Showing posts with label Hawaii. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hawaii. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Genghis Khan and the Story of the First Thanksgiving



Thanksgiving is here and it's time to get stuffed and wander the earth like a craven horde, looting and rioting until the very fabric of civilization winces from the strain. Many think this ritual dates back to when the Pilgrims stormed a beach on Cape Cod in search of curry and other spices, and were served a feast by a gathering of local rubes. The theory is that this, followed by centuries of looting and pillaging, sets the stage for the modern Thanksgiving. Lies! In order to observe The Truth, let us recast our gaze from the 1600's back to 1200 or so, AD. Now open your mind the true first Thanksgiving.

While Genghis Khan's Mongolian horde was trouncing Asia, they naturally reached the Pacific ocean, and immediately took to the sea on outriggers in search of the New World. They sought trade routes, spices, and most importantly, weak cultures to subjugate. The horde made for novice sea-farers, but they were enthusiastic, and sometimes that's enough. They soon found their horses to be ill-equipped for ocean travel—but what they lacked in aquatic prowess, they made up for in flavor, and their skulls made excellent hats.

The ocean is a cruel mistress, and enormous. As the horde traveled and fished, they became weary and despondent. The lack of adversaries made them lonely, and the lack of dry land and potable water took its psychological toll as well. But in time, fortune smiled upon those hapless Mongols. They eventually found dry land in the shape of Hawaii, and to their pleasant surprise, it was inhabited - but not by Hawaiians, as one would expect. No, they came upon the original Polynesian settlers, and those fuckers were hearty.

As the two forces sized each other up it became clear that any conflict would amount to the wholesale eradication of everyone, so a weary truce was established. They all rejoiced. They broke bread. Whole herds of swine were roasted on spits. Many Mai Tai's, Pina Colada's, and, of course, Blue Hawaiian's, were served. It was a great celebration. In the early morning fog of the next day, the Mongolian horde packed up their ships and headed out, waving to their new friends as they drifted off toward Easter Island, where they subsequently landed and pillaged before heading back home to Asia.

And that's the story of the real first Thanksgiving. The end.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Hawaii Five-O

Wait for it...

I am a man of little patience, so I will cut to the quick: I emailed the Hawaii board of tourism for a response to the new CBS rehash drama Hawaii Five-O YESTERDAY MORNING, and still have yet to hear from them. See my email below:

Good Morning Sir or Madame,

First of all, let me preface this by saying my wife and I have decided to really get into travel ever since we took our honeymoon in Jamaica this past May. Something about far away beaches and pristine white sand is really appealing (go figure). Some of the places we'd like to visit are Turks and Caicos, various other Caribbean islands, Fiji, and of course, Hawaii.

The reason I am writing this is because I was slightly shocked and a little concerned when I watched Hawaii Five-O last night on CBS. I found the show entertaining and a relevant re-visitation to the original series from the Sixties and Seventies, with good plot updates. But I was truly shocked by the number of guns on the show - the writers made it seem as though everyone on the island had at least one machine gun.

Is this really the case? Safety is of course a concern in any travel excursion and when we were in Jamaica it was upsetting to see anti-American graffiti, and there were some places where we felt truly unsafe. So the question remains - is Hawaii safe? Was Hawaii Five-O just a sensationalist drama?

Thanks for your time.

Best Regards,

Maxwell XXXXXXX

To cover all bases, I also sent a similar email to the Ohio tourism board, just because Hawaii and Ohio kinda sound like they were named by the same guy. See the Ohio letter below, where I've highlighted the differences:

Good Morning Sir or Madame,

First of all, let me preface this by saying my wife and I have decided to really get into travel ever since we took our honeymoon in Jamaica this past May. Something about far away beaches and pristine white sand is really appealing (go figure). Some of the places we'd like to visit are Turks and Caicos, various other Caribbean islands, Fiji, and of course, Ohio.

The reason I am writing this is because I was slightly shocked and a little concerned when I watched Hawaii Five-O last night on CBS. I found the show entertaining and a relevant re-visitation to the original series from the Sixties and Seventies, with good plot updates. But I was truly shocked by the number of guns on the show - the writers made it seem as though everyone on the island had at least one machine gun.

Is this really the case? Safety is of course a concern in any travel excursion and when we were in Jamaica it was upsetting to see anti-American graffiti, and there were some places where we felt truly unsafe. So the question remains - is Ohio safe? Was Hawaii Five-O just a sensationalist drama?

Thanks for your time.

Best Regards,

Maxwell XXXXXXX

These bastards better not leave me out to dry on this one. There will be consequences in Ohio, I promise you.

I'll let you know their responses when they get back to me.