Morning at Manoa Chinese Cemetery

Moses Kealamakia, his wife Lesley and I spent Saturday morning (April 25) up at the Manoa Chinese Cemetery looking for the grave site of his great-grandfather Yim Yau On. My friend remembered being at the grave site back in the 1970s and early 1990s with his Dad. Years have passed and he has forgotten where the grave is.

Yesterday's excursion to the cemetery was like looking for the proverbial "needle in the haystack." There are thousands of grave sites at this place, many of them with worn and flattened headstone markers. The type and information on many of these have simply faded away and vanished with time. This makes it difficult for people to find their loved ones and ancestors.

While we spotted a small number of Yim grave sites, we did not find the marker for Yau On, nor his wife. After about 2 hours there we went to the cemetery's office to see if they had information on where the sites were. Unfortunately the office was closed. Moses and his wife who flew in from the Big Island of Hawaii on other business will have to try another time.

Manoa Chinese Cemetery is the largest Chinese cemetery on Oahu and possibly the state. The view of the surrounding mountains and valley in Manoa are quite spectacular. Look for yourself by clicking on the big arrow to activate the slideshow in the graphic at the top.

Rail Blight Says Outdoor Circle

In an editorial that appears in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin today, The Outdoor Circle has finally come out to say in essence that Honolulu's fixed rail project will be ugly! Quote:

"In the end we are left with the conclusion that in its nearly 100-year history, The Outdoor Circle knows of no other proposal that holds the potential to degrade the landscape of Oahu and change the character of our communities as greatly as the Honolulu transit project. We believe it will be the most visually disruptive project in the history of Hawaii. While its ability to ease traffic problems on Oahu is debatable, its negative impact on the visual environment is not even denied in the project's own environmental impact statement."

The Outdoor Circle are heavy hitters when it comes to how things look around our island. Rail which is a very expensive $7 billion proposal, will be the ugliest public works project to ever be built on Oahu. The elevated tracks will divide neighborhoods and communities. The elevated structures for the trains will tower 60 to 120 feet high in several locations. Views will be blocked. The structures will be magnets for graffiti and poor, dirty homeless people. Urban blight will be part of Honolulu's landscape if rail is to proceed. Time to stop rail is now.

• HonoluluTraffic.com

Photo: Proposed elevated train-way near the corner of University and King Streets. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

After the Tea Party What?

More than a thousand people showed up to the successful Honolulu Hawaii Tax Day Tea Party, a protest against out of control government spending, bailouts, liberal political policies, new taxes, more taxes, increased fees and higher taxes. The gathering was held at the Hawaii State Capitol on Wednesday afternoon April 15. The protest/rally was the finale to a national movement of Tea Parties held throughout the nation.

In Hawaii Tea Parties were also held in Lihue, Kahului, Kona and Hilo. The Honolulu Tea Party was the largest. Organizers of the Honolulu's Tea Party gathered more than 800 signatures and addresses from many people who attended the rally. They will be following up with mailings and campaigns that will educate and inform the galvanized public on the myriad of tax issues now on the table and into the future.

The public needs to use the energy of the tax rallies to continue opposing tax increases and demand fiscal accountability from politicians or at least, boot the bad ones out of office next year. The public should be obligated to contact city councils, legislators, the governor and Congress that "we are fed up with tax increases, higher costs and demand fiscal restraint and accountability". Only with enough pressure from everyone opposed to tax increases can the tide be turned. Otherwise we'll be taxed to hell and never recover.

Addtional Links:

• Hawaii Tea Party Photos at Flickr.com
• Nationwide Tea Party Photos at Flickr.com
• Rabbett's Honolulu Tea Party Photos
• Hilo and Kona Tea Party Photos from Hawaii Free Press
• Lihue Tea Party Photos from Hawaii Free Press
• Don't Tax Me Bro, by Malia Zimmerman @ HawaiiReporter.com
• Mel's Hawaii Tea Party Photos at Flickr.com
• OvertaxedHawaii.com
• Tax Day Tea Party
  

Photos and video by macprohawaii.com

Honolulu Star-Bulletin Goes Tabloid

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspaper came out in a new tabloid size starting today. Gone is the old broadsheet of old that had been the mainstay of the newspaper for more than 100 years. With dwindling readership, competition from the internet and electronic media, the Star-Bulletin was forced to make a change to this smaller size in order to remain financially solvent.

The smaller tabloid hit the streets today with a 72-page edition. Most of the features readers found in the broadsheet version remain, including the news (of course), sports, business, advertisements and regular columns. Instead of the paper divided into sections, the tabloid is one continuous publication with consecutively numbered pages (1 to 72 instead of A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, etc.).

One thing I've noticed is that news articles all appear as single page continuous stories instead of being broken apart on page B1 (for example) with the bulk of the story reported in whole on another page. This is a welcome development.

The Star-Bulletin like its larger competitor now publishes only in the morning. For years it was an afternoon paper.

Newspapers are a medium in trouble. As more people turn to the internet and many other alternative sources for news and opinion, the relevancy of the traditional newspaper is being marginalized. Circulation and advertising revenue have shrunken in recent years. Newspapers may have to think of new ways to retain readership and stay relevant in a quick changing environment.

One last thing that I'd like to see the Honolulu Star-Bulletin fix is their main website. I don't like the intrusive pop up over content advertising that have plagued the site since late 2008. The Star-Bulletin bean counters have to realize that in the long term, intrusive pop up and pop over advertising that block content are a huge turn off to readers.

• Honolulu Star-Bulletin Web
• Honolulu Star-Bulletin Mobile Web (no pop ups!)

Photo: The last broadsheet version of the Star-Bulletin (left) lays folded next to the much smaller tabloid size that was unveiled today (right).

Tidbits for the Holiday Weekend

Happy Friday. In many parts of the Christian world, this is Good Friday. For some people it's a holiday, an observance before the Easter holiday, which is this Sunday. Hope you all have a good one.

On the political front, the good news is that the Civil Unions bill, HB 444 is apparently dead. The State Senate did not have enough votes to bring the bill out of committee and forward an amended version. The process and a deadline got in the way of that. Good news for everyone who believes in traditional marriage and American values.

I updated my First Hawaiian Auto Show pictures on Flickr. I shot so many photos that it has taken me nearly three weeks to get all the ones I wanted up. Today I uploaded 14 pictures of British cars. These are added to the baby boomer American cars as well as the newest 2009 and 2010 models already in place at the website.

THE FRIDAY FIVE: In the continuing quest to answer trivial questions from the Friday 5 blog, here are my answers for today:

1. What’s something you know how to draw?

I can draw a straight line, so that's a good start. When I was a kid I used to love drawing cars, airplanes, and spaceships. I used to dabble with MacPaint when I got my first Macintosh computer in 1988.



I drew this fish with MacPaint on my Mac Plus many years ago.



I can draw better looking cars with pen and paper. This one is a pitiful example of a car I drew with an old version of Adobe Illustrator in 1993 on my Mac IIsi. It was painfully slow. The EPS was converted to this JPG.

2. Who’s someone you could get away with impersonating?

Mr. Bill - you know the clay guy that gets squished. Oh Noooooo!

3. Where’s the stapler?

Usually I can't find mine when I need it.

4. Why will this be a great weekend?

Maybe I'll watch the movie Ben Hur this weekend.

5. When are you going to make that phone call you’ve been putting off?

Never.

ONE LAST NOTE: Don't forget to attend this coming Wednesday's Hawaii Tax Day Tea Party. See postings below for more details and links. Happy Easter!

Top photo: Classic old Jaguar sports car I believe, part of the British car display at the First Hawaiian Auto show last month.

Tea Party Websites Online

The new official website for the Hawaii Tax Day Tea Party is now online. Find out more about the upcoming Tea Parties being held on the islands of Oahu, Maui and Hawaii this April 15. The Tea Party is part of a larger national campaign for taxpayers to rally against wasteful government spending and high taxes.

The new website URL is at: http://www.overtaxedhawaii.com/

The nationally connected website is at: http://taxdayteaparty.com/teaparty/hawaii/

Hawaii's Tea Party Facebook webpage is at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=79228284992

Join the new Flickr group and post your photos of the rallies at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/nonewtaxeshawaii/

I have a page on No New Taxes posted at: http://macpro.freeshell.org/notax/index.html

Photos from the 1998 Tea Parties: http://www.hotspotshawaii.com/melpages/teaparty98/tax1.html

See you at the Tea Party!

The Cancer of Same Sex Marriage & Civil Unions

The cancer of gay marriage has been gaining momentum in recent weeks. I am alarmed to learn that 4 states (MA, CT, IA, VT) now support the marriage of same sex couples. This is wrong and should be stopped.

That is the problem we are having with a Democrat party, liberal dominated government of late. The bleeding heart liberals are tearing apart the moral fabric of our country with their unholy agenda of allowing the marriage of same sex couples.

The Hawaii civil unions issue still brews. The Democrats who support civil unions are now drafting a new version of House Bill 444 for possible re-introduction in the State Senate this week. It is highly recommended that all opponents to HB 444 resume their campaign and flood Senate offices with phone calls, faxes and emails. Tell the senators that you do not support the amendments and revival of HB 444. The bill had a fair hearing and was defeated in committee. It should remain dead this session.

The phone numbers to all the Senators are posted as follows:

Senators Who Support Civil Unions & Voted to Pull HB 444 on March 25:

• Gary Hooser - 586-6030
• Les Ihara - 586-6250
• Rosalyn Baker - 586-6070
• Carol Fukunaga - 586-7335
• Michelle Kidani - 586-7100
• Suzanne Chun Oakland - 586-6130

Did not vote to Pull HB 444 on March 25 but support Civil Unions:

• Kalani English - 587-7225
• Kalani English - 587-7225
• David Ige - 586-6230
• Dwight Takamine 586-7335
• Clarence Nishihara - 586-6970
• Russell Kokubun - 586-6760
• Wil Espero - 586-6360
• Brickwood Galuteria 586-6740
• Clayton Hee 586-7330
• Brian Taniguchi - 586-6460
• Jill Tokuda - 587-7215
• Josh Green - 586-9385
• Colleen Hanabusa - 586-7793
• Donna Mercado Kim - 587-7200
• Shan Tstusui - 586-7344

Did not vote to Pull bill on March 25 & Unknown Status on HB 444 Revision

• Robert Bunda - 586-6090
• Norman Sakamoto - 586-8585
• Fred Hemmings - 587-8388

Did not vote to Pull bill on March 25 & Opposed to Civil Unions

• Sam Slom - 586-8420
• Mike Gabbard - 586-6830

It may be a good idea for opponents to show up at State Senate sessions today and tomorrow (April 8 and 9) to show their opposition to civil unions on the Senate floor, just in case the bill is to be pulled out of committee again. Senate floor sessions start at 11:30 am at the State Capitol.

Hawaii Tax Day Tea Party

HAWAII TAX DAY TEA PARTY ON APRIL 15

The Hawaii Tax Day Tea Party is part of a nationwide campaign of tax protests set for April 15, 2009. The purpose of the April 15 protest/rally is to "Repeal the Pork, Cut Taxes and Spending". According to the Tax Day Tea Party website "there are more than 500 tea parties confirmed for that day, and it is expected that over the next week and a half, the number of tea parties will continue to grow. Crowds of 5,000 to 10,000 are expected in multiple cities, including Atlanta, where Sean Hannity of Fox News will be broadcasting live, Sacramento, where Neal Cavuto will host his show, San Antonio, where Glenn Beck will broadcast, and New York City, where Newt Gingrich will be a featured speaker."

Here in Hawaii there will be Tax Day Tea Parties in Honolulu, Hilo and Kahului, Maui. The Honolulu Tax Day Tea Party will be held at the State Capitol Rotunda from 4 to 7:00 pm on Wednesday afternoon, April 15. The Hilo Tea Party will be held at the Bayfront Highway area near the King Kamehameha Statue starting at 4:00 p.m. The Maui rally will be held at Kaahumanu Avenue at intersection with Kahului Beach Road from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. More information about the Hawaii Tea Parties are available at the local page of the national Tea Party website.

Hawaii taxpayers are being hit with more tax increase proposals this year than any in recent memory. The state and counties are facing deep revenue shortfalls this year. Politicians and both the Hawaii State Legislature and the various counties are proposing new bills that will increase taxes, create new ones and boost fees for a number of services.

In the State Legislature tax proposals include hiking the General Excise Tax (GET), allowing the counties to create a new 1% sales tax (to be tacked on top of the GET), imposing a new tax on internet purchases (Streamline tax), hiking the gasoline tax, vehicle weight tax, vehicle registration fee and the car rental surcharge.

The City and County of Honolulu is proposing property tax hikes, raising the price to ride the bus and charging a fee for residential garbage collection.

I don't know what kind of taxes the Fed is coming up with. The Obama administration certainly wants to raise taxes on upper income tier (they provide the most investment, jobs and charitable giving in America) and sunset tax cuts enacted by the Bush administration.

The problem with each and every tax increase is that the politicians proposing them seem to view each one in a vacuum. Raising multiple taxes will take serious bites out of many taxpayers. Most of the burden will impact the poor and middle income people.

Stop raising taxes. Americans cannot afford it. Show up at the tax rallies on April 15.

Friday 5 - April 3, 2009

I'm not a food blogger, but the Friday 5 is about food, so here goes.

1. What is your favorite fizzy, bubbly drink?

Would a root beer float count? I don't do any alcoholic beverages.

2. What is your favorite deep-fried food?

I have eaten a lot of french fries in my lifetime.

3. What is your favorite hot beverage?

Hot chocolate with whipped cream

4. What is your favorite really messy food?

If spaghetti is messy then that would be it.

5. What is your favorite recipe for a blended or mixed beverage?

I don't own a blender.

Photo credit: Scott Ableman from Flickr