Filed under: Hawaii, Kids, Politics | Tags: education, fail, furlough fridays, Hawaii, jack johnson, lingle
It’s been over a month now since the state government, the education bureaucrats and the teachers union reached an agreement that will no doubt go down in the record books as one of the most wrong-headed decisions the state has ever made, an agreement of Swiftian proportions: Furlough Fridays.
A lawsuit, a scathing open letter from the Secretary of Education, a NY Times op-ed, a parent protest on the capitol steps – not one of these has made much of an impact on a governing body indifferent to the plight of 130,000 public school children in a state that ranks near the bottom of the nation in education.
We were there at the protest, which turned out to be an impromptu Jack Johnson concert masquerading as a protest. Jack deigns the South Shore with a few hits from the catalog, steps off stage, and what do you think happens? That’s right. The hundreds of “outraged citizens” dwindle to a handful. 130,000 affected students, and yet the organizers are only able to collect a couple thousand signatories for the petition. In spite of this, the mothers who organized the event deserve some kind of Nobel Prize for their efforts.
And now, in a new and strange twist, the Advertiser is reporting that Lingle has actually had the money to put a stop to the furloughs all along. Much like Dorothy and her ruby slippers. Will wonders never cease!
On a more positive note, our son Taiyo received a “Mindful Student” Award for the first quarter of classes, the highest award given at Waikiki Elementary. Although it is comforting that he seems to be doing well, it’s all relative to the more alarming fact that he seems to be off from school more often than in the classroom.
Filed under: Dining, Hawaii, Honolulu | Tags: character, hawaii nui, kakaako, kona, kua aina, liquor collection
Several weekends ago I found myself in need of a beer to accompany a Kua Aina burger. Being in Kaka’ako, I knew the Liquor Collection, with its formidable selection of world beers, would provide. What could be a more appropriate fit to a Hawaiian burger than a brewed-in-Hawaii ale? I decided to acquaint myself with Hawaii Nui’s Golden Ale and was far from disappointed. Nice and crisp with a fine, upstanding character. Lacking the refinement of the Kona beers with which I am much better acquainted, but definitely worth repeat explorations.
On August 28 Taiyo reached the big oh-five. We celebrated with a big old beach barbecue at Kaimana. Unfortunately between grill and lifeguard duty, I was unable to get behind the camera. I really need to work on my multi-tasking. Can I use my maleness as an excuse?
On a side note, we had an illustrative confrontation prior to the party. Mizuho had heard from her friends that it would be better to obtain a permit for our party from the Public Parks Authority. We did, and made the (apparently false) assumption that this then entitled us to “land rights”. When we presented our permit to a gentleman who had set up in the area we were hoping to use, he looked at us like we were batshit insane and claimed to have never heard of anybody getting a permit for holding an event, folded his arms, and refused to budge, having staked out his ground hours earlier. When we mentioned our story to people at the party, many were able to relate similar experiences. Another culture lesson learned!
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: Activities, Family, Hawaii, Kids, Sport | Tags: AYSO, goal, soccer dad
I have officially joined the “soccer dad” demographic. Today was Taiyo’s first game in the AYSO five-year old league. Unfortunately the other team had one of those kids with two older brothers who play soccer, so he shredded Taiyo’s team’s defense like lettuce. However, I am proud to report that Taiyo represented with two goals of his own. It just so happened that one of those was in his own net…
Sometimes we all need a sip of our own koolaid.
Last weekend I was out bobbing on the waves with a friend who works in construction. He’s spent the past year putting the finishing touches on the Trump International Hotel in Waikiki. As is common with many Waikiki “hotels”, some of the units have been sold to private individuals, condo-style. According to the authorities, all available units were sold out by the early afternoon of the day they hit the market.
But now, some of these future owners are up in arms and filing lawsuits over the possibility that they may not be getting full value for their investment. Are they complaining about the quality of the units, or the building materials? No, they are pissed because the developer may not get final clearance to use the Trump name on the building.
I mentioned this story to my construction worker surf pal, and he said he understood how they felt. It would be like buying a Mercedes Benz without the logo. So there you go. Brand is by no means rational. But it certainly is real – especially when it’s convinced you to drop 1.5 million on a condo.
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: Dining, Hawaii, Honolulu | Tags: authentic, Dining, japanese, miyabi
I’m brimming with chagrin over not bringing a camera to Miyabi, a newish izakaya on Kapahulu, very close to Safeway (we parked there, though you can apparently use the Go Bannanas parking). The ambiance was simple, stylish and much more of a wa-fu vibe than the usual Hawaiianese compromise (though dimming the lights and turning down the music a couple notches would be recommended). The food definitely matched the atmosphere. Far and away the best and most authentic Japanese meal I’ve had on the island. We started with a tofu-tomato salad, and the tofu was quality – not the blobby, gelatinous supermarket variety. Nicely textured, and topped with a noteworthy dressing. It helped that the greens were very fresh and truly mixed – often a problem on this island. Around the same time some fried potato for the kids came out. Thick, chunky, well-salted – even though we had ordered them for the kids, I couldn’t help filching a few. Everything else was equally impressive, from the hokke to the sushi. Great sushi, actually. I tried a maguro just to see, and both fish and rice were exquisite. We also had some kind of shrimp/crab roll with a fanciful name that I forget, but I’d rate it up there with some of the better makis I’ve had in Japan. All of this was paired with Tomino Hozan shochu, which I had never tried before. I’m typically a fan of those pungent, earthy imos, but was won over by the subtle balance of this one. The only mild disappointment was the tskune, which seemed a little undercooked – I tend to like it more tightly packed and yakied. Couldn’t really argue with the flavor, though. And the meat was less gristly than you tend to find in Japan. Miyabi is a little pricey, so not likely to be a weekly affair, but the quality is easily worth the hit to the wallet.
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).
Ko Olina is a resort out on the leeward side of the island with four of the most ridiculously paradisiacal manmade lagoons you’ve ever seen. Definitely worth the 40 minute drive out of Honolulu.
