As you may know, Mele Mei — the monthlong celebration of Hawaii’s music leading up to the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards — is my client. This means that, for an entire month (and a little more), I get to experience many of Hawaii’s top musicians up close. Every genre, from up-and-comers to the industry legends, become my life. My instagrams…
Wet weather didn’t discourage Sheldon Simeon of “Top Chef: Seattle,” Mark Noguchi of Pili Hawaii and Dave Power of the Feral Pig from visiting Mahele Farm in Hana, Maui.Farm manager, Mikala Minn guided Simeon, Noguchi and Power through an eclectic variety of herbs, vegetables and edible flowers growing on the property.Students from the Hana Youth Center helped the chefs harvest…
Summer used to feel like forever.Let’s rewind. In May of 1986, a group of friends and I were dropped off by our parents at the Waikiki 2 to watch “Top Gun.” The guys were covered in Brut and spritzed with Drakkar and the girls smelled like Aquanet and sported mutant bangs. I may have been wearing some type of styling…
Director Baz Luhrmann’s take on the literary classic, “The Great Gatsby,” is a shallow film with unlikable, one-dimensional characters and a predictable story. Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) is rich, yet cowardly. His love, Daisy (Carey Mulligan), is flaky and insincere. Her husband Tom (Joel Edgerton) is unfaithful and her cousin Nick (Toby Maguire) has no personality and merely serves as…
I love that Honolulu always has something going on — and always a wide range of events, as you see on our website. This weekend is the third annual Eisa Festival, taking place at Kapiolani Community College’s great lawn from 5:30 to 9 p.m. The public can attend, since admission is free, and not only take in Eisa drumming from…
I had been hearing good things about Underdogs Sports Bar & Grill since they opened at the end of January, but never got around to trying it. For one thing, I wasn’t sure where it was. In fact, that’s probably the biggest obstacle for most people who don’t already frequent the area, so I’m going to show you where it…
The summer movie season has officially arrived with “Iron Man 3” blasting out of the gates with a huge $175 million opening weekend. Combine that with an additional $500 million in overseas box office, and it’s safe to say that film fans around the globe are hungry for visual candy on the screen and hot popcorn in their laps. As…
A couple of months ago, Lena Morris, Melissa Chang and I were having dinner at Rinka and we ran into Chef Garrett Wong of Sushi ii. He piqued our interests with the impressive list of seasonal and imported Japanese fish now on his menu and invited us to experience the greater selection. Garrett also mentioned his omakase, which ranged from…
I am somewhat torn over “Iron Man 3.” As a film fan, I thought it was entertaining and a tremendous improvement over the plodding, exposition heavy “Iron Man 2.” But as a comic book geek, I was a tiny bit perturbed that the film took such extreme liberties with a major character that it was nonsensical to even include him.“Iron…
There’s quite a bit going on around town for Cinco de Mayo (for Quatro de Mayo, as well), but here’s one more spot to check out if you want something a little more casual. A bunch of social media people were invited to Wahoo’s Kahala recently to learn more about their menu offerings, with good timing for one of the…
Mele Mei kicked off this past weekend, starting a monthlong celebration of Hawaii’s music that culminates with the Na Hoku Hanohano festival and awards. During the first event, various local musicians played for a crowd at Altitude@37 in the Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel; the next day, legends in Hawaii’s music industry gathered at the Ala Moana Hotel for the Na…
This past Tuesday, Hawaii’s Duncan Kamakana performed in the battle rounds of NBC’s “The Voice” against the season’s top contender, Sarah Simmons. Kamakana and Simmons of Team Adam gave stellar performances singing Lady Antebellum’s “Wanted You More,” but it was Simmons who won over coach Adam Levine and moved on to the knock-out rounds.Although Kamakana was ousted from the competition,…
Director Michael Bay exemplifies the image of the “ugly American.” He’s excessive, over-indulgent, loud, brash and he doesn’t give a you-know-what.I’ve missed him so much.Bay has directed some of my favorite action films, including “Bad Boys,” “Bad Boys II,” “The Rock,” “Armageddon” and “The Island.” I’ve watched these films over and over again, so it puzzles me that he receives…
It's Friday! In just a few hours, you can finally ditch the office and revel in the two glorious days that is your weekend. Though maybe you wouldn't be so keen to leave work if your office didn't look so… lifeless. (Hey, even Milton Waddams knew the importance of a pop of color.) And come Sunday, you will too, thanks…
We had a chance to talk to John “Prime” Hina, founder and program director of 808 Urban, a nonprofit organization that mentors local youth through urban arts and cultural education. The Kaka’ako group has been involved in numerous community mural projects, organizes art workshops and participates in such events as Honolulu Night Market.
Forget the trailer you’ve seen for this movie. It’s a total bait and switch. The trailer promises epic sci-fi action adventure, but the actual tone of the film is much different from the adrenaline rush in the two-minute clip. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I usually do a fair amount of homework before going into a film, so…
Many of you — about 1800, to be exact — already follow Happy Hour Hawaii (formerly known as @HappyHourHawaii) on Twitter and Facebook and enjoy the updates on where the best happy hours in town are. The people behind the account, Carey and Brandon Bennett, also created a website and free phone app to help you easily find happy hours…
Last October, a new Kakaako venue transformed the local food scene when it introduced an innovative restaurant concept. Taste began organizing a rotating cast of pop-up restaurants and chefs, creating buzz around the new dining experience.Chef Mark Noguchi and Amanda Corby of Pili Hawaii were looking for an opportunity to share their love of community, education and food. Poni Askew…
One of the things that makes sustainable ranching so difficult in Hawaii is finding an outlet for less desirable cuts of meat. Many hotels, restaurants and markets will only take the prime cuts, but what about the rest of the animal?12th Avenue Grill does its part to encourage food sustainability in Hawaii through its nose-to-tail initiative to use all parts…
Canadian indie rock/new wave band Metric made their Honolulu debut at a sold-out show at Republik Saturday night. Opening was local electronica duo Alt/Air, Aly Ishikuni and DJ Kowai Kowai. Then, after a short pause, Metric went on. The band, which started in 1998, played a mix of songs from their latest album, “Synthetica,” crowd favorites off the ridiculously catchy,…
On Thursday evening, “Linsanity,” which documents the rise of Jeremy Lin, a Chinese-American NBA star, closed out the Hawaii International Film Festival’s Spring Showcase at Dole Cannery Theatres. Earlier in the day, the producers, director and narrator (Daniel Dae Kim) of the documentary, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, held a press conference to discuss their film.I…
This year’s Taste of Marukai proved to be another delightfully quirky food and sake fest, with hundreds congregating Thursday evening at Marukai Wholesale Mart for the eighth-annual event. As in past years, tables were stationed throughout the store, allowing attendees to graze and sip from dozens of sake and dishes. The sold-out event, which supports several local charities, featured entertainment…
The Muscular Dystrophy Association is having their 14th annual Spring Soiree this Saturday, and it’s the first time I get to attend. As it turns out, it’s a semi-formal affair, so I’m glad I bought a long dress from the YWCA of Oahu’s Downtown Decadence a few months ago. (Wearing a dress from a nonprofit event to another nonprofit event…
The Nonstop Honolulu team is reviewing films from the Hawaii International Film Festival’s Spring Showcase, which runs from April 5-11 at Dole Cannery Theatres. Here are our reviews, along with the screening dates and times.THE SPECTACULAR NOWThursday, April 11 at 3:30 p.m.Films set in high school is a genre that will not be going away anytime soon. And why would…
