Corner of Whatever

Wow…even though Hawaii did not appear at this year’s Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, I still caught the game (not the entire game, but a good majority of it) on high-definition on ESPN. Matching Boise State with East Carolina, the game was definitely a shocker with East Carolina upsetting the 24th ranked Broncos 41-38 in a last minute field goal. Chris Johnson from East Carolina wound up being the MVP of the game.

What’s interesting is that Boise State never really lead the game except for once at the beginning of the game with a touchdown right after East Carolina scored first with a field goal. Now isn’t that ironic. The game started out with a field goal and ended with a field goal. The last few minutes of the game were particularly interesting with Boise State almost scoring a touchdown with like 4-5 minutes left in the game, but only to fumble it and East Carolina recovering. BUT, the irony of this game continues with Boise State forcing a fumble and recovering it & scoring a touchdown to tie the game.

Sadly this would be the last chance for Boise to score as they gave up a crucial 20ish yard pass that set East Carolina up for the last and final score to win the 2008 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl and bringing down the 24th ranked Broncos.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Sports Boise State, East Carolina, Hawaii, Sheraton Hawaii Bowl

Just announced by the university, there are a couple of events going on that I’m thinking of going to to help celebrate the New Year and rooting for the Warriors. Are you heading to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl? If so, it’ll be cool to have a lil’ get-together or something. But if we don’t meet up, check out a couple of events around New Years that’ll be cool - if not pricey…

A Cajun-Warriors New Year’s Bash
December 31, 2007: 7pm - 1am

Planning to ring in the new year in the Big Easy? Visitors in town for the BCS Allstate Sugar Bowl are invited to join the “Cajun-Warriors New Year’s Eve Bash” - a one-of-a-kind party featuring University of Hawai’i football coach June Jones; the UH band and cheerleaders; great Cajun food stations; live entertainment including Cajun and Blues music, mardi gras festivities and much more!

$125 per person pre-sale; $150 per person at the door
Authentic Cajun cuisine
Green or Aloha attire

Allstate Sugar Bowl Fan Fest
December 30, 2007
12 noon - 6:00 pm
Decatur Street Lot next to Jax Brewery

ESPN 1420 Bobby Curran Show, Live Broadcast
December 31, 2007
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
New Orleans Marriott; Restaurant 555 (in the lobby)
555 Canal Street

Allstate Sugar Bowl Fan Jam
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
4:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Louisiana Superdome - Gate C Bridge

Or visit the University of Hawaii’s hospitality suite:

University of Hawai’i Alumni Association
Visit the UHAA Hospitality Suite!

UHAA Hospitality Suite Hours:
Thursday, Dec. 27th; 12 noon- 5 pm
Friday, December 28th; 8 am - 5 pm
Saturday, December 29th; 8 am - 5 pm
Sunday, December 30th ; 8 am - 2 pm & 7 pm - 9 pm
Monday, December 31st; 8 am - 2 pm
Tuesday, January 1st; 10 am - 2 pm

Popularity: 13% [?]

Sports New Orleans, Sugar Bowl, University of Hawaii

Hawaii charity deluged with toys after appeal
By Mary Vorsino
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

Readers flooded Toys for Tots with gifts yesterday after the charity said it was woefully short of toys for 16,500 needy O’ahu kids.

An Advertiser story yesterday reported the nonprofit needed 3,000 toys by today to make sure each of kids it helps gets at least one toy on Christmas Day.

By last night, some 4,272 toys had been donated. And there were pledges for thousands more.

“People are bringing bags and bags of toys,” said Kimm Geise, Salvation Army warehouse manager for Toys for Tots, which is operated by the nonprofit and the Marine Corps Reserve. “That’s what this community does,” she added.

“Now, we need to pack them up and get them out of here for delivery.”

The phone for the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots coordinator was also inundated yesterday, and by afternoon it wouldn’t accept any more messages.

But further donations are welcomed and will allow even more kids to receive toys.

Geise said those still wishing to donate should just drop off packages if they’re able.

Today is the last day donations will be accepted. Read more…

Popularity: 27% [?]

Holiday Charity, Honolulu Advertiser, Toys for Tots

So I caught an advance screening of the Walt Disney upcoming release National Treasure: Book of Secrets and it’s an impressive plot. Does it hold mustard and will it be a successful sequel? I don’t know, but it was very inviting. Don’t worry about if you haven’t seen the first movie as I didn’t seem to have to think about anything that was mentioned in the movie that referred back to the first one. However, you do need to know that Abigail Chase and Ben Gates are a couple at the end of the first movie…oh, and they found the treasure of the Knights Templar, but that’s about it.

The entire cast is back for this second round of treasure hunting…Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Justin Bartha, and Diane Kruger. They bring in some new faces associated with the chase like Ben Gate’s mom (Helen Mirren), the villain (Ed Harris), and the President of the United States (Bruce Greenwood). and the plot takes you to more places than you would have seen in the first movie - Washington, DC, Virginia, England, France, and South Dakota. The basis of the plot, based on what you see in the trailer, is that Benjamin Gates’ great grandfather was named as one of the co-conspirators of the plot to assassinate President Lincoln and the movie goes on to show Gates’ family trying to prove this theory isn’t true.

There are a few things that you find out at the end that didn’t really tie things up…the president asks Ben Gates to do something and to look at a specific page in the mysterious President’s Secret Book, but find out if you know what’s on that page. Is Ed Harris’s character a good guy or bad guy at the end? What was the real purpose for framing the Gates’ family for the plot to kill Lincoln? You’ll need to watch the movie to find out lest I decide to ruin it here, but I’m not about to.

Overall, the movie was pretty well done. The visuals and the location shots were pretty good. Why did they stick with the cliche spots of DC (Library of Congress, the White House, and Congress)? I don’t know, but it would be nice to see some other scenery of different places. John Turteltaub did a great job of directing and there were some funny parts to the movie. Will we see a sequel to the sequel? Who knows…

Anyways, go check out National Treasure: Book of Secrets out in theatres on Friday, December 21. Then after you’ve done that, try and break the code on TrailsToTreasure.com and seek out the treasure in Washington, DC.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Movies Movies, National Treasure, Nicolas Cage, Trails to Treasure, Walt Disney, Washington DC

I love this commercial…the kid is so adorable.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Television AT&T, Digital Network, TV, Wireless, YouTube