Glorious Torture, Amber Crago

Massive, daunting cliffs. Huge, sweeping valleys. Epic, towering waterfalls. In 2008, Amber Crago was hiking Mauna Loa with a good friend. They had one day to do the 18 mile hike, and catch their plane that afternoon. Amber, being a photographer, wanted to stop at every corner to catch every incredible view on film; the more they walked the more and more magnificent the views became. But she couldn’t. She had to rush the hike.

Nothing is more painful for a photographer than the absolute perfect shot that they’re not allowed to capture. That, over and over again, for an entire day along with the pains of hiking non-stop in the heat, created the most beautiful hell Amber had ever experienced. She was forced to take in each spectacular scene in a second, knowing she would never be able to share it with anyone else because it was too beautiful for words.

As the day was coming to an end, the 5 foot tall, 22 year old with short, spiky hair and huge, dramatic eyes couldn’t take it any more. She picked up her feet and ran the rest of the hike for two hours straight. She ran right through the pain, and the exhaustion, the perfect shots and splendid views. She just ran, and didn’t let anything catch up to her.

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Start a REVO!

“REVO (short for revolution), is a movement based on the concept of love. It reminds us to think beyond ourselves and gives every person the opportunity to help make the world a better place. But most important, REVO teaches us to love – not out of pity or to gain recognition – but to love for the sake of love.” -startarevo.org

As a little girl, Janice Gaspar would sit in class and fill her notebooks with dreams of how she could change the world. She knew that no matter what she did, she wanted to make a difference. That continued as she grew older, but there were two things that she thought stood in her way. She was only one person, and she didn’t know where to start. Now, she is the head of the Oahu branch of REVO, an art movement with the goal of spreading awareness and gaining funds for non-profit organizations.

Adrienne LaFrance on Journalism Today

A local newspaper reflects a bond within a community. It contains information that we share with those directly around us. It is passed from hand to hand. By turning to the internet for news, we are abandoning this sense of community. Rather than the same paper falling on ours and on our neighbors’ doorsteps, we each seek out our own source of information, whether it be local, national, or global. We trade a physical bond for  a more ethereal bond with people across the country and the world. In widening our community, we are broadening our reach but may be losing our personal identity.

I think that the shift occurring in the world of media could have long term effects on the way our society functions, politically, economically, and culturally. Here, I’m asking Adrienne LaFrance, Managing editor of The Honolulu Weekly, what she thinks. I am posing questions about the state of newspapers today, the difference that the internet has made, and what that all means.

Keeping it Fresh

In the past few months, Fresh Cafe on Queen St. has exploded with business. I think at this point it’s pretty safe to say that it’s a new hotspot. I didn’t go by there for a while, but I started hearing about it more and more and eventually couldn’t resist. First, it was just a place for coffee. Then seemed to become the cool hang out where people met up after clubs to get that sober-me-up and get-me-home espresso. Or something. All of a sudden events started to be be held in the warehouse behind the cafe, and then boom. CW decided to host her epic birthday party there, and that was it. Fresh Cafe is everyone’s favorite place.

The Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow of Newspapers, with Floyd Takeuchi

There have been few times when I learned so much in one sitting as when I sat down for coffee with Floyd Takeuchi. He’s been in (and all around)  journalism for over thirty years. When I decided I wanted to talk to someone who could see things in the long run, I figured I needed someone who’s been in it for the long run as well. Naturally, I thought of Floyd. Here, I’m asking him questions about how newspapers have changed, how they are now, and how they might be in the future. I also want to know how these changes have effected the readers so we can possibly make a prediction as to how they (we) will continue to change.

You, Me, and MB

Matt Bruening. Heard the name? If you’ve been in or around the art scene at all, then you probably have. Or maybe you’ve just seen the clothes. Think high waisted pants, plaid jumpers, retro print headbands, leather obis, furry hats… ring a bell? Maybe you’ve seen him, then. A local boy in a simple, black V-neck, and a nice pair of jeans with a contagious smile, bubbly personality, and posse of beautiful models. If you still don’t know who I’m talking about, then don’t sweat it, because you will soon. Matt Bruening, Honolulu’s next up and coming fashion designer, is launching a new line in Spring 2010. From the sound of it, it’s going to be just like him: fierce yet accessible. Exactly what Hawaii loves.

Truth in Media according to WhatReallyHappened.com

Consider Wikipedia. When it was first introduced, (and even now), it wasn’t considered a valid source of information. This is because it’s not written by one person who we can be sure is an expert on the topic. Instead, it’s a collection of facts and explanations inputted by various supposed experts, edited over and over until it’s exactly what we need to know. Anyone who uses Wikipedia knows that in fact, it’s one of the most valid sources on the internet. It’s everyone’s knowledge together and naturally unbiased because for every person that tries to input their opinion, there’s another to remove it.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about truth in media. People have been becoming less and less trusting towards large media corporations for a long time. What would happen if those corporations didn’t exist anymore? What if news was put into the hands of the public? Could there ever be such a system? When Ashton Kutcher beat CNN at being the first to have a million followers on Twitter, he said that it signified that we the people can have as loud a voice as major news outlets.