Friday, April 30, 2010

the Height

Aloha Also Means a Loving Goodbye. . .



With deep gratitude,
we celebrate the life of
"just a woman."

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"Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes,
but by the opposition he or she has overcome
to reach his goals."

Dr. Dorothy Height
(as are all)






Waikiki Cottage
<>

"If you worry about who is going to get the credit,
you won't get much done."


What, you no outrigger in YOUR garage?

<>


"I want to be remembered as someone
who used herself and anything she could touch
to work for justice and freedom.
I want to be remembered as one who
tried."






"We are not a problem people
we are people with problems.
We have historic strengths;
We have survived because of family."


The people who maintain the health, transport, and beauty...

<>


"We have to improve life,
not just for those who have the skills
and those who know how to manipulate the system.
But also for
and with
those
who often have so much to give
but never get the opportunity."


><>

Born in 1912
she knew a world
that we have forgotten,
prefer to 'whitewash'
or to forget.

I have been watching The Tudors
and have been impressed by the
state of fear
that accompanies life
under the rule
of king and caste.

As I say,
their mood
becomes the weather
and climate
that everyone else
must live under.

As a teenager,
Miss Height
marched in New York's Times Square
shouting
"Stop the lynching!"

She lived in a system
where black people
needed to smile,
bow, and shuffle.

She marched with King.

She saw our world change.

President Obama honored her.

Thanks for joining me today
as we do the
same...

cloudia




Thursday, April 29, 2010

Childhood Sweets

ALOHA, Play Mate



click on the memories of childhood
Kids here in Hawaii, like children everywhere love their treats.



"We worry about what a child will become tomorrow,
yet we forget
that he is someone today."

Stacia Tauscher





This still makes me salivate,
taking me back to chocolate bliss
that could blot out all my troubles.
Ah for the days of waxed paper, before the crinkly cellophane!
And their blueberry pies...
*Sigh*




Maybe you lived in New England,
and it was NECCO Wafers
(New England Confectionery Company).
Or SKY BARS!


"Life is uncertain.
Eat dessert first."

Ernestine Ulmer


This one's for you, Travis, and all our friends throughout the south.



"Forget love
I'd rather fall in
Chocolate!"

Sandra J. Dykes


Well, in Hawaii, people of a certain age grew up with
Yick Lung Cracked Seed.


><>

The Chinese people who came to Hawaii
at King Kalakaua's invitation
were hard-working enough to work the plantations,
but they were too smart and ambitious to remain labor for long.


Completing their employment contracts,
many of them moved to Honolulu
and started prosperous businesses that were among the shoots of modern Hawaii.

Now chocolate tends to melt in the tropics,
at least it did until Milton Hershey's alchemy
rendered it suitable for American troops
to enjoy, barter, and share in WWII. . .

But where was I?
Oh yeah, treats in Hawaii, like mangoes,
bananas and sugar cane. . .

The Chinese had a long tradition of preserved fruit snacks,
See Mui,
and Cantonese immigrants to the the kingdom
first imported and sold it here
over a hundred years ago.


It was the local Yee family
that is credited with adding their own flavorings
and spices, and creating the local treats
familiar to generations of isle children
of all ages:
Rock Salt Plum was created
when rock salt was added to preserved plums.

A sweet/sour mixture became the famous
Ling Hin Mui
which today flavors upscale martini's
in downtown Honolulu.

You can find Li Hing Teddy Bears, Li Hing Tequila
(home-flavored) all around these islands.

It's sort of one of the flavors of Hawaii,
and as you can see, not just for kids anymore.

One variety of preserved plum arrived complete with pits.
The family cracked the seeds open with hammers
to expose the inner kernel,
which gave rise to the categorical name
of all these local snacks:
Crack Seed.

There is quite a good crack seed shop
at Ala Moana Shopping Center, where you can buy many varieties in bulk directly from big apothecary jars.

The Yees
are considered the first to repackage the treats
(that they imported in bulk, and flavored themselves)
so that they could be sold in retail outlets under their
Yick Lung brand, which translates as: "profitable enterprise."

During the 1960's and 1970's
they even had a jingle and TV commercials.

So here's to Sweeties!

To sticky fingers and small-kid-times.

May this May
be very sweet
to

YOU :) cloudia


Here are some related links to drool over:


Wednesday, April 28, 2010

All Over da Place

Aloha, Welcome!







Click on photos to enlargeTubers


"The problem with people who have no vices
is that generally you can be pretty sure
they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues."

Elizabeth Taylor






Washington Place,
Queen Emma's Home till she died in 1917.
Now our scalawag governor lives there.
There goes the neighborhood!



“A beautiful lady is an accident of nature.
A beautiful old lady is a work of art.”

Louis Nizer



Self Portrait with Fallen Lei


“The most important thing in life
is to learn how to give out love,
and to let it come in.”

Morrie Schwartz


><>


I find small pleasures where I may.

Today,

Waikiki is, shiny, greenish, and defiant in gold,

blue, and white.


The air grows more gentle.

The Jacaranda are blooming their

otherworldly shade of lilac.

South Shore Surf,

Summer Surf,

is teasingly arising.


Go wave surfers!

Go web surfers!


You are my people!




When I was young and feckless

the mature couples I saw

sitting quietly in a restuarant

seemed sad

and lacking anything

to say.


Now I know

the pleasure

of simply be-ing

together

when nothing

needs

be said.
A L O H A! Cloudia

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Run Through the Banyan

ALOHA!
Let's just run through the jungle today,
shall We?

Just play the song, and off we go!



Don't forget to click on the trees!


"Don't call the forest that shelters you a jungle."

Ghanan Proverb




"It's ironic, but until you free those final monsters
within the jungle of yourself,
your life,
your soul,
is up for grabs."

Rona Barrett





"Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies,

society, even when perfect,

is but a jungle.

This is why any authentic creation

is a gift to the future."


Camus







"Roaming through the jungle

of "oohs" and "ahs,"

searching for a more agreeable noise,

I live a life of primitivity

with the mind of a child

and an unquenchable thirst

for sharps and flats."


Duke Ellington





"Kindness
is my
Religion."

Dalai Lama


"It's a jungle out there, kiddies.
Have a fruitful day."

Jimmy Buffet


><>

Thanks for relaxing here
for a while!


ALOHA, cloudia

Monday, April 26, 2010

New Hawaii 50

Aloha!

Thanks for Visiting Today

click on the pics!



This just in from Sunday's Honolulu Advertiser.
(Video Below :)


April 18, 2010

"McGarrett's Marquis still motoring along

Iconic '74 Mercury will be seen again, in pilot for new 'Hawaii 5-0'

BY MIKE GORDON
Advertiser Staff Writer

NÄ€NÄ€KULI — It took a few tries, but the ignition finally sparked and the '74 Mercury Marquis roared to life. John Nordlum tapped the gas pedal and grinned. He loves this big, black car, now more than ever.

Gently, he slipped the transmission into reverse, released the parking brake — the only working brake on the car — and backed out of his driveway. Nordlum's feet tap-danced again as he shifted into drive and then he was off.

The car rumbled, and the bench seat rocked a bit. It's not bolted to the floor anymore. That didn't faze Nordlum, a lanky, graying stuntman with 30 years of experience in TV and movies. He's no stranger to rough rides, and his face lit up as he guided the boatlike monster.

"It goes like hell," Nordlum said.

That's for sure. The Mercury still has some go in it, and besides, it is no ordinary vehicle.

This car has provenance.

This was Steve McGarrett's trusted ride — the car Jack Lord drove when he played the square-jawed crime fighter during the heyday of "Hawaii Five-0."

After the CBS series ended in 1980, Lord gave the car to Nordlum, who had been his stunt double and the man often at the wheel of the Mercury whenever it chased the bad guys through Honolulu.

Ever since, Nordlum has wondered why his friend did that, but found his answer last month — when CBS borrowed the car for its remake of "Hawaii Five-0."

"Jack's spirit is in that car, and he is going to live again in this show through that car," Nordlum said. "That's why he gave me that car."

The Mercury Marquis was the second car used in the original "Hawaii Five-0," which premiered in 1968. McGarrett drove a 1968 Mercury Parklane Broug- ham through the 1973 season, then got the keys to the Marquis.



Nordlum was a diver when Lord saw him during filming at the Makai Pier in 1971. The actor offered Nordlum a part in an episode and eventually that led to a full-time job as a stunt double and stand-in for Lord.

After "Hawaii Five-0" ended, Nordlum grew a mustache and worked as Tom Selleck's stunt double and stand-in on "Magnum, P.I." He made stunt work a career and founded the Hawaii Stunt Association on Lord's suggestion.

For years, Nordlum drove the Marquis everywhere he had to go. Sometimes, fans recognized the car and Nordlum let them pose for photographs. And despite reports to the contrary, he never wanted to sell it.

The " 'Five-0' car," as his neighbors refer to it, is a landmark on Nordlum's street. He's maintained the engine himself, kept the big, 460-cubic-inch V8 running — and running loud — but has not kept the rest of the car in vintage condition.

The headliner is tattered and the seats are torn in so many places that the springs are visible. Flakes of rust litter the floor.

Still, the police radio mike and cord that marked it as McGarrett's ride are there.

Early last month, friends who belong to the Teamsters, one of the unions that work in the film industry, asked if CBS could use the car for the remake. Nordlum secured the deal on the strength of a handshake in his driveway.

"They put it on a trailer in front of my house and when they drove down the road, it was like they took my baby," he said. "They drove it down the street and I cried."

Nordlum worried the whole time it was gone, he says. When it was returned a month later, it had a shiny new paint job, but its rectangular hood ornament and radio antenna were missing.

Still, it had a part in the "Hawaii Five-0" remake.

"It's one of the stars of the show," Nordlum said. "It's going to be McGarrett junior's baby."

McGarrett's son

This is no cameo for the Mercury. The car appears at the beginning and the end of the pilot, Nordlum said.

The new version of "Five-0" follows the creation of an elite police unit, led by a younger McGarrett, son of the original top cop, so it would hardly be possible to refer to the car's role in the previous series without some kind of funky flashback. Instead, the car has a place in the current story.

When McGarrett, a former Navy SEAL, returns to Hawai'i at the beginning of the pilot, he finds the car in storage. It had belonged to his late father and needs fixing up.

The car is seen again at the end of the pilot, and McGarrett is tackling the project.

In the new "Five-0," the detective calls the project "the restoration of a lifetime."

That hits home for Nordlum, who has been in that car and felt he wasn't quite alone.

"We see that he works on the car, and it is part of his hobby, his meditation, and he communicates with his father through the car," Nordlum said. "I felt very good when I heard about that scene.

"When I am working on the car, I swear I can remember Jack Lord in this car," he said. "I think he communicates with me through this car."

The car is ready for its comeback , Nordlum says. It will always be running, a rumbling tribute to Lord.

"His spirit is in this car," he says. "That thing doesn't quit. Nearly 200,000 miles and there is no stopping that car. It's like McGarrett. It goes on and on like the character."

Additional Facts
'Five-0' update
What's happening with "Hawaii Five-0"?
• A one-hour pilot has been filmed and is now being edited.
• Network executives will announce if it has been picked up for a series on May 19. If it is picked up for the fall season, its time slot will be announced. If it is picked up for mid-season, the time slot will be announced later.
• Filming would go on in Hawai'i, but the timetable for a local production depends on a premiere date."



LOST is wrapping it up,
but here comes a new project.
And LOST's handsome Jin will be staying on in the islands
to play Chin Ho Kelly in the 50 remake.

Maybe I can get a walk on...as someone walking by. . .
cloudia