Thursday, July 31, 2003
August is here and
I got the blues...
I miss my family: my mother and step-dad, my 3 sisters, my nieces and nephews-
My best friend from high school and her husband, who I was maid of honor at their wedding, will be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary tomorrow.
But I’ll be here.
I miss Yankee Stadium, watching the boys in pinstripes.
I miss shopping for brassieres and really cute shoes, where my size is not a problem.
I miss shopping for classic shades of lipstick, that never go out of “style”...
I miss overhearing conversations in crowded places, and by virtue of speaking the same lanquage feeling “part” of the conversation-
I miss the feeling of belonging to a country, and the unity that it sometimes brings...
I miss real kosher hot dogs.
I miss going to the foreign film movie houses with all movies having English subtitles-
I want to see Pedro Almavadar’s movies!
I miss the summer pools and beaches- that have no problem with a person putting on sun block, instead of inspecting you for it and insisting you “shower it off” .
I miss my home, although I don’t know where it is now, I know where it used to be.
I miss the sun not going down till almost 9pm,
and the feeling in the air-
I am tired to the bone of being in Japan.
And I know there are twenty million people who will just flip off the simple “Go to Narita” response,
but it just isn’t that simple-
Longing in one’s heart doesn’t necessarily make it the thing to do.
There are issues standing in the way-
So I’m facing them, with a purpose of mind that I have in most areas of my life.
But that don’t make me immune to the blues...
I heard my first cicada today.
They call them “semi’s” here...
In a few days, the fireworks will be here!
On the river near to me, a 1 hour show.
They do it every year.
They even got a firework that looks like a smiley face-
“If that isn’t love it’ll have to do
until the real thing comes along...” -Sammy Cahn
To my best friend Mary and her husband Tom-
HAPPY 25th ANNIVERSARY!
Till next time... ‘Mela
11:56 PM
Saturday, July 26, 2003
Connecting the dots:
The dust spots that lead to a new manic summer sport:
cleaning the unbelievable amounts of dust and grime that seem to arise from nowhere...
I can't stand it.
If this is on the walls...
A lot of my canvases are not in frames, and some that are don't have glass...
Shit.
Why were dust, grime and mosquitoes invented?
Scourges on mankind, with absolutely NO redeeming purpose.
I love that line from "The Witches of Eastwick", one of many-
Jack Nicholson's character of
the devil [Daryl Van Horn] is making a speech about the difference between "nature" and "evil". Nature, he says, being what happens when God makes "mistakes", and evil when the mistakes are purported to come from other sources.
Nature or evil, they do have some serious dust here...
At times I feel like "The Woman in the Dunes" trying to stay on top of it.
Except she was shovelling sand...
I've got to find something to wear to go out, another exercise in futility-
It's like the children's book "If you give a mouse a cookie..."
I vote for carving watermelon head masks.
Till next time... 'Mela
11:30 PM
Monday, July 21, 2003
I haven't been hiding, or fallen off the planet-
I've been in my "analytical shell" for a few days.
Some people just go to Bermuda...
My gig at the Press Club was a hit.
There was a nice crowd there, with some new faces, and some very dear old friends.
Kei Shibata was an absolute gem on piano.
It is difficult to socialize when I'm working, but I tried as best I could to at least say hello to all who came.
I'll get another chance in August, on the 8th- Friday, at "J" in Shinjuku.
A girlfriend of mine has recently got in touch, and hopefully we will embark on an artistic project together. She is singer/pianist who also is a painter-
Another multi-colored bird...
So, summer vacation begins-
I'm trying to hatch a few localized plans for it,
all in the planning stages-
Staying in the grasslands [here] this summer...
Lots of new tunes to learn this summer!
And guess who finally got the new "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
book?
To all my friends who are baking in the heat, here's a recipe from this fab book of recipe's I bought for a friend, when he quit drinking-
Then I bought one for myself, when I quit drinking-
It's called :
"The California Health Bar Drink Guide"
by Sally Ann Berk.
Not a great title, but ...
It's a great book of non alcoholic drink recipes.
Just delicious...
Here's one:
JUICY JULEP
2 parts fresh-squeezed lime [1 oz.]
2 parts fresh-squeezed orange juice [1 oz.]
2 parts pineapple juice [1oz.]
1 part raspberry syrup [1/2 oz.]
Fresh crushed mint leaves
Ginger Ale
Fresh mint sprig, for garnish
Combine all ingredients except ginger ale and mint sprig with cracked ice
in a cocktail shaker and shake well. Pour into a chilled collins glass. Fill the glass with ginger ale and stir gently. Garnish with the mint sprig.
Serves one.
Who says you shouldn't drink alone?
Till next time... 'Mela
9:09 PM
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
On this thunderstorm just inches away day,
I went to visit the button factory.
That's what I call this place in Shinjuku- a virtual treasure trove of findings-
buttons being one small part of it.
It's called OKADAYA, right up the street from "ALTA" in Shinjuku's JR east exit. It has 5 or more floors with an assortment of things:
craft materials, crystal beads, leather works, small sewing machines,
stage make up, wigs, hair ornaments, and costume jewelry.
And, a floor of BUTTONS!
You can [and I have] spent hours looking at their assortment of buttons.
I always buy blouses or jackets that are made well, but the buttons are either plain plastic, or some other ho hum thing, well this store has the remedy.
From Italy, Germany, Belgium, France, and of course, Japan.
And on the ground floor across a small alley is part 2, the FABRICS!
It's an interesting part of town, actually...
It runs the gamut.
I am listening to a CD mix of trance music- Tangerine Dream, Deep Forest, and now Kraftwerk, "Tour de France" ...
Throw some Abdullah Ibrahim [Dollar Brand] and Les Negresses Vert in the mix, along with
Thelonius Monk and John Coltrane, et voila...
"Fun Fun Fun on the Autobahn" - Kraftwerk
Til next time... 'Mela
4:43 AM
Friday, July 11, 2003
After arriving home from my glorious morning, I have only this to say:
Rant of the day:
A few small changes should be made in the following departments:
Gidensha Hokanjo [bike keeping place] should actually read : Gidensha Kaizoko [bike pirates]
complete with a skull and crossbones on the gate.
There is a practice here that has gotten on my last nerve, and that is to lift your bike and ship it to some lot somewhere, and charge you a "penalty" to get it back. And the penalty this time was 2000 yen. Especially raised for the month of July.
Forget about the personal expense of taking taxis , buses, or walking in this heat- these are all in the shoganai department, ARRRRRRRRRR.
Next, the post office.
Instead of "it will get to you in 1-2 weeks," it should say,
maybe if someone at Narita Airport incoming mail feels like it, the mail might make it into customs, and then, it might get through customs if they are able to prod, x-ray, and otherwise unwrap to view the contents "up close", and perhaps from then it might just get to the post office closest to you. Maybe. Give or take a month or two.
Personal problems associated with this delay can also be submitted to the shoganai department.
To my friends and family elsewhere, shoganai means, " it can't be helped". People here use it for EVERYTHING. Ie; "I wish this goddamn bus wasn't filled to the gills-" SHOGANAI.
"Gee, this train could maybe get one more person in it, but we would have to break out the K-Y..." ShOGANAI.
Some politician asshole says of gang rapists: "they've got vigor" no one does a thing to get him reprimanded, let alone fired-
you know why? Because it's SHOGANAI.
This is usually the time where I make that great escape to Narita airport, and fly the hell outta Dodge- and it comes right on time, as I feel particularly murderous in July-
One two many gulping beer commercials,
along with the stupid shit-o-meter inscessantly flying off the scale has got me feeling like I'm cuckoo for frickin' cocoa puffs.
But on the plus side, the bus driver was helpful today, and a nice old lady helped me find the place too- and a guy who works on the highway walked with me to find this place also, out in that heat.
Not all things and people are bad here...
It just feels like it at times.
Ah, an earthquake.
Till next time... 'Mela
1:26 AM
Friday, July 04, 2003
Barry White passed away.
God, I loved his voice.
All his hits, I remember dancing till I dropped!
In the glory days of the "hustle"-
when partner dancing was in "vogue",
Barry was the MAN.
I'm sure he inspired a baby boom
with his sexy voice.
And his clothes- that man could dress.
God Bless Barry White, he was an original...
I stayed up late last night to watch Wimbleton tennis-
the men's semi finals-
Phillippoussis and Grosjean.
I love to watch tennis,
tonite it will be THE match:
Venus and Serena.
The 4th of July came and went here for me.
Not quite the same as when I am in my home state of New York.
I remember one year watching the fireworks in NYC from our rooftop apartment in Cliffside Park, N.J.
Having been in the actual crunch of the NYC fireworks celebration the year before,
the rooftop was another option.
The boats on the Hudson river were a sight I won't soon forget...
The 4th's of the past...
This year I listened to music, music, music!
It's my way to celebrate.
Instead of bar-b-que
I rustled up some tacos, not the prepackaged Old El Paso taco mix, and corn tacos that fall apart just picking them up- no, I do flour tortillas, with a seasoning I make myself- missing a lot of the ingredients that are in the mix- like extra salt and additives.
They are a favorite around these premises.
Celebrations are bent and twisted to fit to new surroundings,
like a bonsai tree...
It is so here in Japan for Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc.
While not originating here, a lot of Japanese are enthusiastic about checking out American holidays, and their foods- albeit a bit more slowly than I'd prefer, but hey- they actually carry taco sauce in my supermarket now- 10 years ago, feggetabboudit...
And Moka came to visit!
A little ball of pepper, she is!
I showed her my painting "Violets" to ask her if she remembers
that time when we met ;
she said: "Sure"...
Refreshingly spunky little girl, I wonder what she will grow up to be!
"You're my sun
my moon,
my guiding star-
My kind of wonderful,
that's what you are..." -Barry White
Robbin Slocum, if you're out there, Happy Birthday!
Til next time.... 'Mela
9:35 PM
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Photo: Michio Yves Ueda
