We played this beautiful piece in high school…I can’t remember if it was sophomore or junior year. I loved this because I love Belgium, I love marches, and the flute part was fun to play.
Here’s a different arrangement (very different from what we played in high school!) performed by the United States Marine Band:
EDIT: Just found another better solution: HTML5 Shiv, a JavaScript library that will accomplish the below with a simple <link> script.
Just realized now that IE8 does not recognize some of the new semantic tags in HTML5. This website explains a good workaround:
Add this to <head>:
<!--[if lt IE 9]>
<script>
document.createElement('header');
document.createElement('nav');
document.createElement('section');
document.createElement('article');
document.createElement('aside');
document.createElement('footer');
document.createElement('hgroup');
</script>
<![endif]-->Add this to CSS:
header, nav, section, article, aside, footer, hgroup {
display: block;
}
Since IE8 seems to be the new “least common denominator” in web design since it’s the oldest and least standards compliant web browser with a market share above 0.5 percent, this is good to know. Thank you, Windows XP work computer, for the notice!
I’m currently working to refresh my CSS skills. It’s been an interesting process thus far. CSS is a very powerful computer language that has given web designers a huge level of control over the presentation of web content, and it’s only grown more powerful in the many years since it has been introduced. I wrote my first webpage an eternity ago, back when CSS support was spotty among web browsers and the only thing I really used CSS for was to create mouseover effects with a:hover. It’s amazing how far the web has come since then.
I’m going to use this post to list some of the CSS resources I’ve found online that may come in handy later.
div tags to create tablesBooks to look up
Just added some new photos to the site! There are now 28 photos and 1 video online from a hike we did three years ago yesterday, at the now-closed Mariner’s Ridge trail.
You can see the video of the end of the hike from above. Sadly, because this hike is now closed, photos and video are probably all we have to legally enjoy the view. Even more sadly, photos and video don’t do the hike justice.
Note: This entry is edited from a blog entry I originally posted on my xanga on April 6, 2004, right after MSgt. Fiske passed away.
MSgt. Richard “Dick” Fiske (born 1922) passed away on Friday, April 2, 2004 at the age of 82.
Mr. Fiske was a veteran of World War II, having enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1940. He was present during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, aboard the ship USS West Virginia (BB-48). During the attack, the commanding officer of the ship, Captain Mervyn S. Bennion, died before his eyes. Captain Bennion’s dying orders was to abandon ship, so Fiske jumped off the West Virginia and swam to Ford Island.
After Pearl Harbor, he fought in the battle for Iwo Jima, which he described as “36 straight days of Pearl Harbor.” After World War II, he served in the newly created U.S. Air Force during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. From 1982 until his death, he served as a volunteer at the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor’s Center.
Just a couple of years before his death, I had the honor of meeting this man at the USS Arizona Memorial, just a few weeks after the 60th anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. We talked for a long while, during which he told me the story of how he met the very man who had bombed the USS West Virginia, Zenji Abe (that’s surname Abe, first name Zenji). After placing immense hatred towards the Japanese for decades following the attack, he reconciled with the very man who bombed his ship. He told me that upon meeting Abe, he understood finally that, “we were both in the military, we were both just doing our jobs.” He showed me a picture of Mr. Abe and showed me pictures of a tree that he and Mr. Abe had planted in Japan several years before, with the hope that the tree would grow with their friendship.
Following their meeting, Abe would send Fiske $500 annually, and each month Fiske would use the money to lay two roses (one for Abe, one for Fiske) on the Arizona Memorial and play taps. This tradition continued until earlier this year when cancer began to take a toll on this great man’s strength.
Mr. Fiske also showed me pictures and other memorabilia he had saved from the 1940s. I found the pictures to be especially extraordinary, second only to his sense of humor (at one point, he began bragging to me about how the USS West Virginia had bigger guns than the USS Arizona did!).
Fiske reminded me to never hold hatred towards enemies. This was definitely something he practiced as wholeheartedly as he preached. In his narrations at the Memorial, he often emphasized the strong relationship between the United States and Japan, something that was unthinkable while the two were sworn enemies during the 1940s.
Fiske’s showing of friendship between the U.S. and Japan drew accolades at home and abroad. In 1996 he received the Order of the Rising Sun with Silver Rays from His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Akihito of Japan. This was well deserved, as his friendship with Mr. Zenji Abe was an amazing symbol of the virtues of forgiveness and friendship. (I should note that Mr. Abe died in 2007).
I am glad that I had the opportunity to meet this great man–it was an experience that I will never forget.
Links:
I “graduated” from law school today (or yesterday, as the case may be).
We all got to the law school around noon…I was a bit lost at first and when I saw the list of “to-dos” on the blackboard, I was momentarily afraid that I missed some sort of registration requirements and wouldn’t be eligible to walk! Luckily, I bumped into my classmate Leah Nahele (truly one of the most hardworking, talented human beings that I know) who helped set me straight. This was the start of a long afternoon. We took our class photos at Andrews Amphitheater, and it’s a good thing we took our class pictures when we did because we missed the rain. I was also lucky enough to be able to take a photo with the members of my 2010 entering cohort. My classmates are truly amazing, extraordinary people who I have been blessed with the opportunity to become friends with. And indeed, they have become some of my closest friends. That’s why it was really nice to be able to spend the afternoon after the picture taking with them, going shopping and eating sushi and just talking story in general. I’ve seen these faces several times a week for the last four years and it’s sad that I won’t get to see them regularly anymore.
As for the ceremony itself…let me say first that today was a very frustrating day for all of us, given the uncooperative weather. Our ceremony was supposed to start at 4:30…but twenty minutes before the stop time, the decision was made to switch venues due to the pouring rain outside. Instead of Andrews Amphitheater, we were initially told that we would do the ceremony in the law school’s Classroom #2. Thankfully, this wasn’t to be (because if it was, it would have been a huge disaster, given that there were so few seats that most of the law students didn’t even have a place to sit, since some little kids and their parents rudely took over whatever seats they could get, and no matter what was said to them, no one wanted to move!). We spent time speculating among ourselves where we would be sent, with most people thinking that the ceremony would either take place in the law library or the law school courtyard. Then came the announcement that we would move to Orvis Auditorium across the street…so onward everyone marched to Orvis. Once we go there, though, we did a lot of waiting outside. By this point, however, the rain had eased up and the decision (and I firmly believe this was the right decision) was made to move the ceremony back to Andrews Amphitheater.
And, what a ceremony it was. Ken Lawson gave an amazing speech, as did Mr. Matt Cohen (another simply amazing and spectacular human being), and the others as well.
Thank you to everyone who came out to see me, and those who wanted to but couldn’t. And thank you to the classmates who made today awesome, especially Andrew Lee (who let me borrow his regalia at the very last minute), Stephen Downes (yet another super hero classmate who go this degree while facing inspiring adversity), Leah Nahele (to repeat the praise above, simply the most amazing and talented human in the world), Roxanne Kwong (another amazingly smart classmate who truly always has the most insightful things to say), Neil Okuna (one of my closest classmates who is WAY smarter than he gives himself credit for…he simply astounding), Paul Koftinow (who actually finished up his credits last December but I would not have made it through this semester without his guidance), and everyone else that I didn’t mention.
It’s been an amazing ride and I look forward to working with all of you as we embark on our professional careers together.
Tokyo Tower, Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Kakidai.
I actually have some great new content that I’m getting ready to add to this website, including a bunch of photos and videos. I’m thinking of completely rehauling this website–but of course, you’ve all heard that before, right? I’m thinking of merging the media sections of the website together and possibly redoing the whole website (except the media sections) in WordPress. Time will tell–in the meanwhile, my focus is just getting new content up. Here’s a video that I’m going to be including in the upcoming update, which will focus on my sister Kristine’s wedding from 2012.
This is a video of Kristine throwing her bouquet at her wedding on June 9, 2012. The voice you hear in the video is Jon, Kristine’s husband.
Sorry the video quality is junk and the video is shaky. I took this on my camera phone, before I got my amzing Nokia Lumia 920 with amazing real-color and low-light video and optical image stabalization!
It was the end of an era yesterday at Pearl Harbor.
The USS Reuben James, FFG-57, the last frigate based at Pearl Harbor, was decommissioned.
I’m not sure when the last time was that Pearl Harbor was not home to a frigate, and an answer to this question is complicated by the complicated and often contradictory vessel classification schemes that the U.S. navy has employed since World War II. My best guess is that Pearl Harbor was probably home to frigates pretty consistently since the 1960s. (Before the 1960s, the types of vessels that the Navy now refers to as frigates were called destroyer escorts.)
The exact definition of what a “frigate” is differs depending on where in the world you are, but modern frigates were products of the Cold War. They were designed to be submarine hunters and escort ships–they are smaller than their cruiser/destroyer siblings but also cheaper (both in construction and in operating expenses). While ships designated as frigates are still being built throughout the world, the distinction between a “frigate,” “corvette, and “destroyer” is blurring, and the United States has not built any new “frigates” since 1989. In its place, the Navy is building a new type of warships called the littoral combat ship–a ship that is extremely fast and flexible, though it has had more than its share of controversy.
Before moving on, let me just note a few interesting things about the USS Reuben James. Officially, she is a “guided missile frigate,” this is a bit of a misnomer since the fact is that no U.S. Navy frigates have actually been equipped to fire guided missiles for many years, since the primary surface missile the ship was designed to fire has become obsolete.
Second, she is the third ship to bear the name Reuben James. The first was a four-stacked naval destroyer built immediately after World War I. The first USS Reuben James was one of the first casualties of the Second World War–having been sunk by a German submarine in October 1941 with a loss of 115 lives, several months before the two countries officially went to war with each other. The second Reuben James was a destroyer escort built in 1943 and serving throughout World War II. The current Reuben James was commissioned in 1986, and is one of the few ships remaining in the Navy that are older than me. (Hey, this is sad for me–I used to tell people that I would consider myself old as soon as the Navy started retiring ships that were younger than me, something that has already started). All three ships were named after a boatswain’s mate who distinguished himself fighting the Barbary pirates.
The frigate has been one of the backbones of the Navy for decades, and although almost 20 of these ships still remain in service, it appears likely that all ships of this type will be retired before the end of the decade. This isn’t surprising–the ship type is old, outdated, and tired. However, it is sad to see them go. Although much attention in the U.S. Navy goes to its larger, AEGIS equipped sibling destroyers and cruisers (as well as the monstrous aircraft carriers), I have always appreciated the simplicity and brute effectiveness of the smaller frigates.
On a more personal level, I will really miss watching the U.S. Navy’s frigates drive through the waters of Pearl Harbor as they leave and return from deployments. The frigates have a very distinctive hull type that I could identify even from afar. Of course, these ships are beautiful up close too–and I was lucky enough to see the USS Reuben James up close during a RIMPAC boat tour in 2012.
It’ll be interesting to see where this ship will go next. Her sister ship, the USS Crommelin (FFG-37) was moored in the Navy’s Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Middle Loch for a while (and she may still be there) while on hold for a possible sale to a foreign navy. A U.S. Navy memo states that the USS Reuben James is also to be held for a possible sale to a foreign navy. Perhaps both ships will see a second life abroad, then (it’s also possible, given their advanced ages, that the ships will become a hulk for spare parts after they are sold, since a number of countries have active Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates in service that are themselves aging).
Thank you for your service, USS Reuben James. Enjoy your retirement!
There is truthfully not a lot I miss about high school, but of course there are exceptions worth noting. Two that I can think of right now are: 1) “Mortal Combat” during football games and 2) playing “The Victors” during football games (especially during Homecoming in the pouring rain!). It was an amazing feeling of being one with your school, something I haven’t felt anywhere since. Go Na Ali’i!!