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Hawaii
THE most unlikely people are writing books for kids these days, the latest being local musician Henry Kapono, who's coming out with Kids book, anyone?
"A Beautiful Hawaiian Day," just in time for Christmas. J.K. Rowling probably inspired the onslaught of books for kids with her hugely successful Harry Potter books. She's still flogging them on TV talk shows. And just the other day, "Today" show co-host Katie Couric, who's just written one as has her weatherman, Al Roker, interviewed former Secretary of Education Bill
Bennett who put me to sleep talking about his new kids book, using that overused word "arguably" twice in two minutes. And if that's not enough, when Jamie Lee Curtis isn't doing ads for Voicestream on TV, she's plugging her own children's book, some pages of which have but one or two words. Easy to fill out a book at that rate ...
IF television for kids is more to your liking than books, be advised that Dr. Joseph Tobin of the UH College of Education and the Center for Japanese Studies has organized a Pokémon Conference here Nov. 20 and 21. Specialists and scholars worldwide are expected for the conference which is entitled, "Nintentionality, or Pikachu's Global Adventure." I'm not making this up ...
THINGS keep happening in Manoa. Asiamanoa held its grand opening party Monday in the old Toyo Superette, next to the new Aveda spa and Aloha Sushi. UH Coach June Jones was among those dining on roast pig, black bean crab, sweet and sour chicken, Singapore mai fun, salt and pepper shrimp etc. The owner of the place is Edmund Pang, whose parents own the Duk Yun Restaurant in Aina Haina ...
Lively 'Chicago' sensational
AMONG those enjoying the opening night of "Chicago" at the Blaisdell Concert Hall was talk show host Rick Hamada and wife Bernadette, brother-in-law and sister respectively of Angela Perez Baraquio, the new Miss America. Bernadette is expecting ("a boy," she informs me) in January, and you can bet who his favorite auntie is going to be ... "Chicago" is a blast, by the way, with a youthful, enthusiastic road company that brings the patented choreography of Bob Fosse to life. What Andrew Lloyd-Webber is to "Cats," Fosse is to hats, using them in what has become his trademark fashion. Both stars Tonya Wathen and Heather Parcells, who I accidentally ran into at dinner on their first night in Honolulu, were sensational and the entire cast a delight with a lively on-stage 10-piece orchestra to boot ...ONE group of folks at the "Chicago" opening were staffers from Brew Moon in Ward Centre. Producer Ronald Andrew couldn't make it to the opening, but he'd heard about the tragic death of 19-year-old Dana Ambrose in a traffic accident, and wanted Dana's co-workers at Brew Moon to ease their grief somewhat by taking in the show as his guests. Andrew had hosted last year's "Miss Saigon" opening party at Brew Moon ...
Laptop dancing
IT'S a wonder there were no fender benders on Dillingham Blvd. when Sprint Hawaii employees were engaged in their "Office Olympics" in the parking lot. Some of the events were synchronized office chair dancing, post-note-paper-clip blow, trash can toss and calculator sprint, a contest involving adding a list of 40 numbers using a different finger for each calculation. Fund-raising activities continue with a Pidgin English Pictionary Contest and Sprint Cook-Off. Their goal: To raise $20,000 ...
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: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com