What Else is Down There?

ALOHA Friends!

Welcome to the Sea Floor off of Oahu

They Exist!

“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore”
Vincent van Gogh

Emerging from History


“There are fish in the sea better than have ever been caught”
Irish Sayings





Short "Teaser" for Tonight's Program

Submarine Archeology Score

The 1-401 submarine carried three folded-wing fighter/bomber aircraft in an

on-board hangar. The sub could surface and launch her planes in a matter of minutes.

One of the missions they were designed for was to bomb the Panama Canal.

"These subs were bigger than nuclear subs, the largest diesel subs ever built. They could launch aircraft, stay submerged and run 37,500 miles -- 1 1/2 times around the globe -- without refueling."
John Wiltshire, acting director of HURL (Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory)

It was HURL submersibles Pisces IV and Pisces V that found several of these 60-year-old Japanese submarines in February. The Geographic Channel partly funded and documented their mission for a special, "Hunt for the Samurai Subs," premiering TONIGHT as a crown jewel of the network's second annual Expedition Week.

This legendary class of submarines was developed by the WWII- era Japanese Empire using revolutionary technology. They were the largest submarines ever built -- 400 feet long -- until nuclear-powered submarines were built in the 1950s and 1960s. Had they become operational sooner, they might have had a big impact on the outcome of the war in the Pacific. Plans included the bombing of New York and Washington DC.

The U.S. Navy came into posession of the submarines at the end of WWII, sailing five of them from Japan to here to Pearl Harbor for inspection. A veteran involved in the transfer has reported that other than being unable to read the printing on the instruments, the American submariners had little trouble operating the vessels. The boats were ultimately sunk off of Oahu's coast (1946) in order to avoid sharing their technology with our Cold War adversaries, the Russians, per treaty as our WWII allies.

Tonight, "The Hunt for the Samurai Subs" on the National Geographic Channel tells their story.

One key interviewee is Atsushi Asamura, a kamikaze pilot assigned to the I-401 aircraft-carrying submarine.

Go to http://www.pacerfarm.org/i-400/ for a detailed memoir onboard the I-401 by the late Tom Paine that begins:

"This saga recounts my adventures during the last voyage of His Imperial Japanese Majesty's Sensuikan Toku (Special Submarines). In 1945 I returned from World War II as Executive Officer and Navigator of the U.S. Navy prize crew in one of these aircraft-carrying giants: H.I.J.M.S. I-400. Sailing her from Sasebo, Occupied Japan, to Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, seemed a fitting finale to my career in the Submarine Service. . ."

I just love tales of technology, and of the deep.

How about

YOU?

ALOHA! Cloudia

Morning Moon Whispers Secrets

A L O H A

Welcome to Monday in Waikiki,

Friend!

click on photos to reveal what is hidden to the quick glance

Morning Moon

"Celebrity is just obscurity

biding it's time."

Carrie Fisher

Purring Ripples, Barking Sparkles

"Life happens too fast for you to ever to think about it. If you could just persuade people of this, but they insist on amassing information."

Kurt Vonnegut

Jolly Jelly Fish

"Many people try to run away from their inner loneliness.

They do not know how to be alone. They do anything to escape being alone. They are always on the go; they are always doing something. To live meaningfully, we must master one of the fine arts of life -

learning how to be alone without being lonely."

Paul Osumi

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We are magnets

We attract what we love

or hate

or obsess about.

Complaints always worsen

a situation.

What we focus on

always grows.

Imagination

is stronger than will

and always wins.

Will power is just for

short bursts.

Imago is our creative force.

Without feeling

nothing occurs.

Emotion is the energy

that causes the thought

to happen.

These rules are the difference

between being a dreamer

and a visionary.

Nonresistance

frees the

magic.

ALOHA, cloudia

"The River Is Deep"

A L O H A

Welcome to a Lazy Sunday in Honolulu

F R I E N D !

click on photos, Frodo

He says that the river is deep,

never writes his poetry down.

But he carried moldy canvas

stuffed with type-written pages

across decades - and continents.

And so it has been,

deep that is.

And should it flow

another continent or two,

or just a handful of tomorrows,

the river has been deep,

sweet & daily,

with sparkles of eternity.

Our river is deep

indeed.

Thanks for visiting!

ALOHA, cloudia

Saturday Friends

ALOHA

Saturday Friend!

click on photos for magic

Friends Like to Gather at Day's End. . .

"As I make my slow pilgrimage through the world,

a certain sense of beautiful mystery seems to gather and grow."

A. C. Benson

Friendly Competitors?

"Whenever a friend suceeds, a little something in me dies."
Gore Vidal

Birds of a Feather or

"I don't care if someone is blue, orange, yellow or purple..."

"The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship."
William Blake

Finn is a true friend.

Sure he is highly trained,

but everyone is just more relaxed when he's around.

He plays when his human companions are playful,

And he is quiet, and a good listener, when they're pensive.

Finn is the first service dog assigned to help recuperating Marines.

Everyone agrees that he boosts their morale

at the Wounded Warrior Barracks.

True Friends Require No Words:

Thank YOU

for being a Friend,

ALOHA, cloudia

Aloha Friday

It's ALOHA Friday!

Welcome Friend

click on photos to inspect deeply

Every Sparrow. . .

“I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.”
Henry David Thoreau

Torch Eternal


“Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it onto future generations.”
George Bernard Shaw




Kolea in the Sun



"Never part without loving words to think of during your absence.

It may be that you will not meet again in life."

Jean Paul Richter

Moon & Mist




"Writing well mean never having to say, 'I guess you had to be there.' "
Jef Mallett




Years ago,
I used to read the Honolulu obituaries in my taxi.
Back then, every other deceased was foreign born:
China, Japan, Korea, Azores, Philippines.
Their brief stories spoke volumes about Hawaii,
what we're all about,
and how we got this way.








Later,
many obituaries mentioned birth
in places that no longer exist:
"Camp Number 7, Ewa Plantation"
That was the plantation-born generation.
What a tale those lives could tell!








Recently, I noticed an obit
for an old local woman born in China.
There was to be a Taoist Funeral,
so I went to pay my respects.
Not just to the lady and her family,
but to an entire generation.









And I longed to see, hear, and smell
a Taoist Funeral.











For some reason
I have always gravitated to things
Chinoise.
When I was a child,
there was actually a pretty standard Halloween costume:
"Chinese Person"
and I clamored to wear it
for many years.









Imagine!
An ethnicity as a Halloween costume!
But I was just a kid
and I wanted to be
Chinese.










When I got to Diamond Head Memorial Park
the viewing was taking place,
as was an outdoor gathering
of seemingly casual folks eating Dim Sum,
my favourite brunch.










I sat with some older women
who welcomed me simply.
I explained that I wanted to attend a Taoist Funeral,
and to honor the deceased, family, and generation.









They insisted that I eat.
Everything about the Chinese seems eminently sensible to me.
The ladies warmed up and talk-storied with me,
as local people will do.
I wasn't an outsider you see - being local.









One new friend said that she was glad that her ancestors
had settled in Hawaii, not San Francisco
(my other favorite town).
"There it was too ghettoized for us. Here we mix and move away from Chinatown. San Francisco too closed!"








We all agreed:
"Lucky we live Hawaii."









Then they started telling me about Hawaii Chinese funeral customs that they remembered growing up.
They spoke of keeping the deceased in the home overnight,
illegal now,
of burlap clothes,
and hired wailing mourners
making a racket in the house,
and parading down the (Honolulu) street.












These customs are growing attenuated today,
but for this honored decedent
there would be ancient ceremony,
the burning of spirit money,
and attendance by cardboard servants.










"Lots of people became Christian over here,"
my new friend explained.
Her own Goong Goong (grandmother)
had had the gift of physiognomy,
she read the truth in people's faces,
but gave it up
after Christian prayers had cured a serious illness.
Such was the tendency and pressure of those days.









The Benevolent Societies remain,
though less vital generation to generation.
And Chinatown is busy with new immigrants
from Southeast Asia, Oceania
and elsewhere.










But this family was holding a traditional funeral
to honor a woman born in the old country.
I didn't feel right taking pictures,
so my words will have to do.












The family stood attentively in two rows
facing the coffin, regalia,
and the priest with his chanting
and implements.












Chanting was punctuated by the preparation of tea.
The acolyte told the family
when to drink,
when to bow.
The tea was offered to the woman's spirit
and poured into an urn
of sand.









The acolyte also took articles right outside the chapel
to burn.
Cardboard servants-
a male and female-
were held like puppets,
raised up, and
bowed in unison to the deceased.
All very matter of fact,
all as the lady would have wanted it.











At last, Chinese music,
strings and cymbals,
was played
to my delight.











All the while,
most attendees
sat outside
eating Dim Sum
and talking.










I still have the ladies obit
and take it out
to pay her my respects.










Thank you for having me to your
last Honolulu party.











The food was delicious,
the conversation good,
your incense and music beguiled me.










Go with our respectful
gratitude.









A L O H A! cloudia

Come to My Windows

ALOHA

Welcome to Thursday in Honolulu

click on windows to enter therein My computer is my window on the world,

the WHOLE world.

"The Internet is becoming the town square

for the global village of tomorrow."

"People everywhere love Windows."

Sometimes it's just plain fun, like when I visit YOUR blog!

"I really had a lot of dreams when I was a kid,
and I think a great deal of that grew out of the fact
that I had a chance to read a lot."

When everything is working right,
it's a beautiful thing!

"As we look ahead into the next century,

leaders will be those who empower others."
All Quotes Today:

Bill Gates





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I bought my first laptop 10 years ago.
And I used it for the entire ten years;
Windows ME operating system and all!




When it was on it's last legs I anguished over it's replacement.
Some swear by APPLE. I've been a PC and learned it's Window ways, but I was willing to change for the right reasons.



I went back and forth.



Ultimately, I bought another Dell Inspirion 15
with the much heralded
WINDOWS 7.




This was a great decision!
Yes, I'm one of those people that the ad campaign is about:
I'm ecstatic about this dual core beauty
and after 3 weeks,

WINDOWS 7 has been nothing but a joy.



It has exceeded my expectations -

and I don't like change where my tools are concerned.

It takes too much energy from my creativity.
I just want things to work,
and Windows7 really does.
It's elegant.




So if it's time, treat yourself.
If you spend hours of your life on-line like I do,
it will be just like getting a new and better body.
I'm BEAUTIFUL again!

Having been involved in public health, I know well
how much basic good the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
is doing thoughout the world
and here in
America.


Windows it is!




I purchased at Best Buy and had a good experience.
The person who helped me, Richard, was totally cool.
As a stingy tightwad, I mean careful spender,
I can tell you that it is
Very Worth It
to get a machine that they have
optimized.


So, come to my windows.
Then you can enjoy your visits here to Hawaii
even MORE!


ALOHA, Friend! cloudia

Eleven Eleven

A L O H A

Friends!

Welcome to 11/11

Veteran's Day Here In Hawaii

click on photos for strategic enlargement

Look over there!

It's the USS Reagan,

spending a few days in Pearl Harbor.




"The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war."

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit



"I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask,

"Mother, what was war?"

Eve Merriam

Hard to describe how BIG it is.
Those are the tops of trucks (lorries) in front.
Dozens of aircraft crowd the flight deck.





"In war, there are no unwounded soldiers."
José Narosky

It looms over nearby buildings.











"To be a patriot is to [sometimes] have a lovers' quarrel

with your country."

-Wm. Sloane Coffin

<>< <> ><>

I never had much awareness of the military growing up.

Sure dad, and all the men of my childhood, had won WWII

along with our allies,

but the military was not a family tradition,

or a career path that would have appealed to me.

Besides, my two childhood heroes were Martin Luther King,

and Leonardo DaVinci. Leonardo said that if you were a lover of peace, you should have brilliant machines to defend that peace.

I loved his siege engine drawings, and I still adore high-tech war birds when they roar by at tree top level for some event, like today's "missing man" flyover . . . But I digress. . .

Here in Hawaii, the military is a significant presence.

From Pearl Harbor, where WWII began for the USA,

to the Barking Sands of Kauai where missiles are launched, tracked, brought down, to Schofield Barracks where "From Here to Eternity" was lived and filmed, and on to the giant veterans' cemetery at Punchbowl where Barack Obama's grandfather lies,

Hawaii is a place where you experience the military up close.

I even wrote a poem about the young service men & women who pass through Waikiki on their way to and from more dangerous places:

These Are The Boys


These are the boys who surf the waves
Or try to
Who cruise Waikiki
With radios thumping loud
Drunken, polite
Away from home for the first time
Supremely confident in youth
And in America.
These are the boys
Who go to the wars
Who go to the wars
And Die.

As you can tell, I have very mixed feelings about all of this.

I honor those who put their lives on the line to defend homes, strangers, and high ideals. But I know that most often aggression could be avoided, and that those who "choose" diplomacy by other means

are often wilfully blind to the consequences, and to other solutions. Nonetheless, I do honor the individual who gives up their personal freedom to obey and to serve. I could never do it.

Here in Hawaii we walk among a shrinking number of aging, local Japanese boys who served in the most decorated unit of WWII;

they were the 442 "Go For Broke" boys who left family and friends in internment camps to fight fascism overseas, and to ultimately be the ones who shot the lock off the gates of Auschwitz.

"You fought two enemies, the Nazis, and prejudice. And you have won," President Harry Truman said of them.

Our Senator Dan Innouye is one of them.

Heleft his arm in France, but continues to serve Hawaii

and the nation without it.

Of course, it was US Marines off of the USS Boston in Honolulu Harbor who helped insure the overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy and of the internationally recognized nation of Hawaii.

We in Hawaii have a complicated relationship between the islands and people we love, and the USA

that our parents fought and sometimes died for.

It's like being children of a complicated marriage;

we love both of our parents, even if they disagree from time to time.

The formal apology by Bill Clinton's administration was a good step,

but only a step in resolving this relationship. . .

Yes, the military holds a lot of Hawaii land,

including a big chunk of Waikiki.

When you turn Right onto Kalia from Ala Moana Blvd, and drive past the Hilton's 3 heroic hula dancer statues, you are entering the heart of federal property. Fort DeRussy, the Hale Koa hotel, and, Kuroda Field are the sunny face of the military in Hawaii.

Depleted uranium rounds, "ordinance reef" (disposed munitions off of leeward O`ahu), and the militarization of sacred Makua valley

are the less than beautiful face of our military presence.

See, that is a complicated relationship . . .

But today we say a big "Mahalo"

to the men and women of every nation and tribe

who put themselves at discomfort and risk to serve others.

May our "leaders" respect them enough to deploy them with wisdom, discretion, and humanity.

And thanks to you too, Dad,

and ALL veterans.

A L O H A! Cloudia