|
Spirit
of Aloha | Articles
| Aloha Shorts | September/October
2006
Aloha
Shorts
News
and Notes from Around our World
 |
Airworthy
The Aeronca 65TC, a sports/trainer airplane, was en route from Moloka‘i to Honolulu early in the morning on Dec. 7, 1941, when it encountered the first wave of 150 Japanese Zero fighters headed to attack Pearl Harbor. Two Zeros circled back and strafed the tiny civilian plane, causing damage to the aircraft and definitely unsettling the pilot and his passenger son. Maybe you saw a version of this scene in the movie Tora! Tora! Tora!, but, if you missed it, you can now view the original plane in all its glory at the newly opened Pacific Aviation Museum (PAM) on Pearl Harbor’s Ford Island.
Visitors to PAM will see a variety of historic aircraft: a Zero fighter, a Navy Wildcat fighter, an Army Air Corps B-25 Mitchell bomber, a 1942 Stearman biplane in which former President George H.W. Bush learned to fly, and took his first solo flight, and other aviation artifacts, including the Aeronca 65TC, the first American plane engaged in combat during World War II.
Interactive displays are also part of the PAM experience. Visitors can “fly” an American or Japanese plane and communicate via radio with other fliers. There’s also a display that tells the story of the Ni‘ihau residents who captured Japanese pilot Shigenori Nishikaichi, when he crash-landed on the island after attacking Kāne‘ohe Bay and Bellows Army Air Field on that infamous day.
Tickets are available at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum or the museum’s ticket office. Admission for adults is $14; $7 for children. Hawai‘i residents and military pay $10, and children pay $5. Active-duty military in uniform get in free. Ticket information at 690-0169. |
 |
Stars in Their Eyes
Mobil Travel Guide’s 2007 annual rankings for fine restaurants and hotels in the United States were released at the end of 2006, and we’re happy to report that Hawai‘i, as usual, was well-represented. The sole five-star lodging was the Four Seasons Resort Maui in Wailea. Those receiving four stars were the Four Seasons Resort Hualālai at historic Ka‘ūpūlehu, Kona; The Halekūlani in Honolulu; the Kāhala Hotel and Resort, Honolulu; and the Ritz-Carlton, in Kapalua, Maui. Four Hawai‘i restaurants were awarded four stars: Chef Mavro and La Mer (at the Halekūlani) in Honolulu; Gerard’s in Lahaina, Maui; and Spago, at the
Four Seasons Maui in Wailea. |
|
Palace Patter
Tours of the beautiful, revered ‘Iolani Palace in downtown Honolulu now include a 45-minute audio tour that guides visitors through 18 different sites with the aid of a special “wand.” The tour, produced by Antenna Audio, uses period music, Hawaiian chant-
ing, old newspaper reports, the national anthem of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, and the Queen’s Prayer to add realism and authenticity to the regular tours. Remarks by Quentin Kaw¯ananakoa, a living descendant of the royal family, are also included in the presentation. The tour costs $12 for adults and $5 for children. Reservations for tours at 522-0832 or 522-0823. |
|
Local
Laffs
Island visitors seeking a little inside knowledge about local customs, and what makes Hawai‘i laugh out loud, would do well to spend an hour or two watching two recently released DVDs featuring standup comedians who’ve been providing humorous inspiration in the Islands for years. Andy Bumatai’s High School Daze is a riot of interpretations about going to school in Hawai‘i. He’s Everyman, in familiar idioms: the sassy young dude, tough-talking coach, feisty cafeteria lady, hip philosophical custodian, chronic underachiever and klutzy geek. Meanwhile, Augie T (whose real name is Augie Tulba) went back to Farrington High School last August to record 90 minutes of observations that are guaranteed to bring down your house—that is, if your house is in Hawai‘i. Mayor Mufi Hannemann endorsed this performance in Then & Now, saying, “Here’s a local boy who hasn’t forgotten his roots or lost his Island spirit.” |
|
 |
Watch Yourself Surf
This is a good-natured, real-life sports adventure almost too good to pass up: You (or your best friend) surf the wild, raging, dangerous waters of, say, the North Shore (or, maybe, a more quiet part of the Pacific Ocean) and, meanwhile, you are filmed in action by professional surf cinematographers, who literally paddle and ride alongside you with advanced equipment. Later, you view your surf experience on your own TV screen, complete with land and aerial shots of the island and local culture, expertly and creatively edited and coupled with a moving and masterful soundtrack. Interested? Contact Waterlogged Video Productions (WVP), a partnership between avid surfers and film-
makers Greg Rose and Heath Thompson, who met on the North Shore in 2003.
They combined their interests, set up a company, and now it is much in demand—not only by amateur and beginning wave strugglers like you and me, but by serious professionals: WVP provides camera work for the big-time Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, the Billabong Pro Junior Surf Contest and many other special ocean events. “I was completely blown away by the final product,” writes one happy amateur client. Ready to watch yourself master tough waters? Call Greg Rose at Waterlogged: 281-9697. |
|
Calling All Canoers
Outrigger canoe racing and ancient Hawaiian games are the entertainment of choice on Jan. 28 in Honolulu at the 22nd annual Ala Wai Challenge, a special free event for visitors and locals alike, sponsored by the Waikīkī Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. The outrigger canoe race is a quarter-mile event along the Ala Wai Canal, open to all skill levels. Hawaiian games include the ‘ulu maika (bowling a round stone through pegs); o‘o ihe (spear throwing), pahe‘e (dart throwing), and hukihuki (tug of war). There will also be rousing chants, ancient hula and songs by the Kamehameha Schools Hawaiian Ensemble class and plenty of good food and drink. The event benefits a good cause, the Waikīkī Community Center. Activities start at 8 a.m. and continue through the morning. Bring your own canoe! |
|
|
|
MUSIC:
Now Hear This!
Brickwood Galuteria, Hawaiian 105 KINE’s “Aloha
Morning Show” radio host, chooses this list of recommended
music from the Islands, with all selections widely available
at Island record stores:
• The Kahauanu Lake Trio—At the Kaimana Beach Hotel in Waik¯ık¯ı: “If you’re a hula dancer, or if you’re thinking grassroots hula, this is the quintessential hula trio,” says Brickwood, of this re-released master collection. The Kahauanu Lake Trio, made up of ‘ukulele virtuoso Kahauanu Lake, master bass player Tommy Lake and guitarist Al Machida, was a truly Hawaiian group whose music was once described as “full of passion and an example of Hawaiian music at its very best.” But they left behind only six albums. Among the superior hula songs in this supreme collection are “Nani Venuse” and “Ko‘ula.” (Hula Records)
• Kalaeloa—Let the Good Times Roll: A CD that’s sizzling on the Hawai‘i charts, with lots of likeable, listenable songs, Kalaeloa is Taz Vegas on guitar and Les Harris on ‘ukulele. “They’re one of the hottest duos in the place right now, with a real local-style country sound,” says Brickwood. Listen to everything they do, but their hot-selling single is “Kiss U in the Morning.” (Aloha Music International)
• Matt Catingub Orchestra of Hawai‘i—Return to Romance: Hawai‘i’s musical internationalist has brought together his orchestra with many of the Islands’ and the nation’s finest musicians to interpret in lush and longing terms some of the great love songs of our times. Here is Keali‘i Reichel singing “How Deep Is the Ocean,” the Brothers Cazimero crooning “Let There Be Love” and
Amy Hānaiali‘i Gilliom performing “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?” It’s a sweet, but never syrupy, musical feast. (Mountain Apple Co.)
|
|
Books
Mr. Passion
Although Kim Taylor Reece started working with ballet dancers in his studio more than 30 years ago, he realized that, because he was in Hawai‘i, he should be working with hula dancers. With books like Hula Kahiko: Images of Hawai‘i’s Ancient Hula and Hula i ka Lā: Dance in the Sun, Reece established a reputation as Hawai‘i’s leading hula photographer. Now he’s working with ballet again, with The Eternal Dance (published by Kim Taylor Reece Gallery, 2006) offering visions of dancers away from the confinement of the stage, in natural surroundings of freedom and space. In the introduction he writes: “My goal is to create visual images that amaze me. Images that can be visited time and time again. Images that inspire. Images that are indelible. Images that are passionate. For me that is the purpose and the passion of art.”
Looking Back
Born in rural New Jersey, MacKinnon Simpson immersed himself in Hawai‘i’s history when he arrived in 1970 and subsequently became the historian and exhibit designer for the Hawai‘i Maritime Center on Pier 7 in Honolulu. The fascinating photos he has assembled in A Century of Aloha: The Creation of Modern Honolulu (Mutual Publishing, Honolulu, 2006) take us back to when the place was a small fishing village called Kou, nestled at the mouth of Nu‘uanu Stream on the south shore of O‘ahu, and leave us with freeways, Elvis concerts and industrial parks at the millennium.
History Lessons
In October 1943, a 27-year-old combat infantry chaplain named Israel A.S. Yost, a white Lutheran minister, arrived in Italy with a little-known National Guard unit of primarily Japanese-Americans from Hawai‘i, most of whom were Buddhists. For 19 months at the front, Yost kept a field diary and wrote letters home to his wife. Combat Chaplain: The Personal Story of the World War II Chaplain of the Japanese American 100th Battalion (University of Hawai‘i Press, Honolulu, 2006) is his unflinching story of faith and conduct in war.
In 1940, at the age of 15, Henry Nalaielua, having been diagnosed with Hansen’s disease five years
earlier, was taken from his home and family and exiled to the remote leprosy settlement of Kalaupapa on Moloka‘i. This memoir of his life at the place he still calls home
(No Footprints in the Sand, by Henry Nalaielua, with
Sally-Jo Bowman, Watermark Publishing, Honolulu, 2006) is distinguished by grace, humor, candor and inspiration.
 |
| |
Aloha
Shorts Archives
|
