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Pau Hana

My time blogging for GeekUniversalis has come to an end.  I’d like to thank everyone at GeekUniversalis for this opportunity.  It’s been loads of fun and I’ll certainly miss it.

For those playing along at home “pau hana” is Hawaiian for “work is finished.”  Pau being Hawaiian for “end, finish, over” and hana being “work.”

3Sep2009 | Ramon Arjona | Comments Off | Continued
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Google, now in Hawaiian!

You can now Google using the Native Hawaiian language!

I’m honestly so happy that I don’t know what else to say that’s not already in the story.

8Aug2009 | Ramon Arjona | Comments Off | Continued
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Failboat Afloat

The USS Port Royale, which hit bottom a while ago and ended the career of its captain, is almost fixed.

I can only presume, however, that the reef she hit is still screwed.

29Jul2009 | Ramon Arjona | Comments Off | Continued
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Sovereignty Restoration Day

July 31st is Hawaiian Sovereignty Restoration Day.  It was first made a holiday during the reign of Kamehameha III, following an incident in which the British temporarily seized control of the Kingdom of Hawaii.  Following the incident, Kamehameha III gave a speech in which he coined the phrase that would later become the motto of the State of Hawaii, “Ua mau ke ia o ka aina i ka pono.”  Or as it is commonly rendered in English, “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.”

In recent years, the holiday has been revived by sovereignty activists who are seeking to raise awareness of the Native Hawaiian sovereignty movement.  Sovereignty activists vary widely in their views of the future, with some wanting a complete withdrawl of the US from Hawaii, while a more practical majority favor political solutions such as the Akaka Bill.

This July 31st, you can commemorate Sovereignty Restoration Day by

  1. writing to your Senator or Representative, and telling them to pass the Akaka Bill.
  2. reading about Hawaiian folklore in David Malo’s Hawaiian Antiquities or
  3. learning more about the Hawaiian Sovereignty movement online.

Here are archival articles from the Star-Bulletin and Honolulu Advertiser on Sovereignty Restoration Day.

28Jul2009 | Ramon Arjona | Comments Off | Continued
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Variety Weighs In On Uighurs

In this article from Variety, we get a little more detail of the kerfuffle surrounding the Melbourne film festival.  Chinese films are being pulled in protest of Kadeer’s presence at the event.  This, of course, in addition to having Chinese hackers deface the festival’s website.

First, I want to emphasize the fact that there’s a wide gulf of opinion here:  Uighurs seem to think the Han are imperialists.  The Han seem to think the Uighurs are backward and ungrateful.  This is a familiar pattern that can be observed whenever cultures clash, and if you’re looking for a good side and a bad side you’ll have a tough time finding a clear line.

Second—and I’m going out on a bit of a limb here—I’d like to say that between the hackers and the pulling of films, China is behaving like a small child throwing a fit.  This really isn’t the way that mature, confident countries behave.  The lameness—and the pointlessness–is almost on par with the US/Russian Olympic boycotts.

26Jul2009 | Ramon Arjona | Comments Off | Continued
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Chinese Hacking Australian Film Festival

Not content with censoring free speech within their own borders, Chinese hackers have gone after an Australian film festival that plans to show a film on a Uighur activist.

I don’t know about you, but I’m totally getting this movie on Netflix when it comes out.

25Jul2009 | Ramon Arjona | Comments Off | Continued
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Pau Hana

At about the same time as my favorite Hawaii restaurant in Washington was closing, the Northwest Hawaii Times ceased publication.   I’m only learning about this now—maybe because I always used to pick up a copy at the restaurant that closed.  Fortunately, their archive is still online, so you can read about Hawaii history, and about the Hawaii community in the Pacific Northwest.

24Jul2009 | Ramon Arjona | Comments Off | Continued
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Hawaii Still Loves Porn

Since the most trafficked post on this blog had to do with a story on porn in Hawaii, I thought I should perhaps direct you, dear Readers, to this picture—which shows you how to spell “Porn” in Japanese.

22Jul2009 | Ramon Arjona | Comments Off | Continued
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So, about the 70s

You should know that much public art in Honolulu was commissioned and executed during the 70s.  For instance, take this piece which is evidently called Aquarius, as in “dawning of the age of.”  I’ve been to the capitol a bunch of times.  I never knew the thing had a name.  I always thought it was just, “that thing on the floor that’s kinda cool cause it looks like some leaves in water.”

13Jul2009 | Ramon Arjona | Comments Off | Continued
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Uighurs In Japan Protest At Chinese Embassy

There’s a bit too much that’s depressing going on right now, what with the unrest in China and North Korean nukes—and North Korea apparently being behind a large “cyberattack” in the US and South Korea.  (Seriously, if the North Koreans can do this, imagine what somebody who knew what they were doing might pull off.)

Meanwhile in Japan, Uighurs living there are staging a protest at the Chinese embassy.  At least there, they probably won’t get tear gassed and/or stabbed to death.  Protests are also being held in Turkey and Norway.

The Uighurs are one of many Chinese ethnic minorities who, like the more visible Tibetans, have a bit of a beef with the central government and the majority Han.  If you’re hearing about the Uighur for the first time this month, it might be because the best available Uighur spokesperson is Rebiya Kadeer, who lacks the cachet of the Dalai Lama and therefore hasn’t gotten as much press in the West until now.  I guess it helps to wear orange and look like a benevolent koala.

Oh, and the Turks are calling this a genocide.  I suspect there’s a bunch of Armenian dead spinning in their mass graves at this comment.  Or they would be spinning, if they had room to move.  It gets crowded in those mass graves, I’m told.

Anyway, this is why I’m too depressed to blog much lately.

11Jul2009 | Ramon Arjona | Comments Off | Continued
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