Post #185818 by thejab on Sat, Sep 10, 2005 2:53 PM

On 2005-09-09 21:18, Geeky Tiki wrote:

Tiki is part of a greater society, not a refuge from it.

I disagree. It was, and is, a refuge from it. Most people could live their lives and never get affected by it, unless they went to a tiki bar or restaurant or luau, or traveled to Hawaii or other Pacific Islands. I grew up in San Diego and lived there until 1988 and never once visited a tiki bar or restaurant, and there were many in SD. Perhaps in the peak in the late 50s to mid 60s, one could stumble upon it, but not in the 80s through today.

If you wanted Tiki to go away for ever, just insist that everyone take it as seriously as we do.

I don't think anyone is insisting that, and I also don't think taking it seriously is detrimental.

I take the loss of history (especially recent 20th. century history) very seriously because the pace of change seems to be accelerating, the aesthetic of most new places doesn't appeal to me, and many people don't appreciate what they have until its gone (so others have to do something for preservation now).

I agree with what tikibars said, that they probably all will close eventually, so we should spend our money in them as often as possible. They are businesses and are only in it to make money, and as we learned from the Kahiki nothing can save tiki from the wrecking ball except customers (and I don't mean after they already plan on closing).

Mug collections, exotica record collections, tiki events, home bars, etc. are all fine, but the day there are no more good tiki bars to escape to is the day tiki dies for me.