A glimpse of what almost was. Earlier this year, the rear window of Jen's van shattered. Half our friends said it was vandalism or an accident, the other half said it could've been extreme heat and excessive interior moisture (it had been flooded during a rainstorm the preceding weekend). I decided Tom and Ray Magliozzi, of NPR's "Car Talk," might have the answer. Our submission earned us a callback and we made it to a second round, but ultimately didn't make the show. Still, it was fun talking with their staff, and having their "Dewey, Cheetham & Howe" on our Caller ID.

The Honolulu Theatre for Youth (HTY) is one of the world's longest-running childrens' theaters, and last night launched its new Actors & Artists Fund. The event featured readings from upcoming productions by the HTY ensemble along with special guests, and money raised through raffle tickets, silent auction, and donations are dedicated to paying the salaries and fees of HTY's actors and artists.

An "Unofficial Yelp Event Lunch Social" at Indigo restaurant in Chinatown, organized by Yelp community manager Emi Hart, new mom (for the third time) and talented local artist. It was great to meet Emi and Michael's new daughter, try the Indigo lunch buffet, and talk to a bunch of great Yelpers!

Matt Harding of "Where the Hell is Matt" stopped in Honolulu for one day, en route to the Solomon Islands, filming footage for his next dancing video. He gathered his fans at Waimea Bay just before sunset for some fun. There's no guarantee the shoot will make it into the final video, due out in late 2011. But we still had a blast.

http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/

 

Caught a Twitter post from Franklin Clay that McDonald's of Hawaii was holding a "Grand Opening" for its new restaurant in Mililani Town today. Decided to stop by and check it out. The new building replaced one of the oldest McDonald's restaurants in Honolulu, which was also one of the last locations to feature a children's playground. Alas, the new McDonald's features a double-barreled drive-through setup, but no playground.

I took photos of the original facility just before it was demolished:

(download)

Click here to download:

central-oahu-district-science-engineering-fair-wIFokubevlguBdtEGwhB.zip (37.24 MB)

Caught a Twitter post from Brian Dote that he was in our neighborhood as a judge for the Central Oahu District Science & Engineering Fair. Decided to walk over to check things out.

A tweetup at Chai Studio Honolulu, which is located at 675 Auahi St. in Kakaako and offers one-of-a-kind Indian imports and items from local artists. Furniture, textiles, accessories, a beauty bar and more!

 

Burt Lum again invited my family and I up to Daihonzan Chozen-ji hidden away high in Kalihi Valley for its annual mochitsuki, or mochi-making ceremony.

My coworker Faith loves Star Trek. She really, really loves Star Trek. Among the ways she feeds this obsession is collecting Star Trek ornaments. She's built up an impressive inventory over the years, including several rare items.