Arts | Entertainment | Crafts | Life
Finally, the Easter bunny delivered the final 2025 Easter pins. So: if you’ve not received yours, you’ll likely get ’em tomorrow or Saturday, in plenty of time to celebrate Easter.
Made, too, a limited number of Easter baskets with a pink rose attachment on the front.
Comedian Frank DeLima now calls Las Vegas home, settling into his new digs, precise location I promised never to reveal.
“Still getting settled,” he said in a recent email, when I asked, “How you doing?
On this day, he was hanging pictures on the walls of his senior home, and deciding what goes where, like any other person moving into new quarters.
“Putting stuff in their proper places,” he added.
What he learned, when he was ensconced in a Maikiki apartment for decades before his retirement this past year, is get room gear like shelving on wheels, for easier movement.
So, his shelves are on rollers, along with his chest of drawers. With back and hip issues, the easier it is to shuttle and shuffle stuff, the better.
DeLima also engaged in a new regimen – regular exercise – at his new senior facility.
“Every morning, I do two-hour therapy,” he revealed. “Neck, back, leg. Music makes it easier,” so he has his own brand of health-targeted disco.
“The hallways are so long, I walk indoors for exercise, for half an hour,” he said.
DeLima is fortunate to have friends in Vegas, who help him on shopping outings. “But I’m slowly learning about home delivery,” he noted.
Generally speaking, DeLima has no dilemma about his retirement move.
On new turf, he’s also had to secure new health services. “I got a new primary care physician,” he said. “And cardiologist, orthopedist, neurologist, dentist, physical therapist.”
All the vital “ists” in his quest for wellness are in place.
While he doesn’t have much hair to address, he nonetheless also has found a barber.
Health coverage is helping him to curb costs.“My insurance takes care of my transportation, round trip, to my appointments.,” said DeLima.
“I no more car, but my family and friends take me when I need to go shopping. And eating.”
He’s been scheduling lunches at least once a week, a comfortable rhythm and pace for all he’s been doing.
Further, he’s discovered a Catholic church a mile away, for Sunday worship.
“My sister (who has been a Vegas resident for a while) picks me up and we attend (church). Then go eat.”
He’s truly done all the proper homework, to adjust to his new senior life in the desert. He’s located restaurants in all directions of his residence, offering quite a range of choice: Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Korea, Jewish and even “a place called Island Style, with Hawaiian favorites on the menu,,” he said..
DeLima also has figured out the locations of a CVS Pharmacy, Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart, Target and a Smith’s Supermarket perhaps three miles away.
He’s been a Zippy’s advocate in Honolulu, but he hasn’t revealed if he’s visited the first Zippy’s on the Ninth Island or where a second eatery is coming up soon.
If you recall, DeLima’s final gig in Honolulu before heading for Vegas, was a Dec, 15, 2024, Christmas show at Blue Note Hawaii, complete with his array of comedic vignettes. Because of the holidays he staged his “Filipino Christmas” complete with his tree costume with lights. Diehard fans showed up at the mid-day finale.
Next up, possibly later than sooner, DeLima is eager to test the waters of doing limited shows for the constant Hawaii delegations who convene to Vegas for birthday or wedding receptions and the plethora of high school reunions which adore the climate of seeing old school pals and the lure of trying to win the big jackpot on the slots before catching a flight home …
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And that’s Show Biz…
Second wave of Easter pins now in the mail; so more deliveries a-coming.
so watch your mailboxes.
There’s a reason why they call it Heavenly, with its sofa seating with coffee tables, facing the marina at the Koko Marina center in Hawaii Kai.
It was a heavenly meal, as far as I was concerned, when I ordered the kal bi special which arrived on a sizzling cast-iron plate, the meat-with-the-bone hiding a mound of rice, sharing a cozy bed atop corn. Remove the decorative greens atop the kal bi, and whoa, there’s ample to enjoy.
Because the kal bi is grilled in the kitchen, you don’t really smell like you’ve been in a Korean restaurant. Besides, this is a Japanese-owned eatery, anyway, so gomen (sorry) if I offended anyone. Had munched on half of the entrée, so enjoyed the leftovers for lunch. Only then did I realize that the sauce seemed slightly over-salted, but it was still a joy.
Our party of five sat in one of those roomy, U-shaped booth seating inside the restaurant, a first for me. The booths were reminders from the past, with retro lamps shaped like palms overhead, and glassy art on the walls. Remembered the tiny battery-operated copper candle on the table, from earlier visits, and this zone of tables is a wholly different experience than the sofa and living room sector facing the waterfront. And likely more comfy, for those with aging back aches, Me, included.
Tried, too, for the first time, Heavenly’s sundae dessert, a compilation of custard cream topped with a cherry, a mini scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side, surrounded by a sea of fruits: banana, Mandarin orange slices, a wedge of fresh strawberry, thinly sliced apples…all arranged like ikebana in an old-fashioned fountain sundae dish. Yummy.
Brother Noland staged a spirited, luminous performance last night (March 6) — his first-ever concert at Blue Note Hawaii at the Outrigger Waikiki resort and a relaunch of his brand,
Noland, 68, has been somewhat nomadic in recent decades, mostly invisible to his fans; but he’s been a responsible, quiet, viable and vigorous musician, storyteller and guitarist on the Hawaii scene. In the 1980s, he was deemed to be the Father of Jawaiian Music, with a rhythmic “Coconut Girl” signature hit.
So the unveiling of the Noland now was awesome, nostalgic and a fascinating catch-up of his musical and cultural intersections he’s crossed over time. He fronted an incredibly powerful ensemble of eight, dubbed the Island Incredibles, sharing a few old tunes, a batch of new ones, and atmospheric acoustic revivals of pure Hawaiian mele, updating his profile of the 1980s or thereabouts, when Noland was a budding and prolific trendsetter.
If you hadn’t seen Noland in eons, you might not have anticipated his snow white hair, his dark glasses motif, and his (and his band’s) flurry of colorful Jam’s World-print garb.
The revelation of “Las Vegas,” an unexpected potion of pop tones, was his blast of cultural expression in the music bin, a goofy and giggly exploration of the exodus of beaucoup Hawaii folks relocating to the Ninth Island because of cost of living is way too expensive here. Since families and clans of friends make frequent jaunts to Las Vegas and staying at California Hotel or Fremont, where they hope and pray to score a major jackpot on the slots, the tune has purpose. Finally, there is an anthem for the mad movement to a new ZIP code.
Noland’s voice is not the best in the industry, but he is skillful in channeling his tones to deliver any kind of music. His vintage Hawaiiana was as charming as they come, with a throaty voice articulating the spirit of the era, on “Ka Ipo Lei Manu,” a Queen Kapiolani mele written for her husband, King David Kalakaua, who had traveled to the mainland where he died. The lamentation is quite evident, in Noland’s moody delivery.
In his Hawaiian sector, Noland also shared a “place song,” or “mele pana,” entitled “Mauna Kea,” the mountain on the Big Island where he resides part of the year. The tune showcases the beauty and vista of the region, and living in the elevated heights means he enjoys the serenity and isolation of being “close to God.”
Thus, his musicianship reflects these life choices, crisscrossing in multiple song styles and residency experiences, like toiling in the Outback of Australia, represented in a tune he wrote called “Walkabout.”
He truly is a keiki o ka ‘aina, or child of the land, born in the Palama region, and perhaps that’s why he favors uncommon passions like authoring books via his Ho‘ea Initiative, experiencing and embracing the tropical jungles, sharks, and wilderness survival. This positioning has produced some revealing postures in his music, too, advocating the appreciation of life and culture. on “Are You Native,” “Harbor Town,” and “Signs.”
With this gig, recurring one more time tonight (March 7), Brother Noland (last name, Conjugacion), showcases a loud, proud band of buddies, featuring some of the town’s best instrumentalists and voices, pictured here, from left to right: Tavana on guitar, Gaylord Holomalia on keyboards, David Garibaldi on drums, Kata Maduli on bass, Michael Ruff on keyboards, Fred Schreuders on guitars, and Lila Chris and Olivia Ruff on vocals.
Noland also strums rock guitar and ki hoalu (slack key) and because he allows numerous solo riffs from all musicians on many numbers, the opening performance was an extended show running nearly two hours, cancelling the originally planned second show. That format will continue for tonight’s (March 7) gig – one lone show at 6:30 p.m.
Rumors surfaced that there would be another two-night stand at Blue Note next week, but that’s not true. Instead, Noland’s team is contemplating Neighbor Island concerts on Maui and the Big Island next week…
And that’s Show Biz…
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Brother Noland and the Island Incredibles
Who: Brother Noland and the Island Incredibles, first time in Waikiki in eons
Where: Blue Note Hawaii at the Outrigger Waikiki resort
When: Opened last night (March 6); final show at 6:30 p.m. today (March 7); doors open at 5 p.m. for beverage and food service
Tickets: $35 and $45, available at www.bluenotehawaii.com and (808) 777-4890. …