Six Degrees of Seperation - Spam to Scotland

Blogger Update - Following Dani's advice, I installed Google Chrome.  I signed onto my blog through it and now I can leave comments under my own name.   Others throughout Blogger are still having problems.  Blogger posted a notice dated May 24 that they are working on it.  Meanwhile, try three options:
- Install Google Chrome

- Leave a comment as anonymous (but include your name)

- Send your comment to sos.aloha@yahoo.com (and I'll post it for you).

1.  Yesterday I was spammed ... so those readers in my "SOS Aloha" email database may have receive a "friend" request for a social network.    My apologies ....

2.  While email spam is annoying .... Hormel Spam is considered an Island treat!   Locals eat it with eggs, in sandwiches, and atop Misubi (rice cake wrapped in seaweed).

3.  Rice is a staple of most Hawaiian meals, including breakfast.  Many diners serve Loco Moco - hamburger patty stacked with fried egg with a scoop of rice on the side.

4.  Loco Moco represents the diverse immigrant population that exploded as the Hawaiian Islands cultivated sugar and pineapple.  Most of the landowners were enterprising Americans and Europeans.

5.  These enterprising landowners influenced the Hawaiian monarchy to adapt to Western religion, dress, and politics.  The European landowners also married into the Hawaiian monarchy - Scotsman Archibald Cleghorn married Princess Miriam Likelike.  Their daughter, Princess Victoria Kai'ulani, was the heir to her uncle's thrown, King David Kalakaua.

6.  Archibald Cleghorn and Princess Miriam petitioned the king to deed the land with the Captain Cook Memorial to the United Kingdom.

Archibald Cleghorn, Princess Miriam,

and Princess Kai'ulani



7.  Captain Cooke was the second of eight children born to James Cooke, a Scottish farmer, who would appreciate the fertile land that his son "discovered" during his Pacific voyages.

Ok, that's seven degrees.  But the point is Hawaii has many connections to Scotland.   Our majestic volcanic mountains often remind me of the splendid Scottish Highlands.  And the warrior spirit - from medieval times to today - remains a part of the local culture in Hawaii and Scotland.

King Kamehameha and William Wallace



Enter Margaret Mallory - author of Scottish books set in medieval times and the Tudor Era:

- All the King's Men series:

Travel back in time with a medieval knight for a dramatic tale of romance and adventure. Follow our gallant knight as he meets the heroine-and faces his toughest battle yet. Sparks fly but danger follows, for this is a woman who is willing to spy for a prince, lure an enemy to save a friend, or use that dagger she has hidden under her pillow.

A cast of medieval characters-wily royals, charismatic rebels, unlikely spies, and traitorous relatives-raise the stakes for our knight and his lady. Together, they must face the dangers... and discover the true meaning of love, honor, and loyalty.

  

- Return of the Highlander series kicked off with THE GUARDIAN:

Four fearless warriors return to the Highlands to claim their lands and legacies. But all their trials on the battlefield can't prepare them for their greatest challenge yet: winning the hearts of four willful Scottish beauties.

Terri from Bodice Ripper Novels would like to giveaway a copy of KNIGHT OF PASSION here at SOS Aloha to one US resident.   KNIGHT OF PASSION is the last book in the All The King's Men series (it can also be read as a stand alone book). 

And I'll sweeten the pot - I'll donate my ARC of THE GUARDIAN - the first book of the Return of the Highlanders series - to one international reader.

To enter the giveaway,

1. Name a magical place - Scotland?  Hawaii?  Your home town?

2. Comments are open through Sunday, May 29, 10 pm, as I would like to send Terri the winner's address on Monday, May 30.

What a fitting tribute for Memorial Day to giveaway books about warriors!

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

Perhaps Linlithgow Palace (outside Edinburgh) represents the transition from Medieval Scotland to the Tudor Era as it was the royal residence of King James IV and Queen Margaret Tudor - sister to England's King Henry VIII.   Their son, James V, and their granddaughter, Mary I, were born at Linlithgow.   But James V abandoned the palace in favor of "manor houses".   Further conflict left the palace in ruin. 

Likewise, Pu'ukohola Heiau  (on the Big Island of Hawaii) may represent the transition from "medieval" Hawaii to "Western" Hawaii.   King Kamehameha (of the Big Island) built Pu'ukohola Heiau  (Temple on the Hill of the Whale) in 1791 to ultimately slaughter his cousin.  His cousin's death fulfilled one of three prophecies that predicted one warrior would unite the eight Hawaiian islands.   That warrior was King Kamehameha.   Yet he used Western weapons and Western advisers to accomplish this task.  Those advisers began to influence the Hawaiian monarchy (in fact, one of the advisers was given land near this sacred site).   When King Kamehameha died, his son succeeded him to the throne and abolished the old religion.  This cleared the way for Christian missionaries to convert the Hawaiians.  The heiau lost its

significance and fell into despair.  Today, many heiau lay in ruins like medieval castles but retain the "history" of the land.