Yeah, I know this is old news now. Forgive me for waiting so long to blog on the sudden and possibly permanent demise of Hawaii Superferry, Inc. I mean, it's not like no one else was writing about it–blogger Ian Lind took a whack at it, as did Doug White at Poinography. Ditto Larry Geller … Continue reading Superferry Sunk!
Outraged!
So I get that President Barack Obama is all outraged at A.I.G. paying out many millions in bonuses to a bunch of its execs. "This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed," Obama said, according to this Pacific Business News story. "Under these circumstances, it's hard to understand … Continue reading Outraged!
Justice? What’s that?
A few hours ago The New York Times breathlessly reported that insurance giant A.I.G.–recipient of $170 billion in bailout funds (so much money that taxpayers actually own about 80 percent of the firm)–will soon pay out $100 million in bonuses to the very executives who bungled the company's finances to the point that it needed … Continue reading Justice? What’s that?
"Cheap" gas prices
This Pacific Business News story from a few hours ago is very easy to understand: the average price of gasoline in the state of Hawaii hasn't changed in the last two weeks, and remains at $2.45/gallon. This compares favorably to Alaska, where the average price is $2.51/gallon, and unfavorably to Wyoming, where it's a mere … Continue reading "Cheap" gas prices
Twits and Twitter
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
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
Anthony Pignataro 