By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

Three things: First, spotted on Kalaniana'ole Highway over a weekend, a small act of activism, a one-man crusade for public decency. Along the town-bound lanes by the Kahala Mall off-ramp, the utility poles had been covered with a blight of bright orange posters advertising a Halloween "Pimp and Ho Party" in large black lettering.

There was a well-dressed man — nice shorts, shoes, shirt tucked in, hat — walking along the side of the road ripping down the posters and stuffing them in a trash bag. He didn't look angry or annoyed or even bothered. Just determined.

Second, the Young @ Heart Chorus performance at the Hawai'i Theatre on Friday night had a chicken-skin on chicken-skin hana hou. Well, the chorus had several hana hou, but one of the songs the group of performers from Massachusetts pulled out of their pockets was such a breathtaking surprise. The Young @ Heart Chorus consists of 35 performers between the ages of 72 and 90-something. They stopped off in Hawai'i on their way back from a tour of Australia.

You can imagine that it might be cute to see old folks sing "I Will Survive" or "Stairway to Heaven" or Devo's "Whip It." But the performance was beyond funny. It was profound.

And then, the clincher. For one of their three hana hous, the director, Bob Cilman, thanked the audience, said the chorus was having a lovely time in Hawai'i and said they wanted to do a special song for us.

Oh great. Here comes "Rocka Hula Baby" with bad poi balls and cellophane hula skirts, right?

Wrong.

They sang "Hawai'i Aloha." They sang "Hawai'i Aloha" the real way, the right way, with reverence. These senior citizens from Massachusetts sang in Hawaiian and every person in the audience jumped up, held hands and did the ceremonial "Hawai'i Aloha" sway. It's hard to explain the emotion in the moment. It was like discovering something new and wonderful about something you've known and loved your whole life.

Third, the 'Ohina Short Film showcase, now in its amazing sixth year, had standing-room-only houses on Friday night and sizable crowds on Saturday. It's hard to pick a favorite, but one standout was a piece by Aran Higa called "Notes with a Beat." It starts out looking like a typical college film project: grainy, shaky footage of a student sitting outside Manoa's Kennedy Theatre. Then, wow. The girl steps into an alternate universe where she's a silhouette against a black background. Red musical notes come flying at her, and she turns into a kung fu master, kicking, punching the notes as they attack. Jackie Chan, stay home. At the end, she has arranged on the notes into a musical composition. Very cool.

So what does it all mean? Not sure. But it's nice to know that in this world of trouble and heartbreak, there are still people trying to do the right thing and art that challenges your assumptions.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.