Sadness is Beautiful, Loneliness is Tragical

Yes, people in Tokyo also mourned MJ's passing. I became quite a Michael Jackson fan when I spent the summer in Mexico in 2004. Every Saturday morning a neighbor would blast the best of Michael Jackson, and Emilie (a friend who was teaching English with me) and I found ourselves feeling a little closer to home as we sang along.

So, one hot and muggy Saturday night, not too long ago, Jonathan and I and our new best friends went to Shibuya to sing some Karaoke in tribute to the King of Pop and others of our favorite musicians including but not limited to Christina Aguilera, Bread, Queen, Back Street Boys, Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, INXS, Whitney Houston, and of course, Michael Jackson.

Although most of the singing was more akin to howling, there were a few brief moments of greatness. Here are some pics:

Tim has been living in Tokyo for almost a year now. He is a business manager for a successful Tech firm. Tim is quite possibly the funniest person I have ever known. He's also an excellent cook. He makes movies. AND it just so happens that he is an excellent singer. With sweat dripping from every pore, Tim performed Bohemian Rhapsody with the kind of passion displayed only by an 80's rock god.

Japanese Austin Powers.

Jonathan singing a melodic Simon and Garfunkel dedicated to me. Sadly, Simon and Garfunkel were in Tokyo that night, but we couldn't get tickets to see them!

MJ's Heal the World.

Braden has easily become one of my new favorite people. He is cool, collected, and oh so nice. Braden is here on an internship with a bank and although he is having a great time, he is homesick for his wife and daughter who couldn't join him in Tokyo. So, he hangs out with us and all the while counts down the minutes until he can be reunited with the fam. Here he is singing, "Any Man of Mine" by Shania Twain. He performed this so well, we knew that this must be his favorite shower song.

Patrick, a Swiss German, is in Tokyo studying Japanese for the summer...just for fun:) This was one of my favorite songs of the night, 99 Luftballons.