All you have to do is sign up as a Hawaiian Airlines member (it’s free to sign up), then visit THIS SITE to enter your information. The company will choose one lucky winner on November 16, 2009 for a roundtrip voyage for two from Hawaii to Sydney.

Get going!  You have just 8 hours to win the trip of a lifetime, courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines!

Girl Fest Hawaii’s mission is to prevent violence against women and girls through education, art, and positive representations of women. The festival incorporates film music, art, spoken word, and dance as well as conferences with expert panels, lectures, and outreach workshops for children and adults that address themes such as body image, identity, empowerment, social change, and methods on how to prevent violence in relationships.

Girl Fest began yesterday with a soft opening gallery reception and comedic performance by Ali Wong. The official start date is today and lasts through November 14. Every day there are different scheduled activities ranging from dance/movement classes to film events for interested participants.

For a complete schedule of events, visit the official Girl Fest Hawaii website.

The great news?  You have two days to purchase a $30 restaurant credit that has a real value of $60.  AMAZING, I know!  There are only 25 dinner coupons left, so purchase one through Savvy Circle today.  Don’t delay!

Soul de Cuba Cafe
1121 Bethel Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
#808.545.CUBA
Fax #808.545.2833
hnlinfo@souldecuba.com
www.souldecuba.com

M-Th 11:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.
F-Sat 11:30 a.m. – 11 p.m.

The Maui Arts & Cultural Center wonderful Castle Theater, One Cameroon Lane, Kahului Maui, is the perfect venue for Loggins & Messina, whose collaboration spawned a flurry of albums during the early 1970s, resulting in beloved songs such as “Your Mama Don’t Dance,” “House at Pooh Corner,” “Angry Eyes,” “Vahevala,” “Danny’s Song,” “A Love Song,” “Watching the River Run,” and a song reflecting their love for Hawaii, “Lahaina.” Their concerts are a treat for those into well crafted songs and sharp incisive guitar playing, and Loggins & Messina Concerts are praised for a level of energy that is truly invigorating.

Once again readers are encouraged to run away to Maui for a great concert experience but equally wonderful is a chance to see two great shows by catching Loggins & Messina when they perform at The Neal Blaisdell Arena Sunday November 15 2009.

Tickets priced at $45, $65, $75 and a limited number of $125 premium seating tickets will be on sale at the MACC Box Office, charge by phone at 808-242.SHOW, or online at www.mauiarts.org.  If you are not an Annual Donor of the MACC, you may join now and enjoy the benefits of early ticket purchase immediately. Visit www.mauiarts.org/donorbenefit.html for more information and how to easily become a MACC Annual Donor online.  Ticket limits based upon level of donorship apply with an 8 ticket maximum limit.  Mahalo to Susan Hernadez at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center for this info.

And for tickets to the show at the Blaisdell Concert Hall: http://www.blaisdellcenter.com/ticketinfo/index.html or call (808) 591-2211 (events information recording).

For more information regarding Loggins & Messina scope out their website via http://www.logginsandmessina.com/index.html.

Well, that was at 11 a.m. today, and it’s no 2 p.m. and still the same thing. No service when my iPhone is in 3G. Can’t make calls, or receive them. Cell Phone service is out. How about you? If you are experiencing this, go to settings and turn your 3G service off. It should start working, albeit slow.

UPDATE 3:00 p.m.: You can turn 3G back on. Your iPhone is fast again. AT&T appears to have returned their network to normal.

UPDATE 5:45 p.m.: Service is back spotty. I would turn 3G back off if you want reliable service then keep trying.

UPDATE 9:30: Well, it appears that AT&T has finally figured out what’s wrong with their 3G cell service. Let’s see how long it lasts. Oh yeah, and I’m updating this from my iPhone.

Maui Pineapple has slowly shrunk over the past 10 years from 6000 acres to 2000 acres and almost 1500 people down to just over 200.  The high cost of doing business in Hawaii, and the increase competition for growing pineapple has caused the company to shrink production, and ultimately, now go out of business.  Maui Land just can’t sustain the losses from it’s pineapple production.  Mainly because it’s other businesses are losing money too.

Maui Land Real Estate Development went from an operating profit last year to a huge operating loss this year, and it’s only been 9 months.  That loss, coupled with multiple straight years of pineapple operations showing losses, means no more Maui Pineapple for the people and visitors of Hawaii.

Maui Land will continue to look for ways to increase revenue while decreasing costs including using some of the agriculture zoned land for other crops or raising cattle.

Bruce Vilanch is the jokester behind some of the liveliest quips at the ‘Oscars,’ a versatile and entirely original entertainer whose long association with Singer Bette Midler earns him status as ‘kamaina.’  Recently shorn of thirty years of facial hair, Vilanch retains the shaggy blond mop and hulking figure that in of itself provides a visual punch line to many of his antics.  Never ‘pretty’ Vilanch has always been pretty darn funny whether tossing off quips as the center square on the 1998 version of Hollywood Squares or as himself in several movies (catch him in the grossly underrated ‘Ice Pirates’ – 1984).

Bruce Vilanch started his career as a feature writer for The Chicago Tribune, using his status to smooze with celebrities; he met a struggling nightclub singer and told her that she needed to talk more to display her penchant for comedy.  Bette Midler took his advice, they became the best of friends, and Bruce went on to write her first big Broadway show ‘Clams on the Half Shell’ in 1974.  Vilanch co-wrote ‘Divine Madness’ for Ms M, as well as ‘Diva Las Vegas’ and her self titled television show in year 2000.

But Bruce’s most potent punch has been writing for the Academy Awards Ceremony since 1989, working with hosts as diverse as Whoopi Goldberg, David Letterman, Billy Crystal, and others, winning two Emmys along the way.  Naturally the Emmy telecast has also engage Bruce’s services as have The Tony’s, The Grammy’s,  and just about every other award show on the tube.  Vilanch is a lively and tireless performer whose shows are said to be simply fabulous.

Tickets & other information via Pipeline Café 805 Pohukaina St. Honolulu, HI USA 96813, Email: jedroa@yahoo.com Phone: 808-589-1999.

For more info, a special tribute to Bruce Vilanch, “the man who put the F U in funny,” scope out http://www.wegotbruce.com/about.htm.

The winter swells have started early this season and next on the agenda for country comes the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.  The line up is as follows:

1.  Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa (November 12-23)
2.  O’neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach (November 24-December 6)
3.  Billabong Pipeline Masters at Banzai Pipeline (December 8-20)

The stakes are at a all time high this year with $845,000 prize purse to be divided up for all the events.  Experts also predict a great winter thanks to the El Nino weather that should bring consist large swells Hawaii’s way.  The pre-season has already started with several swells over 8-12 foot Hawaiian scale.  For more information on the contest visit: www.triplecrownofsurfing.com .            

With big surf means beach goers and surfers much be extra cautious.  Yesterday November 1, 2009 North Shore lifeguards warned more than 600 people to stay out of the dangerous surf and two people had to be rescued.  High surf in the country is for expert surfers only.  Even experts will get injured or even loose their lives to North Shore’s powerful and unforgiving swells.

Gaskell battled it out with Pancho Sullivan who took home runner-up followed by third place finisher Myles Padaca and fourth place finisher Shane Beschen.  Clean surf at heights of 6 – 10 foot faces, along with clear weather gave today’s surfers some sick rides.

Gaskell wins $5,000 and an all expense paid trip to compete in the 2010 VonZipper Trials at Teahupo (Tahiti.)

You can check out video from day two here or check out the Xcel Pro website for more info.