Photos by jalna

Y & M Meet Wild Wings

2010-01-05T21:15:00.004-10:00

A bunch of us from work and Kathy met up at Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar in the Discovery Bay Center for our company Christmas celebration. Thanks Les, for making sure that we at least had some kind of holiday get-together.

Quick Praline Bars

2010-01-04T21:40:00.003-10:00

I made these to give away for Christmas. I kinda put together a couple of recipes and wasn't really sure what I was doing. Came out good though.

One of the recipes I looked at called for 15 sheets of graham crackers. I wasn't sure what that meant so I just used this whole box.

You're supposed to layer the graham cracker on a jelly roll pan, but I don't have a jelly roll pan so I used roasting pans. Sprinkle 3/4 c. chopped pecans on top of the crackers.

Heat 1-3/4 cups packed light brown sugar and 1 cup butter to boilng.

Boil and stir for one minute.

Pour over graham crackers.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. After cooling for a little bit I transferred the pieces to a cookie sheet (it'll stick to the pan if you wait too long).

Melt 1 cup of chocolate and drizzle onto bars.

It turned out really yummy if eaten within a day or two. After that the graham cracker got soggy. CQ said that maybe I needed to totally cover every bit of the cracker instead of leaving some of it exposed. If that's the case then you probably gotta double the recipe per one box of crackers . . . or just eat 'um up fast.

A Fun Day with My Buddy Erick

2010-01-03T13:20:00.005-10:00

Yesterday, Erick and I went to check out Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden as a possible site for an upcoming family photo session. Except for this dramatic growth of bamboo though, nothing there really grabbed me.

On our way back to the car Erick spotted this HUGE chameleon. At this exact same moment 10 million mosquitoes started attacking us. I had only brought a wide-angle lens with me which is the total opposite of what I really needed. With the lens I had, I needed to get really close to the chameleon to get even some kind of decent shot . . . and he was s-l-o-w-l-y making his way up the tree and out of my range. So in total panic, I went like, "OH MY GAWD!" slap, slap, slap "ERICK, GRAB IT!!" slap, slap, slap "Look Erick, I got two mosquitoes with one slap!" "GRAB IT, GRAB IT!!" Erick goes, "NO WAY!" I go, slap, slap, slap, "Susie would grab it. GRAB IT! Where's Susie when you need her?" slap, slap, slap. I thought, should I grab it? I started looking for branches or some kind of stick . . . Erick used his tripod to try and make him turn around. It didn't work. The chameleon s-l-o-w-l-y worked his way beyond our reach, leaving us with only choke mosquito bites for our efforts. Aaaaaggggrrrr!!!! I shoulda grabbed it.All that action made us hungry, so we went across the street to Joyful Garden in the Windward Shopping Center for some dim sum.

This fried wonton was loaded with shrimp.

Char siu bao . . . good.
As you can see Erick REALLY liked this shrimp with fried garlic. He said he liked the garlic.

This stuffed mochi rice thing was good to me but coulda used more filling. Erick complained that it tasted more like regular rice than mochi rice.

This fancy looking item turned out to be fried fish cake/shrimp. I was too full to even try it, but Erick said that it was good.

This had a filling of chives and scallop . . . choke chives and small itty bitty scallop.

Lumpia-ish, typically oily, but still ono. After lunch Erick said that he was meeting Shun Wah in the evening to get some final City Lights photos. I doubted that I would have the energy to go join them but . . .

wouldja believe I did!

I usually hate, hate, hate to lug my tripod with me, but I thought it would be a good time to practice some long-exposure shooting so I did.

Here's a self portrait.

Nate the Butterfly Rescuer

2010-01-03T08:24:00.007-10:00

Nate, hwn pake in okinawa now back in Hawaii, has been rescuing caterpillars from bulbul birds that were eating them off of his crown flower plant. His efforts have produced choke monarch butterflies which he's been releasing!!! Isn't that just soooo neat!! The photo below is from Nate's blog.

Nico's Pier 38

2010-01-02T22:25:00.006-10:00

Last weekend me and Wendell met up with a few members of my family at the pier where my brother-in-law's fishing boat is docked. We had lunch at Nico's Pier 38.

Three of us ordered this Fried Calamari with Nalo Green Salad ($7.80). I loved it.
Brother-in-law Glenn ordered this Pesto Marinated Chicken Caesar Salad ($6.55)

Wendell, my sister Geri and my nephew Charles ordered the catch of the day Panko-breaded Hebi with Lemon Caper Sauce ($8.95). I tasted some of Wendell's. It was very fresh and onolicious.

Here are a few shots I took while hanging around the docks.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T19:03:00.004-10:00

Another year bites the dust, and here we are at the start of 2010. Hope your year is as cruise as our day was today!

The theme today was pizza and pasta. The only traditional Japanese fare we had was the ozoni. Didi's husband Glenn makes the most awesome pizza, so he was the chef in charge. My son Landon made the pasta. Unfortunately, I had major flash issues so these are the only post-worthy shots that I got.

My brother Cy's fiancee Diem made this custard flan. It was really, really good and Diem said it was easy to make. Cy, can you get the recipe for me?
My sister Geri made these Fudgy Brownies with Marshmallows. The recipe is below.

Geri's Fudgy Brownies with Marshmallows

Ducan Hines Butter Recipe Fudge cake mix

2 eggs

1/4 c. melted butter

Mix everything together until it becomes a sticky, stuck-to-da-spoon consistency

Pat into a 9 x 13 inch pan

Pour 1/2 pack of miniature marshmallows on top

Pour 1/2 pack of Heath toffee crumbs (I didn't know they sell this already cut up)

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes

** to my cousins who are going "fiancee???" yup, you read right . . . fiancee!! Cy and Diem are gonna have a very small wedding some time this year.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T07:03:00.002-10:00

Ho Ho Ho!! Don't you just loooooove Christmas! NNNNOOOOOOTTTTTTTT!!!!!

10th Reunion - Kalani High School Class of 1999

2009-12-19T20:13:00.003-10:00

Okay, okay . . . CQ said I wouldn't be able to stay away from posting on my blog . . . she was right. I couldn't resist . . . but hey, I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping.

CQ

2009-12-19T10:41:00.002-10:00

Susie begged for "just one picture". . . so here it is. It's CQ . . . she makes work fun.

Whaaaaattttt????

2009-12-15T05:43:00.005-10:00

Hey, you nevah believe me? I said I'm taking a break!

For those of you who haven't met Kino Kintaro yet, please click on my link.

Thanks Rand for reminding me. Now, for real . . . see you next year!!

Taking a Break

2009-12-13T14:59:00.004-10:00

Like these marathon runners from my previous post I will be taking a break. I have been sorely neglecting my hohoho duties, and I need to focus my attention and energies on gift buying, gift wrapping, gift making and just getting into that jolly holiday spirit. I will rest from blogging for awhile, but for sure will return on 01/01/10.

So to all you loyal readers of mine . . . my coworkers, my siblings, my cousins, my blogger buddies and my friends . . . known and unknown:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

HO HO HO!!

Honolulu Marathon 2009

2009-12-13T14:24:00.011-10:00

My street is always blocked on Marathon Sundays 'cause the runners pass right by it. I used to resent being trapped. I would bake Christmas cookies on that day. Not anymore!! Now I bake cookies on another day 'cause Marathon Sunday is another picture-taking opportunity for me and I love it!

SPONGES
WATER

VASELINE

THE SUPPORTERS

THE RUNNERS

Frog

Another frog

Rabbit

Tiger

Piggy

Superman with Lamp Shade

Elf

A Queen

Soldier

This man said that he's 75 years old!

Yellow Balloons

Blue Tape

Bride and Groom

Another Bride and Groom and Man Who Thought I Was Taking a Picture of Him

Colorful Hair People and Another Man Who Thought I Was Taking A Picture of Him

Santa Claus

Santa Claus in Drag

Randy without Leslie

Former coworker Cherie and friend

KONA

Katch 1 at TooGruvz

2009-12-12T21:25:00.006-10:00

I went to TooGruvz Records and Clothing in Pucks Alley today to pick up a few Katch 1 items that I had owner James hold for me. I was floored by the awesome artwork done by my favorite artist. Thank you James for letting me take these pictures!

This is their front door!

Katch's mural!!

These characters spell out KATCH 1!

IHOP

2009-12-11T21:17:00.003-10:00

A few months ago me and Wendell had breakfast at IHOP in Waikiki. I forget why . . . I think we were craving pancakes.

Wendell ordered this omelet. Sorry, I forget what kind of omelet . . . it was awhile back.

This is my Eggs Benedict. I had to scrape off most of the sauce. It was good though.

We shared this short stack. It was very, very yummy.

Gobo Chips

2009-12-10T20:04:00.003-10:00

My sister Didi got these gobo chips as part of a birthday present and she shared them with us. She said they can be found at Marukai. She called Shirokiya and Don Quijote to see if they might also carry them, but they don't. I liked it. It has a really nice flavor and crunch.

Didi also shared this Green Tea Kit Kat. At first it tasted like ice cream to me, but then it left a funny after taste. A friend of hers brought it back from Japan. I don't think you can find it here.

The Delivery Guy

2009-12-09T19:49:00.003-10:00

I was at work today, busy typing as usual when I realized that the room had suddenly gotten very, very quiet. I glanced up and saw that the door was open and I could hear a male voice coming from the other side of the door. He said that he had some equipment for us. Someone directed him to our 4th floor space.

The door closed and the room quickly exploded with chatter. "Did YOU SEE him?" "OH MY GOD, he's sooooo cute!" A few blushed while talking about him.

I grabbed my camera and ran the two flights upstairs to the 4th floor. I could hear him approaching from the other side.

I pretended to be fiddling with the double doors, opening it for him while I shot from the hip.

In the guise of documenting the receipt of some very expensive equipment, I was able to get these shots.

What I won't do for my fellow coworkers!

Ala Wai Community Garden

2009-12-07T21:56:00.004-10:00

On overcast days I love to go to the Ala Wai Community Garden. It's located at the makai end of University Avenue along the Ala Wai Canal. Cloudy-day soft lighting makes for good picture taking there. It was a little windy on this particular day, so I had to time the shots for the still moments. You sometimes have to shoot between the fence wires and you kinda have to search for the colors, but take your time, enjoy the solitude, become one with nature, and the shots will reveal themselves to you.

Honolulu City Lights with CQ and Family

2009-12-07T09:02:00.006-10:00

Aren't Christmas lights just magical? Trying to capture that feeling is very challenging, so when CQ mentioned that her family was gonna check out the Honolulu City Lights I said, "I'm down, I'm in, I'm dope." Ain't I soooo kewl, hah?

I arrived early 'cause I wanted to look around before CQ them got there. Takes me long to figure out my settings and stuff, dat's why. I was in awe . . . sooooo beautiful . . . but how to capture . . . especially hand held? The Christmas tree lighting is amaaaazing. It has so many different looks.
So neat yeah!

CQ, Jacob, Kaori and Connor arrived just a little after me.

Getting them plus the background lights in the same shot was a bit tricky. After fiddling around and fiddling around, my settings kinda ended up at 3200 ISO, 1/125 f3.5. Depending on the distance, my flash compensation varied a lot.
For this picture, I got down real low to get the whole tree in. I had to take several shots . . . thanks for your patience guys.

'kay, the above picture was taken with my 35mm lens. Without CQ them moving, I switched to my 85mm lens, backed up a bit and got this shot. Totally different look, yeah!

Thanks CQ!! I had a great time! I like go back again.

Les, Randy, Mick and Mattie

2009-12-06T13:39:00.009-10:00

It was duck soup getting a good photo for Leslie to use for her Christmas card. Okay, maybe nooooooottttttt. But it was good fun!

Here are the bloopers!!

Noel and Jingjing Wedding

2009-12-05T18:18:00.004-10:00

I just love everything about weddings . . . the gowns, the flowers, the emotion . . . everything. So when Jingjing e-mailed me and asked if I could help with the photography, I jumped at the chance. It was held on the beach in Kahala, and I was worried that we might get rained on, but it turned out to be a perfect day with barely a cloud in the sky.

Steven Seagal: Lawman on A & E

2009-12-03T20:42:00.004-10:00

I never did like Steven Seagal. I thought he was a joke. WhoDaHell fights bad guys in a suit anyway? What a fake movie star.

I've changed my mind. I watched the first episode of Steven Seagal: Lawman. He's been a Deputy Sheriff for the past 20 years. He's quick, he's smooth, an awesome martial artist and an awesome marksman. He's for real.

Drunken Pork and Sober Fried Rice

2009-12-03T19:55:00.003-10:00

This Drunken Pork is Wendell's adaption of Chef Aaron Fukuda's Drunken Chicken recipe found in the What Hawaii Likes to Eat cookbook.

Wendell marinated about 2 pounds of chopped up pork butt in the following marinade overnight:

2 c. sake
1 c. shoyu
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. honey
1 tbs. minced garlic
2 tbs. minced fresh ginger root
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 c. chopped green onions

Remove pork from marinade and fry until almost done. Add marinade to the pan and boil. Watch pan carefully so that the marinade doesn't burn and you end up having to soak the pan for 2 days to get all the gunk unstuck.

Wendell's fried rice recipe is from the same cookbook. You kinda don't really need a recipe, 'cause mostly you just throw in all the leftover stuff you have in the 'fridge, but I wanted to tell you about the "secret" ingredient that makes all the difference in the world in flavoring the fried rice. . . it's DASHI-NO-MOTO. The recipe calls for 1 tbs. dashi-no-moto, 1/3 c. oyster sauce, and 1 tsp. salt for 4 cup of cold cooked, preferably day-old rice.

Christmas Card Picture Taking

2009-12-02T21:44:00.002-10:00

It's that time of year! Here are a few more families that I had the pleasure of photographing.

Coworker Jason's two sons, Logan and Brady.

Susan and family
Joyce and family
Ros and family

Asia Pacific Region Masks

2009-12-01T19:57:00.005-10:00

Masks adorned the walls in the lounge at the East West Center Gallery. They looked like a representation of different parts of the Pacific. I loved the colors. There were more masks than I have here, but I didn't want to disturb a girl who was studying there.

Cricket Cage

2009-11-30T19:22:00.003-10:00

While killing time before a photo shoot, I strolled into the East West Center Gallery on the UH campus. This little wooden cage caught my eye. The plaque said: "Cricket Cage, Wood, 20th Century. Cricket cages originated in China where collecting and training crickets to fight has a long history." I imagined someone's prized cricket in this cage wearing a boxer's robe, shuffling around , swinging right crosses, left hooks and uppercuts into the air.

I found the following info online:

Cricket Culture in China encompasses a 2000 year history of both singing insects and fighting crickets. Under the Song dynasty (960 - 1279 A.D.), cricket fighting flourished as a popular sport. Such activity was still flourishing during the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911), when the Emperor's family, city residents or village men and scholars, all collected crickets feverishly every summer.

A big body, big jaws and a black face are the standard of excellence for a cricket. But to find a good one is not easy. Fu Cun, who has 20 years experience of cricket fighting, said when he went out to catch crickets he often waited in the field a whole day for the right one. The way a cricket is raised is also crucial. "I feed my crickets a special food combining corn flour, wheat flour and apple pieces," said Huang Huoyong, a stall keeper at the Xizang Nanlu Flower and Bird Market. For especially excellent crickets, calcium tablets or ginseng might be added to strengthen their bodies and hone their fighting abilities. Huang said in the current cycle of cricket fighting, it is quite common to hear such stories: for some men, the adored creature who shares their bed each night is their champion cricket rather than their wife.

You can find more info at China Culture.org.