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August 30, 2003 - Saturday
The headline of a front page Star-Bulletin story this morning says "Hawaii brimming with excitement as Warriors prepare for kickoff." The gushing headline is followed by a story which discloses that the estimate for the opening game crowd is just 35,000, which means nearly a third of the seats are expected to remain empty. "Brimming with excitement?" The evidence is a bit thin.
We're seeing an interesting sea change in public opinion. A poll this week found that more Americans now think the war in Iraq makes the U.S. a more dangerous place to live than believe that it makes us safer from terrorism. Propaganda, it appears, has its limits.
And we're continuing to see stories about military families openly questioning the President's policies. Here's one from Barrington, Illinois, not normally seen as a haven for leftists.
And those changes are paralleled by an attempt to rewrite history as the Bush administration quietly attempts to alter the record of his comments about the end of the war. Several examples appear on The Memory Hole web site.
The power went out briefly around 4 a.m., apparently the result of another automobile crash along our highway. It's now 5:08 and a helicopter just flew across Kaaawa and is landing just below us at Swanzy Beach Park to transport the victim or victims, most likely to Queen's Hospital's helipad. Six minutes later and they're revving the engines for takeoff. A bad start to a holiday weekend.
Here we go again, trying to continue our normal rounds while in hurricane watch mode at Hurricane Jimena weaves in our direction. Leaving my office for the three days weekend, I broke at the last minute and took a few precautionary steps, moving my external hard drive, backup cd's, irreplaceable negatives, and a few other items into the bathroom, the most protected area of the small apartment, and closed the door. Then I locked up and left the building, trying to think positively.
Here at home we have other problems. Our collection of cat carriers hasn't kept up with the population, we probably have to add to our stock today. There's nothing worse than trying to figure out what to do with a frightened cat while hurricane or near hurricane winds are roaring outside. Well, okay, there are worse things, but at least we're hoping not to relive that experience.
August 29, 2003 - Friday
According to yesterday's Honolulu Advertiser film listing, "The Magdalene Sisters" opens today at Dole Cannery 18 Theatres, Koko Marina 8-Plex and Maui Mall Megaplex Cinemas (Maui). Although this is a bit more exposure than the single theater suggested yesterday, the film seems to be getting a lot less distribution than elsewhere.
A reader now living on New Zealand's South Island had this to say about the film:
I saw the movie down here this past Monday. It's running even in little old Blenheim at the bottom of the earth.
This, after a long and successful run in several of the Auckland movie theaters - from the CBD to the suburbs.
A big hit here.
I don't know when I've seen a movie that gripped me so (Of course, I don't go to movies much). When the movie ended, I sat in the theatre seat a couple extra moments. Had that emptiness in the pit of my stomach.
Maybe it's because the Sisters of Mercy educated me for 16 years in Burlington, Vermont, (a predominantly Irish-Catholic New England city) and I identified w/a lot of the thinking and could relate to the photo of JFK so prominently displayed . . .
Those of us growing up in the Burlington area in the '40s, '50's and early '60's had heard the hushed comments about the asylums.
But we didn't think too deeply about them - they just were, like orphanages and poor houses and paupers' graves.
Going to the movie was the highlight of the week. It's a big deal to plan a trip to Blenheim (pop. @ 27,000) for those of us out in the boondocks.
Cheers from Down Under.
On the animal front this Friday, a reader pointed me to this Gaijin "guest" essay in the August 28 Ryukyu Shimpo, comparing dogs to cats.
| I almost forgot to mention that a new set of Kaaawa photos was posted last weekend. Just click on this photo. |
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August 28, 2003 - Thursday
Jimmy Breslin's Newsday column this week on the Bush administration's proclivity for lying is definitely worth a read, prompted by the EPA's admission that the agency lied about the dangers of the dust in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks.
A reader asks a good question about entertainment politics:
It puzzles me that Consolidated is the only chain booking The Magdalene Sisters here and that it is shunting the film off to the Koko Marina theaters.
In case you haven't read about this movie, it is hugely unpopular with the Vatican, has sparked protests and its shock value is worth its weight in gold.
Here's the Washington Post review.
If Consolidated considered it an "art" film why wouldn't it be sent to the Varsity?
The movie has provoked so much controversy since it was being made and the reviews have been so strong that I have to wonder why it gets just one booking.
I don't know. Maybe it makes good business sense since it's not expected to break box office records. And, of course, Hawaii doesn't have a very sophisticated movie-going public.
But this shakes the foundations of one of the world's most powerful religions, and Geraldine McEwan (as the mother superior) has been mentioned as a possible Oscar contender.
I really have to wonder if Consolidated received any pressure from the Catholic archdiocese.
Other news--most of the questions about this week's painting (see Monday's entry) have been resolved. I spoke with amateur artist Carole Cleghorn and then forwarded over a photo of the painting. Cleghorn confirmed that it's her painting of Mt. Olomana viewed from the Waimanalo side. It was painting some years ago when she was taking a class from Gloria Foss, and then sold at the annual Punahou carnival art gallery.
| I can't believe it's been a month since my last batch of cat photos. With the bus strike limiting my mobility, I stayed home yesterday and, among other things, spent some time stalking cats. Click on Leo's photo, or the cats banner to the right, to see the results. |
Mr. Leo
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Speaking of stalking cats, I don't understand why it's been so hard to find evidence of that big cat on Maui. Our relatively little cats leave their hair everywhere. In vast quantities. Continually. I have to blow it out of the computer keyboard. Wipe it off of all flat surfaces. Coax wads of hair from the backs of fans, including the fan that cools the computer. Every corner of every room seems to be a most efficient cat hair collection point. And the window screens? Seemingly clean clothes seem to draw the cat hair from the air, and always an appropriately contrasting color for maximum visibility. The rate of hair production by household cats is actually some kind of scientific marvel. Now if we could just create a market for fine cat hair sweaters....
August 27, 2003 - Wednesday
An article in Editor & Publisher looks at gambling on Little League games, an issue that begs for replication here.
I noticed that the Honolulu Advertiser web site is quite a bit slower than usual this morning, and it usually is pretty slow, but, that aside, I was glad to see labor economist Lawrence "Bill" Boyd quoted in Johnny Brannon's lead bus strike story. Boyd puts some political reality back into the reporting of this strike:
Boyd said, however, that it is only half true the city has no money for raises. "They're really saying, given our priorities, there's no money for you," he said.
He pointed out that the city was able to adjust its spending plans to cover arbitrated raises for firefighters this year, at a cost expected to approach $7 million over two years.
Redirecting money from other areas or finding new ways to generate cash may be politically unpopular, but are not impossible, Boyd said. The real question is whether parties involved will be flexible, Boyd said, and Harris' hands are not tied.
"It seems to me that the buck has to stop some place, and right now it stops in the mayor's office."
Yesterday I went in search of an old 1972 Wendell Berry essay which urges that we "think little". It's something that stuck in my mind at the time and that I consider again from time to time. I found it online--some of its particulars reflect the specific issues of that time, but I continue to find it's perspective useful. It also drew me farther into the site, Creative Action Heroes, which includes a wonderfully long page of quotations well worth reading through.
The "think little" advice is relevant because I'm slowly moving towards launching a new online version of my Hawaii Monitor newsletter, which I published from mid-1990 until I joined the Star-Bulletin in 1993. There are still lots of stories around this town that, for whatever reason, the corporate media are slow to notice and that need a bit more formal approach than this daily musing can accommodate, and I might as well claim a spot in the news food chain. I'm leaning towards a gradual launch over the next couple of months as I sort out remaining practical issues. In any case, you will, of course, be kept informed.
August 26, 2003 - Tuesday
Both papers were a bit late this morning, apparently delayed to cover the midnight bus strike deadline. It looks like the strike is on. It's going to be interesting.
From Ray Barrington at the Green Bay News-Chronicle:
Gannett is continuing to work on surrounding the market with lame weeklies, this time in poor Lansing, MI.
Or as somebody said in the story, "What is it an alternative to? Itself?"
The University of Hawaii briefly posted a preview of their new system web site last week, but it almost immediately disappeared. Lots of campus web designers are wondering what's going on.
| Several folks responded to yesterday's query about the painting. So far, most think it is Mount Olomana as seen from the Waimanalo side. Another thought it is Haiku viewed from Kaneohe. I'm still hoping that it turns out to be that unusual rock formation in Kaaawa Valley (photo to right). |
click for larger version-
compare to painting (below)
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An answer may be forthcoming. I spoke with one C. Cleghorn yesterday who has painted but couldn't place my description of this painting. I've sent along a photo, so may know more soon. Stay tuned.
August 25, 2003 - Monday
With an island-wide bus strike looming, it's interesting to see the Lingle administration running for cover.
Saturday's Advertiser quotes Lingle saying she prefers a hands off approach, apparently despite public consequences, while state negotiator Ted Hong says the governor lacks any authority in this case:
State chief negotiator Ted Hong said the governor does not have the legal authority to intervene should bus workers strike.
"There's no state law that would permit her to intervene in this strike," he said. "There's really nothing she can do. There's no money she could offer or throw into the mix, there's no legal authority that she could utilize to compel the Teamsters to go back and operate the buses."
While technically true, Hong's statement is also disingenuous. There's always quite a bit that a governor in a centralized state like ours can do. The governor has powers that go far beyond specific legal authority. In this case, though, at least Lingle is up front about her laissez faire position, although I don't know how this plays with all those Waikiki businesses that depend so much on bus transportation for visitors and employees alike.
A reader added this comment yesterday:
speaking of contradictory wording, are my ears and memory working when I recall the reporter on CNN said that one of the deaths recently in Iraq was due to "non-hostile gunfire" ?
| Well, we did it again. Bought an old island painting at auction. This is an oil on canvas, signed "c. cleghorn".
I've not a clue who Mr. or Ms. Cleghorn is or was, but hope to find out. If you happen to know of a person by that name, please just send me a quick email. And if you've got an informed guess of where this scene is, let me know as well. I've got my candidate, but would be interested in others.
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Click for larger version
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August 24, 2003 - Sunday
A reader noted that the Star-Bulletin relied on AP for a brief story yesterday about the removal from the University of Nebraska team former Hawaii high school star Junior Tagoa'i. But: "They failed to mention [the S-B's own reporting of] Tagoa'i's troubled history at St. Louis and how that school swept his problems under the rug rather than rock the boat. Sort of lazy, in my book. It's a key fact and every sports editor knows about this one."
Another reader continues last week's exchange about the situation of U.S. troops in Iraq:
I saw the reaction [Friday] to my comments. When I said this kind of tragedy will be repeated, I certainly wasn't referring just to media in the line of fire.
We don't know how many innocent men, women and children have been killed or injured by U.S. troops acting under extreme conditions. We don't know how many shots have been fired at vehicles approaching checkpoints or racing through them in attempts to meet curfew.
These incidents will never leave the heads of the soldiers who find they committed deadly mistakes. The soldier who killed the Reuters camera man will wake up nights 25 years from now writhing in sweat over that incident.
The tragedy of Iraq involves not only the innocents in the line of fire but the soldiers forced to make life-or-death decisions. Their lives are affected forever.
A soldier in Iraq is authorized to make the decision to shoot when there appears to be a violation of occupation rules. That split-second decision, placed on the shoulders of a young man with a loaded weapon, is certainly influenced by his state of mind.
These young people are not "hysterical," but they are certainly not robotic entities just because they are trained for combat.
Anyone who thinks the mission in Iraq is clear to the troops involved is not reading or watching news reports.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a very real problem and these troops will have to deal with it when they return to the U.S.
The intense heat, growing uneasiness and hostility among the populace, the confined zone of operations, the constant fear of death (and do not doubt these troops are afraid because they are...they persist bravely but they certainly are afraid) and the unique situations of the Iraq operation already have the Defense Department worried. That's why the department is trying to detect PTSD in returning troops and deal with it immediately.
"Post-war" Iraq is quite different from WWII where the rationale for fighting was absolutely clear to every soldier. The free world was really in jeopardy. Our own shores were in jeopardy -- and the enemy had a face.
I have a relative serving in Iraq and I support him and his fellow soldiers in arms. I empathize with them. They can not question their orders. They serve and they do so because they chose to serve.
I never question the dedication of our troops. I question the wisdom of not relieving them when the operation has become a quagmire.
Vietnam taught us that ugly things happen in quagmires.
This sentence in an Advertiser sports story yesterday morning jumped out at me: "Her game was graceful and sophisticated, if a bit simplistic."
Sophisticated=complex. Simplistic=not complex or sophisticated.
So sophisticated but simplistic struck me as more than a little jarring.
I've gotten used to writing with 13 pounds of warm cat laying across my lap. Wally seems to materialize whenver I sit down in front of the computer. She jumps up onto the chair just behind me, tiptoes across the back, up the arm, and then steps onto my lap, quickly assuming some appropriate cat position. Right now she's laying on her back, ample striped stomach showing and accessible to be rubbed, front paws outstretched and paddling in the air, head hanging off my right leg but held up by the right arm of the chair. This relaxed Wally is much better than the playful Wally, who puts all body parts in or around the lap in jeopardy. Now she's got claws from both front feet dug into my t-shirt. This could go either way. Ah, the joys of cats.
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