat here. It is so VERY tiresome to be a member, as I am, of the Royal Family because then one MUST attend dreary family functions from time to time.

However, I am VERY MUCH looking forward to attending this weekend's Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and his bride-to-be, Meghan Markle. Because, don't you know, Prince Harry adores, simply ADORES, me. My sources inside the Palace advise that he travels EVERYWHERE with this very special portrait of him and me taken on one of our happy holidays together a few years ago.

This next photo, however, is MY favourite snap of Harry and me. The photographer was unable to tear his lens away from my beauty, but I ASSURE you that is indeed Prince Harry who is holding me. You can tell by his ginger beard and those stubby Windsor fingers.

Unfortunately, some OTHER members of the House of Windsor are NOT fans of my magnificence and would gladly see me EXCLUDED from the wedding. Well, ONE member in particular has a vendetta against me -- my cousin Betty Windsor.

Yes, that's right. "The Other HRH" has a hate-on for me like you wouldn't BELIEVE!

But more about that in my NEXT post.

Kick Cinderella's Ass!

Winnipeggers are partying in the streets!

The Jets eliminated the Nashville Predators in seven games and have advanced -- for the first time in Jets franchise history -- to the Western Conference finals! If they win the Western Conference championship, then they will play the Eastern Conference champions for THE STANLEY CUP!

In this series, the Jets are playing the Las Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL's Cinderella team. They are a brand new expansion team, only in their first year of existence. It's unheard of for such a new team to even make the playoffs in its inaugural year, let alone get to Round 3! Obviously the Golden Knights are a phenomenal team. But Winnipeg is hot too and WE CAN TAKE THEM!

[photo © John Woods/The Canadian Press]

The Jets have already won the series' first game against the Golden Knights on Saturday. The second game is on tonight.

Time to put on my LUCKY JETS PJ PANTS!

GO JETS GO!

Tarot Soul Card -- Hermit (Number 9)

[Legacy of the Divine Tarot]

Not surprisingly, men and women whose soul card is the Hermit tend towards solitude, introspection and soul-searching. They need to turn inward to process emotions and to find the answers they seek. Hermits are prudent and cautious people who have a great deal of personal integrity.

However, their love of and need for solitude does not mean that Hermits isolate themselves from the world. They are equally drawn to serving others with the knowledge they have gathered and are frequently involved with humanitarian causes. Hermits want to lift their lamps and light the way for others to see more clearly. They are often teachers and role models. Many hermits feel strongly that they have a definite "calling" or "purpose" and at an early age will decide on the direction of their lives.

There is one other major arcana card in this constellation which influences a Hermit's soul path: the Moon.

[tarot art by Thalia Took]

The Moon card concerns hidden truths, secrets and illusions. It will be necessary for a Hermit to separate truth from lies and deceptions. They must determine what is real and what is not.

The Moon's powerful influence will be felt very differently by a Hermit depending on whether the Moon is integrated into the Hermit's consciousness or whether it is repressed and falls into the Hermit's Shadow.

If the Moon is hidden in the Shadow, the introspective Hermit will fail to perceive important parts of themselves and will suffer the consequences of missing those blind spots. Such blind spots may include buried emotions, undiagnosed health problems or failure to recognize deceptive people with hidden agendas. Hermits who are lost on their soul path in this way will feel confused and directionless. Without an inner guiding process, they may descend into suspicion, anxiety and paranoia.

But Hermits who successfully integrate the Moon's power into their conscious lives will develop a deep intuition and sense of "inner knowing." With insight, trust and patience, a Hermit can understand reality at a very deep level indeed and can, in turn, help guide others as well.

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This concludes my series on Tarot Soul Cards. Thanks for following along! I hope you found it helpful or at least intriguing!

[NOTE: If you haven't yet determined what your Soul Card is and would like to, please go to the introductory post found here, do the calculation and read about your Soul Card in the preceding posts of this series!]

Trying a Couple of New Things

For the first 3 weeks of May, My Rare One and I are enrolled in the Edmonton Lifelong Learners Association's (ELLA's) daytime classes for retired people at the University of Alberta. I'm trying a couple of new things and actually enjoying myself quite a bit!

First of all -- Qigong and Tai Chi (Wu Style):

I love the poetic names of some of the moves -- "White crane spreads its wings" -- "Step back repulse monkey" -- "Part the wild horse mane" -- "Fair lady work at shuttle" -- "Step back ride the tiger." Learning and remembering the actual moves, though, is an entirely different matter! Half the time I'm just waving my hands around and making stuff up as I go along, LOL!

Secondly, I've joined the ELLA Community Chorus:

I love to sing, although I haven't actually been in a choir since I was a child. I did spend many years singing informally with other women in my Women's Drumming and Goddess Chanting Circle, which I miss now that it's over. So I'm very excited to be singing in a group setting again. Plus the teacher is taking us through some important voice lessons and warm-ups that are helpful to me.

I think I'll try to keep on with these activities once ELLA is over. There's lots of opportunities and places to do both in Edmonton.

Tarot Soul Card -- Strength (Number 8)

[Halloween Tarot]

Classic Strength card imagery depicts a savage lion allowing a gentle maiden to open (control) its mighty jaws of death and destruction. Men and women whose soul card is Strength will find themselves living out either one or the other of those roles in their lives. Untamed passions and overwhelming emotions twist and turn deep down in their souls. It feels like those forces can rip their world and themselves apart. People on the Strength soul path must be brave and learn how to be the maiden who "tames the beast within." If they cannot, the lion will spring free and go on a rampage.

The secret to taming those wild internal passions and overwhelming emotions is not to forcibly subdue, repress or deny them, hoping they can be ignored or will just go away. A person of Strength must come to terms with and accept their inner reality. They must face their fears, express their emotions in a healthy way and "integrate their Shadow" in the Jungian sense. Such strong inner passions and emotions may not necessarily be bad or wrong in themselves -- they may simply be unconventional or unaccepted by the society or family in which the Strength person lives.

Other people often recognize men and women on the Strength soul path as being real survivors, who must struggle and overcome great odds. Strength people must steadfastly persevere to incorporate their passions and emotions in a well-lived life, expressing themselves truly, fully and peacefully.

There is one other major arcana card in this constellation which influences a Strength soul path: the Star.

[Ludy Lescot Tarot]

The Star card, whose imagery also involves a gentle maiden, represents peace, hope and new life. If a Strength person is successful in accepting and integrating their inner lion, Star energy will manifest in their lives as self-confidence, creative innovation and vision. Such a Strength person embraces and lives out their many talents and positive inner truths. They will understand and fulfill their destiny.

However, if Star energy remains a repressed, hidden factor, a Strength person will hide their talents and true self, believing themselves to be ugly and useless. Self-doubt and self-hatred will gnaw at them, with pessimism as a constant companion.

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Next Week: the Hermit Soul Card

[NOTE: If you haven't yet determined what your Soul Card is and would like to, please go to the introductory post of this series found here, do the calculation and play along!]

Hockey Hopes and Dreams

Alas, the Toronto Maple Leafs' playoff run was finished after the first round. So now Canada's Stanley Cup hopes and dreams ride on the Winnipeg Jets, the only Canadian team left.

The Jets defeated the Minnesota Wild without too much difficulty at all, taking the series 4 games to 3. In the second round, the Jets are battling the Nashville Predators. So far the series is tied one all.

My lucky Winnipeg Jets pj pants have been freshly laundered and are back in service again . . . now with chips!

GO JETS GO!