 Meet Kelsey. He was born on September 9th, 2008. What turned out to be a one-time visit on a November afternoon last year turned into commitment when I spotted three beautiful African red-bellied parrots (poicephalus rufiventris) on display at the Ko’olau Pet Shop. Three years ago, my pet bird of 9 years passed away, and I had only just begun to forget her when I entered that shop. I hadn’t intended on owning another parrot right then, but when I saw them, I was drawn.
As it turned out, three babies had just hatched in September and the pet shop was finishing up on their hand-feeding and weaning. As soon as I could, I put down a deposit on one of them. Thus began the weekly visits. By the end of November I had chosen Kelsey, and by the end of December he was ready to go home.
I’ll be honest: I didn’t know a lot about birds when I had my previous bird (the lovely Baby, who will always be in my heart); I never really learned, since I was so young when my dad bought her for me, and then became busy with middle school and high school. When I knew I was about to take Kelsey home, I resolved to learn as much as I could about how to take proper care of parrot. ..continue reading!
Inspired by my DW writing buddies to explore the wealth of inspiration that writing books provide, I bought a book. It’s by Roy Peter Clark, and it’s called Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer. I picked it because it received good reviews on Amazon and because its four sections have great headers: Nuts and Bolts, Special Effects, Blueprints, and Useful Habits.
I’m more than 2/3 in, and I agree with the good reviews. I really do like the overall organization of the book, though, as with any book that attempts as grand a task as teaching people how to write better, there are bound to be some things that one already knows. Even for the seasoned writer (which I’m not, by the way) this book will probably offer some insight into the craft of writing, or inspire inspiration for starting new projects. ..continue reading!
Went to an alumni network mixer since I’m the Student Alumni Associates president. And had a great time. Met so many wonderful people, and had really interesting conversations, and felt completely inspired to create a stronger alumni network. I’ve realized that for me it’s not the classes that make HPU wonderful–it’s the people. It’s a weird thing for me to say, because I really, truly don’t feel all that connected to my fellow classmates. But then I go to these networking events and meet the alumni and go, “Wow, HPU has such wonderful people! I want to support this university!” ..continue reading!
I saw this only a few days after it came out, but never got a chance to post about it. Should probably do it now, since I want to link to this pretty amusing parody of the H-BP movie by Sarah Rees Brennan.
I enjoyed the movie. Dan Radcliffe isn’t very good in it and neither is Dumbledore (though a friend has commented that he has slightly more personality than in the previous films). Important things are left out, and we don’t get any more of Gary Oldman showing off his chest (you know you liked it!). It’s not by any means a perfect adaptation, but still good enough that I didn’t feel as though I’d wasted my money (the fifth movie, anyone?).
As a long-time fan of the books I thought the movie was a pretty unfaithful adaptation of the sixth Harry Potter book, though it manages to cram in quite a lot of things. This is always the problem with movies that are based on books: books have no length restrictions, and can be as long as the author wants them to be, or at least as long as the editor allows them to be. Movies do have restrictions on time, and therefore the screen writer or director has to pick and choose what details are important and which he/she can afford to omit. ..continue reading!
Today was the first time I came into the office (1580 Makaloa St, across from Ala Moana) before 11:00 a.m., and at around 10:30, to my surprise and glee, there came a knock at the door, and a muffled “Bentos!” announcement from outside.
Apparently, every Monday and Wednesday the bento guy comes with bentos in his coolers and sells them to the office workers. I picked up a delectable bento for $5. It’s some sort of mochiko chicken patty thing, with sweet, crunchy green beans on the side, on a bed of rice. So so good. It’s been a while since I’ve had a bento that good.
I think delivery bentos are such a good idea, especially for lazy office workers like myself who don’t want to walk all the way across the street to get food XD
It is lunch time, and I still have half a bento to go, so I’m signing off now =P
*editedit* I was halfway through before I realized I should have taken a picture. Here’s a picture of the incomplete bento, taken on camera phone.
I’ve been reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes very slowly but devotedly on the way to the bus (taking care not to bump into traffic poles anymore) , and I must say that it’s brilliant. When I was much younger I’d come across the books in the library or on someone’s bookshelf and I’d always be supremely uninterested, writing it off as old, archaic fiction that couldn’t be very interesting or relevent.
Of course, younger!me was wrong. Sherlock Holmes is cleverly written and extremely accessible to the modern reader, and most important, it’s really really fun. There is such wit and humor in every story that it just compells one to keep on reading. Those of you who were like younger! me and haven’t picked up a Sherlock Holmes story yet, I urge you to do so before seeing that movie with Robert Downey Jr (which is not very Sherlock Holmes-ey, actually). You won’t regret it! (Or if you do, there’s no accounting for taste? =P)
This evening, as president of our Student-Alumni Associates club, I went to a Pizza & Pitcher night hosted by da Hukilau. Da hukilau is a nice little restaurant and bar on the bottom floor of the executive center on the corner of Bishop and Hotel in downtown Honolulu. On Tuesday nights you can get any one of their specialty pizzas for $5 each. You can also order a pitcher of beer for $5. I had eaten there before, but it had always been their catering menu and not the regular entrées. I was looking forward to it, since one of my coworkers loved the place. ..continue reading!
Lately this article about how feminism is illogical, unnecessary and evil has been floating around. There are so many things wrong with it that upon reading it I didn’t know whether I should laugh or possibly find a desk to bang my head (or the author’s head) against. Basically the article makes arguments and assumptions that are very narrow-minded and misogynistic and that sort of contradict his point that feminism is supposedly unnecessary.
I bring you quotes from this ridiculous article:
1. Feminism is the radical notion that women are men. ..continue reading!
Lately I’ve been updating my other blog like crazy, and have sort of neglected to make any posts on this one. I doubt anyone will miss it, but I apologize anyway.
For the past week or so I’ve been on a trip in Sweden, visiting with a close friend of mine. I’m a big food fan who woefully can’t cook very many things, so she’s been making yummy things for me to try. She’s vegetarian, so most of the things we’ve had have been kind of healthy (except for the homemade green tea ice cream–my idea) and I’ve been very very happy. We’ve also been into Stockholm and to the Skansen open air museum and zoo. Will probably post more pictures later, but have one now:
The Demon’s Lexicon
This is a book recommendation of sorts for Sarah Rees Brennan’s debut novel The Demon’s Lexicon, a YA urban fantasy novel about two brothers on the run from sinister magicians who control the power of demons. The first of a trilogy, with the second one coming out in June of 2010, it paints a fascinating new world unlike any I’ve read before (though I admittedly have not read as many fantasy novels as I’d have liked) and features a cast of compelling characters who, in some cases despite their misgivings, are extremely likable.
This book is not only about demon magic, swords, guns, and dark handsome men, though it has plenty of those. It’s also about family, trust, loyalty, and lies. It starts off with something as ordinary as fixing the kitchen sink, and ends with something quite unexpected and a world apart from the kitchen sink business. If you like surprises, humor, or a combination of any of the things already mentioned above, please check it out!
The author has also provided her readers with incentives by pledging to post non-spoilery short stories as her book sales go up; even after it ends, this book continues to give! She has already posted her first short story on her own blog. Links below:
The Demon’s Lexicon on Amazon.Com
First Chapter of The Demon’s Lexicon
SRB’s blog - The Sorcerer and Stone short story This is not spoilery, and manages to be heartbreaking and dark and wonderful.
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