8 January, 2007
On this day, we set out at an early time, mainly because we had to leave the hotel at 1100 for the checkout time, but in secret, I knew it was because they had found out what sort of dark secret lies within the hearts of man, for the Shadow was now working for them. true, he disguised himself as a mild mannered bell hop, but I knew all too well what brand of WD-40 he was trying to spray into the door hinges. After giving this crazed bell hop a wide berth, we met up for the last time at the Great White Whale, and departed to go and kill time before our night flight. Why were we flying out at night you ask? Good question, I for one think it has something to do with the Earth's gravitational pull, plus the darkness hides the fact that the plane actually is taking off from Wyoming.
We all stopped and ate lunch at the Spaghetti Western Warehouse Company, where I was surprised by the best meal/cheapest one I had had the entire stay on this horrible rock in the center of Wyoming. We watched a strange movie that dealt with working in a museum, which was relevant since someone might have been entertaining an idea of working in a museum at sometime later in their lives. I for one would rather work at a Sears, whistling my nights away as I shine my flashlight at the mannequins, because I've seen that movie where they come to life. As interesting as a living mannequin would be, there's always that fear that the foul beasts could try and kill you and eat your soul with a spork, and we all know that that is not a way to go out. No blazing glory to be found with a spork, unless some sort of chili is involved.
Regardless, we again entered the Great White Whale and departed for the airport. Though it took some time to find the rental place, and strangely is was no where near the airport, we dropped off the Great White Whale. I for one was sad to part with her, for even though she was a mighty honry cuss who would spit rye in your eye and call you a sissy for merely looking at her the wrong way, she did go along with our strange voyage of discovery, even though she proved to not be sea worthy.
The airport was hot and humid, and though food inside was expensive, I had not the insight or the strength to purchase anything. I lucked out this time with a window seat, and as I watched the nightly glow of the islands disappear, the thought process of my mind began to flow.
Obviously we were all running on survival mode now, no longer fueled by the fire of going to a far and distant land and leaving it in a totally different way than that of which we found it. No, on that note we had grossly over-estimated the force that was the Hawaii experience. We were not able to conquer these land masses as if we were some sort of 21st Century Conquistadors, but instead, we left as if we were some sort of weary old man longing for his younger days and a fine bottle of Kentucky Bourbon.
What effect we had on the islands, only time can tell. Some may say that we had little to none, while others would say that the girl at the Polynesian Cultural Center would never be the same after struggling to teach a 24 year old guy how to fold a fish out of coconut leaves. She might loose her way and try to swim to Alaska for some fresh Salmon, only to be devoured by a humpback whale three miles from Juno.
But what can be said is that the Islands had a lasting effect on us. We learned that Dragons eat people's souls on New Years. We learned that fish can be folded from coconut leaves, though the procedure is rather elusive. We learned that a Ford Windstar is not sea worthy, no matter what the commercials show you. Also, we learned that the local waitresses at the Tiki Lounge don't like to be reminded that they live on a third world country in the center of Wyoming.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Of Whales and Sea Legs
7 January, 2007
I awoke at a relatively early time, feeling tired, yet could not sleep any more. It was too late for the Continental breakfast, so I had a can of Green Tea and a Snickers bar, because if you're hungry, why wait? My room mates were droggy from the night before, and for good reason. We had set out on an epic journey to find the mysterious dragon that ate people's souls only six days before, but after much exhaustive searching and several pit stops for refreshment, we decided that this dragon must be located on another island. Perhaps Molokai.
I heard a rapping, a sort of tapping, coming from the door, so I did what any decent American would do; I opened the door, half expecting to see a man half crazed with hunger and eyeing me as if I was a large cheeseburger. Instead, I saw Professor Littlejohn. He asked if we would like to go whale watching, and of course I was game. Sean and Paul were not sure that they could handle the rocking and rolling of the boat, so they declined. Roger was eventually persuaded to go, and we then set out for the harbor.
Once there, we saw the mighty vessel that we would take, and though it's name escapes me, it's probably best, due to legal issues. For the sake of recollection, I will refer to her as Pequod. The journey started out just fine, but soon we were out into the break water and the boat began to rock up and down. Many of the people laughed at first and drank margaritas, or as I refer to them, Large Marge's. I of course knew that this was a bad idea, because once people tried to walk to the bar on the ever shifting deck, they behaved as if they were all ready drunk. This mix of shifting underfoot and booze could only spell their doom.
Before long, the call was made that a large bluberous mammal was spotted at 1 O' Clock, which is just to the right of the starboard bow. All of these now intoxicated pilgrims ran forward to the bow and tried to stand there. I of course went as well, and laughed as these land lovers tried to steady themselves on their two feet. Since my own Father is a career sailor, the sea was in my veins. I easily braced myself against the windscreen and was perfectly fine with the boat pitching up and then crashing back down to into the sea.
The mighty beast came up several times in a massive rolling wave. People tried to take pictures of the mighty bellowing beast, but it was of course too quick for this. It was soon time for the boat to return, so after watching the majesty of the sea born mammal, we made the journey back to port, and after having to spend money in a mall in order to get the parking validated, we arrived back at the Hotel to rally the troops. Indeed, now Paul and Sean joined us, for we were going to tackle the monstrosity known only as Diamond Head.
Though we saw many people of overweight status and people wearing ill equipped foot attire, we began to assume that the climb was easy. Of course, after only a few minutes, we understood that we were totally wrong. The climb became something bordering on Everest, and we encountered many stairs, somewhere near the number of 90. Of course I said that it was impossible to have this many stairs in Wyoming, but there was no time for this theory here. When we reached the top, the view was indeed magnificent, but we were too winded to fully appreciate it before we had to start back down. The journey down was easier, since gravity was now working in our favor. Once we returned to the hotel, we all showered and prepared to go out to dinner at what was claimed to be the best Thai restaurant in all of Hawaii. The food may have fit his description, but the service certainly did not. After we returned, we all began the arduous task of packing, because on the next day, we were set to depart this strange and tropical land.
I awoke at a relatively early time, feeling tired, yet could not sleep any more. It was too late for the Continental breakfast, so I had a can of Green Tea and a Snickers bar, because if you're hungry, why wait? My room mates were droggy from the night before, and for good reason. We had set out on an epic journey to find the mysterious dragon that ate people's souls only six days before, but after much exhaustive searching and several pit stops for refreshment, we decided that this dragon must be located on another island. Perhaps Molokai.
I heard a rapping, a sort of tapping, coming from the door, so I did what any decent American would do; I opened the door, half expecting to see a man half crazed with hunger and eyeing me as if I was a large cheeseburger. Instead, I saw Professor Littlejohn. He asked if we would like to go whale watching, and of course I was game. Sean and Paul were not sure that they could handle the rocking and rolling of the boat, so they declined. Roger was eventually persuaded to go, and we then set out for the harbor.
Once there, we saw the mighty vessel that we would take, and though it's name escapes me, it's probably best, due to legal issues. For the sake of recollection, I will refer to her as Pequod. The journey started out just fine, but soon we were out into the break water and the boat began to rock up and down. Many of the people laughed at first and drank margaritas, or as I refer to them, Large Marge's. I of course knew that this was a bad idea, because once people tried to walk to the bar on the ever shifting deck, they behaved as if they were all ready drunk. This mix of shifting underfoot and booze could only spell their doom.
Before long, the call was made that a large bluberous mammal was spotted at 1 O' Clock, which is just to the right of the starboard bow. All of these now intoxicated pilgrims ran forward to the bow and tried to stand there. I of course went as well, and laughed as these land lovers tried to steady themselves on their two feet. Since my own Father is a career sailor, the sea was in my veins. I easily braced myself against the windscreen and was perfectly fine with the boat pitching up and then crashing back down to into the sea.
The mighty beast came up several times in a massive rolling wave. People tried to take pictures of the mighty bellowing beast, but it was of course too quick for this. It was soon time for the boat to return, so after watching the majesty of the sea born mammal, we made the journey back to port, and after having to spend money in a mall in order to get the parking validated, we arrived back at the Hotel to rally the troops. Indeed, now Paul and Sean joined us, for we were going to tackle the monstrosity known only as Diamond Head.
Though we saw many people of overweight status and people wearing ill equipped foot attire, we began to assume that the climb was easy. Of course, after only a few minutes, we understood that we were totally wrong. The climb became something bordering on Everest, and we encountered many stairs, somewhere near the number of 90. Of course I said that it was impossible to have this many stairs in Wyoming, but there was no time for this theory here. When we reached the top, the view was indeed magnificent, but we were too winded to fully appreciate it before we had to start back down. The journey down was easier, since gravity was now working in our favor. Once we returned to the hotel, we all showered and prepared to go out to dinner at what was claimed to be the best Thai restaurant in all of Hawaii. The food may have fit his description, but the service certainly did not. After we returned, we all began the arduous task of packing, because on the next day, we were set to depart this strange and tropical land.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Of fleas and pigskin
6 January, 2007
Today was to be the day that everyone kept speaking of. No, not the rythmic cerimonial ritual of old, but the day for the International Marketplace that was in the parking lot of the Aloha Stadium, better known for hosting the Pro Bowl the week after the Superbowl.
The great White Whale was surely dieing to her harpoon wounds, but we struggled along and made it to the parking lot. From there, we were chartered only with our return time, and were set loose to run amuck in the capitalist depravity that this nation is so fond of.
I remember looking at three booths, and nearly every one after that was nearly identical. While my compatriots purchased shirts of T for friends back home, I did not. Mainly because I never liked doing that, and secondly, I no longer had the room in my minimalist suitcase, which was more like a miniature duffle bag. The only thing that I purchased while here were malasadas, a type of Portugese donut. While I ate these, I remember commenting about how many of the shirts of T had marijuana leaves on them, which was quite ironic considering if anyone were to wear one of these they would instantly be targets for the police, or fuzz as some refer to them as.
As I continued to walk around, I bought some shaved ice with banana flavor, which was quite refreshing. After this, I decided to head back to the Great White Whale, and rendevoused with the other members. Many of them had purchased items of some what questionable usefullness, but who was I to point out their foolishness, I had bought more malasadas and was enjoying them.
We quickly made our way back to the hotel in order to go to a local restaurant to watch the Professional Football game. This restaurant was called Lulu's, and after ordering the Magnum P.I. burger, which was enjoyable since it came with bacon, and having the classiest of beverages, a Pabst Blue Ribbon, we watched the game between Dallas and the Seahawks. Now this was quite the situation. Seeing as how I hark from the Houston area, I've never cared for Dallas; something to do with their strange engineering techniques or their lack of wanting to cover a hole in the roof, I'm not sure which. But seeing as how the Professor was rooting for Dallas, and since I didn't care for the Seahawks either, I merely watched the game and laughed at the divided restaurant cheer and jeer for their chosen team.
I remember several bouts of bad noise, and after a botched field goal attempt by Romo, the game was over. I remembered that i had to do some laundry, so I walked back to hotel among the strange street performers. After seeing these strange bastards for a week, and after wondering if the Copper Cowboy was indeed made of copper, I threw a penny at his face in hopes that it would some how fuse with the rest of his copper parts. But, the penny merely bounced off, proving that he indeed was not made of copper. However, I will say this about the strange cowboy, the penny bouncing off of his face didn't phase him in the least, and for that, I tip my proverbial hat to him.
The laundry room was full, so instead of doing laundry, I went back to the room and again watched the comedic exploits of Dog the Bounty Hunter. The next day was to be one of our last free days, and we still had no real plans for what was going to happen. Indeed, it would be an epic journey of discovery just to find out what we would do the next day.
Today was to be the day that everyone kept speaking of. No, not the rythmic cerimonial ritual of old, but the day for the International Marketplace that was in the parking lot of the Aloha Stadium, better known for hosting the Pro Bowl the week after the Superbowl.
The great White Whale was surely dieing to her harpoon wounds, but we struggled along and made it to the parking lot. From there, we were chartered only with our return time, and were set loose to run amuck in the capitalist depravity that this nation is so fond of.
I remember looking at three booths, and nearly every one after that was nearly identical. While my compatriots purchased shirts of T for friends back home, I did not. Mainly because I never liked doing that, and secondly, I no longer had the room in my minimalist suitcase, which was more like a miniature duffle bag. The only thing that I purchased while here were malasadas, a type of Portugese donut. While I ate these, I remember commenting about how many of the shirts of T had marijuana leaves on them, which was quite ironic considering if anyone were to wear one of these they would instantly be targets for the police, or fuzz as some refer to them as.
As I continued to walk around, I bought some shaved ice with banana flavor, which was quite refreshing. After this, I decided to head back to the Great White Whale, and rendevoused with the other members. Many of them had purchased items of some what questionable usefullness, but who was I to point out their foolishness, I had bought more malasadas and was enjoying them.
We quickly made our way back to the hotel in order to go to a local restaurant to watch the Professional Football game. This restaurant was called Lulu's, and after ordering the Magnum P.I. burger, which was enjoyable since it came with bacon, and having the classiest of beverages, a Pabst Blue Ribbon, we watched the game between Dallas and the Seahawks. Now this was quite the situation. Seeing as how I hark from the Houston area, I've never cared for Dallas; something to do with their strange engineering techniques or their lack of wanting to cover a hole in the roof, I'm not sure which. But seeing as how the Professor was rooting for Dallas, and since I didn't care for the Seahawks either, I merely watched the game and laughed at the divided restaurant cheer and jeer for their chosen team.
I remember several bouts of bad noise, and after a botched field goal attempt by Romo, the game was over. I remembered that i had to do some laundry, so I walked back to hotel among the strange street performers. After seeing these strange bastards for a week, and after wondering if the Copper Cowboy was indeed made of copper, I threw a penny at his face in hopes that it would some how fuse with the rest of his copper parts. But, the penny merely bounced off, proving that he indeed was not made of copper. However, I will say this about the strange cowboy, the penny bouncing off of his face didn't phase him in the least, and for that, I tip my proverbial hat to him.
The laundry room was full, so instead of doing laundry, I went back to the room and again watched the comedic exploits of Dog the Bounty Hunter. The next day was to be one of our last free days, and we still had no real plans for what was going to happen. Indeed, it would be an epic journey of discovery just to find out what we would do the next day.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
"Forget it Jake; it's Chinatown"
5 January, 2007
As I sit here, writing these memoirs, I come to a sort of mental block. Yes, it could be due to the cold on this frightful day, but it could be that the itinerary and the actual events no longer coincide. For you see, the itinerary says that we met at 0900 and discussed Confucianism and the Chinese impact on Hawaii, but I have no recollection of it. The only memory that I can conjure up is one of a strange tasting cream filled muffin that was supposedly filled with Green Tea. From what I can remember of that, I think that Green Tea should stay in the liquid form. If anything else was going on around me, I must not have been conscious to it, after all, we were all starting to become wired into survival mode. Whatever was discussed at this meeting, and whatever random strange and posibly damning comment that I may have made is now lost to the breeze. There may have been a strange movie dealing with the Chinese during the Communist takeover and what not, but my mind was in no mood for this. What I do remember was our departing for the infamous spot where Jake Gittes lost that special part of him: Chinatown.
I remember many things, like once trying to hang a clock in my bathroom when I slipped on the wet procelin and hit my head on the sink, and when I came to I had a vision, a picture in my head. But a flux capacitor would do me no good in this recolection of what we did on this day. We were all pretty hungry, so instead of wandering through Chinatown, we went straight to the restuarant.
The tables were large and had the lazy susans of acclaimed Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom fame. I sat at a table of my peers (in age, I have no peers when it comes to my level of sanity, at least those who are not currently living in a rubber room) and we looked over the menu. At first I was confused, because I was informed that we would be eating authentic Chinese dishes, not the kind that any average joe could get at a fast wok down by river. But when I looked at the menu, the majority of the dishes in the Queen's English were the normal "Chinese" dishes. After pndering what I would get, I ended up getting the same thing I always get at a strange Chinese place; Kung Pao Chicken. I would have prefered that the Professors order for us, but such was not to be the case on this day.
When the selected dishes arrived, I had no intention of sharing my meal, after all, that's why I ordered it. However, Roger asked if he could try it, so I spun it along the lazy dame towards him. We must have had about 8 or 9 people at our table, and by the time my dish returned, it was nearly picked clean by the others. Since I'm not one to sit back and not seek revenge, I began to eat other people's dishes; not because I was hungry mind you, but for sweet revenge! Ol' Paulie had an issue with the chopsticks, and since this place had no other utensils, he simply gave up and later ate his rice at the Hotel.
After we ate, we were set loose to run amuck in Chinatown. We went into several shops that sold dried fruits and even the elusive deer penis, which I'm told can help in hair rejuvenation. We were warned by a strange homeless person with only 1 tooth to not walk in a certain direction, so after we assured her that we would not go that way, we began to walk in the direction that she indicated. She had said that we would be stabbed, but after walking until we ran out of streets, and not being stabbed, we began to walk back. When the time came for our rendevous, we met up at the Great White Whale and headed back for the hotel.
Once we were there, Dr. Littlejohn asked if we were wanting to go to the Punchbowl and later to go hiking on another expedition into Dinosaur land. Of course we jumped at the oportunity. The Punchbowl was quite interesting, seeing as how it was a now defunct crater of a volcano used as a cemetary. As strange as it was, we took many pictures of the area and then went off to find the ever elusive and cunning Velociraptor.
This trail was quite muddy and narrow, and after nearly slipping a baker's dozen times, we turned back and returned to the hotel. From there, we all began to take it easy, and several of the guys, including myself, went out and marveled at the level of randomness that appears on a Friday night in Hawaii.
Prompt Answers:
Prompt 14
1. The movie portrays the traditional Chinese moral values by showing the hardships that Fugui has to go through. From his gambling problems all the way to his having to adapt to living in Communism, through hard work he is able to produce enough to allow his family to survive, and he is able to build a place for him among the communists.
2. The Chinese philosophy of life is one that the person must continue to live, no matter what happens.
3. The philosophy of life is that a person must live virtuously and will be rewarded as such.
4. I think that it is related to the yin/yang in the way that there is both good and bad choices that can be made.
5. It is seen through the movie in the ways that Fugui gambles everything away and then looses his wife, but then she comes back once he starts to make an honest living. He is spared during the civil war because he gives entertainment through hard work to the communist troops. Even after his son is killed, since he chooses the better path of not seeking vengeance, he is rewarded with a better paying job.
Prompt 15
1. Chinatown, and all other ethnic neighborhoods, were originally established so the immigrants could band together and share something in common together. They stand out because they are an autonomous cultural body that has its own culture that differs from that around it. In Chinatown, there were many people of Asian decent, shopping for items that they can not find among the more “popular” stores.
Prompt 16
1. The Chinese restaurant was a unique experience; however, the table that I sat at did not fully get to experience the uniqueness of the atmosphere because everyone ordered the typical Chinese food that can be had at any Chinese restaurant in America. The appetizers came first and were on a rather large plate and were shared among everyone at the table. The utensils used were chopsticks, which was unusual to many at the table, but not to me since I come from a household where they are used on a normal basis.
Prompt 17
1. As a person who is a mix of two different cultures, I can understand the torn identity of trying to identify with one of the backgrounds. While they may not describe themselves as Asian since they do not speak the language, they are still not considered “white” because they obviously don’t look like it.
As I sit here, writing these memoirs, I come to a sort of mental block. Yes, it could be due to the cold on this frightful day, but it could be that the itinerary and the actual events no longer coincide. For you see, the itinerary says that we met at 0900 and discussed Confucianism and the Chinese impact on Hawaii, but I have no recollection of it. The only memory that I can conjure up is one of a strange tasting cream filled muffin that was supposedly filled with Green Tea. From what I can remember of that, I think that Green Tea should stay in the liquid form. If anything else was going on around me, I must not have been conscious to it, after all, we were all starting to become wired into survival mode. Whatever was discussed at this meeting, and whatever random strange and posibly damning comment that I may have made is now lost to the breeze. There may have been a strange movie dealing with the Chinese during the Communist takeover and what not, but my mind was in no mood for this. What I do remember was our departing for the infamous spot where Jake Gittes lost that special part of him: Chinatown.
I remember many things, like once trying to hang a clock in my bathroom when I slipped on the wet procelin and hit my head on the sink, and when I came to I had a vision, a picture in my head. But a flux capacitor would do me no good in this recolection of what we did on this day. We were all pretty hungry, so instead of wandering through Chinatown, we went straight to the restuarant.
The tables were large and had the lazy susans of acclaimed Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom fame. I sat at a table of my peers (in age, I have no peers when it comes to my level of sanity, at least those who are not currently living in a rubber room) and we looked over the menu. At first I was confused, because I was informed that we would be eating authentic Chinese dishes, not the kind that any average joe could get at a fast wok down by river. But when I looked at the menu, the majority of the dishes in the Queen's English were the normal "Chinese" dishes. After pndering what I would get, I ended up getting the same thing I always get at a strange Chinese place; Kung Pao Chicken. I would have prefered that the Professors order for us, but such was not to be the case on this day.
When the selected dishes arrived, I had no intention of sharing my meal, after all, that's why I ordered it. However, Roger asked if he could try it, so I spun it along the lazy dame towards him. We must have had about 8 or 9 people at our table, and by the time my dish returned, it was nearly picked clean by the others. Since I'm not one to sit back and not seek revenge, I began to eat other people's dishes; not because I was hungry mind you, but for sweet revenge! Ol' Paulie had an issue with the chopsticks, and since this place had no other utensils, he simply gave up and later ate his rice at the Hotel.
After we ate, we were set loose to run amuck in Chinatown. We went into several shops that sold dried fruits and even the elusive deer penis, which I'm told can help in hair rejuvenation. We were warned by a strange homeless person with only 1 tooth to not walk in a certain direction, so after we assured her that we would not go that way, we began to walk in the direction that she indicated. She had said that we would be stabbed, but after walking until we ran out of streets, and not being stabbed, we began to walk back. When the time came for our rendevous, we met up at the Great White Whale and headed back for the hotel.
Once we were there, Dr. Littlejohn asked if we were wanting to go to the Punchbowl and later to go hiking on another expedition into Dinosaur land. Of course we jumped at the oportunity. The Punchbowl was quite interesting, seeing as how it was a now defunct crater of a volcano used as a cemetary. As strange as it was, we took many pictures of the area and then went off to find the ever elusive and cunning Velociraptor.
This trail was quite muddy and narrow, and after nearly slipping a baker's dozen times, we turned back and returned to the hotel. From there, we all began to take it easy, and several of the guys, including myself, went out and marveled at the level of randomness that appears on a Friday night in Hawaii.
Prompt Answers:
Prompt 14
1. The movie portrays the traditional Chinese moral values by showing the hardships that Fugui has to go through. From his gambling problems all the way to his having to adapt to living in Communism, through hard work he is able to produce enough to allow his family to survive, and he is able to build a place for him among the communists.
2. The Chinese philosophy of life is one that the person must continue to live, no matter what happens.
3. The philosophy of life is that a person must live virtuously and will be rewarded as such.
4. I think that it is related to the yin/yang in the way that there is both good and bad choices that can be made.
5. It is seen through the movie in the ways that Fugui gambles everything away and then looses his wife, but then she comes back once he starts to make an honest living. He is spared during the civil war because he gives entertainment through hard work to the communist troops. Even after his son is killed, since he chooses the better path of not seeking vengeance, he is rewarded with a better paying job.
Prompt 15
1. Chinatown, and all other ethnic neighborhoods, were originally established so the immigrants could band together and share something in common together. They stand out because they are an autonomous cultural body that has its own culture that differs from that around it. In Chinatown, there were many people of Asian decent, shopping for items that they can not find among the more “popular” stores.
Prompt 16
1. The Chinese restaurant was a unique experience; however, the table that I sat at did not fully get to experience the uniqueness of the atmosphere because everyone ordered the typical Chinese food that can be had at any Chinese restaurant in America. The appetizers came first and were on a rather large plate and were shared among everyone at the table. The utensils used were chopsticks, which was unusual to many at the table, but not to me since I come from a household where they are used on a normal basis.
Prompt 17
1. As a person who is a mix of two different cultures, I can understand the torn identity of trying to identify with one of the backgrounds. While they may not describe themselves as Asian since they do not speak the language, they are still not considered “white” because they obviously don’t look like it.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Buy War Bonds! Help Stop the Nazi War-Machine!
4 January, 2007
Again we had to awaken at the unholy hour of 8 in the A.M., and after being berated for not wanting any toast, we all clumsily made our way into the conference room. There we watched one of Capra's superb Propaganda films, poignantly called Prelude to War. This film did a fantastic job of portraying the axis powers as being totally evil, and would even go so far as to steal candy from an unassuming baby. How true this was man may never know, because babies have no place on the battlefield.
After watching the movie, which made us all want to go out and buy war bonds and grow victory gardens, we rallied at the Great White Whale, which was what I began to call the van since it took on a fishy smell. I think that this was primarily due to our attempts to see if she was sea worthy, but alas she only filled with sand and the interior became damp, so the test was aborted. Once we were all in the van, we set out for Pearl Harbor.
Once there, Roger performed a feat that no man should do in his life; he parallel parked a minivan. Across the street was the Mecca for all historians, Military and American alike; the USS Arizona Memorial.
There was a museum which explains the events that led up to the surprise attack, and then there was an informative movie showcasing the attack that happened on December 7th, 1941. The movie was quite moving, and it showed that the ship still leaks oil, even to this day. Once the movie was over, they opened the doors and burned our retinas. We then proceeded to embark upon a ferry, which was crewed by several of the Navy's finest, decked out in their white Tropical gear. The ride was swift and pleasant, even though several people did not agree with the waves.
Once we were safely tied to the dock and the gangway was lowered, we set foot on the awe-inspiring memorial. The feeling of being aboard such a historic site brought a hush to the crowd, and the mood was quite somber. There I saw several of the "black tears" bubble up to the surface, which was a ghostly reminder that the ship was still nearly complete under the salty brine of time.
When we left the memorial, the mood was still quite somber, so we headed back to the hotel. We were supposed to have a program lunch, but it was decided that we could all go and find our own meals and then be reimbursed later. We went to the Planet Hollywood and ate while a menacing figure of Arnold Schwarzenegger stood with half of his face missing, revealing the true cyborg that he is. After we ate our meal, we left and met back up with the professor at the hotel, and then embarked on yet another epic journey, this time to hike from the Nauuanu Pali Lookout on a trail that was once a highway.
We marched through the jungle for some time, and after hearing the mating cry of the Dilophosaurus, we made our way back to the van. After this strange event, we took the rest of the day to recuperate, and relax.
Prompt Answers:
Prompt 11
1. John Dower called the Pacific War a race war because that was what it boiled down to. Propaganda from the US showed the Japanese as being buck-toothed squinty eyed short people with glasses so thick it seemed ridiculous that they could see anything. Since all of America at the time was run by the “white” race, all Oriental people were seen as possibly being enemies, so they were interned and kept under strict surveillance.
2. The USS Arizona Memorial was a somber experience that is a constant reminder of what can happen when someone threatens the freedom of the United States. It should remain constantly there to remind future generations of what sort of war World War II was, and not the sort that we see in movies.
3. People of all ages and from many different countries visit the memorial. Of the people that I saw, I would guess their ages ranged from 80 to teenagers. The people seemed to hark from all over, and many of them were Japanese.
4. I believe the people were visiting the memorial because they wanted to see the lasting memory of what had made America enter the Second World War. Some of them may have been visiting to pay their respects to those that lost their lives on that day, and others may have been coming to see the site that sparked the war that claimed a loved one.
5. The stories that were not told at the site were obviously the many different battles that had taken place once we entered the war. For that, the site would have to be enormous.
Again we had to awaken at the unholy hour of 8 in the A.M., and after being berated for not wanting any toast, we all clumsily made our way into the conference room. There we watched one of Capra's superb Propaganda films, poignantly called Prelude to War. This film did a fantastic job of portraying the axis powers as being totally evil, and would even go so far as to steal candy from an unassuming baby. How true this was man may never know, because babies have no place on the battlefield.
After watching the movie, which made us all want to go out and buy war bonds and grow victory gardens, we rallied at the Great White Whale, which was what I began to call the van since it took on a fishy smell. I think that this was primarily due to our attempts to see if she was sea worthy, but alas she only filled with sand and the interior became damp, so the test was aborted. Once we were all in the van, we set out for Pearl Harbor.
Once there, Roger performed a feat that no man should do in his life; he parallel parked a minivan. Across the street was the Mecca for all historians, Military and American alike; the USS Arizona Memorial.
There was a museum which explains the events that led up to the surprise attack, and then there was an informative movie showcasing the attack that happened on December 7th, 1941. The movie was quite moving, and it showed that the ship still leaks oil, even to this day. Once the movie was over, they opened the doors and burned our retinas. We then proceeded to embark upon a ferry, which was crewed by several of the Navy's finest, decked out in their white Tropical gear. The ride was swift and pleasant, even though several people did not agree with the waves.
Once we were safely tied to the dock and the gangway was lowered, we set foot on the awe-inspiring memorial. The feeling of being aboard such a historic site brought a hush to the crowd, and the mood was quite somber. There I saw several of the "black tears" bubble up to the surface, which was a ghostly reminder that the ship was still nearly complete under the salty brine of time.
When we left the memorial, the mood was still quite somber, so we headed back to the hotel. We were supposed to have a program lunch, but it was decided that we could all go and find our own meals and then be reimbursed later. We went to the Planet Hollywood and ate while a menacing figure of Arnold Schwarzenegger stood with half of his face missing, revealing the true cyborg that he is. After we ate our meal, we left and met back up with the professor at the hotel, and then embarked on yet another epic journey, this time to hike from the Nauuanu Pali Lookout on a trail that was once a highway.
We marched through the jungle for some time, and after hearing the mating cry of the Dilophosaurus, we made our way back to the van. After this strange event, we took the rest of the day to recuperate, and relax.
Prompt Answers:
Prompt 11
1. John Dower called the Pacific War a race war because that was what it boiled down to. Propaganda from the US showed the Japanese as being buck-toothed squinty eyed short people with glasses so thick it seemed ridiculous that they could see anything. Since all of America at the time was run by the “white” race, all Oriental people were seen as possibly being enemies, so they were interned and kept under strict surveillance.
2. The USS Arizona Memorial was a somber experience that is a constant reminder of what can happen when someone threatens the freedom of the United States. It should remain constantly there to remind future generations of what sort of war World War II was, and not the sort that we see in movies.
3. People of all ages and from many different countries visit the memorial. Of the people that I saw, I would guess their ages ranged from 80 to teenagers. The people seemed to hark from all over, and many of them were Japanese.
4. I believe the people were visiting the memorial because they wanted to see the lasting memory of what had made America enter the Second World War. Some of them may have been visiting to pay their respects to those that lost their lives on that day, and others may have been coming to see the site that sparked the war that claimed a loved one.
5. The stories that were not told at the site were obviously the many different battles that had taken place once we entered the war. For that, the site would have to be enormous.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto
3 January, 2007
We were blessed with a reprieve on this day, because class started at the more decent hour of 0900. When we all stumbled into the conference room, we began to drink the coffee and eat the ice cubes that were so graciously supplied by the hotel staff, and then proceeded to begin the lecture of the day. Today's topic was the Japanese.
After hearing several lectures, we we're informed that today was movie day, and we were ecstatic, like a bunch of little children when they see what the Fatman left them under the tree. Of course we did not know that we were going to be watching a strange movie made in the dreaded decade known as the 80's. Of course we were all (well, I say all, though Roger can have an asterisk next to his name on this one) born in the 80's, but that only proves that the decade was not all bad.
The movie was some strange incarnation of a Japanese family living life, a sort of precursor to the Mad Real World. The movie was strange and laced with arsenic, and the strange climax was something bordering on Biblical in it's proportions. Once this was over, the family all went to sleep due to one of the children either leaving the stove on, or passing tremendous gas, I'm really not sure which it was.
After the movie, we were all feeling fatigued, so we were loosed out into the streets and foraged for our lunch. Once this was done, we returned to meet up for another field trip. This time we were going to see a Shinto temple and a masterful recreation of the Byodo-in temple in the conveniently named Valley of Temples.
The Shinto temple itself was quite interesting, and enjoyed by many since they handed out Saki, enjoyed by everyone who was willing to accept the free booze. I for one, being of an open mind to other cultures, gladly accepted the free liquid refreshment, and then gathered with the others. While waiting for everyone to regroup, we saw a sight that was indeed shocking, and was nearly a crime against humility. Indeed, what we saw was some sort of transgender street-walker out selling whatever it had. Which was quite strange considering it was 1:30 in the P.M., and families and such were out. But then again, there's no rest for the wicked.
We then proceeded to drive deep into the savage heart of Oahu and found the Valley of Temples. There we saw the beautiful sight that was the Byodo-in Temple and the serene sight was indeed a marvel. After examining the massive gold encrusted wooden Bhudda and the large bell, we again left the area, but not before feeding the imprisoned fish like creatures.
Once back at the hotel, we watched another movie, this one about a family in the early 90's and the Nagasaki bombing. The movie was interesting, especially the strange green swamp creature that appeared halfway through the movie. My hypothesis is that the creature was some sort of mutant created by the radiation from the bomb. Or, it could have been one of the children wearing leaves on his face, but I'll let you decide.
Again, class was early in the morning, so we watched more Dog the Bounty hunter before the ravages of sleep took over.
Prompt Amswers:
Prompt 9
1. The movie The Family Game portrays the Japanese family as being an odd unit that reacts to one another in a strange fashion. The purpose of the movie was to show the awkwardness in the in the old customs as compared to the modernization of the Japanese culture. Getting an education was shown to be one of the more important things to do in an adolescent’s life. It appears that one must go to the best schools to become higher placed in society.
2. Throughout the movie, there seem to be many interpersonal strategies that are going on, mainly between the family unit. One such was between the wife and husband.
3. The purpose of the young wife was to show the social taboos of their culture, and to show how strange the family unit was behaving.
4. The end of the film was meant to show that the structure of life that the movie was mocking should die.
Prompt 10
1. It would appear that the Japanese do not like to bring up Nagasaki around Americans because it would make the American feel uncomfortable about the bombing. In the movie, the people act as if the subject should not be talked about among their American relative because it might make him want to stay distant from them.
2. The views among the Japanese were drastically different among the generations. The oldest remembered the bombing but keep it to themselves, the middle generation seems to want to forget it, and the younger generation believes that it was a travesty. What I find interesting is that several Japanese people I know do not know anything about what the Japanese army did during the war, namely the attack of Nanking, so the Japanese people’s view of the war might not be filled with everything that happened, therefore they do not have a complete understanding of why things were done.
3. It is possible that they feel that Pearl Harbor was just another attack in a long war.
Prompt 12
1. Japanese aesthetic sensibilities are inseparable from their religious ones because they are one in the same.
2. This was observed at the many different sites that we visited, but considering that every place we saw was a Japanese temple, it is hard to say that there was a separate view of Japanese aesthetics in their civilian buildings and their religious ones.
3. There are many differences between the Japanese and Christian ideas, mainly because the Japanese ideas are syncratic with other religions, but the Christian views are very much so a standard, and do not allow for adaptation.
Prompt 13
1. I think that the poem is going for some sort of Zen-like statement, much like “what is the sound of one hand clapping?”
2. I think that the double meaning is that the boy is pure of evil thoughts and corruption.
3. I guess they are representative because they show a duality of nature, and are meant to make the mind think instead of just easily giving away the meaning.
We were blessed with a reprieve on this day, because class started at the more decent hour of 0900. When we all stumbled into the conference room, we began to drink the coffee and eat the ice cubes that were so graciously supplied by the hotel staff, and then proceeded to begin the lecture of the day. Today's topic was the Japanese.
After hearing several lectures, we we're informed that today was movie day, and we were ecstatic, like a bunch of little children when they see what the Fatman left them under the tree. Of course we did not know that we were going to be watching a strange movie made in the dreaded decade known as the 80's. Of course we were all (well, I say all, though Roger can have an asterisk next to his name on this one) born in the 80's, but that only proves that the decade was not all bad.
The movie was some strange incarnation of a Japanese family living life, a sort of precursor to the Mad Real World. The movie was strange and laced with arsenic, and the strange climax was something bordering on Biblical in it's proportions. Once this was over, the family all went to sleep due to one of the children either leaving the stove on, or passing tremendous gas, I'm really not sure which it was.
After the movie, we were all feeling fatigued, so we were loosed out into the streets and foraged for our lunch. Once this was done, we returned to meet up for another field trip. This time we were going to see a Shinto temple and a masterful recreation of the Byodo-in temple in the conveniently named Valley of Temples.
The Shinto temple itself was quite interesting, and enjoyed by many since they handed out Saki, enjoyed by everyone who was willing to accept the free booze. I for one, being of an open mind to other cultures, gladly accepted the free liquid refreshment, and then gathered with the others. While waiting for everyone to regroup, we saw a sight that was indeed shocking, and was nearly a crime against humility. Indeed, what we saw was some sort of transgender street-walker out selling whatever it had. Which was quite strange considering it was 1:30 in the P.M., and families and such were out. But then again, there's no rest for the wicked.
We then proceeded to drive deep into the savage heart of Oahu and found the Valley of Temples. There we saw the beautiful sight that was the Byodo-in Temple and the serene sight was indeed a marvel. After examining the massive gold encrusted wooden Bhudda and the large bell, we again left the area, but not before feeding the imprisoned fish like creatures.
Once back at the hotel, we watched another movie, this one about a family in the early 90's and the Nagasaki bombing. The movie was interesting, especially the strange green swamp creature that appeared halfway through the movie. My hypothesis is that the creature was some sort of mutant created by the radiation from the bomb. Or, it could have been one of the children wearing leaves on his face, but I'll let you decide.
Again, class was early in the morning, so we watched more Dog the Bounty hunter before the ravages of sleep took over.
Prompt Amswers:
Prompt 9
1. The movie The Family Game portrays the Japanese family as being an odd unit that reacts to one another in a strange fashion. The purpose of the movie was to show the awkwardness in the in the old customs as compared to the modernization of the Japanese culture. Getting an education was shown to be one of the more important things to do in an adolescent’s life. It appears that one must go to the best schools to become higher placed in society.
2. Throughout the movie, there seem to be many interpersonal strategies that are going on, mainly between the family unit. One such was between the wife and husband.
3. The purpose of the young wife was to show the social taboos of their culture, and to show how strange the family unit was behaving.
4. The end of the film was meant to show that the structure of life that the movie was mocking should die.
Prompt 10
1. It would appear that the Japanese do not like to bring up Nagasaki around Americans because it would make the American feel uncomfortable about the bombing. In the movie, the people act as if the subject should not be talked about among their American relative because it might make him want to stay distant from them.
2. The views among the Japanese were drastically different among the generations. The oldest remembered the bombing but keep it to themselves, the middle generation seems to want to forget it, and the younger generation believes that it was a travesty. What I find interesting is that several Japanese people I know do not know anything about what the Japanese army did during the war, namely the attack of Nanking, so the Japanese people’s view of the war might not be filled with everything that happened, therefore they do not have a complete understanding of why things were done.
3. It is possible that they feel that Pearl Harbor was just another attack in a long war.
Prompt 12
1. Japanese aesthetic sensibilities are inseparable from their religious ones because they are one in the same.
2. This was observed at the many different sites that we visited, but considering that every place we saw was a Japanese temple, it is hard to say that there was a separate view of Japanese aesthetics in their civilian buildings and their religious ones.
3. There are many differences between the Japanese and Christian ideas, mainly because the Japanese ideas are syncratic with other religions, but the Christian views are very much so a standard, and do not allow for adaptation.
Prompt 13
1. I think that the poem is going for some sort of Zen-like statement, much like “what is the sound of one hand clapping?”
2. I think that the double meaning is that the boy is pure of evil thoughts and corruption.
3. I guess they are representative because they show a duality of nature, and are meant to make the mind think instead of just easily giving away the meaning.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Tasty Waves
2 January, 2007
Class was early in the morning again, and though no one wanted to be awake at that hour, we fought through and persevered. The lecture today was quite interesting, as it dealt with the first white man to see the Hawaiian islands, and also the first white man to pass on a deadly disease to the Hawaiian islands; quite a feat indeed.
After the lecture we proceeded to stumble down the street in true American fashion, gawking at the tourists and inquiring whether they traded in their currency for Sand Dollars, which obviously is the currency they use on the islands. After eating in the rotund food court, we returned to embark on an Epic Journey to the very depths of human depravity, or as some called it, the Northern side of the island.
The first stop was the Dole Plantation, an obvious lingering reminder of American captialism at it's finest. Pineapples stretch far as the eye could see, and tourists were busy buying these odd plants as if they were about to go out of style. I knew that if the pineapple industry had lasted as long as it did, then obviously the industry had a backup plan in case some freakish blight that only affected pineapples came and damaged the crop for that year. There was a maze, but the idea of paying to get lost in one was not inviting, at least not at the moment. What was interesting was the large fish like creatures that the kept inprisoned in a pool, fighting over the strange scraps that the gawking people threw at them. Naturally I could see the oppresion working here, but I was not about to try and bring the system down, so I threw some of the strange pellets and moved on. Once we left here, we moved North again, or at least I think it was North, the Great Van of Destiny didn't have a compass. Our destination was the Mecca of surfing: North Shore.
The traffic was incredible, but then again, since the road was only two lanes, it was expected. We eventually arrived at a place called Sunset beach, where we witnessed waves that would make a rabid dog wet itself. After marveling over these churning waters, those who wanted to watch remained, while others traveled to a nature park called Waimea Falls.
The park was something straight out of a Micheal Chricton novel, with towering rain forest like trees and plants that could devour a man at a moments notice. Deep in the depths of this rain forest, we discovered the waterfall, which was much as the name implied, a waterfall. After many pictures and swatting large mosquitos, we moved on and gathered the others in a large fishing net. Once we were all back together, we were going to go and eat at a seafood restuarant on the beach, but the seas were rough and the catch was lousy so we skipped the meal and went back to the hotel.
Prompt Answers:
Prompt 7
1. James Cook was a Captain of the Royal navy who mapped out nearly the entire Pacific region, and did so accurately. Through his three voyages, he disproved the myth about a great southern continent, and the possibility of a north-west passage.
2. Cook was the first European that discovered the Hawaiian Islands. It was on these islands that Cook would meet his demise.
3. Gary was a native that they found at the Cook monument. When they found him, they thought that he was defiling it with graffiti. Gary was really cleaning the graffiti off. Both Gary and the New England clergymen felt that Cook’s men spread syphilis and objectified the women. Horowitz’s point in telling the story was to show both sides of the Cook mythos and his impact on the island culture.
4. Sahlin’s main point of argument was that the Hawaiians actually did think that Cook was a god, and Cook played along. Obeyesekere’s main point of argument was that the natives were far too smart to think that a white foriegned tongue man could be a Polynesian god, and the historical thoughts of this are only an after effect due to western Imperialism.
5. Horowitz describes the final events of February 14, 1779 as they happened, using the journals and memoirs of those who survived. He also spots several ironies, those being that Cook often warned his men to not use violence against the natives even though he went out with ten marines to retrieve a small boat, Cook was a Quaker yet he died with a musket in his hands, he was killed with an iron spike that he had commissioned the locals to make, and the fact that he was killed on an island not known for their war-like tendencies.
Prompt 8
1. The sugar industry began around 1852.
2. Sugar and Pineapple led to increased immigration because labor was needed to work on the plantations.
3. Workers who came to Hawaii were from China, Japan, Portugal, Puerto Rico, and Korea. Workers lived in horrible conditions and worked for 12 hours or more a day.
4. Sanford Dole’s father was a missionary.
5. Sanford Dole advocated the political ideas of democracy and not the monarchial system that Hawaii had.
6. The Bayonet Constitution was a document that stripped the king of his power, limited the power of the locals and gave more control to whites.
7. Lorrin Thurston was a lawyer who helped convert Hawaii from a monarchy to a democratic territory of the USA.
8. The Committee of Safety was a group of business men who overthrew Lili’uokalani in 1893.
9. Sanford Dole became President of the Republic of Hawaii in 1894.
10. Hawaii was annexed in 1898 by President McKinley.
11. Sanford Dole was the governor of the Territory after it was annexed.
12. James Dole was Sanford Dole’s cousin.
13. James Dole bought the island of Lana’i and converted it into a pineapple plantation.
14. The relationship between the missions, business, and the Americanization of Hawaii was a strange one. Where the missions wanted the Hawaiians to have equal treatment, the businesses could care less about the locals as long as the labor produced their goods.
Class was early in the morning again, and though no one wanted to be awake at that hour, we fought through and persevered. The lecture today was quite interesting, as it dealt with the first white man to see the Hawaiian islands, and also the first white man to pass on a deadly disease to the Hawaiian islands; quite a feat indeed.
After the lecture we proceeded to stumble down the street in true American fashion, gawking at the tourists and inquiring whether they traded in their currency for Sand Dollars, which obviously is the currency they use on the islands. After eating in the rotund food court, we returned to embark on an Epic Journey to the very depths of human depravity, or as some called it, the Northern side of the island.
The first stop was the Dole Plantation, an obvious lingering reminder of American captialism at it's finest. Pineapples stretch far as the eye could see, and tourists were busy buying these odd plants as if they were about to go out of style. I knew that if the pineapple industry had lasted as long as it did, then obviously the industry had a backup plan in case some freakish blight that only affected pineapples came and damaged the crop for that year. There was a maze, but the idea of paying to get lost in one was not inviting, at least not at the moment. What was interesting was the large fish like creatures that the kept inprisoned in a pool, fighting over the strange scraps that the gawking people threw at them. Naturally I could see the oppresion working here, but I was not about to try and bring the system down, so I threw some of the strange pellets and moved on. Once we left here, we moved North again, or at least I think it was North, the Great Van of Destiny didn't have a compass. Our destination was the Mecca of surfing: North Shore.
The traffic was incredible, but then again, since the road was only two lanes, it was expected. We eventually arrived at a place called Sunset beach, where we witnessed waves that would make a rabid dog wet itself. After marveling over these churning waters, those who wanted to watch remained, while others traveled to a nature park called Waimea Falls.
The park was something straight out of a Micheal Chricton novel, with towering rain forest like trees and plants that could devour a man at a moments notice. Deep in the depths of this rain forest, we discovered the waterfall, which was much as the name implied, a waterfall. After many pictures and swatting large mosquitos, we moved on and gathered the others in a large fishing net. Once we were all back together, we were going to go and eat at a seafood restuarant on the beach, but the seas were rough and the catch was lousy so we skipped the meal and went back to the hotel.
Prompt Answers:
Prompt 7
1. James Cook was a Captain of the Royal navy who mapped out nearly the entire Pacific region, and did so accurately. Through his three voyages, he disproved the myth about a great southern continent, and the possibility of a north-west passage.
2. Cook was the first European that discovered the Hawaiian Islands. It was on these islands that Cook would meet his demise.
3. Gary was a native that they found at the Cook monument. When they found him, they thought that he was defiling it with graffiti. Gary was really cleaning the graffiti off. Both Gary and the New England clergymen felt that Cook’s men spread syphilis and objectified the women. Horowitz’s point in telling the story was to show both sides of the Cook mythos and his impact on the island culture.
4. Sahlin’s main point of argument was that the Hawaiians actually did think that Cook was a god, and Cook played along. Obeyesekere’s main point of argument was that the natives were far too smart to think that a white foriegned tongue man could be a Polynesian god, and the historical thoughts of this are only an after effect due to western Imperialism.
5. Horowitz describes the final events of February 14, 1779 as they happened, using the journals and memoirs of those who survived. He also spots several ironies, those being that Cook often warned his men to not use violence against the natives even though he went out with ten marines to retrieve a small boat, Cook was a Quaker yet he died with a musket in his hands, he was killed with an iron spike that he had commissioned the locals to make, and the fact that he was killed on an island not known for their war-like tendencies.
Prompt 8
1. The sugar industry began around 1852.
2. Sugar and Pineapple led to increased immigration because labor was needed to work on the plantations.
3. Workers who came to Hawaii were from China, Japan, Portugal, Puerto Rico, and Korea. Workers lived in horrible conditions and worked for 12 hours or more a day.
4. Sanford Dole’s father was a missionary.
5. Sanford Dole advocated the political ideas of democracy and not the monarchial system that Hawaii had.
6. The Bayonet Constitution was a document that stripped the king of his power, limited the power of the locals and gave more control to whites.
7. Lorrin Thurston was a lawyer who helped convert Hawaii from a monarchy to a democratic territory of the USA.
8. The Committee of Safety was a group of business men who overthrew Lili’uokalani in 1893.
9. Sanford Dole became President of the Republic of Hawaii in 1894.
10. Hawaii was annexed in 1898 by President McKinley.
11. Sanford Dole was the governor of the Territory after it was annexed.
12. James Dole was Sanford Dole’s cousin.
13. James Dole bought the island of Lana’i and converted it into a pineapple plantation.
14. The relationship between the missions, business, and the Americanization of Hawaii was a strange one. Where the missions wanted the Hawaiians to have equal treatment, the businesses could care less about the locals as long as the labor produced their goods.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Sandy Beach Part Duex
1 January, 2007
After waking up from a disappointing night (I was really wanting to see a dragon eat some souls), I went up to have some of the assorted donuts and other sugar coated treats. After being berated about the fact that I didn't take any toast, I went back down to the room and wondered what everyone else was doing. Sean had went down to the beach, and Paul and Roger were going to go roam around and see what Hawaii's locals had to offer. I got a phone call from Misty, saying that a bunch of people were going to go and tackle the ferocity that was Sandy Beach.
Of course I knew that those waves were a dangerous beast that had all ready claimed one of our number, but I had to know if the beast could be conquered by someone chock full of grit, and I was most certainly that.
We met up in the lobby, and after getting some rather vague directions on how to catch the bus from the Concierge, we wasted three hours sitting in the hot baking sun before we found the right bus.
The beach was much as it was the previous time, but there were more fools in the water than I could shake a stick at, and trust me, I tried. The water was rough that day my friend, and we soon realized why it was called Sandy Beach. The waves pushed sand into places that Sand should never go. Needless to say, we didn't stay long, and after watching Misty achieving the impossible (she was able to get her boogie board out past the break water), we caught the bus back to the Hotel.
After taking a shower, we all met back up to go to this seafood restaurant. Now, the place was quite fancy, but never in my days have I seen Calamari in the form of 3 by 6 inch slabs. It still tasted good, and after this place, we went back to the hotel, because I didn't feel like fighting the random street performers, because those guys are strange with their random robot noises and bodies covered in silver and copper paint. And besides, we had class at 8:30 in the A.M.
After waking up from a disappointing night (I was really wanting to see a dragon eat some souls), I went up to have some of the assorted donuts and other sugar coated treats. After being berated about the fact that I didn't take any toast, I went back down to the room and wondered what everyone else was doing. Sean had went down to the beach, and Paul and Roger were going to go roam around and see what Hawaii's locals had to offer. I got a phone call from Misty, saying that a bunch of people were going to go and tackle the ferocity that was Sandy Beach.
Of course I knew that those waves were a dangerous beast that had all ready claimed one of our number, but I had to know if the beast could be conquered by someone chock full of grit, and I was most certainly that.
We met up in the lobby, and after getting some rather vague directions on how to catch the bus from the Concierge, we wasted three hours sitting in the hot baking sun before we found the right bus.
The beach was much as it was the previous time, but there were more fools in the water than I could shake a stick at, and trust me, I tried. The water was rough that day my friend, and we soon realized why it was called Sandy Beach. The waves pushed sand into places that Sand should never go. Needless to say, we didn't stay long, and after watching Misty achieving the impossible (she was able to get her boogie board out past the break water), we caught the bus back to the Hotel.
After taking a shower, we all met back up to go to this seafood restaurant. Now, the place was quite fancy, but never in my days have I seen Calamari in the form of 3 by 6 inch slabs. It still tasted good, and after this place, we went back to the hotel, because I didn't feel like fighting the random street performers, because those guys are strange with their random robot noises and bodies covered in silver and copper paint. And besides, we had class at 8:30 in the A.M.
Monday, February 5, 2007
The Chopper Shocker
31 December, 2006
I awoke late in the morning, and for good reason, we didn't have any assignments for this day. Today was to be our first true "free day", and I must say that it was a welcome gift. It took some time before everyone woke up and was ready to go out and face the day, but soon we rallied and decided to visit the Army Museum that was literally across the the street.
There, we saw many an interesting thing, my personal favorite was a rifle collection of every rifle that the U.S. Army had adopted over it's 231 year history. There was also an exhibit for every war from World War I to Vietnam, the latter included a strange entryway that nearly made Roger jump out of his skin. The entryway literally told you to hit the deck as NVA rounds pelted the Huey. After this, we went upstairs to where they have a display of every medal earned by a Hawaiian company that served during WWII. On the roof of the museum was a retired attack helicopter that Big Fat Paulie took a picture with.
After we left the museum, we all decided that the time was right to visit Waikiki beach, after all, it was literally across the street as well. After changing, we went to the beach and marveled at the clear yet coolly soothing waters. It was there that we saw European tourists, a site that no man should ever see. Not because they were from Europe, but due to the skin tight speedo's that they wore, which left little to the imagination. Well, after being horrified by this, we returned to the hotel and decided to take a break and await the coming of the New Year. Several people said that there was a celebration as this new year came, and I for one was whole heatedly or that. But I had also heard that at midnight, a great dragon flew down from the heavens and ate the souls of those participate in the rhythmic ceremonial ritual that went on on the beach. Of course this information should be taken with a grain of salt, because the man who said this was wearing a sandwich sign saying that the end was near. It wasn't the sign that ruined his credibility, it was the fact that he said the world had ended 15 years ago, it was just taking time for it to catch up.
Well, 8:00 PM came around, and soon the phone's started to ring when people back in the great nation of Texas began to call, saying that it was New Years. Of course to us it was still four hours away (if we were actually in Hawaii, if we were in Wyoming then it was only an hour away). I remember becoming quite fatigued and started to watch a Dog the BountyHunter marathon on television. The next thing I know, the TV is still on, but Sean and Charlie are passed out. I looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:59 in the p.m. I walked to the balcony and looked out, but my window didn't look out at the beach, so I couldn't see if a dragon ate anyone or not. I was going to tell the others in the room that it was New Years, but since they were passed out I decided not to wake them up. Instead, I called Misty to see where on the beach she was and if she had seen a dragon. But as luck would have it, she too was in her room, tired from the day. After this, there wasn't much else to do, so I went back to bed and continued to watch the exploits of Dog before I succumbed to the depths of my own mind as sleep set in.
I awoke late in the morning, and for good reason, we didn't have any assignments for this day. Today was to be our first true "free day", and I must say that it was a welcome gift. It took some time before everyone woke up and was ready to go out and face the day, but soon we rallied and decided to visit the Army Museum that was literally across the the street.
There, we saw many an interesting thing, my personal favorite was a rifle collection of every rifle that the U.S. Army had adopted over it's 231 year history. There was also an exhibit for every war from World War I to Vietnam, the latter included a strange entryway that nearly made Roger jump out of his skin. The entryway literally told you to hit the deck as NVA rounds pelted the Huey. After this, we went upstairs to where they have a display of every medal earned by a Hawaiian company that served during WWII. On the roof of the museum was a retired attack helicopter that Big Fat Paulie took a picture with.
After we left the museum, we all decided that the time was right to visit Waikiki beach, after all, it was literally across the street as well. After changing, we went to the beach and marveled at the clear yet coolly soothing waters. It was there that we saw European tourists, a site that no man should ever see. Not because they were from Europe, but due to the skin tight speedo's that they wore, which left little to the imagination. Well, after being horrified by this, we returned to the hotel and decided to take a break and await the coming of the New Year. Several people said that there was a celebration as this new year came, and I for one was whole heatedly or that. But I had also heard that at midnight, a great dragon flew down from the heavens and ate the souls of those participate in the rhythmic ceremonial ritual that went on on the beach. Of course this information should be taken with a grain of salt, because the man who said this was wearing a sandwich sign saying that the end was near. It wasn't the sign that ruined his credibility, it was the fact that he said the world had ended 15 years ago, it was just taking time for it to catch up.
Well, 8:00 PM came around, and soon the phone's started to ring when people back in the great nation of Texas began to call, saying that it was New Years. Of course to us it was still four hours away (if we were actually in Hawaii, if we were in Wyoming then it was only an hour away). I remember becoming quite fatigued and started to watch a Dog the BountyHunter marathon on television. The next thing I know, the TV is still on, but Sean and Charlie are passed out. I looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:59 in the p.m. I walked to the balcony and looked out, but my window didn't look out at the beach, so I couldn't see if a dragon ate anyone or not. I was going to tell the others in the room that it was New Years, but since they were passed out I decided not to wake them up. Instead, I called Misty to see where on the beach she was and if she had seen a dragon. But as luck would have it, she too was in her room, tired from the day. After this, there wasn't much else to do, so I went back to bed and continued to watch the exploits of Dog before I succumbed to the depths of my own mind as sleep set in.
Mormons and the Polynesians, a strange mix indeed
30 December, 2006
The day started at the un-holy hour of 0800, and to Big Fat Paulie, this was purely unacceptable, seeing as how he had purposely gone out of his way to avoid ever having a class that early in the morning. Of course, technically, it was High Noon back in the great state of Texas, but he would have none of this strange rationality that I was spouting that early in the morning.
At 0800, we rallied to gather around what would later be referred to as the ultimate vehicular embodiment of cool, the Ford Windstar. From here, we set out to the original seat of government in these tropical isles, and of course the caravan was a gross example of pure American driving skill at it's finest. After loosing the main van, who by the way was supposed to be leading the group, we arrived somehow ahead of them and cruised a parking garage looking at the accomplishment of what Modern Man was able to do out of steel and concrete. Once the others arrived and we parked along a street, and after feeding a meter of parking an exuberant amount of quarters to pay for time, we set out to cross the street. Misty has never been able to cross a street with the gusto of the other members of the group, perhaps because she has a police officer in the family, or perhaps she has some errant fear of being hit by an automobile. But this fear was not shared by the other members of the group, so we stepped out into traffic, showing these crude metallic beasts that we were not to be trifled with. Once we met up with everyone else, we proceeded to listen to Professor Ronnie Littlejohn, whom we started to refer to as Big Littlejohn since it quickly became confusing distinguishing between the two.
We stood before a statue of immense stature, dedicated to the late Kamehameha, the local tribal king who had diversified his bonds and united all of the islands under his command. After this, we walked across the street and came to the first missionary church on the islands. We were allowed inside, where we saw a picture of a Hawaiian man that had a striking resemblance to Stephen F. Austin. After getting over this shocking revelation, we moved outside to look at several missionary homes that were brought from New England on ships to Hawaii. Strange did this seem to me, because I could not figure why they didn't just contract some locals at the Home Depot to build them homes.
We left this spot and then began to traverse the island, ever winding deeper into the jungle depths of the island. Several times I saw a waterfall on the cliff face, but before I could point it out, trees would hide it. This strange behavior soon made my cohorts in the van think that I was crazy, but I know what I saw. Certainly there was a waterfall there, with Elvis himself using it as a shower. once we reached the top of the mountain chain, we parked at a State Park, coolly named Nauuanu Pali Lookout. The wind here was excruciating, yet so was the view. Here we learned that people once jumped to their deaths instead of give in to an invading army, and some say that their spirits are still in the area. While this may be so, I did not see any ghosts, or ghostbusters for that matter.
We then proceeded to leave the lookout and went to what was called a Heiau. Now this Heiau at first seemed like a strange unnatural formation, with rocks piled high in the formation of a pyramid, but with it's top cut off, creating something like a man made mesa. Here we learned that ancient locals would bring offerings to their gods, in favor of a good harvest, or a favorable war, depending on which type of Heiau it was. The one that we saw was one for agricultural purposes.
From the Heiau we left to go on a program lunch, which in essence was a lunch that Professor Littlejohn picked up the bill for. We were each chartered with a monetary limit of ten dollars, which was ideal since we were eating at a McDonald's. Many people were choosing to get meals that bordered near the ten dollars, but Charlie and me had the true brains of the outfit. We saw that regular cheeseburgers were only a dollar, so he got 6 while I got 4. Together, our combined bill was ten dollars, so we saved the amount for the Professor to spend on something else later on during the trip.
After eating the meal, which I was informed was packed with all sorts of strange chemicals intended to make you want more, we left to go towards the Polynesian Cultural Center. But, when we arrived in the general area, we first stopped at the Brigham Young University. Some say the reason was to show us the school, others say it was to use the bathroom. While it did not matter to me, I took the opportunity to use the facilities since I did not want a repeat of the previous day. When I exited the visitors center, several of the group were talking with one of the Mormon students, and though she was quite friendly, I couldn't shake the notion that she was plotting to steal my brains with one of those ancient Egyptian tools that enter through the nose. We then proceeded to leave to head towards the main attraction, but I kept my eye on that student, just in case she snuck up behind me with that tool.
When we entered the Polynesian Cultural Center, we had to wait while certain details were worked over. After much bad noise, we were given our tickets, and proceeded to take the ride. The group instantly split up, and everyone banded with others and we went our separate ways inside. I remember traveling to a place where a young man wearing only a loin cloth was instructing people how to use these balls and string called Poi-Poi. After swinging them around like some drunkard from an early Irish novel, I decided to save myself the embarrassment and continued on.
At 1430 there was a boat show, where each of the Island nations had a boat and would proceed to dance in one fashion or the other in an attempt to recreate their cultures. After watching several of the boats, we decided to move on, but then we saw another boat approaching. This boat had nothing but females wearing yellow grass skirts and strange puffy balls in their hair. Misty said they looked like Who's from Whoville, but I noticed that they were from Tiki. At first we were going to move on, but I noticed that they were some sort of belly dancers, so I decided to watch them, purely for cultural understanding.
Once this was over, we looked for something to do in the shade, for it was getting mighty hot outside, or at least the humidity from the water was kicking in full force. We found a shaded area where an attractive young lady was instructing little kids on how to weave a fish out of coconut palm leaves. After dismally failing to construct the fish, an older worker there quickly folded it for me, and looked at me as if I were some sort of simpleton. Perhaps she was right, after all, I still can't fold a fish out of coconut leaves to this day. After the fish fiasco, we moved on and went to see a drum show, which was quite amusing since they got this Japanese man out of the crowd who really got into the show. After this, we proceeded to go to the buffet where we were to eat our dinner. The food was good, especially the ice cream.
After dinner was over, we had about two hours to kill before the place put on their final showing for the night, so Misty, Roger, and myself decided to go watch an Imax movie over the disappearing coral reefs in the Southern Pacific. The movie theater was quite enormous, and we sat towards the middle, since that's where the best seats are for something of that magnitude. About halfway through the movie, I was surprised by Greenly tapping me on the shoulder saying that everyone else wanted to leave, so we had to go. To this day I still wonder 2 things: What happened to the coral reefs, and just how did Greenly spot me in a theater of 300 people.
After this we left and journeyed back to the hotel. There, we began to have a fiesta since we did not have class the next day. Needless to say we did not get to bed early, nor do any memories of that night seem pertinent to mention here.
Prompt Answers:
Prompt 5
Westerners probably found the Hawaiian system of religion to be odd and paganistic since they seemed to be sacrificing human lives to gods that were embodied in a wooden idol. These kahunas were probably seen as holy men to Westerners, but they also probably saw them as being some sort of aristocracy that ruled the people. There were similarities between the Christian faiths and those of the Hawaiians since the story of Christ is one of a sacrifice. Also, since churches were always built near the holy sites of Hawaiians, they could easily adapt to the notion of the church being a holy spot.
Prompt 6
Out of all of these terms, I would think that the best one describing the Polynesian Cultural Center would be “revise”. As we walked around and saw the many different cultures that were presented, they seemed to be showing the more “nicer” side of their cultures, and even seemed to show the darker sides with a playful light. One of the island’s boats during the boat show had the men splashing large clubs into the water for show, but what is not said was that those clubs were used to kill during wars with other peoples. Many of the activities that you could participate in were also using tools or weapons that honed a warriors skills, but they were portrayed as only being exercises for personal fitness.
The day started at the un-holy hour of 0800, and to Big Fat Paulie, this was purely unacceptable, seeing as how he had purposely gone out of his way to avoid ever having a class that early in the morning. Of course, technically, it was High Noon back in the great state of Texas, but he would have none of this strange rationality that I was spouting that early in the morning.
At 0800, we rallied to gather around what would later be referred to as the ultimate vehicular embodiment of cool, the Ford Windstar. From here, we set out to the original seat of government in these tropical isles, and of course the caravan was a gross example of pure American driving skill at it's finest. After loosing the main van, who by the way was supposed to be leading the group, we arrived somehow ahead of them and cruised a parking garage looking at the accomplishment of what Modern Man was able to do out of steel and concrete. Once the others arrived and we parked along a street, and after feeding a meter of parking an exuberant amount of quarters to pay for time, we set out to cross the street. Misty has never been able to cross a street with the gusto of the other members of the group, perhaps because she has a police officer in the family, or perhaps she has some errant fear of being hit by an automobile. But this fear was not shared by the other members of the group, so we stepped out into traffic, showing these crude metallic beasts that we were not to be trifled with. Once we met up with everyone else, we proceeded to listen to Professor Ronnie Littlejohn, whom we started to refer to as Big Littlejohn since it quickly became confusing distinguishing between the two.
We stood before a statue of immense stature, dedicated to the late Kamehameha, the local tribal king who had diversified his bonds and united all of the islands under his command. After this, we walked across the street and came to the first missionary church on the islands. We were allowed inside, where we saw a picture of a Hawaiian man that had a striking resemblance to Stephen F. Austin. After getting over this shocking revelation, we moved outside to look at several missionary homes that were brought from New England on ships to Hawaii. Strange did this seem to me, because I could not figure why they didn't just contract some locals at the Home Depot to build them homes.
We left this spot and then began to traverse the island, ever winding deeper into the jungle depths of the island. Several times I saw a waterfall on the cliff face, but before I could point it out, trees would hide it. This strange behavior soon made my cohorts in the van think that I was crazy, but I know what I saw. Certainly there was a waterfall there, with Elvis himself using it as a shower. once we reached the top of the mountain chain, we parked at a State Park, coolly named Nauuanu Pali Lookout. The wind here was excruciating, yet so was the view. Here we learned that people once jumped to their deaths instead of give in to an invading army, and some say that their spirits are still in the area. While this may be so, I did not see any ghosts, or ghostbusters for that matter.
We then proceeded to leave the lookout and went to what was called a Heiau. Now this Heiau at first seemed like a strange unnatural formation, with rocks piled high in the formation of a pyramid, but with it's top cut off, creating something like a man made mesa. Here we learned that ancient locals would bring offerings to their gods, in favor of a good harvest, or a favorable war, depending on which type of Heiau it was. The one that we saw was one for agricultural purposes.
From the Heiau we left to go on a program lunch, which in essence was a lunch that Professor Littlejohn picked up the bill for. We were each chartered with a monetary limit of ten dollars, which was ideal since we were eating at a McDonald's. Many people were choosing to get meals that bordered near the ten dollars, but Charlie and me had the true brains of the outfit. We saw that regular cheeseburgers were only a dollar, so he got 6 while I got 4. Together, our combined bill was ten dollars, so we saved the amount for the Professor to spend on something else later on during the trip.
After eating the meal, which I was informed was packed with all sorts of strange chemicals intended to make you want more, we left to go towards the Polynesian Cultural Center. But, when we arrived in the general area, we first stopped at the Brigham Young University. Some say the reason was to show us the school, others say it was to use the bathroom. While it did not matter to me, I took the opportunity to use the facilities since I did not want a repeat of the previous day. When I exited the visitors center, several of the group were talking with one of the Mormon students, and though she was quite friendly, I couldn't shake the notion that she was plotting to steal my brains with one of those ancient Egyptian tools that enter through the nose. We then proceeded to leave to head towards the main attraction, but I kept my eye on that student, just in case she snuck up behind me with that tool.
When we entered the Polynesian Cultural Center, we had to wait while certain details were worked over. After much bad noise, we were given our tickets, and proceeded to take the ride. The group instantly split up, and everyone banded with others and we went our separate ways inside. I remember traveling to a place where a young man wearing only a loin cloth was instructing people how to use these balls and string called Poi-Poi. After swinging them around like some drunkard from an early Irish novel, I decided to save myself the embarrassment and continued on.
At 1430 there was a boat show, where each of the Island nations had a boat and would proceed to dance in one fashion or the other in an attempt to recreate their cultures. After watching several of the boats, we decided to move on, but then we saw another boat approaching. This boat had nothing but females wearing yellow grass skirts and strange puffy balls in their hair. Misty said they looked like Who's from Whoville, but I noticed that they were from Tiki. At first we were going to move on, but I noticed that they were some sort of belly dancers, so I decided to watch them, purely for cultural understanding.
Once this was over, we looked for something to do in the shade, for it was getting mighty hot outside, or at least the humidity from the water was kicking in full force. We found a shaded area where an attractive young lady was instructing little kids on how to weave a fish out of coconut palm leaves. After dismally failing to construct the fish, an older worker there quickly folded it for me, and looked at me as if I were some sort of simpleton. Perhaps she was right, after all, I still can't fold a fish out of coconut leaves to this day. After the fish fiasco, we moved on and went to see a drum show, which was quite amusing since they got this Japanese man out of the crowd who really got into the show. After this, we proceeded to go to the buffet where we were to eat our dinner. The food was good, especially the ice cream.
After dinner was over, we had about two hours to kill before the place put on their final showing for the night, so Misty, Roger, and myself decided to go watch an Imax movie over the disappearing coral reefs in the Southern Pacific. The movie theater was quite enormous, and we sat towards the middle, since that's where the best seats are for something of that magnitude. About halfway through the movie, I was surprised by Greenly tapping me on the shoulder saying that everyone else wanted to leave, so we had to go. To this day I still wonder 2 things: What happened to the coral reefs, and just how did Greenly spot me in a theater of 300 people.
After this we left and journeyed back to the hotel. There, we began to have a fiesta since we did not have class the next day. Needless to say we did not get to bed early, nor do any memories of that night seem pertinent to mention here.
Prompt Answers:
Prompt 5
Westerners probably found the Hawaiian system of religion to be odd and paganistic since they seemed to be sacrificing human lives to gods that were embodied in a wooden idol. These kahunas were probably seen as holy men to Westerners, but they also probably saw them as being some sort of aristocracy that ruled the people. There were similarities between the Christian faiths and those of the Hawaiians since the story of Christ is one of a sacrifice. Also, since churches were always built near the holy sites of Hawaiians, they could easily adapt to the notion of the church being a holy spot.
Prompt 6
Out of all of these terms, I would think that the best one describing the Polynesian Cultural Center would be “revise”. As we walked around and saw the many different cultures that were presented, they seemed to be showing the more “nicer” side of their cultures, and even seemed to show the darker sides with a playful light. One of the island’s boats during the boat show had the men splashing large clubs into the water for show, but what is not said was that those clubs were used to kill during wars with other peoples. Many of the activities that you could participate in were also using tools or weapons that honed a warriors skills, but they were portrayed as only being exercises for personal fitness.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Snorkeling and bad Business
29 December, 2006
I awoke to the sounds of strange traffic and sirens going off, or it quite possibly could have been my cell phone's alarm going off, I'm really not sure. Either way, I awoke and quickly got ready for the day. Sean was not feeling up to snuff, apparently the Chinese Restaurant was not agreeing with him, in fact it was having some sort of arguement over which utensil worked best, or something of the sort.
At 0900 we met up in the conference room of the hotel, and proceded to listen to lectures about Pangea and world cultures. Somehow the discussion got onto the subject of Iraq, and after much bad noise, we were released for lunch time. Before we left, we were informed that if we wanted, we could all meet back up and go snorkeling at the wonderful Hanauma Bay. We ate at the food court in some freakesh example of capitalism at it's finest, and then returned. Quickly we suited up and covered our bodies in a mix of peanut oil and sun block, though from experience I knew that the sun block was a bad idea. We met up in the lobby with our cohorts from Tennessee, and proceded to drive to this bay of snorkeling.
Once there, we made our way down to the water, and I can truely say that it was a glorious site. We rented our equipment, and made our way towards the water. I had never been snorkeling before, at least in real water, I had once attempted it in a swimming pool, but the chlorine and urine was not the same as the salty brine of the sea. We full heartedly beleived in the buddy system, so me an Big Fat Paulie entered into the waves. From my own experiences, breathing through a tube instead of the nose was a strange experience to say the least. We made our way deep into the cold water, doing our best impersonations of Darth Vader. I saw several types of fish, many of them were swimming in one fashion or the other. Someone had seen an eel, but I luckily did not. As far as the water goes, I've always had two life goals; one is to punch an eel in the face, and the other is to take on a baracuda in a thirty round bare knuckle brawl on Pay-per-View.
After I emerged from the water in a horrible fashion akin to a 50's movie, I dried off on the beach and then began to the long trek up the hill to return to the van. We were then informed that we were going to head to another beach just on the other side of a ridge, and we all jumped at the chance to see more water, strange as it may have been. When we arrived at the spot, playfully named Sandy Beach, we all got out and marveled at the monster waves that were being produced.
Waves were cresting that were roughly 7 feet high, and some were even taller. What struck me as odd was the fact that they did this a mere three feet away from the shore. Sean, being from Califorina and a surfer, warned everyone that waves like these were not to be trifled with. In fact, they would so much as stab you in the back as they were to shake your hand in a friendly manner. But of course this warning was not taken in stride, because everyone wanted to get into the water and be thrown around like a rag doll. I of course was more intelligent than this, after all, the waves reminded me of some sort of billowing beast with a hunger only matched by its strength. Misty and Greenly started to run around the beach like chickens with their heads cut off, and soon began to find sea glass, which later was discovered to not be a natural occurance. It was then that one of our members got tossed by a wave and injured themselves in the torrential sea. After much bad business and some ingenuity, she was returned to her van and we departed the beach.
On the journey back, I had the need to use the facilities, but due to the lack of one, or at least my assumption that there was not one, I had to hold it until we reached the hotel. And of course, there was a massive traffic jam all along the ride back. Of course my friends helped out by shaking water bottles and speaking of waterfalls and rivers. Once the van was within running distance, I jumped out of the van and had to go up to my room to use the facilities.
Once this nightmare was over, we decided to try and go to a grocery store in an effort to save money. Of course this was not the case, because a package of sliced Government cheese cost 8 dollars. Once we got back to the hotel, we began to shut the studio down because we had class at 0800.
Prompt Answers:
Blog prompt 1
1. Pangaea was a super continent that consisted of all of the continents today being stuck together. It existed 200 million years ago. It was special because it explains the similarities in species on different continents today. It began to break apart 180 million years ago. Important because it explains the similarities in species on different continents.
2. Hominids first appeared about seven million years ago, depending on which fossil you want to go by. Homo Sapiens first appeared about 40,000 years ago. What set humans apart from others was the ability to adapt.
3. Crosby thinks that culture is a system of storing and altering patterns of behavior not in the molecules of the genetic code but in the cells of the brain. It is important because it is what makes humans what they are.
4. In Crosby’s view, humans moved into Europe around 50,000 years ago, 40,000 years ago for Australia, and 13,000 years ago for the Americas.
5. People in the Americas were isolated by sea.
6. The Neolithic revolution was when man began to grind and polish their stone tools instead of chipping them, and it ended when they began to smelt metal for tools and weapons.
7. During the Neolithic Revolution, man learned how to write, build, produce agriculture, and began to settle and build civilizations.
Prompt 2
1. Diamond’s principle argument was that mankind prospered in Eurasia because the entire continent was roughly at the same level of latitude, which was the same temperate climate. Longitudinal differences brought about different climates, many of which were not suitable for agriculture, therefore did not develop as quickly.
2. Diamond believes that the factors that drove world history all deal with the ability to settle down and start agriculture. Due to this, the agriculture lead to positions in society, which gave way to kings, and soldiers and such, or basically a form of organization. Diseases from the domesticated animals also were close to people, and they developed immunities to the diseases.
3. Blaut criticizes Diamond in the way that Diamond explains that this trend worked throughout Eurasia, but Blaut points out that China and Europe evolved very differently.
4. After reading both, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
Prompt 3
1. A culture is a body of beliefs and practices that are of a value to a society and shape people within a region. Culture in relation to political demarcations are not the same. An idea or social practice can easily travel over a political or linguistic border and be shared by multiple groups all over the world, even if they are separated by thousands of miles.
2. To be considered a part of culture, it must last longer than 4 generations.
3. Cultures can change by either adapting to new technologies, or change due to other cultural influence. To say that a culture has progressed is itself a paradox, since a culture can change, but who can say that it is for the better if it looses some of what it once was?
4. It is hard to say whether the world is moving towards one global culture. Where it may be happening on some level, mainly the globalization of McDonald’s and Wal-Mart, there are many peoples who do not wish to loose their identities. An example of this would be the French. They accept these global corporations, but they will vehemently make everything become “French” to them in a way to keep their cultural identity. There are also people who strictly do not want to allow anything from the outside in, and this can be seen with the conservative Muslim people of the middle east and Iran.
5. To better function and interact with peoples of other cultures, a better understanding and knowledge of the other cultures is necessary. What might be considered a simple gesture to one people may be a vile insult to someone’s mother, which can only be cleared up with a dual to the death. Definitely something that one does not want to get involved with by a simple gesture.
Prompt 4
In the intercultural interaction called The Shopper and the Vendor, I feel that the best explanation was the vendor was not used to people of mixed races and was confused at how a person could be of two different Asian nations, especially since the vendor was in Singapore. To the vendor, the idea of a mixed person of both Chinese and Japanese might seem a bit odd, or he might not have ever come across someone like that before. All of the other explanations are flawed in one way or the other in that they don’t have much merit to them.
I awoke to the sounds of strange traffic and sirens going off, or it quite possibly could have been my cell phone's alarm going off, I'm really not sure. Either way, I awoke and quickly got ready for the day. Sean was not feeling up to snuff, apparently the Chinese Restaurant was not agreeing with him, in fact it was having some sort of arguement over which utensil worked best, or something of the sort.
At 0900 we met up in the conference room of the hotel, and proceded to listen to lectures about Pangea and world cultures. Somehow the discussion got onto the subject of Iraq, and after much bad noise, we were released for lunch time. Before we left, we were informed that if we wanted, we could all meet back up and go snorkeling at the wonderful Hanauma Bay. We ate at the food court in some freakesh example of capitalism at it's finest, and then returned. Quickly we suited up and covered our bodies in a mix of peanut oil and sun block, though from experience I knew that the sun block was a bad idea. We met up in the lobby with our cohorts from Tennessee, and proceded to drive to this bay of snorkeling.
Once there, we made our way down to the water, and I can truely say that it was a glorious site. We rented our equipment, and made our way towards the water. I had never been snorkeling before, at least in real water, I had once attempted it in a swimming pool, but the chlorine and urine was not the same as the salty brine of the sea. We full heartedly beleived in the buddy system, so me an Big Fat Paulie entered into the waves. From my own experiences, breathing through a tube instead of the nose was a strange experience to say the least. We made our way deep into the cold water, doing our best impersonations of Darth Vader. I saw several types of fish, many of them were swimming in one fashion or the other. Someone had seen an eel, but I luckily did not. As far as the water goes, I've always had two life goals; one is to punch an eel in the face, and the other is to take on a baracuda in a thirty round bare knuckle brawl on Pay-per-View.
After I emerged from the water in a horrible fashion akin to a 50's movie, I dried off on the beach and then began to the long trek up the hill to return to the van. We were then informed that we were going to head to another beach just on the other side of a ridge, and we all jumped at the chance to see more water, strange as it may have been. When we arrived at the spot, playfully named Sandy Beach, we all got out and marveled at the monster waves that were being produced.
Waves were cresting that were roughly 7 feet high, and some were even taller. What struck me as odd was the fact that they did this a mere three feet away from the shore. Sean, being from Califorina and a surfer, warned everyone that waves like these were not to be trifled with. In fact, they would so much as stab you in the back as they were to shake your hand in a friendly manner. But of course this warning was not taken in stride, because everyone wanted to get into the water and be thrown around like a rag doll. I of course was more intelligent than this, after all, the waves reminded me of some sort of billowing beast with a hunger only matched by its strength. Misty and Greenly started to run around the beach like chickens with their heads cut off, and soon began to find sea glass, which later was discovered to not be a natural occurance. It was then that one of our members got tossed by a wave and injured themselves in the torrential sea. After much bad business and some ingenuity, she was returned to her van and we departed the beach.
On the journey back, I had the need to use the facilities, but due to the lack of one, or at least my assumption that there was not one, I had to hold it until we reached the hotel. And of course, there was a massive traffic jam all along the ride back. Of course my friends helped out by shaking water bottles and speaking of waterfalls and rivers. Once the van was within running distance, I jumped out of the van and had to go up to my room to use the facilities.
Once this nightmare was over, we decided to try and go to a grocery store in an effort to save money. Of course this was not the case, because a package of sliced Government cheese cost 8 dollars. Once we got back to the hotel, we began to shut the studio down because we had class at 0800.
Prompt Answers:
Blog prompt 1
1. Pangaea was a super continent that consisted of all of the continents today being stuck together. It existed 200 million years ago. It was special because it explains the similarities in species on different continents today. It began to break apart 180 million years ago. Important because it explains the similarities in species on different continents.
2. Hominids first appeared about seven million years ago, depending on which fossil you want to go by. Homo Sapiens first appeared about 40,000 years ago. What set humans apart from others was the ability to adapt.
3. Crosby thinks that culture is a system of storing and altering patterns of behavior not in the molecules of the genetic code but in the cells of the brain. It is important because it is what makes humans what they are.
4. In Crosby’s view, humans moved into Europe around 50,000 years ago, 40,000 years ago for Australia, and 13,000 years ago for the Americas.
5. People in the Americas were isolated by sea.
6. The Neolithic revolution was when man began to grind and polish their stone tools instead of chipping them, and it ended when they began to smelt metal for tools and weapons.
7. During the Neolithic Revolution, man learned how to write, build, produce agriculture, and began to settle and build civilizations.
Prompt 2
1. Diamond’s principle argument was that mankind prospered in Eurasia because the entire continent was roughly at the same level of latitude, which was the same temperate climate. Longitudinal differences brought about different climates, many of which were not suitable for agriculture, therefore did not develop as quickly.
2. Diamond believes that the factors that drove world history all deal with the ability to settle down and start agriculture. Due to this, the agriculture lead to positions in society, which gave way to kings, and soldiers and such, or basically a form of organization. Diseases from the domesticated animals also were close to people, and they developed immunities to the diseases.
3. Blaut criticizes Diamond in the way that Diamond explains that this trend worked throughout Eurasia, but Blaut points out that China and Europe evolved very differently.
4. After reading both, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
Prompt 3
1. A culture is a body of beliefs and practices that are of a value to a society and shape people within a region. Culture in relation to political demarcations are not the same. An idea or social practice can easily travel over a political or linguistic border and be shared by multiple groups all over the world, even if they are separated by thousands of miles.
2. To be considered a part of culture, it must last longer than 4 generations.
3. Cultures can change by either adapting to new technologies, or change due to other cultural influence. To say that a culture has progressed is itself a paradox, since a culture can change, but who can say that it is for the better if it looses some of what it once was?
4. It is hard to say whether the world is moving towards one global culture. Where it may be happening on some level, mainly the globalization of McDonald’s and Wal-Mart, there are many peoples who do not wish to loose their identities. An example of this would be the French. They accept these global corporations, but they will vehemently make everything become “French” to them in a way to keep their cultural identity. There are also people who strictly do not want to allow anything from the outside in, and this can be seen with the conservative Muslim people of the middle east and Iran.
5. To better function and interact with peoples of other cultures, a better understanding and knowledge of the other cultures is necessary. What might be considered a simple gesture to one people may be a vile insult to someone’s mother, which can only be cleared up with a dual to the death. Definitely something that one does not want to get involved with by a simple gesture.
Prompt 4
In the intercultural interaction called The Shopper and the Vendor, I feel that the best explanation was the vendor was not used to people of mixed races and was confused at how a person could be of two different Asian nations, especially since the vendor was in Singapore. To the vendor, the idea of a mixed person of both Chinese and Japanese might seem a bit odd, or he might not have ever come across someone like that before. All of the other explanations are flawed in one way or the other in that they don’t have much merit to them.
Arrival
28 December, 2006
I woke up at the strange and unholy hour of 4 in the morning, and little did I know that the action was about to begin, and for good reason, becuase the world shouldn't function at that hour. I found it hard at first to remember where I was or what I was doing, but soon the realization sunk in; I was about to embark on an epic journey to the farthest of the 50 states, Hawaii.
We drove to the airport in what can only be called a fashion of extreme fatigue sprinkled with the anxiety of going to the distant land that we were all longing for. The airport security was curtious, and very thorough. Once we were on the plane, I wondered what sort of demon would create a large aluminum can with wings, and I questioned the very fact that the beast could even fly. True, I had seen these things in the air before, but I've been fooled in the past. But to my chagrin, the plane indeed did fly, unless it was some sort of ornate conspiracy and I was really drugged and merely taken to Wyoming, becuase let's face it, have you ever really met someone who was from Wyoming? And if you have, I think you are being lied to.
Well, regardless of whether you've been duped into this strange web of lies or not, the fact of the matter is that we made it to Hawaii (or possibly Wyoming, I'll have to look into that at a later date). When we arrived, I was shocked at how mild the climate was, in fact, the airport didn't even have windows sheilding them from the elements. Perhaps this was done on purpose, but then again, as Roger Jones so poignently put it, we were in a third world country. Perhaps they could not afford windows, but then again, once one sees what the price for sliced government cheese is here, you know they've got money somewheres.
We checked into the fabulous Wakiki Gateway Hotel, which was smack dab in the heart of the tourist sector. We were given the rest of the day off, so indeed we had to go and check out the water. Just as I had expected, it was indeed water, and it was wet. The group, which we began to collectively call the TP5 (it would later become 6, but that is for a later entry), began to embark on a grueling hike through the wastelands of the beach, which was littered with scantily clad women and men who should have been wearing much more than they were. We reached an area of the beach where civilization again appeared, but whether it ever disapeared was a mystery for only the like of Scooby Doo and the Mystery Crew.
We decided that now was the time to head back to hotel, since darkness was coming, and that was when the strange and unnatural street performers came out. We must have walked for something near 1,000 miles, or possibly only 3, until we stumbled back upon the hotel. Along the way we saw many things that man was just not meant to see, like a vagrant praying to a No Smoking sign. To this day I am still haunted by the memory of this fell beast.
Once we returned to the hotel, we took a rest, and then decided that we needed something to eat. We walked in search of this food court in a mall that a local had told us about, but we quickly became disorientated by the multitude of flashing lights and people who spoke a myriad of different languages. We decided to eat a Chinese Buffet, and though I thought it was enjoyable, several of the guys did not agree with the food and they later prayed to the porcelin gods in the wee hours of the morning. The next day was to be the first in our official class lectures, so we went to bed after experiencing the local legend known as a Mai-Tai, and had dreams filled of flying electric snakes, and mean chinese cooks throwing cleavers at our feet.
I woke up at the strange and unholy hour of 4 in the morning, and little did I know that the action was about to begin, and for good reason, becuase the world shouldn't function at that hour. I found it hard at first to remember where I was or what I was doing, but soon the realization sunk in; I was about to embark on an epic journey to the farthest of the 50 states, Hawaii.
We drove to the airport in what can only be called a fashion of extreme fatigue sprinkled with the anxiety of going to the distant land that we were all longing for. The airport security was curtious, and very thorough. Once we were on the plane, I wondered what sort of demon would create a large aluminum can with wings, and I questioned the very fact that the beast could even fly. True, I had seen these things in the air before, but I've been fooled in the past. But to my chagrin, the plane indeed did fly, unless it was some sort of ornate conspiracy and I was really drugged and merely taken to Wyoming, becuase let's face it, have you ever really met someone who was from Wyoming? And if you have, I think you are being lied to.
Well, regardless of whether you've been duped into this strange web of lies or not, the fact of the matter is that we made it to Hawaii (or possibly Wyoming, I'll have to look into that at a later date). When we arrived, I was shocked at how mild the climate was, in fact, the airport didn't even have windows sheilding them from the elements. Perhaps this was done on purpose, but then again, as Roger Jones so poignently put it, we were in a third world country. Perhaps they could not afford windows, but then again, once one sees what the price for sliced government cheese is here, you know they've got money somewheres.
We checked into the fabulous Wakiki Gateway Hotel, which was smack dab in the heart of the tourist sector. We were given the rest of the day off, so indeed we had to go and check out the water. Just as I had expected, it was indeed water, and it was wet. The group, which we began to collectively call the TP5 (it would later become 6, but that is for a later entry), began to embark on a grueling hike through the wastelands of the beach, which was littered with scantily clad women and men who should have been wearing much more than they were. We reached an area of the beach where civilization again appeared, but whether it ever disapeared was a mystery for only the like of Scooby Doo and the Mystery Crew.
We decided that now was the time to head back to hotel, since darkness was coming, and that was when the strange and unnatural street performers came out. We must have walked for something near 1,000 miles, or possibly only 3, until we stumbled back upon the hotel. Along the way we saw many things that man was just not meant to see, like a vagrant praying to a No Smoking sign. To this day I am still haunted by the memory of this fell beast.
Once we returned to the hotel, we took a rest, and then decided that we needed something to eat. We walked in search of this food court in a mall that a local had told us about, but we quickly became disorientated by the multitude of flashing lights and people who spoke a myriad of different languages. We decided to eat a Chinese Buffet, and though I thought it was enjoyable, several of the guys did not agree with the food and they later prayed to the porcelin gods in the wee hours of the morning. The next day was to be the first in our official class lectures, so we went to bed after experiencing the local legend known as a Mai-Tai, and had dreams filled of flying electric snakes, and mean chinese cooks throwing cleavers at our feet.
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