Where The Hell Is Matt?

The movie 180 Degrees South kind of reminded me of something a friend had stumbled upon and sent to me.  This video really makes you think how so many people can get together and just dance. This video allows you to see the world and all it has to offer.  There are some places that are just so beautiful and some where you probably wouldn’t want to go.  Matt went to all these places and was able to see the good and the bad of the world, the poor and the rich, but despite that, he was able to get people come together and join in this dance.  While watching this video all I could think about beside wow, I want to go there, and there and even there was, why didn’t I think of this first it’s such an great idea.  It’s amazing how he was able to use his video to show that we are all connected despite the fact that some places/people are miles away and show the beauty of the world.  I think when people see their state or country on this video they feel a part of something even if they weren’t in the video. I feel as though the video also shows you that where you live is seen as special even if you don’t think so.  Over all I really liked this video and can’t wait to see where he goes next. It’s awesome that he is able to travel to all these places and meet new people and I think that is something we all would to do whether it’s plausible of not.      

Movie: 180 Degrees South

We watched this movie in class and I just loved it.  Jeff Johnson went on an epic journey to Patagonia. Along the way he was shipwrecked in Rapa Nui a.k.a. Easter Island and once they go the boat fixed he was on his way for a rare ascent of Cerro Corcovado and meets up with his heroes Chouinard and Tompkins who had done this journey before. 

Just the idea of leaving everything you know behind for something new is scary in its self, but that is when you really get to see who you really are as a person and how you really fit in, in the grand scheme of things.  I would love to just drop everything behind and follow my dreams where I get to travel the world and see and learn things you wouldn’t normally learn in a class room.  I feel as though my purpose is not to sit in a desk doing paper work, but to actually go out into the unknown and learn the true meaning of life and know what is out there past our fences.  Unfortunately, I don’t think may people can do this because their lives are already planned out for them and it does seem somewhat unlikely that many people would just drop what they are doing to travel to a place they have never been to. “The fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all,” I think this is a great quote.  The thing I fear the most is not getting the chance to travel into the unknown, it may be a bit scary, but it’s better than wishing you had taken that chance to do something like what Jeff did but chose not to.  I am quite the planner, and my plan is to actually go out there and learn everything there is to learn and help those along the way that includes me.  That is the ultimate goal for me. 

While watching the movie I felt a bit sad, thinking that we are truly missing out on the true beauty of the world.  It’s like looking at a beautiful landscape painting, where you wish we were in the painting and really being immersed in the beauty.  We buy these painting because of their beauty and the thought of actually being there, but the fact of the matter is, the painting is just paint on a canvas and the real beauty is out there just beyond our reach.  However, there is beauty out there that we see every day, but are too busy to notice.  We take things for granted, and never really think about what we are doing. We are too absorbed in our daily lives that we don’t really stop to think what our actions are doing to the world.  The painting will soon be a memory of what beauty was and not something that exist today because we are destroying the beauty that the world gave us.  If we keep on this destructive path we will lose everything. We are constantly taking away land for our own selfish need and not thinking of the consequence of our actions, or we just don’t care.   One quote I really liked was “when open land is gone we will be gone with it.”

Over all I loved this movie and just wanted to jump in while watching it.  You really learn a lot.

Here is the movie Trailer:

Field Trip: Sweet Home Waimanalo

We were invited by Kevin to go to his restaurant and the farm.  First off I have never been anywhere near Waimanalo, but it was nice to see the area and eat some food.  Sweet Home Waimanalo is on Kalanianaole Highway between Makapuu and Waimanalo Town.  The class first met up at the restaurant and from there we went to the farm which was about five minutes away by car.  Unfortunately, it was starting to get dark so it was getting harder to see things, but for the most part we were able to see a lot of what was growing there and even got to see a few horses. There were a lot of plants that were growing there and it didn’t even seen to be a big area so that was surprising, yet awesome that they are able to use the land that they have and not waste any. Once we were done with the farm, we went back to the restaurant and got our food.  I must say the place is very cute and very small, but they definitely use what they have and don’t waste.  Beside the food which was very tasty and pretty cheap, Sweet Home Waimanalo also supports local artist, which I thought was really awesome.  Everyone was able to sit down and enjoy their meals and just have a nice relaxing time.  I ordered the smoked BBQ chicken salad wrap and found it to be very good.  I really wanted to try a little bit of everything once I saw what everyone ordered.  Once everyone was basically done, Kevin brought out some Kava for us to taste.  Kava is made from the ground root of kava and is traditionally used to relax and calm the nerves.  I had tried some and almost immediately felt relaxed, but I can’t get past the taste.  It wasn’t bad it just wasn’t for me, but a lot of people seemed to have liked it.  I really liked the restaurant and all that they are doing and would definitely go back.  I even talked parents and sister into going there when they come for my graduation, which won’t be for a while, but this place was so awesome that I want my family to have the same experience that I had. 

Here is a bit more information on the restaurant: 

Guest speaker: Ramsay Taum

The first time Ramsay came to my class was last semester where he spoke about tourism and how hotels work.  He definitely, taught me a lot about how the industry works and how the host and the visitors coincide.  This time he taught me something completely new.  He talked a lot about the meaning of the word Hawaii, which I found very interesting.  I had no idea that the word had different meanings, I guess you never really think about it unless someone tells you.  Hawaii’s language goes hand in hand with its people and the land. I don’t really know that many words in Hawaiian, but this gave me a better idea of the meaning of the words. The words don’t just have a definition but have an actual meaning.  Taum describes the word HAWAII and its meaning.  He starts off with the word “HA”-meaning breath of life, or shared breath (HA is in many of the words like aloha, mahalo ect.).  He then goes to “WAI”-which means water (this is a very important word, because water is very important to the Hawaiians and the people of the world.  The next one he does is “I”- which I think means self or spirit. He then brought all of them together and you really get a sense of the language and how the word HAWAII doesn’t just mean a “paradise island” (to the tourists), but has a meaning of life.  He also continues to talk about how important it is to know where you come from and to know where you are going.  He also states that we are all connected and that we share HA (breath of life).  Taum also talks about how Hawaii is the center of the earth or the bellybutton.  Thanks again for speaking to our class and I look forward to seeing you in a future class of mine.

Ted.com (Michael Pollan)

In class we watched a video which was on Ted.com and the speaker was Michael Pollan, who is the author of many books about food and nature.  I though this video was very interesting and really gave me an alternative way of looking at nature and our connection with nature.  Pollan suggests that we should start “looking at us and the world from a plants point of view.” At first I thought that was a bit strange, but once Pollan went on to talk about it, I really started to think about it and in a way it seems like he has something going.  He had gotten this idea one day when he was working in his garden.  I think that’s a bit funny the way people come up with the most interesting ideas.  Pollan starts talking about Darwinian revolution and that “we are one species among many and evolution is working on us, the same way its working on others.” One quote I really liked that Pollan stated was “we are really in the fabric of life,” which is very correct because we are intertwined and we can survive without some species and some species can survive without us. We need each other for survival and if one goes than the balance is no longer.  Unfortunately many haven’t or won’t absorb this lesson, but I believe that if we were to look out ourselves through the plants point of view, then we can have a better understanding of nature/life and this should help us in the future.  Pollan also spoke about how lima beans protect themselves from spider mites.  We have evolved so we should also expect that the plants around us have also evolved not just other animals.  When Pollan talks about the lima beans, it kind of reminds me of the movie The Happening where people are dying because the plants released a chemical in the air and the beginning of the movie talks about bees as well.  I thought that was a bit strange because Pollan at the beginning of the video also talks about bees and its relation to us.  Over all I found this video to be very interesting and educating.  I haven’t read any of his books, but now I think that might be something that I am interested in doing.

The video we watched: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/michael_pollan_gives_a_plant_s_eye_view.html

Guest speaker: Ruth Boloment

I hope I spelled the name correctly.

Ruth briefly spoke about her past and how she got where she is today. She started off talking about how she was living in I think California where she designed clothes and one day she was hit by disturbing news that her father was very ill.  Her father later pasted away, but some land to his kids.  The three kids didn’t really know what to do with the land and two of them wanted to sell it, but Ruth said to herself, “he gave it to us for some reason and we shouldn’t just sell it.”  So she convinced her two siblings to sell their portion of the land to her.  She finally decided what she would do with the land and started growing plants.  Once she started on this path, she started to feel enlightened.  She practiced Yoko farming, which is praying for the food.  To her surprise the method worked, the plants were growing and those that weren’t growing as well, she would pray for them individually and the next day the plant would look better.  Unfortunately, Ruth was starting to get sick and losing her memory, at one point she didn’t remember having a daughter.  So she went to find out what was wrong with her and she later found out that she had a bunch of chemicals occupying her body.  She had no clue why this happened because she is an organic farmer and the farm next to them is also supposed to be organic farming.  Ruth later found out that the farmers next door were spraying chemicals on their plants and the wind was caring these chemicals to Ruth’s garden.  She tried bioenergetics medication which really helped her and her memory is slowly coming back to normal.  She also said “being in control of our health, by controlling the environment,” the environment will help us.  Some interesting things she briefly touched on besides her story which is sad yet inspirational, were how polyester is actually harmful and yet we use it all the time in clothing.  Also how bottle waters are actually harmful as well and when they are left in the heat they are much worse.  Thanks Ruth for coming in to speak with the class.

Guest speaker: Kevin Vaccarello

First I would like to apologize for the late posts!!

Kevin talked a little about his past like where he went to school, what he studied (I think AstroPhysics) and a lot of things I didn’t really understand.  He spoke briefly about Thermodynamics which is the law of heat exchange and also talked about maximum entropy which has something to do with the depth of the earth.  He also spoke of negative entropy and maximum power principle.  Much of this I’m sorry to say, I didn’t really understand, but the one with I do understand is food and healthier ways to grow food.  Kevin went on to talk about his self-sustainable restaurants in Waimanalo.  He and his partners have been working together to make people more aware of how important self-sustainability is.  Kevin states that “we humans have been taking a lot and not giving back.”  I found that to be very interesting because it’s true, we are taking what we need/want and aren’t helping to replenish what we are taking. Once we realize what we are taking, we only come up with temporary fixes, when we should be thinking ahead of what harms we might cause and come up with long term alternatives ways instead.

We have started to realize that we can’t keep on taking without giving back.  Take for instance deforestation, this is a huge problem because we are not just destroying the trees that create oxygen, but we are also destroying animal’s habitats.  We were only thinking of our own selfish needs and not thinking of the consequences.  However we are slowly giving back by growing more and more trees and making other changes that will help the environment and even ourselves.  Thanks Kevin for coming in to speak with the class.