Homespun Honolulu

I was out attempting to prepare myself for the pending Great Aloha Run and as I rounded a corner, paying attention only to the behavior of one of my leg muscles, a whole bunch of lizards sunbathing on a brick wall slithered quickly out of sight. I wondered what they were all doing there. Hmmm… those would be fun, silly pictures. Bloggable? Um, not really. Well… maybe.

Just as I turned to walk back towards that wall I caught a glimpse of men on the roof of the house behind that wall, a bunch of tarp on the ground and a truck in the driveway. Yes, you guessed it… pest control!

Do you really think they might have known what was going on? “Geckos Flee Reptile Masacre! Film at 11.” Kind of a silly notion but maybe we don’t give them enough credit.

This guy looks like the same type that scurried away quickly when I rounded the corner. These are the ones I prefer to label lizard rather than gecko because they look snake-ish, hence my use of the word slither. Their color and whippy tails creep me out. I think they are more of the outdoor variety. The word Gecko, for me, is more a term of endearment when talking about these guys.

There seemed to be all kinds of different breeds of reptile hanging around this fence. I know one of them had to be a chameleon — he just had that look. Judging from the color blend going on in the picture above, this may have just been one of them!

I couldn’t help but feel bad for them. Of course, if you think about it, they were already on the outside and they were soon to be free from a lot of their competition! They would be starting with a new slate… as long as they stayed away from the house for a day or so!

When I saw the rolled up tent and the pest control truck I thought of my friend, Skeet, over on the Leeward side of the island. Skeet is all too familiar with these house guests and she described them very humorously in this, one of my favorite posts. If you know geckos, you’ll love this one. You can go read all about the Gecko Gathering at her house! Skeet had no problem giving them loads of credit for their level of intelligence!

After writing a post about the Waikiki Aquarium, several people left comments about things they liked about the Aquarium or things that they remembered about visiting there. I realized, after listening to you guys, that I failed in a couple of areas. So, I had to go back. And, in honor of one of my MyBlogLog.com comrades, I made sure to do a little extra on his childhood favorite, the Chambered Nautilus.

So, Webomatica, Technology and Entertainment buff, this one’s for you!

While the star of the show was resting quietly, it was so dark, I just had to get a picture and so, I turned on my flash. In hindsight, I was a bad person — I should have not done that because this guy was visibly agitated by the flash.

Feeling very guilty, I turned off my flash and decided to show you why I felt it so important to use it in the first place. See? Okay, I spared his distant cousin the octopus by shutting off that stupid flash. While the octopus was just a few feet away, he had a sign asking people to not use the flash. The Nautilus, unfortunately, did not have a sign.

Well, what I did have in the way of pictures just wasn’t good enough to do this creature justice. So, I stole a photo or two from the video that was playing nearby.

While waiting for some good screen shots of this little beast, I listened to the descriptions and explanations of this truly fascinating life form. Thank you, Webomatica, for making me educate myself.

Of course photos snapped from a streaming video are not always the most clear, but I liked these anyway. Besides, the chance of me getting any better shots of these molluscs while they are up and active is slim to none.

This above photo was a little better shot captured from the video. See?!? All you have to do is ask!

Oddly enough, the video narration about this sea creature had me comparing this new area of interest to ourselves — cephalopods and bloggers. The Chambered Nautilus was referred to as a “living fossil” that has cheated evolution. Hmmm… I like that idea. Let’s see, the nautilus has maintained its way of life, unscathed by the changes around it. This champion of nature goes to a quiet place, lives a quiet existence and reproduces while dining on small fish and crustaceans.

We bloggers adapt while still maintaining our “way of life.” We change those things we must, of course, but don’t we go to a “quiet place” and reproduce web content? Am I stretching this? It sure sounds like I am. But, while listening to that video, what sounds like a stretch now, sounded really good at the time!

Will bloggers cheat evolution? I say, “Yes!” We will adapt to the changes in our environment but our free speech and uncensored opinions will remain and reign supreme! It is important that we, like the chambered nautilus, cheat the evolution of the Internet and keep its attempts at conforming us to the mainstream at bay.

I’m talking about off-the-wall ideas and you guys are wondering why there are sharks swimming around here.

Come on, you didn’t think I could go back there and not catch just a couple more shots of my carnivorous darlings, did you? At least a couple of shots?

Aren’t they gorgeous? Okay, I’m weird.

One more thing that I wanted to get a good picture of was this sea dragon.

When they’re still they look like floating lettuce but when they swim… oh my! This would make a great picture for the cover of an Anne McCaffrey novel!

For the record, we did visit the gift shop and I have to report that there was a very nice girl who helped us look for things and the prices were not bad at all!

What did you expect me to take a picture of?

Talking earnestly now, it did my heart good to go back and it was fun to learn more about some of the things that I would generally ignore. Mahalo to the Waikiki Aquarium and to the University of Hawaii for taking the care and research of all of these magnificent creatures seriously, and for sharing their discoveries with us!

From a quiet, simple entrance to a fascinating world on the inside.

One of the first things you run into is their pièce de résistance… this huge clam! Periodically weighed, this darling is about two or three feet across and probably weighs just over 160 lbs or so.

There’s also these cute little floating button-like jellyfish. With all the fish in the sea, we can’t forget the jellies.

Although the thought of jelly fish is usually accompanied by a painful, stinging memory (for me anyway), they are still beautiful to behold. I remember how beautiful that blue bubble was as it floated on top of the water next to me. “Wow, that’s neat,” I thought.

Then suddenly…

“Eeeekkk! My leg, my leg!” Oh the pain of it all! Lifeguards suggest meat tenderizer. I don’t remember what they used that day. I was only 7 or 8 years old, I think. I never forgot it. But, aren’t they beautiful? In the aquarium. Not next to you in the water.

Okay, I don’t remember all the types of jellies and it’s the box jellyfish, the ones that show up after the full moon, that will render you a blubbering crybaby, or maybe worse (I’ll talk about them in a later post). All of that aside, I will avoid them now just because they left me with that painful memory.

Those box jellyfish are to the unsuspecting swimmer, just as the vixen-variety of human female is to the male gender — alluring, intoxicating, seductive… ZAP! Suddenly painful, bewildering and cruel! But, aren’t they beautiful?

Sorry, that just seemed like the perfect analogy. Now every male surfer who reads this will start comparing his x-girlfriend(s) to jellyfish! Oh well.

The sea horse is always a fascination. I guess the need to keep them in the low lighting is why we see little of them, aside from what’s on the National Geographic Channel.

There are so many beautiful fish and varieties of plant life to see as you walk through the Aquarium. Visitors can certainly feed off of the excitement of the children who go to the aquarium with their families. Their excitement is fun to watch and very contagious.

I mention this because, much like I was, the kids were dumb-struck at first and then full of excitement at the sight of these beauties that followed just around the corner.

I was so excited when I saw them! These are black-tip reef sharks. Manō! Manō is the Hawaiian word for shark.

They’re oblivious to us — calm, serene and oblivious. They just swim by. They must be so used to it after all this time. But, when I got my camera home and downloaded these pictures, I literally gasped for breath. “OMG! Look at them! They’re… right there! So close!”

That close… so close they went out of focus. Unfortunately, these were taken with my old camera — I actually took these back in March of last year. I just never got around to sharing them.

You know, many of us wonder what on earth is wrong with those people who go into the water with these cartilaginous creatures! (They have not bones, only cartilage; that makes them sound even creepier doesn’t it?) Why would they want to go down in those cages? I get it! I want to go there too!

I want to have that experience! I told my husband that, for Christmas, I wanted to go on the shark adventure they offer on the North Shore of Oahu. He thinks I have forgotten about it. I haven’t. You guys will be the first to know about it, trust me! I promise to share that story right after it happens! I don’t think I’ll be able to contain myself anyway.

Then comes the thirst for knowledge and the desire to understand them better. Taking a closer look, Waikiki Aquarium has not failed us in this area. These are actual displays and there is a lot of texts that accompany them. The lighting is wonderful for the viewers… just not the greatest for my poor old Kodak at the time.

Understanding them from a zoological standpoint is necessary so we understand the need to protect them.

Overwhelmed by their quiet majesty, I loitered near them longer than I did anything else at the Aquarium. Their subtle power, and their environmental necessity, commands our respect and asserts the need for preservation.

They are one of the ʻaumākua (gods or deified ancestors) for many of the Hawaiian people. This is another reason we should care for their environment and protect them — for their historical value! That wouldn’t work would it? Well, maybe if we take only some of the breeds of shark, like the reef sharks, and protect them! Sigh.

No, he’s not dead… he’s just fat and lazy. He’s basking in th sun and relaxing. The scars on this guy may be ones he received from one of our species of shark. However, it’s more likely that these scars were the result of trying to break free from fishing lines, netting and the like. Much like Sea Life Park has done for some of their residents, I think this guy is a lucky resident saved and adopted by the Aquarium.

There is another clam out in the sunlight that shares its space with these beautiful coral. Those are natural colors — they are living and growing and nobody painted them or added food coloring.

Our ecosystem is so fragile and so many groups are engaged in the preservation of this underwater world. It’s an ongoing struggle but so very worth it! A trip to the Waikiki Aquarium is so very worth it as well!

Welcome to Chapter 3 of the Carnival of Aloha. Sorry for the delay but our Roadrunner got his feathers wet last night and I couldn’t stay awake waiting for him to dry off and start working again. Since he decided to go play in the rain, I think he will be our guide on the safari. Mahalo to the Animal Photo Album for letting this little guy grace us with his presence. We’re going hunting for all things beautiful, magical and fun!

L.P. “NEENZ” FALEAFINE will start us off with OUR ROARING WEEKEND, posted at INFINITY saying that the, “LION KING BROADWAY SHOW has roared into Honolulu in an awesome way. The show captivated our childrens’ attention the entire time as if it were the first. And, all of the adults in our party were covered in ‘chicken skin’ and tears welled up as if we were anticipating the birth of “Simba” the past nine months! It’s playing until December, and absolutely recommended for anyone looking for quality entertainment!”

With that said, I have to also say that there are not many things more magical than a safari done Disney style! I’m glad we got a post in on this, thanks you guys! I haven’t been to the show myself but I’ve heard nothing but positive comments about it! What a great way to start a safari!

Skeet brings us some secret beauty at Secret cove posted at skeet’s stuff. Man that looks familiar. I’m sure I know that place. Once again, however, I am yet to see the honu live and in person in their natural habitat. Don’t worry, I believe you!

kuanyin is joining us for the first time and she brings us some Reflections on Maui posted at Who’s Yo Mama. Kuanyin tells us all about falling in love with Maui.

Angie shares some of that beauty on Maui through her post about Kepaniwai Park’s Heritage Gardens posted at her blog, True Aloha. Angie calls this sight a “hidden treasure.” Secrets and treasures, this is good!

Cheryl brings a little bit more magic our way when she tells us to Move This 2 1/2-ton Stone, and Rule Hawaii posted at Hawaii Vacation Gifts Blog - Hawaiian Blog. Another great story about historic Hawaii and the days of old!

Lynn Vasquez is the first to bring the magic of Christmas to the Carnival of Aloha as she shares her giving nature with us in her post entitled, 3RD Annual MWH Christmas Slippah Wish Project!! posted at Auntie Pupule, saying, “It’s dat time of year again! Wishes do come TRUE!” Thanks for the magic Auntie!

scorpy01 takes us to get something in our stomachs with Banana Joe | Marisa’s Dandelion Patch posted at Marisa’s Dandelion Patch, saying, “I know there are many wonderful places to go on Kauai. My visits there just wouldn’t be complete without several stops at Banana Joe’s, though.” We can add this to our list of places to visit on Kauai! I think the country look of Banana Joe fits right into our Safari theme!

Lika takes a little bit of the magic to Vegas in Ms I-Wanna Hula posted at Lika’s Log. I had to laugh when I read what Lika wrote… “Blogging: Proving the Las Vegas commercial wrong; what happens in LasVegas, ends up someones blog.” I guess it doesn’t just stay in Vega after all! Well, we’re glad it ended up on “someone’s” blog so that it could come home to us!

October kind of flew by and I never did make it to Morgan’s Corner (long story that I’ll talk about at another time) but Pua covered some spooky stuff for us with the Best Halloween in Hawaii in Lahaina on Maui posted at Best Hawaii Vacation with Hawaii Vacation Blog.

Evelyn (me) just wants to Congratulate, Compliment and Correct an error while sharing the Warriors’ good standing while hoping that our darling Honolulu Star Bulletin will perhaps correct their spelling in their online stories? Then they can go cover the Heisman. Then they need to go cover Auntie Pupule’s Slippah Wish Project!

That concludes this chapter. A huge “Mahalo!” to everyone for making this another great Carnival! Submit your blog article to the next “Chapter” of the Carnival of Aloha using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. (Small reminder, please do remember to read the guidelines.)

Things may be looking up for the Superferry but we won’t know until the special session of the Senate, in process right now, finishes the review of the Bill to see if it should be amended. The Senate went through eight hours of discussion yesterday and will continue this morning.

The big question is whether the Superferry should be allowed to operate while the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) is being conducted. They are looking at letting the Superferry operate but with specific conditions. Everyone is looking for fairness and compromise. We’ll see what happens. Maybe they’ll kick off with a back-in-service run on November 1st!

For those involved in ocean activities, horticulture, hunting, or other evening or lunar-driven activities, the moon is full today! It’s also bigger this month because it’s physically closer to Earth. It’s such a pretty site and a perfect time to take that darling of yours out on a moonlit date!

Just a reminder for those planning to submit a post for the Carnival of Aloha, the deadline for the next Carnival is next week Wednesday, October 31st! The Carnival will go live on the following Monday, November 5th. While you’re thinking about it, you might want to send your link in here so you don’t forget.

The 4th Annual Girl Fest Hawaii will run from November 9th to the 18th! What is it? It’s all about, “Preventing violence against women and girls through education and art.” Girl Fest is sponsored by the Safe Zone Foundation whose mission is to, “create educational multimedia projects and policy change initiatives that benefit the community in order to create a safe, sustainable and peaceful environment for all by using media, art, advocacy and education to influence policy, social consciousness and behavior.” If you follow the link you can download the whole schedule of daytime and evening activities!

Guess what? I’m going to write a novel in November. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Didn’t you always want to write a book? I think a lot of people at some time in their life have thought they wanted to write a novel. Am I crazy?!? You bet! But, so are several hundred other Hawaii residents! Wanna write a book? National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is here! No matter where you are, if your fingers are twitching while reading this, go sign up! There are college students, working people, anyone, anywhere!

At midnight on October 31st (12:01 on November 1st to be exact), thousands of people across the country, and the World, will put their fingers to their keyboards, or pen to paper, and start tapping away! The goal? Writing 50,000 words over the span of a month. All of this will be done with reckless abandon, all the time hoping for a masterpiece, or at least the start of something promising!

I had never even heard of this thing, but this is the ninth year! Many of the writers are repeat offenders. A lot, like me, are brand new to this creative, literary insanity! Terrifying excitement! A time to let your creative juices run wild — any topic, any age, any language, any thing.

Write-ins are being planned at various locations where participants will converge on Borders, Starbucks, or any place with a lot of coffee, and just write. I think that even the University of Hawaii’s library system may end up hosting a few. Like I said, it’s a Noteworthy November!

Passing by Pier 19 the other day, while on foot, I couldn’t help but stop and gaze at that boat with the pretty paint job. I felt sorry for it just sitting there looking forlorn and dejected. It got here with all the fan fare and excitement of something new and suddenly it’s all but abandoned.

I was going to ignore it and not talk about it but now it’s heading back into the headlines as the Senate has approved a special session that may have Senators agreeing to allow the Superferry to resume operation while the environmental assessment is underway. That may sound wonderful for the Superferry but it’s not to be without regulations and restrictions. The complaints heard the loudest included the protection of the ocean mammals, and the setting up a firewall (for lack of a better word) to prevent the inter-island transfer of invasive species. Of course I don’t know how the Superferry would deal with the latter, but we’ll see. Read the rest of this entry »

Wow! I’m stunned by the number of participants we have for this Carnival Chapter! We’re going to need a lot of energy so I think we should stop to eat first!

Ryan presents Happy Birthday, Highway Inn! posted at his HawaiiBlog, saying that, “The Highway Inn in Waipahu is truly a landmark island eatery. Situated in an unassuming strip mall on the west end of the dusty former plantation town, Highway Inn has served “a taste of old Hawaii” since 1947. Which means, of course, that this year marks the Highway Inn’s 60th birthday.”

Every morning I hear this TV ad and I have been saying for a long time how I really need to go try this restaurant. Thank you, Ryan, for trying it for me so now I know that I want to go there! This commercial has kept me thinking about this place for months! I’m passionate about my food, but this guy takes the prize for food passion! I wanted to include this to go along with Ryan’s post and he agreed it would be a nice addition. We lost this video, such is the danger of embedding YouTube videos. But, you can still get the impact of this commercial here!

Read the rest of this entry »

The weather really is beautiful here! It’s a little wet at times but, for the most part, the sun is shining brightly. We do need to get our trade winds back just a little because it’s excessively warm but we’ll live.

It did rain yesterday morning, which would usually make someone remark begrudgingly that “it must be Monday,” which it was, but it was actually pleasant.  The drops were big and soft and they didn’t last very long — just long enough to get your hair all wet, which it did.  Aside from having to be at work, it would have been a perfect morning!

Yesterday’s afternoon presented us with a Waxing Gibbous moon. It’s almost full and lit from the right, just as the definition says it should be. This photo was taken late yesterday afternoon not long before sunset. Yes, it was before sunset.  So pretty!

Today the moon is only 99% full but we’ll be hard-pressed this evening, I think, to say that it’s not. Tomorrow, the 26th, it will be a full moon!

Anyway, I’ll try to pick up on more information and provide more of these things to keep those of you who are lunar-driven in sync with your activities. Fishing, planting, surfing, etc.

Sorry surfers, we’re pretty flat right now. When I get this moon thing down, maybe we can get a better idea of when things will be better.  Maybe.  I hope.

For fellow bloggers who are planning to submit entries for the upcoming Carnival of Aloha, the deadline for submissions is tomorrow at 9pm (HST). Here are the guidelines and the link to the submission form. The Carnival is scheduled to go live on Monday, October 1st and it’s looking good!

We’ll all know now! Look at what we’ve got over on the right margin! This has got to be my favorite widget! People are looking at this and saying, “So what?” This will show us how close we are to the full moon and we can watch it as it gets bigger (waxing) or as it gets smaller (waning). It’s cool to see how accurate this thing is when it looks just like that in the night sky! So far so good! It looks very accurate tonight!

It’s interesting to learn that although the sun is much larger and should have a greater pull on our atmosphere, the moon is closer and actually has a more direct impact on our tides and a lot of things we never even think about.

People are still saying, “So what?!?” Well, let’s see… shall we go swimming 8 or 10 days after the full moon? Best avoid the south (Diamond Head) and west (Makaha) shores of Oahu! The box jellyfish may be floating around all over the place. If you have not been stung by one, trust me, you don’t want to be. Even worse, you don’t want to find out that you’re allergic to them! I’m not making this up. Don’t believe me? See for yourself! I would imagine the same thing happens, not just in Hawaii, but where ever the jellies go swimming!

Okay, so we’ll go fishing instead. If you’re a fisherman, this may prove more important to you than you think!

Salt-water anglers argue that tides have a greater influence on fish feeding habits than the moon itself. It must be understood that the tides are governed by the phases and transit of the moon. Certain marine phenomena occur with precise regularity during the lunar month and solar/lunar cycle.”

We already discovered that with the jellyfish. Mahalo to King’s Outdoor World for that educational tidbit!

Don’t like the water very much? Rather be planting a garden? Guess what? Some people even do Gardening by the Moon!

Still not impressed? Ever ask anyone about when customers are obnoxious? Ever wonder why people are “all” driving so crazy on any given day for no particular reason? Ever ask your local telephone company when the crank calls happen most? I know that some staff at Hawaiian Telcom will cringe if you remind them that the next day is a full moon. That is when the most complaints and crank calls happen!

It makes sense if you think about it — we humans are mostly water according the US Geological Survey which says that, “Up to 60 percent of the human body is water, the brain is composed of 70 percent water, and the lungs are nearly 90 percent water.” Well, um, if the moon can control how water behaves, and since we’re mostly water… I would say that we are definitely susceptible to the pull of good old Mr. Moon. I know he pulls on my strings every now and then, or at least that’s who I like to blame it on!

Just for the record, the moon is currently waxing. In case I’ve got you interested now, we will be admiring a full moon on September 26th. I don’t need to tell you, you can just check out our new addition on the right!

You guys have got to be kidding me?!? How long do we let this asininity continue? At what point do we put the brakes on and stop this nonsense?

So, now we’re going to demand a study on an already-existing process that transports life-sustaining water from one end of Molokai to the other? Did I miss the State-wide, governmental brain tumor? Or, is it a virus that has moved from the Department of Transportation over to the Attorney General’s office?!?

Molokai Ranch transports water (drinking water) to the West end of the island, i.e. from one end of Molokai to the other. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin, referring to this as Superferry Fallout, reported today that a contract with Molokai Ranch will not be renewed, and that over one million gallons of water a day should not be transported to the opposite side of the island until an environmental study is completed.

“The ranch is the main provider of drinking water to western Molokai.”

What?  I repeat, “You’ve got to be frickin’ kidding me?!?” Enough is enough! Just get the EIS(’s) started and let the businesses continue (Superferry included) until the studies are complete. If the studies show problems, then stop the corresponding vessels from running.

Everyone knew before any of this started that we have endangered species in our waterways. The study should have been the first thing to be set in motion before making promises to an incoming line of business! Now Molokai Ranch is to be impacted too? Molokai Ranch has been doing what they’re doing for years. Suddenly they will be made to stop because the Courts have made a decision about an unrelated topic?

The State let all of this go this far; now the State needs to support the businesses that have either spent a huge amount of money based on faulty information (that the State provided), or rendered essential services to residents for a long time. These are businesses that have either had the rug pulled out from under them, or are about to.

It would also be nice to get island residents away from being at each other’s throats! Stop it! Just do it! Nobody else asks before they make decisions for the rest of us.

If I was a business coming to Hawaii to set up shop, you can bet I would come with attorney in tow. Count on it!  Any new business should get it in writing that it won’t be told to shut down after sinking time and money into setting up shop! Come on Governor, draw the line and make it stop!