Breaking News: Australia Has the Best Beef in the World !

Delicious Australian Steak

 

This hunk of Australian steak was what I had for lunch Friday. 

Saliva was trying to drip down my beard, while the photography was going on. Dang !

The food started getting cold.  I took so many photos the metal platter stopped steaming.

But, when I sat down and started, sawing with a steak knife, it was still hot on the inside.

My camera shooting buddy, Doc Graff was probably half done eating his when I started.

The first thing I did was complain, about how tough Australian beef is to chew.

It was scrumptious but, sorta leathery if, you know what I mean.

The restaurant, we were at was Green Field Steak and Beef, in Itoman City. 

They get a five star review, from me because, I enjoyed the food, service and low price.

 The meal included soup, salad and a glass of iced tea and, cost under 30 bucks for both of us.

 It was alright and, I'll probably go back there to eat a few more times.

There are some more expensive cuts of meat, I could have ordered and, they have beef stew, too.

For sure, I'll never complain about Australian beef, again, as long as I live.

Australia Won a Contest for the Best Steak in the World

 

 

It's not the steak, in the photo above. They keep that stuff in the Land Down Under.

But, they took a pile of it over to the contest in London, England.

The judges were looking at things like, marbling, color, fat and taste not, steroids.

The winning steaks came from a cow they call, Aizakura Wagyu Beef.

A whole cow sells for something like $190,000.00 !

That would be $450.00 for 1kg or, 2.2lbs.

Er, something over $50.00 for a quarter pound hamburger, I'm thinking.

The tough Australian steaks are all, I will be eating, from now until Okinawa freezes over !

MORE ABOUT THE WORLD STEAK CHAMPIONS:

ABC NEWS

UK MailOnline

Life on an Abandoned Island

Just a Rock Sticking Out of the Ocean

 

 

There are some crazy stories out there about people who decided to do the Crusoe thing.

It would be neat, to have your own little island as a getaway.

But, I'd probably prefer one that's not too far offshore.

That way, you could escape back to civilization when no mermaids showed up.

Research led me to Alaska and Australia. I'm guessing it was an alphabetical thing.

Alaska sounds too cold for me so, I settled on this Restoration Island thing.

An Australian man who lost millions, packed up and moved to an island.

He's a survivor. Grows his own food and brews his own beer.

He'll tell you, you'll learn to survive or, die.

That's stuff, I already knew.

And, I know there's no such thing as mermaids, too.

It's a fairly long story but, great reading, if you are interested in that sort of lifestyle.

This Man Moved to a Desert Island to Disappear.

Here's What Happened.

Check It Out

This Little Bird (Photo) Went to Australia and Other Stuff

Could an Exciting Week Get Even More Excitinger ?

 

 

 

Mr. Spelchek smarty pants, I know, it ain't a real word.

It just tickled me pink when I got the email from JNTO Australia, today.



They published some of my photos and a blog, I wrote about Cherry Blossom Season.

It all started a few weeks ago when I visited the Japan National Tourism Organization.

They have a website in Australia.

If you are an Australian and, visited Japan, you can write on their blog.

Well, I'm from the USA but, I figured it couldn't hurt to ask.

Here's the reply I received:

"Hi Michael,

Thank you for your enquiry.

We would be happy to receive a blog article on the Ryukyu Islands from you, but before we can commit to publishing it, we need to see it first.

Furthermore, please keep in mind that the article has to be informative and relevant to our Australian audience."

That Sounded Pretty Tough but, Didn't Scare Me

 

See, I have friends in Australia.  Some, I talk to (online) every day.

So, I had to figure out how to write something.....

....."informative and relevant to our Australian audience."

Well, I got thinking, "It's hotter than hell, in Okinawa during the month of August.

So, it must be freezing, in the Land Down Under."

Then, when January/February roll around, it might be hot as hell down in Oz.

BINGO !

The people in Australia could visit Okinawa, Japan when it's comfortably cool.

And, we have Cherry Blossom season !

The hardest part, for me, was making sure I didn't use two words.

"Colors and Favorite."

They spell them differently and, I don't want Mr. Spelchek, yelling at me !

Now, my little bird picture is down in Australia.

 

What's the Even More Excitinger Stuff ?

 

 

More of my photography went to the National Geographic Channel !

Sworn to secrecy, until after it airs, you'll have to wait for me to show you but, checkout

I Wouldn't Go In There

A guy named Robert Joe (RJ) from National Geographic, documents spooky stories in Asia.

There's probably, a photo of mine, over there.

 

Photo Essay: The Tern That Rules Komaka-Jima

Out on what is supposed to be an uninhabited island today I met this tern.

Around Komaka-Jima he lets tourists know, there are some places they aren't welcome.

How can a small place like this stay uninhabited if people keep coming here ?

He squawks and dive-bombs everyone on the beach.

Some folks just ignore it and walk away.  He won't really bite you; just try to scare you away.

The bird saw me pointing a camera his way and came after me, too.

It was fun tracking him as he swooped, dipped and screamed at me.

Exploring the island is what I went there for but, forgot all about it.

 This tern was a real character and I have 200 pictures to prove it.

That bird came from Australia, according to the staff who run the boat launch.

They call it an Ajisagi.  I'm fairly certain it would be called a Black-naped Tern.

They do a fine job of trying to keep their homes, uninhabited ! 

RELATED POST: ONE GOOD TERN DESERVES ANOTHER

Visit my website for today's Feature Photo

Wildlife Photo: Oriental Pratincole: Bird Found in Okinawa, Japan

Here is a bird that may be my excuse to visit Tsuken-jima, again

The Oriental Pratincole (Glareola maldivarum) is found throughout Asia.

But, has been spotted as far away as Australia and England.

Like, one time in 2004, over two million of them gathered at Eighty Mile Beach and had the 

Australasian Wader Studies Group scratching their heads, wondering.  Why ?

When the Map It Okinawa Dude and I went to Tsuken-jima we weren't planning on shooting birds.

We were looking for some caves so, I left the big lens behind.

Maybe, after this l'il typhoon blows-by, I'll make plans to go back to Tsuken-jima.

Take the Sigma 50-500mm lens and get some better photos of the critter.

Meanwhile, feast your eyes on what I found on another BLOG.

And, my hat goes off to the folks on Bird Forum who helped ID this bird for me.

I'd never seen an Oriental Pratincole before, in my life.

It looks like it's wearing some kinda Grannie Glasses with a string hanging around it's neck ! 

My mind's made up.

Back to that island I'll go and get some better shots for you to see.

Earth Hour 26 March 2011: A Global Event (Photo)

The big event takes place this Saturday, 26 March 2011 and I just found out about it so, I went and shot this photo of my globe for you. National Geographic sends me a daily email about what's going on around the world in their Intelligent Travel Blog. I saw something about Earth Hour started back about 2007 in Australia.

Well, either the Intelligent Travel Blog or me is being hacked my some spammers. I can't read the whole article because some frickin' pop-up keeps poppin-up on their site. It won't let me scroll down the page to read the whole story. Somebody give them a holler for me, OK ?

Our good friends at WIKIPEDIA give some history about Earth Hour and tell you which countries around the world have been participating, how many people turned off their lights and give you all kinds of links on the subject.  They say 8:30 to 9:30 this Saturday night is when the event takes place.

If you go the EARTH HOUR HOMEPAGE they plan on taking the global event beyond one hour to demonstrate their concern for the people going through the disasters in Japan.  That sounds like a great idea to me. "日本の皆さん、勇気を持って頑張って下さい"
I borrowed that phrase from the Earth Hour people because it's too hard for me to type. It means "Japan hang-in there", I think.

To me, Earth Hour should be every hour, everyday.  Just like I think World Water Day should be everyday. But, tonight I'll do something special for this global event, just to show my support.

Normally, I unscrew half the lightbulbs to try and keep my electric bill down. It drives the Missus absolutely bananas. I'm going to unscrew a few more and, if I think I can get away with it, unplug the refridgerator for a couple of hours, too. Hah !

Now don't go overboard and burn your house down stumbling around in the dark with lit candles but, let me know what you plan on doing for Earth Hour this Saturday night.

Visit my Homepage for THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

Wildlife Photo Essay (Bird) Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)

The Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) is one amazing bird. These guys ought to get some sort of world travelers award.

The first encounter I ever had with one of these birds was just about two years ago. I recognized the other birds on the beach but, had never seen one of these Turnstone characters anywhere in my life.


So, I hung out awhile and took as many shots, from different angles, as I could. These birds have some colors that make them stand out in a crowd.


They stay close to the water's edge and eat small shellfish, invertebrates and maybe some bugs and veges to balance their diet.


Whatever they eat, it must be good for them. They live to be over 9 years old. They like shores with rocks on them. They got the name Turnstone because, when food is scarce, they turn stones over looking for stuff.  And, if they find a worm, they'll eat him, too !

The Ruddy Turnstone breeds in northern latitudes like Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Northern China, Russia and the USA. Places where it's too cold for flip flops so, I guess you won't be seeing me taking any pictures of what goes on when they do that stuff.


These birds come down to the southern latitudes in the winter and visit my Ryukyu Islands. This character was not far from my home. These photos were taken on Kin Red Beach in Okinawa, Japan.


Last night I just got the latest issue of Australian Geographic and that's what prompted me to dig up these old photos from 2009.


It seems like a couple of people way smarter than me hooked some of these Ruddy Turnstones up with ultra lightweight tracking devices they call goelocators.


They say these birds fly non-stop all the way from Australia to Taiwan in six days.  That's something like 7,600 kilometers !


They used to think the Ruddy Turnstones, on their return flight, would fly by the Americas but, these guys are tricky.


They sneaked up into Siberia.  That's where they do the mating thing. Then, they returned to Australia by way of the Pacific Ocean.

One bird heading back to Australia decided to take a scenic route and flew some 27,000 kilometers total for his round trip. 

And, if you are a frequent flier, you may want to change your diet to stay as healthy as these birds (they ain't bad lookin' either) because I know, if everybody had to pay for their airplane tickets based upon how many grams of weight they stuffed into the plane, we'd all go on healthy diets.

The Ruddy Turnstone is one heck of a world traveler. This bird is probably the most travelled wildlife I've ever taken a photo of and didn't realize it until today !

The Big Apple in Okinawa (Photo) Plus a Conspiracy Theory

Yesterday, even though I was in a good mood after recovering some long lost and much needed wedding photos,  I went and ranted on a few social networks about the cost of apples in Japan.
It all started when I saw these Bushel Baskets full of apples, somewhere in Ontario, Canada.

When I saw all those apples it reminded me of how much I used to love eating them. See, I did some apple picking back in the old days. There's nothing tastier than an apple picked right off the tree unless, maybe you want to wash it and chill it in the fridge for a little while. But, I kinda liked eating them while I was supposed to be picking up in the tree, where nobody could see me. Things always seem to taste even better when they're free. Fringe benefits, I guess you could call it.

Now, in Japan one good-sized apple costs somewhere in the neighborhood of around US $3.00, that's criminal if you ask me. I wouldn't think of stealing one and I refuse to pay that kind of money for an apple. 

It's some sort of a conspiracy.  The MAC Computer guys may even be involved in it. I don't know who's behind this one. That gal, Eve who got Adam kicked outa the garden, still dead, right?
 
I'm not sure why anybody would want to charge outrageous prices for a fruit that'll just rot if they don't sell it but, I ain't fallin' for it. I've been boycotting them for years. If I find myself unable to contain the urge to eat apples, I'll plant a tree and grab my own fruit off it whenever I feel like.

This morning I got mail from Australia. Since the flooding down there, they have to pay twice as much as I would for an apple in Japan. Over $6.00 for a freakin' fresh apple; it's a conspiracy !

When I decided to rant about the cost of apples, and what I now believe to be a worldwide conspiracy, I ran across the street to the grocery store. Even took ten bucks outa the till and was gonna buy an apple, take a picture of it and post it here, so you could see the price tag.

Well, I'm showing you the Big Apple in Okinawa, instead. It's the only photo I have right now.

The gal tending the little Mom and Pop grocery store didn't have any red apples. There was a bag with three little green apples on the shelf. They were smaller than the size of a tennis ball.  I figured, what the heck, I have ten bucks, I'll see if it's enough to buy the whole bag of them.

There wasn't a price on the bag. So, I ask the gal "How much are these apples?"  She didn't know.  The truck that delivers the fruit and vegetables would be arriving shortly.  If I'd come back later we would know how much the apples cost today. So, you get the Big Apple in Okinawa.

The last time I checked, apple farmers and pickers weren't getting filthy rich and riding around in stretch limos, Eve was dead and gone and the price of apples just keeps rising. CONSPIRACY!