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A few photos that illustrate the day of a visitor like myself in Hawaii. That’s Goh Nakamura below. He played an awkward set at a bar that was louder than he was, but then he figured out the amplification and made it work. Anytime walls are red, you get interesting shots. This took place at a bar called Ichiriki.
Yes an SLR can catch moments like this. I like the light from the phone. It was quite dark, but it still showed up.
There are things to do in Hawaii aside from the early morning beach visits. It’s food. Ramen Nakamura, or NakamuRamen or as a friend pointed out, RameNakamura and Waiola Shave Ice with Tamlyn Tomita.
That’s Oxtail Ramen below. It’s coma inducing. Proceed at your own risk. It costs $13, a bit much, but that’s Waikiki for you. Yes those are dried garlic pieces.
Hawaii from above. Flying in, it’s great to see the green hue of the water. It’s like visiting another country. I often refer to the continental US as America, but then what’s Hawaii? It’s a bad habit, but it’s that different. In fact, Asians can often grow up here without the same racism that exists in “America”. I’m here for HIFF, the Hawaii International Film Festival where I’m on the jury for best feature film. Here’s a few highlights from day 1. Of course, jumping into the water early in the morning before most are awake and seeing the sunrise, is the way to go. I do this daily.
There’s Goh Nakamura, Anderson Le, Gary Chou, and David Boyle. Their screening took place sunday.
I went to Montreal for the first time last weekend for a screening of Surrogate Valentine and a small coffeehouse gig at the Pop Montreal festival. The five day music/film festival sprawled across 58 venues with about 450 artists, including big names like Arcade Fire, Stephen Malkmus, and Kid Koala. I flew in from New York, which was merely a 52 minute flight… pretty painless other than waiting through customs lines and lack of sleep after a whiskey party at my host’s abode before the 4am trip to the airport… but that is a tale for another time.
Let’s talk about Poutine. Say it with me: Cheese Curds, Gravy, Fries.
I was in Montreal for three days, and somehow I ended up eating it every day. I tried not to, but it just sorta happened. How I managed to survive, I don’t know.
Poutine #1:
My hosts in Montreal picked me up from the airport, and after a croissant and a 2 hour nap, took me out to get lunch. We sat down at this Poutine place called Banquis, and I thought we’d share a plate, but it was every man for himself. Believe it or not, this is the smallest sized order. I struggled to eat half of it. You can’t really see the cheese curds, but they are there. Chillin’…under the gravy…and fries… and onions… and mushrooms, bacon, peppers, and more fries and gravy. This thing weighed as much as a child. Homeboy across from me ate his whole plate- it was the same size sans fixin’s.
Really?
I’ve had it before, about 6 years ago in Toronto, but according to my hosts it’s not the same there. Montreal-eans get all protective about their poutine. To be honest, I forgot what it tasted like- but I felt like these cheese curds were more firm and chewy. It was pretty good, but the portion and thought of eating that much alone kind of turned me off. That’s a lot of heart attack right there. I vowed not to eat any more cheese on this trip.
In the middle of eating this, I got a call from Kid Koala, who Eric Nakamura put me in touch with since he’s based in Montreal. He was amused, and perhaps slightly worried that I was eating Poutine so early in the day.
“that stuff’s for late night, after drinking…”
He invited us to come by his studio, which was a mindblowing experience, but I’ll save that for another post.
Kid Koala in his natural habitat.