Book 'em, Danno!

Magnet #955 - Hawaiian Islands

For someone who hasn't been to, and has no plans to ever go to, Hawaii, I sure do have a boatload of magnets from there. It's weird! Not sure who gave this one to me, but it's supercute, thanks.

A fond memory I have living in Chicago in the mid-70s is running into my parents' room, hurrying as fast as I could go because I could hear the thundering score of Hawaii Five-O on the tv. By my count, I couldn't have been more than five or six years old. With a big crush on James MacArthur, who played Danno.

Thirty years later, things haven't changed all that much. Tonight's the third episode of the Hawaii Five-0 redux, and I can't freakin' wait til 10 tonight. Of course, the only difference is that now I have a crush on Alex O'Loughlin, Scott Caan, and Daniel Dae Kim.

If anyone had told me that H50 would be my favorite show of the season - indeed, one of my favorites in a long while - I would have scoffed. When I first heard about it a while ago, I was determined to shun it.

After all, who can beat Jack Lord and James MacArthur? Plus, while I love and own Moonlight, would dreamy Alex O'Loughlin be able to fit in hard-ass Jack Lord's shoes?

On top of that, seriously, CBS? A whole press release about the use of the letter O vs. number 0? Come now. (And yet, I'm diligently using the two different characters - it really does make a difference, I suppose.)

My fears were somewhat allayed when I saw the first teaser for the show, and saw Alex O'Loughlin running around in his bullet-proof vest. It was hot. (It still is. So is this.)

By the time I saw the full trailer, I was already looking forward to the premiere - even though I forewent the SDCC panel in favor of some floor time. (And am now sorry I did.)

But when I finally saw the pilot, it seriously took the opening sequence before I knew the show was going to kick ass...and about 14 minutes in to realize that it would be my #1 show of the season. Now I can't wait for the season to be over, and six months to pass, so that I can own the H50 DVDs.

Best of all, I got to watch the pilot with my parents, which was fun and totally nostalgic.

My dad came downstairs in the middle of the show, glanced at the tv, and without any hesitation or context, goes, "Oh! Chin Ho!" (Score one for Daniel Dae Kim. Actually, score two, because I didn't even go through a "there's Jin Kwon" phase - he's already Chin for me.)

On the flip side, the first time my dad saw Alex and Scott, he asked us, "Who are they?" That's not surprising. Jack Lord was 48 when he did the H5O pilot in 1968, while James MacArthur was much younger at 31. Both O'Loughlin and Caan are 34 - buddy-cop contemporaries, than anything else.

But, it works. Good gravy, does it work.

Mind you, I'm not completely blind, there are a few issues that they need to work on.

I don't necessarily like how the boys have gone and saved Boomer Kono in the last two episodes, and how they've banded together to "always protect her." (even though they were supercute in their uniforms during her swearing in)

I don't want them to always do the boy banter, while it's superadorable, it has the possibility of relying on its cuteness.

I wonder if they're gonna get more people in those empty offices.

And I want them to watch their brand/product integration - they're treading close to annoying me with the pervasive Chevy product placement.

Even with the above, I'm definitely looking forward to how this iteration of the 5-0 goes.

eta:
Having watched episode 3, ummm, yeah, it's till number 1 on my list.

LOST in Hawaii

Magnet #821 - Hawaii dolphins

A friend of mine bought this magnet for me, probably knowing that I'll likely never visit our 50th state if I can help it.

On the flip side, LOST has managed utilize Hawaii's natural beauty, and it's the one reason I would actually consider visiting Hawaii. To see the majestic views...and pretty much take every official and unofficial LOST tour available.

Oh, I know I sound nuts to never want to visit paradise.

But, even if my people come from islands, I have big issues with them. They scare me. They're surrounded by water. They're too far away from help. And like, what if something happens, how will you get away?

Come on, haven't the last six years of LOST taught you nothing?

Not yet!

Magnet #601 - Hawaii

I've done several magnetposts on Hawaii - it's so weird how many magnets I have from there, considering I've never been!

And no offense to our 50th state, but I'm not a huge fan of islands. Mostly because of the sun, surf, and sand - nope, not a beachgoer, am I.

Yet, here we are.

My sister gave me this supercool retro Hawaii travel poster, and I'm using it today because right now, I kinda want to be there right now.

Because right now, on the 15th of October, at 5:40pm, it's flippin' 40 damn degrees!

October!

15th!

What the heck, man?

I mean, I love winter as much as the next person, but it is way too early for it to be snowing anywhere. That's just insane.

And from what I hear, it's supposed to be a supercold winter. I'm not entirely sure what happened to Global Warming, and yet. Here. We. Are.

Not yet, Old Man Winter! Not! Yet!

Never again

Magnet #289 - USS Arizona Memorial

"December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

- FDR's Pearl Harbor Speech

I've never been to this naval memorial, but from all accounts, it's one of those that you never forget. The USS Arizona had 1,177 souls aboard, when she went down - that's just over half of those 2,335 killed at Pearl Harbor. Most of them are still down there, considered buried at sea by the Navy, making this place not only a memorial, but a haunting war grave.

I'll be honest, it feels weird to write this magnetpost about this memorial that I haven't seen, and still be so moved by it, while writing it.

So, I'm taking the easy way out, and just pointing you to the National Park Service site, as well as this other USS Arizona Preservation site, dedicated to the preservation of the ship below.

Hoʻomaikaʻi ʻana, ʻōlelo hoʻomaikaʻi, Hawaiʻi!*

Magnet #259 - Hawaii

So, today in 1950, the territory of Hawaii ratified a state constitution, and became a state nine years later.

Yay, Hawaii!

My sisters will remember, but I wonder if anyone else will - remember those I Can Read books? We owned a ton of those things. Freakin' loved those books!

The Toad and the Frog. Where they were having guests for dinner or something? Took forever before I realized that it wasn't Wind in the Willows that I'd read.

Danny and the Dinosaur. Where the dinosaur was running around town?

Sammy the Seal. Where the seal was running around town, something about getting out of the zoo?

That pig one, where the pig was looking for a home, and tried out a few houses or something, and then found a puddle of mud and he was really happy?

And, then, there was this one that was all white, with splashes of green trees, and the tiny people in Hawaii - the Menehunes? Which I totally looked up on that site I just linked to. And just now realized that they're supposedly fairy people. Dudes. Whoa. Now I understand why they traveled by leaves and pea pods!

Good gravy. It's like every time I remember something about my childhood, it gets turned on its axis.

Anyway...so congratulations, Hawaii!

*I'm SO hoping that this magnetpost title actually says, Congratulations, Hawaii! If it doesn't, blame this site. And, yes, I looked up Yay! in Hawaiian and it yielded no results.

I got sand in my pocket

Magnet #38 - Hawaii

Here's weird. I hate the beach. I hate the sun. I hate the sand. It's also weird that I hate all three things given that my peoples are from the Philippine Islands.

So, it's weird that I would have so many magnets from Hawaii. No, really! Everyone I know who goes to Hawaii ends up bringing me back a magnet - which of course, I love, (thank you) but it makes me giggle whenever I see them. This lizard I had to make sure was from Hawaii, and I got it confirmed when my friend who brought it back for me said she wasn't totally sure that's where it's from, but she thinks of Hawaii every time she sees it, so it must be from Hawaii. Right?

But, I digress. It should be known that I place the beach-hatred blame on the weekend getaways to the beach down in North Carolina. Actually, I use the term weekend loosely. Mainly, it would be a random Friday night, where my parents would come home from the office and say, pack up, we're going to the beach.

And at 3 or 4 in the morning, we'd be rousted from our beds, piled into the van, and would arrive at the beach about 4 hours or so later. We'd basically spend the morning and afternoon on the beach, and tis true - it was fun. Until the ride home on Saturday night. Where we'd have to change back into our quite sandy civvies, and sit in the van - damp and sand-ridden all the way home. Ugh. Sand in our underwear - not fun.

So, beaches = nofunjoy.