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Gallery item makes
a comfortable seat

SHE SAT, THEY SOLD: Casting agent Anna Fishburn, waiting for a friend who had promised to join her for "First Friday," noticed a chair at the entrance to one of the downtown galleries, assumed it was there for the convenience of shoppers, and sat on it. When Fishburn learned that the comfortable "convenience" was actually merchandise for sale she promptly bought it ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: To Timo Tatofi, who is celebrating today ... also to Marlene Baldueza and Roger Wilco (Friday), Ikaika Kahoano (Sunday), William "Baba" Alimoot (Monday) and Larry Paxton (Wednesday) ...

CONGRATULATIONS: To Jonny Lang, who sold out concerts on Maui and the Big Island last weekend. Lang wraps up his four-island Hawaiian tour with shows at Pipeline Cafe tonight and tomorrow ... and to Grammy Award-winning record producer Charles Michael Brotman on signing a deal with Starbucks that will put his Grammy-winning compilation album, "Slack Key Guitar Volume 2," on sale at local Starbucks stores. Starbucks has been selling CDs for years. Good to see them supporting Hawaii's music ...

INTERESTING PEOPLE: Donna Chun has been absent from the nightlife scene for several months -- and with good reason. She's committee clerk for high-profile Sen. Brian Kanno ... Patrick "Sun" Lovell, sound engineer of the Outrigger Main Showroom in the late-1980s, is working with Court Vision Communications. He's in charge of video and digital sound recording and video conferences in courtrooms and prisons across the state. One of the great things about the job? "I don't have to carry heavy speakers and sound equipment" ...

BEN JUAN STEPS FORWARD: The original eight members of Honolulu had so much talent among them that drummer Benjamin Juan spent most of his time in the background while the other guys were in the spotlight up front. Juan was left stranded and without work when four members abruptly quit and the group was then fired by the club they'd been headlining, but he's back on the scene and doing an effective job fronting Shining Star, one of several bands working the oldies-show and wedding-reception circuit. Juan and his band were headliners for the "Down to the Disco" dinner dance in the Dole Cannery Ballroom last Saturday ...