"Kapa'a, Da Prettiest Town..." 'James "Kimo" Rosen

Forbes magazine recently named Kapa'a town one of the 15 prettiest
of our nations towns?  You be the judge.
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/efel45fhdf/kapaa-hawaii/

Kapa'a, Da Prettiest Town.

I was wondering if I read the recent  article  in Garden Island news correct, it said," Forbes Magazine named Kapa'a as one of the nation’s 15 prettiest towns, the only town west of the Rocky Mountains to make the list."   Are they talking about  my Kapa'a town?
http://thegardenisland.com/news/local/kapaa-earns-pretty-distinction/article_ebd923ac-145d-11e3-9d4d-001a4bcf887a.html

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy living in Kapa'a and it is my choice to live there, however it is anything but pretty, unique and different, yes,  but not pretty.

Everyday I walk and ride my bicycle through Kapa'a town with overgrown bushes  on the sidewalks making pedestrians move into street, litter on the shoulder of the roads, traffic congestion and some  of the worlds ugliest architecture I have ever seen.

Have you ever heard the expression people tell friends about the not so good looking girls they want to fix you up with,  they say she sure has a good personality, meaning she really isn't eye candy so to speak. 

 I do admit Kapa'a has a great personality.The expression goes, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder!"  Maybe Kapa'a could be named,  "Miss Congeniality."

Behold Kapa'a!

Check out my opinion article in the 09-04-13 edition of  the Kaua'i Garden Island News, "Kapa'a the Beautiful?"

http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-for-wednesday-sept/article_943572c6-152b-11e3-bb9c-001a4bcf887a.html

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"Happy Rosh Hashana begins with Jewish Humor..." 'Marvin Gross" (Source)

Marvin Gross is a Financial consultant currently residing in Western N.Y.
Today Marvin shares excellent medical advise in honor of the 
upcoming Jewish new year (Rosh Hashanah) from Jewish sages of old.
Jewish New year is considered the birthday of creation and Adam and Eve. Happy birthday universe! enjoy...!

Good medical advice from the Jewish sages of old...

 1. F***ing once a week is good for your health, but it's harmful if done every day. 

2. F***ing relaxes your mind and body.

3. F***ing refreshes you. 

4. After F***ing, don’t eat too much; go for more liquids.

5. Try f***ing in bed 'cause it can save you valuable energy.

6. F***ing can even reduce your cholesterol levels.


SO, REMEMBER ..

Fasting is good for your health
and may God cleanse your dirty mind...


A Jewish New Year greeting!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=i71l3PyXWso



 P.S.

If it wasn't for pick pockets I'd have no sex life at all.
..................................... Rodney Dangerfield

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"PROFIT VS HEALTH..." 'Bettejo Dux' (Classic Wednesday)

Bettejo Dux has lived on the cosmic garden island

of Kaua'i over 30 years. She is an animal lover, people lover and lover of life.

Today Bettejo blogs the  most popular controversy on Kaua'i...Enjoy!

You can order a copy of her Novella "The Scam "below.www.bettejodux.com

PROFIT VS. HEALTH  

The discussions and opinions on Kauai are lively and passionate. The voice of the people is alive and well on Kauai. This is the good side. There’s always a good side.

I don’t think anyone on the anti-GMO/pesticide/herbicide debate are opposed to all genetic modification, but surely there is a limit. And a dire consequence if a mistake is made here.

I lived here when sugar was king. Those glorious fields of tall green grass-when the yellow tassels waved- were so incredible a sight, tourists and local folks alike would stop by the road to admire. “…they made my heart skip a beat,” to quote Gwyneth Paltro.

And that tall green grass-the best photosynthesizer on planet earth-worked hard for two years to keep our air fresh.

Sure, vast mono-crop plantations- dollar crops- are bad. Sure the ‘poison gangs’ use of really deadly substances didn’t serve the soil or the men who administered them. But, oddly, their killer wars with rats protected us. Suburbs near the fields-Kalaheo is one- are invaded by these destructive creatures. My feed man says he can’t keep supplies of rat poison and traps in stock. The stories are shocking.

Water theft was scandalous. Large landholders fought with each other. McBryde Sugar and John Allerton duked it out. It was the Martins and the Coys all over again and their feud extends to today, except stolen water is now put to use watering the golf course and a super- expensive gated community in what used to be sugar fields in Kukuiula.

This upper class subdivision concrete coats the land, contributes nothing to clean air and uses water like it was going out of style.

Mark Twain said, “Whiskey’s for drinking. Water’s for fighting about.” This has been true forever and if I could convince you of how much trouble our home planet is in because of a lack of water you’d hide under your waterbed. Perhaps I can talk you into viewing HOME, a remarkable documentary narrated by Glen Close and filmed by Award-winning aerial photographer Yann Arthus- Bertrand.

What has all this to do with the GMO/herbicide/pesticide go around?

Everything.

The three most important things we do on this planet is breath, drink water, and eat food.

And GMO cornfields messing up the land on this small island in the middle of a vast ocean is a threat to all these very necessary human needs.

The question so often asked must be addressed: does profit and political power trump health and well being?

Let’s hope not.

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared From Facebook...

"What's a person to eat..?" 'James "Kimo" Rosen'

Everyone is so concerned  with health these days. It seems what was once
 considered healthy is no longer healthy and what was once concerned unhealthy is now
healthy. Maybe, just maybe, the all American Hot-dog is your best bet!?

What's a person to eat?

Recently approximately 160  people fell ill with hepatitis A infections after eating an organic blend of  frozen berries purchased from Costco stores in several states including Hawai'i.

The fish in Japan and around the world are allegedly full of plutonium form the Fukushima Nuclear power plant mishap.

Fish which was once considered the healthy alternative has many health enthusiasts scratching their heads, high and low.

Fish is risky, organic vegetables are a crap shoot and poultry is loaded with hormones. (which reminds me of the joke how do you make a hormone?) Don't pay her!  ;D)

 Jokes aside, it seems like the good old fashioned American hot-dog may just be  your healthiest means!

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Clutter Bug..." 'Bettejo Dux' (Classic Wednesday)

Bettejo Dux has lived on the Cosmic Garden Island of Kaua'i for over 30 years.
She is a published author of the best selling novel, "The Scam" Just Google
Bettejo to obtain your copy!
www.bettejodux.com

Clutter Bug

My transgression is not the kind you can repent or atone for. Besides most devout non-believers don’t do guilt. It can’t even be corrected by my favorite solution, get to work and fix it.

It has nothing to do with age. I've been a clutter bug since forever. I’m a helpless, hopeless, clutter bug. I really dislike clutter but clutter likes me. It clings to me like sticky pink bubble gum on the underside of a desk. I think it’s been with me always. It drove my neat and tidy mother nuts. She’d straighten out the mess one day and it’d be back a shambles the next. Fortunately she was a sweet, good natured mother-most of the time-and we’d have long conversations about how to keep things tidy. We’d work together happily-my mother, and me- setting things straight.  Cleaning things up. Admiring the good work. Patting each other on the back. “A place for everything and everything in its place,” she’d say. But nothing worked.

I tried. Honest. I did my best. But it didn't last. My poor mother.

We compromised when I suggested I stuff the stuff under the beds and, once a month we’d diligently restore order. Actually we loved working together. We whistled while we worked.

That worked.

She’d check my room everyday, pleased at its apparent neatness, and as long as she didn’t look under the bed-or detect an odor- she was happy. She gave that up when I started collecting lizards and frogs. First of all they refused to stay put. Once she came in to find a large frog/lizard convention assembled on any flat and handy surface.

She put her foot down- just missing a slither-and no matter how hard I tried to convince her I was studying them, or that more lengthy lectures-I was trying to learn their lingo- would convince them they should stay put, we gathered the critters and found them all good homes where they could eat lots of flies.

Do any of you have a similar personality disturbance? Or weird kids? Young parents take heart.They’ll probably turn out okay. I did. Sort of.

Old’a guys? Got a pile of stuff that refuses to vanish? Toss a pretty scarf on top of the mess and call it artsy. Or place some cleaning tools around it, artfully, like you’re in the process. A little whisk broom, a darling dustpan, an empty box or cutesy wastebasket. Be clever. Fool the eye.

I’ve found a scatter of plastic flowers or leaves works.

If you don’t have or can’t afford to use a dishwasher and the sink begins to over flow, rinse out the top debris and hope nobody checks the bottom.  Have little signs that say: No White Gloves. Or suggest the clean freaky visitor drop by soon and help clear the muddle.

But remember, you gotta get serious once in awhile or else you’ll have to burn the house down. Burning the house down is not healthy

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"College Ain't For Everyone.." 'Judith Whitehead' (Inspiration Sunday)

Guest-blogger Judith Whitehead lives in Amherst N.Y. and has worked in the ophthalmology field of medicine for over 30 years... Today she talks about  unemployment and how college may not be the
right choice for everyone...   Enjoy! ;D)

College Ain't For Everyone

We now are hearing a new buzzword in our ever-changing economy and world – the underemployed. In the past, we used to talk about the percentage of unemployed, but now we have grown a new crop of people – the underemployed.

With the rising cost of doing business, many companies are cutting staff to economize, doing more with less and sending people to the unemployment line.

Many of my friends are among the underemployed. They are highly trained individuals with degrees in many areas – teachers, paralegals, nurses, medical assistants – who are being forced to take positions that are way under their pay grade and skill set to help make ends meet.

We are turning out many college students who are well-qualified but cannot find jobs in their fields. They are burdened with school loans that are next to impossible to pay back without gainful employment. They will take any position just to bring in some money so they can try to get by.

Society has slowly moved away from encouraging our children to learn a skill. Vocational programs and trade schools, once very popular, are being phased out by school budgets and educators. As a result, we have a shortage of electricians, plumbers and hands-on tradesmen who are still a real necessity in this world.

Maybe it is time to rethink how people can make a good living. Getting a master’s degree is not always the answer. For professionals, it is a must to keep up with the competition, but it’s not always the way to keep the bills paid.

Back in the ’90s, my son was a hands-on learner. His classroom was not between four walls, but learning a trade and a skill. He followed his passion and is now a successful luthier (someone who refurbishes and refinishes musical instruments, such as guitars) on the West Coast. He was a self-starter, learning simply by trial and error, and my husband and I could not be more proud of him.

We should encourage our public schools to once again teach the trades because there are many jobs waiting to be filled.

We also have many displaced veterans returning from war who are in need of employment. Some had to leave their jobs to serve their country. Many had skills and educations in areas all across the board, and have been replaced in their long absence. Others are coming back with disabilities and will need retooling in new trades.

In our ever-changing world, we need to rethink our educational options. Yes, it is great that we are educating future doctors, lawyers and professionals, but we need to consider the trades as well.

Who will fix our plumbing problems, build our homes and pave our roads? There are a lot of service jobs just waiting to be filled with capable, hardworking people who can support a family with these modes of trade. We need to offer these skills to our high school students.

Getting people off the unemployment line should be a priority in this country. We need to start regrowing our population and rethinking the potential job market that is in need of qualified people to fill those jobs. Let’s offer our students every possibility to succeed. A conventional college education is not always the answer.

This blog recently appeared in the Buffalo News;
http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?avis=BN&date=20130827&category=OPINION&lopenr=130829251&Ref=AR&profile=1074

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared From Facebook...

"Reinventing Photography..." 'James "Kimo" Rosen'

James "Kimo" Rosen is currently retired and living life on the  Cosmic Garden
Island of Kaua'i. The photo above was taken in 1979 in the foothills of Santa Barbara
with Kamala the Old English  Sheepdog and a young Mr. Rosen.
Today's blog is all about the reinvention of photography... Enjoy!

Reinventing Photography

Technology continues to astonish me.

 I have not owned a cell phone in over ten years but as a retired professional photographer with a Bachelor of  Fine Arts Degree in Professional Photography I just may have to splurge with Nokia's newest state of the art camera phone that does it all, including the kitchen sink!

Nokia now makes a cell phone that has a built in camera better than any point and shoot on the market and comparable and beyond many professional SLR camera's.

The new phone boasts a 41 megapixel camera,41 megapixels is the highest megapixel I have heard of in any camera, and now your phone will be  capable of producing  quality photos that were only possible with high end  professional photo equipment.

Photography is definitely  being reinvented when your phone is now capable of taking better quality photos than your camera.

The irony is surveillance cameras are still of low quality and many times even in court fail to identify the  accuser beyond a reasonable doubt. The question remains with technology at a all time high when will surveillance camera's come into the world of modern technology?

Read all about Nokia's new 41 megapixel camera smart phone, this  phone does everything including the kitchen sink!

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2013/07/11/nokia-lumia-1020-windows-phone/2508711/

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