July 2003 Archives

Native Hawaiian Trademark

Over the weekend I got a chance to do a short presentation to Native Hawaiian artisans and craftsperson about the Internet. This was in conjuction with Hale Ku`ai and the Native Hawaiian Producers workshop. My talk was about Internet infrastructure and web sites. It's amazing what we take for granted here in Hawaii. The native Hawaiian producers are putting out some quality stuff and we need to make sure it gets recognized as such. There are apparently a lot of rip offs coming in from who knows where. The tourists end up buying the stuff thinking its made in Hawaii by native craftpeople.

Finding A Place to Eat

While I am not the most seasoned traveler, I have been to a few places.... Washington DC, New Orleans, San Francisco, New York, Pennsylvania, etc. Traveling is an exciting adventure because you may visit places that you've never been to and experience culture and foods unknown to you.

JournalCon 2003- Hawaii will be represented!

Aloha everybody. Well, I did it. I bought a ticket, booked a room, and registered for JournalCon 2003. I've always wanted to go to Texas, especially after studing the geneaology of the Dalton's (my maiden name), and discovering that most of my daddy's people settled there after their migration from Ireland.

Is anybody else going?

Details here: www.WebWritersWeekend.com

you want wifi with that?

Last July, Ryan wrote a HawaiiStories entry about going wireless, and a couple of months ago Arlen wrote about how difficult it is to track down free wifi.

I've got a new airport-powered laptop (I LOVE my new job). Surfing for free sure beats paying through the nose to use the internet at Kinko's. Does anyone have any hot tips?

Big Brother

I just back from a 12 hour plane ride home to Hawaii from Atlanta. Basil got off the plane in L.A. to visit a friend for a week. Trying to do the right thing, I notified the airline that he had gotten off the plane and that his seat would be open to accomodate one of the 78 standby passangers waiting in the airport lobby. Boy was that a mistake! I got stuck sitting in economy, shoved between the window and a XXL man.

A farce to be reckoned with

The show's called Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and it plays on Bravo TV. I can't criticize the show itself until I actually watch it, but I think the premise is positively inane: a team consisting of five gay men, each with their own respectable style forte, makeover straight men -- all while chatting innocuously about how "this is horrible" and "this was so last season" when gawking at their furniture or even their closet full of clothes. If you like watching those "When Animals Attack" shows, then chances are you'll love the brute, viperous criticisms these queers dish out.

DangerousEquations.com

Authors of ‘Dangerous Equations’ exposé on UH money crisis launch DangerousEquations.com Web site; Site includes extensive footnotes for original piece published July 6 in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

Island Ghost Stories

I first got the idea for this post after someone had told that Hawaii had a lot of ghost stories floating around. My girlfriend's Mom told me about the big Jesus statue at Punch Bowl Cemetary and how it is known to dance at night, or maybe it just moves. Working at Zippy's Kahala I have heard stories about that old cemetary next door. Supposedly there was a Drive In Movie Theatre where the storage building is now and people used to see a woman's ghostly figure in the bathroom there. I don't know how much is true and how much is myth but supernatural events have always intrigued me. I'm sure Hawaii has somewhat of a haunted history after all that has taken place in these islands over the last couple centuries.

They must have re-hired that Ben guy

I noticed that Jack-in-the-Box is selling something called "Turkey Jack". Decided to try that out today, while it is kind of medium pricey like in the $3 range it was kind of decent.

Why is that?

This thread is part 'rant' (and I was tempted to add it as a category), another part "Did you ever notice?" (with a nod to Joe Moore) and another part life in general in Hawaii.

Alva was his middle name

When I was 14, I flirted with the idea of becoming an inventor. During this awkward pubescent phase, I tossed aside my drawing tablets and toiled with science kits. Kits that promised to conduct electricity that were available at local Radio Shacks were things I sought after. I would religiously watch and record (by pointing my VHS camcorder at the TV screen) countless episodes of contemporary science shows such as Beakman's World and Bill Nye the Science Guy. I'd burn out lightbulbs by melting glass on the hot surface of the bulb. When anyone would complain, I'd remind them I was doing it in the name of science and that they'd thank me one day when I figure out how to melt glass into useful things...like an extra lung or something.

Hawai'i church zoning

"On the lower slope of the Haleakala volcano here on the island of Maui, in red-dirt agricultural land famed for its sweet onions, worshipers hold church services in a low-slung concrete-block, metal-roofed building meant for storing farm equipment.

The church, which is Christian, nondenominational and called Hale O Kaula, would like to build a proper sanctuary, but the Maui Planning Commission, citing traffic and safety concerns, has turned it down. In response, the church has sued."

Ah, but that's routine, right? Well, not this time. The US Dept. of Justice is backing the church. In fact, it's threatening to sue Maui County itself, and if it does, it may become a test case for a 2000 Federal law intended to tip the scales in favor of churches in zoning fights.

The NYT devoted two full pages to this story; it's interesting reading.

Christians vs. Gays -- round XIIVIIXI

Ruling Expected on gays in Parade
I hope I'm not the only one who sees this case's existence as something very wrong.

In what could be called predictable behavior from the Christian Coalition, a case has been filed by three gay-oriented organizations to allow these groups to participate in the first "Family Day" parade to be held this weekend in busy Waikiki.

Hot Dogs!!!

Since the 4th of July holiday is coming up, it seems (to me at least) that the hot dog is just as traditional to the holiday as Thanksgiving is to turkey.

So does anyone have a favorite place for hot dogs?

As Seen on TV?

As mentioned on Donna's excellent life blog, KHON's Kirk Matthews is planning a short feature on local weblogs and our humble HawaiiStories community. Perhaps airing on tonight's 5 p.m. show, he's at least talked to Donna and I. I shared with Kirk some background on blogging in general, and spoke about the way locals here and away can connect via the web. Kirk also got a brief tour of our site, as well as the sites of many of our members. Will we see your blog on TV?

Shell Game

Shell game: Ever since Jerome Williams' mother, Deborah, died of breast cancer two years ago, the 21-year-old has worn a puka necklace she gave him when he pitches. While pitching in Chicago against the White Sox on June 10, the necklace broke and the shells scattered. He gathered a few and glued them to the underside of his cap.

But it wasn't the same as the necklace, so Williams called his brother, Glenn, in Hawaii and instructed him to go to the cemetery and dig up a second puka necklace he had buried next to his mother's grave. Glenn did so and sent the necklace to Jerome, who wore it for the first time Friday night, and he threw a shutout against Oakland.

"She is there with me every time," Williams said of his mother. "She's not here, but she's always here with me in spirit."