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It’s super, the way
folks pitch in to help
with tsunami help

GREAT GUYS: Irwin P.K. Santos hoped to raise money for the tsunami victims on New Year's Eve by going out dressed as Superman, charging a nominal fee to pose for photos, and then donating it all to the charity. Santos couldn't get anybody to help with the logistics of the shoot -- promoting the project, taking the photos and holding the money while he posed -- but decided to go anyway, pose for free, and tell the curious about other tsunami-related fund-raising events. Santos posed with 362 people, and talked with many more ... Cathy Agor, a long-time Frankie Avalon fan, bought tickets for "Grease" weeks before the show but came down with pneumonia and had to give them to her son. Next night she got a call from Avalon wishing her a speedy recovery and a happy new year. Turns out her son, Joseph Agor, mentioned her illness to someone at KSSK who relayed the message to Avalon, who then made the call ...

IT AIN'T OVER TILL IT'S OVER: No sooner did we file the list of 2004's top events in local entertainment than word came Aaron Mahi was being ousted as bandmaster of the Royal Hawaiian Band -- an event that would rank a mention any year. Mahi's 24-year tenure as bandmaster is second only to that of the legendary Heinrich "Henri" Berger, no relation, who led the band during its royal heyday more than a century ago. Mahi received the German Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit) in 2003 for his success in increasing the visibility of the band as a viable cultural entity and repository of Hawaii's treasured musical traditions ... Another year-end milestone was the closing of the Palace Showroom (originally the Polynesian Palace) on Lewers Street, one of the few Waikiki showrooms that sought to attract Hawaii residents in recent years. The closing is part of the continuing redevelopment of Waikiki ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: To Jane Pascual and Kaleo Wassman, who are celebrating today ... Kathy Mawae (tomorrow), Dan Del Negro and Laka Carpenter (Sunday), Lyle Ritz (Monday), and to Darlene Ahuna and Margaret Jones (Tuesday) ...

CHRISTMAS RERUNS: Maybe "oldies" stations programmers feel they can ignore the calendar, but even so it was odd to tune in to "Oldies 107.9" on Saturday and hear Truckin' Tom Kent's obviously pre-recorded "Christmas Party in the Basement" show playing on the first night of 2005 ...