Dr. Drew's Infrequent Blog

31 December 2005

Another new cafe in Honolulu

I spend a lot of time reading, writing, and grading papers. I like doing this in different cafes when possible. It is fun to peoplewatch from time to time, and tea seems to help -- if it is hot and I can add 2% milk. My neighborhood, Manoa, has been a Starbucks virtual monopoly for the past two years, but a new competitor has just opened. It is also a chain, but has the best tea in town. The Honolulu Advertiser had an interesting story about Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's efforts to establish in Hawaii.

This week's Honolulu Weekly mentioned a new independent cafe that I will have to check out. It is called rRed Elephant and is at 1144 Bethel St. (Tel: 545-2468. Hours: 7 AM (yawn!) until 9 PM ). Why do all cafes here have to close so early?! In any case, I tried Googling this cafe, and found an interesting New York Times article, "In Honolulu, Arts Revive Chinatown's Fortune" by Jocelyn Fujii from 18 Dec. 2005 that mentioned the cafe and the overall gentrification of Chinatown. I was pleased to see the Times take note of our First Friday event.

25 December 2005

Art in Kailua: Introducing the Lodestar Collective



Amid the frenzy of end-of-semester grading I forgot to mention an expedition to a new gallery featuring one of my favorite artists. Ceramicist Daven Hee (shown above) is one of the forces behind the new Lodestar Collective at 438-A Uluniu St. in Kailua (96734). The gallery is open from 10.oo to 6.oo Tues-Sat. Call them at 808/ 741.2874 or 282.3789.

Kailua seems to becoming more of a funky place with the Balcony Gallery next door, and its own Second Sunday Gallery Walk. Kailua also has one of Oahu's only independent bookstores and cafes (both in the same strip mall). One of these days I will even have to check out the famous beach -- just five miles away.

Loriene Roy for President!!

I don't think I've ever endorsed a candidate for ALA President before, but I was very excited to learn that UT Austin LIS professor Loriene Roy is running for President. She'd have my vote for US President too (much better than another "Texan"). Alas, Dr. Roy is only running for ALA President. In any case, she certainly has my vote and best wishes. In terms of personality, Loriene can be a soft-spoken person, who is an excellent listener, however, she is truly engaged activist-intellectual on a number of fronts, including library service for Native people. I was happy that she came to the HLA Conference on the Big Island (although I arrived too late to hear her speak). I enjoyed the chance to talk with her on the way back to the Kona Airport. Check out her homepage or her ALA Presidential Campaign blog .

I am so behind in writing letters to family and friends. I always have to write belated greetings, but I am so enjoying these few days between semesters to work on research.

Of course, one should still take a break -- even from research, so Noriko and I caught a nice concert with jazzmaster DeShannon Higa on Friday at the rather swank Hanohano Room at the Sheraton Waikiki. The drinks were a bit expensive, but tasty. The band was tight, although I was not so crazy about singer's loungelike repertoire (although I had never heard a jazz version of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time"). Some annoying patrons seated (much too) close to us seemed to enjoy her singing though. They kept complaining loudly to the waitress that they wanted something like "less jazz, and more entertainment," almost demanding she get the singer back on stage. Alcohol does not seem to help all personalities. The view from the 30th floor made the drinks worth the extra price, especially as there was no cover. It is good to have options in terms of jazz now, even here in Hawaii.