Leslie Wilcox Blogs

No Holiday for Teacher-Furlough Situation

2009-11-10T21:35:13-10:00

This Veterans Day Holiday (Thurs., Nov. 12, 2009), there's no relief from harsh economic realities and there's no night-off for public officials whose constituents are outraged over the shortest school year in the nation.

Here's a reminder that at 7:30 pm, the subject on "Insights on PBS Hawaii" is teacher furloughs. Moderator Dan Boylan brings together Governor Lingle's senior policy advisor, Linda Smith; State Board of Education Chair Garrett Toguchi; State Administration negotiator Marie Laderta; State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa; and a rep from the parents' advocacy group, Hawaii Education Matters.

It's an hourlong, live program. Viewer questions and comments are welcome via phone, email, Twitter, and live blogging at www.pbshawaii.org

PBS Hawaii's Damien Shows Offered

2009-11-10T20:38:14-10:00

Now you can own copies of the locally produced PBS Hawaii TV programs that were broadcast last

lmonth during the week of the canonization of Saint Damien.

Go to the weblink below and contribute to this noncommercial public television station. Three of the six programs
were shot on location in Kalaupapa, Molokai, where the Belgian priest once ministered to the spiritual and physical welfare of people who had leprosy. Today the tiny settlement is home to fewer than 20 remaining individuals who contracted leprosy before there was effective treatment. One was banished to the peninsula when he was only five years old. All were separated from the public for years before the leprosy quarantine law was lifted in Hawaii in the 1960s.

Purchase Damien Week DVD's here

Our Sesame Street Bench Bunch

2009-11-08T19:03:21-10:00

It's fun firing up my computer every day and seeing yet another Sesame Street character hanging out with Google's logo. The Google countdown of Sesame Street friends ends Tuesday (Nov. 10, 2009), and then the PBS show's 40th season opens a day later on November 11th, with a visit from First Lady Michelle Obama.

www.pbskids.org/sesame

In our lobby at PBS Hawaii, we have a bench filled with large stuffed-animal residents of Sesame Street. Parents who bring young children into the building inevitably lose the kids for a bit to the bench. Keiki are drawn to their TV friends and squeeze their way into the colorful, furry, feathery line-up. The children stay there, tickled, until their parents insist they must go.

Elmo is clearly the favorite of the bench bunch. But almost all of the visiting kids can name almost all of the characters on the show.

Honolulu's Catherine Toth shares her Sesame Street memories in her blog. and readers chime in, at:

http://dailydish.honadvblogs.com/2009/11/05/the-most-beloved-street-in-the-world/

For a free calendar wallpaper showing Mrs. Obama on Sesame Street, click and download:

www.pbshawaii.org/ourproductions/wallpaper.php

Teacher Furloughs & Other TV Topics

2009-11-08T18:24:09-10:00

This week, PBS Hawaii will bring together major players in the teacher-furloughs debate in the same room, at the same time, on unscripted live television. Usually these key figures respond to questions in separate interviews /different venues. Watch them interact and contribute your questions and comments on INSIGHTS ON PBS HAWAII on Thursday (Nov. 12, 2009).

At the table with moderator Dan Boylan: Governor Lingle's Senior Policy Advisor Linda Smith; State Board of Education Chair Garrett Toguchi; State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa; State Director of Human Resources Development Marie Laderta; and a representative of the parents' advocacy group Hawaii Education Matters.

Here's a quick look at other programs you might find especially interesting in the week ahead:

--AMERICAN EXPERIENCE (Mon., Nov. 9, 2009, 9 pm) is the tale of the towering Hoover Dam, a world-class engineering feat. The dangerous work done in a remote canyon during the Great Depression brought reliable electricity and water to the American Southwest.

--"How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin" (Mon., Nov. 9, 2009, 10 pm) is an extraordinary untold story of how the Fab Four changed the lives of teenagers in Russia, giving them hope and helping them undermine the foundations of the Soviet system.

--INDEPENDENT LENS (Tues., Nov. 10, 2009,) profiles an indie rock musician, Pat Spurgeon, whose dreams of indie stardom are challenged by a failing kidney. He searches desperately for a kidney while pursuing musical success. Can he balance his health and a rock 'n roll lifestyle?

--SECRETS OF THE DEAD (Wed., Nov. 11, 2009, 8 pm) relates the survival story of a crew of airmen shot down over the jungles of Japanese-occupied Borneo during World War II. The airmen were rescued by Dayak tribesman known as headhunters. Why did the Dayaks leave the airmen's heads intact and deliver them to safety? The sole surviving member of the crew is interviewed.

--This is a good Veterans Day commemoration--"The Way We Get By" on P.O.V. (Wed., Nov. 11, 2009, 9 pm) is the inspiring story of what a group of senior citizens has been doing for five years at a tiny airport in Bangor, Maine. The seniors greet arriving American troops, as a service to those who serve. It's no small hobby--the group is on call 24 hours a day and has welcomed nearly 800,000 troops.

--Some of our island students are national stand-outs in robotics competitions. "Gearing Up" (Sat., Nov. 14, 2009, 8 pm) shows the quick wits, strategic thinking and hard work required to win, as it follows a four-month-long national robotics competition.

--"Sound of the Soul" (Sat., Nov. 14,2009, 9 pm) is a chance to enjoy some rarely televised music. Musicians from Muslim, Christian and Jewish backgrounds perform, expressing love and longing. The show reverberates with unity, understanding and hope.

--Encore Pick of the Week: If you missed the documentary about Hawaiian Renaissance man Joseph Nawahi, whose story is largely untold in Hawaii history books, then I hope you'll catch it on Thursday, Nov. 12,2009, at 8:30 pm. PBS HAWAII PRESENTS will air the one-hour biography in the English-language, followed immediately by the Hawaiian-language version of the film.

Beef Stew Backstage in Waimea

2009-11-08T07:03:48-10:00

Waimea 'Ukulele & Slack Key Guitar

On stage at Kahilu Theatre in Waimea, Hawaii, the masters of slack-key guitar and 'ukulele have a great time. They're utterly comfortable with their music and each other.

Backstage, same thing. In fact, at one point this weekend, event organizer Jay Junker had to ask Benny Chong, Dennis Kamakahi and Aaron Mahi not to laugh so loud backstage! There was also laughter onstage, as other performers cut up with each other.

Family members and friends make sure there's always a pot of beef stew, rice and other food available backstage. It feels like the garage in the neighborhood where people get together.

As fun as it is at the theater, onstage and backstage, the music masters are also busy in the community, sharing their knowledge with kids in area schools and teaching small master's classes in the new covered wing of the theater.

When I arrived Friday afternoon (Nov. 5, 2009) for PBS Hawaii Night at Kahilu Theatre, 'ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro was getting ready to teach a small class. Other masters dropped by the class, too, giving students an even richer experience.

PBS Hawaii supporters from Volcano, Hilo, Ocean View, Kona, Onomea, Hawi and from just around the block in Waimea came to enjoy. Welcoming them was Jason Fujimoto, of family-owned HPM Building Supply, a Hilo resident who serves on the executive commitee of the PBS Hawaii Board of Directors.

This was a chance to see masters of 'ukulele and slack-key guitar and leo ki'e ki'e, or falsetto singing, from all ove r the islands. The youngest was Danny Cravalho, 19 years old, f rom the neighborhood where I used to live in Kailua, Windward Oahu. His dark, flowing ponytail was in contrast to the immaculately cut and styled white hair of Uncle Richard Ho'opi'i from Kahakuloa, Maui.

You can tell immediately that this is an event that the masters love. They get to share their knowledge with students who revere the craft. They get to be as spontaneous as they wish, performing with each other in different ensembles. And they get to hang out with each other as peers. All of of this, with that pot of delicious beef stew bubbling backstage and a pervasive 'ohana feeling.

We can't convey the food aromas on our coming Nov. 30, 2009 broadcast on Hawaii's only public television station--but we'll do our best to capture the flavor of this wonderful annual musical gathering.

Special thanks to organizer Jay Junker and to Janet Coburn and her gracious, can-do staff at Kahilu Theatre.

The TV Patient is Gaining Strength

2009-11-03T21:19:43-10:00

The patient is rallying from surgery but isn't in top shape yet. And so the doctors remain attentive.

That describes PBS Hawaii's Television Master Control system, which has had the operational equivalent of a heart transplant in the last week.

The system, fresh out of surgery and full of new high-definition capacity, is being nursed back to full vigor.

A little after 8 tonight, following guest Puakea Nogelmeier on Long Story Short, and before Part One of Nova's three-part "Becoming Human," the screen went blue-gray and silent for a couple of minutes.

Yes, there have been fits and starts in this uncharted process of installing heavy-duty high-definition capacity in a rare fully automated ACE Master Control system--and staying on the air all the while.

It's been a grueling process for our staff broadcast engineers, a top PBS ACE system expert, and a team of specialty "integrators," working long hours starting before dawn in a chilled windowless space. Somehow they have managed to keep a sense of humor as they established and tested an intricate network of interconnections.

PBS Hawaii's VP of Content Delivery Steve Komori says the specialists are headed home tomorrow after more than a week of meeting challenges. It's still a work in progress. Steve says it may take a few more weeks to smooth things out.

Meantime, we're returning to our full regular schedule, including BBC World News and local programmng. Most of the time, our broadcasting looks great; we're aiming for looking great all the time.

We ask for your continued patience and understanding on occasion, as we pursue the goal of bringing you abundant, glorious high-def pictures on PBS Hawaii.

How Marvin from Minnesota Became Dr. Puakea Nogelmeier

2009-11-03T09:54:05-10:00

How did a Caucasian kid named Marvin, who spent much of his childhood bundling up against freezing Minnesota winters, grow up to be the leading Hawaiian-language scholar, hula master, and Hoku Hanohano Award-winning songwriter known as Puakea?

Professor Puakea Nogelmeier talks with me about his journey tonight (Tues., Nov. 3, 2009) on PBS Hawaii's Long Story Short.

Here's a hint: A year out of high school, Marvin Nogelmeier decided to quit his job at a post office in Minnesota and go to Japan on an adventure with friends. There was to be a brief stop-over in Honolulu. But a lost wallet (no passport!) kept Marvin from continuing on the trip. He stayed in Hawaii, waiting for his ID to be replaced, and then continued to stay. And stay. He'd found cheap housing and good friends in Wai'anae.

Puakea will talk about his introduction to hula and the day a noted hula master singled him out and gave him his Hawaiian name. He'll also share how an elderly old-school Hawaiian gentleman, Theodore Kelsey, who'd photographed Queen Lili'uokalani's funeral, tutored him in Hawaiian language.

He had discovered his calling. Puakea pursued his passion for the language to Leeward Community College and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where the student would be hired as a teacher.

And it all started with a lost wallet.

Dealing with Challenges in HD Upgrade

2009-11-02T22:42:26-10:00

We thought our on-air technology construction project would be finished by now, but then we tend to be optimists here at PBS Hawaii. The toughest part of the week's work is over, but we still have some things to figure out.

Soon we'll be ready to restore our regular programming line-up. From viewers' calls and emails, we realize the BBC World News has become a mainstay during the short months we've had it on the air. Yes, it'll be back shortly. We apologize for any inconvenience you've experienced in short losses of signal and fewer show choices.

Construction in the digital age is very quiet. At least, this project is. Through the windows of our Master Control Room, our staff watches specialized "integrators" at work. There are no hammers and saws. Instead, the specialists peer into laptops and they scope out new routes for wiring.

The team has encountered new situations, a reflection of the ground-breaking technology involved. I believe we have the only fully automated ACE Master Control Room in the PBS national system, and it's being re-built to handle the brave new world of high-definition signals and to better manage multiple streams of content.

In this transitional time for high-definition content, there are conditions that are less than perfect. For us, this may translate in the short-term to awkward framing in the display of a small percentage of high-definition programs. Of course, we're not satisfied with anything less than high quality. We'll keep problem-solving.

I'll be sure to have an update tomorrow.

November Wallpapers--Penguins and Other Picks

2009-11-01T13:53:18-10:00

"Aw, isn't Junior cute?" these penguin parents seem to be saying, following their baby's

successful hatching and survival in Antarctic blizzards. This photo is one of three November calender computer wallpapers available from PBS Hawaii for your free download.

The other photos are of the late Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall and First Lady Michelle Obama on Sesame Street.

If you'd like to know more about penguins, they're among the animals featured tonight (Sun., Nov. 1, 2009) on NATURE: "Born Wild--the First Few Days of Life."

PBS Hawaii November Calendar Wallpapers

The Black Cat Crossing My Path

2009-10-31T10:59:20-10:00

On this Halloween night, a black cat will cross my path.

Just like he does every single day, starting first thing in the morning, as he walks in front of me and around me. That's his way of telling me he wants me to feed him before I put on a pot of coffee.

His name is Kipuka, and he first crossed paths with my family at Joey's Feline Friends, the no-kill animal shelter in Kahaluu. Shelter founder Tedra Villaroz told us that superstition makes black cats the least likely cats to be adopted. www.joeysfelinefriends.org

At Halloween time, according to national reports, animal shelters tend to ask hard questions when someone wants to take home a black cat. Sometimes they're used as props in Halloween stunts and then abandoned--or worse. A worker at the Hawaiian Humane Society in Honolulu says this is not a problem locally. www.hawaiianhumane.org

Kipuka was found as an undernourished kitten living near garbage cans in Moiliili. By the time my husband Jeff and I saw him at Joey's, he'd been passed over many times by folks looking for a pet. He was, in cat years, already a teenager.

We chose him because he was beautiful and expressive. He wanted to be picked up. He looked us right in the eye and held the look. He walked with us throughout the cat shelter. A strong character, all right, who seemed to want a connection.

Today, he happily roams our yard and basks on the lanai. He's wary around most strangers and tends to disappear until they leave. But he's affectionate and protective with my husband Jeff and me. He comes into the house during the middle of the night and sleeps at our feet.

On this Halloween night, he'll be the black cat on top of our gatepost, as trick-or-treaters come by. He's no prop. He's the real thing, a household member taking in the strange human parade and watching out for his people and his home.