The Puna Music Festival starts this Sunday, May 5. More than 100 local musicians are slated to take the stage. Some of the top acts are John Cruz, Kaumakaiwa Kanaka’ole, Medicine for the People, Sean Robbins and Kuana Torres Kahele.

The opening concert is free and it will take place at Pohoiki on Sunday, May 5 from 11 AM to 5 PM.

Full Festival Schedule

• Sunday May 5, 2013 11am to 5pm Pohoiki Open Concert
• Monday May 6, 2013 7:30pm Storytelling Performance
• Wednesday May 8, 2013 5pm to 10pm Kalapana Night Market Celebrations
• Friday May 10, 2013 5pm to 8pm Kanikapila in Pahoa Town
• Friday May 10, 2013 8pm An Evening with John Cruz
• Saturday May 11, 2013 7:30pm Nahko and Medicine for the People

See: http://punamusicfestival.com/festival-schedule/

For tickets visit: http://punamusicfestival.com/tickets-and-registration/

Rocky Balboa: “It ain’t about how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward.”

Rocky Balboa: “Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place…But it ain’t about how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. . It’s How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done…”

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Police have evicted activists from Wailoa Park where they had planted a Hawaiian garden. They planted taro and other Hawaiian crops to protest the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Eleven people were arrested and charged with illegal camping. Neither the police nor the DLNR cared to talk, but the arrests happened just before the Merrie Monarch parade.

The activists who include Abel Lui and Gene Tamashiro say that the DLNR has no jurisdiction over the park since it was crown land.

Source: http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/sections/news/local-news/police-evict-activists-park.html

The reaction to this article is mixed. Some commenters say that the activists have no right to plant a garden at Wailoa because the land is now owned by the state, so the state can dictate what can be done on the land, while others say that Hawaii becoming a state in 1959 was a fraud where 63% of eligible voters didn’t get to vote, so that the land rightfully belongs to the heirs of the Ali’i.

The drive from Hilo to Pahoa is about to take much longer. The DOT is changing the speed limit from 55 to 45 miles per hour between Shower Drive and Ainaloa Boulevard.

Highway 130 is one of the most dangerous roads in Hawaii because it is a two lane highway with a lot of streets and driveways that enter it without stoplights.

The change is slated to take effect on May 1 and will hopefully make the road a bit safer. At least now you will only be going 45 miles per hour when someone decides to pull out in front of you and forces you to slam on your brakes.

Since 45 is a lot slower than 55, the drive will take longer. But if this reduces the number of accidents it is well worth it and will save lives. Also, accidents can bring traffic to a standstill, in which case moving at 45, sure beats moving at zero miles per hour.

So how do you think this change will affect you? Leave a comment below and let everyone know.

What do the lyrics of the catchy Kapena tune, Masese mean? Growing up in Hilo, I heard this song all da time, but I never knew what it meant.

It turns out is it a Fijian song written by Sakiusa Bulicokocoko who lived in Hawaii and performed with Kapena way back in the 1980s.

The Masese Lyrics Sung by Kapena Go Like This

ao sara ra rao wara lao wako yao
ao sara ra rao wara lao wako yao
ao sara ra rao wara lao wako yao

masa esa eh masese
masese masese masese
oi masa esa e masese
masese masese masese
oi oi masa esa e masese
youngona youngona youngona
oi younga ona ah youngona
tavako tavako tavako
oi ta vah aka o ta vako

ao sara ra rao wara lao waka yao
rana wako yao rava wako yao
i sara ra rao wara lao
a laolaca lavical yao
eiu masese wara gu

Kapena kapena kapena
ka pa ena a ka pena
kapena kapena kapena
ka pa ena ka pena

What does Kapena Masese Mean?

Some people say that the song itself doesn’t have a true meaning. That it is primarily a play on words that are strung together in a way that sounds good.

But here is what the words translate to from Fijian to English:

• au sa rarawa rarawa ko’au = i’m a big disappointment
• kapena = captain (in Hawaiian)
• masese = matches to light your smokes
• rarawa vakalevu ko’au  = i’m so sad or i’m really bummed
• tavako = tobacco (which you light with your masese)
• youngona = kava or awa (in Hawaiian)

The beauty of the fact that the song itself doesn’t have a truly coherent meaning is that we get to choose what it means to us.

For me, Masese means that life sucks so I am going to get my matches, light a cigarette and then I’m going to drink kava with my friends. We start to talk story and listen to some tunes and everything that sucked so bad about life fades away for the evening.