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.

Time Flies When You're Having Rum!

 

Well I've been remiss in my posting it seems.
Mr. Buttons and I have been busy. That, ...and I've been lazy to write something.   Recently I went to Florida where I was able to visit the great temple of tiki, the Mai Kai. It was my first time there and quite a treat. The decor is top notch, the drinks are awesome, the food is good (but overpriced) and the show was okay. Next time I go, I think I'll just hang out in the Molokai bar.  I have a new favorite tiki drink, the Mutiny.  Since the recipe is secret, I'll have to try my hand at Jeff Berry's tribute to the Mutiny, the Krakatoa.  

All in all, I had a great time there, but I shudder to think how much I spent. At least I came home with a cool tiki mug.

left  Yours truly, Tiki Momo (in my human form) in the gardens at the Mai Kai. If you visit, be sure to see the gardens in back.

Tiki is back.. again

Last weekend I was in Portland for Tiki Kon 2016. This was my fifth consecutive year and it has been great to see it continue to grow. I even met a couple from here in Missouri.  I love to meet and spend time with the tiki crowd, they are good people. My goal is to make it down to Tiki Oasis next year. That is still the biggest Tiki culture gathering that I know of. 

  So, this got me to thinking; why is there still such a following?  As I looked around Tiki Kon there were few if any millennials. The crowd was mostly Gen X or Boomers.  Is this because we are still living the "dream of the 90s"?  There was the big lounge and exotica music revival in the mid-nineties and that is how most of us became interested in tiki I'm sure. I know that was the case for me.  Yet 20 years later here we all still are, when many other fads have fallen by the wayside.  Why is that?  I think the retro revival really tapped into something in parts of my generation. Something that we are missing today. A simpler life? A more civil society? Pure escapism? Maybe all of that and more- or maybe it's just the self mocking kitsch factor, but I doubt you would still have so many that are still involved in the subculture if that was all it was.  Speaking only for myself, the appeal is an idealized mid-century society where people are polite and sincere. A quieter world.  A world were there is still romance and mystery.  The exact opposite of the times we find ourselves in now,  filled  with hate, fear and vulgarity.  

That may be why we are having another Polynesian pop revival now. I have read about several new 'real' tiki bars opening within just the last year or so. Maybe some of the younger generation are getting fed up with the increasingly loud and violent world of today and are looking for a quiet paradise amid the maelstrom. I say, "Aloha and welcome my young friends." We have cool, dark lounges with soft music and delicious drinks. What's not to love?

 To celebrate Canada Day

 The Mask (1961) 

Oh Canada!
Billed as Canada’s first horror film, ‘The Mask’ (or ‘Eyes of Hell’ as it was called in the US release) is NOT the dumb Jim Carey vehicle from the 90′s.  This is a creepy tale of madness driven by an ancient, evil mask.

The story is about a psychiatrist, Dr. Allen Barnes who receives in the mail an ancient Aztec?(they never really say) mask from a patient of his that has committed suicide.  The former patient was an archeologist who found the mask and blamed it as the cause of his madness after he wore it.
The good Dr. Barnes is a sensible man of science and reason and doesn’t believe in superstition. To prove to himself that the mask has no powers, he puts it on and immediately experiences bizarre, psychedelic visions.
The effect is like a drug and he quickly becomes addicted and wants to wear the mask more and more. Each time the line between reality and the visions of the mask get more blurry. They also become increasingly violent and at one point Barnes states; “I must experience the greatest act of the human mind, to take another human life” .  His young secretary becomes the object of his fatal desires.   Barnes fiancee, Pam tries to help him and he realizes he needs help and also asks a colleague of his, Dr Quincy to help him as well.  Unfortunately, they don’t believe in the power of the mask and think poor Barnes is just having a breakdown.  In the end he escapes their intervention and is determined to fulfill his blood lust when Pam decides to help the police stop him and the good doctor is arrested. The film ends with the mask on display in a museum where a tour group goes through. However one man remains behind the group, gazing intently at the mask…  The end?

The film is B&W except for the psychedelic mask sequences which are 3-D. The 3-D fad of the 50′s was over by this point and it was usually just a cheap gimmick. However, in The Mask I think it works great for a couple of reasons. First, it’s limited use. There are only three or maybe four of the 3-D Dream sequences. The rest of the film is normal. Second, the 3-D sequences aren’t just random jump scares (though there are a couple of those) they actually are part of the story and draw in the audience in a personal way.
Once Barnes puts on the mask, the film begins it’s journey into the realm of the three dimensional world. During it’s theatrical release the audience was actually given cardboard copies of the mask with built in 3-D glasses.  When Barnes puts on the mask, there is a strange echoing voice that says, “Put the mask on. Put the mask on, now!”  that was the audiences cue to put on the 3-D mask as well. So we as the audience experience the strange visions of the mask along with Barnes.

The 3-D is actually done well, one of the better examples of anaglyphic 3-D. And, these are some of the most bizarre 3-D horror sequences ever seen. Full of unsettling and grotesque images, and with a nightmarish stream-of-consciousness technique and eerie as well as grating electronic soundtrack. These scenes from The Mask are clearly inspired by hallucinatory drug experiences, and contain such macabre, surrealistic imagery and repressed sexuality  - it’s a wonder it ever got made.

I fist saw this film on broadcast TV in the mid 80′s where it often played in concert with a couple of 3-D Three Stooges shorts and was hosted by magician Harry Blackstone jr. Who did magic tricks between commercial breaks. I even recall there was a deal at 7-11 where you could get a free pair of 3-D glasses if you bought a big gulp or something.  This was a lot of fun and the nostalgia may play into my love of this film, but I feel it has earned it’s place within the pantheon of horror films. With it’s gestures towards German Expressionism, experimental and avaunt guard film-making techniques, and utilizing some disturbing studio noises, early electronic music, and eye-catching special effects The Mask is unlike anything else from it’s time–and perhaps since. Most certainly worthy of a look. It left a deep impression on me as a child and I still consider it of of my all time favorite B-movies.
Two paws up from Tiki Momo and Mr. Buttons.