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Is it 2014 already?!

14 Tuesday Jan 2014

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Well, the new year is off to a start, and it’s already two weeks old!  Time sure flies when you’re getting old!  

Looking back on 2013, there were a lot of ups and downs.  New people coming in to my life, and others leaving.  Happy and sad.  Good and bad.  Yin and Yang.  I guess you can’t really have one without the other, huh?  Let’s hope that 2014 is filled with more pluses than minuses.

I feel like the year is already off to a decent start.  Got a free electric lawn mower from the neighbor down the street, made it out to a few events already, got to reconnect with a lot of friends and started to meet some new ones, ate at a couple new restaurants, and hey, I’ve even managed to lose a few pounds!  Now all I need is to go on a nice trip somewhere.  I’m thinking Japan?  Maybe Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, Europe?  Hell, anywhere is good as long as it’s a trip!

Here’s to a brand new 2014, full of promise!

Product Test: Dr. Scholl’s Active Series Insoles

31 Thursday Oct 2013

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Have you heard of Influenster before?  It’s kinda like Klout.  Still not quite sure what I’m mumbling about?  Well, they are websites that track and determine your level of influence online based on your activities on social media outlets and such.  Based on your level and areas of high influence you may become eligible for some free perks from related participating companies, and all they ask is that you review their product.

This installment of Odds & Ends is one of those product reviews.  I was recently awarded an Influenster Voxbox (their term for their swag).  The product in this voxbox was a Dr. Scholl’s Active Series insole.  Let me start by saying that I haven’t been wearing traditional shoes very much recently.  Most of the time I’ve been wearing my Vibram Five-Fingers, but there are times where I will throw on a regular pair of shoes.  Hiking is one of these occasions.  My hiking shoes are a pair of New Balance trail running shoes.  Since I first bought them about two years ago I’ve used the stock insole, and then after last years marathon I switched my running shoe insoles into them.  I don’t recall the brand, but they were pretty pricey insoles specifically for long distance running.  After I received the Dr. Scholl’s I switched them again to try test them out.

Right off the bat, they made my two-year-old trail runners feel new.  This would probably happen with any new set of insoles, but it was definitely more comfortable than stock insoles, but didn’t provide quite as much support as my other running shoe insoles.  I’ve only been able to test them out so far walking and jogging relatively short distances, and I will be taking them on the trail this weekend to see how they hold up to some off-road action.

Would I recommend them?  Sure!  As long as you’re not intending to use them for an intense long distance run, like a marathon, and the training that goes along with it.  For more recreational purposes, and shorter workouts, they are a great balance of comfort, support, and affordability at just under $20.

Post-HIFF

25 Friday Oct 2013

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Well, the Hawaii International Film Festival came and went.  It was a glorious  week and a half away from work.  Over those fantastic eleven days I managed to squeeze in 40 screenings.  36 feature length films, and four short film collections totaling 34 different shorts.  This was by far the most films I’ve sat through at HIFF.  It’s going to be hard to top next year!

I always like to think of HIFF as a way to expand the way I think about and look at things.  It helps to show me other perspectives that I normally wouldn’t consider in daily life.  The collection of creative points of view, and foreign narratives helps to spark thought and contemplation, and chatting with fellow festival goers and film makers helps to really open up my mind.  It’s also like a way to travel, and see the world in ways that I just don’t currently have the time or money for.

Some of the highlights for me were:

The Wind Rises http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/wind_rises_the_2013

Ken and Mary: The Asian Truck Express http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/ken_and_mary_the_asian_truck_express_2013

Sake Bomb http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/sake_bomb_2013_2

Rurouni Kenshin http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/ruroni_kenshin_2013

Maruyama, The Middleschooler http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/maruyama_the_middle_schooler_2013

Tasting Menu http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/tasting_menu_2013

A Tale of Samurai Cooking http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/tale_of_samurai_cooking_2013

One Night Surprise http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/one_night_surprise_2013

A Leading Man http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/leading_man_a_2013

Mourning Recipe http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/mourning_recipe_2013

Yeh Jawaani Hai Dedwani http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/yeh_jawaani_hai_deewani_2013

Crying 100 Times http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/crying_100_times__every_raindrop_falls_2013

The Kiyosu Conference http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/kiyosu_conference_2013

Hentai Kamen http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/hentai_kamen_forbidden_superhero_2013

Oshin http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/oshin_2013

Dancing Karate Kid http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/dancing_karate_kid___battle_for_the_bri_2013

Scent of a Woman (short) http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/scent_of_a_woman_2013

Peace By Piece (short) http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/peace_by_piece_2013

No More Aloha (short) http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/no_more_aloha_2013

The First Hope (short) http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/the_first_hope_2013

Requiem for Romance (short) http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/requiem_for_romance_2013

I’m Going to Mum’s (short) http://program.hiff.org/films/detail/im_going_to_mums_2013

If you get the chance to see any of these, I highly recommend them.  Well, some are very specific to my geeky tastes, but it’s worth a shot.  You may end up loving some of them!

Can’t wait for the Spring Showcase!!

animated gif’s

10 Thursday Oct 2013

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They’ve been around for years and years, but they’ve experienced somewhat of a revival recently.  I’m talking about the animated .gif.   Most people pronounce it like “gift” minus the “t” sound, but the actual pronunciation is “jif” kinda like the peanut butter.  Check out this CNN.com article for validation. http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/22/tech/web/pronounce-gif/index.html

Why, you ask, am I bringing this up?  Well, since I have this slight disorder where I sometimes keep my finger down pressing the shoot button on my DSLR to get a whole series of photos that end up looking like pages out of a flip book, I decided to have some fun with them.  Here’s a few from some nights out with the Yeeps (Yelp peeps).

Looks like you have to click on each pic to see the animation.  Boo…

 

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The awkward long hug.

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The other side of the panorama.

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Fun with sausage!

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Moar fun with sausage!

Third time’s the charm?

08 Tuesday Oct 2013

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Well, it’s been almost three months again, and still no update.  Maybe I should make this a “quarterly” blog?  Nah, I’ll just keep trying.  

HIFF 33 is starting up this Thursday, October 10, and runs through Sunday, October 20.  I’ve got a total of 40 films during the festival, and two other HIFF films screening outside of the official festival period.  One of which was The Face Reader, a Korean period piece, that screened last night at the 1,400 seat Hawaii Theater.  I’m impressed with the restoration and renovation efforts put forth by the Hawaii Theater Center.  The new sound system is superb, and the new projector and screen are super sharp.  If you have a chance to see a film at the Hawaii Theater, I highly recommend doing so.  As it turns out, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to do so since they are planning to hold movie screenings every Monday night at the Hawaii Theater.  Yet another thing to do in Honolulu.  My other extra-festival movie will be screened the day after the festival, and will also be at the Hawaii Theater.  This one is Spinning Plates, a documentary telling the stories of three very different restaurants in America, and the constant challenges their owners face.  

One down, fourty-one to go.

Three months later…

20 Saturday Jul 2013

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Why is it so difficult to get my act together on this whole blog writing thing?  It technically shouldn’t be so tough to do, but for some reason I can never seem to follow through with it.  My last post was almost three months ago, and in it I had decided that I would start writing since there’s been quite a bit going on recently (at the time).  But as you can see, that still has yet to happen. 

Maybe for some real results I’ll have to set a schedule and stick to it.  Let’s shoot for a blog post once a week.  How about a post every Wednesday?  It’ll be the Weekly Wednesday WordPress Writing Workshop.  How’s that for alliteration?  😀 

Planning Ahead By Looking Back

28 Sunday Apr 2013

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It’s been a pretty hectic few weeks lately.  There’s been a lot going on in Honolulu, and I’ve been fortunate enough to take part in some of the action.  I’m hoping to be able to recap some of the recent events here on my blog, but you know how that goes with me…  Here’s some of the things that I hope to recap: HIFF Spring Showcase 2013, Joy of Sake Aftertaste 2013: The Bold And The Beautiful, and Waikiki SPAM Jam 2013, among others.

Let’s see if I can actually get this blogging done this time around…