| Voting and Everyday Nonsense |
[Sep. 19th, 2008|02:11 am] |
Today I turned in my absentee ballot. It's nice to be able to comb through each section carefully and be able to google candidates you may not be familiar with. Though I do agree with Leslie Wilcox about missing the atmosphere of voting in person.
Pat and Joe recorded most of the day/night. I was watching CNN on mute while working, then switched gears and started more research. Eventually got distracted reading some design blog and finishing the mix. Went to eat, stretch and exercise. Returned to darkness.
My eyes are burning because the two overhead lights in the "office" are blown out. The electrical system in the house is so old, and I fear knowing how much rewiring the entire system would be. I know that the culprit is either old age or water damage, Or perhaps varmints gnawing through wires. Who knows. It's strange because the lights will be off for weeks and then all of a sudden flicker back on. Getting the lights fixed, along with the closet door, and the bathroom (needs an updating) are top priorities. Brand new carpets or wood floors would also be great. Joe and I repaired the fence yesterday. It's not pretty, but it's functional and safer than the old set up. Derek wants to fix the warped wood behind the sink.
We watched the first two episodes of the new season of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. The sex jokes were reeally stupid and over the top, but the cannibalism was a good touch. Joe went to bed. I read and coded a little more. Now i'm here. Yawn.
This cold sore sucks. I was just saying how they were disgusting I thought they were. Bachi! Think I might be getting sick too. I'm drowning myself in water and a few tablets of Air Borne. Let's hope it works.
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PS-Without saying which races I'm referring to, I was kind of surprised by the way I voted. When you are afforded the luxury of looking up the positions and backgrounds of candidates, choices can become less cut and dry. Do you pick someone who's way of getting things done you completely disagree with (he's insanely political about everything he does), or do you pick some completely clueless crackpot from the country, who means well and has a decent platform, but who is not really connected to reality? This wasn't the only race I felt had many gray areas. |
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| ANTM |
[Sep. 18th, 2008|04:04 pm] |
We cleaned a huge section of the house, working on small sectors at first. The problem is that everyone who lives here has so much STUFF. I'm to the point where I am fine with just the necessities and keeping everything else in the bedroom. The common areas need to be maintained. How do you tell other adults that they need to wash their dishes, fold their clothes and remove them from the living room, recycle (how hard is putting a can in a designated bin?) or generally pick up after themselves? Ahhh, shit is frustrating. I'm tired of nagging. I liked it much better when I was the irresponsible one, who had not a care in the world.
I'm writing this blog to take a break from the crash course on databases. It's actually quite interesting, but I have a massive headache, and beats are pounding from next door. The sun is shining bright outside and I have a strong urge to go and lay down on a towel in the grass. Hmm..
Does anyone else admit to watching ANTM anymore? Tyra is out of control! The little comedy skits and 'brilliant' words of wisdom get more over the top every year. It's funny because you know it's a product of Tyra feeling herself a little too much, but you keep watching it, like a bad train wreck.
By the way the Asian contestant "Sheena" looks hella familiar but I couldn't place where I had seen her before. She stated she was from NY so I figured she just looked like someone I knew. Turns out she is from Hawaii, and in that Krystielz video. Hilarious. The more I think about it, the more I think I've seen her around town. Someones ex girlfriend perhaps. The site lists her occupation as "hostess." This is typically code word for: stripper. By the way, I like her on the show. Her strange accent and personality are a welcome change from the crybabies they usually cast. Tyra rigged last year (the plus sized won) so perhaps this is the year of the Asian. Hope so.
I can't believe I just wrote that much on America's Next Top Model. |
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| Losing Someone You Love |
[Sep. 16th, 2008|02:19 pm] |
This post is purposely vague but if you can decipher it, then well, you were meant to read it.
Dad called early the other day to ask if I knew where Shell was. Uncle Iz had called to get her number a couple of times that morning. I found that odd (nothing is really ever that urgent with our family) and besides I thought that they were already en route to Canada. I told him to try her cell but that she had poor reception and I wasn't sure where she was.
In a strange stroke of luck and coincidence, right after that, they end up running in to each other at Koa House. They wanted to ask Shell about hospice care because this is the focus of her practicum this semester, and bereavement services what she wants to specialize in after she graduates. We have such different ways of looking at life and death. She immerses herself in the difficult subjects, through helping others, and feels invigorated and healed by doing so. It's still so raw for me and while I embrace life in a completely different way now, it's not something I readily share.
Though it's been over 10 years since my Mom died the sadness remains. It's heavy form morphs constantly, dulling gently with age, but reasserting its raw presence at the most random times. In this way the nature of grief is non-linear and difficult to anticipate. It only gets better (a little) the day you accept that the sinking feeling is not going away, and being okay with that.
The hardest things to handle are the milestones you miss with the person. Getting married, graduating, having kids, and all of the small things too. Small things like good advice and meaningless conversation with someone who has known you your whole life, and still loves you! Or feeling important as a kid when you were conferred with on everything from business deals to what was for dinner.
It makes you miss (even more) the lounging around and laughing, the fancy "secret" lunches you didn't tell anyone else about, the singing in the car, video game challenges, and bed time stories. Life's benchmarks seem bittersweet, joyous, yet reinforcing of what is missing.
Epilogue
I saw Ch@r*l at the pet store. I almost didn't recognize her without make-up. I think she looks pretty without make up, au natural. Anyway... All of the above was running through my head during our fleeting interaction. I just remember saying that I didn't know how sick her mom was, that she seemed so healthy last time we saw each other, how I had been thinking about them so much after I heard the news. She told me she was taking care of her Mom at her house. It was mildly awkward, but I'm glad I at least said a little bit of what I was thinking. This was one of those times when all of those feelings come rushing back.
Shell commented, that us running in to them really must have been meant to be. I have to agree. |
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| Um, your site is broken |
[Sep. 16th, 2008|02:12 pm] |
For the record, this flurry of live journal activity was not caffeine induced, but rather a result of my nimble copy-paste skills and an increasingly crowded desktop full of random writings.
Stayed up until 3 last night trying to figure out why Vista was demanding a uid/password when checking Windows Mail. There is much documentation about similar problems. Tried every fix in the book, as I thought it might have been related to installing IIS and Cold Fusion earlier in the day. Even deleted Mcafee (anti-virus software) which is known to have compatibility problems with Vista/Windows Mail with no change. Installed a free version of AVG in it's place. For what it's worth it's a much smaller application which if it does it's job is ideal for me. After checking something on my remote server I realized that our site is down!!! Hence the screwy e-mail problems. This is extremely frustrating as I received no reminder e-mails regarding the registration on the site. It was also renewed through the end of the year, so I'm going to have to deal with customer service this afternoon. Blah. This puts a kink in testing out my production/remote server, as well as halts the updates I've done to the site.
Was jolted out of bed at 9 by an unnecessary phone call. I'm floating on a cloud of sleepiness, kind of half here, half zoning out. I'll be waiting for the House Hunters to return and uploading the rest of these entries, while putting off calling my Host.
Will post my current reading list soon, but I'm up to my neck in technical writing and tutorials at the moment. Inspired by Ron's tutorial on Joomla I'm looking in to it. If I can figure out how to have Joomla power a simple membership site, I think it'll definitely be an option at the top of my lists. It certainly can produce some pretty and clean looking results. Anyone know if it's possible?
I need a dynamic page that will have a typical username/pass Admin page. There users will be able to login and edit very simple information such as e-mail address, photo, title, university. The info will be displayed in an alphabetical, searchable, directory. |
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| Winter In America |
[Sep. 16th, 2008|12:28 pm] |
The always ahead of his time, Gil Scott Heron. It's hard to find tracks that will compliment such an epic expression. Anyway seek out his records and books if you can, he was/is much more than the Revolution Will Not Be Televised.
From the Indians who welcomed the pilgrims
And to the buffalo who once ruled the plains
Like the vultures circling beneath the dark clouds
Looking for the rain
Looking for the rain
Just like the cities staggered on the coastline
Living in a nation that just can't stand much more
Like the forest buried beneath the highway
Never had a chance to grow
Never had a chance to grow
And now it's winter
Winter in America
Yes and all of the healers have been killed
Or sent away, yeah
But the people know, the people know
It's winter
Winter in America
And ain't nobody fighting
'Cause nobody knows what to say
Save your soul, Lord knows
From Winter in America
The Constitution
A noble piece of paper
With free society
Struggled but it died in vain
And now Democracy is ragtime on the corner
Hoping for some rain
Looks like it's hoping
Hoping for some rain
And I see the robins
Perched in barren treetops
Watching last-ditch racists marching across the floor
But just like the peace sign that vanished in our dreams
Never had a chance to grow
Never had a chance to grow
And now it's winter
It's winter in America
And all of the healers have been killed
Or been betrayed
Yeah, but the people know, people know
It's winter, Lord knows
It's winter in America
And ain't nobody fighting
Cause nobody knows what to save
Save your souls
From Winter in America
And now it's winter
Winter in America
And all of the healers done been killed or sent away
Yeah, and the people know, people know
It's winter
Winter in America
And ain't nobody fighting
Cause nobody knows what to save
And ain't nobody fighting
Cause nobody knows, nobody knows
And ain't nobody fighting
Cause nobody knows what to save
External links
zshare link |
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| Peace and Politics Mix |
[Sep. 16th, 2008|12:18 pm] |
I'm making a mix of political, protest, and peace tracks. I'll be posting/hosting it here for free when it's done. I've been meaning to do it for awhile. If anyone has any suggestions on songs to add, let me know.
Currently:
Mac Mall-Rude Boy
Gil Scott Heron-Winter In America
Honey Drippers-Impeach The President
Marvin Gaye-You're The Man
Sam Cooke-Change Going Come
Noel Ellis-Stop Your Fighting
Funk Inc-Let's Make Peace Stop The War (edit)
Cornell Campbell-Stop The War
Pedestrian-Arrest the President
Coup-Ride the Fence |
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| Guests and Blue Skies |
[Sep. 16th, 2008|12:08 pm] |
The weather is perfect. I wish my camera was working. The sky is brilliantly blue, punctuated with only the faintest wisps of cloud clinging to the mountain edge. The breeze is back and blowing out the nasty vog.
PatC. came in last night. More out of town guest action. Luckily he is extremely easy to get along with. I still contend that Canadians are the most polite people on earth. I'm sure it's a generalization, but they seem to have much less of that aggressive alpha male thing going on. He's staying in Hawaii for 3 months and probably going to work on the fishing boats with Chris. Hopefully he can go skating and surfing with Derek. Joe and him will be hitting the open houses tomorrow.
Aside from work which has been all consuming, I've been teaching myself ColdFusion. Work has asked me to create a dynamic membership database from scratch which will be an interesting challenge. Learning a combination of ColdFusion, Access, and a little bit of mysql, should be adequate. I've actually been meaning to teach myself how to do dynamic (database driven) pages for a long, long time now. Getting paid to learn new skills is always ideal.
We were pretty excited to discover that we will soon be able to get fresh taro in bulk from Waihole. Shell played at the Waihole festival and ran in to the Re**un's who gave us the scoops. Making poi at home will be way better than buying it at the market. They even rent out boards. Apparently you can use a pressure cooker to expedite the process. On Kaua'i they were using a meat grinder but I think the boards will be fine for our needs.
In coffee news, i'm pissed! The espresso maker that Joe and P special ordered for my birthday seems to be broken. It's not even a year old and the warranty is expired by now. I think the heating element blew out, but I can't be sure. The water doesn't heat and I'm left with tepid cold shots. Also the 15 bars of pressure boasted on the spec list was a joke. I never saw the temp go over 150. I'm going to put the extra duckets in next time around and just get a gaggia. Even the lower end models are supposedly better than what I am/was working with. |
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| Election 2008 - Are you voting on Saturday? |
[Sep. 16th, 2008|12:04 pm] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | gil scott heron - winter in america | ] |
It's been a busy few weeks. This year has been a blur of massive change, character tests, and general revelation. I can't believe October is nearly upon us. The avocados are primed for the picking. The election buzz is reaching a fevered pitch. I've become rather obsessed with encouraging everyone I know to vote. I believe that this election more than any other in our lifetime signifies a turning point. We either march ever further in to a nightmare of international relations or we begin to repair the damage already done.
I think this election will come down to the number of young people who make the effort to vote. My friends fall in to three camps: the first being completely apathetic, disgruntled with the last eight years, and unwilling to participate any further. Salty. The second group would in an ideal world like to secede from the US and also do not believe in the "process." Hawaiian Nationalists. The third group is cautiously optimistic and hungry for an America which we can be proud of. Exuberant Liberals. I fall somewhere in between.
Oh there is a fourth group who sticks their heads in the sand, and then grumble when things don't bounce their way later. Annoying.
To be clear,I don't completely agree with all of Obama's policies, but I do believe that we will be supremely screwed (more than we already are..is that possible?) if we elect the competition. It would be naive to think that I could find a politician whom I would agree with on all issues, all of the time. Isn't that the definition of fascism? So I'm going with the candidate who I agree with most of the time, and more importantly on the big issues: war, taxes, health care, education, and the importance of civil service. It pains me that he isn't more aware of Hawaiian issues as he rides that local boy banner to the death, but there are bigger fish to fry at the moment. Bush has really dug us in to a hole, one that will affect generations to come, and salvaging what still remains should be priority number one.
I fear another rigged race and American's who consume campaigns like they do reality tv. Palin plays perfectly in to that demographic and that is truly frightening, some have said Disney, and a gross commentary on America in general. Watch the Tina Fey skit. It's funny.
My post about that here |
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| Blahh |
[Aug. 17th, 2008|04:50 pm] |
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Killer headache. The thought of exercising in this balmy weather is not enticing. At all. |
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| Full Moon Part II - Purple Violets |
[Aug. 17th, 2008|12:42 am] |
Everyone else went to the free Little Brother show tonight. I could really care less. Is that bad? Oh well.
I saw 16, count em, 16 cars pulled over to the side of the road hazards blazing. I should have known it was a sign. I said we should have filled the tank before we headed to Ewa. No one listened. Then on our way back I was like, "let's stop." I don't think anyone heard me, or pretended they didn't. Anyway.... Half way home, on the H3 it started pouring buckets, and the ominous orange light came on. You could feel the car hesitating. Ahhhhh! Each passed call box was another sigh of relief, just over another hill, just a little more, you can do it! We coasted with a few close calls, employing no gas pedal and many tricky maneuvers. Safely to the other side of the Koolau's we filled the parched tank.
This is a metaphor for lots of things. And I hate scraping by or not being prepared.
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Watched "Purple Violets" which was both touching and painfully predictable at the same time. It was your typical romantic comedy fare, but I was drawn in by the premise of the main character. Selma Blair plays a woman who has given up her dream of writing but who ends up revisiting her passion when an "old friend" comes back in to the picture. The fact that Edward Burns was in the movie definitely helped.
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| Full Moon |
[Aug. 17th, 2008|12:16 am] |
Got a bunch of cleaning done before the guests arrived and the house still looks a mess. Oh well, at least a bunch of the laundry piles disappeared and the dry cleaning finally set aside in to bags. Vacuumed, hauled, recycled, and scrubbed, questionably hanging linens on the outdoor lines as rainclouds approached.
I've been feeling unbalanced lately. Too many family dinners, party food, and general indulgence, mixed with no time for exercise, is really messing with my "system." I had no appetite in the morning but forced myself to eat some cereal and banana. Kind of felt the same all day long and didn't eat again (nor feel hungry) until later in the night. Made soup from scratch with fresh dill, carrots, celery, and potato from the farmers market. Next time parsnips. So good.
Chris (of Chris and Laura fame) brought me two plantains. It was pretty funny. They looked and smelled straight up putrid, black and squishy. I know that they are supposedly sweeter and less starchy when they get mottled with black, but I never saw one so far gone! He claims the really black ones taste like marshmallow when they are raw. They were soooo addictvely good, pan fried plainly, then sprinkled with kosher salt. So much sugar renders out of them that they caramelize on their own. I'm making a trip to Chinatown for plantains and young coconut soon. Maybe when we go for P's birthday lunch.
As everyone was working on music I retreated to the room to work on further updates for work. I was pleasantly surprised by an e-mail from the new director that mentioned that the site would be seeing a lot more focus in the future. He noted with oil prices soaring and with "burning fossil fuel becoming more and more unethical" it becomes increasingly important to focus our efforts on "excellent online communication" to compensate. I'm definitely interested and excited about what that may entail and happy that the conference this year will be dealing with pressing issues of the environment.
With the market plummeting, countless businesses failing, and unemployment on the rise, it's definitely been causing my brain to work overtime. I think creating new business models (ones that honor your personal ethics) to deal with the challenges are essential. Sink or swim. |
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| Why am I still up!!! |
[Aug. 6th, 2008|02:39 am] |
2:40 AM. The days just seem to clump together and then fall away in to an oblivion of lost minutes and forgotten phone calls. Like blood clots sort of or islands, just floating away with no rhyme or reason, legs askew and eyes hungry for calm.
The march of out of town guests continue. It's not so bad, even welcome, when things are calm but it's hard to get anything done with constant distraction. Anyway this isn't even the beginning of the craziness so I'll try to enjoy the last of this relative serenity.
Went to the beach with Laura and Chris which was really fun, super chill. They followed us to Lanikai because she forgot where the beach access was. Had to explain why I was wearing jeans to the beach again! Anyway, got some color on my face finally and soaked in the sun through closed eyelids. Sipped my oolong tea slowly and watched as they snorkled close to shore. We watched as he snuck up behind her causing a bathing suit malfunction! Luckily for them she was still under water. Funny shit! Then as we all rested on the dunes the weirdest encounter took place. Two pretty, skinny asian girls walked up to us. They had the fashionable sunglasses and matching bathing suits look going on. They looked REALLY young. Laura was smoking and they asked her if she had an extra cigarette. They looked pretty local from all indications. Anyway she gave them a hard time and asked them how old they were. They then told us in proper British accents that they were 18 but that cigarettes were legal in Britain. Uhh, yeah i'm still confused about the whole thing. Cigarettes are legal at 18 here too. Anyway if they were that quick on their feet....guess they really wanted a smoke.
Later on in the week we BBQ'ed with Laura and Chris and my sister and her boyfriend. It was good times. All the veggies came out really good...portabello caps, brocolli, zucchini, eggplant, onions, red pepper, a smorgasbord. Everyone else went to the Prototype Party later that night, but I stayed in opting to catch up on work.
After errands and a TB test... Went to the new Jelly's in Kakaako today. It was a bust. Got Kay Gardener's Mooncircles for fifty cents and some Cup of Tea 12" with Monk and Canatella also fifty centavos, but that's about it. Getting out of the house and having lunch with P was great. Saw some crazy things at the bus stop....which I'll write about tomorrow. It had me kind of shook after hearing about the guy in Manitoba who decapitated a fellow bus rider who sleeping (minding his business, listening to his headphones)!! That mixed with the report yesterday that a plane bound for Honolulu (from LA) made an emergency landing because the cabin was filling with smoke, has me a little on edge. The world has just been crazy lately. Ah!
In nicer Canadian news.. Heard my Aunty and Uncle are going to visit my cousin Jaime in Calgary. I need to remember to ask them if they can bring back Ketchup and Dill Chips! Maybe at the next "jam session" at Grandma's house. We've been meeting up to play music in the garage, but more as an excuse to see each other and eat lots of good food. |
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| A Hamster Wheel of Progress |
[Jul. 24th, 2008|07:32 pm] |
Still tired after holding sleep at bay last night. Woke up early after receiving an obnoxious phone call and couldn't go back to sleep. Worked for a few hours. Caught up with Kerry which was nice. Felt good after hearing Joe safely made it across the border and was finally en route to SK. Took a "power" nap which lasted thirty minutes but was necessary for functioning like a normal human being. I still feel groggy.
Stopped at Don Quixote a.k.a. Daiei before the Farmer's Market, which was so good! Rainier cherries (three dolla per flat), blueberries (usually six dollars, two dollars a flat), dried garbanzo beans, and Hamakua tomatoes. Donated a bunch of clothes to Goodwill and then we headed to the market. It was packed. Bought some baguettes from Bale, fresh white ginger for around the house (reminds us of Mom), and some bell peppers. I didn't want to go off since I'll only be cooking for myself this week. Jaywalked across the street to get some delicious vittles from India Cafe (it's in the parking lot of Daiei). It's semi pricey for food coming out of a wagon -- $9 for a veg plate with one roti. But it's the best Indian food on Oahu so I don't mind. Got chana masala, eggplant, and spicy tofu. It hit the spot. They give huge portions so I only ate a bit. It was strange there was a teenage girl and her little sister working in there with no supervision. Maybe family members of the owners, who knows. Nice kids.
Would have loved to eat at the beach and watch the sun dip, but my sister was rushing back home to meet her boyfriend. They are going on their 3 month (i think?) anniversary dinner. Aww new love. They are so funny together, in a good way.
Kind of pointless (the driving not the occasion) since we just dropped everything at home and they are going right back to Kailua to celebrate.
Oh PS, My sister drives crazy. Brakes way too late. Makes me want to pull my hair from my head.
Time to sort more records. More later. |
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| Brain dead |
[Jul. 24th, 2008|02:42 am] |
I'm not even going to begin to try to explain why I'm up at 2:42 AM right now. Yesterday was insane and has totally drained me to the core. I'm looking forward to sleep and to drown in some good music. Been listening to a weird mix of metal and screamy shit I was in to years and years ago (anasarca, you and i, mohinder, blah blah) Some of it hasn't aged too well, but I guess that goes with the territory. Also been listening to Mingus, Makaha Sons, Santogold, Eliot Lipp,and Sade.
Ate a "momi apple" today which my sister procured from Hawaiian language class. A lady who was taking the class doled them out and described them as "carrot like" apples. They didn't taste all that much like carrot to me although I can see where she was going with that. The texture of the flesh is sort of like green mango or soft carrot, substantial and pliable. It's taste is sort of a mix of citrus and root veg (although these grow on trees), a very strange eating experience. It was good, but not as orgasmic as the mountain apples that we finally brought from Kaua'i! Isn't it strange how mountain apples used to be around everywhere when we were little, but now rarely make an appearance anywhere? Maybe I just don't know the right people.
OK. It's almost 3. That's my cue.
PS-The picture of the Momi is from this blog which gives more information about it's peculiar origins. |
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| Food Sustainability and Yeah |
[Jun. 10th, 2008|02:29 pm] |
Twas a busy week consisting of out of town guests, drunken debauchery (sadly not my own this time), dog washing, mix tape making, painting, composting, and work.
The "victory" garden is in full bloom and already yielding edibles! My enthusiasm got the bestof me though, and I planted too many things in too tiny of a space. However, I am quickly learning that nothing is a disaster and that experimenting is a key part of the process since all soil and climates are different.
We're hand building new raised beds that should take care of this problem. Next challenge will be brussel sprouts (not known to grow well in Hawaii), heirloom tomatoes, and soy beans. We also planted white ginger (Mom's favorite) and a tiny mountain apple tree. Support plantnativehawaii.com Good people, amazing mission. Ah also the banana patch is getting ripped out and replaced with a small lo'i. When poi reachs $8.99 at the market it's time to look for alternatives. It's pretty sad to think that many seniors (many people in general) can't afford to eat this delicious, sustaining, sacred, food on a more frequent basis. More about this later.
The garden talk might be boring to some. It's easy to get swept up in modern life and all of it's conveniences and sometimes forget that food wasn't always such a sterile, disconnected, process. It matters because it's poisoning us and ripping us from practices that keep us close to our culture.
As our industrial food system becomes irreversibly fucked (no nicer way to put it..see fecal matter on spinach and factory farms for easy examples), and as oil prices sky rocket impacting everything from transportation of food to fertilizer costs, it's important to me to look at solutions. Growing your own food is a good and relatively easy starting point. The food is much cheaper/cleaner/tastier and just requires of you a little more effort.
Check out these links for inspiration:
Urban homesteading in Pasadena. Once you get over the hippy dippy overtones that are a major turn off for most people including me, what this family is doing is pretty radical. Their vegetable yields are facemelting.
The second link I always tell people about is People's Grocery in Oakland. They are making access to healthy, organic food available to a community that only had liquor stores and fast food chains in the past.
[more]
And lastly go and visit Richard Ha of Hamaku'a Springs blog. He is one of few people in Hawaii who seems to recognize the urgency of adapting to new challenges now, instead of waiting until we are without options. He brings optimism and innovation rather than complaining and sitting idly by. Oh yeah and his tomatoes are awesome, worth the extra money.
hamakuasprings.com |
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| Kamehameha Song Contest 2008 |
[Mar. 15th, 2008|02:50 pm] |
I loved the theme this year. This guy has better quality clips than the ksbe stream. In traditional Hawaiian belief, language is key to the survival of a people. Its subtle meanings, perspectives, and historical connections mark activities conducted in Hawaiian in a most distinctive way.
I am Hawaiian...forever and ever.
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| footloose |
[Mar. 1st, 2008|03:21 am] |
*youtube erased cause the footage sucks
too bad you can't really see this. this kid in tight pants was doing some fancy footloose moves at mercury bar. it was footloose mixed with claire's dance from the breakfast club.
pretty amusing. he then launched in to some intense swing dance action with a cute asian girl who seemed to think it was the most normal thing in the world to be lindy hopping in a confined space.
the night started at the beat battle. it was surprisingly kind of packed. got a little tipsy on a huge bottle of belgian peche and caught the last bus downtown with p. parts of their set really killed it. as out of touch as i feel...there were moments that reminded me of why i started caring about this stuff in the first place. joe did really well...and i'll be the first to tell him when he can do better. so that was also a highlight of the evening. oh yeah and we saw a happy drunk matt ratt which is always hilarious, hi-fives and slurred speech.
THE best part by far though was hanging out with leila.
...sometimes you need moments like these to put things in to perspective...i hope this feeling lasts a little longer.
my throat hurts now but it was worth it! |
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| African-American-Hawaiian Falsetto |
[Feb. 12th, 2008|02:02 am] |
This is such a crazy story. I saw it on KGMB. It's about a musician, Ryan Kamakakehau Fernandez, who happens to be African-American from Arkansas, who was adopted by a Hawaiian family as a baby and raised locally. He went on to immersion school and now sings falsetto. Beautiful falsetto! It's amazing to think (and to see through the story) how influential ones environment can be to who we become.
Watch The News Report on KGMB - Maui's Mystery Music Man
*i dont' know why the link doesn't work...but click on it..and then erase the "%22" from the end of the url and it should work. otherwise you can look for it under "maui's mystery music man." it aired yesterday.
movie about his life |
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| big wigs small brains |
[Jan. 8th, 2008|06:51 pm] |
Early Christmas dinner was a pleasant and low key event especially given the fact that it was with the Chinese side of the family. The underhanded barbs were kept to a minimum and the claws kept hidden beneath the dinner napkins.
The only awkward exchange transpired when my Grandma decided to ask all of the "young people" who we were going to vote for the next presidential election. Cue crickets. I think we were all a little shocked at the uncommon dinner banter. I mean usually we just bullshit about the normal, what are you doing with your life, how are your dogs, you did what?? etc. Our Grandpa (a complete hard head (of course a Cancer)), always told us never to bring up politics or religion at dinner. I tend to agree with him..But only in the sense that they usually devolve in to rushed circular arguments that ruin digestion. I would love to debate after though. I told her that I was leaning towards Obama because I felt he was most charismatic (we need someone who provides hope..or the perception of hope; someone who can smooth over global relationships), someone who is likable enough to defeat the republican contender. I think Clinton rubs people the wrong way. Is middle America ready for it's first black or woman president? I don't know.
Anyway, what bothers me about him is that he promises way more than he can possibly deliver, isn't at all clear about what he will do to remedy the health care system, etc. Side note: I've heard from friends in Canada that their health care isn't as utopian as one might think. On the one hand these lofty goals could be the idealistic foresight of a man who comes from a very academic background and therefore tends to speak in abstract ideas....or if you are a tad more cynical....just more lip service.
I think it's easy to play the I don't believe in the United States government, so I don't vote card. Too easy. I would rather have a say no matter how small it is.
More on the holiday later.. |
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