tiki trader trickery

Hey, Someone pull that Tiki out of St. James' ass.

On 2002-11-11 14:10, tikibars wrote:
Two things:

I am certainly wary of any thread that is so dangerously close to becoming a witch-hunt, but that said, let me add one thing: I have been warning people away from dealing with Tiki Trader for at least five years now. I don't have anything against him personally, never having dealt with him, but he has been taking people's money and delivering either broken merchandise, or nothing at all for YEARS. I receive reports of this behavior pn a regular basis. All we can do is let each other know about this, and simply avoid doing business with him.

That said, I think I am going to give up Tiki forever and start collecting Noggins!
(thanks for the link!).
These rule!

Well this is very interesting on several levels. Firstly from what I have read in Sven's book, "TIKI" is 'Made in (mainland) America'. An amalgamation of all things Pan-Pacific and Poly-South East Asian with a splash of cartoon that seems to have originated more out of Hollywood than Honolulu. I even see where it has been said that at one time Hawaii actually imported the Polypop culture to meet the expectations of the howlie tour-ons! (that's a cross between a tourist and a moron :wink: ). The word 'Tiki' seems to have come from other than Polynesian origins and I have seen a couple of speculations, but I suspect that since Thor H. had used it in the name for his boat the 'Kon Tiki' that it just stuck.

So what is the big deal? I don't even see that much of a similarity in many of the classic Hawaiian carvings and what is touted as being Tikis. So how can anyone be particularly insulted? It is all just in good fun, just like the 'South of the Border' fantasy has little to do with Mexico.

Also this one killed me:

What would Christians throughout the Mainland think if
Islanders created a fad, "all things saintly," for example. What
if Islanders created silly images of Christian saints, decorated
their dens with white-robed bearded cartoon figures with
glowing circles above their heads, and maybe a bunch of
robed guys and gals with multicolored wings flapping behind
their backs ... you could have cloud-shaped beanbag chairs. A
bar shaped like a cathedral.[quote/]

I guess this guy has not spent much time in Latin America, or been to a Latino Family's home in a working class neighborhood in anywhere USA! :wink:

Isnt this the guy that use to be in Ventura California? If it is he seemed to be just a lazy guy that used the store as an excuse to get up in the morning and go somewhere. Kind of a weird article since he is making money off the Tiki and in the article he promotes himself with his contact info. I didnt think he was all that sharp, but now I know he isnt. I guess moving to Hawaii made him a born again or reformed Tiki purest.

Tiki Trader's reinvented himself again star bulletin (Tuesday, July 19, 2005)

i dont know what planet he's collecting on, but from what i know, Hawaiiana collectors are very competitve, and they're NOT collecting mugs. cripes.

"Collectors show brings the best of Hawaiiana

My favorite event of the year is coming up this weekend: da Hawaii All-Collectors Show at the Blaisdell, July 23 and 24.
I have been to shops and shows all over the country dealing with Hawaiiana and I gotta tellya, nothing equals a real Hawaiiana/collector's show in Hawaii. It's not a competitive thing. You meet the local Hawaiian dealers. You talk story with them. Malihini experience what is called "aloha spirit" firsthand.

The Hawaii All-Collectors Show is a welcome change for those who frequent collectibles shows, wherein they can buy and barter in the casual, friendly island fashion. If you are accustomed to collectibles events and shops on the mainland, get ready for something entirely different. Too often we are witness to grumpy buyers and sellers in hyper-competitive venues elsewhere. Buyers scan a booth without looking up or talking story or even sharing a simple greeting. They command, "I will give you this much for that." They launch right into a dollar amount, with no semblance of friendliness. Some with a lowball offer, adding insult to injury. No ho'omalimali. No talk story. Just attack like a stormtrooper. Where's the fun in that?

And they spout their unsolicited criticism or abrasive opinions -- "Oh, that's not a tiki mug," or "Jeez, I can get that for a dollar cheaper around the corner!" and they walk away with no further conversation or acknowledgement. And the mainland sellers, they sit there with a defensive, angry demeanor, looking like they were weaned on a pickle. When it gets too competitive, the heart and soul is lost from the adventure.

No, we in Hawaii prefer the ohana feel -- after all, we are one big family, in the collectibles arena. And we enjoy sharing our love for collectibles in general and our favorites in particular, trade stories, offer hints and tips on all aspects of the life of the hunter and collector.

speaking of arena, the great era of wrestling at the Civic Arena will be covered at the collectors show. This year's event features a multimedia display covering Hawaii's "Golden Age of Wrestling" from the 1960s and '70s. The display will consist of fan photographs, fabulous Super-8mm film/video taken at the matches, some audio of the wrestlers at interviews, wrestling memorabilia, a re-creation of the large wrestling TV cards, and special autographed 50th State Wrestling theme T-shirts, and -- newsflash! -- we have just received word that King Curtis "The Bull" Iaukea, one of the most popular and outrageous wrestlers from Hawaii's pro wrestling heyday, will be staging one of his famous 50th State Wrestling locker room interviews on Saturday at da show. Should be great fun!

We also will be witness to an amazing speed marathon build of two tenor ukuleles from beginning to end, only during show hours, by the Ukulele Guild of Hawaii.

The Hawaiiana show is not a flea market. It contains numerous vendors of collectibles both high end and medium end of rare, fairly hard-to-find Hawaiiana (and non-Hawaiiana) representing all the eras. At least 200 vendors of pre-contact, monarchy, royalty collectibles, as well as the steamship-era tourist collectibles and '60s/'70s stuff.

This being the "All-Collectors Show" of Hawaii, they always seem to have a fabulous offering of all types of favorites from all eras, without those ridiculously inflated prices we see on the mainland. The show is an important venue as a source of Polynesiana in general. The appeal of Hawaiiana and collectibles in general is reaching an all-time high internationally. Let's continue to grow it. See you at da Hawaii All-Collectors Show this Saturday and Sunday!"

Alan "Kimo" St. James is a collector, author and videographer who lives in Honolulu. You can reach him at [email protected]

Article URL: http://starbulletin.com/2005/07/19/editorial/commentary.html
© 1996-2005 The Honolulu Star-Bulletin | http://www.starbulletin.com

Good thread.

Allen St. James, the bad penny of Poly Pop! Well, I still enjoy my badly hacked piece of wood he sold me a few years ago, a "tiki" I had to go to the mats to get from him. I think of it as having survived the "Tiki Gauntlet"!

When life hands you limes... make Mai Tais!

[ Edited by: tikigreg 2006-07-18 15:42 ]

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2012-01-21 15:10 ]

Kimo LANIKAI, hmmmmm. Ya think?

[ Edited by: filslash 2006-07-18 16:22 ]

And suddenly things seem clear.

Don't tell me that Tiki Trader is still around? Why haven't the Honolulu Better Business Bureau and the FBI's Mail Fraud Division shut this guy down yet? My blood pressure's rising just thinking about the runaround he gave me.

"The word 'Tiki' seems to have come from other than Polynesian origins and I have seen a couple of speculations, but I suspect that since Thor H. had used it in the name for his boat the 'Kon Tiki' that it just stuck."

Rattiki, "tiki" IS a word of Polynesian origins and is used among the Marquesans and New Zealanders among others, Hawaii is a more recently settled island and though Hawaiians speak a Polynesian tongue related to the others, they lost the "t" consonant, often replacing it with a "k" sound, thus Tapa in Fiji and Polynesia became "kapa" in Hawaii and Tiki became "ki'i", which is close to kiki, which is what you'd expect it to be with the k replaces t rule, whew! Hope that clears up some thing for somebody, even if that something is only that I am a nerd!

Aloha
Sneakytiki

[ Edited by: Sneakytiki 2006-07-19 00:56 ]

Spoke with "Tiki Trader" on the phone once.
Quickly realized he embodied the spirit of
A-hola.

I can't stand that guy!
Wait, what were we talking about?
I want a Virgin Mary bobblehead. It would look great on my tiki bar.

On 2002-11-12 03:10, Trader_Rick wrote:
Wow! People really hate Allen! Well, I don't know what is up with the article he wrote, that's not the Allen I met. I've never ordered anything from him, just dealt with him in person. He's a little expensive, but outside of that I thought he was very knowledgable and helpful. The second time I went to his store, I bought a necklace for my girlfriend and a mug. He would not take a credit card or check, of course, but when I told him I had no cash, he just said, "That's OK, you can pay me next time!" Needless to say, he moved before I could ever pay him.

Anyway, it sounds like my experience with Allen was the exception rather than rule, but yes, someone out there DOES have something nice to say about him! Maybe he went nuts or something. It sounds like he's just bitter in that article. From all the negative experiences others have had with him, though, it is clear to me now why I am the only person in all of cyberspace that has a link to his website on mine.

..nice try allen, but we see through this ruse too!!! ...LOL

I'd been feeling quite at ease with myself recently, but now I am gravely concerned that I may be a "hipster," or even worse, a "fadster."

On 2006-07-19 14:59, Tipsy McStagger wrote:

..nice try allen, but we see through this ruse too!!! ...LOL

Ha Ha. You got me. I've secretly been flying back and forth between Hawaii and and LA every weekend just so I can deejay at the Tonga Hut every Saturday (shameless plug). Oh, and I've been disguising myself to look taller, thinner, younger, and better looking, too.

This guy sounds like a bigger a--hole now than he was when I met him 4 years ago. But I meant what I said: having hardly dealt with him, he SEEMED like a nice guy, but what the hell did I know?

Hey, since he lives in Hawaii now, that guy Dawg should go after him! Everyone at Tiki Central could pitch in and put up some sort of bounty for him!

Funny thing,
I walked into the guy's store in Ventura and wanted to purchase an Aloha shirt for a friend of mine for a birthday gift,being that he would'nt accept credit cards or atm or checks he let me walk with the shirt without paying ,with the promise I'd pay cash next time. Next time he was gone.
I remember him as being very nice, he had lot of tiki shwag, it was before I was really bitten by the tikibug, so maybe I did'nt pay as close attention to all the tiki stuff as I would today.I still owe the guy for a really nice Aloha shirt that my friend just loved.

On 2006-07-21 23:01, VonTiki wrote:
I still owe the guy for a really nice Aloha shirt that my friend just loved.

He owes me money for product he purchased from me to sell in his stores, so Maybe I paid for your friends aloha shirt indirectly. I'd feel better knowing your friend is happy with a shirt I paid for rather than holding a grudge for money I'll never see.

Go after your money. It's your money. Don't sit back. That's stupid.
XXXOOO
Ivy

MauiTiki, you can get his last known address & Cell Phone number off of the Honolulu BBB "Deadbeats" list.

I love the list of "Government Actions" against him:

On December 18, 2003 in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit, the State of Hawaii by its Office of Consumer Protection filed a Complaint and Summons, Civil No. 03-1-2519-12 against Allen St. James doing business under several names including Tiki Trader, Island Style Decor & Hawaiiana Traders. It is alleged that Allen St. James failed to deliver goods as ordered or promised, misrepresented the expansion & the opening of a physical store, and failed to disclose the true status of his operations.
The Office of Consumer Protection seeks a Court order restraining Allen St. James from engaging in from engaging in the unfair practices in violation of HRS 480-2 and 481A-3, and order him to pay restitution to every consumer who purchased merchandise from him.

Civil No. 03-1-2519-12 (VSM) (Other Civil Action) On January 20, 2004 the Circuit Court of the First Circuit ordered a Preliminary Injunction against Allen St. James and those persons in participation with him from making available to the public the website at http://www.tikitrader.com or offering to sell Hawaiian, Polynesian or nautical-themed merchandise and collecting payments from consumers. A hearing on a motion for default judgment against Allen St. James is scheduled for February 19, 2004.

On March 11, 2004 the Circuit Court of the First Circuit ordered and decreed default and final judgment against Allen St. James upon all counts files and all contracts between St. James and consumers regarding merchandise promoted, advertised, or offered for sale are void and unenforceable. Allen St. James is ordered to pay restitution to every consumer, including but not limited to identified consumers, who paid for merchandise St. James failed to deliver. St. James is ordered to pay a civil penalty of Thirty-two Thousand and 00/100 Dollars ($32,000.00)

He's listed as having no assets or income, so I'm afraid it could be difficult to get your money back. If it helps you could always call his step-mom Joni and ask her to intercede on your behalf, she's listed in the phonebook.

On 2006-07-26 08:56, freddiefreelance wrote:
On March 11, 2004 the Circuit Court of the First Circuit ordered and decreed default and final judgment against Allen St. James

wow and 2 months later, he joins Tiki Central as Lanikai! what a tool.

Well, well, well. Looky who I just found over on YouTube...it's Braddah Kimo.

hmmmmm , Bar fights just dont seem very tiki to me.

That footage is unintentionally weird on more levels that I ever thought possible it’s like a chimp got a hold of a video camera and went nuts. I love the semi-creeped out look that girl has the whole time she’s handing him drinks.
At least all those interested have a face to put to all these wonderful Tiki Trader stories.

Thanks for posting that.

Bosko

On 2006-08-06 15:10, rodeotiki wrote:
hmmmmm , Bar fights just dont seem very tiki to me.

All depends on what kind of bar you're fighting in, I guess, but yeah, I generally don't associate tiki with brawling.

I'm not understanding this. I thought Lanikai/Braddah Kimo was kama'aina and always talked pidgin?

3 weeks ago, lanikai wrote:
"Booze. Broads. Beer. Bountious Beautiful Babes. Boobs. Beer. Burpin'... with our Buddies."

I think Lanikai/Mr St James needs to study this in order to understand what Tiki Central is all about. We are not about "Burpin' with our Buddies" Sir!

On 2006-08-06 15:47, TIKIBOSKO wrote:
...At least all those interested have a face to put to all these wonderful Tiki Trader stories.

Now I'm confused. His photo on the Tiki Central Frappr map is quite different.
http://www.frappr.com/?a=photo&gid=702419&pid=2417751&src=flash_slideticker

Sorry for your loss, I'd hold a grudge if I were you. It was a nice shirt though, free too. What could I do?

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2012-01-21 15:11 ]

On 2006-07-19 00:52, Sneakytiki wrote:
Rattiki, "tiki" IS a word of Polynesian origins and is used among the Marquesans and New Zealanders among others, Hawaii is a more recently settled island and though Hawaiians speak a Polynesian tongue related to the others, they lost the "t" consonant, often replacing it with a "k" sound, thus Tapa in Fiji and Polynesia became "kapa" in Hawaii and Tiki became "ki'i", which is close to kiki, which is what you'd expect it to be with the k replaces t rule, whew! Hope that clears up some thing for somebody, even if that something is only that I am a nerd!

My understanding has always been:

The glottal stop (written as an apostrophe) in Hawaiian, is a 'k' sound in Tahitian / Maori / RapaNui.

The 'k' sound in Hawaiian, is a 't' sound Tahitian / Maori / RapaNui.

Tiki in Tahitian / Maori / RapaNui therefore becomes Ki'i in Hawaiian.

'Tahiti' in Tahitian / Maori / RapaNui becomes 'Kahiki' in Hawaiian!

Thankfully I was warned by weirduncletiki about this store's/guy's reputation when we were starting a business.
I've heard a mix of bad and good comments and hope that no one ever mistakes TIKI HUNTER for Tiki Trader!
We've been in the Tiki scene only a couple of years and just now getting off the ground as a Tiki Business.
I will have to remember always walk carefully....you never know whose toes you may be stepping on! :)
Just remember me as the FRIENDLY GUY IN THE TOP HAT!

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2012-01-21 15:12 ]

On 2006-08-21 13:32, tikibars wrote:

On 2006-07-19 00:52, Sneakytiki wrote:
Rattiki, "tiki" IS a word of Polynesian origins and is used among the Marquesans and New Zealanders among others, Hawaii is a more recently settled island and though Hawaiians speak a Polynesian tongue related to the others, they lost the "t" consonant, often replacing it with a "k" sound, thus Tapa in Fiji and Polynesia became "kapa" in Hawaii and Tiki became "ki'i", which is close to kiki, which is what you'd expect it to be with the k replaces t rule, whew! Hope that clears up something for somebody, even if that something is only that I am a nerd!

My understanding has always been:

The glottal stop (written as an apostrophe) in Hawaiian, is a 'k' sound in Tahitian / Maori / RapaNui.

The 'k' sound in Hawaiian, is a 't' sound Tahitian / Maori / RapaNui.

Tiki in Tahitian / Maori / RapaNui therefore becomes Ki'i in Hawaiian.

'Tahiti' in Tahitian / Maori / RapaNui becomes 'Kahiki' in Hawaiian!

Here is a confirmation that my assertion of Ki'i being the Hawaiian name for Tiki is correct:

Ki'i
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Hawaiian mythology, Ki'i is a creator god. In some other Polynesian languages, the name appears as Tiki.
In M?ori mythology, Tiki is the first man. In traditions from the East Coast of the North Island, the first human is a woman created by T?ne, god of forests. Usually her name is Hine-ahu-one. In other legends, T?ne makes the first man Tiki, and then makes a wife for him. In some West Coast versions, Tiki himself, as a son of Rangi and Papa, creates the first human by mixing his own blood with clay, and T?ne then makes the first woman. Sometimes T?matauenga, the war god, creates Tiki.[1] In another story the first woman is M?rikoriko. Tiki marries her and their daughter is Hine-kau-ataata (White 1887-1891, I:151-152). [2] In some traditions, Tiki is the penis of T?ne (Orbell 1998:178, Tregear 1891:510-511). In fact, Tiki is strongly associated with the origin of the procreative act.[3]
Here is one story of Tiki among the many variants:
Tiki was lonely and craved company. One day, seeing his reflection in a pool, he thought he had found a companion, and dived into the pool to seize it. The image shattered and Tiki was disappointed. He fell asleep and when he awoke he saw the reflection again . He covered the pool with earth and it gave birth to a woman. Tiki lived with her in innocence, until one day the woman was excited by an eel. Her excitement passed to Tiki and the first procreative act resulted (Reed 1963:52).
In M?ori usage, the word 'tiki' is also the name given to large wooden carvings in roughly human shape.

-The term tiki bars has quoted "Kahiki", follows the same "k" replaces "t" rule, Kahiki is the Hawaiian name for a place called Tahiti, from which the second wave of Hawaiian migration came from. You can see that K replaces T, just as I said. The same proves true with Kapa replacing the T in tapa.

As far as glottal stops go, they are never pronounced with a k sound or any other consonant type sound in any language, that is why it's a glottal "stop". They are usually very subtle vowel-ish pauses in mid-word. The Tahitian glottal stop is NOT a "K" sound but a very subtle, easily missed uh-uh type sound. A word in Tahitian with a glottal stop does not mean the same word in Hawaiian will have one. Here is the Tahitian alphabet with proof that their glottal stop is not pronounced as a K sound but as a subtle uh-uh:

Tahitian Alphabet

Typologically, Tahitian word order is VSO (Verb-Subject-Object), which is typical of Polynesian languages. It also features a very small number of phonemes, as further evidence of its linguistic heritage: five vowels and eight consonants not counting the lengthened vowels, diphthongs and the glottal stop.
letter name pronunciation notes
IPA English
approximation French
approximation
a ’? [a], [??] a: butter, ?: father a: patte, ?: pâte
e ’? [e], [e?] e: late, ?: same but longer e: été, ?: il bée
f f? [f] friend as in French becomes bilabial [?] after o and u
h h? [h] house - becomes [?] of shoe after i and before o or u
i ’? [i], [i?] as in machine
either shorter i or longer ? i: vite, ?: cîme may become diphthong ai in some words like rahi
m m? [m] mouse as in French
n n? [n] nap as in French
o ’? [?], [o?] o: not, ?: go o: roc, ?: pôle the short o more like (French) eau if not accentuated
p p? [p] spunge (not aspirated) as in French
r r? [r] - - the rolled 'r' of Scottish and Spanish
t t? [t] stand (not aspirated) as in French
u ’? [u], [u?] u: foot, ?: moo u: cou, ?: moue strong lip rounding
v v? [v] vine as in French becomes bilabial after o and u
’ ’eta [?] uh-uh ils hachent (without liaison) the GLOTTAL STOP *************************************************************************************************************************
The glottal stop or ’eta is a genuine consonant.

The missing second K in the Hawai'ian Ki'i, is replaced by a glottal stop. Once again the example of Tiki turns to Ki'i, the glottal stop is not a cognate to a "K" sound in Tahitian. Actually the T sound in Tahitian is very similar to the k sound in Hawaiian, the T sound in Tahiti is very soft approaching a k already. The glottal stop ki'i (Hawaiian) is just an example of phonetic loss or deterioration. Here it is explained, I put astericks in front of the most pertinent info:

Art. LXIV.—The Track of a Word.
By E. Tregear, F.R.G.S.

[Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 4th August, 1886.]

In seeking to attract attention to the immense geographical district over which a word may be in use, and to the very great periods of time during which a word must necessarily have existed, I would confine myself mainly to a record of the facts concerning it collected by modern science, and leave for discussion the points arising from such record. The word I propose to examine is the Maori noun mata, which means “the eye,” or “face.” This word has been often commented upon as one which maintained itself most purely and with little phonetic variation among the dialects spoken in Polynesia; but I believe that the full significance of its very extraordinary diffusion over a large area of the world's surface has not been sufficiently observed or commented on. We will now, with the aid of a map, pass along a track where this word, sometimes in a form exceedingly pure, sometimes corrupted almost beyond recognition, may be found in the spoken languages of mankind at the present moment.

Leaving New Zealand and moving to the northward, we arrive at the Fijian Group, the natives of which, although not Polynesians, retain in their language many Polynesian words, and these in great purity. Here we find it mata, as in Maori; thence journeying eastward to Samoa, it is mata; at Rarotonga and Mangaia (Cook's and Hervey Islands), it is mata; at Tahiti (Society Islands), mata; at Nukuhiva (Marquesas Islands), mata; at Easter Island, mata; at Hawaii (Sandwich Islands), mata. This course has passed through the principal Polynesian islands, and before proceeding further I must digress for a brief space to notice the dialectical change producing the variant k of the Hawaiian. The change from t to k seems at first sight to be peculiar, and to those who have not made the transference of sounds a specialty of study appears almost impossible. But it is by no means confined to the Polynesian; in many languages far more advanced this letter-change occurs: in the Latin, Basculi and Bastuli, Vectones and Vettones; in Danish, mukke, for English “to mutter,” and laktuk (Latin lactuca), for English “lettuce;” in Greek we find the Doric makes ??â for ???, ???o03C2 for ????03C2; the modern French of low-class Canadians gives mékier for métier, moikié for moitié, according to Professor Max Müller,* on whose choice of this word mata as a text I shall have much to say at a future time; but here it is only necessary-

-to remark that in Polynesian the t to k transfer is exceedingly well marked, and that it is, even now, changing and spoiling the Samoan vernacular speech. The real k of the western dialects is, in Hawaiian, Tahitian, and Samoan, either lost altogether, or replaced by a kind of soft catch of the breath; the k which appears in the Hawaiian being the Maori and Tongan t. Thus, the Hawaiian kai is the Maori tai, the sea; the Maori kai, food, being represented by the Hawaiian ai. The Hawaiian kii, a carved image, is the Maori tiki, the medial k being lost, the t replaced by k.

I hope this settles the manner. I wasn't giving out bogus info. to anyone. I've studied Polynesia fairly extensively. Please take no offense at my re-correction.
Thanks again,
ST

[ Edited by: Sneakytiki 2007-03-24 21:53 ]

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2012-01-21 15:12 ]

Wow I'm so glad I found this thread. I'm a recent immigrant to HI from SF and been a user of http://www.yelp.com/ for many years. I found a fairly vibrant yelp community in HI and have been using it for its intended purpose. Mr. St. James has been fronting on the talk threads there for a long time and giving me a lot of crap. Now I find out not only is he a crooked white sleaze but possibly not even really from here. On there he acts like the expert of all things Hawaii and fills the talk threads with a lot of smug BS!

I encourage any of you interested in deflating that ego to join yelp.com and participate in the hawaii threads.

Regardless, I'm glad to know his true character.

Here's a taste

Kimo "Kameraman" K. says:

Had... a nice wardrobe. I hadda shop well. I had a limousine service in Cali back in da 80's. Did some modelling then. catwalk stuff. High end clients in the hills of beverly and Montecito. So had to know clothing and how to wear it well. got so I was a regular at ralph lauren's shop on Rodeo. Saw Tom Selleck there. maria Shriver. her hubby, Ahnold. the governator. Long before he knew the word politics. Drank next to him as the upstairs bar at Lauren's shop.

Loved Battaglia. Hermes. MCM.
used to meet clients at da Polo Lounge. fab place.
Drove them all, met them all. Martin Sheen. Burl Ives. Jim Messina from Logins and messina. Calvin Klein. Kathy Ireland. (regularly. I was her nautilus instructor before she made it big)
another lifetime ago.

He also talks pidgin a lot, but now I think he only speaks 'internet' pidgin after watching those youtube vids.

Anyway I just HAD to register to share. I'm not expecting a personal army. I'll leave you fine tikifolk to your business.

On 2008-09-02 02:46, retry wrote:
Mr. St. James has been fronting on the talk threads there for a long time and giving me a lot of crap. Now I find out not only is he a crooked white sleaze but possibly not even really from here. On there he acts like the expert of all things Hawaii and fills the talk threads with a lot of smug BS!

Regardless, I'm glad to know his true character.

It makes me sad. I met St. James back when he had a store in Ventura, 4 1/2 minuets into the conversation I knew this mans character, or lack thereof. Then to see how he abused and used people on Tiki Central, and STILL he keeps popping up and the topic? His lack of character. What a waste. Potential ruined. A reputation lost. All for the want of character. To see such potential wadded up and flushed down a public toilet.
It makes me sad.

I am hesitant to interrupt the cheery mood and direction of this haters club thread here, but would like to interject; if anyone individually feels slighted by Tiki Trader, I invite them to enter into discourse at my email
[email protected]
so that I may try to resolve it. The rest of you bystanders can resume shaking your pitchforks and torches.
Mahalo nui.
and aloha

malama ki'i kahiko

[ Edited by: lanikai 2008-09-03 13:56 ]

You guys got torches and pitchforks? I've been waving this hoe.

Pappy! Let go of my wife! She ain't no hoe!

[ Edited by: Bohemiann 2008-09-03 14:48 ]

On 2008-09-03 13:56, lanikai wrote:
if anyone individually feels slighted by Tiki Trader, I invite them to enter into discourse at my email...so that I may try to resolve it. The rest of you bystanders can resume shaking your pitchforks and torches.

Based on the total lack of response and cooperation I got the last time I e-mailed you, I'd recommend that folks go straight to the Honolulu Better Business Bureau instead.

On 2008-09-02 02:46, retry wrote: I'm a recent immigrant to HI from SF and been a user of http://www.yelp.com/ for many years. I found a fairly vibrant yelp community in HI and have been using it for its intended purpose. Mr. St. James has been fronting on the talk threads there for a long time and giving me a lot of crap.
He also talks pidgin a lot, but now I think he only speaks 'internet' pidgin after watching those youtube vids.

First thing ya gotta know; don't come on like gangbusters to a local Hawaii chat room dissin everything and everyone. I wasn't the only one givin ya grief. In fact you got called on da carpet by a girl. She bitchslapped ya and called ya a well deserved name after your relentless gittin up on erryone's ass fer no reason. Supwidat, boy!? I just gave ya a bit of the newbie hazin ritual. Which I apologized for as, yea, it may have been ruff. Or didn't show much of that "aloha spirit" that so many haoles demand. (and don't even start on the "oh dear me; he called me haole and it's a racial slur" boosheeyit. Haole is a foreigner to the islands. It's also an attitude. That islanders carry much disdain for.
It don't sit well to ass ume and judge how and why the way some people talk pidgin when and where. Or how long they been in da islands or not. Or to what degree they know and love Hawaiian culture. Same damned haole m.o. ; judge, complain, insult, diss, and assume... "I bet this..." "no doubt that..." "he probably this.." "most likely that..."
Don't start trouble. chill out. Learn sumpin. I know I did when I got pissy here on TC. Yer in Hawaii now. aole pilikia. K den.

malama ki'i kahiko

[ Edited by: lanikai 2008-09-04 03:16 ]

[ Edited by: lanikai 2008-09-04 12:40 ]

On 2008-09-03 15:45, MrBaliHai wrote:

On 2008-09-03 13:56, lanikai wrote:
if anyone individually feels slighted by Tiki Trader, I invite them to enter into discourse at my email...so that I may try to resolve it. The rest of you bystanders can resume shaking your pitchforks and torches.

Based on the total lack of response and cooperation I got the last time I e-mailed you, I'd recommend that folks go straight to the Honolulu Better Business Bureau instead.

sigh... ah well, I knew I would see this. Justifiable, I suppose.
But does is give ya more satisfaction to be negative than to maybe help me a small degree to work thru this and rectify it? c'mon.

Dude, I know you think you're the Lawrence of Arabia of Hawaii, but you're actually the biggest hypocrite I think I've ever come across online. From what I've gathered, Haole is a term reserved for white people, of which you are one. So enough of the haole calling the haole a haole already. And excusing your smug hubris by calling it 'hazing' pretty much makes your half-assed apology disingenuous to say the least -- an apology I surely wouldn't have recieved had I not posted here. Then publically you rip into me and defend your ego more. So exactly which of these two faces is the real one?

If anybody is making judgements and assumptions, it's you. I guess a lifetime of living here hasn't really taken the 'haole' attitude out of you. Also your disdain for everything mainland ruining your beloved islands and yet your 4 star review for CostCo just doesn't really jibe ya know? You ought to be boycotting a place like that and putting money in locals' pockets. That is of course assuming you practice what you preach. But as we've all noted here, you certainly do not.

I think Mr. St. James is an active poster at another forum I frequent. The "outraged native" , hostility, and selective use of pidgin is prevalent at this forum.

This isn't the forum I mentioned above but it may be of interest.
http://www.southseascinema.com/kimo.html

[ Edited by: Freaky Torch 2013-07-25 15:50 ]

[ Edited by: Freaky Torch 2013-07-25 16:11 ]