Ever since a bunch of U.S. Congressional Representatives got press for sending out Twitter messages during President Barack Obama's big address before a joint session of Congress a few weeks ago, I've contemplated giving up my Twitter account. I mean, how edgy and provocative and cutting edge can the thing be if MEMBERS OF CONGRESS … Continue reading Twits and Twitter
Category: blog
My new book
I've done it. As more of an experiment than anything else, I've gone and self-published a book of a few dozen of my old Maui Time Weekly feature stories. The book, printed on demand by Cafe Press and retails for $14.95, is about 180 pages long, contains 33 stories and an original cover illustration by … Continue reading My new book
This week in deranged penguins
So the other day I'm watching Werner Herzog's 2008 documentary Encounters at the End of the World, which is quite good and quirky like most of Herzog's best stuff but then I get to this one part where he "interviews" (I'm using quotes here because it's painfully clear watching this–and Herzog even comes right and … Continue reading This week in deranged penguins
I’ve been waiting for this
It's been a morbid thing for me to ponder, but ever since David Foster Wallace–author of Infinite Jest, most famously, and a host of short stories and journalism that use humor and language in ways that continually surprise me–killed himself last September, I've been wondering what writing was still on his desk, unfinished and unpolished. … Continue reading I’ve been waiting for this
Same Story, Different Headlines
I'm always fascinated at how different newspapers and editorial staffs interpret the same news event–sometimes so much so that it's hard to imagine they're writing about the same thing. Check out these headlines on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's talk today on the state of the U.S. economy: USA TODAY: Bernanke: Economy could climb out … Continue reading Same Story, Different Headlines
‘What Matters’ – Part Deux
Returning to the issue of our mighty American bombers dropping explosives on men, women and children unconnected to the warlords and insurgents of Afghanistan (which I most recently blogged about here), it has been hard to miss that, despite repeated hand-wringing and stirring, promising words from U.S. defense officials, we're still doing it. This essay … Continue reading ‘What Matters’ – Part Deux
I’m shocked!
I'm shocked that the giant social networking site Facebook (of which I am a member)–which is, in fact, a private corporation based in Palo Alto, California–changed its terms of use to say that it could do whatever it wanted to member photos, messages, notes, etc. (ie, "content") in perpetuity, even after a member ceased to … Continue reading I’m shocked!
‘What matters’
An astonishing 2,118 civilians died in Afghanistan last year as a result of the war, according to this AP story on a new United Nations report. Thirty-nine percent of those deaths–828 men, women and children–died because of direct American actions. Of those 828 people, 552 were killed by missile and bomb attacks. It's a cliche … Continue reading ‘What matters’
What exactly does DLNR mean by ‘Renaissance’?
This morning I read with great interest the Honolulu Advertiser's big story "'Renaissance' proposed for parks," concerning the state Department of Land and Natural Resources' proposed $240 million renovation plan for parks all over the state (the Honolulu Star-Bulletin ran a shorter story on the same subject back on Jan. 30). Both stories do a great … Continue reading What exactly does DLNR mean by ‘Renaissance’?
Today has not been a good day
First I inexplicably woke up at 3:51 a.m., Hawaii Standard Time. Then the Honolulu Star-Bulletin announced that it's sacking 17 people, closing its neighbor island bureaus, ditching its broadsheet in favor of tabloid size and, in general, just disappearing from the state's media world. That led to increased fears that I'll probably never work for … Continue reading Today has not been a good day
Anthony Pignataro 