Outside / Contrary to popular belief, bamboo is not a tree. It’s a woody evergreen plant from the grass family.
On Friday, April 22, Earth Day is in full bloom. Community organizers, volunteers, local businesses, government officials and council members are putting on events big and small in commemoration of the world around us.
Toro Y Moi / “Chaaaz.” The short voicemail message sounds like the cell phone owner is on barbiturates. This is the phone of a successful musician who is touring the world to promote his second album Underneath the Pine.
Nobunny / About 10 years ago on the outskirts of Tuscon, Ariz., Nobunny was born from the oppressive and sweltering desert heat. The nature of Nobunny remains somewhat mysterious–instead of picturing Nobunny as a character created by Justin Champlin, it’s easier to imagine Nobunny’s explosive appearance as something that arrived spontaneously from another world, the way a graboid erupts from the ground in Tremors.
The Vengeful Sword / The floating world of old Japan comes alive in The Vengeful Sword, a kabuki performance at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Kennedy Theatre. The tale is told in the stylized costumes and motions of traditional kabuki, cleverly translated into English and adapted for shorter attention spans: The all-day event of kabuki here fits into a mere two hours.
Les Liaisons Dangereuses / HPU’s Paul and Vi Loo Theatre brings us Christopher Hampton’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses, better known to movie fans as Dangerous Liaisons with John Malkovich, Glenn Close and Michelle Pfeiffer, and better known to Generation Y as Cruel Intentions with Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Itself adapted from the 1782 novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Dangereuses deals with two bad people doing very bad things to other people as well as themselves.
Taking off your shoes before entering a house. Ordering a saimin from McDonalds.
Kathy Griffin / Hide your Bristols, comedian Kathy Griffin’s coming and no celebrity encounter is left on the mainland. The Weekly had a hard-hitting conversation with the comedian about her tabloid-style humor–and went on some pop-culture tangents along the way.
art / Sustainability even applies to our festivals these days. Instead of deep-fried Butterfingers, we’re buying soy burgers (on a stick).
The King and I / The word to describe Diamond Head Theatre’s production of The King and I is “lavish.” Four monks sit silently as the audience files in and the quartet are framed on the stage by sliding walls depicting giant red elephants. Once the show begins, we find ourselves on a boat with extras scaling the masts.
Arti Grabowski / “Because it’s something unusual. Indefinite,” says Arti Grabowski on why spectators may be uncomfortable with his brand of artwork.
Film / Spring is here and that means one week of film-y goodness with the 2011 Spring Showcase from the Hawaii International Film Festival. Beginning this Friday and running till Thursday, approximately 27 films are being screened and there is surely something to please even the most discerning cine-phile.
Drinking by yourself at home is just no fun. Sure there’s something vaguely, romantic in the melancholy image of sitting in the dark, brooding and holding a tumbler with two fingers of Jim Beam.
Mo’Nique / Start with five seasons of the UPN hit The Parkers. Add success as a standup comedian and best-selling author.
Sylvia Browne / Sylvia Browne is a New York Times bestselling author and a celebrity psychic who will soon be lecturing at the Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall. Her latest book, Afterlives of the Rich and Famous, is making headlines and causing a stir among non-believers.
Avenue Q / Perhaps no play on the island this season has been more eagerly anticipated than Manoa Valley Theatre’s Avenue Q–its run has already been extended into April. What’s not to look forward to, really?
Civilization V / The popular turn-based strategy game, Civilization V, ransacks another culture for the sake of letting players become computer-bound conquerors. The latest downloadable content update is the “Polynesia” scenario pack and the leader is–check it out, local gamers–Kamehameha.
The One More Girl project / Why would two young men make a documentary about women’s health? For brothers Ryan and David Richardson, who live in Honolulu, the personal became the political.
The English Beat / Originally from the UK, The English Beat formed in the midst of a social and political uprising that set into motion the epochal punk revolution. The Weekly spoke with lead vocalist Dave Wakeling before he arrived in Hawaii.
Native Books/Nā Mea Hawai‘i / The goal of a critic is to figure out whether a work is worthy of study. In other words, the reviewer says to the public, “You should buy this book” or, “You should see this movie” or, “You should eat or not eat at this particular restaurant.” But what happens when critics are resistant to critiquing a work of art despite its worthiness?
Touching the Hearts and Minds of the People: North Korean Art on Paper / It’s probably an understatement, maybe even a cliché, to say that North Korea is a secretive enigma. A simple mention of this country draws a strong reaction or a blank stare.
Without love, what are we worth? According to M*A*S*H’s Hawkeye, “Eighty-nine cents.
EK mixtape release / Alex Samori is just a skinny kid with a mop of black hair, but the unassuming 21-year-old Kamehameha Schools grad is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with when it comes to emcee battles and original lyrical content. Known in the music world as Everybody Knows, or EK, Samori came up with the moniker “to troll people,” he says in his quick vocal cadence that comes across not only in his music, but in everyday conversation.
I Hate Hamlet / In I Hate Hamlet, the season opener at Diamond Head Theatre, Andrew Rally is an out-of-work television actor from Los Angeles who moves into the New York residence of the late John Barrymore. In addition to living in the brownstone itself, the young actor also has misgivings about taking on the role of Hamlet in a Shakespeare in the Park-like production.
Goo Goo Dolls / Lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls John Rzeznik has a lower voice than you expect from the man who asked, “Do you wake up on your own and wonder where you are?” in the hit single “Slide.” That little vocal surprise aside, Rzeznik and the rest of the Goo Goo Dolls will be here for the Pro Bowl pre-performance. Before arriving on the island, Rzeznik called the Weekly and we learned what exactly a goo goo doll is, his candid thoughts on the canceled series The Next Great American Band and who he thinks is gonna take the Super Bowl.
Given the city’s crumbling infrastructure and rail controversy, it’s hard to believe anyone would want to be the next mayor of Honolulu. But a few do want the job, including the incumbent, Mayor Peter Carlisle, the former Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney who won a 2010 special election to fill the remainder of Mufi Hannemann’s term.
I’d never been to a Honolulu City Council meeting until a few weeks ago. Features, not politics, was my beat.
Victoria Holt Takamine is a kumu hula, a cultural activist and a teacher and has an impeccable pedigree to back up all these titles. Born of an alii family whose kuleana was in Moanalua, she graduated as a hula teacher under the legendary Auntie Maiki Aiu Lake and taught hundreds of students in her own halau (Pua Alii ‘Ilima) and at the University of Hawaii.
On April 25, a state judge dismissed trespassing charges against a Kauai man after finding that he had been exercising traditional native Hawaiian rights hunting wild pigs on private land. Kui Palama, 28, was arrested on Jan.
The city plans to dish out $3.5 million from its Affordable Housing Fund and either purchase or renovate a structure to provide transitional housing for Honolulu’s special needs homeless population. “Our community has invested considerable effort and resources in addressing homelessness,” Mayor Peter Carlisle said in a statement, “but there remains a population whose disabilities or chronic conditions make it difficult for them to participate in traditional shelter programs.” Carlisle is referring to those homeless with mental illnesses, addictions and physical disabilities.
Makaweli Poi faces an uncertain future after its owner, a corporate subsidiary of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) ordered the West Kauai mill to suspend operations May 23. Mona Bernardino, chief operating officer of the corporation, Hiipoi LLC, says the move to shut down Makaweli Poi was prompted mainly by financial concerns.
A resolution adopted by the City Council will solidify an agreement between the City and County of Honolulu and the University of Hawaii Water Resources Research Center (UH-WRRC) to conduct an analysis of impacts from ocean sewer outfalls on the marine environments off of Oahu. The city will pay UH-WRRC as much as $2.5 million for biological and sediment studies in portions between now and June 30, 2017 .
Along with the deep, verdant growth of spring sprouts an unyielding desire to spend more time in the open air. That’s why it should come as no surprise that National Bike Month falls in the sun-drenched time of May.
Of the many letters you publish against rail, how many offer an alternative that won’t send us into further economic demise? Billions of gallons of oil are imported for us from every oil-producing nation on this planet so that we can buy billions of gallons of gasoline.
TheBus is taking a back seat to rail. At the May 3 Downtown Neighborhood Board meeting, an audience member asked city Transportation Director Wayne Yoshioka when we could expect the bus route cancellations and changes to be reversed.
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