THE LEFT LANE
Cusser's last stand

Advertiser Staff

Laura Bush

The "Just Say Aloha" jar was created because of overuse of the "f"-word, said bar owner Hank Taufa'asau.

"Every time someone says it in our bar, they can make a voluntary donation to the jar," he said. "In two years we've given about $2,000 to River of Life and other charities."

A Hank's patron sent Bush a letter about the jar two years ago, prompting this response from Laura Bush on June 25, 2001:

"Thank you for sharing your personal cultural battle.You are encouraging good moral conduct while making a needed contribution to feed the poor."

With Best Wishes, Laura Bush

The bar also has mini pamphlets with the letter "F" circled and crossed out and the words "Just Say Aloha" strewn above the top. The pamphlet points out that in 1999, Internet search engines listed 173,045 sites containing the naughty no-no. A google check last week showed 4,900,000 sites. The pamphlet also gives a history of the word's origin.

"I wish other bars or beer distributors would pick this up and run with it," Taufa'asau said. "We have fun with it."

MTV 'leaks' CDs

Wanna hear some of the hottest CD releases online up to a week before their release dates, and not get pounced by recording-industry lawyers? Check out "The Leak" at MTV.com. For the last few months, "The Leak" has been serving up long-awaited full-length albums by Outkast, John Mayer, Limp Bizkit and others via streaming audio, free of charge, days before their release. A new CD is available just about every week. See "The Leak" at www.mtv.com.

Sally Ride keynotes

Next spring's HerStory women's conference already has an out-of-this-world headliner: Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.

Ride, now a physics professor at the University of California-San Diego, will deliver the keynote address at the April 30 conference.

The Junior League of Honolulu, which organizes the event, credits new sponsor La Pietra, Hawaii School for Girls, for recruiting Ride for HerStory 2004. Ride, co-founder of Imaginary Lines Inc., a company dedicated to encouraging girls to pursue math and science, also will speak to La Pietra students during her visit.

Tickets for the conference are $95. Lunch tickets for Ride's presentation also are available. Call 946-6466.