Four of the Guinness World Records Held in Okinawa, Japan

Guinness World Records come and go because people around the globe are

CONSTANTLY TRYING TO BEAT THEM.

Take this Naha Tsunahiki (Tug O War) for example.

The thing weighs over 40 tons and is made out of all natural fibers.  Somebody in China might make a longer rope, get more people to tug on it, or even make one that's heavier.

But, I bet they can't afford to weave the required amount of rice straw, used in this rope, together to break the world record.  People would be starving to death.

Ain't that the stuff they use to make Kellogg's ® Rice Krispies ® ?

The Guinness World Record for the largest Taco, Rice, Cheese on the planet happens to be held by my hometown, Kin Cho Kin in Okinawa, Japan.

This worries me.  You just know somebody, somewhere is plotting to take the title away from us.

Probably some chefs in Mexico or Argentina are conspiring at this moment.

Don't hold your breath waiting. Because 746 kg is a lot of food to cook, all in one place.

NOW HERE'S ONE THAT REALLY HAS ME WORRIED !

In November of 2011 the island of Ishigaki Okinawa, Japan made the

GUINNESS WORLD RECORD for the biggest kebab on Planet Earth !

They put together over 100 meters of Ishigaki beef on a metal rod and grilled it.

Guaranteed, folks in Turkey are going to try and break that record.

Don't they consider themselves the Kebab Capital of the World ?

The fourth and final Guinness World Record in Okinawa, Japan is this one held by an American.

Dennis Provencher, retired from the US Air Force, holds the

Guinness World Record for Blood Donation.

He has donated over 34 gallons (128+ liters) of his blood to help others in his lifetime.

This is the only Guinness World Record in Okinawa, Japan that I don't worry about.

If someone is plotting to take this record away, go ahead, I dare ya.

Here's what Dennis says: "I challenge anyone to catch me."

And to Dennis, I have to say:

Buddy, they just don't make people like you, anymore. 

And, I salute you.






RELATED POSTS:

OKINAWA'S GUINNESS TUG-O-WAR: THE ROPE (PHOTOS) 


GUINNESS WORLD RECORD TACO RICE RECIPE: PHOTO ESSAY

Photography Tip: How to Clean Your DSLR Sensor (Photo Essay)

One of the most frightening things for someone switching from a Point and Shoot camera to a DSLR (besides price) has to be the words, "Dust on the sensor".

This photography tip will show you how to get dust off your sensor.

Camera manufacturers want you to send your camera back to them to remove dust and clean your sensor.  
For some people that's OK, I guess.  But, I'm not a millionaire, yet.

So, I do it myself.

First, take a look inside the DSLR when the lens is removed.  What you see is the mirror.

The sensor is hiding behind it.

On the camera Menu, you should find Mirror Up or similar words.  The mirror needs to be locked in the UP position for you to clean the sensor.

With the mirror locked up, the blue and green computer chip-looking thing you see is your DSLR's sensor.  
And, that baby is sensitive.  Do not touch it or, use a brush on it.

A Master Blaster air blowing bulb is the strongest thing I ever use to blow dust out of the camera body.

One time, I did hear of a lady who thought her hair dryer would be a great thing to use.

She melted the sensor and had to buy a brand new camera.  DUH !

There are all sorts of kits available for cleaning DSLR sensors and I won't recommend any one brand over another.  They all do the same job and all have similar tools with instructions.

This kit just happened to be in my backpack and I had what was needed to shoot a how-to demonstration for today's blog.

The orange-handled swab has some super-absorbent material on the end of it.

A little spill-proof bottle of magic sensor cleaner is what you use to, lightly moisten the swab.

Then, gently place it on the sensor and wipe, from one side to the other.

Next, I twist the thing around and give it a second swipe in the opposite direction.

That's just in case a chunk of my beard fell in there the first time I was doing it.

The final stage of sensor cleaning is a few good blasts of air to make sure the sensor is completely dry.  Normally, the camera would be held up in the air with the opening facing downwards.  That way, any other dust inside the camera body would fall out on the floor and not be free to hang around the sensor. 

For some informative YouTube Videos on cleaning DSLR sensors, a Google Search provides specific procedures for almost all brands and models of cameras. 

Now that you know How-to, when you are Ready-to clean your DSLR sensor

GET YOUR SUPPLIES HERE


FOR MORE TRICKS OF THE TRADE SEE MY PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS PAGE.

 

Amazing What You Can See at a Bullfight (Photo Essay)

This isn't a matador.  It's a guy demonstrating martial arts in Okinawa, Japan.

He leads a group of taiko drummers, too.

What these photos show are some of the amazing things you can see at a bullfight, only in Okinawa.

The guy in the black suit, he's the master of ceremonies.  Look at those horns !

Blue, purple, yellow and green creatures run around dancing and snapping while those cute little girls are playing their drums.

Some really ugly old ladies brought friendly looking bulls into the ring.

But, they were alright, I guess, because they passed out candy to the kids.

After they run out of candy, they start making trouble, though.

Like, one of the witches is telling her bull to go over there and fight with another one.

So, that's what he does.

When the poor bull that didn't want to fight ran away, everybody started laughing.

It's just amazing, some of the crazy things you can see at one of these bullfights.

Almost forgot.  They had some of these big guys, too !

Note to locals: If you were at the Ishikawadome in Okinawa, Japan for this event, your photo may appear in an album on my Facebook Page.

                                                      IF YOU LIKE, I CAN EMAIL ONE TO YOU.


Visit my homepage for: THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

Sunday's Silly Sign (Photos) FEB 26, 2012 Swimsuits Optional

This Sunday's Silly Sign comes from somewhere on the west coast of Okinawa, Japan.

It says, "SWIMSUITS OPTIONAL BEYOND THIS POINT".

Not sure if the sign was for the beach or the beach house.

It's too cold to go swimming this time of year and nobody was home.

So, I guess we'll have to wait for summertime.

Then, ahem-ahum, I'll see if I can get somebody to find out for us !

VISIT MY HOMEPAGE FOR THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

Dog Photo Essay: Ryukyu Inu and Husky Mutts Meet at the Beach

These guys are the Ryukyu Inu, a breed of dog native to Okinawa, Japan.

They get an early morning walk, on the beach, every day by Papasan.

The guy dogs figure it's their job to keep other male dogs off the beach.

When they saw a couple of Husky mutts tied to the coffee machine they decided it would be best to go over there and bite them.  That's how Papasan wound up getting tripped by leashes, landing on his rear end.

The good-natured guy that he is, Papasan gets a grip on things and decides to let the boys introduce themselves to each other.

The gal dog doesn't really need to meet more guys.

The brown Ryukyu Inu must have whispered fighting words in the brown Husky mutt's ear.

One thing, for sure, Russian dogs and Japanese dogs all understand each other's language.

The Husky with the red harness is half Chow Chow so, he may know a little Chinese, too.

When dogs get talking like this they can't hear anybody else talking around them.

It's just like when a couple of old women get talking in the supermarket and are blocking the aisle. 

That ever happen to you?

You could say, "Excuse me."  Or, even try to tell them the place is on fire, and they just don't hear you.

Sometimes, I just take their groceries and put them in my cart.  Then, hope they have a nice day.

Dogs are different.  Papasan and I figured it out.

We turned them loose and let them clean each other's clocks.

The Ryukyu Inu guys ran off to the beach.  And they're probably thinking,

 "We showed them."

The Husky Mutts came back to the coffee machine.

Papasan and I sat and drank iced coffee and the Ryukyu gal dog stayed with us in the shade.

The Husky Mutts were probably thinking, "We showed them."

Oops.  It's time to take my gal grocery shopping.  Groan.

Have a nice day!

Editor's Picks (Photos) for the Month of February 2012

Cherry Blossoms Cornered at a Sacred Site

Senaga-Jima Osprey

Tachigaa Waterfall Okinawa, Japan

Travel Photos: It's No Bull. This Bull Didn't Want To Fight

Sometimes this Travel Photo Thursday thing sneaks up on me and catches me off guard,

Like, today.  I had no idea what kind of photos to dig up for everybody to see.

So, I decided to look through the files and see what I was doing back in February 2009.

Here you go.  I was shooting bullfights.  Only, this bull didn't want to fight.

The bull is a little bit nervous because he's new at this sort of thing.

The handler isn't.  Look.  He didn't even wear his flip flops.

The black bull saw his competition being led into the ring.

If you've never seen an apprehensive bullseye before, you're looking at one now.

All you gotta do, if you are a bull in an Okinawan bullfight and don't really want to participate

is run out of the ring.

It's nothing to be ashamed of because you can always tell your friends

YOU TOOK SECOND PLACE !

Cool and Crazy Stuff at an Okinawan Museum (Photo Essay)

Most of the time the great outdoors is where photography takes me, not into museums.

But, when the weather isn't right and Doc Graff or the Mapitokinawa guy, I call RyukyuRu, decide indoors is the best place to be on a cold day in February, we do museums. 

These photos were taken Feb 8, 2012 and I just got around to developing them because, ahem-ahum, indoor photography just isn't my priority.

Now, that I've looked at the photos, I want to go back to that museum, mostly because I realize they have some cool and crazy stuff up there. Plus, you can learn things from museums.

The curator of the museum (if they have such a thing) probably thinks like me.

There's plenty enough hand tools to go around so, why worry about inventories.

They had real cool typing machines back in the good old days.

Those babies didn't melt down or burn if you dropped some cigarette ashes on them.

Some of these old sewing machines didn't even need electricity; they were people-powered.

Adjustable overhead lighting simply meant, moving the kerosene lantern somewhere else.

Those florescent lights are one of the things that make photographers in museums go crazy.

They probably cause problems for postal workers, too.

Somebody should look into that. Doncha think ?

The rickshaw is one of the crazy inventions, I never understood.

Why the heck would anyone want to ride around in something with a Chinese guy pulling it ?

So, I researched.  And I found out the machine was invented in Japan.

There was a Ryukyu flag, I never knew about, on some sort of pencil holder.

It wasn't clear to me at the time whether or not stuff could be moved around to better light for photography.  
I figured, if I asked, they might say "No".

So, I didn't ask.  

Got my photo and put everything back where I found it.

The coolest thing I found at that museum was this old rag-top Toyota Firetruck.

The craziest thing had to be this collection of record albums.

There are some real classics there.

What the heck is Adolf Hitler doing on an album cover ?

That's crazy !

NOTE TO LOCALS: FOR DIRECTIONS VISIT MAP IT OKINAWA