T-birds and aloha

This weekend is the beginning of the Aloha festival, "Hawai'i's premier cultural showcase, a celebration of Hawai'i's music, dance and history intended to preserve the unique island traditions". I only heard of it for the first time earlier this week; I guess I completely missed it last year. But this year, I am teaching so I have to keep up with what's going on in my student's lives.

Plus, how could you ignore the Aloha festival when the Thunderbirds were practicing twice today for the festivities (also to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Air Force). Here is an awesome image of the T-birds going over the surfers at Ala Moana Beach Park (from the Advertiser):



The festival kicks off with a parade on Saturday, which will likely cause a lot of downtown traffic, meaning I have to leave for the airport earlier than usual. Transportation is constantly on my mind these days since I "commute" 13 miles to work twice a week to teach and it can take up to an hour to get home. Anyway, I will be heading to Durham, NC, to present my research to a bunch of myelin experts (small meeting, less than 30 experts in myelin evolution; I am sooooo nervous). Along with teaching, this talk has been consuming all my energy; I promise to update more after I get back.