Post #470165 by ChrisPFlorida on Sun, Jul 19, 2009 6:20 PM

Hello all...fairly new to Tiki Central, and hardly post, but this thread caught my attention...

I am certainly not a Tiki Snob. However I strongly support those who are. Why? As has been said several times in this thread, this site is dedicated to keeping the original spirit of Polynesian Pop alive. That means mid-century styles, bamboo and wicker, hand-carved Tikis and old-fashioned made-from-scratch tropical drinks (among other things). If I had the lettuce to do my house up like that, with vintage stuff and real Tiki art, I certainly would. As it turns out I've had to improvise a few things along the way. I do have a lot of antiques, but my Tiki bar has (gasp!) some new and even plastic goodies on it. I also have a set of 1950's island "war" weapons (display only) from the Philippines and a vintage drink menu from the Mai Kai (which is 15 minutes from my house).

So what I'm saying is, it's fine for anyone to be picky about what they collect, and it's fine to want to stick to the traditions. It's also fine to just be kind of "into it", with a some plastic mugs from Party City and a bottle of Mai Tai mix in your fridge. To each his own.

As for me, I live what is referred to as "the retro life", of which Tiki culture is a part, 24/7. I dress like they did in the 30s, 40s & 50s because that's what I like. I listen to music from those eras because I dig it. I live in South Florida and my front yard looks like Key West, complete with a pirate ship and a coconut palm. There's a 53 Chevy custom hot rod (I built myself) in the garage. My Tiki bar is on the lanai next to the pool with our parrots, and our kitchen looks like a 50's diner with a booth and jukebox. Does any of that make me a snob? Nah. It's just what I'm hip to and so I live it every day.

And as for the people who are snobs...don't let this blow your mind, but if you were TRULY all about the traditional mid-century Tiki Culture, you wouldn't be on this site...because they didn't have computers back then, did they! (yes, a joke)

-Chris "Mack" Pinto
http://tikiloungetalk.com