We learned yesterday that our daughter was accepted at Kamehameha Schools for kindergarten in the fall. 

This is huge. There are only two kindergarten classes at the Big Island campus, so they only take 20 girls and 20 boys. The application process, therefore, is very competitive and admission is far from a sure thing.
I know there are a lot more than 40 smart, talented kids on this island and I feel for every one of them whose families really wanted this opportunity for them. I wish the school could take them all.
It …

I’m sure Twitter can be used stupidly, and that’s where some people are stuck; they only know that reputation.
But it can also be used splendidly, and there isn’t really any way to understand that unless you get in there and see it for yourself.
Here is a word cloud of the people who “follow” me at Twitter. It’s made from the bios of people who are following me (I created it by inputting my Twitter name at TwitterSheep.com). ”Following me” means they receive my “tweets,” the 140-character or less messages that I …

Look where I landed! 

Online mogul Guy Kawasaki describes his alltop.com this way:
The purpose of Alltop is to help you answer the question, “What’s happening?” in “all the topics” that interest you. You may wonder how Alltop is different from a search engine. A search engine is good to answer a question like, “How many people live in China?” However, it has a much harder time answering the question, “What’s happening in China?” That’s the kind of question that we answer.

We do this by collecting the headlines of the latest stories from the …

Edited on 4/21/09 to add: And an earthquake, too! My visiting friend is having the full Big Island experience.
From the USGS: A light earthquake occurred at 4:58:09 PM (HST) on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 . The magnitude 4.2 event occurred 7 km (4 miles) NNE of Ka`ena Point.

I have a dear friend visiting from the mainland, and today there is big time vog here in Hilo. It look as if you might have to push through the voggy air with your hands in order to walk.
I feel terrible when a friend is visiting our …

Aunty Dottie Thompson and George Na‘ope, together credited with starting Hilo, Hawai‘i’s Merrie Monarch Festival 46 years ago, are both looking frail this year, and both attended the festival briefly on the final night in wheelchairs.
Still, one can always count on Uncle George to look absolutely resplendent.

Re·splen·dent   (rĭ-splĕn‘dənt)
adj.
Splendid or dazzling in appearance; brilliant.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin resplendēns, resplendent-, present participle of resplendēre, to shine brightly : re-, re- + splendēre, to shine.]
Splendid. Dazzling. Brilliant. He definitely still shines.
 

Because I like multi-tasking, I will again be tweeting live from the Merrie Monarch tonight (Fri. April 17th) during the Kahiko competition.

Follow me at @LeslieLang, or follow #merrie.
Off I go to pick some orchids for my hair! We’re leaving for the Edith Kanaka‘ole Stadium soon.

Damon Tucker just posted about an interesting video interview with Sig Zane. Sig is the well-known clothing and fabric designer in Hilo whose clothes are absolutely da kine. And I’m sure Merrie Monarch week must be his busiest time of the year, because all the hula enthusiasts swarm to his shop. He has the loveliest clothes.
Sig Zane’s shop (even the shop is beautiful) is at 122 Kamehameha Ave Hilo, HI 96720. Phone (808) 935-7077.

Sig is married to Nalani Kanaka‘ole, one of the kumu hula of Halau O Kekuhi*, and is a member of …

 
One of my many hats has me, along with Kris Bordessa, operating the website Big Island On The Cheap, a place for all things free/cheap/discounted on the Big Island. And right now, in honor of Merrie Monarch week, we have some contests going on. All you have to do is follow the links to the contest posts, and then enter your name in comments there to possibly win one of our random drawings.
We are giving away a beautiful, and I do mean beautiful, hand blown glass vase from the Volcano glass studio 2400 …

Have you looked at my category at the top of this site? You know, where it says Copywriter?
I’m  never quite sure what’s best to call myself. Elsewhere, I have “writer and editorial consultant.” Which is clearer?
What I do is write for businesses.  

Here’s what you’d find if you read my Copywriting page:
These days it’s especially important that your business stands out. That it gets noticed. How do you make that happen?
We work together and make sure your potential clients know your story.
When there are two comparable brands of the same …

It’s Merrie Monarch week and it’s absolutely the best week of the year here in Hilo. 
We went down to the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel this afternoon and watched the free hula performance by Puanani Crumb’s Halau Hula O Hilo Hanakahi.

It was wonderful. The music, the hula, the crowd. Hula Legend Uncle George Na‘ope was there, wheelchair-bound now, wearing a green running suit, white Crocs and then of course his hat and his wide gold bracelets running up his arm. 
I just love it all. The tiny kids who dance. The older ones who dance …