Tavaru - Nuku Hiva Part 2

To the rhythmic sounds of the Pahu drums, and the high pitch “Mave Mai” the
traditional greeting of the Marquesas islands, the fleet of seven canoes , Te
Mana O Te Moana, makes its final stop on the island of Nuku Hiva before sailing
to Hawaii.

Residents of Taipivai, Nuku Hiva’s most significant valley, had the important task  of welcoming  the visitors from abroad.  Another visitor ,  over 170 years ago was world reknown American novelist , Herman Mellville. Before “Moby Dick”, Mellville wrote “Typee”, his first best seller. The novel named after the valley was released in 1846. The author had spent three weeks living amongst the natives of Taipivai, and he was treated so well that he honored his hosts by writing a novel of romance and adventure, contributing to the idea of the "noble savage".

Today, Te Mana O Te Moana promotes not only the protection of whales and other marine wildlife but also the protection of ancestral values, customs and traditions of  the people of the Pacific and villagers like those found in Taipivai.

Thank you to Johann Bouit.  For more video visit http://www.pacificnetwork.tv/watch/tavaru-2011-arrival-taipivai

Kailea Tracy - Visintainer

Graduation is in the air and we wish all the best to everyone leaving their nests, venturing forward to follow their dreams, contributing their talents to making Hawaii a better community, a greener community, and an example of how multi-cultures can indeed live harmoniously with limited land and limited resources. Life in our archipelago is a microcosm of the world we live in and our success at sustainable living on islands will depend on the next generation of leaders.

So we pay tribute to all of you who recently graduated, and feature this young Maui girl, Kailea Tracy - Visintainer, a world class athlete, a scholar, and a local girl who we hope will go on to discover the world... but keep Hawaii always close to her heart and mind.  Congratulations to all of Hawaii's graduates!  Our future is with you.

Na Hoku Hanohano Festival
The awards show (Sunday, KFVE) airs again this year with a host of great Hawaiian musical talent performing for the next three days. Don't miss it.  The Lifetime Achievement Awards and workshops are presented today,  and yesterday thanks to the brilliance of the organizers, the Na Hoku's created a pre-event press and media day that allowed some one on one quality time with participants.  Here is one segment of a series of behind-the-scenes interviews.  Mahalo to the Royal Hawaiian Band (always great to see them performing),  to Zhulieta Ibeshiva and Tommy Driskill for bringing us up close and personal to some of our favorite performers, and Aloha David Pack!, founder of Ambrosia, a long time acquaintance who is by now an official kamaaina!  Life is Good and... Good luck to all the nominees.

Photos courtesy of Michi Moore

www.pacificnetwork.tv

Nudie What?

It was a gorgeous afternoon and the water was clear as the "Mālama Pūpūkea-Waimea fish count team" snorkeled Three Tables, counting specific fish along the transect line.  The results of these counts contribute to the understanding of the health of the marine environment inside the Pūpūkea Marine Life Conservation District.

One of the volunteers pointed inquisitively to something on the side of one of the rocks near the bottom.  At first glance it looked like a new coral colony starting to grow, but when our instructor, Drew Wheeler, surfaced after looking at it more closely he said, “It’s a clumpy Nudibranch!”  “A clumpy what?” the volunteers echoed.

The Clumpy Nudibranch was about 5 inches long and its flattened, oval body was suctioned onto the rock using a large “foot”.  Mustard yellow in color, the body was outlined in a lighter yellow, which matched the color of the large lumpy blotches scattered over the rest of its body.

It isn’t readily apparent which end is the front and which the back unless you know a bit about dorids.  A dorid, named after the sea nymph Doris of Greek mythology, is a type of nudibranch.  A nudibranch, which means “naked gill”, is related to snails and is basically a snail without a shell. Because nudibranchs have no shell for protection, many of them use camouflage as a defense against predators.  Many taste bad and some even concentrate the stinging cells from anemone-like animals that they consume, in the tips of their gills. Dorids can grow quite large, like the beautiful red Spanish Dancer that gracefully swims in the water.  They are pretty solid animals and have two rhinopores, organs used for smell, in the front, and a clump of frilly gills in the posterior.  Drew took several pictures of the Clumpy Nudibranch to add to MPW’s collection of fascinating animals that are spotted during fish counts and other in-water activities.

Enjoy! Mahalo to Barbara Whitman and Drew Wheeler (photo). For info visit www.pupukeawaimea.org

For beautiful Pacific Ocean video visit  http://www.pacificnetwork.tv/watch/blue-winks-i-4

Tagami at C.S. Wo

Born out of the entrepreneurial spirit of the early 1900s, Ching Sing Wo opened his general merchandise store on North King Street in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1909. As Hawaii grew and prospered, so did the C. S. Wo general store.  By 1942, the store became a furniture store. At the same time, Ching Sing Wo's sons: Bob, Jim, and Bill joined the thriving family business and the company was renamed C. S. Wo & Sons.

For the next three decades, the business grew.  By the early 1980s, a third generation joined the company. Robert Wo's sons, Bub, Wendell, Mike, Ben, and Scott brought their own ideas and knowledge to the business, and now C. S. Wo & Sons continues to provide products and design services to Honolulu's public.

With every generation the Wo family has also kept up the tradition of supporting nonprofit organizations throughout the community. New store openings and special in-store events customarily benefit local artists, arts, and human service institutions. Family members also offer their personal time and business expertise serving on various community boards. On Sunday  22 May 2011 there is such an event featuring renowned painters, Hiroshi Tagami & Michael Powell; and designer, Amos Kotomori, open to the public.  For more information (808) 543-5388.   The showroom is located at 702 South Beretania Street. We'll be posting more from CS Wo & Sons' celebration of The Year of the Rabbit!

For more the entire video visit   http://www.pacificnetwork.tv/watch/hawaii-artist-hiroshi-tagami