Filed under: Events, Random | Tags: chris jordan, ecolounge, indigo, junk, plastic
Over a month ago sheer curiosity led me to Honuguide’s Ecolounge event at Indigo. Man am I glad I went. Not so much for the “event”, but for the presentation I witnessed.
Joel Paschal used to work in Hawaii for a government funded organization. They received grants to sail into the Hawaiian Leeward Islands – a small, scattered chain stretching out northwest of the main Hawaiian archipelago – and clean the reefs and atolls. He showed us pictures of beaches humans have rarely if ever set foot on that are completely covered in garbage – the handiwork of sea dumping and the currents. Baby albatross, such as the one pictured above, are fed bits of refuse floating in the ocean by their parents, who skim it from the surface along with organic matter. Their stomachs can handle the organic matter, but not plastic. (The photo above was taken by a phenomenal photographer and activist named Chris Jordan.)
Joel shared with us some of the measurements they had taken of the units of plastic per square meter of ocean. I now forget the precise number, but they already greatly outnumber units of organic matter. When the government shut down his program, he was forced to return to California, where he conceived of the idea of building a raft made from junk and sailing it to Hawaii to raise awareness of what we are doing to our oceans. His journey is chronicled here.
There’s a real world out there we’re destroying. We need to start living smarter.
Filed under: Events, Hawaii, Honolulu, Media | Tags: ashton kutcher, Hawaii, Honolulu, ing direct cafe, mufi hannemann, polygon, social media club, twitter
Friday I dropped by the monthly meeting of the Social Media Club Hawaii. The highlight was probably the leadoff presenter, Dan Zelikman. His Twitter insights were not new by any stretch, but he has a very engaging presentation style that made the content come to life. Plus a ton of good examples to back it up.
A couple interesting tidbits from the night:
Mufi Hannemann has nearly 700,000 followers on Twitter (love the poorly executed Photoshop by the way – his head is a polygon!). That’s not quite Ashton Kutcher territory, but getting there.
Big City Diner uses Twitter to broadcast a secret password that gets people discounts and free stuff. So simple, so smart.
One final word about the venue: ING Direct Cafe=marketing genius.
Filed under: Branding, Events, Hawaii, Honolulu, Work | Tags: Branding, pecha kucha, presentation, tightness
I have to say I was pretty happy with how my presentation at PKN Honolulu went down last night. OK, it’s not like I singlehandedly created 200 converts to the church of brand, but I was pleased that I gave exactly the presentation I wanted to – simple, coherent flow, good energy, with visuals that cohered with super-tightness to my narrative. Yeah!
Filed under: Events, Hawaii, Honolulu, Work | Tags: brand, eclectic, pecha kucha
I’m going to be giving a presentation entitled “What is Brand?” at the upcoming Honolulu Pecha Kucha Night this coming Friday, the 24th. The event will be held at the Honolulu Academy of Arts from 7:30-9:30, and as usual will feature an eclectic bunch of creative types making presentations on everything from architecture to zydeco, all in the unique PKN presenting format (20×20).
Filed under: Events, Family, Hawaii, Honolulu | Tags: hawaii book & music festival, hype, jake shimabukuro
Color me underwhelmed by the Hawaii Book & Music Festival. After all the hype around it in the local press, the event seemed sadly understaffed and underattended (from 4-6:30 on Saturday, when we were there). Vacant booths and an aura of half-heartedness characterized the experience.
But, well, I guess we were more there for Jake than the festival itself. As always, Jake put on an energetic, surprising and gracious performance. The highlight this time was an amazing rendition of Sakura (for all the Japanese fans in the crowd). As a bonus, we caught a glimpse of Jake up close and personal on his way to the portapotties prior to the show.
Filed under: Activities, Events, Family, Hawaii | Tags: art after dark, buzzing, fleur
On Friday evening I took the whole family out to the latest installment of Art After Dark. It seemed quite a bit more packed than the last time I went. Maybe a little too packed for the kids, but again I was blown away by the beauty of the Academy’s space, and by the buzzing energy of the event itself.
Filed under: Activities, Events, Family, Hawaii, Honolulu, Kids | Tags: iolani fair, rusting tilt-a-whirls
We were able to escape the human cattle pasture that is Punahou Fair, but with not much happening on a Saturday afternoon, we decided to hit Iolani Fair and find out what these school-sponsored fundraisers were all about. Now that I’ve survived the experience, I can share it with you: rusting tilt-a-whirls, half the inflatable slide/bouncing castles on the island, and raising funds, lots of funds. I guess the kids enjoyed it, but we left considerably lighter of pocket and weary of mind.
Stopped by the fourth installation of Pecha Kucha in Honolulu on Friday. It was held in the courtyard of the Academy Art Center, a venue that makes quite a contrast with SuperDeluxe in Tokyo. Think a leafy canopy provided by gnarled trees, old stone walls and the occasional bird swooping down from overhead. On the whole, the presenters were maybe less polished than those in Tokyo, but not any less interesting. And free beer is a bonus.
Highlights included Dave Pollard, who coincidentally is now based in Tokyo, and had presented at Pecha Kucha there. Dave, an artist who builds primitive housing structures in urban areas made from organic and “found” recycled materials, shared his life story in twenty slides. Very passionate and inspiring. The other speaker of note had to be Nate Orr, who was on the bill as an “intuitive consultant”. He shared his ludicrous and highly entertaining vision of the world as viewed through the lens of a number of esoteric pseudoscientific practices. If he was sincere, it would be somewhat disappointing. If it was a piece of performance art, sheer and utter genius.
Dropped by the Mughal event at the Honolulu Academy of Art, my first encounter with the Art After Dark monthly parties. The Academy is an ideal venue, with its traditional Hawaiian facade a gateway to a number of courtyards and galleries. A true exploratory experience for the first time visitor (me). With bars and dining available in each pavilion, live music and painting, as the sun sinks below the horizon and the locals pack into the halls and open spaces, the Academy begins to pulse with life. Somehow I missed the exhibit of Indian miniatures that was the thematic centerpiece of the event, but I did peruse a couple galleries that respectively housed an intriguing collection of abstract pieces and a modest but impressive collection of early modernist artists (all big names accounted for).
Filed under: Events, Hawaii, Honolulu | Tags: chinese new year, crowded, ox
Chinese New Year in Honolulu. There’s a parade, street vendors, drums and smoke. Oh yes, and (carnival-style) kiddie rides. Ten bucks buys a wristband that’s good for unlimited goes on one block of rides. Never mind about the rides on the other blocks. After dark, it got a bit crowded – too hard to access the food booths, let alone walk straight. The verdict: done it, probably won’t venture back next year.
