"Binge-drinking" has always been fascinating to me in terms of the tragedy and long-term effects this erratic and destructive behavior can cause. I had a tendency to believe that this was a development of college associated drinking where students would be under academic stress that encouraged sobriety until finals were over or the weekend arrived and would then consume inexplicable amounts of alcohol. This was until my understanding of high functioning alcoholism developed. Most alcoholics fall under this category (Benton, 2009) and may be increasingly resistant to treatment as they do not fall into most familiar categories of alcoholics (drinking alone, hiding alcohol consumption).
Although I really want to discus caffeine and sex addiction soon (albeit not as a composite), I find alcohol addiction especially intriguing as its history through prohibition, regulation, and socialization may be the mirror for all drug progression.
Benton , S. (2009) The High Functioning Alcoholic. Psychology Today. Accessed on March 17, 2011 from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-high-functioning-alcoholic/200904/social-drinkers-problem-drinkers-and-high-functioning-alc
Saturday, March 19, 2011
"Just because you've got the monkey off your back, doesn't mean the circus has left town." George Carlin
Addiction is a fascinating, multi-faceted, and demanding public health and medical dilemma. Johnson (2010) defines addiction as “the need to continue obtaining and using a chemical substance despite one’s better judgment and good intentions.” Used interchangeably with diagnostic terminology including substance abuse, substance dependence, or a substance-related disorders, addiction may stipulate an increasing tolerance to a substance and withdrawal systems when the substance is removed from the system, and compulsive drug-taking behavior (DSSM-IV-TR, 2000). Addiction may also be used to describe a condition, propensity, or disposition that is not necessarily accompanied by use or abuse of the substance.
Specific to drug addiction, the physiological capabilities of the chemical substance relates its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier in order to manipulate neural pathways and dopamine levels. This capability was most often initially recognized as valuable in terms of medical treatments, as most drugs were initially discovered, developed, and utilized for disease treatment. However, improper utilization, debilitating side-effects, and long-term brain damage as in the case of LSD and cocaine reclassified these substances as dangerous. Modern prescription medicines such as ritalin, vicodin, and oxycontin are also of concern in terms of their improper utilization and subsequent psychological and/or physiological dependence development.
In Hawai’i, numerous factors coincide to contribute to crystal methamphetamine’s addiction prevalence. These include being a powerful stimulant, highly addictive, its low price, the state’s geographic isolation which increases the cost of and reduces the availability of other drugs, inadequate drug education, and low per-capita income among at-risk populations and related support services (Hawaii Meth Project, 2010) .
Crystal methamphetamine can increase dopamine levels 1150% more than food and 850% more than cocaine (NIDA, 2010). Due to this disturbing ability, most methamphetamine efforts are focused on use prevention. Recent studies have further examined the role of support services in curtailing methamphetamine use and associated behavior. Menza et. al., (2010) determined that therapeutic measures such as contingency management are unlikely to have a sustained effect on methamphetamine use. Kenny et al., (2011) determined that treatment utilization was low due to perceptions of an individual’s self-management of meth addiction and suggested online treatments or specialist clinics.
These assessments for treatments in crystal methamphetamine addiction support current efforts that focus on prevention. From a public health perspective, prevention is always primary and in this instance, seems entirely and direly necessary.
Johnson, M.D. (2010). Human Biology: Concepts and current issues. San Francisco. CA: Pearson Benjamin Cummings.
Kenny, P., Harney, A., Lee, N., and Pennay, A. (February 2011) Treatment utilization and barriers to treatment: Results of a survey of dependent methamphetamine users. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy.6(1):3.
Menza, T., Jameson, D., Hughes,J., Colfax, G., Shoptaw, S., Golden, M. (December 2010) Contingency management to reduce methamphetamine use and sexual risk among men who have sex with men: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health.10:774.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (2010) The Science of Addiction. Accessed on March 16, 2011 from http://www.nida.nih.gov/scienceofaddiction/sciofaddiction.pdf
The Hawaii Meth Project (2010) Hawaii Meth Use and Attitudes Survey 2010. Accessed on March 15, 2011 from http://www.hawaiimethproject.org/About_Us/publications.php.
Specific to drug addiction, the physiological capabilities of the chemical substance relates its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier in order to manipulate neural pathways and dopamine levels. This capability was most often initially recognized as valuable in terms of medical treatments, as most drugs were initially discovered, developed, and utilized for disease treatment. However, improper utilization, debilitating side-effects, and long-term brain damage as in the case of LSD and cocaine reclassified these substances as dangerous. Modern prescription medicines such as ritalin, vicodin, and oxycontin are also of concern in terms of their improper utilization and subsequent psychological and/or physiological dependence development.
In Hawai’i, numerous factors coincide to contribute to crystal methamphetamine’s addiction prevalence. These include being a powerful stimulant, highly addictive, its low price, the state’s geographic isolation which increases the cost of and reduces the availability of other drugs, inadequate drug education, and low per-capita income among at-risk populations and related support services (Hawaii Meth Project, 2010) .
Crystal methamphetamine can increase dopamine levels 1150% more than food and 850% more than cocaine (NIDA, 2010). Due to this disturbing ability, most methamphetamine efforts are focused on use prevention. Recent studies have further examined the role of support services in curtailing methamphetamine use and associated behavior. Menza et. al., (2010) determined that therapeutic measures such as contingency management are unlikely to have a sustained effect on methamphetamine use. Kenny et al., (2011) determined that treatment utilization was low due to perceptions of an individual’s self-management of meth addiction and suggested online treatments or specialist clinics.
These assessments for treatments in crystal methamphetamine addiction support current efforts that focus on prevention. From a public health perspective, prevention is always primary and in this instance, seems entirely and direly necessary.
Johnson, M.D. (2010). Human Biology: Concepts and current issues. San Francisco. CA: Pearson Benjamin Cummings.
Kenny, P., Harney, A., Lee, N., and Pennay, A. (February 2011) Treatment utilization and barriers to treatment: Results of a survey of dependent methamphetamine users. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy.6(1):3.
Menza, T., Jameson, D., Hughes,J., Colfax, G., Shoptaw, S., Golden, M. (December 2010) Contingency management to reduce methamphetamine use and sexual risk among men who have sex with men: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health.10:774.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (2010) The Science of Addiction. Accessed on March 16, 2011 from http://www.nida.nih.gov/scienceofaddiction/sciofaddiction.pdf
The Hawaii Meth Project (2010) Hawaii Meth Use and Attitudes Survey 2010. Accessed on March 15, 2011 from http://www.hawaiimethproject.org/About_Us/publications.php.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Island Roots by my father...
A Hawaii Island Story: Aiko & Co.
There is no end to enriching Hawaii Island stories. Here's a Hawaii Island story that (so far)begins in the ranchlands of Waimea and winds up on Broadway, with innumerable tangents running to Kohala and Hilo and the Hamakua Coast, to Maui and Kauai, to Oahu and Hawaii's first Chinese millionaire (Chun Afong), to a famous writer (Jack London), and to a popular film actor (Keanu Reeves). It all begins here on Hawaii Island in Waimea.
Intuitively, most people who know anything about the now defunct sugar industry on Hawaii Island would readily believe it began on the Hamakua Coast. Not so; wrong. It began in Waimea in probably what is today known as the Lalamilo Farm Lots. About 250 acres. Not to be confused with Kauai, it was called the Lihue Plantation, irrigated by the Waikoloa Stream that runs through Waimea Town (behind KTA, next to Parker School, behind the Catholic and Episcopal Churches, and through Waimea Nature Park). The proposed Waimea Trail will run along the Waikoloa Stream from Church Row on down to a proposed park near the Waimea rubbish transfer station just off the Kawaihae Road.
In early Hawaiian times, Waimea was a place of streams and climates that ran from wet to dry - ideal, as it is today, for growing a variety of foods. The Waikoloa Stream is usually dry these days because the water has been diverted into reservoirs above Waimea to meet the town's need for drinking water. In 2004, however, due to obstruction upstream during heavy rains, the Waikoloa Stream flooded the town.
The area that became the Lihue Plantation was once controlled by Governor Kuakini who built the "Hulihee Palace" in Kailua-Kona. This was a time when all land belonged to the king, a time before the foreign concept of private land ownership was introduced, before the Mahele led to earthshaking change which is a whole different story in itself. What became known as the Lihuie Plantation was started by Chinese during the mid-1830s, specifically by Aiko (Lum Ah Jo), one of the original tongsee (sugar masters).
There were only about half a dozen tongsee. A few went to Kauai. It seems Aiko went there first, but the Governor of Kauai was not so accommodating. Somehow, Aiko wound up on Hawaii Island.
Sugarcane grew wild in Hawaii before Captain Cook arrived in 1778 and some of this wild cane was ground in stone mills powered by oxen going round and round. The juice was boiled down in stages into sugar. This occurred earlier, in the early 1800s. The first Chinese mill began on Lanai but this operation ran for only about one year.
The tongsee who came later during the 1830s established organized plantations that cultivated cane. The tongsee had, and coveted, the technique of grinding (squeezing) the cane stalks and boiling the juice down into sugar crystals. The Chinese started small sugar plantations on Hawaii Island which grew and were later consolidated into the larger plantations that operated up to the 1990s. Most of those early Chinese eventually became increasingly involved in acquiring and selling (and gifting) lands, and in early small businesses. Note that the first contract sugar laborers who came to Hawaii were Chinese, but they did not arrive until much later, in 1852.
Aiko sold his plantation around 1840 to Abram Feyerweather, an American who married into Hawaiian royalty. His daughter, Julia, in 1857, married a merchant in Oahu who became the first Chinese millionaire in Hawaii, Chun Afong. He and other Chinese are known to have thrown a big celebration for King Kalakaua. There is a marker on the Waikiki Trail, like the Duke Kahanamoku marker, at the spot where the Afong Villa (a mansion) once stood.
Chun and Julia Afong had 12 sons and 4 daughters. The life of Chun Afong inspired Jack London's short story Chun Ah Chun. Much later, this story morphed into the 1961 Broadway musical 13 Daughters written with music and lyrics by Eaton Magoon Jr. who is related to Julia. Don Ameche had the lead role. Keola Beamer had a part and his mother, Nona Beamer, was Hawaiian consultant. The show didn't run very long. One comment is that it ran too soon after the very successful 7 Brides for 7 Brothers.
Aiko married a Hawaiian woman from the Waimea area in 1835 and they had a daughter, Amelia Akoi, born in 1836. Aiko's wife, Maria Kaahuapea, probably from the Waimea area, was baptized a Catholic in 1840 during a time when Catholics were not very welcomed in Hawaii. Amelia was their only natural child. They raised other children, hanai and adopted.
After selling the Waimea plantation to Abram Feyerweather, Aiko started another plantation in Kohala, near Kapaau where the original Kamehameha Statue (one of five such statues) is located, in the area known as Iole (rat), very close to the distinctive Kalahikiola Church which was severely damaged in the 2006 earthquak but has since been restored, of Reverend Elias Bond who served the area in various capacities for over 50 years. Aiko's plantation was also close to the Kohala Girls School, an intriguing boarding complex which ceased to operate perhaps during the 1940s. In more recent years, it has been nicely restored and renovated and is being used as a private cultural center that welcomes the general public. The nearby original Bond Estate is also a feature of the area.
Aiko next moved down to Hilo where he with other Chinese started a plantation on Ponohawai. And he started other plantations in the areas of Amauulu, Paukaa, Onomea/Papaikou. Incidentally, Chun Afong had an interest in a plantation in Pepeekeo. Aiko had the first bowling alley in Hilo and was involved in other businesses including inter-island shipping. He owned or controlled various properties. Aiko became a Catholic late in life and gifted land to St. Joseph's Church.
Aiko's and Maria Kaahuapea's daughter, Amelia Akoi, married half-Hawaiian half-Chinese Wikoli (Victor) Kamukai. Both Amelia and Wikoli were born in 1836. When Wikoli was baptized a Christian, legend says he turned his name around to call himself Kamukai Victor. They had 11 (or 12?) children. This is how the Victors of Hilo began whose names are seen in various places around town including St. Joseph's School gym where a Victor was a well-known and much loved coach, not only there but elsewhere in Hilo where he served various sports and teams.
Incidentally, but notably, Kamukai Victor's signature, along with the signatures of other Victors, are found in the Ku'e: The Hui Aloha 'Aina Anti-Annexation Petitions 1897-1898. His age is stated as 64 years. This petition, submitted to William McKinley as President of the US Senate stated, ". . . earnestly protest against the said Hawaiian Islands to the said United States of America."
In Hilo, between the Hongwanji temple and Starbucks on Kilauea Avenue in Hilo there are two property lots. Today, one of the two, adjacent to Starbucks, is a parking lot for the Sangha Hall in the rear. The other, adjacent to the temple, is today a financial services office. Both properties once belonged to Aiko. About 10 years ago an old heritage house on what is today's parking lot was, unfortunately and regrettably, torn down.
The home was affectionately known as "Termite Tavern", a gathering place for the Victor family and friends. Aiko, born in China in 1799, died in that house in 1895 - he was blind and still had his Chinese-style hair queue. He is buried in the small, unkempt St. Joseph's Cemetery behind Hilo Terrace Apartments on Waianuenue Avenue. His tombstone is in one of the corners in a plot with other Victor family members.
One of the 11 original Victors, Joseph Aiona Victor, is a direct ancestor of Keanu Charles Reeves who is a sixth generation Victor. (Keanu has a sister, Kim Sarah Makakapu Reeves, and a half-sister Emma Kauluwehionalani Victor.) Born in 1964 in Beirut, Keanu's father was Hawaiian-Chinese-?? and his mother was English. His grandmother, Mrs. Sarah Momilani Victor, born 1923, lives in Hawaii and attends the biennial Victor 'Ohana Reunion.
Another of the 11 original Victor children married an Englishman-Scot (Watson) and they had 14 (or 16 or 18?) children who are directly related to "Huggo's" of Kailua-Kona (von Platen Luder), Honolulu Mayor Neil Blaisdell, the Thurstons, and other familiar names of Hawaii.
One of the 14 married a Hawaiian-Portuguese (Henry William Moniz) who worked for the then Hilo Tribune-Herald for exactly 50 years (1909-1959). Legend has it he never took a day of sick leave. Old timers in Hilo say people were like that in those days. His wife, Ethel (Watson) Moniz, worked for Consolidated Amusement Company (Palace and Hilo Theatres) for some 30+ years. They lived in the other Victor Estate house next to the Hongwanji temple where there is a financial services office today. (The 1960 tsunami terminated just opposite on the makai side of Kilauea Avenue which was half as wide at that time.)
There is always more to the story, the rest of the story, and the whole story. But this is some of the story. It begins in Waimea and goes all around Hawaii Island, to Honolulu, to Maui and Kauai where there are more Victors, to the mainland including Broadway, and beyond to Beirut and wherevah.
Here are a few reference sources:
1974 issue of the Hawaiian Journal of History has a lot on the early Chinese to Hawaii Islandof Hawaii, notably of Aiko and the Lihue Plantation. The 1974 journal is available at the Hilo Public Library and the Thelma Parker Memorial Library in Waimea. Aiko is also mentioned in many other books and articles including Kohala Aina, and Wayne Subica's "Mom & Pop" collections.
November 1986 issue of Honolulu Magazine (available in the Hilo Public Library), has an article by Bob Dye on Abram Feyerweather, Lihue - The Lost Plantation. Over some 50 years author, historian, and journalist Bob Dye wrote many articles published by the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Magazine. He was an aide to the irascible steamroller Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi. From a Google source: "He wrote countless political and historical articles and edited the three-volume set, Hawaii Chronicles: Island History from the pages of HONOLULU Magazine. That’s not to mention his own books, including a novel, Humble Honest Men, and Merchant Prince of the Sandalwood Mountains, the fascinating story of his wife's, Tessa’s, great-great-grandfather, Chun Afong, Hawaii’s first Chinese millionaire." Dye passed away about a year ago.
Jack London's fictionalized biography of Chun Afong, Chun Ah Chun is available at: http://www.classicreader.com/book/676/1/)
Jack London's short story is the inspiration of the 1961 Broadway musical 13 Daughters starring Don Ameche, written with music and lyrics by Eaton Magoon Jr. Keola Beamer had a part. His mother, Nona Beamer, was Hawaiian consultant.
See: http://broadwaybuffet.wetpaint.com/page/13+Daughters
There's is a Victor 'Ohana website: http://www.victor-ohana.org/
Question: Who was Maria Kaahuapea? Who was her family? Where did she come from? What's HER story?
There is no end to enriching Hawaii Island stories. Here's a Hawaii Island story that (so far)begins in the ranchlands of Waimea and winds up on Broadway, with innumerable tangents running to Kohala and Hilo and the Hamakua Coast, to Maui and Kauai, to Oahu and Hawaii's first Chinese millionaire (Chun Afong), to a famous writer (Jack London), and to a popular film actor (Keanu Reeves). It all begins here on Hawaii Island in Waimea.
Intuitively, most people who know anything about the now defunct sugar industry on Hawaii Island would readily believe it began on the Hamakua Coast. Not so; wrong. It began in Waimea in probably what is today known as the Lalamilo Farm Lots. About 250 acres. Not to be confused with Kauai, it was called the Lihue Plantation, irrigated by the Waikoloa Stream that runs through Waimea Town (behind KTA, next to Parker School, behind the Catholic and Episcopal Churches, and through Waimea Nature Park). The proposed Waimea Trail will run along the Waikoloa Stream from Church Row on down to a proposed park near the Waimea rubbish transfer station just off the Kawaihae Road.
In early Hawaiian times, Waimea was a place of streams and climates that ran from wet to dry - ideal, as it is today, for growing a variety of foods. The Waikoloa Stream is usually dry these days because the water has been diverted into reservoirs above Waimea to meet the town's need for drinking water. In 2004, however, due to obstruction upstream during heavy rains, the Waikoloa Stream flooded the town.
The area that became the Lihue Plantation was once controlled by Governor Kuakini who built the "Hulihee Palace" in Kailua-Kona. This was a time when all land belonged to the king, a time before the foreign concept of private land ownership was introduced, before the Mahele led to earthshaking change which is a whole different story in itself. What became known as the Lihuie Plantation was started by Chinese during the mid-1830s, specifically by Aiko (Lum Ah Jo), one of the original tongsee (sugar masters).
There were only about half a dozen tongsee. A few went to Kauai. It seems Aiko went there first, but the Governor of Kauai was not so accommodating. Somehow, Aiko wound up on Hawaii Island.
Sugarcane grew wild in Hawaii before Captain Cook arrived in 1778 and some of this wild cane was ground in stone mills powered by oxen going round and round. The juice was boiled down in stages into sugar. This occurred earlier, in the early 1800s. The first Chinese mill began on Lanai but this operation ran for only about one year.
The tongsee who came later during the 1830s established organized plantations that cultivated cane. The tongsee had, and coveted, the technique of grinding (squeezing) the cane stalks and boiling the juice down into sugar crystals. The Chinese started small sugar plantations on Hawaii Island which grew and were later consolidated into the larger plantations that operated up to the 1990s. Most of those early Chinese eventually became increasingly involved in acquiring and selling (and gifting) lands, and in early small businesses. Note that the first contract sugar laborers who came to Hawaii were Chinese, but they did not arrive until much later, in 1852.
Aiko sold his plantation around 1840 to Abram Feyerweather, an American who married into Hawaiian royalty. His daughter, Julia, in 1857, married a merchant in Oahu who became the first Chinese millionaire in Hawaii, Chun Afong. He and other Chinese are known to have thrown a big celebration for King Kalakaua. There is a marker on the Waikiki Trail, like the Duke Kahanamoku marker, at the spot where the Afong Villa (a mansion) once stood.
Chun and Julia Afong had 12 sons and 4 daughters. The life of Chun Afong inspired Jack London's short story Chun Ah Chun. Much later, this story morphed into the 1961 Broadway musical 13 Daughters written with music and lyrics by Eaton Magoon Jr. who is related to Julia. Don Ameche had the lead role. Keola Beamer had a part and his mother, Nona Beamer, was Hawaiian consultant. The show didn't run very long. One comment is that it ran too soon after the very successful 7 Brides for 7 Brothers.
Aiko married a Hawaiian woman from the Waimea area in 1835 and they had a daughter, Amelia Akoi, born in 1836. Aiko's wife, Maria Kaahuapea, probably from the Waimea area, was baptized a Catholic in 1840 during a time when Catholics were not very welcomed in Hawaii. Amelia was their only natural child. They raised other children, hanai and adopted.
After selling the Waimea plantation to Abram Feyerweather, Aiko started another plantation in Kohala, near Kapaau where the original Kamehameha Statue (one of five such statues) is located, in the area known as Iole (rat), very close to the distinctive Kalahikiola Church which was severely damaged in the 2006 earthquak but has since been restored, of Reverend Elias Bond who served the area in various capacities for over 50 years. Aiko's plantation was also close to the Kohala Girls School, an intriguing boarding complex which ceased to operate perhaps during the 1940s. In more recent years, it has been nicely restored and renovated and is being used as a private cultural center that welcomes the general public. The nearby original Bond Estate is also a feature of the area.
Aiko next moved down to Hilo where he with other Chinese started a plantation on Ponohawai. And he started other plantations in the areas of Amauulu, Paukaa, Onomea/Papaikou. Incidentally, Chun Afong had an interest in a plantation in Pepeekeo. Aiko had the first bowling alley in Hilo and was involved in other businesses including inter-island shipping. He owned or controlled various properties. Aiko became a Catholic late in life and gifted land to St. Joseph's Church.
Aiko's and Maria Kaahuapea's daughter, Amelia Akoi, married half-Hawaiian half-Chinese Wikoli (Victor) Kamukai. Both Amelia and Wikoli were born in 1836. When Wikoli was baptized a Christian, legend says he turned his name around to call himself Kamukai Victor. They had 11 (or 12?) children. This is how the Victors of Hilo began whose names are seen in various places around town including St. Joseph's School gym where a Victor was a well-known and much loved coach, not only there but elsewhere in Hilo where he served various sports and teams.
Incidentally, but notably, Kamukai Victor's signature, along with the signatures of other Victors, are found in the Ku'e: The Hui Aloha 'Aina Anti-Annexation Petitions 1897-1898. His age is stated as 64 years. This petition, submitted to William McKinley as President of the US Senate stated, ". . . earnestly protest against the said Hawaiian Islands to the said United States of America."
In Hilo, between the Hongwanji temple and Starbucks on Kilauea Avenue in Hilo there are two property lots. Today, one of the two, adjacent to Starbucks, is a parking lot for the Sangha Hall in the rear. The other, adjacent to the temple, is today a financial services office. Both properties once belonged to Aiko. About 10 years ago an old heritage house on what is today's parking lot was, unfortunately and regrettably, torn down.
The home was affectionately known as "Termite Tavern", a gathering place for the Victor family and friends. Aiko, born in China in 1799, died in that house in 1895 - he was blind and still had his Chinese-style hair queue. He is buried in the small, unkempt St. Joseph's Cemetery behind Hilo Terrace Apartments on Waianuenue Avenue. His tombstone is in one of the corners in a plot with other Victor family members.
One of the 11 original Victors, Joseph Aiona Victor, is a direct ancestor of Keanu Charles Reeves who is a sixth generation Victor. (Keanu has a sister, Kim Sarah Makakapu Reeves, and a half-sister Emma Kauluwehionalani Victor.) Born in 1964 in Beirut, Keanu's father was Hawaiian-Chinese-?? and his mother was English. His grandmother, Mrs. Sarah Momilani Victor, born 1923, lives in Hawaii and attends the biennial Victor 'Ohana Reunion.
Another of the 11 original Victor children married an Englishman-Scot (Watson) and they had 14 (or 16 or 18?) children who are directly related to "Huggo's" of Kailua-Kona (von Platen Luder), Honolulu Mayor Neil Blaisdell, the Thurstons, and other familiar names of Hawaii.
One of the 14 married a Hawaiian-Portuguese (Henry William Moniz) who worked for the then Hilo Tribune-Herald for exactly 50 years (1909-1959). Legend has it he never took a day of sick leave. Old timers in Hilo say people were like that in those days. His wife, Ethel (Watson) Moniz, worked for Consolidated Amusement Company (Palace and Hilo Theatres) for some 30+ years. They lived in the other Victor Estate house next to the Hongwanji temple where there is a financial services office today. (The 1960 tsunami terminated just opposite on the makai side of Kilauea Avenue which was half as wide at that time.)
There is always more to the story, the rest of the story, and the whole story. But this is some of the story. It begins in Waimea and goes all around Hawaii Island, to Honolulu, to Maui and Kauai where there are more Victors, to the mainland including Broadway, and beyond to Beirut and wherevah.
Here are a few reference sources:
1974 issue of the Hawaiian Journal of History has a lot on the early Chinese to Hawaii Islandof Hawaii, notably of Aiko and the Lihue Plantation. The 1974 journal is available at the Hilo Public Library and the Thelma Parker Memorial Library in Waimea. Aiko is also mentioned in many other books and articles including Kohala Aina, and Wayne Subica's "Mom & Pop" collections.
November 1986 issue of Honolulu Magazine (available in the Hilo Public Library), has an article by Bob Dye on Abram Feyerweather, Lihue - The Lost Plantation. Over some 50 years author, historian, and journalist Bob Dye wrote many articles published by the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Magazine. He was an aide to the irascible steamroller Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi. From a Google source: "He wrote countless political and historical articles and edited the three-volume set, Hawaii Chronicles: Island History from the pages of HONOLULU Magazine. That’s not to mention his own books, including a novel, Humble Honest Men, and Merchant Prince of the Sandalwood Mountains, the fascinating story of his wife's, Tessa’s, great-great-grandfather, Chun Afong, Hawaii’s first Chinese millionaire." Dye passed away about a year ago.
Jack London's fictionalized biography of Chun Afong, Chun Ah Chun is available at: http://www.classicreader.com/book/676/1/)
Jack London's short story is the inspiration of the 1961 Broadway musical 13 Daughters starring Don Ameche, written with music and lyrics by Eaton Magoon Jr. Keola Beamer had a part. His mother, Nona Beamer, was Hawaiian consultant.
See: http://broadwaybuffet.wetpaint.com/page/13+Daughters
There's is a Victor 'Ohana website: http://www.victor-ohana.org/
Question: Who was Maria Kaahuapea? Who was her family? Where did she come from? What's HER story?
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Plaque and Poverty
Atherosclerosis is characterized by the deposition of plaque in the form of fatty substances such as cholesterol in the innermost layer of the arterial wall. This plaque deposition causes the arteries to narrow, constricting blood flow. Significant narrowing can either diminish or stop blood flow to the heart, causing angina, myocardial infarction, dyspnea, among other conditions.
Risk factors for atherosclerosis include diabetes, heavy alcohol use, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol levels, high-fat diet, increasing age, obesity, personal or family history of heart disease, and smoking (PubMed Health, 2011). These risk factors predominantly concern diet, exercise, and lifestyle. These components are continually emphasized as integral to health maintenance and management and are such influential contributor’s to an individual’s health. Berg et. al. (2005) specify obesity as a risk factor for systemic inflammation which cause atherosclerosis whereas weight loss decreases systemic inflammation and reduces the risk. This makes evident that the risk factors associated with atherosclerosis, even ones as complicated as obesity, can be modified and eliminated through modification of diet, exercise, and lifestyle.
This emphasis on diet, exercise, and lifestyle can oftentimes be seen as a privilege for those who are of a certain socio-economic strata. Packard et. al.(2011) sought to assess socio-economic adversity as a risk factor for atherosclerosis. While their research concluded that chronic inflammation was a correlating factor influenced by the father’s occupation and childhood home conditions, it encouraged that efforts should be made to reduce the “health divide” and public health should be invested in determining that these health disparities diminish. Utilizing their data for specific socio-economic risk factors may enhance health care workers’ ability to address early onset of such diseases and promote health lifestyle more effectively.
Berg, A., Scherer, P. (2005) Adipose Tissue, Inflammation, and Cardiovascular Diseases Circulation Research, 96, 939-949. doi: 10.1161/01.RES.0000163635.62927.34
Packard CJ, Bezlyak V, McLean JS, Batty GD, Ford I, Burns H, Cavanagh J, Deans KA, Henderson M, McGinty A, Millar K, Sattar N, Shiels PG, Velupillai YN, Tannahill C. (January 2011) Early life socioeconomic adversity is associated in adult life with chronic inflammation, carotid atherosclerosis, poorer lung function and decreased cognitive performance: a cross-sectional, population-based study.BMC Public Health, 11, 42.
PubMed Health (2011) Diseases and Conditions: Atherosclerosis. Accessed on March 9, 2011 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001224/
Risk factors for atherosclerosis include diabetes, heavy alcohol use, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol levels, high-fat diet, increasing age, obesity, personal or family history of heart disease, and smoking (PubMed Health, 2011). These risk factors predominantly concern diet, exercise, and lifestyle. These components are continually emphasized as integral to health maintenance and management and are such influential contributor’s to an individual’s health. Berg et. al. (2005) specify obesity as a risk factor for systemic inflammation which cause atherosclerosis whereas weight loss decreases systemic inflammation and reduces the risk. This makes evident that the risk factors associated with atherosclerosis, even ones as complicated as obesity, can be modified and eliminated through modification of diet, exercise, and lifestyle.
This emphasis on diet, exercise, and lifestyle can oftentimes be seen as a privilege for those who are of a certain socio-economic strata. Packard et. al.(2011) sought to assess socio-economic adversity as a risk factor for atherosclerosis. While their research concluded that chronic inflammation was a correlating factor influenced by the father’s occupation and childhood home conditions, it encouraged that efforts should be made to reduce the “health divide” and public health should be invested in determining that these health disparities diminish. Utilizing their data for specific socio-economic risk factors may enhance health care workers’ ability to address early onset of such diseases and promote health lifestyle more effectively.
Berg, A., Scherer, P. (2005) Adipose Tissue, Inflammation, and Cardiovascular Diseases Circulation Research, 96, 939-949. doi: 10.1161/01.RES.0000163635.62927.34
Packard CJ, Bezlyak V, McLean JS, Batty GD, Ford I, Burns H, Cavanagh J, Deans KA, Henderson M, McGinty A, Millar K, Sattar N, Shiels PG, Velupillai YN, Tannahill C. (January 2011) Early life socioeconomic adversity is associated in adult life with chronic inflammation, carotid atherosclerosis, poorer lung function and decreased cognitive performance: a cross-sectional, population-based study.BMC Public Health, 11, 42.
PubMed Health (2011) Diseases and Conditions: Atherosclerosis. Accessed on March 9, 2011 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001224/
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
A letter the Tooth Fairy left for my son
Dear Isaiah,
First of all, let me explain something very important, a rule #1 for all of your life:
WHATEVER YOU BELIEVE IN WILL COME TRUE.
If you believe in goodness, in your intelligence, your kindness, your creativity, your honor, your joy, your brilliance - it will be with you forever.
Conversely, if you believe in sadness, your inability, jealously, meanness- it will also be with you.
Same goes for the Tooth Fairy, Parking Fairy, Cookie Fairy, Homework Fairy, Christmas Fairies, Easter Bunny, St. Nicholas, and Santa Claus. Whatever you believe in will be with you forever.
Some people fell inspired by these fairies, saints, bunnies, bats, and kind people to perpetuate their kindness- that means making their kindness go on forever through their own actions.
Yes, your parents, grandparents, aunts, teachers, uncles, and the good part of society at large are all real people who perpetuate the goodness of what THEY believe.
It is truly up to you. Believe in good and the goodness in you and it is yours. Believe in other things, same rule applies.
Totally and completely your choice.
I know that people like your mother believe in fairies because it makes her life funner and full of magic when she believes that there are good little spirits all around us who want us to be happy and joyful always.
Life is magical and a gift. The gift is you and your ability to make your life whatever you wish it. There are angels and all the goodness in the world supporting you and guiding you each and every day. Be it into becoming a rocket scientist, a master blaster, a myth-buster, an engineer, a singer, a tennis player, and artist, an athlete, a father, or all of them at once.
You are the king of your castle, the master of your universe, and the writer of your own life story.
Thank you for all that you are and all that you are becoming.
We are ALL so proud of you.
Thank God for blessing you and keeping you safe. We all love you!
The Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny Hop Hop, Christmas fairies, St. Nick, Etc......
First of all, let me explain something very important, a rule #1 for all of your life:
WHATEVER YOU BELIEVE IN WILL COME TRUE.
If you believe in goodness, in your intelligence, your kindness, your creativity, your honor, your joy, your brilliance - it will be with you forever.
Conversely, if you believe in sadness, your inability, jealously, meanness- it will also be with you.
Same goes for the Tooth Fairy, Parking Fairy, Cookie Fairy, Homework Fairy, Christmas Fairies, Easter Bunny, St. Nicholas, and Santa Claus. Whatever you believe in will be with you forever.
Some people fell inspired by these fairies, saints, bunnies, bats, and kind people to perpetuate their kindness- that means making their kindness go on forever through their own actions.
Yes, your parents, grandparents, aunts, teachers, uncles, and the good part of society at large are all real people who perpetuate the goodness of what THEY believe.
It is truly up to you. Believe in good and the goodness in you and it is yours. Believe in other things, same rule applies.
Totally and completely your choice.
I know that people like your mother believe in fairies because it makes her life funner and full of magic when she believes that there are good little spirits all around us who want us to be happy and joyful always.
Life is magical and a gift. The gift is you and your ability to make your life whatever you wish it. There are angels and all the goodness in the world supporting you and guiding you each and every day. Be it into becoming a rocket scientist, a master blaster, a myth-buster, an engineer, a singer, a tennis player, and artist, an athlete, a father, or all of them at once.
You are the king of your castle, the master of your universe, and the writer of your own life story.
Thank you for all that you are and all that you are becoming.
We are ALL so proud of you.
Thank God for blessing you and keeping you safe. We all love you!
The Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny Hop Hop, Christmas fairies, St. Nick, Etc......
Friday, March 4, 2011
Rapid Fire Test
Having grown up in the developing world, I may be one of the greatest (yet quietest) proponents of vaccinations. My wonderful boss currently has the flu. He abstains from the flu shot. I abstain from pestering him about it.
The influenza virus is as “common” as a cold. Yet, it ability to cause havoc among the mammalian and avian population is unique. This acute viral illness is diagnosed by infection of an influenza virus, lungs, and airways and is characterized by the following symptoms malaise, myalgias, headache, cough, fever, runny nose, and sore throat. Two main types of the virus, type A and type B, cause illness amongst human (Urban, 2009). This severe illness results in an estimated 35,000 - 50,000 deaths in the United States and 250,000 – 500,000 world-wide per annum (Thompson, et. al., 2009).
The specific biological mechanisms that enable such wide-spread disease consist of the orthomyxovirus proteins hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) and are pleiomorphic. These molecular components are coupled with their ability to alter their antigenic protein. This ability, antigenic drift, affects host specificity which can lead to more efficient transmission among humans. This greater efficiency can also cause pandemics.
Vaccines are continually promoted as an effective measure in regards to controlling influenza outbreaks. In regards to the highly virulent and pathogenic avian influenza virus (AIV), an FDA approved vaccine currently exists and is stockpiled in the event of human to human transmission. This much feared and anticipated event would be devastating and rapid detection would be necessary to inoculate the affected area prior to its global spread (Dhumpa, 2011). Recent efforts have focused on rapid detection as existing methods that rely on sample preparation of viral RNA extraction and purification from bird droppings are laborious and can take 3-7 days. Dhumpa et. al., examined immunoseperation and purification of AIV from chicken fecal samples that takes 30 minutes. Their detection of 100% of the AIV samples indicated that more efficient, less labor intensive, time-saving, and would be crucial in the event of an AIV human to human transmission. Utilizing their reaction assay to detect AIV in the field would allow public health workers to concentrate their efforts in vaccinating affected populations rapidly. This could ultimately prevent an AIV pandemic.
Centers for Disease Control (2010) Estimates of Deaths Associated with Seasonal Influenza--- United States 1976-2007Morbidity and Mortality Weekly, 59,33, 1057-1062. Accessed on March 3, 2011 from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5933a1.htm?s_cid=mm5933a1_e%0
Dhumpa, R., Handburg, K., Jorgensen, P., Yi, S., Wolff, A., Bang, D. (2010) Rapid detection of avian influenza virus in chicken fecal samples by immunomagnetic capture reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 69, 258-265.
Taubenberger, J. (2006) The Origin and Virulence of the 1918 “Spanish” Influenza Virus. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 150, 86-112.
Thompson, W., Moore, M., Weintraub E. Estimating influenza-associated deaths in the United States. American Journal of Public Health,99, 225-230.
Urban, M. (2009). Influenza. Merck Manual of Medical Information.Accessed March 1, 2011, from: http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/print/sec17/ch198/ch198d.html
Nichol, K. L., & Treanor, J. J. (2006). Vaccines for seasonal and pandemic influenza.
Journal of Infectious Diseases, 94, S111–S118.
Thomas, J. K., & Noppenberger, J. (2007) Avian influenza: A review. American Journal of Health‐System Pharmacy, 64(2), 149–165.
Thompson, W. W., Comanor, L., & Shay, D. K. (2006). Epidemiology of seasonal influenza: Use of surveillance data and statistical models to estimate the burden of disease.
Journal of Infectious Diseases, 194, S82–S91.
The influenza virus is as “common” as a cold. Yet, it ability to cause havoc among the mammalian and avian population is unique. This acute viral illness is diagnosed by infection of an influenza virus, lungs, and airways and is characterized by the following symptoms malaise, myalgias, headache, cough, fever, runny nose, and sore throat. Two main types of the virus, type A and type B, cause illness amongst human (Urban, 2009). This severe illness results in an estimated 35,000 - 50,000 deaths in the United States and 250,000 – 500,000 world-wide per annum (Thompson, et. al., 2009).
The specific biological mechanisms that enable such wide-spread disease consist of the orthomyxovirus proteins hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) and are pleiomorphic. These molecular components are coupled with their ability to alter their antigenic protein. This ability, antigenic drift, affects host specificity which can lead to more efficient transmission among humans. This greater efficiency can also cause pandemics.
Vaccines are continually promoted as an effective measure in regards to controlling influenza outbreaks. In regards to the highly virulent and pathogenic avian influenza virus (AIV), an FDA approved vaccine currently exists and is stockpiled in the event of human to human transmission. This much feared and anticipated event would be devastating and rapid detection would be necessary to inoculate the affected area prior to its global spread (Dhumpa, 2011). Recent efforts have focused on rapid detection as existing methods that rely on sample preparation of viral RNA extraction and purification from bird droppings are laborious and can take 3-7 days. Dhumpa et. al., examined immunoseperation and purification of AIV from chicken fecal samples that takes 30 minutes. Their detection of 100% of the AIV samples indicated that more efficient, less labor intensive, time-saving, and would be crucial in the event of an AIV human to human transmission. Utilizing their reaction assay to detect AIV in the field would allow public health workers to concentrate their efforts in vaccinating affected populations rapidly. This could ultimately prevent an AIV pandemic.
Centers for Disease Control (2010) Estimates of Deaths Associated with Seasonal Influenza--- United States 1976-2007Morbidity and Mortality Weekly, 59,33, 1057-1062. Accessed on March 3, 2011 from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5933a1.htm?s_cid=mm5933a1_e%0
Dhumpa, R., Handburg, K., Jorgensen, P., Yi, S., Wolff, A., Bang, D. (2010) Rapid detection of avian influenza virus in chicken fecal samples by immunomagnetic capture reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 69, 258-265.
Taubenberger, J. (2006) The Origin and Virulence of the 1918 “Spanish” Influenza Virus. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 150, 86-112.
Thompson, W., Moore, M., Weintraub E. Estimating influenza-associated deaths in the United States. American Journal of Public Health,99, 225-230.
Urban, M. (2009). Influenza. Merck Manual of Medical Information.Accessed March 1, 2011, from: http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/print/sec17/ch198/ch198d.html
Nichol, K. L., & Treanor, J. J. (2006). Vaccines for seasonal and pandemic influenza.
Journal of Infectious Diseases, 94, S111–S118.
Thomas, J. K., & Noppenberger, J. (2007) Avian influenza: A review. American Journal of Health‐System Pharmacy, 64(2), 149–165.
Thompson, W. W., Comanor, L., & Shay, D. K. (2006). Epidemiology of seasonal influenza: Use of surveillance data and statistical models to estimate the burden of disease.
Journal of Infectious Diseases, 194, S82–S91.
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