Soundbytes: Jake Shimabukuro shimmers

Like the holiday season, Jake Shimabukuro's CD releases have become an annual staple.

Since 2002, the ukulele virtuoso has produced an album a year. But 2007 brings double the fun as he comes out with the six-song EP In My Life and the soundtrack to the 2006 Japanese hit film, “Hula Girls.”

In My Life
In My Life is a collection of ukulele covers of some of Shimabukuro's favorites songs. Among the artists featured include The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Cyndi Lauper. His mellow arrangements produce an aurally pleasing compilation of these familiar classics.

The album opens with Shimabukuro's take on Lauper's “Time After Time.” His crystal-clear ukulele plucks are accompanied by bongos, which create a laid-back island sound. Jake's younger brother Bruce provides gentle guitar strums in the background.

“Somewhere Over The Rainbow” features a solo performance by Shimabukuro. He alternates between soft, lucid plucks and heavy, rich strums to give the Judy Garland piece a lounge-esque quality.

The best song on the album is his cover of Sarah McLachlin's “Ice Cream.” Simplicity is the key as Shimabukuro plays without a band, producing a rich sound entirely from his four-octive instrument. His slow strums add depth as each string resonates.

Clocking in a just a little more than 22 minutes, In My Life provides a taste of Shimabukuro's skills. Its sweet and tranquil sounds are pleasant to listen to, but as soon it pulls one in, the music is over, leaving an unsatisfied aural palate craving more.

Hula Girls
Honolulu-native Jake Shimabukuro predominantly featured on the soundtrack to an award-winning film set in Hawaii? Makes sense.

The “Hula Girls” soundtrack sounds more like a “best of” compilation for Shimabukuro. Those familiar with the talented musician's past works will recognize tracks such as “Heartbeat,” “Walking Down Rainhill” and “Touch.” While the album carries sweet, carefree melodies, it fails to showcase the lightning-quick ukulele rips that are associated with the artist.

“Hula Girl” is a mellow tune that highlights Jennifer Perri's bright, rich voice as Shimabukuro's lucid plucks play harmony. Soft guitar strikes and sparsely placed bass hits are subdued to emphasis the vocals.

The movie version of “Heartbeat” is a piano arrangement of the Shimabukuro's piece from Walking Down Rainhill. The sustained notes echo, creating a heavy, haunting sound that resonates. It's a stark difference from the next track, “Heartbeat (reprise),” which carries a fluffier sound, focusing on Shimabukuro's ukulele play and a guitar that fills the background.

“Hawaiian Eyes” is one of the two songs not featuring Shimabukuro – both are by the all-female Hawaiian group, Na Leo. Warm guitar strums and shakers open the song as the vocals enter. The three women create intricate harmonies during the chorus, while layering the melody over harmonic backgrounds during the bridge.

Shimabukuro's signature sound is tuned down in the “Hula Girls” soundtrack. While it's an album that's worth adding to one's collection, it lacks the innovation that have been typical of the ukulele virtuoso's work.

Online Escape: OJ's Eleven

Remembering a pioneer

I remember the first time I went to the Denver Press Club and saw its wall of caracatures, I was surprised when I saw an Asian face on it. While my friends were trying to figure out the other faces, I just stared at the one of Bill Hosokawa.

The former Denver Post editorial page editor died on Nov. 9 in Sequim, Wash. He was 92.

In the interviews I've read, Bill said that he grew up in Seattle wanting to become a journalist. But at the time, “Asian American” and “journalist” didn't go together. While at the University of Washington, he said his professors told him to pursue a different career because no one was going to hire him.

It didn't deter him from getting his degree. But they were right about getting work – Bill had to travel abroad to find a job, working for various English-language Asian publications.

When he returned to the U.S. in 1941, it was five weeks before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. In May 1942, he and about 120,000 other Japanese Americans were forced out of their homes and sent to internment camps.

When he was released, he found a job on the copy desk in Iowa. In 1946, he was hired by The Denver Post where he would spend 38 years working and rise to editorial page editor – the highest-ranked position for any Asian-American journalist in his time.

When he retired, he was the only person of color in the newsroom.

Bill was a pioneer. He challenged the notion that Asian Americans couldn't be journalists. He went through the pain and struggle of rejection so that it would be easier for subsequent generations to enter the industry.

All the while he held true to his Japanese-American identity, inspiring others to do the same. In his blog, Examiner.com Director of Content Gil Asakawa said “having a historical giant like Bill Hosokawa in the area was like having a lighthouse in a fog.”

I never had a chance to meet Bill Hosokawa, but I thank him for helping me be where I am today. Hopefully one day, I'll be able to join him on that wall.

Fighting fat: week 13

Starting weight: 176 lbs. (BMI: 26.4 – overweight)
Nov. 20 weigh-in: 164 (BMI: 24.6 – normal)
Days worked out in week 11: four

Ugh. This has not been a good week for exercise.

My right shoulder is slightly tweaked so I've been holding back from doing much with it. It doesn't feel like anything serious and it's almost back to normal, but I'm not taking any chances. I had a rotator cuff injury in August 2006 that put me out of commission for about six months – it was the worst injury I can remember having.

But with Thanksgiving coming up, and a four-day weekend, I'm planning on training like an Olympian.

And get some much needed sleep.

I'm a little surprised that I dropped some weight this week. My upper-body routines haven't been as rigorous with my shoulder.

Nov. 27 weigh-in: 162 (24.3 – normal)
Days worked out in week 12: four

I figured I should go against the flow over Thanksgiving weekend by losing three pounds. That's right, on Monday morning I weighed in at 161 pounds.

I gained a pound back yesterday, but that's a good thing. Three pounds a week at this point is a little much for me.

The extended weekend meant plenty of sleep and time to heal my shoulder. I held back from heavy upper-body routines such as the bench press, and worked on my auxiliary muscles instead.

I also tried yoga for the first time – good stuff, I may try it again sometime.

But with my goal of 160 within reach, I can't let up. I started doing heavier routines again and I'm back on my protein shakes. I know muscle is heavier than fat, but I still have some flab to take off.

Online Escape: I am Iron Man

Does anyone believe that Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man is an inspired casting choice?

(For you non-Comic-book folk, Tony Stark is an alcoholic. Downey Jr. was a drug addict)

Fighting fat: week 11

Starting weight: 176 lbs. (BMI: 26.4 – overweight)
Nov. 13 weigh-in: 165 (BMI:
Days worked out in week 10: four

Whoo! New milestone — I'm down to 16.3 percent body fat, which places me in the “fitness” range. That's down from 18.5 percent in week five and 21.5 percent from week two.

With the holiday season coming up, I should have more time to kick it into intense mode and become a gym hermit. I'm hoping to drop below 13 percent and into the “athletes” range by the end of the year. But this requires a lot of time and discipline.

I'm enjoying that I'm starting to look more balanced. My arms are getting thicker, my back's filling out, my butt's gaining muscle mass. It's pretty sweet.

But my chest is still growing considerably. It's interesting not being able to fit into some of my old shirts because of muscle and not flab.

I'm planning on dropping two pounds in this next week. I need to make up for the weight I wasn't able to lose last week. I'm only planning on taking either Wednesday or Thursday off. The rest of the time, I'll be at the gym.

(And yes, that's the "Mortal Kombat" movie soundtrack playing in the video clip)

Fleeting life

Life is fragile – we just don't notice it until it's gone.

Last Friday my niece's close friend, Jeff, committed suicide. He was 21.

When she text messaged me about it last night, I called her to see how she was doing. She sounded sullen and confused. I could tell that she was still trying to comprehend the situation.

I like to think that I usually give decent uncle-esque advice to my nieces and nephews, but I was at a loss for words. This was something new for me, too.

I've been fortunate in that I have only lost a few people in my life. The closest was my maternal grandfather who died of lung cancer when I was 8 years old, but I was too young to fully understand what was happening at the time. I was sad because I knew he was gone, but it wasn't until years later that I realized how important he was in my life.

But that was a different situation. Although preparing for someone to die lies somewhere between difficult to impossible, we at least knew it was coming.

No one expected the events that transpired Friday.

Everyone described Jeff as a happy, energetic individual who was down-to-earth. There didn't appear to be any warning signs. He was someone who brought a smile to people's faces and enjoyed skiing and talking about his plans for the future – a future that will never be.

On Facebook and MySpace his friends have made online memorials, posting pictures and sharing their favorite memories about him. It's a start to mending the emotional wounds.

Though it's a cliché to say we have to go out and live life to the fullest, it's because of events like this that we realize that it cannot be taken for granted.

Perhaps that's the one good thing that comes out of this horrible mess.

Fighting fat: Week 10

Starting weight: 176 lbs. (BMI: 26.4 – overweight)
Nov. 6 weigh-in: 165 lbs. (BMI: 24.7 – normal)

It took a few weeks, but I finally dropped some more weight.

It was only a pound, but that's a pound less than I was last week. I believe the key ingredient has been more sleep.

The more impressive fact – impressive to me, at least – is that I'm becoming much stronger and agile than I have been in the past. The speed of my lateral twist running speed is increasing. My burst speed is improving somewhat – I haven't been working on that as much yet.

The only thing is – my right arm is noticably larger than my left. I don't think there's that much of strength difference between the two, though I could be wrong. One of my major focuses during the past two weeks has been building my arms and shoulders. Between every shoulder exercise, I do a bicep or tricep exercise.

Needless to say, my arms have been a little fatigued. This asymmetry worries me a little, but I'm going to try and fix it in the coming weeks.

It's been a while since I've checked my body fat percentage. I figure I'll go in either tomorrow or Thursday and check it out.

Meanwhile, my Chipotle diet has been working well. Perhaps I should go offer my story to the company for some free food.

Goal for week 11: Going to try and drop down to 163. If I work at it, 160 by Thanksgiving isn't out of the question.

Online Escape: 'U Really Got a Hold on Me'

This is one of my favorite "Sesame Street" skits of all time.

Missed opportunity

To my Asian-American brothers and sisters:

Where you at?

This past weekend, U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, D-Ca. came to Denver to speak with the community. It was an opportunity for us to discuss issues that concern us with someone on the national level.

Unfortunately, the turnout was less than overwhelming.

Let me put it this way – there was only one person less than the age of 30 at the emerging leaders meeting on Friday: Me.

And at the town meeting on Saturday, there were four of us – two of which were from AsiaXpress.com.

As great as it was to have a solo meeting with Honda and many of our community's experienced leaders, including former Colorado State Senate President Stan Matsunaka, it was disheartening being the lone voice for Asian Americans of my generation.

And as a journalist I'm supposed to observe and record the news, not be the one who's making it.

It's a stereotype that Asian Americans prefer to stay quiet and avoid rocking the boat when it comes to politics. It's another one that many in Generation Y (those born between 1977 and 1994) are apathetic to governmental affairs. Friday did nothing except perpetuate those claims.

The Asian-American voice is small on the national scale. Of the 100 U.S. senators, two are of Asian descent. Of the 535 voting members in congress, there are only six Asian Americans. That's 2 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively – far lower than the 4 percent of us who make up the U.S. population. It doesn't help that only 30.7 percent of Asian Americans who are eligible to vote actually did in the 2004 election.

If we want to have a voice, we have to become involved. Whether it's running for public office, volunteering for someone's campaign or just getting out there and voting, we have to make our presence known. If we don't, we'll forever remain known as the “silent minority.”

Congressman Honda's visit to Denver was a missed opportunity for the community. We can't let that happen again.