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All things tiki, mid century pop culture and urban archeology, kitsch, cultures and subcultures and the way they express themselves, retro-art, aquariums, ethnic dances, water performances, tarantulas... Cartoon artist Hammerson has created a pretty good idea of me & what I'm into. THE WRECK WRECK BAR- YANKEE CLIPPER~ .. .. .. ~~~~~~~My interest is to help take part in trying to preserve a little mid-century "Floridiana". Many places that were well known and visited frequently for their uniqueness at one time are either neglected, forgotten or torn down entirely, no longer being considered "today". The Wreck Bar is my labor of love- Live Mermaid shows took place here back in the 1950's, ending in the early to mid-60's. My hope is that the Wreck Bar, along with the Yankee Clipper will again be known- more for it's unique significance in Ft. Lauderdale's history rather than only being known (by the few these days that even know this place even or still exists!) as a location used in the film 'Analyze This' (though that exposure certainly benefited the Wreck Bar for a brief time). Hopefully those that visit the Bar these days may still get a little dose of what made Florida so unique back in those days.
Anyone who can sit down with me for breakfast and tell me about some of the magnificent tourist spots and hotels that existed in Florida back in the pre-Disney days. I could listen to them for hours. It would be splendid to get a tour of Grabowski's Gothic Garden (in Edgewater, FL) by none other than Joe Grabowski himself. It would be AMAZING to meet Esther Williams, Jane Russel or Lauren Bacall for dinner~ they all seem like real no nonsense women, old Hollywood survivors. Heh, not that they really would have time for me; but a girl can dream... speaking of dreaming...Eartha Kitt... any meal, any time. I'll have to settle for the rest for after I've passed away, as they are on the other side. (Dessert Menu Exclusively!) CHANGE OF TOPIC~ 2 MERMAIDS SWIMMING TO SHOTARO HATTORI... Mr. Cousteau liked it so much, he bought a T-shirt- You can too!
Too many; Old Martial Arts movies, Hollywood Glamour films, those great secret agent films from the 1960's From Bond to Flint to their greater parodies - you name it. Gotta hand it to QT and UT for Kill Bill. If either 1 or 2 is on, I can't keep myself from watching and enjoying it every time. Just watched Star Wars (A New Hope) That movie sure was terrific before it was "enhanced". Jaws-Brilliant. I'm enjoying Death Proof more & more every time I see it - Kurt Russel was great in that. Don't even get me started on Tony Jaa in Ong Bak-woah! Then of course-any weird cult classic-"Mommie Dearest" to "The Forbidden Zone"- just too many to name. I'll just post a vid here from time to time to see what I'm watching (or re-watching) currently. HERE YOU GO~ MARINA'S FLAVOR OF THE WEEK!! THE JAW-DROPPING BUSBY BERKELEY WATER PRODUCTION NUMBER FROM "Footlight Parade" (1933) AMAZING!!! ~~~Yeah, you know I nearly passed out when I saw this at Hukilau 2007! 'Hookah Lau Bubble Bar' by THOR now available at the www.thorstor.com, among many other FanTIKIca! Here's another THOR piece - There I am- sitting in Tiki Heaven. Woah- Behold, Tiki Lava Diva! Go visit the ThorStor!!!
IN MEMORY OF... THE "FAMOUS JULES VERNE ROOM" AT THE MARLIN BEACH HOTEL, Ft. Lauderdale. *sigh* Wasn't it beautiful? They did have mermaid shows here too in the 1960's. ..
The Book of Tiki- of course... That and the 2nd Edition of TIKI ROAD TRIP. TIKI MODERN by Sven A. Kirsten. Any book on roadside attractions- love 'em. Can't resist books on Polynesian art, history & culture (ancient, contemporary or romanticized). The collection hopefully will continue to grow...
Unique humans with the gift of showmanship~~~~~~~~~~~~~More influences than "heroes" I guess~ Annette Kellerman ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Esther Williams, ~~~~~~ ~Eartha Kitt, Freddie Mercury, Gene Kelly, Liberace, LaWanda Page (see blog), Ziegfeld, um... Pen and Teller,~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shemp Howard (The original third Stooge-never got enough credit for his work) Viva Shemp! There's also Tamasaburo Bando, Groucho Marx, Newt Perry- Bruce Lee- For thinking out of the box. Iris Chacon definitely must have had some impact-I watched her show a lot as a kid and now see some of her visual influence in my own stuff. I'm sure there are a couple more...GET A MARINA THE FIRE EATING MERMAID T-SHIRT!!! ~Art by Mark Gerardi~ VISIT PINUPSHOTRODS.COM AND ORDER ONE- REALLY!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~IN MEMORY OF: "DAVY JONES LOCKER" AT THE OUTRIGGER WAIKIKI HOTEL.