The Adventures of LitBoy: Bill Brent's Blog

2008.04.06, Picture of the Day, Big Island of Hawaii

MERRIE MONARCH HULA FESTIVAL, 2008

ALOHA! These are pictures of the April 2 ho'ike (in essence, a show or exhibition) from the 45th annual Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, March 30 to April 7, 2008. I have many lovely ho'ike pictures here for you to enjoy, from both 2008 and 2007 — to see them all, just click the "hula" category tab in the sidebar to the left.

This is my second set of photos of the evening's events. Here are more pictures of the traditional hula kahiko, performed by Halau O Kekuhi:

The kahiko is the ancient hula with mele, or chant, which are records of cultural information. By contrast, the 'auana (not pictured here) is the modern, song-accompanied hula. Kahiko portrays the raw life force. Highly primordial, kahiko conveys power, sensuality, sexual prowess, and a deep reverence for natural balance. It is a worship of the gods.

Above and below, we see the 'olapa, who execute the dance movements. They are accompanied by the ho'opa'a, who chant the text and provide the percussive accompaniment for the dancers.

This group is Halau O Kekuhi, who also opened the ho'ike at the 2007 Merrie Monarch Festival; my pictures of that ceremony (with better lighting!) are HERE.

The kumu hula (source, origin, teacher of hula) of Halau O Kekuhi are Pualani Kanaka’ole Kanahele and Nalani Kanaka’ole. You can learn more by clicking HERE — it's a lovely site.

I have also found a summary of the evening's show, which you can read HERE. (You may have to register to view the summary. But the pictures are right here!)

This continues my series of photos from this year's Merrie Monarch Festival. If you enjoy this blog, please check back, or sign up for email updates (using the sidebar element beneath my picture and bio) to see what's new.

[PLEASE NOTE: I respect the cultural traditions of indigenous dance forms and strive to provide accurate information and context regarding those traditions whenever possible. If you feel I have made any errors of fact, or wish to supplement my posts with additional information, feel free to leave a comment with any suggestions, corrections, or enhancements. MAHALO NUI LOA!]

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2008.04.05, 3:35 p.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a professional blog. Keeping it online costs me $200 per year. That's before paying me for my writing, photography, or anything else I do here. If you enjoy this blog, please use the Tip Jar at the top of this page. Your two-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

20.00 / $199.90 (10.0%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars (after the funds processor takes its cut). Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually I post your contribution on my next blog post.

All original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.

2008.04.05, Picture of the Day, Big Island of Hawaii

MERRIE MONARCH HULA FESTIVAL, 2008

ALOHA! These are pictures of the April 2 ho'ike (in essence, a show or exhibition) from the 45th annual Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, March 30 to April 7, 2008. I have many lovely ho'ike pictures here for you to enjoy, from both 2008 and 2007 — to see them all, just click the "hula" category tab in the sidebar to the left.

This is my first set of photos of the evening's events. Here is a traditional hula kahiko, performed by Halau O Kekuhi:

The kumu hula (source, origin, teacher of hula) of Halau O Kekuhi are Pualani Kanaka’ole Kanahele and Nalani Kanaka’ole. You can learn more by clicking HERE — it's a lovely site.

I also found a summary of the evening's show, which you can read HERE. (You may have to register to view the summary. But the pictures are right here!)

This begins my series of photos from this year's Merrie Monarch Festival. If you enjoy this blog, please check back, or sign up for email updates (using the sidebar element beneath my picture and bio) to see what's new.

[NOTE: I respect the cultural traditions of indigenous dance forms and strive to provide accurate information and context regarding those traditions whenever possible. If you feel I have made any errors in fact, or wish to supplement my posts with additional information, feel free to leave a comment with any suggestions, corrections, or enhancements. MAHALO NUI LOA!]

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2008.04.04, 8:30 p.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a professional blog. Keeping it online costs me $200 per year. That's before paying me for my writing, photography, or anything else I do here. If you enjoy this blog, please use the Tip Jar at the top of this page. Your two-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

20.00 / $199.90 (10.0%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars (after the funds processor takes its cut). Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually I post your contribution on my next blog post.

All original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.

Ever get the feeling you're being screwed?

We really can't stop ourselves.  <--CLICK FOR DETAILS

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2008.03.20, 7:40 a.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a professional blog. Keeping it online costs me $200 per year. That's before paying me for my writing, photography, or anything else I do here. If you enjoy this blog, please use the Tip Jar at the top of this page. Your two-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

20.00 / $199.90 (10.0%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars (after the funds processor takes its cut). Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually I post your contribution on my next blog post.

All original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.

Pay Attention to Traffic Signs

One reason to visit Denmark, perhaps?

backup for this link: CLICK HERE.

- or try this URL: http://5x5m.com/files/speedbandits

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

Bill Brent

[this page last updated: 2007.09.06, 1:00 p.m. Hawaii time]

LitBoy.com is a professional blog. Keeping it online costs me $200 per year. That's before paying me for my writing, photography, or anything else I do here. If you enjoy this blog, please use the Tip Jar at the top of this page. Your two-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!

53.06 / $199.90 (26.5%)

This meter displays this year's contributions to date in U.S. dollars (after the funds processor takes its cut). Make a donation, watch the meter rise! Usually I post your contribution on my next blog post.

All original materials here on LitBoy.com (writing, photos, drawings, graphics, etc.) belong to Bill Brent. If you want to re-use something here, please ask. Higher resolution images are available.

2007.03.02, Picture of the Day, Big Island of Hawaii

Here is another picture from the Ahalanui Hot Pond ... this time, facing the other way, into the ocean. The breakers in the late afternoon on the day I visited (February 20) were just spectacular and I got quite a few lovely shots.

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What I'm thinking today:

1. That maybe I could make these scenic images into a calendar or somesuch. Maybe even an online calendar of some sort, rather than a print calendar. I've been through the meat-grinder before with print publishing, and I'm still sore. (Nearly five years later, we're still waiting for the court to settle our case.) So I am not willing to take the risk again, at least for now, especially given the increasingly tenuous state of independent publishing. It feels like the vehicle is broken, but I'm not inclined to fix it, as if I could. There's a difference between heroism and foolhardiness, and I don't intend to model the difference.

2. I don't think the world needs another calendar, although I don't know of any featuring Puna District (where I live, and where most of this month's photos will come from). So that kind of cancels out Thought #1. As if I wasn't skeptical enough already about pouring my limited funds into a vehicle that doesn't seem to run well any longer.

Nowadays I find myself contemplating what the world needs next, rather than what I think it might want, if you follow my drift. Most Americans I know, myself included, are tightening our belts in order to thrive in the face of increasing adversity. After all, it's still the economy, stupid. Do you know more or less people who can afford basic quality-of-life items such as health care and fuel (car and home) as you did ten years ago? Does anyone still believe that Social Security benefits will suffice for their needs in old age? And how about the recent legislation that makes it more difficult to file for personal bankruptcy? We might as well get used to thinking in terms of needs versus wants whenever we can — it's good practice for the future. (You can read some thoughts on that in the link below, as well as some of my own ideas over here.)

Perhaps all of this is just a sign that I'm getting older, but I don't think so. I'm still finding time to take all these lovely pictures, right? So I don't think I'm turning into an old crank anytime soon.

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What I'm reading today:

Something about TRIBES.

Plenty of food for thought ... in fact, it's downright chewy. Seven thousand words outlining this guy's theory on the three types of people: wolves, sheep, and sheepdogs. This puts a few things into perspective for me. I have often felt that my life has been a preparation for that one critical moment when I can make a real difference. I hope I never have to test this theory, but I want to be ready in case there's a day when I do.

...and that article reminded me of this one which I read a while back.

Now, I think the guy's point of view is fairly warped. For instance, I'm not obsessed with "keeping the cars running at all costs" — even here on the Big Island, where a car is nearly indispensable, given the relative sparseness of public transit. However, he says one thing I wholeheartedly agree with:

"Hope is not a consumer product. You have to generate your own hope. You do that by demonstrating to yourself that you are brave enough to face reality and competent enough to deal with the circumstances that it presents."

The other points in this article are up for debate, as far as I'm concerned. Still, this perspective ties in nicely with the article at EjectEjectEject.com, as well as my own thoughts on catastrophe preparedness. And, if you don't think that catastrophe can come to my little slice of paradise, well, you don't know your Hawaii Island geology,  now, do ya? Heh heh heh!

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Wishing you a beautiful day,

—Bill Brent