and the winner is . . .

alessa from hilo who will be enjoying the story of the descendants during her next rainy day read.

mahalo again to all who entered the giveaway! for a peek on how the descendants made the leap from the bookstore to the big screen, click over to the wall street journal which also shared a fascinating history of the old timey land trusts of hawaii.

here's hoping the island crew who toiled behind the camera receive a little oscar love should the descendants go home with a gold statue on sunday!

happy congratulations alessa!

beach reads: the descendants (& a giveaway!)

my mister and i finally escaped to our neighborhood movie house to watch the descendants on what turned into a blustery winter day here on the mainland. dear hawaii, your breathtaking beauty certainly shined on the big screen . . . a lush love note to our island home!

the story, if you have yet to page through the debut novel by kaui hart hemmings, juxtaposes two life changing scenarios - the impending sale of a land trust inherited by the ancestors of a hawaiian princess and her banker husband while the 21st century branch of the king 'ohana (a.k.a. the clooney clan if the movie trailer is your only introduction to this unconventional tale) deals with the agonizing wait of losing their adventure-seeking first lady who traded her heart to a secret sweetheart.

cue sticky predicaments.

read on for more love for the descendants + giveaway details after the jump!

Click to read more ...

morning crush: hot club of hulaville

. . . i'm pau by hot club of hulaville . . .

the swingy melodies by hot club of hulaville never fail to brighten my day so i was thrilled when the honolulu quintet's django would go! scooped up a hoku for jazz album of the year this weekend.

hooray for gypsy jazz!

the perfect remedy if your tuesday has a case of the mondays after the long holiday weekend.

$15 online + $9.99 itunes.

beach read: moloka'i

growing up, my understanding of kalaupapa was limited to the occasional classroom mention and wandering past father damien's statue at the state capitol. then i borrowed moloka'i from my mom which turned out to be a beautifully written tale of how the dreaded epidemic upended the life of a seven-year-old girl.

the fictional story transports you to old honolulu and its inquisition-like investigations of the whispered about ma'i pake before journeying across the kaiwi channel where the inflicted were expected to embrace life on a forsaken slice of 'aina. and while tear-stained pages are inevitable, little rachel kalama stubbornly proves that happiness, even if fleeting, is possible in small moments of freedom be it secret surf sessions, teenage escapades, and unexpected friendships that blossom during an almost lifelong colony existence.

if you adore a good story, this is a must for your summer beach reads list!

p.s. there are plenty of copies waiting to be discovered on the shelves of your local library.

and the winner is . . .

jaimie from hawaii kai whose stereo will soon be spinning sabrina's the hawk & the hunter cd which became a hoku nominee for rock album of the year earlier this week! hooray sabrina!

thank you to all who entered the giveaway. if you would like to cheer on sabrina and say you listened to her music way back when, download the lp on itunes or amazon or drop her a note to order an old school cd. and click over to the official website for upcoming show dates.

congratulations jaimie!

{mahalo sabrina and good luck at the hoku awards!}