Otokichi

Although these are the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" days, I prefer Billy Joel to Reg Dwight, aka "Mr. AC-DC." At least Billy Joel didn't perform as Wolfgang Mozart, when he's more in Jerry Lee Lewis' league. Yes, I did like Reg, back when he didn't take himself so seriously. I do have some of Reg's stuff on vinyl...somewhere, but I have Billy Joel on CD. (It's the same with James Taylor vs. Jim Croce; I prefer "Speedball Tucker" to "J.T.")

Crikey! Legions of Salties will shed a tear, over not having had a chance to take a piece out of their most bothersome tormentor. Australia's wildlife will collectively breathe a sigh of relief at not being rousted, handled, and thrust at a camera lens any more. But there are children to carry on. Beware "Son/Daughter of The Crocodile Hunter!" For the moment, will Nigel Marvin risk life and limb to count annual rings on a Saltie's tooth? Right now, Steve Irwin is arm wrestling John Cameron Swayze for a spot on "Heavenly Crocs" on The Gaiea Network, overseen by Roy Chapman Andrews. Hoist the largest can of Foster's Lager you can find, and be sure to yell "Crikey!"

Capsule review: Henry Kapono plugs in and Rocks! Henry Kapono Ka'aihue has burned hot and cold between Rock, Pop, and "Cecilio & Kapono mellow" since the 1970's, when C&K strolled onto the Hawai'i music scene. For 2006, Henry Kapono decided to honor family, home, and the future. Instead of issuing an all-instrumental Slack Key set, that's been silencing many singers, he starts off by turning the traditional "Na Ali'i" to "11" on the Rock scale. This tribute to Hawaiian chiefs of the past moves quickly to "He'eia," a place name song of this favorite surf spot of King Kalakaua. (Known as "The Merrie Monarch," he clearly enjoyed surf, song, and scotch!) Staying on the surfboard, "Taboo" would do Dick Dale proud as an addition to the surf music genre. "Hawai'i Aloha (A Mau Loa)" isn't Rev. Lorenzo Lyons' hymn celebrating Hawaii in song. This is a series of vignettes of the natural wonders known to locals. Here sex, sailing, and a day at the beach meld into a perfect memory. "E Ho Mai," a chant written by a legendary Hula teacher becomes a Rock gospel prayer. Another place name song, "Hilo Hanakahi," is sung as a round, between Kapono and a male chorus. Touring "The Big Island" will never be the same. "Na Makua" is a tribute to elders, specifically beach boys, who taught kids to respect the ocean and themselves. A traditional love song, "Hi'ilawe," is changed into a Rock ballad celebrating young love prevailing in spite of parental objections. Finally, Queen Lili'uokalani's "Ke Aloha O Ka Haku," (aka "The Queen's Prayer") shifts gears from hymn to a call to prevail in the face of adversity. This CD release has generated quite a bit of interest locally, and may finally break the "Slack Key Only" mindset of Hawaiian music Grammy voters. (Yeah, right! Raiatea Helm's "Sweet & Lovely" CD lost out to an Instrumental collection in spite of being the only vocal nominee.)

I've always thought that David Brin's "Uplift" series would be verry interesting. (There is a Galactic Federation, and Earth's humans are regarded as a "wolfling" race that gets a very limited version of "Encyclopeda Galactica.") The series begins with skulduggery aboard a solar research starship ("Sundiver"), continues with active hostilities ("Startide Rising")and ends with Fiben, an uplifted Chimpanzee observing the end of a civil war among "The Galactic Races." ("The Uplift War") Another series takes place on a water planet where a Terran starship is hiding from hostile Galactics. (This one has an intelligent Dolphin crew in "Brightness Reef.") The special efx techs would go crazy if this series ever go to production.

A few corrections, notes, and observations: "The Shortest Story" by Harry Chapin "Mandy" by Barry Manilow (One reason I don't have any Barry Manilow on CD!) "Send In The Clowns" by Judy Collins(?) "The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot (Good enough for Country?) "Same Old Lange Syne" by Dan Fogelberg (What, "Taxi" or "Cat's In The Cradle" by Harry Chapin don't get the raspberry?) Note: "Strange Fruit" is an anti-lynching Jazz protest song! (How's that for a rare bird?) Observation: "Goodbye To Love" by The Carpenters summed up their love lives.

Considering who/where I am, the roles would be a tad restricted. So here goes: *"Lt. Hikaru Sulu" in the "Star Trek" TV and movie series. *Toshiro Mifune in "Seven Samurai,""Yojimbo,""Sanjuro." *Noriyuki (Pat) Morita in his "Japanese soldier" movie roles, perhaps "Mr. Miyagi." *James Shigeta in "Flower Drum Song." *Philip Ahn in his "Sadistic Japanese soldier" movie roles. *Daniel Dae Kim in numerous "Asian thug" movie roles, maybe even "Lost." (Do you sense a trend here?) *Jackie Chan (Yeah, right!)

Almost anything by Leo Kottke, Christopher Parkening, Andres Segovia, or Django Reinhardt. And, yes, "Classical Gas" by Mason Williams. :guitar: For some odd reason, "Ode to Big Blue" by Gordon Lightfoot popped up.

"Pennsylvania 6-5000" performed now and forever by The Glen Miller Orchestra. (With area codes and other access codes for "we're better than THEM!" telephone systems, one could enter 10+ digits!)

Flight 33 from "The Twilight Zone" has dropped me on an island without "Wilson." However, there's a TV and a DVD player plus some movies: "Field of Dreams" "Like Water For Chocolate" "Cocoon" "The natural" "Kelly's Heroes" "It's A Wonderful Life" "Raiders of the Lost Ark" "Blazing Saddles" "Fargo" "Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands" "Il Postino" "Monty Python & The Holy Grail" "The Iron Giant" "King Kong" (1933 version) "Bowfinger" "Mister Roberts" "Never Cry Wolf" "My Cousin Vinny" "October Sky" "Pinocchio" "On The Beach" "Shakespeare In Love" "Tampopo" "Whale Rider" "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" (1954) "Billy Eliot" "Galaxy Quest" "Cinema Paradiso" "A League of Their Own" "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" "A Shot In The Dark" "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" "Stalag 17" "All Quiet on the Western Front" "The Shawshank Redemption" "Amadeus" "Singin' In The Rain" "Toy Story I & II" "Stand By Me" "Deep Impact" "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" "Dolores Claiborne" "Star Wars IV: A New Hope" "Hotel Rwanda"

My older sister (4 years) played quite a number of 45 singles and wept "The Day The Music Died." (Who was "The Big Bopper"? "Richie Valens"?) The folks tried to introduce Classical music, and other acceptable music, which added to the mental catalog. (Both were elementary school teachers, and dad ended up a teaching Principal of a small country school in the late 1960's.) At one point, I got tired of Doo-Wop and Rock love songs such that I tuned into Jazz radio. (Walter Wanderly, Cal Tjader, John Coltrane, etc.) That led to Folk, which was fine with my attending-university sister. (Joan Baez, Tom Paxton, The Kingston Trio, Pete Seeger, The Limelighters, PP&M.) Finally, The Beatles invaded the U.S., along with The Rolling Stones, etc. (The Beatles never did play Hawai'i, though they did sneak in for a vacation, only to find rabid fans making their visit Hell.) At college, Vietnam colored music Paisley and Mellow Yellow. In the mid-1970's Hawaiian music and things Hawaiian hit the radio and numerous local pubs and Andrews Ampitheater at U.H. Manoa. So, I'm at home with Chuck Berry, Count Basie, Charles Dutiot, John Fogerty, The Rippingtons, The Who, Keali'i Reichel, Ivan Lins, Great Big Sea, Rafael Kubelik, Jim Croce, and Tangerine Dream. (Sometimes all in one iTunes playlist!)

Speaking of Death, how about "After Life" aka "Wannafuru Raifu"? (I thought it was more interesting than the overblown "What Dreams May Come.") Speaking of Italian Life, how about "Il Postino" and "Cinema Paradiso"? As for me, I'd like to find "Mountain Patrol" aka "Kekexili" when it finally pops up on DVD, since it passed through Honolulu at warp speed.

Here are two bass players you've never heard of: Jazz: Ron Carter World: Robert Cazimero

I'm reading "The Millionaire Next Door" by Stanley & Danko. Forget the likes of Paris Hilton, this is a case study in the likes of Sam Walton or H.L. Hunt. (That is, someone who prefers to buy from JC Penney, drives a "domestic iron" sedan, has a wife who clips discount coupons instead of frequenting Macy's, and doesn't look "Rich," but is definitely worth at least $1 million.) In a nutshell: save/invest more than you spend, have a plan for the future, and find a "soulmate for life."

For those who haven't seen the current Hummer H3 TV ads, here's a text description. http://www.fatmixx.com/category/random/ I'd time-shifted the local news and was skipping commercials to get to the next story when THIS flashed by. I turned back to get a better look at what the "brick merchants" were up to reduce inventory. So, the kid gets bumped back a space at the playground slide and all "Ms. Soccermom" can think of is to trade in the kid transporter for a Hummer H3? As if that weren't bad enough, there's the "Get Your Girl On" phrase that reeks of entitlement and "immature adulthood." I haven't seen the other commercial...yet, but scarfing down Tofu instead of Kobe beef is a good thing. (Ahnold vs. Kwai Chang Caine? No contest, Ahnold's a human pretzel.) By the way, Hawai'i unleaded gasoline goes for $3.15+/gallon at this time. (Things are worse on the outer islands. For example, the folks in Hilo, Hawai'i, get Big Island unleaded at $4.41/gallon.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallis_Bird Here's what I could find out from a Google! search and link crawl.

One notable funeral march: Maurice Ravel, "Pavane for a Dead Princess" (Used as the opening and closing theme for the TV show, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" back in the black-and-white days.)

I've time-shifted "Next Stop, Discovery" for post-July 4th viewing. This is Fuji TV's "take the subway/tram/local bus from here to there and see what's at certain stops/stations in Tokyo/Japan." Broadcast/subtitled locally by KIKU TV, this current version of "Soko Ga Shiritai" looks at food, culture, side street industries, unexpected sights, etc. What's "Soko Ga Shiritai," you ask? TBS' (Japan) 1985-1997 infotainment series that visited neighborhood Japan in search of interesting people, places, food, sights, and situations. (As in: "Who/what is behind strange looking classified ads?")

When "Patriotic Songs" and "The 4th of July" are mentioned, I see The Boston Pops raising the band shell a few inches with John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever." (I've read that during the Iran-Irag War, The Ayatollahs' recruiters were playing this tune to get more "martyrs" into the Iranian army!) So, let's hear it for Arthur Fiedler, who had the Stars & Stripes unfurl at the climax of this tune.

"Yacht Rock"? Don't ya know that "Your momma don't dance and your daddy don't rock & roll"? Forget those artificial playlists, we're on a fishing boat here, playing "Vahevala" or "Taking Care of Business," hauling in shrimp, crabs, or lobsters for those yacht owners. Don't know about you, but my collar is as blue as the sea. (Great Big Sea, that is.) :guitar:

Backstabbing. Alliances. Hiding Clues. Faking telephone messages. Accusing other teams of skulduggery. Racing from site to site, trying to piece clues together. Yep, NBC's answer to CBS' "The Amazing Race," "Treasure Hunters." I came to this late, but there's a way for the audience to get in on this hunt, too.

If the plot of "Cars" looks/sounds familiar, find a DVD/T-120 of "Doc Hollywood," which is a fairy tale for adults stuck in the fast lane. The smart ones know which storyline to steal and how to modify/FUBAR it. Still, it's a lot better than all of the remakes Hollyweird dumps at the local Movieplex, eh?

Turner Classic Movies is 24/7, so that's where I go to check out "movies you haven't seen yet." A partial list: "The Shop Around The Corner" "Sunset Boulevard" "The Gunfighter" "To Be Or Not To Be" (Jack Benny original) "Double Indemnity" "White Heat" "Get On The Bus" "Superfly" (Richard Roundtree's "Shaft" was better) "Meet Me In St. Louis" "Stalker" "The Lost Weekend"

If I have to choose, it's "Queen." The across the street neighbor's boys played Led Zep (badly) for hours at a time. (When they weren't broadcasting it across the street on their stereo at level 11!) As for Pink Floyd...interesting, in a "Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention" kind of way.

"Mr. Holland's Opus" is an interesting film, but (judging from fallout from "No Child Left Behind" and bond issues) most tax payers don't think The Arts are THAT important. The Arts are THAT important, of course, but take a back seat to Globalization and other threats to the nation. (I also wasn't exactly impressed by "Glen Holland's 'American Symphony.") Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" and "Appalachian Spring" struck the National Unity chord when most needed during World War II without all the sound and fury.

When the phrases "the 1980's" and "VH-1" collide, I recall a weekend segment on Jazz/New Age/Pop/Rock/Unclassifiable titled "New Visions" hosted by Steve Miller Band keyboardist, Ben Sidran. Back then, the MTV Networks still played music, and this studio show featured guest artists who played tunes/compositions between music videos. As I recall, a few who played: Dave Valentin, Hugh Masakela, The League of Crafty Guitarists, Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Dave Grusin, Liz Story, Bill Bruford, etc. (I used to have these on SuperBeta HiFi tapes, but time, worn out VCRs, and termites did the collection in before I thought to transfer it to VHS.) Too bad MTV/VH-1 do everything else BUT music these days.