Life Power Now - for gay men

Aloha,
It's that time again on the Big Island. Like seing the Cherry blossoms in DC, April on the Big Island is about the blossoming of lehua flowers to be used for the The Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo. The competition in Kahiko, or ancient style of hula, was held last night. Kahiko uses only chants and ipu drumming, unlike the 'Auana (modern) style which uses songs and instruments.

The kahiko style is vigorous, especially for the men! The crowd erupted as each halau chanted in unison and stamped their feet and made the stage shake.

The precision was amazing as different hula halau danced and used sticks, ipus, rocks, and feathers in their storytelling. The costumes themselves, leis and other adornments, are deeply tied to ancient Hawaiian culture, crafts and life. Watching the hula kahiko at Merrie Monarch bears no resemblance to the stereotype most people have of hula. This kind of performance puts a knot in your throat and a vibration at the bottom of your spine. Simply enchanting.

As for me, I've been living at Kalani since January, and we hope the plans for the cottages will be approved and that construction will start this summer. I have become the default IT person (and also marketing person), taking care of the network and wireless and web site, though I have had so far little chance to do anything creative on the web site.
Here's a picture from last night's Kahiko performance.

love and aloha,

paul