1. Living in Hawaii the last 29 years, I never had much need for doughnuts. Until now.
Dunkin’ Donuts touched down in Hawaii recently, creating a surefire way to connect with my roots. Growing up in the 1960s in Massachusetts, a Saturday morning trip to DD at the corner of Main Street was a common thing for our family, and there was always that tussle for the rights to the chocolate-covered, jelly or sprinkled offerings.
Over the years, the chain has grown exponentially, with slick slogans like “America Runs on Dunkin’.” It made me wonder: What’s the obsession with doughnuts over there?
Back in the day, Dunkin’ Donuts was a common meeting place, much like Starbucks is now. Youth hockey families would gather at 3 a.m., with the parents loading up on coffee or hot chocolate, to caravan together — sometimes in snowy weather — to a 5 a.m. game.
So walking into the new Dunkin’ Donuts in Kapolei brought back some fantastic memories. And now, to brighten up our home with sprinkles — not to mention the chocolate-covered and the quite tasty chocolate-filled treats — most Mondays I go buy a dozen and bring them home for the wife and kids … and me. A dozen costs $13.08 at Dunkin’ Donuts stores. — Nick Abramo
2. How often have you wrestled with trying to read tiny type on a map, the price tag at a retail shop or anything with wee print? The Kikkerland film camera bookmark magnifier (so named, since the design mimics a Fresnel photo lens) is thin enough to fit in your wallet and suitable as a bookmark. While traveling in Manhattan this summer, I found this for $3 at the Museum of Modern Art Design Shop. Also available online at kikkerland.com. — Wayne Harada, Honolulu
3. I’ll admit it, I’m a purse fanatic. I like to swap out my purses for different occasions whether for work, play or special events. If you relish owning one-of-a-kind items like me, you might be ecstatic to discover designer Jana Lam’s handmade purses featuring cheerful designs that scream “made in Hawaii.”
Lam sketches colorful patterns of pineapples, sea flowers and palm leaves — to name a few — and silk-screens her designs by hand onto colorful accessories: Fabric plant holders, tote bags, purses (of course) and Instagram-worthy pillow covers. (Fun fact: Celebrity Nick Jonas once Instagrammed a photo of himself relaxing on pillows fitted with Lam’s pillow covers.)
Lam provides a wide selection of purses to choose from. My favorites: A slim zipper cross-body ($108) and a mini envelope clutch ($50) with pineapple-themed patterns. If you prefer a customized purse, you can submit a request for a specific design and color through the “made to order” link at janalam.com. — Diane S. W. Lee
4. No question about it, John Lennon (1940-1980) was one of the most influential artists in the rock music genre — first for his worldwide impact as a member of the Beatles, and then for his work as a solo singer, songwriter and recording artist until his murder in 1980. The musician is the latest to be honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a limited-edition John Lennon stamp sheet. The stamp features a photograph of Lennon in 1974 as he looked while working on his “Walls and Bridges” album. The B-side of the sheet shows Lennon when he was recording his second post-Beatles album, “Imagine,” in 1971.
As with all Postal Service Forever stamps, the Lennon stamps will always be good for 1 ounce of first-class postage no matter how much postal rates rise in the future. A sheet of 16 costs $8 at usps.com or at your neighborhood post office. — John Berger
5. Let’s say you could whip back and forth through time. Would it be OK to: a) Save Joan of Arc, b) Rescue a mammoth or c) Divert priceless paintings from a 15th-century bonfire?
No, yes and yes, according to the rules of time and space as dictated by Jodi Taylor’s “Chronicles of St. Mary’s” book series.
“Just One Damned Thing After Another” was the first published in 2013, followed by 20 more novels and short stories all centered on an English institution called St. Mary’s, where historians study the past by going there.
The books are easy-reading and full of good humor — despite some grisly death scenes that should come with a warning label. What I like most about them is the canon Taylor created to govern historical meddling.
If you try, for example, to rescue Joan of Arc, you’ll be struck down by History (a sentient being). You can, however, bring back a living thing that was about to die anyway and whose death has no effect downstream in time — such as a baby mammoth, thus reviving the species. And you can rescue a Botticelli painting about to be thrown into the great Florentine bonfire of 1497, move it to a secure location, then tell modern-day archaeologists where to “discover” it centuries later.
Because then you’d be influencing the future, not changing the past. Makes sense to me.
Find the “Chronicles of St. Mary’s” books at public libraries, bookstores or order them online. You might learn a little real history while you’re at it. — Betty Shimabukuro
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