Ka Lamakua

Learning to trust: Improv at Laughtrack Theater

2011-04-28T19:50:00.002-10:00

by Doyle Moeller

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

What was your graduation experience? Given the prompt "graduation" the improv troupe Muslin Hamster began with monologues of their own experiences. Co-Owner Shannon Winpenny explains that she dyed her hair bright red so that her mother could see her. The theater takes pride in never performing the same skit twice, so expect to see a wide variety of skits when you visit.

Hidden in the heart of downtown, directly across from Hawaii Theatre and among the optometrists and the cafés is Laughtrack Theater, a welcome break from the predictable.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Observe: the power of the power tie. Muslin Hamster members
Shannon Winpenny and Scott Hanada act out a scene in which
Shannon goes from doubting Scott's ability to get a promotion
to being overcome with desire for him because he is wearing not
just any power tie, but one that Donald Trump himself wore.

The lobby, featuring a wall painted with a group portrait of its founding members, is visible from the street. Beyond that wall, the theatre beings to take shape. The set is minimal, with the only props usually being a pair of stools. The stage, as well as the space, is small, but co-owner Kim Potter says it can seat up to sixty-five.

Once the show begins, it becomes clear why everything else is toned down: the actors provide the color and excitement. Muslin Hamster, one of the many groups performing at Laughtrack, works without any signals or cues, relying instead upon each other's ideas and trusting each other to support their ideas."

For learners, Laughtrack offers classes for all ages, with students ranging in age from eleven to eighty-three. Advanced classes often become performers for the theatre, and even people who want to learn a new skill or just have some fun are welcome.

"Our classes are for anyone who wants to try anything," says Laughtrack co-owner Shannon Winpenny. When she says anything, she literally means anything can happen: she explained that most, if not all long-form improvs start with an “idea generator” in which actors get a chance to feel out whatever subject the audience shouts out.

In one performance, the prompt offered to the group was "graduation," so each member gave a short monologue about their graduation experience while elements from the monologues found their way into the scenes in interesting and unexpected ways, like a Nintendo DS played during graduation turning into playing Tetris on a wedding day, complete with a Lithuanian bride who enjoys the Russian music.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

How can you keep a straight face when you're so happy? After a solemn walk down the "aisle" Muslin Hamster members Larissa Nielson, Shannon Winpenny, and Scott Hanada break the guise and express their joy at graduaiton.

Larissa Nielson, another UHM graduate and the second regular member of Muslin Hamster, says the thing she learned most from improv has nothing to do with theatre - she says she learned how to accept herself. To her and to many others at Laughtrack, that's what makes improv so awesome.

"In this house," says Muslin Hamster member and UHM graduate Scott Hanada, "it's all about love and support."

Laughtrack Theater - located at 1123 Bethel St. - holds shows every Friday and Saturday, at 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door, and the theatre offers a 20 percent military and student discount. Outside food and drink are welcome, though ID's are checked for those bringing alcohol. For more information or tickets, call (808) 384-3362 or visit http://www.laughtracktheater.com/.

The Tea Farm

2011-04-23T07:36:00.000-10:00

by Jessie Bristow

jessie bristow / KA LAMAKUA

The remnants of the Jasmine Dragon Pearl Green Tea.

Half the fun is seeing what teas you like the most.

Step into the small elegance of a quaint, clean, and soothing atmosphere and learn to relax.

Not your typically rush filled café or coffee shop with clerks screaming out your order and lines filled with frustrated beings who are having withdrawals from caffeine and are looking to get their next fix. No hardcore drug dealers in these parts, but just a man who has got what you are looking for, and a place to embrace while you consume.

There has been recent news of the Tea Farm: yes it was opened by a UH alumni, yes it is just down the street, but why should we trade in our beloved addiction of lattes, frappuccinos, steamed, whipped, iced, heart racing, blood pumping coffee?

The answer is… you don't really have to. It is probably for the better that we put down the milk diluted sugar stuffed beverage for once and embrace the culture and tradition of drinking tea, just for health reasons alone. Don't count tea out, it's not over until the fat lady sings, and in this case the fat lady may be considering switching to tea over the quadruple shot syrup added creamy vente that is contributing to her future type two diabetes and obesity.

The Tea Farm Café's environment and style are what attracts people. For those who have grown up on Lipton and Snapple as being the furthest extent of your tea drinking experience, broaden your horizons by taking some time to gander at the selection of about 60 different teas to choose from. Each one has its own origin, scent, and appearance. Trying a few is the fun part of this little establishment, order a cup of Jasmine Dragon Pearl Green Tea and watch the leaves slowly unfold as the flavor consumes the rest of the cup. The shop is small, comfortable, clean, and it is down to earth. The hardwood floors, modern furniture, and little sofa make it a place to just take a breath and slow down.

The idea of a calm place to drink tea where the drug-addicted folk that wake up early and try to run America don't bother you with their daily dosage is a double-edged sword. The size and tranquility of The Tea Farm Café is what draws in its poetic clientele. But as soon as you start expanding café size, become more popular, and adjust to the capitalistic market to fit in more consumers, you drive out the originality of your basis idea of having a great place to get away from the rush.

Luckily, the Tea Farm is attracting the kind of customers who take the time out of their busy day to sit and enjoy their tea instead of the people who choose a more direct injection of caffeine.

Debris from Japan’s tsunami predicted to hit Hawaii shores

2011-04-22T16:50:00.001-10:00

by Maria Kanai

courtesy U.S. Navy/Specialist 3rd Class Dylan McCord

Tsunami debris from Japan floating on the ocean and making its way to Hawaii.

According to Jan Hafner, scientific computer programmer at the International Pacific Research Center, debris from last month's tsunami in Japan is expected to hit the shores of Hawaii in about two years.

Destroyed remnants of Japan's coastal towns such as cars, wood, construction material, houses and roof tops are moving across the Pacific Ocean riding powerful currents, such as the Kuroshio, which flows at one meter a second. At the moment, the debris has moved already a few hundred miles off the coast of Japan and is floating to America.

Based off a diagnostic model by UH scientists, the debris will reach Hawaii in two years. By then, the debris would turn into a "North Pacific garbage patch", which will piece away and continue to filter to Hawaii shores for about five more years. At the moment, the garbage patch is the size of Texas or even bigger.

In regards to this prediction, a project is being planned by Nikolai Maximenko to start tracking debris by placing transmitters on pieces from the tsunami. Gisela Speidel, who also works at the International Pacific Research Center, says, "It [the project] will help to determine where the different objects travel and how quickly and how they break apart. Such tracking will help government agencies to implement strategies to deal with the debris."

When asked what students at UH Manoa can do to help, Spiedel says, "Let us prevent trash from getting into the ocean in the first place. When at the beach, or boating, every one of us should make sure our trash is not left on the sand or thrown into the water…clean-up days by different community groups and schools are very important to deal with the immediate problem on hand."

Japan's tsunami has had a worldwide impact, and Hawaii is not an exception. However, Speidel hopes that this incident may possibly turn out for good.

"Our oceans were becoming more and more polluted already before the tsunami, perhaps the current disaster help to will bring governments and industries that contribute to marine debris together to begin to deal with the ever growing problem of garbage in our oceans."

Vengeful Sword brings Kabuki to UH

2011-04-18T07:36:00.001-10:00

by Doyle Moeller

courtesy KENNEDY THEATRE

Meg Thiel as Manno (the conniving teahouse madam) and James Schirmer as Fukuoka Mitsugi (the dutiful samurai) in the Kabuki production of "The Vengeful Sword" at UHM's Kennedy Theatrer.

courtesy KENNEDY THEATRE

A night at a Kabuki show is the epitome of Japanese class, a celebration of culture, history, and tradition. Usually based on a historical event, Kabuki is a highly stylized form of theatre sometimes referred to as ‘avant garde’ or bizarre, the slow speech and plot development can sometimes leave some viewers wondering when it will end.

Regardless of what you think of Kabuki, Hawai’i is the only place outside of Japan to lay claim to a Kabuki tradition. Troupes first came to the islands to entertain migrant workers in 1893, and the University of Hawai’i has been producing Kabuki since 1924.

The Vengeful Sword (or in the original Japanese: Ise Ondo Koi no Netaba) is built around a fateful night in a teahouse in Furuichi, specifically the Abura Teahouse. on a summer night in 1796, a possibly intoxicated, and certainly jealous Magofuku Itsuki (name changed to Fukuoka Mitsugi in the play) pulled his sword in the teahouse, killing three and injuring six.

courtesy KENNEDY THEATRE

James Schirmer (top) plays Fukuoka Mitsugi while Murray Husted (below) plays the role of his rival, Aidamiya Kitaroku in the UHM Kennedy Theatre production of "The Vengeful Sword."

Director Julie A. Iezzi sought to recreate the atmosphere of a Japanese Kabuki performance, with “audience hawkers” (listed as such in the cast list) selling Tenugui (towels with wood block prints) and Chirashi (prints on broadsheet) in the hose before the start of the show, with proceeds from their sales going to the Red Cross Fund for Japan Relief. These hawkers, in addition to selling their wares, held conversations for the benefit of the audience and performed short skits.

Once the actual show starts, and first-timers get used to the stylistic, rhythmic speech which includes speaking to a slow beat and with great variation in pitch and tone, it reveals a simple but well told story of a family heirloom, a few compelling characters, and even a few surprises foreshadowed by a close inspection of the show’s program.

Catch the Vengeful Swordat Kennedy Theatre on April 21, 22 and 23 at 8pm, and April 24 at 2pm. For tickets or more information, call the Kennedy Theatre ticket office at 956-7655 or visit their website at http://www.hawaii.edu/theatre/.

Eat The Street For Japan

2011-04-08T11:16:00.000-10:00

by Maria Kanai
photos by Rie Miyoshi

Last week my photographer Rie Miyoshi and I attended the third Eat The Street, a lunch wagon rally event organized by Poni Askew of Streetgrindz.com. This month, the event was for a cause. In light of the terrible earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan, the lunch wagons donated either a portion or all of their proceeds to the American Red Cross to aid relief efforts. It was an awesome way for people to help out a recovering country while enjoying some delicious street food. Here's how it went!

There were some changes from the last ETS in February. First of all, it was even bigger! 32 lunch wagons instead of last month's 26. Trash cans were set up in the middle, tables were set up for easy eating, and the lines actually were fairly short…except for Gogi's Korean Tacos truck! As usual, this was a crowd favorite.

This was another thing that was different! Local artists Lightsleepers worked on a beautiful, Japan-themed painting on twelve canvases that were to be auctioned off, the money once again being donated to the American Red Cross.

The first truck we went to was Shogunai Tacos. Most of the lunch trucks had a Japan-themed dish, and I got Shogunai's Osaka Jo. It was delicious, with the perfect fusion of Mexican and Japanese. The ginger pork was flavored nicely with the shoyu and lemon, and I loved the furikake and bean sprouts. It was actually really filling at $6.50, and my friend and I split one between the two of us.

The biggest surprise of the night? The line at Melt was actually manageable, and I got to try out their famous sandwiches for the first time! I think the lines were short because of their limited menu; Japanese beef curry, their famous tomato soup, and just one Melt sandwich, which was a Kabocha and Bacon melt.

You can see the kabocha (pumpkin) covered with delicious Gouda cheese. The bread was perfectly toasted with a nice crunch, and the cheese, well, was melting in my mouth. It certainly lived up to its hype. However, I did think $9 was a little pricey...

Then I ran into Poni Askew herself! Although she was busy running around organizing everything, she was able to take some time to answer some question. She let me know that she plans on holding these events at the last Friday of every month. As for the changes, she is going to take them slow. "We want to ease into the momentum, and not change too much at once."

We wanted something sweet, and we had loved the icecream at Aloha Ice Cream Tricycle. We got the watermelon icecream this time, for $4. Once again, the cookie crust at the bottom did it for me. I'm usually not a big fruit-flavored-icecream fan, but there were "chocolate" seeds for my chocolate fix.

SOUL Patrol's very own Chef Sean Priester! They were cooking food right outside the truck. SOUL's Japan themed dish was togarashi-spiced catfish with Japanese cucumber relish.

We got the Mexican paella for $7 at Camille's on Wheels, just to take a break from the tacos. The rice was filled with plenty of shrimp, chicken, and shichimi! It was just the right amount of spicy, and the different meats and seafoods were perfectly flavored.

Me and Onopops' Mexican Chocolate. It had an interesting tangy flavor to it that I wasn't quite used to. The chocolate is grown in Hawaii, and I bought the popsicle for $3. I just wasn't used to the strong aftertaste, kind of bitter and very thick, so this wasn't my favorite, even though I look very happy.

Over $7200 was raised for Japan, from a combination of food sales from the lunch wagons and separate donations. Once again, this was the biggest Eat The Street yet. At least 3500 people showed up to eat and participate to help a nation in need, making it an unforgettable night. Keep a lookout for the next event, which is planned to be held on the last Friday of April!

Food Fests!

2011-03-31T06:04:00.001-10:00

by Chris Mikesell

If you're looking to head out for some good grinds, this week might just be the week for you!

courtesy streetgrindz.com

First off, as reported earlier this week by our fabulous Maria Kanai, Eat The Street - that monthly mobile food fest that does for food what First Friday does for art - is back TONIGHT from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 555 South Street. This month, ETS is taking donations to help the victims of the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami through the Hawaii chapter of the American Red Cross, and some vendors like Hank's Haute Dogs will be donating their proceeds to the relief efforts as well!

So far the event has attracted 32 participating vendors, including:

Zarie's Mediterranean Cuisine
Sweet Lealani Treats
Elena's Home of Finest Filipino Foods
T.A.S.T.E. Tasty Asian Style Taco Eatery
Xtreme Tacos
Fairycakes
Cholos Homestyle Mexican
Ed Catering / Four Caterers
Why'z
Grindz Unlimited D.B.A. Local Stop
Zsoli's Chimney Cake Hawaii
JUS' RIGHT KETTLE CORN POPCORN
Malia's Pasteles and Poke
Summer's LavaDogs
Gogi
Onopops
BAJA STYLE MEXICAN FOOD
Simply Ono
Hawaii Hotdogs
Big Local Tita Services
Melt
Jawaiian Irie Jerk
DIXIE GRILL
Camille's on Wheels
Tacos Vicente
Aloha Ice Cream Tricycle
Hula Shrimp Co
Soul Patrol
Lickety Split
Stacy's LauLau
Shogunai Tacos

(That's the list from Streetgrindz.com as of this morning, but they're saying it could be updated with more!)

If, however, you're looking for something a bit closer to campus, March's Taste of Manoa food fest is coming back on Friday, April 1 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Campus Center. Taste of Manoa was originally scheduled for March 11th, but it was put on hold thanks to the tsunami warnings.

As usual, there's a 5 script limit per person and scripts are on sale for $1 each, but be advised: if this one is anything like previous Taste of Manoa events you are going to want to get yourself in line EARLY and bring some kind of tray-like device for all the tasting plates you're going to want to get.

Don't Miss This: Eat The Street For Japan

2011-03-28T06:39:00.000-10:00

3/31 Thursday - Eat the Street for

Japan

This is the third "Eat The Street" event, held on Thursday from 5 to 9 pm at 555 South Street in Kakaako. This time, there will be a $2 fee, a portion of which will be sent to the American Red Cross to support Japan's tsunami and earthquake relief efforts. 27 food trucks will be attending, offering Japan-themed specialty foods like Mexican edamame, furikake chimney cakes, and ume thai basil popsicles. There will be live art by Lightsleepers, and their proceeds will also be going to the American Red Cross.

Tragedy in Japan: An international student's perspective

2011-03-15T07:27:00.000-10:00

by Maria Kanai

I am sure I speak for all Japanese international students in Hawaii that the earthquake and tsunami that hit our country on Friday caused a great deal of pain and fear for all of us with friends and family back home. As of now, death tolls have risen to 801 and are expected to exceed 10000. For the past 24 hours, I've been checking the news regularly and I feel torn between a desire to go home and a strangely guilty sort of relief that I am safe here in Hawaii.

For me, the worst of it is over because I've managed to get in contact with loved ones and confirmed that they are safe. For others though, the lack of communication with those in Sendai and other areas in Japan must be frightening, and I can only be very thankful that my friends and family are all safe.

I found out about the earthquake during dinner with my roommate at home, whose sister called and let us know about what had happened. I remember thinking it was probably just another earthquake; it shouldn't be a big deal. We have so many earthquakes in Japan on a regular basis, and I've never known an earthquake in my lifetime big enough to cause much disaster.

My roommate and I went to our computers to check if anyone we knew were online. Then we both saw the facebook statuses and online news, and I realized the enormity of the situation. It then became crucial to get in touch with everyone we knew. We tried calling, but the phone lines were down, so chatting and Facebook became the only means of communication.

I soon discovered that my friends and church were all fine, but I was still in the dark about what had happened to my family. For about an hour and a half, I was unable to get in contact with my father or my sister. That hour and a half was torture. It was easy to spring to horrible conclusions when you have no idea what happened, but I kept praying. During that time, I heard all about the earthquake from my friends in Japan.

"The building started shaking sideways, like as if you're on a boat," said my friend Elly Ishihara, whose school Kanto Christian International School (my school too) was evacuated under the principal's orders immediately after the shaking began. The students fled outside to an open area and watched as "cars that were parked rocked back and forth, the poles shook, and there were people outside huddled together."

Hearing the earthquake directly from a friend made the earthquake even more real. To my relief, I managed to finally get in contact with my sister and father at around 9:00 pm Hawaii time. They were both fine, but my brother-in-law was stranded in Tokyo and at the time no one could get a hold of him. He had to walk home for 6 hours, and just came home this morning. Thankfully, convenient stores were passing out free food and water for help.

I would never take communication for granted ever again. My heart goes out to those who are still unable to reach their families. My father, Hisamitsu Kanai, was very calm over the phone, and told me that "Japan has had its share of earthquakes and tsunamis. We are used to this sort of thing, we will pull through."

It's the first time a disaster of this magnitude hit my home during my lifetime, and it's painful to watch the news and recognize the places that were destroyed.

Please everyone take care, and keep praying for Japan.

Shock Waves - Students adapt to the tsunami sirens

2011-03-11T01:06:00.000-10:00

by Chris Mikesell

chris mikesell / KA LAMAKUA

Hale Noelani resident Johnathan Yang quickly hits Facebook
to notify his friends about what was going on after hearing
about the tsunami warning Thursday night.

Tsunami warning sirens rang over the UH Manoa campus at 9:59 p.m. last night after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake shook the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Sendai, Japan.

What immediately follows a tsunami warning, however, largely depends on where you are on the island. UH Manoa is, thankfully, not included in the state’s tsunami evacuation zones, and the official advice to those outside low lying coastal areas like Waikiki was to stay put and stay calm.

But students were far from oblivious to the situation, though one would be hard-pressed to call it panic.

Jonathan Yang, a sophomore majoring in Biology, first heard about the tsunami watch via a text message from his girlfriend.

“She said ‘There’s a tsunami watch. Go call your parents.’ I’m on Facebook and everybody is freaking out.”

Yang called his parents right away, but they said not to worry, that they were fine and on high ground. He was worried however, because what he and his roommates had on hand didn’t exactly qualify as a disaster kit.

“We always have water on hand, whether there’s a tsunami or not. We’re fine, I think.”

“You know, last year we had the ‘failnami.’ But even though nothing really happened last year, I think it was really kind of a wake-up call.”

Yang said that compared to the tsunami warnings people were getting a little more than a year ago from the Chile earthquake, these seemed pretty real.

“Last year, everyone was just kind of curious,” Yang said. “More curious than terrified about it.”

His roommate, a junior named David Morgan majoring in kinesiology, thought the authorities were doing a better job of communicating to the public this time around compared to what happened during last year’s tsunami watch.

He even had a special name for that one.

“You know, last year we had the ‘failnami,’” Morgan said. “But even though nothing really happened last year, I think it was really kind of a wake-up call.”

Yang, however, admitted that he wasn’t taking the tsunami threat too seriously.

He pointed to his TV – he had been keeping a close eye on the situation, but his bigscreen wasn’t on live shots of Japanese beaches or Hawaii coastlines.

“As you can see, I’m watching Jersey Shore,” Yang laughed.

“I mean, we’ve seen the news, we’ve seen the magnitude, the damage and things like that. But if it comes, we’re pretty safe. Most people are using it as an excuse to party. They’re hoping for no school.”

“No damage and no school,” Morgan added. “No midterms.”

chris mikesell / KA LAMAKUA

"Kai," (center) about to set off on her bike to go for a Longs' run for liquid refreshment,
says that going on an alcohol run during a tsunami watch is "just another adventure."

Sure enough, a few students seemed at first glance to be entirely unimpressed by the whole ordeal.

One student, who went by “Kai,” was with two of her male companions preparing to go on a quick Longs’ run for beverages.

Kai said that her shopping list, however, was unlikely to stop at bottled water.

“We were discussing perhaps going to the grocery store, mayb’s. We’re going to go pick up some supplies. A couple things. Some alcohol.”

I asked again to make sure.

“Heck yeah! Why not?” she said. These were the students Morgan was describing – a group firmly resolved not to let a good crisis go to waste.

But a tsunami party wasn’t the only thing on Kai’s mind as she mounted her pink bicycle.

“I gotta get to my cell phone and call my little sister,” said Kai. “She works in Waikiki, usually until 4:00 a.m. I don’t think she’s working tonight. I hope not.

“An 8.9 is a huge freaking earthquake. That’s pretty severe, I think. We’re pretty darn close.”

Other dormers found themselves caught off guard when they tried to buy food at Hale Noelani’s Corner Market Café.

chris mikesell / KA LAMAKUA

Jarrette Nolope, left, explains to Casandra Sied, far right, that though the signs
on the door say the Market will be closing at 11:00 p.m. management has decided to
close up shop early. Nolope said that Sodexho reportedly closed its other campus concessions early Thursday night in a similar manner.

Jarrette Nolope, an employee at the Corner Market, began turning students away after locking the doors at 10:30. Sheets of paper taped to the glass doors said the store would be closing at 11:00 p.m., but Nolope said his bosses had decided to close up shop early.

“We’re closing right now,” Nolope said. “We’re supposed to be closing at 11:00 p.m. but certain other branches on campus have started closing early. They’re sending people home. So they called us and said ‘Ok, you know what? Every place is closing. You close up too.’”

Nolope said that while he didn’t hear the sirens personally, he got wind of it from students who came in to shop.

“The entire island is on alert right now. Stadium lights just went out, sirens have been going on. That’s what’s been going on.”

Nolope had to stop for a moment every few seconds while he was explaining to turn away another student looking at the taped signs and their watches in disbelief.

"They’re sending people home. So they called us and said ‘Ok, you know what? Every place is closing. You close up too.’”

His bosses were expecting the worst. Nolope said that he remembered an earthquake a few years ago where Sodexho took similar precautions to the ones they are taking now.

“There was a full scale blackout,” Nolope said. “Like, half the entire campus was shut down. I was actually working in the cafeteria at the time and we literally lost power. I was in the dishroom, everything went black, and we had to leave.

“They are expecting something possibly similar to that,” he said. “That’s probably why we’re shutting down early.”

I managed to catch him as he was locking the front door, but many weren’t so lucky.

“Water! We need water, we don’t have any water.”

“Closing. We’re closing.” Nolope repeated this to about a dozen students in the five minutes it took to interview him.

“We don’t have any bottled water,” repeated one of the latecomers – Casandra Sied, a graduate student majoring in sociology. “None of our roommates have any bottled water tonight. We don’t have any water for ourselves.”

“You don’t have running water?” Nolope asked.

“In case they cut off the water,” Sied said.

“Any bottles, any hollow bottles, fill those up.”

“I’ve only got 22 ounces. That’s it.”

I suggested that she try 7-11, but she wouldn’t have any of it.

“I’m not walking that far,” said Sied. “What am I supposed to do? Every time I walk down there there’s some bum who harasses me.”

Sied told me that compounding the feeling that the trip wasn’t safe was the fact that calling for help was becoming very difficult.

“Our phones don’t even work,” Sied told me. “I had to use Skype to call my mom. I had credit on my Skype card.”

But it seemed like the news had not yet reached her mother in California.

“I called her up and she was like, ‘What tsunami? What earthquake?’” Sied said.

“She goes, ‘I had no idea that was happening.’”

Ono 101: INGREDIENT UNDERCOVER

2011-03-08T08:03:00.005-10:00

by Chris Mikesell

If necessity is the mother of invention, then the dorm market has got to be its bastard father – the one you’re never particularly eager to mention in polite company but keep coming back to for guilt-filled pre-prepared food runs.

But ingredient shopping? No. No-no. You don’t think “ingredients” when walking down the aisles of mocha crunch, soda, and ice cream. Sure, there is a meager ingredient selection but more often than not the jars of sauce and stuff students see on store shelves on campus are far from the cost and quantity of what one would expect from a real supermarket.

But one day – as sort of a throwback to childhood – you come across something like today’s mystery undercover ingredient that you just have to get for the nostalgic effect. No, I won’t mention it by name, but I’m pretty sure if you’re a fan of both PB and J in the same sandwich you’re aware that sometimes they do, in fact, come in the same jar.

One loaf of bread later, however, and you still have less than half a jar left. You could always get more bread, sure, but you’ve been down that path before. But to boldly go where no peanut butter mix has gone before takes some creative thinking.

chris mikesell / KA LAMAKUA

Secret Agent Dressing

Ingredients

2 tbsp. fish sauce

2 tbsp. water

1 1/2 tsp. sambal oelek

1 tsp sugar

5-8 fresh mint leaves

2 tbsp of our secret agent ingredient (or 1 tsbp. of peanut butter + 1 tbsp. grape jelly)

Add all ingredients to a small food processor and blend until smooth. Toss over a torn up head of red leaf lettuce and some long rice noodles, and garnish with chopped peanuts and additional mint leaves, if desired.

Consider the components: Peanut butter – smooth, creamy, rich, and a bit salty; meeting up with jelly – a sweet and slightly acidic addition that pairs so well with its thick partner because together they provide balance.

One of the cuisines that comes to mind when thinking about balance is Vietnamese cuisine, which centers around keeping a balance of salty, sweet, sour, bitter and spicy elements. You taste this balance in sauces like the peanut sauce served with summer rolls, though traditionally you see our legume-based secret agent paired with ingredients like hoisin sauce to provide the sweetness and acid.

But in a pinch, grape jelly will do just fine. They'll never know.

Blurring the Lines at the M.I.A. Art and Literary Series

2011-03-07T07:08:00.001-10:00

by Maria Kanai


courtesy rie miyoshi The last M.I.A. event at Mercury Bar was a collaboration of Tin Fish Press and Hawaii Review, and over fifty people came out to hear the authors read short stories and poems. Now at Fresh Cafe, Jaime Gusman believes that M.I.A. can finally reach its true potential.

Ever read a story out loud? What about a poem? Or better yet, ever read your own story or poem to a listening audience? The moment you speak the words off the page, that’s when the magic happens.

courtesy jaime gusman

Gusman's poems are featured in the current

issue of the Tinfish literary journal.

It becomes a one-of-a-kind performance, which is exactly what the M.I.A. events are about. Since its small opening at Mercury Bar on October 2009, M.I.A. has developed into a diverse turnout of readers, writers, and musicians alike.

The M.I.A. Art and Literary Series was started by Jaimie Gusman, a poet hailing from Florida, currently pursuing her PHD in Creative Writing/Poetry. She got the idea from her experiences in the University of Washington, where students would work through different genres and give performances that “fed off each other.”

When she realized that UH Manoa had no art scene specific to the English department in the creative local community, she decided to take action.

“A big part of being in that sort of profession [writing] is that you have to do public reading," Gusman says. "The practice was really good for us, and I realized they didn’t have that here, so I asked to put it together.”

She believes M.I.A. gives writers an opportunity to improve their craft and get the kind of feedback they can’t receive in a safe, classroom atmosphere. Compared to the mainland, Gusman thinks Hawaii’s writing community is smaller and inclusive, but that has its advantages.

“All the writers kind of know each other, and it’s hard to be part of the writing community in general and not know the sub-community within that community," says Gusman. "You go to those readings and you know those people and everyone supports each other. I think it’s largely supportive and it’s easy to get your voice out there.”

courtesy jaime gusman

The next M.I.A event is on March 17, 2011, so mark your calendars. It’s sure to be a great reading, with a new location and new authors. For more information, visit miahonolulu.wordpress.com. And if you’re interested in volunteering or performing, contact Jaimie at miaseries@gmail.com!

But it’s not just writers who can participate. Local musicians perform as well, resulting in a show of words and music that’s uniquely M.I.A. (which by the way, stands for Mixed Innovative Arts). For Gusman, it’s all about blurring the lines between genres.

“I think music and visual art is part of writing in a large part,” she says. “I’m all for short skits, or more improv or dance. Since Fresh Café is more of a bigger space, you could do a lot more with it. I’m interested in just blurring the genre lines and having everything be fun and something that people can go to and think, “I’m going to hear something new and different every time I go to MIA. That’s what I really want.”

Not Your Parent's Puppets: Avenue Q at Manoa Valley Theatre

2011-03-04T10:06:00.001-10:00

by Doyle Moeller

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

The odd and eclectic cast of characters sings the theme song as the play closes. Avenue Q’s cast included such oddities as Gary Coleman as the landlord, Trekkie Monster as a porn-addicted pervert, and Rod, a closeted republican day-trader.

“Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist”, “The Internet is For Porn” and “It Sucks To Be Me”; Proclamations of a cynical realist - but also song titles in Manoa Valley Theatre’s latest production, Avenue Q.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Note the cast names: Manoa Valley Theatre
always recruits talent from the community,
so each production is inherently local. The
production follows Princeton, a recent college
graduate, as he struggles to find his purpose.
Puppeteered by Elitei Tatafu Jr., Princeton
goes from being bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
to broken-hearted and in debt (but perhaps
just a bit more realistic) in the musical’s ninety
minute runtime.

The community theatre has a long history of shocking the masses. Founded in 1969 by a group of University of Hawai’i graduate students, the theatre habitually hosts classics, such as Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” (last showing: November 2010) as well as more risque fare like the Rocky Horror Picture Show (last showing, June 2008) and Avenue Q. With a cast including characters like Trekkie Monster (a porn-addicted shut-in), Christmas Eve (A stereotypically F.O.B.ish Asian woman), Gary Coleman (yes, that Gary Coleman) and the Bad Idea Bears, the show is sure to be a shocking one.

Billed as “ Sesame Street on Steroids,” the show does have some striking similarities, with a pair of male roommates (one whose sexual orientation is open to question,) a hairy, grumpy shut-in, and few truly innocent characters. With human characters sprinkled among the puppets, the format simultaneously comfortably familiar and surprisingly fresh.

After the first few scenes, which set the stage of Avenue Q as a last-chance type of street filled with misfits and malcontents, the real story unfolds. Princeton, a recent college graduate, has no idea what to do with his new B.A. in English. Moving into an apartment on Avenue Q because avenues A through P were too expensive, the bright-eyed graduate soon gets a taste of the real world when he loses his job and decides to, instead of job-hunting, try to find his purpose.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Puppets get it on too! After a booze-soaked night on the town, Princeton (top, played by Elitei Tatafu Jr, right) and Kate Monster (bottom, played by Jody Bill, left), get it on, while the rest of the cast sings “You Can Be As Loud As The Hell You Want (When You’re Makin’ Love)”.

“It's very relevant to those that are in the university system ... because it talks about ‘What do you do after you graduate?’ ‘What is this whole process supposed to look like?’” says Jen Dickenson, who plays Lucy the Slut in the show. She’s also a UH Manoa MFA student in youth theatre, and intends on using the puppetry skills she has acquired in this show in the near future, as she will be joining a traveling theatre over the summer.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Puppets can be rude too. After a song about how
Princeton’s (left, played by Elitei Tatafu Jr.) purpose
is to help others that are clueless, like the Newcomer
(right, played by Garett Taketa) the Newcomer loses
it, performs some crude gestures, and storms off,
leaving a stunned Princeton.

The production is replete with UH alumni and students, with three current students (Garett Taketa, Cindy Hartigan, and Jen Dickenson) in the cast, one working as an assistant to the director (Morgan Lane-Tanner) and several alumni in the band and the crew.

The puppets presented unique challenges. Hair and makeup designer Greg Howell explained that the hair is just like wig hair, so that’s easy enough, but there were two puppets in particular that caused him trouble. “Most of them are fine, but there are two puppets that literally get fucked, so those get messed up every time.”

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Princeton, sans body. The puppets require upkeep after each show, though some more than others. The puppets used were based on the original Broadway designs and each required over a hundred and twenty hours to hand fabricate.

The puppeteers quickly fade away, and before the middle of the first act audiences remark that they don’t see the people, only the puppets. With songs that are both shocking and uncomfortably true, the show offers an adult view of the world through a medium that we grew to love as kids. The story is one we can all relate to, and the characters are simultaneously two and three dimensional. Avenue Q is a production that is as appropriate for college students as it is for grandparents.

Avenue Q is running from March 3 to April 3, with one show every Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and two shows every Saturday. The theatre can be reached at (808) 988-6131 and tickets can be purchased in person at 2833 East Manoa Road or online at http://www.manoavalleytheatre.com.

MC Horse Rides Again: Q+A with The Grammar Club (B-side)

2011-03-03T03:45:00.001-10:00

by Chris Mikesell

"My favorite creative writing professor once told me that a lie is sometimes more true than the truth."

- Shael Riley, TGC

Yesterday we sat down with Shael Riley and Beefy of The Grammar Club to talk writing and rapping for their new free nerdcore album, MC Horse Rides Again. Today, in the second half of our interview, we go track by track and discuss how each track got put together.

Track 1: Suck My Wallet

SR: I wrote this song before the Obama election. Long before. During the primaries. I was disgusted by the Republican primaries. I wanted to convey how out of touch I was with Republicans by writing a song in the persona of what I could only imagine they must be like.

CM: Yeah, I think Palin comes up at least once in your album.

SR: On "Unemployment." Yeah. But that's Beefy's writing. I tried to write a song using the reasoning a Republican must use to come to the terrible conclusions they do. I like how it came out. I think it sets the tone for the whole album. And I'm happy that it's a departure from Bremelanotide. I'm very proud of Bremelanotide, but I wouldn't want to write another album that sounded just like it and just had the same things to say.

Track 2: Breaking Up With Bret

SR: My best friend from college really did date this girl that drove him crazy for about a year. Or maybe he drove himself crazy over her, and she was just awful. And I wanted to just take him out of that relationship. But the best I could do was write this sort of nasty song about it.

CM: Was that whole Buddhist monk thing real?

SR: That is really true. Yeah. He was thinking about doing that. I feel like kind of a tool for writing it now, but I did it with the best of intentions.

Track 3: Super Girls and Ghosts

SR: Beefy was concerned that we didn't have any hooky, fun stuff on this album, so I wrote a hooky song. I just pulled the hook out of pretty much nothing. My brother was doing some comedy bit to me where he'd stammer "G-G-G-G" like he was going to say "GHOSTS!" like a scared cartoon character, but instead he'd say "GIRLS!" And it was kind of funny. I don't know. It's dumb as hell. I wrote a song about that. Beefy can rap about almost anything and make it good.

Track 4: Dance, You F-ckers

CM: How instrumental were you in putting this track together?

SR: I played a producer role. I organized it. C64 pitched us the demo, but it was all made from uncleared samples of other songs. But they're not characteristic riffs either. They're not samples you could copyright the composition of, merely the recording of.

CM: It sounds really similar to stuff from "Sprinkles." Is that C64's influence?

SR: C64 sampled block chords and I had Ty just play the chords C64 had sampled, adding a bass line. I created a whole sample pack of me screaming for him to use, to replace the scream samples C64 used, but Ty only used one and it sounded good like that. Then I found a sample of my friend Zen Albatross, a chiptune artist, performing a live set during which he happened to scream "dance, you motherfuckers." I got clearance from him to use that sample.

Track 5: Normal

SR: Beefy's gonna hate me for saying this, lol. He called me up one night and left me a message where he sang this really crazy hook on my machine. It was a little bit like the hook in Normal but not too much. It went like "I want to be normal. I don't want to stand out. I want to be just like you and you and you and you and you and you." He said "and you" a lot. And after he sang that hook he said "Write a song that's like that," and hung up.

At this point it had mostly been me writing a hook and an instrumental and sending it to Beefy and going "Write something to this," so I was happy for this chance to reciprocate and I got right to it. And the next day he called me back like, "Dude, did I leave you some fucked up shit on your machine? I was high." (LOL) But I'd already written the instrumental and I was really into the song at that point. I'd gotten "lockstep robot" from a political blog. Someone had said how they admired Ron Paul for not being a lockstep robot, toeing the party line. I wrote a very modified version of the thing Beefy left on my machine that night.

Track 6: A Team By Myself

CM: So Beefy, everyone knows by now that you're a big dude. But, knowing that, this track seemed really personal. How much of this track was based on your own personal experiences? I understand that Ty was the one who wrote the original demo, so how much did you add to it?

BT: Originally I wrote about a one-man wrecking crew of a soldier, fed up with taking orders and decided to lay the whole world to waste. Shael heard it and was kind of like, “Dude, what is this? Just write about being big.”

SR: I did ask him to re-write A Team by Myself. Originally he'd written lyrics that made it sound like he was going to go shoot up a school. About his bazooka or something. It was kind of a scary, hot mess.

So I skyped him to talk about it. And he was like "I thought we were going for a kind of Trent Reznor thing." And I was like "Well, musically, but not lyrically." And he was like "Oh! Got it. Let me take another crack."

BT: I don’t usually write about being fat, not because I’m ashamed or shy about it, but I just don’t want it to be my gimmick. My good buddy Billy The Fridge does it and makes it his own and is able to write increasingly clever material on the subject, and I know I could never keep that up. So yeah, there are parts that are personal when I talk about how it’s killing me and how sometimes I feel like I don’t care at all about my fitness. But that’s just one side of me. The other side has started going to the gym. Fat Beefy hates Gym Beefy.

CM: But Beefy isn't on the hook. Is there something behind that?

SR: That's Ty. He wrote that hook as a joke entry to a short-form music writing contest I hold just about every month. It's a team contest, but he didn't have a teammate. He's kind of a fat guy too. So he submitted that and we all thought it was lulzy.

Track 7: No Homo

CM: Ok, I have to ask - did this actually happen? 'Cause that would be awesome.

BT: It didn’t happen to me. It’s more about what I might do in that situation. I also thought it was a cool way to change a story up. I’ve heard a lot of bullying influenced tracks about gays overcoming adversity, but never one from the point of view of a “bro” who values honesty. Bieber wouldn’t write a song like that. It was up to me!

SR: I'd originally written No Homo as a Double Ice Backfire song, but I didn't like how it came out. It was originally a serious song about losing a friend, but it wasn't something I thought was really well-crafted or valuable.

When I wrote it as a DIB song, it wasn't about a friend coming out of the closet as gay. It was about just losing a platonic friend. It had different lyrics.

But I did say "no homo" in it. That's such a dumb expression. It implies you can't express any kind of affection for your male friends without that disclaimer.

CM: But it's the title of the song. Oddly enough, that particular phrase (no homo) got a lot of press recently. What gives?

SR: I sometimes write as a narrator I'm not sympathetic to. I'm using it in a piece of fiction. I am not the speaker in all of my songs. I am the author, but not always the speaker, even when I'm also the vocalist. I'm conveying an idea in my lyrics. I'm not writing my biography or personal statement.

My favorite creative writing professor once told me that a lie is sometimes more true than the truth. And I thought about it for years before it clicked. She is an awesome woman.

Track 8: Unemployment

CM: One of your lines was that your last album (presumably Sprinkles) was "a little Obama funded." How did your experience being unemployed affect you as an artist?

BT: As a nerd rapper my status isn’t so much measured financially as much as in how much free time I have, so in that regard I was king of nerd mountain! In reality though it was extremely depressing. I didn’t put it into song form because it’s not really something worth bragging about. But with Shael also living off the gov’t for some time he thought it would be best to channel it all into a track. Thankfully I just started a new gig, so the next album will not rely on “The Man.”

SR: I actually wrote the hook while I was at this awful desk job that was driving me crazy. White collar labor. I kept telling myself "the worst they could do is fire me." to steel myself from panic attacks. I hated that job with a passion. I would hum that hook at my desk, but I never recoded it while I was there. I recorded it months later, after I was laid off.

CM: Now, there are going to be critics who will say that a song celebrating unemployment is probably not the best use of taxpayer money. How do you guys respond to that?

SR: Fuck those guys. They're assholes. If they can't relate, then the song isn't for them.

CM: Well, tea partiers are partying harder than ever. Is this sort of a reaction to that?

SR: If they say it's socially irresponsible or something, well, I don't think they have a reasonable case. It's not a backlash, though. It's just a song about my personal experiences and thoughts.

CM: Do you think we need a backlash?

SR: (LOL) I don't know. I don't want to repeat this album either. I don't have a deliberate plan to make TGC a really political band, but if it happens it happens.

Track 9: Stop Plate Tectonics

SR: Believe it or not, I wrote this song in early 2007, just after Bremelanotide. It's the oldest song on the album. I'd been reading predictions about how the housing crash was coming, and, sure enough, it did. I wish I could have gotten the song out before. I told my mom to invest in Yahoo in 1997 too. (LOL)

Track 10: Crashing Cars, Awarding Stars

CM: Is that last song......about Mario Kart?

SR: No. It was a given title from Song Fight, the only one on the album. It's really not about anything, save for a literal interpretation of the title many times. OK. That one line is a Mario Kart reference, but just that one.

BT: The man going by MC Horse brought the idea for the song to Shael to be part of a SongFight entry, so the title was picked for us, and we just tried to craft the song around that. I do mention blue shells though. Someone talks about driving recklessly and that’s the first place my mind goes.

MC Horse Rides Again, the newest album from nerdcore band The Grammar Club, is available for free in mp3 form on www.thegrammarclub.com. If you missed the first half of our interview with Beefy and Shael, you can catch it here.

MC Horse Rides Again: Q+A with The Grammar Club (A-side)

2011-03-02T06:55:00.001-10:00

by Chris Mikesell

courtesy thegrammarclub.com

It’s been a few years and then some since the last album by internet band The Grammar Club but they are back with what could be called their 2.0 sound. We sat down with the band’s two leads (metaphorically speaking, as nerdcore rapper Beefy is living it up in the Spokane area these days while chiptuner Shael Riley is based in the New York City area) and talked about how they put this album together.

CM: I'm glad to see you guys do a return to a little bit of topical lyricism in this album.

SR: MC Horse is overtly political, though, yeah. Substantively. I'm flamingly liberal, and I'm anti-bailout. Maybe we can cut a horse-shoe pattern out of the country. Just keep the North and the coasts. And Hawaii, of course. But not Alaska.

CM: Well, TGC has moved from this sort of space where you haven't been overtly political, like you said, to being out there with it. What made you want to go in that direction?

SR: I was just writing about what was on my mind at the time. I've become more poltiical and so my music reflects that. Political stuff has been taking up a lot of mental real estate for me. It just hit a point in the late 2000s where I was no longer proud to be an American. I was downright ashamed.

CM: Really? Can you pinpoint where exactly that happened? I mean, we did elect a black dude to the white house. Just sayin'.

SR: No. No. I was really pro-Obama. But then there was this false dawn with Obama where I thought we'd get out of the Middle East and everyone would have good health care. I'm not strongly anti-Obama now, but I am disapointed, like any liberal. I guess I stopped being proud in 2004 when we re-elected Bush, but I wasn't moved to write about it until a few years later.

CM: Now, in MC Horse, you guys talk about Obama and the deficit and unemployment being awesome for your creative process. Now, we all know how Beefy doesn't like to hear about creative processes but still.

SR: This album is, funny enough, more personal than the last, yeah. And a lot darker. At first, Beefy was having trouble writing to the hooks I'd pitch him because they didn't relate to him personally and that was how he'd written his solo stuff up to that point - personal truths. A lot of our previous album, Bremelanotide, was escapsim, I think, for me and for Beefy.

CM: I noticed. Bremelanotide had, for instance, more tits per track.

SR: Right, whereas Horse has more dicks. Tit to dick ratio is flipped here.

CM: Gotta have that balance.

SR: But Beefy reached this epiphany early on with Bremelanotide where he was like "I know what I'll do. I'll just lie." So he'd say fantastic things about all these girls being notches on his bedpost in Balloon Flight when he'd really been with the same girl his entire reproductive life. It wasn't lying in a bad way. It's creative writing. He was writing about this super version of him he wanted to be and that became the sort of character he'd write all the Grammar Club stuff in when the hook didn't jive with his personal experience. We're not lying in a way that disrespects our audience. Sometimes we write from a viewpoint we're criticizing.

CM: So Beefy, tell us a bit about your strategy with writing for this album. In your previous work, you've always been about writing from your own experience, what you know, but this album was a pretty big departure from that - writing as a character. How did you make that transition and what was the hardest part about it?

BT: I think the hardest part about it was being confident that fans who like my solo work wouldn’t come to hate me as I ventured a bit with my writing. Writing with Shael is always a treat because he encourages me to step outside of my comfort zone, and being a big fan of his musically, I feel the need to impress or surprise him with every project we work on. My verses for the most part on our first track on the album “Suck My Wallet” are so vulgar and mean spirited that I was afraid it would turn off long time fans who know me as a kid who would sing-rap about being a Whitesican. But thankfully the response has been extremely positive and people seem to dig it when we change things up, both musically and as songwriters. I started writing as a character initially with Shael out of necessity because he liked to write about girls and I didn’t exactly have a lot of experience in that area. From there it just kind of grew, and I allowed myself to write as the kind of person each song called for.

CM: Some of the songs on the album sound likes they're closer to With Sprinkles, some sound like they're Toybox 2.0 or even Double Ice Backfire-influenced. How much of a part did you have in making that happen?

BT: Musically, I contribute absolutely nothing. My biggest contribution music-wise was recommending we bring in c64 of Dual Core on the project. He had done some tracks on With Sprinkles and I am a HUGE fan of his work with int-80 as the duo known as Dual Core (dualcoremusic.com) so that may be where that influence comes from. Shael and Ty both craft the sound of the DIB and they brought that same amazing talent to this project.

CM: This album took a long time to put out just because both of you have been super busy with other albums and other projects. What would you say the biggest gap was, chronologically between songs on the album?

SR: The piano for Breaking Up With Bret was recorded two and a half years ago. My vocals were recorded at the beginning of this year.

In part II of our interview tomorrow, Shael Riley and Beefy go down the tracklist with us! In the meantime, you can check out their new album, MC Horse Rides again free on www.thegrammarclub.com.

Poni Askew: Visionary Behind "Eat The Street"

2011-03-01T21:52:00.000-10:00

by Maria Kanai

Twenty-five lunch wagons and vendors. 3000+ people. A parking lot the size of a city block. The second "Eat The Street" was no doubt the biggest food event in Hawaii, offering hungry customers everything from French crepes to Gogi Korean tacos in a massive, all-out food truck rally that took place last week.

maria kanai / KA LAMAKUA

Poni Askew is the talented visionary behind "Eat The Street", a food truck rally that she hopes will become a monthly event.

So, who came up with this ingenious idea?

Meet Poni Askew, organizer extraordinaire and the inspired mind behind the feast events. Poni studied Hawaiian language and Hawaiian studies at UH Manoa for two and a half years and was on her way to becoming a Hawaiian immersion teacher, when she moved to Nashville for 13 years where she did bookings for the music and talent industries.

Since then, she's shifted from the entertainment industry to food and beverages. Despite her deviation from college plans, she says she's now found her niche. (And no matter how you look at it, this is encouraging news for us college students.)

"I'm in my place, that's my element," she says happily, "It's fun. Meeting everybody, getting out there, meeting different people. The people [lunch wagon owners] are entrepreneurs, motivated people starting a new business and making it work. I have a lot of respect for them."

It all innocently began with streetgrindz.com, a website Poni and her husband Brandon opened last September as a place to list the lunch trucks in Hawaii. As fate would have it (or more likely, very clever planning), the lunch wagon craze hit Hawaii around the same time and Street Grindz was in the middle of the momentum.

"Unless you're driving around between 11 to 2 pm, you don't get to eat at these food trucks."

"It's the specialty lunch wagons that are coming out. You've got Korean tacos, Melt, Xtreme tacos; something you can't eat every day. Also," Poni adds with a smile, "These trucks have this "the more the merrier" kind of thing. They like to travel in a tribe, and they believe if you build it [a lunch wagon], more people will come.

The more, the merrier is right. Poni hit the same idea with "Eat The Street."

"The next smart thing to do was to start pulling them together," Poni says, "Unless you're driving around between 11 to 2 pm, you don't get to eat at these food trucks. The hours are part of the beauty of the lunch wagon; short, fast hours. It's a catch 22. With "Eat The Street", we're bringing them together on a Friday night, and Kaka'ako is near downtown, so it'll be a great pau hana spot for the weekend."

Since then, it's been nonstop for Poni. Her driving force is her determination to get Hawaii recognized for its street food. "Everybody's getting wild about food trucks in LA, but we've been doing it for so long. We've put our claim on the map for our destination to eat street food too, and we can't let LA take our trophy away from us," she laughs, half-jokingly. "We have great food in Hawaii!"

To see more of Maria's Eat the Street coverage, check out her review here!

Photoshow: February Eat the Street

2011-02-28T10:41:00.000-10:00

Story by Maria Kanai

Photos by Rie Miyoshi

If you’re a food lover like me, you’ve probably heard of January’s “Eat The Street,” Hawaii’s first food truck and street food rally ever.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to make it, but then I learned that Poni Askew, the mastermind behind the rally, was planning another one for February 25th…except this time, it would bigger, sporting partnerships with Nonstop Honolulu and Kamehameha Schools. And in the case of food, bigger is always better, right?

I counted down the days. I invited all my friends in selfish hopes for a food buddy. I even interviewed Poni herself! When the great day arrived, I was ready for some good feasting.


courtesy rie miyoshi When we got there, the event was just starting, so the lines weren’t too bad. Well, most of the lines. Superstars Gogi Korean Tacos and Melt had people across the full length of the Kaka’ako parking lot.

courtesy rie miyoshi

So my friend and I stopped by T.A.S.T.E first. They’re the ones who started it all, with their unique fusion of Asian and Mexican food. As an international student from Japan, I appreciated the light Asian flavors; not too heavy, and perfectly blended. My favorite was the char siu with shoyu aioli and hoisin vinaigrette (left). The rib eye with Kal Bi marinade and wasabi dressing (right) was pretty good too, and I loved the wasabi dressing. At $3 per order though, I thought it was a little pricey.

courtesy rie miyoshi

The Gogi line was an hour and a half. We were there for 6:00 to 7:30 pm, but we delegated friends to grab more food from Dixie Grill.

courtesy rie miyoshi

We got a pulled-pork sandwich for $6. The meat was perfectly cooked and soft, and tasted wonderful with their famous Dixie Grill spicy sauce. It was perfect to curb our appetite during our Gogi wait.

courtesy rie miyoshi

There was a flash mob! Student from the drama club in Nanakuli School performed for us in the middle of the parking lot, dancing hip hop to Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.

courtesy rie miyoshi

Fairy Cakes Hawaii is new to the street scene. Their debut “whoopee pies” for $4 looked delicious, and I was sad that I didn’t get a chance to try them.

courtesy rie miyoshi

Despite the crowd, the atmosphere was very relaxed and comfortable, and the huge space really helped keep things moving. There was good music, and as the night wore on, it got cooler and thankfully, the weather held up.

courtesy rie miyoshi

Around 7:30 we finally made it to the front of the line! We got the Gogi Quesadilla with BBQ Chicken for $5 and a BBQ Short Rib tacos for $2. The chicken was nicely flavored, and the Korean + Mexican tastes were unique. The taco was tiny though, so I was glad to have gotten the four quesadillas. It was worth waiting for the hype, and I was glad I finally got to try it.

courtesy rie miyoshi

Sold-out Melt. They were one of the first to run out of food, which wasn’t surprising considering how long their line was. They come to UH though, so I still have a chance to try their famous grilled gourmet cheese sandwiches.

courtesy rie miyoshi

Aloha Icecream Tricyle for desert. We got their Mauna Kea Deelite for $4. My favorite part was their crumbly crust, which made the three layers of icecream seem more “pie”-ish. Their chocolate fudge combined with coconut flavors was wonderful. (In the background, you can see Ed Morita, who blogs for Nonstop Honolulu. He took our picture and we talked story with him after!)

courtesy rie miyoshi

I got a “Romeo et Juliet” crepe for $7 from Le Crepe Café. My crepe had generous amounts of nutella, strawberries, and bananas, with a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top. Delicious way to finish off an awesome night!

Hawaii Review 73: Get Some Place Time

2011-02-25T10:47:00.000-10:00

by Chris Mikesell

chris mikesell / KA LAMAKUA

Donovan Colleps, Editor-in-Chief of Hawaii Review, chose "place" to be the theme for HR's newest issue.

Sometimes, you have to go looking for a theme to unify your work - but for Donovan Colleps and his crew at Hawaii Review, their theme came to them.

"The concept was place," he says. "It became a familiar theme with the accepted works, so we kind of went from there and structured it around varying themes of place - what it means to writers and what it means to people. It's actually a pretty malleable theme - from poem to poem or story to story... different aspects of place appeared."

The newest issue of Colleps' literary journal, now in its 73rd semi-annual iteration, features not just poems and fiction but also a bit of do-it-yourself papercraft in the form of a model ahapua'a.

It's a very hands on book - reading it requires you to reorient the book as you move from piece to piece. Is the spine on the top or on the side? Depends on how you look at things. Depends on what you're reading. The way the book is built forces readers to think even more about place - and that's exactly how Colleps likes it.

"There have been past editors who have changed the format and the size, but nothing to the extent of where you literally are flipping the book over," Colleps says. "Surprisingly, that still ties into 'place' - how it affects you and how you choose to let it affect you.

"It also parallels with the act of writing. When people sit down to write they want to tell a story and manipulate their chosen environment."

Hawaii Review 73 is available now - free to all UH Manoa Students with validated ID and $10 for non-students at the Board of Publications offices in Hemenway Hall.

Sierra Dew: Meaning Through Art

2011-02-22T22:50:00.003-10:00

courtesy sierra dew

"With anything new
I always look back to my original goals of
creating with meaning and intention."

by Maria Kanai

Ever stop on your way to class to admire the clothes and jewelry sold in the vendors at the Campus Center? Although it's easy to join the massive lunch rush (especially with the construction bottling us students through), definitely keep a look out for Sierra Dew.

She occasionally can be found near Jamba Juice, sporting a playful fedora and modeling her own signature leggings and tunic outfit. Local boutiques have been known to come to UH Manoa to sell designs at an affordable, college-friendly price, and Sierra's unique line of Hawaii-inspired accessories and clothes is perfect for any trendy fashionista.

Maui-born Sierra Dew studied Apparel Product Design and Merchandising at UH Manoa and then transferred to Polimoda Fashion School in Italy. After interning with Betsy Johnson in New York City, she started "Sierra Dew Designs" in 2008 and has since then successfully seen her company grow into a signature lifestyle brand in the local fashion and art industry.

courtesy sierra dew

Sierra teaches keiki how to stencil at an
Earth Day workshop.

"When I was a kid I was always doing craft projects at home, learning new skills always really excited me," she says in our e-mail interview. "When I started learning how to sew, I wanted to make everything."

And she does just that. From jewelry, handbags, dresses, and t-shirts, she makes everything with her own hands. Her cheerfulness and her keen eye for art in nature shine through in her fashion line: vibrant colors, unique designs, and that signature "Sierra" stand-out edge.

So what inspires her? Despite her fun-loving, carefree personality, Sierra's fashion is much more than just having something cute to wear.

"I've always thought that fashion and art should reflect current social and political situations," Dew says. "I think that addressing local issues like genetically modified foods, water and land issues, waste management is very important. It has always been the artist's way to create meaning through art."

Sierra claims Hawaii's beauty and diversity play a "big role" in her inspiration. "Most of my T-shirt designs are reflective of growing up here," says Dew.

She continuously strives for "new ways to incorporate my own style into the perfect combination of print, color, and design." She needs to constantly move forward within the competitive market, and in some ways, she wishes she had learned the ruthlessness of the industry in school.

courtesy sierra dew

Sierra displays her print art on the left, which she

created as a message about child labor and

the garment industry.

"It's nice that teachers are so encouraging (and now that I do some teaching I can understand), but sometimes it would be more beneficial for them to give students the realities of the market. All of a sudden when we are out of school, we aren't being coddled any longer and it can be shocking."

Her advice to future fashion designers of Hawaii: "Be grounded and honest with yourself about the "reality of your venture…it is very important to have a plan!

"Be passionate! I really have learned how important it is to follow your gut instinct and your heart!"

Sierra's future plans include holding more workshops and collaborating with the local youth and 808 Urban. Her increasing involvement in the community and her meaningful designs make her an inspiration for any aspiring fashion designer.

To see more of her designs, visit her website at http://www.sierradew.com.

Betsy Curtis: Capturing the Moment

2011-02-18T06:54:00.000-10:00

by Jessie Bristow

One, two, three… Say “Cheese” but don’t smile. Look at each photograph and debate weather it is a part of history, something from a time capsule, or is it a blend of culture and artistic grace.

jessie bristow / KA LAMAKUA

Betsy Curtis stands among her portraits, taken at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.
Her other subjects include people at Waimea Bay and aboard the USS Missouri.
Her exhibition, "The Visitors," is on display in the UH Manoa Art Building's Commons Gallery until Feb. 25.

With an age-like Victorian style portrait and detailed background environment, each photograph slows down the viewer’s ADD like symptoms most people have today, questioning every out of place detail with interest.

The Visitors, a photography thesis exhibition by Betsy Curtis, is being displayed in the Commons Gallery in the art building at the University of Hawaii Manoa from February 13-25.

Betsy Curtis, 29, a graduate student in Studio Art Photography of UH Manoa, began playing with cameras while working at a camera shop during high school. Curtis found her calling in what she wanted to do with her photography skills during her sophomore year at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois.

“I realized I was doing projects that were not just for assignments, that I was just like doing stuff on my own,” Curtis says.

Curtis’ whole approach towards her current style in this exhibition is due to a childhood filled with scrapbooks made by her mother.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I have probably three or four volumes this thick on my life, she made," Curtis says, putting her hands about five to six inches apart.

Knowing how fast people peer through photo albums, glancing, commenting, then turning the page, Curtis wanted to create a portrait that caught the attention of all viewers. She approached her project with subjects of stern looks and backgrounds that draw attention.

“For this project, the location was…is almost as important as the person.”

With her photographs consisting of the U.S.S. Missouri, Honolulu Academy of Arts, and Waimea Bay. Curtis wanted to portray images of culture, history, and nature that implied the message of a time capsule allowing the viewer to go back and forth between present and past. Each area shot has some kind of historical or cultural significance that Curtis wanted to display.

In the future, Curtis wants to focus on finishing her thesis, graduate, and focus on projects to submit to a number of residencies she plans on applying for. Her current style of photography is not her signature method. Curtis intends to try and work on ideas of collages and to take a break from her realistic style she has applied with her current exhibition.

As an experienced and growing photographer, Betsy Curtis suggests to aspiring students to drill down inside and find out why the medium they are using is important to them.

“I think, artwork works best when you are drawing from your own well and personal experience.”

Visit the exhibition in the Commons Gallery or visit Betsy Curtis’ website at http://elizabethrcurtis.com/.

India Market: Flavor a 15 minute walk away

2011-02-17T05:49:00.002-10:00

photos and story by Doyle Moeller

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Owner Shereen Khan takes pride in his market, and intends to expand.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

INDIA MARKET
2357 Beretania St.
Mon. - Sat. 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Sun. 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
(808) 946-2020

If you lament the lack of spice in your life, a taste of Mumbai is a mere fifteen minute walk from UH Manoa.

From the moment you walk into India Market on the corner of Beretania and Isenberg, the aroma of curry and exotic spices will surround you. A quick walk around will reveal that the store, while small in footprint, is large in both stock and variety.

Owner Shereen Khan says he takes pride in offering a variety of exotic and hard-to-find goods.

“We have things from mostly India, but also Pakistan, Lebanon, the middle east, Fiji and New Zealand,” says Khan.

Khan had a good reason for choosing the University/Moiliili area as the location for his spice shop.

“There’s a demand here for an ethnic grocery store,” says Khan. He says that students are a big part of his customer base, and with everything being so compact in town, it’s easier to get the customers for a niche store like his.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Arabic is a common sight at India Market: about a
third of their imported products are from foreign brands.

Pragmatism may well be Khan’s defining characteristic. Born in Fiji, Khan has been in Hawai’i for thirty-one years, and after opening his store in 2004, he immediately subscribed to the pragmatic theory of business: listen to your customers.

Khan says his customers have a lot to do with what ends up on the shelves. Customers can inform Khan or his wife, who tends to the store regularly, if they would like a product supplied in the store. Khan brings in a test case, and if it sells, he keeps it as a regular item. If not, he sells it to the person who requested it by the case.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Indian candy is sold alongside Western
favorites like Snickers bars for a snack bar
that anyone can appreciate.

One would think that this would be enough, but Khan insists on having a variety of goods available, not just those traditionally sold in grocery stores, like exotic clothing, medicine and hygiene products.

India Market even rents out Bollywood DVDs for those who seek variety in all realms of life, not just in their food.

Khan, however, is not just content with what he has now – he has plans for the future. Though he just relocated his store to his Beretania Street location ten months ago, he’s already planning his next move.

“We’d like to open stores on the neighbor islands, and a snack shop here [on Oahu] somewhere,” Khan says.

India Market is located on the corner of Beretania Street and Isenberg Street (2357 Beretania St.), and is open seven days a week, Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. They can be reached at (808) 946-2020.

Hinshaw and Greenwood Take on HB 79

2011-02-16T23:55:00.000-10:00

by Chris Mikesell

For those of you who think the UH special funds battle is over, think again.

So far, two bills - SB 120 and HB 79 - have come into legislative committees this session targeting the state's special and revolving funds with a blanket repeal. Both measures have been deferred by their respective committees for now.

But they could always come up again, especially since, in the case of Sen. David Ige's Ways and Means committee, legislators intend to re-craft these bills with additional amendments.

These bills are significant to UH Manoa students because their passage as currently written would not only affect funds governing tuition, housing and construction but would also scoop Student Activity Fees from across the entire University of Hawaii system and add that money to the state's general fund.

The public opposition to these bills far outweighs those testifying in favor of slashing these special funds, represented primarily by Lowell Kalapa, president of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii.

What do you think of these bills? Tell us what you think in our comments.

Slaying the LSAT

2011-02-15T22:26:00.000-10:00

Photos and story by Doyle Moeller

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Kaplan has textbooks on-hand for students who decided
to register the day of the practice exam. The textbooks
are included in the price of tuition, and practice exam
participants earned a discount if they registered on the same day.

Post-graduate testing: some of us see it as the last threshold to cross before entering our “real lives,” some see it as their own personal Goliath.

Luckily, there’s help! While the university has its own advising center that can help pre-law and pre-med students prepare for graduate school, truly effective prep must be sought outside of the university. Enter Kaplan, and the reason that I find myself sitting in a classroom on a beautiful Saturday.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

LSAT proctor Brent Wisner, in addition to being a federal
judge's clerk, is a teacher at Kaplan. His ability to both
deconstruct difficult questions and clearly explain his
technique for doing so implies that he is well
qualified for both positions.

According to organizer Vivian Hignite, Twice a year, once in February and once in either September or October, Kaplan hosts a free set of practice tests in the Shidler College of Business’s facility on the northwest corner of the campus, at the intersection of East-West Rd. and University Ave. They offer a wide variety of tests (GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, DET, OAT, PCAT), with a paid prep program that goes with them, should you decide to enroll. Kaplan provides test-takers with free same-day grading, along with suggestions for improvement.

I was present for the LSAT, and can say without doubt or reservation, their proctors are very qualified. My proctor, Brent Wilson, took the LSAT in St. Louis, and while he declined to give a figure, said he was scored in the “ninety-ninth percentile”. His LD from Georgetown Law School is evidence enough to the truth of that statement, as was his clear understanding of the test itself. Of course in order to take this free test, one must sit through Kaplan’s sales pitch, but for what you get out if it, I’m willing to say it’s a fair trade.

Before the test was handed out, Wilson gave out what he called his “pseudo-inspirational speech”. He drew a horizontal line on the board and proclaimed, “This is the LSAT, it’s a level playing field.” He spoke for a few moments on how the LSAT has nothing to do with where you’re from, who you know, or even what you know. The entire point of the test is that it’s “merit-based.”

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Organizer Vivian Hignite was present for Saturday's event,
helping students register, guiding them to their testing rooms, and
generally trying to make the entire process as wrinkle-free as possible.

Of course the first thing Wilson did after that was to destroy his model of the system. He proceeded to congratulate us, because, according to him, just by attending a practice test, we’ve gotten a leg up.

That is, we’ve already subverted the idea of the test being a level playing field.

My fellow test-takers and I were introduced to the idea that the profession that we were pursuing was one of conflict. That from here until retirement or death, we would fight for anything and everything. Law school, graduation, even our actual work, all comes out of the idea that though conflict, we excel.

"If you're going into a fight, [you] have to prepare if you expect to win," Wilson told us.

The test went on, and many a nail was bitten. As of this writing I have not yet received my results. As my fellows and I wait with great anticipation, we can smell the beast Goliath’s breath all around us, we can see the finish line, the threshold into our “real lives.”

And we’re hungry for it.

Behind the Set of Hawaii 5-0

2011-02-14T15:36:00.001-10:00

Interview and photos by Maria Kanai

maria kanai / KA LAMAKUA

Priscilla Stafford is an Academy for Creative Media grad

making her way into the local film industry.

Meet Priscilla Stafford, a 22 year old graduate of UH Manoa and full-time production assistant (PA) on the set of Hawaii 5-0. The remake of Leonard Freeman's vastly popular show premiered September 20, 2010 and has since won the People's Choice Award by becoming one of the CBS's highest rated new shows of the year.

Priscilla was born in Yokohama, Japan and moved to Hawaii for college in 2005. She graduated with a double major in ACM and History at UH Manoa in Spring 2009 and has since successfully been pursuing her dreams to work in the film industry. We asked her how she got in and how she got her start.

MK: How did you get involved in Hawaii 5-0?

PS: Someone referred me to work on the pilot and so I came in to work two to three days, but I was able to make an impression and was hired full-time.

MK: What do you do as a PA?

PS: I'm specifically a set production assistant. We're in charge of the set, the walkies, we give information to actors, as well as the crew, be in communication with the production office, we manage the background/extras. Basically we're the first ones there and last ones out.

MK: What do you think about the show?

PS: I think it's a fun show! It's kind of silly sometimes, but the dialogue is fun, the characters are fun. I don't think it's a serious, dramatic TV, you know what I mean? I like how they show Hawaii, it's someplace I know, and it's fun for both people who live here and for people who don't.

MK: What is the most exciting thing about working on set?

PS: The fact that every day is new is always exciting. The work is never the same; it feels same sometimes, 'cos you work with same people, same actors, but we have guest stars, and new directors, sets, storylines, and stunts. Every single day is new and fresh, and that's what keeps it exciting as an art form. It's not a 9-5 job where you kinda do the same thing every day.
maria kanai / KA LAMAKUA

Production assistants hold a meeting on the
set of Hawaii 5-0.
MK: What is the hardest thing about working on set?

PS: The long hours, just trying to make time to rest and have your own time.

MK: How many hours a week do you work?

PS: Average between seventy to seventy-five hours a week.

MK: What are Alex and Scott like? How is it working with them?

PS: They are both really nice guys! Alex is very good with people and very personable. He gets along well with everybody. He's easy to talk to; he's very clear what he needs and what he wants on set. He's not afraid to speak his mind on matters like that. Both Alex and Scott know all the crew members by name, from the drivers to us PAs. Scott is really funny, fun-loving, he likes to joke around with people, he brings his dog to set (laughs).

MK: What is the most valuable thing you've learned from ACM at UH Manoa?

PS: Working as a team in projects, being able to think ahead, plan production. Most people think filming is just film, on that day, but you don't realize how much planning goes into just one little scene. ACM really gears perspective on how much time and effort you put into everything, from pre-production production, and post-production.

MK: What is one thing school did not prepare you for?

PS: The sheer size and just how much hard work it [working on set] would be…You're not taught to be able to network or meet, work with professionals. There are internships, but it's very hard once you're full-time.

MK: Do you have any advice for aspiring ACM-ers who want to enter the entertainment industry?

PS: I highly recommend working as a PA for a little while. I think it's a great opportunity to know what it means to be in production. It's always good to see what it's like from the lowest rung, and then go for what you want to do. Don't wait and be willing to PA for a little bit, just for the experience. Don't get side tracked.

MK: What's your ultimate dream?

PS: My ultimate dream is to direct. My half-way point dream is be an AD. But along the way, I would like to do my own projects, work on my photography, and always remember that my profession is an art form, not just a business. I want to constantly remind myself of that, even in the little ways.

Hawaii 5-0 will keep shooting until April, and may be picked up for a second season later this year. Keep a lookout for the next new episode coming up on Monday at 9 on CBS!

Ayn Rand hits the big screen again

2011-02-11T12:00:00.000-10:00

by Chris Mikesell

Even those who disagree with her politics cannot deny that Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged is and has been one of the most influential and widely read books in the world. Now, after a number of delays and rumored casting issues, its looks like the film adaptation of the book is finally going to hit theaters, with Part I of the trilogy scheduled to premiere on April 15 (tax day, appropriately enough!)

While tax day is still over two months away, however, we will have to settle for the trailer that debuted at today's CPAC conference.

How did Atlas affect your life? Was it one of the best books ever for you or were you just not sold on it? Let us know below in the comments.

Dancing Greener

2011-02-10T07:15:00.000-10:00

Whether you want dancing in your sustainability or sustainability in your dancing, Kennedy Theatre's Dancing Greener dance concert is sure to please this weekend:

courtesy Kennedy Theater

"Recycling is the theme of this year’s annual dance concert.

New works created using recycled materials and repertory restagings, including Murray Louis’s Porcelain Dialogues, will be featured. This lively presentation of contemporary dance and Pacific and Asian dance forms demonstrate the kinetic artistry of sustainability."

Shows are still on for Feb 11 and 12 at 8 p.m. and Feb 13 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at the Kennedy Theater box office and are only $5 for UH Manoa students with validated IDs.

Students React to SB120

2011-02-09T06:40:00.001-10:00

interviews and photos by Doyle Moeller

SB120, a bill designed to take the money out of special funds that UH Manoa and the arts need to survive, is drawing reactions from students and faculty involved in the arts.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Dr. Louis Bouquet, Lecturer in the French Department

I read the e-mail this morning. “A very bad bill,” they called it. Slashing budgets across the board seems to be detrimental to the studies of whatever department they are. It’s an efficient service.

For the French... I’ve heard they have cut a lot of programs. I know that the trend in the university right now is to basically cut all the arts programs and the language/humanities programs in favor of the more “efficient” programs with direct results or direct applications.

My personal take on it is they are trying to apply the rules of the market, of “real life” to studies in the humanities, to art, to all kinds of endeavors, and in doing so, they are missing the point.
Studying language and studying literature and culture has no direct application but it allows the students to develop a bigger understanding and a bigger perspective.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Junior Crystal Yoo, Secondary Education with a focus on math, with a minor in art

We already have to pay a lab reimbursement, so there’s that money, and then I’m pretty sure they’re going to increase that fee if this bill passes.

On top of the fee, we also have to pay for the majority of our supplies. We’re looking at $100 a semester just to pay for it out of my own money. If this bill goes through, then we’re probably going to be paying at least $200 extra just for that one class.

And that’s just an introductory class. Imagine what the higher classes would probably have to pay.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Emi Nakamura, Art major with a focus on drawing and painting

I think budget cuts are very detrimental to the Art department.

There’s already a lack of classes being offered, which makes it very hard for students to even register for the classes they need.

Furthering the budget cuts would worsen that problem even further.

Over the last year or so, I noticed that a lot of the professors who used to work here are no longer here.

I’m just really worried. What’s going to happen to the arts?

Mockingjay: A Book Review

2011-02-08T18:07:00.002-10:00

by Maria Kanai

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Age Group: Young Adult

Rating: 2.5/5

"Mockingjay" is the final installment in the teen trilogy "Hunger Games" by author Suzanne Collins. Its long-anticipated release in August 24, 2010 sold over 400,000 copies in the first week. After reading the second book "Catching Fire", I had to admit I was slightly hesitant to pick this one up. As I stated in my last review, I was not entirely impressed with the unoriginality and lack of character development. However, "Catching Fire" ended at a painful cliffhanger. I couldn't leave the Hunger Games yet!

Our heroine Katniss Everdeen still survives, but not by luck. She learns about the mysterious District 13, and their involvement in her escape from the Quarter Quell. District 13 plans to overthrow the Capitol, but the people need Katniss to finally choose her place as the leader of the rebellion. As war breaks loose and the death toll continues to rise, the line between allies and enemies starts to blur.

This book ties up the loose ends left at the end of "Catching Fire." We learn all about District 13, more history on the Capitol, and the ultimate showdown between the rebelling districts and the Capitol. The triangle between Peeta, Katniss, and Gale is resolved, and I was incredibly happy with her decision. As for character development, we learn more about handsome Finnick, the tribune in the Quell I know every single female reader fell in love with. Haymitch also is amazing. We find out his involvement in the rebellion, and he turns out to be an amazing character.

"Mockingjay" had a lot to live up to. It should have resolved many of the issues in Katniss' character. Her indecisions, her inner scars after the hunger games, and her continuous manipulation by the Capitol. She should have come a full circle, a winner in the face of her difficulties.

She didn't.

The message of the entire "Hunger Games" trilogy is that war is unforgivable, and those involved can never come out unscathed. "Mockingjay" pushes that message straight in your face over and over again. Katniss is manipulated by both the Capitol and District 13, spends most of her time in rehab, and in the unbelievably shocking conclusion, is beaten down once again. Where was her triumphant journey as a heroine? Maybe this was Collins' intent, but I personally believe that this book would have benefited more with Katniss changing, her situation changing, and then coming out successful. Also, there were too many characters created only to be killed off. I stopped caring for them, and grew rather numb to the deaths.

What was wonderful about the first book was its depiction of the grim realities of war, yet there was humor and hope for those involved. Katniss' strength and determination made her a character you wanted to cheer for. When you take those away, which happened in "Mockingjay", you're left with a rather depressing book that you wished you hadn't read.

A satisfying conclusion to a best-selling trilogy? Unfortunately, no. Worth reading? Yes, but definitely only because of the cliffhanger in the second book.

(By the way, there's a movie coming out in 2012! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/)

Gnomeo and Juliet Review

2011-02-07T12:50:00.000-10:00

by Chris Mikesell

The biggest problem with doing a remake of Romeo and Juliet would have to be the ending.

The play is a tragedy - not just because the leads die but because everybody in the play and the audience expects them to keel over by the end.

Even if it weren't a play so many people have done so many times before, and even if you've been living under a rock or on Mars since the early 1600's, you're bound to get the overwhelming feeling that things are going to end badly for whatever remix of the "star-crossed lovers" trope is coming across the stage this time, no spoiler alert required.

Thankfully, the people behind "Gnomeo and Juliet" are aware of this. The film's first line acknowledges that, yes, it's a story that's been told many times but that this time it's going to be told differently.

Just how different is left up to the creative workings of executive producer Elton John (yes, Sir Elton John, in all his bedazzled glory.) "Gnomeo" plays well, floating somewhere between fabulous Disney-esque musical theatre and the original source material.

Those who know the play will have a lot of fun figuring out how the original play's cast got translated into "Gnomeo's" garden gnomes world, though they may miss some of the specific details that get glossed over in the effort to make the originally rated-R plot of Shakepeare's work more PG - and more accessible to modern kids.

And yet... the impulse remains. It's a bright and charming children's movie with a few pop culture references, but it's still a Romeo and Juliet remake.

This can't end well, you'll tell yourself. These two lovebirds have got to die somehow.

"Gnomeo and Juliet" is so self-aware, however, that it almost feels like it's cheating. Just think: if Othello had access to a copy of his own play's Cliff's Notes, the play would take a lot less than two hours to get through, Iago would be dead, and Ophelia wouldn't be such dire need of a sassy gay friend on YouTube.

The thing is, I'm okay with that. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something the characters don't - it's the thing that makes you want to shout at the stage, the thing that makes you want to stop these guys from doing something stupid you know is going to happen.

It's a kid's movie. Let them have their fun.

FINAL VERDICT: "Gnomeo and Juliet" is Elton John's way of making the classic Shakespeare play work for the younger set. Strict purists may not enjoy the reinterpretation, but it isn't for them, now, is it? A-

SUNDAY SPECIAL: The Winners and Losers of the Super Bowl XLV Ad Wars

2011-02-06T19:58:00.001-10:00

by Chris Mikesell

If you weren't one of the estimated 100 million people worldwide watching Super Bowl XLV live today, you might want to do some catching up as far as the ads were concerned, if only so you'll know what everyone will be talking about tomorrow around the water cooler (or Twitter feed!)

LOSER: Groupon

Maybe coupon-deal site Groupon is feeling big ever since it got a buyout offer from Google and decided they could afford to refuse it. Hey, if you can afford to blow off a company as big as Google, you can do anything, right?

That seems to be the reasoning behind this ad which, though hilariously narrated, is drawing an immediate backlash from the Twitter community.

But at least one survey by the Huffington Post seems to suggest that only half of the people who watched the ad found it to be patently offensive.

Some tweets even suggest that the folks who were offended by the ad were probably missing the point.

The appropriateness of the ad can be debated, but if Groupon's goal was to get people talking about it, then mission accomplished. Though, the Groupon ads that aired during the pregame shows would probably offend the same people who were offended by the Tibet ad:

What critics of Groupon's ad campaign may not know, however, is that Groupon was actually trying to help solve the problems these actors are talking about.

The website for Groupon's Super Bowl XLV ads pairs each video with a donate button that allows visitors to make a donation to the cause mentioned in the commercial and get a Groupon credit for the same amount, basically allowing people to buy their coupon product and donate to a good cause at the same time.

It seems however, that Groupon's ads have backfired - partly because the LivingSocial rival didn't do a good enough joke making sure people understood that the humor was for a purpose (laugh at this joke, buy Groupon, help to save Tibet, everybody wins, right?)

Let's hope Groupon learns its lesson before they air their Sheryl Crow ad.

Looking for the winners of tonight's big ad blitz? Check out their videos after the jump.

The Super Bowl XLV ad MVPs:

9) Test Baby

8) Kid in a Candy Store

7) Left Behind

6) Product Placement

5) "One Epic Ride"

4) "Reply All"

3) "Love Hurts"

2) "Border"

1) "The Force"

Take a stand for your health (a food stand, that is)

2011-02-04T20:54:00.001-10:00

Story and Photo Essay by Doyle Moeller


doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA Dave Wikinson, UH alumni, ponders a purchase at Bale's baked goods tent Friday. The tent is open from 7 A.M. to 1 P.M. Tuesdays and Fridays.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Bale hosts a baked goods tent sale Tuesday and Friday
from 7 A.M. to 1 P.M. in front of Ka Leo's office in
Hemingway Hall. They offer a variety of
baked goods for a decent price.

Behold the College Student: a specimen often suffering from poor nutrition.

The food typically inflicted on students is either tasteless or slathered in cheese and grease, but fortunately for those of us who actually like our taste buds and our bodies, we have Ba-Le’s bread stand and the Farmer’s Market.

Ba-Le hosts a baked goods stand on Tuesdays and Fridays on the makai side of Hemenway Hall that offers a variety of baked goods and treats, including six different kinds of locally baked baguettes and bagels, to a dozen varieties of sweeter treats like cinnamon rolls and trail mix, and at least eight different kinds of loaves.

Most of their prices are below five dollars, with their baguettes going for two dollars – leaving you with plenty of dough in your wallet.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

In addition to bread, Bale’s tent sale offers a variety
of sweeter treats, such as granola and trail mix.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

The Farmer's Market tries to keep its food as local as
possible; only shipping in products that cannot be
grown in Hawaii. The farmers market is at the base
of the Campus Center stairs (by Jamba Juice)
Tuesdays and Fridays from 7:30 A.M. to 2:30 P.M.

The Farmer’s Market is just down the walkway near the makai entrance of Campus Center. Displaced from their former location next to the ATMs by the Campus Center renovations, they set up shop twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays between 7:30 and 2:30 pm.

The market, run by Souane Farms, is a family-owned and operated business that has several locations across the state in places like Kapiolani Community College and Manoa Marketplace.

Walking around the Farmer’s Market, you are bound to notice an abundance of organic and locally grown produce. Keo Oulayrack, manager of the farmer’s market, wants to keep it that way.

“We try to grow (our products) as organic as possible,” says Oulayrack. That means bugs, fungus and rot are some of the things that can be obstacles to growing good produce, she says. “It’s hard. If there’s too much rain, or too little, our crops die.”

Oulayrack also says that their stand is a true Farmer’s Market, where the people who grow the food are also the ones selling it. The business is not only a traditional family business, she says, but it’s also as local as possible.

“We don’t hire outsiders, but we’re always looking for volunteers,” says Oulayrack.

Keo says that her father, Mr. Oulayrack, founded Souan Farms 25 or 30 years ago. She says the business has been in her family “since I was a little girl.”

Mr. Oulayrack is now retired, but still helps out around the farm when he can.

“It’s a family business, everyone helps each other out,” says the younger Oulayrack.

Souan Farms, their family farm, is located in the Kahuku Valley, behind Kahuku Hospital. The farm supplies fruit and vegetables for several family stands. When the family is unable to provide enough produce for the markets, or sell more product than they expected, they try to buy from neighboring farms instead of importing from the mainland.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Manager Keo Oulayrack says that their stand is a real
Farmer's Market. "As much as we can, we try to grow
the food we sell ourselves, or buy from our neighbors."

Their 13-acre farm, located in the Kahuku valley,
provides fruit for several Farmer's Market stands
across the island.

Keo’s business plan is pretty simple.

“We try to keep it as local as we can,” she says. “People are more aware of what they eat now, so we try to provide the best food we can.”

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

In addition to the standard fare, the Farmer’s Market offers alternative fruits
and vegetables including three varieties of mushrooms.

The stand offers fresh fruit and vegetables twice a week.

Cinematografia @ Mark's Garage

2011-02-03T05:25:00.000-10:00

courtesy silvana alfonso /
CINEMATOGRAFIA

If a night of Italian food and film sounds like your kind of night, Cinematografia @ Mark's Garage is the place to be next week Friday.

Cinematografia's film selection this month is "Un Giorno Perfetto" (A Perfect Day) by director Ferzan Ozpetek, starring Isabella Ferrari and Valerio Mastandreais, shown with English subtitles.

After the film will be a tasting of traditional Italian dishes, along with a wine bar featuring a selection of wines from northern Italy for $6 a glass.

Tickets are $15, or buy tickets for a group of four in advance for $50.

Reservations are reccommended for the post-film wine and food tasting - contact Silvana Alfonso at alfonsosilvana1@gmail.com or call (808) 222-2642 for reservations.

Minecraft: Manifest Destiny in Block Form

2011-02-02T08:09:00.000-10:00

Photos and Review by Chris Mikesell

Minecraft, a game developed by Markus Persson (a.k.a. “Notch”) is quickly becoming the darling of the indie gaming world even though, strictly speaking, it’s still a game in the very loosest sense of the word. As far as sandboxes go, this is about as sandbox as it gets.

chris mikesell / KA LAMAKUA

MINECRAFT

www.minecraft.net

14.95 euros (About $20)

The world of Minecraft is an infinitely-expanding, randomly
generated landscape with six different types of biomes, each
with its own unique ecology, resources, and topography. No
two Minecraft worlds are ever alike.

The goal of Minecraft is simply to survive, though how you go about it largely depends on what level of survival you are willing to accept.

You want to live in a freshly dug hole in the ground, only venturing out to hunt for food? You can do that in Minecraft. You want to dig deep into the earth and hunt for treasure and resources? You can do that too. Looking to fight monsters? Monsters are as plentiful (at least at night) as you want to make them, ranging from “none” on Minecraft’s “Peaceful” difficulty setting to “OMG OMG OMG there’s a horde of exploding monsters chasing me” in its hardest setting.

The experience you get out of Minecraft depends entirely on what you put into it. Much like the experience one would get playing with LEGOs, the possibilities in Minecraft are limited only by your imagination.

The mechanics are easy to grasp: gather blocks by breaking them, and use the blocks you’ve gathered either to build structures or to craft more effective tools you can use to break more blocks with.

Or armor. Or buckets for carrying lava. Or cakes. The crafting system, while easy to use once you get the hang of it, is not really explained at all in-game. Nor are the monsters, block properties, or even your single main objective to survive (Hint: Torches made from Coal and Charcoal are your best friends on your first day in Minecraft.) The game is still in its beta, but even so, the game will still feel incomplete without any sort of tutorial to guide players along.

chris mikesell / KA LAMAKUA

Minecraft players use the resources they gather to make their
homes as expansive - or deep - as they please, though it's
critical to keep light sources around at all times to prevent
monsters from appearing at night.

Curious (or frustrated) Minecrafters need only to point their browsers to the Minecraft Wiki, however, to learn the intricacies of the game’s building blocks.

The sound direction for the game is as minimalistic as its graphics – the music, by C418, doesn’t blare at you constantly but rather swells up occasionally to add to the dramatic solitude of Minecraft’s blocky world. It’s you against the elements (or blocks, rather) and you’re surviving somehow. You never get over the feeling (playing singleplayer Minecraft, at least, though there are multiplayer servers) that you are alone in the blocky wilderness.

All these elements combined make for gameplay that is simple yet addictive. You can end up losing yourself quite literally in Minecraft’s randomly generated biomes. The first time I played the game nearly two months ago, I signed on and before I knew it, it appeared my clock had gone backwards by half an hour, only to discover upon looking up that it was now night and I had actually lost almost twelve hours of my life to my virgin playthrough.

Though, with a (one-time!) price of 14.95 euros / about $20 for the beta, which includes all future updates, Minecraft may be a habit that those playing subscription-based games like WoW can live with.

ARTafterDARK: Show Me The Bunny

2011-02-01T06:36:00.000-10:00

by Maria Kanai

courtesy rie miyoshi

DIY Chinese firecracker decorations

Since its opening in 2004, ARTafterDARK has been an enormously successful monthly event of nighttime art, food, and drinks. Organized by young volunteers passionate for art, the parties bring an eclectic group of social networkers, hipster urbanites, and art-loving families every last Friday to the Honolulu Academy of Arts. The beautiful architecture, cultural art, and open courtyards create a sophisticated, yet chill atmosphere for young and old alike to relax, enjoy the art, and meet new people.

So what makes ARTafterDARK so popular?

"The place, architecture, and the exhibits," said a regular volunteer at ARTafterDARK. "Definitely people-watching."

"The combination of nightlife and culture," said another loyal AAD fan, "I love that the themes are different every month, and that the art is based on different cultures."

"The different kinds of people," said an older couple, "We love that you can bring kids here."

courtesy rie miyoshi

Luce Pavilion fills with people as musicians like
DJ Cottontail pump techno beats.

This month, ARTafterDARK kicked off the new year with the theme "Show Me The Bunny", showcasing Chinese culture with art by Andy Lee and lion dancing by Au's Shaolin Arts Society. The place was decorated with Chinese lanterns and was packed with its usual diverse crowd. I ran into old friends, made new ones, and even got my picture drawn by an aspiring artist! Various booths offered free prizes in fortune cookies, create-your-own Chinese New Year decorations, and contemporary Chinese food hosted by Town and Downtown restaurants. Fantastic music was provided by DJ Roxy Cottontail, and plenty of people were grooving to the beat in the Luce Pavilion.

Whether it's your first time or your fiftieth, ARTafterDARK does not fail to impress. There is always something for everyone, and that's important for the diverse mix of people living in Hawaii. Mark your calendars for the next event, "Uma Noite de Carnaval" on February 25th. For more information, go to their website: http://www.artafterdark.org. Hope to see you there!

Food Truck Stop: Jawaiian Irie

2011-01-31T10:57:00.000-10:00

by Jessie Bristow

jessie bristow / KA LAMAKUA

Chef Cassie (left) takes a break with his customers after a long afternoon.

Less than a mile from campus, partly shaded by a tree, at the intersecton of Kapiolani Blvd and Kalakaua Ave, in a parking lot filled with shuttle vans and party buses, you will find a silver and white "taco truck" highlighted by Jamaican decorations and bordered by Rasta colors.

Seeing that truck means one thing: It is time to get your grub on. Bring cash and an appetite.

jessie bristow / KA LAMAKUA

Jawaiian Irie Jerk

Kapiolani + Kalakaua

The successful diner on wheels belongs to Chef Cassie Simmons, 61, and he has been filling stomachs in Oahu, Hawaii for about four years. Originally from Jamaica, Simmons moved to Hawaii about four and a half years ago from Miami, Florida. An artist and musician, Simmons loves to cook and feels that making a good meal is a form of art in itself.

The menu consists of Jamaican Jerk Chicken or Pork ($8,$9), Escouitch Fish ($10), Caribbean Curry Chicken ($8), Mini Jerk Pork or Chicken ($5), and Ital Stew (chef's treat Vegetarian) ($7).

All of these dishes come with rice and peas and a tasty Ital Fritter. Along with the basic but filling menu, there are "Eat'n Run" items: beef, chicken, or veggie patties ($3), and bread pudding with rum sauce ($4). Jamaican Specialty Drinks ($2.50) and soda or water is a dollar.

"It's that restaurant business," Cassie says. "Ups and downs."

Staying fairly busy Chef Cassie has a wide variety of customers. Mostly repeat and comeback clients, but most people come because of word of mouth. Located on route to Ala Moana Shopping Center, the truck is often visited by curious tourists. After trying the menu, most people make the truck stop a regular place to visit.

Simmons not only provides at this busy location, but he also cooks for private dinners, catering parties, weddings, birthdays, and barbeques. Without any major advertising, Chef Cassie keeps his business running with a laid back vibe. He feels that his food and attention to quality makes his truck separate from other businesses.

"You've tried the rest," says Cassie. "Now come over and try the best."

Kava - the communal drink

2011-01-25T07:02:00.000-10:00

Michael J. Balick to talk at UH Manoa

by Hanna Martz

photo courtesy of michael balick

Kava being strained into a common bowl.

Of the many things that humans like to observe, our favorite seems to be the psychoactive properties of plant species. And for many that brings on a slew of drug related jokes about fungi and usually ends in a story about a trip in which no one actually fell.

But for others, the plants and the cultural heritage of the knowledge becomes more than superficial. There is a ceremony associated with the plant. There are right and wrong things to do or say. A purpose, a sense of community, even enlightenment could come from these rituals.

In the case of Kava, or 'Awa, there is a long history and purpose in its use among the people of the South Pacific. Commonly viewed as a brown milky drink, Kava is processed from roots and rhizomes of the Kava plant (Piper methysticum; a type of pepper plant). The resulting concoction yields something that resembles mud and hot cocoa. Due to its relaxing qualities it's used to welcome guests, and help settle disputes. It links the drinkers to their ancestors and the drinking amassed a great deal of ceremony. On campus you can learn all about this communal plant and beverage. (Check out Kava-Fest if you're interested in more. There are plenty of knowledgeable people here in Hawaii.)

But one particularly knowledgeable person will be on Campus this Friday to talk about Kava's properties and history. Hosted by the Ethnobiology Society, Michael J. Balick PHD, a prominent botanist and with the New York Botanical gardens and author of a couple different ethnobotanical books, will be discussing Kava with UH students and staff Friday at 3:30 pm in the Biomedicinal Sciences Building (BIOMD), room B-103. He will also be doing a Q & A session along with a book signing.

photo courtesy of michael balick

Piper methysticum growing in a lowland forest.

In his book, Plants, People and Culture: the Science of Ethnobotany, co-written with Paul Alan Cox, Balick explains the importance of plants and the special relationships with them that pervade our human world. The interaction between plants and humans spans thousands of years. We use them for sustenance, healing, material, even spiritual guidance; sometimes more than one at the same time.

They have become an integral part of our lives and have helped shape cultures and history around the world. It is this symbiotic relationship that many students and faculty study here at UH Manoa is known as Ethnobotany. It is a study that humans have unconsciously been dabbling in since prehistory – testing out their environment for what-did-what and making note of what helped someone or what killed them. They learned how to manipulate plants for crops and other uses – developing concepts of tinctures, teas, salves and earth-ovens; humans figured out how to find, mix and use the properties of plants they wanted.

Here in Hawaii, we have the opportunity to see the relationship between plants and people and the subsequent affect on culture just by looking around. It is for this reason that so many people come here to study the native plants and the various cultures of the Hawaiian Islands. Don't miss out on a part of Pacific culture: join the discussion Friday, B-103 BIOMD.

Food Finds: Zaratez Mexicatessen

2011-01-24T06:53:00.001-10:00

By Maria Kanai


maria kanai / KA LAMAKUA Zaratez Mexicatessen 3121 Mokihana St. (off Kapahulu Ave., next to Waiola Shave Ice) Open Tues - Fri 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Sunday/Monday

I am an avid Mexican food lover. There is something about the combination of meats, spices, and tortillas that I can't resist, and I can honestly eat tacos every day if I could! So, you can imagine my excitement when I heard about Zaratez Mexicatessen.

Tucked away behind Genki Sushi on Mokihana Street, Zaratez Mexicatessen is a lunch wagon serving authentic homestyle Mexican food by chef Paul Zarate. Since it is slightly difficult to find unless you know where it is, I was curious to find out how Zarate gets the word out.

The key to their popularity? "Twitter, facebook, and Living Social coupons," says Zarate. "Also word of mouth."

Sure enough, one happy customer said that she had heard about Zaratez Mexicatessen from Living Social and brought her coupon for dinner. (So, make sure to check up Living Social for some nice deals!)

"Our most popular dishes," says Zarate, "are the burritos and carne asadas."

maria kanai / KA LAMAKUA

My $7 Carne Asada Burrito, a whole meal of rice, beans, beef,

and cilantro wrapped in a large flour tortilla.

I was starving, so I got a carne asada burrito. For a reasonable $7, it was very filling and incredibly tasty. The meat, beans, and rice were well seasoned within the large flour tortilla, and the salsa was spicy and had a unique flavor that went perfectly with the meal. Since the burrito was so huge, I was afraid I was going to make a mess, but it stayed together until the last bite. I loved the homestyle authentic taste, and I was stuffed and happy!

Although challenging working full-time running his own lunch wagon, Zarate says the most rewarding thing is being able to do what he loves and serving people food. He is currently working on future plans on opening up a small shop up the street this summer. I hope that works out, because I am definitely a fan. I can't wait to go back to try out all the other foods on the menu, which consists of tacos ($2.50), burritos ($7), quezadillas ($6), mulitas ($3), with different meats such as carne asada, carnitas, pollo asada, and chorizo.

You can follow them on facebook at www.facebook.com/zaratez or twitter @zaratez.

Stopping stalkers online

2011-01-21T21:14:00.000-10:00

courtesy PAU Violence Program

by Chris Mikesell

Find yourself wishing your Facebook had a "dislike" button whenever a new "friend" pops up? Getting harassed and threatened in the span of 140 characters? Is your MySpace becoming less your personal space and more like the final frontier of bad behavior online?

It happens more than you think. Cyberstalking and cyberbullying through social media is the topic of a talk being put on by Jodi Ito of the ITS department next week Tuesday, Jan/ 25 from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Campus Center Dining Room 203E as part of National Stalking Awareness Month. The talk is being sponsored sponsored by the PAU Violence Program and Women's Center.

For more information, call 956-8059.

Tron Legacy: Pretty glowy bits

2011-01-20T20:44:00.000-10:00

Film review by Chris Mikesell

I have to admit – the original Tron was a bit before my time.

The first time I went to see this movie reminded me of the first maxim of journalism: always research. For Tron Legacy, that means going back and watching the first one. While “Legacy” will certainly turn heads in its intended 3D glory, audiences are bound to get lost right away unless they have the benefit of the first film to provide the proper context for this sequel.

If not for the handy exposition at the beginning of Joseph Kozinski’s modern reboot/sequel of Steven Lisberger’s 1982 original, we wouldn’t really understand what was going on at all.

Some things are indeed explained by watching the original film – a trait important to many sequels. Those flying staple things are from a video game. Blue is good – red, not so much.

The characters are painted with broad strokes...literally. Things that have no business glowing on a person are alight in the Grid, though I suspect that modern moviegoers can appreciate the fact that digital breasts are now neon-lit like landing strips at an airport for the sexually deprived.

Some things, however, are not really explained all that well. There’s one scene where Jeff Bridges (reprising his role as a now-aged Kevin Flynn from the first film) and his son Sam (played by Garrett Hedlund) finally meet in the Grid and they sit down to eat, of all things, a dinner complete with suckling pig and fresh vegetables in a digital world devoid of organic anything.

This is bothersome because not only was it never really explained, it was never even questioned. Everyone just sort of assumes that it would be perfectly natural to suddenly have a roast pig appear. “Why yes, here on the Grid we have roast suckling pig and haricot verts lying around all the time.”

I get that it’s supposed to be a virtual world, but that’s not really an excuse for sloppy storytelling. At least “The Matrix” tried to explain how the characters made random objects pop up whenever they needed them, and while fantastical, the explanation still had its own logic and rules to it.

The problem with Tron Legacy’s kind of sci-fi storytelling is not that these sorts of things are impossible. Of course you can’t make a football field full of gun racks or a three course meal suddenly appear. That’s reality. But audiences are able to accept these kinds of impossible things because they are able to suspend their disbelief according to the “rules” of whatever the setting is.

Even an explanation as deux ex-y as “A wizard did it, it was MAGIC” presupposes that 1) there are wizards afoot and 2) they are capable of wild shenanigans of a thaumaturgical nature.

It’s sad that a film like “Tron Legacy” makes no effort to fill in these blanks because the rest of the film’s experience is absolutely spot-on. The transition from the film’s 2D scenes to its 3D scenes is exceptional, the look of the new Grid is sleek and sexy, and the soundtrack from the brains of Daft Punk made waves in mp3 players long before the film itself opened in theaters.

It would be a nearly perfect movie – if it weren’t for that damn pig.

FINAL VERDICT: This new iteration of Tron is, despite its inconsistencies, sharp and sexy. A-

New year, new you

2011-01-19T11:22:00.000-10:00

by Konni Wilson

The start of a new year is a time of reflection - a time for turning new leaves, getting more organized and making the most out of the new year. Likewise, with the start of a new semester comes a time for reflection, to think about how you can make this semester even better than the last.

Spent too much time on Facebook? Skipped a couple too many classes? Well now is the time to take all those regrets and move forward. Whether its making healthier eating choices, or making more time to study, when it comes to anything in life, especially in college life, there’s always room for improvement. Take it from these students who learned a lot from their first semester in college.

Aileen Patoc, a local student at UH Manoa, learned just how different college really is from high school. Along with having over a hundred students in one class and living without parents, she realized that professors are not like high school teachers. They won’t hound you and make sure you turn in your homework; they set deadlines and its your job to meet them.

“I have to rely on myself more, not my professors," says Patoc. "There’s so much more students than professors in a class, they can’t keep tabs on everyone.”

konni wilson / KA LAMAKUA

Sean Hanni is already getting started on one of his new

semester resolutions by living a more active lifestyle

while away from his Colorado home.

Sean Hanni, another first-year student from Colorado, had a set of expectations for his first semester in college just like everyone else. Unfortunately it didn’t play out the way he expected it to go.

“I was kind of expecting to have a great roommate that I would be good friends with, that I would breeze through all my classes, and that I’d have a solid group of best friends," says Hanni. "In reality, I don’t really like my roommate at all and my grades didn’t reflect my true potential.”

After thinking back on last semester, saying that we have regrets is all too common. But its what we do with those regrets that really matter. Patoc regrets procrastinating and letting everything pile up. And with the freedom that comes from new independence, it’s very easy to get distracted.

As Patoc put it, “You have all the time in the world to do anything you want.” Hanni wishes he tried harder to get off campus and see the rest of the island. But they didn’t let the “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve” of last semester get them down. Both have “new semester resolutions” to guarantee more success and satisfaction for this Spring semester.

“I’m going to really crack down on studying and staying on top of my classes,” says Hanni. He admits his classes would be much easier if he spent more time reading notes and textbooks than going on Facebook and playing Family Feud. I know I plan to spend less time on Facebook as well.

Patoc wants to branch out and network more this semester as well.

“I’m more open to meeting more new people, making study groups, and figuring out how to makes good grades this semester," Patoc says.

Book Review: Catching Fire

2011-01-18T10:57:00.000-10:00

Age Group: Young Adult

Rating: 3/5

By Maria Kanai

"Catching Fire" is the sequel to the bestselling YA trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I couldn't wait to start reading it, and picked it up immediately after I was done with "Hunger Games." You can read my review for it here.

The book starts off immediately where the first book left off. Katniss Everdeen has survived the hunger games, but she is still in danger. Her open act of defiance against the Capitol has sparked a rebellion across the Districts. She must still play by the Capitol's rules in and out of the arena and her friends, family, and district are all under direct threat.

Suzanne Collins takes this second book as a chance to explore and flesh out the world of Panem. We see more of the history behind the 12 Districts, the political power structures, and more hunger games. The writing is so vivid and detailed that Panem was remarkably realistic. As for character development, I especially loved Haymitch's transition from a distant mentor to a close ally with a hidden past. He is by far my favorite in the trilogy as the gruff, jaded teacher who cares more than he chooses to show.

That being said, "Catching Fire" was a bit of a disappointment. My biggest problem was the rehashing of the hunger games. It made sense to have the hunger games in the first book because, well, the title, and more importantly, they were a critical example of the Capitol's tyranny. Throwing Katniss into the bloody arena once again felt like overkill, and dare I say it, more sensational rather than working towards the plot. The violence was old and familiar, and after a while, the deaths felt thrown in and unimportant.

Also, what was with the relationship between Peeta, Katniss, and Gale? All I could think of was Bella, Edward, and Jacob. Katniss switches from one to the other when it pleased her, and it did nothing to make me connect with her. Her character development in this second installment was difficult to pinpoint. She seems confused throughout the story. I wanted to see her make the shift from a girl vainly fighting against tyranny to a heroine who makes the choice to take her stance as an influential, revolutionary leader. Instead, she continues to compromise with herself, her friends, and the Capitol. I was left wondering where the resourceful girl determined to save her little sister went, and whether she would come up in the third installment, "Mockingjay." I sure hope so.

Did "Catching Fire" live up to its predecessor? No. Should you read it? Well, if you liked the first book, you will probably have to find out what happened! Unfortunately, it was a bit of a letdown for me.
Keep a lookout for my next review for the final book, "Mockingjay."

Gettin' Out: Graduate Art Exhibition

2011-01-14T23:02:00.000-10:00

courtesy UH MANOA ART GALLERY

Looking for something to see the first weekend of the semester but not looking to venture off campus for it?

If you've ever walked through the Art Building's open air, bamboo-lined halls you'll no doubt notice the exhibition halls each hold something new every few weeks.

This weekend, one of those galleries is going to be opening its doors for the Art Department's annual Graduate Exhibition!

Admission is free but donations are encouraged. With student artists presenting their work in ceramics, fiber, glass, installation, intermedia, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture, there's bound to be something for every art fan.

The exhibit runs from Jan. 16 to Feb. 4, but the grand opening will be on Sunday between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Reaching beyond her degree: Residence Director Ali Norton

2011-01-13T22:19:00.001-10:00

by Jessie Bristow

jessie bristow / KA LAMAKUA

The Canadian flag on the office wall lights up the room along with the Hawaiian calendar hanging above the desk. Miss Norton’s shirt screams bright red with fanatical support of Canada Hockey. Even with the sports memorabilia and spirit, after speaking with Student Housing Residence Director Ali Norton, it isn’t hard to find that she is full of life, dedication, and cheerfulness. By the way, she’s a huge hockey fan.

It is four thirty in the afternoon and after a long Monday of emails, conferences, phone calls, and running around student housing anyone would be tired, irritated, and in no mood to be interviewed. Fortunately, Miss Norton has all the energy in the world. Aside from the weather being horrible, her day has been exciting and productive.

“I don’t know if there is such a thing as a typical day,” says Norton. Her schedule involves multiple conquests. She has set tasks, but at the same time has no idea what to expect to pop up during her time at work.

Many students have seen her “hnorton@hawaii.edu” address ending campus-wide email updating them about a variety of student housing matters. Very few have been able to meet and find out about the Resident Director and what they do.

Heather (but no one calls her Heather) Alison Norton, 27, is originally from Guelph, Ontario, Canada. A Journalism and English major from Carleton University and a graduate from Western Illinois University with a master’s degree in College Student Personnel, Ali Norton never expected to be lucky enough to be working in the field she is in.

“All of the things that I did in undergrad, I didn’t think those would result in finding a career I was passionate about, I just did them because they seemed fun.”

After realizing a career in journalism was not for her and not wanting to use her English degree, Norton was attracted to out-of-class activities that she participated in such as Greek life, being a resident advisor, an executive for her residents’ association, undergraduate admissions, and working for the first year experience office.

She soon realized that she could make a career out of the things she enjoyed doing.

“The opportunity as a new professional, to basically be involved in a position that was being built from the ground up was pretty incredible.”

Being hired into a position that was created from scratch was something that attracted Norton to Hawaii. Working on Manoa Campus allowed Norton to be able to help and network with people all day. As Resident Director of Hale Wainani, Norton stays occupied all days of the week.

“I love when I get to interact with staff and students, and they leave my office feeling better than they felt before.”

Norton is not just a committed person, but she enjoys the simple things in life as well.

“I love to be outside in general, but I also like to chill, watch TV, just hang out at home.”

Fortunately, Hawaii promotes both of these. Norton takes advantage of going to the beach and when it is rainy like this past week, she enjoys relaxing with her boyfriend at home.

Ali Norton has been at her job for three years. Every day she looks forward to helping those who are in need of her assistance. She is excited for the future because she wants to make improvements to better campus life, and she never knows what to imagine on such a diverse campus. Being given the opportunity to find a career she enjoys, she is thankful for the extracurricular activities she participated in.

“I would definitely encourage students to get involved in their experience.”

Hunger Games: A Book Review

2011-01-12T21:37:00.001-10:00

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Genre: Young Adult

Rating: 4.5/5

Book Review by Maria Kanai

Winter break is my favorite time of the year to catch up on reading. There is something very appealing about curling up in a warm blanket at home on a cold day with a good book. So, I took my Christmas money and gleefully made a trip to good old Borders to pick up "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, the first book of a bestselling YA trilogy that gained huge popularity since its original release in 2008.

Katniss Everdeen is a sixteen year old girl living in a futuristic world where the tyrannical government of Panem holds annual "hunger games" as a violent means to keep the districts in check. The book opens quietly enough, but then by the end of the first chapter, it throws you straight into a fast-paced, hard-hitting story without a break. Then, of course, it leaves you with a cliffhanger, and I was desperate for the sequel after putting down "Hunger Games" at four in the morning.

I don't even know where to start. I have to admit my skepticism when I first heard of "Hunger Games." Most young-adult books surrounded by so much hype are often disappointing, and I was prepared for another "Twilight" (no offense to Twilight fans). But this book was a darkly pleasant surprise. The plot may not be entirely original (think a female teenage "Ender" meets "Battle Royale" with "The Gladiator" thrown into the mix), but Suzanne Collins throws in enough new twists and turns for a refreshing story. The world of Panem is believable as a futuristic North America, and it was easy to pick up on the not-so-subtle messages against war, tyranny, and reality TV (seriously).

But more than the plot, the characters clinched the book for me. Suzanne skillfully depicts characters with enough dimensions and developments that I couldn't help but empathize with all of them. I was rooting for Katniss throughout the entire book and cared for everyone she cared about. Great writing, Ms. Collins. Character-driven stories are the best.

Although "Hunger Games" is technically YA, the story is captivating for any age. After I finished, it took a while for me to recover. Be warned: "Hunger Games" was not light reading at all. It was an intense ride from start to finish, with pretty dark themes and some particularly gruesome deaths.

Is "Hunger Games" worth its hype? Yes. Should you read it? Yes! Have the sequel near at hand to grab. Don't say I didn't warn you; the trilogy is incredibly addicting.

Keep a look out for my next review of the second book, "Catching Fire."

A Taste of Persia: Shole Zard

2011-01-11T22:56:00.001-10:00

by Modgtaba Fallah

modgtaba fallah / KA LAMAKUA

Persian food is one of the healthiest, most tasteful and colorful foods in the world, fascinating everyone that tries it for the first time. What we call “Persian” food actually comprises a variety of cuisines from different parts of what is now Iran, but there are foods that are common across all parts of Persia.

Shole Zard is a good example of one of these common dishes. It is one of our most popular desserts, with an eye catching saffron color and fabulous flavor. It’s also a significant part of cultural and religious ceremonies.

In some parts of Iran people add slivered Pistachios as well to give the pudding flavor and color, while in other parts of Iran people add ground cardamom along with the saffron.

It is up to you if you want to eat it warm, but in Iran, shole zard is traditionally served cold, garnished with ground cinnamon and almonds. Please note that if you add the sugar or rosewater before the saffron it may prevent the saffron from giving the pudding its full color.

modgtaba fallah / KA LAMAKUA

Shole Zard – Saffron Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rice (any kind except Basmati)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 cup sugar
1/2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup rosewater
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. ground saffron (Persian or Spanish)
4 cups water + 1 additional cup for the saffron

1) Soak the rice in 4 cups of water for 4-5 hours.

2) Steep the ground saffron in 1 cup of boiling water and set aside. Transfer the rice and its water in a deep pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours.

3) Add the slivered almonds and saffron solution to the rice and simmer for an additional 15 minutes, then add the rosewater and sugar and simmer for another 5 minutes before adding the butter. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving hot, or chill and serve cold.

The secret life of a bartender

2011-01-10T11:15:00.003-10:00

by Konni Wilson

konni wilson / KA LAMAKUA

“Chug! Chug! Chug!”

A crowd gathers around two guys competing for the title and glory of who can chug a keg the fastest. Who will win? People are screaming and cheering them on, getting louder and louder until..the guy on the right is yelling in victory and the loser sourly walks away.

Immediately he is lifted into the air as the crowd picks him up and congratulates him, beer spraying everywhere... but that's what you see in college movies. That isn't how things roll down at Manoa Gardens after a hard day of classes.

If anything, going to Manoa Gardens in Ba-Le is a great way to destress your mind. You can relax and loosen up in their mellow college-town atmosphere while enjoying nine different brands of ice cold beer, not to mention great service with a smile.

The bartenders I interviewed were not only really nice and funny, they enjoy what they do and it definitely shows. Just last month, Manoa Gardens teamed up with the Blue Planet Foundation and Hawaiian Green Living Association to host Sustainapalooza, a concert promoting sustainability. It was there where I got to meet and talk to bar manager James Whitten and bartender Jason Egami, both 26 and students here at UH Manoa.

konni wilson / KA LAMAKUA

Egami is currently working on his second degree, in accounting and Whitten is between majors, currently majoring in Japanese. Egami says that “being a student and a bartender has been difficult sometimes to balance the two. But working at Manoa Gardens has been great because I can come in after school, and they aren't open super late.”

The pair were friends and colleagues long before they began working at Manoa Gardens. Previously, they had teamed up to help start a night club.

“James was one of the people I hired [at the nightclub]." says Egami. "Later, James hired me at Manoa Gardens to help cover some empty shifts.”

Their experience from working at the two places are pretty different; at Manoa Gardens the focus is more directed toward customer service while at the nightclub, the focus was to keep the drinks coming.

So where are the stories about the bar fights or the rowdy drunk people, you ask? Fortunately, that isn’t a problem at Manoa Gardens.

“For the most part the customers at Manoa Gardens are very well behaved, I think it has something to do with the sun being up,” says Egami.

Whitten says the craziest thing he has ever seen was when a woman grabbed the tip jar and threw it across the room.

But besides that, Manoa Gardens has a very mellow atmosphere; a perfect hang-out spot for college students. Contrary to Hollywood’s over active imagination, bartenders aren’t super spy agents just covering as bartenders while they fight crime on the side. (Darn!) They are people and students just like you and me. They go to school, they have homework, and oh yeah, they make awesome drinks.

So how exactly is the life of a bartender?

Jason Egami says it best: “The life of a bartender all in all, isn’t so glamorous. But its been a very fun and rewarding job."

Good luck with finals!

2010-12-13T21:54:00.000-10:00

Finals Week is already here, and that means Ka Lamakua will be slowing down for the Winter Break. Come back and check us out January 10th when we return to our regular weekday lineup. Mahalo to everyone who has made Ka Lamakua a success this semester!

Chris Mikesell
Ka Lamakua, Editor-in-Chief

Sustainapalooza: In Concert

2010-12-10T02:33:00.000-10:00

video by Chris Mikesell

Bands Lost @ Sea and Breath of Fire took to the Hemenway Hall stage tonight at Sustainapalooza, courtesy of Hawaii Green Living Project and Sustainable UH.

Sustainapalooza: Photoshow

2010-12-09T23:24:00.000-10:00

Photos by Chris Mikesell

Sustainability and music collided tonight at the first annual Sustainapalooza concert at Ba-Le this evening. In this part of our coverage, take a look at some of the people who came out to see the show!

chris mikesell / KA LAMAKUA

A Taste of Persia: Fish for the New Year

2010-12-08T20:22:00.000-10:00

by Modgtaba Fallah

These days the Christmas atmosphere is almost everywhere, and soon after people will be getting ready for the New Year with special ingredients like turkey.

But interestingly, not all countries have the same dishes to celebrate the New Year. In Iran, for example, most people have a special dinner called sabzi polo mahi, a dinner of vegetables, rice, and fish. It’s a dish that is so popular in Iran it can make anybody’s mouth water.

Also, fresh fish, vegetables, and rice are so healthy, you can eat as much of them as you want – fish are full of Vitamin E and herbs are great sources of calcium.

modgtaba fallah / KA LAMAKUA

There are many recipes for sabzi polo mahi in Iran, but here is one that is simple to make. Traditionally it is served with Persian rice, but that can be difficult to find in local markets. In Iran people eat it with mixed fresh vegetables like parsley, chives and mint but you can also serve it with yogurt. In some parts of Iran, people also add dill or fenugreek to their vegetables.

This dish is one of the most common foods in Persian culture and usually served on either New Year’s Eve or during chahar shanbe sori, a fireworks celebration that takes place on the last Wednesday of the year.

Please note that you can choose any kind of fish or fish fillet you like. There is also no restriction on how you cook the fish – you could even grill or roast the fish if you’d like to avoid frying it.

modgtaba fallah / KA LAMAKUA

SABZI POLO MAHI

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, smashed
4 ounces parsley
4 ounces green onion
4 ounces chives
1 pound basmati rice
1 tbsp. + 1 cup vegetable oil, divided
1 pound filleted fish of your choice
1 lime
1 tbsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
Salt

1) Put basmati rice in a bowl with enough water to cover, add 2 tbsp. salt and soak for 1 hour.

2) Chop the parsley, green onions, and chives finely and set aside.

3) Boil 1 liter of water (about 34 ounces/6 cups) in a medium pot, then drain the rice and it to the boiling water and cook for 7-10 minutes or until softened. Add the chopped herbs and stir for 30 seconds, then strain again, adding 1 tbsp of oil to the pot after you put it back on the heat. Return the strained rice and herb mixture to the pot and steam over medium heat for 30 minutes.

4) Mix the turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, smashed garlic and 1 tsp. salt and apply the mixture to the fish. Pan fry the fish using the remaining oil over medium heat, garnish with lime wedges and serve with the cooked rice.

The Happy Hunt: Rumfire's Sweet Sunset

2010-12-07T14:23:00.000-10:00

photos and story by Noelani Anderson

A strong and sweet Mai Tai at RumFire was the perfect fix after a wind-filled, salty surf at Diamond head on a Saturday afternoon. I dried off with my beach towel and threw on a summer dress and a baseball cap, cruised over the Ala Wai and pulled into valet parking (complimentary with validation) at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.

Then I walked through the hall and sat myself at the bar of the Beachside RumFire Resturaunt - sunset to my right and an array of liquor to my left. The picturesque Waikiki scene called for the classic Hawaiian drink – a mai tai, which, at five dollars, was the right price for my surfer's budget.

noelani anderson / KA LAMAKUA

Live music and the handfulls of lei-dressed tourists only added to the moment, providing lots of entertainment as I sipped on my drink to neutralize the salty taste of the ocean that lingered in my mouth.

Being that it was a Saturday afternoon I was particularly appreciative of the fact that RumFire runs their four to six o'clock specials every day, not just weekdays! RumFire can either be a sunset delight or an evening pre-game spot as their happy hour menu includes a number of tropical cocktails, beer and wine as well as shots and bombs. The 'Rockmeister' bomb is perfect if you need a little energy boost with a buzz (Rockstar and Jagermeister), or the 'Bonfire' if you prefer vodka. The shots at RumFire also have a creative-Hawaiian inspired but not-too-tacky twist. The 'red headed hula girl', 'sex wax', and 'hot shot'(jalapeno infused taquila!), are all only $3, so if you are with a group of friends and want to buy 'em a round you can spread the love without emptying your pockets.

Of course, if you are just looking for a mellow happy hour cocktail before dinner RumFire offers a variety of drinks and appetizers for those who aren't looking to get too crazy on shots at six o'clock. The Happy hour cocktails include the 'gidgets crush'(watermelon infused vodka and melon liquor), the 'tradewinds', and the 'baja sun'(a spicy twist on a margarita). All the specialty cocktails, including the classic mai tai that I chose, are $5, with red and white house wines running the same. Draft beer, however, is only $3 a pint, and your choices are Stella, Bud and Bud light, Kona Longboard, Blue Moon, and Steinlager.

noelani anderson / KA LAMAKUA

Along with this array of drink specials RumFire also serves their tapas-inspired appetizers at a happy price between 4 and 6 everyday. The braised beef nachos ($8) are great to share, as is the kalua pork quesadilla ($6) and the jerk chicken wings ($6) and the BBQ Rum baby back ribs ($6). If you are having a date with yourself, or if your friends bailed on you (my predicament this particular Saturday afternoon), try the north shore ceasar salad ($7) and a fish taco with fresh catch from pier 38 ($10). Along with their daily sunset happy hour RumFire also has a late night discounted menu after 9:30 sunday thru thursday (excluding holidays). You'll find many of the same items as the happy hour menu, but look out for a late night addition: mini chicken burritos with guacamole and Kona coffee mole sauce.

After having my mai tai with sunset, chatting with the bartender, and grooving in my seat to the live music I felt a wave of contentment wash over me. The classic, beautiful Hawaiian day – what all the tourists rave about and what I rarely treat myself to. In the midst of finals we are stressed, sleep deprived and snappy. Whether you need a little break from studying, or you really need to let loose, Happy hour at RumFIre is a picturesque spot to relax and take a moment to enjoy the salty and sweet flavors of Hawaii without the bitter prices that Waikiki is infamous for.

'Ono 101: Mince cookies make for a savory sweet holiday

2010-12-07T12:22:00.000-10:00

by Chris Mikesell

Traditionally, holiday cookies conjure images in the mind of sugar cookie cutouts, slathered with unnatural icing and spiked with colored sugar. But there was a time when holiday desserts were more complex creations.

Filled with a sweet and savory mix of dried fruits, spices, sugar and animal fat inspired by Turkish sweetmeats, English mince pies appear every Christmas across the pond and have a history as rich as their filling.

chris mikesell / KA LAMAKUA

You can use whatever spiced rum you like to make these mince
cookies, but making your own takes some planning - a pint of
rum, ten whole cloves and six cardamom pods left in a fridge for
a couple of months makes an outstanding and unique
spiced rum for baking.

Englishman Sir Henry Ellis wrote, in his 1841 book “Observations of Popular Antiquities,” that the earliest recorded mention of mince pies in England dated back to the year 1651, describing their filling as “a most learned mixture of neat’s tongues, chicken, eggs, sugar, raisins, lemon and orange peel, (and) various kinds of spicery.”

While “neat’s tongue” is probably out of the comfort zones of most modern cooks, the theme of mixing sweet and savory is a delicious one to explore, and lard – pork fat – is the animal fat most compatible with sweet treatments. Just ask fans of chocolate-covered bacon.

You may have to warn your vegan and vegetarian friends about these cookies in advance, though, as their aroma and spicy flavor may entice even the most militant to dive right in.

English Mince Cookies

Ingredients:

12 ounces AND 3/4 cup sugar, divided
2 cups water
3/4 cup raisins
12 ounces lard (you can use butter, but it won’t be the same)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. brandy
1 1/2 tsp. spiced rum
2 eggs
14 ounces AP flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking powder

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Add the water and the raisins to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, add 3/4 cup of sugar and reduce until syrupy. Puree in a small food processor and set aside.

2) Cream the remaining 12 ounces of sugar into the lard in either a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Beat in the extract, brandy, rum and eggs until thoroughly combined. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder, then at low speed integrate the flour mixture into the sugar mixture a few ounces at a time until thoroughly combined, making sure to scare down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

3) Once all of the flour mixture is integrated, add the raisin syrup puree and beat until thoroughly combined.

4) Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto a foil lined sheet pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for 12 minutes at 325°F, let cool for at least 2 minutes on the sheet pan before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Seeking soap for Haiti

2010-12-06T01:25:00.000-10:00

by Jessie Bristow

Food, gifts, good deeds, and sharing each other's cultures are all part of the holiday spirit. This year the University of Hawaii at Manoa Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work Heath Concentration Students invite all members of UH to help the outbreak of Cholera in Haiti by donating bars of soap from Dec. 2^nd to the 8^th.

jessie bristow / KA LAMAKUA

A few days into the donation drive and already a collection box in
Henke Hall is starting to fill up.

Suresh Tamang, 39, a Doctoral Student, is the head coordinator of the soap drive. Tamang, his classmates, and their teacher Dr. Ka'opua all shared the idea of helping with the situation in Haiti. "Rather than collecting money, okay let's do the soap drive." Tamang feels that it is better to give what is needed in order to help solve the problem, rather than donate money hoping that it ends up contributing to the right people.

Haiti was hit by a major earthquake on January 12, 2010. Almost a year later the country is still in devastation. Amongst the chaos, the threat of the Cholera Disease has surfaced. According to the International Medical Corps, Cholera is a lethal disease caused by an infection of the intestines. Only about 20 percent of infected people show symptoms. The disease causes severe dehydration and diarrhea. Cholera is spread by contamination of food or water with fecal matter. The best way to prevent the disease from spreading is by having clean water sources and soap to kill bacteria and help with sanitization. According to the Haiti Soap drive flyer, more than 1,100 people have died from the disease, and over 20,000 have become sick.

jessie bristow / KA LAMAKUA

One nicely decorated donation box in Hale Manoa is filling up
with soap from hotels.

The Soap Drive for Haiti will continue through this week, and if necessary will be extended for a few more days after December 8^th. The donation drive is working with the organization "Clean the World" to help get the supplies sent to the proper locations in Haiti. The organized drive is also being represented on the West Oahu campus, allowing more people to be aware of the situation in Haiti and what they can do to help. "We are accepting liquid and other soaps as well, as long as it is any form of soap," says Tamang. Boxes are filling up with new soap, liquid soap, and even soap leftover from hotels.

Boxes for the soap drive can be found all over campus. The Campus Center, Queen Lili'uokalani Center for Student Services, Medical Department, Henke Hall, Hale Manoa, Hale Haiawai, and in the Public Heath and Bio Med building.

The Soap Drive for Haiti encourages everyone to spread the word about how anyone can help. All donations are greatly appreciated. Spreading the holiday spirit and the gift of soap will help stop the spreading of Cholera in Haiti.

For more information or to donate, contact Suresh Tamang at tamang@hawaii.edu or at 675-8019.

THE LAUNCH: Art and Fashion Masquerade Party

2010-12-03T21:18:00.001-10:00

by Feliz Salas

Love art, fashion, music, and dancing? Or are you simply looking for a great way to celebrate the official last day of classes?

courtesy UH Manoa Entrepreneur Club

The Launch is a semi-annual event put together by the Entrepreneur Club

to showcase student works and provide a platform for talent exposure

to help "launch" their careers.

UH Manoa's Entrepreneur's Club will hosting this semester's THE LAUNCH: MASQUERADE PARTY next Thursday, December 9^th, 2010 at Soho Mixed Media Bar in Chinatown.

Come and support UH Art and Fashion students as they showcase their work in this "Hollywood Masquerade" themed party. Go crazy with your imagination and come dressed as creatively as you want, using Hollywood stars as your inspiration! Masks are optional. Music will be by Dj SoundSex vs Dj Rayne, who will be battling it out all night in the first room.

Doors open at 9 pm and the event runs until 2 am. This is an 18+ event. Pre-sale tickets are $8 and will be $12 at the door. A portion of the proceeds will benefit student art programs.

For Tickets email: thelaunchec@gmail.com or purchase them online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/140045.

For more info, check out their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=152232208155974.

Tangled: Predictable self-discovery

2010-12-02T21:27:00.001-10:00

Review by Chris Mikesell

It's understandable why some mothers and fathers might not want to take their kids to see Disney's newest animated musical.

It might give them ideas.

Tangled, the latest in a long line of colorful kids movies from Disney, will not win many awards for its originality: saying that this film, the latest in a time-honored tradition of Disney animated musicals (that is, itself, based on yet another hundred year-old children's fairy tale) is derivative is sort of like saying Hugh Hefner dabbled in nude photography or that Mufi Hannemann is a little taller than average.

But like any film that relies so heavily on formula, the fun is in how Tangled remixes its tropes. The princely hero of the story, a fellow by the name of Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi) is actually a thief by trade who just wants to evade capture. Hunting him are the kingdom’s guards, led by the noble white stallion, Maximus, who acts more dog than horse.

But the real star – Rapunzel, voiced by Mandy Moore – is not only incredibly likeable but is also someone to whom all the dejected, downtrodden children of the world can relate: she is kept prisoner in the tower that holds her not through any bars or doors, but rather through the manipulative lies of her mother and kidnapper, Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy.)

Of course, Tangled is a Disney movie and there aren’t many deviations from the happy ending you would suspect from a Disney princess fairy tale. (Spoiler alert: The first five minutes of the movie pretty much tell you how it is going to end.)

But really, Tangled isn’t a film that tries to throw audiences curveballs. What it is instead is a movie about a young woman who, in the process of stepping out into the world for the first time, actually discovers that she is capable of more than her mother has led her to believe.

It’s a lesson worth teaching to any child.

Final Verdict: Disney’s Tangled is a wholesome romp of self-discovery that will amuse kids, but may be too predictable for the grown-ups. B.

Happy Hour Hunt: Doraku Sushi - Beyond Happy

2010-12-01T21:03:00.000-10:00

by Noelani Anderson

The Happy Hour at Doraku, in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center on the Waikiki strip, boads a simple but delicious menu, cheap, quality drink specials, and an casually elegant atmosphere that is perfect for any occasion. The happy hour appetizer menu includes indulgent chicken karaage, the geisha roll (a delicious twist on the classic spicy tuna roll), miso glazed soybeans, california rolls, and a seared ahí tartar served on a bed of greens. All of these dishes are priced between three and five dollars, as are the beer and wine selection and the bartender's specialty drink of the night.

Two details of Doraku's Happy Hour make it especially happy, one: parking is free at the Royal Hawaiian Parking Structure (don't forget to ask your server to validate your ticket!), and two: hours are 5-7, meaning you don't have to rush to make the usual six o'clock happy hour cut off time. During the Winter this late happy hour means you can even catch sunset on the beach and have time to put in orders before seven o'clock.

I rolled into Royal Hawaiian's parking structure at about 6:30, having come from campus where I was in class until six. I threw a sarong around my waist and changed into a cute summer dress and threw on some heels, figuring I might as well dress up a bit. A friend was waiting for me outside of Doraku's entrance on the third floor, across from Suntory restauraunt. We were greeted by a lovely hostess who showed us to a large wooden table where we were seated, community style. The table could fit about twelve people and is usually reserved for large parties but during happy hour you simply dine next to neighbors, or you have the entire table to yourself, depending how busy it is.

We shared all of the appetizers mentioned above, my friend had a large Kirin ($5) and I chose the Bartender's special, which was a stiff margarita on the rocks made with Cazadores taquila, which happens to be a personal favorite ($3). Before we knew it the time was nearly 8:30, and we were wrapping things up, satisfied, full, and happy, when the manager approached us and offered to buy us a round of drinks if we wouldn't mind moving to a smaller table, as there was a large party that required the big wooden one. We saw absolutely no problem in a free round of drinks and happily moved, ordering one more roll at our new location and finishing out the evening with a proper buzz. The last roll we ordered, the red dragon, was not on happy hour but it was exquisite, and well worth the $13 cost. Doraku has great happy hour deals, across the board, but their regular menu is also affordable and offers a wide variety of Japanese-Latin fused sushi and entrees. Whether you are going out on a first date, for a birthday, or celebrating the completion of that last final or paper, Doraku has a pocket friendly happy hour that I would highly recommend, monday thru friday from 5-7. Happy Hunting!

The Store: Innovators of Fashion

2010-11-30T14:27:00.003-10:00

by Chris Mikesell

Black Friday Blues

2010-11-29T07:54:00.000-10:00

by Candace Chang

candace chang / KA LAMAKUA

With stores offering some of the best deals of the year and long lines wrapping around aisles and aisles of grumpy customers, it is perhaps the best of times and the worst of times to be out there shopping.

But poor college students like me just can’t resist retail prices like this, no matter what the risk.

Many students, like Jan Takamatsu, will be shopping around for Christmas gifts for their friends and families.

“(I'm going to) Best Buy or any place that has electronics," said Takamatsu when asked about her Black Friday plans. "Possibly at Toys R Us too, for presents my niece might like.”

While Toys R Us may be a big hit with those shopping for kids, the majority of shoppers, to please the kid inside them, will be heading to Best Buy to stock up on the most affordable techno toys available. Large flat screen TVs, video game consoles, and the new Xbox 360 “Kinect” seem to be popular items that will dazzle and entertain the child in you.

Other students, like Mark Yee, are going a more practical route. Yee is looking for “shirts, shorts, and jackets. Probably from the NEX, Pac Sun, Sears, and Old Navy.”

Thrifty students like Yee are making lists of the essential things that they need and pinpointing the stores with the best deals to make their purchases now, while prices are down. When heading out on Black Friday, it is always a good idea to look through the ads and make lists of what you want ahead of time and from where; this will help you save both time and money as you avoid long lines and unnecessary purchases.

Whether you are shopping to indulge or spending smart money to save, remember to be safe and courteous as you make your way through the bunches of bargain hunters. Unconfirmed rumors of an ambulance at Wal-Mart have spread a sobering note through the shopping frenzy, reminding customers to be careful not to get too caught up before the situation turns critical.

Home Sweet Corn

2010-11-29T07:43:00.000-10:00

by Noelani Anderson

For the first time in a few years I came home for thanksgiving. I took he first flight out of Honolulu on Wednesday morning, arriving in Hilo (Big Island) at 6:45 am.

noelani anderson / KA LAMAKUA

My mom picked me up and we went for a surf at Honoli'i, then did some last minute thanksgiving preparation shopping before making the one hour drive along the coast to Honoka'a, my hometown. And while we did do some shopping at Foodland, the star of our thanksgiving dinner was Big-Island grown sweet corn that we picked up on the side of the road on our way out of Hilo.

On the Big Island it is easy to tell what fruits and vegetables are in season by simply paying attention to the vendor signs on the side of the highway. Avocados, rambutans, lychee and oranges are just a few of the delicious fresh foods you will encounter if you keep your eyes peeled when driving home throughout the year, and in fall, 'tis the time of sweet corn.

As soon as we got to the house I husked the corn, ready to begin cooking for my favorite holiday. Each corm was rich with a spectrum of golds, yellows and whites, colors that only became more vibrant once the corms were steamed. I set aside a few to eat on the cobb (which I love Mexican style, with salt, lime and chile), and cooked the remainder of the bunch to use in a new recipe I created as a wheat free experiment for those people with gluten allergies (like myself).

The recipe I created was a unique alteration of a few recipes I had encountered online and in cookbooks while doing some thanksgiving research. I love fresh pumpkin and corn but I can't eat wheat, so I decided to whip up a dish that other's would love and I could also indulge in: Big Island Kabocha Cornbread.

Big Island Kabocha Cornbread

Makes one 9x13 inch pan (roughly 24 pieces)

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups Barley or Brown Rice Flour
1 1/3 cup cornmeal
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup olive or canola oil
1 cup fresh japanese pumpkin, steamed and pureed
1 cup FRESH corn (cooked and taken off the cobb)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon freshly chopped jalepenos (optional)

Beat the eggs and sugar with the olive oil and pumpkin puree. In a seperate bowl whisk together
the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and baking soda, throwing in the pinch of salt. Add the buttermilk and flour mixture alternately to the wet ingredients, whisking completely.

Add fresh corn. Place the 9x13 pan (or two 9x9 pans) on the stove top, adding the tablespoon of olive oil and turning the burner on to medium heat. Once the oil is hot, immediately pour the batter into the pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (the hot oil will create crispy edges on your cornbread). If you enjoy spice add jalapenos for an extra kick of flavor!

Another experiment to play with if you have leftover cans of pumpkin is coconut-almond pumpkin pie. Follow the recipe on the back of the pumpkin can, but replace the can of evaporated milk with a can of coconut milk and sprinkle slivered almonds on the top of the pie before placing it in the oven. Cover the pie with tinfoil and allow it an extra ten minutes to cook.

Feast and Celebration

2010-11-24T22:22:00.002-10:00

noelani anderson / KA LAMAKUA

Makahiki hula in Waimea Valley mark the uniquely

Hawaiian celebrations of this Thanksgiving season.

by Noelani Anderson

Thanksgiving is, as we all know, a day of feasting. Every year when that last Thursday in November comes around we gravitate amongst our friends and family to celebrate the company of loved ones by cooking our favorite dishes, carrying on kitchen traditions and eating all weekend long. The foods are rich, the flavors are familiar and the atmosphere is a comfortable, cozy one, warming us up to the holiday season.

Hawaii is unique when it comes to the holidays. Many mainlanders would argue that there is no sign in Hawaii that the holidays have begun because the weather remains sunny and the days only get shorter by about an hour. Islanders, however, celebrate in style, and by that I mean there is always pleny food, drink, laughter, games and holo holo. The truth is that Hawaii has long been home to a tradition of rest, play and feasting between the months of november and febuary, which is known as the time of the makahiki. The word 'makahiki' means "year", "new year", and also refers to the four month period during which thanksgiving, christmas and the new year coincidentially take place. Before missionary influence and the influx of Western culture this four month period was Makahiki - Christian holidays were still foreign.

During the Makahiki season war was kapu (forbidden), offerings were made to the god Lono, who is the deity of agriculture and fertility, games such as Hawaiian sledding and javelin throwing took place as well as competition in surfing,canoe paddling, swimming, wrestling and boxing. Feast, dance, and song along with spiritual ceremony and dedications to Lono were fundamental in the time of Makahiki and many types of work such as farming and fishing were kapu (outlawed) except for specific days designated by the ali'i (chiefs).

Makahiki is a complex and essential part of Hawaiian culture (kalamai (excuse me) for the breif explanation), but long story short, Hawaii knows how to eat, drink and be merry, living aloha all the while. The weekend before thankgiving many modern day makahiki festivals are held throughout the islands, offering hula, hawaiian music, laulau and poi as well as other cultural activites. Makahiki is a time of play as much as it is a time of gratitude and offering, a time to enjoy the beauty of the people around us and the place we live. Likewise, every time thanksgiving comes around we remember what we sometimes forget...our blessings. We give thanks and enjoy the life we're giving thanks for.

This thanksgiving and throughout the holiday season embrace fun, peace, family and love. Forget the commercial aspects of the season and get back to the roots, celbrate makahiki style, giving plenty mahalos to akua (the gods), surfing, swimming and enjoying the beauty of our island home and of course...support Hawaii farmers and kau kau (eat) local foods!

The Happy Hunt: Big City Diner

2010-11-23T12:29:00.000-10:00

by Noelani Anderson

I decided to stop in for what I thought would be a drink and a pupu at Big City Diner's Happy Hour because I had been in for breakfast a couple weeks ago and was enticed by their advertisment of half off appetizers from 3-6 monday through friday. I figured it was worth looking into as it is a comfortable, spacious resturaunt with two locations in Honolulu (Ward Center and 10th ave Waialae in Kaimuki), and booth seats that could be perfect for the afternoon meeting or study session somewhere other than the library.

noelani anderson / KA LAMAKUA

Big City Diner on Waialae and 10th Ave.

My hunt was not so happy. I went to the Waialae location with a friend on a friday afternoon, anticipating half off their sesame edamame, vegetable plate, cajun fries, calamari and poke. Our server was rather dull and when I asked him about the happy hour specials he informed me that in order to get half off pupus each person in your party must order two drinks other than juice or soda. Strike one. Their happy hour drink specials were limited to 50 cents off a 16 oz beer or a dollar off a 24 oz beer and $1 discounted wine, bumping the price of a glass down to 3.75. The flavored margaritas are not included in happy hour: strike two.

Although margaritas weren't on special I orderd one as they are still within my cocktail budget ($6). The mango margarita was tasty but defecient in what should be the most important ingridient, so I sent it back and the waiter had the bartender fix it up a bit stiffer, after which the margarita was appropriately refreshing. Meanwhile, we ordered a plate of chili fries which were $8.95 for a large portion, but nothing notable in terms of flavor.

The happy hour at Big City Diner striked out on a couple of bases – namely deceptive advertising and lame drink specials. However, the diner didn't strike three times, so it's not completely out. While I wasn't all that pleased with my experience I do think it could be the perfect happy hour for a group of people who have a couple hours to kill, are craving a couple of cold beers and have and appetite to take advantage of the 50% off pupu selection.

It may not be sunset on the beach but you'll get a lot of food and keep the cost down while kicking it in a comfy, diner setting with the classic Hometown American ambience. The afternoon specials run from three to six o'clock, but if you've got a big exam and need that last cram hour of studying paired with a solid meal that's under five bucks, keep in mind that Big City Diner runs an early bird full breakfast special for $4.99 served daily between seven and eight am.

Happy Hunting!

Review: Godot a serious taste of comedy on a whimsical night

2010-11-22T12:14:00.000-10:00

by Michael Brewer

Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" isn't for everyone. It's alarming, vulgar, dryly humorous, and confusing in spots. But that didn't stop me from staying in my seat, glued to the act like I was a cat waiting for a mouse to come out of the wall—the sense of movement is so strangely and powerfully fulfilled in this play that it leads one to question the meaning of movement itself, and the many different ways it can make us feel.

chris mikesell / KA LAMAKUA

The cast of "Waiting for Godot" from left to right:
Nicholas Atiburcio, Tommy Barron, Dan Randerson,
Ryan Wustewald and Troy Apostol.

For the traditional dramatist, or the person interested in plot and big explosions and sex and cause and effect, this play isn't for you. Go watch Hamlet. "Waiting for Godot" (pronounced, GOD-o) takes a completely different step to theater. In short, it focuses on two bums waiting for a man named "Godot".

The dialogue and comedy make up the bulk of the content because there are no scene changes, time changes, or consequences. Critics call it "absurdism", or, according to the Random House Dictionary, "the philosophical and literary doctrine that human beings live in essential isolation in a meaningless and irrational world."

Before the alarm bells start ringing, keep in mind that this play is considered one of the greatest of the 20^th century by many critics. That being said, it's the critics that find it influential. How far does that go for the public? It's hard to tell, but it really depends on the person. If you have a two-and-a-half hour attention span for dialogue that could potentially hold serious ethnicultural and theological values, then you'll be very happy to make whatever you will of it.

For everyone else, at least stay for the first half to get a taste of the dry humor. You'll be surprised by the movement around the stage, and how much of the actors' acting ends up in the audience members' faces. But in all serious, don't take this play seriously—Beckett says so himself in another author's reading of the play: "The end is to give artistic expression to something hitherto almost ignored – the irrational state of unknowingness wherein we exist, this mental weightlessness which is beyond reason."

Kennedy Theater's production of "Waiting for Godot": B+ for excellent costume design, lighting, and actors' vocals. However, the shouting at times was obnoxiously loud. Watch this play once and think on it; it's not really a 'rewatchable' play.

Rise Up Hawaii: Helping Hawaii’s Homeless

2010-11-19T11:47:00.000-10:00

by Candace Chang

courtesy Rise Up Hawaii

For concert goers that enjoy live local music and want to do something to extend helping hands to Hawaii’s homeless families, this Saturday’s Rise Up Hawaii concert is perfect for your weekend plans.

Rise Up Hawaii is a brand new organization of musicians, students, teachers, and volunteers that seek to promote generosity and a motivation to change. Founded in January of this year, they have already held events to raise funds for Haiti and the Humane Society, and generated thousands of dollars for charity.

In the past three months, they have been working on a project to help Hawaii’s homeless population, visiting with struggling families living on the Waianae coast and consulting leaders, politicians, and advocates to find the best way that they could help tackle this issue. All of their efforts will be culminating at 7 p.m. this Saturday, in Rise Up Hawaii’s third concert to be held at Fresh Café. Proceeds from this event will be put into care packages that will be distributed directly by the volunteers to the families on the Waianae coast.

Saturday’s concert features musicians such as: Arkeo, After Ever After, Beverly Ann (Decoration), Bboys of Mass Destruction, Ill Hill Society, and Sleep, Talk. There will be a plethora of local artists from a wide range of genres performing for the evening, as well as DJs Tron and Cozy of Astronauts by Night. Music will not be the only attraction, as guest speaker Rep. Tom Brower will be there to propose an idea for getting homeless families off the beach. Other features include the screening of Blue Tarp City, a film by Henry Mochida, booths, drinks, and a silent auction.

General admission is $10, and for those 21 and up it is only $7. A low cost to pay, considering the wealth of access to local music and industry that it affords you, as well as the contributions that will be returned to the community. If you’ve ever wanted a good deal on an act of charity and awesome acts by local artists, then I’ve only got three words for you: this is it!

courtesy Rise Up Hawaii

What is most remarkable about Rise Up Hawaii’s message is that they are fighting for more than just one cause. They are fighting to change the way people think about the world, and enable people to take charge over the issues that today’s society is faced with. It’s about “positive activism” and the overall effect of every small contribution that goes towards making this a better world to live in. The founders of Rise Up Hawaii would encourage you to emulate them, start your own organization or simply be your own organization and go out there and start doing something that’s bigger than yourself. What these concerts do is more than just raise funds for worthy causes, they seek to provoke thought and start revolutions within the hearts and minds of those that attend.

As Joel Gaspar, one of the founders and event coordinators for Rise Up Hawaii said, “We want to instill into every single mind that comes to our shows that change can only happen if you put your first foot forward. There is no issue too big or too small, no effort too minuscule or too gigantic for you to make an impact.”

The biggest contribution that Rise Up Hawaii makes to Hawaii, to all of humanity, even, is by proving what Margaret Mead once said to be true, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Now, it is your turn to decide what kind of effects you will leave behind with your life. I implore you, and I encourage you to go out to tomorrow night’s concert and show your support for this wonderful group. As Gandhi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

To find out more about Saturday’s concert, please check out their facebook page at:

www.facebook.com/riseuphawaii.

Movie Time: Megamind

2010-11-18T16:02:00.000-10:00

Review by Candace Chang

(courtesy DreamWorks on YouTube)

Looking for a good family movie? Then make time for Megamind.

Placing first at the box offices for two weeks in a row, this movie packs a loaded punch of feel good comedy and all star casting. Will Ferrell steals the lead role as the villainous underdog Megamind and Brad Pitt costars as his haughty rival Metro Man. The love interest Roxanne Ritchi is a wily woman waging war on evil, voiced by Tina Fey and accompanied by her very own sidekick, crude comedian Jonah Hill aka Hal Stewart.

The plotline is simple and somewhat recalls Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, except in this one, the bad guy wins. The story follows Megamind, the only surviving child of a planet inhabited by blue aliens, as he grows up in a penitentiary system, raised by convicts and constantly butting heads with the show off super-kid Metro Man. This all culminates as he reaches adulthood and strives to be the ultimate bad guy, attacking Metro Man and Metro City on a daily basis with witty repartee and poor pronunciation. One day, when it looks like Megamind is losing once again and all is business as usual, a surprising discovery about Metro Man’s weakness is made and Megamind unexpectedly, and inadvertently, wins. This leaves Megamind with the question, what is there to do now that he’s won?

To find out what happens when the bad guys triumph and the good guys are gone, make your way to the theaters for some family friendly and fully animated fun. Bring a sibling, bring a date, bring your grandma, this film is suitable for all ages and audience members.

SOFTen up with Student Organic Farm Training

2010-11-18T15:19:00.000-10:00

Reporting by Amabel Lin

Photos by Joel Kutaka

Ka Lamakua reporter Amabel Lin and photographer Joel Kutaka paid a visit to the Student Organic Farm Training table today and found out just what the SOFTies were all about!

joel kutaka / KA LAMAKUA

Gabe Sachter-Smith talks to Ken Leonhardt about honey
at afood stand set up by the Student Organic Farm Training
on Thursday, Nov. 18,2010 outside the St. John's building.

joel kutaka / KA LAMAKUA

Duke Morgan shares a laugh with a customer at a food stand

set up by the Student Organic Farm Training club

on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010 outsidethe St. John's building.

joel kutaka / KA LAMAKUA

Anne Quidez and Duke Morgan add lemongrass to a bag
at afood stand set up by the Student Organic Farm Training
on Thursday, Nov. 18,2010 outside the St. John's building.

If you want to get more involved in the Student Organic Farm Training program or if you want to know when their next sale is, contact them at SOFT@hawaii.edu.

Ono 101: Taco Truck Turkey Carnitas

2010-11-17T13:47:00.001-10:00

by Chris Mikesell

The closer we get to the end of November, the closer we get to Thanksgiving, but if you grew up with year after year of the same old sage-scented holiday bird, there’s a chance you might just be sick of the traditional turkey treatments.

chris mikesell / KA LAMAKUA

Turkey carnitas is not only a great way to use the traditional Thanksgiving
bird, but around this season, turkey is the cheapest per pound protein
bargain of the entire year.

But there is hope. Turkey is one of the most versatile proteins out there, prized for both its flavorful dark meat and tender white meat when done correctly. If anything, one could argue that turkey is the pork of the poultry world, so it makes sense that when you’re thinking turkey it pays to think like a preparer of pork products.

When you think pork, you think roasting. When you think pork, you think brining, or marinating, even. Turkey responds well to all of these treatments, and can easily be adapted to match different flavor profiles.

Take these turkey tacos, for instance. They look like they came from a taco truck, but in reality they are simple to make in your oven.

The key is in the wet rub – don’t think Thanksgiving. Think carnitas. Turkey meat – especially the burly flavor and fattiness of dark meat – can hold its own against the flavors of our southern border, and results in a pollo asado that is just as delicious as any you can get from a taco truck.

______________

Taco Truck Turkey Carnitas

This recipe is enough for the drumsticks and thighs from a raw 12-16 pound turkey, or 2 to 3 pounds of raw turkey dark meat.

Wet rub:

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1.5 tsp paprika

1/4 chopped onion

1/4 cup garlic cloves

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

8-10 dashes of whatever hot sauce you want (I use Tapatio)

pinch kosher salt

1 tbsp veg oil

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and line a sheet pan with foil.

2) Combine the ingredients for the wet rub in a food processor and process into a paste.

3) Score (cut slits into) the turkey meat and massage the paste into the meat. Roast right away or let it marinate for a few hours. The turkey's temperature should read 165 before pulling it out of the oven.

4) Cover the turkey loosely with foil and let it rest for at least 20 minutes until pulling the meat from the bones either with a fork or by hand.

You can serve as is, pulled or chopped into chunks, or for even more flavor, you can saute the turkey carnitas for a few seconds, then add half a cup of stock and a couple tablespoons of vinegar, lemon, or hot sauce and braise until the liquid is gone and serve immediately with corn tortillas, salsa, fresh onion, and chopped cilantro.

Makes about a dozen tacos, but they won't last long enough for you to count.

Founding Film: The Man Who Pulled Off His Head

2010-11-16T09:07:00.000-10:00

By Hanna Martz

Do you know who made this? Melies
developed the techniques and directed this
amous silent movie, La Voyage dans la Lune.

Movies are consistently trying to reach a higher peak of performance. Better plot twists, more life-like animation, and bigger explosions create waves of movie-goers each year aiming to see the next coolest thing.

Where did those special effects we tend to take for granted come from? That is what UH English professor David Maine has explored, and will talk about this Thursday with his own work, The Man Who Pulled off His Head. For anyone who's watched popular movies, I highly recommend checking out Professor Maine's reading this Thursday November 18^th in Kuykendall Hall, room 410, at 3pm.

To be honest, when I heard about yet another professor reading something they wrote, I rolled my eyes. But after talking to Professor Maine, whatever preconceived notion I had flew away as I was drawn in by the story, the life of Georges Melies. How this unknown man had changed the course of history and I, and likely many others, had no idea.

The first cine-magician - the founder of

filming special effects, George Melies.

In the early days of film, people didn't really know what they could do – so they experimented and fiddled and sought out new forms of manipulation. Georges Méliès was one such man – a man who founded an art and industry that continues today. As a visionary, Melies brought many things into the world, "He had a marvelous imagination and more or less single-handedly invented the art of special effects," Professor Maine told me. "He invented whole realms of cinema that are still hugely popular—he made the first vampire movie, the first science fiction film, the first product placement, the first docudrama." For a man who brought entertainment and industry such leaps and bounds, Melies has largely been forgotten. We (the public) rarely remember the men and women behind-the-scenes, let alone give them any thought while watching films.

The Man Who Pulled of His Head could very well change that.

"I would love it if people walked away with a stronger appreciation for Méliès and the innovation he brought to the cinema. More than that, I'd like people to have some respect for all the early pioneers in the movies," Professor Maine said.

Melies' story translates over the generations, and parallels current cinematographic issues; continuing to find new and better special effects, finding the balance between making art and making money, even movie piracy! This pioneer directed over 500 films, but still faced bankruptcy and war-torn France at the turn of the century.

Don’t Miss This: 11/15 – 11/18

2010-11-15T09:06:00.000-10:00

Looking for something new to do this week? Check out this week's Don't Miss This!

courtesy UHMMUSIC

Orvis Auditorium is putting on "Musical Theater Review," a selection of performances from West Side Story, Oklahoma, The Full Monty, and other Broadway musicals.

The event begins at 7:30 p.m. tonight. Admission is $6 for UH Manoa students with validated IDs, $10 for General Admission. For more information, visit http://www.hawaii.edu/uhmmusic.

Join the University Chorus and the Windward Choral Society for a concert entitled, "A Light of Song" Tuesday evening from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Admission is $6 for UH Manoa students with validated IDs, $10 for General Admission. For more information, visit http://www.hawaii.edu/uhmmusic.

The Blood Bank of Hawaii is bringing the Blood Bus back to campus for their blood drive this Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Campus Center.

Appointments are encouraged - to make one, call the Blood Bank of Hawaii at 848-4721 or visit the Health Promotions Office at QLC 313D.

Polyfest 2010 is happeneing in Hale Aloha Courtyard Thursday night from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

There will be cultural performances, including hula and traditional Tahitian and Samoan dance, breakdancing, a performance by the Teckniqlingz Dance Crew, musical performances, plus Hawaiian games, lei making, kava tastings, and a drum circle.

For more information, contact Timothy Flynn tflynn@hawaii.edu.

Be on the lookout!

2010-11-12T19:09:00.000-10:00

See a table like this tonight at Kennedy Theatre? Drop by and say hello! Ka Lamakua editor-in-chief Chris Mikesell is manning the table tonight at Waiting for Godot!