Professional wrestler Tor Kamaka (born McRonald Kelii Kamaka) passed away on July 23 in Canada. For those of you who watched “Wrestling Hawaii” in the late 70s, you’ll remember Tor’s locker room interviews being the highlight of the program.

Tor would come out wearing an aloha shirt and RayBans, laughing like an evil Buddha, smoking his “five dollar cigars” and talking about drinking “the pakalolo drink” with his bruddahs in Wainae.

The classic wrestling villian, Tor threw salt in his opponents face and wouldn’t let his sidekick Rocky Tamayo get a word in during interviews.

Rest in peace, Tor, and thanks for the memories. You will be missed.

I found a web site that features QuickTime VR movies of different locations in Hawaii. For those who don’t know, QuickTime VR movies give you 360 degree panoramic views. I’ve spent the last half hour checking out the Pali Lookout and Moanalua Gardens. Righteous!

Dig it here.

Read the article here.

Sometimes you just have to embrace nostalgia.

Here is some shipping information from their site:

“The products are frozen and kept chilled by gel-paks in a specially lined insulated box. The box will be sealed and labeled for travel or shipment.

“If you are purchasing our products as a gift for someone else, it is suggested that you let him or her know to expect a delivery on a certain day. Spoilage may result if a recipient is away on a trip, or not notified of a delivery.

“If the recipient is not available to receive their package, Zippys.com will not be responsible for spoiled foods. For safety reasons, UPS will use their discretion to leave the package or redeliver the following day. UPS also provides a same day Will Call Pick-Up service.”

Given that these are perishable items, you’d probably want to wait for a special event or occasion to use their services. Still, until they open a mainland franchise, those of us who are geographically challenged may have to get our ZipPacs via UPS.

For those who may not know, Palaka shirts are the red or blue checkered shirts that were worn originally by paniola. Find a picture of Eddie Kamae and the Sons of Hawaii and I’ll bet they’re wearing palaka shirts.

I’ve asked my two brothers who still live on Oahu to keep an eye out for them, but neither of them report finding any. I’ve seen them on eBay but I have a hard time buying clothes online since I hate returning things. I heard that when Arakawa’s in Waipahu shut down years ago, a Japanese gentleman purchased his entire back stock – which I probably why the only place I’ve seen them for sale online is on a Japanese web site.

So I’m putting the word out there – is there an obscure website or store that carries Palaka shirts that I may be missing?

During a rare supermarket visit (my wife says I’m too dangerous) the other day, I was overjoyed to see King’s Bakery sweet bread stocked in the bread aisle. Right on popcorn! Sweet bread french toast, here I come!

I went online and found that King’s Bakery has a nationwide presence and is carried by most major supermarket chains.

Best of all, I found that there is a King’s Bakery Restaurant in Torrance, California. Not sure if I’ll be down in Torrance anytime soon, but if I do, I will sample and report back to let you know if its same same.

I’ve already found a few shave ice places nearby that I’ll have to check out. Yelp.com wasn’t too helpful searching for Hawaiian food in general, as it turned up too many false positives, but entering “hawaiian shave ice” yielded quite a few leads. Choice!

Although it’s been a few months since Don Ho’s passed away, I thought it fitting to dedicate a blog post to him.

For those of us old enough to remember, there was a time when Don Ho was as hip as they come. In the mid-60s, Don was Hawaii’s answer to Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, rolled into one.

Nowadays, most people remember him for Tiny Bubbles and Pearly Shells, but when I think of Don Ho, I think of Ain’t No Big T’ing, Geev’ Um, and Happy Me (especially the lyric “catch a little dinner from the bright blue sea / eat it with a haole girl crazy for me”).

I always put off going to see Don Ho, thinking he’d be around forever. While I was in college on the Mainland in the 80s, I would drag visiting friends to the Hilton Hawaiian Village to take pictures in front of the “Home of Don Ho” sign. Now it’s too late. Auwe.

Recommended Don Ho CDs

Don Ho – Greatest Hits – contains a great version of Ain’t No Big T’ing and I’ll Remember You, penned by the great Kui Lee.

Tiny Bubbles – includes Geev’Um, One Paddle Two Paddle, Happy Me, and the poignant I Love the Simple Folk.

Don Ho Christmas Album – an interesting collection of Christmas songs, not many of the usual chestnuts.

The Don Ho Show/ Don Ho Again – this two album set captures Don’s live showroom performances. My favorite here is Lahainaluna.

Here is a map from their web site.