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FOOT PROBLEMS FOR FLOTUS, ANCHOR

First Lady Jill Biden apparently left Hawaii with an unwanted souvenir – an unidentified object in her left foot encountered during a brief walk on a beach.

Network media have been mentioning Biden had a visit to Walter Reed National Medical Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, to remove the foreign object, upon her return to the Capitol, according to the first lady’s press secretary Michael LaRosa, in a statement. President Biden was by her side.

Jill Biden

FLOTUS had two official meet-and-greet sessions while here, including one to promote vaccinations during this pandemic. …

KHON2  veteran Joe Moore did not anchor the Wednesday and Thursday editions of the 5:30 and 6 p.m. newscasts, as he rested from a badly sprained ankle  earlier this week.  He’s scheduled to return to the Friday evening lineup as usual.  Alas, the ankle injury also triggered some back pain. “Feel like a hundred years old at the moment,” he emailed Thursday.

Joe Moore

Moore and his Army buddy, Pat Sajak, will co-star in Neil Simon’s “The Sunshine Boys” comedy June 16 to 26 2022 at the Hawaii Theatre. In the comedy, they play senior citizens Willie Clark (Moore) and Al Lewis (Sajak). “I feel like I won’t have to act at all to play the old fart Willie Clark,” said Moore. “ I’ve become Willie Clark! ).”

The pain has impacted his daily routine, like “sleeping in the wrong position, turning awkwardly, sitting too long…and on and on and on.  :-(.” …

A rom-com film

Taiana Tully

Taiana Tully, a singer-actress-dancer-model from Honolulu, has a role in the Hallmark Channel’s “Love, for Real,” a rom-com airing at 6 p.m. Saturday. She plays the character Bree.

You may have seen her previously in “Magnum P.I.” and “Hawaii Five-0,” and on a Zippy’s commercial, too, a valuable credit indeed.

She stars with Chloe Bridges as Hayley, Scott Michael Foster as Luke, and Corbin Bleu as Marco, in a tale about a reality dating show complete with friction and melodrama before

a dramatic finish. The film is part of a wave of summertime love stories. …

Global reach growing

Kevin Iwamoto, who released a cache of digital tunes from one decade of his performing/recording career in Hawaii, continues to receive a wave of new international fans.

Kevin Iwamoto

His album, “The Best of Kevin I,” has logged streaming and sales that astound him. No, it’s not current stuff, but a mixture of his 1980s music and performances that have resonated anew with pandemic-era listeners. And he hasn’t performed since he moved to California and established a vigorous profile in the business community.

“I’m continually fascinated by the weekly top countries that streamed or bought my music worldwide according to Apple Music,” he said on Facebook. “In the beginning it was the U.S. hands down, in June/July each week has been a different country,” he said of his mounting global reach.

“Recently it’s been Peru, Norway, Thailand, India, Japan, South Korea, and the UK,” he said. “Thank you so much to the global listeners!”

A peculiar trait of his reborn “career” as a digital crooner: his fan base in Hawaii knows him – he visits home frequently enough — but hasn’t shown the kind of devotion expressed by an international audience. Wassup, Hawaii? …

And that’s “Show Biz.” …

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READY, SET, VAN GOGH!

I finally made it to the “Beyond Van Gogh” exhibition at the Hawaii Convention Center, and thought I’d share some reflections to add to the abundant responses on social media.

The Gogh for broke images, from palette to the walls

I’ll do it in a Q&A format:

Sunny-bright sunflowers…
  • Is it worth attending? It’s a top-tier vehicle, on a wide tour here and elsewhere, and it’s clearly akin to a museum coming to you. You might encounter this on a future Mainland trip, but since it’s here, why not?
More sunflowers — oversized and overwhelming.
  • Is it costly? Nothing is truly cheap anymore; yes, admission is pricey, but for a discount of sort, go weekdays; weekend entry fees are higher. Weekend prices: $45 adult, $40 seniors, students, and military; $23 children (costs rounded out).
The Gogh guy, in one of his guises.
  • What makes this better than, say, an exhibit at the Honolulu Museum of Art? For starters, this is an immersive hap, so you’re part of the visuals you’ll encounter. The art comes to life, so to speak, swirling and dancing across all walls of the main exhibition area; many familiar artwork are depicted, but you may have to look hither and yon to see the range; the exhibit is exquisite in darkness, heightening the color.
  • Is it accessible for the handicapped? Yes, wheelchairs are allowed; chairs are available for the asking, once you’re at the exhibit area; there are limited benches, otherwise; I brought my own stool, since I tire when standing a long time, but took an open seat when it was vacated.
His architectural sense still is imaginative and wondrous.
  • What’s the best point of the exhibit? It’s a personal choice; you’ll be amazed at the range of Van Gogh’s self-portraits, and witness his altering brush stroke styles; I loved his still life, like sunflowers; the art provided a sense of how he felt about life, his country, his people. Especially stunning: “The Starry Night” and “The Sunflowers.”
  • Downsides? Not really, but a stroll through informational morsels was longish, with a lot to read; the intention is to educate, but pictures are worth, as they say, a thousand words, and the gallery of the paintings hit the mark. Oh, there’s the expected gift shop, a pop-up store, with T-shirts ($35), mugs, posters, and bookmarks ($6); no postcards, however.  Museum shop prices prevail.
  • Extended dates: Through Sept. 26..
  • Final words: The common punchline: Gogh see it!
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MISPRONOUNCED WORDS BOTHER YOU?

Just asking…

Are you, like me, confused and alarmed at the mispronunciation by media folks of common Japanese names or words?

I speak of a trio of often mispronounced names/words: Tokyo, Honda and panko.

Tokyo is a two-syllable word/name. It’s pronounced Toh-kyo, not To-ki-yo (adding a third syllable) as even the best of TV anchors and radio announcers here and abroad tend to do. If Kyoto can be said as a two-syllable word, why can’t Tokyo enjoy that privilege, too?

Then there’s the surname and automobile brand Honda. The proper pronunciation is Hohn-da, not Honn-da or Han-da. In the mispronouncers’ world, it would be spelled either as Hunda or Handa; I have friends named Honda who may or may not drive a Honda but know how to say it.

Further, celebrity chefs and foodies galore continue to perpetuate the mispronunciation of panko, the favored bread crumbs or flakes for tempura and tonkatsu. It’s pahn-ko, not pan (rhyming like can) ko.

Try Google-ing these words, if you don’t believe me.

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AFTER 44 YEARS, SOS’ LOW RETIRES

Hoku Low, the bass player of the Society of Seven, has announced his retirement in a Facebook post.

“It has been been a privilege to be a part of the SOS organization for the past 44 years,” Low said in an email to me. “I enjoyed every minute of performing for audiences all over the world.”

Low officially retired in February but went public last week, confessing, “I plan to live a life of leisure and also do some volunteer work and maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

Hoku Low

Low evolved as an all-around entertainer after joining the SOS. He has gained confidence and resilience and has been of the do-it-all troupers in the group, meeting the high standards of versatility of the late leader Tony Ruivivar. When you’re an SOSer, you learn to do it all. Play an instrument, take on impersonations (remember his Frankie Valli?), become a dancer, and simply be a reliable team member . Alongside Ruivivar, he prevailed as a long-timer in the SOS, with Bert Sagum and Wayne Wakai as the surviving key players. Oh, and be flexible; he lived in Honolulu but relocated to Las

Vegas where the SOS relocated for showrooms in Sin City over the past decade.

Apparently, leadership now falls on Sagum, and the group intends to continue, said Low. However, the pandemic has challenged the group and fellow entertainers to restore a stage presence again. …

Enjoy retirement, buddy!

Teng on ‘NCIS: Hawai‘i’ progress

For Larry Teng, who has been in town to direct a couple of episodes of CBS’ “NCIS: Hawai‘i,”

the mission’s done but continues.

Larry Teng

Teng, showrunner of the third “NCIS” spin-off, took to Instagram to reveal that not only the initial episode is in the can, so is the second show.

That’s good news, because the Hawaii show launches Sept. 10, following the premiere of the mothership “NCIS” series, which precedes the home-brewed newbie.

“After 22 days of filming, I can officially say that the pilot and episode 102 for @ncishawaiicbs is wrapped,” he announced. “I feel so lucky to collaborate with this amazing cast, this amazing group of producers, and more than anything, this amazing crew. They have held me up, worked long hours, and devoted their time, sweat and talents for this maiden voyage.”

So the toil of long hours, and fresh scripts, marches on, as lead actress Vanessa Lachey also is keeping up the frantic schematics of carving a new notch on the “NCIS” tree…

Oh, a shout-out to CBS: when will you launch the show’s official logo, with the okina in Hawai‘i?

Life’s a beach

Hawaii has landed on Conde Nast Traveler’s recent Readers’ Choice Awards of 25 Best Beaches, among islands, but not in the top slot. Not surprising, actually.

Two island spots are mentioned in the travel website – but the beach selections were based on their island-specific locations:

  • At No. 21, Sunset Beach. Mostly because this is the site of big wave surfing contests.
  • At No. 19, Honokalani, Maui. Largely because of its black sand beaches en route to Hana.

So what/where was No. 1? Gouverneur, St. Bart’s, in the Caribbean, for its remote and pristine beach. …

And that’s “Show Biz.” …

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FACE MASK CARDS REVIVED, WITH REASON

I’ve posted this one of my Facebook page, but repeating it here for my website followers.

As some of you know, I have a hobby of making notecards for various occasions.

I created this assortment of notecards featuring face masks last week, mostly because mask-wearing still is necessary for indoor activities here, and because vaccinations have been underwhelming. A message to all: get vaxxed, wear masks.

The notecards echo earlier versions from last year just when the COVID-19 streak was peaking.

I often get requests for orders for a particular Wild Cards creation, but never have made an effort to fulfill requests.

But in light of the mounting public health concerns (vaxxing and masking), I’m making a limited number of cards to those interested; if interested, I’ll send you two face mask cards which I hope you will use to encourage friends and/or family to get vaccinated if they haven’t, or keep donning a mask, for everyone’s safety.

The captions range from “Facial Distancing” to “Mask-erade,” from “Face the Nation” to “About Face.”

HOW TO ORDER: To confirm an order, send $2 (cash or check) to Wayne Harada, 929 Waioli St., Honolulu HI 96825-2726. Please provide your snail mail address, too, so I can ship to you.

The cost will cover mailing and materials; FYI, the cards are not in gift shops or anywhere else; prices normally are $3 to $5 each when sold in a gift shop. As mentioned, the cards will be randomly selected – so you cannot request a specific design. The sample captions: “Mask-erade,” “Face the nation,” “Facial Distancing,” “The Masked Zinger,” “About Face,” “Put on Your Best Face.” For questions, email me at wayneharada@gmail.com

Mahalo for your interest and support.