Today I’m going to talk about sharing my life online at the annual Hawaii Books & Music Festival on the civic grounds in downtown.

I’m on a panel called “Lives Online: Truth and Truthiness.” An interesting title consider what I do for a living — write — and how that may not be perceived as truth.

(The panel starts at 11 a.m., in case you’re around.)

I thought about what I’m going to say for a couple of days now. It forced me to think about whether what I post about myself is really the truth or a construction of the truth from my perspective.

Or maybe it’s a bit of both.

I don’t often blog about myself — meaning, my personal life — and I don’t even share my opinions or feelings as much as most bloggers. And I’ve been criticized for that, with people (often my editors) saying I need to take a stand more often and get people riled up. That leads to more hits — and more hate. But hits are what matter.

But not to me.

I just want people to read something and feel changed in some way. Maybe they want to try a new restaurant or a new recipe or book a flight to Costa Rica. Or maybe they remember something — a favorite dish as a child or a special teacher. Whatever it is, I want people to reflect on their own lives, not mine.

I have two more hours to think about what I’m going to say. And I guarantee it won’t all be about me.

Well, word’s out.

Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie and the rest of NBC’s “TODAY” crew will be in town next week, as part of the morning show’s “Great American Adventure.”

In fact, show staffers have been in the Islands for the past few days, shooting b-roll and figuring out just what the anchors and correspondents of the national show will do.

Hawaii is the first destination of the five U.S. destinations for the show’s “Great American Adventure” — it will be shot on the beach fronting the luxurious Royal Hawaiian Hotel — and I’m super excited. I’ve a huge fan of the “TODAY” show since the Bryant Gumbel era. Tolerated Katie Couric, loved Meredith Vieira and now completely infatuated with Hoda Kotb.

But when any national show comes to town, I get a little… well, worried. Born and raised here, I feel very strongly these shows need to get it right. I want them to highlight what we are — not necessarily what we’re known for. (There’s a subtle difference.) While you can’t get away from things like Diamond Head and the Arizona Memorial, Hawaii has more to offer than the typical tourist spots.

So let’s put together a list of what you think producers — and the anchors — should experience while in town that will be truly authentic.

Go!

We name them. We pick them based on our lifestyle. We don’t want to ever give them up.

What’s with our strange relationship with our cars?

I thought about this the other day when I posted this question on my Facebook wall:

What was your FIRST car?

And in just a day, I got more than 100 responses.

Here are a few:

My dad’s ’86 Pontiac Fiero GT
A beat-up Datsun two-door stick shift I had to learn to drive over the weekend to get to work on Monday
’67 Ford Mustang
1864 blue Toyota Corolla fixed up by the Maui auto shop
’63 Chrysler Imperial
A custom VW with stinger kit, with center lines
1969 Fiat 124 Spider convertible. Loved it!

It was interesting to see how eager we all were to share the stories about our first cars. It shows how much we connect with our cars, trucks and SUVs. And why not? We spend more time in our cars than anywhere else, excluding work. (In fact, some of us actually work in our cars, too!) And we rely on our vehicles to get us everywhere we need and want to be.

It’s probably why opponents of public mass transit don’t think we’ll actually use it. Because we lovelovelove our cars.

I have always had a love-hate relationship with my cars.

Here’s the truth: I’ve had more cars than boyfriends. And I’m always trying to get rid of whatever car I’m driving.

Right now I’m “borrowing” a Nissan Murano that’s not technically mine. My 2000 Honda Civic EX — that I tried to sell for 12 years — was totaled in an accident a year ago and I never got around to replace it.

Which presented a quandary for me.

Suddenly I had to CHOOSE a car — and that meant picking something I would actually like.

It’s not as easy as it sounds.

Here are my car requirements:

• It has to be good on gas. I loved my Civic for exactly that reason. It costs about $75 to fill up the tank in the Murano; it was about half as much for the Civic — and I had to fill it up less often.
• It has to be long enough to fit my surfboard inside. That means the backseats have to fold down or it has to be big enough to fit a board — around 9 feet long — straight through the trunk. The Civic did this, believe it or not.
• It has to be zippy. The one thing I hate about the Murano is how large and heavy it is. It drives well, no doubt, but it’s it doesn’t take corners or make illegal U-turns the way my Civic did.
• It has to fit in parking garages. This was a problem with the Nissan Xterra I had for a year. It didn’t git in the parking structure at Ward Center, for example, and that was a problem when you’re addicted to the li hing margarita at Ryan’s Bar & Grill.
• It has to be easy to park. I park a lot on the street, and I’d like a car that isn’t difficult to park. Like the Murano. I’m surprised I haven’t hit anything yet. (Knock on wood.)
• It can’t break my wallet. This, of course, is the problem.

So it seems like I should just get another Civic. Or maybe a Honda Fit. Or a Subaru Forester.

Or maybe I should just get a bus pass and live closer to the beach.

Thoughts?

Last night I was suddenly craving a burger.

It helped that my girlfriend suggested Teddy’s Bigger Burger, which ignited my salivary glands.

So I ordered the 5-ounce teri burger with Teddy’s special sauce, onions and lettuce. (No tomatoes.) And it hit the spot.

But when I posted the photo on Instagram and Facebook, the question came up: does Teddy’s have the best burgers?

Well, I guess it depends on what you like and what you’re comparing it to.

Better than In ‘N Out or Five Guys? Maybe not. Better than most burger joints in Hawaii? Possible.

Three are lots of burger shops and restaurants them at serve stellar sandwiches, from Village Burger in Waimea to the signature burger at The Pineapple Room in Ala Moana Center.

So I’m throwing it out there: who’s got the best burgers in Hawaii? Post ‘em here and I’ll see if I can try them all.

In the next year or so. Lol

I’ve been looking around for new potluck dishes — mostly because I’m bored of the ones I already make.

And I stumbled on this one the other night on Facebook.

Its primary ingredient got to me: Pillsbury crescent roll dough.

I was in.

I have a secret crush on the refrigerator dough. I can literally eat all of the buttery rolls one 6-ounce can make — and I have.

So when this called for one of my secret vices, I had to explore it a bit further.

Turns out, this is a great potluck dish, especially if there are kids invited. It’s got taco meat and cheddar cheese baked inside and all of your favorite taco toppings right in the middle.

It’s a simple dish to make, but a challenge dish to eat. (Lots of components.) But it’s crave-worthy good.

Here’s how you make it:

Ingredients

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This is a simple recipe that calls for just a handful of ingredients. But these aren't cheap ingredients. If I had to buy everything — I had some of these things in my kitchen already — it would cost about $20.

Baked Crescent Roll Taco Ring
Adapted from a couple of recipes

Ingredients:

2 8-ounce cans of refrigerated Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
1 package taco seasoning — or make your own, like I did!
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sliced olives
Sour cream, guacamole, salsa

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet, cook beef/turkey with taco seasoning. Or, you can do what I did and make the taco meat from scratch, using chopping onions, garlic, chili powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt and freshly ground pepper. I also used a bit of the chili mix from Rainbow Drive-In. (Winner!) Drain.

Unroll crescent rolls. Place wide end of triangles in center of pizza pan, forming a ring, overlapping dough as necessary. Spoon meat into center of each triangle, then add cheese. Bring smaller ends of triangles over meat and cheese mixture, tucking ends under.

Bake 20 minutes, or until rolls are golden. Serve warm.