Who Is Better at Introducing Tiki to the Mainstream Tommy Bahama or Target? - General Tiki

T Thomas Member Lake Mojave Joined: Mar 15, 2005 Posts: 372	T Thomas Posted posted on Mon, Feb 18, 2008 7:08 PM By Tim Leary: "Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are going in this ocean of chaos, it has been the authorities — the political, the religious, the educational authorities — who attempted to comfort us by giving us order, rules, regulations, informing — forming in our minds — their view of reality. To think for yourself you must question authority and learn how to put yourself in a state of vulnerable open-mindedness, chaotic, confused vulnerability..." Anyway, I don't agree with the games and rules metaphor for this sort of thing. If one player in a game of chess insisted on treating all pawns as queens, he would quickly lose, and his reputation would suffer. But this world of art and aesthetics we discuss here isn't analogous to competitive, rule-based games with winners and losers. This struggling over definitions reminds me of the Académie Française acting as the official authority on the usages, vocabulary, and grammar of the French language. We have no such thing here, which may play some small part in our language being the most dynamic on the face of the earth. And yet this dynamism also means that no one "owns" words; the linguistic terrain is constantly shifting, sometimes in disturbing ways. The word "tiki" isn't immune to this process. Personal resistance to unwelcome shifts in what "tiki" denotes to the ocean of English speakers may be personally gratifying, but it's important to keep a proper perspective. And in terms of one's ability to stem the tide of linguistic change, the proper perspective must be one of profound humility. Ultimately, people adapt. Where once there was one new thing called jazz, now there are, what, a hundred? "X jazz, "Y jazz," "Z jazz"... When the umbrella term expands to the point where meaning seems diluted, some people try to suppress or exclude the newer, more vulgar manifestation. But they always lose. So, accomodations are made. Qualifying words are added. Dixieland jazz; smooth jazz; classic jazz. No one gets the flag, new flags are created. Time tends to sift these things out, and that of true value persists. Certain types of "jazz" will be treasured a hundred years from now, while others will have drifted into obscurity. Likewise with "tiki."

By Tim Leary:

"Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are going in this ocean of chaos, it has been the authorities — the political, the religious, the educational authorities — who attempted to comfort us by giving us order, rules, regulations, informing — forming in our minds — their view of reality. To think for yourself you must question authority and learn how to put yourself in a state of vulnerable open-mindedness, chaotic, confused vulnerability..."

Anyway, I don't agree with the games and rules metaphor for this sort of thing. If one player in a game of chess insisted on treating all pawns as queens, he would quickly lose, and his reputation would suffer. But this world of art and aesthetics we discuss here isn't analogous to competitive, rule-based games with winners and losers.

This struggling over definitions reminds me of the Académie Française acting as the official authority on the usages, vocabulary, and grammar of the French language. We have no such thing here, which may play some small part in our language being the most dynamic on the face of the earth. And yet this dynamism also means that no one "owns" words; the linguistic terrain is constantly shifting, sometimes in disturbing ways. The word "tiki" isn't immune to this process. Personal resistance to unwelcome shifts in what "tiki" denotes to the ocean of English speakers may be personally gratifying, but it's important to keep a proper perspective. And in terms of one's ability to stem the tide of linguistic change, the proper perspective must be one of profound humility.

Ultimately, people adapt. Where once there was one new thing called jazz, now there are, what, a hundred? "X jazz, "Y jazz," "Z jazz"... When the umbrella term expands to the point where meaning seems diluted, some people try to suppress or exclude the newer, more vulgar manifestation. But they always lose. So, accomodations are made. Qualifying words are added. Dixieland jazz; smooth jazz; classic jazz. No one gets the flag, new flags are created. Time tends to sift these things out, and that of true value persists. Certain types of "jazz" will be treasured a hundred years from now, while others will have drifted into obscurity. Likewise with "tiki."

Post #361999 by Thomas on Mon, Feb 18, 2008 7:08 PM