Working on my Photography Skills!

Waaaaaaaay back in High School I took Photography. I loved being in the dark room, playing with my new photos, making some sepia, some black & white, cropping them until they were just right. I remember making a pinhole camera, and taking some awesome "still shots" with it...

Technology has made photography just a tiny bit easier and more accessible to the general public... for people who don't have access to a professional dark room (although I think even the greatest digital enhancement cannot compare to working in a dark room) like me.

So... here are just some of my most recent photos from the past 2 months (or so). I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them!



Gold Dust Day Gecko - Sunning on my cement wall



Koa Wood Grain - Taken before my nieces Baptism at the Kamehameha Schools Chapel



Sunset Beyond the Ko'olau Mountains



Lovely Yellow Rose - This one I took on a recent trip to California



Through the Bloom - This is another photo I took during my nieces baptism. You can see her in the background... I was playing with angles and focus on this one.

Movies Based on Books...

Just never seem to get it right.. ya know? With the few miraculous exceptions (in my opinion) of Jurassic Park, LOTR & Harry Potter movies... most are poo.

What brings up this new rant you may ask? Well, I have been reading the Twilight series (after hearing very good reviews on the books from friends and family) and I must admit that I enjoyed the story!

Stephanie Meyer was able to capture me using characters that I could relate to (well, the living characters anyway) in one way or another. I found myself desperate to continue the series, and read through all 4 of them the first time in just under 2 days. I say first time, because I read through them AGAIN just to be sure I didn't miss anything.

I loved her point of view on the Hollywood stereotype that has molded Vampire stories throughout the years. And though the book was focused on a younger demographic than I am ::cough cough:: I found myself wanting to be Bella... to have an Edward... to live in a world of magic and wonder and near death experiences... without having to experience them myself!

But I am heading off course from my original rant.

I really REALLY wanted to LOVE the movie! Really I did. But... I was so disappointed. Not so much in the casting (the Cast is pretty close to how I pictured them), but in the story itself. I know that there just isn't enough time in a movie to fit a whole book, but I felt like so much was left out! I wasn't drawn to the characters in the movie like I was in the book. I didn't get the sense of NEED that Bella and Edward had for each other... like air, like water! Not to mention the key elements to the story became laughable... and I knew that those others who laughed with me in the theatre must have read the book. Specifics you ask? Okay... hows about when Edward steps into the sunlight? Now... in my minds eye I saw glimmering facets of light, like rainbow shards bouncing off of a diamond! Not... craft glitter. But hey... thats just my creative take on the scene.

In hindsight, I should have watched the movie first and THEN read the books... I bet if I had gone that route the movie would have been more magical for me... but as it is, I can only hope that time away from the books... and the DVD release... will soften my look on the way the movie portrayed the story.

Here ends my rant.



P.S. I am SOOOOOOO Team Edward!

Its Party Time!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU... YOU LIVE IN A ZOO... YOU SMELL LIKE A MONKEY...

AND YOU LOOK LIKE ONE TOO!

Today... my baby boy turns 6 years old! We are gonna do cake and Ice Cream tonight, and then this weekend is a Pizza/Ice Skating Party for him!

I always promised myself that no matter what, I would make sure my Boy gets a Birthday Party (big or small) even with Christmas so close!

I love you fatso boy! Happy Birthday!

Work for the CENSUS BUREAU 2010!!

I know alot of people have lost their jobs or know someone who has lost their job.

Heres an opportunity I just read about in a local newspaper.

Its a great opportunity for part time students/ retirees/ and they even have flexible hours for people who already have a full time job!

Just wanted to share this and I hope it helps!

Mele Kalikimaka a me Hau'oli Makahiki Hou! Keala

WORKERS FOR 2010 CENSUS NEEDED

Looking for extra income? The U.S. Census Bureau is recruiting census takers for the 2010 Census... Pay ranges from $10. - $22. an hour depending on the region.

To apply call 1-866-861-2010

or heres the website www.census.gov/2010censusjobs

Kalani Koa - Somebody to Love

Kalani Koa - Somebody to Love (Music Video)


Aloha Friends! Above is a music video my younger cousin just did for the 2008 Brown Bags to Stardom competition. Hes wearing the red lei in the photo above!

For those who don't know what Brown Bags is... its a local Hawaii music competition for High School students. They have to write the song, play the music and produce the video. The video is then played on OC16 and voting begins!

I am so proud of my cousin for doing this. Last year he won 2nd place male vocalist for his song "My Hawaii"! I was up there skankin as he performed it live... so awesome!

This year, I think his song is even better... and I know he is gonna do really well in this competition and in his musical future!

They do perform for parties... so anybody looking for a new upcoming band to play at your Grad Party, Kalani Koa is the way to go! Not only does he play reggae & island music... he can sing a mean Falsetto!

If voting is open when you check out his video... PLEASE VOTE for Kalani Koa - Somebody to Love!

Mahalo Nui Loa... Keala

In Loving Memory - Valaile Fuiava Jr.

A resolution to the Drunk Driving DEATH of my father in law is finally on its way!

On March 31, 2007, my father was killed in a senseless accident. He was on his way home from work, riding on his 2006 Harley Davidson motorcycle when he was hit from behind by a drunk driver. The woman who hit him did not stop... in fact she continued to drag him under her car for 500 feet before crashing into a cement barrier. There were NO TIRE MARKS found at the scene... which means she never even TRIED to stop! He was less than 3 minutes away from the safety of his home when the accident happened. He chose this alternate route home to avoid exactly what it was that took his life.....A DRUNK DRIVER !

He was taken so suddenly away from a loving wife of 30 years, 3 children and their spouses, and 7 grandchildren. His congregation lost a pastor, the United States Marines lost a warrior and military veteran. His brother's and sister's lost a dear family member. The community lost a friend and advocate. He was a dear man, stern, strong, giving, loving, unselfish. Truly loved and adored by all he met, and above all RESPECTED. He was a recipient of the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart for his courageous actions during the Vietnam war... in which he saved many lives of the men who served in his unit.

My goal here is to share the life of my father. He is no longer with us in body but HE LIVED!

HE LIVED...unselfishly. He loved everyone, his family, and GOD. He served our armed forces in the United States Marines, and he served proudly. Upon retirement he returned home to the North Shore where he raised his family and served as Pastor of the Haleiwa Evangelical Mission. He also worked at the Army's Firing Range in Kahuku.

HE LIVED... He loved his wife and children, but his grandchildren were his world. He could be found in his down time, taking his grandchildren to the local pool. Swimming was his passion, and he wanted his grandchildren to experience the love he had for it. He would take his grandchildren riding around the neighborhood on his bicycle in the evenings when it was hot and humid. There was no limit to what he would do for his grandchildren, and he never questioned the time he would so willingly spend with them. He enjoyed the outdoors, he enjoyed life, he enjoyed helping those less fortunate... HE LIVED!

Two years have nearly passed, and not a day , or event goes by, where his memory or name isn't spoken. Not a day goes by where the burning question, "WHY?" is not asked. In my opinion it was not an accident..it was pure negligence, ignorance, with no concern or respect for life...that happened that night. Drinking, driving and speeding = the recipe for disaster.

We ask that you leave comments of love and support for Valaile Fuiava Jr. To remember that he is not just a name... not just a statistic... He was a man WHO LIVED!

Your support, your thoughts, your feelings ... will help when the time comes to give testimony to his life.

ALSO if you are on facebook, please join our group - In Loving Memory of Valaile Fuiava Jr.

Me ke aloha pumehana... Keala and the Fuiava Ohana

LINK TO NEWS STORY (watch the video) http://www.khon2.com/news/local/6821597.html
LINK TO NEWS STORY http://archives.starbulletin.com/2007/04/02/news/story05.html

Protect the Hawaiian Monk Seal!

I have my own personal reasons for wanting to protect the Hawaiian Monk Seal... Living in Hawaii all of my life I have been witness to these amazing and beautiful animals. As they play in the tides chasing after each other, or surfing a wave far out in the ocean... and even more often, basking in the sun to soak up the beautiful sunshine... but it has become fewer and fewer encounters in recent years.

My 9yo son wants to become a Marine Biologist because of the Hawaiian Monk Seal! It breaks my heart to know that one species is gone forever (The Caribbean Monk Seal has been deemed extinct this month) and another may be gone within years... so quickly in fact, that my son may never have the chance to study and protect these and other marine animals in our Oceans.

Please take a stand and make a difference. Volunteer at a local beach cleanup and get garbage off of our beaches, make a donation, write a letter to your Representative, whatever it is you can do to help!

Our delicate eco-system needs you!

Will you please add your signature to this petition?

Me ke aloha pumehana... Keala

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/321914992

"Protect Habitat for Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals
Target: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Sponsored by: Care2.com

The Hawaiian monk seal is one of the most endangered marine mammals in the world. Its population has plummeted to about 1,200 animals, and scientists say it will likely drop below 1,000 seals within a few years.

But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been resistant to protecting critical habitat. Three-quarters of the islands designated for Hawaiian monk seal habitat could be underwater before the end of the century thanks to global warming. Less than 50 years ago, one of the seals' chief breeding and resting places covered more than 110 acres. Today, only about 40 acres are left.

As beaches disappear under rising seas, there are fewer safe places for the endangered seals to escape from sharks. As a result, more pups and juveniles are dying. Further loss of habitat can only put these endangered seals at greater risk.

Help prevent the extinction of the Hawaiian monk seal. Tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect critical habitat for this treasured part of Hawaii's natural heritage."

Heres what the petition is proposing:

We, the undersigned, are concerned for the future of the Hawaiian monk seal, the most endangered seal species in the United States. We urge that critical habitat in the Main Hawaiian Islands receive legal protection as critical habitat necessary for preventing the extinction of the Hawaiian monk seal. Critical habitat designation would ensure management that is consistent with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act.

Since the mid 1950s, the monk seal population has declined rapidly, with only about 1,200 animals remaining. The threats from limited food sources, shark predation, global warming and sea level rise, entanglement in marine debris, disease, habitat loss and disturbance, fisheries interactions, and pollution are driving this already small population to the brink of extinction.

The Hawaiian monk seal has had designated habitat in a marine national monument at a remote archipelago northwest of Hawaii since 2006. Unfortunately, three-quarters of the islands in that sanctuary could be underwater before the end of the century thanks to global warming.
While the current critical habitat is important for the protection of the Hawaiian monk seal, expanded habitat protection is absolutely essential for the recovery of thepopulation. The scientific consensus is that the Main Hawaiian Islands are the best opportunity for the recovery of the dwindling population of monk seals.

That is why we request amending the current Hawaiian monk seal critical habitat to include essential habitat areas along key beach areas, sand spits and islets, lagoon waters, inner reef waters, and ocean waters around each of the Main Hawaiian Islands. The potential for population growth, increased habitat and greater food availability in the Main Hawaiian Islands could be pivotal for the survival and recovery of the Hawaiian monk seal.

For more information on the current legal protection of the Hawaiian Monk Seal visit: http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/prd_hawaiian_monk_seal.html