2007
You are browsing the archive for 2007.
aloha!
The last day in Hawaii, checkout time at the hotel was noon. Our flight wasn’t until ten at night, so we reserved a car and driver; that way, we could tour the island, then slowly work our way to the airport. The man who answered the phone at the limo company asked what we wanted […]
family vacations
On the beach in Honolulu, there is a trend this year of fathers, in a last-ditch losing effort, trying to keep a tight lid on their teen-age daughters’ burgeoning sexuality. These girls, age seventeen to twenty-one, are looking for trouble, Dirty-Dancing style. Their fathers, like Jerry Orbach, are good men, out of their depth. In […]
Sam Choy’s
Last night, we went to the famous Hawaiian restaurant. There was an insane seating system featuring waiting in a lounge for a half hour for no apparent reason, with empty tables everywhere, while anyone who happened to call on the phone to make a reservation for two weeks from Sunday was given instant priority (aloha!). […]
Why would you want to go there?
I’ve never spent much time in Honolulu, generally I’m off a plane and on another one to other points west, typically Guam. But we had a few days to kill so here we are in Waikiki. Sadly, though not surprisingly, over the past decade or so, it has turned into every other mall in America. […]
"The Kept Man" drops in twelve hours
I’m sitting on the balcony at our hotel in Honolulu. If I position myself just right, I can get the internet. If I put down the lap top to open the door to the room, it will blow away. It was not easy getting internet service here (aloha!), causing one of my “famous meltdowns.” Meanwhile […]
Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol
This is my favorite version of the Dickens classic, songs by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, featuring the voice of Jim Backus. There’s supposed to be a framing device with Mr. Magoo getting ready for the show–but it was sometimes cut to make room for more commercials. Too bad, if that’s the case. This bit […]
The Star Strikes Again
Another St. Helena Star article from the archives, Chamber Office News. “March Stats beat 2003 and 2000” the headline reads. OK, but then here is the only mention of statistics in the article: Well, that seemed a little lacking in information, so I looked at the graph which accompanied the article. Hmm. The graph-making function […]
Bee Season
Well, since we’re unashamedly chatting up our math team legacies, I take this opportunity to note that in a few weeks I will be defending my title as the Albany Adult Spelling Bee Champion. Last year’s winning word was godet, in round 52.
The first ten minutes
It’s good to know that the first ten minutes of Juno will be trying. I don’t go to the movies that often, and the Spectrum usually has as many as four or five films of potential interest. When I go, I take note of the starting times, which tend to be staggered by ten minutes. […]
Keno in Reno
I don’t care for gambling that much, but when I do gamble I’m well aware of the odds of the games, and I certainly don’t have any “lucky feelings” come over me when I’m trying to roll a hard six. Last month, we were in Reno sitting at a cafe, and Isa wanted to pick […]
Jack Silbert, curator