How's this for irony: Dennis Callan, the co-chairman of Stop Rail Now (the grassroots group soliciting signatures to derail Mayor Mufi Hannemann's steel rail project), is off to Europe, where he's riding rail extensively. ...

But wait: Callan's wearing his other hat; he is president of the Hawaii Geographic Society and is also a veteran traveler and producer of "World Traveler," the cable show airing on 'Olelo 53. So happens he's on yet another journey where he sees Europe (and travels) by train. All in a day's work. ...

And speaking of Europe: Kaua'i musician Ken Emerson has joined his Garden Isle pal Kirby Keough in Austria for recording sessions combining traditional Hawaiian music with the mountain music of the Alps. The pair joined up with seven Austrian musicians in the Bad Radkersburg spa region recently, where Emerson said, "We put some traditional Tyrolian yodeling in some hulas, and it worked great. This will surprise some folks back home — it's a unique sound!" ...

ABOUT PEOPLE: Hale'iwa's Jack Johnson — plus 24 friends — descended on D.K. Kodama's Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar in Waikiki for dinner during his Kokua Festival stint. "Wonderful," the party declared. ...

Looks like Guido Salmaggi won't be singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" here anymore — he and wife Maria have moved to the Mainland because of her health issues, wanting to be closer to her family. "I know it would make her much happier, even though leaving the beautiful Islands that I love was rough for me," said Guido. ...

Old-timers may remember Manon Smith, the 6-foot blonde singer who donned kimono — stage name: Sumiko — and performed Japanese tunes perfectly (along with other tunes), at long-gone nightspots such as Club Ginza and the French Quarters. Smith, now 76 (shown here in a '60s photo), was in Honolulu last weekend, visiting sister Suzanne Smith, of 'Aina Haina, and a son who lives on Lana'i. Smith was Ho-nolulu's first Mrs. Hawai'i and occasionally still sings in Las Vegas, where she lives. ...

Perhaps DJ-comedian Kaleo Pilanca didn't get to play the didgeridoo on the TV ad promoting Hawaiian Host's 80th Anniversary Golden Ticket Giveaway to the Gold Coast of Australia. But his uke strumming caught the attention of Brad Shin, the creative director of Hendrix Miyasaki Shin, the ad agency bearing his moniker. It was the first time to be on camera for a commercial for the didgeridoo player, Richard Li. "He was nervous but did a good job," says Shin. The girl on the uke is former Miss Teen Hawaii Yvonne Yokono. ...

RANDOM NOTES: Cecilia Fordham, longtime actress and theater-scene observer, is back from a trip to the East. In New York, she saw our Loretta Ables Sayre in "South Pacific" at Lincoln Center and opined, "The reviewers were right on about Loretta ... good job." She sent a goodie bag to the stage door since she had to scurry to meet TaNa Young (formerly with the University of Hawai'i theater department) for dinner and the Metropolitan Opera's "La Boheme" with Honolulan Quinn Kelsey as Schaunard ("superb"). Young, who directed Fordham as Gertrude Stein in 1993 and has been a Big Apple resident for 13 years, recently was named g.m. of the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, after seven years with the New York City Opera and two with the Pan Asian Theatre. Fordham also met Mel Gionson (UH-Manoa '75), who's logged a 30-year acting resume with such groups as Asian Theatre, N.Y.C. Public Theatre, Princeton and Yale theater, national tours and TV commercials. ...

Fordham also lunched with Nancy Takei, whom many remember as the Kennedy Theatre secretary; now a New Yorker. ...

IDOL TALK: Watching "American Idol" this season? OK, shouldn't America — and Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell — just hand the prize already to David Archuleta, at 17 the youngest of the competitors, the cutest and the most commercially appealing for the show and the Fox honchos? He got me with "Imagine," the John Lennon ballad, weeks ago; and weekly since then, he's held his own, just waiting for the final two when he emerges No. 1.

Why him? He's got the most of the best attributes of all popular popsters, past and present; boyish like Clay Aiken, can sing like a Kelly Clarkson, has die-hard supporters (called Arch Angels) like Sanjaya Malakar (but without the hair issues), and certainly more soulful than Taylor Hicks. He may not rock like Chris Daughtry or get into country mode like Carrie Underwood, but his name is easier to pronounce and spell (sorry, Chekezie and Fantasia).

Archuleta is incredibly neutral, hardly offending anyone — even as the frontrunner, he's likeable, endearing, even human — forgetting lyrics to "We Can Work It Out." With David Cook already dumped, the only worthy winner is David Archuleta. ...

And that's Show Biz. ...

Show Biz is published Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach Wayne Harada at 525-8067, wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com or fax 525-8055.