No Toad, Just Glen

It was a rare treat to have singer and songwriter Glen Phillips this morning. He may not be a household name, but many remember him more as the lead singer and guitarist for the group Toad the Wet Sprocket, which scored a few hits in the early and mid 1990s. He’s in town to perform a few concerts in Honolulu, on Maui and on Kaua`i in the coming weeks.

I think he was pleasantly surprised that there were a few Toad fans in the house, myself included, and while he’s promoting his new album Mr. Lemons, he still played one of Toad’s biggest hits, “All I Want.” We were a little surprised at how low-maintenance he is for someone who’s had more than a little bit of fame; he showed up with his promoter, his guitar, and his wife, Lauren. That’s it. It was great to hear him up close and personal, and he’s a friendly guy to boot.

Ben.
ben@kitv.com

Gov. Quinn

When news broke that the state’s first governor, Bill Quinn, had passed away, I had to retrieve this photo from the family archives. It’s of Gov. and Mrs. Quinn with my late parents. I don’t know when or where the picture was taken, but my guesses to those questions is sometime around the middle of 1960, or after the beginning of 1961 (between then my mother was pregnant with a future weather anchor and broadcast journalist); and judging from the clothing my Mother, Dad, and some of the folks in the right background are wearing, it’s at some kind of Filipino gathering.

I had a few encounters of my own with Quinn, the last time in 1999. It was on the 40th anniversary of Hawai`i’s statehood, and I was assigned to interview the former governor, at his home, on his remembrances of the coming of statehood, and what has happened since then. He and his wife, Nancy, had just moved from their house to a Kahala condominium, and there were a few signs around the place that they were still in the process of getting settled in their new home. Quinn and his wife were gracious and friendly, and the interview went well. I don’t remember what his answers were exactly, but there was one thing we didn’t mention in the report. He had a foot ailment that evening, and when I got to the condo, Hawai`i’s first governor was sitting in a comfortable chair, with his trousers rolled up, his bare feet soaking in a tub of warm water and Epsom salts. Out of courtesy and respect, we didn’t videotape any wide shots that would show this on the air, although I don’t think he would’ve minded at all. After all, it was just some sore feet, and there was no other time we could do the interview. And if you saw the report, you would have never known. You would have seen a happy, unassuming man, talking about the first days of the 50th state.

Ben.
ben@kitv.com

Pluto "Deplaneted;" Mom Serves a Different Dish

This comes to us via the Bishop Museum Planetarium. Remember the mnemonic device we used to remember the names of the planets and their order? Now that astronomers have demoted Pluto to “dwarf planet” status, Martin Gaskell, physics and astronomy professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, came up with this revised sentence.

Personally, I think Pluto should remain a planet. However, noodles may be a lot healthier for you than nine pizzas.

Amy Hanaiali`i…

…was our Aloha Friday musical guest after a long absence. It was great to hear her perform songs from her upcoming CD, as well as several selections from her back catalogue. She’s pictured here with Dean Taba.

Amy also told me she used to be part of the morning show when it first started: she helped out with the weather when Tiny Tadani was the morning weather guy. So I let her take a stab at doing the weather again. I may put that up in my next post.

Aloha,
Ben.
ben@kitv.com

Guests Everywhere!

Last week Tuesday was what we would definitely call a “heavy guest” day. Not that the guests were overweight — we just had a lot of them.

Left, in the studio, were Andy Nelson, the executive sous chef at Neptune’s Garden Restaurant at the Pacific Beach Hotel; organic farmer Al Santoro of Poamoho farms; a few representatives from the Hawai`i State Department of Agriculture; and Nelson Quan and Ryan Ishii of Kolokolo Pictures, in house to discuss a local music video they had recently released.

Meanwhile, outside, photographer Kevin Matsumoto prepared for a segment with the Hawai`i Segway folks, who were here to demonstrate the various models of the high-tech people mover, including the newer models, such as the I2 with the intuitive handlebars, or model with the all-terrain tires.

Fortunately, having these guests allowed us to do some pretty neat things, like ride a Segway on the King Street sidewalks…

…and then enjoy dessert made by the chef. Chef Andy and Poamoho farms brought enough stuff for everybody. Unfortunately, for reasons that we hope are obvious, the Segway folks didn’t leave behind any samples to take home. Those things are a lot of fun to ride!

New Job Title: Keiki Kowgirl

I can add Keiki Kowgirl to my job title now. Last week, we had some adorable children on our news to promote the Children’s Closet at the O Lounge on the last Sunday of August. Local children’s retailers offer childrens clothes at huge discounts to help local children’s charities. The plan was to interview Liz Watanabe of the O Lounge and have the kids model their cute clothes. However, the guests were running late and with minutes to go to their segment… I was running around like crazy trying to round-up the kids in our studio. Parents were still dressing them with seconds to go and I practically grabbed them so they could run at full sprint to our side-set for the interview. One girl didn’t have her shoes tied, another kid wasn’t fully zipped up… but quite frankly… I didn’t care. I just wanted them on. It all worked out and the interview went well. Hey… you can’t go wrong with cute kids. I just think it’s funny that in my job… I need to report on news about death and destruction and hard pressing issues and be a keiki kowgirl during a morning round-up.

giddy-yup and yeee-hawww!
Mahealani
mahea@kitv.com

CANstruction

Photo by Aulani Richardson

Mahalo to the folks from Canstruction and Skylights of Hawai’i who CANstructed this work of art from cans. The CANstructions benefit the Hawai’i Foodbank and you can go see more spectacular pieces at Pearlridge.

aloha and CAN-do!
Mahealani
mahea@kitv.com

Jake, Sofija & Boy George?

Monday’s newscast was another opportunity to watch worlds collide.

For starters, Jake Shimabukuro was with us again to play music, talk story about his upcoming CD (most of it is just him and his `ukulele) and his limited edition signature model Kamaka `ukulele. But there were a few interesting moments.

Jake & Sofija: As you might know, Jake is in training to run in December’s Honolulu Marathon. It being a Monday, Sofija, our alternative healer and fitness guru, was in the house. So Jake joined Dan and Mahealani in Sofija’s regular Monday morning torture session, er, exercise. It looked like he learned a few things to tone up for the 26-mile run.

Jake & Boy George?: We reported on former Culture Club lead singer Boy George’s latest legal troubles in New York, where he was convicted of filing a false police report. Monday was also the day Boy George started his sentence of community service by picking up trash off the city streets of New York. Dan wanted to hear a few Culture Clyb songs, and the only one I knew was “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” I sang a few bars. No problem. During a tease leading up to a commercial break, Jake came on, playing “Karma Chameleon” on his `ukulele. Which was weird. Then, for some reason, I decided to sing along with him, even though I only remember one line of the song. Which was weirder. Two thoughts went through my mind:

– I’m singing with Jake Shimabukuro as my accompanist!
– Why this song???

And so went the Monday morning newscast.

ben@kitv.com

Augie T. vs. the Girl Scouts

Lauren Fujimoto and Joy Ogasawara of Girl Scout Troop 867
with comedians turk “Hawaiian Hurricane” Cazimero, Augie T. & Champ

Last Friday, we had what I think was one of the funniest things we’ve ever had on the newcast: A science and astronomy quiz pitting two members of the Girl Scouts against a team of three local comedians.

Huh?

The original plan was to have Girl Scouts Lauren Fujimoto and Joy Ogasawara challenging Mahealani and me. But someone had the better idea to have Augie T. & Co. as the girls’ opponents.

The results were, predictably, hysterical. Joy and Lauren were very nervous leading up to the quiz, but by the time the game started, the comedians had the girls in stitches. Somehow, between barely stifled giggles, the girls trounced the guys, 4-0. It’s difficult to describe in print what happened; it was something you just had to see.

There is a serious side to all this. The Girl Scouts were here to promote Exploring the Universe, an event at the Bishop Museum aimed at getting girls interested in science and math. Meantime, Augie and his crew were promoting the recording of his next live concert DVD. Augie said his first one, recorded live at the Hawai`i Theatre a few years back, sold more than 40,000 copies. The new DVD will be recorded in front of a live audience at Augie’s alma mater, Farrington High School, with the proceeds earmarked to help economically disadvantaged students go to college.

While Lauren and Joy were nervous about appearing on TV, Augie had a chance to get nervous as well. Mahealani asked him to join us as we talked about the new movies opening during the weekend. This meant Augie would have to read from the teleprompter, something he was hesitant to do because of his dyslexia (he’s made no secret of this, saying in previous interviews that it was one of the reasons why he didn’t do as well as he should have in high school). But he read it anyway, with barely a hitch.

Mahalo to all involved. It was hilarious, and educational to boot!

—

Update: Augie e-mailed me to let me know he and the gang sold out their performance at the Palace Theatre in Hilo that night. The Big Island concert was a fundraiser as well.

Ben.

ben@kitv.com

Photos by Todd Ogasawara

Long Lines and Yellow Tape

The mood is a little different in the newsroom today, thanks to the foiled apparent terror plot in Britain. Most of the assignments are for the new airport screening procedures reflecting the resulting heightened security. Mahealani was assigned to head to the airport to see if the lines and the wait for the security screening areas are longer. As we all know, the answer to that is “yes” all over, as state transportation officials suggest you get to the airport way ahead of time — two hours for what at most would be a half-hour interisland flight, three hours for domestic and international departures.

Meantime, I was sent to Ala Moana Center, where a maintenance worker found what police are calling a “suspicious object.” Covering a story like this one can get interesting, frustrating and even boring, since the media is kept as far away from the scene as the public is. Dozens of people expecting to head to work or shop got their morning disrupted, while photographers and reporters also got to sit around and wait until whatever it was was safely detonated or disposed of. What also made it a bit more difficult was that the public could actually get a little closer than the media: Ala Moana Center security, for whatever reason, barred reporters and photographers from the property, which meant we could only shoot and report from across the street. We were even barred from parking in the shopping center.

As for the public, it’s interesting what happens when something as routine as shopping or driving along a familiar route is rent usunder by yellow plastic tape blocking the way. Some people merely walk or drive the detour and continue about their business. Others want to know what’s going on, or try to get into the taped-off area, only to be stopped by security. The guards have their hands full with some of these people, who are insistent on getting in, but can’t. And there are others still who are plunged into chaos and confusion by the sight, with no idea where to walk or drive: their minds have locked up because their plans have been thwarted, even if it was to go shopping, or simply just get a cup of coffee.

A foiled terror threat, increased security and heightened precautions against “suspicious objects.” In the case of Ala Moana Center, there was definitely something about the timing. According to police, it wasn’t something like a forgotten backpack or leftover junk. Investigators say someone put some effort into making it look like a dangerous device. We may not have heard the last of this one.