Triscribe

Category: Honolulu

  • Aloha, “Lost”

    Re: the “Lost” series finale – I’m still digesting it.  There is so much to be said and yet maybe nothing needs to be said; I could just leave it to the sublime, but really, “Lost” is a show that activates discussion and thought.

    On a sidenote: I thought ABC overdid it with the commercials; rendering the series finale into a 2 1/2 hours just for commercials?!  Come on!  I can’t begrudge the network for wanting to profit from the event, but they really got excessive.

    My initial reaction to the series finale was of some kind of emotional resolution.  I felt a little teary over seeing Jack seeming to be at peace, with Vincent the dog by his side at the end.  After all that turmoil, perhaps it was a satisfactory ending to realize that the Sideways Universe is a waiting area before the loved ones get be together again to the next life or the next world or whatnot (fitting to whatever belief system one has) and that our castaways were able to find their own resolutions and reunite.

    Not that I quite enjoyed the Jimmy Kimmel post-series finale show (some of the Q&A from that audience left much to be desired and the skits of alternate endings weren’t that funny to me), but I liked Kimmel’s title of “Aloha,” as I thought that the phrase “aloha” best summed up the series finale – as a phrase known to be both “Hello” and “goodbye.”

    But, ok, aloha…now what?  Good luck and farewell and welcome to the next thing, as Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, Sun, Sayid, Locke, Hurley – and even returning old friends like Boone, Shannon, Charlie, and Claire – move forward.  Is that all?

    I ultimately realize what a head-twister (not to mention heart-rending) the finale was.  The “real” universe – well, the island is saved and Jack can let go and … death is death; life is life; and what happens, happens; c’est la vie; love is the answer; and humans are… human.

    Was the series about science or faith, or both?  Was it about having free will or power – do we have choices or none at all?  Or was it all of the above?  (For instance, Jack chose to step up and succeed Jacob, and Jacob wanted to give the candidates a choice, which he did not have, because of his crazy adopted mom.  Meanwhile, Hurley didn’t want to be the successor, but it wasn’t like he had a choice; it wasn’t as if Jack, as human as he was, was going to give the job to Ben either.  And, perhaps only Hurley would be so compassionate and willing to ask Ben for help and to be his “Number Two,” I suppose!).

    Is it okay or not okay not to have all the answers to the plots?  I probably would have preferred more balance between characters and plots during this last season, and wished we had more time to deal with the implications (or even to have given Eloise, Charles Widmore, Daniel Faraday, Charlotte, Desmond and Penny more time to resolve their stories, and I could have lived without the head-scratching stuff – like the senseless deaths of Ilana and Widmore’s staff) – but I’m actually more okay with not having all the answers or all the mysteries resolved.  (I survived many other series finales and I’m okay – really).

    As someone who hasn’t been a rabid fan, speaking as a television viewer who wants good tv, I still stand by what I have said about the season premiere of the last season of “Lost”: I want something entertaining and with some kind of heart.  I would hope that the writers would care about their characters, and I think Cuse and Lindelof did care (at least, I felt that they did in this series finale).  While I cannot quite feel “happy” in the kind of ending that there was – that all roads leads to a life’s end, and boy is that sad or what? – it is an ending and we watched the characters seem okay with that – if not happy to be together again, even if it was in the afterlife, and that of itself is actually uplifting (there’s always hope, in some fashion).

    Am I making any sense?  Did the ending of “Lost” make sense?  Maybe not for everybody, not even for me (if I keep thinking about it, and I probably should stop that already!).  I’m relieved that Jack is at peace, even if he never really got to be a real dad to a son (in the alternate universe, he did get to be what he missed out on – where he did resolve his losses, even with his own father – but is it really the same?  Hmm.  Not sure.).  I’m sorry that Jack’s son was never “real.”  (well, he was real enough to Sideways Jack).  I’m pleased that Sawyer and Juliet are back together, even if it might have taken Sawyer awhile to get there.  And, even Kate made her peace with Jack and Claire (in both universes).  But, the ones who were left behind – Sun and Jin’s daughter; Aaron; Walt; Jack’s son who never existed – well, does the Island leave a legacy to them?  To anyone?

    The series finale isn’t perfect for not quite answering questions to the plots, but it captured the essence of the show, which made me feel okay and almost wanting to revisit it all over again.  Was it sad?  To me, yes, but it did not feel completely wrong or inappropriate to me.  There was a subtlety that left my imagination going; it seems to me that the discussion on “Lost” will never end, even if the series itself is over.

    “Lost” as a series reminds me of something a college professor of mine once said about the great books we read – along the lines that if it makes an impact on us, that if it makes us think or react however way – that is the power of reading a great book.  I think “Lost” as a series has been something really moving and it worked for me.  It’s not perfect, but it made me care.

    Great acting from Matthew Fox, Michael Emerson, and Terry O’Quinn; even kudos to the rest of the cast – they held everything together.

    Aloha, “Lost.”  See you in the next life.

    Update:

    I posted a shorter, less rambling version of this on comments on David Bianculli’s blog TV Worth Watching (which is a great blog, by the way, and I liked and agreed with Bianculli’s thoughts about the series finale).

    Other posts on the series finale that I’ve taken particular notice: Time’s James Poniewozik with his Lost Watch series finale post; Poniewozik’s post on links to others’ posts; Alan Sepinwall’s thoughts; and the amazingly in-depth posts (part 1 AND part 2!) by Entertainment Weekly’s Jeff “Doc” Jensen.

  • Last Week of October Continues

    The annual viewing of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” special tonight, plus a viewing of the more obscure “You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown,” wherein Linus loses his lead in the class president election with his broadcasted belief in the Great Pumpkin (and Lucy learns that it’s very hard to be the campaign manager). Hat tip from Time’s tv critic James Poniewozik on the Peanuts specials (with a reference to Sisyphus!). I think I want to look for the most sincere pumpkin patch, now – but really, Linus, your idealism is killing me…

    Goodbye to Geocities; an observation by Slate’s Farhad Manjoo on Geocities’ impact on fads in the Internet.

    Interesting Angry Asian Man posts:

    on the lack of diversity in Hollywood – that is, there is something of an increase on APA’s on tv, but there’s still some lacking on the big screen.

    A photo opp of President Obama with the APA’s in his staff, in the Oval Office.

    US Senator Daniel Inouye is now the third longest serving in the Senate; Angry Asian Man has some interesting links and observations.

    The Mets fans’ dilemma, with the impending Yankees v. Phillies World Series: who to root for?

    Hat tip to my brother about this: C. Montgomery Burns for (NYC) Mayor. Eeeexcellent… Actually: Hilarious!!! So, don’t forget to vote next week…

  • Stuff

    Angry Asian Man has some nifty links roundup, including on a NY Times profile on Andrea Wong of Lifetime (ok, granted, besides being the channel with Golden Girls reruns, it seems to be making its way with reality shows… must we continue the track on reality shows?) and an article on the honoring of Cristeta Comerford, the Filipina head chef at the White House.

    Angry Asian Man also considers the new Nissin ad with the little Asian Master (preaching the way of the Nissin noodles) racist. Scenario: wise little Asian Master (appearing to be CGI created) appears in an Office pantry, directing young white woman to “enlightenment”: add water and zap your Nissin noodles for a nice lunch. Granted, I was weirded out by the commercial – thinking along the lines of “This broad stereotyping still happens on tv in 2009?” – but I’m not sure of what to make of the way the commercial ended – where, while enjoying her bite of Nissin noodles, the woman asks little Asian Master who is he, and he responds (with a less broad accent) that he’s Eddie from Accounting; later, he walks into the cubicles and does a high-five (for him anyway) with a white guy who greets “Eddie” – suggesting everybody knows Eddie (or maybe he’s walking to his cubicle in accounting; who knows?).

    Was that the ad’s way of trying to somehow compensate for its offensiveness? The twist to the wise Asian Master thing? If he wasn’t wearing the silly robe or have the silly accent, maybe I’d forgive the ad, but it’s kind of stupid – it doesn’t really make me want to eat Nissin noodles at all anyway.

    Angry Asian Man also does a Q&A with James Kyson Lee and notes that Nevada may have its first Asian American federal judge — maybe (if someone can prod Sen. Reid along).

    I’m not a Phillies fan, but I can certainly applaud Phillies’ Shane Victorino for contributing to trying to keep Hawaiian high school sports going.

    The return of Inspector Lewis in American (public) television. Good stuff – looks like Lewis is hitting his groove as an inspector, with the dishy young Sgt. Hathaway as the trusty sidekick (well, he’s referred as “dishy” by Dr. Hobson, the medical examiner; not like I’d refer to him that way! … but he is dishy). Lewis is moving forward out of Inspector Morse’s shadow. Kind of interesting that he and Dr. Hobson seem to have some chemistry (she was fond of Morse, if I recalled – or maybe it was the other woman medical examiner?).

    Aww. No more Reading Rainbow. Growing up on Levar Burton (before and during his Star Trek years, believe it or not), as he encourages kids to read. So what will encourage kids to read now? (besides much Harry Potter).

    Fascinating video on Neil deGrasse Tyson on whose more pro-science – Republicans or Democrats – or maybe it doesn’t matter (sort of – check out the link to the full video – which posits that NASA is a non-partisan thing, sort of – except when who’s president). Meanwhile, in the NY Times, Lawrence Krauss (the guy who wrote “The Physics of Star Trek”) posits that making a manned-trip to Mars might involve a one-way trip – and that there are volunteers willing to do it and it’s be less costly and scientifically fascinating. Hmm.

  • Stuff

    Newsweek’s “The Gaggle” blog has a correspondent who visited the Baskin Robbins in Hawaii where Pres. Obama had his first job as a kid. Kind of cool to think that, back in the day, the president had a regular after school job like anyone else.

    On Channel 13 at 9pm, on “American Masters” – a presentation of “Hollywood Chinese.” Something to look forward to watching!

    Another PBS thing: the current impact of “Sesame Street” in the day and age where kids’ attention are all over the place.

    Hat tip to the Trek Bulletin Board on TrekNation: Leonard Maltin’s interview with Anton Yelchin, with a question about his portrayal of Chekov from Star Trek – real cool! (I liked how Yelchin played such an adorable and smart Chekov – kind of like how Wesley Crusher from ST:The Next Generation kind of was in his best episodes).

  • More Stuff in November

    “Hawaii v. Illinois” – the battle for Barack Obama as a favorite son. Can’t we all just get along?

    Actually, that headline looked like a college football or college basketball game.

    When the economy tanks, Spam and similar canned meat or meat substitute make a comeback.

    Time Magazine’s Joel Stein wants his readers’ help in naming his and his wife’s upcoming baby. Hilarious reading.

    “Fringe” on FOX has still managed to entertain me, even if it isn’t exactly great tv. I think it’s because the cast is amusing, so there’s much room to improve (as opposed to “Heroes,” which doesn’t seem to want to listen to my advice about focusing on a core of characters rather than becoming a sprawling thing). Anyway, so on “Fringe”: this week’s episode, the boss, Broyles, is all-business but for the creepy-crazy situation about his friend’s heart being engulfed by a Venus-flytrap looking parasite (umm, eeewww!), and Broyles was amusingly confused by crazy mad-scientist Dr. Walter Bishop (Broyles, didn’t you know Dr. Bishop’s a weirdo?).

    Peter, Dr. Bishop’s bright and sort-of-sane son, is still coming to terms that his father experimented on him and that they’re working with the government on weird shit (no kidding, ex-Pacey of “Dawson’s Creek”).

    Agent Olivia Dunham meets up with an ex-boyfriend (who so far seems honorable – maybe he’ll sort of die in the next couple of episodes and also turn out to be a traitor), and she’s still confused by the Conspiracy, for which Broyles tells her “You want answers? You’re not going to get them anytime soon!”

    Hmm. This really does feel like “X-Files”/”Alias”/”Lost” redux here, but it’s forgiveable, because Walter’s a sick combination of crazy and sweet. (“Do you have a mint?”).

    “Law & Order” – also entertaining, mainly because I’m turning into a sucker for good-looking men on the show (I guess I really am that shallow). Detectives Lupo and Bernard have to deal with a mentally-challenged witness to a murder. Lupo was so kind – he’s growing on me as a cute charmer (hmm, and he seems to be still taking his night classes at Alma Mater Law School? Thumbs up!). Exec. ADA Michael Cutter takes on a challenge to bluff the parents of the witness – a little twisted, but apparently DA Jack McCoy approves because that’s the kind of crazy tactic he’d take.

    Bond, James Bond, is back, but various critics seem to want him to be a bit witter or amusing. Hmm. Maybe it is time to go campy again? I haven’t seen it yet, but it is on my must-watch list.

    A strangely entertaining short film that I found on YouTube:

  • Polynesia

    Went up the east coast after going up the Pali Highway and finding the Pail Lookout again during the day. The wind up there was going close to 30 mph, but it was awesome. After about an hour of driving up amazing coasts, we pass the Polynesian Cultural Center and go on to Romy Shrimp Shack. They have a shrimp farm out in back; we share an $11 plate of shimp (1 lb.) and they go out in the truck and catch them live. Nothing frozen, so they are incredibly firm and fresh.

    Will write in more detail about the Polynesian Cultural Center, but the pics are to the right. We’re trying to check out today, have one more fun day and go back tonight at 10 PM.

  • Tales of the South Pacific

    Breakfast: we went to Zippy’s, a local 24 hour diner chain which serves typical Hawaiian food, such as plate lunches, chili, and saimin, which is basically soup noodles. P- had the fried chicken and chili platter, while I had the Zip-min, which is basically a huge bowl of wonton mein soup with other goodies. Not bad, and 24 hours to boot!

    Dessert: Shave ice at the other branch of Waiola Shave Ice, the Waiola Bakery. I had the li hing mui and pineapple, P- had the rainbow, which is strawberry, banana, and blue vanilla. Good as always. Second course of the famed Leonard’s masaladas, Portugese fried yeast donuts. Absolutely light, a thousand times better than Krispy Kreme

    Along the eastern coast: drove past Diamond Head, passing Harauma Bay and the “Dragon’s Nostrils” blowhole, up 15 miles of curvy coasts with perfectly blue water. You’ll just have to see the pictures, but it was awesome.

    South Pacific: at the end of the tour up the coast, we saw the closing performance of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” at a local community college. South Pacific is one of the most important musicals of the R&H canon because of its moral of racial equality and the appearance of Asian Pacific Islanders, which were groundbreaking in Broadway musicals for 1949. Fifty five years later, it was amazing to see that production actually in the South Pacific (ok, one of the most northern of the South Pacific), and to actually have all of those connections to this island, and have a very diverse cast. The production was well done, although over the course of its run, several members of the cast and crew were absent because of deaths in the family and other issues – a stage manager and a choral director took the roles of Stew Pot and Billis, and did a good job, and the previous night the director actually conducted instead of his son, who was the musical director. Good show.

    Mad rush up and down the Pali Highway, mostly in 3rd gear because it was extremely rolling. Caught the last bit of light at the Pali Lookout, having a panoramic view of the eastern side of the island. Again, see the pictures, words do no justice.

    Dropped back home exhausted, and then randomly tuning into the West Wing debate. The debators did an excellent job.

  • Juxiposition

    Saturday: Went to Shangra-La, the Doris Duke estate. We got out of the hotel like 5 minutes before the tour was supposed to leave, and that was downtown. We missed the video, but barely got to the bus just before it was getting ready to leave. We then rode to the other side of Diamond Head in a secluded harbor, something like the southern part of Hong Kong island, if you’re familiar with that. It looks so unassuming from the outside, but once you are inside, you discover an incredible collection of Islamic art covering the walls, the floors, and even the ceilings, all painstakingly collected and restored. The dining room is like a big tent pavillion in the Middle East. Outside, there is a large salt-water swimming pool, and an enclosed beach and boat jetty. Much of the intricate work was done by Doris Duke herself. If you are here, you must go and see this. Apparently, even the locals try hard to get into this place, which is limited to about 300 visitors a day.

    Ward Warehouse: we had a monsterous “plate lunch”, which was the traditional lunch of the plantation workers. The defining things are two scoops (usually an ice cream scooper) of rice, one scoop macaroni salad, and your choice of a meat, which we chose fried mahimahi and stewed chicken (a cross between teriyaki and filipino adobo). We wolfed that down. Most of the other things at the mall are your typical stuff, but the real good stuff is at the Ward Fresh Market, which includes Lin’s Market, headquarters for “cracked seed”, aka Chinese mui, like salted plum, cuttlefish. We picked some marlin fish lemon/salt jerky, which was amazing. Also the Hawaiian salt was half the price of the ABC store.

    Outrigger Catamaran: we dashed back to the hotel to get to the Outrigger Reef hotel, the sister hotel of the one we are staying in, for a sunset cruise in the harbor. This wasn’t just a boat, it was a racing sail cat, so it was one, very fast, and two, it was all outdoors, so we got some spray, but that was cool. The open bar was cool, too. We got to see all of the beach, went around Diamond Head, and P- saw the famed “green flash” at the moment of sunset. Super romantic, always an amazing ride, and less than half the cost of the canned tours”.

    Hawaiian Music Night: We went to the Convention Center for a slackkey guitar concert by Makena. This wasn’t the watered down tourist stuff, but a one man performance intended for the locals,and the spirit showed. Slack key style basically means playing multiple parts on the same guitar, usually a bass line and a “falsetto” high part. This virtuoso can do this with both hands, meaning he can get four part harmony going at the same time. He also accompanied a slam poet, and brought on his guitar teacher for a few duets. His work is his own attempt to preserve Hawaiian culture; there is that same dicotomy that is featured in asian american studies, where how two distinct cultures can meld and coexist which not having one overwhelm the other.

    More local stuff tomorrow. Check out the flikr photo stream on the left side.

  • Meltdown

    We went to the Bishop Museum Friday morning. This museum holds the primary collection of Hawaiian historical artifacts. We took two guided tours and saw a short hula demonstration. The second tour went through the garden and explained the uses of the various local plants, including ti,the leaves used for wrapping and thatching, and noni, which is an immune system booster.

    It was getting hot, so of course it was time to get shave ice, the Hawaiian version of bing. We went to Waiola Shave Ice in McCully, which is very simple, but fantastic. The ice is extremely fine, and toppings and flavors are fantastic. The red bean is definately the best. We had two cups apiece. Recommended.

    Costco: Yes it looks just like a regular Costco on the outside, but on the inside, it’s an Asian bulk buying paradise. Pretty much anything you need for an Asian themed restaurant is in there. The number one tip: if you need a Hawaiian gift for a ton of people, this is the place to get it. For example, Hawaiian Host chocolates were half the price of that in the ABC store. The only catch is that you have to buy a 6-box pack. They also sell wholesale gas – the gas outside the hotel is 2.76/gallon; the Costco price is 2.59/gallon. Of course, you have to have a Costco card with a magnetic stripe, and you have to use a debit or an Amex card – no cash accepted. We also picked up a portable lunch – two quarter pound cups of poke – a sashimi salad seasoned with soy, sesame oil, Hawaiian salt and seaweed, and 4 hand rolls. It could have easily fed 4 people. Recommended

    P– was still pretty messed up and sore from her slip and fall yesterday, so we got massages at the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach. The Hawaiian lomi lomi style is not a deep tissue style like Swedish, but it runs along the natural lengths of the muscles to increase si

  • Cultural Route

    Thursday: Drove to `Iolani Palace, the only royal palace in the United States. P- wasn’t so impressed with the outside, but then we entered from the side. However, the inside won her over. So many modern conveniences, such as electricity, telephones, and hot and cold running water, were put in by the reigning king, who was a Renaisannce man in his own right.

    Walked to Chinatown and had dim sum at Legend Seafood. The best dish was the scallops wrapped in rice noodle sheets. Went to the Makauna Marketplace and saw various vendors. We bought lei at Cindy’s Lei; they are really beautiful. Walked back downtown past Hawaii Pacific University and into the Cathedral of Our Lady of Heavenly Peace.

    Drove back to the hotel and tried to book a catamaran ride, but the boat had suffered some reef damage, and won’t be back in service until Saturday. Walked down Waikiki; P- had a little spill and bruised her knee and ankle. However, she was a trouper and made it to the Duke statue. Walked back and found the Japanese duty-free mall. Loads of Hello Kitty! Unfortunately we can’t buy the duty free items.

    Picked up the car back at the hotel and drove to Sushi Sasabone. The head chef started out a bit cold (he has the reputation of being the sushi version of the “soup nazi”) but he warmed up to us as we were astounded by the quality of the dishes in his bar-side omakase. He searches the world to get the best fish, and knows exactly where it comes from – Maine, Boston, several places in Japan, local Hawaiian fish, and lobster from a French claimed area of Antarctica. Pricy, but worth every penny — better than anything we’ve had in New York. We were so stuffed. The wierd thing is that none of the Japanese visitors in Waikiki seemed to know anything about this place. Recommended.