Weekend Warrior

Al Green comes to Honolulu

Anne Shilton — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 02:31:43 GMT

Here's the deal. Maybe you're not a soul fan, gospel fan or even an R&B fan. Maybe you only like indie electro pop, or glam punk or go go. Maybe you hate everything that isn't the same songs that the top 40 stations play over and over again. Maybe your tastes are horribly atrocious, whatever, it doesn't matter. You WILL like this.

Al Green is a legend. He was a great innovator for soul and R&B music. He's number 65 on Rolling Stone's 100 greatest artists of all time, where's Lady GaGa on that list? That's what I thought. Which is why you should make a bee line straight to Bamp.com and buy yourself a pair of tickets. It's not that often that someone who has inspired and shaped so much of what popular music is today rolls through town. If you consider yourself a musician, or a music lover this is a must see performance.

Tickets and more details are available here.

ScRUMptious

Anne Shilton — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:08:15 GMT

When I think rum I think Bacardi. So, as a result I don't think about sipping rum because, let's face it, sipping Bacardi would be about as fun as sipping nail polish remover. So when I recieved a bottle of Kilo Kai to take for a test ride I was excited to try something a little different for once. In the interest of full disclosure in general I'm not much of a rum drinker. Rum is mostly a last resort liquor for me, and by that I mean it's reserved for occasions like the open bar running out of everything else but rum, or I'm stranded on a deserted island with nothing but rum, or some dire scenario like that. It is not something I go into a bar and order. But Kilo Kai was promised to me as something different, so I poured myself a glass and got down to business.

Kilo Kai is a spiced rum that's from the island of Curacao. It's made is small batches, from sugar cane, just like all other rums, however they claim that the "scents and flavors of the island" are responsible for making this rum different. The good news is it is remarkably different than a lot of the mass produced rums we know and don't love.

The first thing you'll notice about Kilo Kai is the way it smells. It doesn't smell like other rums (you know that smell that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up?) It smells like dessert. Like vanilla, and caramel and cinnamon; like one of those candles that your grandma has in her house, except nice and not gross and not meant to cover up old lady stench.

The taste is smooth, sweet and amazingly palatable. With strong flavors of caramel, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves I immediately thought, this would be perfect in a rum based ice cream or as an ingredient any other host of desserts. However, that would be doing an injustice to the rum as the subtle flavors that linger after the initial rush of caramel and vanilla would be overwhelmed in something as heavy as ice cream. (But leave it to me to think of desserts first.)

With a beautiful liquid amber color, and a warm smooth mouth feel, this rum is inviting from the moment you pour it to the moment it touches your lips. It's complex but not overwhelmingly. Sweet but not cloying. All around, a treat to drink.

Kilo Kai reminds me of making eye contact with a cute stranger in the bar- a moment of sweet intensity and then the curious, sultry undertones that follow as you think about whether you should make your way over there or not. In Kilo Kai's case I strongly suggest you make your way on over and take a second sip, it only gets better as you go back for more.

I'm working on getting a complete list of bars where Kilo Kai is available, and hope to have that posted by the end of the weekend!

Tickets for Slava's Snow Show up for grabs!

Anne Shilton — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:43:57 GMT

I've never been much of a clown fan. While I'm not necessarily scared of them, I do find them somewhat creepy. I actually once had a friend who was a professional clown, and while she was surprisingly normal, for having such a creepy occupation, it still didn't make my feelings towards clowns any friendlier. So, when Tim Bostock came by my office and announced that he was bringing a clown show, I couldn't help but feel like, "and why am I supposed to be excited about this?"

It turns out that Slava's Snow Show is not a clown show. Despite the fact that the people on stage are clowns, Slava, the creator of the show, is adamant that this is NOT a clown show. So what is it? I have no idea. The more I talked to Tim about the show the more excited I seemed to get about a show that was as he was explaining it, unexplainable. The most detail he could really give me was that it was "advanced silliness" that "absorbs the viewer completely." But his eyes were sparkling in a way that said in no uncertain terms "you must see this." So even though I have no idea what it's about, and I mildly dislike clowns, I still really want to go.

Tim is notorious for bringing great things to Honolulu. I have yet to attend anything of his that I haven't been impressed by. So, I guess I've come to trust his judgment- if he likes it, chances are I will too.

The good news for you guys is that I've got some tickets to give away, and so here's how we're going to do it. I want to hear from those of you who have been to the show before. I want to hear WHY you would send someone to go see it, even if they're afraid of clowns. At the end of the week, I'll pick some of the best responses and hook them up with tickets to go see the show this time.

If you haven't seen the show yet, don't despair. Send me why you would like to go and what you expect to see and I'll hook a few of you all up with tickets also.

Like all of our contests you must be 18 years or older to enter, you do not need to purchase anything, and you can not be a family member of anyone who works at the Advertiser. You can enter via responding to this post (and then emailing me your contact info) or just by emailing me, or through http://twitter.com/metromix808 or by leaving a note on our Facebook site (www.facebook.com/metromix.honolulu). Good luck!

Wanna play foodie for a day?

Anne Shilton — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:47:57 GMT

If you've ever wanted to be a food critic, now is your chance. Shokudo is coming out with a totally new "After Dark" menu that will only be available late nights. They've asked a few of us from Metromix, and some of our loyal readers to come out and taste the menu before they kick it off with a big event on August 18th.

So, if you want to come with us to this very exclusive tasting here's what you need to do: post in the comments section what your favorite dish is and why you think you're qualified to help Shokudo out with their menu. We'll pick 5 of the best entries and bring them along with us. You must have entered by Sunday, August 2nd to be eligible to win, and you must be at least 21. Once you've posted your comment in the comments section email me at acshilton@metromix.com with your phone number and the best way to contact you. Good luck!

We have a winner!

Anne Shilton — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:45:14 GMT

We have a winner! Through a very scientific process (I asked my 5 coworkers to read all the entries and give me their first, second, and third place stories) we have our ultimate bad date story! The contest was very close- out of 25 possible points our winner had a score of 19 while the runner up was only two points behind. Thanks to everyone who entered, my colleagues and I had a great time reading through the submissions. All of you who sent us stories will get Metromix t-shirts!

But, in the end there could only be one winner and that winner was Christy, whose date actually tried to sell her into a pyramid scheme! She receives the $400 Apple Store gift card, and our condolences for what sounds like a truly terrible date. An honorable mention goes to Mike for telling us about his date with the friend of the stuffed animal lover, this story made me cry with laughter.

Thank you all for entering! And stay posted, we had so much fun with this contest we may have to do another one like it soon!

Your worst date ever

Anne Shilton — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:06:29 GMT

In honor of this Saturday night's Burning Down the House event where you can buy yourself a dream date with a hunky firefighter and support the Susan G. Komen Foundation all at the same time, I thought we should celebrate the horrors of dating. So, this week I'm looking for your WORST date stories. Whether your date crawled out the bathroom window during dinner, or they forgot to tell you that they were actually married, or they insisted in speaking only in Klingon during the date, we want to hear about it. And, we'll reward you for it. A $400 gift card for the Apple Store goes to the winner! The gift card is good at any of their stores as well as their online store. We'll be announcing the winner this Saturday at Burning Down the House, a date auction that raises money for the Susan G. Komen foundation, taking place this Saturday night at Oceans 808. If you've never been to a Burning Down the House party, it's something you should check out this year, as 20 life guards and fire fighters strut around shirtless in an effort to raise funds. Tickets are $10 at the door, and doors open at 7pm.

How to enter:
Reply to this thread with your own story, then, email me (acshilton@honolulu.gannett.com) with what your user name is and your email address, or a phone number so I can contact you. There will be one winner of a $400 Apple Store gift card. The contest closes Friday night at 5pm, and the winner will be announced Saturday night at Burning Down the House at Oceans808. Again, post your story directly on my blog- then email me with your contact info- it's as simple as that! Stories should be about a personal experience (please don't write about your friend's sister's cousin) and keep them short and sweet please- if your story is too long for the comments section (anything more than 1,000 characters) send it to me in email form and I will put it in to my post. Please do not use any real names, or rage about your ex being an overall scum bag- any posts with either of these things will be taken down. Any posts that contain offensive material, or stories that are overly graphic in nature will also be taken down.

The fine print:
- no purchase necessary
- one entry per person per day (if you have more bad date stories than that, you need to have your friend pre-screen your dates, or you better or give up on dating altogether)
- you must be at least 18 to enter
- employees of the Honolulu Advertiser and their direct relatives are not eligible to win- but feel free to give us your stories anyway, I'll post them, you just can't win.
- you must be a resident of Hawaii to win. If you are not, feel free to send us your stories, you just are not eligible to win.

I thought I would lead off with one of my own horror stories- I had a few to choose from but this one stood out to me as particularly traumatic. Here goes...

John and I (I changed his name just incase he stumbles across this) were just in that awkward early stage of moving from friends to more than that. We were on summer break from college and lived about four hours apart. I hitched a ride with a friend one weekend who was going down to the same town John lived in, and I planned on staying at John's house for the weekend.

Within minutes of getting inside his house I knew I was in trouble. John had failed to mention that his mom had five cats. I had failed to mention that I was deathly allergic. Within 15 minutes my eyes were watering, my face was puffy and I had to sneak out to the bathroom every few minutes to blow my nose.

We walked into the kitchen where John's mom was preparing dinner. It was pot roast. Apparently John had forgotten to tell his mom I was a vegetarian. I was just going to suck it up and eat pot roast in order to avoid making a scene with John suddenly remembered and announced to everyone that, oh wait, AC's a vegetarian, she can't eat this."
His mom turned to me and said "is my pot roast not good enough for you?" Yikes!

We sat down to eat dinner in front of the evening news, (keep in mind that at this point I was a sniffling, puffy eyed, allergic mess who was too good for John's mom's pot roast), and they flip the TV to a very conservative news channel, which shall remain nameless. Determined to stay out of trouble I quietly ate my salad, and avoided making conversation about what they were saying on TV. John's mom, however, was very angry about something on the news that night, and started yelling at the TV about how the "stupid-liberal-commie-pinko-sluts" were ruining America. I stared at my salad and prayed this would be over soon. John, however, said to his mom "AC's actually kind of liberal," at which point his mom looked at me with daggers for eyes and said "get out of my house before you try and convert my son to your evil hippy ways."

Needless to say I spent the next hour on the front porch waiting for my friend to pick me up, and John and I never saw each other again.

Now it's your turn! I'm looking forward to some of the horror stories! Remember, post your entry here on my blog by 5pm on Friday for a chance to win the $400 Apple store gift card!

A few entries that came into me via email:
from kristelyoneda
While I was in DC for school, I went on a date with a girl from one of my classes. We met after she finished work and she suggested we go to this cute little Indian restaurant nearby.

During dinner, we made small talk and somehow got on the topic of weird food. I told her that I had seen a television program years ago about how the Japanese had tiger penis soup and it was a delicacy.

She looked at me strange and said, "Aren't tigers extinct?"

I don't think I said anything at this point; I might have just stared at her with my mouth open.

Then she followed up with: "Wait. What does 'extinct' mean?"

To make matters worse, she was really pushy during dinner. She was the kind of person that could easily make a scene in a restaurant and have all the waiters and waitresses spitting in our food. She was louder than she needed to be while we were there and she complained (quite loudly and unnecessarily) about everything.

I don't remember exactly what she was ranting about, but when she took a big bite of rice I noticed one of the grains failed to reach her mouth. Instead, it hung almost magically from her upper lip. When she'd get really into a topic, she'd breathe kind of hard and flare her nostrils, and this would make the grain look like a small insect hanging on for dear life. I realized quickly I was on a date with a girl with a mustache…who didn’t know what the word “extinct” meant.

After dinner, she insisted we stop by this coffee shop a few blocks away from the restaurant. It was really cold for October and she didn't dress appropriately for the weather. She shivered dramatically, so eventually I offered her my coat to be polite.

At the coffee shop, she ordered two hot chocolates for her and her roommate. She kept bugging me to go back to her place with her. I thought maybe she meant some time in the near future, but she meant right now. No, thank you.

I hailed a cab for her (since her hands were full carrying her drinks) and opened the door for her to slide in. I politely said bye, but she insisted again that I come over. I told her maybe next time, I needed to go home and finish some homework, but apparently the hair from her mustache also grew in her ears and impaired her hearing. She even told me she wouldn't return my coat unless I came back to her place.

Anyway, while she was explaining how she'd take my coat hostage unless I came over, her drinks tipped over against her body and spilled all over her (and my coat). She was completely mortified, apologized countless times, returned my coat to me, and then took off in her cab.

My coat was partially drenched in hot—now cold—chocolate and I walked home alone.

And another from Christy
I don't remember his name, but I still remember standing in line at the airport, waiting to board and seeing him walk up. Tall, hapa, handsommme. I smiled shyly at him and he smiled back. Ooh, dimples too. I'm sure I blushed.

To my surprise, he came and sat right next to me in the plane (this was before assigned seating). We talked the whole way over. He was funny, cute, and sarcastic. He asked me for my number and asked if I'd like to go out sometime. I, of course said yes.

We talked on the phone a couple times and had great conversations. He asked me if I'd like to go to a bbq with him. A bunch of his friends were getting together and he wanted me to meet them. I said yes, and felt excited and giddy. He was talking about me. He wanted me to meet his friends.

Date night.

I met him in town and then hopped in his car. We arrived at a house in Kihei, and upon entering I was given a name tag and asked to sign in. The bbq was actually a pyramid scheme presentation. I had to sit through a 3 hour meeting in which I was pressured to sign up and become a part of their team. My date, the whole time kept saying to me, "I really wanted to give you this opportunity to invest in something bigger, isn't this great?!" I was caught by complete surprise. He never mentioned any of this when we talked on the phone. I sat in misery, wishing I could leave, but since I didn't drive, I was stuck. After the presentation he wanted to stick around, so I spent another 2 hours "networking" and continuing to be propositioned to join the scheme.

At the end of the night he said he had a great time and wanted to see me again. Then he tried to kiss me, while I tried to dodge. Needless to say, it was extremely awkward. We did not go out again.

Half price sushi alert!

Anne Shilton — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:56:03 GMT

Half price sushi is something that pretty much always gets my attention. So when the publisher of our newspaper (who also usually get's my attention because he's the guy who calls all the shots around here) burst into my office and said: "you gotta check out Sansei's late night half price sushi deal" I immediately perked up.

I love sushi. I am also a cheap ass. Therefore, half price sushi for me is like the awesome feelings of finding the last one of that really cute dress in your size at the store and it's on sale, and then your boyfriend lets you finish all the bag fries piled on top of that giddy feeling from cleaning your lint trap all rolled up into one.

A word of warning though, only the sushi is on sale, they actually have a special late night menu, so if there is an entrée there you're hoping to score at half off you'll find yourself sorely disappointed. Also the deal only runs Friday and Saturday night, but that's perfect for a quick sushi nosh before you hit the clubs.

A reality show about Burgers? Yes Please.

Anne Shilton — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 02:19:50 GMT

So a few weeks ago you may remember that Burgers on the Edge, the create-your-own burger joint on Kapahulu, launched an "ingenious burger competition." The competition asked Hawaii residents to come up with the eatery's next "signature burger" with the winner not only getting their recipe placed on the Burgers on the Edge menu but also scoring free burgers for a year. Cool right?

But now Burgers on the Edge is taking this to a whole new level, burger making is about to become reality television.

On Wednesday June 24th burgers go prime time as the six finalists from the Burgers on the Edge contest go head to head in a burger cook-off. The winners from the cook off will be announced at a party at Burgers on the Edge on Sunday June 14th, and the whole segment will air on KHON at 9pm on June 24th.

Last night I caught up with Jason Kim, co-owner of Burgers on the Edge and the main brain behind the burger show, as well as a couple of the burger finalists as they talked through the details for filming the show. I've been sworn to secrecy, so I can't give away a whole lot about who the contestants are and the surprise twist that Jason assures me will be happening, but I can tell you that it is going to be an entertaining show- let's just say one of the finalists makes "adult cupcakes" in her free time and another prides herself on being a cougar. If the burger cooking isn't interesting enough, the personalities will be.

Oh, and the whole thing is a fundraiser for the Hawaii Food Bank, so if you come out to their event on Sunday the 14th, not only will there be music, free burger samples, prizes and stuff like that, but they'll also be collecting food for the food bank, so you can feel good about your guilty reality TV habit.

I could mope, or.....

Anne Shilton — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:05:04 GMT

This is a weird week for me- I was supposed to spend this week back home in Washington DC shopping for a wedding dress with my three best friends and my sister- and then I called off my engagement.

So, to keep myself from dwelling on what I was supposed to do this week I'm planning a girl-licious week for myself.

Good thing there's a ton of great girly stuff going on this week. First up its FASHION WEEK! What, you didn't know that Honolulu had a fashion week? We do. All week long Pearl is hosting fashion shows featuring some of Hawaii's best designers. Tomorrow night's show features Muumuu Heaven and Recycled Sweetheart- sign me up!

Defending the Caveman open's this week at Hawaii Theater. It's all about why men are dumb or something like that- again, sign me up.

Friday is First Friday, which I'm allergic to, so I won't be there. But, it's also Rock Shop at Loft which I love.

Saturday is Lil' Wayne, but you're more likely to find me at the Hawaii Pacific Roller Derby kick off party- I could learn a lesson or two from these tough gals.

The Metromix Pink Tiki Party

Anne Shilton — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:54:08 GMT

OK so in case you live under a rock and you haven't heard yet, Metromix and Pink Tiki's are teaming up for an old school Tiki party on Friday night. We're talking Aloha shirts and white pants, old school here, with the go-go girls dancing in coconut shell tops and grass skirts. Oh, and did I mention that if you know the secret password you can buy $3 Mai Tai's? Oh what, you want to know the password? Ok, it's metro-retro-mix. Say that 5 times fast after a few Mai Tais.

Wait, that's not enough for you guys? What? You also want us to buy you bottle service? OK fine, we'll put you on our guest list- but you have to go here- we're also picking two of our guests and entering them to win bottle service on us. Register soon though because we're picking our bottle service winners tomorrow.

Don't be a Larry Lemming

Anne Shilton — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:37:07 GMT

I'm sorry Honolulu but I'm worried that we are turning into nightlife lemmings. For example, First Friday- why are we still going?

Sorry Chinatown, but I'm bored. First Friday is the same thing every month, like the bars realized that First Friday will be successful no matter what so they said "why should we bother ever spicing it up?" First Friday is the nightlife equivalent of Ground Hog Day. The other 29 nights of the month these are the places bringing out great dj's, fun bands, cool fashion shows and all other kinds of nightlife yummy-ness, but on First Friday they just seem to sit back, relax and wait for the inevitable throngs of people to descend.

Which brings me to my next point: First Friday is a royal clusterfu#k. Last Monday I called one of the restaurants to make reservations for last week's First Friday. My two options for getting a table were 4:30pm or 10:00pm. Sorry, but I'm not a geriatric hoping for the "early bird special" and if I wait until 10 to eat I will surely have gnawed off at least half of my shirt out of shear hunger. Meanwhile every other establishment in this city that isn't near Hotel Street is suffering because we all are so excited to go wait in an hour long line to pay $10 to get into a mediocre club with a really mediocre dj. Oh, someone stop the insanity.

Don't be a Larry Lemming folks. Last Friday there was a ton of fun stuff to do, none of which was happening in Chinatown (except Loft, which actually was doing something cool, so Loft, you are excused from this finger wagging). First Friday, consider this your first warning. Impress me or I'm going elsewhere.

But enough of the negativity. Here's what I am into: The First Thursday poetry slam. I've written about this event before, but I'm rewriting because it is just. that. cool. We've got some rad talent in this town, every time I go I find myself having to scoop my jaw off the floor because I've been so moved by one of the slammers- and I'm really not a poetry slam kinda person. Just go, you'll thank me later

You don't need spring for spring fashion

Anne Shilton — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:01:20 GMT

Do you have to have a spring to go on a spring shopping spree? I think not. Just because we don't have spring doesn't mean a girl doesn't deserve some new duds. Right? If all those mainland girls get to go shopping, I see no reason that I should have to sit out all the fun. Recession? What recession?

Here's what I'm excited about this spring. Colors. That's right, hot, bright colors are totally fair game again. After way too many years of grays, blacks, browns with the occasional pastel thrown in, I'm thanking the lord that finally we are moving out of the drab ages. And seriously, these are jewel tones we're talking about- finally no more pastels – which make us all look like a bunch of Easter eggs, especially after I've eaten too much Easter candy and I'm looking rather rotund. This year bright colors are totally hot so if I were you I would embrace it- this doesn't happen very often.

Here's what I'm less excited about: pre-worn denim. Sure it's the next big thing, and sure it's nice that skinny jeans (which make very few of us actually look "skinny") are hopefully on their way out but seriously folks, we're in a recession. I just can't see buying jeans with holes in them in times like these. Although I guess the good news is that is I lose my job and I can't afford new jeans my jeans will actually get more stylish with age.

As you're doing your spring shopping here are a few things to keep in mind.
1) Leggings are not pants. While leggings are cute and fun and you can buy them in like a bazillion colors, they are NOT PANTS. Please do not where them like they are.
2) Bright, funky colors are totally hot- but please let's not abuse them. Choose two bright colors at most of an outfit then tie your accessories around that- look, I'm trying to save you from looking like a box of fruit loops.
3) Ok so stirrup pants are back in, and I know I've seen a lot of you eyeing them on the racks- here's the deal: they are back, and you technically can get away with wearing them, but before you take them out for a night on the town think about whether you'll still respect yourself in the morning.

Looking to put these tips to work? Head over to the Fashionista's Market's Recessionista's sale. It only runs until 2pm today though, so don't dawdle.
If you don't find what you need there don't despair- the next few months will be full of sales, so keep your ears to the ground.

Nightlife versus middle school

Anne Shilton — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:37:44 GMT

I want to take this moment to give thanks, thanks that I am no longer in middle school.

I was asked by my boss to help my co-worker out at the annual spelling bee that The Honolulu Advertiser sponsors. So, I went and yes, I am fully aware of the irony of ME putting on a SPELLING bee.

I had just finished setting up the chairs and testing out the mics when the kids started filing in, and I was instantly whisked backed to the days of braces, mean girls and me always being taller than all the boys.

Now, seriously, I often compare nightlife to middle school, and in a lot of ways they are a lot alike. Everyone wants to get invited to join those at the really "cool' VIP table and I definitely meet a mean girl every now and then. But I think as the years have gone by I've forgotten how completely terrible middle school really was. After watching 3 excruciating hours of them spelling words most kids don't even know I realized, nightlife has nothing on what these kids are going through.

So next time you go out and drink too much and kiss your co worker, or you bust out the sprinkler in a room of girls that are too cool for school, you may feel like "OMG this is the worst moment of my life" but take a deep breath, relax and realize it's not- this has NOTHING on the 7th grade valentine's day dance.

The moral of the story? Go out and do the sprinkler, the robot, or whatever, and don't forget to stop and give thanks every now and then that you made it through middle school without needing too much therapy.

Wednesday is the new Friday

Anne Shilton — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:17:46 GMT

Incase you hadn't heard yet, Wednesday is the new Friday (according to me). No, not like the weekend starts Thursday (I wish) it's just that there's a whole bunch of cool stuff happening this Wednesday – in fact I'm more excited to go out tomorrow night then Friday night this week.

Social Wahine's and Pacific Edge magazine are putting on their monthly "Business of Networking" event tomorrow evening. It's actually a dual event, with the first part of the event being a woman's only networking event from 5:30-7:30pm at Tea at 1024, and the second part of the event being a co-ed event at Pearl from 7:30 on featuring a performance by Emi Hart.

For more info on Social Wahines go here.

Aloha Tower's Nightmarket happens again tomorrow night. If you haven't checked this event out yet, go. It's an interesting mix of arts, food, sustainability and fashion and it's free, so what are you waiting for?

Also going on is Bamp Project's Silverstein show at Pipeline. Never heard of Silverstein? Think Blink 182 meets Red Jumpsuit Apparatus with an angry guy who got thrown out of metal band screaming intermittently in the background. But you can listen here if you don't trust my description. The show starts at 7 and tickets are $25. Hey, if this many fans have Silverstein related tatoos, how bad can they be?

If that's not enough to keep you busy on a Wednesday night I don't know what is. Cancel that 8:30 meeting you have on Thursday morning and go have some fun.

Weekend Weary...

Anne Shilton — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:52:38 GMT

You know those weekends where you end up more exhausted on Monday then you were when you left on Friday? That was definitely this weekend for me. Whoever designed the 5 days of work – 2 days to play schedule was a real jerk.

I'm especially tired from two big things that went down this weekend: the Metromix Anti-Valentine's Day party and the Great Aloha Run.

If you are single and you spent Valentine's day sitting on your couch eating Ben and Jerry's and feeling sorry for yourself you truly should feel sorry for yourself because you missed the best anti-valentine's day party ever. Not only did we have a shredder for all those pics of your ex you've got secretly stashed away, but we also had angry candy hearts all around and um, Hawaii's sexiest single dj. I mean, who wouldn't want to spend their valentine's day with Ross Jackson?

While we're on the subject of great events, today's GAR was one of the most fun races I've ever run. I love the fact that it's really not a competitive race; after a few years living in the highly competitive world of elite bike racing (like Lance, not like motorcycles) it's fantastic to run a race where the main goal is to have fun and finish, in that order. The weather was perfect, the support staff was awesome and minus the one fatality, I think just about everyone had a good time.

I'd give you all a run down of what's up for this week but my forehead is literally about to smash my keyboard as I fall into a coma like state. So look for a line of up of cool stuff to do this week tomorrow, when hopefully I will be slightly more rested.

Kanye West-licious

Anne Shilton — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:49:02 GMT

Ok, so if you've read all of my past blog posts (and who hasn't?) you would know that I find Kanye West to be a major sexpot. So when I got the press release saying that he was coming into town tonight to hang out at Rumfire I thought to myself: "Self, you want to go to there." (I heart Tina Fey)

But then the Pro Bowl parties started up and I quickly realized that just because a party says someone famous is going to be there, if they don't name specific names and you don't get a legit press release, it means absolutely nothing.

So, I contacted the folks over at Rumfire to see how legit the claim is that Kanye will be there is. Turns out it's legit. They guaranteed that he would be there for at least part of the night, but he's going to be in the VIP booth, so unless you're ready to cough up some cash to get in then get ready to just admire from afar.

Pro Bowl Week

Anne Shilton — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:51:31 GMT

Its Pro Bowl week and I'm excited because:
a) There are lots of hunky NFL stars walking around Waikiki
b) The parties this week are some of the best that Honolulu has all year.
c) After this week football season is over and I can stop pretending to condone my boyfriend drinking beer at 9am while he watches the game.

But for all you folks out there who aren't crazy about the Pro Bowl and all things Pro Bowl related, there are actually other things going on this week that have nothing to do with football and more to do with fashion, art and jewelry, sweet!

There are two significant gallery openings this week. Yesterday was the opening of "Saltwater and Feathers at the Chinatown Boardroom. These are works by Heather Brown which reflect her love for the Sea- I've heard it's great but I haven't made it down yet so I give no guarantees.

Opening today is "Precious" at Fish Cake. This is a show of little items (think jewelry) just in time for Valentine's Day. The collection includes jewelry pieces from Amos Kotomori, Wendy Messier, Cynthia Wiig, Roy Venture and a few others.

Fashionista's market is holding a one day sale this weekend at Luana Hills Country Club. Not only will they have rad clothes super cheap, but Lena Hanson of Lena's Fab Brow's fame will be on site taking care of all your unwanted facial hair problems. Because no one wants a valentine with a uni brow.

Sunday The Butik is having a special day to unveil the new Fighting Eel line. Not only is The Butik one of my favorite boutiques ever, but Fighting Eel has clothes that could make even the Bride of Frankenstein look like Angelina Jolie, well, maybe not but you get the point. Enjoy cocktails, a fashion show and shopping.

So enough of those long faces about having to party all weekend with NFL players because there is nothing else going on in Honolulu. Ladies, get out there and do what we ladies do best: flirt with hunky NFL players and shop!

I'm here for the chips and the commercials.

Anne Shilton — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:52:13 GMT

Here's what I don't get about football: the fact that there is a call called "unnecessary roughness." Isn't the whole game unnecessary roughness?

That's actually not the only thing I don't get about football, in fact I'm sure I missed most of last night's games finer points, but I did watch, and I certainly didn't miss any of the commercials.

I watch the Super Bowl for three reasons:

1) I'm a commercial junkie. I've always loved commercials- which is probably why I went into marketing. Writing commercials is by far the most fun part of my job (although getting paid to party ain't so bad either.)

2) There is usually a good deal of things involved with the Super Bowl that include the words cheese and fried. These are quite possibly a few of my favorite words, and when put together I find my mouth watering and myself saying, like Tina Fey: "I want to go to there."

3) I don't want to sound like an idiot on Monday morning.

So, I sat glued to the Super Bowl in hog heaven as the best commercials of the year rolled by and fried potatoes and cheese dip found their way into my mouth. Blissfully unaware of what was actually happening on the t.v. screen. And afterwards I felt that strange let down feeling, like a kid the day after Christmas when you know you have 364 more days to go before Christmas arrives again.

So until next Super Bowl we're stuck watching second rate commercials for things we have little interest in. For another 364 days that guy will shout at us about Oxi-Clean and Vince, with his hip little headset, will try and convince us that we absolutely can not live without a Sham-wow. It's going to be another long year.

Hope you all enjoyed the Super Bowl! What were your favorite commercials?

A patriotic weekend

Anne Shilton — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:52:41 GMT

For the first time in a very long time (okay, 8 years) I'm feeling rather patriotic. In fact I would venture to say that there are a lot of people in the U.S. who are feeling this sudden wave of "yeah, America, way to go, way to prove we are not all total ignoramuses." So, in that spirit, here are some things to do this weekend that have a distinctly "rah rah rah America" feel to them.

What could be more American than Chinese New Year? Tonight is the big Chinese New Year block party in Chinatown. One of the amazing things about the U.S. (insert "rah rah rah America" here) is the diversity of cultures we have as a nation of immigrants. So come out and celebrate tonight- it's free!!

Saturday, what could be more American than a BBQ and flag football game? The group "meet in Honolulu" which is a social networking group that helps people meet irl (in real life) is throwing a bbq in Kapiolani park tomorrow morning. You do need to RSVP but it's free to come- just bring a food item to share.

Saturday night let's celebrate diversity again at Hapa. Flash and Matty (the haole promoters) team up with Tantriq and Arcitechs (the Asian promoters) for a party at PF Chang's (a super Americanized Chinese restaurant). We've got all kinds of inter-racial mixing here- I think that deserves a "rah rah rah America!"

I can't believe I'm mentioning this, but, it is, I guess, very American... this Saturday is the Miss America peagent on TBS. It's American, and at the very least mildly entertaining during the trivia segment of the competition.

NightMarket at Aloha Tower

Anne Shilton — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:53:10 GMT

If you were looking for something to do on Wednesday night after work chances are going to a farmers market probably wasn't at the top of your list. Maybe it should be though.

Tomorrow night is the third in Aloha Tower's series of Wednesday night events called "NightMarket." These events are a hodgepodge of fashion, art, music, food, networking and social responsibility all rolled into one – it's the nightlife equivalent of sausage.

Tomorrow night's event features a fashion show called Global WarNing with clothes by Custo Barcelona and hair and makeup by Don Marco and Speirs Salon. There will be food booths offering both local produce as well as food from top local chefs, as well as booths featuring both green and made in Hawaii products.

The event is free, however you should bring cash if you want to eat, drink or shop. Also, bring business cards for the "Red Lounge" created by INTO specifically as a spot for networking. See you at the market!

The Details:

NightMarket at The Waterfront at Aloha Tower Marketplace

Every third Wednesday of the month from 5pm-10pm

Free with food and beverages available for sale

Gear up for GAR

Anne Shilton — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:53:51 GMT

If you're planning on running the Great Aloha Run today is your last day to sign up for the price of $35- as of tomorrow the price goes up to $45. This is one of my favorite athletic events that I do every year- so if you've never done it before make this the year you get your rear in gear. Incase you need motivation to sign up here are 8 reasons (1 for each mile) to get out there:

1) This is Hawaii's most fun race. It's almost more of a social event than a race with a good ratio of normal people to stick-thin-haggard looking runner types.
2) I saw the t-shirt design and it's pretty cool.
3) You are bound to see someone (or many someones) that you know.
4) The average person burns just over 100 calories per mile covered so in theory if you complete the GAR you'll have burned around 900 calories- take your pick how you want to replenish those calories: a) 6 cold beers b) 5 donuts c) a big mac meal.
5) The proceeds go to needy island charities.
6) There will be lots of hot girls in short running shorts.
7) There will be lots of muscle-y boys in Under Armour.
8) Free cookies at the finish line.

Brides, golfers and the end of Skyline

Anne Shilton — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:54:14 GMT

My paddle boarding plans for this weekend got scrapped when the words 25 foot waves entered this morning's surf report- so here's what I've got planned for this weekend instead.

The Hawaii Bridal Expo is happening this weekend at the Blaisdell. Not getting married? Doesn't really matter. For $8 you get a full day of entertainment watching brides behave badly, overwhelmed grooms (who are beginning to rethink their decisions) wander around blankly and assorted family members in tow trying to figure out how much this is all going to cost. It's an all-you-can-eat buffet for anyone who enjoys feasting their eyes on some first class people watching. Plus, there will be plenty of free samples from local caterers. Bonus.

The Sony Open is going on until Sunday. Some great golfers are in town and it should be a good show. I'll be there all day Sunday- and I've never been to a golf tournament before so if you see me there please fill me in on what is going on.

Tomorrow night is the LAST EVER Skyline at the Hanohano Room. If you've never been to one of Flash and Matty's fantastic parties this would be a great one to go to. It's guaranteed to be packed to the gills, full of Honolulu's nightlife socialites and an all around good time. Find me and I'll hook you up with some cool Metromix stuff.

See you out there!

A disclaimer before this goes any farther...

Anne Shilton — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 02:48:42 GMT

I'm the marketing manager for Metromix Honolulu- so I do spend a whole lot of time playing in the nightlife and entertainment world- but that's not the only thing I'm into and it's not the only stuff you'll see on this blog.

What you should know before you read any farther:
- I can't spell. I never have been able to and though I will try my darndest to use spell check to the best of my abilities there will probably be things that will slip through the cracks. If that offends you, I'm sorry.
- I'm a twenty-something and therefore I am entitled to blog every now and then about ridiculous things like why Kanye West is a sexpot and what a "dirt phone" is. I'll try to keep the ridiculousness to a minimum.
- I have my weaknesses: mainly its things like bad booty rap, expensive sunglasses, good books, shiny things and snarky comments that get me.
- I'm an athlete and an outdoors gal. Thus, there will be posts about great hikes, upcoming fun runs and maybe even a review from a triathlon that will sneak into this blog.
- I want to know what you guys want to read about. What does Metromix need? What is your Friday night lacking? Bring on the comments (snarky and all), I'm ready for it.

Happy reading and type to you soon!

It's January 15th- do you know where your converter box is?

Anne Shilton — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:54:54 GMT

It's January 15th, the day Hawaii goes digital, the day bunny ears meet their bitter end. Some have predicted mass pandemonium, a veritable apocalypse of pop culture as senior citizens everywhere sit staring blankly at their blank televisions and think "is this that Y2k thingy they've been predicting?"

Settle down everyone. In the event you missed the hundreds of public service announcements that have been airing for the past few months, and you've missed all the copious news coverage that change has been given (but you've somehow found my blog?) I've got a list of things to keep you busy while you're in your T.V.-less state.

1) The Contemporary Museum is hosting a new exhibit of ceramics by Toshiko Takaezu, and if your in your 20's you get in free, in honor of their 20th anniversary. So, their website really isn't great but I'm sure if you twittered to @TCMHonoluluPR they would be happy to give you more info.
2) Chinese New Year is right around the corner- so start getting in the mood by trying out a new Chinese place. If you didn't get picked to "Eat with Melissa" here are two places that have been on my list: Happy Days & Legend Seafood Restaurant.
3) The printing press is funny again! Or has it always been? Manoa Valley Theater is putting on a new musical called "Gutenberg." I can't vouch for it but it's about moveable type and what could be more entertaining than that?
4) Spend some time with one of my favorite blogs of all time: FAIL BLOG (it will make you feel better about yourself)
5) At 7:30 tonight the Doris Duke Theater is showing L'Immortelle, a film by the famous French director Alain Robbe-Grillet. Expect awesome 1960's fashion- but don't expect it to be in English or in color.
6) Ecolounge is happening tonight at Indigo and if you haven't been to this event yet I would highly recommend checking it out. It's eco-y without being smelly hippie-y. Also The Deadbeats are playing and someone (Super CW) said that Elevaters (who play tomorrow at The Loft) will be in the house.

You have no excuse to be bored- get out from behind that blank TV and go do something in our fine city!