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"So is this what it means to have local investors?"That's the question one interested reader had after seeing yesterday's front page Star-Bulletin story about Duane Kurisu, one of the S-B's select group of local investors, and the winter baseball league. It ran as the lead story in the online edition.
Here's a mainlander and former hawaii resident who reads the Adv. and SB web sites daily and watches the rivalry with interest. Love the news competition out there.I read the short winter league baseball item that was on the S-B front page (web site) on Saturday. Someone took a one-source sports brief and made it the lead story! No comment from major league baseball or other interested parties, no real facts or figures, just a S-B investor floating an idea. So is this what it means to have local investors? They come up with a scheme that needs money and the SB gives their plucky investor a lede story play? That damages the paper's credibility in my view. At the most that story should have been a sports page blurb, not leading the paper, even if it was an exclusive... Maybe i'm just a news junkie/cynic...
please don't use my name or web address on your site if you use any of the above comments on your site...i don't need poison e-mail from folks; i wuz just trying some constructive criticism.
love your web site and the cat/beach dog stories and pix. keep it up...
cheers and aloha
Kitten naming advice is pouring in. Here's a sampling:
would think "Mister Kitten" itself would be a fun cat name. Especially when he becomes a full grown cat, he would certainly become an interesting conversation piece "Why do you have a full grown cat named Mr. Kitten?" would be the perfect lead-in to the whole story of his arrival...•••
Just so you know, Dukie (or more likely, dookie) is what we always called poop when we were kids. "Oooh, look, you stepped in the dog dookie!" or "Ooooh, a bird made dookie on your head, hahahahaha!"
•••
Funny about the 2-syllable requirement for cat names -- it's so true. Can't call 'em otherwise (and we all know they really do come when called.)
But, keep in mind names evolve. Our cats' names always have. Even beyond adding the "ie", as in Dukie. You're right, it's inevitable -- but will evolve further in use.
"Bird," unfortunately monosyllabic, naturally became "Birdie." But it has also morphed to "Birdman," then "Junior Birdman," to "Junior Baby" (the name Pat uses most often) and "B-Man" (the name I use most often). He responds -- by coming or choosing not to come -- to all of them.
Our calico, christened "Leimamo" gained the nickname "Bunny" because of her coat's softness. Other names she earned over the years were:
Mamo
Mamee
Bunny Maru (as in Japanese ship, but pronounced "mah-ROO")
Bunny Marunny
Marunny
Maretta
Maretta Maru
Bunny Marunny Maretta Maru (the most affectionate nomer)
B
B-GirlGlad you're keeping him -- he's a sweetie.
And so it goes on this Saturday a.m. We're still in name brainstorm mode. At least through this weekend.
You can keep up with the latest word on who's taken out or actually filed nomination papers as candidates in the year's elections without the hassle of visits to the Lt. Governor's office to pick up the updated list. Just visit the Office of Elections web site and download the list. It's always interesting to see who's who, and those phone numbers and addresses are invaluable future resources.Lind "close to Frankenstein," says the eye-catching photo caption (at least its the kind of thing that catches my eye). My sister sent this over to me--a BBC news story about Dr. James Lind, a Scot who one historian now credits with providing the scientific underpinning of Mary Shelley's famous novel. Not clear whether he's a direct relative, but James Lind lived in the same general area of Scotland, so the possibilities are there. Further research is in order....
The fate of Alex Salkever's Hawaii Scoops site is unknown. It was up and running and then suddenly died on May 23. So far, Alex hasn't responded to inquiries. Perhaps he's off on a lengthy assignment.
I swore it wasn't going to happen, but here we are settling in with Mr. Kitten, who is going to join our household after all. We're beginning to try out names for him. Some good ones have to be eliminated because they're too close in sound to one of the other cats and would be confusing.
The working name, for the last 24 hours, has been Duke.
It's actually a Yonge family name, but has a nice sound to it. The only problem is that it's only one syllable, whereas the best cat names seem to have two syllables. So it tends to become Dukie. Not sure if that really works, but we're going with it for now.
Hey, what's happened to all that "let's run government like a business" talk? With yet another multibillion dollar case of corporate fraud, "businesslike" may soon be a synonym for "criminal".So isn't it time for pundits to start taking apart the corporate system, including its system of values, to identify those that contribute most directly to the dramatic explosion of white collar crime that is now being revealed? Let's keep those out of government, else this generation of managers will end up plundering public systems in the same way. There's really something comforting about the stodgy and often inefficient way that government runs, with its complex system of checks and cross-checks that routinely block immediate actions.
These corporate frauds are really on a grand scale, with managers that must have studied at the Ferdinand Marcos school of financial management. It makes the crimes that Rene Mansho committed at the City Council seem downright pale and unimaginative.
Speaking of Rene, I only know what I've read in the newspapers of her offenses. But if having legislative or council staff doing campaign work is really a crime, then just about every holder of public office might as well turn themselves in. Staff positions are, after all, basic patronage, and tend to go to those who have contributed to the winning campaign. So there's a very fundamental overlap between campaigning and staff work.
When I was on Neil Abercrombie's staff at the city council more than 10 years ago, we all knew that there needed to be a firewall between campaign activities and council business. But that's a goal that was largely unattainable. There is just too much going happening on both sides of the fictional wall, and too few hours or bodies to deal with it all, to maintain a perfect separation. And that's just at the level of an individual council member. The city administration as a whole is a really a big campaign machine. There's no avoiding that conclusion.
So I'm left wondering, how did Rene's use of staff differ from the "normal" involvement of staff in campaigning? I missed this essential explanation in news coverage of her case.
I notice that the Advertiser's web site has added a useful feature--links to past stories that appear alongside a current story. For example, their story on Walter Dods decision not to get into the governor's race includes links to the earlier stories reporting on the trial balloon. It's an extra that is very useful to the reader. Good move.
We said good-bye to one of Cybelle's kittens yesterday. We took her to town in the morning, where she spent the day with me in my office before getting delivered to her new home in the late afternoon.
She's a lucky kitten. And we have visitation rights.
Now we have to find the boy a name.
Meda says good-bye to Ms. Kitten
Sorry for the long delay in getting today's entry posted.First there was the 2 a.m. yowling cat fight that started in the garage, rolled across the front yard and down the hill, and then came screeching back after I turned on some lights and went outside. I caught a brief glimpse of Leo heading under the house with the yellow stray in close pursuit. I had to wait for several minutes before Leo appeared on the deck and sat in front of the door, waiting for me to open it.
The results were obvious. Leo got a good ass chewing, erasing doubts about the origin of this popular image. Poor Leo.
Then I had to get up early to finish a small writing assignment that was the victim of procrastination, and actually didn't get wrapped up until after our morning walk.
And then, to top things off, we had to spent a little extra time with the kittens this morning, since the little girl is joining her new family this afternoon. She's here at my office now--actually she jus9t c/888888 (that was a quick message from her as she climbed my leg, then up my shirt, a quick jump over to the desk, and voila, onto the keyboard). She's at just about the perfect age for adoption, 8 weeks to the day.
So here I am, midmorning, finally getting back to the morning's task.
A friend at the Star-Bulletin sent over this link to a New York Times story on Walmart's alleged practice of regularly requiring "off the clock" and unpaid work from its employees, forwarded to me under the subject heading: "the future of the superblock."
John Flanagan's "Talk Story" column on today's Star-Bulletin is an unapologetic paean to University of Hawaii Assistant Athletic Director Jim Donovan. Even if Donovan deserved the unrestrained praise, it might have been appropriate for Flanagan to disclose that he and Jim are personal friends. Meantime, I'll have to go back and reread my 1997 series on UH athletics. I should say that Donovan was very professional, cooperated with my inquiry and opened his records, although it was clear that I would be raising questions about the operation.
Here's an excerpt from a note signed by Frances: "I think that the Cybelle story was a successful one, even if you haven't found a new home for boy kitten. In a way, I'm sort of glad because it will be interesting to "watch" him grow up."
Cat people might also want to check the updated cat census of our household by clicking on the banner at the top of this page. You'll be able to choose the short version or the longer explanatory version.
In case you missed the story--yesterday the Star-Bulletin announced that another heavyweight local investor has joined the hui. This time it's Larry Johnson, former CEO of Bank of Hawaii's parent company.Neighbor Bob works at the airport, but is really a writer, even if he doesn't want to admit it. Here's his comment on the demise of the Verner Liipfert law office in Honolulu, which had been opened by former Gov. John Waihee after he returned to the real world.
what i find more interesting is ..
"the evolution of corruption"
in Samoa and the rest of the pacific islands
a politician must get his spoils while in office
in Hawaii .... you get yours after you get out
you go from a small kalihi condominium off waiakimilo
to a big house in nuuanu valley
on a very soft loan from the bank of Hawaii
plus .... go from a struggling lawyer to ...
a $480,000 per year consultant in a DC law firm
(to help pay for the house)some might find the word "corrupt" too strong
i would ask back...do you get that stuff for nothing?
did they give you this because they liked you?...the political culture won't refer to this as "corrupt" because
most would hope to get the same deal .... when they lose their job
viewed as ....a reward for a job well done!the last time i lost a job i couldn't get unemployment
so it goes
Cat boundary warning. Anti-cat readers, turn back.
Now I've got to admit the bad news. Lizzie hasn't been the only casualty of the last month.
Mr. Silverman, the cat with the unforgettable blue eyes, has also gone missing. He was already the cat with the most tenuous links to our household. He didn't respond well when we let the kittens out on supervised release into the rest of the house.
Silverman only came in a couple of times, saw the kittens, and freaked. His tail went down, he scurried for safety, and headed right back out the cat door. Same thing, two nights in a row.
Then he didn't return.
It's been very hard to deal with, especially coming on the heels of Ms. Lizzie's disappearance, and, on the other hand, with the kittens growing up quickly in the background. We've just been spinning.
I didn't know how to respond last week when a good friend listened to my tale of missing felines, shook her head, and said: "That's what cats do."
It wasn't a good answer. If your kid's suddenly missing, is the answer the same? "Don't worry, that's what kids do?"
Then she looked at me, obviously dismissing the cats as legitimate objects of worry, and added: "I don't think you've got enough to do."
As if attachments to animals is the exclusive province of the lazy and indolent.
Nope. She's a good friend, and a good lawyer, but she just doesn't get it.
There was a lot of fanfare when former Gov. John Waihee signed on with the Washington D.C.-based law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, and opened an office for them in Honolulu.But I don't recall reading anything about the closing of the local office and the declining fortunes of the firm, which is now reportedly seeking a merger partner. Legal Times has the whole story, which is quite an interesting read.
I did manage the kitten update, as promised. It's an important time. Little Ms. Kitten is heading off to her new home in a day or two. We're already suffering a bit of that sense of loss, while being so happy that she's off to a good home. In the meantime, we're trying to enjoy as much of the kitten antics as we can.
Click on the photo to reach the latest kitten pics.
Her new home beckons
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