Stink Eye in the Sky

January 13, 2008 > MAUI TODAY, > Maui Yesterdays No Comments
Aloha

Click for Kahului, Hawaii ForecastInt’l Skeptics Day
Day 13 of 2008
33 days left in this year
HAWAIIAN WORD OF THE DAY — Ho ‘omaloka: Skeptic
 PIDGIN WORD OF THE DAY — Stink Eye: Dirty look
 HAWAIIAN PROVERB OF THE DAY —
“Too much whittling leaves only a littl wood..”

Surveillance camerasJanuary 13th, 2002: About four weeks before the program was going to be installed here on Maui, the State decides to pull out of the “public safety camera” business. The covert filming program, nicknamed “Van Cam” on Oahu, lasted just two weeks. Public outcry was enormous. Ostensibly a traffic law enforcement program, people rightly feared the cameras would be used to pry open their lives.The police killed the project.The death didn’t last for long. Rather than learning that the public didn’t like such programs, the government learned not to install a project in public, following the age-old dictum, what someone doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Though thousands of cameras have been installed across the state since 9.11, no one knows how many or where. Chances are, if you’re on a street or lot in Kihei, Kahului, Wailuku, or Lahaina, you’re being taped.

By the way, the most live-photographed part of the world is Washington, DC. It is reported that every corner is monitored by a surveillance camera.

HISTORICAL EVENTS ON THIS DAY — January 13th

  • 1559: Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey
  • 1610: Galileo Galilei discovers Callisto, the 4th satellite of Jupiter
  • 1630: The patent to Plymouth Colony is issued
  • 1695: Jonathan Swift ordained an Anglican priest in Ireland
  • 1929: The Humanist Society is established (Hollywood, CA)
  • 1930: The Mickey Mouse comic strip first appears
  • 1958: The U.S. newspaper, “Daily Worker,” ceases publication
  • 2000: Bill Gates steps down as CEO of Microsoft
  • 2001: An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter Scale strikes El Salvador, killing more than 840 people

BORN ON THIS DAY — January 13th

  • 1834: Horatio Alger, Jr, author
  • 1884: Sophie Tucker, singer,
  • 1885: Alfred Fuller, CEO (Fuller Brush Man)
  • 1919: Robert Stack, actor
  • 1925: Gwen Verdon, actress/singer/dancer
  • 1947: John Lees, rock guitarist/vocalist (Medicine Man)
  • 1952: Cornelius Bumpus, keyboardist (Doobie Bros-Minute by Minute)
  • 1955: Fred White, rocke musician (Earth Wind & Fire-Shining Star, Easy Lover)
  • 1955: Jay McInerney, author
  • 1956: Malcolm Foster, rocker (Pretenders-Mystery Achievement)
  • 1961: Graham “Suggs” McPherson, rock musician
  • 1961: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, comedienne
  • 1962: Trace Adkins, country singer
  • 1966: Patrick Dempsey, actor
  • 1977: Orlando Bloom, actor

From Sense to Soulfulness

January 13, 2008 Raphael O'Suna No Comments

The hotels on Maui are enchanted oases. Time slows. The active nature inside ourselves stands back on its heels, or stretches out on a chair or sand.

Umbrellas shade us, waiters and waitresses serve us, water–salted or plain–refreshes us. A gentle breeze cools our necks and whispers to our ears. The sun itself–the great painter of light–brightens, warms, teases us by hiding behind a cloud.

Hawaiian music, as an old memory, weaves itself in and out of consciousness. As do laughter, children’s screams and all the things not being done.

Hair of all shades, lengths and colors swings along the paths, and glistening skin, hand held devices and cameras pause beneath the palms. Then, they too disappear.

Only the movements of children are abrupt. And only those on duty know or care what’s coming next.

Bright colored sails and a vaporous mountain across the sea, lend perspective, adventure and mystery.

Nothing compares with this. No complaints whatever the cost. Exaggeration is not a word along these flowered paths. No better weather; no better setting or atmosphere to bring on rest and relaxation; no greater magic or enchantment anywhere.

This is an American pilgrimage. A journey inward from sense to soulfulness. It remains to be seen, however, whether or not this state can thrive beyond these scented sanctuaries.

– Raphael O’Suna , Haiku