Fiction, Essays, and Other Things

 Even a devoted animation fan may be forgiven for not having heard of Blue Cat Blues . Even younger fans of Tom and Jerry may likely not have seen the 1956 short and for good reason. Television and home video have been, until recently, hesitant to re-run it. The reasons are self-evident in the narrative, but there were other factors weighing in. Even among the fan base of the famous cat and mouse the short has proven divisive. Defenders venerate the courage to break out of the formula into darker and bleaker elements, in doing so adding emotional layers to the battling duo. Its this very departure from the lighter tone and comical violence that has made it something of a pariah in the series.  As it often does, timing explains a lot. By the mid-50s the golden age of animation was drawing to a close. By the early 60s, Disney would stop producing animated shorts, Warner Bros would close its cartoon studio after mulling over the decision for nearly a decade and M.G.M would lose t...

  Maui’s Garden of Eden Arboretum is worth visiting if only for the ride up through Highway 360, which, once ascended high enough, offers spectacular views of the island. It was a ride I needed to take before I left Maui. The one thing I lamented, after all, during my visit to Maui was the diminished presence of Hawaiian culture and authenticity. After decades as a paradise for the wealthy, Maui, as I suspect of much of Hawaii, has shed its traditional identity for the resorts, mansions and watering holes common to many tropical playgrounds around the equatorial belt.  I make this judgement with the understanding that what I saw was but a fraction of Hawaii and for only a brief stay. I was told afterward that the authentic Hawaiian spirit is alive and well in the larger islands. Be that as it may, I was grateful to catch a bit of it on my way up Hana Highway, away from the built up and streets of Kihei, where bungalows, huts, local farmers and tall trees marked the way to the ...