Just flew to Kauai. Furthest west I’ve ever been. Bee-yoo-tiful view from plane.

There are some new vacation pictures in the right column. Check ‘em out! :) And keep looking over there: I’m going to start posting my Hawaii photos to the right-hand photo blog, where they naturally belong, instead of putting them in this news blog, where they take up way too much download time and leave the homepage’s appearance unbalanced.

Are you looking for photos that have scrolled off the homepage already? Click on the “all photos that have ever appeared in this space” link at the bottom of the right-hand column.

In other news, Trent Lott is gone, as you undoubtedly already know if you haven’t been living in a cave all day. Mississippi Republicans are ticked off, but InstaPundit.com — a conservative blog site that helped whip up this controversy in the first place — says good riddance. His replacement will be Bill Frist of Tennessee.

And the Lakers suck.

Friday night fireworks on Waikiki Beach!

A woman feeds the fish Dec. 20 inside a Waikiki hotel’s massive indoor aquarium.

On Dec. 20, Becky and I visited Pearl Harbor and saw, among other things, these rusted remains of the U.S.S. Arizona, whose sinking on Dec. 7, 1941 killed more than 1,000 sailors.

A mysterious fire burns on the horizon, as seen from Waikiki Beach on the morning of Dec. 20.

Becky’s footsteps are about to be washed away by a Pacific Ocean wave along Waikiki Beach on Dec. 20.

Becky walks along Waikiki Beach just outside our hotel on Dec. 19.

An aerial view of Honolulu and Waikiki, seen from our Hawaiian Airlines jet as it neared the airport Dec. 19.

Becky cuddles with a Christmas present that she gave me, a plush dolly of Stitch, during our long Dec. 19 flight from Phoenix to Honolulu.

Went to Pearl Harbor. Touring downtown Honolulu now.

Well, here we are — in Honolulu, right along Waikiki Beach, at the Outrigger Reef hotel. I definitely can’t complain too much about… well… anything. :)

I promised myself I wouldn’t obsess over website picture-posting during this vacation, but here are a couple of Waikiki Beach photos to tide you over, one from inside our airplane and one from on the beach.

In other news, here is my review of The Two Towers on TheOneRing.net.

Speaking of which, the movie is already setting new box office standards: Two Towers pulled in roughly $26 million domestically and $42 million internationally on its first day Wednesday. That’s significantly better than The Fellowship of the Ring’s $18 million domestically and $29 million internationally on its Wednesday opening last year. Two Towers broke Fellowship’s record for the biggest December opening day, and also surpassed Fellowship for the second-biggest Wednesday opening ever (behind Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace).

What’s more, The Two Towers got Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture and Best Director. Yay!

News from my e-mail inbox: I got an A+ in my media law class, and my “Two Towers” review has been accepted and posted on TheOneRing.net. In both cases: Yay! Meanwhile, Becky and I are on shuttle in Waikiki, en route to our hotel.

Just set foot in Hawaii! My 47th state. Becky and I are tied, 47-47.

On plane.