Category Archives: Natural History

The face that we almost forgot

Posted on April 8, 2016 by

If you are of a particular age cohort, you will remember the sensation that was M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense. Lauded, then cliched, for its plot twist, the movie was also known for Haley Joel Osment’s famous utterance: “I … Continue reading →

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1984… and 1884

Posted on December 30, 2014 by

The Bishop Museum just wrapped up their Wonders of Nature exhibit. As great as it was to see the Museum’s collections from throughout the Pacific, I was there for a very specific reason. It was my first real chance to … Continue reading →

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‘Aka’aka’awa refugium

Posted on May 27, 2013 by

I was super excited to finally come across this cool native plant. This is the sole native begonia to Hawai’i: ‘Aka’aka’awa (Hillebrandia sandwicensis). I personally like to say it in the same cadence as the name of a certain young … Continue reading →

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Mahalo Dr. Hume!

Posted on March 24, 2012 by

The long line at the Kapalama post office on a Saturday morning was absolutely worth it; today I received my copies of Hume and Walters’ Extinct Birds. I’ve been reading it all day and it’s wonderful! It is a great primer on … Continue reading →

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Book Review: The Species Seekers

Posted on February 27, 2012 by

Another book from my vulturine gleaning of the Border’s collapse is this tale: The Species Seekers: Heroes, Fools, and the Mad Pursuit of Life on Earth, by Richard Conniff. Considering all the surveying I’m doing and my general interest in natural … Continue reading →

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Extinct Megafauna at the Mall

Posted on July 31, 2011 by

There is a passion that I have which predates native Hawaiian plants. It’s one that I haven’t gotten a chance to talk about on this blog yet. Luckily this is Studia Mirabilium, the Study of Marvelous Things. With Pearlridge Mall … Continue reading →

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Lords of Gardner: Ole Owyhee part II

Posted on October 26, 2010 by

An island kingdom crumbles into the sea. Refugees flee to a new land. With this new beginning, they prosper once more. Could it be the Atlantean myth? The Mayan-Egyptian pyramid connection? While it sounds like the story of Atlantis, it … Continue reading →

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Paleobiogeography and the long memories of Ole Owyhee Part I

Posted on October 19, 2010 by

Not the most euphonious title. But paleobiogeography is a marvelous thing to me. To put it in a slightly more simple way, it’s about how populations have expanded and contracted in an area over time.

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