the Happy Coconut » Sushi Monster

Ukulele Lesson by Bruce Shimabukuro

Sushi Monster — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:59:05 +0000

For those of you who are thinking about learning to play the ukulele but don’t know where to start, here’s a video to give you a starting point. Bruce Shimabukuro, an ukulele instructor and performer, was gracious enough give us a quick lesson on strumming and picking. It’s not really a lesson on how to play the ukulele but more of just an overview of some of the basics.

One of the places where he teaches is at Ukulele Pua Pua in the Sheraton Waikiki. The store is managed by Tyler, who is also an ukulele player. In fact, I believe they will both be performing at some event at the Waikiki Trade Center on Tuesday, March 30, 2010. But anyway, Ukulele Pua Pua has the biggest and most diverse selection of ukuleles I have ever seen! Besides the usual ukuleles, they had some that were shaped like a jukebox and other non-traditional shapes. They have everything from quality entry level ukuleles all the up to some costing thousands of dollars. For those of you who are in the area, I recommend going to one of their free lessons to see if you enjoy the ukulele enough to buy one and sign up for more classes.

Although this is the first time I met Bruce, I actually saw him play a few years ago in Fukuoka, Japan. The Oahu Visitors Bureau put on some kind of Hawaii Expo at a major shopping mall. Bruce and his band got the crowd going with their energetic music and style. I remember thinking way back then that this guy had talent and charisma so it was nice to finally meet him in person. Although I don’t play the ukulele (my sister got all the musical genes), I have can tell that Bruce is a great teacher.

Anyways, here’s the video of him demonstrating some basic picking and strumming. Please give us your feedback on this video as we hope this is just the first of a series of video lessons.

Trip to Japan (video)

Sushi Monster — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:58:17 +0000

Last month I went to Japan for some work and play. The highlight of the trip was feeding the deer and monkeys. The night before we went to see the monkeys, was saw TV news reports of monkeys going crazy and attacking vendors and families for food. So when I asked some hotel peeps if the monkey park was dangerous, they just laughed. They probably thought, “Silly Americans! The monkey are not as dangerous. You want dangerous? America is dangerous!”

Well, maybe they weren’t thinking that, but I was prepared to do whatever it took to defend us in the case of a monkey attack. I did some stretches before entering the park and envisioned using karate and street fighting tactics to fend off any aggressors. But luckily for us, the monkeys were very mellow. And that’s a good thing because there were so many of them that if they decided to get militant, I would be totally overrun and could probably only take down one or two before succumbing. We saw a few monkeys get aggressive with each other and their shrieks and body language, not to mention the teeth and the big males, were very intimidating. At best, I would probably appear to be big soft food for them. So yeah, good thing the monkeys were peaceful.

Anyways, here’s a short video of our time in Japan.

8 Minute Sunset in 20 Seconds (video)

Sushi Monster — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:33:22 +0000

I wish my camera had a time lapse feature. But since it does not, I must resort to speeding things up on the time line in Premiere. Here’s what a sunset looks like at 30X normal speed.

Beach Sunset (video)

Sushi Monster — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:22:55 +0000

It takes patience and luck to film stuff where weather is involved. This sunset video was planned for about a month but rain, clouds, wind, vog, traffic,…you name it…delayed filming until this week. I even drove out to the North Shore on a semi-cloudy day hoping that the weather out there would be better than it was in town. And even if it wasn’t better, maybe, just maybe it would get better later in the afternoon. I was wrong. This first video is the actual sunset video with nice weather and everything.

This second video is from that day that I went to the North Shore hoping for better weather. Rather than just packing up the camera and heading home, I decided to shoot some video since I was already out there.

Mobile Blog

Sushi Monster — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:13:44 +0000

This site is now mobile friendly,…at least it should be. If you visit the site through an iPhone, Android Phone, Blackberry, or other smartphone browsers you should see a mobile version of the blog. If you visit the site with your computer browser, you should see the regular version.

How Aloha Shirts are Made

Sushi Monster — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:34:20 +0000

Local clothing manufacturers have been making Aloha shirts and dresses in Hawaii since the 1930s. And although modern computer technology has greatly changed the way designs are created, the actual manufacturing process of the shirts themselves today hasn’t changed all that much. It is still a labor intensive process that requires great skill at certain stages of production. We visited a shirt maker in Honolulu to shoot some video of the various phases of the shirt manufacturing process.

That electric blade in the video is freakishly sharp. At another manufacturer a few years ago, a worker accidentally touched (barely) the blade while it was on and it caused a seriously deep flesh wound. Scary stuff. But it gave me a new appreciation of the kind of time, effort, and skill that goes into making a simple shirt.

The real fun in shooting this video was having an excuse to go to the North Shore to eat shave ice (not that we really need a reason, but it is kinda far) and to go eat and drink at Zenshu. I was especially excited to go back to Zenshu to try out their new Natto Menu with happy hour Kirin beer. Anyways, we felt kinda touristy wearing the aloha wear for the video, but it was fun!

This video was produced by Hawaiian Outpost with special thanks to ZenShu Sake-Sushi-Sports.

Sharks Cove Summer vs Winter Waves (videos)

Sushi Monster — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:03:15 +0000

If you and the kids want to explore tide pools to check out little fish, crabs and other creatures, Sharks Cove is good place to go (when it is calm). It features a huge tide pool shielded from waves by a natural outer rock wall making it ideal for kids. It’s also a pretty good area for snorkeling. I am not what you would call an avid snorkeler, but I do go from time to time. And of the easily accessible places besides Hanauma Bay, Sharks Cove offers a good snorkeling experience. It is certainly better than anything in Waikiki or other high traffic tourist areas.

This video was taken on December 2, 2009 in the morning a few hours before large winter swells arrived to the delight of surfers.

This video was produced by Hawaiian Outpost.

Don’t let this video deceive you. While it can be calm as show in the video, it can also be extremely dangerous with giant waves crashing over the outer wall. Here’s a video clip of the exact same cove on a day when the surf was huge.

“From Here to Eternity” Beach (video)

Sushi Monster — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:41:52 +0000

Remember that famous beach scene in the 1953 movie, “From Here to Eternity”? That scene was shot at Halona Cove Beach on Oahu. Halona Cove Beach is sometimes referred to as “Eternity Beach” because of that movie. Anyways, I’ve always wanted to visit that beach since I pass it every time I go to Makapuu, but never had the chance. Finally, yesterday I did! I also accidentally discovered how agility and balance are one of the first things to go as I get older. I almost ate it twice going down that rocky hill to the beach, bruising my finger, my butt, and my ego. But I made it! Here’s the HD video to prove it.

If you want to see what it looked like in the movie, here’s a clip I found on YouTube. If you look closely, you’ll see that it looks the same but different. Somehow the sand and rocks look a little different. Maybe the tide or sand levels were different at the time of filming. One thing is for sure. The movie peeps sure know how to make lying in sand after coming out of the water look fun! In real life, it feels pretty weird. Sand stuck to your wet feet is one thing. Sand stuck all over your body is quite another.

Big Wave Surfing at Waimea Bay

Sushi Monster — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:38:21 +0000

The North Shore of Oahu is known for its large winter waves. Every December, if the waves are big enough and surfing conditions good enough, the Quicksilver Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational is held at Waimea Bay. The last time it was held(prior to 2009) was back in 2004. As you might expect, the event draws huge crowds that jam pack the streets around Waimea Bay trying to get a glimpse of the action from afar.

Old Flight Footage Over Oahu

Sushi Monster — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:23:48 +0000

Take an aerial video tour of Oahu to the soothing steel guitar music of local musician, Paul Togioka.

Music by Paul Togioka