B on Hawaii

Roller Derby is back! On the heels of Drew Barrymore's feature film, Whip It, and a resurgence in all-things-retro, womens roller derby season hit Honolulu hard on March 6th at the outdoor roller hockey rink at Kamiloiki Community Park at the corner of Hawaii Kai Drive and Lunalillo Home Road. The event is free to the public, although donations are greatly appreciated.

Once in a great while you'll catch wind of a truly fascinating story. As a journalist, I often hope it's one that's both true, and one I can track down the characters of. The story you're about to read came to us through a screening of the film Surfwise, at the Maui Film Festival a few years back.

How many times have you said in conversation: "Man, I totally need to get out to Makaha." Well, here's the perfect opportunity. The Buffalo Big Board Surfing Classic will be held this coming weekend, February 13 – 15, on Makaha Beach.

With the sounds of Donovan Frankenreiter wafting out of Waimea Valley, we caught up with O`ahu's own Clark Mitsuru Takashima. This self-taught (mostly) artist is leading a movement worldwide he's named "Fine Surf Art", which is, exactly what it sounds like.

We recently fielded a request from a production company that needs help finding adventure-seeking outdoorsmen (and women) who would like to be featured on an episode of Mantracker, to air nationally on the Discovery Science channel. The show is filmed in a variety of picturesque locales, and will be coming to The Big Island of Hawai`i this winter to film in an undisclosed location.

We’ve got world-class dining; our beaches are among the most pristine on the planet; and we have a blend of cultures you can’t find anywhere else on the globe. But how many of you realize that we’ve also got the number one locale on earth to view and document the heavens? Well, we do. Soon, we’ll add the world’s largest telescope to that locale.

There’s plenty of buzz going around about which ocean excursion companies do and don’t practice environmental responsibility. It comes with the turf: Hoards of visitors are good for tour businesses, yet not particularly for the fragile ecosystems they count on for income.

What? Yet another way for you to put many a "Benjamin" in your billfold, you ask? Yep, never forget who's looking out for ya, kid. Aside from us, Wes Zane is: He's the savvy restaurateur who has launched a world-wide contest in search of the person who can—in under 30 seconds—best explain what it is about fermented grapes that drives them to the drink. In a good way.

Times are, well, what they are. Which is why we feel obligated to pass along any stories that might lead to the fattening of your wallet, instead lieu of lightening it. The kind and charitable folks

It is commonly said (albeit less often practiced) that doing something out of the ordinary—out of your comfort zone—is the key to breaking patterns of momentary monotony that life has a habit of hurling at you. It's also a great way to discover dormant aspects of your self, and awaken the spirit within.