Tadd Fujikawa: Professional Edition

Tadd Fujikawa dropped in for a visit, a day after turning pro. We can confirm for you that it is the same Tadd Fujikawa who visited us as the amateur who dazzled the golf world at the Sony Open.

But there was one difference:. Tadd came with just his parents last time around. This time, mom Lori was back, along with his new agent/attorney Kevin Bell (in the dark jacket) and two other people, who I think were Bell’s assistant (on the high chair) and a local publicist (not in the photo; the gentleman in the glasses is the publicist for another guest, which I’ll discuss shortly). I looked at the group accompanying Tadd, and told him, “I can tell you’ve turned pro; now you have an entourage.” His response? He cracked that big smile and started laughing. As for the entourage, they remained pretty much in the background. There was no advice, at least in the studio, on what to say or how to say it, no extra makeup people. They just followed Tadd around, and Tadd’s still Tadd. We wish him luck in his pro career.

Got something to say about the Taddster turning pro? Click on “comments” below.

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The first thing Tadd said to me as he stepped into the studio was, “Oooooh! I smell food!”

This is some of the food from one of the groups that will be at the sixth annual Korean Festival, tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Kapi`olani Park (and the reason for the publicist with the glasses mentioned above). As with good food cooked up on the show, it didn’t get anywhere close to the end of its shelf life.

Ready To Krump?

Members of “KRUMPany” put on quite the demonstration of the latest street dance craze, calling krumping. The group was featured on the cover of a recent issue of MidWeek, which caught our attention.

Best way to describe it is as an aggressive style of street dancing, and frankly, it looks almost like someone having a seizure. But there’s an art to it, and there’s a bond and a lot of support between the dancers.

I also have to give them props for being able to have an extremely high level of positive energy at six o’clock in the morning (and for not laughing when Mahealani and I tried a move or two). Seriously, KRUMPany are cool folks to hang out with. Keep an eye out for them.

Monday Morning Work Outs with Sofija

For several months now, we’ve had the pleasure (AND pain) to have pilates and fitness expert, Sofija (SAH-fee-yuh) Zekovic-Roth, on our show each Monday for a couple short workouts. Even though the segments are only 3 minutes a piece, we really feel it. Our morning worksout are arguably our most popular segment since every where us morning folks go, people talk about the workouts. We are now starting to hear that people are bringing out their exercise balls to workout with us as we do it on television.

The exercises are so beneficial… though Dan may wince from the pain. Yes, the exercises are challenging, but speaking from experience, they really work your targeted areas. I’ve taken private sessions with Sofija and she can really kick your butt into shape. I’ve needed her firm yet calm voice to keep me going when I’ve felt like giving up from fatigue or pure laziness. Sofija is even trained in accupunture, Qi Gong and Euro and Chinese herbs so she really takes a holistic approach to health.

A warm mahalo to Sofija for making Monday mornings more fun. Many people have asked me for her contact info so here it is. Enjoy your exercises!

Sofija Zekovic-Roth
741-5463
sofija@kaimukicare.com

Dan vs. Da Flowrider

Dan broadcast live this morning from Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park, where he spent the second hour on Da Flowrider.

What you see below is pretty much what happened over and over during the hour. Apparently it’s harder than it looks.

Photos by KITV Intern Jeff Yeager

Helen Chock, 1917-2007

Helen Chock, the owner and matriarch of Helena’s Hawaiian Foods, died last week Friday. The photo above comes from her obituary in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. She would have been 90 years old on July 27th.

Her restaurant is more than 60 years old. I was a relative newcomer, becoming a “regular” only in 1994, at the original restaurant on North King Street, near Farrington High School. At the time, I was working at KHNR/CNN Radio, and once I started coming in on a regular basis, Helen and the waitresses would try to greet me by name. Except they couldn’t remember my name, but they knew where I worked. So they called me “CNN” for a few years.

Helena’s is a place where you don’t go for the ambience; you go for the food. I would go once every week or two for the pipikaula; the lau lau; the lomi salmon with raw fish and limu; the squid lu`au; the fried butterfish collar; the Maui onions and the haupia that came with every meal. There was a spell last year when I wasn’t able to drop in for a few months. When I returned, Helen greeted me from behind the cash register and we talked story for a little while. When I was done eating and got up to pay my bill, she looked at my check, put it on the spindle, and said simply, “Next time,” without letting me pay. That was the only time she did that, but she knew I’d be back. And frequently. And I was.

The last time I saw her was probably May, just before she was diagnosed with cancer. The last time I was there was last week Thursday, the day before Helen died. Her daughter, Elaine Katsuyoshi, told me she was sleeping a lot in the hospital, and sometimes wasn’t aware of what was going on. But there was a sense that the end was near, that her time was done, she was ready to go and her restaurant was in good hands. And it is: her grandson, Craig Katsuyoshi, has been doing the cooking, and will continue to run Helena’s.

Condolences to her family, especially to Elaine, Craig, and his sister Charlaine. A celebration of Helen’s life will be held Saturday, July 21 at Nu`uanu Memorial Park and Mortuary, with visitation from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., followed by services.

Meantime, the restaurant will reopen Tuesday, July 17.

Hot Dogs!

This morning, we finally settled on a long-standing bet. To recap: Dan and Dave picked the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA Championship, while Mahea and I picked the Cleveland Cavaliers. You’ll recall the Spurs swept the series. And it took this long to figure out what we would do, as the losers. Taking a cue from the world-famous Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest on Coney Island, we tried to eat at least one hot dog from Great Hawaiian Hot Dogs.

Mike “Ramsey” Fujita cooked up the weiners, and I think I won, finishing my hot dog first.

Of course, seemingly on cue, there were two dogs and their owner on the sidewalk behind us, and one of them was a wiener dog. Of course I fed them, and the dogs enjoyed the dogs.

The crew didn’t mind that we only ate one dog each. Fujita stayed afterward to cook up some ‘ono steak hot dogs, which promptly disappeared. The dogs didn’t get those. Oh, yes — one was delivered to Dave Hisaka at the traffic management center a few blocks away, fresh out of the cooker.

Andy & Tessa: Behind The Scenes

Here’s just a little more on this morning’s visit by Andy and Tessa of ABC’s The Bachelor. For one thing, they’re very nice people. And I didn’t get to chance to watch the interview segments, but there was one thing that struck me: I don’t think they let go of each other’s hand the entire morning, whether it was on the air:

Or chatting with Mahelani before the interview segment began:

They seem to be holding up pretty well, considering that their entire courtship has been chronicled on national television, and that they had to keep the engagement secret for several months (he actually proposed in March).

Frankly, they’re both very nice, down to earth people, and Tessa didn’t hesitate to give us the local-style hug when we greeted her. When they arrived, it was just the two of them, no handlers or escorts or such. I happened to be near the front lobby so I let them into the studio. I was about to introduce myself (you can never assume) when Andy held out his hand and said, “Hey Ben!” He introduced me to Tessa, and then said, “I watch you every morning!” Personally, it was one of the weirder moments of my life, only because, while the two of them may have been “regular folks” before The Bachelor Andy is now a big-time “you somebody” (as proof, we got e-mail requests from as far away as New Jersey to put the interviews here on the Web site, and they’re currently the site’s most popular videos) It’s called “reality television,” but it’s still television.

By Popular Demand: "The Bachelor" And His Bride-To-Be

Navy Lt. Andy Baldwin and his fiancee, Tessa Horst, visited the newscast this morning for two interview segments. Even before this morning, there were requests to post the interviews on the website, which you can see here and here.

Talking with Tia Carrere

Dan and Dave were defintely smitten with Tia Carrere who is back in town to promote her latest CD, Hawaiiana. She came with Daniel Ho, who collaborated with her on teh album. It was very cool meeting the woman who we have come to know from Brown Bags to Wayne’s World to Dancing with the Stars.

I also learned Tia will be in the fall season premiere of Nip/Tuck on FX. That edgy show about plastic surgeons and their antics is my guilty pleasure. I heard she’ll be playing a dominatrix. Ouch! I can’t wait.