Linda Boyden was the second (and since there have been many more) person that I had gotten to know in the online kid lit community who invited me to stay before meeting me. It was in October of 2012 and … Continue reading
Add a CommentViewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: Hawaii, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 25 of 46
Blog: Miss Marple's Musings (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: YA, Interview, SCBWI, poetry, picture books, Illustrators, Hawaii, Native American, Illustrator interview, Lee and Low, Linda Boyden, Powwow's Coming, WNDB, Boy and Poi Poi Puppy, Roxy Reindeer, Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers, Add a tag
Blog: The Children's War (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: YA, Diversity, Philippines, Hawaii, Spies, Japanese Americans, Add a tag
Zenji Watanabe is 17 years old in the summer of 1941, a Nesei born on Honolulu to Japanese parents. Naturally, he is fluent in both Japanese and English. He has also just graduated from high school and is thinking about studying Buddhism in Japan, Meanwhile, he was working to help support his family - mother, older brother Henry, younger sister Aiko, father deceased.
All that changes when Zenji's JROTC commanding officer Colonel Blake shows up at his house one day. He wants Zenji to be interviewed and tested, but for what? To travel to the Philippines to translate some documents from Japanese to English.
But when Zenji arrives in Manila, he is instructed to stay at the Momo, a hotel where Japanese businessmen like staying, to befriend them and keep his ears and eyes open. He is given the key to a mail box that he is required to check twice a day to be use for leaving and receiving information and instructions. Zenji is also given a contact person, Colonel Jake Olsten, head of G2, the Military Intelligence Service, and even a code name - the Bamboo Rat.
In December 1941, the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor and the war in the Pacific begins. It isn't long before the Americans are forced to withdraw from Manila. Zenji chooses to remain, giving his seat on the last plane out to another Japanese American with a family. Not long after that, he is taken prisoner by the Japanese, who torture and threaten him trying to make him admit he is the Bamboo Rat, and considering him a traitor to his county - Japan.
Eventually, the Japanese give up and Zenji is sent to work as a houseboy/translator for the more humane Colonel Fujimoto. Fujimoto seems to forget that Zenji is a prisoner of war, and begins to trust him more and more.
By late 1944, it's clear the Japanese are losing the war in the Pacific. They decide to evacuate Manila and go to Baguio. Even though food is in short supply, Zenji starts to put some aside for the day he may be able to escape into the jungle and wait for the war to end.
But of course, the best laid plans don't always work out the way we would like them to and that is true for Zenji. Will he ever make it back to Honolulu and his family?
WOW! Graham Salisbury can really write an action-packed, exciting and suspenseful novel. Salisbury was born and raised in Hawaii, so he gives his books a sense of place that pulsating with life. Not many authors explore the Japanese American in Hawaii experience during World War II and not many people realize that they were never, for the most part, interned in camps the way the Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians on the west coast of the US and Canada were. And although Hawaii was only an American territory until it became a state in 1959, if you were born there, you had American citizenship, just like Zenji continuously tells his Japanese captors throughout Hunt for the Bamboo Rat.
At first, I thought Zenji was too gentle, too innocent and too trusting for the kind of work he was recruited to do, which amounted to the dangerous job of spying. But he proved to be a strong, tough character even while he retained those his aspects of his nature. Ironically, part of his survival as a spy and a POW is based in what his Japanese Buddhist priests had taught him before the war.
One of the nice elements that Salisbury included are the little poems Zenji's mother wrote. Devising a form of her own, and written in Kanji, it is her way of expressing her feelings. They are scattered throughout the book. Zenji receives one in the mail just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor and keeps it with him as long as he can, deriving comfort from it.
Like the first novel I read by Salisbury, Eyes of the Emperor, one kept me reading straight through until I finished it. It is the fourth novel in his Prisoners of the Empire series, and it is a well-crafted, well-researched story, but it is a stand alone novel. Zenji's story is based on the real wartime experiences of Richard Motoso Sakakida.
True to form, Salisbury brings in a lot of history, along with real people and events, but be careful, fact and fiction are seamlessly woven together. He also includes the tension between the Filipino people and the Japanese after the Philippines are occupied by the Japanese and the cruel treatment of the Filipino people. And included is the tension between Chinese and Japanese in Hawaii because of the Nanjing massacre of Chinese civilians in 1937/38.
All of this gives Hunt for the Bamboo Rat a feeling of authenticity. There is some violence and reading the about Zenji's torture isn't easy, so it may not appeal to the faint at heart.
Hunt for the Bamboo Rat is historical fiction that will definetely appeal to readers, whether or not they particularly enjoy WWII fiction. And be sure to look at the Author's Note, the Glossary and additional Resources at the end of the novel.
This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was purchased for my personal library
Blog: OUPblog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Sarah Rahman, George Fromby, Music, ukulele, Hawaii, Oxford Reference, ukelele, *Featured, Cliff Edwards, Online products, Add a tag
The ukulele, a small four-stringed instrument of Portuguese origin, was patented in Hawaii in 1917, deriving its name from the Hawaiian word for “leaping flea.” Immigrants from the island of Madeira first brought to Hawaii a pair of Portuguese instruments in the late 1870s from which the ukuleles eventually developed. Trace back to the origins of the ukulele, follow its evolution and path to present-day popularity, and explore interesting facts about this instrument with Oxford Reference.
1. Developed from a four-string Madeiran instrument and built from Hawaiian koa wood, ukuleles were popular among the Hawaiian royalty in the late 19th century.
2. 1893’s World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago saw the first major performance of Hawaiian music with ukulele on the mainland.
3. By 1916, Hawaiian music became a national craze, and the ukulele was incorporated into popular American culture soon afterwards.
4. Singin’ In The Rain vocalist Cliff Edwards was also known as Ukulele Ike, and was one of the best known ukulele players during the height of the instrument’s popularity in the United States.
5. When its sales reached millions in the 1920s, the ukulele became an icon of the decade in the United States.
6. Ernest Ka’ai wrote the earliest known ukulele method in The Ukulele, A Hawaiian Guitar and How to Play It, 1906.
7. The highest paid entertainer and top box office attraction in Britain during the 1930s and 40s, George Fromby, popularized the ukulele in the United Kingdom.
Headline image credit: Ukuleles. Photo by Ian Ransley. CC BY 2.0 via design-dog Flickr.
The post Seven fun facts about the ukulele appeared first on OUPblog.
Blog: (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Uncategorized, Hawaii, intuition, Edgar Cayce, characteristics of intuition, Intuitive insights, healing dreams, On Intuition, intuitive healing, Association for Research and Development, Osher Life Long Learning Institute, Add a tag
Edgar Cayce in his numerous readings made many references to dreams but relatively few to intuition itself. Recently, for a class at the University of Hawaii Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) I gave a presentation on intuition as it is seen in Edgar Cayce’s readings which, by the way, can be accessed when one is a member of The Edgar Cayce Association for Research and Enlightenment.
To prepare for the class I reviewed many of the readings and came up with these observations.
- Intuition is a force of the mind that works to promote the good. The mind is what Case called the Builder in that it is what constructs our views, which in turn manifests the results on the physical plane.
- Intuition is different from the Sixth Sense which he defined as a force, an activity, of the soul. Reading 5754-1 says that the Sixth Sense is that part of us that represents our Ideal and stands “ever on guard before the throne of the Creator itself.” We can catch glimpses of it in dreams. Intuition’s role is to bring us into sync with this Sixth Sense and its purpose for our lives.
- Intuition helps us understand the Oneness of all things. All truths ultimately go back to one truth and intuition helps us see and experience this interconnectedness of all things and all people.
- Intuition informs the mental which in turn influences the betterment of health in the body. Intuition is a driving force that inspires us to get a better understanding of what it means to live a life truer to our ideal and treat our body in better ways so that we can become healthy. Disease and unhappiness result when we lose sight of our Ideal and chase after other distractions.
- Insights from intuition and dreams can promote better health. Intuition and dreams are ultimately accessing the same kind of information. Edgar Cayce thought that we need to get in touch with our bodies and learn from the body 1) through meditation or 2) by being aware of our dreams. These methods would help us to grow spiritually and understand what our bodies need to be healthy.
- Tapping into the subconscious mind brings us into contact with all other subconscious minds. Edgar Cayce was able to do this to a very high degree. When we meditate we can also begin to experience this kind of insight. Imagine being able to have access to what is in the minds of the greatest people who have ever lived or will live. Imagine what it would be like to look into the heart of Jesus or the mind of the Buddha. You can also tune into the minds of doctors, scientists, musicians and artists to help you in your life!
Blog: Tonia Allen Gould's Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Hawaii, mortal, Doritos, Maui, Honolulu, Author Posts, bipeds, california birds, humans can't fly, birds, Writing, Add a tag
The birds of Hawaii, in their multitude of colors and forms, strut and alternate their strides with their heads held high. Bipeds that are confident. Secure. Fearless. Their flight plan involves plopping right down in your personal space, breathing your air and eyeing your food, waiting for you to leave so they can partake, but they always patiently wait their turn by eating the crumbs fallen at your feet. For days, I’ve been watching these birds and I can attest that they are completely undaunted by your presence here in their Hawaii. For you are a mere human, mortal–and you certainly cannot fly. The birds here are showy, pluming and preening their feathers in front of you, as if they are courting you with their Aloha Spirit. Californian birds, or the birds from my home state, are much more enigmatic, evasive, skittish and untouchable, sometimes like the people who live there–some of whom would snatch your bag of Doritos right out of your hands if you’d let them.
Blog: the enchanted easel (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: beach, children's art, ocean, recipe, hawaii, whimsical, sandwich, luau, sand, kraft, tropical, pineapple, original painting, they draw and cook, palm tree, the enchanted easel, girl, boy, pig, Add a tag
Blog: Kathleen Rietz (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: apples, hot pink, design, illustration, just for fun, watercolor, green, Kathleen Rietz, Hawaii, Add a tag
Blog: Stef's sketches (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Sketches, hawaii, truck, surf, kauai, Add a tag
I did few paintings and sketches there, I'll share them soon, meanwhile, here is what appeared to be a very popular way to go around the island with all you need in the trunk.
Blog: Shelf-employed (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Hawaii, missionaries, digital audiobook, history, book review, adult, religion, Add a tag
An adult book today...
Vowell, Sarah. 2011. Unfamiliar Fishes. Simon and Schuster Audio.
If you're looking for something recent in adult nonfiction, try Sarah Vowell's, Unfamiliar Fishes, which chronicles the transformation of Hawaii since the arrival of Captain Cook and more importantly, the first missionaries. As is her way, Ms. Vowell is both erudite and playful, offering carefully researched history punctuated with the droll realities of the contemporary and the commonplace. (e.g., why Barack Obama is our first "plate lunch" president) Though she does not count herself among the believers of any religion, she is nevertheless well-schooled in and respectful of the beliefs of native Hawaiians and the later arrivals. She gives credit and scorn equally, deservedly and humorously. If you've never heard her quirky little voice before (she is the voice of Violet in The Incredibles), you're likely to love it or hate it. I love it. Listen for yourself.
Blog: Crazy Quilts (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Pinterest, Diversity Issues, Technology and Gadgets, Independent Book Bloggers Contest, GoodReads, Hawaii, Add a tag
GoodReads is currently sponsoring the Independent Book Bloggers Contest. Independent bloggers who live in the US, are over 18 and have a GoodReads account entered their blog to be voted as a readers favorite. Winners in each of the four categories will receive a trip to BookExpo America this summer. I entered my blog. I want to go to BookExpo, but I didn’t expect to win. I did expect to expose my blog to people who may never have heard of it, but for some reason, GoodReads didn’t put my blog in the running. I did look through the blogs that did get entered and found a couple that I found quite interesting.
I found the Hawaii Book Blog. Their mission statement reads
“The world’s books are as diverse as the people who read and author them. Hawaiʻi’s own literary landscape is beautifully unique because of the various cultures that inhabit its islands. Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack London—these are well known names in literature, but they are also important to Hawaiʻi’s individual literary history. These great authors had much to say about our islands and there are many more authors like them to be found still. The main purpose of this blog is to provide people with a comprehensive platform to learn and discuss books about Hawaiʻi and the Pacific, books by local authors, or books published by local companies. Hawaiʻi’s books are multi-cultural and multi-generational with universal conflicts and themes.”
The blog announces many reading related activities on the islands such as the annual Celebrate Reading . To celebrate National Poetry Month, they’re collecting poems for Poems in you Aloha-shirt day on 24 April.
Also from Hawaii is Michelle and Leslie’s Book Picks.Michelle and Leslie are two sisters!
Michelle is 24 years old and I live in Hawaii. She has adegree in elementary education and is currently pursuing hermasters in library science. Her favorite books to read are young adult fiction and contemporary and historical romances. Leslie is a 14 year old high school sophomore. Her favorite genre is YA with paranormal and fantasy elements. (Take from their “About Us page”)
Have you found any noteworthy blogs in the contest, or is yours entered?
Do any of you Pinterest? I’ve avoided it for a long time, but recently got an invitation and am planning to put the May releases by authors of color on there.
Filed under: Diversity Issues, Technology and Gadgets Tagged: GoodReads, Hawaii, Independent Book Bloggers Contest, Pinterest 0 Comments on Blogging Diversity as of 4/18/2012 10:24:00 AM
Blog: the enchanted easel (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: flowers, pig, beach, children's illustration, recipe, hawaii, whimsical, sandwich, pineapple, they draw and cook, surfboard, the enchanted easel, pippa, Add a tag
Blog: the fabled needle | an art, craft and sewing blog! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: hawaii, Vintage, tropical, Frocks & Such, Add a tag
Tropical prints: the perfect subject for the hot weather we’ve been having down here in L.A. (I’m drinking iced decaf Kona coffee too–how appropriate!) Another reason for this post: a couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon this delightful article about tropical prints on BurdaStyle and since then I’ve wanted to share some of my Hawaii-inspired dresses with you.
People seem to either love or hate these “kitschy” and bold floral designs. You can already guess how I feel about them–I love ‘em! Always have, actually. Perhaps because they remind me of my Grandma or the ’40s. Or old men in Hawaiian shirts (so cute!).
The above dress is made from this vintage pattern, Advance #9054:
Fitting this dress…ack. The Princess seams are flattering but, if you’re not perfectly proportioned according to the pattern, trying to get the fit right in a pain in the bum. (At least it was for me; this dress took far longer than I would have thought due to sizing and other issues!) Overall though I’m happy with the resulting frock (me in Maui):
I found the cotton fabric at a store on a previous trip to Oahu. I love the violet and turquoise color combination and the huge tropical flowers.
Somehow, I misunderstood the pattern and the tabs ended up on the wrong side of the bodice…since I didn’t have enough fabric to cut a new front piece I had to cut and move the tabs over to the other side–d’oh!
Oh well. I like the buttons anyhow (vintage bakelite with mother of pearl).
I’ve also collected a few Hawaiian dresses over the years, inexpensive smocked tubes you can find at any ABC Store (love) or The International Market Place.
Oh look, my studio is a complete disaster! I feel like such a bad housewife sometimes. Anyway, the dress is cute and super comfy. And I just adore the minty green so much. This is a typical look for me during SoCal springs and summers complete with slip on open-toed shoes and vintage bag.
Here are some swatches of the other dresses I have, in the same style:
0 Comments on Dress Parade {Tropical Prints} as of 1/1/1900
Blog: The Excelsior File (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: picture book, sports, biography, olympics, swimming, hawaii, surfing, richard waldrep, ellie crowe, duke kahanamoku, lee and low, '07, Add a tag
The Life of Duke Kahanamoku by Ellie Crowe illustrations by Richard Waldrep Lee and Low 2007 A bit of bait-and-switch on this picture book biography of the father of modern surfing as it focuses more on his accomplishments as a swimmer. As a kid, "Duke" wasn't much for school, but he loved the water. He loved swimming and surfing, riding the waves at Waikiki Beach on 100-plus
Blog: What are we doing today Mom? (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Hawaii, Add a tag
As with everytime I visit Hawaii I have new great memories, a new store of Vitamin D reserves, fresh sun-kissed skin, and some extra love for my husband. Thank you Hawaii - Mahalo!
Blog: What are we doing today Mom? (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: church, Hawaii, Add a tag
Blog: What are we doing today Mom? (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: beach, Hawaii, Add a tag
Blog: What are we doing today Mom? (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: food, Hawaii, Add a tag
Blog: What are we doing today Mom? (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: food, Hawaii, Add a tag
Hawaiian sweetbread is pretty great too! I'm not one to turn down a bakery stop.
Blog: What are we doing today Mom? (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: art, Hawaii, Add a tag
Blog: What are we doing today Mom? (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: beach, Hawaii, Add a tag
Blog: What are we doing today Mom? (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Hawaii, Field Trip, Add a tag
Blog: Kris Bordessa (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Food, Travel, vacation, romance, Hawaii, grilling, dining, Honolulu, Oahu, Shore Bird, Waikiki, Add a tag
If you’re looking for a unique dining experience in Hawaii, make reservations for dinner at the Shore Bird Restaurant and Beach Bar. The open air, oceanfront restaurant located in the Outrigger Reef on the Beach Waikiki affords a gorgeous sunset view from Waikiki Beach, making this a great spot for a romantic interlude. But it’s not your usual restaurant meal. Once you’ve placed your order, your server will bring your fresh meat or seafood entrée to the table – for you to cook. You’ll be instructed on suggested cooking time for your entrée and sent off to the community grill. The grilling area features a professional grill and is equipped with various cooking sauces, spices, and barbecue utensils as well as a large clock with which to keep track of cooking time. It’s a fun and festive atmosphere as diners mingle over the grill awaiting their entrées. Mai tai optional.
Blog: Kris Bordessa (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: ukulele, Hawaii, Hawaiian music, uke, Add a tag
Oh, you grammar mavens are cringing over the possibility of an ‘ukulele, I just know it. But while you’ve probably known this tiny four-stringed instrument as a you-ka-lay-lee, that’s an anglified version of a Hawaiian word. The Hawaiian pronunciation is oo-koo-ley-ley. Pronounce it Hawaiian style, and “an oo-koo-ley-ley” sounds just fine. It’s a problem for someone like me, who writes frequently about Hawaii. If I write it so that it feels comfortable to me, my editor will likely think I’ve skipped Grammar 101. When I do write about ukuleles* I present the issue of pronunciation to my editor. Invariably, ‘an ‘ukulele’ is trashed for the more common ‘a ‘ukulele.’ Editorial license trumps my comfort zone.
Blog: Marjory Steele Skousen - Writer (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Hawaii, Add a tag
Blog: Kris Bordessa (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: recipe, Hawaii, lilikoi gingerade, passion fruit, tropical fruit, Food, Add a tag
Otherwise known as passion fruit, liliko‘i is Mother Nature's answer to a SweeTart. The first sour bite of a liliko‘i will jangle all the way back to your jawbone. Stick with it though and you'll catch the tropical sweet undertones if this much-loved fruit.
View Next 20 Posts
Wow! Gorgeous!
It's so beautiful Kate! The complementary colors make the apples pop in a most gorgeous way! :)