Ah, the power of Twitter. Did you see the news story on KITV4 last night about the couple who met on Twitter and subsequently got married using social media?

Dallas Nagata and Ed White met at a "tweet up," or a gathering of twitter users, last year. After a whirlwind romance, they got engaged. Now, don't get me wrong, the normal focus of social media is not to hook up. If you take technology out of the picture, you could say Dallas & Ed found each other by chance through mutual friends.

Other than that, their relationship has been all about social media. We watched their romance unfold on Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr. The invitation to their wedding was done on Twtvite. The wedding was livestreamed so that people around the world--mostly family & friends who couldn't make it--could be a part of the event. We all had our cameras and phones out so we could upload photos of the event in real time.

It was at Kakaako Waterfront Park, which was one of the reasons there was such a wide range of attire, from dressy to uber casual. (Left to right: Mark Mizuno, Gypsy Raven, Jennifer Lieu, Brad Tada, Jeff Kang, Erin Kinoshita)

They decided to make it a potluck, which was a cool way to show what our virtual friends eat from their neighborhoods. Or, in other cases, to show their home cooking/baking skills. On top of that, many of us were meeting for the first time. At least one guy met the couple for the first time, here!

Later that night, in keeping with the social media activity, Dallas & Ed showed up to "Shirtless Wednesdays." For those of you who don't know, DJ Charlie Criscola (@Charlieboy808, in the large cell) hosts a weekly internet livestream in which he mixes music from about 10 p.m. to midnight. It started when he came home one night to mix music, and since he was hot, took off his shirt. People who came to the livestream then followed suit (mostly guys). It's been a weekly internet tradition ever since.

The couple then requested Elvis' "Falling in Love With You" for their first dance, which they did on camera for us. Fun!

Everything about this event was a great way to show the community that social media can build. Although it starts online, it transfers to real life. People who say they don't have time or don't want to learn about using it are, in my opinion, missing out on the richness that any kind of social interaction--online or not--can provide. Like any social situation, you need to exercise common sense, but once you learn how (like reading this blog!), you can really broaden your horizons.

Congrats Dallas & Ed! Wishing you many years of happiness. See you online.

My blog has been picked up by the new paper, but today still marks the end of a big chunk of my online identity. I'd like to ask you to pick up a hard copy of today's Honolulu Advertiser and take a look at the TGIF/Metromix section.

As of this writing, I don't know which photo they'll have on the cover, but this reflected the quirkiness of our team! Can you see what's in my hand? It's a photo of my niece Cymri, who had a short but fabulous stint with us until she moved to Buenos Aires.

Also as of this writing: We don't know what exactly is going to happen to Metromix Honolulu.

Two of my fellow Metromix food reviewers, Mari Taketa and Ed Morita. Our range of tastes made every meal together an adventure of sorts. Every week, as one or more of us was pulling an all-nighter to finish our review due the next morning, we'd email each other photos of dishes from our gallery, asking, "which one looks better?"--to find the best shot to send to our editor (see below).

Christa is going to KILL me for posting this photo! But amazingly, here is where Metromix Honolulu started. Next to me is our editor/producer Diane Seo. She's the brains behind it all, the one who sent us out to get restaurant listings and subsequently brainstormed with us on restaurant reviews and galleries. It was through her leadership that Metromix became the brand that it is in this town, unlike the other markets in the US.

Christa is known in this town as the ultimate party girl, and I don't mean that in a bad way. She knows nightlife. She knows what's hip and now and who's who. The day Metromix launched, she said, "This is good." And so it began--our spot as the "go-to" site for what's happening in Honolulu was secured.

Mari is hands down the best writer in town. She comes from a different food spot from me; whereas I was brought up in a family that loved food, trying new places, and was experimental with food trends, Mari says her mom didn't cook well and the meals were structured. At some point she realized Metromix was an outlet for making up for lost time, and she reveled in discovering the culinary delights that Honolulu had to offer. And you, as readers, could enjoy it with her.

Before we ride off into the sunset, I hope you get a chance to read my last Metromix review on Sean Priester's new restaurant, Soul Cafe. See? I'm always pimpin' the galleries. But really, it would mean a lot if you could read it, and leave a comment there.

I do want to clear up one thing before I close today's blog. A lot of people say they wish they had my job when they read my blog! This blog is completely voluntary; I don't get paid for it or the food that I eat or the places I travel to. I do get paid for the stuff I do on Metromix. All of the crazy things you see me do are just what I do to make life interesting!

No matter what happens when the new paper starts on Monday, I'll always be grateful for my time here as a blogger and a freelancer for the Honolulu Advertiser, and as a freelancer for Metromix Honolulu. I met so many wonderful people and got to see/do/eat so many exceptional things. I hope you'll follow me to my new online home. Thank you so much, all of you, for reading this blog and Metromix, and for all your comments, tweets, and emails. When I started this project almost three years ago, I had no idea it would grow into this blog that people would actually enjoy!

In the meantime, please tune in to our live internet show today at www.HawaiiIRL.com! See you again on Monday.

Once again, good intentions fall by the wayside. I meant to blog every day this week to catch up on all the blog posts I had amassed over the last few weeks. Here we are at the end of the Advertiser (although I've been picked up by the new paper) and I didn't blog all week! Even though I'm a freelancer, I've also been busy helping my colleagues turn out the lights.

Before I go to the other side, I wanted to tell you about a couple of bright spots in Hawaii. As you know, the world economy and the subsequent downturn in tourism was a pox on our economy, but things are looking up! Here are a couple of recent events that I wanted to share:

The Hawaiian Airlines new Airbus 330-200

Some of us got a glimpse of the new Airbus 330 the other day. Brand spanking new! It's pictured here next to one of Hawaiian Airlines' first planes.

Some of the twitter peeps there with us.

Cut to the chase: Boarding the new plane with Neenz and Noe! BTW someone asked if the bathrooms look different, and they don't. Just newer and cleaner.

First class seats...roomier, with individual TV screens and a lot of capabilities for your computer or DVD player.

Every seat in coach class has an individual screen. See the USB port, so you can charge your phone or sync with your player so you can watch your own movies? All the screens are touch screens so you can play games. You can even play games like Battleship with someone else in the plane!

Russ & Mel Sumida on the back of the plane with Pualani.

Hawaiian Airlines can now take more people to more places, including bringing them here!

Paradise Cruises' Dolphin Watch

I had the opportunity to experience a dolphin watch cruise recently on Paradise Cruises' Hoku Nai'a. It's great for both tourists and locals, especially if you've never seen sea life. I realized this after I invited fellow Metromixer Mari Taketa, who then told me she had never seen a honu.

You can either catch one of their tour buses from town or drive yourself out to the Waianae Boat Harbor.

I got stills, but the videos are better. They show the spinner dolphins...well, spinning. They jump out of the water and spin to get parasites off them, but as you can see, some of them love attention and don't stop showing off!

They travel in pods, but if a dolphin (or two) is really into the acrobatics, they'll break off for a while to do their own thing.

Here's one with a gorgeous shot of Makaha Valley.

At some point, we had to rip ourselves away from watching the dolphins frolic, and eat lunch! The Hoku Nai'a crew grills up burgers (or veggie patties) and you create your own burger at the burger bar. They have toppings like lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, and grilled pineapple....I'm not one to eat aboard a boat that shuttles tourists around, but this was really good! I didn't get a photo of my burger because my hands were so messy.

We sat near Kaena Point for a while, which was crystal clear. Lo and behold, to Mari's delight, a honu appeared! We were thrilled. The magic of seeing Hawaii marine life up close and personal, without disturbing their personal space, was amazing. (I'm personally against dolphin tours that have you swim with the dolphins.)

I hope you get to ride on either of these vessels, whether you're playing tourist or not!

Paradise Cruises
Dolphin Watch tour
Year-round, 9:30AM - 11:30AM (Tuesday - Sunday)
Price: Adult $68.00, Child $41.00
Without Lunch Price: Adult $52.00, Child $31.00
(Kamaaina rates available!)

No, not me! That's the name of an independent film I saw last night (Sunday), the last in the Rainbow Film Festival. Although the film festival is mostly focused on the gay and lesbian community, "The People I've Slept With" is very mainstream. Here's the trailer:

I did a short article on it in Sunday's paper, but if you missed it, it's a comedic journey that focuses on Angela (Karin Anna Cheung), a promiscuous party girl who loves sex so much that she has to create baseball cards to remember the men (and women) she's been with and what they were like.

She suddenly gets pregnant, but due to her track record, has no idea with whom. Was it the Five Second Guy? Or the Mystery Man? Perhaps the Nervous Guy? With the help of her cards and her best gay male friend Gabriel (played by Wilson Cruz), she tracks down her most recent lovers to figure out who the father is — and what she wants for herself in a relationship.

I thought it was a cute movie with a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. I'm straight, so it was especially appealing to watch hot CSI actor Archie Kao (who is from Hawaii) in many of the scenes. The other funny thing is, I think I knew someone who resembled almost every character in the movie. If it comes around to regular theaters, I hope you get to see it.

After the movie, we went to the Rainbow Festival Gala at Ka. Being a straight girl, I felt a little out of place, but I saw my twitter friends Chris Hall and Yen Phan.

I also saw Tracy Chan from Metromix (who reminds me of my niece Morgen), and DJ Nocturna, above, who introduced me to the film's director, Quentin Lee.

Me with Quentin.

Then Yen met Quentin.

From there, Quentin ushered us into the VIP area! That was pretty cool, especially when Christa Wittmeir came by and hissed, "What are YOU doing here?!" LOL

Quentin introduced us to Wilson Cruz, the lead actor in the movie. Although Quentin says "The People I've Slept With" does explore the relationship between a gay man and his "fag hag," he didn't want the movie to just be about that. Wilson, however, yelled, "I love fag hag movies!"

We also got to meet actress Mindy Cohn. Remember her, from the Facts of Life? From left, Brent Anbe, Wilson Cruz, Mindy Cohn, my features editor Elizabeth Kieszkowski, and me.

One of the highlights of the evening was a performance by three dancers from Cherry Blossom Cabaret. If you haven't heard of them, these are burlesque dancers who perform elaborate striptease productions, but don't take everything off. In most cases, the girls went down to a thong and pasties.

I'll leave you with the performance by my twitter friend Miss Catwings. You can see the others on my YouTube channel.

So starts the countdown for the blogs. I've been picked up by the new paper, but there will also be migration of blogs to Hawaii IRL, so you don't have to jump all over the internet to find us. More details to come in the coming week. Thanks to all of you for reading all these years; It's so amazing to see how all of our blogs have grown into what they have.

I'll have a bigger message at the end of the week, but for now....please help show your support for Metromix and fan the "Save Metromix" page on Facebook! Thanks!

Sunday's breakfast of champions

Last year, you followed my blog as I ate and drank my way through the fabulous Kapalua Wine & Food Festival. It was an event that I had only heard about, but never knew how wonderful it was till I experienced it first hand.

Well, I'm going again this year! It's from June 24 thru 27 at the ever-growing Kapalua Resort. And hopefully, you can come, too, since they now have kama'aina rates on tickets.

Kama’aina can enjoy generous savings on all festivities by purchasing a 4-Day Festival Pass for $599 or ala carte tickets. Ala carte tickets to the big (BIG!) events like the Grand Tasting, Seafood Festival and “DK’s Secrets: Sansei-Style” are only $120 each. Kama’aina prices for individual wine seminars range from $50-55. (I'm bad at math, but you can check out the pricing here to compare the rack rates to the kama'aina discounts.)

I got a preview of the menu for “DK’s Secrets: Sansei-Style," which is on Sunday the 27th from 1 to 3 p.m. Check it out:
1. Kona Cold Sous Vide Lobster “Farm to Table” Salad
Waipoli Hydroponic Greens, Big Island Hearts of Palm, Haricot Verts, Citrus Gelee, Sherry Shallot Vinaigrette
2. Asian Spice Crusted Meyer Natural Angus New York Steak
Potato & Hamakua Alii Mushroom & Spinach Potato Risotto, Ho Farms Tomato Umeboshi Lomi
3. Warm Waialua Chocolate Ganache Bomb
With Kula Strawberry Lavender Coulis

Some of the biggest, most indulgent events happen on this last day of the festival, so you see a LOT of local people there, young and old. I'm guessing they take off from work the next day!

Remember these Maui gals, from last year?

They've actually kept in touch, and I'll probably see them at the big seafood festival on the 27th. They were hilarious, and to me, exemplified the local touch of this very international festival. (I know M, NKHEA, Ynaku, and Opso would looooooove to meet them!)

Get your tickets, and don't forget to ask for the kama'aina discount!

Kapalua Wine and Food Festival
June 24-27
Kapalua Resort, Maui