"Refresh and Renew..." 'Judith Whitehead' (Inspiration Monday)

Judith Whitehead is back guest-blogging on this awesome Inspirational Monday about keeping your skills polished and up top date and enjoying it all at the same time!  Judy lives in Amherst N.Y. and has worked in the medical profession for over 30 years and  still enjoys and has passion in  her field of ophthalmology...

TIME TO REFRESH AND RENEW…

At least twice a year I enjoy going to a seminar that reviews the latest in technology and gives me inspiration in my field of Ophthalmology. I am fortunate enough to work for a group that values training and skills in my field and supports my desire to refresh a few times a year; tomorrow is one of those days. I will leave the house while it is still dark to drive to a nearby city with other friends that work in my field to see old friends in the field I work in, listen to inspirational speakers and converse with those that I see year after year that do the same thing I do.

Tomorrow I will drive into the sunrise and thoroughly enjoy my day away from home and return at sunset with inspiration that will carry me to the next seminar that I will attend. I try and go to at least 2- 3 seminars a year for they refresh my skills, renew my interest in the field and clear my head.

Learning never stops; when we are young, we can’t wait to finish school and when we are older we miss those days and wish we could repeat them. I am fortunate that I have found a field that continues to hold my interest and has supported me both financially and spiritually for the last 30 years. Find a field that makes you happy and stick with it; don’t settle for anything less if you can help it.

Editor's note, Dakinetalk guest bloggers do not necessarily represent the opinions of dakinetalk. Guest bloggers are given space to express their beliefs and or opinions. We feel there are many roads and like to give people space to express their thoughts,after-all that's what dakine is...Aloha, James "Kimo" Rosen, Publisher.

"Being kind.." (BK) 'Obama Da Dog'

BK  has a new meaning,, "Be Kind!"
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2012/03/burger-king-free-french-fries-for-st-patricks-day/

Public restroom's are few and far between on the cosmic island of Kaua'i, so where do visitors go when the need arises while out and about?

  I would like to publicly acknowledge Burger King-Kapa'a as ambassadors of aloha. I have witnessed many times people using the restrooms and never purchasing any food.

The staff smiles and gives friendly head nods whether you order or don't order.

'Be Kind,' should be the new signature motto and jingle for Burger King, Kapa'a. "BK," now stands for Burger King and Be Kind!

Next time your on the road and have the need to eat, or even another need, remember (BK) "Be kind," that's exactly what my friends at Kapa'a Burger King are, kind. And by  the way did you know they use local home grown tomatoes on their sandwiches, and that the french fries have zero trans-fats.

Hana Hou, Encore!  Burger King once again proved why they are number one in fast food. Today St. Patrick's Day (-3-17-12) they gave away nationwide, even in Hawai'i free french fries  with green ketchup as they teamed up with ketchup manufacturer Heinz!  Mahalo Nui Loa Burger King!
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2012/03/burger-king-free-french-fries-for-st-patricks-day/

Editor's note, Dakinetalk guest bloggers do not necessarily represent the opinions of dakinetalk. Guest bloggers are given space to express their beliefs and or opinions. We feel there are many roads and like to give people space to express their thoughts,after-all that's what dakine is...Aloha, James "Kimo" Rosen, Publisher.

"Online payments should warrant a discount..!" James "Kimo" Rosen'

"Why is the consumer penalized for paying their bill online with the phone company..?" This blog also appeared as an opinion article in the Kaua'i Garden Island news on 03-23-12 with the title," Why online payment charges?"
http://thegardenisland.com/promo/homepage/letters-for-friday-march/article_8ebb2d30-749c-11e1-b065-001871e3ce6c.html

Hawaiian Tel-com, my local phone and Internet company charges $1.95 to pay your bill online, my cable company, Oceanic Time Warner charges nothing.
When a person pays online via a credit or debit card and receives a paperless electronic bill it saves quite a bit of money, quite a bit of time and is less work for both parties.  Why then,  would the phone company charge $1.95 to pay your bill online using their secure web-page and a pass-code? No operators would be involved, just a few simple clicks of the mouse.

There is no accountant that has to open an envelope, record a check, deposit a check and record the data on spread sheets.

People who pay electronically should not pay more than those mailing a check, or those standing in line to pay, it makes absolutely no sense.  The fact remains is those paying online should not be paying an additional fee, if anything  those paying  online and receiving paperless invoices  and not taking up an employee's time should be rewarded with a discount.
http://thegardenisland.com/promo/homepage/letters-for-friday-march/article_8ebb2d30-749c-11e1-b065-001871e3ce6c.htmlEditor's note, Dakinetalk guest bloggers do not necessarily represent the opinions of dakinetalk. Guest bloggers are given space to express their beliefs and or opinions. We feel there are many roads and like to give people space to express their thoughts,after-all that's what dakine is...Aloha, James "Kimo" Rosen, Publisher.

"Aloha Friday Redux.." 'Michael Herr' (Aloha Friday)

 Renowned author Michael Herr is back guest blogging on this awesome Aloha Friday about the history of Aloha Friday, read this and you will know the rest of the story!
Michael is happily retired and pursuing his dreams of writing and publishing books, he currently lives in Walnut Creek California.  (Michael is pictured above with his latest book,"The old Queen and the Maui Maiden." To purchase this book or any of Michael's 6 other novella's go to; http://www.michaelherr.com

ALOHA FRIDAY

March 16, 2012

It's Aloha Friday.

Aloha Friday Redux

Aloha folks. No, this is not an article about ducks. It's an article I should have written a long time ago. I should have started my series of Aloha Friday articles with this one. So bear with me as we go back and start over.

Aloha Friday, Hawaii's own term for TGIF, itself goes back officially only to 1966 when the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce in Hawaii voted in favor of it. Shortly afterwards the spirit spread to the Mainland, but there it caught on under the guise of "Casual Friday".

But Aloha Friday's origins actually trace back to the earliest design of the Aloha shirt in the early 1930's by Ellery Chun who ran a dry good store and began sewing shirts out of old kimono material. The Honolulu Advertiser first coined the term; but Chun quickly trademarked the name. What began as an effort to promote the wearing and sales of Aloha shirts now has become a symbol of Hawaii.

Vintage Hawaiian Aloha shirts now sell for high prices on sites such as eBay. Modern ones with names such as Tori Richards and Tommy Bahama command a great deal of money. Others, manufactured in the Far East, go for much less.

Nowadays, since casual attire is generally worn as business attire throughout the week, Aloha Friday primarily refers to the last day of the work week. Aloha Friday has become the TGIF of the islands with the 1982 song by Kimo Kahoano and Paul Natto, "It's Aloha Friday, No Work 'til Monday", becoming the theme song of that day.

So, take off that tie. Hang the suit back up. Reach into your closet and pull out a truly magnificent Aloha shirt. Slip it on and feel your soul drift away to the islands.

Okay folks, see you next week.

For more of Michael's writings go to http://www.michaelherr.com

Editor's note, Dakinetalk guest bloggers do not necessarily represent the opinions of dakinetalk. Guest bloggers are given space to express their beliefs and or opinions. We feel there are many roads and like to give people space to express their thoughts,after-all that's what dakine is...Aloha, James "Kimo" Rosen, Publisher.

"How about Kokua..?" 'James "Kimo" Rosen'

James "Kimo" Rosen with Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr. Carvalho is under the gun for placing the Chief of police on leave, the police commission is saying the mayor does not have the authority, the mayor say's he does.

Kaua'i Chief of police Darryl D. Perry at a recent Martin Luther King day rally. This blog was published an an opinion article in the Kaua'i Garden Island news on 03-17-12...
http://thegardenisland.com/promo/homepage/letters-for-saturday-march/article_fcae786e-7010-11e1-81bc-001871e3ce6c.html  

Karma-Drama should be Kauai's catch phrase, instead of live Aloha, how about live Karma-Drama?

The recent weather with flooding, mudslides, thunder and lightning storms along with hail might be the result of karma, others might say it's G-ds way of punishing Kaua'i for it's lack of Kokua? Kokua is a Hawaiian word, that translates as "extending loving, sacrificial help to others for their benefit, not for personal gain..." 

The recent drama between our Mayor and Police chief , The electric company's mandatory smart meters and the lack of aloha with TSA agents at the airport  will certainly deter visitors from vacationing on our once upon a time awesome and cosmic island.

Instead of the Mayor and Police chief having  ongoing animosity why not just really live Aloha and  be Christian-like and forgive? If we want G-d to forgive us we need to forgive others, and for those who don't believe in God it boils down to basic karma.

The mayor and police chief need to show true leadership skills and show the true  heroes and gentlemen  they both are and not take these misunderstandings into a court of law where each side fights to prove who has the biggest whatever while costing the taxpayers millions.  

It's time for each side to take no fault  and realize Hawaii indeed has something to teach the world other than the Hula, how about Kokua!

http://thegardenisland.com/promo/homepage/letters-for-saturday-march/article_fcae786e-7010-11e1-81bc-001871e3ce6c.html

Editor's note, Dakinetalk guest bloggers do not necessarily represent the opinions of dakinetalk. Guest bloggers are given space to express their beliefs and or opinions. We feel there are many roads and like to give people space to express their thoughts,after-all that's what dakine is...Aloha, James "Kimo" Rosen, Publisher

G-d the father on Kaua'i and elsewhere..."'Bettejo Dux' (Classic Wednesdays)

Guest-blogger Bettejo Dux is one of Kauai's most colorful people, she has lived on the cosmic island of Kaua'i for over 40 years... She is an animal lover, people lover and enjoys life to the fullest. She publishes her own blog column too, you can check it out at ;  http://www.bettejo.wordpress.com .   Besides her blog she recently published and authored the humorous fiction book, "The Scam," check it out at(www.bettejodux.com) or  on Amazon.

The old bloke is certainly all over the news, isn't he? Hope all of you read Donna Brazile's column this morning, "Belief, as in believing in God, can be a tricky thing.One's person's faith is another persons' heresy.  Some people proclaim no faith but still are strong believers. While others believe they have all the answers..." She writes simply, surely, and well and always on interesting subjects. She's one of my favorite columnists  Her title this morning on the forum page is Why should  there be a religious test for election to public office? It caught my eye. I've never understood the concept of a political god, it always sounded a bit beneath him. And, of course, I am always troubled with the gender. The patriarchal god makes me want to vomit. In our country today, he is owned outright by the Republican Party which is patriarchal to the core.

On a personal note, I used to wonder why I am so lucky to have no religious hangups, but if all of us are the product of our past- I think we are- then we can turn back the clock and find the reason.

I had a father I adored. Very handsome. He looked like Clark Gable. Very intelligent. Very wise. He strung none of the rocks of sin, guilt, and fear around my neck and he taught me I could do anything a boy could do. He solved so many of my childhood problems I lived in awe of him.

I remember once, out in the cold woods, I found a half dead cat with its head stuck in an empty can of dog food. I tried to yank its head out but couldn't. The poor little thing was so weak it couldn't fight back. No claws to scratch me with. it was a Saturday and I knew my father was home, so I grabbed the wretched thing and raced back. My father was in the kitchen sipping a glass of milk, he didn't drink. He took one look at me and the cat, grabbed the cat  and hung it can-side up on a wind- up wall can opener. The cat took a deep breath, the stinky suction wafted, leaped from my father's arms and streaked out the door. Now come on, wasn't that godlike? It was godlike enough for me.

There were no Bibles or holy books in our house but the shelves were filled with books. He bought me books about animals. He introduced me to  Mowgli and Shere Khan and Rikki Tikkie-Tavi and Bagheera. They were the animals in Rudyard Kipling's Garden of Eden, the only Garden of Eden I was taught about, and, as I grew up his stories filled me with delight.

'Witty, profound, acerbic, and occasionally savage, Kipling's poetry can be bother tender and deeply moving." My father opened up these dimensions and, oddly enough, both Bill and I shared this love, too.

So, the point is: I had a real god the father in my childhood. I didn't need a make-believe one in the sky.

Bettejo has a blog of her own you can check out at ; http://www.bettejo.wordpress.com  

www.bettejodux.com

Editor's note, Dakinetalk guest bloggers do not necessarily represent the opinions of dakinetalk. Guest bloggers are given space to express their beliefs and or opinions. We feel there are many roads and like to give people space to express their thoughts,after-all that's what dakine is...Aloha, James "Kimo" Rosen, Publisher.



http://www.bettejodux.com/



"Sears closing it's largest retail store..!" 'James "Kimo" Rosen'

"The recession is anything but over..." This is an election year, remember to vote out most incumbents..."

The recent news of the Sears store at Ala Moana center in Honolulu closing it's doors is just another sign of the times. The flagship store is Sears largest store with over 300,000 square feet.

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/17004866/sears-selling-ala-moana-center-location-closing-next-year  
 This is huge news, Sears an American iconic institution decides to sell it's largest retail store. This is proof that the  recession is anything but over.

 We can stop the recession from progressing even further. This is an election year, remember to re-elect nobody unless they're a somebody, vote the incumbents out!

Editor's note, Dakinetalk guest bloggers do not necessarily represent the opinions of dakinetalk. Guest bloggers are given space to express their beliefs and or opinions. We feel there are many roads and like to give people space to express their thoughts,after-all that's what dakine is...Aloha, James "Kimo" Rosen, Publisher.