Father Damien Made A Saint

Belgian missionary Father Damien de Veuster, better known as simply Father Damien, was recently made a saint by Pope Benedict XVI. Damien is well known throughout the world for living among those living with Hansen’s disease on the island of Molokai where he ultimately contracted the disease himself.

Before him, the settlement on Kalaupapa was basically a dumping ground for human beings afflicted with this illess to forge for themselves without any sort of medical care. With his goodwill, tenacity, and reputed temper, Father Damien was able to build a sense of community to residents who’d felt abandoned otherwise.

President Obama, who grew up in Hawaii at one point in his life, stated that people everywhere should take an example from Father Damien in our attitudes towards diseases by “answering the urgent call to heal and care for the sick.” LINK!

(Image courtesy of Flickr user catholicnative)

Tuesday Eye Candy – Dwayne Johnson

Name: Dwayne Douglas Johnson aka “The Rock”
DOB: May 2, 1972 in Hayward, CA
Claim to fame: Being a wrestling champion within the WWE then later showing his acting chops, and perfect physique/face/smile *sigh*, in movies such as “The Scorpion King”, “Get Smart”, and “Gridiron Gang” to name a few.
Background: His father is Rocky Johnson a well respected and popular Black Canadian professional wrestler. His mother, Ata, is the daughter of Samoan wrestler “High Chief” Peter Maivia and wrestling promoter Ofelia “Lia” Maivia. It apparent Dwayne was bound to become “The People’s Champion” as he has the sport in his blood.

Check him out below playing a pissed-off Hawaiian. Damn, this man is fine! I love when he dances…

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Surviving Hansen’s Disease Patients A Rarity On Kalaupapa

With Hansen’s Disease, formerly known as leprosy, under control in this day and age, 24 surviving patients on the island of Kalaupapa on Moloka’i still remember what it was like to endure the stigma and pain of the disease and how they wonder who will tell their story once they are gone.

“In one room, Makia Malo, a gifted storyteller of 74, sits in a wheelchair, sunglasses covering his compromised eyes. He so vividly recalls the morning he was sent as a boy to Kalaupapa that you share the child’s excitement about boarding an airplane for the first time, even though you know the dreaded reason for the trip. In another room, Henry Nalaielua, 84, who wrote a memoir of his rich life in Kalaupapa, talks about the black-and-white photograph in his book, of a boy of 10, posed with hands across his chest to help document the state of his just-diagnosed disease. The boy glowers back at you from the harrowing past.

‘I was scared and defiant,’ that boy as man says. ‘Or maybe I just didn’t care to smile.'”

Currently, patients run an organization Ka’Ohana O Kalaupapa which fights to preserve the settlement and advocates for patients.

I hope to one day visit Kalaupapa to honor my great-grandmother who suffered from this disease as well and that the island will be kept as-is to respect my ancestors and not be turned into another place for hotel chains to make into another touristy playground. Link! (via Der Spiegel)

Andrew Zimmern Tastes Hawaii

I caught the episode of Bizarre Foods last night where Andrew Zimmern visited Hawai’i. I really didn’t know what to expect since I’d previously viewed fellow chef Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations show where he visited the islands as well. I was left a little disappointed with Bourdain’s tour.

On Bourdain’s show, which I like as well, he didn’t eat any Native Hawaiian foods nor did he have a Native Hawaiian on his show. He did have locals, however, but as most should know that oftentimes doesn’t mean the same thing. The locals, comprising of Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos, mostly showed Bourdain local favorites (including spam masubi, chicken long rice, and some newer Pan-Asian dishes) that were introduced to Hawai’I after the mass influx of foreigners and World War II happened. It was an enjoyable show overall, but I felt it didn’t give a real perspective on Hawaiian culture that Bourdain often showcases in other episodes from his travels around the world.

However, I was pleasantly surprised when I tuned in to Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods. Not only did he sample the post World War II recipes of Hawai’I (which he didn’t care for), he also had *gasp* actual Hawaiian/Polynesians on the show! Zimmern was invited to a luau, hosted by a Hawaiian/Maori/Caucasian/Asian family where he tried traditional favorites such as kalua pig, he’e, and poi. (His faced turned into a disgusted grimace when he ate the poi though. I was laughingly perplexed as this guy will voraciously eat lamb testicles with a side of jizz yet can’t stand stuff made from a taro root. :-)). He also went on a wild boar hunt where they skinned the animal and ate the internal organs before they spoiled. Unsurprisingly, he gobbled those right up! Then he went to the island of Moloka’I where he munched on fresh ‘opihi with some laid back locals.

As you can probably guess, I prefered Zimmern’s Hawai’I show to Bourdain’s as I think it gave the viewer a more well-rounded perspective of the foods and cultures there. As Native Hawaiians are a minority in their own lands, I’m glad Zimmern (or his producers) decided to not forget us and showcase some of the more exotic fare that might not show up at a typical touristy luau.

Below is a clip of Zimmern about to bust-one eating all that ono-licious food.

Amazing Photos of Hawaii’s Volcanoes

Acclaimed photographer G. Brad Lewis is internationally recognized as one of the best in the business. He has shot for such magazines as National Geographic, Life, and Time, among a myriad of others. Lewis is well known, especially, for his photos of active volcanoes which he’s been capturing on the islands of Hawai`i for about 25 years. Click HERE and/or HERE for galleries of some of his spectacularly beautiful images. I can’t even fathom how he gets so close to that heat!