September 2002 Archives

Patsy Mink has died

CNN just reported that Rep. Patsy Mink passed away today at Straub; they have few details to report. Presumably the local news stations will have more; I'm sure they have pre-prepared obits for all Hawai'i public figures.

Yet another VCR

Found out that my 3 year old VCR sort of kicked the bucket this week. Got a new one to replace it.

I'm just wondering

Does anyone remember the unsolved murders? rapes? that occured a while back on Oahu, near the airport? I believe it was in the 80's and might have involved a 'police-like' vehicle? They might have occured around the time of the Lisa Au murder.

I'm not sure what made me think of it, but I did, so now I'm curious.

Little things that annoy

There was a hit song from the fifties called "Little Things Mean a Lot". Yep, very true.

But little things that annoy are so annoying and I was reminded of that today. I think one of my top candidates for the category are stickers that don't peel off cleanly.

The size stickers on Locals slippers, for instance. The warning stickers on disposable lighters. They leave sticky residue behind which can be a pain in the butt to get rid of (unless, I suppose, one is carrying a can of lighter fluid or some other solvent around).

New TV Shows

This week is the start of the Fall TV season. Any comments about the new shows or the ones that are returning?

The Shaka

Does anyone know how this "hand sign" originated? I never saw it until I came to these islands.

Primary Past

After low, but not nearly the lowest, voter turnout yesterday (40 percent, I believe, of registered voters casting ballots), Linda Lingle and James Aiona will challenge Mazie Hirono and Mark Matsunaga for the right to occupy the top floor of the State Capitol.

Ed Case gave the "status quo" a run for the money on the Democratic side, refusing to concede early on with only 1 percent separating him from on-again, off-again candidate Hirono (who, in the end, netted less than half the Democratic ballots pulled in the Primary — hardly a ringing endorsement). Meanwhile, a remarkable number of Legislative incumbents found themselves on the road to early retirement.

On Dying

The man upstairs is dying. At night, his coughs are so loud and strong, the sound seeps through the floor into my apartment. I hear footsteps of his wife on the floor. And, I lie in my dark bedroom, helpless.

In a few months, the coughing will cease, and I may hear wailing. I wish I knew what to do.

I'm not certain what I'm looking for or how I should ask any of you, but what do people who know they are dying yearn for?

The Wind

Paco walked outside his home as he had done on any other day. A strong wind was present and blew in his face, slowing his movement and his pace. With each attempted step his body bent, and his anger for the wind grew stronger. He wondered why the wind must always thrust itself on him. Had he not been a good person? Then why, why, why must this wind always throw itself at him?

Adventures in Absentee Voting

I just finished completing my absentee ballot (the orange section for the curious). I found the process most educational, and learned that the Natural Law Party isn't as half-baked as I'd assumed. But can anyone tell me exactly what the Free Energy Party is? They don't seem to have a web site.
Anyway, these sources were helpful:

• Honolulu Advertiser's excellent special section


• Star-Bulletin's special report


• A Mainland look

Getting Lost on Oahu

Linkmeister's thread on the Hawaiian Islanders Baseball team got me into remembering a time when a friend and I attempted to see the opening game for the Islanders back in 1980.

Dass It!

"God, you our Fadda.
You stay inside da sky.
We like all da peopo know fo shua how you stay,
An dat you stay good an spesho,
An we like dem give you plenny respeck."

So reads the pidgin translation of Matthew 6:9-13, otherwise known as "The Lord's Prayer," in Da Jesus Book by Joseph and Barbara Grimes. It actually came out last year, but is resurfacing today having caught the fancy of bloggers everywhere. (Yes, including Metafilter.)

Interview with the SF Chronicle

Check it out. My interview with the San Francisco Chronicle

Wanted: Grinds

There are so many wonderful places to eat and foods to sample here that I feel almost guilty for complaining. Nonetheless, I have a want list of places I hope exist somewhere on this island- if they do, please let me know.

First is Indian. Please don't mention Zaffron- some dishes are quite good, but overall it's mediocre. Komala Curry House is great for lunch, but they only offer fish, chicken, and veggie curries. I want some good Tandoori chicken with a side of naan, please!

Amusing Hawai'iana

In case anyone has any interest in a brief history of the rise and fall of the Islanders AAA baseball team, I've put together a few pages about it. I got curious one day, and discovered there was virtually nothing about the team (20+ years, after all) on the web, so...it's over at my place. Select the "other projects" button.

Pop Songs In Need Of An Island Band

Since I did start that thread on the Lame Cover Versions by Hawaiian Bands (which, I should now admit, were not really lame so much as they were overplayed and oh-so-slightly annoying) I figured I'd just take the original premise and flip it around - basically, to ask people which pop songs are just waiting for a local band to cover them Jawaiian-style.

Too Cool for School?

Dress codes and uniforms in public schools. They're spreading here in Hawaii, but a story today notes how they're now falling out of favor in California — birthplace of the movement only a decade ago. "This year, three elementary schools and the high school are allowing students to wear blue-and-white Hawaiian print shirts instead of the standard polo shirts as incentive to keep them in uniforms." And at one school, 60 percent of the kids went with the tropical option.

Do uniforms and dress codes improve performance, reduce disruption, and erase outward class barriers? Or do they just stifle free speech? More importantly, are they an answer to the premature sexualization of our children? Or is this an age-old battle returning from the '60s that will ultimately be futile, and forgotten?

Day of Remembrance

Are any of you doing anything special for 9/11? If so, how will you commemorate this day?

I'm going to the Mozart Rolling Requiem at Kawaiaha'o Church, as listed in the Honolulu Advertiser's special events calendar. Maybe I'll see some of you there.

UH vs. BYU: Take Two

I'm not much of a sports fan. I can barely tell the Mariners from Dan Marino. But I'm definitely excited about today's UH football game in Provo against arch-nemesis BYU.

There was a story in yesterday's paper about how some businesses are just giving up, saving workers the trouble of calling in sick and just sending everyone down to the local sports bar to watch the game. I'm not so lucky, but I'm listening to the game on the radio.

New arrival

Our friend and occasional commenter Honukai is apparently having her baby this afternoon; the kid's no respecter of the BYU-UH game tradition, it seems. I know no more about it than what the Bunny has posted, so don't ask me for details; just wish her success and a speedy recovery.

First Amendment? Wassat?

"...I don't know anyone here that would want to put any work into increasing hatred." That's Center for Hawaiian Studies director Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, speaking about threats made to Rebecca Goodman, director of the Academy for Life-Long Learning at UH. The threats caused Goodman to cancel several lectures by anti-sovereignty activist Ken Conklin.

Are Weblogs Changing Our Culture?

"But the speed with which an idea in your head reaches thousands of other people's eyes has another deflating effect, this time in reverse: It ensures that you will occasionally blurt out things that are offensive, dumb, brilliant, or in tune with the way people actually think and speak in private. That means bloggers put themselves out there in far more ballsy fashion than many officially sanctioned pundits do, and they make fools of themselves more often, too." —Andrew Sullivan

ain't it the truth ... :)

Kill Pidgin?

I was amused by a Letter to the the Editor in today's Honolulu Advertiser by Wai`anae writer David Childs.

"For the benefit of Hawai'i children, pidgin should slowly become a thing of the past," Childs says. "And good riddance to a language that harkens back to an era of upper and lower classes in America. There are some things that deserve to die."

Does it Work when you go to BYU or Bust?

I understand that Lyle Galderia of KHNL, with the UH Warrior Mascot took a flight from Honolulu to Burbank on Tuesday.

No, I would rather NOT be riding a mule..

.. on Moloka`i. I spent Labor Day on a mule, riding into Kalaupapa, and it was an experience indeed. Especially if you're into heart-stopping activities such as sitting nearly five feet off the ground on a stubborn animal bent on eating foliage at every opportunity, possessing a perverse desire to see exactly how close it can get to the edge of a 1600 foot cliff and turn around without falling off.

With all due respect to the skinners, next time I'll walk, thanks. That is, if I can ever manage to do anything more than hobble again.

Profiles in Blogdom

I just realized how many new buttons are over there on the left sidebar, and then I looked at the "profiles" pages. Yo, new folks! Put something together and send it off to the web-boss, please? Hard for keep track!

Thanks, yeah?

You know you're a transplanted local if...

Howzit!

I started this original list (it was inspired by my joining HawaiiStories email ) on my site and felt it would carry over well. Plus, I want to see what all the other transplants would come up with! If it's already been done, bummer. I've started the list with my top 10.

Let's Go Hiking

Man do I miss home. NYC has been raining buckets for most of this Labor Day weekend.

As I do plan on going back home next year, my goal is to set out on some new hiking trails. I usually trek along the Pearl City "easy" foot paths, or tree covered groves of the Tantalus area. As the Sacred Falls area is no longer passable (it was one of my favorites), I wondered if you guys recommended any "intermediate" trails.

Hm, maybe we could plan a Hawaii Stories hiking trip. Whadayathink? Anyone up for it?

Places to eat at the Ward Entertainment Center

Might as well discuss the various eating places in or around the Ward Entertainment Center.