Spirit of Aloha | Articles | Aloha Shorts | January/Feburary 2005

Aloha Shorts

News and Notes from Around our World

Fighting the Current

To our sporting attention has been brought an ingenious swimming and water exercise machine that, if you can afford it ($18,900 for the standard system), is an interesting alternative to leaving your home for exercise. The Endless Pool, a counter-current machine, features an adjustable current that lets you swim or exercise in place, with various speeds, temperatures and workout levels. These benefits come in a small, easily installed package.
The pool is 8-by-15 feet, can be custom-ordered, needs no connection to household plumbing, requires only a twice-a-year water change, has a water-quality system and is heated, if desired, by a standard electric heater, with costs equivalent to those of a hot tub. You exercise in place against a current set at a speed you choose, for as long as you like, achieving all the health benefits of a much larger pool. And if you move, you can take your Endless Pool with you. We didn’t believe it, either, but here’s a photo. Call toll free in the United States at 800-732-8660 for a free DVD or video. It’s never too late to shape up.







Going with the Flow

A different kind of wave action will be available in May at Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park in Kapolei, with the introduction of Da‘ FlowRider®, an interactive sport/skill ride, one of only 40 in the world, that will rock and roll water adventurers. This “ride”—shown here in one of its varied installations—offers 40 feet of consistent wave action, with a thin sheet of water flowing over a stationary wave form, resulting in a wavelike shape that lets riders on special bodyboards slide, carve a turn and ride up a wave surface. The next step, according to park officials, is to have top board-sports professionals do their radical moves and maneuvers in the park. We’ll assume they’ve all mastered the Endless Pool before they move to Da‘ FlowRider®.



Tight-Knit Groups

This being an issue devoted to sports, we are reminded that, at our rough-and-tumble university years ago, those of us who decided, for all good, fragile reasons, not to engage in hard-core football or baseball activities were directed by would-be jocks to explore classes in basket-weaving, although rarely, if ever, did those classes actually exist. But in Hawai‘i, they do exist, including workshops of braiding and braid-making, organized by the Hawai‘i Handweavers’ Hui, a tight-knit group as interesting as any we’ve ever encountered on these fair shores.

In March, three workshops for art teachers and fiber enthusiasts will be held at the Academy Art Center at Linekona, 1111 Victoria St., featuring braid-maker and author Rodrick Owen. One will cover simple braiding techniques, another will cover the basic skills of kumihimo, Japanese braids used for personal adornment, home furnishings and decoration, and a third will s pecialize in Peruvian Turban braids, which have been made for 4,000 years, or at least 3,900 years longer than football has been played. Got braiding? Call 591-8539 for more information.










Fruit Beer

Sports fans who aren’t able to tell a good beer from orange juice will rejoice in a special concoction created recently by Kona Brewing Co. to celebrate its 10th anniversary. A special Belgian-style beer dubbed “Wiki Wiki Wit,” made from local oranges and grapefruit donated by Hawai‘i Tropical Fruit Growers, was tapped at the company’s Kona and Koko Marina locations during celebrations in February that honored the largest brewery in the state of Hawai‘i. In case you’re wondering, the beer was named Wiki Wiki Wit because, according to public relations people who do these things, Kona Brewing’s 10 years of business have passed so quickly. And wiki wiki is Hawaiian for quick. Here’s looking at ya.



Scoring Kisses

Is kissing a sport—or just a passion? The people who make Close-Up toothpaste recently asked 2,200 men and women between the ages of 18 and 34 to talk about the art of kissing and learned that more than two-thirds of Americans are proud of their kissing skills—apparently some 86 percent have had their kissing talents praised by their partners. Also, American men will kiss approximately 24 women before they get married; the average woman was 14 years old when she experienced her first romantic kiss; and Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp are the actors most desired to be kissed by kiss-happy daydreamers. In Hawai‘i, kissing starts early, according to the survey: the c ommon age for first kisses in our Aloha State is between 12 and 13.



Left-Handed Crabs

Find out everything you’ve ever wanted to know about hermit crabs and other crusty creatures at the special family educational programs held regularly at the Waikīkī Aquarium, through May. On April 5, hermit crabs are the featured attraction, with 4- to 6-year-old visitors (and their parents) permitted to design their own crabs, and learn why most of them are left-handed. (You didn’t know that, did you?) Other aquarium activities include: near-shore reef walks at night, underwater crafts for tiny tots, reef explorations by day, walks along one of O‘ahu’s last shoreline wildernesses and outings to the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology at Coconut Island—all with special naturalist guides. Registration is required for all classes, with some fees. Call 440-9007, or visit www.waquarium.org You’ll be glad you did, and so will all the hermit crabs.




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:

• Moe Keale Trio—Uncle Moe Keale, Live in Waikīkī: The late Moe Keale was one of Hawai‘i’s most beloved singers, a true treasure of the Islands. His collection of classic renditions, recorded in the summer of 1999 at the Sheraton-Waikīkī, includes “Wai‘alae,” “Ala i ka Maui” and “Kaimana Hila,” as well as traditional favorites, such as “Papalina Lahilahi.” An additional offering from Moe’s son, Nalani, adds a special touch and helps keep alive the special memory of this “Voice of Hawai‘i.”

• Ohta-San—Body Surfing: Legendary ‘ukulele virtuoso Ohta-San has been strumming the ‘uke for more than 60 years, offering up unique versions of everything from traditional Hawaiian and classical to ’60s rock favorites. Here he brings an Island touch to George and Ira Gershwin’s “Summertime,” as well as some of his originals. Rock fans will get their kicks from his iconoclastic version of “A Whiter Shade of Pale.”

• Andy Cummings—Andy Cummings & His Hawaiian Serenaders: Another perennial Island favorite, Cummings started making music almost a century ago, continuing up until his death in the mid-1990s at the age of 81. This anthology, produced by d.j./historian Harry B. Soria Jr., features all-time greats Gabby Pahinui, Joe Diamond, David Nalu and Ralph Alapa‘i, in newly restored and remastered renderings of 17 songs, including “Wahine U‘i,” “Kaimana Hila” (compare this to Moe Keale’s version), “Alekoki” and “Henehene ko Aka (For You and I).”



Books

Native Sons
Noting historian Gavan Daws’ observation that “Hawai‘i has more music per square mile than any place on Earth,” and that “the music of this place springs from the life of the land,” it is not surprising that one of the most significant books of the year describes the life of Eddie Kamae—singer, musician, composer, filmmaker, living treasure and key figure in the Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance. Hawaiian Son (‘Ai Pōhaku Press, 2004), written by local historian James D. Houston, with the active collaboration of Kamae, is the rare biography of a musician that is as lovingly composed and beautifully written as his music. Through its pages, you can almost hear the strong voices of The Sons of Hawai‘i, the band formed by Kamae in the 1960s, and his incomparable jazz picking, which changed the style of the ‘ukulele.



The Band Plays On
Much in the news of mainstream Hawai‘i this winter, the Royal Hawaiian Band has been a colorful musical fixture in the Islands since 1836. The Royal Hawaiian Band: Its Legacy, by Scott C.S. Stone (Island Heritage, 2004) is a profusely illustrated history of an organization that at one time was “reenergized” as the King’s Band by Kamehameha V, with 26 reform school boys, and has always been a striking symbol of Hawai‘i’s regal history. The book includes a full-length, toe-tapping CD, which features 18 vocal and instrumental melodies.


Bottom-Line Aloha
Rosa Say, the author of this intriguing book, urges the bold vision that Hawai‘i is especially suited to lead the world in values-centered business, thanks to its successful aloha spirit, and the way most of its people live by good and right, by their very nature. In Managing with Aloha (Ho‘ohana Publishing, 2004), Say describes 19 different Hawaiian values—all of them universal—and describes how managers can apply them to today’s competitive and often hostile business environment. “Aloha is the calling of great managers,” she writes. “Aloha is an attitude, one that is positive and healthy, for aloha is the value of unconditional love and acceptance.” Quick, can someone get a copy to Bernie Ebbers?

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