I’m Outta Here

I have moved. You’ll find my new and improved online presence at:

LeslieLang.com

My blog is there now, too. Thanks for following me over there!

Macario’s Big Island

Macario is publishing a new online magazine and you should have a look. Wow. It’s eye-popping.

His photography is always great, and in this new magazine, called Macario’s Big Island, he combines his photos, interviews and commentary to illuminate some of the Big Island’s most interesting people in the world of arts, food, music and more.

He just put up what is only his third post there. It’s a feature on the Waimea architect Clemson Lam, and in a stunning turn of events – I’ve just now been able to get my jaw to shut again – he had 300 hits in the first day of it being up. It’s only his THIRD POST! How did he DO that?

He actually made WorldPress’s “Growing Blogs” List, which is a list of the top WordPress blogs in the world in terms of how fast they are growing in popularity. He came onto the list at 97. Isn’t that amazing? I find that amazing.

Caption Fun at Hamakua Springs

Enter the Hamakua Springs caption contest! A nice little prize if you’re local; a pat on the back if you’re not. Mostly just for fun. Are you clever?

Culinary Mystery Novel “Captain Cooked” by Stephen Grogan

We went to Hilo Bay Cafe for dinner the other night while my mom was here visiting. That is such a great restaurant – inside it’s really got the ambience happening, in spite of its unlikely location in a strip mall adjacent to Wal-Mart, and the food is always so fresh and good.

While there, I talked with them about getting some recipes for an author I’m working with. Stephen Grogan, a Las Vegas author of a previous book called Vegas Die, is, interestingly enough, writing a culinary/mystery novel set here on the Big Island. He hired me to edit the manuscript for Hawai‘i references and history and culture.

He actually found and hired me through this blog, which proves that blogging is definitely worth the time and effort. We did all our business together by email.

Steve’s new book’s title is great: “Captain Cooked.” How could I resist that? I did the edit, and helped him gather up some Big Island recipes to go into the book too. The chef at Hilo Bay Cafe has agreed to provide a couple recipes, too.

There’s an interesting gimmick in Steve’s previous book. He hid a dagger somewhere in the metropolitan Las Vegas area, the book provides (kind of hard) clues to its location, and the person who finds it takes $25,000! 

People have been actively seeking it for quite awhile now. There’s even a forum where they go to discuss clues and such. 

He’s going to do the same thing with Captain Cooked, so stay tuned for how to win your $25,000! I’ll let you know when the book is coming out.

What Do Andy Bumatai & Imiloa Astronomy Center Have in Common?

We are about to announce the winners at our On The Cheap websites. We had several contests — 14 in all — to celebrate our big launch. Did you enter?

Andy Bumatai is choosing names out of a hat for the Honolulu On The Cheap contests, and he’s doing it live and on the air today. Watch it at 1 p.m. HST; it will also be posted on The Andy Bumatai Show’s website after it airs.

Tomorrow our good friends at Hilo’s ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center are going to pick winners for our Big Island On The Cheap contests.

Watch our sites to see who won.

And then I’ll come back and tell you some of the other writing jobs I’m working on. There’s lots going on — It’s truly never a dull moment around here!

FBI Blogs

This blog is now part of a brand-new network of blogs, all from the Big Island and called FBI Blogs — get it? From Big Island?

It’s the brainchild of prolific blogger Damon Tucker, and a terrific idea. I have to say, I learn more about what’s going on this island over at FBI Blogs than I do anyplace else.

Twenty-something bloggers, all with different interests and access to different information — it’s an incredible resource to learn what’s happening on the Big Island, and also to “meet” some Big Island characters. 

I like being a part of this interesting crowd. Go have a look if you’re interested in Big Island goings-on.

Last Chance to Win Free Books!

Have you had a look at Big Island On The Cheap and Honolulu On The Cheap? These are my new ventures, with my partner and fellow freelance writer Kris Bordessa, and we are really having a lot of fun with them.

We’ve had free giveaways every day for a week, and are just about at the end. There are still two contests open:

Click here and enter to win a signed copy of my book Exploring Historic Hawai‘i.

Click here and enter a signed copy of Mauna Kea. Also (co-written, this one) by me. Look at that; my prizes sort of clustered up at the end there. We had a lot of other cool stuff that wasn’t written or created by me.

Our other contests have all ended now. These that I’m listing here end at midnight tonight Hawai‘i time (3/21/09), so you’d have to click over right away.

All you have to do to enter is leave your name in comments. Extra entries (in one contest only) is you post about one of our wbsites on your blog and leave a comment telling us you’ve done that and including the URL. Or if you subscribe to one of our RSS or email subscription feeds. Leave a comment and let us know if you did that.

And good luck!

Our “On The Cheap” Sites To Launch 3/10

Leslie: “Oh, nothing much; what’s new with you?”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACTS:
Leslie Lang
hawaiionthecheap@gmail.com
808 964-1494
Twitter: @LeslieLang  

Kris Bordessa
hawaiionthecheap@gmail.com
530 295-0887
Twitter: @KBordessa

“On The Cheap” Websites Highlight Best Bargains on the Big Island and in Honolulu

Hilo, HI – March 6, 2009 – Tuesday, March 10th is the official launch of two new online sites – Big Island On The Cheap and Honolulu On The Cheap – which are dedicated to bringing Big Island and O‘ahu residents and visitors up-to-the-minute information on free, discount and cheap things to do and other local deals.

Motivated by the current coupon-clipping climate, Big Island writer Leslie Lang and former Hawai‘i writer Kris Bordessa started the websites, which are updated most weekdays, to help Hawai‘i’s residents and visitors get out and about “on the cheap.”

To celebrate the sites’ launch, both Big Island On The Cheap and Honolulu On The Cheap are having daily contests for the first week – or more – starting March 10th. “We’re all about deals, so we’re getting off to a good start by giving away all sorts of great Hawai‘i-related gifts,” says Lang. “Chuck Moore hula girl t-shirts, Macario photographic prints, locally created ceramics from the Hilo art gallery High Fire Hawai‘i, some Hawai‘i-related books, a gorgeous woodblock print donated by Volcano Artist Margaret Barnaby and there will be some other surprises, too.”

In addition, Big Island On The Cheap.com is offering printable, discount coupons to ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center, and Honolulu On The Cheap.com is offering discount coupons to the Waikiki Aquarium. “We are excited to promote both of these great attractions that we ourselves enjoy,” says Bordessa, “and also honored that they were so enthusiastic about offering support to our new venture.”

Over the past several weeks, thrifty readers of Honolulu On The Cheap and Big Island On The Cheap have learned about free Hawaiian music concerts, yoga classes, history lectures and even an Avocado Festival. That’s in addition to dozens of deals on everything from malassadas and sub sandwiches to hotel rooms.

“Everyone—including us—is looking for deals right now,” says Lang. “And they’re out there. We’re just trying to make it easy for people to find them.”

Listen for Leslie Lang on the radio Tuesday morning; she’ll be discussing the websites and their official launch at 8:05 a.m. on the Big Island’s Mynah Bird show, which is at KHBC/92.7 FM and KONA FM at 92.1 FM.

Big Island On The Cheap and Honolulu On The Cheap are part of a rapidly growing network of independently owned and operated “On The Cheap” sites, which are launching nationwide on March 10. A complete list and links to Cities On The Cheap websites are available here.

About Leslie Lang
Leslie Lang is a Big Island–based freelance writer who works as an editorial consultant (writing press releases, newsletter items, blogs, speeches, reports and more for businesses), as well as a freelance magazine writer and book author who specializes in writing about Hawai‘i. She blogs at http://blog.leslielang.com.

About Kris Bordessa
Kris Bordessa, formerly of Hawai‘i and now living in California’s Gold Country (where she also runs Gold Country On The Cheap) is the author of several books and writes regularly for national magazines about family travel.

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The Magic of Letters: I Believe It, Too

Wow. I am a huge believer in reading and writing and the power of it all — but have a look or listen to this woman from Nepal, who was a child bride and didn’t learn to read until she was 21.

The story she tells — her story — is enormous and beautiful. Now that is somehow who has learned to appreciate the power of the alphabet. Wow.

It’s another This I Believe story from over at NPR. What an amazing collection of essays they are gathering, saving, sharing.  People have the most incredible stories. I think everybody probably has one. This woman’s story really struck me.

From her essay, which someone else read in English:

…Before learning how to write, my life was like the nearby Indrasarovar Lake, always stagnant. I had the pain of child marriage, my husband did not support me, abject poverty was my way of life and I didn’t have any skill or courage to do anything. But I saw that the number of people learning to read and write was growing — and their lives were improving. I then realized it was neither wealth nor beauty that I lacked, but letters…

Powerful.

Edited to add: I just stumbled upon a TED presentation (do you know those? fascinating) by Isabel Allende, one of my favorite authors. In her video, she discusses passion and also women. Specifically, the plight of women in much of the non-privileged world — and it brought me back to thinking about this one Nepalese woman’s words. 

Her talk is really worth a listen. It’s humorous (she says someone asked Sophia Loren how she can look so sexy in her 70s, and she replied something like, “Posture. My spine is always straight. And I don’t make old people noises”) and also poignant and important. Listen to it here.

Honolulu On The Cheap

Here goes: A “soft launch” of my new project!

I’ll bring out the balloons and party streamers later soon, but for now, I’ll just tell you: 

I’ve launched a new website. It’s called Honolulu On The Cheap, and it’s all about cheap, discounted and free things to do in Honolulu and on O‘ahu in general. It will be useful, I think, to both visitors and residents; I keep both groups in mind as I select what to post about.

I’ve just started putting up copy there, and here’s a sampling of what I’ve got up so far:

• A printable coupon for Jamba Juice’s $1 deal on its oatmeal with real fruit and fresh brown sugar crumble (good at any participating Jamba Juice)

• Free kids’ workshops at Home Depot on the first Saturday of every month (they make a project and even get a free, kid sized, orange Home Depot apron to take home)

• Where you can stay in Waikiki for only $79/night (click here for the answer)

• And how to get a free ice cream cone at Baskin Robbins

Other content, including articles, interviews and even downloadable “special reports” having to do with Honolulu On The Cheap, is coming soon.

This site is part of a new, nationwide network on “of the cheap” city websites, and you can see the ones that are live on the left sidebar of my website. More are in the works. Each is independently owned and operated (kind of like a Dunkin’ Donuts) but we are collaborating, sharing and cooperating as a network.

I also just signed up for Twitter. I’ve not been interested in the Twitter phenomenon and never thought I’d say that! However, I can see how it can be useful to promoting my site. If you’d like to follow me, I’m “LeslieLang.” If you do, I promise to spare you news of me brushing my teeth or stopping to fill up the car with gas.

I’d love to hear what you think about honoluluonthecheap.com! And let me know if you hear of anything I might want to feature there.