Got the roof on the tiki hut this afternoon. Well, the front part of the roof. Screwed in a red bulb too. Opted for the Vanuatu style look. Still a long way to go before the pu-pu platters get passed around and the girly rum drinks start pouring. Need to buy some tikis. Anyone in south Florida make and sell them?

Wow! That looks cool!

On 2015-02-01 20:26, Jungle John wrote:
... Still a long way to go before the pu-pu platters get passed around and the girly rum drinks start pouring. ...

What exactly are the "girly rum drinks" you plan to make?

Pjc5150 aka Surf Soul Tiki makes some great tikis out of Tampa. You can check out his work here:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=32933&forum=7&start=2160

Your place is lookin cool. My grandpa thought tiki drinks were "girly" but couldn't drink a Mai Tai or a Zombie :wink:

Great start....show us more pictures...it looks awesome. Yes, Jeff does amazing Tikis.

Thanks for the nice comments. As for the "girly" rum drink crack, well, I plan on having my own South Sea Sally mix up the most delicious ones of course. Don the Beachcomber's "secrets" have been out for a long time. I didn't mean to be all sexist calling them girly, but put a little paper umbrella or "lime island" in a drink and well, whatever. South Sea Sally can shake a mean mai tai. Cheers.

Nice landscaping, I live in the desert and struggle to keep green leaves. That kind of stuff just grows wild in your backyard. Love the A-Frame
I think both Will Carve and AlohaStation are in South Florida too, check out their work also.

Looks like your living at the Mai-Kai.
Where are you?
Will

The question has been asked, "Hey Jungle John, you handsome devil, why the sudden gusto in transforming your bland suburban backyard into a tiki strewn Polynesian fantasy paradise? Huh, what's up with that, you rakishly suave operator? Don't you recall the fiasco of toying with the backyard back in 2003? Your tiki hut rotted in the Florida sun, your hollow fiberglassed paper-mache tikis, all three of them, became hosts to angry bees, and you had to pay a bee keeper to come out and haul them unceremoniously away. The waterfall and pond was a disaster when wild raccoons came over the fence and fished out every single fat goldfish (your beloved koi), and left them there on the obsidian stained patio. And what about the constantly rainy weather every time you wanted to have a luau? And lest you forget, there wasn't enough citronella in all the tiki torches in the world to hold back the hungry hordes of a million murmuring mosquitoes in a hot and humid South Florida summer evening. There were a few remnants of those days, a battered tiki peeking through the foliage, a shard of a broken coconut cup, a splint of bamboo, old artifacts of those days; Is that what made you go full tilt Polynesian culture vulture and start dressing up the backyard? Well, is it, you globetrotting-off-to-exotic-locales Lothario?"

Well observant inquisitor, I can just say, I don't know. Perhaps it is the stress of getting older and realizing I'm never really going to visit any real south sea paradise. Or probably because I just want to have some creative fun and do little projects to keep the brain juices flowing. I love the kitschy vibe of the whole mid 20th century tiki movement. Since I was a kid and I saw the Enchanted Tiki Room, and my family actually stayed at the Polynesian Disney Resort one time in the 1970s I loved it. Give me a slide down into a volcano pool and booyah, I am forever a tiki aficionado. It really seems to have been a south California thing that spread to hinterland places, and yeah South Florida has its own cool Key Westy, Jimmy Buffetish, Caribbean thing happening, but nothing matches that seductive ambiance of the south seas and those oh-so-friendly natives. What's that? Can't you hear the strains of Bali Hai wafting in the breeze right now?

I haven't learned from my mistakes. Well, maybe a little. That's why this time I'm planning for things to last a little longer. I learned that anything organic in south Florida with rot outside. Thatching, reeds, bamboo, expensive carved totems all disintegrate in the elements or from the ravages of pests. Shellac and protect all you want, but even a fake foam-around-pvc-pipe tiki from 2003 fell apart after a dozen years! (Also it was really close to the fire pit, so that may have been a contributing factor in its falling apart) (see picture). The new tiki hut is electrical conduit, covered in long lasting sun screen material. It really will serve as a fancy trellis for the jungle like vines that grow here. I want alamanda-monstera or mandeville for their flowers, but will probably have a mix of wild Virginia creeper and Hawaiian baby wood rose. The wood rose is okay in the summer, but looks bad in the winter after seeding. (Here's a fun fact, the Hawaiians, well the dumb ones, would eat the seeds of the wood rose to get a high and commune with their tiki gods, but the seeds have ergine in addition to the lysergic acid LSA, and that causes a host of problems like cardiovascular constriction and liver damage). Aloha.

I appreciate the tiki "purists." I really do. A finely carved statue or woodwork is beautiful. Finely wrought drinks in a slip-cast tiki shaped mug are exquisite. The anthropological approach to appreciating other cultures is admirable. But the warped fantasy that is mid century tiki should easily accept new interpretations. Space age materials to make tikis should be embraced and not dismissed by the purist "snobs" as being too artificial for something that is artificial to begin with. Love and warm regards from my island fantasy,
Jungle John (with a wahini wave from South Sea Sally)

[ Edited by: Jungle John 2015-02-02 18:55 ]

[ Edited by: Jungle John 2015-02-02 19:02 ]

Hi Jungle John,

I love your space and I really admire you taking another stab at it. The elements are cruel, aren't they? I'm in New Jersey and our winters just wreck havoc on thatch, wood and other materials. We chose artificial thatch for our bar for that very reason. My backyard paradise is covered in snow and ice at the moment and when I looked out the window yesterday I noticed how discolored the bamboo covered door to our hut is getting. :(
Besides the artificial thatch I've tried dabbling in concrete tikis and bought a plastic one from HD with a fake stone texture. In my opinion you have to make compromises. If I held to being a purist I'd have an empty yard and be a whole less happy. And happiness is all that matters!

At least you get to build cool things in the winter! Nothing will happen here until March at the earliest.

Keep posting pictures!!! It's great to follow the progress of others.

John, I like you - you are a character! Best wishes in attaining your dream yard :D

I love how old the jungle looks. This is right out of a movie. Wendy

Couldn't resist snapping a pic tonight.

Here's my throwback Thursday offering:

These are pics from 2003 (I finally found them!) and my early attempts to get the tiki-thing happening.

We had the "Hut"

And the "Lanai"

My first and last attempts at carving tikis from palm logs I found around the neighborhood in yard trash piles. I worked hard with the chainsaw, but I lacked the skill and finesse to get the results I wanted. They rotted quickly away in the Florida summers.

These are my fakey faux tikis made from paper mache covered with a thin fiberglass (the kind they use for surfboards). They rotted a little, but eventually attracted colonies of bees. Either the colonies got over crowded or the hives got "africanized", but the bees got very angry after a few years. I had to pay some guy to haul them away, bees and all.

The same tikis before they got moved. Also, the skinny one is a 4" pvc sewer pipe with foam eyes and face glued on. Not my best work, but carving tikis was out of the question at this point.

Here are some random 2004 vacation pics from Disney Worlds' Adventure-land and Polynesian Resort. The Polynesian Resort lobby waterfall was recently torn out. There was a great disturbance in the tiki force.

Here's a great find we made at "Big Lots" one summer, They had this great polypropylene tiki (I think its Roku). It lasted a while, but again, the plastic deteriorated. It finally got chucked out in the trash after an accident with a neighborhood bratty kid. I miss this one. But the tiki fad had kind of waned with us and we moved on to other things.

Finally, some Orlando putt-putt golf place:

I feel a bit like I'm breaking the rules here on Tiki Central by posting my nonsense about plastic tikis and making faux bamboo and crafting styrofoam tikis since Tiki Central's statement says it focuses on a mid-century American invention that is Polynesia-inspired and the rules say this forum is "not modern plastic, brightly-colored tiki party decorations", and "it's not about simply anything that has a tiki on it or in it." So by those rules I probably don't belong here.

I guess this is a place for those antique collector types (and don't give me that look). My mom ran a successful antique business for several years and I admit I never understood the attraction some people had to certain material things. The books, oh, the silly damned obsessive collector's bibles and books about every facet of detritus left by human activity, "Salt and Pepper Shakers of the MidWest," "Depression Glass" weird esoteric shit about calling cards of famous 19th century internationals, and finally polynesian pop of mid century U.S. of A. Yeah, you're all great intellectuals tracking down all that shit. But whoa daddy-o, I'm hip, I'm cool. Whatever floats your boat. More power to you.

I do like the tiki vibe thing. Believe me, I would shell out my money in a heartbeat if I found some old tiki junk in a thrift store, but I never have (and, also, I go thrift shopping once every few years it seems). But I dig it, Tiki Central is for Hawaiian shirted guys and gals looking for "authentic" (there's a loaded word) Polynesian pop from bygone days. Cool. Retro.

I'm in the, as the rules here say, "generic, watered down, or misguided" class of users here at Tiki Central I guess. There's a lot of breaking the rules looking around the forums, so I guess I'm in good company. Shag and Derek and et al are all contemporary interpreter's of that old tiki vision. Feel free to toss me out on my ear if I am unbearably "un-tiki-ish" or not polynesian-poppy enough. I've been thrown out of better places than this . . . I'll celebrate my own version of the imitation of authentic-fantasy-to-begin-with tiki elsewhere if necessary.

So, here's my contribution to the garish non-authentic tiki junk that, by the rules, does not belong here.

It's a sign for my work-in-progress tiki fantasy backyard. First off, I'm not real happy with this myself. It's ordinary, dumb, uninspired and lacks originality. It even glows in the dark. It was my very first foray into the exciting world of styrofoam carving. I got a nifty hot tool cutter at Michael's craft store and boy-golly, I went to town. But it looks like every other party decoration "Tiki Bar" sign on the internet. Blah. Fail. Awful. I'll chuck it out and chock it up to a learning experience. Yes, Tiki Central, you have inspired me to look beyond the ordinary and really dig into that tiki culture and find something to make my own. Far out.

Chainsaws and chisels are no match for the space age wonder material that is styrofoam!

Wrong, wrong, wrong. it's just not saying "tiki" to me.

But I do think the glow in the dark look is kind of cool.

On 2015-02-05 19:38, Jungle John wrote:
I feel a bit like I'm breaking the rules here on Tiki Central by posting my nonsense about plastic tikis and making faux bamboo and crafting styrofoam tikis since Tiki Central's statement says it focuses on a mid-century American invention that is Polynesia-inspired and the rules say this forum is "not modern plastic, brightly-colored tiki party decorations", and "it's not about simply anything that has a tiki on it or in it." So by those rules I probably don't belong here.

I guess this is a place for those antique collector types (and don't give me that look). My mom ran a successful antique business for several years and I admit I never understood the attraction some people had to certain material things. The books, oh, the silly damned obsessive collector's bibles and books about every facet of detritus left by human activity, "Salt and Pepper Shakers of the MidWest," "Depression Glass" weird esoteric shit about calling cards of famous 19th century internationals, and finally polynesian pop of mid century U.S. of A. Yeah, you're all great intellectuals tracking down all that shit. But whoa daddy-o, I'm hip, I'm cool. Whatever floats your boat. More power to you.

I do like the tiki vibe thing. Believe me, I would shell out my money in a heartbeat if I found some old tiki junk in a thrift store, but I never have (and, also, I go thrift shopping once every few years it seems). But I dig it, Tiki Central is for Hawaiian shirted guys and gals looking for "authentic" (there's a loaded word) Polynesian pop from bygone days. Cool. Retro.

I'm in the, as the rules here say, "generic, watered down, or misguided" class of users here at Tiki Central I guess. There's a lot of breaking the rules looking around the forums, so I guess I'm in good company. Shag and Derek and et al are all contemporary interpreter's of that old tiki vision. Feel free to toss me out on my ear if I am unbearably "un-tiki-ish" or not polynesian-poppy enough. I've been thrown out of better places than this . . . I'll celebrate my own version of the imitation of authentic-fantasy-to-begin-with tiki elsewhere if necessary.

So, here's my contribution to the garish non-authentic tiki junk that, by the rules, does not belong here.

It's a sign for my work-in-progress tiki fantasy backyard. First off, I'm not real happy with this myself. It's ordinary, dumb, uninspired and lacks originality. It even glows in the dark. It was my very first foray into the exciting world of styrofoam carving. I got a nifty hot tool cutter at Michael's craft store and boy-golly, I went to town. But it looks like every other party decoration "Tiki Bar" sign on the internet. Blah. Fail. Awful. I'll chuck it out and chock it up to a learning experience. Yes, Tiki Central, you have inspired me to look beyond the ordinary and really dig into that tiki culture and find something to make my own. Far out.

Chainsaws and chisels are no match for the space age wonder material that is styrofoam!

Wrong, wrong, wrong. it's just not saying "tiki" to me.

But I do think the glow in the dark look is kind of cool.

That really went south, fast.

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2015-02-06 04:15 ]

If I can just throw something in here, why not "make it your own" by giving your backyard get-away an original, oceanic name? Just my two cents....

Eeew. I think I came across as a bit of a judging jerk with all my judginess in my last post. I denigrate no one. I adore all the quirky charm of each cute unique person.

I am confused and am casting about trying to figure things out. Like, what is imitation-authentic? Is is okay to like something that isn't organic, like a plastic tiki? Or is it bad to like tikis that aren't ethically sourced? (Take Tongo for example, the monarch is laughably corrupt, google it). And other stuff, like, why would anyone choose to live in the Los Angeles basin? Okay, that last one doesn't fit, but I hope you see my point is that "I" am confused. What is the mystique of tiki that keeps drawing me back? Especially after I spurned it before? What is this strange fascination? What am I? Aaaargh.

Here's a test: Bamboo, Real or Fake?

This is real bamboo from Home Depot. But it's been processed and packaged and cut to uniform lengths. Is it really real? Or an imitation of real since it has been commoditized and prepackaged? And, has it been ethically sourced? God, I don't know? Did third world slaves make this fencing? Am I contributing to the decline of humankind by buying this? Too many questions. Only a soothing kick-me-in-the-head girly rum drink can calm me down now.

All fake. Here's how I did it:

It's easy to do fake bamboo:

1. Use thin walled (shed 120) PVC pipe with wire loops at intervals spaced out like bamboo
2. put exterior grade construction adhesive (paint dept.) around wire loops
3. smear it around and feather it out. Do it fast and messy, just like in nature.
4. Let it dry, remove wire loops
5. Here's the fun part for me, prime it, and then faux paint it! Voila, "NO-Rot" faux bamboo, and you can do it too!

A note about my previous bamboo use. All the bamboo I used was culled from the debris pile, you know the pile left by the beachcombing tractor. Maybe the saltwater ruins it because my bamboo fell apart. I know this stuff is strong and a great natural material, but I had bad luck with it outside. Thus, the use of faux bamboo.

Finally, braggy pics from my Florida yard in the dead of winter:

Tropical frangipangi, or plumeria in winter

Bananas! Tons of crazy bananas! Try growing that in your snow drifts you midwesterners you.

I am way ahead of you thinking up oceanic names for my backyard fantasy. Here's some ideas so far with favored one on top of the list. My Google-translate app only has Maori, so I used that language:

"Ko te tiki pirau"
Translates to," The Rotten Tiki" befitting my past experience.

"Tiki rereke"
Weird Tiki

Tiki RoriRori
funny

Tiki hari
happy

tiki porngi
crazy

Hi JJ, great restart!

On 2015-02-05 19:38, Jungle John wrote:

But I do think the glow in the dark look is kind of cool.

Awesomeness! Keep that part!

On 2015-02-06 10:30, Jungle John wrote:
I am way ahead of you thinking up oceanic names for my backyard fantasy. Here's some ideas so far with favored one on top of the list. My Google-translate app only has Maori, so I used that language:

"Ko te tiki pirau"
Translates to," The Rotten Tiki" befitting my past experience.

Yep, just come up with your own name and go for it with the styrofoam! 'The Rotten Tiki' in plain ol' english would be plenty good enough. Btw, you are aware a tiki bar isn't required to have the word 'tiki' in the name? :P

On 2015-02-06 10:23, Jungle John wrote:
Eeew. I think I came across as a bit of a judging jerk with all my judginess in my last post. I denigrate no one. I adore all the quirky charm of each cute unique person.

I am confused and am casting about trying to figure things out. Like, what is imitation-authentic? Is is okay to like something that isn't organic, like a plastic tiki? Or is it bad to like tikis that aren't ethically sourced? (Take Tongo for example, the monarch is laughably corrupt, google it). And other stuff, like, why would anyone choose to live in the Los Angeles basin? Okay, that last one doesn't fit, but I hope you see my point is that "I" am confused. What is the mystique of tiki that keeps drawing me back? Especially after I spurned it before? What is this strange fascination? What am I? Aaaargh.

It's not about the material used to make your tiki artifacts. Fake stuff is everywhere. It's about the style. I think you're moving in the right direction. Looking good!

Yes, Tiki Central, you have inspired me to look beyond the ordinary and really dig into that tiki culture and find something to make my own

You are headed in the right direction John. TC has a wide audience with a wide variety of viewpoints and interest. Some are collectors of only mid-century tiki-related objects. Some are artists who make new things inspired by mid-century tiki-related objects. Some are buyers of the objects created by those artists. In my experience, most people here don't seem all that politically correct and don't lose sleep over who made the bamboo fence they bought at Lowe's. But we are pretty much united against gaudy colored Caribbean or Party City style tikis. Not that Parrotheads are wrong, just that we don't generally see eye-to-eye with their decor tastes.

As for as using longer lasting faux materials, that is a time-honored and appreciated technique here. As long as it looks "tiki". Of course a fiberglass tiki will never match the beauty of a skillfully carved wooden tiki, but we each have to do what we can with the skills, material, money, and environment given us. That bamboo looks great! Here is a thread about Making Fake Bamboo, you could post a picture tutorial there and share your technique.

Also check out the Tiki Bar Name Generator, pretty clever :wink:

Good start, never get discouraged, or worry about others.

Should this be moved to Home Tiki Bars?

I just want to say thanks to everyone here at Tiki Central who has been so supportive and knowledgeable. Tiki Central is just packed with useful information and links for crafts and ideas, and the folks are great. So thanks in Maori, "whakawhetai ki a koe".

Spent the weekend getting out the old acrylic paints and dusting off the brushes and made a few fun signs for the work-in-progress backyard Polynesian fantasy. I don't know which was more fun, painting the signs or coming up with the names:

Nice signs. I've noticed from a few of your posts that you're in the northern area of Palm Beach county. Lake Park/North Palm was my old stomping grounds about 15 years ago until I moved to Port St. Lucie. Still work in Lake Park, but it's overnights and everythings closed. Have you been to that nautical junk (oops...sorry..."collectable") dealer just north of Good Sam Hospital on Broadway (I believe)? I drive by it almost every night during work, but it's like 2 am and not the best of area to get out and take a look. Maybe they might have some stuff you can use.

Noticed another post where you mentioned the Riviera Tiki. Shame it closed...also Panama Hatties. I really miss the Crab Pot. Seen alot of changes in the 30 years since I moved there. The Rutledge, Commander and Colonnades all gone on Singer Island. My buddy and I still go out for breakfast occasionally, but now we usually hit Johnny Longboats or Two Drunken Goats on Singer Island.

Take care,
howlinowl

nice signs! you have some good painting talents!

I think your too focused on "real" and "authentic" and you should just let your creativity run wild. Using alternative/found materials is what the beachcomber mentality is all about.

Great signs. How about combining the painted background with the raised styrofoam letters?

Things sure have changed since I grew up in Palm Beach Gardens. The old Maoria Village on Broadway in West Palm Beach got bulldozed, and other places have come and gone. I moved further south in Palm Beach County and haven't been up in the Lake Park, Riviera Beach area in years. I'll have to look for that "collectibles" store.

The old Maori Village on Broadway in West Palm Beach, Circa 1970s:

Here's the latest exterior pic of what I now dub, "The Aloha Hut". The bridge is in, some plantings are put in. It's all exterior so far. The doors, or curtain, is closed for now until the interior work can begin. I'd like to finish some outdoor painting but we've been getting a lot of rain this year during our "dry season":

The roof is shade cloth? Nice!

Progress is moving ahead these days on the Aloha Hut. I did find some older style bar stools that might be okay once they're refurbished. Also, I gave the tiki torches a test run this evening. They are working great and hopefully they are keeping the mosquitos at bay. South Seas Sally commented that the hut looked "foreboding" which was not the intended look:

Here's a first reveal at the mysterious dark interior of the "Aloha Hut". You might be able to detect the outlines of a nascent tiki bar. It's made of all repurposed wood. Also, the mirror is a garbage find and it will be used as a backing for the bottle and curio cabinet behind the bar, which will also be fabricated form old recycled wood. Tiki huts are supposed to be kind of rustic. The "bar" area is really a little covered area on the side of the backyard shed where we used to put the garbage cans, but I moved the cans over to the dog area. So far, with this project I've been a real penny-pinching, tight fisted cheapskate. I want the tiki theme, but I just don't want to pay too much for it:

Speaking of being a cheapskate, I found this local place that wholesales nautical themed stuff, and boy, they had a great collection of good old junky, er, "collectible" goodies. But, the prices were a bit steep. For example the smallest glass floats were $20. Now, I looked on Amazon and found they had the same thing for $12.99. I'm NOT mentioning the name of this place for a couple of reasons, so please don't ask me:

So, spending $20, or even $13, for a decorator float is still too much money. My talented South Seas Sally got her old macrame mojo going and started practicing on netting some cheap-o glass globes from the thrift store. Total cost, about 25 cents, plus the cost of the twenty-year old twine. She's still relearning macrame. Okay, our "float" is not an authentic float, but it looks okay to me. South Seas Sally has to find a different instructable however for the next 6" globe.

The project is meeting all the goals of being FUN and super cheap!

Looks like you found the nautical junk....er...."collectable".....place I mentioned previously. Someday I'll find myself in that area during the daytime and be able to stop by. Did he have anything else that looked promising??

howlinowl

As far as tying the netting for your floats.... you might want to check out the instructions on this website.

http://batjakltd.com/id82.html

Thats how I learned to tie them. I tied about a dozen or so. Its easier for the bigger floats.

I used new rope and dyed it with coffee, tea, soda, and eventually Rit dye.

Hope it helps

On 2015-02-13 11:48, howlinowl wrote:
Looks like you found the nautical junk....er...."collectable".....place I mentioned previously. Someday I'll find myself in that area during the daytime and be able to stop by. Did he have anything else that looked promising??

howlinowl

Yes I found the place, thanks. I had been there years ago when Adam and Eve Salvage were in that neighborhood. He did have a lot of brass bells, ship's wheels, glass floats, ships lights, you know, real nautical stuff. I saw some Russian bronze plaques from ships, so a lot of the stuff is authentic. There are a few decorator signs and I'm not sure those outrigger canoes things he had were real or decoration. Here's a pic of a maidenhead he had in the bins:

Actually the place was kind of awesome if you're into that stuff, but he's a "wholesaler" and he doesn't negotiate and he is very, very pricey! I mentioned that a small glass float is cheaper on Amazon than with this guy. He's been there a long time and must do some trade with someone, but he won't be doing it with me.

I feel tiki ambiance should be, well, affordable, but then again, a more democratic price-level that everyone could afford might water down the rare charm tiki stuff has. I could blow a small fortune on tiki stuff, but then again I might lose interest in it completely and have terrible buyers remorse. I'd prefer to study it more, look carefully around and hope a bargain shows up somewhere. Plus, practicing making my own things is the best part of the hobby. After hooking up with Tiki Central, I have this urge to make slip cast tiki mugs! I even found an art store that rents out its kiln. That's a way down the road right now, but it looks fun. I also got a router from Harbor Freight with some vague idea of carving boards or masks or molding with those cool south seas symbols. One of these days. It's good to have plans.

I was thinkin' 'bout stopping by there for a life-ring. But, maybe I'll keep looking elsewhere if he's as pricey as you say. Care to share the place with the rent-a-kiln? I'd like to maybe have a go at mugs also, but with work and family....probably never find the time.

howlinowl

On 2015-02-12 17:36, Jungle John wrote:
...
South Seas Sally commented that the hut looked "foreboding" which was not the intended look:

...

Well if that's "foreboding" then I think I like "foreboding" very much. Great stuff!

Oh, and I moved this topic to the "Home Tiki Bars" forum.

Yes!

South Sea Sally is doing a great job with her float tying!

Since it is the dry season here, I gave the backyard plants a good watering this afternoon, and I decided to give the tiki hut and bar a good rinse-off too. Everything has a layer of polyurethane and is made from exterior grade material so I figured it was a good test since driving afternoon summer thunderstorms will probably do the same thing. The hut is open on two sides, but there are some wide overhanging eaves and lots of vegetation:

A note about the above picture: I hate the "big" tiki in the corner. He's a fakey fake foam thing I started several months ago. I just painted him and stuck him there for now until I find a good one. Also, I'm looking around Tiki Central and the internet for cool ideas for little light coverings. So far, I'm favoring little metal cans with holes, but they really could all be different-- shells, bamboo tapa cloth shades. The mind boggles with the possibilities.

The "good" tiki knick-knacks will stay inside the house however. These are really just mass-produced souvenirs, but they have a modicum of sentimental value:

Last weekend we visited a bamboo farm that was dotted with tikis and cool huts. Here are few pics:

The tiki hut & bar project has now run its course. It's done. I'd be lying if I didn't admit to feeling a little post-project let down. For the better part of two months I have been preoccupied with this thing. I read that it's natural to experience a bit of “hang time” after completing something big in your life. You need a few moments to reflect on and savor your success and to figure out what to do next, before your feet hit the floor again. My feet have hit the floor and I feel a bit sad. The project turned out okay, not a disappointment and not a resounding wild success, but for the $430 I spent, I think I did a pretty good okay job.

For two months the tiki hut and bar project defined me, and now that it's all over, I'm a little bummed out. This bummed out feeling is tempered with a "burnt out" feeling too. I'm not bipolar or anything, but for a while I had a mania for getting this project done. Now I look at the results and I'm thinking, "meh" it's okay but enough is enough already. The hut will be in my backyard for future years for summer get-togethers and maybe a luau or two.

So, I've joined the ranks of predominantly white, middle-class folks of an undetermined political demographic, who have fussed and decorated some portion of their property with a Polynesian-pop theme. I'm not planning building much more, but I do have some ideas for the future:

• Make a waterfall feature out of cement/grout covered styrofoam or a small koi pond.

• Carve some tikis. I've got a chainsaw and some chisels, but I have to find the right wood medium I can work with.

• Someday I am going to make an audio-animatronic tiki. I had some servo and motor parts 10 years ago and plans to control motors through a PC serial port, but I shelved it away and things got lost and scattered since then. Someday though.

• Make some tiki mug molds and get someone else to fire the slip cast mug castings. Some far away point, maybe.

• Get blitzed on Mai Tais on a summer day and make frangi-pangi and hibiscus flower leis while rocking in my hammock.

• Continue to look for tapa cloth, tiki mugs, hula girl bobble-thingys, tiki-anything at thrift stores. Going "junk shopping" is a new re-found hobby for South Sea Sally and me. Every few months should be okay. It's not the material things we find, but the time spent together that's important to me. Sure, I'd love to find some neat things, but the journey is more important than the arrival at the destination.

So long from me, for now. Aloha-- "A hui hou". Thanks.

I'll try to post an addendum to this thread once in a blue moon.

Jungle John, we love it -- and welcome to tiki bar ownership. There's one rule or law to the whole thing that applies to all of them: it never ends. You seem to understand that already, even if your fingers aren't ready to admit it on here. But your future projects sound great and we hope you share them on here. There's always something to teach and something to learn. We're already waiting for updates -- stay up all night if you have to but please share with us what you do. And we're meanwhile thinking happy new thoughts about the styrofoam sheets and PVC we have laying around in the workshop. Mahalo and Aloha.

The "glass floats" were the final coup de grace, and South Sea Sally outdid herself with the macrame. She used orlon rope around large diameter translucent toy balls from K-Mart. They were marked down to $1.64 from $3.99. Now I don't have to fret over an expensive glass ball breaking in the pool deck area. Whew. Plus, a "real" glass ball float that size would be $65-$85 dollars and have a jute fiber rope that would have rotted out in a year if left outside.

One more picture where I point out a few uses of space-age materials used in the tiki hut.

The warm denizens of Tiki Central have taught me that it is okay to craft the illusion of tiki-ness and not worry about being "authentic" when replicating a south seas style, a style, I might add, that was really an American-made illusion to begin with. I tried to imitate the authentic Polynesian style faithfully for the express purpose of saving money and making things out of material that will endure the elements in a brutal sub tropical climate, thus, also saving more money in the long run. Did I mention I am pragmatically frugal, and that it is NOT the same as being a cheapskate. If you can't have the real thing, a reasonable facsimile will have to do. Sometimes the substitute is better than the real thing.

--Jungle John

The management regrets to announce the immediate closing of the "Aloha Hut" due to concerns over the cultural insensitivity "tiki-culture" connotes in the United States in the modern 21st-century. We apologize if any of our actions caused harm to any ethnic community. We have initiated aggressive re-branding efforts post-haste to remedy our wrongs. Henceforth the former "Aloha Hut" will now be known as: Jungle John's Florida Key West Parrothead Bar and Voodoo Pirate Grill-- Arrgh. Remember, it's-five-o-clock somewhere! So metaphorically we are removing the black-face and we are painting over the brown tikis with a fun Caribbean theme--lots of oranges and bright greens! Let's limbo!

From what I understand "tiki culture" has racist overtones, it attracts a less than family- friendly crowd (swingers, beatniks, alcoholics, tea-partiers, ironic hipsters) and finally, a few comments about tiki culture in South Florida: It belongs here like a hamburger on a vegan menu, like a turd in party punch bowl. South Florida is crazy, and despite the urban sprawl ubiquity, one does sense it has a sense of place if close investigation is made with an anthropologist's eye. This is voodoo-Caribbean-pirate-key-lime-Key West-Jimmy Buffet in a hammock on the beach land if anything! It's more Tommy Bahama than Don the Beachcomber, more Johnny Depp in swaggering Jack Sparrow costume than silly elctro-mechanical singing tiki birds.

All that tiki jive and surf music and chrome custom cars are southern california vibes. Let southern californians relish their past, and we can enjoy it too, as long as it stays in the past. South Florida is imbued in multiple bright garish colors while tiki is all brown and dark and somber. It seems silly to import a style to a place that is the nexus for a confluence of original styles already. I've been to Southern California (and choked on the smog and sat on the interstate highways in perpetual gridlock) and tht place is a visual potpourri and a jumble of everything, almost like Disneyland planning. It suffers the democratic curse of too many designers and not enough management with good taste in control. Well, that applies to almost everywhere in the U.S. doesn't it?

So keep tiki culture in California or Michigan or anywhere else. Tropical escapism is understandable in places in the colder northern latitudes. Finally, I might have suggested that being in South Florida, and having 80 degree weather while most of the east and midwest are snow and ice covered, is something neat-o. Well it's not. I would urge anyone up there to stay put and do not come to this hell-hole of a state. Remember it's "Flor-i-duh", kooky weirdo land, bug infested, rain every day in summer, high unemployment, terrible-awful-place to be state of Florida. Yuck. Tourists are not welcomed here as far as I know, and it's strange that anyone would even want to come here! Come visit the Mai Kai and then go home. Take the overpriced potential food poisoning with you. That roach infested (read the Broward county health inspector's reports) dump should have been torn down with all the other tiki temples long ago. Instead it gets historic landmark status. I think that "date stamp" speaks a lot. The folly of the past does not need to be resurrected and glorified. It should be cast into the glass cases of the museum, oogled at, and serve as a reminder that we can improve as a species over time.

Well now that I've gone all troll-y and spoke my mind and dissed the Mai Kai and everything, I guess I should bow out and slink away. But I still have a soft spot in my heart for the relics of the old 1950s tiki culture. Maybe its memories of mom and dad and their few exotic tokens of a night out at that fancy Polynesian place, or the weird smokey allure of the mystery of the South Seas from a Melville novel. Tiki-culture-- I can't deny that I'm attracted and repulsed at the same time. I know some of you, those who appreciate gray-thinking, can understand that. Here's a chart illustrating my life-long attraction-repulsion to tiki culture:

As you can see, as a kid I found it awesome, but from the mid 1970s to the 1980s I hated tiki stuff, it looked like dirty dive bars and serious food poisoning. That period coincided with the overall decline of "tiki culture". Then, in my 30s with the advent of kids and watching SpongeBob, tiki got kind of cool again. I built a backyard tiki hut, made tikis, and then it got old and looked suspect. It was garish and cartoony, and it moldered away or got torn down over a decade. The strange thing is why I ever thought building a new tiki hut was a good idea. I already examined this in an earlier post. Was it a longing for those earlier days when the kids were little? A desire to have a little "paradise" set dressing to enjoy during my inevitable decline? Ultimately, I think I just needed something to do. But the more and more I got into it, read about it, tried to understand my compulsions, the more I realized I was unsure if this is what I really wanted. I think I just enjoy appreciating things through appropriation.

I'll never go to the annual "Hukai-lau"-- not my scene. I'm not a real social animal. I don't fit-in at casual social situations, and I'm socially awkward. I don't even drink. One ounce of rum and I'm snoring away two hours later. I put up flimsy trellis of a tiki hut, that will maybe make it through the hurricanes, because I was getting fat and lazy and wasting my time on other things. It was a yet another navel gazing exercise of self discovery.

I think my kids' teen friends dig the whole tiki hut thing. They love cheesy crap from Hot Topic, and they wear fezzes and like to mock their parents' tastes. I don't know. I hope they don't mind when I switch out the the Martin Denny exotica music with steel drums and Jimmy Buffet.

Please don't hate me. Allow me to be myself. Thanks. Peace and love and all that jazz. If having fun is a crime, then slap on the cuffs and haul me away to jail. Or better yet, exile me to some far away tropical island.

Wow....

howlinowl

Am I the only one who finds this a little bit bizarre?

On 2015-02-23 11:12, Jungle John wrote:

The management regrets to announce the immediate closing of the "Aloha Hut" due to concerns over the cultural insensitivity "tiki-culture" connotes in the United States in the modern 21st-century. We apologize if any of our actions caused harm to any ethnic community. We have initiated aggressive re-branding efforts post-haste to remedy our wrongs. Henceforth the former "Aloha Hut" will now be known as: Jungle John's Florida Key West Parrothead Bar and Voodoo Pirate Grill-- Arrgh. Remember, it's-five-o-clock somewhere! So metaphorically we are removing the black-face and we are painting over the brown tikis with a fun Caribbean theme--lots of oranges and bright greens! Let's limbo!

---

From what I understand "tiki culture" has racist overtones, it attracts a less than family- friendly crowd (swingers, beatniks, alcoholics, tea-partiers, ironic hipsters) and finally, a few comments about tiki culture in South Florida: It belongs here like a hamburger on a vegan menu, like a turd in party punch bowl. South Florida is crazy, and despite the urban sprawl ubiquity, one does sense it has a sense of place if close investigation is made with an anthropologist's eye. This is voodoo-Caribbean-pirate-key-lime-Key West-Jimmy Buffet in a hammock on the beach land if anything! It's more Tommy Bahama than Don the Beachcomber, more Johnny Depp in swaggering Jack Sparrow costume than silly elctro-mechanical singing tiki birds.

All that tiki jive and surf music and chrome custom cars are southern california vibes. Let southern californians relish their past, and we can enjoy it too, as long as it stays in the past. South Florida is imbued in multiple bright garish colors while tiki is all brown and dark and somber. It seems silly to import a style to a place that is the nexus for a confluence of original styles already. I've been to Southern California (and choked on the smog and sat on the interstate highways in perpetual gridlock) and tht place is a visual potpourri and a jumble of everything, almost like Disneyland planning. It suffers the democratic curse of too many designers and not enough management with good taste in control. Well, that applies to almost everywhere in the U.S. doesn't it?

So keep tiki culture in California or Michigan or anywhere else. Tropical escapism is understandable in places in the colder northern latitudes. Finally, I might have suggested that being in South Florida, and having 80 degree weather while most of the east and midwest are snow and ice covered, is something neat-o. Well it's not. I would urge anyone up there to stay put and do not come to this hell-hole of a state. Remember it's "Flor-i-duh", kooky weirdo land, bug infested, rain every day in summer, high unemployment, terrible-awful-place to be state of Florida. Yuck. Tourists are not welcomed here as far as I know, and it's strange that anyone would even want to come here! Come visit the Mai Kai and then go home. Take the overpriced potential food poisoning with you. That roach infested (read the Broward county health inspector's reports) dump should have been torn down with all the other tiki temples long ago. Instead it gets historic landmark status. I think that "date stamp" speaks a lot. The folly of the past does not need to be resurrected and glorified. It should be cast into the glass cases of the museum, oogled at, and serve as a reminder that we can improve as a species over time.

Well now that I've gone all troll-y and spoke my mind and dissed the Mai Kai and everything, I guess I should bow out and slink away. But I still have a soft spot in my heart for the relics of the old 1950s tiki culture. Maybe its memories of mom and dad and their few exotic tokens of a night out at that fancy Polynesian place, or the weird smokey allure of the mystery of the South Seas from a Melville novel. Tiki-culture-- I can't deny that I'm attracted and repulsed at the same time. I know some of you, those who appreciate gray-thinking, can understand that. Here's a chart illustrating my life-long attraction-repulsion to tiki culture:

As you can see, as a kid I found it awesome, but from the mid 1970s to the 1980s I hated tiki stuff, it looked like dirty dive bars and serious food poisoning. That period coincided with the overall decline of "tiki culture". Then, in my 30s with the advent of kids and watching SpongeBob, tiki got kind of cool again. I built a backyard tiki hut, made tikis, and then it got old and looked suspect. It was garish and cartoony, and it moldered away or got torn down over a decade. The strange thing is why I ever thought building a new tiki hut was a good idea. I already examined this in an earlier post. Was it a longing for those earlier days when the kids were little? A desire to have a little "paradise" set dressing to enjoy during my inevitable decline? Ultimately, I think I just needed something to do. But the more and more I got into it, read about it, tried to understand my compulsions, the more I realized I was unsure if this is what I really wanted. I think I just enjoy appreciating things through appropriation.

I'll never go to the annual "Hukai-lau"-- not my scene. I'm not a real social animal. I don't fit-in at casual social situations, and I'm socially awkward. I don't even drink. One ounce of rum and I'm snoring away two hours later. I put up flimsy trellis of a tiki hut, that will maybe make it through the hurricanes, because I was getting fat and lazy and wasting my time on other things. It was a yet another navel gazing exercise of self discovery.

I think my kids' teen friends dig the whole tiki hut thing. They love cheesy crap from Hot Topic, and they wear fezzes and like to mock their parents' tastes. I don't know. I hope they don't mind when I switch out the the Martin Denny exotica music with steel drums and Jimmy Buffet.

Please don't hate me. Allow me to be myself. Thanks. Peace and love and all that jazz. If having fun is a crime, then slap on the cuffs and haul me away to jail. Or better yet, exile me to some far away tropical island.

Just what are you trying to say?

With this second meltdown, your passive/aggressive remarks suggest some sort of schizophrenic episode
Did you really build any Tiki Hut in the photos, are you trying to say you hate or love Tiki?

I am sincerely asking, because I am rather confused at your remarks
or is this just some sort of failed attempt to troll Tiki Central?

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2015-02-23 18:10 ]

On 2015-02-23 17:32, Big Kahuna wrote:
Am I the only one who finds this a little bit bizarre?

More like full frontal bizarre!, Rick.