Movies and DVDs
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Movies and DVDs
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Movies and DVDs
Movies and DVDs
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Holiday in Waikiki
The Bikini Beachcombers
The Bikini Beachcombers are from Milwaukee. I first heard them at the Hukilau in 2009 when they performed poolside at the Bahia Cabana. This is a band that really grew on me. The band’s founder, Don Nelson, is the manager of Riverwest’s Foundation Bar, a Tiki bar in Milwaukee. He needed a house band for the bar and thus the Bikini Beachcombers were born. The band strives to be authentic. I read a quote by Don, “No plastic Tiki cups and cheesy stuff from [The Party Warehouse],” he said. “For a little kid to have a birthday party with Tiki hats and plates, that’s fine. But for a grown man, it needs to be more convincing. The more authentic it is, the more escapism there is.” The Bikini Beachcombers perform in the Hapa Haole style. Until the early 1900s Hawaiian songs were written and performed in Hawaiian. A play on Broadway called “Bird of Paradise” popularized Hawaiian music on the mainland. Songs began to be written and performed with Hawaiian melodies but with English words. Hapa Haole means half foreign. I have to confess that in 2009 I hadn't seen the Elvis Presley movie "Blue Hawaii" and so when the Bikini Beachcombers performed "Ito Eats" I didn't know the context. Still, I really enjoyed the song and the Bikini Beachcombers take on it and I am sorry that it isn't included on this CD. I hope the band does another CD and that their version of "Ito Eats" is included.
Tikimentary
A Film by Duda Leite
The first time I saw the documentary Tikimentary was at a screening during the 2010 Hukilau in Fort Lauderdale. At that point it wasn't available for purchase. I really like this documentary and not just because I am in it. [ Note: I am visible in the documentary for less than a few seconds and you can't see my face, or even my head, but I know it's me because I know what I was wearing the day the footage on the Tikki Beach Yacht was shot]. The documentary has footage from Tiki Oasis in California, The Hukilau in Florida, and Ohana; Luau at the Lake in Lake George, New York. This DVD provides a glimpse into the current Tiki scene and some of the people involved in it. It provides a perfect showcase for just how much fun the current Tiki scene is.
Pan Am: The Golden Age of Aviation
The Clipper Ships of Pan Am
From the notes on the DVD box, "The name, Pan American Clipper, conjures up exotic, far-away places in every corner of the world, including Istanbul, Caracas, London, Paris, The South Pacific, South America and the Far East. The visionary Juan Trippe founded Pan Am in the late 1920s. By the 1930s, Pan Am began regular air service to the above destinations and many other ports of call. Flying graceful seaplanes made by Sikorsky, Boeing and Martin, Pan Am brought America and the rest of the world closer together. For the first time, passengers were able to travel to distant destinations in a fraction of the time it took to reach them by ship. After WWII, Pan Am expanded its already impressive routes to encompass the globe and with innovations like uniformed flight crews and attendants, fine on-board cuisine and gracious cabin comforts, Pan Am led the way into the Golden Age of Aviation." This DVD set of two discs is basically a collection of old travelogues promoting the Pan Am aircraft and service. I imagine these travelogues went out to travel agents and were used to sell the service.The best and my favorite of the bunch is the Hawaiian travelogue. It is a priceless look at what travel to and tourism in Hawaii looked like during this 'golden age' of air travel.
Mondo Exotica
Ultra Lounge
This is Volume One in the Ultra Lounge series. The Ultra Lounge series is a series of CDs showcasing lounge music from the 50s and 60s. Other CDs in the series are called Bossa Novaville, Cocktail Capers, Bongo Land, and Bachelor Pad Royale - to name a few. The CDs are samplers and include tracks from Exotica stars like Les Baxter, Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman, and many many others. The CDs are a good way to get a quick listen to a cross section of lounge music from the time period when this music was at its height.
Radio Free Bakersfield
Podcast
with your host Whorehay
I saw a post on Tiki Central that told of Marina the Fire Eating Mermaid posing for a calendar for a podcast called Radio Free Bakersfield. I ordered the calendar and then decided to check out the podcast. I have been hooked on Radio Free Bakersfield ever since. The Spahn Ranch dance party. Dance goddamnit! Whorehay is a great host and he's had some great guest hosts. I've been turned on to some bands and artists that I might not have ever discovered otherwise. I'm now lovin' Eilen Jewel, The Woolly Bandits, Project Pimento, and Lushy - just to name a few. Some of my favorite podcasts; RFB174 Dusty and Rikki go Hawaiian, RFB170 The Del-Fi show with Insect Surfer Dave (tribute show to the late Bob Keane), RFB186 The Tiki Oasis show with the Tikiyaki Orchestra, and RFB185 Necrobella's Lounge-a delic show. Thanks Whorehay!
Music and CDs
Tiki Quest
by Duke Carter
Tiki Quest details the Tiki collection of Duke and Amy Carter. Lots of pictures in this book. In fact it is mostly a picture book that details a collection. The Carters, Duke and Amy, were into collecting Tiki long before me and their collection is amazing. My website here is somewhat like their book in that I too am documenting my collection. Of course the Carters don't overshare the way I do and so their book is suitable for all audiences. It is fun for me to find and acquire stuff that the Carter's have already found. I would recommend the book for any collectors.
Tiki Road Trip
By James Teitlebaum
A birder is basically an amateur ornithologist. A birder studies birds for recreational or social reasons. When a birder travels to a different part of the country, a different habitat if you will, I imagine he takes his field guide with him. The field guide clues him into what birds he might expect to find and the guide will help him identify birds he has never seen before. That’s how I use the book Tiki Road Trip. For me it functions quite nicely as a field guide. When I am travelling somewhere I consult the Tiki Road Trip to see if there are any Tiki bars where I am heading. When coming across new Tiki mugs, swizzles, postcards, menus, or other ephemera the Tiki Road Trip can help in identification. No serious Tikiphile should be without a copy of the Tiki Road Trip.
Tiki Archeology
with your host Sven Kirsten
I am quite fortunate to have this little gem in my collection. There are 3 clips on the DVD. The first is a documentary that originally aired on the BBC. The documentary was done before the "Book of Tiki" was released. The documentary, "The Airconditioned Eden", aired in 1996. It features interviews with James Michener and Martin Denny. There is also some brief footage from the TV show "Playboy After Dark" with Hugh Hefner and Barbi Benton hosting an urban luau. After seeing that I am going to have to check and see if any of the "Playboy After Dark" DVDs that are available have any more footage from the urban luau. The second clip on the DVD is entitled "Hawaiian Airlines Inflight Video Magazine". This clip only aired on flights of Hawaiian Airlines in 1999. The video magazine is cohosted by Sven Kirsten and Miss Hawaii 1998. The clip is a Tiki tour of Los Angeles. The third and bonus clip is a music video from Don Tiki. I got this DVD directly from Sven Kirsten and if you want to see this one you're probably going to have to pay a visit to Khan Tiki Mon's Bar and Lounge. We'll have a cocktail and share a Pu Pu platter.
Tiki Bar TV (The DVD)
Tiki Bar TV is a podcast. The podcasts are available on the Tiki Bar TV website. This DVD contains the podcasts from seasons 3 and 4 along with some outtakes. To be fair it's pretty hard to tell the outtakes from the actual show. I mean that in the best possible way. Have you ever watched a movie that really sucked but then the outtakes reel was hilarious? You think "why didn't they just put the good stuff in the movie?" Tiki Bar TV is all of the good stuff. The basic premise is that in each episode a problem presents itself that requires a solution in the form of Dr. Tiki writing a prescription for a cocktail. Johnny Johnny mixes the cocktail, giving us the recipe, and then consumption of the alcoholic concoction restores order and balance - sort of. Lala rounds out the cast; she is the third musketeer in this regular trio. Most episodes end with drunken dancing. There is no DVD compilation for seasons 1 and 2 yet which is a shame. My favorite episode is "Volcano" from season 2.
Dialogue from the episode "Blue Hawaii":
Dr Tiki: While depression is not a real condition it is good comedy.
Lala: Leave it to science to tell you what reality is.
Dr. Tiki : If you or someone you know has met someone who is depressed tell them to snap out of it.
Johnny Johnny: Head down to the bar. There's a reason they call it happy hour after all.
The Book of Tiki.
By Sven Kirsten.
If you read only one book on Tiki then let this be that book. The Book of Tiki by Sven Kirsten is the definitive book on Tiki. The Book of Tiki, or the BOT as it is affectionately referred to by Tikiphiles, traces the history of the phenomenon known as Tiki through its rise, devolution, and current resurgence. I have two copies. One hardcover that resides on a shelf and one softcover copy that is on my nightstand. Almost every night I re-read a chapter of the book. Sven goes by bigbrotiki on the Tiki Central forums and his presence and even-handed comments there keep the discussions on topic. Sven is more than merely a chronicler of Tiki, he is in large part responsible for the present state of Tiki resurgence because of the BOT. Such is the importance of the BOT. Rich in illustrations and an absolute must read the Book of Tiki is a must have for the serious Tikiphile.
Blue Crush.
Michelle Rodriguez, surf bunny.
Just so there is no confusion let me say it up front, "I don't surf". I don't even swim well. To paraphrase Woody Allen, "swimming is not a sport, it's something you do so you shouldn't drown". Me and the ocean haven't always gotten along well. But I do love to watch people surf. "Blue Crush" is not a great movie but it's harmless fun. And it's got Michelle Rodriguez who is one of the best 'bad' girls ever. Check her out in "Girl Fight", "SWAT", "Resident Evil", and as Anna Lucia on the hit TV series "Lost".
Playboy's Host and Bar Book.
By Thomas Mario.
For an interesting book on bartending and hosting, one with a perspective from a different time, I would recommend "Playboy's Host & Bar Book" by Thomas Mario. You need the original; I think the first printing might have been in 1955? Or maybe the copyright is for articles that appeared in Playboy from the '50s. There are over 800 drink recipes but it's way more than a recipe book. Offers a window into that time period. Has articles on glassware, stocking a bar, basic mixology, and then gets into party planning, ideas for themed parties (including an urban luau), and chapters on 'the code of conviviality' or a discourse on party manners for the host at home. When I was a young man I had fantasies of myself in a dinner jacket with an ascot tie surrounded by a bevy of buxom and beautiful babes as the life of the party. What a hoot! Youth is wasted on the young.
Donovan's Reef.
John Ford, director.
I grew up watching John Wayne in John Ford westerns. Loved westerns in general. When I was a kid and it was Saturday morning we watched "Western Jamboree". A different western movie every week. My brothers and I would get up so early the TV station wouldn't even be broadcasting yet. We'd sit in front of the blank screen and watch the 'snow'. The rule was we couldn't wake up my Dad until the test pattern came on. "Donovan's Reef" was the last time John Ford and John Wayne worked together. The movie premise is The Duke, Lee Marvin, and Jack Warden are WWII navy buddies that have settled on a French Polynesian island after the war. Great scenes with the brawling Australian soldiers and a really sweet scene where the islanders have a Christmas Eve with a Polynesian theme. Jack Warden does a great job in the movie. He is an underrated actor that got robbed of an academy award for best supporting actor in Warren Beatty's "Heaven Can Wait."
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Here are Khan Tiki Mon's reviews of some books, movies, and music. Things Tiki and Polynesian. About food and drink. Surfing.