It is true. Barack Obama was my student

I taught him Hawaiian History. No wonder he tried to classify Hawaiians as an Indian tribe.

WTF is Target Thinking?

Target is running these weird xmas ads depicting awkward situations.

A guy gives a girl a pearl necklace and she says " I didn't think we were there yet."

A woman gets her family a cool tv and her husband gripes about spending too much money.

Really off brand if you ask me. Is Target nuts? Or am I so old that I don't get that it is totally cool to be uncomfortable at Christmas?

Best Product Introduction of 21st Century

No kidding! As a lifelong fan of "real" mashed potatoes, I have tried shortcutting through dried potatoes at Costco, prepared potatoes at Safeway & Foodland, and even considered my friend K's love affair with Kentucky Fried Chicken mashed potatoes -- in search of a fake real potato. Nothing matched up -- and I always dreaded peeling bags of potatoes for Thanksgiving -- til I discovered OreIda Steam & Mash. A little butter, and a little milk (cream), and you have delicious mashed potatoes. Two bags of Steam and Mash fed 12 hungry people ... and they went back for more.

Local Commercials

Worst Local Commercials: Always, always hard-to-beat in the super sucky category are Oceanic Time Warner's local television spots. The national ones aren't so bad.

Runner up: HEMIC

Best adaptation of a national commercial: Kaiser Permanente's "Ha" (breath of life) version of the thrive campaign. Riveting. And it doesn't get old.

Could use some editing: Hawaii Meth Project's commercials need some local people. Great media buy, but by watching,you'd think only haole kids did meth.

Good comeback: Hawaiian Telcom's reminder that they go where no one else will.

Book Review

Stephen Levitt's latest book, Superfreakonomics is out and he is making the rounds.

We've read the book. It's not as startling as his first, nor as well written as Gladwell's Outliers, but the conversational tone makes it an easy page turner, and there are some interesting ideas...

Like ex-Microsoft billionaire's Nathan Mhyrvold's super simple idea for cooling down surface water temperatures, thereby undermining a hurricane's ability to build to a super freaky force.

Or the fact that if suicide bombers bought life insurance, they'd be harder to track.

Apparently a lot of liberal tree huggers are mad because Levitt and Dubner ask us to remove our moralistic angst about global warming (or not) and look for simpler solutions.

We're reading Gladwell's "What the Dog Saw" next.

No Names, Big Salaries

The Yankees have no names on their uniforms because its a team sport. So says Wikipedia, which contends that the Yankees are observing an original baseball tradition.

But nobody has bigger stars, or more money in the coffers. What gives?

Get Healthy Rest

I still need more healthy rest in order to work at my best. My health is the main capital I have and I want to administer it intelligently. - Ernest Hemingway (1899 - 1961)

This is posted on American Heart Association's Go Red site. I found it very funny, considering its author, the fact that he lived only 62 years and that he was known as one of the louche-est guys around.

This speaks to brand. To use or not to use? Not to use.

Joe Wilson, Is Andrea Mitchell a liar?

Teddy Kennedy's True Compass is being held for release until September 14. This monday.

I have a running joke of me coming into the store and asking to buy it every day. BookEnds. They are good people. They say no.

On the first day the media talked about it, Andrea Mitchell went out of her way to say she had picked it up at a local book store. The question is:

1. Did the bookstore give her a copy in the hopes she'd mentioned their name? (she didn't)

2. Did the publisher give it to her, and tell her to say it, so we'd all rush to our bookstores?

3. Did the bookstore in question a) not exist b) is owned by Andrea Mitchell c)hate the publisher?

4. Did Andrea Mitchell lie? I defer to the "gentleman" from South Carolina? Wassup Joe? Don't be muzzled now.

God Bless Ted Kennedy

The end of an era for so many of us. May he rest in peace.

The Devil Wants You To Call

Tuesday is $1 popcorn day at Windward Mall

No kidding. I asked my boss, Brook, if I could go to a movie midday on Tuesday and she said yes. Then she asked her boss, me, if she could go to a movie midday on Tuesday and I said yes.

Turns out we were going to the same move. Julie & Julia. Only when we arrived at Windward Mall did we realize that it was $1.00 popcorn day. Also $1.00 hotdog day that particular Tuesday. Many folks around us shared their $1.00 coupons and spirit of Aloha with us. You

have to be a member of the Regal Cinema something or other club to get these benefits.

We have yet to sign up, but it is sure a good deal.

Design is Everything

For some reason, we don't think the person sporting this bumper sticker wanted to give more attention to Starbucks...

Nike's Investment Pays Off

Or at least it starts to. This past weekend, Michelle Wie finally won something as a pro:

The Solheim Cup

Founded in 1990 by Karsten Manufacturing Corporation (KMC) - makers of PING golf equipment - The Solheim Cup features 12 of the top European born players from the Ladies European Tour (LET) and 12 top American born players from the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).

"This year, when the last match was over, [the Americans]ran around the 18th green hugging each other and waving American flags.

Wie showed that when she's on song, few can touch her. Her drive on the par-5 15th went 305 yards and she hit an eight-iron to 20 feet. She two-putted for the birdie, and Alfredsson couldn't make the putt to match her."

How Much Can We Take?

Accelerating arctic warming and other early climate impacts have led scientists to conclude that we are already above the safe zone at our current 390ppm, and that unless we are able to rapidly return to 350 ppm this century, we risk reaching tipping points and irreversible impacts such as the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and major methane releases from increased permafrost melt.

For all of human history until about 200 years ago, our atmosphere contained 275 parts per million of carbon dioxide. Parts per million is simply a way of measuring the concentration of different gases, and means the ratio of the number of carbon dioxide molecules per million other molecules in the atmosphere. 275 ppm CO2 is a useful amount—without some CO2 and other greenhouse gases that trap heat in our atmosphere, our planet would be too cold for humans to inhabit.

We're In Hot Water

Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON — The world's oceans this summer are the warmest on record.
The National Climatic Data Center, the government agency that keeps weather records, says the average global ocean temperature in July was 62.6 degrees. It is the hottest since record-keeping began in 1880. The previous record was set in 1998.

Meteorologists blame a combination of a natural El Nino weather pattern on top of worsening manmade global warming. The warmer water could add to the melting of sea ice and possibly strengthen some hurricanes.

The Gulf of Mexico, where warm water fuels hurricanes, has temperatures dancing around 90 degrees. Most of the water in the Northern Hemisphere has been considerably warmer than normal. The Mediterranean is about three degrees warmer than normal. Higher temperatures rule in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

It's most noticeable near the arctic, where water temperatures are as much as 10 degrees above average.

Hurray for Barney Frank!

At a town hall meeting, a woman was carrying a poster of President Obama-as- Hitler.

As reported in the Washington Post:

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was greeted with shouts and boos at a town hall meeting on health care at a senior center in Dartmouth, Mass., Tuesday night, an event that was targeted by supporters of perennial independent political candidate Lyndon LaRouche. But the combative House Financial Services Committee chairman met fire with fire.

"On what planet do you spend most of your time?" Frank retorted when a woman in the crowd compared President Obama's push for health-care reform to the policies of Nazi Germany while holding up a pamphlet depicting the president with a Hitler mustache.

Branding Pandemics

Well, not exactly, but as the world becomes increasingly smaller with more and more people travelling across borders --- and viruses learning to jump species (they are smarter than we are because they are not concerned about being right -- they just want to survive).

Anyway, now we have an online game called "The Great Flu" --- you can play it online for free:

http://www.thegreatflu.com/ and learn about all of the puzzle pieces our leaders and scientists have to put together to even have a shot (pun intended) at containing the great flu.

From FAST COMPANY:

You're the head of the World Pandemic Control, and you've just received word that Gamers' Flu--a rare, highly contagious disease--is spreading through Europe. Should you close the airports, or the markets? Should you distribute face masks, or isolate symptomatic individuals? Should you improve research facilities, or stockpile vaccines? Whatever you do, you better act fast: People are dying, and money is tight.

No, you're not having the world's most nuanced nightmare. You're playing The Great Flu, a free online video game--yes, video game--developed by Dutch researchers to raise awareness about Swine Flu and similar outbreaks...Even at the lowest difficulty the game delivers a sense of just how difficult it is to handle and contain the spread of a dangerous virus."

Presidential Bobble Heads Seized at LA Customs

So says The Christian Science Monitor --- 1000 Obama Bobble heads were seized at customs in LA --- lots of negotiating to get them out. At least they got the Punahou colors right!

Redesign ... File Chapter 11

Venerable Reader's Digest, the predecessor to the Uncle John's Bathroom Series, has recently undergone a major redesign.

Now, it's a victim of our economy. In last night's news, we heard that Reader's Digest was filing for Chapter 11 Banckruptcy protection:

"Reader's Digest CEO Mary Berner insisted, though, that the company's U.S. magazines remain strong, with the number of ad pages down less than 6 percent through the September editions. She said Reader's Digest titles rely less on luxury brands and high-income tastes, giving them an added appeal in a recession that has clobbered much of the print media industry.

"Our brands are home and heartland. Our brands have a very, very Midwestern sensibility — a back-to-basics sensibility," she said in an interview. "Reader's Digest has actually done quite well."

Gertrude Frisbie is 101 Years Old Today!

And she looked like she had just thrown a frisbie! Wish I had her picture. But I don't ---

so a jar of Smucker's (With A Name Like That) wil have to do.

Evian est passe

Friday's Advertiser reported that bottled water sales are on the decline. Even Nestle, who we dissed here for introducing a bottled water AFTER everybody knew it was a bad idea is having trouble.

Well, well, well. That's why we registered the name "Hawaiian Tap" and the phrase "Bottle Your Own" in 2003 and introduced in reusable water bottles in 2007.

We sell Hawaiian Tap bottles, and other water bottles with designs on them at Lanikai Bath and Body. (600 Kailua Road, in the Kailua Shopping Center).

Great Hawai`i Produce

The folks shown here are from Ho Family Farms which sells at Foodland the most amazing different colored "cherry" totamoes. You can't get anough of them! Hawai`i's farmers are going

full speed ahead to provide some of the best produce in the world. Support local farmers!

Now, "a new community co-op in Waimanalo is using the internet to sell locally grown food and giving the profits to youth organizations in Waimanalo, creating a system that will enrich the area and keep the money home" (Eloise Aguiar).

Orders can be made now until Wednesday at http://www.waimanalomarket.com/

It's kind of like buying tickets for huli huli -- you order online and pick it up on Saturday.

Sports Are the Best

I know all of the stuff about how athletes are too-rich bad guys, but sports is the last arena where when some one shouts it is usually about something good.

Huge Gestures! Big Drama! Second Chances! I love it!

Just this weekend: South Korean Y.E. Yang beat Tiger Woods in a stunning conclusion to the PGA Championship, Usain Bolt ran the 100 in 9.58 (breaking the record), and Michael Vick is

getting a second chance.

Far out, as we used to say in the 60s!

And The Week Goes On

It’s the end of the WEEK but more to come….
Brook Gramann to Honolulu Weekly: Honolulu Weekly and the little non-profit that Could (or apparently couldn't). Hawaii People's Fund named Best Non- Profit in first draft of Best Of issue. Advised to put mahalo ad in - they did- then they are removed as Best non-profit and... NO non profit named. Come on- maybe should've given them a chance to at least remove the ad if the votes ended up not counting for anything?

Honolulu Weekly to Brook Gramann: Brook,I honestly hope people are a little more forgiving when you make a mistake. Someone in the office with no role in tabulating the Best of Honolulu vote grabbed an intern's work-in-progress document, based on a preliminary count of only some of our votes, out of the printer, got excited, and sold an ad based on incorrect information. That person made a mistake and feels absolutely awful about it. We all do. It's terribly embarrassing for everyone, and it has substantially spoiled a project into which a lot of people, in and outside of the paper, put a lot of time and effort. We apologized, the money was refunded, and we will work to repair the damage done. I cannot imagine why you would think Honolulu Weekly is engaged in a conspiracy against a non-profit organization we respect and admire, nor what good you think will come of this.

Brook Gramann to Honolulu Weekly :Ragnar- I do think people deserve to see your response to me because I posted the question, issue. This is not about a conspiracy theory- that's ridiculous- but it is about the decision to remove a non profit that is very deserving and who obviously received the most votes but for some reason was not deemed worthy to receive Best of. This is made clear with the commentary in that section (below)- completely unnecessary- and where the implication is that the Weekly chose not to reveal the winner because few residents had heard of them? That's exactly why they should have been included. No conspiracy- just a very bad decision made worse with the unnecessary commentary and their mahalo ad running in this context.Instead of naming the organization with the most votes – this ran

“Oh irony: the non profit category was host to the most funny business of any we asked about this year. The winning organization was one few residents had ever heard of, as were several close runners up. in lieu of declaring a winner, we prefer to direct you to our 2009 sustainability guide, where we offer a long list of worthy, underfunded groups that are desperate for your kokua and your support.”

Email question to Brook GramannReply from editor "The Weekly deeply regrets this mistake and is working to revise its processes so that it does not happen again." Brook - how do you feel about it all?

Brook GramannFunny as it was the Weekly who made the implication that the ballot boxes are stuffed- in their own publication. Apparently the non profit category was not stuffed enough! If this little incident causes them to review their processes that's great.
Weekly ran this in place of Hawaii People's Fund receiving the most votes: Oh irony: the non profit ... Read More category was host to the most funny business of any we asked about this year. The winning organization was one few residents had ever heard of, as were several close runners up. in lieu of declaring a winner, we prefer to direct you to our 2009 sustainability guide, where we offer a long list of worthy, underfunded groups that are desperate for your kokua and your support.

go to http://www.changenotcharity.org/ to learn more about Hawai`i People's Fund.

Tech Run Amuck: Coke is the Real Money Grubbing Thing

According to Fast Company magazine, earlier this year Coca Cola introduced thermometer-loaded vending machines that charged more on hot days (and less on cold ones).

Coke was trying to optimize demand. Consumers were outraged and major newspapers called the effort "cynical" and "evidence that the world is going to hell in a handbasket."

Coke has pulled the machines, but like all the other stick-it-to-the-consumer horror shows, it (or something like it) will be back.

For this, and your efforts in the third world, Coke -- you are no longer my favorite brand.

(picture from India Tribune)

Aloha Eunice Shriver

Both Eunice Shriver and her husband Sarge have left enormous legacies and powerful, for-the-good brands.

He left us the Peace Corps and the possibility that we could one day have peace on the planet.. because we, the richest people in the world, would reach out to others one by one to help. My Aunt who just died at 99 joined the Peace Corps when she was 60 and had retired from Women's

Wear Daily. She went to Yemen to teach office skills to young women. Later, in her 80's, she worked for Save the Children.

Eunice leaves behind her special cause, Special Olympics, which grew from a summer camp in her backyard to an organization that touched the whole world. In 1987, when we were on the Board of Special Olympics in Hawaii, the Chicago Tribune's Bob Verdi wrote this: "Must be that this isn't reality with all its attendant cynicism and cutthroat mentality. Must be that this is different, a friendlier spot than the Persian Gulf or the Iran-contra hearings or even the other Olympics, the one where amateurs take steroids to build their muscles and quiet cash to build their trust funds. Must be that this is purer than all the other form of athletics that call themselves genuine...And as you drive back to a hot Chicago...you are asking yourself ... Exactly who is handicapped here? Them or us?"

Rest easy, Mrs. Shriver. You were blessed to be a blessing. And you were.

FYI: Puerto Rico is NOT Hawai`i

A movie that is being widely advertised on TV as a romantic-get-away-to-Hawai`i-that-goes-bad is actually being filmed in Puerto Rico.

While I hate to see Hawai`i associated with bad juju of any kind, I am glad to know that the murder is in Puerto Rico.

It seems to me that two film offices ought to be concerned:

1. Hawai`i's because our brand is being sullied by murder, by the use of Puerto Rico as Hawai`i in some producer's alternate universe, and by the fact that it is not being filmed here because our film folks are the best.

2.Puerto Rico's, because it is not getting credit for being Puerto Rico.

The moive is called The Perfect Getaway. So I am assuming the murderer escapes.

Whites Pages Has A New Look

Online www.whitepages.com has a new look and an easier way to find anybody, their address and phone # (unless its unlisted) in the U.S. as long as you know their first and last name and where they live.

You may have to enter some short demographic info and skip some coupons but after that you are home free.

Happy Birthday El Jefe!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday President Obama. Happy Birthday to you.

Obama was born in Hawaii, two years AFTER STATEHOOD, on the island of OAHU, in KAPIOLANI hospital. His birth announcement was published in the paper as was then the custom...hospital gives names to paper, paper publishes.

Now birth notices have been replaced by litigation listings.

Barack is a Metal Ox, according to Chinese astrology, making him the perfect President for our times.

Imua, Barack. Hauoli La Hanau.

Steaking Out Your Market Position

As Wal-Mart pursues the reshaping of its image, it is running a commercial promoting its new meat section. A married woman snarkily unloads her groceries while voicing over in her head that she will let her husband suffer a little more trying to figure out what the special occasion is.

Is it our anniversary? Our birthday? thinks the poor schmuck as he pats the calendar on the refrigerator...NO! It is that with steaks this cheap, we don't need a special occasion.

Then the guy barbecues all four GENUINE STEAKHOUSE steaks and two fat brats ... to get back at her for thinking ill of him? To prove that the steaks are so cheap you can afford to throw two out?

Did anybody think about this before shooting the commercial? There's just TWO people in it!!!

Sound(less) Identity

Find it annoying that when the television switches from the show to commercials the volume increases?

Well, astute tv watcher Ian Garvey noted that commercials for hearing aids actually lower the volume.

(then there's bluetooth look alike spy on your neighbors device ...)

Actuary Buys Prius

Actually, this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who knows an actuary. The person I am referring to is my brother, a parnter at Towers Perin, who became an actuary after the age of 35 when he realized that the television series NUMBERS wouldn't be out for several years. Prior to that, he was a marketing guy for DEC, Intel, IBM and Xerox. Then he found out he didn't like people all that much.

At any rate, Prius has captured that rare brand appeal: to early adopters to people who want to show their beliefs and to actuaries who can count the numbers while driving. Actually the third generation Prius is perfect for an actuary, who waited to see how well the car would perform without jumping in right away. He even got the photovolataic roof.

Are these cars going to top Honda Civics on the most stolen list or do greenies not steal? According to my brother, who likes a little calculated risk in his driving, it does not have the get up and go of his ancient, qualified as a clunker, J30.

Riddle Me This

Why is the Sheraton Waikiki sponsoring Beauty & the Beast on Ice performed by Russian skaters at Blaisdell? Or is it at the Ice Rink?

I don't know ... but if ice is thing the, I would recommend putting Tihati or Tavana on ice and taking it around the U.S. in the depths of winter.

Local Safeways Get Ahead of Themselves

In their effort to prove that they support local, the local Safeways have gotten a little over-enthusiastic in promoting as "locally grown" products that are not locally grown in Hawaii.

They may be locally grown, but in some other locale. Several alert readers have pointed this out to us, and may we say once again that the Hawai`i Seal of Quality is your guarantee that the produce you are buying is number one and from Hawai`i.

Safeway does sell locally grown foods -- a lot of them. It's just that a current signage campaign has been pretty misleading.

Some locally grown foods are not yet part of the Hawai`i Seal program, but you need to look carefully to make sure you are buying local!

P.S. Safeway: We hear Dean Okimoto and Alan Wong are NOT happy!

Hawai'i By Bicycle!

Ed Hartz and his company http://www.freshhawaiian.com/ sells and delivers fresh produce from Hawai`i online to customers in New York.

A fairly new company, their site is not complete, but it's definitely worth a look -- and how very cool for Hawai`i.

This photo was provided by Ed Hartz via Hawaii Department of Agriculture's Matthew Loke.

Ford Will Eat GM's Lunch

The new campaign "Why Ford. Why Not," the fact that they took no federal money and that they are keeping their heads held high -- if you ask me, Ford is the Great American Automobile Brand.

Their commercials, just airing (or at least I'm just seeing them) feature the perfect regular guy -- with total, across-the-board appeal and a message that is straightforward and compelling.

Bring your old clunker in and Ford will help you recycle it and get money from the government for doing it.

They are aiming to have their new Taurus be the best selling car in its class, and their promise is that no matter what you're looking for in any class, Ford will have it. Starting with the 2010 Ford Fusion and the Fiesta -- selling well in Europe and coming to the U.S. next year.

go to http://www.ford.com/ and forget about GM.

Republicans Have Already Rebranded

They are the party of No. There is a really good riff on the subject in today's Huffington Post, by Joseph Romm, saying that the GOP is more like Groucho than Marx. It quotes and features a video from one of his films:

I don't know what they have to say,

It makes no difference anyway,

Whatever it is, I'm against it.

No matter what it is or who commenced it, I'm against it.

Your proposition may be good,But let's have one thing understood,

Whatever it is, I'm against it.

And even when you've changed it or condensed it,I'm against it.

I'm opposed to it,

On general principle, I'm opposed to it....

Hawai'i IS Different

Often we argue that Hawai'i is different, and therefore advertising agencies often get special exceptions to create and run local commercials for a national product. As we become more global, that seems to be a less valid argument.

However, in one case that is currently on the air, we think it would behoove the local ad community to get together and produce a couple of local spots that follow the theme "Not Even Once" set by the national campaign.

The excellent spots on television for the Hawaii Meth Project are nationally produced spots which are a: "research-based messaging campaign—which graphically portrays the ravages of Meth use through television, radio, billboards, and Internet ads‹has gained nationwide attention for its uncompromising approach and demonstrated impact. The campaign's core message, "Not Even Once®," speaks directly to the highly addictive nature of Meth.

All of the featured "meth users" are haoles. The commercials are still powerful; but their power would be geometrically magnified if they featured local people. go to www.hawaiimethproject.org for more info.

You Can do it! WHO (?) Can Help!

Home Depot's all time great tagline is no more. Now they use "More Saving. More Doing." (bolding is theirs). I don't know about you, but what I don't need is "more doing."

Nicorette recognizes a good tagline when they see one though: Now it's

"You can do it. Nicorette can help."

Saw that one on TV last night but thought I'd share the one on their website (above) which is written as if to exhort you to "Stop smoking gum." (need a hyphen anyone?)

Meanwhile, Can Santa Cruz Still Sell T-shirts?

This is a question for the great legal minds of history.

Surf City U.S.A.

According to the New York Times, after a heated battle for the name with Santa Cruz, Huntington Beach is officially rebranding itself "Surf City U.S.A."

Be sure to bring your wetsuit.

My Father Invented The Debit Card

He just didn't know it. Born in 1908, a first generation American, he lived through the depression and never wanted to owe anyone anything. He paid cash for every car he owned. He paid cash for the first three houses we lived in -- never had a mortgage til we moved to a town that was too rich for us.

He carried an American Express card, but mostly paid cash. When he and my Mom went on a trip, he would take several thousand (i.e. two or three) dollars out of his savings and send them

to American Express. Only then could he comfortably use the card on their vacation.

There you have it. The original debit card.

Forget those in vitro flashcards!

Get Juicy Juice instead. If your tired of shoving those little flashcards up your veejayjay (thanks Oprah), you can now wait for your child to make its appearance in the human world before you

have to start teaching him to read. In fact, all s/he has to do is drink Juicy Juice and it will be no time before s/he is at your bedside with a box of Cherrios trying to get "some cholesterol off you."

Nestle -- late to the water game, and I believe we have castigated them for it -- is now producing Juicy Juce that actually says "Brain Development" on the bottle.

Are they nuts?

Charmin-g!

The visual is a small piece of the header of sitorsquat.com

When I sat down to write this blogpost, I thought I was going to write about Charmin's toilet seat covers (5 to a pack) which I saw at the cash register at Long's today. Although I am not one who favors public restrooms, I cannot imagine carrying toilet seat covers around in my purse. Turns out a lot of people do.

So I went to research this unknown-to-me phenonmenon and found the Charmin sponsored site

wwww.sitorsquat.com ---a place you can go to find clean public toilets. Although this seems counterintuitive to selling toilet seat covers, I congratulate Charmin on one of the most ingenious community sites ever. You can : find a toilet . add a toilet.

Straight from the site: http://www.sitorsquat.com/ will help you find a clean public toilet on your mobile phone. Now that's an app I bet people are looking for!

Cool, Blue dog Democrat

Representative Patrick Murphy, Congressman from Pennsylvania, has taken on the task of repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." He has framed the argument rationally, and is taking some of the heat off the Prez by saying congress passed the law, congress must repeal it.

Anyway, I like the guy, and think he is crafting a very smart political brand.

Here he is with a great Hawaiian soldier, Eric Shinseki from Kauai.

P.S. He also knows how to use sports metaphors, unlike the point guard who passes the ball and takes herself out of the game.

How to spell Ironic

After all the news about plastic bottles and landfill issues, Nestle introduces a bottled water --- and gets a gold LEEDS certification for their building, pictured above. Nestle did a lot of things to make the building enviropolitically correct, except for the plastic bottle part.

Here's to your health ????? I(oh yeah, and "attractive" is evidently not part of LEEDs standards)

From Nestle's Website:

Key green features of the Arrowhead plant include:
• Water safeguards – managing the quality of storm water runoff.
• Water efficiency – reduce the need for irrigation by using native and water conserving plants; using low-flow, water-saving fixtures in bathrooms.
• Energy efficiency – high efficiency lighting, HVAC and controls.
• Moveable exterior walls – designed to deconstruct and be reused.
• Constructed wetlands – treat wastewater through natural biologic filtration before the water is recharged to groundwater sources.
• Pollution prevention – parking area is dedicated to bicycle, electric vehicle and carpool users; corrugated paper, plastic, product pallets and other materials are recycled.
• Non-toxic building materials and maintenance – durable, non-toxic materials were selected for the building, with consideration for the materials’ life cycle impacts on water.
• Resource efficiencies – recycled content building materials (over 50 percent as calculated under LEED) were selected for the building. Approximately 60 percent came from local sources, limiting long-haul transportation.
• Waste reduction – more than 75 percent of the building construction waste was salvaged or recycled.
• Indoor environmental quality – indoor spaces are enhanced by innovative space design and sophisticated controls that monitor and regulate interior temperature, humidity, lighting and air quality.

Hawaii's Newspaper

Thank you for supporting Kailua and helping us make the fireworks happen!

We Still Don't Get It

There is something wrong with the brand of World Peace, because people don't embrace it.

We comment today, again, on the subject because of the death of Michael Jackson and his We Are the World which was done more than twenty years ago for USA for Africa.

Bucky Fuller talked about the place we live as Spaceship Earth. He said the wars we wage are like shooting our own ship.

So we suggest you listen to "We Are the World" (it's on you tube) and think about it. We are.

Global Brands Are Local Brands

In 2010 the World Cup will be held in Soweto -- a great source of pride for So. Africa and for the people of Soweto.

SOuth WEstern TOwnship plays a key role throughout the history of So. Africa and Apartheid.

Having the World Cup there is fantastic. Coke is showing its support.

#1 Top Performing Bank

Bank of Hawaii was named the #1 Performing Bank of 2008, by an industry group that makes these kind of assessments.

So Bank of Hawaii is using this "fact" in its commercials to let us all know we can sleep more easily, knowing Bank of Hawaii is our bank. The commercial is intended to make us think our money is very safe there.

What it really means is that Bank of Hawaii does a better job of eeking fees out of its customers, therefore performing better than most banks. Your money is safe with Bank of Hawaii --- for the Bank that is. Sleep well.