Commentary – The Hawaii Files

June 15, 2018June 15, 2018

A Different Way To Sell Tickets

Grammy award winning pop singer Bruno Mars will be featured in two concerts in Hawaii this coming November 10 and 11 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The November 10 show is sold out and tickets for the November 11 show go on sale tomorrow (Saturday, June 16) morning at the Aloha Stadium box office and online.

Many people who waited in line at the stadium to buy their tickets or tried at home to get them through the internet were met with frustration and disappointment. Bruno Mars tickets were sold out before the end of the day. People waiting in line were turned away after a certain point, and countless others who tried to buy online were frustrated to learn that “bot” programs bought many tickets for resale at higher prices by third parties.

It seems the same thing will probably happen when tickets for the second show go on sale tomorrow. The line at the stadium was stopped shortly after 9:30 a.m. today. Those lucky enough to beat the cutoff at the stadium are waiting another night for when the box office opens tomorrow. Good luck.

Similarly those wanting to buy online will probably face the same problems they did last week.

Surely many tickets were sold for the 36,000 or so lucky ones last week. But the popularity of the local born singer has made demand for the second show tickets extremely high.

A possible solution.

What should be done to assure that tickets are sold only to the fans (mostly local residents) and not to commercials entities via bots?

My solution would be to allow people to come to the stadium, sit in the seats and have ticket sellers authorized by the stadium and concert promoter to meet every single person seated in the stadium and take their ticket orders with an iPad or other tablet device tied into the payment system and master seat map for the performance being sold.

Curtail all online sales until the people who are at the stadium buy their tickets. Whatever is leftover can be sold online… or as they probably do now, just lop X amount of seats on the side for online sales only. Indicate the online sale allotment in pre-sale information.

If the maximum amount of tickets any one person can buy is 2 or 4, then round down the 36,000 seat number to 16,000 live in person Aloha Stadium ticket buyers. Hire ticket sales agents to take ticket orders iPads and send an e-ticket people’s smart phone and/or email address with a back-up in the cloud just in case. Task done.

While the ticket buying crowd is seated inside Aloha Stadium for the ticket agents to come around, the promoter could use the opportunity to showcase local bands, sell food or something. Make the ticket buying day an enjoyable event.

Surely there are logistical issues to be worked out such as parking, security, sanitation, hiring enough ticket agents and setting rules, priorities and policies on the actual implementation of the process. It is also possible that this idea may not be feasible at all.

What do you think? Surly this suggestion is only a rough idea, but if planned well it could be possible for the next big show.

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May 29, 2018

Hawaii – Island of Fire

“Hawaii – Island of Fire” is an insightful report into the Kilauea eruption and its impact on the residents of Leilani Estates as well as the government officials who are tasked with managing this disaster.

While the eruption of Kilauea has been nothing short of spectacular and tragic at the same time, it is with note that I remind readers that the eruption’s lava flows are impacting less than 5% of the Island of Hawaii (Big Island).

While sensational reports of the eruption have been shown worldwide, officials at the State and County of Hawaii remind would-be visitors that Hawaii and the Big Island is open for business. The port in Hilo is open as well as all of the airports on the Big Island and the rest of the state. Tourists are encouraged not to cancel travel plans. Those visiting the Big Island are urged to patronize island businesses in the Puna and Volcano area.

The USGS map below show the impact of the active lava inundation areas as of May 28, 2018.

Be sure to check our Hawaii Volcano Videos collection on YouTube. It is a 500+ list of the most relevant videos pertaining to the current eruption with some historic ones thrown in.

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May 19, 2018

The Lava Is Headed to the Ocean

May 19, 2018 Pele’s March to the Pacific from Mick Kalber on Vimeo.

There is no doubt in my mind that the lava from this phase of the eruption will make it to the ocean by tonight or sometime in the next two days if the current level of activity continues. Seems like many of the fissures have joined and a new cinder cone may be in the making.

I am not a geologist, but only speculating in what could come next. Check all of the YouTube videos that I have compiled. You will see people’s reactions to the lava, news bulletins, more aerial shots, and commentary from the brave videographer residents who have chosen to stay in lower Puna and document all of the activity for the world to see.

Hawaii Volcano Videos on The Hawaii Files Channel (YouTube)

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May 3, 2018May 3, 2018

Kilauea May Rumble in a New Location

Pu'u O' o Ash Cloud — Smoke plume rises from Pu’u O’o crater on May 3.

Hawaii island’s Kilauea volcano is ramping up for some new activity downslope and away from the long running Pu’u O’o eruption area. Several days ago the crater wall at Pu’u O’o collapsed. The magma that is under the crater moved downslope along the East Rift Zone of Kilauea this week.

A moderate earthquake measuring 5.0 hit the Puna area this morning (May 3) at around 10:30 am. The quake caused part of the Pu’u O’o crater wall to collapse, sending out a huge plume of pinkish colored smoke.

The initial intensity of the May 3 earthquake was put at 4.6. It later was revised to 5.0 by the HVO. Numerous earthquakes have occurred in the southeast rift zone of Kilauea volcano over the past several days. USGS image.

The quake is one of a series of hundreds that are rocking the area. Most of the earthquakes are at the 1 or 2 point levels with a few spiking higher into the 3 point range. Hawaii Volcano Observatory scientists say this is a sign that lava is moving deep underground but could find its way back up to the surface a few miles away from the two current eruption sites.

Miles downslope and we are talking about several subdivisions in the lower Puna area, home to about 10,000 residents.

Lava movement down the slopes of Kilauea is not new. This kind of thing has happened in the past, most notably in 1955 and in 1960, when the village of Kapoho was overrun by lava.

Area residents know that they live in a place of high volcanic risk. Pu’u O’o has been continuously erupting since 1983. Houses, beaches, farmland, businesses and more have been wiped out by the volcano’s lava flows over the last 35 years. The village of Kalapana, once a pristine area with a beautiful black sand beach was wiped off the earth by lava in the late 1980s and 1990s. The town of Pahoa was almost inundated with a lava flow from the same volcano in 2014.

The summit eruption at the top of Kilauea Caldera within Halemaumau continues. The lava lake recently filled up and has drained somewhat this week.

Throwback Thursday:
Queen Elizabeth 2

A little more than ten years ago, the Cunard Liner Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) made her final stop in Honolulu on March 25, 2008 on her last around the world voyage before being decommissioned later that year.

The arrival and docking of the QE2 at Honolulu Harbor was always a sight to behold. The ship attracted a good collection of fans and photographers who came out to snap pictures of her. Over the years I’ve shot several photos of QE2 at her familiar moorings at Piers 2 or 11.

In late 2008 she was sold and set sail for her new home in the far away Arab city of Dubai. There she sat for many years, her fate usually unknown until it was announced that she will opened as a floating hotel this year. In an email that I got from the QE2 Story website and message board:

QE2 Dubai Hotel Opens

Hello global QE2 fans! We don’t often send special emails during the month, but we felt this was too important to miss.

QE2 Dubai is now available to book to stay on, and the “soft opening” date is the 18th of April (the same day that Queen Mary 2 is in port), followed by the full “grand opening” in October, when all areas of the ship will be brought back into use.

The ship is now known as the QE2 Hotel Dubai. More information can be found on the hotel’s website. An updated story on QE2’s conversion to a hotel appears here: QE2 News / QE2 in Dubai / QE2 Today.

While I never stepped on board the famed ocean liner, she will forever be a treasured memory for all those who traveled on her as well as those who saw her in port and other places while in active service.

Previously on this blog: QE2 Stops in Hawaii for the Last Time

Hawaii Files Photos on Flickr: QE2

QE2 docked at Honolulu’s Pier 11, 1989.

QE2 at Honolulu Harbor, Pier 2, 1989.

QE2 departing Honolulu Harbor, 1989

This is my most popular photo of QE2 taken 1999.

Her last stop on March 25, 2008, Honolulu Harbor Pier 2.

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