Notes from Hawaii Part 2 - The Beauty of Paradise in America

Today I did something very few people will ever get to do: Visit the USS Arizona Memorial, also known to most people as the ship that was hit during the Pearl Harbor attacks on December 7th, 1941.

It was very moving.

Standing is a white building built over where the ship once stood, a memorial for those who died while protecting their country. The feeling was almost over-whelming at times, this massive building with open walls, beckoning you to reach out to it and understand its importance, its meaning, and the many, many, many soldiers who died to keep America free.

Getting to the memorial was a bit of a mess. Me and my friend wound up, thanks to Goggle Maps, walking on a bridge that was part of a naval base. We wound up having to turn back and walk an extra half-mile.

We went to a swap meet at Aloha Stadium here on Oahu in Ewa. If you ever get to come to this wonderful island, I HIGHLY recommend do all your gift shopping here. Personally, I wished I bought more, and I think I'll head back there tomorrow to do just that.

My favorite highlight was seeing something that I wanted to witness my entire time here: Someone carving an actual Tiki statue. It was incredible! There he was, wood carving tools in hand, creating a new statue of one of the Tiki Gods. His name is Soane Vehikite and he is AMAZING! They're working on a new site, and when it goes up, I will spread the word to the mainland!

We went to a sushi place called Kuru Kuru Sushi located right past Pearl Harbor. It was one of those places with an automated food trays so that the food passes around the entire restaurant. I wound up having a few shrimp things, and something the combined rice and salmon.

The ocean is still amazing and wonderful down here, inspiring beauty and aw at nothing more than a glance. You can literally walk the length of a football field into the ocean without having to swim! The only problem? Rocks. Lots of them. There are some great places without them, and other places where you don't know when they will just go away.

A few odd tidbits: There is a Ferrari Store. It does exist. A Ferrari Bike costs $4000. There's an "Animation Gallery" as well that sells limited-edition Disney Cels, paintings, and statues.

I also had the privilege of finally trying out a long-board skateboard today! Nice thick rubber wheels, a really smooth deck... I think I need to get one one of these days! Don't know how I would get the deck home from here, honestly...

The Arts and Culture in this state is astounding! I feel inspire to create at every turn!

That's about it. Photos exist, they are coming, but for now they reside entirely on my computer.

Remember Your Freedom! Part 1 - Don't Tread on Me!

This is the first in a series of posts about US History and Patriotism. It is nothing short of a coincidence that now, the week leading up to my nations birth, that I have rediscovered my love for all things America. Its great timing. The series of posts is focused on simply reminding people of the history of their nation and trying to give a sense of modern-day relevance to it.

The Gardsden Flag bears the famous and timeless motto of "Don't Tread On Me", a Diamond-back Rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike at all those who would dare to mess with it!

To me, this was the first, and best, symbol of the American ideal best put forth by, of all things, Rage Against the Machine: "F*#K YOU, I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME!"

The flag and imagery was inspired by a political cartoon that appeared in a 1751 copy of the Pennsylvania Gazette drawn by Benjamin Franklin called "Join Or Die", a stark message to all 13 Colonies that in order to defeat the British, petty differences had to be set aside and united these Colonies could win. It was designed by Christopher Gadsden, the flags namesake, in 1775, and was even one of the official flags of America at he country's birth.

In a more modern context, it could be seen as a way to support those around the world today.

I was at a protest against the actions of the Iranian government towards their people not too long ago and, to me, its easy on some levels to see a lot of similarities to their struggle for freedom against a tyrannical "democracy" and how they are suppressed to those of our ancestors, who fought and died in order to achieve their ideals. I decided there was no better way to show support than to fly this flag.

The coiled snake, ready to strike... to me, it was a perfect symbol of the people in Iran, ready to strike back and fight back against a corrupt election and leader.

To me, its a little disheartening to see my fellow American's seem to take their freedom for granted when you have people halfway across the world simply struggling, even dying, for the same type of freedom and liberty we have. Its even more disheartening to see people OK their government taking them away... but that's another day, and another post.

Bushisms

Well, the sun is about to set on the Bush Dynasty, and while the last 8 years have seen Bush and his friends rape and pillage this nation, you've got to admit one thing: It's going to suck not being able to make fun of him as much as before.



So long, and thanks for the shoes.