9/05/01    OPENING IMMINENT! The first full-scale authentic Tiki lounge built in decades will open at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas. The Taboo Cove is a project that was brought to fruition with the help of the Book of Tiki. Conceived and built by Tiki avantgardist Bosko , it will satisfy the demands of the most esoteric Tiki devotees as well as the general fun-seeking Vegas tourist. Bosko's work has been instrumental in the Tiki revival and here he was presented with a forum to demonstrate his various talents as a carver, contractor, ceramicist and conceptual Tiki artist. The cocktail menu was put together by legendary ex-Don The Beachcomber mixologist Tony Ramos. Next door to the Taboo Cove, the retro space-age lounge "Venus" will open it's doors, for which fab modernist Shag designed the signage, menus, cocktail napkins, poker chips, match books, and a huge wall mural. Your next trip to Las Vegas must include this modern primitivist hideway nestled in a faux gondola harbour in the desert.

8/30/01    The Sven-Tiki mug from Tiki Farm is out and available in exotic faraway places like Japan, Hawaii, and your local Tower Records store! An Easter Island head sitting on The Book of Tiki glows darkly in a beautiful greenbrown glaze and comes complete with the Sven-Tiki Cocktail recipe designed by no other than mixology archeologist Beachbum Berry. Drink this cocktail from Sven's head, and the wisdom of the Book of Tiki will flow through you! (Repeat two or three times if neccessary)

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8/30/01    Is merchandizing evil? Looking around and seeing how much crap is out there, one hesitates. Yet: if the merchandise is based on a solidly satisfying product such as the Book of Tiki and will similarily create a smile on many faces, it can't be bad. In this spirit we announce the following future projects coming sometime this or next year: The Book of Tiki Aloha Shirt designed by Miles Thompson, and The Book of Tiki Soundtrack ("Music to read the Book by")

8/30/01    After the success of the San Diego Tiki Symposium on Shelter Island, Bali Hai proprietor Larry Baumann was won over to not only order a new generation of the legendary Mr. Bali Hai Tiki mug, but also to have the Mr. Bali Hai entrance statue restored to it's original primitive colorscheme. The blessings of Tiki will be bestowed upon him! Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily, the heroic volunteer preservationist artisans, report from the Mr. Bali Hai site..

8/30/01    The Los Angeles New Times, a weekly program paper, recently published the first comprehensive and intelligent article on Tiki culture past and present in conjunction with the exhibition "Night of the Tiki" at Copro/Nason Gallery in Los Angeles. Book of Tiki author Sven Kirsten was one of the four "Gods of Tiki" rendered by artist Shag on the cover and interviewed for the article.

8/30/01    This year's Tiki Full Moon Bath at the Bad Sulza Mineral Springs in Thueringen, Germany was again DJ'ed by Book of Tiki cover artist Moritz R. Moritz was spinning Exotica high above the pools in this ultramodern bathhouse structure reminiscent of Eero Saarinen's best work, while bathers floated below until 2:00 a.m., literally soaking in the sounds of Martin Denny and others through the amazing "Liquid Sound" system that piped in the harmonies under the water's surface. Sven Kirsten held a Tiki slide show at the nearby "Willow Palace", an alternative structure built entirely out of living, woven willows ("UFOs to plant yourself"). This yearly event will occur again in 2002 on August 22nd. The next day pagan and Christian cultures met when Sven, while sightseeing at the Cathedral of Naumburg, was interrogated about Tiki culture by the scholarly church guide (who happened to have attended the prior night's events.)

8/30/01    The newly opened PURPLE ORCHID Exotic Tiki Lounge in El Segundo, Los Angeles not only has a full cocktail menu to offer but, in a concept truly inspired by Tiki, wallpapered the women's restroom with pages from the Book of Tiki! After demands from the male customers, the Men's restroom was decorated equally. The Blue Orchid is at 221 Richmond St., El Segundo.

8/30/01    OUT NOW! Tiki News #17 , a double issue chock full of info on Tiki carvers, mug makers and Tiki culture of today and yesteryear. Executive editor Sven-Tiki Kirsten let's you in on the secret of "The Lost Chapters" of the Book of Tiki.

8/30/01    Author Sven Kirsten will be able to combine his years of experience as a cinematographer with his obsession for Tiki and co-produce and shoot the documentary to the book. We are interested in any 1950's to 1960's Super-8 home movies (or snapshots!) that depict backyard Luaus or Tiki restaurant parties.