Hukilau Burger

I was hungry today. I decided to go to Hukilau Cafe and get their Hukilau Burger. It has never disappointed me. I was stuffed after eating it. It was worth it. If you have never had it, I recommend trying it next time you're in the area. It was good enough for Man vs. Food so it better be good enough for you. Click here for more info on what a Hukilau is.

Egypt



I've been keeping a pretty close eye on the events happening in Cairo these days. I had the chance to visit Egypt in the fall of 2009. I feel like I was just there. The first picture was taken in an obscure corner of a rest stop our bus took us to. It's somewhere in the Sinai Peninsula. The second picture was taken down south of Cairo in Luxor. These little boats cruise around all day long out there. Pretty rad. The third picture is of the Giza Plateau. Pretty typical tourist shot there. I'll post more pictures in the future. I have tons more. Here is an article you should read to keep yourself informed.

Land Rover Defender


Came across these pictures somewhere on the interweb a while back. In the future it would be nice to come across a vehicle like this and work on it until it was just the way I wanted. The Land Rover Discovery has a few models that would be fun to work on. This is a wishful thinking post.

Blitzen Trapper
Blitzen Trapper - Black River Killer by wereofftherails
This is a good jam.

Undercity

It's not everyday you get to take a look and see what's underneath you. This video captured my attention like none other. I'm not sure if it's because it was taking me behind the scenes of an incredible city (a city that has always captivated me), or because what they were doing is illegal, or because I love checking out things from the past that supersede the tag of "old" or "historic". Instead these places seem to be hopelessly preserved for a reemergence and given a new life in the form of a documentation such as this video. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Here are some links to some more info about these adventurers. [1] [2] [3]

Carthew-Alderson Trail in Waterton National Park



I had a chance to do some hiking this summer. This was one of them. The summit hike has the best view you could ask for in all of Waterton and Glacier National Parks. Amy and I got on some plastic bags and slid down the glacier you see behind the two of us in the second picture. It was quite the rush. I look forward to getting back out to Canada this summer for a family reunion and to do some more hikes. Check out Amy's blog here. Click on these links [1] [2] for some more info on the hikes.

Warby Parker Glasses

So I've been lucky enough to have good eyesight my whole life. Until recently. Over the past year or so I had been noticing a lot of strain on my eyes whenever I read or was in front of the computer. People would often mention how red my eyes were. Because of this I decided to go to the eye doctor and see what was up. The consensus was that I had a slight problem and needed glasses for when I took part in the aforementioned tasks. Crap. I started to look around for glasses, and found a company called Warby Parker. They are new and have a neat business plan. They let you order up to 5 glasses online that they send you in a nice box so you can try them on. Then you send em back and order whichever one you liked best. Free of charge. I ended up getting the "Roosevelt". The neat thing about this company is that they are radical on several levels. One is the fact that when you make a purchase they hook someone in need up with new glasses. Sorta like a TOMS shoe thing. Plus, at the time they didn't ship to Hawaii so we worked out a deal where they let me get them sent to my sister Laurel's home on the mainland before she came out to Hawaii for Christmas Break. How nice is that? Laurel is a real swell gal. Take a look at the Warby Parker site here! By the way they were only 95 bucks, thats including the prescription lenses.

Brian & Bob Poppleton covering Neil Young


Several weeks back the Kahuku Grill had an open mic night. Brian Poppleton just happened to have his family in town so he was backed up on vocals by his father. It was pretty rad. His father is a character. He is awesome just like Poppy. I love Neil Young and this video does him some justice in my opinion. Seth Hannemann happened to be running the open mic night so he is in there being his usual silly self. I've been pretty sick with the flu the past couple days and Seth came over to the house with a meal for me. What a nice guy. I have some of the best friends a guy could ask for. Enjoy the video. It's a classic.

Wasabi Peas

Sometimes you need a legit snack to get you through long periods of time in the library. Wasabi Peas are perfect for that. They keep you awake because of the wasabi and they are crunchy which is what any good snack food should be. I have been munchin' on these a lot lately. Here is a link to a pretty legit song. It will be in a movie that is coming out that I don't care to see but I came across the song and like it.

Les Chevaliers du Ciel

Clips taken from a french film. I guess it's like their equivalent to Top Gun. This almost makes me want to join the Air Force. Pretty neat cinematography.

Local Natives

Been listening to this song quite a bit lately. Found this video and had to share it. It reminds me of the rolling hills by the house I grew up in, in good 'ol Newbury Park, California.

An Old Bottle

Found this little treasure while exploring the caves and rocks and tide pools under the cliff behind my living quarters.

Iron & Wine

Iron & Wine is one of my all time favorite bands. I haven't been as impressed with some of his more recent albums but his musical ability is still paramount. His older more stripped down and simple recordings are incredible. I've been able to come across some rare recordings and gathered up some other live performances over the years. They are a bit rough compared to his new album coming out on January 25th and his last full length, "The Shepherds Dog" but they are still so great. Here is a video of some of his newer songs and some others thrown in for good measure. My favorite song right now is "Walking Far From Home". This session is one from daytrotter.com. If you don't know about the site... now you do. So take advantage of it. It rules.

MLK DAY








Martin Luther King Day was perfect. Helped out with a service project in the morning, went kayaking in the afternoon and caught some waves, then had a BBQ on our lanai in the evening. The weather was great even though it called for rain. I like that.

Ender's Game

I finished reading this book over the winter break. I had been hearing about it for several years. I probably should have read this in High School but didn't. I finally decided to do it and it was great. I love this book. It threw me through a loop at the end. Truly. We're talkin' about a huge twist. I recommend it. I have never been a big novel reader... let alone science fiction, but this book was a treat. I hope a movie will be made sooner than later. Orson Scott Card needs to make it happen as opposed to just talked about. Here is a link to a short trailer of a little movie that a couple friends created. It shows some clips from a few scenes from the book.

The Kalalau Trail on Kauai's Na Pali Coast

My buddy Devin Graham just posted another amazing video. This one is a documentation of the island of Kauai, but mostly of the Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali coast. It looks like I should have opted to go on the adventure with them this time around. During the summer of 2009 I had a chance to hike it over the 4th of July Weekend with Greg Wilson, Bryan Pearson, and Andrew Laverick. It was one of the most incredible things I have ever done. EVER. We had the time of our lives. I could go on and on and tell you all about it here but I won't. Here is a link to a bit more information on the trail if you're interested. I would recommend it to anyone.
Postscript: I would also recommend watching it in HD.

Yoho National Park

It would be nice to be there right now. I miss North American Mountains. Not that I don't like Hawaiian Mountains... I didn't take this picture but someone on the internet did and they did a good job.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros - Fire & Water (iTunes Session) by VagrantRecords
Had a chance to see them play a couple months ago in Honolulu. It was a fun show. Besides being there with some pretty legit people, the band played a great set. They rocked and rolled right on the harbor at the Aloha Tower. This song is one they played that happens to be pretty good. Not to mention it's not on their latest album. I have a funny story about the show I'll share later. It involves dreadlocks, a motorcycle, and a small world. Hope I have you hooked with that little teaser.

Freelance Whales

I'm diggin this band. Here are a couple other videos you can watch here, and here.

Ko'olau Loa Mountains

I took this picture as the clouds were lifting from a recent storm. I have spent much time hiking these hills, valleys, and mountains behind Laie. I love where I live.

The Head & The Heart

Some great new music. Comprised mostly of transplants to the Seattle area. Enjoy the vid.

Waialua Bakery

I had a chance to take my dear mother to my favorite little bakery on the North Shore yesterday. Waialua Bakery's Turkey Pesto Sandwich on Cheese & Herb bread is the best sandwich I have ever eaten in my whole life. Just my opinion. If you have a chance to go there, go. You won't regret it.

Pop Unknown was started with some ex-members of one of my favorite bands of all time. Mineral. This is old school, I hope you enjoy.

MELE KALIKIMAKA

This year I'm lucky enough to have my family out here in Hawaii for Christmas. Usually we spend it where there is more snow (like this picture depicts). My family is rad even though we're all goobers. This pic proves both.

I took this in Washington D.C. this past spring while at the National Gallery of Art. The old man looks like he belongs in a museum. So perfect.

Saw this about a month ago. I really enjoy the video work. Scotland has always been on my list of places to go and this video solidified that. I respect Mr. MacAskill's talent and craft on the bike.

Torch Time




A few nights ago some friends and I decided to make torches and trudge through the jungle behind Laie and explore around a bit. Taylor made the torches by finding some old metal pipes and wrapping old towels around the tip and securing it with some thin wire. It turned out to be incredibly fun. We had about a dozen people and we found some old forts, caves, and evan a tree swing. I'm already looking forward to our next torch adventure.

I've been listening to this non-stop today. Check out another video of a song I also really enjoy.

Last Christmas my brother Brad and sister Michelle recorded this rendition of "Do You Hear What I Hear" as a gift to my Mom. It was my sister Michelle's singing debut. She is pretty shy and isn't known as being a performer so it was a breakthrough. If you want a copy of the song I can email it to you. I'm trying to encourage them to record a whole Christmas album one of these days. It's in heavy rotation on my Christmas playlist. They played it for me for the first time when they picked me up from the airport having just gotten back from a semester abroad in Israel. They had just gotten the master copy from the studio and hadn't shown it to anyone. It was pretty neat. Hope you enjoy.

Tonight my roommates and I are hosting a Christmas Party. We're providing Hot Chocolate and Apple Cider and inviting our friends to bring holiday treats. My 6'5" roommate Trent is going to dress up like Santa Clause. I'm pretty stoked about it. The house I live in is called the Goat House, has been for over a decade. I won't get into the story behind it but this picture is the view from our lanai.

My roommate/best friend is a star... well sorta. Taylor was lucky enough to get a video of him jumping off a 45 foot cliff into the ocean (the place is called Spitting Cave and it's in the Hawaii Kai area of Oahu) used in Flip's latest commercial. Pretty rad huh? You may be asking yourself how this all happened. Here is the story: My buddy Devin got contacted by Flip Cameras to get some footage out here in Hawaii during some of our latest adventures. He had the little HD camera documenting some of the crazy things we do and Flip decided to go with Taylor's footage. Kinda amazing. I'll post more of Devin's amazing work soon. The kid has crazy good video skills. The commercial is nationwide so you should keep your eyes peeled.

Lately some friends and I have been a part of a weekly ritual almost every Sunday that takes us to Sunset Beach on the North Shore as the sun sets. Here is what this past Sunday looked like through the lens of my camera phone.

Budos Rising by The Budos Band by iamclark
I saw this band in Honolulu a few weeks ago and really enjoyed the show. They make music that sounds like it should be playing in the background of an episode of Scooby Doo. I know that sounds a bit weird but thats just what I think. Here is a link to find out more...

modern living room design

The Madrid Home of David Delfin and Gorka Postigo Yatzer.

I love this song. It's from the 80's from a group called Penguine Cafe Orchestra. The slow motion adds a nice touch too. Both aspects make for a great video.