Hawaii Metblogs » haw_burt

Rainy downtown

haw_burt — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 00:49:31 +0000

After so much rain I had to put up a picture of our wet city. I understand we have had more rain in the last month than places like Seattle. The photo is from my office overlooking Bishop Street. I don’t usually bust out the umbrella but it has become standard urban gear for Honolulu. According to the weather people the rain is supposed to continue into the weekend. Right now it’s not raining but just the thought of another wet weekend is not too appealing. It’s not too bad when you are stuck in the office but it’s a bummer when it happens all weekend long.

Kung Hee Fat Choy

haw_burt — Sun, 15 Jan 2006 03:25:09 +0000

For the next couple of weeks building up to Chinese New Year on Jan. 29th there will be celebrations like this taking place all over Honolulu. There was a well attended lion dance tonight at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. It’s always a kick watching the people, especially the women, give good luck offerings to the lion. I think sometimes the lion grabs their hand and doesn’t let go. This good natured young lady took it all in stride.

Shangri-la

haw_burt — Sun, 08 Jan 2006 12:19:31 +0000

If you ever wondered how the other half lives in Hawaii you need to visit Doris Duke’s estate called Shangri-la. Although she has passed away, her estate is preserved as a museum of Islamic art. Throughout her life, she was an avid collector of art from that region. I was not allowed to shoot pictures inside the estate so you will need to visit for yourself to experience the fine collection. In the meantime, these shots will give you an idea of what the grounds look like and how it would feel to live there. Can you image having your own little lagoon to swim in? And when you tire of that you can always jump into your pool!

Attention all readers!

haw_burt — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 18:54:41 +0000

We at Metroblog are trying to get a better handle on who is out there reading our blogs. The folks at HQ have put this survey together for easy access. Please take a minute to fill it out. It’s easy and won’t take you more than a couple of minutes to complete. Your response will be greatly appreciated.

Mahalo nui,
Burt

Sunrise before the storm

haw_burt — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 22:21:59 +0000

The sunrises have been quiet nice these last couple of days while tropical storm Kenneth blew through. This is what it looked like yesterday morning on my early morning run around Ala Moana park. The morning when by without much rain but by the afternoon it started pouring. I love it when there is thunder and lightning. I don’t think there was any major flooding although I noticed the typical runoff this type of storm produces. Parts of Pearl Harbor looked like a cappuccino. Bet it didn’t taste like one though.

Philly Steak Sandwich

haw_burt — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 22:31:04 +0000

There are Philly steak sandwiches all over the place now. There was a time when they were a rarity around here. I used to get mine on Maui in Kihei when I used to work at the Maui Research Park. Geez, that was a long time ago. Now there’s a Philly steak place right on the corner of Bishop and Hotel in downtown Honolulu. This one shown is from Kaka`ako Kitchen in the Ward Center. Another Hawaii Metroblogger took one look at this picture and said his doctor would have a fit. The only thought that crossed my mind when I was eating it was how good it tasted.

Maria Bonica’s

haw_burt — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 02:42:39 +0000

Working in downtown Honolulu is great. You don’t have to walk far to feel like you are taking a walk on the wild side. Although I will admit, taking a walk down Hotel Street was a lot wilder a few years back. Now it is getting a real face lift. There are some great hole in the wall restaurants popping up all along Hotel Street. This Mexican restaurant just opened a couple of weeks ago. The food was good and the atmosphere just a tad bit edgy. While we were ordering, a police officer was removing something with his rubber gloves. I didn’t ask.

Teas

haw_burt — Sun, 05 Jun 2005 13:05:38 +0000

One of the great things about living in Hawaii is the assortment of Asian things you can easily find around town. This is one of my favorite stores in Chinatown. It is my go to place for tea. I usually buy this Chinese green tea called Extra Gunpowder. When I frist bought this tea, I found the name puzzling. I could not for the life of me figure out the connection between tea and gunpowder. Finally it dawned on me that the tea in its dried form is packed into little balls. When you put them in your tea pot they literally explode into a whole tea leaf. Man, those Chinese got some imagination. I guess I wouldn’t expect anything less from the folks who invented gunpowder in the first place.

Sunday Art Day

haw_burt — Mon, 23 May 2005 12:12:39 +0000

Sunday is a great day to get out and see some art in Honolulu. There’s always something cool to see and this week I lucked out catching Yoshitomo Nara at the Contemporary Museum, Neo Rauch and Handprints and Footprints in Buddhist Art, both at the Academy of Arts. The photo insert is of one of Nara’s dog sculptures on the grounds of TCM. I first heard about Nara from an article in Giant Robot’s Winter 2001 issue. His signature big eyed illustrations of kids are cute but menacing. You are not quite sure if they will snuggle up to you or chew your leg off.

Another excellent show was Neo Rauch at the Academy of Arts. I would have snuck a photo off at the gallery but the security guards were everywhere. You can check out some of Rauch’s works from this website. Rauch, from Germany, captures a lonely, post-industrial angst in his paintings. They will make you sit and ponder where this world is going. Slightly depressing but very intriguing nonetheless.

Shaolin Kung Fu

haw_burt — Sun, 08 May 2005 12:01:22 +0000

The Shaolin monks from China performed this weekend at the Hawaii Theater. If you hurry down there you can catch their last performance today, Sunday, 5/8. It was quite a show of athleticism, physical strength and internal energy. The monks performed with all manner of Chinese weapons ranging from nine segment whips to the cresent moon spear. What was most impressive was their mastery of internal energy or chi. In the photo this monk was raised overhead by the points of spears carried by fellow monks. In other demonstrations one monk was sandwiched between a bed of sword blades and a palette of nails, upon which lay another monk, upon which a big concrete slab was placed and broken with a sledgehammer. The concrete slab was about 12 inches thick and required three blows to crack. Definitely not one of those tricks you would want to try at home. These monks are the real McCoy and start from a very young age perfecting their skill. It’s a discipline that requires dedication and a life long commitment. First and foremost these are still monks who live the monsatic life.