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.

How The Courts Work

Law school and the legal profession are unique beasts.  If you're not engaged in it, you really don't understand it.  My mom, even after hearing me talk about it for the last several years still doesn't fully understand what the hell I'm talking about.  I'll throw out random acronyms (i.e. OCI, which means "on campus interviews") or I'll discuss how clerking works or I'll point out that lawyers have been some of the hardest hit by the current recession. It just doesn't sink in.  I never fully grasped that most people don't have any exposure to the legal profession outside of Law & Order.  Sure, maybe you've paid a traffic ticket.  Or maybe you've seen "And Justice For All" or watched "The Paper Chase," but unless you've been in the thick of it, whether by dating a law student/lawyer or being the parent or best friend of one, you have no idea.  Here's the problem: if you're the law student/lawyer, you forget that people have no idea.  You assume everyone knows what "Skadden" is.  You assume everyone knows why clerks don't need to be licensed in the state where they're clerking.  You assume everyone reads "Above the Law" and knows what T-14 means.  I assume most law students/lawyers assume these things because we're narcissistic.  The reality is, though, that normal people don't have a clue and don't really care.

Since moving to Hawaii, I have encountered the most non-law affiliated people I've known since college.  When people find out I'm a lawyer, they inevitably ask what kind of law I practice.  Fair question.  When I respond, "appellate law" or "I'm a clerk" or "I work for the Judiciary" I get a courtesy "oh cool" but a clearly blank expression explains it all.  It seems like unless you are a prosecutor or defense attorney or "corporate lawyer" no one has any idea what the hell a lawyer does.  Last week I had a conversation with someone who didn't really understand how the U.S. court system worked.  It occurred to me that maybe, as law students and lawyers, we take for granted that people had basic civics in elementary school didn't go to law school.  I don't think you need a law degree to know the basics, but alas, I am increasingly being proven wrong as I regularly encounter confusion from people who don't know how the U.S. court system is set up.

So here is my effort at explaining it.  The U.S. judicial system is composed of a federal system and state system.  The federal court system is divided into numerous geographic units and various levels of hierarchy. Similarly, each state has its own court system with various local "trial" courts and heirarchical "appellate" courts.  Under this dual federal/state court structure, the federal courts decide federal law or issues that arise under the federal constitution.  The highest court of each state, (usually) the State Supreme Court, has the ultimate authority to interpret State law.  For example, if you get arrested for a crime (generally) or you want to sue someone who lives in the same state as you for money (generally), you'd be in state court.  If you get arrested for being part of a multi-state gang conspiracy or you sue someone who lives in a different state from you for more than $75,000, you'll (generally) be in federal court.


The federal judiciary and the individual state judicial systems are each constructed like a pyramid. Entry-level courts at both the state and federal levels are trial courts, in which witnesses are called, other evidence is presented and the fact-finder (a jury or sometimes a judge) is called upon to decide issues of fact based on the law (i.e. were you really drunk? was the light really red?  did you have a contract?).  At the top of each pyramid structure is the court of last resort (at the federal level, the U.S. Supreme Court; at the state level, the state supreme court) which has the authority to interpret the law of that jurisdiction. In most states and in the federal system there is also a mid-level court of appeals.  When you lose in the lower courts, you can "appeal" to the higher court and ask the higher court to say that the lower court got it wrong.  Any court has the power to declare a law or government action to be unconstitutional, subject to review by a higher-level court.

Below is a graph of the FEDERAL SYSTEM:

Here is a a graph of the HAWAI'I SYSTEM (NOTE: this is a couple years old.  The Intermediate Court of Appeals has 6 judges, the Supreme Court currently has 4 sitting justices and one vacant spot waiting to be filled):

Update:  Here is a less detailed chart that makes the court hierarchy a little more clear (click to enlarge):

There is so much more I could try to explain, but hopefully this gives some idea.

Mission Houses Museum

I am a big fan of deals and coupons.  I am absolutely the sucker that marketing companies target because I will buy 2 of something if the second one is 30% off or whatever.  I am naturally drawn to big ass bright signs that say "CLEARANCE" or "50% OFF!"  I also go to the store and compare unit prices and get the item that is the better buy, even if I don't need two 60oz jars of peanut butter.  It's just smart shopping, in my opinion.  This is why I love Costco.  I also love Groupon and LivingSocial - programs that harness group buying power to lower prices of events, activities, spas, and restaurants in major cities around the world.  If you're not familiar with these websites, you get one email a day alerting you to some phenomenal deal for the day.  It's free to sign up and you don't get spam as a result (other than the daily email).

Kawaiaha'o Church

I recently bought a coupon for Buy One/Get One Free Tea at the Mission Houses Cafe and Tea Parlor.  The museum and cafe are located across from 'Iolani Palace and next to the Supreme Court building. It is right off of Kapi'olani Ave on the Kawaiaha'o Church grounds.  The Mission Houses Museum connects the story of the American Protestant missionaries to the history and culture of Hawai‘i.  The Cafe and Tea Parlor is nestled in with the houses of the first Missionaries that came to Hawaii in the 1820's. I was a little skeptical at first, but it was actually pretty nice. The Cafe serves a light breakfast, coffee drinks, and lunch with takeout and casual in-house dining.  On Saturdays, though, they have "Saturday Afternoon Tea," which is what the coupon was for.  They have a preset menu with preset prices where they serve a pot of hot tea (per person), little sandwiches, desserts, and biscotti.

Mission Houses Cafe and Tea Parlor

The pastries, pristine tea sandwiches, and carefully prepared teas are served on fine china and are great for a relaxed afternoon break if you're walking around downtown or sightseeing at the Palace/Supreme Court building. Note that the tea is ONLY done on Saturdays from 11am-4pm.  The Saturday tea menu commemorates the women who came to Hawai'i as Missionaries in the 1820’s. Each menu offering is named after one of these women and highlights her contributions to Hawai'i.  They give you a little booklet that briefly talks about each woman, and I have to say their contributions were impressive. One woman founded the first organized school in Hawai'i.  Another translated Hawaiian into English so they could teach scripture, but she went further and also taught Hawaiians how to speak English.  Lucy Thurston, another woman whose name is on the menu, was diagnosed with breast cancer, underwent the island's first mastectomy in her late 50s, and yet continued to teach in the Hawaiian schools for 21 years (until she died just before her 83rd birthday).

Presentation of Treats

You can see the normal menu here or the tea menu here.  Overall, this is probably something that older couples or mothers/daughters would spend time doing, but it was admittedly a cool place to check out. The food and tea were good and it was peaceful.  As I have said before, I am not a fan of museums, so I didn't tour the museum itself, but you can always do that too if you're interested.

Museum and Cafe Grounds

You're Welcome, America

I grew up in Delaware. This has proven to be great fodder for comedy among my friends in college and law school.  The most common phrase I hear when I meet new people is, "wow, I've never met anyone from Delaware."  I attribute that to the fact that there really aren't that many people from the country's second smallest State.  Delaware has two things it clings to, though.  First, we are the home of tax free shopping.  That's right, no sales tax on ANYTHING.  When you go to a restaurant and the price says $12.99, that's all you pay.  None of this $13.47 garbage you see everywhere else.  Second, and the theme of this post, is that Delaware is the First State. December 7 may be a date which will live in infamy, but it is also a date which should be more well known for something awesome.  Delaware was the first State to ratify the Constitution...you guessed it...on December 7, 1787.  Although the U.S. Constitution did not go into effect until March 4, 1789, Delaware still led the way. You're welcome.

State Flag of Delaware

Consequently, I can now boast that I have lived in the First State and the Last State (Hawaii joined the Union August 21, 1959).  So there's your fun fact of the day. If you're so inclined, I recommend taking a trip to the nation's First State. Here is our travel website (which I didn't even know existed) full of great tourist information.

69 Years Later

View from Shore

Today is a day that will live in infamy. On December 7, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, about 25 minutes North of downtown Honolulu (does anyone else find it funny that they can fly planes across the Pacific and drop bombs with serious efficiency yet can't figure out which pedal is the gas and which is the brake in a car?). Today was an especially big deal here. There are memorials and ceremonies going on all over the island commemorating those who died in various parts of the island attack.  The most prominent though was at Pearl Harbor itself.  About 200 survivors and 2,500 members of the public attended the waterfront ceremony and dedication of the new $56 million Pearl Harbor Visitor Center and museum. This year’s theme for the Commemoration and Dedication was “A Promise Fulfilled,” focusing on the "creation of new experiences for visitors" at the newly opened "Pearl Harbor Visitor’s Center at the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument."

USS Arizona Memorial

Most people already know what happened: At 7:55 on the sunny morning of December 7, 1941, 183 Japanese warplanes swooped out of the sky and demolished the US Pacific fleet docked at Pearl Harbor. It was this single catastrophic event, not the invasion of Poland, the Battle of Britain or the persecution of the Jews, that finally dragged the U.S. into World War II.  What you'll learn at the Memorial, though, is the intricate details of the attack.  For example, you'll learn that the way the battleships were organized and docked made them particularly susceptible to attack.  ALL the battleships were lined up right next to each other, in pairs (known as Battleship Row).  The USS Arizona (the famous exhibit at Pearl Harbor) was sunk in 9 minutes. It was over 600ft long and displaced 34,000 tons of water.  Do you know how hard it is to sink a ship that big in 9 minutes?  It sank that fast because one of the 2000-lb bombs broke through the deck and ignited a gun powder reserve tank. The ship's 1,177 crewmen who lost their lives are still buried beneath the water. The memorial itself is a 184-foot-long structure spanning the mid-portion of the sunken battleship and consists of three main sections: (1) the entry and assembly rooms; (2) a central area designed for general observation; and (3) the shrine room, where the names of those killed on the Arizona are engraved on the marble wall (as well as survivors who asked to be buried with their fallen shipmates).

If you've never been to Pearl Harbor, it is an absolute must-see.  Its humble simplicity and reverence are truly amazing. If you ask people here about going, they're likely to make it sound like a nightmare trip.  They'll say, "ah, it's too late, you'll never make it" or "oh man, that's too far to go unless you leave at 6am."  Tell them to shut up.  Better yet, don't ask anyone.  I have been there several times - on weekdays and weekends - in the middle of the day, and have never had a problem getting a ticket for the next available boat.  When you walk in, go to the information desk and ask for a ticket to the USS Arizona Memorial.  The ticket grants you access to the water taxi (necessary to get to the Memorial) that leaves every 30-45 minutes.  The ticket is free, but there is an optional $6 audio tour that I highly recommend.  There are also two other ships, the USS Missouri Battleship ($20) and USS Bownfin Submarine ($10), which show visitors what the inside of a battleship and submarine are like, including living quarters for sailors.  Before walking over to the water taxi, make sure you stop and listen to the 23-minute video (free) that is on a constant loop. The video describes the morning of the attack with tremendous detail, including the escalation of conflict between the U.S. and Japan that led to the attack. There is also a memorial to all the submarines and crew that died in WWII, which is pretty interesting.  It is all really awe-inspiring and I recommend making the trip.

Names of Those Who Died on the USS Arizona

Here is a video of FDR's speech to Congress asking for a Declaration of War on Dec. 8, 1941.  This is his famous "date which will live in infamy" speech:

Kaua'i Coffee Company

History Lesson

When we went to Kaua'i last week, I wrote about how we went to the Waimea Brewing Comany and sampled their beer.  After a few beers, though, we needed some coffee to sober up.  Fortunately for us, right now the street from the brewery was the largest coffee producer in the United States.  The Kaua'i Coffee Company is also located right off the main road in Kaua'i and is a short distance from the brewery.  The Kauai Coffee Company is does all the work - from growing the beans to packaging them - right there on the premises.  There are over 4 million coffee trees grown on 3,100 acres, which makes the company responsible for HALF of all coffee produced in the U.S.

Who Doesn't Like Free Samples?

This was a really cool place to visit, and I wholeheartedly recommend stopping by if you're ever on Kaua'i.  First of all, when you walk in, there is someone there to greet you with a really friendly attitude.  This person will tell you all about the variety of samples they have on the back deck and will point you in the direction of the walking tour, coffee bar, or ice cream shop.  When you walk in, you're in the middle of the gift shop, but if you walk through that, you end up on a covered patio out back.  There, you will find 3 tables with about 8 different coffee-filled thermoses.  That's right, there are 24 FREE samples of coffee.  They actually encourage you to try all of them.  I don't know about you, but whenever I go to, say, an ice cream store and they offer free samples, I always feel guilty (and a little judged) if I asked for multiple samples.  Not here.  No one is there monitoring anything and they encourage you to try everything, so there is no guilt with trying every sample they have.  The tables are broken down by type of roast.  They have espresso roast, dark roast, and flavored.  I was really impressed.  Everything I tried was really good.  So good, in fact, that I purchased a few bags (more on that below).

Little Museum Inside

As you sip your coffee, there is a running video that you can sit and watch that details the way coffee is produced.  Various plantation workers talk about how coffee beans are grown, pulped, and processed.  You can also get ice cream, but ready for this? NO COFFEE FLAVOR!  They just had basic flavors.  Wtf!?  That doesn't even make sense!  Oh well.  They also have a coffee bar where you can get a big cup of coffee if you don't want to mooch and just try the samples.  There are plenty of tables, benches, and chairs on the patio for you to sit and relax outside.  You can also walk into the coffee fields where they have tables and chairs and umbrellas set up to sit outside if you want.

Once you're finished sipping samples and milling around, take the walking tour.  I never knew how coffee was produced (not that I ever really cared to think about it...).  This tour was really informative, but perfectly short.  They had about 8 or 9 stations set up with brief plaques explaining the different steps in the process of producing coffee beans.

Coffee Fields

After you go through the garden walking tour, you can go into the gift shop and purchase bags of coffee beans if you want.  They have other stuff, too, but I actually thought the coffee was really good.  So I bought a couple bags.  But what if I don't have a coffee grinder?  Well, they will happily grind it for you, for free!  And you'll also get a 10% discount if you have a Kama'aina (resident) Discount.

So how do they produce and process the coffee? Did you really think I wouldn't explain it?

Blossoming:

Coffee starts like many other fruits - it grows on a tree as a fragrant and delicate flower blossom. These blossoms eventually develop into the coffee cherry.  The seeds of the cherry (usually two to a cherry) are what become the coffee bean familiar to most of us.

See the Cherries?

Harvesting:

On Kauai, the blossoming begins in February or March, and by May, the cherry begins to form.  The fruit ripens around late September, and harvesting begins.  They employ harvesting technology very similar to many wine grape harvesters in regions like California's Napa Valley.  The Kauai Coffee Company’s harvesting period runs from mid-October through early December.  They harvest 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, using 3 shifts.  Due to the size of the estate, and the existence of varying island climates, daily scouting reports are used to select the fields with maximum ripeness.  Twelve mechanical harvesters that were originally designed for blueberries perform the harvesting.  On the tour they tell you that it would take literally every man, woman, and child on Kaua’i to harvest by hand.  I guess that means they don’t have an influx of Mexican immigrants here.

Wet Processing:

After the coffee cherries are harvested, trucks deliver them from the fields to the “wet processing plant.”  At the plant, the cherries are separated into three stages of maturity - ripe, natural and immature coffee.  They put the cherries in water and the overripe float to the top and the under-ripe cherries sink to the bottom. by using inherent differences in density and hardness.

Pulping:

They take the ripe cherries and remove the skin and fleshy part of the fruit until just the seed (i.e. bean) is left.

Drying:

The leftover beans are then washed to remove the sticky mucous and crap that coats them before the beans are sent to pre-dryers - a fluidized bed of air that is the start of the drying process. After this, the beans are puy in heated drying elevators for 18 to 36 hours.

Milling:

The coffee rests in parchment for a while, and is then milled to remove more skin.  Throughout the process, the producers still have quality control tests that monitor bean temperatures and preserve each bean's flavor and quality. Sizing screens and density tables further sort out the best beans.

Sorting:

The final sorting step in the dry mill is the color sorter, where an electronic eye scans each bean for color, selecting the finest colored beans and rejecting those that don't pass with a blast of air.

Grading:

After the beans are sorted, each batch of coffee is then inspected by the State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture, which gives each batch a different graded designation. The DOA inspector officially certifies each batch of coffee by grade quality and origin.  Finally, they roast it and ship it.

The Ground Should Not Move

Earthquakes on the Big Island 1962-1985

Growing up in the mid-Atlantic region and going to college in Washington, DC, I am not accustomed to the ground suddenly deciding to move.  Hawai'i, however, has earthquakes.  Last night, there were 2.  My California friends will probably tell me to pipe down since the earthquakes, which struck off the coast of Maui, were only magnitudes 4.7 and 3.3.  I recognize these are small, but when I was sitting in my bed at 6:31pm last night, I thought my roommate was home having sex and shaking the wall.  Turns out, she wasn't.  There was a small earthquake.  The bed only shook for a second and was only enough to confuse me.  But I did notice.  I did a little research and it seems I will have to get used to this craziness.  Hawaii has a lot of small earthquakes.

One of the best things about an earthquake though is it gives me something to write on an otherwise boring day.  Pretty soon I am going to have to talk about my job, which will surely get my 2 readers to stop reading.  I also get to give fun facts!  Earthquakes in Hawai'i are closely linked to volcanoes. They are an important part of the island-building processes that have shaped the Hawaiian Islands. Thousands of earthquakes occur every year beneath the Big Island alone.

Crustal Plates

Hawai'i is geologically a unique place because it is caused by a "hot spot." Most islands are found at tectonic plate boundaries.  There are few "hot spots," though and the one under Hawaii is right in the middle of one of the largest crustal plates on Earth - the Pacific Plate. A geologic "hot spot" is an area in the middle of a crustal plate where volcanoes form (see picture at very bottom of blog) when molten magma breaks through the crustal plate. A hot spot is why Yellowstone National Park has geysers.  Eruptions and magma movement within the presently active volcanoes (Kilauea, Mauna Loa and Lo`ihi) are usually accompanied by numerous small earthquakes.  Many other earthquakes, including the largest ones, occur in areas of structural weakness at the base of Hawai`i's volcanoes or deep within the Earth's crust beneath the island.

Pali Lookout

The Nuuanu Pali Lookout is a phenomenal stopping point along the Pali Highway (pronounced POLLY) on the way to Kailua. The panoramic views of the Windward side of the island from this expansive cliff are a must-see attraction for visitors to the island.  For anyone paying close attention, there are multiple ways to get to Kailua (where Lanikai, my favorite beach, is located).  You can drive along the coast on Hwy 72, which wraps around the East part of the island - running into Hanauma Bay, Sandy's Beach, and Makapu'u).  You can also take the Pali Highway located off H-1 going West from Waikiki or Hawaii Kai.  Taking the Pali is the fastest way to get there.  Parking is $3, which is a rip off considering you'll be there for maybe a total of 10-15 minutes.  But it is free for Kama'aina residents (those with a Hawaii ID), though.

The lookout is really just that - a spot tucked away in the mountains where you can see Kailua down below and in the distance. Located at Nuuanu Pali State Park, the lookout towers over the 985-foot cliffs of the Koolau Mountain Range. (Translated, "pali" means "cliffs.").  In addition to the scenery, it is also extremely windy up here.  The trade winds blow through the valley between the mountains on either side of the lookout, forming a strong wind tunnel of sorts. On extra windy days, you can even lean into the wind and let the gusts hold you up.  Don't be surprised to see people doing Hawaii's version of Kate Winslet. 

The scenery is definitely amazing.  But for history buffs and law dorks, the story behind the Pali Lookout is even better.  Prior to being a united monarchy and later part of the U.S., the Hawaiian Islands were a collection of independently-ruled islands.  In fact, Hawaii was not united until (historically speaking) recently - in the late 1790s.  King Kamehameha I (KUH - MAY - UH - MAY - UH) was the leader who united the islands under one ruler after his troops invaded and destroyed the armies of the other islands.  Anyway, in 1795, Kamehameha landed on Oahu, the last island standing.  Although the war between the islands lasted awhile, eventually Kamehameha's troops drove the Oahu forces (led by some guy whose name I haven't even tried to pronounce - Kalanikupule) up to the edge of the Nuuanu Valley and this cliff.  Both sides had Western firearms, but Kamehameha had the game-winning advantage.  Cannons. The fleeing troops were given an option: join Kamehameha or jump off.  I'm guessing they didn't jump...I mean, you fight all that time and you're gonna give them a chance to jump?  No way, they were pushed.

In the 1890s, an engineering firm was hired to build what is now the Pali Highway, the winding road you took to get here. During construction, workers found about 800 human skulls and other human bones at the foot of the cliffs.  There is a plaque at the lookout that talks about the battle. 

'Iolani Palace

Iolani Palace

This is the only royal palace on American soil.  It is also across the street from my office.  Despite its fairly ostentatious exterior, up until recently I just assumed it was some government building with a cool gazebo in the yard.  Turns out, it's kind of a big deal.  'Iolani Palace was the official residence of Hawaii’s monarchy (King Kalākaua, his wife Queen Kapi'olani, and later his sister and successor, Queen Lili‘uokalani) in the late 19th century.  It was built in 1882 and is definitely a marvel of  opulence.

Main Double Staircase at Front Entrance of Palace

When the 'Iolani Palace was built, it was actually really modern.  It was outfitted with the most up-to-date amenities, including indoor plumbing.  Gas chandeliers were installed when the Palace was first built, but these were replaced by electric lighting five years later (less than seven years after Edison invented the first practical incandescent bulb). The King also installed a modern communications system that included the recently invented telephone.

Royal Dining Room - Where the King Hosted Foreign Dignitaries/Guests

As a general rule, I don't particularly care for museums.  I am too impatient to read all the plaques and I get bored pretty quickly.  This may surprise some people as I was a history major in college.  Well, the history may be interesting but museums are boring.  I'll still go (cuz you're supposed to be all "cultural" and stuff), but I usually just walk through, glance at stuff, read a plaque or two, and get in and out quickly (insert "that's what she said" joke here).  The Palace was almost worse than a museum.

King Kalakaua

One of the nice things about living in Washington, DC in college was that all the Smithsonian museums were free.  At least if I'm gonna walk through a museum all afternoon to look at a bunch of crap no one really cares about anymore, don't charge me.  Or at the very least, charge me like a dollar.  I won't begrudgingly pay a dollar.  The 'Iolani Palace costs $20! ($15 with a Kama'aina discount) for the guided tour and $13 for self-guided tour w/audio guide.  The self-guided tour is only available at random times, though.  We happened to show up at the wrong time.  If you plan to go, I definitely don't recommend the guided tour.  The tour guides are nice, but not worth an added $7.  What made it worse is that there weren't that many artifacts inside.

But why is it so empty inside? Glad you asked (just because I don't pay attention to history plaques doesn't mean I don't like to write them).  After the overthrow of the monarchy, 'Iolani Palace became the headquarters for the Provisional Government, Territory, and eventually the State of Hawai'i.  During WWII, it served as the temporary headquarters for the military governor in charge of martial law in the Hawaiian Islands.  And of course, any time the government gets involved everything goes to hell and falls into disrepair.  On January 17, 1893, Queen Lili'uokalani was deposed in a coup d'état.  She tried to promulgate a new constitution that was intended to increase the monarch's power and limit citizen influence and suffrage.  This galvanized opposition forces composed of Hawai`i-born citizens, naturalized citizens and foreign nationals (it was mostly businessmen and sugar plantation owners).  Contrary to Wikipedia's uncited claims, this was not an effort by the U.S. Government to control Hawaiian land (that came later).  While it's true that the opposition forces were supported by the American Minister to Hawai`i, the U.S. Government didn't really have much to do with the overthrow (though U.S. Marines eventually came ashore at the request of the conspirators). The queen was then imprisoned at the Palace under house arrest for 13 months (she was only allowed to walk on her balcony at night so her supporters couldn't see her). The U.S. annexed Hawaii 5 years later during the Spanish American War in 1898 in order to control Pearl Harbor.

Queen Lili`uokala

The Hawai'i State Government finally moved to its current Capitol Building in 1969, after which Hawaiian citizens decided to restore the palace.  Today, the inside is gorgeous.  The floors have all be re-done.  Most of the doors and wood paneling are made from Koa Wood (Koa trees are native to Hawaii and are very rare).  Almost all the furniture and artifacts that are in the palace are original and were used by the monarchy.  The only problem is that the restoration committee is trying to only use original contents (remember? the shit that was sold and auctioned?).  As you can imagine, it is difficult to get 100-year-old artifacts that stuff back from around the world.  As a result, a lot of the rooms are still completely or very nearly empty.  So until they re-furnish the Palace more fully it is FAR too overpriced.  Hearing about the process of recovering the artifacts was actually pretty cool, though.  All in all, take some pictures of the outside, read this blog post, Google "Iolani Palace," and call it a day. 

Hawaiian Islands And A Little Perspective

It occurred to me that some people, while reading my (sometimes) misanthropic posts may not have an accurate understanding of the Hawaiian islands or their basic layout.  Below is a map (click to enlarge):

The Hawaiian Islands (Hawaiian: Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago (chain or cluster of islands) of eight major islands, several atolls (island of coral that circles a lagoon partially or completely), numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the Pacific Ocean.  The entire chain of islands extends some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaiʻi in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll (the northwesternmost island in Hawaii is Green Island, which is joined to the Kure Atoll).

Oahu, where the Intermediate Court of Appeals and Supreme Court are located, is an island in the Northwestern part of the chain.  Honolulu is the capital of Hawaii and is located on the island of Oahu.  Many people often confuse "Hawaii the State" with "Hawaii the Island" thinking they are the same thing.  This is understandably confusing.  Hawaii the Island is also called "The Big Island."  Hawaii the State is in reference to all 8 major islands (and surrounding atolls, etc).  The major metropolitan area of Hawaii the State is Honolulu.  Oahu has by far the most people and most commercial activity of any of the islands. 

Oahu, known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the State of Hawaiʻi. It has a total land area of 596.7 square miles.  The craziest thing is that the island is home to about 902,168 people, which is roughly 75% of the population of the entire state.  Then about 75% of those on Oahu live on the "city" side of the island.  In case you don't feel like doing the math, that means that there are about 1,521 people/sq mi on Oahu.

To put these numbers in perspective, consider a few other places.  The Big Island, the largest Hawaiian island, has just under 44 people per square mile (4,028 sq. mil with a population of 175,784).  The State of Delaware (the second smallest State) has 885,000 people contained within a 2,490 sq mi area (355 people/sq mi).  The State of California is the most populous State in the U.S. and third largest by land area.  California is 163,696 sq mi with a population of 36,961,664 (225.8 people per/sq mi).  All the numbers presented are as of 2009 and are compiled from the official websites of the particular State. 

So there you have the very basic idea.