Year End Donations

With the wrapping of another comes time to make some final tax donations.  As I did last year, I’ll discuss briefly the organizations I donated to here at the close of year to wrap things up.

1.  Wikimedia Foundation.  As with last year and as it has been for the past several years, Wikimedia Foundation (which runs Wikipedia) remains my favorite charity.  Wikipedia is a non-profit project and is an indispensable part of my day, everyday.  I use it daily to look up all kinds of obscure info and I for one can’t imagine life without it.  Easy choice for my charitable donation.

2.  UH Foundation.  UH is both my alma mater as well as my livelihood.  I make it a practice to donate to support my undergrad program (School of Comm) each December to commemorate my anniversary of graduating with my undergraduate degree.  Coincidentally, 2009 marks the 10th anniversary of my graduating with my Bachelors degree.

3.  Ke Ali’i Pauahi Foundation:  Kamehameha Schools is my other alma mater and I make it a practice to donate each December in honor of Founder’s Day (Bernice Pauahi Bishop’s birthday).

4.  Environmental Defense Fund.  Saving our planet and building a sustainable society is important to me.  No earth, no life.  Each year I donate to a charitable organization dedicated to conservation.  Last year I went with the WWF and Nature Conservancy.  This year I wanted to donate to other organizations (nothing against the WWF or Nature Conservancy).  I did some brief homework via Charity Navigator and the American Institute of Philanthropy for recommendations of great organizations to donate to (do all your research needs at these sites!) dedicated to conservation and my pick is the Environmental Defense Fund.  Based on the scope of their work and the way they go about it, this organization is inline with my own beliefs of what is important in conservation and the best way to go about achieving it.  This is clearly the organization for me.

5.  Kanu Hawai’i. Finally, I wanted to donate to something close to home and the much lauded Kanu Hawaii is the organization that received my dollar.  Local in focus, heart, soul and mission and founded by locals close to age with me Kanu Hawai’i is an organization I proudly endorse and consider myself a member of the Kanu ‘ohana.

Happy New Year!

2009 Year in Review: Part IV — The Year in Film and Stage

Prelude: 2009 was such a great year for me in many ways. Crap economy not withstanding, 2009 was a year of great development, great triumph and great fun. I’ll be recapping my year in a few posts. Here in Part IV I discuss the awesome movies and plays I took in throughout the year.

Being a borderline Digital Native it is completely natural that I’m a major movie/TV addict (as can be told by the majority of entries on this Blog). One of the crappy things about the economy is the fact that movies cost a crazy $10 on average ($8.00 matinee) to see first run in the theatre. I remember only 14 short years ago paying about $6.00 to catch a movie. As such my theatre going habits have dwindled as it takes a special movie for me to plunk down full price (or matinee rather) admission.

The very short list of movies I paid full price to see at the cinenaplex this year included:

• X-men Origins: Wolverine
• Star Trek
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
• 2012
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon
• Alvin and the Chipmunks

As you can see, the films were either throwbacks to my childhood (Wolvie, Star Trek, Transformers, G.I. Joe and Alvin) or odes to great modern literature (Harry Potter and Twilight). 2012 is the lone blockbuster I choose to see NOT affiliated with licensed properties. Overall I loved all of the films and found them worth the price of admission. For my money, my favorite picks of the bunch were Wolverine and 2012. Wolvie, Transformers and G.I. Joe were high in spades in FX and action and were every bit the definition of blockbuster but of the three I liked Wolvie the best. Star Trek was also a great flick. I’m not much on films that tinker with canon but on its own merits Abrams did a kick ass job of resetting Star Trek canon and bringing Kick and Spock in the 21st century.

Harry Potter was an ok port of the book to the Big Screen. On its own merits it was a great flick but I was a bit underwhelmed with the film compared to the books telling of the story. My biggest disappointment was the neutered “Battle of Hogwarts” which came across more as the “Assassination of Albus Dumbledore.”

As for New Moon, having never read the books I had no expectations of the film and enjoyed it for what it was, a great eye candy film with a good mix of drama and action. All in all, it was a great year at the theatre!

Moving to the art house side of things, this was my first year partaking in the awesomeness of the Hawaii International Film Festival. Being the nerdy nerd I am I spent most of my time taking in documentaries and geek films. Among the things I saw were:

• Earth Days
• The Real Shaolin
• No Impact Man
• Barbarian Princess
• 20th Century Boys Part I
• 20th Century Boys Part II
• 20th Century Boys Part III

Being a green proponent I had to see “Earth Days” and “No Impact Man.” “Earth Days” was a nice look at the evolution of the green movement over the past 40 years or so. “No Impact Man” was an awesome documentary looking at how the Beaven family of NYC spent a year living a green lifestyle eating organic, not using fossil fueled transportation and electricity. It was a very inspiring film which I had to take better example from.

“Real Shaolin” was an awesome documentary looking at the lives of four different students studying at various kwoon near China’s famous Shaolin Temple. Being a kung fu student myself and a martial artist it was a film I HAD to see. The Shaolin lifestyle in the 21st century is something else very much akin to living in the military. I doubt I’d make the cut but who knows.

“Barbarian Princess” is a film with great meaning to me as a Hawaiian. While the film was heavily dramatized with some historical inaccuracy taken for dramatic license, the overall message it sent about the circumstances surrounding the Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom is something that resounds in me personally and for that I hope the producers are successful in getting the film distributed in wide release.

The “20th Century Boys” trilogy was an awesome experience. I spent the better part of 10 hours watching these movies at the theatre on a Sunday (each film was about 3 hours). Based on a Japanese manga series the films were a ton of fun and told the story of a bunch of friends in Japan who as kids wrote fantasy stories of the end of the world while playing. Fast forward 30 years or so and one of them is secretly bringing about the events they fantasized about as kids to life. The drama was quite gripping!

With money for the movie house being tight one can only be thankful for the power of Netflix which allows an X number of movies to be sent to the house and an unlimited number of movies or tv shows to be streamed online for a set fee a month. With the power of Netflix I had a chance to catch many of the films I had hoped to see this year at the theatre via rental (thanks to quick distribution) as well as many classic films and documentaries. Here’s a full list of all the shows I saw either through the mail or online.

Netflix Rental

• You Got Served
• The Bucket List
• Get Smart
• Tropic Thunder
• Bring It On Again
• Pineapple Express
• Transporter 3
• Punisher: War Zone
• Bangkok Dangerous
• Wanted
• Bedtime Stories
• Star Trek: Insurrection
• Star Trek: Nemesis
• Disaster Movie
• Bolt
• How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
• Hancock
• Meet the Spartans
• Marley & Me
• Eagle Eye
• 300
• Gladiator
• Tuesdays with Morrie
• He’s Just Not That Into You
• Twilight
• The International
• Mitch Albom’s For One More Day
• Push
• The Brave One
• Hotel for Dogs
• 12 Rounds
• The Condemned
• Knowing
• Hellboy
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army
• Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
• 17 Again
• Nights in Rodanthe
• Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
• Angels and Demons
• Fighting
• The Legend
• Step Brothers
• Night at the Museum
• Night at the Museum 2
• Superbad

Netflix Instant (Movies)

• End of Days
• The Fugitive
• U.S. Marshals
• Unbreakable
• Hard Target
• Nowhere to Run
• The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
• The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning
• Sting: Moment of Truth
• Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
• Vantage Point
• Untraceable
• Perfect Stranger

Of all the films I see through the mail or online my personal favorites were “The Bucket List,” “Marley and Me,” “17 Again,” “Bolt,” “Tuesdays with Morrie,” “Angels and Demons” and “Vantage Point.” I’m a sucker for feel good dramas (Bucket List, Morrie, and Marley and Me) as well as cerebral thrillers (Angels and Demons, Vantage Point). 17 Again was just hilarious and Bolt was a cute family movie. All worth the watch!

In addition to the great movies Netflix also allowed me to enjoy a lot of great shows and documentaries I otherwise would not have enjoyed. The one show I got to follow off of Netflix I didn’t see before was “Fight Quest” which is the Discovery Channel’s awesome to the History Channels “Human Weapon” series I loved a few years back. Both shows follow the adventures of two guys who travel the globe to learn about various martial arts style after which they face off against a local champion of the style. The show kicked major butt!

Netflix Instant (Shows)

• Fight Quest

Among the various documentaries I saw on Netflix this year were the following which I enjoyed learning from immensely.

Netflix Instant (Documentaries)

• Confucius: Words of Wisdom
• Modern Marvels: The Great Wall of China
• Modern Marvels: The Empire State Building
• Abraham: One Man, One God
• Biography: Adam and Eve
• Ancient Mysteries: Astrology
• Video Games: Behind the Fun
• Modern Marvels: Television
• Modern Marvels: The Telephone
• Reclaiming the Blade
• Ancient Mysteries: Dragons
• Big Rig
• The Marines

Finally, as most of you long-time readers know, I’m a big fan of the stage and 2K9 was a great year for theatre here in Hawai’i. Among some of the great productions I got to check out were:

• Mainland Education (at Kumu Kahua)
• The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (at Hawaii Repertory Theatre)
• Merry Wives of Windsor (Hawaii Shakespeare Fest)
• Miso (TAG)
• Night of January 16th (TAG)
• Dancing Between Heaven and Hell (TAG)
• High School Musical II (Army Community Theatre)
• Voices from Okinawa (Kumu Kahua)

As an Improv artist I have a lot of friends in the local theatre community and many of my friends performed in several of these productions. By and large I enjoyed all of these shows.

“The Complete Works of William Shakespeare” was a great production finely acted with some Improv and video production thrown in. Of course, I’d expect nothing less from something involving R. Kevin Doyle and Jordan Savusa.

I have been most impressed by the offerings at TAG the past few seasons. This year I had a chance to catch three productions at TAG: Miso, Night of January 16th and Dancing Between Heaven and Hell.

I caught “Miso” and “Night of January 16th” with a friend from work. “Miso” spoke to me since it was a play about the Japanese experience (I enjoyed Shakespeare as much as the next guy, but I prefer works that speak to the Hawaii or Asian experience) and it didn’t disappoint. “Night of January 16th” was an awesome play (featuring Elizabeth Wolfe, one of my favorite local talents) featuring a murder trial which provided the extra interactive feature of having jurors from the audience. As luck would have it I got to do jury duty!  “Dancing Between Heaven and Hell” was a great production ran as part of TAG’s Dark Night series and part of Eric Nemoto’s Soul Saviour series.  Featuring awesome dance performances, the awesome mythology of angels vs. demons and a few musical pieces thrown in it was a great mixed bag of a performance.  I dug it.

The year for me wrapped up at Kumu Kahua’s “Voices from Okinawa” featuring my improv buddy Stu Hirayama. Added bonus to this screening was that I caught it closing afternoon which featured a nice Okinawan post-show dinner and entertainment.

All in all, it was a great year at the cinemaplex and on the stage.

2009 Year in Review: Part III — Portland (and Forks) 2009

Prelude: 2009 was such a great year for me in many ways. Crap economy not withstanding, 2009 was a year of great development, great triumph and great fun. I’ll be recapping my year in a few posts. Here in Part III I discuss our awesome return trip to the Pacific Northwest featuring our return to Portland, OR and pilgrimage to Forks, WA

The very first trip The Mrs. and I ever took together was to Portland, OR back in June, 2001 for the wedding of our good friends Kim and Collins.  Collins is one of my best friends from high school and we traveled for his wedding where I had the honor of being in his wedding party.  Collins would return the favor in 2K3 when the Mrs. and I took our own vows.  Fast forward to 2K9 and Kim and Collins have two beautiful children.  On the occasion of Collins’ 30th b-day Kim throw a gala bash.  Long overdue for a visit with our far-flung friends and in need of a vacation we bit the bullet and made the trip.

Eight years is a long time between visits.  Back in 2001 we were barely 23 years old, just barely old enough to rent a car.  It was our first time driving in Mainland traffic and we had some challenges navigating the town (lol).  In 2K9 thankfully we have GPS which was a godsend for us considering what we would do on this trip.

Unlike the frantic pace of our NYC visit, the Portland trip was way more casual with nothing formal on the agenda aside from making the b-day party.  Our trip was highlighted by sight seeing, shopping, dining at new places and catching up with friends.

First some general comments. This was our first time being on the Mainland in the winter so it was HELLA cold for us and going into this trip we had no winter clothing so we had to buy some. Being winter I had hoped this would be my first time to see and play in the snow but it didn’t work out that way. Given the rainy roads though I’m kinda glad it didn’t snow as I really would have no clue how to handle driving in snow. It was a major trip for me to wake up and have the rental car caked in ice in the morning!

The trip kicked off with Collin’s party and our first chance to get to meet our niece and nephew (kids are soooooo darn cute!) It’s been several years since we had a chance to see Kim and Collins and their family so it was a nice evening.

Aside from visiting with Kim and Collins, we also had the chance to catch up with another high school friend Raenelle who I keep up with regularly through the power of social networking (namely Twitter).  We had a chance to catch up over lunch and dinner on a few occasions at Olive Garden and Red Robin.  This was my second chance to dine at Olive Garden (first being in San Diego back in 2K8).  I had never heard of Red Robin before this trip but I must say, they have kick ass food.

Raenelle and I at Olive Garden

Red Robin

Being a leisure trip we took in some sights of the town including visits to the World Forestry Museum, the Oregon Historical Society and the Beverly Clearly Sculpture.

Going to the Forestry Museum and the Historical Society was a great learning experience. I learned a TON about the logging industry which drove life in the Pacific Northwest and the U.S. Western Expansion.

Another great thing I learned about Portland is that it is the hometown of prolific children’s author Beverly Cleary whose works I loved and grew up reading as a child. I was most pleased to learn that some generous folks had built a memorial sculpture to Cleary and her works at Portland’s U.S. Grant Park. I learned all this off of Wikipedia one night earlier this year when I looked her up after voting for Hawai’i’s bid to receive free books in a literacy campaign. Being a HUGE Cleary fan (her works really influenced my love of reading as a kid) I just HAD to visit the memorial sculpture. I am glad to know Cleary is still alive and well in her 90s as of this writing

Perhaps the most cool thing we did on this particular trip was take our first long distance road trip. Earlier this year The Mrs. fell head over heels in love with Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga (she read all 4 books in the span of a week after we saw the Twilight film on DVD). As luck would have it, Forks, WA, the town Twilight is set in, is about 4 hours away from Portland and has a thriving Twilight tourism industry. We made the obligatory pilgrimage.

This was the first time we ever did a road trip (living on an island makes it hard). Thank God was had GPS otherwise I probably wouldn’t have had much confidence to find our way there and back. I must say, driving for 8 hours is not a fun task as my feet got numb and needing to pull over and find a McDonald’s or gas station to make a pit stop breaks your comfort zone. Seeing the country is a blast though so I’m glad we had the experience.

The drive to forks was cool as we got to zoom across the Interstate from Oregon to Washington. It took about 1 hour on the Interstate to get to the U.S. highway in Washington that would take us about another hour to drove through several towns before we got to two lane road that wind take us to Forks. Forks, WA is a pretty remote place as it is about two hours through the Olympic National Forest from the nearest town on a simple two lane country road. It is another two hours from Forks to the next nearest town, Port Angeles which was also featured in the Twilight novels.

The Long Road to Forks

Majestic Olympic National Forest

Once you get to Forks you see it’s quite the quaint little town, the type where everyone knows everyone. This town is SMALL but it has a thriving Twilight tourist industry. Behind us there were no less than 5 other carloads (mostly teenage girls) arriving in town to check out the Twilight goodness. The hub of Twilightmania in town is a store called “Dazzled By Twilight” which sells Twilight memorabilia and other merchandise. The store provides a Twilight tour of the town (not ongoing the day we rolled into town unfortunately).

The Forks Chamber of Commerce also sponsors a free self-guided tour of the Twilight attractions. Below are pics of the highlights.

Bella’s car fronting the Chamber of Commerce

The Swan Family House

Forks High School

Forks City Hall and Police Department

The Cullen House

Once we got our fill of the sites and shopping (and a stop for lunch) we did the four hour drive back to Portland which put us back at the hotel at 7pm. It was pretty crazy as we’d gotten up at 4:30 a.m. to hit the road by 5am so we could make it to Forks by 10am. It was a looooong but fun day.

The rest of our trip back in Portland was fairly low key as we spent it catching up with Collins and Kim for dinner a few nights, shopping and taking more of the cuisine. We tried the famous Voodoo Donuts (including the famous Maple Bacon donut, yum!)

as well as the famous to transplanted Hawaiians Kaua’i Island Grill. I can appreciate how great it must be to have a place that cooks food like home. The saimin was in great need in the freezing Oregon weather.

Our trip ended with a final dinner with Collins and Kim and we headed home, thus ending a fun and relaxing trip with some great friends.

2009 Year In Review: Part 2 — Empire (and Boston) State of Mind

Prelude:  2009 was such a great year for me in many ways.  Crap economy not withstanding, 2009 was a year of great development, great triumph and great fun.  I’ll be recapping my year in a few posts.  Here in Part II I discuss our awesome trip to the East Coast featuring our first trips to New  York City and Boston, MA.

With the crap economy it didn’t look like we’d have an opportunity to travel in 2009 but I was very fortunate enough to be sent to conference in Boston for work.  While on the East Coast (which may very well be a once in a lifetime opportunity, at least for now) I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to travel to New York (a lifelong dream) so the Mrs. and I took the opportunity to visit two of America’s greatest cities for this once in a lifetime trip opportunity.

My time in Boston was limited due to my work commitment’s so my sight-seeing was limited. The only major site I had a chance to take in was a trip to Harvard Museum of Natural History and Peabody Museum on our first full day in town (before my conference).  In the evenings after the conference we had a chance to check out Faneuil Hall.  On our final evening we had dinner at the historic “Ye Olde Union Oyster House.”

The Mrs. had more time to sight see and got to take in the New England Aquarium and walk a portion of the Freedom Trail to Paul Revere’s house. Other highlights of our Boston experience included our first time traveling via a mass rail transit system (the ‘T’) and awesome New England cuisine (we TOTALLY miss the chowda and Irish bangers). While not standard New England faire, one memorable restaurant we ate at was the Tropical Grill in Revere, MA which featured an AWESOME Brazillian rodizio style buffet. It was a first for us and is totally recommended.

I didn’t get a chance to do several things I wanted to do while in Boston but hopefully at some point in the future I’ll have an opportunity to return and accomplish them (ie — visiting the JFK Library, MIT and walking the Freedom Trail).

After the conclusion of my conference we hopped a Peter Pan for the long trip to NYC. It was our first time riding long distance anywhere but was an enjoyable experience. From there, we took a whirlwind tour of NYC and got to experience life in America’s most famous city.

We stayed in Time Square and our first experience of the Big Apple was quite overwhelming. Being buried in a see of people non-stop 24-7 was something else. For myself though, I fell in love with NYC. From being able to grab a hot dog or food off a cart on every street corner, to having umbrella vendors appear out of nowhere anytime it starts to rain to disappearing into the subway, NYC is something else.

Kebob Vendor

NYC Subway: E Line at 14th

Our NYC trip revolved around paying our respects to the 9/11 victims with a visit to the Ground Zero Museum and a trip to Ground Zero itself, taking in Broadway shows (Rock of Ages and West Side Story), checking out several museums (American Museum of Natural History, Ripley’s Believe It or Not and Madame Tussaud’s), one attraction (NBC Studio Tour) and shopping.

For most people before 9/11 I think it could safely be said that no trip to NYC would be complete without the obligatory visit to the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. For us, believe it or not, we didn’t do either of those things (not for not wanting, we just ran out of energy/time). In the Post 9/11 world I think it can safely be said no visit to NYC is complete without the obligatory paying of respects by visiting Ground Zero. For the Mrs. and I we visited the Ground Zero Museum workshop and then heading down to the hallowed grounds of the WTC site. If you’ve never been to or heard of the Ground Zero Museum, this place is not to be missed as it is a great tribute to the victims and rescuers of 9/11.

Ground Zero Museum

WTC Reconstruction

Our evenings in NYC were dominated by taking in the obligatory shows on Broadway and other great NYC night time entertainment.  Night one in NYC we were roped into taking a show at the Ha! Comedy Club by a persistent street promoter.  Normally we’re good about not giving in to street promoters (ie — Las Vegas) but for us this was our first night in NYC and it was a comedy show (I’m a huge fan of comedy fan) so we gave it a shot.  The show did NOT disappoint as the Ha! Comedy Club had a great rotation of comics.  Among the most memorable guys performing that night were Kenny Ortega, Shawn Cornelius (one funny brother!) and the awesome Craig Carmean with his hilarious comedic songs.

As far as Broadway went, we wanted some variety so we decided to check out something new as well as something old. For something new, we went with “Rock of Ages” which for my money is the best production I have seen in my whole life (close second would be Cirque du Soleil’s LOVE). The show kicked major ass as it was a jukebox musical featuring 80’s rock/metal hits incorporated into a love story storyline featuring American Idol Constantine Maroulis. It don’t get better than that!

For something old, we went with the classic “West Side Story.” Sure I knew the story but nothing beats seeing a classic live and the sold out theatre proved the fact. The music, the acting, etc were all spot on. Seeing “West Side Story” on Broadway is a great experience.

Our other NYC experiences included visits the American Museum of Natural History and the NYC branches of Ripley’s Believe It or Not and Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum.

It took us a few hours to get to the AMNH due to some “navigational challenges” of the NYC subway system so we didn’t get to see everything we wanted to in the museum (I never made it to the dinosaurs   One day when I get to return to NYC I definitely plan to visit the AMNH and complete my tour of the museum.

We took in Ripley’s and Madame Tussaud’s on our last day in NYC (literally right before we boarded the bus to leave). By our last day we were pretty tired from walking everywhere. We’d planned on doing the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building on that day but were too pooped to walk or take the subway. Fortunately Ripley’s and Tussaud’s are in Times Square and are just a few blocks from our hotel so that was more our speed. Both places were a ton of fun and we had a blast. Toussaud’s in particular was awesome

Us at Ripley’s

The Mrs. and Jennifer Aniston (aka Rachael Green)

Me taking on the Champ

The final major aspect of our NYC experience was getting some shopping done. We toured the NBC Studios on our 2nd day in town and shopped at the NBC Universal Store afterward. The tour experience was neat as you got to learn about NBC history and visit some of the studios.

Our other major shopping experiences included visiting the Hershey store and M&M World NYC. Being frequent visitors to Vegas we are VERY acquainted with M&M World in Vegas. The NYC store is pretty the same but has the NYC charm of having a Lady Liberty M&M.

Hershey Store

Lady Liberty M&M at M&M World

Overall, NYC was a major blast as was Boston. NYC is place I see myself visiting regularly in future years like Vegas (provided I have the means to do so). I fell in love with the town as it’s definitely my type of place. Hopefully it won’t be too long before I can return the Big Apple and get the obligatory visit to Liberty Island and the Empire State Building. Overall, Summer 2K9 was a GREAT summer with an unexpected but pleasant visit to two places I didn’t think I’d get to see. Thank God for work conferences to provide a subsidized trip.

2009 Year In Review: Part 1 — Concerts, Productions and Sporting Events

Prelude:  2009 was such a great year for me in many ways.  Crap economy not withstanding, 2009 was a year of great development, great triumph and great fun.  I’ll be recapping my year in a few posts.  Here is Part 1 I’ll discuss the awesome concerts, productions and sporting events I had a chance to catch throughout 2K9.

2009 in many ways was somewhat counter intuitive for me.  With the economy in the shitter my resolution and plan was to scale back on spending.  In some ways we were successful in this (no real huge splurges or excesses).  In other ways, namely the awesome entertainers that hit the islands in 2K9, we failed but we had a blast doing it.

For me, 2009 was in some ways a return to the past and major headliners of my childhood did shows here in Hawaii and we came out to see them.  Prior to 2009 I’d never really been to a concert by a major headliner but 2009 was determined to get my concert dollar and I for one wasn’t complaining.  Here’s a recap of some of the shows we saw.

Gloria Estefan Concert
Date:  Saturday January 17, 2009.
Venue:  Blaisdell Arena

January kicked off with Gloria Estefan returning to Hawai’i after well over a decade.  Being big fans The Mrs. and I weren’t about to miss this one and the concert didn’t disappoint as Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine rocked it big time with all their major hits.  Estefan sang a bunch of her lesser known tunes (or at least to us anyway) as well (most notably the ones in Spanish) but all in all the concert was a blast and we had a great time!

Boyz II Men Concert
Date:  Saturday, February 24, 2009
Venue:  Blaisdell Arena

Valentine’s Day was extra special this year as Boyz II Men (just about EVERYONE’S favorite R&B/soul group of the 90s) hit town for a Valentine’s Day concert.  Boyz II Men was one of my absolute favorite bands as a teen (everyone from the 90s can probably relate to belting out Boyz II Men tunes) and them coming down for Valentine’s Day was a no-brainer.  The concert totally rocked as the Boyz ran through all their standards plus a run through Motown classics.  Celebrating couples lined the rafters at this event and the Boyz ran through two renditions of the classic “I’ll Make Love To You.”  It was a good Valentine’s, put it that way

Journey Concert
Date:  Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Venue:  Blaisdell Arena

80’s rock legend Journey (or at least its current incarnation) hit Honolulu for 3 nights of concerts and we checked this show out with a bunch of friends.  Filipino vocalist Arnel Pineda (who took over lead vocals from Steve Perry a few years back) brought out all of Honolulu’s Filipino population for the three nights.  The concert did not disappoint as the band built steadily through the night up to a crescendo of all their mega hits for a rapid crowd and no one stopped believing

Ka Himeni ‘Ana
Date:  Saturday, September 5, 2009
Venue:  Hawai’i Theatre

The annual Ka Himeni ‘Ana Hawaiian music competition took place in September.  The annual contest, which awards a recording contract to the best band to perform traditional Hawaiian music with unamplified instruments, is always a sure bet for the best in Hawaiian music.  I went out to support my good friend Mahealani Stillman and his band Kaiholu as they attempted to win the contest for the second year in a row.  The Akua was smiling that night and Mahealani and the men of Kaiholu did in fact win the contest and the contract.  Look for Kaiholu’s debut release coming soon!

Mega 80s and 90s Festival
Date:  Saturday, October 10, 2009
Venue:  Blaisdell Arena

Life could not get any better as four major acts from the 80s and 90s descended upon Honolulu to bring the past back to life for one night.  The show kicked major angle side side but I was a bit disappointed more folks didn’t come out (their was a UH football game that night competing with the show — we lost).  Nonetheless, everyone at the show had a blast as local favorites the Jets reunited for the first time in almost 20 years to steal the show.  Also on the bill, the Cover Girls, Ready for the World and the headlining En Vogue.

The Cover Girls

Ready for the World

The Jets

En Vogue

Aside from the awesome concerts to rock Honolulu, we also had a chance to take in some other great shows and productions.  Topping the list was WWE’s return to Honolulu.

WWE Smackdown/ECW House Show
Date:  Sunday, July 5, 2009
Venue:  Blaisdell Arena

WWE put on an awesome card featuring the Smackdown/ECW brand.  I for one was glad to get the Smackdown brand for once as all the shows the WWE has put on in Hawaii the past several years featured the Raw brand.  Headlining the card was an awesome Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio match for the IC TItle.  Other great matches on the card featured CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy for the WWE Title and a triple threat match between Tommy Dreamer, Jack Swagger and Christian for the ECW Title.  The card also featured the Great Khali and Mark Henry in action.  It was my first time seeing both guys live and they are HUGE!!!

Other cool events I saw this year included:

Shaolin Monks at the Blaisdell Concert Hall
Chimagukru at the Hawaii Okinawan Center

RSPW 2009 Awards

The RSPW Awards are the Internet’s Oldest Awards (now in it’s 20th Year) commemorating the Best and Worse in Professional Wrestling each year.  Each year I post my picks as submitted on the official RSPW Awards Ballot.  You can check out my picks last year here.

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Best Wrestler

Award Description:

To be given to the athlete who was the best overall wrestler of the year.  This includes all facets of wrestling: workrate, technical ability,  interviews, charisma, value to his/her promotion, etc. In 1994, this award was split into three: North American, Non-North American, and overall. In 1998, it was recombined into one.

1st:  CM Punk
2nd:  AJ Styles
3rd:  Chris Jericho

Throughout 2009 CM Punk, AJ and Jericho stood head and shoulders above everyone else.  I give the best wrestler of the year nod to Punk as it was a break through year of sorts for him.  He delivered in the ring as well as on the mic with a solid feud with Jeff Hardy and transitioned into a great heel.  In TNA AJ Styles had a banner year finally being pushed back to his rightful place at the top of the promotion.  As for Jericho, he’s Jericho and is always gold.  More on him later.

 

Best Tag Team

Award Description:

To be given to the tag team who were the best overall team of the year.  This includes all facets of wrestling: workrate, technical ability, interviews, charisma, hot team moves, value to their promotion, etc. In 1994, this award was split into three: North American, Non-North American, and overall. In 1998, it was recombined into one.

1st:  Chris Jericho and Big Show
2nd:  Beer Money — James Storm and Robert Roode
3rd:   Beautiful People – Angelina Love & Velvet Sky

JeriShow take top nods for best tag team.  When you talk “Division Killers” these two of the definition as they maintained a dominant stranglehold as WWE’s Unified Tag Champs.  Beer Money, TNA’s top team and the Beautiful People round things out.

Best Heel

Award Description:

To be given to the person who was the best villain this past year. This person should bring out the fans’ wrath. Match quality is not paramount here; this award should be based primarily on how over the wrestler was in the past year.

1st:  Chris Jericho
3. 2nd:  Randy Orton
3. 3rd:  Miz

For the second year in a row I give Jericho the nod for Best Heel.  While he wasn’t the “dominant” heel that Randy Orton was booked as, NO ONE was more versatile as a heel than Jericho.  From punking out aged Legends to dominating the tag ranks as the cowardly heel hiding behind Big Show to delivering top notch singles matches with just about every face on the roster, NO ONE played the bad guy better than Jericho.  Orton (by default) and the coming on strong Miz round out the Top 3.

 

Best Babyface

Award Description:

To be given to the person who best portrayed the hero this past year. This person should get lots of fan support. Match quality is not paramount here; this award should be based primarily on how over the wrestler was in
the past year.

1st:  AJ Styles
2nd:  John Cena
3rd:  Rey Mysterio

My top nod for Best Babyface goes to AJ Styles who was allowed to reclaim his spot as the leader of TNA.  Cena (by default) and Mysterio (always the great sympathetic babyface) round things out.

 

Best Worker

Award Description:

To be given to the wrestler with, on average, the best workrate. In 1994, this award was split into three: North American, Non-North American, and overall.  In 1998, it was recombined into one.

1st: AJ Styles
2nd: Chris Jericho
3rd:  Matt Hardy

Styles, Jericho and Matt Hardy.  No one consistently had better matches with a wider range of opponents than these two.  Too bad Matt Hardy doesn’t get to do his thing at a higher spot on the card…

 

Best Flyer

Award Description:

To be given to the wrestler who did the most and the best high-flying maneuvers throughout the year. In 1994, this award was split into two:  North American and Non-North American.  In 1998, it was recombined.

1st: Kofi Kingston
2nd: AJ Styles
3rd: Evan Bourne

Kofi, AJ and Evan.  Nuff said.

 

Best Technical Wrestler

Award Description:

To be given to the wrestler who has the most technical ability. The number of holds and moves you see this person do and the crispness with which the moves are executed makes his/her matches a pleasure to watch. In 1994, this award was split into three: North American, Non-North American, and overall. In 1998, it was recombined into one.

1st:  Chris Jericho
2nd:  Kurt Angle
3rd:  William Regal

Jericho, Angle and Regal.  These three names are self explanatory.  My pick of Jericho for the top spot is based on the fact that Jericho had solid matches with just about everyone he got in the ring with over the year from guys like Cena to Mysterio to aged vets like Snuka, Piper and Steamboat.  Now that’s talent!

 

Best Brawler

Award Description:

To be given to the wrestler who brawled his/her way through the year most convincingly. This award would go to Frank “Bruiser Brody” Goodish if he were still around. In 1994, this award was split into two: North American and Non-North American.  In 1998, it was recombined.

1st:  Samoa Joe
2nd:  Undertaker
3rd:  HHH

 

Most Favourite Wrestler

Award Description:

To be given to the wrestler you like the most, regardless of the reason.

1st:  Matt Hardy
2nd:  Chris Jericho
3rd:  CM Punk

I’m “Team Matt Hardy,” “Team Jericho” and “Team Punk.”  4 Life!

 

Most Improved Wrestler

Award Description:

To be given to the wrestler who most improved himself/herself in all facets of the sport in the past year.

1st:  Miz
2nd:  Kofi Kingston
3rd:  Eric Young

Without a doubt, Miz is the most improved wrestler over the year.  He’s always had great mic skills and in 2009 his in-ring skills shot up considerably.  He’s most deserving of the push he’s getting and is definitely on his way to being, “Awesome!”  Kofi and Eric Young, two other guys who came on strong in 2009, round out the list.

 

Most Overrated Wrestler

Award Description:

To be given to the wrestler who really has little talent, but has a large place in the spotlight nonetheless. This is a measure of how undeserved a wrestler’s push is.

1st:  Batista

I loved Big Dave just as much as everyone else did several years back when he made it to the top, but the recurrent injuries and what not just totally took his shine away.  The new push with Rey looks promising but it seems the ‘E’ wasn’t feeling him too much when they brought in Flair as his mouthpiece during the brief feud he had with Orton.

 

Best Wrestling Gimmick

Award Description:

To be given to the wrestler who had the best character gimmick in the past year.

1st:  Santino Marella as arrogant Italian
2nd:  Zach Ryder

Santino’s hilarious and Zach Ryder just cracks me up.  “Woo, woo, woo!!”

 

Best Wrestling Move

Award Description:

To be given to the move that is just the damn best thing you’ve seen this past year. This should probably be a “finishing” move or something really spectacular.

1st: Hernandez’s Border Toss crucifix powerbomb
2nd: Jay Lethal’s Lethal Combination

Big Toss (brutal) and Lethal Combination (sweet!).  Nuff said.

 

Best Feud

Award Description:

To be given to the feud that gave us the most heated and best wrestling match(es) of the year. In 1994, this award was split into two: North American and Non-North American.  In 1996, due to lack of participation on the non-NA side, it was recombined.

1st:  Main Event Mafia vs. TNA Frontline
2nd:  CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy
3rd:  John Cena vs. Randy Orton

The Main Event Mafia and Frontline feud set the tone for TNA for it’s year.  It wasn’t booked as perfectly as it could have been, but it was innovative and different and gets my top nod for Feud of the Year.  Punk vs. Hardy and Cena vs. Orton round it out for me.

 

Worst Tag Team

Award Description:

To be given to the name tag team who were the worst overall wrestlers in the past year. Minimal technical ability, lousy interviews, non-existent workrate, the charisma of a rock, and lousy team moves should describe this pair.

1st:   Legacy – Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase
2nd:  Bella Twins – Brie & Nikki

Legacy may have owned DX for a good portion of their feud, but those two guys are still Orton’s lackeys.  As a team they sucked.  I’d say the Hart Dynasty would have fulfilled the role of “Legacy” with more credibility than these two.

 

Worst Heel

Award Description:

To be given to the person whose casting as a bad guy just didn’t work well. Maybe there was just no heel heat drawn or maybe the fans actually cheered this person, but for whatever reason the heel image just didn’t get over.

1st: Dolph Ziggler
2nd:  Chris Masters

Dolph Ziggler’s too cool to be a convincing heel.  Chris Masters is booked too funny or to generically to draw any heat, face or heel.

 

Worst Babyface

Award Description:

To be given to the person whose casting as a good guy just didn’t work well. Maybe there was just no face heat drawn or maybe the fans actually booed this person, but for whatever reason the face image just didn’t get over.

1st:  Bobby Lashley

 

Most Deteriorated Wrestler

Award Description:

To be given to the person whose skill has deteriorated the most over the past year. This person should be a shadow of his/her former self.

1st: Scott Steiner

 

Most Underrated Wrestler

Award Description:

To be given to the person whose ability merits a far greater push than the person receives. There may be many such people, but the winner of this award should have the most ability with least push.

1st:  Matt Hardy
2nd:  Christopher Daniels
3rd:  Christian

Year in and year out I lament the lack of push of Matt Hardy.  I don’t know what the deal is.  He’s got the workrate, he’s got the fan support.  Last year he got the ECW belt.  His unreliable brother comes back (albeitly cleaned up) and is shot straight to the top.  Within months he flakes out, quits and winds up in trouble with the law.  Where’s Matt?  Back to jerking the curtain.  Yo, Vince!!!  PUSH “THE OTHER” HARDY.  Daniels is in a similar spot in TNA.  He was buried for a few years as Curry Man but made it back as himself and got a big initial push before being shuffled back to the undercard.  It looks like things are changing currently with the AJ feud but we’ll see what the next year holds.  Christian, being stuck in ECW Purgatory (albeit the top spot there), rounds out the list.

 

Worst Wrestling Gimmick

Award Description:

To be given to the wrestler who had the worst character gimmick in the past year.

1st: Manu as yet another Samoan barbarian
2nd:  Jesse as “Slam Master J”

Blink and you may have missed him, but poor Manu.  His push was so short and so generic.  Way to develop new stars!  Jesse as Slam Master J?  Funny in spots but there MUST be a better way to use this guy.

 

Worst Wrestling Move

Award Description:

To be given to the move that is the worst thing you’ve seen this year. This shouldn’t be given to a move that was flubbed by a wrestler – the move was performed correctly, but was just too stupid for words. This move should probably be a “finishing” move or something that was meant to be spectacular.

1st: Santino Marella’s theatrics & thrust to the throat

Santino’s super throat thrust is hilarious!  It would never work in a real fight, but it is entertaining!

 

Worst Match

Award Description:

To be given to the worst wrestling match you’ve seen this year, either live, on TV, PPV, or in an arena, or on tape. If it took place in the past year, it is eligible.

1st:  04/05/09 25 Diva Battle Royal

Diva Battle Royal at Wrestlemania.  Honestly, it looked like a bunch of blondes (so many couldn’t even tell who was who) fighting over stuff at a Black Friday sale.  Good for you Trish Stratus for declining the invite!

 

Most Disappointing News item

Award Description:

To be given to the wrestling news item that most disappointed you when heard of it. When you first learned of this news story, you couldn’t believe that it was true, and when you learned that it was, you were bummed out for a while.

1st:   TNA hires Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Ed Ferrara, lays off Jim Cornette
2nd:  Shane McMahon resigns from WWE
3rd:   Edge injured again

I like to keep an open mind and see the benefits of TNA signing Hogan, but seriously.  It DOES look like history repeating itself with Hogan, Bischoff, Russo and Ferrera coming in and someone well respected like Cornette going out.  Shane McMahon leaving WWE is pretty shocking!

 

Most Obnoxious Personality

Award Description:

To be given to the person who just rubs you the wrong way. This could be anybody involved in the wrestling biz.

1st:   Abraham Washington

Abraham Washington along with Tony “Ed McMahon” Atlas?  Oh boy!  Atlas’ McMahon bit gets quite trying after about 20 seconds…

 

Best Second

Award Description:

To be given to the manager who outperformed their peers at ringside and behind the microphone in interviews.  This award was discontinued after the 2001 awards and reinstated in 2006.

1st:   Natalya

Natalya’s a nice second.  She’d make an even better “first.”

 

Best Announcer

Award Description:

To be given to the commentator/announcer who makes the most insightful and entertaining comments while pushing his product.  “Ring announcers” don’t qualify here.  As of 1992, the difference between this and colour commentator will be enforced.

1st:   Jim Ross
2nd:  Matt Stryker

 

Best Colour Commentator

Award Description:

To be given to the colour commentator who provides the most insightful and entertaining comments.

1st:   Matt Striker
2nd:   Taz

Matt Striker’s totally awesome on commentary.  Much like Tazz or JBL, no one does it better than a guy who’s actually been in the ring.  He brings tons of credibility to the broadcast table.

 

Best Interviewee

Award Description:

To be given to the person who gives the best interview in the biz. This could be a wrestler or a manager.

1st:   Chris Jericho
2nd:   John Cena
3rd:   CM Punk

 

Best Angle

Award Description:

To be given to the best angle you’ve seen in the sport this year.

1st:   Sting wins TNA title, forms the Main Event Mafia
2nd:   CM Punk wants to rescue us from Jeff Hardy

The MEM angle in TNA set it’s stage for the whole year.  Sting gathering the veterans to “teach respect” to the young talent was a great concept as was Punk’s preaching to the audience about the evils of living Jeff Hardy’s lifestyle.  Both worked as there is grounding in truth to both premises.  Great angles.

 

Best Organization

Award Description:

To be given to the organization/promotion that has the best product. This is the organization whose TV and house shows you just can’t miss.

1st:  WWE
2nd:  TNA
3rd:  ROH

 

Best TV Show

Award Description:

To be given to what is on average the best wrestling TV show. In 1994, TV shows and major shows were given separate award categories.

1st:  WWE Smackdown
2nd:  WWE Raw
3rd:  TNA Impact!

 

Best Major Show

Award Description:

To be given to the best major event. This could be a pay-per-view, a TV special, or any big arena event. In 1994, TV shows and major shows were given separate award categories.

1st:   04/05/09 WWE WrestleMania 25

 

Best Promotional Move

Award Description:

To be given to the best move made by a promotion this past year. This could include giving somebody a push, demoting someone, firing someone hiring someone, or anything of a promotional nature.

1st:   TNA puts World title back on AJ Styles
2nd:  WWE makes CM Punk World Heavyweight Champ
3rd:   WWE uses Chris Jericho on all 3 brands

At a time when new talent needs to be developed I’m glad both WWE and TNA decided to push “newer” and reliable guys like AJ Styles and CM Punk back to the top.  AJ’s the guy TNA was built around at the outset before the import of “old talent” came.  With that ship having run it’s time to put him back on top.  Same deal with Punk.  Charismatic stars like Hardy are good, but it’s old (and clean) reliable talent like Punk (as was Bret Hart back in the day) who are the foundation of a company.  Rounding out the list is the E’s recognition of Jericho’s talent and featuring him on all brands as the Unified Tag Champ.

 

Worst Angle

Award Description:

To be given to the worst angle you’ve seen in the sport this year. It may be the worst because of taste or because of execution.

1st:   The Beautiful People as Sarah Palin groupies
2nd:  R-Truth wanders around arenas as Delicious Pretty Ricky

TNA’s Beautiful People as Sarah Palin groupies was just too horrible and insulting for words.  The skits were ridiculously long and totally unbelievable.  The Beautiful People are dumb blondes?  Ok, we get that.  There’s no need to subject as to 10 minute skits about it.  R-Truth as Delicious Pretty Ricky was just horrible and a bit offensive.

 

Worst Promotional Move

Award Description:

To be given to the worst move made by a promotion this past year. This could include giving somebody a push, demoting someone, firing someone hiring someone, or anything of a promotional nature.

1st:    TNA hires the players that brought about the demise of WCW
2nd:   WWE books weekly guest hosts for Raw
3rd:   WWE fails to push Christian to the top on his return

These “worst promotional” moves can go either way.  My top two picks, like most people, are the hiring of Hogan and crew by TNA (#1) and the WWE’s “Raw guest host” bit.  Hogan does bring great name recognition and will boost attention to TNA.  As a strategy it’s a good move to get more mainstream attention, no doubt.  Given that, hiring the same crew that put a multimillion dollar company out of business just looks as a no brainer recipe for disaster.  For TNA’s sake I hope history does NOT repeat itself.  Over on the ‘E’s side:  the guest host concept looks good on paper.  Again, you bring significant mainstream attention to the E and can create crossover appeal.  As a strategy it works.  In execution?  You get tons of flubbed lines, horrendously horrible skits, etc.  For every great host (ie — Shaq or Bob Barker) you get an equally horrible host (the NASCAR guys, Al Sharpton, etc, etc).  It’s hit or miss and as John Morrison puts it, “Raw’s become wrestling’s version of Saturday Night Live.”  Not what you’re really going for, or is it?

 

Other Awards:

BEST THEME MUSIC
1.  “Get Ready to Fly” — AJ Styles
2.  “Oh Radio” — Zach Ryder
3.  “Crank the Walls Down” — JeriShow
4.  “Just Close Your Eyes” — Christian

Giving Thanks: 2009 Edition

I can’t believe how quickly it seems this year has come and gone.  So much has happened this year (if you know how to find me on Twitter you can read about it all there since I’ve been gone from here) and there is most definitely a lot to be thankful for.  Reflecting back on the past year here are some things I am most thankful for:

1. Family:  One of my ongoing resolutions the past several years was to make more time for my family.  Fate, in its own strange way, helped bring this about with my mom’s ongoing illness.  While not the ideal way one would wish to be brought closer together I’ve enjoyed catching up and spending more time with my folks while they are still here with us in this world.  As we celebrate Thanksgiving 2009 I am very thankful Mom and Dad (and my childhood doggie Chico) are still here.  I’m thankful for reconnecting with a lot of the extended family who’ve come out to help Mom.  Last but not least, I’m thankful for Shell, Rocky and Sasha who continue to make the all the crap you go through in life worthwhile.
2. Career:  In this time of economic bust where a LOT of people are hurting and hurting bad I’m thankful to have not only a job but a thriving career.  2009 has seen my career which I’ve worked hard and sacrificed at for many years skyrocket to another level.  Lord willing, I am hopeful to fulfill some major career goals in 2010.
3. Health:  While I didn’t quite fulfill any of my health goals this year I’m still thankful to have relatively good health and still have the capacity to enjoy training (when I get around to doing it).  Hopefully I’ll motivate myself to be good in the new year and follow through on my diet and exercise goals.
4. Friends:  Like the past several years, the power of Social Networking continues to amaze me as more and more people from my past turn up out of the wood work.  Beyond that, I’m thankful for all my homies, Improv peeps, dojo brothers and sisters and co-workers and classmates who make this journey through life fun.
5. Travel:  Despite a crap economy, 2009 was the year I had a chance to literally get out and see the world as I got to travel to Hilo, Boston, NYC, Portland and Forks, WA.  GPS at our side and online travel sites to prep, I enjoyed each destination along the way.

In a year when a ton of people are hurting with the down economy I really am thankful for all the blessings I have and continue to have.

I’ll be back in a few weeks with my Year In Review recap.

Happy Thanksgiving peeps

New Troupes Debut this Weekend at Laughtrack Theater!

Laughtrack will debut 2 new ensembles this week!

Friday night, 1/16/09, Therapy will make their LTC debut at 8pm with another show to follow at 10pm – Therapy will explore hard hitting issues from various perspectives all while having a laugh! A must see, for all of us who could use a good laugh.

Saturday night, 1/17/09 our newest FISW training center graduates: Belligerent will hit the stage at 8pm and again at 10pm showcasing their mad skills and six months of HARD work. Audiences will be amazed as ensemble members of Belligerent use movement, sound and wit to take you on an engaging journey. Every performance is completely improvised! An unscripted piece of art created right before your eyes – performers start their journey by using only one suggestion from the audience at the top of each performance to create a magical work of art, a once in a lifetime experience. Come down to LTC and share in the special week…See you at the show!  Belligerent is the team of Tom Chizewick, Scot Hanada, Larissa Nielsen, Chris Riel, Eric Semingsen, and Shawn Thomsen.

Aloha, LTC -Laughtrack Theater Company

New Year’s Resolutions 2K9

There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

There is no death, there is the Force.

—The Jedi Code (Based on the meditations of Odan-Urr)

With the New Year and the recent commemoration of my 31st year walking this planet it is time for me to set my Resolutions/goals for the year.

A few days ago I had the opportunity to watch the film, “The Bucket List.”  For myself I do have a “things to do before I die” list and each year when I set my Resolutions/goals I always add in something that will help me to check off one of my “Bucket List” items.

At this time I proudly present my year 2K9 Resolutions/goals with a look back where appropriate at my accomplishments of the past.

1.  More Time with Family and Friends.  This makes my list each and every year as a reminder to not take for granted the people that I love.  Like many people I find myself caught up in the current of my life (particularly career and school) that I sometimes neglect those who are most important — my family.  Over the past two years I’ve managed to make major headway in this by making more time to visit my parents in particular.  This year I hope to increase the frequency of my visits.  On the same token, I hope to be able to visit with more friends once a month at least.  Things like Facebook and MySpace and Twitter or text messaging and IM helps to keep in touch with your homies but nothing ever replaces the awesomeness of an in-person visit or get together.

2.  Improvement in Physical Health.    This has always been a perennial Resolution of mine which I conquered in 2K4 with a 90 lb weight loss through a solid, dedicated daily regimen of diet and exercise.  In 2K4 the wife and I joined Weight Watchers and mastered healthy eating.  That year I also purchased a gym membership and trained my @$$ off daily, finding a passion in the martial arts.  In 2K5 I started my MBA adventure this cutting out needed workout time and with the stress of work and school my healthy eating habits eroded and I’ve managed to “find” a good deal of the weight I’d loss that year.  This year I fully intend to get back on the healthy eating and regular exercise bandwagon.

3.  Karate Black Belt.  In 2K4 and throughout 2K5 I started my adventures in karate with regular, intensive study and a meteoric rise through our belt rankings in our dojo.  As my MBA studies intensified in 2K6 and 2K7 I put my karate studies on hold.  For 3 years my progress up the ladder to black belt has stalled.  My goal this year is to pick up where I left off and finish my journey to Black Belt just as I did with my Kung Fu studies last year.

4.  Eat Out Less/Control Spending.  With the rough economic times even a notorious “tight Pake” like myself has NOT been immune to a stretched budget.  For the first time in my life I am beginning to feel the strain of financial burdens and have been needing to seriously look at ways to cut back on expenses.  One major area is eating out less.  By eating out less we will be able to reign in spending on our food budget and hopefully also reap some health benefits by cooking healthier fare at home then we’ve eaten out (less fast food, plate lunches and junk/snack foods).

5.  Get More Culture In My Life.   In 2K8 I set the goal of “get more culture in my life.”  I accomplished this by attending Improv, theater, poetry slams, Art After Dark, First Fridays and Himeni fests.  In 2K9 I’m definitely planning on keeping this up and expanding on it by taking in additional cool cultural events.  Culture and the Arts are the one thing that separates man from beast

6.  Learn a New Skill or Develop an Old One Further. One of the biggest defining things of my 2K8 was delving into the world of Improv.  I have ALWAYS had a love and interest in the performing arts but never really developed it as I was always too busy being nerdy in life.  Over the course of this year it’s definintely my intention to continue down the performing arts path through more Improv and additional studies into comedic arts, acting and music and/or dance.  This year I hope to take additional comedy and acting lessons and also take up voice lessons.  If I have time and/or money hopefully I can take up dance (an excellent way to trick yourself into exercise).  In future years I hope to take up an instrument — either returning to the guitar and uke (which I played in my high school and college years) or take up new instruments like the keyboard or bass.

7.  Triple Crown Champion.  Within our organization there are three major professional development programs one can gain admittance into.  Thus far I have gone through two of those three programs.  Should I gain entrance into the third program I will have achieved the RARE distinction of being a “Triple Crown Champion” of sorts (I believe they are only 2 so far — out of a workforce of several THOUSAND employees in the University system that’s quite a statement).  I am eligible to apply for the 3rd program this year and I am confident I will gain admission into it as well.

8.  Balance My Workload.  One of the challenges of leading my lifestyle is being able to balance everything.  With so much work on my plate I almost inevitably need to drop a few balls.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing as I’ve come to accept the fact that I can’t do everything perfectly (typically the ball I’m forced to drop is my school grades).  My academic accomplishments have always been a source of pride for me but I’ve found in recent years with my ever-increasing job responsibilities and family responsibilities I am just not able to perform and achieve at the same academic level as I have in the past.  For a while it REALLY frustrated me but I’ve made peace with that.  In a perfect world I’d still be able to commit my full energies to my studies and “overachieve” as I am accustomed to but that ship has sailed for now.  Ideally I can lessen my workload to be able to achieve academically but realistically my focus is probably needed more at home and at work and for now I am fine with that.

In both 6 months and a year’s time…I’ll review this post and see where I’m at

Play Review: “Mainland Education” by Scot Izuka

Play: “Mainland Education” by Scot Izuka
Starring: Tyler Tanabe, Shiro Kawai, Kathy Hunter, Julia Nakamoto, Christopher Takemoto-Gentile and the voices of Jason Kanda and Laura Bach Buzzell
Venue: Kumu Kahua Theater
Genre:  Comedy
Date Watched: Thursday, January 8, 2009
Showtimes:  Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm through February 8, 2009
Tickets:  $16.00 General, $13 Senior, $10 Student Admission.  Thursday night specials:  $13.00 General, $11 Senior, $5.00 Student.  Available at Honolulu Box Office

Synopsis (taken from the “Mainland Education” page on the Kumu Kahua web site)

Cultures mix, match and clash at the University of Kansas in the early 1980s. Jerome, a second-year graduate student, is a third-generation Japanese-American from Hawaii. His roommate Yan is Taiwanese and still struggling comically with the English language. They meet the outgoing and assertive Cathy, born and raised in the Midwest, and her roommate Rei, a Japanese national who speaks English well but with an accent. As the four spend time together, they attempt to surmount difficulties created not only by language barriers but also by national identities and cultural mores. Jerome is self-conscious about others’ interpretations of his Japanese appearance outside of Hawaii. He begins a relationship with Cathy but is later drawn to Rei, who is pressured by her parents about being with Jerome because, to Japanese people, he is a foreigner. As the school year progresses, the friends’ mutual understanding grows, but not without difficulties. Mainland Education is a Kumu Kahua world premiere.

Thoughts

Izuka crafts quite an emotional ride in “Mainland Education.”  At times it’s witty and funny as both Jerome (Tyler Tanabe) and Yan (Shiro Kawai) suffer from “fish outta water” syndrome adjusting to their experiences on the Mainland.  Kawai in particular was just hilarious as Taiwanese doctoral student Yan whose less than perfect English set-up for many the hilarious moment in a recurring gag throughout the play

On the flip side, Izuka crafts quite the drama that touched upon serious themes including race and relationships that often left me both on the edge of my seat at times with the strength of the drama as well as with a few uncomfortable flashbacks to relationships of my past and my friend’s past which I’d rather have not recalled.  In many ways the play for me comes across as either one of those old ABC After School Specials (with humor) or an episode of “Boy Meets World” with a local twist.

For my taste I found the play quite engaging.  The message of racial tolerance speaks loud and clear with the contrast between Jerome’s relationships with both the bubbly haole girl, English-major Cathy (brilliantly brought to life by Kathy Hunter) and reserved, Japanese national business major Rei (Julia Nakamoto).

Hunter’s performance as Cathy (who seemed more interested in earning her MRS than her English degree) was  emotionally powerful as I definitely went along the roller coaster ride with her through the dramas of her relationship with Jerome.

Tyler Tanabe’s performance of lead man Jerome was also a lot fun as we too went along his personal voyage of discovery as he sought to juggle the unenviable demands of finishing his graduate degree, finding a high-paying job and balancing (literally) his love life.  Jerome’s emotional tormet with his inability to achieve his goal (land a job) and find happiness with his love life and comfort with his views on race relations was very much palpable.

Julia Nakamoto’s performance of Rei was nicely done with her performance definitely heightening the drama.  (Note to self:  never scorn a woman — EVER).

Rounding out this talented cast is Christopher Takemoto-Gentile’s dual-performance as both a fellow student and Jerome’s job recruiter who subjects poor Jerome to the job interview and Thesis defense from hell.  Jerome’s interview scenes for me were actually among my favorite in the whole play (especially the Thesis defense).

In the “nice touches” area:  lots of cool 80’s songs (local and mainstream) punctuate the play thus building and ensuring the right mood.

The Verdict

“Mainland Education” is quite the emotional ride.  Izuka weaves together a powerful tale of race and relations punctuated with nice bits of situation comedy and a cool soundtrack to boot.  This talented cast of 5 pulls it all together to nice effect for an entertaining 2 hour ride!

The shows run through February 8, 2009 at Kumu Kahua Theater.  Tickets are available at Honolulu Box Office.

Highly Recommended!