Short Takes
June 25, 2010
Hawaiian Eye: A Trip To A Hawaii Tourists Don’t See
Hawaii is 5,000 miles away. On a muggy summer night, the Lower East Side feels just as distant. But the party for the paperback edition of "Fierce Heart: The Story of Makaha and the Soul of Hawaiian Surfing" [To buy the book from Amazon, click here. For the Kindle version, click here] featured not only a rare New York appearance by its author, my friend Stuart Coleman, but a performance by authentic hula dancers. With the bartender pushing fruity drinks and surf movies in the background, distance vanished, and it was almost possible to believe we were in the vicinity of Makaha, an area on Oahu’s wild western coast where the surf and the people are generally considered too wild for tourists. In his book, Coleman profiles some of the area’s greatest cult figures — and their very appealing subculture. If Buffalo Keaulana, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole and Sistah Rell aren’t even “Jeopardy” answers for you, you may want to do your remedial Hawaiian reading here.
June 24, 2010
New York Sublet: Tasty Bargain
Beautifully furnished one-bedroom on 87th St. between West End and Riverside. Pre-war building, 800 sq. ft., eat-in kitchen, elevator. All utilities (that’s wi-fi and cable, too) included. One-year sublet, $2,700 per month. Write KateHamptonNYC@AOL.com.
June 24, 2010
The Miles Franklin Award: And the winner is….
The Miles Franklin Literary Award is the most prestigious literary prize in Australia. Funded by the author of "My Brilliant Career," it’s awarded to "the novel of the year which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases." This year’s winner: Peter Temple, for "Truth." To quote the judges: "’Truth’ disorients the reader with multiple plots and elliptical exchanges: blank spaces occupy almost as much room on the page as the print. In this way Temple takes a popular genre and transforms it into a radical literary experiment in realism and fiction. There is minimal exposition of plot and character; rather the narrative is embedded in voice and dialogue rich with colloquialisms and police lingo, heard in grabs from radio, in cars, on mobile phones, and in conversations across always crowded rooms. We learn to trust the accumulation of fragments and scenes. Few contemporary fiction writers grasp the speech and silences of the Australian vernacular as effectively as Temple." But then you knew most of this from my review. To read my take on "Truth" — and to buy the book — click here.
June 22, 2010
In Just Six Words: What really matters to you?
My pal Craig Davis, once lord of creativity at JWT, moved back to his native Australia to become Chief Creative Officer at Publicis Mojo — and launch the first web site to link advertising with idealism. Brandkarma.com asks: Oil spills, product recalls — can brands be a force for good? And then people around the world use the site to offer opinions, brand by brand. Now, as the ad world convenes at Cannes, Craig asks you to join — and influence — the conversation by sharing just six words. He asks: With resources imperiled in an increasingly crowded world, what matters most to you? There’s a little box at the top of the screen. Think, type, hit send. And thanks.June 17, 2010
Sorry If You Think This Is Political. I Don’t.
Eric Balderas, who is about to be a sophomore at Harvard, has the classic biology major’s dream — cure cancer. This month, when exams ended, he flew home to San Antonio. At the airport on his way back, his Harvard photo ID didn’t get him past the TSA. That is because Eric was born in Mexico and came to the United States, with his mother, as a very young child. Which makes him an illegal immigrant. Early in July, the Department of Homeland Security will decide if he’s to be deported to Mexico. But let Eric explain…. (Thanks, Digby.)
