i'm a dork. i know. but c'mon...

so i'm an xfactor head. whatever. not a huge fan of the biebz, but i am a fan of drew. watch the first few minutes of the first video, then skip ahead to about 6:30 in the second video. great moment right? was the beeb a little too affectionate? maybe.

xfactor final thoughts

tada! melanie won. and she did a version of a tebow... the double knee-bow. it was a good show. three genuinely likeable contestants. one genuinely unlikeable host.

highlights: the final three. and their video montage tribute the show prepared for them? that was real. justin, stevie and drew? that was paying it forward. the josh/melanie duet? that was heroic. the reactions of the runner-ups? that was gracious. there was a feeling of overall joy throughout the show, which was refreshing.

the lowlights: 50 cent piece. AWKWARD! i almost turned the tv off it was so overly provocative. and the first half was so bleeped out it defeated the purpose of even performing! the second half was more awkward... a song from 80 years ago with the grand entrance of... some laker benchwarmers! you could tell even they thought it was a stupid idea as they tried to dance along. them next to the "hip hop hotties" just didn't make sense. and the host of the show. very robotic and his sarcasm is so forced and unnatural. and the way he asks questions to people when they're obviously emotional, like after melanie won he kept bothering her.

america got it right, but i'm sure this show will jumpstart the careers of more than a few who didn't winn the 5mil. GO MELANIE!

XTERRA!

a few weeks ago i did my first 10K trail out at kualoa ranch. outrigger co-sponsored the event so i was lucky enough to get my entry fee paid for which was sweet. it was super well organized and family friendly... they even had a kiddie run! kammy went into soldier mode to support me and waited out the 54 minutes it took for me to finish. running trail is way different than running pavement thats for sure, but i'm into it. thinking about the great aloha run and really interested in the tinman this summer. gotta get one bike though.

xfactor thoughts and predictions: part 2

in october, i posted part 1 and predicted that melanie amaro would place 2nd because of my knack for choosing runner-ups. historically, my "fave" to win these types of talent shows places second, but who could've predicted the carribean accent reveal? that was what sealed the deal a few weeks ago.

after watching part of the show last night, she's gonna win. no doubt. vocally, its no contest. she did her beyonce cover of "listen" again... the same one that made the judges cry. winnahz. the other two guys are talented (especially chris rene with his "aw-shucks-rehab-nice-guy-recovery" backstory) but from what i saw, they picked junk songs that didn't showcase anything new or exciting. i can't see america picking the other guy, josh. looks too scary (and too much like the guy from "balls of fire" of whatever, that ping pong movie)especially on the high notes. i hope she tebows after she wins and the confetti falls.

bishop museum field trip

seth's school went to the bishop museum and they invited us to come along. the planet thing was crazy... it was a 360 movie screen or something!

seth's 1st soccer game

the boy is too cute. about a head shorter than everyone on the field, he enjoys chasing the ball around and encouraging his teammates. not the competitor, he willfully volunteers to sit down and take a break on the sidelines to let others play. GO 45!

montessori fun run

seth's school had a fun(d)raiser... you know how these things go - you get people to pledge money either for the amount of laps they do or one flat rate. most people we asked pledged the flat rate (smart), but we decided to make it interesting and give $6 a lap. we figured seth is kind of a laid back guy who doesn't really like getting sweaty and exerting himself so he'd give up after a few laps. wrong! he did 19 laps and cost us $114! scroll to the last photo to see the final tally.

this was seth's partner ava the really cute girl.

run sethie run!!!!

this is ducklin, one of seth's best friends.

the proof.

tracks: racecars and trains

windward mall choo-choo train? phyllis was game. she's jed's bff. and she goes to school with kaleb.


kammy bought some tape and made a race track in our living room. i like how it goes up the couch.

scripture of the day

7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.

2 timothy 4:7-8

oddanimalbehavior

these photos are kinda old. old like classic. enjoy!

mma: best and worst

RESPECT! two friends forced to fight, beat on each other for 15 minutes and hug it out after.

the colonel is dead...

so if the reports are true, gadafi/khadaffi/quadafi is dead - discovered hiding, much like saddam, somewhere deplorable and very un-leaderofacounrty-like, shot with his own golden gun. the irony is top-notch and will produce a range of emotion in a person. fact is stranger than fiction, eh?

i don't/didn't know much about the late colonel himself, but his name has a special place in my heart. slang words are created usually by young people and are usually regional... some make it mainstream, others don't. back in the late 80's, i suppose around the time when gadafi took control of ("stole") libya, in pauoa valley, the kids started using gadafi as a slang word for the verb, steal. i'm gonna give credit to lawrence cabacungan aka larry for coining the term. we pronounced it kadafi, and even shortened that to kadaf, as in, "bra, i went to da beach an' somebody wen kadaf my slippahs!" if we were playing basketball and someone stole the ball it was common for the ball thief or his teammate to yell out "kadafi!"

so gadafi was shot with a golden gun that was kadafied from gadafi. beautiful.

only today have i learned about the colonel's ridiculous fashion sense. starting today (and i encourage you to do the same), i'm gonna use kadafi in a new way... to describe atrociously self-unaware, faux everything, borderline inappropriate fashion choices (including hair and makeup). well the man did take a country and ruled it for decades, i guess he's was entitled to wear whatever the heck he wanted. besides, i'm sure it wasn't his fake medallions that got him ousted, exiled and killed. whatevs, i'm gonna make sure his name lives on...

more random ones

our friends the chuns invited us over to their new house for dinner one night. jed was 'bout it!

this is mackie... seth is her soul mate.

we babysat cole (right) and kona (left) on christina's birthday. these boys are gonna be besties 4eva.

corona ain't got nuthin' on lanikai.

X FACTOR: predictions and thoughts

according to "ratings" not many americans are into the show so i don't expect anyone to really care about my opinion on it. but i can't help it. i'm a sucker for seeing kids, and older folks, but mostly kids going for it - laying everything out there and experiencing their talent. i stumbled upon a pretty good x factor article on espn.com oddly enough... check it out if you have 10 minutes to kill.

here are my favorites...
1. melanie amaro - 4 words... watch her 1st audition. actually watch the judges reaction to her 1st audition. i'm never good at picking winners of these talent shows but i'm great at picking the runner-ups (predicted archuleta and lambert at #2). just because i think she should win, she'll be a runner-up.

2. drew rysjsdfnioswei - 14 years old? uncanny and genius arrangement styles that showcase her voice. she combines soul, country, and fiona apple-ness with a youthful appeal. keeps it real with spastic body movements.

3. brian bradley aka astro - 14 years old? will smith's humor, jay-z's brash delivery, writes his own age-appropriate lyrics. the fact that he made it this far in a singing contest proves his talent.

these are my favorites based on the excitement i feel before they perform. i never quite know whats gonna happen, i just know its gonna be good and more importantly, interesting. so many of these contestants' performances are predictable... good but predictable.

a day in the life of kaleb

kamehameha parents day!


school started with an intro and some praise & worship.

everyday they set up and breakdown for lunch. their new middle school is being built and will open next year. in the mean time, classrooms are portables and the cafeteria is the gym.

happy 6th anniversary!

hung out in lanikai/kailua all day. and as you can see, it was a beauty!

14?

random ones

messin' with the new camera's iso.

rub-a-dub-dub three changs in a tub!

lea's expression: priceless.

dirty laundry.

jed's impersonation of the letter x.

puueo poi!

went to hilo to get da hands dirty. jay boy was down too - i was amazed that he got up at 530am to work. da aunty making bunny ears on me made fun of our shoes... she said next time no wear nice ones. mos def a learning experience... good people, good poi.