Life's Little Absurdities #242

Okay, a friend invited me to join Facebook yesterday. So I did, and lo and behold, so have a bunch of people I know. FB does something scary. It searches your email address book, and at the touch of a button, contacts everyone you know that it knows....freaky. I'm still not sure who all it contacted on my behalf.

It's fun, but I'm not sure it'll stick for me, since between email and blog and everyday life, I'm kinda busy. Also have tried MySpace, and that didn't stick, either.

What can I say, I'm fickle. :)

In any case, FB is kinda fun. You can send little eggs that hatch into all sorts of things, seedlings that grow into flowers over time, kisses (somebody kiss me back, dadgummit, the program still has me set to "Prude"...hah). You can write on your friends' "walls", post photos, etc.

But the thing that struck me as totally absurd was in the profile section. There's a little line that says, "Interested In..." with a dropdown box of choices. Of the choices, Men and Women struck me funny, so I chose Men.

I'm interested in Men today, plural. Yesterday I was interested in natural history and anthropology. Today I'm interested in Men. Ya know, half the human population, I'm interested in ALL OF 'EM!

Crazy, just nutso....and kinda perverse, init it?

Oops...silly me...there I go thinking too much again. :)

Aloha pumehana...

Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail

[Update 6/26/08 - Guess we didn't do too badly on this trail. We did better than this guy: "Firefighters rescue stranded hiker in Kuliouou - Honolulu Fire Department rescue specialists reached a stranded male hiker from Colorado on the Kuliouou Trail at 10:45 tonight and are escorting him out.
The hiker, who was stranded on a ledge, is not injured, said HFD spokesman Capt. Earle Kealoha. It took the rescue specialists four hours to reach the man on foot and they are expected to bring him out early tomorrow. ..."

Article says they tried to get him with two helicopters, but the wind was too much, so they went in on foot. Poor guy. I wonder where he got stuck.]

Last Saturday, we set off to hike up the Kuliouou Ridge Trail. I'd been wanting to do this for ages, and we chose a beautiful day for it. I'd read that the tippy top has gorgeous sweeping views of the Windward side of the island, and I was determined to give it a go.


That said, Kuliouou Ridge is a challenging hike for me, for many reasons those who know me well can understand. It's an 1800 ft ascent up a craggy mountain over long narrow switchbacks strewn with large boulders and roots, topped by several almost vertical stretches at the top, and lastly, a flight of steep steps at the summit.


With my kind, patient and strong boy by my side, I made it up the switchbacks, over the rocks, up through soft carpets of pine needles, higher and higher until the wind rushed through the trees with a sound I'd never heard before. It was magnificent, an awe-inspiring exhalation like an ocean of air whooshing in incredibly loud waves. And that was just a breeze; made me wonder what it's like up there at night.



Once past the boy scout picnic tables, the steep "intermediate" section begins, with, among other goodies, a near vertical root wall that was particularly challenging for me. Once over that hurdle and on up the ridge, there's - blessedly - a little bench with lovely views. Then the trail narrows out over the ridge with more beautiful sweeping views all the way down to the ocean.


We were so close, only maybe 10-15 minutes away from the summit. But moving on up we encountered an obstacle. It's a near vertical wall of dirt about 15-20 ft high. No rocks, no roots, no trees, no nuthin' to hold on to. There used to be ropes, but a fellow hiker said they were removed about a month ago, and without them, even Kevin couldn't navigate this one.


So we left it at that, and focused on the beautiful surroundings, the views we did get to see, and um...getting down the mountain. :)




Can't say I'm not disappointed to have missed the summit, but s'okay. I'm very proud of Kevin, and myself, that we made it as far as we did. As you can see from the photos, which are chronological on the way up, it's gorgeous up there!

In short, for all *normal* people, this is a phenomenally easy five mile day hike through beautiful terrain with lovely views. :)

Aloha!

Bye George

George Carlin died.
Sigh.

I loved George Carlin. He was irreverent, sure, and as pointedly down to earth as they come, one foot through to China. But there was something gentle and kind and sweetly silly about him.

It's telling that of The Seven Dirty Words I heard as a CHILD (yes, I've had that whole routine memorized from childhood), the one I remember most is "...aaaannnd tits. Tits! Such a friendly sounding word, doesn't even belong on the list..." Every time I hear that word, it makes me laugh, and remember giggling with my sister.

Also "!JUMBO! shrimp" and "why do we drive on a parkway and park in a driveway?"

So here's to George Carlin.
Thanks for the lifetime of laughs that live on.

Aloha pumehana...

Oof!

Okay, here's a sort of placeholder post to let y'all know we're still alive and well. Just...um...tired...heh. We did the Kuliouou Ridge Trail yesterday, which will be a new post as soon as I get the photos done. And today was seal watching day, which was amazing, as usual. And Kevin got his braces this past Wednesday and he starts day camp tomorrow.

So yeah, um, I'm gonna go to bed now...mo' late-ah...

Water Man

COURTESY SYLVAIN CAZENAVEA

photographer in the surf captures Rob Machado riding the waves in Indonesia while shooting the film "Water Man," directed by Hawaii resident Don King, along with Sonny Miller and Jeff Hornbaker. The 55-minute movie screened at the outdoor Celestial Cinema during the Maui Film Festival last week.

WOW!!! Look at that photo!!!

Probably not even supposed to publish it here, but I can't resist, so I'll give full credit everywhere and hope I don't get dinged. Caption is from a Honolulu Star-Bulletin article this morning, regarding a new surfing film featuring Laird Hamilton called "Water Man". If the cinematography is as incredible throughout as it is in that photo, AND I get to look at Laird Hamilton in all his gorgeous glory, I have to see this movie.

Alooooooooooooha!

Be Still

Sunday noon, I brought a friend along to watch over the seals, mama and pup.

It's a stretch of coastline only accessible through private property or by walking for miles along the beach from the nearest public access. The volunteers have permission from the land owners to come and go as long as we're respectful.

So there we were, just the two of us, sitting on this gorgeous pristine stretch of beach with no one else around. While keeping an eye on the snoozing seals, we chatted, we laughed, we walked, we dipped, we were quiet for a long time and watched the water, with its soothing sounds and that unmistakable aroma, at once energizing and calming; the original aromatherapy.

It's amazing what you see when you're still, when your mind and heart open up. A honu swam in front of us on the reef, and we watched the disk of its shell rise and fall in the faces of the waves. Shorebirds arrived and bobbed through the rocks for a bit, then careened off into the blue. White stones shaped like hearts, and lovely whole seashells, perfect spirals of simply complex beauty, peeked up from under the sand. So did the little sandcrabs, before skittering to the water's edge and back. And five minutes before we left, a third monk seal swam up, with its sweet whiskered face curiously perusing the reef for some pupus.

Paradise...truly.

At one point, my friend turned to me and said, "When you live here, it's very easy to forget there are even spots like this left on this island. Remember today."

I will. :)

Aloha pumehana...

Yo Pops

Okay, I looked. I searched. I scoured the internet for a good video to post for Father's Day, but alas, they were all so lame.

The only one at all interesting was of an angry crying ex-Scientologist denouncing the "Church" of Scientology for separating people from their fathers. And...um...I just didn't wanna go there today.

So without further ado, I'd just like to send BIG HUGS and kudos and all that good stuff to all the wonderful dads I know, and particularly my dear brother Jim, and my amazing brother-in-law Ed.

You are ALL making much more of a positive difference in the lives of your children than you will ever know.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!!

Honey Girl and Ali'i

Here are some photos from monk seal mama R5AY (Honey Girl)/pup P02 (Ali'i) observation on Sunday, June 8th.

Ali'i is getting big and chubby and becoming a bit of an adorable loudmouth with a mind of his own. After a nice long nap curled up in the lava rocks, the tide came in and Honey Girl decided they should go in the water, but Ali'i had other ideas. He proceeded to haul himself up further on the rocks. She kept calling for him to come back in the water, and here's what ensued:

"No, you come on out, Mom!"

"Um....MOM!!"
"Oh, crap, now I have to turn around?"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming" That's my boy!


And this one's my favorite...


This is such a wonderful peaceful way to spend my Sundays. I'm so glad we almost tripped over that seal at Malaekahana Beach in October. Now I know it was most likely Honey Girl, and here we are watching over her and her pup. Pretty cool. :)

Aloha pumehana...

Blinders

Warning, this is a rant...

This makes me very angry and so very sad.

There's a headline on CNN today, on the web page, seen the world over. It has to do with a criminal case in Austria; a horrific true story of a father who imprisoned his daughter in a basement, basically a dungeon, for 24 years, and repeatedly raped her, resulting in her bearing him seven children. Three of those children were kept in the dungeon as well, and never saw the light of day until the oldest girl, at 19, fell very ill and needed to be hospitalized in an induced coma, at which point the whole gruesome situation was exposed.

That story, that crime, is vile enough. It's appalling and horrifying and makes me absolutely heartsick for those victims. But that's not what irritated the hell out of me today. It was the headline. I can barely type it, but I must to make my point "Incest Dungeon Girl Wakes From Coma".

What writer, what editor, is so phenomenally cold and uncaring, so lacking in empathy and basic respect for human dignity, as to call this young woman who has been through such an ordeal and almost died, "Incest Dungeon Girl"?!?!?! How would they feel if that were their sister or cousin? I can't even imagine what that might do to her psyche to hear herself described that way to the entire world.

This is a person, a young girl, with a heart and a mind and hopes and fears and a very long road to recovery. She's not simply an object; a sensational story angle good for racking up millions of page views. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just try and think of it from her point of view, lying in that hospital bed, joyous at the prospect of a new real life, only to find out that half the world thinks of you as "Incest Dungeon Girl", and see if you can understand what I mean, and why it makes me cry.

Okay, I'm done now.

Aloha

Aw, I Wanna Be Your Boo

That's it. It's official. I love Anderson Cooper.

This link is classic AC telling oh-so-serious commentator Donna Brazile that he wants to be her boo.



Anderson, I wanna be your boo :)