Politicians need
to take a hikeLEAVE it to the politicians! They want to spend more than $20 million to make Diamond Head more accessible, and charge a fee so people who reach the top can get a lovely view, though perhaps not quite as lovely as it is now when it's free. I have friends who used to climb to the top of Diamond Head almost daily, before it became "too commercialized." They haven't seen anything yet.They're talking about a tramway from the parking area to the trail base. Wait until the advocates for the disabled make their point that the City enterprise isn't wheelchair accessible. What to do? Why not put in an elevator to the top? It'll make an easier time of it for everyone and justify the charge. Why not put a Starbucks at the top so people won't have to lug bottled water or a thermos of whatever? Heck, why not a shuttle from the hotels to the tramway to make this now tiring exercise in hiking a breeze? Would any of this be an improvement? I don't think so ...
HPD Captain Alan Arita has a second career -- he's a magician. When on his way to Maui to do an illusion show for the Fuji/Xerox people, a fellow traveler asked, "How did you get your doves rainbow colored?" His assistant, Olive Zanakis immediately replied, "They hatched from Easter eggs." Nodding his head knowingly, the fellow said, "That's what I thought." ... Proof that a Hawaiian dish is not "foreign" cuisine: Cookbook author Kaui Philpotts' recipe for Tutu-man's Teriyaki Chicken is featured in a nationally released book, "Saveur Cooks Authentic American," published by Chronicle Books and the New York editors of Saveur Magazine. Philpotts will be signing copies of her latest isle cookbook, "Hawaiian Country Tables," on Dec. 12 at Vagabond House in Ward Centre ...
SPEAKING of books, attorney Brad Coates is holding a booksigning of what he feels will be his last book, "Divorce With Decency," on Dec. 11 at Cafe Che Pasta downtown. A flier about the signing quotes Dorothy Parker (writing about another book) who said, "This is not a book to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force." And if Coates had said it, instead of Alexander Woolcott, it would have come out, "Ah, what could be rarer than a Coates first edition." To which Franklin Pierce Adams would have responded, "A Coates second edition?" ...
ON television they call them "full-figured girls." That's the target audience of comedienne-turned-fashion designer Fran Bratten, whose motto seems to be, "If you can't hide it, decorate it." Bratten, herself a size 20, nixes the notion you must be svelte to wear high fashion and has her own line to prove it. She'll be appearing at Liberty House Pearlridge Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. and at LH Ala Moana Dec. 5 at 1 p.m. ...
WHEN publicist Bonnie Friedman called client David Paul Johnson the other day, she could barely understand him due to crunching sounds. What does a trim young chef snack on, she wondered? He confessed it was caramel. "I bought three huge cans of the stuff and a case of microwave buttered popcorn from my son, Matthew. He was selling it to raise money for his cub scout troop" said the chef. "I couldn't resist." ...
From dessert to desert
YOU might want to check out Lavinia Currier's film, "Passion in the Desert," based on the controversial novella by Honore de Balzac, Friday through Sunday at the Academy of Arts ...And another desert film, "Mysteries of Egypt," is now playing at the IMAX Theater in Waikiki, showing the tombs and treasures of Egypt on a screen eight stories tall ...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.
His columns run Monday through Friday.Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.