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Please nominate Tiki's: Best Place to Take Visitors!  Honolulu Magazine's Hale Aina Awards

 

These are the Oscars for Honolulu's Restaurant Industry -  2012 Hale Aina Awards Nominations

 

This year, They're doing things a little differently... The balloting process for the 2012 Hale Aina Awards is now a two-step process where they compile a list of nominees now through May 31. Then, in the August issue of HONOLULU and online at HONOLULUMagazine.com, they will have a ballot with finalists determined by these nominations. You can begin recognizing the restaurants you consider the best by clicking below and going to the magazine's nomination page. When voting, they ask you to only consider the past year of dining experiences you've had. Results will be reviewed by the HONOLULU Magazine Editorial team, who will then select the top finalists in each category.

The official 2012 Hale Aina Ballot will appear in the August 2011 issue of HONOLULU Magazine and online at honolulumagazine.com.

IMPORTANAT NOTE: You only need to fill out your name, email address, and any category that you wish to vote in...you can leave everything else BLANK!

Click Here to Nominate 

Happy Boy's Day!

Boy’s Day

Boy’s Day is also referred to as Tango no Sekku in Hawaii. It is a Japanese holiday that originated back between the years of 593 A.D. to 629 A.D. It was brought to Hawaii by Japanese immigrants.

Boy’s Day is celebrated annually on May 5th. Local families hang large kite-like carps (koi fish) that are suspended on thin bamboo poles from their homes. Families will hang one carp for every boy in their household. The carps represent strength and power. They are thought to bring courage and the ability to meet goals to the boy that they represent.

Boy’s Day is also celebrated in Hawaii with festivals where children can create their own carp kites, have their faces painted and eat Japanese food.

Tiki Rule #30 Throw away the scorecard.

The excerpt below is specifically geared toward relationships, but can apply to many things in your Tiki life!

 

Throw Away Your Scorecard - From Don't Sweat the Small Stuff in Love

If you wanted an absolutely predictable, completely reliable way to guarantee ongoing frustration--and a virtually guaranteed way to adversely affect you relationship--it would be to keep score of what you do, and what your partner isn't doing. And if you really wanted to compound the problem, you could let your partner know, on a regular basis, how he or she is not meeting your expectations--and how much more you are doing than they are!

For various reasons, it is tempting to keep track, either silently or even out loud, of all that you are doing to contribute to the relationship, to make your partner's life easier, and how much you sacrifice in the name of the relationship. You think of how many times in a row you have cleaned the house, or paid the bills, or driven to work, or done the laundry, or bathed the children or whatever.

Perhaps we do this for fear we won't be appreciated--or maybe it is because we are slightly resentful of the role we find ourselves in--or perhaps it is something altogether different. Whatever the reason, it backfires.

When you engage in this extremely common habit, two things are certain. First, your excessive thinking about the perceived inequities in your relationship will frustrate you and stress you out. When you constantly remind yourself of your own hard work, you will invariably feel angry at your partner, and in many cases, your loving feelings will diminish. The connection between your thinking and the way you feel is undeniable. As you think about your resentments and fill your mind with your unfair task load, you will feel the effects of those burdensome thoughts--you will feel taken advantage of and burned out.

Second, your partner will feel your resentment and built-up tension--which will give him or her more negativity to latch on to and think about. No one wants to feel as though his or her partner is put off and angered by the contributions they are making. In fact, the usual response to discovering this is to become defensive about how much he or she is doing in comparison. Both parties dig in and think even more about how much they are doing--scorecards are flying! Negative feelings surround your relationship, and both partners think the other is to blame.

As your scorecard enters your mind, see if you can drop those thoughts and bring yourself back to a loving feeling. Remind yourself that it is easier to see your own contribution and to take your partner's efforts for granted. For the moment, reverse this thought process. Think not of what your partner is not doing, but instead think of what he is doing. You may discover that some portion of your frustration is not reality, but simply a mental habit that has crept into your thinking. Each time you dismiss your "this isn't fair" thinking, you will be contributing to the good will of your relationship. In fact, Kris and I have discovered that, ultimately, keeping your scorecard thinking to a minimum actually contributes more to a loving relationship than any of the more concrete contributions you are making--the ones you are fretting about.

Even if your scorecard mentality persists, and you are absolutely convinced that you are getting the short end of the stick, it is still best that you keep your thinking in check. In doing so, you will keep your loving feelings alive. Remember, it is always easier to have heartfelt discussions or discuss difficult issues when your heart is filled with love and patience. Admittedly, both Kris and I still occasionally fall into this trap, but luckily it is pretty rare. We think you will find that if you can nip this tendency in the bud, the mutual love and respect in your relationship will return--or get even stronger.

This article is published in Don't Sweat the Small Stuff in Love
By dontsweat
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Lei Day in Hawaii - May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii

In early 1928 writer and poet Don Blanding wrote an article in a local paper suggesting that a holiday be created centered around the Hawaiian custom of making and wearing lei. It was fellow writer Grace Tower Warren who came up with the idea of a holiday on May 1 in conjunction with May Day. She is also responsible for the phrase, "May Day is Lei Day." If you are ever on Oahu on May 1, you'll get to experience this Hawaiian holiday first-hand for yourself.

The first Lei Day was held on May 1, 1928, and everyone in Honolulu was encouraged to wear lei. Festivities were held downtown with hula, music, lei making demonstrations and exhibits and lei making contests.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported, "lei blossomed on straw and felt hats, lei decorated automobiles, men and women and children wore them draped about their shoulders. To the city Kamehameha's statue extended a garland of maile and plumeria, which fluttered in the wind from its extended hand. Lei recaptured the old spirit of the islands (a love of color and flowers, fragrance, laughter and aloha)."

In 1929, Lei Day was made an official holiday in the territory, a tradition which was interrupted only during the years of World War II, and which continues today.

On O`ahu, Lei Day festivities are centered in Queen Kapi`olani Park in Waikiki. As is tradition, the dozens of entries in the annual contest are placed at the Royal Mausoleum in Nuuanu the next morning. The City & County of Honolulu, Department of Parks & Recreationhas details of the 2011 Lei Day Events and on the 2011 Lei Queen and her court.

You can view photos of the 2009 Lei Day Celebration.

Many celebrations are also held at local schools. Elementary schools hold celebrations crowning Lei Day kings, queens and princesses, such as occurred in 2005 at the Barbers Point Elementary School.

Lei Day celebrations are not just confined to O'ahu. There are festivals and celebrations found on all of the major Hawaiian islands.