This ball of fluff otherwise known as a Laysan Albatross chick is 7 to 10 days old here. A full two-thirds of this albatross species uses the string of Hawaiian Islands stretching from Hawaii in the southeast to Midway in the northwest as its nesting grounds. For another few days one of its parents (both mom and dad are required to see this little guy--or girl--fledge come Julyish) will sit on it until it can thermoregulate on its own. 

What this all boils down to is that we experienced an avalanche of music fans for one of Hawaii’s favorite sons – Eddie Kamae of the Sons of Hawaii, a true cultural icon who has mentored countless musicians over his lifetime, and father and son Kamakahi, about whom Eddie says, “I am so proud of Dennis Kamakahi and his son David who are carrying on the tradition of music.” 

I saw on my Facebook page that SigZane.com celebrated its 7th anniversary online earlier this week. The post read, “If we were counting in dog years, we’re just turning one.” And, of course, that made me smile. Not only because I am a dog person, but the comment—that unique way of thinking—reminded me of a conversation I had with Sig last November.

When I go to Duke’s Canoe Club, I don’t think twice. I order the fish tacos (2 for $12.95). Two soft flour tortillas stuffed with grilled ahi and topped with sliced cabbage. On the side, scoops of fresh-made salsa (finely diced and laced with cilantro), guacamole (blended and a little to mayonnaise for my perfection) and sour cream (good ‘ol regular sour cream). I added dollops of all three to my fish tacos. The result: messy and yummy. Even though I enjoy the same dish time after time, last night’s order was particularly good. And I know why.

George’s introduction to playing music at age 11 is his famous story about cleaning cars for Lippy Espinda at ten cents a car and playing a three-minute gig for Kui Lee at Forbidden City that scored him $27.10 from the appreciative audience of construction workers and stevedores. 

I’ve put in my time on plenty of food photography sets to know that a really good—and tempting—image of a plate of food takes time to style and light. Under the right conditions, my Volcano Roll would expose a tantalizing photograph. But at night? Inside a dark restaurant? With a pocket camera? 

A few days ago, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced a plan to help remove man-made debris from coastal waters and coral reefs on and near the Hawaiian Islands. It is the first of its kind. A new year's resolution of another kind that I can get behind and shout, "Yes." 

A couple weeks ago, a group of virtual writer friends started posting their goals for 2010. They could all be my own: Write more, publish more, stop procrastinating. But out of the dozens of New Year’s resolutions I read, one stood out. And ever since I read it, I have pondered it. Rolled it around in my mouth like my dog eats peanut M&Ms. 

In the past few days, I've run across numerous year-end lists:  Just about every media outlet has gathered their top 10 news stories of the year, standout athletes of the decade, best books for 2009 and top-selling movies of the year.  In the same spirit, I've compiled "Nine for 09."  This is a list of our--mine and your--favorite blog posts published on "View from Here" since January.

Contrary to what people believe, we do experience the change in seasons here in Hawaii - you just need to be able to recognize the subtleties beyond the temperature, sunshine, and rain.