Author: admin

It’s mid-summer! So now for something completely different…

Tough job for Anglo-philologists as they explain spelling, pronunciation, and usage of our American version of the English language? English may not be the toughest language to conquer (some say that’s Mandarin Chinese), but it sure has its nuances, inconsistencies, and idiosyncrasies…

Why do we get in the car, yet we get on the bus, train, or plane. As comedian Geroge Carlin once opined on this topic, “YOU go ahead and get on the plane… I’m getting in the plane.”

If something is neither overwhelming nor underwhelming, why don’t we refer to it as simply “whelming”?  Writers write, players play, actors act, and painters certainly paint, so how come barbers don’t barb, butchers don’t butch, and carpenters don’t carpent (or carpet)? And why do people yell “heads up” instead of “heads down”? If you put your head up, it’s often then too late to put your head down, as would be more appropriate.

Why do certain words that look like they should rhyme not rhyme? Tough, rough… OK. But what about though, cough, and through? If we have womb and tomb, then “bomb” should sound like “boom”; it absolutely leaves that impression (yuk, yuk)?

What about contranyms?! Like fast: move quickly or don’t move. Bolt: fasten down or hele on. Sanction: to penalize or to permit. Dust: add sugar… or wipe away sugar. Madness, I say!

And jumbo shrimp. Aren’t they just “shrimp”? We don’t refer to the small ones as mini-shrimp; that would be redundant, like pre-planning, new innovations, fiction novels, unexpected surprises, and advance warnings. Come on, a warning after the fact is of little use, especially if it comes after “heads up”! These morsels aren’t from morons; they’re oxymorons.

And what’s up with grow smaller, alone together, climb down, civil war, uncontested divorce, found missing, original copy, small crowd, negative growth, a working vacation, or those eerie living dead?

The brilliant Mr. Carlin once queried why is there no blue food?! Blueberries, blue corn, blue potatoes? Sorry, all purple. Cool Blue Gatorade doesn’t count. There’s a scientific explanation related to how plants handle sunlight and filter energy wavelengths, but wrapping one’s brain around this concept might actually give you the blues. 

Pondering or feeling perplexed persistently about this stuff might keep you up at night, or bore you to sleep, but that’s only if you even choose to think about it… 

I was just 14 when I glimpsed what I thought were the seeds of modern-day American society getting it together, as one. A start…

I watched and read of inspiring movements, people standing up for democratic ideals, the so-called American dream and all that. I was stunned as college students at two universities were gunned down in May, 1970. People angry about a dubious war and the bizarro world whereby those who fought for the U.S.A. in that unwinnable war were sadly ridiculed upon their return to the U.S.A. Black Power became a force to be reckoned with 100 years after slavery was allegedly purged; women’s lib(eration) found its voice, and it was a loud one; gay rights were based on “simple” rights supposedly guaranteed to everyone (as written in America’s formulation documents)… it all unfolded in daily conversations, on TV, and in newspapers, while I was struggling to figure out my own place, purpose, and destiny. Would all of this make sense; how would it play out?

And I remember saying to myself (because, after all, who else would listen?) amid the upheaval, uncertainty, violence, fear, inconsistencies and vibrancy… I envisioned, among the protest songs and loud rock that became such a dear ally that “…this is the beginning of change! And if I’m still here in 50-years, these moments will lead to more acceptance, celebrating or acknowledging differences, and realizing (as U2 sang many years later) that ‘…we’re one, but we’re not the same’”- that could/should be America’s mantra!

And so here we are, more than a half century later, and we’re regressing on so many societal issues after it seemed that we’d experienced a true understanding, empathy, and showing that we really can straddle even difficult contradictions, and not remain steadfastly opposed, but rather seeking common ground (to paraphrase line from U2’s Bono, again).

If I was 14 years old today, could I look at our sometimes-post-truth, take-it-or-leave-it world (which thankfully still provides daily stories of human hope, caring, and redemption) and say “ahhh, this is the beginning! Just wait; 50 years from now…”

I don’t know; I naïvely thought that we shouldn’t judge or care where someone came from or what they looked like, but should aim to relate based on actions, temperance, character, integrity, empathy, listening, and soul. So would I still be that dreamer, or a skeptic, if I was 14 now?

Think about it…

We’re not alone. As far as islands far too dependent upon tourism, we’re not the only ones grappling with this issue and its effects on our populace. Iceland, the Maldives, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, actually- the entire Caribbean- all economically dependent at some level on visitors. All looking at supplemental business options, including pharmaceutical production, renewable energy, tech parks, agribusiness, health sciences, and professional services. 

Tax incentives provide an attractive lure if we are serious about finding incremental business to ensure our economic well-being locally. IBISWorld (an industry research firm) ranked Hawaii #47 in business growth among states from 2017-2022. Our gross state product was ranked #49. In business opportunity terms, we rank #45, according to U.S. News & World Report. These numbers are not surprising nor encouraging, exacerbated by the emigration issue we’re experiencing with six consecutive years of net population loss.

Well-known local economist, Paul Brubaker, recently reminded us that our local economy was shrinking before COVID exacted its still-being-felt toll. Tourism numbers should improve when Japanese visitors return and also when government officials finally clamp down on O`ahu’s 8,000+ illegal, short-term rentals. For those who dream of limiting visitor counts, Brubaker opines that unless we substitute with beaucoup new jobs for those who’d lose out if we experience a tourism regression, local hospitality industry workers may abandon Hawai`i to find work and more affordable environs. We need options and solutions, not bitterness and resentment. Big picture thinking and sustainable action.

We seem perennially stuck on square one when seeking economic diversification. Hawai`i needs to research like-minded, tourism islands (as examples) to gain insight into manageable opportunities, success stories, and existing stumbling blocks. While no single industry or entity will provide the economic base that tourism provides, finding a half-dozen, new economic enterprises would make a big difference in the decades ahead. But the clock is ticking…

 And yes, we’re going to have to offer some eye-opening deals and tax concessions as we encourage people/business to uproot from 2,500+ miles away from their home office and extended families. Remote work? Let’s encourage more people to live in Hawai`i as they work for mainland firms. The recent increase in and positive vibes related to upcoming housing developments provides hope. We now need to find high(er)-paying jobs (and industries) to ensure that our working population stays, and that locally-raised, mainland college-educated graduates return. Now is the time.

Think about it…

Rail is now a reality, and having ridden the loop from Aloha Stadium to East Kapolei twice, I found Skyline to be easily accessible, intriguing, eye-opening, and 51… as in mph we reached (the train averages 30 mph and tops out at 55 mph).

Seeing sites between Halawa and beyond UH West O`ahu from new vantage points is fascinating. Skyline is properly air conditioned, with relatively seamless stops and starts (but please- brace yourself when riding… this is public transportation, not a leisurely “It’s a Small World” Disney ride). The 45-minute roundtrip allows you to clearly watch clouds above Palehua Ridge, view Diamondhead and downtown across the horizon, peer down at myriad geometrically-wedged, small farms, and gaze at ornate church rooftops hidden from normal, ground level sightlines as you rise 40-feet above the streets while making nine stops. Skyline is the first new major, metro system in the United States since 1993. And yes, more consideration for bathrooms and additional parking, please.

Sit on the mauka side as you head out, then switch to makai for a completely different vantage point on your way back. New housing developments (like Ho`opili) meant to take advantage of Skyline are under way, with more to come. HART is happening; it’s time to get on board (albeit while still demanding accountability from those in charge). Additional housing alongside burgeoning businesses to come. Envision the transition along O`ahu’s leeward cost throughout the coming decade, with major Honolulu housing evolving, too. 

Sure, many local systems (political, planning, permitting, pricing) are archaic, dysfunctional or parochial, and the project has taken too long with a perpetual lack of momentum, but four-car trains are now moving in the right direction. These are the real starts and stops consumers have been looking forward to. After years of fumbles (wheels don’t fit, pillar and pad cracks, funding follies) rail is now running. There is a light (and a train) at the end of the tunnel. Thousands will hopefully find Skyline to be convenient, affordable, time-saving, and dependable. Of course there’ll be headaches aplenty during upcoming construction in Kalihi and downtown.

It took 37-years to build H-3 and it’ll take five-years now to finally build Aloha Stadium #2, but today we have a usable, state-of-the-art choo-choo that should provide possibilities for many who heretofore might not have had ample options. We now own the country’s first driverless, metro rail transit system.

Think about it…

Remember Mikey? You know, the kid in that old Life Cereal commercial where two young boys push a cereal bowl over to little Mikey to try the new, “healthy” cereal, only to be stunned when Mikey dives in, and one blurts out, “He likes it!”

So who was the Mikey who determined that you can enjoy a nectarine or apple skin, but not an avocado or orange covering? Who went out and brought back the “right” salad mushrooms…the ones that didn’t make you high, or kill you?

Someone decided to allow papaya to ripen and tossed the orange rind, but later on someone decided to shave an unripe fruit’s inside and turned it into a delectable salad? Just how long was the trial-and-error period to settle on cooking artichokes at medium heat for 55-minutes so that those delectable leaf bottoms are tooth-pliable? Who smartly opted to shave off those prickly leaf ends? Artichokes, sure; cacti, no.

Why would someone li hing mui things? Sure, it all worked out and perhaps was a neat preservative 150-years ago, but sweet, sour, AND salty together?! Genius! And how did a plum with spices become “crack seed”? Of course, back in the day, Yick Lung was voted most likely to “suck seed” (get it?).

And who knew that some fish must be cooked, some can be eaten raw, some are great when poke-d, and some should be completely avoided (trunkfish, stonefish, poorly handled blowfish- who made that call!). Would you order blowfish if told the regular chef was off that night, but Jimmy, the dish cleaner, was handling blowfish carving duties?! And why must some restaurants insist that I choose my lobster? I mean, they don’t allow me to pick my cow for a filet mignon.

Undercooked meat might seem to be a delicacy for some, but undercooked pork or chicken- not ready for prime time. Someone(s) figured this out… and lived to tell about it. Nuts, you say!? Er, cashews? Great… but raw- not so good (i.e.- possibly toxic).

And who figured what “edible” flowers to garnish meals with? Surely someone chomped on oleander or plumeria…  And that’d ruin a baby luau. In old Rome, they allegedly used food tasters. Court jesters- funny. Court tasters- not so much. Not a real secure career choice. Some undoubtedly learned by watching what animals eat. Not foolproof, sometimes logical, but surely food for thought.

Think about it…

In February, the City & County of Honolulu’s annual report “On the Status of Land Use on O’ahu” came out. It provides insight and page after page of facts, figures, and possible scenarios going forward as we ponder, perpetually, why we don’t have enough (affordable) housing in Hawai`i… and local people keep purchasing one way tickets to the mainland.

I don’t pretend to be an urbanologist (nor have I ever played one on TV), nor am I a city planner, builder, or architect, but I did find one chart particularly fascinating. The report provides the usual rationale behind our housing shortage, including “…limited land, geographical isolation, global demand, and income inequality.” 

O’ahu has just three land “use” districts: urban, agricultural, and conservation. Scanning a chart of land usage over the past 50 years, you might expect a gradual shift to urban land from either agricultural or conservation land. But you’d be mistaken. Since 1970, land zoned for conservation has remained remarkably steady at 41%. Preserving our `āina, I get it. The eye-opening numbers were the other two land types. Agricultural land since 1970 has fallen from 38% to 33% of the total. Urban land has grown from 22% in 1970 to 26% in 2020. That’s it; just a 4% shift.

You might assume that over the past half century, land formerly used for mainstay crops like sugar and pineapple might have (at some point) shifted. Not so. As a further example of the lack of redistribution of local land for possible housing initiatives, the report shows that between 2006 and 2020, fewer than 100 total acres on O’ahu were transferred to urban. To put that land mass into perspective, Aloha Stadium’s total fenced-in footprint is 98 acres. 

I may be oversimplifying here, but just 4% of Oahu’s land area has been re-zoned in the past 50-years. That seems astonishing, especially since the “housing crisis” has been an issue addressed repeatedly for over a half-century. Fast-tracking efforts being made now to provide more housing to more people more quickly are commendable. But you gotta wonder- what took so long? Why the intransigence? Sure, we’ll cherish more self-sustaining agriculture, but why haven’t we seen (at least) a few more affordable vertical units (a kama`aina Kakaako, if you will) over the past 50-years in other O`ahu locales?

I’m sure there are good answers, somewhere, but these seem like fair questions to ask.

Think about it…

Back when many of us were kids, summertime represented more than just a season; it carried a euphoric promise, the feeling of freedom, a step into the unknown, but you felt it was good. School was given a timeout, while “real” life lessons unfolded. A first job (caddying at age 12), a first kiss (of note), a first- and last- puff on a (regular) cigarette due to unseemly peer pressure.

And the music… indelible. Songs making a permanent mark in a good way. “Summertime, Summertime” by the Jamies, “Summertime” (Billy Stewart rolling his tongue!), “Summer In The City” (the Lovin’ Spoonful), “Summer” (War), “Summertime (DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince- Will Smith himself!). And the anthemic, anarchic “School’s Out” by Alice Cooper- with its hints of teen rebellion: “Out for summer/ out ‘til fall/ We might not go back at all”. Ooh, those rebellious years!

We did go back to school, of course, just as kids do now. But following three years of uncertainty, quarantine, and complete disruption on many levels, perhaps summer, 2023, will allow us to reminisce about those hanabata days and nights when we gripped a freedom that lasted for about 90-days. We eagerly anticipated the arrival of these dog days, year after year. 

Some summer incidents proved momentous, some summers featured plenty of “lazing on a sunny afternoon” (The Kinks). There’s a casual nature to summer you feel as a kid, less regimentation, relatively unorganized, fewer must-dos or must-dues. Social skills developed over summer evolved into new school friendships, relationships, and opportunities. First jobs that enhanced one’s concept of being responsible with a dash of accomplishment (I made my own money!). Dreams of what you just might wanna do later with your life…

Inevitably, adulthood arrives, and with it comes multiple responsi-bill-ities, obligations, commitments, seasonal stresses (no kiddie structure sans school in summer) and a redefined sense of world order (or lack thereof). We age, and sometimes pine for those languorous days as we lament the lack of time left- in summer, and perhaps in our lives. Summertime in adulthood rarely represents a clean break from routine, but perhaps still a time of pleasant diversion. 

So soak in the sun, the serotonin boost, the sentiments and the substance of summer (with sunscreen). Watermelon, corn on the cob, shave ice, lemonade, “laughing all our cares away” (Chad & Jeremy)- it all tastes better in summertime.

Think about it…

Tribes. They’re all around us; we’re all in them, to some degree. They’re strange in that we can belong to various tribes at the same time, yet this intricate, tribal mishmash comes into conflict quite routinely. You live next door to me, but we play on different AYSO soccer teams, go to different schools, prefer different religious affiliations. 

Tribes may help define us and provide a sense of belonging and purpose, very important for our species. But tribes may also define us in ways that are not so good, like what we see playing out across our frazzled country month after month. We used to civilly disagree with people and then go about our ways. Now, some can’t even stomach a family reunion or have given up on lifelong friends due to seemingly irreparable, social belief systems.

Locally, the existence of tribes helps to bond people… absolutely, but may also reinforce tired, reductive, simplistic stereotypes. Private vs. public school, leeward vs. windward vs. town, male vs. female, Oahu vs. Neighbor Island, ethnic origins, religious affiliations, pickleball vs. tennis, soft taco vs. crispy. The options are everywhere, as are many ridiculous distortions and/or exaggerations people make based on perceived tribal norms and prejudices. 

As the underrated, West Virginia band, Crack The Sky, wrote in its 2021 album, “Tribes”: “we take sides believing in our tribes”. I just don’t find it amusing when someone “jokingly” says to someone, “eh, pretty good for one public school kid!?”, or makes some aside based on ethnicity, tattoo, or body shape. Joke or judgment?

What if we acknowledge that we’re first all a part of a bigger tribe- the human one- and let the sects fall where they may, making judgments (if we must) about people based on real, personal attributes? Not what street they grew up on, what instrument or sport they play, what halau they join, or what deity they believe in or don’t believe in. 

In the end, if you possess a soul, shouldn’t people be recognized, befriended, or known for who they are, how they treat others, and what they do, and not from where they came, or who gave birth to them (over which we had no choice)?

“I got the answers/you got the answers/we’ll never change our minds/and so you know it” sing Crack The Sky. We often miss so much when we rely on repetitive and ignorant tribal assertions.

Think about it…    

Just like much of the political nonsense that plagues our country, sometimes you see or hear things that leave you with a sense of “…this can’t be real!” Alas, sometimes it is…

A second tourist here in four weeks drove a vehicle into the Pacific Ocean. After a digitally-dependent, distracted driver recently dumped a rental into the Honokohau Small Boat Harbor in Kailua-Kona, yet another wayward vehicle proceeded to plunge into the same waters. According to bystanders (via Hawai`i News Now), this driver “…thought the water was a big puddle”. Hmmm, one can see how the vast Pacific might look like rainfall run amok… Perhaps relying on focused, human eyesight would have proven to be a better methodology to employ. Luckily, no one was badly hurt in either incident, other than bruised egos and some wounded pride. 

From the sublime to the… whoa, what?! Artificial intelligence (AI) gurus have been warning anyone who’ll listen that rapidly-expanding AI capabilities could be catastrophic; they’ve used terms like “civilization destruction” (entrepreneur Elon Musk, 2023) and “the end of the human race” (physicist Steven Hawking, 2014). Leading tech companies are rightfully echoing this concern, some of whom actually embraced ethical stances on the sanctity of the internet before trendy likes, friends, followers, fans, and sycophants ruled their bottom lines; many have now basically eschewed ethics. A bevy of rules to theoretically dissuade rampant misuse of evolving AI science is coming, but will bad guys and evil doers care about or follow said rules? Surely, we’ll be seeing AI-created false copy, erroneous “facts”, and computer-generated pictures throughout the 2024 election cycle. As chatbot chatter runs amok, how can/should it be addressed? Wow…  life on Mars is starting to sound intriguing. 

The United Nations put bannisters in place post-World War II to deter nuclear-capacity nations from annihilating one another, but will 21^st century egomaniacal, evil emperors play by to-be-established AI norms? Many don’t play by accepted international rules now. And how’d you like to be a professor reading student papers while wondering- is this truly a student effort, or just 10-minutes spent tweaking an AI-spewed thesis? 

As Peter Gabriel sang in his wonderful tribute to late, anti-apartheid activist, Stephen Biko, “You can blow out a candle/ But you can’t blow out a fire/ Once the flames begin to catch/ The wind will blow it higher.” A I ? How ‘bout Aye Yai Yai…

Think about it…

We’re getting older, faster here, and that’s a problem. According to U.S. Census Bureau 2020 numbers reported in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 19.4% of our local population is in the 65+ age group, versus just 14.3% of the population in 2010. That’s quite a leap in a decade. And without enough safety net systems in place (including housing and medical answers) this aging situation will become a bigger drag on our local communities. 

While we lament the need for more doctors, nurses, teachers, affordable housing, and higher-paying jobs, to name a few wish list items, what we’ve gotten over the past decade is many more tourists and thus, a renewed sense of economic complacency. Tourism is absolutely essential for our economy, but the pleasant tax dollars and jobs provided have precluded forward-thinking efforts at establishing opportunities for more industries (and jobs) to locate here. You’ve heard this before…

If more working age residents move from Hawai`i, as has been the case for the past six years, and if many newcomer residents are retirees or remote workers, where will that leave us in a decade or so? If more middle-aged residents become senior family caregivers- whether they choose to or not- due partly to local cost factors, what will that do to our social networks, workforce, and sense of well-being as a state?

Hawai`i is not unique with its aging population, but we are unique in the limited scope of places one can go locally when the rent gets too high and services necessary for elderly care are simply not available. This growing (and aging) dilemma is compounded as younger generations opt to have fewer kids. Cost issues (employment, housing, childcare, child rearing, economic uncertainty, et al.) and concurrent mental consternation are providing natural barriers to potential parents.

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) in Hawai`i applauded the 2023 legislative efforts to help our elderly in need, with bills passed and personnel added in state positions to help meet growing needs. The pandemic simply exacerbated an aging population issue that’s been percolating here for years.

More energy placed on economic diversification plus continued focus on the needs of the elderly must be the action plan… let’s not regress to traditional “same old, same old” stasis as local tourism numbers rebound, like we accepted after the Kobe earthquake, 9-11 tragedy, 2008 worldwide recession, and 2011 Sendai tsunami. Our kupuna deserve better.

Think about it…