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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Hawaii Monitor:

Organized Labor Has Different Faces
By Ian Lind


By the time next week’s election is over and all the bills are paid, the Hawaii Carpenters Union and its affiliates will have spent nearly $4 million in an unprecedented effort to elect their chosen candidate for Honolulu mayor, Kirk Caldwell and, perhaps more importantly, blasting his opponent, former Gov. Ben Cayetano.

The Carpenters main campaign vehicle has been the Pacific Resource Partnership, a joint marketing effort with its signatory contractors, which had already spent over $2.8 million as of October 22, most of it in an ongoing stream of relentlessly negative ads pounding on Cayetano with dubious allegations and misleading claims.

An affiliated organization, the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters, pumped $700,000 into “Workers for a Better Hawaii,” another political committee working on Caldwell’s behalf, while the Hawaii Carpenters Political Action Fund spent another $156,000 on the campaign effort.

Pub's Side Note: Talk about a dirty political campaign this is the prime example for all to see of what is bad. Push Polling is by definition "dirty tricks." and that is where they spend most of their money. But this is not for the citizens of this community, these are for the select few. If they win, these people stand to make billions and billions of of dollars in profits on the Rail. We may have to tear it down again some day but that is someone else's worry.


San Francisco found out the hard way: Looked like hell, terrible, low ridership, people definitely prefer buses, high maintenance. They finally tore it down. Now, the city looking nice and beautiful again. But somebody sure made some money along the way. That  is the name of their game. Just ask Romney.


Monday, October 29, 2012

American Style of Dancing

by Harry Kaneshiro, Pearl City

Historically, American style ballroom (called Smooth) was developing in the US at the same time as English style ballroom (called Modern) was developing in England. There was probably some cross fertilization, but there was also a lot of independent development.

"If you hear an onion ring, answer it."

Competitions seems to have started to dominate the development of English style fairly early (1920s), while American style was more rooted in social dancing and not as strict. The desire was to emulate the stage and screen dancing as epitomized in the Fred Astaire movies. Contests (not competitions) were held just for fun.

Contests had judges that liked or didn't like the dancing and that was it. Competitions were strict and got stricter with time. Heal, toe, toe, heal was strictly enforced. Or maybe it was the other way around. Your palm should be up or down, whatever. They developed the art of cloning.

"Shake, Rattle And Roll"   ...   Bill Haley & His Comets

You can generally trace many open American style foxtrot figures to things that Fred and Ginger did in various choreographic sequences in their movies. Teachers specially took that into consideration In fact, because of those movies, there was probably more influence of American style on English style than vice versa.


The National Dance Council of America syllabus has popular variations. Names of figures and timing can vary from one part of the country and/or studio to another. The consistency is quite loose and yet they manage to dance it that way. The main divisions are the Arthur Murray school and the Fred Astaire school.

Together they are closer to Universal (Social) dancing than any other discipline and it is somewhat standardizing into one American Style of Dance. If an Arthur Murray man meets a Fred Astaire lady at a night club they will have very little trouble adjusting to the man's dancing because he leads. It is also true vice versa.  *  *  *  *


Pub's Side Note: If they would just replace #40 short buses with tandem buses, what a world of  difference that would make in the West. More people riding the bus more comfortably. Less people on their cars on the streets and highways. Cost a couple million but it would never, ever come close to the ten billion that the rail would eventually cost. Ask anybody. They take the car because riding the bus is a pain in the ass.


Sunday, October 28, 2012

What is an industrial park?

An industrial park is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development.  The "lightweight" version, on the Waianae Coast would be two story shopping centers to provide office space. Most designers are still thinking last century (one story.)

 "Copy from one, it's plagiarism; copy from two, it's research"

Industrial parks are usually located on the edges of, or outside the main residential area of a city, and normally provided with good transportation access. We should slow down in bedroom community building.

This idea of setting land aside through this type of zoning is based on several concepts. For the residents on the Waianae Coast, "Coulda been home in 20 minutes." instead of spending hours every day going to town and paying $500 per month for parking. Or riding the bus, which nowadays is the most terrible thing that can happen to you. Auwe!

 “Don’t Dream, It’s Over”   ...   Crowded House

To be able to attract new business in one location, we must be able to concentrate dedicated infrastructure in a delimited area to reduce the per-business expense of that infrastructure. Such infrastructure includes roadways, high-power electric supplies (often including three-phase power), high-end communications cables, large-volume water supplies.


We could set aside for industrial uses in Makaha, Waianae, Maili, and Nanakuli and try to reduce the environmental and social impact of the industrial uses. Each with 100 units, industrial and office could provide employment to maybe 9000 people, which is a lot of people off the freeways to town.


This is at present an urban island, so don't give me any of that (keep the country, country) crap. But you must also realize that this is not a city of 20 million people. Know the difference. The future of Oahu is not Honolulu, but the Waianae Coast, the North  Shore and the Windward side and all those people that "Coulda been home in 20 minutes." And what about the Central Valley?

Pub's Side Note: PRP spending millions in Push Polling which is all lying about Ben Cayetano and many believe without any proof whatsover. Auwe!

Saturday, October 27, 2012

The Tragedy of the Bus on Oahu

The instigators couldn't care less at the extreme discomfort they have cause the users of public transportation. The devastation of the bus users by DOT and Wayne Yoshioka is unforgivable. Of course he got some help from PRP and their lying "push polls" which are illegal, but who cares. They are in their ivory tower and they know it all and they can lie all they want to.


Even I have been casually informed that the Rail will be capable of transporting 28000 passengers per hour. This is mind boggling, simply fantastic. They look down their noses at us country bumpkins with reason. But we can figure. We will be able to evacuate the entire Waianae Coast including the city of Kapolei in a little over an hour. This is an eye opener, a obvious necessity. These people got brains oozing out through their ears, they are so smart.


On the left, the Rail in San Francisco. They soon realized it didn't work the way it should
and it looked terrible. On the right, after they tore it down, looking beautiful again.
But the bus service is terrific, like Ben's FAST. 

What do we know? All we can do is guess, one of us is a Dumb Dodo!

I will have to postpone my ordinary trips to town. At 87, it is bit tiring to ride standing up from Nanakuli, all the way  to town. When they reorganize that mess at the Department of Transportation then maybe. They don't care that there are old ladies riding standing up from Waianae to town.  Auwe!





The Tragedy of the Bus on Oahu

The instigators couldn't care less at the extreme discomfort they have cause the users of public transportation. The devastation of the bus users by DOT and Wayne Yoshioka is unforgivable. Of course he got some help from PRP and their lying "push polls" which are illegal, but who cares. They are in their ivory tower and they know it all and they can lie all they want to.


Even I have been casually informed that the Rail will be capable of transporting 28000 passengers per hour. This is mind boggling, simply fantastic. They look down their noses at us country bumpkins with reason. But we can figure. We will be able to evacuate the entire Waianae Coast including the city of Kapolei in a little over an hour. This is an eye opener, a obvious necessity. These people got brains oozing out through their ears, they are so smart.


On the left, the Rail in San Francisco. They soon realized it didn't work the way it should
and it looked terrible. On the right, after they tore it down, looking beautiful again.
But the bus service is terrific, like Ben's FAST. 

What do we know? All we can do is guess, one of us is a Dumb Dodo!

I will have to postpone my ordinary trips to town. At 87, it is bit tiring to ride standing up from Nanakuli, all the way  to town. When they reorganize that mess at the Department of Transportation then maybe. They don't care that there are old ladies riding standing up from Waianae to town.  Auwe!





Thursday, October 25, 2012

The Split Infinitive

To Boldly Go Where No Split Infinitive Has Gone Before
By Patti Stafford, Los Angeles

To infinity and beyond. . .I’ve never given it much thought, but being a writer and a bit eccentric, I thought it’d be fun to look at split infinitives.

That's what she said, "Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others."

It seems splitting infinitives annoy some people, while poets and song writers can use them quite often and their use flows with grace. I’ve even used them myself at an attempt to sound more poetic. Not sure what a split infinitive is? That’s okay; it’s not something people talk about everyday—not even in writing circles. In fact, most of us haven’t given it much thought since high school.


When an adverb is placed between the word “to” and the infinitive form of a verb—it forms a split infinitive. It’s traditionally considered incorrect, but where would Star Trek be if their catch phrase wasn’t, “to boldly go where no man has gone before?” To go boldly just doesn’t sound the same, nor does it grab your attention.

"Only The Lonely"   ...   Roy Orbison

To understand a split infinitive a bit better, it’s necessary to know what an infinitive verb is. An infinitive verb is the basic form of a verb that is not affected by tense, number or person. It’s almost always preceded by the word “to.”


Generally in English, the infinitive consists of two words and if there’s an associated adverb it should precede the word “to” or follow the verb (boldly to go, to rock gently, to go boldly). But this rule is often ignored.

"Tennessee Waltz"   ...    Patti Page

Often people will cause a split infinitive with several adverbs or phrases (i.e. We want to boldly and without reservation go where no man has gone before.) Some writers (and speakers) avoid split infinitives all together. Unless it reads well or sounds more poetic to use it, they feel it’s in bad style and taste. Split infinitives can also affect the meaning and can lead to ambiguity.


Example from Guide to Good Writing*: They decided to cautiously advance may be rendered as they decided to advance cautiously or as they decided cautiously to advance—each has a different meaning.

In my personal opinion on split infinitives, I think it’s all about the context and style of the writing. It works great in poetic verse, but not so well in business and formal writing.
What’s your opinion?  *  *  *  *

Pub's Side Note: Just received, The Republican Golden Rule:
 "The ones who have the gold make the rules."



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Dance Teachers on Oahu

By Jacqueline Kwong, Liliha

Most all of us agree that we have been very fortunate to get such good amateur teachers of dance on this Island. Some have been teaching for over 30 years. Many have not attended special schools for professionals, but people with life experience make the best teachers. They  have the wisdom, the compassion, and the experience to understand many different types of students.

"There are two major products to come out of Berkeley: LSD and UNIX.
We don’t believe this to be a coincidence."
 
Teaching ballroom isn't just about knowing dance patterns- there is so much more that makes a good Dance Instructor. Our teachers develop the confidence and professionalism quickly, and easily go from being a good teacher to a GREAT one, and gain the skills needed to skyrocket their reputations.

They learn how to develop the qualities and habits of top performing instructors, how to relate to their students on and off the dance floor, and how to streamline their social operations. The big social clubs have had services to support dancers, teachers at every stage of their development. Many have tried to get their programs raising the standards of professional excellence throughout all facets of the dancing environment.

"That's All Right"   ...   Elvis Presley

Simply put…to learn, accept and recognize that “promotion is great” Because it is simply about striving to give others what they want and need. How nice is that?! And that there need not be any pressure, or trying to convince anyone of anything, or fear of losing the influence – for you or your dance club.

Therefore a simple, honest, blogging conversation can result in a win-win situation where everyone is happy, no one feels taken advantage of, and everyone gets what they want.  *  *  *  *


Pub's Side Note: One of these blogs will by January, have a Teacher of the month in the side bar of the blog. The problem is who first, and who chooses the next ones. I would like to start with the recently retired ones. These should be nice long standing couples, teachers of dance that should be recognized by our entire dance community. Let's keep the politics to a minimum.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Formation Dancing

by Gene Russo, San Francisco

Today in our world, there is an increasing need for people to learn to work and and live together cooperatively. With overcrowding and shortages of housing, parking and energy, it is essential to develop better teamwork and cooperation skills.

"Let us permit nature to have her way. She understands her business better than we do."

Beijing, China
How can Formation Dancing help? I have discovered some interesting facts recently. Everyone is familiar with the "V" formation that geese use when migrating during the spring and fall of every year. Scientists have found that there are good reasons for these flying habits. These principles may apply whether we are migrating geese or human beings trying to work together towards a common goal.

Geese also share leadership. When the lead goose tires, he or she rotates back into the "V" and another goes forward to take the lead. When geese fly in formation they can fly about 70% farther than when they fly alone.


There is a lot to be learned from lessons found in nature and from Formation  Dancing too. It also presents an alternative to competition dancing as a performing opportunity or to increasing dancing skills. When there is an emphasis on winning and losing, people can be left in the sidelines with a sense of failure and incompetence.


Formations promote a sense of teamwork and cooperation that reaches well beyond the dance floor, as they share the "gift of dance." By their performances for groups and organizations they are extending the benefits to the community at  large. If you have never experienced the joys, fun and rewards of formation dancing, I invite you all to join us.   *  *  *  *


Pub's Side Note: Perhaps the Rail is something worth the billions and billions of dollars that are projected. I just receive an email informing me that the Rail will be able to transport 28000 passengers per hour. That is mind boggling, and just about the most amazing thing I have ever heard. And I believe these number crunchers. They don't know any better. For us, now we know, that we can evacuate the entire Waianae Coast together with city of Kapolei, in a little over an hour. How about that? Aren't you relieved? Wow!



Formation Dancing

by Gene Russo, San Francisco

Today in our world, there is an increasing need for people to learn to work and and live together cooperatively. With overcrowding and shortages of housing, parking and energy, it is essential to develop better teamwork and cooperation skills.

"Let us permit nature to have her way. She understands her business better than we do."

Beijing, China
How can Formation Dancing help? I have discovered some interesting facts recently. Everyone is familiar with the "V" formation that geese use when migrating during the spring and fall of every year. Scientists have found that there are good reasons for these flying habits. These principles may apply whether we are migrating geese or human beings trying to work together towards a common goal.

Geese also share leadership. When the lead goose tires, he or she rotates back into the "V" and another goes forward to take the lead. When geese fly in formation they can fly about 70% farther than when they fly alone.


There is a lot to be learned from lessons found in nature and from Formation  Dancing too. It also presents an alternative to competition dancing as a performing opportunity or to increasing dancing skills. When there is an emphasis on winning and losing, people can be left in the sidelines with a sense of failure and incompetence.


Formations promote a sense of teamwork and cooperation that reaches well beyond the dance floor, as they share the "gift of dance." By their performances for groups and organizations they are extending the benefits to the community at  large. If you have never experienced the joys, fun and rewards of formation dancing, I invite you all to join us.   *  *  *  *


Pub's Side Note: Perhaps the Rail is something worth the billions and billions of dollars that are projected. I just receive an email informing me that the Rail will be able to transport 28000 passengers per hour. That is mind boggling, and just about the most amazing thing I have ever heard. And I believe these number crunchers. They don't know any better. For us, now we know, that we can evacuate the entire Waianae Coast together with city of Kapolei, in a little over an hour. How about that? Aren't you relieved? Wow!



Monday, October 22, 2012

Dime, The Rumba

Dime, is a beautiful Rumba that sounds like money when it is read, but I point out that in Spanish it means, "Tell me." (I have done something wrong?) It is pronounced "Thee Meh" and he doesn't say she left him but it is implied. And it arrived in Bluefields about a month before my planned escape in 1975. I hated losing it, beautiful rumba beat, Indian style, seashells, animal horns, flutes in background.

 "I know God will not give me anything I can't handle.
I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." ~Mother Teresa

I left on the Red Diamond Four, a small commercial boat going to Brownsville, Texas. Right behind the Hurricane because the captain had waited too long. Up the coast of Nicaragua, the big waves were coming at us. The small boat would go almost straight up a wave and then down the other side and the propeller would shake the boat when out of the water. Tough.

Rounding the corner into the Gulf of Honduras the waves were coming side ways, and I had a terrible time trying to sleep on a wall then hang on to keep on my bunk when it goes the other way. My shipmates told me it could get rougher. I wasn't meant to be a sailor. Tough.

"Dime"   ...   Morris Albert

Coming around Cancun, Mexico, the sea was smooth as glass. The captain had told me we would never catch up to the Hurricane. Out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, with the boat going full blast on auto pilot, it seemed like we were lost, I could see nothing in any direction. Where is everybody?  We got to Brownsville safely and only took about six days.

Got a job washing dishes then became assistant cook and still making my plans. A few weeks later I heard what sounded like Dime. It was, but now it was in English and the name was Feelings. It was still a beautiful fox trot. I played it whenever I got to a Jukebox. I then lost it again in my travels to get to L.A.

Came to Hawaii and I may have heard it once or twice, just not popular here. Then this week, I came across the original on You Tube and I found a way to copy it to my computer, however it comes with the video. Now I have to find out how to copy the music only. Anybody out there know?

"La Distancia"   ...   Roberto Carlos

1975
The composer a Brazilian guitarist and singer, Mauricio Alberto Kasselman, (who's father was Jewish) recommended changing his name to Morris Albert. The original lyrics were in Portuguese but Dime went throughout the world and the lyrics were changed for each area. Stuck with his new name he didn't do as good as he thought, Now 37 years later, he still alive and there is video of him singing "Feelings" in English. I will find one where he sings it in Spanish.

So we all get old.
Anybody want a copy of the video and the music can have it, just supply me with a flash drive and I will copy it and give it back to you. Then you can do whatever you wish to do with it.  I am still trying to find a way to copy only the music. You will be able to play it only on a computer. The guitar is a little faint in the beginning but it emerges like a harp. The music is the same whatever computer you use, the interpretation is in the outlet. Hopefully you have good speakers or earphones, it is all are up to you. And you can get it yourself direct from You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEeGnRZLCnM

Pub's Side Note:  "When Mitt Romney's search for a vice president was continuing,
one of Mitt Romney's problems was that he's never hired an American for a job before,
so this was all new to him." –Jay Leno


Sunday, October 21, 2012

Da Rail, Auwe!


Independent UCLA professor, BrianTaylor, states that rail is effective in very large cities - but BRT is much better for Honolulu. He also said: "This Rail project, I guarantee you, is going to cost substantially more than they're projecting." This well-balanced report should make it very clear to all that Ben's FAST plan is the way to go! PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH OTHERS!

 "Mitt Romney has been giving his volunteers a free sweatshirt for making phone calls on his behalf. The sweatshirts are just like Romney, 100 percent reversible." -Jimmy Fallon

UCLA Prof. Brian Taylor doesn't have a stake in the battle over Oahu's transit future. However, the transportation policy and planning expert does offer a unique perspective on what would be best for the island's transit needs – the city's proposed $5.3 billion rail project, or a bus rapid transit system.


"When you look at the size of Honolulu (and) you look at the transportation problem they're seeking to solve, BRT is almost certainly a better investment," Taylor said Friday in a telephone interview with KITV4. "Big Rail System types of investments are essential to keep very large, very densely developed cities functioning effectively, and so they're often the best investment that can be made," explained Taylor. "You have to take all that capital cost for the system, and you have to divide it over the riders you have."

 "I Walk The Line"   ...   Johnny Cash

Taylor's research shows one of the greatest factors in determining a transit system's appeal is the ease with which riders can get to a transit line, whether it's BRT or rail.  If a rider needs to go through various steps like walking, driving or transferring to get to a final destination, the less likely he or she is to use public transportation.


"So, making the vehicle a little bit faster is not nearly as important as having a cutting down of the wait time," he said. Honolulu's controversial rail project could hinge on next month's mayoral election.  Former acting Mayor Kirk Caldwell, who supports rail transit, faces former two-term Democratic Gov. Ben Cayetano.


Cayetano has promised to kill rail transit and prefers a hybrid plan he calls FAST, which features a BRT system, an elevated Nimitz Highway flyover, and short underpasses along Kapiolani Boulevard at a projected cost of $1.5 billion.

About Prof. Brian Taylor:
Taylor is currently an Associate Director of the University of California Transportation Center, Chair of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies Federal Transit Administration Transit Economic Requirements Model review committee, and a Fellow in the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Pub's Side Note: Population of cities with succsesful Rail systems. 1, Tokyo, Japan - 32,450,000, 2. Seóul, South Korea - 20,550,000, 3. Mexico City, Mexico - 20,450,000, 4. New York City, USA - 19,750,000. Tokyo alone has over 32 times the population of the entire state of Hawaii. Use your head, Red.
 




Friday, October 19, 2012

Team Blogging

In 2006, Nuts About Southwest rolled out with a handful of regular contributors, and over time that number grew. It was difficult in the beginning because of what most thought might be a heavy commitment.

 "The sooner you fall behind, the more time you’ll have to catch up."


Today, the core blogging Team consists of 30 bloggers from across a wide range of locations and disciplines who post regularly, and they are backed by an army of other infrequent bloggers from the Employee ranks and Customers.

Seven years in the blogging world is like, well, 40 years in the airline industry. Many of their pioneer bloggers have moved on into different jobs or have retired, and they are honored as Alumni Bloggers. Like the Original Employees, these Original Bloggers paved the way for the success of Nuts About Southwest, and they are true social media pioneers.

"Rock Around The Clock"   ...   Bill Haley & His Comets

Team blogs are quite useful when small groups of people wish to contribute to a single blog. In Hawaii, dancing Studios all have Web sites so they do not feel they need Blog sites. With us it has been basically, one person initially creating the blog, then adding other people to it as information and photo contributors. Later on only when the members are ready, they are invited as Guest Authors.


Team members can either be administrators or not. Administrators do not have to do anything but they can edit all posts (not just their own), add and remove team members (and grant admin access), and modify the blog's settings and template. I don't expect any of our blogs to ever have more than ten bloggers. If each blogs only three times a month you have a blog a day. The hits will go through the ceiling and I am talking about 1000 average hits per day coming in from all around the Pacific Rim.

Non-admins can only create and edit their own posts. However, they pretty much have the complete choice of  what to write about and journalism is not necessary. What ever you need you will learn as you go along. When I first posted something that disagreed with the Rootzi Tootzi agenda, they flipped their collective lids. Most of us try to be easier on everybody but we can disagree and we have come to accept it.

Pub's Side Note:  "Mitt Romney is claiming he’s going to create 12 million jobs in his first term. But he hasn’t said yet if he’ll create them in China or India.”






Thursday, October 18, 2012

The Bottom Three

With the new rearrangement the three new territories are just about tied in the number of average hits per day. Another month and they will sort themselves out. The information contributors in each section will determine the outcomes and the hits will show it.

"The head never rules the heart, but just becomes its partner in crime."


Central Valley for some reason seems to be holding a slight lead, followed by Oahu - West and then Dancing in the Dark, which takes over the old Da Blogosphere blog. Their new territory is from the Stadium and includes Kalihi, a long time in West Honolulu.

The combination information and photo contributors will be crucial to the development on these blogs and many do not know how to go about it. I will have to make more verbal contact with the possibles. I am leaning towards the American Style teachers of the different social clubs. What a wealth of experience they can contribute to our reader/dancers. The hits would go through the roof.

"That'll Be The Day"   ...   Crickets

The slide show seems to be well accepted in the Oahu - West and Central Valley blogs. It is only right that I set one up for Dancing in the Dark. With a good coverage of the social dancing at Aliamanu Intermediate and some good PR for Kalihi Chapter HBDA, it will get rolling.

With all the dilution of the readership with the addition of new microblogs, the basic Blogger blogs totals are still going up, though very slowly. Simply because we are getting new readers for various reasons. We will get to them later.

I do not count the micro blogs, they are there only as PR for regular blogs. And there are four. Twitter, Google+, Posterous and Tumblr. They do a terrific job, I think. But I don't really know, no hit counters. However, Nikaawa's Space, (Posterous) and Ewa Plain, (Tumblr) can be accessed through the links in the side bar. Take a look-see.

Pub's Side Note: Mitt Romney was hoping to energize Republicans by announcing Paul Ryan as his running mate. Seriously? That's like trying to spice up a bowl of oatmeal with more oatmeal.