Kristiana Kahakauwila | This is Paradise

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkn7_gpP9Iu7Q4ojbC5nzNGEaAgKk6Xu0oe6mrJ87ZximYM5MoGBuzoBkuf4P9qC0QR71LxXdTSFkQK3tqc7v-S8DlShfEimwx2f4yWwfc5GO2Hac1AHQZQl-rp2CIXmKAlmxDYJXrm7c/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkn7_gpP9Iu7Q4ojbC5nzNGEaAgKk6Xu0oe6mrJ87ZximYM5MoGBuzoBkuf4P9qC0QR71LxXdTSFkQK3tqc7v-S8DlShfEimwx2f4yWwfc5GO2Hac1AHQZQl-rp2CIXmKAlmxDYJXrm7c/s400/1.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><div id="posttext" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-book-tour-stops-here-review-of-this.html?spref=fb" target="blank">Kahakai Kitchen</a></b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">K</span><b>ristiana Kahakauwila digs deep into the culture and gives the reader rare glimpses of life in the “real” Hawaii not the rainbow-studded tropical paradise surface that people most often see in movies or on vacation. The stories in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/This-Is-Paradise-Stories-ebook/dp/B00B0LP5WG/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1375391441&sr=8-1&keywords=this+is+paradise" target="_blank"><i>This is Paradise</i></a> explore the deep tensions between local and tourist, tradition and expectation, façade and authentic self, provides an unforgettable portrait of life as it’s truly being lived on Maui, Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island.</b> <br /><br />In the title story, three groups of local women from different walks of life take turns observing and judging the behaviors of a young female tourist in Waikiki who learns that “paradise” has a darker side.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/220156/this-is-paradise-by-kristiana-kahakauwila#excerpt" target="_blank">Read an excerpt</a>. <br /><br /><i>Wanle</i> looks at betrayal, revenge and the underground world of cock-fighting on Maui.<br /><br /><i>The Road to Hana</i> finds a young couple traveling in Maui and struggling with which of the two is more Hawaiian—the Caucasian male, Honolulu born and raised or the native Hawaiian female who was born and raised in Nevada. <br /><br /><i>Thirty-Nine Rules for Making a Hawaiian Funeral Into a Drinking Game</i> is the humorous but poignant observations of local family behaviors from a hapa haole (half white, half foreign) female, born and raised in California but in Kauai for her grandmother’s funeral. <br /><br /><i>Portrait of a Good Father</i> explores the effects of grief on the members of a Honolulu family (father, mother, father’s mistress, daughter/sister) when their son/brother is killed in a hit in run. <br /><br /><i>The Old Paniolo Way</i> has an in-the-closet gay son returning to the Big Island to support his sister and be with his dying cowboy/rancher father while struggling with both his impending loss and the secrets he is keeping from his family. <br /><br />These stories aren’t “pretty” with happily ever-afters, they are raw and real, moving and full of angst, and strong emotions. Author Kahakauwila truly captures the essence of Hawaii—its beauty as well as its warts and brings it to life in colorful descriptions and language choice—lapsing into Hawaiian Pidgin, (the form of language or communication used in varying degrees by many Hawaii residents) when appropriate in the dialog. I found myself laughing in parts, moved to tears in others and finding familiarity—I do know some of these people and have been to many of these places and events. <br /><br /><a href="http://fictionwritersreview.com/interviews/novels-masquerading-as-stories-an-interview-with-kristiana-kahakauwila" target="blank">Interview with Kristiana Kahakauwila.</a> <br /></div>

Kristiana Kahakauwila | This is Paradise

Kahakai KitchenKristiana Kahakauwila digs deep into the culture and gives the reader rare glimpses of life in the “real” Hawaii not the rainbow-studded tropical paradise surface that people most often see in movies or on vacation. The stories in This is Paradise explore the deep tensions between loc…

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Baoer 388 Fountain Pen

I was on a family vacation a few months ago and, as luck would have it, there was a fountain pen proprietor relatively close to where we were staying. I decided to go "souvenir" shopping with my son, and for some odd reason my Garmin navigation system guided me right to the pen shop's doorstep.<br /><br />I was able to resist the urge to buy another pen for myself, but I caved when my son asked me to buy him something as a souvenir. I gave him an allowance of only ten bucks and was surprised when he actually found a decent fountain pen for only nine dollars:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6bdu1wIAOblWKsR7xJFKw7d0h1dEFFnAbeST8YIQRcQqaA0NDlKOT1L_kXiiIyoIGermah7SB0epVmZfS1JLK2-2VPWj-ElWWGA2zjyR3UC4yKj8JtYVzyEY3T54a1MziUixVUgHqcFI/s1600/IMG_6252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6bdu1wIAOblWKsR7xJFKw7d0h1dEFFnAbeST8YIQRcQqaA0NDlKOT1L_kXiiIyoIGermah7SB0epVmZfS1JLK2-2VPWj-ElWWGA2zjyR3UC4yKj8JtYVzyEY3T54a1MziUixVUgHqcFI/s200/IMG_6252.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baoer 388</td></tr></tbody></table>The pen looks somewhat pleasing to the eye, and it has a body that is made of metal. The pen was not offered in different nib sizes, so I assume that it has a medium nib on it. It came with a converter, and it accepts standard international ink cartridges. The pen feels pretty solid in the hand, and it weighed in at about 25.2 grams with the converter inked up.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggn8Klqp330DBfvAb9jepZoWrdPfMwD-zFKwhMx9D4KUAtHg243pwwSbYfqIqbqVMaYUepZXbXIXX8r1YGj8qWcta_0F6e41Smvv_tp5MthaUGVjG2OILizhf3DBmzHD8R-CobFN3Pg1k/s1600/IMG_6255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggn8Klqp330DBfvAb9jepZoWrdPfMwD-zFKwhMx9D4KUAtHg243pwwSbYfqIqbqVMaYUepZXbXIXX8r1YGj8qWcta_0F6e41Smvv_tp5MthaUGVjG2OILizhf3DBmzHD8R-CobFN3Pg1k/s200/IMG_6255.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />The nib performs in a satisfactory manner. It's not the best nib I've written with, but it's certainly not the worst. It has decent flow and writes smoothly most of the time. I have experienced some skipping incidents, but nothing out of the ordinary for a cheap pen.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4OP_DJ-Ntaacho5x_-synZfxURNsVNxSZ7m2R6-kHc3dfoHseJUPSOCE24fbQES_JpeDBxJoAGK8mw72ZBP_kX27vLcbR2WQyf2JXLdo-EcDBpGbXZHUzU5r5WzL8D93trNaua3Gjo6I/s1600/IMG_6254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4OP_DJ-Ntaacho5x_-synZfxURNsVNxSZ7m2R6-kHc3dfoHseJUPSOCE24fbQES_JpeDBxJoAGK8mw72ZBP_kX27vLcbR2WQyf2JXLdo-EcDBpGbXZHUzU5r5WzL8D93trNaua3Gjo6I/s200/IMG_6254.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><br />My kid likes the converter and the gold tinted nib of the Baoer 388. I think its a great pen for him because I won't lose any sleep if he breaks it, trades it for a Pokémon card, or loses it. That said, he may be over this pen already because I recently overheard him saying: "I wish I had a GOOD fountain pen, like one of yours."<br /><br />Anyhow, my takeaway is this: the Baoer 388 is a decent choice for a beginner fountain pen. It's a "real" fountain pen with a converter, and it's compatible with standard ink cartridges, which makes it convenient. I would still recommend the Pilot 78G as a first option (I think the 78G writes better), but the Baoer 388 is a nice alternative.

Baoer 388 Fountain Pen

I was on a family vacation a few months ago and, as luck would have it, there was a fountain pen proprietor relatively close to where we were staying. I decided to go "souvenir" shopping with my son, and for some odd reason my Garmin navigation system guided me right to the pen shop's doorstep.I was…

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