I did a story and posted on this blog in April about Kevin Nguyen, 17, who is suffering from a rare genetic disease that claimed the lives of his two brothers.
Because of his illness, Kevin can’t live the life of a normal 17-year-old, and spends much of his time playing video games in his Kalihi home and dreaming about becoming a video game designer.
After the story ran, Aloha Island, a local video game developer, got in touch with Kevin’s family and arranged for him to visit their small studio on University Avenue, which he did last week.
(Above: Kevin poses with a character from a game, “Aloha Island,” that is still being developed.)
“He seemed equally interested in everything, and not just art or programming,” Aloha Island producer Ty Robinson, who took the photos, said in an email. “Usually kids gravitate quickly to something, but it seemed he had a very broad view of all the elements that go in a game, which I thought for his age was pretty amazing.”
Robinson also showed Kevin a tool he could use to make his own games, called “Scratch,” and how 3D characters are created in movies and games with a software package called MAYA.
“Although I just met him, I could tell right away he is a fighter, and really knows his stuff about games,” Robinson said. “He made a big impression on all of us, and we are truly grateful for the opportunity.”
(Above: Kevin with lead artist Jason Nobriga, who presented Kevin with an autographed concept sketch.)
Kevin graduated in a special ceremony from McKinley High School in April. The principal of McKinley, as well as Kevin’s elementary and middle school teachers, his family and many friends, attended.
I caught an HPU advertisement on the radio this evening in which one presumably high school-age guy is talking to a friend, who is already in college.
“What are you doing this summer?” College-Age Guy asks High School Guy.
“I’m going to be at HPU, with you,” High School Guy replies. “I really want to get a head start on college classes.”
Good for High School Guy. He’s probably the ambitious type; maybe he’s getting a jump start on his education so he can finish in two or three years and go on to get a J.D. or a M.D. (In which case, he’ll become either Very Eligible Lawyer Guy or Very Eligible Doctor Guy.)
I assumed that the ad was a message to those about to enter college that taking summer school can be a good way to finish college in less than four years. And indeed, with the rising cost of education, more and more students are opting for that route.
Others, like this questioner, might do it because graduating earlier from college would mean graduating earlier from law school, a master’s program or medical school. A female friend, whom I had lunch with last week and is currently at JABSOM, said she purposely chose to go right into med school after college rather than taking a year off because of concerns about how soon she could do other things — like start a family — after earning her M.D. Although she did her undergrad in four years, I imagine there are many other med students out there who are willing to blitz through their college years for an earlier graduation from med school.
On the other end of the spectrum, however, there are those who take five, seven, even 10 years to go through what would normally be a four-year undergrad program. These career students belong to the Facebook group called “Graduating College in 4 Years is Like Leaving the Party at 9 p.m” (UHM Chapter). For many, reasons beyond their control dictate this extended undergrad experience — money, having to split work time and class time, being able to get into the right classes to finish your degree.
Or maybe, as freshmen, they want to major in Economics, then as sophomores, they want to major in Hawaiian Studies or Old English Poetry; then, they graduate with a a double major in Greek Philosophy and Communications, and a minor in Food and Restaurant Management.
But for others, maybe it even comes down to this: College is fun!
I grad from college in four years, and even that felt short. So, I guess it’s hard for me to understand why, in the absence of things like real money or time concerns, students would want to finish college early.
My dad often tells me that he can’t understand why college students wildly celebrate graduation, when they will leave the best years of their lives behind. I’m not sure if I’d call my college years the best of my life, but considering they were filled with meeting tons of great people my age, making lasting friendships, never waking up before 9 a.m., taking fascinating classes with incredible professors, having a party option every weekend, exploring New York and Boston and actually having spring, summer and Christmas vacations … yes, I’d say college was pretty darn awesome.
But maybe that’s just me. I wouldn’t want to stay out ’till 4 a.m., but I’d hate to leave a party when it’s just getting started.
It seems finding the right online dating site these days can be as tricky as finding the perfect partner, and in the war of online dating site “values” it looks like it’s eHarmony.com vs. Chemistry.com.
Among the young and the single—especially those with Blue State values—wariness about eHarmony runs high. For one thing, there’s the association with Dr. James Dobson. Warren published several of his books under the imprint of Dobson’s Focus on the Family and then, when he was first flogging eHarmony, he did it largely via Dobson’s radio show. “James Dobson … did more to help us get started than any other person,” Warren told NPR’s Terry Gross in 2005. Because of Warren’s strong evangelical bona fides, the impression persists that eHarmony is a dating service for Christians—even though the company has severed its ties with Dobson’s group, and eHarmony “has never been limited to a Christian audience or any particular subset of the population,” says a company lawyer.
A clever marketing campaign by competitor Chemistry.com recently seized on those concerns — and the fact that eHarmony, which has had about 20 million users, rejects about 20 percent of applicants and doesn’t offer a full explanation, as the story notes.
The Chemistry.com TV ads feature seemingly attractive, nice people who mull over their possible reasons for being rejected by eHarmony: Occasionally unhappy. Too many late fees at the library. Too scrawny. “Nope, still gay.”
The accusation that eHarmony discriminates against homosexuals drew the most attention. The site currently only offers two options: “man seeking woman” and “woman seeking man.” eHarmony says it has not ruled out offering same-sex matching in the future — the service is just not available right now.
The 20-percent rejection rate on eHarmony may seem high, but it’s not unreasonable for singles seeking others online to want the sites they use will weed out the serial killers, the weirdos, the stalkers and the crazies.
But, for those who haven’t been lucky in love beyond the Internet, it would be nice to think that your online dating site, at least, would love you the way you are, right?
I’ll never forget that trip home from college in 2002, the first time I opened my suitcase and found a small, white card with an official-looking seal informing me that border security agents had gone through my bag and inspected my belongings.
“Great,” I thought. “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been rifling through my underwear.”
The men in black, or whoever they were, left little evidence that they had been through my things at all, save that card, and some slightly out-of-order folded clothing — oh wait, this was MY suitcase, so nothing was probably folded anyway.
Nevertheless, that card alone made me feel slightly, well — violated.
Six years later, there are bigger fish to fry — a U.S. Senate hearing yesterday questioned whether federal officials can seize and search people’s laptop computers during airport security inspections. That story in today’s New York Times.
The federal government says the laptop searches are a necessary step in efforts to catch people who carry illegal material across U.S. borders.
The searches are problematic not only because of the obvious privacy concerns, but will likely cause an uproar because so many people today tie their entire lives up in their computers. I’m traveling to Chicago next month and will probably take my laptop, on which is saved countless, priceless notes, papers, interviews. I’ve seen friends treat the death of a laptop like the loss of a loved one. Seriously, they’ll mourn for days.
What would they do if their computers were suddenly taken away? For me, it would be as if someone took over and blew up my office.
I’m also confused as to what the Feds looking for. Data? Viruses? Photos? Is this a security issue? If it’s a bomb disguised as a computer, I could see how there would be cause for concern. But can’t anything being carried on a hard drive just as easily be sent via email from outside the U.S. to within American borders without even going through a metal detector? Someone enlighten me.
After going along with stricter bag inspections, pat downs, shoe removal, long lines, extended waiting times, no bottled anything, and the consolidation of all toiletries and medicines to a quart-size, zip-lock, clear plastic bag with (relatively) little protest, one wonders how much more travelers will tolerate.
Seven years after 9-11, seems like little white cards in our suitcases may be the least of our worries.
WHAT: Political Panel Discussion on the 2008 Presidential Elections
WHERE: PBS Hawaii Island Insights, Ch.10
WHEN: Tonight, 7:30 p.m.
WHO: Panelists include Denby Fawcett, KITV; Richard Borreca and Laurie Au, Honolulu Star-Bulletin; and Treena Shapiro, The Honolulu Advertiser; Moderated by Dan Boylan. Gina Mangieri, KHON-2; Brian Schatz, chair of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i; and Willes Lee, chair of the Hawai‘i Republican Party will make guest video appearances. (Think CNN YouTube debate…. but without the snowman.)
UP FOR DEBATE: The 2008 primary race marked the first time in history that either an African American or a woman seemed poised to become the nominee for a major political party. But is that really the news? Have domestic and international issues taken a backseat to gender and race? Do race and gender affect the way the media covers presidential candidates? How can the media effectively cover the issues that are most important? How can Hawai‘i journalists localize the presidential election while avoiding bias toward Hawai‘i-born candidate Barack Obama?
Have questions for the panelists or comments about local media coverage? Email questions ahead of time (ie: before 7 p.m. tonight) to insights@pbshawaii.org.
If you’re busy tonight, catch the rebroadcast on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. This is a good chance to weigh in on local election coverage — what you like, and what you think should change.
I did a story and posted on this blog in April about Kevin Nguyen, 17, who is suffering from a rare genetic disease that claimed the lives of his two brothers.
Robinson also showed Kevin a tool he could use to make his own games, called “Scratch,” and how 3D characters are created in movies and games with a software package called MAYA.
I caught an HPU advertisement on the radio this evening in which one presumably high school-age guy is talking to a friend, who is already in college.
Six years later, there are bigger fish to fry — a U.S. Senate hearing yesterday questioned whether federal officials can seize and search people’s laptop computers during airport security inspections. That story in today’s 
A shameless plug — for what should be an interesting program:
