Pauly Shore, Lynn Cook
LOCALITE Kedric Hasha was looking for just the right anniversary present for wife Susan as they prepare to celebrate 30 years together. When it was announced Luciano Pavarotti was coming to town June 5, Hasha figured that would be just the thing -- front-row seats for him (to accommodate his 6-foot-7 frame) and Susan and a young friend who is mentally retarded. It would set him back $1,000 for the experience -- the bests seats go for $325 each -- but he wanted to go all out. Hasha set up camp at the Blaisdell box office at midnight and was first in line, naturally, when the box office opened for business at 9 a.m. After the nine hours of waiting, he was abashed to find that, when the computer was punched in, "presenter" Tibor Rudas had blocked off all the front-row seats for himself. Nobody at the box office seemed to have advance knowledge of that or Hasha could have saved himself a nine-hour wait. He was so miffed, he pocketed his check and left. Might I suggest he take his wife to San Francisco for the weekend -- the cost is about the same ... Nine-hour
ticket buyer ticked offIT'S politically correct to be a hometown booster, of course, and to point out that 40,000 people bought tickets to the San Diego-St. Louis baseball game Sunday and wouldn't be nice if more teams were to come here, etc. But if there were 40,000 people in Aloha Stadium Sunday I'll personally polish the shoes of each and every one of them. I'll wager it was closer to 30,000 than 40,000. While that's a good crowd, there's apparently a "need" to emphasize the larger figure. Companies must have bought a bundle for the one-time event, but tickets were going begging and people were offering them for free all over town. Let's call it like it is -- Hawaii will support Major League baseball once or maybe twice in a year, especially for, say, the Dodgers vs. Giants, but on a regular basis, forget it ...
NOT all businesses are thrilled when shareholders come calling, but at Planet Hollywood Maui they were tickled to welcome Demi Moore (married to cofounder Bruce Willis), who came by with her kids and some friends. She left with seven new black and silver Planet Hollywood Maui jackets. A couple of days later she deposited the kids in the restaurant's upstairs "Submarine Room" while she got in some shopping ... Also stopping by the Planet was Melissa Hart, star of "Clarissa Tells It All" on Nickelodeon. Also Pauly Shore, fresh off the plane with a girlfriend and on his way to the Ritz-Carlton, but not before gobbling up, you should pardon the ironic expression, a Turkey Burger ... Daily Planet sightings
FRIDAY'S column had an item about a birthday bash at Blackie Wong's downtown Chinese eatery, Wong and Wong Restaurant. Now we can add more Wongs to the mixture. Dropping by Alan Wong's for dinner the other night was Honolulu Symphony maestro Samuel Wong. And also in was actor Russell Wong, who plays detective Nick Wong in the new "Hawaii Five-O" pilot ...
IS it just me or do other people notice little things like the cover photo on the June issue of Hawaii Magazine, devoted to weddings in paradise? The cover features a lei-bedecked bride and groom on the deck of a boat, all smiles with a Hawaii sunset behind them. He's wearing Topsiders, and she's barefoot -- all except for a Band-Aid on her left pinkie toe. Is this a symbol for the stubbing of one's toe on the ship of matrimony? Or merely an oversight? Who knows? ...
WHILE waiting in line for an early morning brew at the December opening of Starbucks in the Kahala Mall, Lynn Cook had found a microphone in her face and KHON-TV morning show reporter Manolo Morales interviewing her in a piece on the store opening. She didn't think much more about it until her family called from Seattle last week and told her she'd been seen on film. "In Seattle?" she asked in amazement. Yep. Seems that video of various Starbucks openings was shown at the annual stockholders meeting and Cook's interview was part of the footage shown ... Cooks drink coffee too
Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.