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Kady Pascual

Today’s Social Media Find comes from @the_wild_kai, showing us that special moment when TheBus says mahalo.

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Shaka Smiles

In today’s Social Media Find, @leodahammah shows us how to make banana bread.

LeoDaHammah

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Kitchen jamz is a recipe for guaranteed good times

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ASD Staff

Today's social media find comes from kenekethegreat, tunneling his way to laughter.

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Pork over the Pali

Today's social media find comes from jensonkona, who keeps on truckin'.

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: TACOMA FIGHT!

Today's social media find comes from waikikipd, on how to get the truth out of some low-life.

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Classic interrogation technique

Glad jackakrop19 is doing OK after this big wave wipeout at Jaws, on Maui's north shore.

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Surfer gets dropped

Today's social posts come from howsdisguy: Part one and two of talking story with your roughboy philosopher relative.

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: A comedy crime saga in two parts

Kveekz on Instagram is today's social media find, celebrating some pleasant surprises.

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: "A good day in Hawai‘i"

sis.on.a.mish's husband's moves had us wondering if he actually competed in Merrie Monarch, or if they just watched from home.

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Hawaiʻi Scene on Social: Check out this kāne's chore-ography

In today's social media find, krystilez demonstrates a shaka so minimal it barely exists.

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Introducing the "loose" shaka

Todayʻs social media find comes from jasonpolakaw, a collection of foil board fails.

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Curses, foiled again!

Today's social post comes to us from @jason.nomoa, who spent some time scrolling on Big Island Thieves, Hawaiʻi Island's "No. 1 source of theft, news and information happening in [the] community." Good Times Comedy Club will host Jason, among other comedians, in Hilo next month.

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Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Comedian's response to Facebook group posts

De Soto 2025

DeSoto Brown

Hawai‘i History

Columnists

Print media today are a diminishing entity. How written material is made and disseminated, and by who, has changed foundationally in the last few decades. No longer are publishers in a few large cities the main creators and distributors of what most people in the USA read. But when this was still the case, the covers of magazines and books were a crucial element in how many copies of a particular publication might sell. Arranged with numerous competing titles on shelves and racks, it was the covers that attracted the eyes of potential buyers, so the more colorful or dramatic or – in some cases – sexy the design was, the greater the potential success.

Considering the criteria for what a cover was supposed to do, let’s look at how Hawai‘i was depicted in the American publishing world from the late 1800s to the early 2000s. What’s shown here is a fraction of what was printed overall during this period, since Hawai‘i as a subject was not common. What did the mass public of the United States see about us, and what did these publications make them think we were?

In American pop culture, and eventually internationally as well, several subjects became well-known as representing the Hawaiian Islands physically in addition to their indigenous people. The distinctive outline of Diamond Head is the first one we’ll view here. It is just by chance that Waikīkī, the most famous beach in Hawai‘i and the focus of the tourist industry for well over one hundred years, is backed by this extinct volcanic crater. The combination of the mountain and the beach have long since become a pleasant visual cliché.

Dance is integral to all of humanity. The hula, created by the Hawaiian civilization centuries ago, survived disapproval and suppression in the 19th century to return to its central role in our culture today. While the hula in its homeland retained its authentic aspects, and traveling Hawaiian musicians and dancers spread it internationally, it sadly was also co-opted in an often offensive form for tawdry and suggestive performances to show off female bodies. Outside of Hawai‘i, in whatever form it took, hula dancers (real or phony) often utilized grass skirts. These were not traditionally Hawaiian and had been introduced by Gilbert Island immigrants in the late 1800s, but they could be conveniently used as costumes anywhere. This is why you’ll see them depicted frequently in 20th century pop culture.

The active volcanoes of Hawai‘i Island are, fortunately, mostly non-explosive. Eruptions can usually be viewed in safety and after foreigners began to visit the Hawaiian Islands after 1778, they marveled at the astonishing sights of glowing molten lava lakes in Kīlauea’s Halema‘uma‘u Crater, or active flows moving down mountain slopes or into the ocean. It was natural that these Hawaiian wonders, comparable to almost nothing else on earth, would be featured by publications.

Surfing — or riding waves — did not originate in Hawai‘i, but it was Hawaiians of the past who turned it into its most evolved form by creating numerous surfboards of varying sizes and lengths, used by both males and females of all ages. The sport diminished in the 1800s but as it rebounded at Waikīkī early in the 20th century, it concurrently began to be depicted and written about in numerous publications. Before World War II, surfing had not yet spread widely to other locations, so when it appeared in photographs or artwork in that period it was inevitably representing Hawai‘i. Even in later years, though, surfing in print has rightfully continued to be associated with the Hawaiian Islands.

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<title>How They Saw Us: Hawai‘i on Book and Magazine Covers</title>

Book and magazine publishing boomed through the 20th century, with covers competing for attention in the marketplace. How those covers depicted Hawai‘i reveals the aspects of Hawai‘i that caught America's fancy. Some depictions were realistic, such as actual ongoing volcanic eruptions, but often they were exaggerated or outright imaginary views of romance and hula, crime and violence.

How They Saw Us: Hawai‘i on Book and Magazine Covers

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Michael Brestovansky

Government & Politics

Honolulu’s new police chief named two officers as his deputy chiefs Monday.

 David Lazar as the new chief of the Honolulu Police Department in July, Lazar said he would take some time before naming who will serve as his deputies. That process of consideration ended on Monday, when he named Maj. Brandon Nakasato and Maj. Parker Bode to serve as his permanent deputy chiefs.

Lazar said Nakasato will serve as the interim chief when Lazar is unavailable. Nakasato will lead HPD’s field operations, while Bode will lead its Administrative Operations.

Nakasato has 27 years of service with HPD, and has extensive experience throughout the department’s various investigation divisions, Lazar said. Nakasato was a graduate of the University Laboratory School and most recently served as Interim Deputy Chief, overseeing field operations, during the leadership transition period.

“He cares greatly about the department, and he is the best selection at this time as we move forward as a mission,” Lazar said.

Bode, meanwhile, has 16 years of experience, much of which was in the HPD’s Human Resources Division, and has most recently served as Lazar’s chief of staff. Lazar said Bode, who is 39 years old, is “one of the youngest deputy chiefs in HPD history.”

Bode’s father was an HPD major who retired after 33 years of service, Lazar said.

“[Bode] brought an innovative approach to HR in whatever assignment he took on,” Lazar said. “He is leading the department's effort to gather input from sworn professional staff to help shape HPD's new strategic plan: What our department will look like three or five or even 10 years from now.”

Lazar said he selected Nakasato and Bode after working closely with them in the weeks since his appointment, and after one-one-one conversations with them and other HPD majors, assistant chiefs and others.

“This was a challenging decision to make, but these two men rose above,” Lazar said, adding that both deputies have “great reputations” within HPD and in their communities.

Mayor Rick Blangiardi commended Lazar’s decision Monday, saying that picking dependable deputies is essential for any leader.

“I know what it’s like to have people close to you in these leadership challenges that you can absolutely trust beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Blangiardi said.