Just for fun, let's try a different font and color today. I'd say it adds variety to my blog, just as my weekend consisted of various events.
Yesterday morning, I attended a beautiful wedding at the Halekulani Hotel in W
aikiki. All of my experiences at the Halekulani have been wonderful, and it is the epitome of quality and excellence. Everything about the wedding was perfect...the courtyard setting, the service, and the food at the reception. I don't think I've ever been to a wedding where I actually remembered how great all the servers were. Most of all, the couple that were married are great people and couldn't be more perfect for each other.
Yesterday afte
rnoon, I attended the Greek Festival at McCoy Pavillion (in Ala Moana Beach Park). I have never been to the Greek Festival before, so I didn't really know what to expect other than what I've seen on the morning news shows. While it was a bit smaller than I imagined, it was still a good value at $3 (and I could've used the ticket stub for entry today as well).
There was a variety of entertainment, including dancing and Greek music which was quite good. Although the picture to the left consists of just a few people dancing, it became almost like a disco later in the evening! There was one vendor selling Greek grocery items such as olive oil, capers, and other canned and jarred foods, one selling clothing, and another selling art and music. There were two very popular drink booths selling Greek wine and beer, and about 7 or 8 food vendors. The gyros booth was by far the most popular, with the second being a cafeteria style vendor selling food such as moussaka and spanakopita as a complete meal with rice, salad, and baklava. I decided on a salad booth where I had a combination Greek salad and pasta salad plate. While the Greek salad was good, I was a little disappointed that it was made out of plain iceberg lettuce, although the dressing and particularly the feta were excellent. The pasta salad, however, was very good! I ended up abandoning the iceberg and eating the feta together with the pasta salad!
While I was at McCoy Pavillion, which is a pretty attractive area with a number of
water features, I decided to practice my photography skills and test out the new lens I recently purchased for my Nikon D50, a 55-200 mm AF-S VR. I was playing around with various settings, which I am still familiarizing myself with. To the right is a picture I am particularly fond of because of the way the water drops appear to be suspended in mid-air.
Because I was so busy yesterday, today was my "chore" day, which consisted of doing laundry and some minor household cleaning. While waiting for my laundry, I watched a couple of movies that I would occasionally tell myself that I wanted to see, but never really made it a priority.
The first one was Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which was on one of the HBO channels. I missed the first 3 minutes, but from what I gathered, the mother of one of four teenage girls passed away, further establishing a strong bond between the friends. I was pleasantly surprised with this movie for a number of reasons, and found myself wishing that I had seen the movie when it debuted in 2005. However, the movie is probably more special to me now because of two of its stars, and the timing of my viewing. One of the four girls turns out to be America Ferrera, who stars in one of my favorite new television shows, Ugly Betty (which is deserving of its own post, perhaps when the new season begins in September or October). Her father in the movie turns out to be Bradley Whitford, one of the stars of the ill-fated Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (cancelled after one season) and formerly of The West Wing. His performances and humor in The West Wing turned me into a fan.
Aside from my admiration of these two stars, the movie was really well-done. It's a chick-flick, but a very good one demonstrating the meaning of true friendship and learning to deal with personal insecurities. The four friends, aged 16-17, go into a store where one of them decides to try on a pair of jeans, and she makes the others try on the jeans too. Ferrera, who is chubbier than the rest of them, is urged to try them on too, despite her obvious weight difference. But lo and behold, they fit! They agree that the pants are magical.
The four, going their separate ways on their summer break, decided to make the pants into their very own Travelocity gnome by taking turns with the jeans, and sending a letter together with the "traveling pants" to the next person about their most exciting experience while wearing the jeans. Their separate journeys take them not only to far away places, but also to new experiences of self-discovery and personal challenges. I will leave my description at that, but suffice it to say that this is a good movie that sends a great message of belief, friendship, and self-respect to its viewers.
After I completed Traveling Pants, I decided to watch a movie I ordered from Netflix a while ago that has been sitting around thanks to my now-defunct DVD Recorder, which is a long story that I won't bore you with. The bottom line is that I was able to watch it on a decent DVD player that does not skip. I guess I should tell you what movie it is: Little Children.
I can't even remember why I ordered it, but I think I read good reviews about it and some of the actors received Oscar nominations, including Kate Winslet, who is the female lead. Although it's probably not something I would want to buy, it was a very good movie that is also full of life lessons. Kate Winslet plays a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) that doesn't quite fit in with the other SAHMs that show up at the park every day. Winslet is kind of homely and doesn't always get things right like the other "perfect" and somewhat-snooty SAHMs at the park. Then the "prom king" walks in, ruffling the features of the snooty SAHMs, who dare Winslet to get his phone number. The "prom king" is played by Patrick Wilson, who I've never heard of before, but I would guess will be making quite a name for himself if he plays his cards right. Wilson plays a stay-at-home dad, and his wife is portrayed by Jennifer Connelly. It becomes pretty obvious early in the movie that Winslet and Wilson are both bored with their lives, and that something is going to happen between them.
In addition to this, the story gains complexity with the addition of a creepy man in the neighborhood who has been known for indecent exposure. A former cop is particularly obsessed with hunting down the possible would-be child molestor. The story is complex enough to keep the viewer interested, without giving them a headache like some other movies I can think of (Memento comes to mind). The other thing I found very interesting about this movie is how it is narrated in some parts, almost like a children's story. This is appropriate because in a way, it is childish. I don't mean to say that the movie itself is childish, but the characters, although grown and most with children, are adolescent in so many ways: naming mister mom the "prom king," the former copy bullying toward the child molestor, daring Winslet to get the prom king's phone number, and so many other things. I will also end this review here because I don't want to give away too much to any potential viewers. My overall comment would be that this is a good movie that kept me glued to the tv. I could NOT predict the outcome of this movie until it actually happened, and there were times when I was experiencing feelings that never game to fruition (which is a good thing).
That's about it for my weekend. Next weekend is another wedding, and possibly another festival (the Okinawan Festival at Kapiolani Park)!
Yesterday morning, I attended a beautiful wedding at the Halekulani Hotel in W
aikiki. All of my experiences at the Halekulani have been wonderful, and it is the epitome of quality and excellence. Everything about the wedding was perfect...the courtyard setting, the service, and the food at the reception. I don't think I've ever been to a wedding where I actually remembered how great all the servers were. Most of all, the couple that were married are great people and couldn't be more perfect for each other.Yesterday afte
rnoon, I attended the Greek Festival at McCoy Pavillion (in Ala Moana Beach Park). I have never been to the Greek Festival before, so I didn't really know what to expect other than what I've seen on the morning news shows. While it was a bit smaller than I imagined, it was still a good value at $3 (and I could've used the ticket stub for entry today as well).There was a variety of entertainment, including dancing and Greek music which was quite good. Although the picture to the left consists of just a few people dancing, it became almost like a disco later in the evening! There was one vendor selling Greek grocery items such as olive oil, capers, and other canned and jarred foods, one selling clothing, and another selling art and music. There were two very popular drink booths selling Greek wine and beer, and about 7 or 8 food vendors. The gyros booth was by far the most popular, with the second being a cafeteria style vendor selling food such as moussaka and spanakopita as a complete meal with rice, salad, and baklava. I decided on a salad booth where I had a combination Greek salad and pasta salad plate. While the Greek salad was good, I was a little disappointed that it was made out of plain iceberg lettuce, although the dressing and particularly the feta were excellent. The pasta salad, however, was very good! I ended up abandoning the iceberg and eating the feta together with the pasta salad!
While I was at McCoy Pavillion, which is a pretty attractive area with a number of
water features, I decided to practice my photography skills and test out the new lens I recently purchased for my Nikon D50, a 55-200 mm AF-S VR. I was playing around with various settings, which I am still familiarizing myself with. To the right is a picture I am particularly fond of because of the way the water drops appear to be suspended in mid-air.Because I was so busy yesterday, today was my "chore" day, which consisted of doing laundry and some minor household cleaning. While waiting for my laundry, I watched a couple of movies that I would occasionally tell myself that I wanted to see, but never really made it a priority.
The first one was Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which was on one of the HBO channels. I missed the first 3 minutes, but from what I gathered, the mother of one of four teenage girls passed away, further establishing a strong bond between the friends. I was pleasantly surprised with this movie for a number of reasons, and found myself wishing that I had seen the movie when it debuted in 2005. However, the movie is probably more special to me now because of two of its stars, and the timing of my viewing. One of the four girls turns out to be America Ferrera, who stars in one of my favorite new television shows, Ugly Betty (which is deserving of its own post, perhaps when the new season begins in September or October). Her father in the movie turns out to be Bradley Whitford, one of the stars of the ill-fated Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (cancelled after one season) and formerly of The West Wing. His performances and humor in The West Wing turned me into a fan.
Aside from my admiration of these two stars, the movie was really well-done. It's a chick-flick, but a very good one demonstrating the meaning of true friendship and learning to deal with personal insecurities. The four friends, aged 16-17, go into a store where one of them decides to try on a pair of jeans, and she makes the others try on the jeans too. Ferrera, who is chubbier than the rest of them, is urged to try them on too, despite her obvious weight difference. But lo and behold, they fit! They agree that the pants are magical.
The four, going their separate ways on their summer break, decided to make the pants into their very own Travelocity gnome by taking turns with the jeans, and sending a letter together with the "traveling pants" to the next person about their most exciting experience while wearing the jeans. Their separate journeys take them not only to far away places, but also to new experiences of self-discovery and personal challenges. I will leave my description at that, but suffice it to say that this is a good movie that sends a great message of belief, friendship, and self-respect to its viewers.
After I completed Traveling Pants, I decided to watch a movie I ordered from Netflix a while ago that has been sitting around thanks to my now-defunct DVD Recorder, which is a long story that I won't bore you with. The bottom line is that I was able to watch it on a decent DVD player that does not skip. I guess I should tell you what movie it is: Little Children.
I can't even remember why I ordered it, but I think I read good reviews about it and some of the actors received Oscar nominations, including Kate Winslet, who is the female lead. Although it's probably not something I would want to buy, it was a very good movie that is also full of life lessons. Kate Winslet plays a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) that doesn't quite fit in with the other SAHMs that show up at the park every day. Winslet is kind of homely and doesn't always get things right like the other "perfect" and somewhat-snooty SAHMs at the park. Then the "prom king" walks in, ruffling the features of the snooty SAHMs, who dare Winslet to get his phone number. The "prom king" is played by Patrick Wilson, who I've never heard of before, but I would guess will be making quite a name for himself if he plays his cards right. Wilson plays a stay-at-home dad, and his wife is portrayed by Jennifer Connelly. It becomes pretty obvious early in the movie that Winslet and Wilson are both bored with their lives, and that something is going to happen between them.
In addition to this, the story gains complexity with the addition of a creepy man in the neighborhood who has been known for indecent exposure. A former cop is particularly obsessed with hunting down the possible would-be child molestor. The story is complex enough to keep the viewer interested, without giving them a headache like some other movies I can think of (Memento comes to mind). The other thing I found very interesting about this movie is how it is narrated in some parts, almost like a children's story. This is appropriate because in a way, it is childish. I don't mean to say that the movie itself is childish, but the characters, although grown and most with children, are adolescent in so many ways: naming mister mom the "prom king," the former copy bullying toward the child molestor, daring Winslet to get the prom king's phone number, and so many other things. I will also end this review here because I don't want to give away too much to any potential viewers. My overall comment would be that this is a good movie that kept me glued to the tv. I could NOT predict the outcome of this movie until it actually happened, and there were times when I was experiencing feelings that never game to fruition (which is a good thing).
That's about it for my weekend. Next weekend is another wedding, and possibly another festival (the Okinawan Festival at Kapiolani Park)!
1 comment:
Nice pic, fab bokeh
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