IndieGoGo website: http://www.indiegogo.com/Place-of-Hope

Save Kasama

The devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011 created major, long-lasting disruptions to every facet of people's daily lives and the potters in the town of Kasama were no exception. Located in Ibaragi Prefecture, Kasama has a long history of ceramic making dating from the 1700s. It is one of the most important arts and crafts centers in eastern Japan. The 2011 earthquake was particularly heartbreaking for this small community as kilns and ceramics were destroyed and livelihoods decimated in just a matter of moments. During early attempts at repair, aftershocks created as much damage if not more. Local artists are producing a film focusing on Akio Nukaga, a Kasama potter, who spearheads a movement to bring potters together to rebuild and rejuvenate their small town and its rich ceramic making heritage.

The doc film is produced, filmed and directed by Mike Douglass and Henry Mochida of the Globalization Research Center, University of Hawaii, and R3IMAGE, a non-profit organization engaged in community-based filmmaking. Proceeds from the campaign will be shared with the Save Kasama fund in Japan. For more information contact Henry and colleagues so you may support their project visit IndieGoGo website: http://www.indiegogo.com/Place-of-Hope

The Handshake

For more information about this special event call 808. 638.7100

Congratulations to all after a lovely evening at the Mamiya Theatre, in tribute to the 1st Annual Miss Latina Hawaii Scholarship Pageant ~ Best wishes to Joleen Iwaniec Miss Latina Hawaii 2012. She is 22 yrs. old, attends University of Hawaii~Manoa, a double major in Education & Engineering. She is the daughter of John & Elizabeth Iwaniec and resides in Kailua. Joleen also received the Congeniality award along with the winning crown which allows her to enter the Miss Hawaii Pageant. She receives a $10,000 scholarship from Argosy University, a $1,500.00 scholarship from Woodmen of the World, an official Miss Latina Hawaii bracelet from Carets & Karets and other prizes. 1st runner-Up Steisha Sheather also, received the Lifestyle & Fitness award; 2nd Runner-Up Dzidzielia Trevino, received the Photogenic & Popularity awards!. The talent award was presented to Kaylah Miranda. For more information on the event contact Nancy Ortiz 285-0072 or Blaine Dutro 358-1007. Congratulations to all participants! Life is Good. www.pacificnetwork.tv

The Genteel Sabai

Photo Courtesy of Reese Moriyama

Adapted by Musra Dahrizal, directed by Kirstin Pauka, tonight and tomorrow performances at Kennedy Theatre on the University of Hawaii Manoa Campus, this dance performance has been described as one of the most beautiful art forms one can experience. The story: a daughter seeks revenge for the murder of her father in this exciting folk dance-drama. Randai comes from the Minangkabau ethic group in Sumatra, Indonesia, and features beautiful traditional music and singing, martial arts, dance and acting; and its signature pants-slapping percussion! Onstage seating available on a first-come first-serve basis at the performance to all ticket holders. A special "mahalo nui" to guest teachers from Indonesia. Tickets and Showtimes -- Feb. 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 at 8 PM. Feb. 12 at 2 PM. Advance "Super Saver": $16.00. General Admission: $22.00, Seniors, Military, UH Faculty/Staff: $20.00, Students: $12.00, UHM Students: $5.00 Tickets available at Kennedy Theatre beginning January 23. All service fees included. We all too often take for granted what the East - West Center and UH Manoa provide the public in terms of myriad cultural performances that one rarely gets a chance to experience. There is a pre-show chat with the director, Kirsten Pauka at the Kennedy Theatre lab, open to the public at 7p before tonight's performance. The East-West Center also provides an exhibit on Minangkabau Processions in connection with this performance of "The Genteel Sabai". Support the arts. For more info visit www.hawaii.edu/kennedy/2011/genteel/

Cruising

I am no spring chicken but I was a little too young to have enjoyed teen years cruising down Kalakaua Avenue... when it was a two way street (!) but I do remember getting into one of my girlfriend's older cousin's 1957 Chevy, black and white, one Saturday night for a cruise down the boulevard. For some, this slow drive was the highlight of a weekend in Honolulu when young people actually went in to Waikiki and local folks back then considered it their playground. We ought to take a look at what we've lost in translation growing into the 21st century. These days who even thinks to "take it slow"?

When Uncle Boyce Rodrigues reminisces he paints a picture of a Waikiki when music spilled out of almost every hotel and small tavern, hula dancers felt free to get on stage impromptu to entertain visitors clutching their Blue Hawaii's, and the International Marketplace broadcast radio programs from a studio perched atop the banyan tree. His stories are rich with humor and a feeling of true aloha when HPD "knew our names, knew our fathers and our father's fathers... so the cops would watch over us but we never got into serious trouble, remember kid, this was our island."

What an era, waning even before I grew old enough to drive and by then my generation got caught up in protesting the Vietnam War and everything nostalgic seemed to pale in comparison. We watched those same "older boys" who'd spent countless hours primping their beautiful vintage cars dressed in baggy khaki trousers, white cotton undershirts, wearing rubbah slippahs, and sporting some unbelievable slicked back pomade hairdos...those boys were sent off to fight the war and some never returned. So now when we cover the random vintage car event where folks on every island meet at a designated parking lot or at a park just to share stories and show their classic cars, it's not only a joy to see some of the most exquisitely designed autos dating back to the 1930s through the 1970s, all made in the U.S.A., but one can't help feeling a sentimental yearning for an era no more, when those big v8 engines were working overtime but life, I'm told, was simpler and time allowed you to "cruise".
Life is good.

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