The State Fish

Humuhumunukunukuapuaa! Say that five times fast... That is the Hawaii State fish graffiti on a wall in heart of downtown Honolulu. I've always wondered what that tank was used for and my best guess is for water back in the early 1900's.

Art or Not?

There is a documentary about graffiti and the hip hop culture which I can't remember the title to that I had watched recently. According to the film, graffiti originated with individuals that "tagged" their signs on railroad carts so that many people could see them as they rolled  throughout the country from state to state. One of the more famous international tags was, "Kilroy was here". Other individuals would paint over the tags to show off their painting skills as gang rivalries. Graffiti was meant to be temporary as they faded with time or was painted over by others, until some rich guys decided to buy and sell them as art on canvasses and to hang them in museums and indoor spaces. In Hawaii, the graffiti are usually just scribbles although I can't take anything away from self expression. My question is, is it art or not?

Vibrant Plastic Sweepers

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Happy Tuesday everyone. Without the colorful dustpans and brooms, this alleyway would be just an ordinary narrow passageway. The Chinatown shop to the right of these vibrant plastic brooms was packed with small medium and large steel bowls, metal strainers with bamboo handles, cleaning supplies, various pots and pans, aluminum stacking steamers, cutting boards, knives, etc... Thus, these sweepers were stored here for space.

Keeping My Feet Dry

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 I had envisioned drug addicts, homeless people, hoodlums, old tires, an old television, garbage, computer parts, etc... under this bridge. Aside from graffiti, it was quite clean upon arrival. The fun part of taking this picture was finding a way to keep my feet dry while snapping the shutter.