Raven Jake Dawes

Google Salutes Duke Kahanamoku

Duke Kahanamoku (whose full name was a mind-boggling Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku) would have been 125 years old today, if people had indefinite lifespans and Google (through "Google  Doodler" Matt Cruickshank) saluted him with a distinctive surfboard logo. Less well known than the fact that Duke introduced the world to surfing and was the best known Indigenous Hawaiian ever) is that Duke won  five Olympic medals in swimming:

• 1912 (Stockholm) -  gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle and the silver medal with the U.S. team in the men's 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay
• 1920 (Antwerp) gold medals both in the 100 meters (bettering fellow Hawaiian Pua Kealoha) and in the relay. 
• 1924 (Paris) Silver medal in the 100-meter freestyle  (with the gold going to Johnny Weissmuller and the bronze to Duke's brother, Samuel Kahanamoku).
• 1932 (Los Angeles) Duke didn't compete, but he was an alternate for the U.S. water polo team.

Bear in mind he was born in 1890, so in 1932 he was almost 42. He also He served as sheriff of Honolulu from 1932 to 1961, serving 13 consecutive terms. Duke surfed on in 1968, having packed so much into the first 77 years of his life that it makes you wonder what he could have accomplished with another 47.  E ho'omaha me ka maluhia, Kahuna, you continue to serve as an inspiration. 

Boo-tiful Portraits and Raven Jake's Zombie Makeover

Shout out to Boo-tiful Portraits and Candy Buck for their fun support at the Second Annual Hearse and Reptile Show.  I'll have more to say about that event in a bit, but Candy and the photo team did a terrific job of gettin' me coffin-ready and in the mood for the monster mash in preparation for last Saturday's festivities.  Halloween's coming up, but they also do pin-ups, ghoulish maternity photos, and family portraits straight outta the haunted mansion. Great work, ghouls! 

(657) 208-1915

Bootiful.Portraits@gmail.com

Romeo and Juliet at the Old Zoo

In the interests of gittin' out more on the cheap, Raven Jake hauled himself out to see some live theater, specifically the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival. Every weekend in the summer, the Independent Shakespeare Company performs one of two of the Bard's plays and for July, the hit pick was "Romeo and Juliet." That feller to the left is André Martin playing an excellent Mercutio.

Now you might be thinking, "Good for you. Jake - but what does that have to do with me?" Well good news, friends! Not only is "Much Ado About Nothing" playing for the rest of August,  "Romeo and Juliet" is back for the first week of September, specifically:

Thursday, 9/3, Friday, 9/4 and Sunday 9/6

So pack yourself a picnic and head over to the Old Zoo. After you climb around in the bear pen a while, you ought to be ready to soak up some culture. 

Some very nice performances, nontraditional casting, a punk-ish live score, lots of jumpin' around by the characters keeps you on your toes, and best of all - it's free! Please do kick down what you can, though. They rely on donations to keep goin'. 

Here's the website: http://www.iscla.org/