Friday, December 31, 2004
Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu!
H A P P Y - N E W - Y E A R - 2 0 0 5 !
Till next time... 'Mela
10:20 AM
Thursday, December 30, 2004
On this cold, last day of the year,
I watch the tiny dancing snowflakes
as they swirl and waltz to the ground.
The white-grey sky is like a giant handkerchief-
Soft, and familiar, it invites a teary eye to dry.
Tomorrow is a new day.
A new year.
With a Rooster's crow, it all begins...
I am thankful for all that was brought to me in this year of 2004.
Sad at it's losses...
I pray the new year
will bring a renewed hope for the future;
good health, prosperity, good fortune,
and above all, love.
It was winter in Manhattan
Falling snowflakes filled the air
The streets were covered with a film of ice
But a little simple magic that I'd heard about somewhere
Changed the weather all around, just within a trice
You bought me violets for my furs
And it was Spring for a while, remember?
You bought me violets for my furs
And there was April in that December
The snow drifted on the flowers and melted where it lay
The snow looked like dew on the blossoms
As on a summer day
You bought me violets for my furs
And there was blue in the wintry sky
You pinned the violets to my furs
And gave a lift to the crowds passing by
You smiled at me so sweetly
Since then one thought occurs
That we fell in love completely
The day you bought me violets for my furs
Violets For Your Furs
-Billie Holiday
written by- Tom Adair, Matt Dennis
Till next time... 'Mela
11:46 PM
My dear friend Hiroshi has just delivered the prints
for my digital art show,
coming up in February.
I will post all the details as soon as I have them,
but for now it’s a lot of preparation.
God rest Jerry Orbach, who recently passed away at 69.
For all his roles, in a spectacular career,
one of his most endearing to me was as the voice of Lumiere
in Disney’s Beauty & the Beast.
He made that song “Be Our Guest” come alive.
Almost amateur night, as my dad used to call
New Years’ Eve...
Till next time... ‘Mela
2:22 AM
Sunday, December 26, 2004
I had a fabulous time in Osaka!
The accapella group;
Rick Vogel, Robbie Belgrade, Julianne, & me,
had a fab gig at the Imperial Hotel on Christmas day.
I'll post some pics later.
Going back there to Osaka,
it occurred to me that it was 14 years ago,
December 20th, 1990, that I arrived here.
I've now started my 15th year in Japan.
I’m glad to be home, now.
With all the Xmas gigs out-the-way,
it’s time to really chill frosty for a spell, people!
I’ve made a new list of tunes to relax and reflect with:
Safe and Sound- Sheryl Crow
Higher Ground- Stevie Wonder
Strobe Light- B-52’s
You Only Live Twice- Nancy Sinatra
Bedshaped- Keane
No Phone- Cake
Here Comes My Girl- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Bridge of Sighs- Robin Trower
Time- Alan Parsons
Kathy’s Song- Eva Cassidy
She Will Be Loved- Maroon 5
Stranger On The Shore- Mr. Acker Bilk
Dindi- Jon Lucien
Isley Bros.- Who’s That Lady?
Midnight Rider- Allman Bros.
Blue Money- Van Morrisson
Till next time... ‘Mela
10:59 PM
Friday, December 24, 2004
M E R R Y
C H R I S T M A S !
Till next time... 'Mela
5:24 PM
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Sorry I haven't been posting much as of late.
What with rehearsals and holiday preparations,
there hasn't been much energy left.
I will have a rehearsal today with a group of accapella singers.
Including myself, there are 4 of us.
We have a private party in Osaka on Christmas Day
at the Imperial Hotel on the agenda.
I haven't done this sort of thing since my first gospel project...
My dress has arrived, and is tailored at last!
I have to order a lot of my clothes online,
as the sizes and selections here in Japan
are not for me.
I have a reform shop I use nearby,
for alterations.
Special thanks to Sakae-san,
for her expertise with pins, a sewing machine,
and a tape measure!
I went to a neighborhood friend's Christmas party last night.
There I met a fab jazz pianist named Nao Suzuki.
There was a piano in the house, and pretty soon
she & I were both deckin' them halls with Christmas tunes.
A really fun time...
This week will start to get pretty exciting from today.
I guess it's lucky I am not too extensively booked,
because I seem to have more than enough to do
with what I do have on the calendar.
Till next time... 'Mela
8:04 PM
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
‘Tis the Christmas season,
and my public live performances
in Tokyo will be limited this year...
Private parties, and out-of-town gigs
seem to be the thing.
One gig I’d like to focus on here today is my
Christmas Concert at The Tokyo Dome Hotel Lobby Chapel.
I will be teaming up with another Tokyo songbird,
Julianne...
We will be doing both duets and solos.
Backing us will be
Makito Hoshi - piano/Rhodes
Motoaki Tani - Bass
This event will be held on December 23rd, Thursday,
a National Holiday here in Japan.
There will be two shows: 1:30pm - 2:15pm and 3:00pm - 3:45pm.
Till next time... ‘Mela
7:30 PM
Monday, December 06, 2004
© 2004 Pamela MacCarthy
All rights reserved
“Chrysalis”
Digital
This is the last piece for the year 2004.
In February 2005, I will have a show of my digital art work.
My "mood journals".
Works from 1999 'till the present.
About 45 pieces will be shown.
I am very excited about this,
it is one of my many goals coming to fruition...
I will post more details as I get them.
Till next time... 'Mela
9:14 PM
Thursday, December 02, 2004
I just learned from my best friend Mary
that my beloved high school art teacher
passed away.
Mr. Jeffrey Daum was an art teacher in the
Pine Bush Central School system, in upstate New York.
I only recently (November 22, 2004) spoke of him on this blog
as a teacher who influenced me in my youth.
Youth.
Yeah, I was a class A pain-in-the-ass,
that’s for certain.
No bargain for any teacher.
But Mr. Daum had a way of seeing past the bullshit,
and thus, teaching the person inside.
He was clever, but never haughty-
He was imaginative, but not arrogant-
He had an openness about him-
Like whatever he had already learned,
was not going to stop him from learning new things,
even from students.
He was a tad odd,
but this was (to me) an endearing quality.
He took us all on a “field trip” to MoMA
in NYC.
Opening doors to dreams...
He used to wear this silver necklace with a “tit” pendant .
So, the optical illusion was that he had 3 “tits”.
Mr. Daum was a treasure, alright.
He let us listen to music in class-
As long as we “behaved” ourselves...
We listened to:
Black Sabbath, The Mad Dogs and Englishmen LP, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, Janis Joplin...
One day he turned us on to a tune he liked:
A Van Morrison tune called
Blue Money.
The beginning of that song had me wound up for days.
I will always remember him.
I wish I could have told him what a gem he truly was.
Instead, I’ll do it here:
Thank-you, Jeffrey Daum-
For being a great teacher...
This ones' for you:
Do-do-you-do, n'-do-do-you-do
n' do-do-do-you do, n' do-do-do-you-do
n' do-do
Photographer smile
Take a break for a while
Take a rest, do your very best
Take five, honey
Five, honey
Search in your bag
Light up a fag
Think it's a drag, but you're so glad
To be alive, honey
Alive, honey
Say, when this is all over
You'll be in clover
We'll go out and spend
All a your (blue money)
Blue money (blue money)
Do-do-you-do, n'-do-do-you-do
n' do-do-do-you do, n' do-do-do-you-do
n' do-do
Alright, (do-do) do-it
Blue Money
-Van Morrison
Till next time... ‘Mela
9:46 PM
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Photo: Michio Yves Ueda
