Dog Chapman back on the hunt

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A&E announced Tuesday that they will resume production of their #1 reality show Dog the Bounty Hunter. The show was pulled from A&E’s schedule indefinitely on October 31st after Chapman’s son Tucker taped a phone conversation 8 months prior in which the bounty hunter used racial slurs in reference to his son’s girlfriend. For as many people that were outraged by this there seemed to be as many supporters who pleaded with A&E to bring the show back. Many message boards of Dog supporters have said that while it was wrong that he used that term and it was ignorant, the good Dog does for the state by capturing fugitives and making the streets safer played a major role in their support of bringing the show back. No return date has been announced as of yet.

Controversy has swirled around the cast such as hinting the marriage of Dog and Beth was more than strained at the height of his “apology media tour.” In January, Tim “Youngblood” Chapman was arrested for indecent exposure and terroristic threatening when he was approached by a security guard who was following up on a report that there was a man fondling himself in the Ala Moana Shopping Center parking garage. When the guard approached Chapman, who claimed he was changing his pants after having spilled juice on them, fled the parking garage in his vehicle. The security guard alleges he was trying to hit him. He is currently out on bail and separated from the mother of his two girls, Davina.

Jake Shimabukuro on Conan O’Brien tonight

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Hawaii’s premier ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro will play on Late Night with Conan O’Brien tonight. If you’re not a stay up late kind of person then set the TiVo/DVR/VCR or whatever other recording apparatus you employ for your viewing pleasures. (Check local listings)

Any time a Hawaii artist can get national exposure its a good thing because people tend to completely rethink what they have always considered to be “authentic” Hawaiian music. Mainlanders and those who have never been to Hawaii seem to thing it’s all slack key of old Hawaii. While slack key is definitely a part of Hawaii and very popular as demonstrated by the Grammy’s the past few years, contemporary and instrumental remains largely undiscovered outside the islands. As we’ve seen with Iz’s “Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World” medley, all it takes is one song and many bought Facing Future because of that song that normally wouldn’t have bought a Hawaiian artist.

Here’s wishing Jake a great reception and opening up people’s minds to the ukulele’s potential when placed in the hands of a truly talented representation of Hawaii.

Update: In case anyone missed it, here’s the performance below. Check it out while you can as they tend to yank Conan’s stuff off YouTube pretty quickly.

WPvideo 1.10

Hawaiian word of the week

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‘Aina-(eye-nah)- land

The alphabet contains 12 letters: 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 7 consonants (h, k, l, m, n, p, w). To simplify pronunciation, sound consonants as in English and break up words so they are easy to say (ie- Humuhumunukunukuapua’a would be pronounced humu-humu-nuku-nuku-apu-a-a)

Pronounce vowels as follows:

a - a in above; e - e in set; i - ee in see; o - o in some; u - oo in moon.

Pronounce vowels marked by a glottal stop (`) quickly ie- o`o sounds like oh-oh! in English.

Stress rising dipthongs (ae, ai, ao, au, oi, ou, eu, ei) on the first letter and end with a short e, i, o or u. ie- oi sounds like oy in soy, ending with a short “i”.

Aloha Friday Recipe: Hawaiian Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart

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1 1/4 cups macadamia nut pieces
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 (9 inch) refrigerated pie crusts
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 eggs, slightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Toast macadamia nut pieces, and coconut flakes in separate pans in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove to cool.

Press one of the pie crusts onto the bottom of a 12 to 14-inch fluted tart pan. Cut the remaining pie crust into strips, and use it to fill in the edges of the tart pan, ensuring that the crust is completely sealed. Gently press the chocolate chips into the pie crust, and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and corn syrup until smooth. Stir in the sugar, margarine, macadamia nuts, and coconut flakes. Pour over pie crust.

Bake in preheated oven until a knife inserted halfway between the center and the edge of the crust comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

(This is perfect if you’re celebrating your Valentine’s Day on the weekend!)

Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com

The hubby did good for Valentines Day

Filed Under Spread the Aloha | 1 Comment

Oh I know, I know, we shouldn’t have to rely on a big “commercial racket” , to quote Charlie Brown, to tell our significant others we love them but when you get a nice bouquet of flowers from the Big Island, whose gonna complain? We’ve always had great results from Linda’s Place of Hawaii in Kurtistown. We’ve used other places and the quality of flowers and packing just weren’t the same. So I was pleasantly surprised to receive this lovely bouquet from my honey. I am always amazed how much Hawaiian flowers cheer up a room. The great thing is you don’t have to wait for Valentines Day or someone else to cheer up your place. Whether you get them from a florist, a grocery store or a roadside farmers market, its a small investment in the way they make you feel and longer lasting than roses.

It always cracked me up to get them at work because people are always so fascinated with them. I’d get all kinds of questions “are they real?” or you’d have people coming up to smell them and say how great the anthuriums smelled. You couldn’t help but giggle because if you’ve ever gotten them you knew darn well they didn’t smell. But I’d take each stem and foliage out and arrange them in a vase I kept in my desk drawer. By the time I was done I had a beautifully arranged and completely unique bouquet that outshined anything in the office. I was the envy of the office and I have to say there was always one girl who always got flowers from her husband any time of year but when I got my beautiful Hawaiian flowers, she always commented on how much she loved them. You can’t help but feel good making the girl who gets 3-5 bouquets a year a little envious with one bouquet.

So how about you? Whether single, dating or married did you do anything to celebrate with your valentine? (Regardless of your valentine…your honey, your kid(s), your pet or yourself)

Surprise your Valentine with tickets to see Dave Matthews!

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The Dave Matthews Band is scheduled to make their first appearance in the islands (gasp!?) at the Kokua Festival in Waikiki on April 19th and 20th at the Waikiki Shell.

Tickets go on sale Saturday, Feb. 16 online at ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 877-750-4400. Tickets are $40 for general admission, $50 for reserved seats and $125 for seats in the pit. Admission for children ages 3-12 is $20.

Everyone have a great Valentines Day with your sweeties!

No excuses Maui! Start washing out those food cans

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The County of Maui Recycling Section, Solid Waste Division has announced it will begin accepting *clean*, washed out food cans in their appropriate recycling bins. These cans are usually made of steel, tin, aluminum and bi-metal and do not have any HI-5 value. Foods typically contained in these cans are fruits, veggies, meat, coffee, tomato and tomato sauces. Every county recycling center will have a clearly marked bin where you can recycle the cans and aluminum. Be sure to take off the lids on them as well. Most importantly if the cans are not washed, they won’t be accepted as they are hand recycled. It only takes a minute to wash out the can immediately after you are done using it so the remnants don’t dry up inside and make it less likely you’ll take care of it later.

For more information, go to the Maui County recycling website: www.mauicounty.gov/recycle

Hawaiian word of the week

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Hale-(ha-lay)- House

Pronounce vowels as follows:

a - a in above; e - e in set; i - ee in see; o - o in some; u - oo in moon.

Pronounce vowels marked by a glottal stop (`) quickly ie- o`o sounds like oh-oh! in English.

Stress rising dipthongs (ae, ai, ao, au, oi, ou, eu, ei) on the first letter and end with a short e, i, o or u. ie- oi sounds like oy in soy, ending with a short “i”.

Aloha Friday Recipe: Tropical Salsa

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½ tomato, diced
1/3 C onion, diced
½ jalapeno, seeded and finely minced
½ C fresh pineapple, diced
½ C mango, diced
2 T each of red and green bell peppers, diced
2 T cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 tsp ground cumin
½ lime, squeezed
Dash of cayenne
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, except for the salt and cayenne. Add a dash of cayenne and season with salt to taste. Serve with grilled shrimp.

Recipe courtesy Chef Cory Dotario, Duke’s Canoe Club