Leslie Wilcox Blogs

Kaumakaiwa Kanakaole--A Hana Hou Broadcast

     Kaumakaiwa Kanakaole wowed the audience at the recent Na Hoku Hanohano Awards dinner.  He went to the podium after being named Male Vocalist of the Year (2009). He won a second Hoku for best Hawaiian language performance. Flanked by his mother and grandmother who are part of his distinguished family musical legacy, he launched into a chant. It was the hit of the evening!

     When Kaumakaiwa was a rising star, having recorded his debut album, PBS Hawaii featured him (and another rising star, Kanani Kahaunaele) on our program, NA MELE: TRADITIONS IN HAWAIIAN MUSIC. 

      The program was taped in late 2004, in our Manoa TV studio, and first broadcast in January 2005. See it again Monday! And compare Kaumakaiwa's work then to what he does on his newest album.  www.mountainapplecompany.com/kaumakaiwa

 

 

 

So Much for Phone-Free Zen

     I decided not to equip my car right away for hands-free cellphone use after the new City law took effect July 1. I wanted to take a break from car conversations for a couple of weeks. You know, collect my thoughts, listen to music, make plans in my head.

      Since I drive quite a bit-- first to get to my workplace and then to get to appointments--that's a lot of phone-free time.  I expected car bliss, ringless zen.

      Nope. Instead, I find it maddening not to pick up, especially when I'm sitting at a long light or there's a tedious traffic slowdown. And sometimes, when there's been an urgent call or someone is cancelling a meeting to which I'm on my way, it's outright inconvenient.

      I haven't cheated, haven't risked a citation. And I haven't noticed anyone else sneaking a text or putting their phone to their ear in the car. However, it's easy to spot Oahu motorists pulling off the road to make or take handheld-cell calls. And it's even easier to see people driving solo and yakking away to unseen hands-free phone devices.

      For the record, I'm done with my pursuit of car phone silence. It just means more phone calls at my desk.

      I'm getting a device to clip onto my car visor so that I too can drive solo but never be at a loss for conversation.

Live Blog Discussion on PBS Hawaii

         Tonight (Thursday, July 9, 2009) we're doing with our television show Insights on PBS Hawaii what the NBA did with its draft last month--offering a free live online moderated blog/discussion. Insights' topic tonight is economic literacy for the young and old.

         You'll be able to follow exchanges about understanding personal finances and the economy on two screens at the same time--your TV screen and your computer screen. No need to log in to follow the conversation or take part in online polls or submit questions and comments in real time during the broadcast. (Your questions/comments will be passed along to moderator Dan Boylan.)

          Give it a try! Visit the Insights web page during tonight's hour-long live broadcast starting at 7:30 p.m. 

   http://www.pbshawaii.org/ourproductions/insight.php

        

New Board Members for PBS Hawaii

     Hawaii's only public television station continues to refresh its volunteer Board of Directors, as longtime, dedicated Board Members reach term limits.

     The TV station's mission is to inform, inspire and entertain by sharing high-quality programs and other services that add value to our diverse island community. Programs run without commercial interruption.

    Here are our newest Board Members:

     --Ian Kitajima, marketing manager for the innovative Honolulu-based international tech company, Oceanit

      --Ken Hiraki, attorney and government affairs director, Hawaiian Telcom

      --Kawika Kahiapo, Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning Hawaiian slack-key guitar master and recording artist, TV producer and kahu

        --Marissa Sandblom, Vice-President of Kauai landowner Grove Farm Company and President of the Grove Farm Company Foundation

        The new leadership slate, as of July 1, 2009:  Robbie Alm, Chair; Ron Hansen, Vice-Chair; Tim Johns, Secretary; and Jason Fujimoto of Hawaii Island, Treasurer.  Tom Koide is Finance Committee Chair; David Watumull, Development Committee Chair; Al Hoffman, Facilities Committee Chair; Joan Husted, Nominations Committee Chair.

         Total number of Board Members is 21. See all of the Board Members at

www.pbshawaii.org/about/about_boardofdirectors.php

        PBS Hawaii is a private nonprofit organization and Board Members are unpaid.

        There is a lot of human capital on the Board, and it takes their combined leadership and the work of a very motivated staff, independent producers, engaged viewers/web users, business and government supporters and individual donors to keep this educational media organization going strong.

Dusting Off an Exquisite "Damien"

     31 years ago, Hawaii actor Terence Knapp was on television screens across the nation, playing Father Damien of Kalaupapa in a local production that won major national awards and was hailed by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin as "an exquisite blend of passion and history set forth with fascinating dramatic integrity."

      Music was by a dream team of Nona, Keola and Kapono Beamer.

      PBS Hawaii is dusting off this excellent production to broadcast locally--and to share once again with PBS stations across the country.

      Terence Knapp has since retired from the University of Hawaii drama department. He was forever moved by the story of Damien ministering in Molokai's remote leprosy colony, and today is thrilled by the thought of Damien's canonization this fall. 

      The same is true for the executive director of Hawaii Public Television at the time, Mary Bitterman.

     Mary gave me a copy of the play by the late Aldyth Morris. Here's one of my favorite passages--Damien says this to the audience:

     "You see, a man enters the religious life in answer to a 'call.' Later, if he is lucky, he receives a 'call within a call,' he finds the niche that he was meant to fill.  This is my niche. This is what I was meant to do. This is why I was born."

      When a re-broadcast date is set, I'll let you know when the play, originally staged at the UH's Kennedy Theatre in 1976, and later adapted for television, will air on PBS Hawaii.

Good Stuff in the Week Ahead on PBS Hawaii

Sometimes you only know about good TV shows because you catch the tail end or because it's the buzz at the office the next day. I’d like to call out the start of two limited summer series on PBS Hawaii so that you can be sure to watch them from the get-go: --“Time Team America” (Wed., July 8, 8 pm) gives us the first of five weeks of archaeological trips into the past. This episode goes in search of what really happened to the vanished colonists of Roanoke Island in the 1580s. --“The Ascent of Money” (Wed., July 8, 9pm) is the fascinating story of humankind’s development of a money system - from coins of scrap metal to a global web of credit and financial instruments. "From Bullions to Bubbles" is the first of four parts. Other new shows coming up on PBS Hawaii in the week ahead: --MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! (Sun., July 5, 8 pm) has the first of four new Miss Marple episodes. --INSIGHTS ON PBS HAWAII (Thurs., July 8, 7:30 pm) is a live discussion about economic literacy and mastery of personal finances for young and old. --"The 2009 National Geographic Bee" (Sat., July 11, 8pm) puts students to the test- and it's amazing what their young minds already know! --"Great Museums of Havana" (Sat., July 11, 9 pm) takes you to places largely unseen by Americans, including an insider’s tour of the ongoing restoration of a "living museum without walls"--the old colonial district. Some of the week's encore showings worth watching again: --"Na Kamalei: The Men of Hula" goes behind the scenes with Robert Cazimero’s males-only halau as it trains for the mighty Merrie Monarch Festival, on PBS HAWAII PRESENTS (Thurs., July 9, 8:30 pm). --LONG STORY SHORT (Tues., July 7, 7:30 pm) features leading Hawaii graveyard expert Nanette Napoleon, who’s joyful about the life stories and culture reflected in our cemeteries. --NOVA (Tues., July 7, 8 pm) examines the art and science behind creating what many believe is the perfect sword - the ancient samurai sword. Also watch for new episodes of HISTORY DETECTIVES (Mon., July 6, 9 pm), NOVA ScienceNOW (Tues, July 7, 9 pm), P.O.V. (Tues., July 7, 10 pm), WIDE ANGLE (Wed., July 8, 10 pm), and GLOBE TREKKER (Thurs., July 9, 10 pm). Science buffs, we heard you and you’re getting your wish--NOVA ScienceNOW will also get a weekend airing, at 2 pm every Sunday!

PBS Hawaii Has a New Chairman of the Board

       What is leadership?

       It's a question that PBS Hawaii's new Chairman of the Board has turned inside and out and which he answers very thoughtfully.

       Robert Alm, or Robbie as he's called, is a student of leadership. He also teaches leadership--a graduate course at the University of Hawaii. And of course, he leads. He has guided many Hawaii nonprofits over the years. A lawyer and former banker, he is Executive Vice-President of  Hawaiian Electric Company.

       When you think of a leader, do you think of a charismatic speaker? I suspect that Robbie pictures someone listening.  He doesn't care much about big gestures and big words.

        One of the framers of the Live Aloha movement, Robbie has also made a point of understanding leadership in Hawaiian culture and traditions.

        He doesn't speak a lot at our Board meetings. When he talks, it's usually to bring in a perspective that nobody else has thought about. Mostly he listens. He's astute in weighing different courses of action. And of course he fully appreciates the risk of inaction.

        Robbie is already very familiar with the organization, in part because he formerly served as Board Treasurer. And, back when we were a state agency and not the private nonprofit we now are, Robbie headed the State department to which we were attached.

         We have an upaid Board, with a lot of work ahead in a distressed economy. 

          But what a mission!  We're an educational organization whose goal is inspire, inform and entertain--and add value to our diverse island community. Our programs run without commercial interruption. Locally owned, we're a rare independent voice in local media.

          Our staff warmly welcomes Robbie to his new position. We're very pleased to have his leadership.

Queen's Poi Supper

     The Queen's Medical Center, celebrating its 150th anniversary, invoked the Hawaiian time period in which it was founded and set the table for an 1800s-style poi supper last Saturday (June 27, 2009).

      The poi supper was held on the front lawn, in elegant white tents near majestic trees. With foliage screens blocking the view of traffic on Punchbowl Street,  guests did have a sense of going back in time.

      I was reminded of a famous 1889 black-and-white photo showing a table groaning with dishes and bowls of food. At the head of a large table in the Waikiki home were visiting author Robert Louis Stevenson, then-Princess Liliuokalani, King David Kalakaua, and Stevenson's mother. All of the diners were dressed up and wore maile lei. But in the Hawaiian tradition, it was clear that the formal affair was also an eat-and-drink-hearty party.

     You'd think that conversation at the modern Queen's outdoor soiree would have been pierced by the sirens of ambulances arriving at the hospital's emergency room nearby. No, it was a peaceful couple of hours in Honolulu.  Instead, diners heard the wonderful harmonies of the Makaha Sons performing live.

       Among the guests were prominent citizens Susan Kobayashi (who with her husband Bert served as event hosts), Lynne Ariyoshi and Norman Chong who recovered from serious illnesses and who count themselves grateful to have been treated at Queen's. 

        Queen's also treats people who are unable to pay.

        Expect Queen's to  revive the Hawaiian old-world ambiance and tradition of poi suppers by making the dinner an annual event for donors.

 

Try out My Weekly E-Newsletter

      Every week, I write an e-newsletter and send it out to anyone who wants a heads-up on some of the interesting programs ahead on PBS Hawaii. It's a handy way not to miss good shows. Thought I'd share the upcoming week's e-newsletter with you. If you'd like to subscribe, just send your email address to newsletter@pbshawaii.org. Promise I won't use your email address for any reason other than sending you PBS Hawaii programming information!

                                                                       **********

 

Aloha mai kakou from Leslie Wilcox, President and CEO of PBS Hawaii...

 

In what is rapidly becoming a specialized, niche world, PBS continues to prize discovery through diversity. Viewers come across subjects and ideas that they didn't know about or didn't realize they were interested in.

 

In the upcoming week, watch for new programs that allow you to explore different experiences. Some shows, including WIDE ANGLE, NOVA ScienceNOW and SOUNDSTAGE are starting new seasons.

 

The most spectacular fireworks display anywhere in the country takes place in high-definition on the Capitol's West Lawn in A CAPITOL FOURTH 2009 (Sat., July 4, 8 pm). It's a big, bright birthday party for the nation, hosted by actor Jimmy Smits, with the National Symphony Orchestra and performances by the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, crooner Barry Manilow, pop sensation Natasha Bedingfield and classical pianist Andrew von Oeyen. The Muppets also make an appearance with a patriotic medley.

 

Here's a sampling of other programs coming up, in the order in which they'll appear:

 

--MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! (Sun., June 28, 8 pm)  assigns enigmatic Belgian  detective Hercule Poirot to solve the murder of a cleaning woman. The case only appears to be open and shut.

 

--LONG STORY SHORT (Tues., June 30, 7:30 pm) brings us the second part of a two-part conversation with University of Hawaii alum, Richard Parsons, new chairman of one of the largest and most troubled financial conglomerates, Citigroup. He warns against simplistic fingerpointing in the economic crisis and defends large bonuses for top performers. (After this conversation was taped, the feds cracked down on bonuses and Citigroup just made news by hiking salary levels.)

 

--In its season-opener, NOVA ScienceNOW (Tues., June 30, 9 pm) delves into the engineering of artificial diamonds, the science used to solve deadly post 9/11 anthrax attacks, and new software that turns sour notes into sweet sounds.

 

--P.O.V. (Tues., June 30, 10 pm) presents "Beyond Hatred," a French verite film that tells the aftermath of a hate crime against a gay man, who died. The man's  family struggles to rise above hatred and the wish for revenge.

 

--AMERICAN MASTERS (Wed., July 1, 8 pm) follows the travels of "Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes." 

 

--WIDE ANGLE (Wed., July 1, 10 pm) is a documentary made possible by journalists risking their lives to film undercover for 10 months. "Crossing Heaven's Border" is the story of North Korean defectors fleeing across the border to northeast China, where they live in hiding and work illegally, aching to reach South Korea and asylum.

 

--INSIGHTS ON PBS HAWAII (Thurs., July 2, 7:30 pm) offers a live discussion of "Surviving in Hard Times," with guests UH economist Byron Gangnes, temp agency CEO Barron Guss, Dennis Oshiro from the Hawaii HomeOwnership Center, and State securities commissioner Tung Chang. Dan Boylan moderates and Howard Dicus files a perspective. The panel will field viewer questions sent in over the phone, email and Twitter.

 

--SOUNDSTAGE (Sat., July 4, 10 pm) features rock's poet laureate Jackson Browne, with new work from "Time the Conqueror" as well as old favorites like "Boulevard."

 

Viewer support pays for quality programs on PBS Hawaii for people throughout the state, including the under-served. Mahalo for investing in the community through Hawaii's only public television station.

 

www.pbshawaii.org/support

 

A hui hou kakou--until next time,

Leslie

What to Say to Grieving Family Members?

     I went to pay my respects last evening at my friend's father's funeral. All I wanted to do was give my friend a hug and tell her and her family that I'm so sorry for their loss.

     In my heart I know that there's nothing one can say to make loved ones feel better, that the most important way to speak is with one's presence. Even though I know that, I still managed to say  dumb things as I went down the reception line. Like "Great to see you!" Fortunately, it's one of the nicest families one could meet and nobody rolled their eyes or took offense, just thanked me for coming.

     In retrospect, I wish I'd found a way to convey a Helen Keller quote that the family of the late Doug Woo, my friend and former news colleague, shared on its thank-you card to those who attended the services.  I think of it often.

     Helen Keller: "What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us."