Tiki Merit Badge

If tiki were a troop and it had rank and merit badges, what would it take to get your badge in the different forums found here in Tiki Central.

For example, would a merit badge in Travel require you to have visited at least 7 Trader Vics, the Tiki Ti, Mai Kai, Forbidden Island, Bali Hai, etc.

Would a merit badge in Drinks require ownership of certain drink books, the ability to differentiate Persian Limes from Key Limes or tell a 1934 Zombie from a 1956?

You get the point.

In your humble opinons, what should a any self-respecting tikiphile know and be able to do before you turn them out on the world?

On 2009-07-19 20:52, telescopes wrote:
In your humble opinons, what should a any self-respecting tikiphile know and be able to do before you turn them out on the world?

That's easy....

Know the basics of Exotica vs Hape Haole vs 'Main Stream.' The styles, the major players, at least a brief history of the music.

Have at least a basic understanding of how Rum is made, what countries produce it, and how.

Know the 'true' recipe for a Mai Tai and be able to identify what is and isn't a Mai-Tai.

Be able to identify Tiki's by at least a general category, i.e.. Polynesian, Micronesian, Oceanic, Modern, Reproduction. Even better if you can identify by Island and/or culture, or by style for modern carvings.

And that is just to get you started.... a Tiki Cub-scout to continue with your description.

Here's our member card once you've reached level one of French Polynesian history and culture.

How about a carving badge ?

On 2009-07-20 09:39, TIKI-RAY wrote:
How about a carving badge ?

Isn't that what a scar represents?

There is a wood carving merit badge and it does have a tiki on it.
(It looks like an indian totem pole, but we all know it's a tiki)

[ Edited by: captnkirk 2009-07-20 11:27 ]

you mean you don't have a tiki decoder ring???

Calm down Telescopes, just because you’ve been to the Dallas Trader Vic’s don’t start handing yourself awards. :lol:

Seriously though (or as seriously as this can be taken.)

I’d say start small like maybe post your first picture. = Badge!

Attend a Major Event - San Francisco Tiki Crawl, Tiki Oasis, Hukilau, Luau at the Lake etc..

Finish the drink menu at any of these The Mai-Kai, Tiki-Ti or Forbidden Island.

Start a thread in Locating Tiki, with pictures!

Have Bigtikidude see you attend a surf music show and sign a form saying you were there.

Let me know when the badges are ready :)

Telescopes: fantastic idea! I would attend all the "jamborees" and campouts!

hell I'd be happy if some people on TC went to some
Smokin Menehunes shows at the Catalina Fish Kitchen.
that would be a good start.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

I think in order to earn the Tiki merit badge, you must be able to explicate (in no fewer than 7,000 words) two or more of the following:

a) Explain exactly why Witco qualifies as Tiki, but Haitian & African “tourist art” does not.

b) Explain how “the Tiki lifestyle” has nothing to do with island living, even though Tiki Magazine’s subtitle would seem to contradict this theory.

c) Explain why the drunken, obnoxious behavior of Parrotheads is not cool, but that of the Fraternal Order of Moai is.

d) Explain how the inauthenticity of mid-century Tiki style is somehow more authentic than the South Seas mythology which inspired it.

e) Explain why TC moderators get more kicks from categorizing and subcategorizing threads & subjects than from the drinks they’re writing about.

Extra points given for being anal retentive and/or German.

Smoking Menehunes deserve a merit badge too. Even Bong. BBB
I think most of you people are missing the bigger picture here. In my not so humble opinion, I believe the most important
merit badge should be the HOP badge. HOP standing for the History of Prohibition.
For thirteen years we suffered, (OK, I didn't personally) but our ancestors did.
Just like Paul Revere had a mug of rum before his famous ride and was cut off from rum during the war,, we should remember the recent dark years. 1920-1934
Raymound Beaucamp was a bootlegger and rum runner during prohibition. He later became Don Beach and built the first Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood at the repeal of prohibition. The birth of Hollywood Tiki.

I earned my Urban Archaeology merit badge last year from ZuluMagoo for completing his Tiki Tour of Southern California. Plus, I got lots of extra points for being totally anal retentive. :D

On 2008-08-31 20:39, ZuluMagoo wrote:
Excellent work Kate!!! You are the only person, other than myself, that I know has visited all of these places. You have truly earned your Urban Archeology merit badge.

What about having to bbe able to summarize the plot of South Pacific and at least a few episodes of Adventures In Paradise?

On 2009-07-20 11:26, captnkirk wrote:
There is a wood carving merit badge and it does have a tiki on it.
(It looks like an indian totem pole, but we all know it's a tiki)

[ Edited by: captnkirk 2009-07-20 11:27 ]

Wow, I earned that at summer camp in 1972!
These days it is pretty fun working on the urban archeology badge too.

On 2009-07-20 14:54, White Devil wrote:
c) Explain why the drunken, obnoxious behavior of Parrotheads is not cool, but that of the Fraternal Order of Moai is.

Hey! I resemble that remark! I am both Moai and living pretty damn close to ground-zero for Margaritaville!

7,000 words you say..... this is going to take a bit more rum.

There could absolutely be a merit badge system for Tiki.

• Painting (learn to paint a flat surface as well as a 3 dimensional object)
• Carving (one for pendants and one for full sized poles)
• Textiles (learn to sew your own shirt or dress)
  -Sculpting (sculpt your own mug)
• Ceramics (learn about mold making, kiln operation and glazing techniques)
• Music Appreciation (learning about different music styles, instrumentation, history of famous artists)
• Music ( learn to play a uke, a slide guitar, a conga drum etc)
• Beverages (how complimentary ingredients work together)
• Cooking (A mix of semi asian and hawaiian type food recipes)
• History/Architecture (urban archaeology etc)

There is probably room for more....

On 2009-07-20 14:54, White Devil wrote:
I think in order to earn the Tiki merit badge, you must be able to explicate (in no fewer than 7,000 words) two or more of the following:

a) Explain exactly why Witco qualifies as Tiki, but Haitian & African “tourist art” does not.

b) Explain how “the Tiki lifestyle” has nothing to do with island living, even though Tiki Magazine’s subtitle would seem to contradict this theory.

c) Explain why the drunken, obnoxious behavior of Parrotheads is not cool, but that of the Fraternal Order of Moai is.

d) Explain how the inauthenticity of mid-century Tiki style is somehow more authentic than the South Seas mythology which inspired it.

e) Explain why TC moderators get more kicks from categorizing and subcategorizing threads & subjects than from the drinks they’re writing about.

Extra points given for being anal retentive and/or German.

you forgot one...

f) Explain the difference between compelling exploration of paradoxes within a subculture, and posting flame bait.

I hated scouts.

The best badge is the scar left over from some event that you cannot recall.

White Devil:
I have a Haitian mask in The Rusty Key by the way. A couple of African ones too, right next to the Witco. But I wouldn't defend them to anyone as being "tiki" anymore than I would the French Orgeat or the FRESH MINT used to make a Mai Tai.
I'm just trying to make people think they're on vacation somewhere exotic and if someone pointed out to me that those masks were not an authentic representation of a mid-century tiki bar I'd say "Oh. Would you like another drink?" However, Tiki Central IS about that sort of thing, as outlined by the owner/operator. The word has been laid down for this website and that's fine with me. Other websites have sprung up with a different bent and that's also fine. If you are looking to lean Tiki Central somewhere further away from Poly Pop, you will fail as I have failed and those before me have failed. Hanford has a clear vision in mind for this website and has stuck with it even though he hates Tiki stuff now and has gotten into ceramic owls.

I'm only responding because I saw something similar in Tiki Music where you were tossing around the idea of incorporating some African music into the mix. Which I also sometimes do at my lounge.

So, although I don't particularly disagree with you... I can tell you that trying to convince anyone here of that is a waste of your time and theirs. Much like my own posts of late.

Also, I've partied with the Moai at their shindig in Columbus and must say that their antics were by far and away on a different level than any Buffett-laced Coma I've wandered into. The atmosphere was much more sophisticated, sublime and crazy on a well-planned scale rather than the happenstance puke-fest.

And the drinks were much superior to "cold beer with lime in it."

Hanford collects owls... That's a hoot! Sorry, couldn't refuse! As Bruce Brown said about
summer, I'll say about tiki. Tiki means many things to many people but mid century escape
is what tiki means to TC. I'm sure most people on TC dont live by this but this is the atmosphere
Hanford has decorated with and it's been a great place to meet like minded creative people, like Pablus!

On 2009-07-20 15:19, Ojaitimo wrote:
I think most of you people are missing the bigger picture here. In my not so humble opinion, I believe the most important
merit badge should be the HOP badge. HOP standing for the History of Prohibition.
For thirteen years we suffered, (OK, I didn't personally) but our ancestors did.
Just like Paul Revere had a mug of rum before his famous ride and was cut off from rum during the war,, we should remember the recent dark years. 1920-1934
Raymound Beaucamp was a bootlegger and rum runner during prohibition. He later became Don Beach and built the first Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood at the repeal of prohibition. The birth of Hollywood Tiki.

My Great-Grandparents lost their Bar in Brooklyn to Prohibition, leaving my Gran'ma to support the entire family as a clerk for the Petit Brick Company, so my family definitely suffered during Prohibition.

Another Great-Gran'pa, my Pop-Pop, used to borrow his Dad's car and drive up to Canada, load the car with Whiskey and drive back to Queens as fast as he could. No one stopped him 'cause his Dad was the Sheriff of Queens and he'd come back with Lights & Siren's running, so my family definitely benefited from Prohibition.

In the part of NYC I grew up in, Staten Island, there was a "Dry" neighborhood where all of the streets were named after states that ratified the 18th amendment, even in the '70s if you ordered Beer or Liquor delivered to your house in that neighborhood the store would ask "Do you want that left at the back door?" so your neighbors wouldn't know you were buying booze.

When do I get my badge?

On 2009-07-23 09:23, tikitony wrote:
Hanford collects owls... That's a hoot!

Yes, we're both Lifetime Members of Owl Central; I can sponsor you if you like.

Yeah but what kind of owls do you collect?
Is it the Dark-crowned Screech Owl or the
Tawny-browed Owl?

Nobody is collecting the Tawny-browed Owls any more.
Yep it's all about the Dark-crowned Screech Owl
these days.

i thought only uncool kids went for merit badges.

What? We don't need no stinking badges!

a) Explain exactly why Witco qualifies as Tiki, but Haitian & African “tourist art” does not.

Not all Witco is tiki, but the style (especially as it applies to tiki) was definitely a product of the mid-century Tiki movement. Tiki styles can differ greatly, and everyone here has their own styles of tiki they prefer over others. Why African carvings aren't more popular on this site probably comes from their style, and their style is a product of the artists' influences. They're not influenced by the poly pop movement, and it shows in their style.

b) Explain how “the Tiki lifestyle” has nothing to do with island living, even though Tiki Magazine’s subtitle would seem to contradict this theory.

I wouldn't say it has nothing to do with Island living. I think a lot of us here do wish we could pick up and move to a remote island. But we can't due to a million different reasons. The great thing that Tiki bars give us is the ability to escape the concrete jungles we live in and forget about life's problems for a while. I think the actual content of Tiki Magazine backs this up, regardless of what it's subtitle may be.

c) Explain why the drunken, obnoxious behavior of Parrotheads is not cool, but that of the Fraternal Order of Moai is.

The FOM dresses up to have a good time. Parrotheads dress down.

d) Explain how the inauthenticity of mid-century Tiki style is somehow more authentic than the South Seas mythology which inspired it.

It's authentic to the culture's roots: something born from the minds of Hollywood set dressers. This is the culture we celebrate here, and the actual South Seas mythology takes a back seat. But it's no different that enjoying Star Trek more than actual space exploration; some people simply prefer fake spaceships over real ones. It's okay to like South Seas mythology more than Tiki (I believe there are many here that do), but it's just not the focus of this site.

e) Explain why TC moderators get more kicks from categorizing and subcategorizing threads & subjects than from the drinks they’re writing about.

Trick question. I don't know a single TC Moderator who enjoys moving topics more than they do their tropical drinks.

~Hanford

Very well said.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2009-07-23 19:46 ]

Here, here! I'd say that more than adequately explains the "paradoxes" inherent in my merit badge post. Perhaps it would look something like this Maori owl.

BTW, are ceramic owls as much fun to blog about?

I don't know, does a frog bump his own ass a hopping?

is a frogs ass waterproof??

you'll have to go to frog central to find that out

http://www.frogforum.net/

[ Edited by: Johnny Dollar 2009-07-24 14:08 ]

On 2009-07-23 20:01, White Devil wrote:
BTW, are ceramic owls as much fun to blog about?

Most definitely.

"It's Ceramic Owl. It's out of this world." - anonymous

On 2009-07-24 10:25, Johnny Dollar wrote:
you'll have to go to frog central to find that out

You have to be invited.
I got turned down.

(those wankers)

Turtles are way cooler than poodles!!!

Here’s a merit badge I earn every time I’m within 5 Feet of Mr. Smiley.

Here’s one from The Tonga Hut’s 50th Anniversary Party, courtesy of Tobunga. :)

Sure they were just buttons but now they are Merit Badges!

Can I get one for having the only tiki bar on a tropical island?

On 2009-07-23 18:30, hanford_lemoore wrote:

c) Explain why the drunken, obnoxious behavior of Parrotheads is not cool, but that of the Fraternal Order of Moai is.

The FOM dresses up to have a good time. Parrotheads dress down.

And, like Chuck Norris, we don't throw up when we drink too much, we throw down.

F

I had no idea where to post this but here:

If you earn your merit badge, you should also get to wear this around your neck:

what if yer in a tiki gang?
can you wear it hangin outta your back pocket?

Jeff(btd)