If Beachbum Berry is the Messiah of Tropical Mixology, then Sven Kirsten is his Moses, leading the lost children of the Trader and the Beachcomber out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land flowing with Mai Tais and Puu-puu Platters. Kirsten's first tome was the Book of Tiki: the Ark of the Covenant, Ten (or more) Commandments, and veritable Pentateuch of Polynesian Pop. An essential, if not the essential, addition to the library of any Tikiphile, it almost singlehandedly rescued Tiki from near-total oblivion, and transformed a kitsch pastime for parental squares into, dare-we-say-it, highbrow lowbrow art for the most discerning of tastes.

After an interminable interval, Kirsten has announced the imminent arrival of his second work, Tiki Modern, a look at the artistic connections between PolyPop and mid-century Modernism of the 1950s and '60s. Slated to ship next month, Sven has graciously provided a sneak preview of his new masterpiece in this Tiki Central thread. I've got my copy pre-ordered!

[Link: Tiki Modern Sneak Preview]

Posted by MrBaliHai at 6:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've only been to one world's fair, and boy was it a doozy. Back in 1970, my mom and I flew from Seoul, Korea to Osaka, Japan and spent a week dragging ourselves around the splendidly retro-futuristic grounds of Expo '70. I was dazzled by the architecture; everything looked like flying saucers and alien artifacts made of chrome and concrete. You can see several of these wonderful structures in the video clip of the Expo's opening ceremonies above.

However, my mom was not having much fun. She was in great pain and had trouble walking more than a couple hundred steps without having to stop and rest. For an over-sugared 11-year old kid who wanted to run around and see and touch everything, it was like hell for me. I selfishly whined and complained until Mom finally grabbed me by the throat and started choking. The look on her face was truly frightening. I really thought she was going to kill me. She finally let go, and believe me, I behaved like an angel for the rest of the trip!

Unbeknownst to us, she had a huge benign tumor pressing on her spinal column which went undiagnosed until we returned to the US later that year. After it was removed, the back and leg pain disappeared. She's always felt terrible about the choking incident, but I tell her that I deserved it, and since it didn't leave any permanent fingerprints on my throat, it's all good.

Here are some great Expo '70 links, courtesy of Things Magazine:

[Link: Expo '70 opening ceremonies]
[Link: Expo Museum Expo '70 Entry]
[Link: Expo '70 Time Capsule Contents]

Posted by MrBaliHai at 9:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)