Spirits are high here with the Hawaii delegation. This was the scene just a few minutes ago. Be sure to watch this one to the end!

It’s a 9 MB file, so might take you a while to download, but it’s fun.

Star performer is Chuck Freedman, no stranger to government and politics and now with the Obama campaign in Hawaii.

Click on the photo to the left to get an idea of what it’s like here early in this first night of the Democratic National Convention.

It’s just after 5 p.m. and I’ve just gotten plugged in with the Hawaii delegation at the Pepsi Center.

Behind me, Congresswoman Mazie Hirono is posing for photos.

To my immediate left is the flower arrangement which took an hour or so to put up. One thing I can say is that Sen. Donna Kim has another career waiting for her. She did serious work on getting these flowers into place and looking good. The flowers are drawing lots of attention. A photographer from USA Today was here, several television crews, lots of others.

Music and speeches have been going on for a couple of hours as delegates arrive and found there way to the proper seats.

I ran into a couple of guys outside the Colorado Convention Center today who are from Nathaniel Swift’s Political Novelties and Oddities, a new company in Seattle.

I don’t know if these glasses really make it any easier to spot the BS, but they certainly get the message across.

They also offer The Recovering Republican Survival Kit, which includes things like anti-brainwashing serum, dirty political hand sanitizer, and an emergency Bill of Rights.

Check them out at www.nathanielswift.com.