Waimea Valley

Sometime last week I went up to the North Shore with my co-worker and his girlfriend to hang out at the beach, go surfing, and just cruise around.  We went up to Pupukea and there was hardly a single person there.  It's a vast stretch of really nice beach and big waves.  It's also right next to Shark's Cove, which has some great snorkeling.  Anyway, we hung out there for only a little while because about an hour or two into the morning, it started to rain.

Although it was raining a little, we decided to stay up at the North Shore and across from Waimea Beach, there is a conservatory called Waimea Valley - (59-864 Kamehameha Highway Haleiwa, HI 96712-8411).  Waimea Valley consists of 1,875 acres and has been a sacred place for more than 700 years of Native Hawaiian history.  Waimea, “The Valley of the Priests,” gained its title around 1090 when the ruler of O‘ahu awarded the land to the kähuna nui. Descendants of the high priests lived and cared for much of the Valley until 1886.  As part of a cooperative conservation land purchase, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs acquired the property in 2006.

Anyway, they have daily activities that visitors can watch like ancient sports games, traditional methods of making clothes, etc.  Visitors to the Valley are allowed to participate in several of the activities (with paid admission) including Lei Making, Kapa Demonstration, Hula Lessons, Hawaiian Games, and Crafts, Music & Story Telling with Kūpuna. It costs somewhere around $10 for admission and I'd say it's right on the cusp of being worth it.  78 sites of interest have been identified including religious sites and shrines, house sites, agricultural terraces and fishponds. There is a waterfall in the back of the valley that you can jump into and go swimming.  It's also a lot like a Botanical Garden in the sense that there are more than 5,000 kinds of tropical and subtropical plants including native and endangered Hawaiian plants.  You can actually pick fruit and eat it, too, which is pretty cool.

Overall, it's a pretty fun place to visit for an afternoon walk, especially if you're already on the North Shore and looking for something to do other than the beach or historical town of Haleiwa.  It's especially good for old people who like plants or kids who can't sit still for more than 5 minutes.

Sweet Home Cafe

Americans have fondue, Japanese have shabu shabu, and the Taiwanese and Chinese have hot pot.  It all involves cooking thinly sliced chicken, beef, or pork, and other items such as cabbage or crab cakes in steaming pots of broth, but the similarities end there. While shabu shabu uses Japanese dashi-style broth, Taiwanese hot pot offers a wider range of soup styles, from spicy to lemongrass to curry.  Many islanders are more than familiar with shabu shabu, but hot pot has yet to reach that level of popularity. Well, the other day my friends and I tried Taiwanese hot pot and it was awesome.  It was just a really fun (and relatively inexpensive) experience for a group of people.  You can sit around, talk, BYOB, and cook whatever suits your fancy.

Sweet Home Cafe (map) is a complete and total hole-in-the-wall restaurant that is very easy to miss.  The only thing noticeable about this place is the massive line of people waiting outside.  Wait times vary, but it's not unusual to have to wait 45 minutes to get a seat.  That was the first thing that told me this place would be good.  When a local, run down restaurant in the corner of a parking lot is packed, you can be pretty confident the food is delicious.  In fact, they don't have a hostess at all.  You write your name on a clipboard hanging on the front door and wait until you're called.  Since this is a BYOB place, we just brought two 6-packs and drank while we waited.  No big deal.

The Hot Pot of Broth

Before you're called in, they will also ask you if you know what broth you want to order as well as what meats you want.  BE PREPARED.  This is a no nonsense place and they don't have time for your dilly-dallying.  So they have a few broths to choose from:  Spicy, Lemongrass, House Specialty, Curry, and Sour Cabbage. We had the spicy and lemongrass.  Both were delicious.  The waiter recommended trying to curry next time, though.  When you sit down, they bring out your broth and a few small plates of thinly sliced meat. We did beef and pork.

  

Refrigerators With Food to Cook

Then you can get up and go to the refrigerator and get anything you want.  Things are priced by the color of the plates.  So, for example, a blue plate is $2.95, green plate $3.95, and orange plate $4.95.  The plates vary by size and ingredient.  We went and got rice noodles, crab cakes, octopus, garlic tempura (fried garlic), fish balls, lobster balls, watercress, and some other stuff I don't remember.  There were plenty of CRAZY items that we were not brave enough to try, but everything we got (except the fish balls) were really good.  You can also get all sorts of spices and "add ons" for your meal.  For example, they have spicy garlic paste, green onions, thyme, garlic, red pepper, and other weird Asian stuff that I didn't ask about.

Spices

Then at the end of the meal, they bring FREE shave ice.  Now, admittedly it wasn't the best shave ice in the world, but it was good enough and it was the perfect palate cleanser after the meal.

Shave Ice

I've Been Saying It All Along...

I'm not one to toot my own horn, but in this particular instance, it appears that a recent study has backed up what I have been saying for the last 7 months: Hawaii drivers are the worst in the country.

"Hawaii drivers are among the least knowledgeable about the rules of the road," according to a study by GMAC Insurance. According to the results of the GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test, Hawaii ranked 50th in the nation with an average score of 73 percent correct.

While I can present plenty of empirical and anecdotal evidence to support the study's conclusions, I will just sit here quietly.  Perhaps this will make me feel better every time I see some crazy Hawaiian driver not paying attention to where he or she is going or randomly stopping in the middle of the road when there is no traffic light or stop sign (yes, I have seen these things happen multiple times).  I now know I'm not crazy.  For the longest time I felt like no one else noticed it and I that I was taking crazy pills (video).  Instead, Hawaiian drivers are just stupid. Phew. I feel better.

Boy's Day

On March 3rd I wrote about girl's day and made some sexist hilarious comments about the Japanese getting it right.  For girl's day, you may recall that someone brought in brownies and fortune cookies to work.  Well, today is BOY'S DAY!  Let me just say, I didn't even know there was a boy's day until I walked into the kitchen.  Again, it seems the Japanese got this one right.  We didn't just get brownies.  Oh no.  The judicial assistants all brought in food for "their boys."  That's right, there are 3 boxes of manapua.  There is a big box of peanut butter crackers.  There is a massive tray of Lumpia (egg rolls).  There is a big bag of bagels with three types of cream cheese spreads.  It's like I died and went to my triathlon training hell!  Anyway, everyone has been in the kitchen all morning snacking on delicious food and hanging out.  As you can imagine, little work is being done.

So what is boy's day?  Good question.  May brings the reminder that in Japan, as in the United States, one of a nation's greatest assets is her children. May 5 is "Children's Day" in Japan, the day to stress the importance of respecting the character of children and promoting their health and happiness. It is also the day for children to express their gratitude for the tender love and care they receive from their parents. On this day Japanese families celebrate Tango-no-Sekku, the Boys' Festival. With its special customs and observances, it is Japan's way of celebrating the healthy growth and development of her young boys.

A carp-like streamer (yes, like the fish) is flown outside your home for each son in the family, a very large one for the eldest, the others ranging down in size.  The carp has become the symbol of the Boys' Festival because the Japanese consider it the most spirited of fish, so full of energy and power that it can fight its way up swift-running streams and cascades. Because of its strength and determination to overcome all obstacles, it stands for courage and the ability to attain high goals. The carp is an appropriate symbol to encourage manliness and the overcoming of life's difficulties leading to consequent success.

Girls are the guests of their brothers on this occasion just as boys are guests of their sisters on the occasion of the Girls' Festival on March 3. Their parents provide them with the traditional delicacies such as Chimaki (sweet rice dumplings wrapped in iris or bamboo leaves) and Kashiwa-Mochi (rice cakes containing sweet bean paste wrapped in oak leaves).

Back At It

As some people have pointed out to me, my last triathlon post was several weeks ago.  No, I did not forget to post.  I stopped working out.  Why? Let me tell you.

Moving to a new city is difficult.  Moving to a new state is even more difficult.  Selling all of your belongings, packing your few remaining possessions into storage boxes and suitcases and moving across the Pacific Ocean is an entirely different level of difficulty.  I am a firm believer in radical change and I appreciate the need to experience all of life's many adventures.  I am truly afraid of waking up one day and realizing that I never did anything of note, never saw anything spectacular, and never undertook any uncomfortable endeavors.  That being said, it is still challenging.  Having lived in England, the Dominican Republic, and a number of other U.S. cities, I find that there are a few ways to make the transition slightly easier: (1) join a team sport; (2) find roommates; and (3) develop a routine.

Now, please forgive the analogy, but I am about to compare living in Hawaii to living in prison.  It's all about routine and survival.  I have not personally been to prison, but I watch a lot of MSNBC and I am under the impression that the key to doing one's time is getting into a routine.  In Hawaii, it's very similar.  Survival is not so much about ass raping as it is dodging all the asian female drivers, but my point remains the same.  When that routine is disrupted, it becomes difficult to survive.  Training for a triathlon equally requires a routine.  Unfortunately, when people visit, it becomes difficult to follow that routine.  You go out to eat instead of cooking dinner.  You come home from work and entertain people rather than going to the gym and working out.  On weekends you don't have the opportunity to do laundry, go to the grocery store, run errands, or train for a triathlon because you have to play host.

Don't get me wrong, I love having visitors.  They are an important part of "doing one's time."  As a result, I continue to encourage friends and relatives to visit.  In fact, the last month and a half I have had 4 visitors.  I look forward to having more people visit in the future.  Having visitors forced me to explore different parts of the island, try new restaurants, and enjoy the Hawaiian outdoors.  As you can imagine, though, having four visitors over five weeks has also not been conducive to a rigorous triathlon-training schedule.  Unfortunately, entertaining visitors means that training has to take a backseat.  Well, to all my devoted readers, have no fear.  I am back at it.  I have gone back to the gym the last two days and am training for the triathlon once more.  The triathlon is April 17.  I have 19 days.  The last two days have proven that my month-long "detour" has left me DREADFULLY out of shape, but I am back.  I no longer hope to finish in the top 25 or so, but I should be able to complete the triathlon without stopping.  So that is the new goal: finish without stopping.

Byodo-In Temple

After seeing the sunrise at the Makapu'u Lighthouse on Saturday morning, we went over to Kailua and got breakfast at Cinnamon's again.  Again, it didn't disappoint.  This time was even better, though, because we didn't wait forever.  In fact, we didn't wait at all.  We got there at about 8:30am and were seated right away.  Since we had already been awake from more than 4 hours and none of us had eaten anything yet, we feasted like Kings and Queens.  We ordered the red velvet pancakes (of course), eggs benedict, the baja breakfast, and eggs and bacon.  I am also pretty sure we finished our own pot of coffee since we were all exhausted.  After breakfast, we spent a few hours lounging around and snorkeling at Lanikai where the sand feels like flour.

See what I mean? They tease you with pictures like this

After spending some time at the beach, though, we decided to venture over to the over-hyped Valley of the Temples. Valley of the Temples Memorial Park is a memorial park located on the Windward (eastern) side of the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. It is a vast area of lush, rolling green hills at the foot of the Koʻolau mountains, overlooking the sleepy town of Kāneʻohe. Thousands of Buddhist, Shinto, Protestant and Catholic residents of Hawaiʻi are buried in this memorial park.

In guide books, this place is described as a peaceful spot located off the beaten path.  To some extent, that's an accurate description.  The Valley of the Temples is located far from Waikiki and other tourist hot spots, but the famous Byodo-In Temple has become even more popular among tourists ever since it was featured in an episode of ABC's television show LOST. The temple was established on June 7, 1968, to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. The temple is built entirely without nails. It is a scale replica of a temple in Uji, Japan, that was constructed over 950 years ago. The Byodo-In Temple is a non-denominational Buddhist temple which welcomes people of all faiths to worship, meditate or simply appreciate its beauty. The temple grounds are often used for wedding ceremonies for Hawaiians or visitors from Japan.

Inside the Temple.  You can light an incense at his feet

I wanted to visit this place ever since I saw a picture and found out it was constructed entirely without nails.  I thought that was pretty cool.  It also looked huge from the pictures and also appeared to be located in a secluded area of the mountains that might require even a little hiking.  Instead, it's right next to a big parking lot where there are a few tour buses and a little shack that charges $3 to walk on the grounds.  Don't get me wrong, the grounds of the temple are gorgeous.  But there is only one small room that visitors may enter (and can light an incense for prayer if you want).  There is also a giant bell that visitors are told to ring prior to entering as an appreciation for the gods.  Basically, this turns into everyone standing around in a line waiting to take pictures.

From the back

As you can probably tell from my tone, I think this place is overrated.  That being said, you should probably go.  I hate to say it, but it's pretty cool, the grounds are pretty, and it's only $3.  It's an area of O'ahu that not many people venture to and if you're in Kailua/Lanikai, it's only about a 10-12 minute drive away.  So go ahead and take some pictures and then just tell everyone back home that some Japanese monks invited you to their holy temple to pray with them (or something else interesting and creative).

Mardis Gras - Hawaii Style

Nu'uanu Street in Downtown

Do we celebrate Mardis Gras in Hawaii? Absolutely!  Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday," referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday. As I have written about before, the Hawaiians take any excuse they can to get drunk and party in the streets. Mardis Gras is no different. The "festivities" start first thing in the morning with a tradition I can completely get behind: Malasada Tuesday! At Leonard's Bakery, sales for malasadas are five times greater on Fat Tuesday than any other time of year. A malasada is a Portuguese confection. They were first made by inhabitants of Madeira Island (off the coast of Portugal). Malasadas are made of egg-sized balls of yeast dough that are deep-fried in oil and coated with granulated sugar. A popular variation is where they are hand dropped into the oil and people have to guess what they look like. Traditional malasadas contain neither holes nor fillings, but some varieties of malasadas are filled with flavored cream or other fillings.

Malasada

Later on, Chinatown shuts down the streets, barricades everyone in, and the party begins. From 5:30pm to 10:30pm, the Arts District Merchants Association presented “Mardi Gras Carnival 2011."  The event, billed as “An International Celebration of Indulgence,” showcases authentic Mardi Gras - Carnival culture with unique and exciting food, music and dance from New Orleans, Brazil, Cuba. Live music went from 6pm to 10pm with bands featured on four performance stages spread out along Nu'uanu Avenue, Pauahi Street and Hotel Street.  Last year more than 10,000 people attended downtown Honolulu's Fat Tuesday celebration.

All in all it was a cool event. Everyone was running around in Mardis Gras masks and lots of women were running around in Burlesque outfits.  I would definitely not be surprised if there were more than 10,000 people this year.  It was packed.  I was surprised by the lack of alcohol.  I'm not suggesting that people weren't drunk.  They were.  I'm not suggesting alcohol wasn't served.  It was.  Compared to Octoberfest and Halloween, however, this was relatively tame.  At the other events it seemed like there was a beer or wine tent every few feet.  At Mardis Gras they just didn't have as many vendors.

Girls' Day

Today I walked into the kitchen at work and, unsurprisingly, there was food.  I was disappointed to see that it was not manapua.  Instead, there was a bag of fortune cookies (random, I know, but those asians love their fortunes I guess) and a big box of assorted brownies from Napolean's Bakery (note: Napolean's bakery is located at Zippy's and is delicious).  Anyway, hand-written on the box was "Happy Girls' Day!"

I didn't think much of the note and figured "girl's day" was similar to the "take your daughter to work day" that we used to have in middle school when hippie liberals people were trying to tell women they could be something other than barefoot and pregnant tied to a stove.  It wasn't until I went to lunch that girl's day came up again.  As I was standing in line to get a delicious steak wrap and fries from the corner deli, a creepy guy in front of me was handing out hershey's kisses to any girl who was standing around him saying "happy girl's day" in his nice raspy emphysema voice.  When he got to the front of the line to place his order, he had more hershey kisses for the girl's behind the counter.  Now I was intrigued.

First of all, let me just say that I was under the impression we already had a "girl's day."  You might know it by the name Valentine's Day.  You may have heard about it.  It's a day when every schmuck on earth goes out of his way to buy flowers, candy, and gifts before being forced to skip that evening's TV shows and get unnecessarily dressed up to take a woman to an above-average restaurant...all in the name of making her happy.  So although we had a Girl's Day two weeks ago, apparently they need another one.

This girl's day is a Chinese/Japanese tradition.  The 3rd of March is called "Hina-no-Sekku","Hina-Matsuri" (Doll's Festival) or "Momo-no-Sekku" (Peach blossom's Festival) and used to be one of the important seasonal events of ancient China.  Today it has become a function symbolic of Japanese arts and customs.  It has "been in existence in Japan since the Edo Period (17 - 19 centuries)."  The third day of the third month was a day of purification in the Shinto religion from ancient times. The use of dolls in the purification rites is mentioned in the Tale of Genji, written nearly a thousand years ago. Hina Matsuri has some of its roots in this festival of purification.

As part of the tradition, families with young daughters celebrate this event at home to ensure their daughter's future happiness. So how do they make sure their daughters will be happy in the future?  They decorate "hina-Ningyo" (special dolls which are replicas of an ancient emperor and empress and their subordinates).  That's right, the Japanese teach their daughters that the key to happiness is to be a princess and marry an emperor.  I'm surprised there aren't more Japenese people on Long Island...

Anyway, the Japanese dolls are not the everyday dolls kids usually play with but are ceremonial dolls handed down from generation to generation. They are displayed for a few days in the best room of the house, after which they are boxed and put away until next year. Parents who are able to do so buy new sets of dolls for a girl baby born since the preceding festival, and relatives and friends make gifts of dolls.  A set of Hina-dolls usually consists of at least 15 dolls, all in the ancient costumes. The display also includes miniature household articles which often are major artistic productions. The dolls most highly valued are the Dairi-sama, which represent the Emperor and Empress in resplendent court costumes of silk. They are attended by their two ministers, three kanjo (court ladies), and five court musicians. All are displayed on a tier of steps, usually five, from 3 to 6 ft. long and covered with bright red cloth. This stand is specially set up in the home only on this day.  Basically, think of it as the Japanese version of a nativity set...just without the savior.

In the old days, everyone made crude dolls of paper, and as they made them all their ill fortunes and sickness were transferred to the dolls. Gathering the dolls, they went together to a nearby river and threw their evils into the water.  It was also used as an occasion for a family outing just when the spring season started.  Hina-matsuri used to be one of the very few occasions when little Japanese girls had their own parties. It sounds like it used to be quite the shin-dig.  The kids got drunk on the candy and sweets offered to the dolls. Sometimes they cooked and prepared the food and cakes to be offered to the dolls. They drank Shirozake, a sweet mild rice wine, on the occasion. The main offerings are small cakes - hishi mochi (diamond-shaped rice cakes) fruit-shaped candy, tiny white and red dainties of osekihan (glutinous rice boiled with red beans) and colored wheat gluten.

So there you have it.  The Japenese way of celebrating girls.  But I'm sure the deli guy's hershey kisses are a good substitute.

Pro Bowl

That's right, be jealous.  While Blizzard 2011 was wreaking havoc on some 100 million people across the U.S., I was sitting on the 45 yard line of Aloha Stadium watching the worst football game in history Pro Bowl.  It started with a 9:30am tailgate.  The game wasn't until 2pm, but my co-worker "Joe," my roommate "Alan," and a guy we met upstairs, "George," went to the game.  Now, to be honest, only George, Joe, and I drove out to Aloha stadium at 9:30am.  Alan, the drunkard that he is, got drunk the night before and passed out at some poor unsuspecting woman's house and didn't get up in time.  He came later during the tailgate.  Anyway, I made my world famous (and of course by world famous I mean my mom likes them) turkey burgers.  I marinated steak and chicken to make shish kebobs.  We brought hot links. We bought humus, jalepeno dip, guacamole, pita chips, tostitos, coronas, and bud light.  We loaded up the back of my SUV with utensils, plates, cups, etc.  And we brought our gas grill.

When we got there and started setting up, a group of military guys and their wives/girlfriends pulled up right across from us and starting setting up tables, chairs, tents, and their own spread of beer and food.  It was pretty hilarious to watch them set up.  We were convinced they had a pre-determined game plan where everyone had assigned tasks because their tailgate was up in about 10 minutes.  I'd say there were maybe 10-15 of them in 3 pickups.  Anyway, Joe, George, and I started setting up and I threw on some burgers and kebobs.

We had a little mishap with one of the burgers

Well, at some point within the next 45-60 minutes one of the guys at the tailgate across from us asked if he could borrow our grill.  Apparently, their grill guy fell through.  See, I love tailgates because everyone is friendly, outgoing, and ready to party.  So we obviously told them that our grill was their grill and to just throw whatever they wanted on there.  The grill was plenty big enough.  Plus, we wanted to play beer pong, which they had set up.  Additionally, they had several coolers of beer whereas we only had one.  It's all about planning ahead.  Plus, we had far more food than the 3 (and eventually 4) of us could possibly eat.  So handing out my famous burgers and kebobs was a great way to make friends.

Walking into the Stadium

A few hours later we had met all of the people from the other tailgate, made plans to hang out the following week, shotgunned a few beers, played some beer pong, and gotten sufficiently intoxicated that it was time to see the game.  Joe and I had tickets on the 45 yard line.  Alan (who had finally shown up) and George had tickets 5 rows from the field but in the corner of the endzone.  Everyone had good tickets, just not together.

From Our Seats

Joe and I went in and let me just say trying to get into the stadium was a complete and total cluster f*ck.  The security guards operating the gate clearly had no concept of efficiency or logic.  There were five gates available, but they were only utilizing three.  They made everyone go past the security gate before wrapping around to come through.  We finally made it in, though, and the stadium is really nice.  It's where the University of Hawaii plays their games.  There really isn't a bad seat in the stadium.

The game itself was...well...the NFL All-Star game.  These guys really look at the Pro Bowl as a free trip for them and their families to come to Hawaii.  They don't take the game seriously AT ALL.  It was actually kind of humorous (more so b/c I was drunk).  When the ball was snapped, the linemen just stood up and sort of held each other up.  When Adrian Pederson would run into a tackle, he just fell down.  It was clear they were playing not to get hurt.  By the end of the second quarter, the NFC was winning like 45-0.  So Joe and I decided to see the halftime show and go back to the parking lot.  The truth is, once the tailgate got going, we didn't really want to leave.  It was too much fun.  It was even fun during the 20 minutes of rain we had before the game started.  So we went back to the parking lot, found the guys tailgating still (they didn't actually have tickets to the game) and just kept eating and drinking.  Eventually we met up with Alan and George and went home.

Halftime Show

It was a pretty fun day and I was definitely happy that I got the chance to go.

Merry Christmas

Even though I am spending my Christmas freezing my butt off in Delaware and Chicago, that doesn't mean I have forgotten the Hawaiian Christmas spirit.  I don't have anything to write, so I will just post this video:

Bad Ass Senator

This afternoon I was looking up information about the Akaka Bill that would grant nationhood status on Native Hawaiians.  In reading about Sen. Dan Akaka, I realized I didn't know anything about Hawaii's other U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, also a Democrat.  This guy is a serious bad ass.  First of all, he is like a million years old and should have retired long ago.  I am a firm believer in term limits so I don't think he should be allowed to be a Senator anymore.  But that's not the point.  Here's some background: Inouye has been a U.S. senator since 1963, and is currently the most senior senator after the death of Robert Byrd of West Virginia. He is also the second longest serving U.S. Senator in history after Byrd.  Inouye has represented Hawaii in the U.S. Congress since it achieved statehood in 1959, serving as Hawaii's first U.S. Representative and later a senator. Inouye was the first Japanese-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and later the first in the U.S. Senate.

Ok, but none of that makes him anything special.  I was thinking, "ok, great, another worthless career politician."  Not even close.  I could never do his story justice, so I am just going to copy and paste the Wikipedia entry, which was based on a documentary of his life.  Here it is (I highly recommend reading the whole thing):

He was at the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 as a medical volunteer (he wasn't in the military because the military banned Japanese-Americans from serving). In 1943, when the U.S. Army dropped its ban on Japanese-Americans, Inouye curtailed his pre-medical studies at the University of Hawaii and enlisted in the Army. He was assigned to the Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which became the most-highly decorated unit in the history of the Army. During the World War II campaign in Europe, he received the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the Distinguished Service Cross, which was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor by President Clinton in June 2000.

Inouye was promoted to the rank of sergeant within his first year, and he was given the role of platoon leader. In 1944, he spent two weeks in France searching for the Lost Battalion, a Texas battalion that was surrounded by German forces. At one point while leading an attack, a shot struck him in the chest directly above his heart, but the bullet was stopped by the two silver dollars he happened to have stacked in his shirt pocket. He continued to carry the coins throughout the war in his shirt pocket as good luck charms.

On April 21, 1945, Inouye was wounded while leading an assault on a heavily-defended ridge near Terenzo called Colle Musatello. As he led his platoon in a flanking maneuver, three German machine guns opened fire from covered positions 40 yards away, pinning his men to the ground. Inouye stood up to attack the gunners and was shot in the stomach. Ignoring his wound, he proceeded to attack and destroy the first machine gun nest with hand grenades and fire from his M1 Thompson machine gun. After being informed of the severity of his wound by his platoon sergeant, he refused treatment and rallied his men for an attack on the second machine gun position, which he also successfully destroyed before collapsing from blood loss.

As his squad distracted the third machine gunner, Inouye crawled toward the final bunker, eventually drawing within 10 yards. As he raised himself up and cocked his arm to throw his last grenade into the fighting position, a German inside fired a rifle grenade that struck him on the right elbow, severing most of his arm and leaving his own primed grenade reflexively "clenched in a fist that suddenly didn't belong to me anymore". Inouye's horrified soldiers moved to his aid, but he shouted for them to keep back out of fear his severed fist would involuntarily relax and drop the grenade. As the German inside the bunker reloaded his rifle, Inouye managed to pry the live grenade from his useless right hand and transfer it to his left. As the German aimed his rifle to finish him off, Inouye managed at last to toss the grenade off-hand into the bunker and destroy it. He stumbled to his feet and continued forward, silencing the last German resistance with a one-handed burst from his Thompson before being wounded in the leg and tumbling unconscious to the bottom of the ridge. When he awoke to see the concerned men of his platoon hovering over him, his only comment before being carried away was to gruffly order them return to their positions, since, as he pointed out, "nobody had called off the war".

The remainder of Inouye's mutilated right arm was later amputated at a field hospital without proper anesthesia, as he had been given too much morphine at an aid station and it was feared any more would lower his blood pressure enough to kill him. Inouye was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery in this action, with the award later being upgraded to the Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton.

I don't care what his policies are, this guy is a bad ass.

Christmas Bar Crawl - Beer Reviews

As I wrote last week, I went on a Christmas bar crawl with a local homebrewing club.  I convinced a friend (let's call her...Cameron) to come with me and we were joined later by someone else (let's call her...Brooke).  Although she's great company, at 5'0'' tall and about 97lbs, my friend Cameron does not make the best drinking companion (she'll argue till the death, though, that she can drink anyone under the table).  I learned this last Saturday night when I had about 2-3 beers for every one of her drinks.  Fortunately, this gave me the opportunity to expand my beer reviews.  Unfortunately for me, this led to a few hazy memories of my liquid aloha-filled evening.  Nonetheless, it was a fun night where I got to sample a few new beers.


Here is the list of new beers, but you can read previous reviews here and here.  In no particular order, they are:

Primo Island Lager - Primo is Hawai’i’s original beer, dating back to 1897. This tasted very similar to a Longboard Lager or Stella Artois.  It had a light, smooth taste, golden color, and it's brewed with pure Hawaiian cane sugar. It was the perfect beer to just chill on a back deck and enjoy some breezy 80-degree weather. 


As with any Hawaiian beer, it's all about the culture.  The breweries try to embody the spirit of the islands, the people, and the culture.  One way the company tries to embody that spirit is on their website under a section called "Who Is Primo."  There, they profile various people from the island - a 75-year-old convenience store woman who is known for selling "her famous li hing mui, salty-sweet crack seed and cold Primo," a surf board shaper who carries on a family tradition, or an antique dealer who's been operating since the 70s.  


Lindeman's Pomme Lambic - Lambic is a "spontaneously fermenting" style of wheat beer unique to Belgium. Pomme is a type of lambic brewed with apples.  During the fermentation process, Brewers pump the wort into cooling vessels, open the windows and let the soon-to-be beer cool overnight where it's "inoculated by the yeast and other microbial flora of the surrounding air," according to Lindemans.  The Pomme Lambic was good, but a little too sweet.  It tasted much more like a cider than a hoppy beer.  The apple flavor was unmistakable and while good, it was a little overwhelming.  The bottle itself is unique in that it has a foil wrapper over a cork that must be opened with a wine bottle opener.  The most disappointing thing about this beer is its alcohol content.  At only 3.5% abv, it doesn't have anything to help overcome its embarrassingly sweet taste.

Hawai'i Nui Hapa Brown Ale - This is also a beer made by a Hawaiian brewery.  At the recent World Beer Cup, this beer won the Silver Award for Brown Ales and I can see why.  First of all, it has a very smooth taste with slight hints of nutmeg and cinnamon.  Small-batches are brewed with two-row caramel, roasted and chocolate malts. Then they use Hawaiian water to finish the fermenting process.  It's really good.


Now I know what you're thinking: Tell me more about this World Beer Cup.  Well, in 2010, 3,330 beers from 642 breweries located in 44 countries were grouped into 90 style categories. Entrants were judged by an international assemblye of 183 judges from 26 countries.  Basically, the mission is to educate the world about beer and bring together a variety of traditions from countries around the world.


Maui Coconut Porter - This one immediately threw me off because it was served in a can.  Very rarely have I seen porters or stouts served in a can (yes, I know you can get Guinness in a can). I said rarely.  Anyway, this Porter from the Maui Brewing Company pours a deep black-brown, with an opacity to it which causes the edges to glow slightly when held to the light.  Taste is smooth and full, and again extremely well mingled between the sweetness of coconut and chocolate, and the slightly more astringent roastiness.  This was another delicious beer.


Gordon Biersch Winterbock - Ever had Sam Adams winter lager? This tastes the same.

Supreme Court Christmas Party

When I wrote before that Christmas in Hawaii is a big deal, I wasn't kidding.  In addition to a Christmas lights parade downtown, there is also a boat parade showcasing Christmas lights, we had a massive office party with 100+ people last week, and yesterday the Supreme Court had its own lunchtime Christmas party.  Although it was nice, I don't think it holds a candle to ours.  It did last a lot longer, though.  We showed up at 11:30 and didn't get out of there until about 2:00.  The entrees were all catered and thus not nearly as much homemade food.  There was slightly more traditional Hawaiian food, though.

Christmas Tree in Supreme Court Lobby

I tried also Poi for the first time.  It was an experience, that's for sure.  Poi is a very traditional Hawaiian dish made from the Taro plant.  Poi is produced by mashing the cooked corm (baked or steamed) of the taro plant until it becomes a highly viscous fluid. Water is added during mashing and again just before eating, to achieve a desired consistency, which can range from liquid to dough-like (poi can be known as two-finger or three-finger, alluding to how many fingers you would have to use to eat it, depending on its consistency).  It's like a paste.  I thought it tasted terrible and had a bitter, sour taste.  Don't tell any Hawaiians I said that, though.  They'll kick me off the island.  I was sitting next to our secretary who basically pour herself a bowl and ate it like soup.  She ate it ALL.  Poi is like sex to these people...they love it.

Poi

Anyway, the rest of the party involved more door prizes.  Everyone picked a number out of a hat and then received a corresponding gift.  I got a big coffee mug and some Hawaiian-made coffee.  There were also gift cards, homemade energy bars (that are quite delicious - they're made from oats, chocolate chips, and molasses), and see's candy.  Unlike our office party where everyone walked around and mingled, the Supreme Court party had plenty of tables where people could sit and talk with their table.  While people sat and ate, there was also a professional hula dancer who performed.  Finally, they also did a law-related movie trivia game.  The twist, though, was that members of the judiciary would act out scenes from movies and the tables, as a team, had to guess the name of the movie and one of the actors in the scene.  Our table was full of judges and it was VERY competitive.  We were actually in first place throughout the game, but then ended in a tie for first.  It came down to a tie breaker, which was to guess the number of minutes Chief Justice Recktenwald has been in office.  We lost.  Very disappointing, especially because everyone on the winning team received gift cards to various places around Honolulu. I hate losing.

Five Traditional Hawaiian Foods

I was randomly reading CNN.com today and saw a column called "5@5" which is a daily food-related blog that compiles lists by chefs, writers, foodies, and other self-important people who think they know food.  I have never read it before, but the headline on the front page of CNN.com was "Five Traditional Hawaiian Foods." I was intrigued.  The list was compiled by Carol Wallack who is the executive chef and owner of sola in Chicago, Illinois. The writers at 5@5 decided to focus on Hawaii in the midst of a cold spell hitting...well...the rest of the country.  They were longing for the warmth of Hawaii.  While I didn't come up with this list, I have certainly come across all of the items on it and have eaten most of them.  I have not eaten Spam yet and don't really have plans to.  Anyway, without further ado:


Five Traditional Hawaiian Foods:


1. Kalua pork
"Kalua pork, unlike the way it sounds does not have Kahlua, the liqueur, in it. It's pork butt baked in an underground oven called an imu. If you don’t have an imu, you can replicate the flavor by seasoning and wrapping the butt in banana leaves and baking it, then smoking it in a regular smoker. You can pull the pork and mix with herbs,  and put the meat into pot stickers. They are served with a mango and kumquat salsa which really says Hawaii with fruity deliciousness. It’s about the only way I’ll eat pork, besides bacon of course."  [Ed. Note: This is seriously delicious].


2. Poke
"Poke (pronounced po-kay) is my way of having just another form of Hawaiian tuna to eat, and I serve it with avocado which is my second favorite food! It’s so popular at sola that it’s been on the menu since we opened. The tuna is mixed with a hijiki (seaweed) salad layered with avocado and sushi rice, garnished with wasabi tobiko, sweet soy, wasabi oil and scallions. It doesn’t get much better than that. Everyone loves fresh Ahi tuna, and the best is right off the dock in Honolulu at the auctions." [Ed. Note: when I first moved to Hawaii and was invited to Justice Duffy's house to watch football, a local friend suggested I bring this instead of typical "chips and salsa."  This is something you will see at almost any party.  If it's fresh, it can be quite good].

Poke

3. Pineapple
"Pineapple just makes everyone think of Hawaii and it can be used in so many dishes. The best part about it is that in Hawaii, it's always in season and can be used in an array of dishes. I love to grill it and dice it into risotto. A Hawaiian favorite is French onion soup with pineapple in the stock. It tastes fantastic and is the perfect fruit to add sweetness and acid simultaneously." [Ed. Note: If you're a vodka drinker, I recommend putting pineapple in your drink instead of lemon or lime].

4. SPAM musubi
"SPAM musubi is a favorite in Hawaii. Locals eat it all the time. It’s a slice of SPAM over a block of rice. Recipes vary but typically slices of SPAM are grilled first, sometimes with a light teriyaki flavor. An acrylic mold is then placed over a sheet of nori, which is edible seaweed, and rice is pressed into the mold. The grilled SPAM is placed over the rice in the mold, then the mold is removed. The nori is then wrapped over the top and around the musubi. And there you have it, Spam Sushi!" [Ed. Note: Yea, not gonna happen].

Spam Musubi

5. Loco moco
"Loco moco is a rice and hamburger concoction with brown gravy over it. There are many ways to eat it, including what I call the 'Big Kahuna.' I take a Wagyu burger and serve it over togarashi potatoes, cheddar cheese from a local farmer, bacon, fried eggs, onions and Hollandaise. It’s definitely a great brunch item. Sort of poetic license, if you will." [Ed. Note: Haven't had this, either].

Loco Moco

If you find yourself in Hawai'i, then I highly recommend going to a local dive somewhere in Chinatown and ordering these plates.  You'll be considered Hawaiian in no time.  Just make sure you don't do it while wearing a fanny pack!

You Can't Do This in Chicago

Every once in a while, I have what I like to call "Hawaii Moments."  By this, I mean that I occasionally look around and take notice of the fact that I live in a pretty amazing place.  Maybe it's the 80 degree weather on December 6th.  Maybe it's crystal clear blue ocean on gorgeous white sand beaches.  Maybe it's the towering mountains that dot the background.  I also usually notice these things while holding a drink in my hand at times when I know my lawyer friends back home are stuck at the office, huddled over a desk doing doc review.  These revelations have a way of putting life in perspective.  Yesterday and last night would qualify.  I spent the entire day walking through Waikiki along the strip.  It was 83 degrees, everyone was out milling about, and the sun was shimmering against the unusually calm ocean.  After that, my friends and I grabbed dinner, got a slice of cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory and a bottle of wine from one of the ubiquitous ABC stores and headed the beach at nine o'clock at night.  We sat on the beach where one of the restaurants behind us played live music and we all just hung out on the beach until the wine was gone.  This stuff happens pretty much every weekend.

Pidgin Lesson

When I wrote about the Hawaii Five-0 episode titles recently, I noted that they were in Hawaiian.  There has been a resurgence of late trying to incorporate more of the Hawaiian language into everyday life.  If you don't live here, or haven't lived here very long, then you probably won't notice.  The change has occurred over the last 10-15 years.  That is for the actual Hawaiian language.  Pidgin, however, is the "street language" that you will hear wherever you go.  It's hard to explain without a voice sample, but essentially it is a relaxed form of proper English (think the polynesian form of ebonics). This website says I'm wrong.  It says that pidgin is a form of creole.  Like when Oakland tried to teach ebonics in school because it was a "recognized language." Yeah, if you're retarded.

Pidgin is actually a legitimate language phenomenon that develops as a way for divergent groups to communicate with each other when they don't have a language in common. It is usually employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the country in which they reside.  This makes sense for Hawai'i since the Native Hawaiians, for example, are really a mix of all the polynesian island groups and tribes.
  

Today, pidgin is easily distinguishable because there is a sort of "accent" that comes along with it.  If you've been keeping up with Hawaii Five-0, then you've undoubtedly heard Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim) use some pidgin.  You just may not have known what the hell he was saying.  Below is a list of the most common pidgin phrases that you may come across.  I wouldn't recommend trying to use them.  It's pretty easy to tell when someone is faking it, and then you just look foolish.  But try to listen for it if you're ever in Hawaii (hint: you won't hear it in the tourist resorts...).


An' den - And then? (Dude, Where's My Car? Anyone?)
Ass right - That's right
Brah - Friend, Brother (used ALL THE TIME)
Brok' da mouf - Delicious
Bus nose - Something smells bad
Choke - Plenty of something
Cockaroach - Rip off, steal
Da Kine - Used for EVERYTHING.  This is heard all the time, too.  You can literally use it for anything.  If you see something awesome, it's common to shout out, "That's da kine, brah" - seriously. This is my life.
Grind - Eat
Grinds - Food
Howzit - How's it going.  This is a VERY common way that locals greet each other.  It is also a fast way to tell if someone lives in Hawaii or is just a tourist.  I find that white people use it more often because even if you live here, if you're white, people still think you're a tourist.  But locals use it, too.
Mek plate - make yourself a plate of food
Moke - A large, local, toughguy
O wot? - Or what?
Pau Hana - After work (usually in reference to happy hour)
Shahkbait - Shark Bait, meaning pale, untanned people (I particularly like this one because I recently had a few visitors who are...well...shahkbait).
Shaka - Great! (This is also the name for the common Hawaiian greeting with the thumb and pinky finger extended)
Talk story - Shooting the breeze
Yeah? - Used at the end of sentences (This is also very common.  So common in fact that I do it and don't even realize it and was told recently that it is quite annoying).

A Little Controversy To Start The Day

The other day, I wrote about Kill Haole Day and a somewhat recent federal appellate case.  Here is a little more information on that case and a few additional thoughts.  Last week, in Doe v Kamehameha Schools, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that white students could not bring a lawsuit anonymously against an alleged discriminatory private school system.  Though racial hatred and racially motivated assaults on white students are well documented, the court found that fear of reprisal was "unreasonable" and the students had to disclose their identities.


I thought this deserved an update because according to some, this is just the latest case in a longstanding debate about whether the Bishop's Trust (set up by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last descendant of the Hawaiian monarchy) can continue to exclude all non-Native Hawaiians from the Kamehameha Schools (Evans v. Newton, anyone??).  The long and short of it is that the Kamehameha Schools are for students of Native Hawaiian descent (read their mission statement here).  The Ninth Circuit says that these schools were established because by the time the U.S. had brought sophisticated technology, education, and resources annexed Hawaii, "U.S. and foreign settlement had brought economic distress, mortality and disease; the Native Hawaiian population had dwindled to 22,600 in 1919, from a population 10 to 50 times larger a century and a half earlier." Doe v. Kamehameha Sch./Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, 470 F.3d 827, 831 (9th Cir. 2006) (en banc).  Today, the prestigious Kamehameha school system has a private educational endowment worth $9.1 billion.


Despite the vast changes that have occurred over the last 100 years, students of other races are still virtually excluded.  But isn't this a private school system with a private endowment? Can't they do whatever they want?  No.  In Runyon v McCrary, the U.S. Supreme Court held that commercially operated private schools could not discriminate in enrollment on the basis of race.  Despite that ruling, in 2003, the Ninth Circuit rejected a constitutional challenge to the discriminatory enrollment policy of the Kamehameha Schools.  The case settled before it could be heard by the Supreme Court.


So why do I bring all this up?  Well, because it's news that is going on around Hawaii, for one.  Also, the Supreme Court may take the case (though, it's doubtful).  But also, it relates to the first case I was involved in when I started working here.  Specifically, the Hawaiian Homeland Act.  Although the history is far too detailed and complicated to discuss in any length, Hawaiian Homelands were lands dedicated to Native Hawaiians by legislation known as the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921.  The Act sets aside certain land that is only available to people with Native Hawaiian ancestry.  You do not have to be 100% Native Hawaiian, just have Native Hawaiian blood somewhere in your line. Among other things, the purpose of the Act is to "to enable Native Hawaiians to return to their lands in order to fully support self-sufficiency for native Hawaiians and the self-determination of native Hawaiians in the administration of this Act, and the preservation of the values, traditions, and culture of native Hawaiians."


In conjunction with that, there is also the pending Akaka Bill (named for Sen. Akaka of Hawaii).  The Akaka Bill proposes to establish a process for indigenous Native Hawaiians to gain federal recognition similar to an Indian tribe.  If the Akaka Bill passes, then I'm pretty sure the Kamehameha Schools would definitely not have to admit non-Native Hawaiians because it would essentially be a sovereign nation's school.  Supporters of the Bill actually hope this is the case.  So while currently I am sure the Kamehameha Schools' policy is impermissibly discriminatory, I can see a valid legal argument being made that if the Bill passes, the Schools might not be subject to the same rules and regulations that govern a typical private school.  For what it's worth, though, it looks like the Bill is as good as dead.  Although the Bill had a lot of support among the Democrat-controlled House and Senate, the Republicans spanked them in the mid-terms re-gained control of the House, which seriously hurts the Bill's chances.  And just for my Republican-hating readers, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights opposes the Akaka Bill because it "discriminates on the basis of race or national origin."