State of Union Insights

"There's no doubt 

that the residue of Hawaii will always stay with me,

 and that is part of my core.

  What's best in my message,

 is consistent with the tradition of Hawaii."

President Barack Obama,

speaking in Honolulu, 

December 2004

 The ALOHA Spirit

 is enshrined in the State Law of Hawaii

 which refers to it as:

 "-the essence of relationships

 in which each person

 is important to every other person

 for collective existence."

 "The multicultural nature of Hawaii. . .

has a cultural bias toward courtesy

 and trying to work through problems

 in a way that makes everybody feel

 like they're being listened to.

  And I think that reflects itself in my personality

 as well as my political style."

Barack Obama

"Barry (the President) has a depth of knowing

that what we have in common in Hawaii

 is our difference.

That's Hawaii."

Manu Alulii Meyer,

his schoolmate at Punahou School,

 Honolulu

"Hawaiians are affiliative;

 we really want to bond with people.

Every time I see Obama, he's touching people,

 connecting.

That's island all the way."

Sally-Jo Bowman, 

author: The Heart of Being Hawaiian 




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There you have it.
Aloha 
from me
      to YOU, cloudia


leave a comment :)

25 Years

ALOHA Friend,

 and welcome to a very special post.

  I won't try to write well today,

or try to be clever-

 I'll just say a couple of things.

play da music

Today dawned like any other.

"The thing that is really hard,

and really amazing,

is giving up on

being perfect

and beginning the work

of being yourself."

Anna Quindlen

But it was 25 years ago

TODAY-

-That a young(ish) dancer with plenty of attitude,

who was me,

walked into a Jazz Club. . .

and met a man.

We've been together ever since.

Blog-invisible. As Always.

 Yet always a palpable presence

 in everything I do...

"Integrity has no need of rules." 
Albert Camus                                                            
                                                 ><}}(°>

 'When someone loves you,

 the way they say your name is different.

You just know that your name is safe

 in their mouth."

Billy - age 4

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Thanks Honey.

Thanks Life.

Hunting!

Aloha!
      Nice to Have You Visit
                                         Today :)

Glad you could make it here early

 and in time. . . 

We're hunting a dangerous and wily prey. . . 

is there one in there?

Kitty, have you seen. . . ?

Little boy, has one run this way?

Look- 

There's one behind that bush! 
 The wild  Pipe-er-oo!
Shhhhhh, it see's us.

There's a monster!  Too big for us-

 RUN!

Caught one!

I'm gonna take this sucker home and

clean it for supper.

Good eating!

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"Few people even scratch the surface,

 much less exhaust

 the contemplation of their own experience."

Randolph Bourne

<>

What magical beasties await you today?

              Tell us in comments-  Thanks! cloudia

Look For Richard!

"ALOHA &

 Thanks For Swimming By :)

"God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone,

 but on trees and flowers

 and clouds and stars."

  Martin Luther

"When you fish for love,

 bait with your heart,

 not your brain."

Mark Twain

"Painting is something that takes place

 among the colors, 

 ... one has to leave them alone completely,

 so that they can settle the matter

 among themselves." 

Rainer Maria Rilke

My Pal Richard

"A true friend

is someone who thinks that

you are a good egg

even though he knows

that you are slightly

cracked."

Bernard Meltzer

                                      ><}}(°>                                     

                                                                                                           ><}}(°>

Yesterday I had Dim Sum
 with my buddy
 Richard Rodrigues.

"What have you been doing lately?"
 I asked him.

Aside from his usual pro-social activities writing grants

for community organizations and stuff like that, 

Richard has been open to new opportunities lately,

and BOY
 has he latched on to something good!

Tonight after the NFL Football Playoffs
 (here in the States)

CBS will be showing (off) it's most popular
 new TV show of the season:

 Hawaii 5-O.

Watch the scene in the Tsunami HQ

and you will see Richard as a technician

in the crucial action!

He worked with Scott Caan and
Alex O'Loughlin!

Isn't that cool?

But that's not all!

Richard has also been appearing
 as a (background) regular

in the ABC show Off The Map,
 in which our island stands in

for South America.

Richard answered the call
 for a Hispanic-looking adult male

and now makes regular appearances
 as a "local doctor"

on that show!

"That's amazing, Richard!
  I'm so happy for you.
 Anything else?"

"Well," He replied, "I do have a part
 in the film Battleship." 

(currently wrapping up here on Oahu).

Richard is now a member of the actor's union.

Hope he will still find time to meet me in Chinatown!

Possibilities are afoot, Friends!


     Please join us in comments-
          And thanks for stopping by today :)   cloudia

Ask Not

ALOHA,
             Welcome to Hawaii

click on  the clouds for potential revelation!

"I believe that there is a subtle magnetism

 in Nature,

 which, if we unconsciously yield to it,

 will direct us aright."

Henry David Thoreau

Aloha on da beach (see it?)

"Forget not

 that the earth delights to feel your bare feet

 and the winds long to play with your hair."

Kahlil Gibran

"That's what (the film) Rocky is all about:

 pride, reputation,

 and not being another bum in the neighborhood."

Sylvester Stallone 

<<+>>

Has it really been 50 years?

Yes it has,

as of yesterday in fact.

In that time

the world has changed

from:

 "Ask not what your country

can do for you - but what you

can do for your country."

To

"Greed is good."

What happened?

Here is a picture of a far off time.

Some called it Camelot.

To many of us

it was

and remains

a magical 

time:

"The world is very different now.
 For man holds in his mortal hands
 the power to abolish all forms of human poverty
 and all forms of human life. . .

Let the word go forth from this time and place,
 to friend and foe alike,
 that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans --

that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

This much we pledge -- and more.

So let us begin anew -- remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.

Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

 I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation.



The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do

 for the freedom of man."


excerpts from

John F. Kennedy's

Inaugural Address

 20 January 1961

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How does that make you feel today?

     Please join us in "comments."  cloudia

With a good conscience our only sure reward,

 with history the final judge of our deeds,

 let us go forth to lead the land we love,

 asking His blessing and His help,

 but knowing that here on earth

 God's work must truly be our own.

Must truly be our own

You & Me.