Dish Does Europe: Almost there!

By • October 8, 2010 • Musings, The Daily Dish

Airports are lonely places.

Even now, as we wait for our connecting flight to Minneapolis on our way to Paris — France, not the hotel in Vegas, though that wouldn’t be a bad alternative — I’m looking around a fairly uncrowded airport in San Francisco. Everyone here — including me — is dressed in drab, comfortable clothing like wool sweaters, ill-fitting jeans, oversize hoodies and college sweatshirts, mostly in the range of London gray to faded black. No one is talking. Most folks are nursing coffees and eating overpriced cafe food — cups of fruit chunks, banana bran muffins, blueberry scones — and waiting for their flights to Atlanta, Detroit and Minneapolis.

Maybe that’s why everyone looks so sullen.

I suspect a lot of this has to do with Sept. 11, when airports — and airport security — as we knew it changed forever. No longer could families hang out at the gates, waiting for their loved ones to return home. No longer could couples say their final goodbyes, waving as they made their way down the gangway. And no longer can we just fly through security without taking off our shoes or giving up a piece of our personal freedom, it feels like. My, how things have changed.

I remember hanging out for hours at the gates at the Honolulu International Airport, playing trumps with my friends one last time before they headed to a college that experienced four seasons. We would bring Zip Pacs from Zippy’s, play music, spread out on mats and pillows. It was an event.

Now you have to say goodbye at the curb — or at the farewell party at Ryan’s Bar & Grill the night before. You can’t be there for your friend’s final moments in Honolulu — and that’s sad.

But in a way, it’s nice, too.

I much prefer to be sitting alone at the gate, where I don’t have to focus on the sad part about leaving. I don’t have my parents here, constantly telling me to be safe and not yell, “Jihad,” in a public place. I don’t have my friends here, reminding me of everything I’ll be missing. I’m just sitting here, updating my Facebook page and reading the latest book by David Sedaris in that hopeful anticipation of what’s coming up next.

Hmm. Maybe that’s what everyone is doing here.

***

Two more flights and 15 hours to go!

***

To read all of Cat’s blogs, visit www.nonstophonolulu.com/thedailydish. Follow Cat on Twitter @thedailydish or send her an e-mail at [email protected].

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I'm no fast-food snob

By • October 7, 2010 • Musings, The Daily Dish

People who don’t know me very well are always surprised to see me in the drive-through line at Taco Bell.

They expect me to only dine at five-star restaurants or those hole-in-the-wall eateries that just knowing where to find them puts me in a league of hip eaters.

Oh, that’s so not me.

I’m always surprised that people consider me a foodie since I don’t see myself in the same ranks of local critics like Joan Namkoong, Kaui Philpotts or our own Mari Taketa. (Read Ed Morita’s post on the difference between a foodie and a food snob.) I just love to eat — and I like to tell people about it. Does that make me a foodie? Or does that just make me a very chatty eater?

I came across an essay on Salon.com last night by Francis Lam, who, on his way to a chefs conference on sustainable foods, found himself in the line at McDonald’s, succumbing to his craving for pasteurized processed chicken food product.

I have some excuses. I was hungry and waiting for a four-hour bus ride, and sometimes, when you are hungry and waiting for a four-hour bus ride, and you grew up with parents who fed you fast food as a treat, you have to ask yourself: Are you better than your upbringing? Are you better than your history? And my answer, yesterday, was, “McNuggets.” McNuggets I have loved.

I like what I like — and if you have a similar palette as mine, then chances are you’ll like what I like, too. But that doesn’t mean my palette is as refined — or as adventurous — as Anthony Bourdain’s. I’m more about the overall taste of brown gravy and perfectly cooked onions over a nice scoop of fluffy white rice.

And I’m no fast-food snob.

I go to McDonald’s so often I know the woman who works the early-morning shift at the drive-through — by first name — for my daily fix of Diet Coke. In fact, I just had a cheeseburger Happy Meal last night for dinner.

I love Chicken McNuggets, Mexican pizzas and cinnamon twists from Taco Bell, chicken sandwiches from Jack in the Box and anything from Arby’s. I realize these aren’t the healthiest — or foodie-est — options, especially with the growing obesity rates (and my waistline), but I can’t help myself. It’s fast, it’s food, I’m good to go.

And I’m not ashamed to admit it.

Any of you have a fast-food confession to make?

***

To read all of Cat’s blogs, visit www.nonstophonolulu.com/thedailydish. Follow Cat on Twitter @thedailydish or send her an e-mail at [email protected].

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'Grounded' in fact or 'Phiten' for cred?

By • October 5, 2010 • Musings, The Daily Dish

On Sunday I noticed a friend of mine — and not the type you’d expect — was wearing something unexpected around his wrist.

It was one of those energy-enhancing bracelets made popular by professional athletes like soccer star David Beckham, Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom, Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez and pro surfer Andy Irons.

He swears there’s something to these hologram bracelets — in this case, the ones produced by Grounded — that help his balance and energy level.

And he’s not the kind of guy you’d expect to believe in these sorts of things. In fact, he doesn’t even believe he believes in it!

He showed us the test: you clasps your hands behind you and have someone push down on them. You will naturally lose your balance. But if you wear one of these bracelets — either wrist — you don’t fall over as easily.

I’ve long wondered about these energy-enhancing and health-promoting accessories. I have friends who swear by the Japanese brand Phiten, for example, which the company says regulates and balances the flow of energy throughout your body to help alleviate discomfort, speed recovery and counteract fatigue by restoring the body’s natural healing powers.

And I know folks who can’t live without their Power Balance bracelets, which features a hologram that optimizes the body’s natural energy flow.

Sounds hokey?

Well, sales for these accessories have tripled in the U.S. since 2001, according to research group SportsOneSource. Phiten alone reported global sales topping $200 million last year.

And these companies produce more than just bracelets. There are T-shirts, belts, socks, patches, even dog gear that tout the benefits of holograms and titanium technology.

Holistic solution — or outright scam?

“This is utter nonsense,” said Steven Nissen, head of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic to Bloomberg. “There’s absolutely no scientific reason why this would work. Unfortunately, we’ve not done a good job as a society in keeping people from selling snake oil.”

So what’s the allure? Why are so many professional athletes touting these accessories as a way to improve balance and combat fatigue? And do they really work?

***

To read all of Cat’s blogs, visit www.nonstophonolulu.com/thedailydish. Follow Cat on Twitter @thedailydish or send her an e-mail at [email protected].

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Fighting Nuts cooler than 'Five-O'

By • October 4, 2010 • Musings, The Daily Dish

It seems like Kukui High School has got a more loyal following now than the TV show that spawned it.

Ryan Ozawa, blogger extraordinaire, launched the site for the fictitious high school as soon as it was mentioned in the pilot of CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0” — and it might just be more popular locally than the show itself.

“Weirdly enough, although we joked about it on Twitter the night of the broadcast, I didn’t buckle down to set up the site, Twitter account and Facebook page until the next morning,” Ozawa wrote in an e-mail. “John Garcia, who remembered how quickly I nabbed AbercrombieandSchatz.com after the primary, told me to go get the domain. So I did.”

Right now more than 2,300 people “like” KHS on Facebook and demand for merchandise is growing, said Ozawa. He has mailed more than 100 “Student of the Month” bumper stickers to fans around the world.

The alma mater of Det. Steve McGarrett and Chin Ho Kelly now boasts a nice assortment of alumni including journalists, bloggers and our own Nonstop Honolulu Garcia. (My bio was lost in the blogosphere. I think I got kicked out and didn’t graduate.)

Now you can get T-shirts and, later, football jerseys and other KHS paraphernalia at Butigroove (500 Piikoi St. or 2960 Mokumoa St., 808-589-2884). The first batch of shirts has already sold out. And there are at least two events in the works: a reunion dance at Oceans808 in November and a full-on Winter Ball-type prom in December.

But you’ll be a Fighting Nut — not a King, like in the show.

“We found out a while ago that it was going to be the Kings, but we decided we needed to differentiate ourselves at some point from the show,” Ozawa said. “If we basically reproduced everything we saw on the show — the Kukui Kings, with the logo from the helmets and locker room — we’d really just be stealing the work of the scriptwriters, and another graphic designer. Besides, with a school name like Kukui, the nut jokes were unavoidable. When people first started interacting with @kukuihigh on Twitter, they were suggesting mascots ranging from the mongoose to the flying cockroach. But the nut quickly surfaced as the most popular suggestion.” (Here’s the back story on the name change.)

The network hasn’t contacted Ozawa yet, but he’s been getting “positive vibes” so far. (Daniel Dae Kim even tweeted about the Fighting Nuts — not the Kings.) And a writer on the show gave KHS the thumbs up on Twitter.

“As you can see, the local community (and kama’aina on the Mainland) has warmly embraced KHS,” Ozawa said. “It marries our impossible high school fantasies with a fun show. What’s not to love?”

I’m not sure how I feel about the show right now. Maybe I’m used to shows — like “Grey’s Anatomy” or “House” — where there’s a common theme running through the season, where episodes feed into the next and you grow to actually care about the characters.

Right now I don’t feel any connection to anyone on this show — except maybe Danny “Danno” Williams (played by Scott Caan). I feel for anyone who has to wear a suit in Hawaii.

***

To read all of Cat’s blogs, visit www.nonstophonolulu.com/thedailydish. Follow Cat on Twitter @thedailydish or send her an e-mail at [email protected].

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Dish does Europe, terrorist threat and all

By • October 3, 2010 • Musings, The Daily Dish

Looks like I may have to wear a Canadian flag pin on my first trip to Europe.

The State Department has issued a travel warning for all Americans traveling in Europe this month after possible threats of an attack were made by an al-Qaeda-affiliated group.

Just so happens I’m heading to the continent on Thursday and traveling around two of the major cities — London and Paris — being targeted.

Great.

This is my first trip to Europe. (We’re going to a wedding in Avignon, France, then meeting up with a friend in London.) And seeing my track record — my first trip to Japan was a couple of weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, which wasn’t the best time to be flying internationally — I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

All of the places on my must-see lists are high-alert spots: the Louvre Museum, Buckingham Palace and, of course, the Eiffel Tower.

French solders are patrolling the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower was already evacuated after an anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat from a telephone booth. (This was the second threat in two weeks.)

While I’m worried about my safety, the threats — and constant reminders on national news sites and stations about them — haven’t dampened my excitement about the upcoming trip.

Sure, I probably won’t pick up any unattended bags or gather around a briefcase that’s emitting smoke. But I’m still going to snap a photo with one of the Queen’s Guards and get to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Al-Qaeda won’t stop me!

So send me your suggestions of places to go, things to do and — of course! — dishes I should eat. I’ll be posting blogs from Europe as your far-flung Nonstop correspondent.

***

To read all of Cat’s blogs, visit www.nonstophonolulu.com/thedailydish. Follow Cat on Twitter @thedailydish or send her an e-mail at [email protected].

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