Non-Blog Christmas: See You in '09!

The Tiki Chris blogs are on hiatus while I enjoy some holiday cheer with family and friends. My ontoLondon Daily Photos will continue the rest of December and I'll probably post a few on-the-go bits every once in awhile on my mobile tikichris to go blog. Aside from that, I'm gonna lay low for the next few weeks. See you next year!

Voscars Winner - Jizz in My Pants

Okay. I wasn't just a Panasonic new talent panelist, but also a judge at the Virgin Mobile Voscars where a bunch of us London bloggers got together and decided on our favourite viral video. Read lots more (than I have time to write at the moment) about the event at one of my fave blogs, Fake Plastic Noodles.

The winner? Jizz in My Pants. Yay!



Here's a list of all the contenders. Mostly hilarious stuff with lots of Obama homages too.

Jizz In My Pants
Diesel’s xXx SFW p0rn x
Cat Man Do
Investing in Wind Energy
BBC BinLaden Tape
Barack Roll
Unexpected Performance
Where the Hell is Matt?
TFL’s Cyclist Awareness
Marmite Breastfeeding Ad
Thriller on the Tube
Berocca Fish
Wassup Obama
Hamster on a Piano
Obama and Ellen
Quicksilver Surfing
Jeans Jumping
Banned Snickers Commercial featuring Mr. T
Manowar
Little Gordon
The Phone Call
Sydney Harbour
Shop at Home Camera
Sneezing Panda
Bike Hero
One-take Thriller
Allah Made Me Funny
Jim Carrey on Ice
Rick Roll
Do the Green Thing

My fave was probably the Diesel’s xXx SFW p0rn x vid. Anyhoo, I had a lot of fun participating and would love to do it again!

Panasonic Next Generation Talent Winner

As mentioned back towards the beginning of this month, I participated as a panelist for the Panasonic Next Generation Talent thing-y. Well, the results are in - along with lots of video footage from the evening. Oh boy.

So ... check this clip if ya wanna see me acting way more important than I ever should:

... and this one to see us panelists pontificating about the winning piece:

And, of course, here's the winner! Cool.

Read more about the Panasonic and New Generation Talent here.

Do I Sound like Christian Slater?

Last night, somebody told me that "Christian Slater must have stolen his accent from you." Really? I'm not convinced but I think it was meant as a compliment (even though it really embarassed me). Anyway, here are a couple of clips - one of Slater in Pump up the Volume, a movie I really liked as a kid and another of me saying the same line - which will help you decide.

Christian:

Tiki Chris:

Rock Lobster - B-52's

Bizarre, reverb-y with nothing really like it before them, Athens GA's B-52's with their classic Rock Lobster.

My Girl - Otis Redding

I just happened upon this incredible video of a live performance by Otis Redding moanin' and pleadin' his way through My Girl. Everything about this clip is perfect. The dancing is particularly mesmerizing. And Otis was just so damn cool ... and from my home state of Georgia (yeehaw!). This video has inspired me to look for more classic songs by brilliant musicians from Georgia - watch out y'all!

Bruce Springsteen on New Jersey

I did my stint in the Garden State ... and loved it. Heck, the missus and I still own property there and have planned what seems to have become our annual trip back for the end of the summer (perfect time to visit the Shore). Despite the fact that NJ is the butt of many a stupid joke, with respect to my love of Jersey, I'm in good company. Here's the Boss at his induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, sharing his thoughts about growin' up in New Jersey:

When I first got the letter I was to be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame I was a little suspicious. New Jersey Hall of Fame? Does New York have a hall of fame? Does Connecticut have a hall of fame? I mean, maybe they don't think they need one.

But then I ran through the list of names: Albert Einstein, Bruce Springsteen ... my mother's going to like that. She's here tonight. It's her birthday and it's the only time she's going to hear those two names mentioned in the same sentence, so I'm going to enjoy it.

When I was recording my first album, the record company spent a lot of money taking pictures of me in New York City. But ... something didn't feel quite right. So I was walking down the boardwalk one day, stopped at a souvenir stand and bought a postcard that said "Greetings from Asbury Park." I remember thinking, "yeah, that's me."

With the exception of a few half years in California, my family and I have raised our kids here. We have a big Italian-Irish family. I found my own Jersey girl right here in Asbury Park . I've always found it deeply resonant holding the hands of my kids on the same streets where my mom held my hand, swimming in the same ocean and taking them to visit the same beaches I did as a child. It was also aplace that really protected me. It's been very nurturing. I could take my kids down to Freehold, throw them up on my shoulders and walk along the street with thousands of other people on Kruise Night with everybody just going, "hey Bruce...." That was something that meant alot to me, the ability to just go about my life. I really appreciated that.

You get a little older and when one of those crisp fall days come along in September and October, my friends and I slip into the cool water of the Atlantic Ocean . We take note that there are a few less of us as each year passes. But the thing about being in one place your whole life is that they're all still around you in the water. I look towards the shore and I see my two sons and my daughter pushing their way through the waves. And on the beach there's a whole batch of new little kids running away from the crashing surf like time itself.

That's what New Jersey is for me. It's a repository of my time on earth. My memory, the music I've made, my friendships, my life ... it's all buried here in a box somewhere in the sand down along the Central Jersey coast. I can't imagine having it any other way.

So let me finish with a Garden State benediction. Rise up my fellow New Jerseyans, for we are all members of a confused but noble race. We, of the state that will never get any respect. We, who bear the coolness of the forever uncool. The chip on our shoulders of those with forever something to prove. And even with this wonderful Hall of Fame, we know that there's another bad Jersey joke coming just around the corner.

But fear not. This is not our curse. It is our blessing. For this is what imbues us with our fighting spirit. That we may salute the world forever with the Jersey state bird, and that the fumes from our great northern industrial area to the ocean breezes of Cape May fill us with the raw hunger, the naked ambition and the desire not just to do our best, but to stick it in your face. Theory of relativity anybody? How about some electric light with your day? Or maybe a spin to the moon and back? And that is why our fellow Americans in the other 49 states know, when the announcer says "and now in this corner, from New Jersey ...." they better keep their hands up and their heads down, because when that bell rings, we're coming out swinging. God Bless the Garden State.



Photography courtesy of NJ - Library Events' photostream on Flickr.

Freak-a-Zoid - Midnight Star

If you knew how much I love this song (and this video too!), you probably wouldn't admit to being my friend!

Breakin' the Law - Judas Priest

You don't know what it's like ... Breakin' the law, breakin' the law!

To All the Girls I've Loved Before - Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias

The winds of change are always blowing.

Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan

Dylan at his orneriest!

Fusion Five Festival: Angie Mason Interview PART 2 - Angie Draws!

Here's Part Two of my video interview with the quirky and lovely Angie Mason conducted during the Fusion 5 Festival in Cannes hosted by Strychnin Gallery. In this segment, Angie, a visual thinker, decides to draw an answer rather than deal with any more of my babble! Enjoy.

Fusion Five Festival: Angie Mason Interview PART 1

Yet another interview from the Fusion 5 Festival in Cannes hosted by Strychnin Gallery. Here's the first of a two part interview with the super friendly Angie Mason. Stay tuned for Part Two!

Fusion 5 Festival: Matthew Bone Interview

Porn, comic books and horror movies - here's my video interview with LA artist Matthew Bone conducted during the Fusion 5 Festival in Cannes hosted by Strychnin Gallery.

Six Days on the Road - The Flying Burrito Brothers

Hippies groovin' to trucker tunes. How could Altamont have turned out well? Still, the Burritos' cover of "Six Days on the Road" is awesome.

Fusion 5 Festival: Mimi S. Interview

One more video interview from the Fusion 5 Festival in Cannes hosted by Strychnin Gallery - this one with full time illustrator and native Berliner" Mimi S.

Robot Man - Yusef Lateef

Kind of a long clip at 10 minutes. But if you ain't got that much time for Yusef Lateef, then I suggest you take a moment to examine your priorities.

Fusion 5 Festival: Daniël Van Nes Interview

Here's an video interview from the Fusion 5 Festival in Cannes hosted by Strychnin Gallery with "illuminated dark art" engraver, Daniël Van Nes.

Fusion 5 Festival: Kristen Ferrell Interview

Here's another video interview from the Fusion 5 Festival in Cannes hosted by Strychnin Gallery - this one with the one and only Kristen Ferrell.

Fusion 5 Festival: Boris + Natascha Interview

Here's a video interview with elusive internation arts duo, Boris + Natascha, from this past weekend's Fusion 5 Festival in Cannes hosted by Strychnin Gallery.