Lt. Watada is still on trial

Lt. Ehren Watada on Refusing to Serve in Iraq


Despite the Congressional elections, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee non-binding resolution and other news showing resistance to the war in Iraq, the Pentagon is continuing its court martial trial against Lt. Ehren Watada. I thought I'd pass on some local events that will take place here in Honolulu -- Ehren's hometown:

Saturday, February 3, 10:30 am to noon, Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai`i, 5th Floor

Panel discussion on Lt. Watada: Dissenter or Deserter?
Panelists include Jon Okamura, Ph.D., Karen Nakasone, and Ernie Kimoto. Sponsored by JCCH; phone: 945-7633 ext 27 for more information; Admission free

Monday, February 5, 3:30-6pm;

Press Conference at 4 pm., Fort Shafter Gate
Demonstration to Support Lt. Ehren Watada. Help bring out hundreds of people to support Lt. Watada on the first day of his court-martial! Plan car pools (parking is available in the neighborhood just beyond Fort Shafter), or catch rides from the Church of the Crossroads parking lot at 3 pm. There will be signs and banners, or you can make your own. Make sure your organizations is there, and represented at the Press Conference.

PS You can hear Lt. Watada's on the fine NPR talk show "Fresh Air" for 25 January 2007.

Seattle

I had a good week in Seattle; attending the annual conference of ALISE, where I gave two papers, and the Midwinter conference of ALA. I hate leaving Hawaii during the school year since I have to miss class, and usually deal with a long flight. Seattle is about as close to Hawaii that I can get, though, so I should not complain (although the red eye is not the way to go for night owls). ALISE and ALA were good conferences this year, so I had a good trip.

I also enjoyed being in Seattle. Hawaii is great, but I miss some of the urban stylings of other cities. I didn't make it to any museums this time, but I saw the opening of Seattle's Sculpture Garden (fun, but it is nothing compared to the ones in Minneapolis, New York or Jerusalem!), a few fine new and used bookstores, and enjoyed peoplewatching (I miss black clothes); and a bit of shopping (can you say "clearance sale?!). The chance to schmooze with colleagues, and talk about each other's research, teaching tips and personal lives made it very worthwhile.



One of the highlights of this trip was checking out the new Seattle Public Library. Many of my colleagues thought that it was cold, and that it would not age well. They might be right, about it not aging well, but few interesting buildings do. I thought it was a great public space. I took over 200 photos there, and posted quite a few on my Flickr site. I am looking forward to my students' reactions.

Now, I just have to dig out my inbox and deal with all of the committee work I said yes to.

Falafel, Shawarma + Hummus @ Kailua

I'm not a great cook, but I love food, including falafel, shawarma, and hummus, so I might be crossing the Pali to check out this new place once it opens in February. I know there are many foodies out here, so I thought I'd pass this e-mail along:

Former University of Hawaii Hebrew Teacher Opens Health-Focused Mediterranean Restaurant

Kailua, HI—February 1, 2007—In a move that will bring the flavor of the Mediterranean to Kailua, Iris Yoeli, former University of Hawaii teacher of the Hebrew language, has opened a new health-savvy restaurant: Paprika, An Inspired Mediterranean Cuisine [35 Kainehe St., Kailua; TEL: 262-3777; HOURS: Daily: 11AM-10PM].

Mediterranean Food—From the Mediterranean
Both Yoeli and her chef, Chef Isaac Leib are from Israel, the cradle of Mediterranean cuisine. Leib is a graduate of Tadmor, the most celebrated culinary school in Israel. "I grew up with the taste of the pita on my lips," says Yoeli. The restaurant bakes its own pita bread on its premises. Some of their featured dishes are:

• A Falafel made from a recipe handed down from generation to generation.
  
• Shawarma, made with grilled chicken and 13 different spices,
  collected from the furthest deserts of Arabia to the remotest villages
  of India.
  
• A daily soup served with pita chips and sprinkled with homemade seasoning.

Keiki Friendly Dining
The Keiki Delight Menu includes Noah's Ark, Pizza, Schnitzel and
Kebabs, straight from Grandma's kitchen. Auntie's chocolate cake is
made with genuine Israeli chocolate, brought directly from the Holy Land

Mission: Rich in Flavor, Rich in Health Benefits
"Most people love Mediterranean cuisine for its rich flavor," says Yoeli, "but it can be very healthy as well." An American hamburger may have lettuce and tomato. But an authentic Mediterranean pita will contain a succulent blend of five or six different vegetables. Add to that a variety of spices, a hearty helping of lamb and no grease.
Belly Dancing? March 3, 2007!
Paprika-Inspired Mediterranean Cuisine will be holding its Official Grand Opening Celebration on Saturday March 3, 2007. There will be live music and a belly dancer. "Please come and enjoy the festivities," says a very lively Yoeli, "We are going to have fun!" Lovers of Mediterranean food, health food or simply flavorful cuisine are encouraged to visit the restaurant before March 3. The restaurant opens on February 1, 2007.

I'm not so sure about needing belly dancing while I eat, but that seems popular here... Kailua is a fun town to visit, although I am sad that the Lodestar Collective has since closed down.

2007 HLA Annual Conference

News from Dave:

The 2007 Hawaii Library Association's Annual Conference will take place over the Veterans Day Weekend on November 10 and November 11 at the Grand Hyatt on Kauai. Preconference programs will take place on November 9. ...

You will hear more about program proposals in February.

Encyclopedia of Reference Services

I just received an interesting e-mail from Professor John Richardson at UCLA. Check it out:

During the Fall 2006, my UCLA DIS 245 “Information Access” class created an Encyclopedia of Reference Services at http://ucla245.pbwiki.com/

Our overarching mission was to establish generally accepted reference principles (GARP). Ideally, these pages provide a sense of evidence and show a critical spirit of inquiry. Our audience extends to anyone interested in reference services in the United States and includes practitioners as well as researchers, but especially beginning graduate students in information studies programs who are interested in the research front in this field.

In terms of scope, reference service should be understood to include traditional reference work in libraries (of all types) as well as state of the art efforts such as live, virtual (aka digital) reference. Most of the biographical names and concepts have been drawn from “The Current State of Research on Reference Transactions,” In Advances in Librarianship, vol. 26, pages 175-230, edited by Frederick C. Lynden (New York: Academic Press, 2002).

Treatment is not necessarily in depth, but the nearly 200 entries contain a minimum of 500 words. Basic concepts are defined and biographical information on major contributors to this field are provided. Entries for deceased individuals strive to be evaluative, while entries for living individuals are more factual.

Each page concludes with full bibliographic citations in APA style to articles, books and other websites which will lead the reader to further, more detailed information about this topic in reference service. Special features include images, as appropriate, and cross references, as needed.

John V. Richardson Jr., Editor in Chief and Professor of Information Studies at UCLA
Debbie Weissmann, Co-Editor and Doctoral Student, UCLA Department of Information Studies

In Memory: Henri-Jean MARTIN

One of the most influential print culture historians passed away in January. Check out the French-language obituary in Le Monde. or an English obituary from The Independent.

FWD: Tour: Law Library Microform Consortium

Aloha HPC-SLA members and friends!

The Hawaiian-Pacific Chapter of SLA invites you to attend a presentation and tour of the Law Library Microform Consortium (LLMC) at Windward Community College in Kaneohe on Friday, Feb. 16, from 1-3:30pm. Jerry Dupont, LLMC Executive Director, will be giving the talk and tour.

LLMC is a non-profit consortium of libraries devoted to providing economical access to a wide range of legal and law-related materials. It preserves legal titles and government documents on film, and also makes copies available either in microfiche format or digitally through its online service. See the website at http://www.LLMC.com for more background information.

We plan to meet at 1pm in Room 112 of Hale Kuhina (see map at http://www.wcc.hawaii.edu/WCCmap.html ), and after welcome and introductions by Nancy Heu, Windward Community College Library Director, the talk and tour will begin at 1:30, followed by light refreshments and networking. The meeting will wrap up by 3:30pm, so you can beat the rush-hour traffic! No need to RSVP but please do arrange your own transportation.

DIRECTIONS & PARKING:
Windward Community College is located two long blocks from the central business district of Kaneohe at the mauka end of Keaahala Road. Here are driving instructions from several directions:

By way of the Pali Highway:
Turn toward the North Shore on Kamehameha Hwy, which joins the Pali at the first traffic light at the bottom of the mountain. Go about 8 miles until you get into central Kaneohe and then turn left onto Keaahala Road. The landmark on that corner is a Jack-in-the-Box restaurant. Go mauka two long blocks.

From the H-3 Highway:
Take the first Kaneohe exit, which will merge you onto the Likelike Hwy. quite close to the Kalekili Hwy. intersection, for which see below.

From Likelike Highway:
Turn toward the North Shore on Kahekili Hwy, which joins the Likelike at the first traffic light at the bottom of the mountain. Be aware that to get onto Kalekili Hwy, you must be in the far right lane as you are approaching the light. Once you are on Kahekili Hwy., go to the second light, which is Keaahala Road. Turn left and come up one long block.

As you approach the campus on Keaahala Rd., you will see that the road ends directly in front of the main administration building. On your right you will see a large parking lot. Use that parking lot and then walk to Hale Kuhina, which is the building to the left of the main administration building. We'll meet in Rm. 112 at 1pm.

Hope to see you there, Jan ;>
**********************************************
Jan Zastrow, Professional Development Chair, Hawaiian-Pacific Chapter Special Libraries Association

Responses to An Open Letter to Hawaii Mission Children's Society Board

I was surprised by the immediate reaction to my open letter, which I posted here (only). The next day I was called by a Honolulu Advertiser reporter, who wrote up a story partly based on my letter. You can Rodd Ohira's article online.

Upon returning from the ALA and ALISE conferences in Seattle, I found a letter from Mission Houses Museum Trustee Robert L. Becker. He asked me to post his letter promptly on my blog. I have done so below:





To be honest, I am quite disappointed that that Mr. Becker sees no prospect for reconciliation after she gave over 15 years of service and leadership to HMCS, but I do not see what else I can do at the moment. This case might make an interesting case study for an article in non-profit administration.