Thanksgiving

I love Arizona. I love it. I find the harsh beauty of this terrain to be incomparable to anywhere else I've ever seen. I love the people here. They are sometimes tacky, self-absorbed, a little bit ignorant, but dang I love them. And the rumor is true, Arizona girls are the hottest ones in the world. Man I love my friends. Family and sunsets characterize this visit home this year.

My hometown, Chandler


Outdated family photo

Surfing

Victory. I have surfed in Hawaii. Stood up and everything. Check out this image of the beautiful Honolii Beach in Hilo. One amazing thing about this section of the world is that the fresh water from the river pours into the ocean here so the water is barely even salty.

NPR

About six months ago I started really listening to NPR and I've been feeling ever so smart as a result. I vowed about six months ago that I wanted to get Invisible Children mentioned on NPR and then, this interview fell into my lap earlier this week. Sweet.

Ok, disclaimers:
1. I am blogging stupid so you'll just have to copy and paste this link into your browers.
2. I am pretty sure that I sound about 13 years old and definitely from SoCal. Meh.

http://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/hpr/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=31&Itemid=84

Senator Inouye... Rescue the Child Soldiers

Yesterday, in 30 cities across the USA, our Invisible Children supporters and staff gathered to petition the remaining big dogs in DC to sign onto the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act. Senator Inouye is the second most senior senator on the floor right now, so we were excited to be able to rally Hawaiians together to get his support of this bill that will rescue the child soldiers. We met with his staffer to express our concern about this issue and she told us that Senator Inouye had heard our phone calls and was so encouraged that so many young people care about this issue. We had over 40 Hawaiians show up, most were high schools students (represent Castle, Kalani, and Kalaheo! We love you guys). The event was covered by Hawaii Public Radio and a reporter from the Honolulu Advertiser (biggest paper in town) came out as well. Here's some shots of the day:









We still need more public support. Please go to www.wewantobama.com to sign the petition and let your voice be heard in DC to help these kids.

Yes, we went to the ocean too

Yeah, I know. It's absurd to go to Hawaii without at least a few water pics. Thanks Dana for the most incredible adventure across Oahu last sunday. This place made Sunset Cliffs look like a gutter.

Zippy's

It's pretty much a Hawaiian Dennys. Complete with mediocre food and late night characters. Oh, and their spaghetti will turn your eyes into lasers.

REVO Oahu

Incredible art piece inspired by Invisible Children. On display at the first ever REVO Oahu event. Wow, we love these guys.

Fail Blog

Spotted at the Pearl Harbor memorial. But my question is, who is October 2001 and why does he have so many roadblocks in his ownership?

boys

In case you didn't know it, there's about the same amount of men and women born into this world. Shocking, I know!

But why is there about a 60:40 ratio on college campuses of more women than men?

Or the churches? Same ratio, about 60:40 women to men.

Hmmm, well they aren't applying to be volunteers for organizations like Invisible Children or LiNK. No, about two thirds of these applicants are women. Same thing for summer camps. They're not applying to work with campers all summer long.

So, the question is... where are the men? Why can't you find them in these places? I think I know the answer. I think they're working. Making fast money. More of those labor jobs.

Ok, so the men aren't getting as educated as the women, and they're not interested in growing in the church, and they're not volunteering for community service. Yet despite their statistical lack of "well-roundedness" that these paths would offer them, men are still the ones our society deems to be the best to rule the economy, the church, and the government. Wait... why?

Stalker

It's my full time job to stalk across the internet and figure out who the most influential people are in all major American cities over students. After a while, you start to notice some trends.

Like these prosperity gospel churches; the ones where you can go to the front and get healed if you have enough faith. The places where you're promised to get rich if you pray hard enough. Anyways, I've been noticing one healing that has not been occurring... healing from bad hair.

Meet Casey Treat of Seattle and his hair plugs:


Here's John Gee of Las Vegas and his toupee:


One of the MVPs in the prosperity gospel Hall of Fame, Benny Hinn of Irving Texas and his swoop:


And the new all-star of the prosperity gospel, Joel Osteen of Houston with his deliciously gelled hair:

Telepopmusik

Yoga music. But... since I'm dreaming of being a yoga instructor this seems like a good one for my playlist.

Moloko

The obsession grows. Before Roisin Murphy was her own amazing voice, she was a part of a band called Moloko. What is it about British female musicians that I love so much? (Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, Kate Nash, Psapp...) Anyways... I guess I should move to London, because I'm a British Citizen and I CAN. Check this vid out. It's not new, but it's probably new to your American eyes... Let's be honest here, we Americans need a break from Miley.

Roisin Murphy

Well, since June 2007 this has been watched 2,294,376 times. At at least three of those times were over this past week by me. I'm proving to be pretty good at jumping on the music bandwagon late. You know this song?

Brother Bear, Sister Bear

To say that I was disappointed with Where The Wild Things Are movie would be an understandment. It was creepy. And depressing. And much too preachy and adult for its own good. BUT, maybe my problem was that I never loved the book in the first place.

This announcement that there will be a full-length feature film for The Berestain Bears, on the other hand, has me truly excited. MAYBE, this will be a children's story that will be appropriate for actual children.

Pretty my my all-time favorite book series... Well, until The Babysitters Club, or Twilight, or...

Swine Flu

Swine flu has put quite a few of my friends on their back in bed for a week straight. But then I realized that maybe I should make a more diverse group of friends from around the world.

Omaha

I have been to Omaha. We ate at Chipotle and the employee had hickees all over his neck. My best friend and I agreed that must have happened because there isn't much to do in Nebraska. But now I see the error of my ways. You can also watch this riveting television show in Omaha. OR you can be the guy doing the dancing.