Dreaming of a pink Christmas?

Apparently lots of folks on Flickr are!

Put on your darkest sunglasses (to combat the glare!) and click here to see what i mean.

Naughty Winter Wonderland
Photograph by Emiana © 2006
ontoLondon Weekly Photo #29






Tis the Season
Photograph by Tiki Chris © 2006
ontoLondon Weekly Photo #30






Thanks to Plep for directing me to Flickr's Pink Christmas photo group.

Happy holidays!

Talking about blogs over a few Mai Tais at Mahiki

Earlier this month, I met up with a few fellow bloggers - MrBaliHai (who arranged the meet-up), The Cartoonist, and Plep - for drinks at Mahiki. Below are some photos from the night as well as a link to MrBaliHai's post about our evening.

London 2006: Tiki
Posted by MrBaliHai
Eye of the Goof
December 10, 2006 04:54 AM





















Photography by MrBaliHai © 2006

Click here for MrBaliHai's complete post.

Artsy fartsy week in review (Friday December 15, 2006)

Despite a week's worth of zipping through the Tate Modern, wedging my way through the National Gallery, and snapping about at Sartorial Contemporary Art, I still managed to post a new Artist Profile (John Puglisi!) and to highlight a gorgeous tiki drinks menu.

I even read a very entertaining - and educational - book, took some very silly pictures of my very silly cat, reminisced about a great evening gawking at rednecks, and lots lots lots lots lots lots more.

Please see below for a complete listing of all of this week's posts.

Have a great weekend,
Tiki Chris

Below is information about four blogs that I administer: ontoLondon, ontoTravel, Rapa Nui News, and Tiki Chris. Each Friday, I hope to provide a weekly review of what I've posted. If a particular blog interests you, keep in mind that I’ve been blogging since well before this past week. You may want to take a look through the archives of any blog that interests you. Thanks.

ontoLondon
http://www.ontoLondon.com
Site feed URL: http://ontolondon.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Liquid doughnut in a can
Naughty Santa sacked from Harrods
Weeeeeeeeeeeeee at the Tate Modern
How was the Velasquez exhibition?
Wave and pay with Barclays
Mandatory reading for London's expat community!
Beyond Covent Garden

Weekly Photo (14 December 2006)
http://ontolondon.blogspot.com/2006/12/frost-fair-2006-15-17-december.html


ontoTravel
http://www.ontotravel.blogspot.com/
Site feed URL: http://ontotravel.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Applying TSA's 3-1-1 to holiday travel
Extended stay in the UK? Read this book!


Rapa Nui News
http://www.rapanuinews.blogspot.com/
Site feed URL: http://rapanuinews.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
More New7Wonders articles
New type of furry crab found near Rapanui
"Monolithic" pop culture references #27
More about the furry crab
More Yeti Crab articles
"Monolithic" pop culture references #28
http://rapanuinews.blogspot.com/2006/12/pinochet-related-tale-mentions-rapa-nui.html
http://rapanuinews.blogspot.com/2006/12/entel-pcs-provides-service-to-rapa-nui.html


Tiki Chris
http://www.tikichris.blogspot.com/
Site feed URL: http://tikichris.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Another dubious web stat
Mahiki menu illustration
London press lovin' the Polynesian Pop
Electric Cowboy revisited
Artist Profile: John Puglisi
Photos from Artistic Vandals II
Our goofy cat
http://tikichris.blogspot.com/2006/12/londons-tiki-bar-wars.html

London's tiki bar wars?

Yesterday's edition of thelondonpaper had a little blurb on page 13 about the opening of Mahiki putting "the wind up the management of London's ... Trader Vic's." According to the article, Trader Vic's has hired "Gordon Ramsay's PR company, Sauce Communications, to remind the world of its existence."

What's all this mean for tiki enthusiasts looking for a decent Mai Tai in an evocative setting? I suppose we'll have to wait and see.

Our goofy cat

I guess the grass is always greener on the other side and the water in the human's cup is always tastier than the water in the cat's bowl. Gotta love the Ulimeister.

Photos from Artistic Vandals II

Click here to view photos taken at the opening of Artistic Vandals II at London's Sartorial Contemporary Art.














Photography by Tiki Chris © 2006
Juxtapoz
Tuesday December 12, 2006

Artist Profile: John Puglisi

Artist Profile: John Puglisi





























I recently came across the work of John Puglisi while flipping through the pages of the October 2006 issue of Juxtapoz, where an ad for the industrial POP show at lineage gallery in Philadelphia featured an image of his painting, The End of Asbury Park, with its downtrodden little fellow ambling in front of Asbury Park's iconic Palace Fun House (now demolished for condos) and the Palace's next door neighbor, the adult cinema (also demolished).











As a former resident of the Jersey Shore, who has spent plenty of time in Asbury Park, the image immediately grabbed my attention. Puglisi, had nailed it: the faded glory, the eerie openness, the glorious light.

Whereas the past few artists I've profiled have either been inspired by the "exotic" - such as Sam Gambino and Chongolio - or have inspired me based upon my own ideas of what's exotic - such as Rhys Hall and Eruera Ropiha - this month's Artist Profile is more in line with the first one I wrote about New Jersey artist Ray Sammak. Like Ray, John Puglisi grew up in northern New Jersey. Although John's work in the animation and film industries (credits include Planet of the Apes, The Lion King, and Fifty First Dates) now keeps him in California much of the time, he still considers NJ his "home" and has recently begun exploring his Jersey roots through his art.

Puglisi's vision of New Jersey is at once nostalgic and foreboding and captures the ironic majesty of the Garden State's industrial landscape. If you've ever even half-considered the Turnpike or the Parkway to be remotely beautiful or oddly comforting, Puglisi's work is for you. It's certainly for me.


























Visit www.johnpuglisi.com and tell him Tiki Chris says thanks(!) for letting me use his images on this blog!

Electric Cowboy revisited

I'm heading to my hometown of Chickamauga, Georgia for the holidays, which has me reminiscing about my last time there in the spring of 2006, just before my move back to London from New Jersey.

One night, a couple of ole buddies took me out for a night on the town in nearby Chattanooga, Tennessee. Our last stop that night was to an incredibly popular and totally insane night club called the Electric Cowboy. We were totally fish out of water in this joint but had a rip-roarin' good time nonetheless.

Luckily, I had my camera to capture the madness. Enjoy.

London press lovin' the Polynesian Pop

With the opening of Mahiki, the big boys of London press seem to be going kuku for Polynesian Pop!

Clubland goes back to basics
Mahiki is at 1 Dover Street, W1, 020 7493 9529
thelondonpaper
Posted 23 November 2006, 17:52









Mahiki is a Tiki bar, a kind of kitsch Polynesian theme bar popular in the States for years, but never really explored in Britain.

Click here for complete article.

Tiki bar revival
Time Out hoicks up its hula and embraces the trend for all things South Pacific
Time Out
Wednesday November 22, 2006














Now, it seems the rise in rum drinking is putting tiki back on the radar ...

Click here for complete article.

Mahiki menu illustration

Just in case you haven't heard, there's a new tiki bar in London - Mahiki. And, like the great tiki drinks establishments of yore, Mahiki has a beautifully illustrated drinks menu. The artwork for the menu (as well as the branding and a range of promotional postcards) is the work of "low brow tiki, hot rod artist" Tiki Racer.

Have a look at the menu ...


... and the logo, which Tiki Racer describes as a "mix of traditional tiki and Mayfair class."








Click here to visit the Tiki Racer website.

Another dubious web stat

Yet again, I was checking my web stats and was shocked to discover how some folks come across this blog. Apparently, the top search result on Google for the term "scare my wife" is a post by yours truly (click here to view). Why would someone search Google for "scare my wife?" Kinda creepy. I don't know which is worse, being the top search result for "scare my wife" or for "Halloween Cannibal?!?"

Boy, those 31 Days of Halloween Madness appear to be having some lasting effect.

Tis the week in review (Friday December 8, 2006)

This week's highlights include:

- Lots of great holiday gift ideas on the Tiki Chris blog,

- A write-up about my local pie and mash and the latest Weekly Photo at ontoLondon,

- Great holiday air travel advice at ontoTravel,

- And, of course, much, much more!

Please see below for a complete listing of all of this week's posts.

Have a great weekend,
Tiki Chris

Below is information about four blogs that I administer: ontoLondon, ontoTravel, Rapa Nui News, and Tiki Chris. Each Friday, I hope to provide a weekly review of what I've posted. If a particular blog interests you, keep in mind that I’ve been blogging since well before this past week. You may want to take a look through the archives of any blog that interests you. Thanks.


ontoLondon
http://www.ontoLondon.com
Site feed URL: http://ontolondon.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Local Pie and Mash
Very ... Nearly ... Almost ... #2
Christmas Food Festival at Whitecross Street Marke...
Box Bears
Trafalgar Square Christmas tree to be lit 7 Decemb...
How was the Morricone concert?
Artistic Vandals II at Sartorial Contemporary Art
Weekly Photo (7 December 2006)


ontoTravel
http://www.ontotravel.blogspot.com/
Site feed URL: http://ontotravel.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
70,000 year old shrine found in Botswana
Emiana's Paris weekend
Military seizes control of government in Fiji
WePlanYourTrip gift certificates
More about the coup in Fiji
What (not) to carry-on your flight this holiday se...
Farting passenger causes emergency landing


Rapa Nui News
http://www.rapanuinews.blogspot.com/
Site feed URL: http://rapanuinews.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
"Monolithic" pop culture references #26
Ersatz moai at ITU conference
Letter questions rat theory
Moai damaged and new penalty system
New book invents Rapanui legend of "Death-in-the-W...
Santa Fe's El Museo Cultural to host Rapa Nui film...
Taiwan forum for language group that includes Rapa...
More New7Wonders articles
"Monolithic" pop culture references #25
Foto America festival in Rapa Nui
More New7Wonders articles
Auckland Museum tells of Polynesian navigation
Rapa Nui among treasured destinations in peril


Tiki Chris
http://www.tikichris.blogspot.com/
Site feed URL: http://tikichris.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Easter Island travelogue by Tiki Chris
Give the gift of delicious 100% Hawaiian Coffee!
TaoMassage gift certificates
Tiki Bar TV episode 23: Red Handed
WePlanYourTrip gift certificates
Bespoke bears in London
Tiki Magazine = brilliant Christmas gift!

Tiki Magazine = brilliant Christmas gift!

Just in time for the holidays ...

Tiki Magazine is a quarterly-published, glossy-cover magazine, with a focus on Tiki, Polynesian Pop, Hawaiiana and the Island Lifestyle. Each issue includes outstanding art and photography, information on events, history and pop culture, new styles of tropical clothing and decor, Tiki carvings and mugs, tasty cocktail recipes, music, Tiki bars and restaurants, Tiki pioneers and much, much more. The music section highlights Exotica, Hawaiian, Lounge, Rockabilly and Surf, featuring current bands as well as honoring legends of the past.














A subscription (or some back issues if they're not sold out!) would make a great gift this holiday season.

Click here to visit the Tiki Magazine website and to purchase subscriptions and back issues.

Bespoke bears in London

Just in time for the holidays ...

















At the Clerkenwell Green Association's recent Made in Clerkenwell event, I met Sharon McCormack and her little creations - the Box Bears, which seem like sweet gifts to consider for newborns and collectors.

Click here to read more at ontoLondon or visit BoxBears.co.uk for more details and more photos

WePlanYourTrip gift certificates

Just in time for the holidays ...

WePlanYourTrip Gift Certificates! The perfect gift for the person who has everything.

Give the gift of WePlanYourTrip's unique services to loved ones, parents, children, friends, employees, clients or business associates.

Services include:

- Custom Itineraries
- Destination Recommendations, and
- General Travel Research












Click here to visit WePlanYourTrip online.
Click here to go to the online order form to purchase your Gift Certificate.

Tiki Bar TV episode 23: Red Handed

Click here to view all the Tiki Bar TV episodes.

TaoMassage gift certificates

Just in time for the holidays ...

TaoMassage gift certificates are a great, easy and much appreciated gift idea! Beautifully packaged, TaoMassage gift certificates may be sent directly to recipient or directly to you! Easy! Affordable! Thoughtful and much appreciated by the receiver!









Located in Ocean Township, New Jersey, TaoMassage is the Jersey Shore's only provider of Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, of which I am a huge fan (click here for my rave review). In fact, if I were still living at the Shore, I'd be hinting heavily for one of these certificates to find its way to my Christmas stocking.



















Click here for more details about TaoMassage gift certificates.
Click here to learn more about Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy.
Click here to read more raves about TaoMassage.

Give the gift of delicious 100% Hawaiian Coffee!

Just in time for the holidays ...

I've been a huge fan of Hawaiian coffee since my first sip and have found LBD Coffee of Hawai'i to offer some of the best tasting coffee I've ever brewed! LBD's Organic 100% Kona Fancy is to die for!



And if the prospect of brewing the perfect cup of coffee isn't incentive enough, from now until January 1, 2007, LBD is offering a free bottle of lilikoi butter with every five pounds of coffee ordered. This tasty, Hawaiian-made spread for bread, bagels, or crackers "is a wonderful compliment to your warm cup of Hawaiian coffee."

While shopping around on LBD's site, make sure to check out its impressive guide to the Big Island of Hawai'i as well as all their Hawaiian products, such as Kauai Cigar Company Island Prince Cigars.

Easter Island travelogue by Tiki Chris

Just in time for the holidays ...

Written by yours truly and full of color photos by Emiana, The Law of the Island: A Rapa Nui Travelogue is a 22-page travelogue about a recent adventure to Easter Island, where the only thing more enigmatic than the island's mysterious stone statues is the cast of intriguing characters who reside on - or travel across the globe to visit - the most remotely inhabited island in the world.

Click here for more information and to purchase copies.

A week worthy of Easter Island (Friday December 1, 2006)

Did you know that "Cadillac has grown a pair worthy of Easter Island?" If you were a regular reader of Rapa Nui News, you would. I'm not really sure what that quote actually means, but I think the writer was trying to compliment both Cadillac and Easter Island. Anyway, click here for more "monolithic" pop culture references pertaining to Easter Island.

And speaking of Rapa Nui News, all your loved ones would really love to get some RNN logo apparel as gifts this holiday season, wouldn't they? Click here to hook 'em up with the goods.

On the more decidedly "pop" side of Polynesian matters, Nick Camera - publisher of Tiki Magazine - gave me the go ahead to start a blog for his fine publication. It's great to be on board the good ship Tiki Magazine, and I really appreciate the opportunity to help the magazine grow. I also really appreciate Nick's willingness to give my ideas a try and to work with me - especially since he's in San Diego and I'm here in London! Click here to visit Tiki Magazine's blog.

Hey! I know. Why not give the gift of a Tiki Magazine subscription to your other loved ones this holiday season?

Looking for more great gift ideas? Check this post about Chongolio's Flea Market. And should you still be hard-up for gift ideas for the naughty and nice on your list, just wait until next week. I gotta ton of suggestions.

Don't forget to check out the latest Weekly Photo at ontoLondon, as well as my brief review and pics from Turkey Day at Bubba's.

Please see below for a complete listing of all of this week's posts.

Have a great weekend,
Tiki Chris

Below is information about the four blogs that I administer: ontoLondon, ontoTravel, Rapa Nui News, and Tiki Chris. Each Friday, I hope to provide a weekly review of what I've posted. If a particular blog interests you, keep in mind that I’ve been blogging since well before this past week. You may want to take a look through the archives of any blog that interests you. Thanks.

ontoLondon
http://www.ontoLondon.com
Site feed URL: http://ontolondon.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
It's Manga Day!
How was Thanksgiving dinner at Bubba's?
Share your Christmas with the Pogues
How was Manga Day?
Now open: Mahiki
Weekly Photo (30 November 2006)

ontoTravel
http://www.ontotravel.blogspot.com/
Site feed URL: http://ontotravel.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Coop's La Carrera adventure


Rapa Nui News
http://www.rapanuinews.blogspot.com/
Site feed URL: http://rapanuinews.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Tales of reed vessel trip to Rapa Nui thrilled mid...
Moai spotting in Florida
Explora's owner wants to open hotel on Rapa Nui
More New7Wonders articles
"Monolithic" pop culture references #24
Rapa Nui News Logo Apparel


Tiki Chris
http://www.tikichris.blogspot.com/
Site feed URL: http://tikichris.blogspot.com/atom.xml
This week's posts:
Help a braddah move to Hawai'i!
If you like Kon-Tiki ...
Show your support for the Rapa Nui News blog
Check out the new Tiki Magazine blog