The unit of survival is organism plus environment. We are learning by bitter experience that the organism which destroys its environment destroys itself. – Gregory Bateson
The place is called Frankie’s Tiki Room. On Otto von Stroheim’s Tiki Events mailing list I read it’s an authenticly styled bar with lots of bamboo, tapa and contemporary Tiki art. Reportedly the drinks are very good!
Here’s a quote from the newsletter:
Frankie’s Tiki Room, the only authentic tiki bar in Las Vegas, invites guests to experience the one-of-a-kind tiki environment complemented by traditional carvings, original Polynesian art, a full bar and gaming.
Frankie’s Tiki Room is a unique combination of South Seas exotica and modern primitivism, with just a hint of Las Vegas kitsch. Frankie’s was founded by P Moss, the creator of the infamous Double Down Saloon, located in Las Vegas and New York City. One hundred percent original and deeply rooted in tiki tradition, Frankie’s is the place where guests can escape to the fantasy any hour of the day or night. Whether it’s ordering from the menu of exotic rum drinks and traditional cocktails in the tiki lounge, gambling at the bar, admiring the carvings or enjoying the music, Frankie’s Tiki Room does it in classic Las Vegas style.
The interior of Frankie’s was built by Bamboo Ben, the world’s foremost tiki bar designer and grandson of Eli Hedley, who created the décor for the legendary Aku Aku at the Stardust. Frankie’s link to Las Vegas’ tiki past also includes original carvings by Tiki Bosko, who created exotic works of art not only at the Tropicana, but also the short lived but greatly missed Taboo Cove at the Venetian. Frankie’s signature tiki is a monstrous island warrior by Crazy Al Evans, surrounded by extraordinary carvings by Tiki Ray and the much revered godfather of all tiki carvers, Leroy Schmaltz.
To celebrate the 500th broadcast of The Retro Cocktail Hour, Kansas Public Radio presents Waitiki, the Boston-based tiki-tainment band, in concert at Lawrence’s Liberty Hall.
It’ll be an exotic, once-in-a-lifetime South Pacific sound adventure like no other, featuring classic music by Martin Denny, Les Baxter, Robert Drasnin, Augie Colon, Gene Rains and others, plus original tunes by the band. Besides the unforgettable music, there’ll be a full service Tiki bar and a dance floor, so come early and party all night!
Enchanted Tiki Luau Blow-Out An Egyptian Theatre exclusive!
After the success of our Tiki events the past three summers, we’re back again with more exotic ephemera: more fun feature films, diverting oddball shorts, vendors, food, music and more! We’ll be showing old-school island adventure pics Fair Wind to Java, Aloma of The South Seas and Her Jungle Love (all in gorgeously saturated color) will screen along with artist Kevin Kidney’s collection of rare, island-themed TV surprises. Join us in the Egyptian’s Courtyard for a Royal Southern California-style Luau with exotic musical entertainment from King Kukelele and his Friki Tikis and the Polynesian Paradise Dancers. There will also be Tiki vendors and other special surprises in the courtyard on Saturday from 1:00 PM until we shut it down.
They already know they are going to edit 300 days into 52 minutes…! Doesn’t the island look gorgeous from above?
Quote from Private Islands blog:
French explorer and adventurer Xavier Rosset is about to embark on a 300 day trip to live alone on a remote tropical island in the South Pacific. His adventures will be filmed and used for a 52 minute documentary.
Xavier’s only luggage will be a Swiss army knife, machete video camera and a solar panel for charging the camera. He will spend 10 months alone on an island to develop another way of life through an exciting adventure, a return to the elemental sources. Xavier will survive alone on an island without human interference and without polluting emissions. …
via Boing Boing Xavier Rosset, 300 days alone on an island
Friday, July 6 – 7:30 PM Hawaii, 1966, MGM Repertory, 161 min. Director George Roy Hill’s (Throughly Modern Millie) adaptation of James Michener’s sprawling South Seas epic was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography (Russell Harlan) and Best Music Score (Elmer Bernstein). Max Von Sydow is the puritanical missionary who marries disappointed-in-love Julie Andrews just before they set sail to do the Lord’s work in the early 19th century island paradise. But they get more than they bargained for, squeezed between an onslaught of natural disasters and strange native customs. Their Calvinist devotion to a fire-and-brimstone worldview clashes head-on with the uninhibited, Dionysian headiness of the tropical lifestyle. With Richard Harris as Andrews’ former flame, Gene Hackman, Carroll O’Conner, Jocelyne LaGarde (who received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress).
Saturday, July 7 – 4:00 PM Rare Tiki Island-Themed TV Approx. 60 min. Artist Kevin Kidney hosts an entertaining hour of vintage tiki-themed television from the early 1960s – including some special surprises! *Tickets available to this program at the door only UNLESS purchased with the Luau Dinner ($20).
Saturday, July 7 – 5:00 PM Luau Dinner Following the 4 PM program, join us in the Egyptian Courtyard at 5 PM for a Royal Southern California-style Luau with live music from King Kukelele and his Friki Tikis, the Polynesian Paradise Dancers, vendors and a bountiful island-themed dinner.
On Saturday, July 7th, you have three special ticket price options: Movies Only (valid for all movies on Saturday only): General: $12; Senior/Student: $10; Cinematheque Member: $9
Luau Dinner Only: $20 (includes film admission for 4 PM show and dinner.)
All Movies (4 PM and 7:30 PM Movies), plus the Luau Dinner: General: $27; Senior/Student: $25; Cinematheque Member: $24
*A limited number of dinners will be sold at the door. To guarantee a dinner ticket please purchase in advance.
Vendors in the Courtyard may include: Tiki Tony, Adrift Clothing, Crazy Al’s Bone Productions, “Dumb Angel” Magazine authors Dominic Priore and Brian Chidister, Tiki Diablo, Falling Cocos, Coconut Kids Clothing, Tiki Farm, the American Cinematheque selling poster and others…
Saturday, July 7 – 7:30 PM Double Feature: The Sophisticated Misfit, 2007, Smee Entertainment, 65 min. Mark Chervinsky directed this four-year exploration of the world of Shag, the unlikeliest of Los Angeles artistic icons. Shag’s work doesn’t reflect the multicultural urban milieu of contemporary Los Angeles but rather an entirely different era. Think post-WWII boom years, suburban tracts sprawling across the landscape, Disneyland opening its doors and designers embracing the space-age motifs of Sputnik and the mission to the moon. Shag’s world is one of early 1960’s furniture, cocktail hours, sprawling ranch houses, built-in wet bars, and jet-set style. He embraces a simpler time. But his artwork is filled with subtle, humorous winks of the eye acknowledging that this period wasn’t quite so simple. The smiling women in their mod dresses hold secrets. The festive party scene in the go-go ’60’s home isn’t really what it seems. With Whoopi Goldberg, Patton Oswalt, Paul Frank and Shag. Winner of the Maverick Filmmaker Award at the 2007 Newport Beach Film Festival.
His Majesty O’Keefe, 1954, Warner Bros., 91 min. Director Byron Haskin (THE NAKED JUNGLE; the original WAR OF THE WORLDS) brings a bracing exuberance to this tall tale of stranded-in-Micronesia sea captain Burt Lancaster’s quest to manipulate his native hosts into helping him build a trading empire. Joan Rice is the enchanting island girl who ends up being queen to his king. The spectacular Fiji Islands locations were stunningly photographed by the great cinematographer Otto Heller (THE CRIMSON PIRATE). Co-starring Andre Morell, Abraham Sofaer, Benson Fong. “…This swashbuckling South Seas adventure feature is ideally suited to Burt Lancaster’s muscular heroics. The Fiji Islands location lensing is a plus…” — Variety Discussion in between films with Shag and director Mark Chervinsky.
Sunday, July 8 – 7:30 PM Miss Sadie Thompson, 1953, Sony Repertory, 91 min. Dir. Curtis Bernhardt (Possessed). After having to leave Hawaii when her Honolulu singing job goes kaput, hard-luck dame Sadie Thompson (Rita Hayworth) is stranded on the isle of Samoa which is home to a U.S. Army base. She’s befriended by well-meaning, lovable GI hunk Aldo Ray as well as his soldier pals (including a young Charles Bronson). But dirty-minded lay minister and self-righteous gadabout Jose Ferrer, laying over with his wife on a trip, believes she is nothing more than a common prostitute and is offended by her presence. He takes it upon himself to make Sadie’s life a living hell until he can get her deported back to the States. Although Rita’s singing voice was dubbed by Jo Ann Greer, you would never know it during the musical numbers – she is positively dynamite performing “Hear No Evil,” “The Heat Is On,” and “Blue Pacific Blues.” Originally shot in 3-D, this is a terrific color remake of W. Somerset Maugham’s classic tale Miss Thompson, first filmed in 1932 as RAIN by director Lewis Milestone with Joan Crawford.
