How Tiki can save the World!

(okay, so maybe not. But, hyperbole aside it could certainly teach us something about civility and getting along.)

I enjoy many things about Tiki culture; the music, the general aesthetic, rum drinks...  but, one of the things I find quite magical is the community.  There is a spirit of inclusiveness and comaradery that I personally have never before encountered with any other group or organization. There are people of all different political viewpoints, sexual orientations, religions and more that are able to come together and share a drink, some laughs and good conversations.  We focus on what unites us as human beings, not what divides us. The world desperately needs this message this right now.

We live in a fast paced, stressful world. A world that is deeply divided (especially in this country right now) and we need to take a deep breath and try to relax a little and remember, we are all in this together.  I believe it's important to stand up and fight for the things you believe in, but when you become rigid and unwilling to compromise, it is easy to give in to hate. And hate is a poison which hurts you as much as the thing you hate.   Being constantly outraged or offended all the time is exhausting.  Like Elsa we need to "Let it Go".

I'd like to paraphrase a quote from a man I greatly admire, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies."

In this turbulent political climate that we find ourselves in, it may sound naive or even disingenuous to be crying out, "can't we all just get along?"   But, I truly believe most people would rather be friends than enemies and I have seen proof of it over and over.  In of all places a dimly lit Tiki bar. 

Tiki Lifestyle, call it escapism, call it the 'Spirit of Aloha', but I and many other people have felt it and some of us try to live it. Yes, it is difficult to avoid giving in to the anger and frustration that comes on a daily basis, but it worth the effort.  Before you laugh and write off my cheesy sentiment, why don't you try it first?

I will leave you with another quote. This time from Sam in the Lord of the Rings:

 "There's still some good in the world, and it's worth fighting for."

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth143179.html?src=t_hate

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth143179.html?src=t_hate

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth143179.html?src=t_hate

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth143179.html?src=t_hate

Soothing Music for Troubling Times

'Call of the Islands'  by Ìxtahuele (2016)

I just listened to this album and it is every bit as good as their previous release, 'Pagan Rites'.  These guys truly understand the exotica genre in a way that most modern revival groups with their computer generated synth sounds miss.  This music is beautiful, a work of art preformed by people who take their craft seriously.
Music to lounge by the pool to, to armchair travel on a cold rainy night - it's the perfect soundtrack for a quiet drink in a dark tiki bar.  There’s a relaxed, comforting feel to the music, a breezy island soundtrack, where you can just give yourself over to the music. If you let it, 'Call of the Islands' will transport you wherever you’d like to go.

YOR: Hunter from The Future  (1983)

A caveman from the future battles dinosaurs & robots

 

This film is one of the few that I actually saw in the theater.  A young Tiki Momo thought this movie was the COOLEST thing ever.  There were dinosaurs and robots in the same movie.  Oh, and an awesome 80's synth-rock theme song to start things out. It lets us know right away how cool Yor is.

"Yor's world, he's the man!
Yor's world, he's the man!
Yor's world!"

American actor, Jeb Brown stars in this Italian-French-Turkish co-production based on the Argentinian comic book 'Yor the hunter'.  Yor, the blonde beefcake is happily running through a strange desert landscape grinning like loon (with the epic theme song blasting) When he comes to the aid of caveman Pag and his adopted daughter, Kala who were hunting a baby dinosaur and instead came across its pissed off mother. Leaping into the action, swinging his stone axe, Yor makes quick work of the cheesy, fake looking dinosaur and gives a victory scream before then drinking its blood.  Impressed by his manliness, they invite Yor back to their village where they are having some festival that involves the villagers lifting their bored and slightly confused children into the air.

Then It's feasting and dancing women and a everything is going well, Kala and Yor are making "let's get freaky" glances at each other.  But oh nos! Evil blue cavemen (or apemen?)  attack the village! Yor helps Kala and Pag escape the carnage, but Yor and Kala are surrounded and Yor is defeated (Gasp!) and thrown over a cliff while Kala is drug away.  Fret not, for captain beefcake, Yor has survived and climbs back up the cliff where he is found by Pag (who was hiding or something) He tells Yor that he lost Kala in fair combat so best to move on. Yor says, to hell with that s**t, take me to their lair.  So they go to the lair of the blue cavemen and see all the women from the village and Kala about to be savaged. What happens next is the coolest, most epic scene in this -and possibly any- film. Yor shoots a giant bat and then uses its carcass as a FREAKIN HANG GLIDER, to glide down into the middle of the bad guys, all while the main theme song blares out, "Yor's World, he's the man!"  You may be cool, but you will never be that cool.

The rest of the movie( like you even need to know more) is about Yor trying to discover his heritage and where he came from. They have more adventures which lead the group to a mysterious island inhabited by an evil overlord and his army of robots.  Then you find out this is a post apocalyptic Earth. Much of the world was destroyed by nuclear war and returned to savagery. And somehow this made dinosaurs come back to life...?

This film has it all; Giant dinosaur puppets, hot cave girls with oiled thighs, a kick ass synth-rock music score, robtots wearing armor made from Home Depot plumbing fixtures, a wannabe Darth Vader, evil overlord (named "Overlord" appropriately enough) and so much more. If you love so bad it's good films, then check this one out!!

Yor: Hunter from the Future was not loved by critics and was nominated for three Golden Raspberry awards. It's target audience was obviously boys age 8 -15 (which I was when I saw it the first time) and it shows. The director,  Antonio Margheriti (who used an alias in the credits) said that the film was "a fun project made with almost zero budget. It was a party film and I sometimes enjoy looking at it again." 
I loved this film as a child, and I still appreciate it as an adult, although on different levels.  Mr. Buttons thought it was cool too, but laughed at the fake dinosaurs.  Still, it's two paws up from us.