TIKI CULTURE

Super Bowl Sunday at the Tiki Bar

I had a really fun post featuring the artwork of Doug Horne, Tiki Artist Extraordinaire for this weekend, but realized it’s Super Bowl Weekend…which means most people in the country have their mind on chips, dips, and footballs, and probably haven’t even thought about stopping by the Tiki Bar this weekend! That’s all fine and kool too, so here’s a little football trivia from the past. I’ll put up the swingin’ post on Doug later this week.

Since there’s still a few hours before the game, here’s a couple of last-minute ideas for your game day party:

Check out the Tiki Drinks page for some ideas beyond cheap beer

Check out the Luau page to turn your Super Bowl Party into a Super Bowl Luau

Check out the Atomic Age New Year’s Cocktail Party page and apply the ideas to your Super Bowl Party. (Ok, that might be a little too much)

Here’s the trivia…

The First AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later known as Super Bowl I and referred to in some contemporary reports as the Supergame, was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. It was played between the Nat…ional Football League (Green Bay Packers) and the upstart American Football League (Kansas City Chiefs). The Packers beat the tails off the Chiefs 35-10. Although it was the first Super Bowl, it wasn’t called the Super Bowl until years later when the name caught on. So the first Super Bowl wasn’t really the Super Bowl. Crazy 60’s hippies.

Waikiki Tiki: Art, History & Photographs by Phillip S. Roberts

A few years ago you were lucky to find one or two decent books about Tiki or Hawaiian culture, but the resurgence in the popularity of our favorite bamboo-laden way of life has made it possible for some fine people to publish some fine works.

Waikiki Tiki: Art, History & Photographs by Phillip S. Roberts is a perfect example of a great Tiki coffee table book. Filled with great photos of everything from Tikis to Tiki Lounge menus, this tome gives another fun look into Hawaii’s and Tiki’s past.

Here’s a snippet from the Bess Press website: “Honolulu, HI (November 2010) - Bess Press introduces a stylish history of Waikiki tiki. Featuring a collection of archived tiki ephemera, carvings, and photographs, author Phil Roberts gives an evocative pictorial documentation of the past and present Waikiki tiki and the newfound popularity of its culture. As a well-known tiki enthusiast and researcher, freelance journalist, and former local radio personality, Roberts has had a unique and diversified exposure to the changing façade of Waikiki. The collection presented throughout the pages of this book detail over three decades of research.”

The description of the book reads, “Waikiki Tiki: Art, History and Photographs is a contemporary, landscape-styled book that offers a pictorial documentation of the past and present of tiki (and related art forms) throughout Waikiki as well as Hawaii’s island of Oahu. This book displays original photographs that document the tiki art culture scene that blossomed after WWII through its modern forms today. A great many of the images captured in these pages no longer exist in real life. Much of the ephemera and archival material pictured reside only in the author’s private collection.”

Inside Waikiki Tiki

Another kool book to add to your Tiki collection, Waikiki Tiki will make a groovy addition to your Tiki Bar or swingin’ pad.

Waikiki Tiki can be purchased through Bess Press online, or through Amazon.com.

-Tiki Chris P. reporting from the library at (the fictional) Tiki Island Resort, Florida

In Observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

A wreath memorializes the spot where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. National Civil Rights Museum. Photo taken October, 2008 ©C.Pinto

In Observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I’m moving Noir Movie Monday to later tonight or tomorrow. Right now I’d like to direct your attention to a very solemn yet extremely hip place,

The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennassee.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while looking out over the small balcony at his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April 4, 1968. But his tragic murder didn’t bring an end to the Civil Rights Movement…if anything, it helped open people’s eyes to the injustices that were ‘business as usual’ in the south and other parts of the United States.

The original sign of the Lorraine Motel, now the Civil Rights Museum

Immediately after the assassination, the room where King was shot was sealed off as memorial to the great man, and wreath was hung on the railing of the balcony. Several years later the Lorraine Motel was purchased and turned into the main exhibit of the National Civil Rights Museum. The rooms where King and his colleagues stared on that tragic day were restored to the way they looked in 1968, and are now enclosed in glass so visitors can see them. Vintage cars similar to the ones parked under the balcony on April 4, 1968 sit in the parking lot, and the facade of the motel (including the sign) still look the same as it did in ‘68. It’s a memorial, and a time capsule.

The museum itself has dozens of exhibits showing what life was like for African Americans living in the south in the 1930s through the 1970s. This is the dark side of the past we love so much; this is the part of the swing and rat pack eras we try to forget while having drinks at the bar with out friends of all ethnic backgrounds. It’s hard to imagine it now, 40+ years later, but Frank Sinatra had to do a lot of fighting to get Sammy Davis Jr. the OK to walk into the front door of some of the places they played. To put that in perspective, imagine Oprah not being allowed to drink from the same water fountain as Dr. Phil. Yeah, things were that screwed up.

If any of you kats and chicks get a chance to hit Memphis, make sure you go to Elvis’ Graceland, the Gibson Guitar museum, and Peabody Motel. But absolutely go to the Civil Rights Museum. It will change you, trust me.

-Tiki Chris P.

Tiki Bar’s Top 20 Christmas Movies & Shows, for Mod Movie Monday

Mele Kalikimaka!

With Christmas around the corner I thought it would be fun to post Colleen and my favorite Christmas movies and TV shows. I know many of you kats and kittens drop by to find new (old) flicks to favor, but I think today’s post will be more about remembering all of our favorites that we’ve loved for years. So pour yourself a bourbon egg nog, log on to Netflix and get ready for…

Tiki Lounge Talk’s Top Twenty Christmas Shows!

20. Rudolph’s Shiny New Year, 1976: Not exactly a Christmas show, but close enough. Our old Friend Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer finds himself trying to save the Baby New Year. Long story short, it’s more of that great old stop-animation stuff that we loved as kids. Computer generated imagery just doesn’t have the same old-fashioned, homey Christmas feel that these shows did. And the toys were real!

19. The Year Without A Santa Claus, 1974: Another stop-animation goody from the same guys who gave us Rudolph’s Shiny New Year and Santa Claus it coming to town, Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr. Santa (Mickey Rooney) catches a cold, and believes nobody cares if he comes to town anyway. This is the one with Heat Miser and Snow Miser. Classic, wonderful show, except for a whiny version of “Blue Christmas” from a little girl. Oh, and every time it dips below 40 here in South Florida, which isn’t often, we joke, “It’s gonna snow in South Town!” You’ll have to watch the show to get it.

18. Elf, 2003: Not an oldy but definitly a goody, this Christmas flick is about a man (Will Ferrel) who was orphaned and adopted by Santa’s elves and brought up at the North Pole. Sometime in his 30’s or 40’s he decides to find his real father, James Cann, in New York City. Hilarity ensues. Add in cute-as-a-button Zooey Deschanel and Bob Newhart, and this goofy comedy can’t miss. Plus it’s packed with the koolest Christmas music by Ella, Frank, Les Baxter, etc. etc.

17. Mickey’s Christmas Carol, 1983: Scrooge McDuck. Need I say more?

16. White Christmas, 1954: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney team up in this post-WWII musical. Bing & Danny play ex-GI’s who form a song & dance team (yeah, that happened a lot after WWII, right?) They go to play a B&B in Vermont, find it’s owned by their old commander who’s not doing so well financially, so they help him get the place hopping again while falling for a couple of dames in the outfit. Of course, Bing sings White Christmas.

15. Home Alone, 1990: It’s hard to call this one “new” as it is officially 20 years old now. Krazy, huh? The first really good Christmas movie to come along in years (1989’s Christmas Vacation gets an Honorable Mention), this movie re-defined what Christmas was all about, while sending us the same, time-honored message: There’s no place like home for the holidays, even if you bludgeon would-be burglars with gallons of paint and a clothes iron.

14. Silent Night, Deadly Night, 1984: “You’ve made it through Halloween, now try to survive Christmas” was the tagline for this early 80’s-style slasher film. Forget the plot, it’s SANTA murdering half-naked women. Put this one on after the kiddie’s hit the hay.
13. A Christmas Carol, 1951 with Alistair Sim: There are about 400 version of this movie, dating back to the 1890’s when Scrooge was drawn on a notepad and flipped through. This particular one is the one my family watched every year, and so it’s my favorite “live action” version. (Rich Little’s version was funny as hell, but is impossible to find.)

12. The Santa Clause, 1994: Another one that’s hard to call “new”, this very original movie was both funny and heartwarming. Tim Allen makes a great Santa, and the way he gets the job is a fantastic example of originality and creativity to make this flick lots of fun. The second one was pretty good too. Don’t really remember the third one. Might not have even seen it. Sequels, you know…

11. Frosty The Snowman, 1969: One of the few cartoons that made it big in the era of stop-animation, Frosty lives on as one of the favorites among favorites. With Jimmy Durante narrating and Jackie Vernon as the voice of Frosty, no one will ever forget (or forgive) that bad magician, Professor Hinkle. (Bizzy, bizzy bizzy!!!) and what he did to Frosty. Whew! Santa comes by to save the day!

10. The Muppet Christmas Carol, 1992: Coming years after the success of the Muppet Show, this welcomed Muppet movie starred Micheal Caine as Scrooge, in a damned good performance too, considering his co-stars were a frog, a pig, a bear, and a whatever. Puns galore. Muppets. Music. Rats. Who could ask for anything more?

9. Santa Claus is Coming To Town, 1970: Hard to believe this Rankin/Bass stop-animation favorite came out 40 years ago. I mean, it was new the first time I saw it! (I was two). Fred Astair, Mickey Rooney and Keenan Wynn lead the starring voices for this story of Santa’s life, from when he was an orphan to when he started bringing toys to children. When I was a kid, I looked at it as a biography…which it is. Don’t let anyone tell you any differently. Listen for the voice of the Burgermeister - his name is Paul Frees, and he’s done voices on almost every cartoon and stop-ani show EVER made.

8. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, 1964: As far as original, old stop-animation goes, this one is the tops. I mean, come on, it’s Rudolph! The Island of Misfit Toys, great music, an elf who wants to be a dentist, 1940’s cars and a Bumble. If you’ve never seen it, well, you’re a dork.

7. The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993: Everyone knows that Tim Burton is bat-ass crazy. His dark, twisted mind gave us a glimpse of his warped version of Christmas with Edward Scissorhands, and he took the money from that to make his real movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas. It’s just this: You take Halloween, and you take Christmas, and you collide them at 180 miles per hour with some LSD and a fog machine. Then you film it in the most expensive, most time-consuming and hardest to shoot stop animation ever, invented just for this movie.

A giant, skinny skeleton, Jack Skellington, accidentally discovers Chrismastown after taking a long walk away from Halloweentown. He falls in love with the colors, the lights, the pies, the toys, so different from his gray and orange home. He decides to give Santa a night off, and take his place with some horrific toys and a sleigh built from a coffin (the skeleton reindeers are creepy). It’s an opera-style musical, but the music is boss. Especially The Boogieman’s Song, where he sings and dances á la Cab Calloway.

6. A Christmas Story, 1983: If there’s still anyone out there who hasn’t seen this flick, as it’s been broadcast 24 hours on Christmas Day for around the last 15 years, I think I’d faint in my egg nog. “You’ll shoot your eye out” is probably one of the most quoted (and imitated) lines in pop culture. That, referring to the Red Ryder BB gun (I got one!) and that crazy leg lamp (I got one’a those, too) make this movie one of the most popular Christmas movies of all time. “Messy Marvin” did a great job as the clueless kid who didn’t care about anything in the world except getting that BB gun. We’ve all been there - with me, it was getting a slot car track when I was a kid (then later in life it was about getting this blonde stripper I knew and bottle of Johnny Blue, but that’s another story). And of course, this is where you learn what Chinese Turkey is.

5. It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946: Jimmy Stewart almost didn’t make this movie. He had been overseas during the war, and thought it was too soon after he came back to make a movie. Lionel Barrymore talked him into it, and Stewart later said it was his favorite movie he ever made. Another “There’s no place like home for the holidays, no matter how screwed up things are” movie, it didn’t do so well at the box office first time around (even though it was nominated for five Oscars). It wasn’t until later TV and video releases that the film was realized as one of the top 100 films (American Film Institute) and given the honor of the #1 Inspirational Film of all time by the AFI. This was always one of my favorites from when I was a little kid. After all, don’t we all want to believe there’s an angle looking out for us? Or maybe an angel?

4. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (original cartoon), 1966: The “new” Grinch live-action movie with Jim Carey was slick, over-the-top, extreme, and therefore dullsville compared to the understated excellence of the original cartoon. With Boris Karloff narrating, this made-for-TV special by master cartoonist Chuck Jones took the book to an incredible level while keeping the look and feel of Dr. Seuss intact. The Grinch’s theme song is so absolutely perfect, the toys are so absolutely annoying, and Cindy-Loo Who is so absolutely cute that it all fits in perfectly with the absolutely abysmal Grinch. He even admits to being 53, which makes him a crotchety old man! He’s basically yelling at the Whos to get off his lawn. Perfection. (Note: Dr. House stole his look from the Grinch)

3. Miracle on 34th Street (Original Movie), 1947: Again, the “new” version of this movie is an over-the-top catastrophe. Stay far away from it lest your eyes melt in your head. But the original is pure magic. John Payne, Maureen O’Hara, Edmund Gwenn as Santa a little girl named Natalie Wood make this Christmas special a very special one indeed. An up-and-coming lawyer falls into a situation where he has to (wants to) prove in a court of law that not only does Santa Claus exist, but that he works at Macy’s. Natalie Wood is a little girl who’s taught not to believe in such silly things. Santa is determined to help everyone, even if it means he could be locked up for Christmas Eve. You’ll never guess how it ends! Well, ok, maybe you will. Still, it’s a fantastic movie.

2. Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, 1962: Credited as the FIRST Christmas Cartoon to start the trend of running cartoons on network TV every Christmas, Magoo’s Christmas Carol may not be as popular today as it was nearly 50 years ago, but it’s still considered one of the top by pretty much anyone who watches Christmas shows. Jim Backus of course voices Magoo as Scrooge, and the story is of course filled with Magoo-esque jokes like, (Ghost of Christmas Present) “Scrooge, have you ever seen the likes of me?” (Magoo) “I’m not sure I see you now!” The Dickens’ tale is paraphrased down to about an hour (less commercial breaks) but keeps the original story mostly intact while giving it a sort of live-theater feel. The cartoon itself is pure early ’60s animation, kind of Bullwinkle-like in its art direction, and very clever. The music is great (ever had Razzleberry jelly?) and it’s loads of fun to watch. This is one my family and I would watch every year on TV, and on video tape (I still have the tape from 1980 when we taped it off HBO) later. It was my Mother’s favorite Christmas show ever, so it holds a special place in my heart.

And of course, the number one Christmas show at the Pirate’s Cove Tiki Bar and at homes around the world…

A Charlie Brown Christmas, 1965: Seriously, nothing taught me more about the true meaning of Christmas than this show. When I was a kid, there were no DVDs, no video tapes, no computers. So you got the TV guide, found the date when CBS was showing it, and stayed home that night to make sure you caught it or you’d be out of luck until next year. And it was worth the wait. That incredible musical score by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, the homey, home-made feel of the art and the edits, and the acting by actual kids…it was like watching Peanuts Christmas cards unfolding on the screen. “A great, big, shiny aluminum Christmas tree”. “Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you’re the Charlie Browniest”. Snoopy dancing to Schroeder’s jazz piano. Absolute perfection.

Well kids, that’s our Christmas show wrap-up for 2010. Sure, there are dozens more, from Bob Hope Christmas specials to Saturday Night Live skits, but I had to limit it to the top 20. Hell, I started with 10! If you haven’t seen any of these flicks, I’m pretty sure they’re all available on DVD or for rental, and some may actually be on TV soon. So keep a lookout, have plenty of nog on tap, and Merry Christmas!
Here’s some video clips, on the house…

-Tiki Chris reporting from under the great, big shiny aluminum Christmas Tree at Tiki Lounge Talk, the Tiki & retro lovers blog for vintage-style fun.

In Honor of Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941

USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

I’m saving our weekly Mod Movie Monday for Wednesday this week, in order to post something for Pearl Harbor Day.

First of all, let me take this opportunity to thank everyone in the armed forces, past and present for keep America safe and strong.

It kills me that some kats don’t know what this day means. It’s like not knowing what 9/11 is, or Martin Luther King Day.

Pearl Harbor Day isn’t just the day the Japanese sneak-attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It’s not just the day that pulled America unwillingly, although necessary, into World War II. It’s not just a day that will live in infamy. It’s the day America changed, forever.

It’s the day that America said, “We’ve had enough.” It’s the day America realized its strength, and began building on that strength. Building airplanes, building ships, and building the strongest, most powerful nation in the world.

It kills me that so many people have forgotten the lessons our parents and grandparents learned during the Big One. It kills me that people don’t even realize that we are at war today, and that thousands of brave men and women are fighting and dying to keep this country strong.

You couldn’t buy a new tire in 1945. For that matter, you couldn’t be a new car. Things like butter, milk, and gasoline were rationed, and when your ration card ran out, you stayed home and ate canned beans. You donated anything you could to the war effort, because you knew if you didn’t you’d be speaking German and listening to um-pah music instead of Duke Ellington. And all that made America strong, made America beautiful.

I had an uncle in Pearl Harbor. My Grandfather built ships in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. I had another uncle who was a medic in the Navy and one of my family’s best friends when I was growing up had lost both of us legs and most of his fingers to a land mine in France. They were heroes, as are the people of the armed forces today, and the millions who support them. We may not like war, but we know sometimes its necessary to keep our freedom.

I’ve never served in the military. My uncles and grandparents and parents fought hard and lived through tough times to make sure I would never have to. I get to enjoy the comfort of my Tiki bar, sitting here typing on a technological wonder that was only science fiction when the first Mitsubishi Zeroes’ bombs slammed into the Arizona. I’m sad for those losses, but I’m grateful for what I have today, because of those tough-as-nails guys that came before me.

-Tiki Chris reporting from the deck of the USS Tiki King, somewhere in the Pacific.

See last year’s post on Pearl Harbor here!