Time Warp: A mixed bag of memories

In this section I'll post miscellaneous stuff. It could be a Punahou-related item or just be a window into the world as it was when we were in high school.

Punavision - The opening theme to the weekly Punavision show on public access TV was heavily laden with 80's synth.



Brown Bags to Stardom - Before there was "American Idol" there was "Brown Bags to Stardom," Hawaii's version of "Star Search." Each school submitted its own talent to compete against other schools. While there wasn't an '89er in the 1986 competition, it included a then-unknown kid from Kauai named Glenn Medeiros who went on to Top 40 success with his cover of "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You."

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1986 Punahou Variety Show - In the cast this year was graduating senior Carrie Ann Inaba who would go from being a Fly Girl on TV's "In Living Color" to the popular celebrity judge on "Dancing With The Stars."

Defend Sandy Beach - The top local socio-political issue during our senior year. It seemed like every car had one of these stickers slapped on its bumper!

All-School Dances - 1987 & 1988 were years that marked a rise in popularity of what became known as "hotel dances" because of they were initially held at hotels like the Ala Moana Americana and Ilikai. In truth, venues spanned from the Aloha Tower to clubs like Pink Cadillac and The Backdoor. Each month and almost weekly over the summer, producers launched massive flyer campaigns (I've saved dozens of these) and started to bring over C-List acts from the mainland like J.J. Fad and Agent Orange to lure students who were in the mod/punk and hip hop/freestyle scenes.

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Hi-Tech Electronics - In our freshman year you could buy this sweet tape recorder for only $99.99. Don't ask me why I saved a coupon book from 1985, because I don't have a sane answer.

Final Gathering - Apart from the numerous grad parties thrown over the summer, the Alumni Luau was seen by many as a last chance to gather as a class and offer our classmates final farewells.


Pop Culture - I have dozens of stubs, but this one stood out. For most of us, graduation was followed by lazy summer days, a bit of uncertainty about the future and many escapes to the movies. This ticket to "Say Anything" harkens back to the days of $5 movies and the close of an innocent and optimistic decade. We are truly products of the Eighties.