Time for a change of pace(reading material that is) . I normally like to read non fiction but
Sharon thought I would like this Mystery. Now that I have read almost 100 pages I can say she
is correct! More later

From the Archives

Tthings my wife wants me to throw away #4

Pineapple time again! This year we have about 60 that are almost ripe ,last year it was 100. Slowly we are succeeding in downsizing because it is too difficult to use or give them away fast enough . last year it was worse because warm weather made them ripen all at once. Problems Problems!!!!

what a wonderful thing!

Gil Scott-Heron 1949-2011

One of the winning groups at Merrie Monarch

Fun Stuff

miss you

The Way it feels sometimes

Merrie Monarch time again

Here is a brief rundown from the Merrie Monarch festival page

King David Kalākaua

The Merrie Monarch Festival is dedicated to the memory of King David Kalākaua, known as the Merrie Monarch. King Kalākaua came to the throne of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1874 and reigned until his death in 1891. He was a patron of the arts, especially music and dance.

Kalākaua restored Hawaiian cultural traditions that had been suppressed for many years under missionary teachings. He advocated a renewed sense of pride in such things as Hawaiian mythology, medicine, chant, and hula.

Ancient Hawaiians had no written language, but chant and hula served to record such things as genealogy, mythology, history, and religion. Hula, the dance of Hawaiian people, was one means by which culture was expressed and passed down through generations.

The Merrie Monarch Festival has steadfastly maintained the teachings of our kupuna, our elders, and in doing so we strive to perpetuate the history and culture of Hawaiian people in a manner that respects those teachings. Through our efforts, along with those of other organizations, we hope to ensure that the unique traditions of Hawaiian people will continue to flourish.

Now I understand!

U.K. Town / Pub names #4

Woke up with a tune on my mind this morning. This used to go on for hours.
Every few minutes I would find my self whistling or singing
(well attempting to sing) this intruder.
Then one day I read that if you can name it you can usually relate it to your mood. For the past week I have been fighting off this cold that is an energy zapper. Not bad symptoms but general tiredness. Well the morning of the songattack I was feeling better hence the tune "No more Blues" was in my head. Pretty slick!

Things my wife wants me to throw away # 3

It's becoming a habit; This Saturday afternoon CD review. This week it was the Hi-lo's ,
a tight harmony vocal quartet.They were formed by Gene Puerling in 1953 and
produced almost 30 albums . This CD (actually a 2 album compilation of albums made in the 50s) was produced in 1999. Suddenly it's the Hi-lo's is presented first but the second( Harmony in Jazz) is what interests me. This is because It has a more serious jazz nature . Unlike the first half of the album ,which has a complete orchestra including strings, the second half (Harmony in Jazz) has the group accompanied by the Marty Paich Dek-tet so the material selected is less commercially oriented . This smaller group also showcases the voices better ! This is another of my comfort albums( recordings loved as a child)
but remains vital still. Another case of quality material passing the test of time!

Contact imminent contribution

Speaking of the Prisoner, I am a member of the Six of One Prisoner appreciation , a group for those of us that cant get enough Information about the classic cult TV series. One of the membership benefits is a quarterly magazine and from time to time I try to contribute by sending them material. Here is my latest contribution.

The Prisoner series

I can't recall how many series of things I have started but here is a new one anyway. This time it is a trading card set of The Prisoner ,my favorite tv series. I promise to see how many I have running and try to make progress on all of them. You are probably thinking who cares but I have fun with it anyway.

U.K. Town and pub names #3

The third in a series of British town and pub names from The Camra Good Beer Guide. There are over 50 counties so this might take a while. The real challenge will be to just make it through the entire guide . At least I am not listing all 4,500 pubs in the book.

Lucky we live Hawaii

I was walking Red yesterday and had one of those moments where it really hits me how fortunate I am to
live here. So here are a couple more photos. Top one is looking towards the back of one of our 1 acre lots.
The trees in the far background are the lot line.The plants halfway back on the left are bananas which we eat periodically. To the right is a lemon tree. I then turned around and took the bottom photo looking towards the front.The palm frond on the ground is from the coconut tree in front of it. I am actually standing on our other lot which is also one acre. More on that later. The lots are about 120 feet wide and 400 ft long. For the most part it is blissfully quiet here with almost no traffic or background noise other than bird song and a faint surf sound. The fact that I have not seen one jet contrail overhead in the 9 years we have been here illustrates how remote we are!. As they say here Lucky we live Hawaii!