Guy in a Green Hat Walks into a Bar

Not Seen in Okinawa Everyday 

 

Those John Deere caps are scarce and treasured items, in this part of the world.

And, I've never met a person, wearing one who I wouldn't consider a friend.

Back in my farming days, we used to say, "Nothing runs quite like a Deere."

That phrase could probably be twisted around and used for people who wear those hats, too.

Yea. Nothing runs quite like people topped off with John Deere headwear.

The animated character in the GIF above, I've known for more than a few years.

We bump into each other on the internet, all the time. That's how we came to be friends.

We cross paths, once in a blue moon, out in the field but, never drank together.

Friday night, we were supposed to get together, for some full moon photography.

The plan was, to shoot the moon then, do some bar hopping in my territory.

We live on opposite sides of the island so, he had to be careful about driving his car.

The rascal, showed up at my office with some young gal, as his driver.

The moon, was the only part of the equation, that didn't cooperate but, that was alright.

It gave us a headstart. That meant more time for us to, act like lunatics and go drinking.

Gotta Love Google Maps

 

 

People worried about privacy can turn their location OFF but, I keep mine switched ON.

That way if, I forget where I was the night before, I can go back and look at my Timeline.

It comes in handy for things like law enforcement, too.

Supposing, some guy with a white beard, throws a rock through the whorehouse window.

When the cops come around, I can show them. It wasn't one of us.

We were way over on the other end of town, too far away to throw rocks. Lookit my phone !

First Stop

 

 

 

It was close to 8PM when, we visited Bar & Cafe Brasil. 

Friday nights that place gets, standing room only, packed with customers.

They get Marines in there, who look like tattooed bodybuilding monsters, having fun.

Loud music is playing and, action movies are on a widescreen TV, too.

The crowd is always friendly and, some of the tattooed bodies are girls, with big muscles.

Me and the guy in the green hat drank beers. The gal with us had Brazilian soft drinks.

We had to make sure, the designated driver, was taken care of.

So, whenever, she had to pee, I would escort her to the ladies room and, stand guard outside.

After a couple of beers, we decided to make room, for more customers and, left that place.

Off to an Irish Pub

 

 

The John Deere dude, decided some whiskey would be nice to have, next.

So, I showed him the way to Bingo's Pub but, told him, I'd stick with my beer.

The joint was fairly crowded but, friendly folks got us our own table.

Loud Irish music is always playing and, there's a jovial smoke-filled atmosphere.

When, I asked our driver if, she liked karaoke, she said "Yes."

That would be good. After 3 or 13 beers, I'm ready to do some singing. So, off we went.

Karaoke Time

 

Just a few doors down the street, we hit the Cafe 104.

It's rarely crowded in this bar and, the owner is always happy to see me.

We were the only customers and, it was quiet enough to hear each other's conversations.

Plus, I didn't have to worry about the young lady, going to use the bathroom.

Drinking and singing, was mostly what we did and maybe, some conversating.

The guy in the green hat, doesn't do things like this very often, I could tell.

We were having a blast but, I worry about folks, drinking too many different kinds of booze.

To me, it's like physical training. Drink regularly, to keep in shape.

Supposing a war broke out and, you weren't used to being drunk. That'd be dangerous.

But, if your body is used to it, you could put up a hell of a fight, anyway.

Stagger to Next Bar

 

About this time, I'm sure our driver was starting to worry about, us walking.

We shuffled down the road aways, to the Club Peace.

It's a good sized establishment and, wasn't overly crowded. Everybody there, knows me.

Sometimes, they have jam sessions and, you'd be amazed at the talent displayed on stage.

There may be local musicians, mixed with some of the military crowd, playing in the band.

Some young Marine, was singing and bouncing around and, he was really good.

When he finished his song, I told him, "You should quit your daytime job."

We were sitting on sofas and had two tables, all to ourselves, over in a corner.

It was kind of comfortable and, the girl didn't have to worry about us going to pee.

The young guy, kept going back onstage and singing 50s-60s type songs.

Unfortunately, we discovered some long-haired wigs, the customers can play with.

That was the first time, I ever saw the green cap, come off the John Deere dude.

Fooling around with the wigs and, dancing around the room, seemed like the thing to do.

Green hat dude, got onstage, wearing some psychedelic colored, long-haired wig and danced.

Not long after that, he discovered some serious back pain. Not a problem.

For some reason, I happened to be wearing a stretchy, back support and, didn't really need it.

Off it came and the gal, helped wrap the thing around, the now-groaning, green hat dude.

One Last Bar

 

 

Another theory, I have is, what's best for a wrenched back, when you're drinking.

That would be, find a comfortable spot to take things easy and, drink some more.

So, we sauntered across a field and stumbled into Bar Patra.

All the gals there, know where my favorite spot is, at the counter and, hooked us up.

They had some customers move, to get three bar stools for my guests.

It's close to the bathrooms but, they don't really know, why I chose that location.

Top Secret: The air-conditioning controls, are right next to me.  And, I know how to operate !

It was past the Cinderella hour and, we tipped a few more drinks before, calling it a night.

 

 

 

In Case You Were Wondering

 

  

Everyone made it home safely and, no one was seriously injured, making this episode happen.

Figure if, the guy with the John Deere hat keeps practicing, we'll whip him into great shape.

Five bars in one night is, no great accomplishment but, a good start.

Maybe, once a month or so, we'll get together again and, build up our portfolios.

The Guy with the green hat, who walked into all these bars, is known as Okinawa Soba.

Visit him on Flickr and, you could spend hours, learning from him.

Animations from a Cherry Blossom Festival and a Bonus

Kin Town Sakura Matsuri 2017

Every once in awhile I spend a good 20 hour day, getting myself exhausted.

 GIFs from events that took place late yesterday, will give you an idea of the fun I have,

It's been chilly and windy so, some heat was provided, under the festival tents.

If, you've ever burned a treated fence post, to keep warm, you'll know, why I stayed outside.

I don't know if those fumes are poisonous but, they sure don't smell too healthy, to me.

Okinawa has strong ties with Hawaii so, it's no surprise that hula dancing is popular.

There must be thousands of Okinawan families living on the Hawaiian Islands.

I'm no expert on dances but, they seem to have the movements down pat.

The gang in the sound and lighting tent, must have thought, I was nuts.

That music and gals dancing, got me wiggling around with my camera, dancing too !

They had a gang of belly dancing girls but, I thought this one was the most photogenic.

There was two groups of these dancers. Let's just call them the older and younger clans.

Elder's better if, you ask me. The young ones are skinny and wear false eyelashes. Yuck.

See, I figure the elder ones, don't want to get married and make babies.

For them, the dance is an art. Young ones are probably, looking to catch a rich guy. Hah.

When the skinny gals danced, I got way back and used the zoom lens on them.

My legs are sore today, from all the things I was doing, to keep the sound booth entertained.

From now on, I'll let the professionals, do the hula and belly dance, without me.

There were children, of all ages, demonstrating their karate movements.

The weapons that guy and gal are using, are know as sai.

One end of the tool can be used to puncture you. Or, they can punch you with the other end. 

Many more images were made of the youngsters and their sensei.

As they get processes, I'll add some here or, to a Facebook album, at a later date.

From the festival grounds, I had to get back to my office and change camera lenses.

Here's the Bonus

At 7:42 PM the clouds moved away from the moon and, I was ready for it.

At that point, I'd done a fair share of work but, had plenty more things to do.

The camera got downloaded and I threw the battery in a charger, to hurry out of here.

For a whole month, I hadn't been to any of the watering hole, drinking.

Last night, the wife and I, went on a bar hopping date, I guess you'd call it.

It was a blast, we must have hit 4 or 5 joints, drinking and singing karaoke.

At one place, I met a witch doctor (yuta) who joked and drank beer with me.

Mixing with the locals is part of my job and, that's how I learn plenty about the island culture.

The night went on and on and, by 2:30 the bride and I, decided to take a taxi home.

We were both having some trouble navigating but, no taxi cabs were available.

"It's only a five minute walk, downhill, to get home" I said. It took a bit longer.

We held on to each other and wobbled/rolled/ sort of stumbled to the house.

Once I got to the kitchen table, I looked at the clock. It was 3 in the morning.

That's how I figured out, it was another one of those 20 hour days.

PS One of my reliable contacts, told me, the moon will be bigger and brighter tonight.

Gotta run and get the camera ready !

Down the Red Hallway

A New My Place Opened in Town

 

 

They had a grand opening, I missed out on last weekend and, I felt sort of bad.

So, when I heard they were open last night, I had to check it out.

It's probably been over fifteen years since the last time I've entered this building.

It's been remodeled and, is a bit smaller than, I remember it being back in the old days.

A cooperative staff, customers and, an assistant cameraman, helped make this video.

How many people remember the original My Place ?

12 Photos of Singers on Stage at a Xmas Festival

Christmas Is Sneaking Up Fast !

 

 

If you haven't got your shopping done, you'd better hurry. 

Maybe, tomorrow, I'll pick up the Christmas cards, the wife keeps reminding me, to buy.

Anyhow, I finally got around to developing these images from DEC 4, 2015, in Kin Town.

A big part of the event, was the local talent, who got a chance to enter this karaoke contest.

Someone should, designate a person to take notes for me; I forget lots of stuff.

Like peoples names and, what kind of song, they were crooning.

The men folk, tend to sing mushy love songs and, it makes the women go wild.

They keep running up to the stage, giving the guys flowers. Yuk.

One good thing about being deaf in one ear is, I don't hear everything going on around me.

And, I can get real close to the speakers, blasting music, close to the stage.

When a crowd of excited people, start dancing and bumping into me, I simply back away.

Get off to the sidelines, somewhere and use the zoom lens.

No notes, no name. Just a pretty gal, singing a tune. If she wants her picture, she'll find me !

 Here, we have a group of men, singing and showing off, their belly muscles.

And, the gals behind them, were dancing in cardboard box costumes.

Wait a minute, I think I remember. They were singing YMCA.

You remember stuff like that, after somebody, with too much alcohol bumps into you.

That was my clue, to get away from the stage and, zoom in, to catch the action.

It can be tricky, trying to shoot these performances, on stage, at night.

The stages are small and, lighting can be harsh so, shots have to timed, to motions.

It's a good idea, to catch the rhythm and, watch the background.

It's no fun, editing photos if you have an image, with a pipe, sticking out of the singer's head.

When, I can isolate the subject, in front of a dark background, I fire away.

And, the stage scaffolding sort of, disappears.

Black backgrounds, make the rest of the colors, pop.

It looks like, I may be getting out of fashion. Plaid making a comeback, this year ?

This, living doll, stood right where, I wanted her to be and, didn't wiggle around a lot.

The background and lighting, were just what, I wanted and, I like they way, I got her eyes.

But, my favorite pose, would have been if, she got that mike, out of her face.

Maybe, she was whispering. I don't know because, my left ear quit working.

 Nobody pays me, to do these hometown events so, I don't hang around until the end.

The winners of the karaoke contest, I have no idea, who they might have been.

It could be, everybody, gets a prize; I'm no judge of music but, they were all good.

This dude, even had his dog onstage, for the act.

I'm not sure, if the little guy was supposed to sing. He didn't even want to give his paw.

It seemed like, all the dog wanted, to do, was get off the stage.

And, the master probably said, "You blew us out of 1st place, buddy!"

Poor little pup. I'll give him a picture, too. If he wants one.

Amcham Okinawa Colleague Published These Photos

Shuri Castle Gate

Tsunami Relief for Japan

Dragonboat in Naha

What the Heck is an Amcham ?

 

 

It ain't French, Spanish, Chinese or Korean.  I checked.

We were out celebrating last night and I only had one copy of the magazine to show everybody.

The wife and all my sweethearts, at every bar, wanted to know.

What's an Amcham ?

So, I just told them, it must be some kind of code-word.

Amcham, probably means, something like American Chamber of Commerce.

Americans like to do stuff like that.

For example, I use code words, whenever I go out drinking.

All the girls, working behind the bars know.  If I say "I love you," it doesn't mean I love them.

It means, I need another beer.

The missus knows, I do that, everywhere I go so, she doesn't get jealous.

She just says, "Do you still have money?"

After I have told about 5 or 6 girls, I love them, it's time to start singing some karaoke.

And, I do stuff like this:

All girls like to hear that song, even more, than me telling them I love them.


When I woke up this afternoon, the throat and head were both aching.


And, I don't know where that Amchan Magazine went.


But, I have more at the office. So, I did some research.


Amcham is part of the American Chamber of Commerce from the USA.


The President, at the time of their 60th anniversary, was Walt Christiansen.


He's an alright, old guy, you can poke LIKE over where he works.



And, if you like poking things over on Facebook, here's what you could do.

Go poke the people at the American Chamber of Commerce in Okinawa.

That's where I'm heading next.

Travel Photo: Sunset from a Bridge I Like to Sleep Under

Every once in awhile, it's a good idea to pack up the cameras and, get outta town.

It's too late to catch the sun going down tonight.

The northern areas of Okinawa have some nice, secluded places where you can camp, for free.

If I time this right, I can park the car and walk to a karaoke bar.

Get a little beer drinking and song singing done.

And, be up before the sun, looking for wild critters, to shoot.

Have a great weekend.

I'm outta here !

Plant Photos: Powderpuff Tree (Barringtonia racemosa)

These Flowers Could Be in the Doozies Files

 

Always on the lookout for something new and unusual, I spotted them on Zamami-jima.

Another thing I always do, is look for karaoke bars when I'm on another island.

It was late at night and there were spotlights turned on the tree.

Sitting down on the ground with the tripod I was trying to get the blasted camera to focus.

There was way too much beer in me already.

Along came a pretty blond girl and pack of guys who had way too much something, too.

And, they were looking for a karaoke bar.

So, off we went.

There's only one karaoke joint, that I know of, on that island.

We found it and sang songs plus, had a few more beers.

After everybody drank themselves under the table, they went home.

So, I stayed a little bit longer.

It was way past midnight when I got back to this flowering tree.

Just when I figured out how to get my camera focusing, the lights went out.

So, I asked the guy who flipped the switch if he'd turn them back on, for just a second.

 The rumor, I had heard was, these things only bloom at night.

Click, click, click and I was out of there.

ISBN4-900668-63-X is a Japanese book, I used to ID the plant.

That's where I got the name Barringtonia racemosa.

None of the sources I found online mention the flowers being night bloomers.

So, maybe, I'll have to re-visit that island and see if they bloom in daylight.

It could be a myth or, they have some sort of hybrid growing over there.

It would really be nice if I could capture these flowers in daylight for you.

Then, I could pack the camera away and go karaoke without it !

More about:  Barringtonia racemosa

Old Goat Back from Long Weekend (Photos)

These photos are just a quick preview of this old goat's weekend.

It started, sometime Saturday at a place nicknamed The Shark's Fin.

Some world class kayakers invited me to hangout with them.

We fooled around on the beach until sunset.

After sunset, the kayak people were celebrating the end of the day.

Now, I want to be a kayaker, too.

See the dude sitting in the kayak ?

He made that thing, himself.

All that's wrapped around the frame, to make the contraption float is Plastic Wrap !

He put the kayak in the ocean and paddled-away.

 After the kayakers passed out awards and certificates we found a karaoke bar.

And, sort of, took over the place.

We were singing karaoke, drinking and having a great time, well into the night.

When they ran out of Orion Beer, we went back to our campsite.

 This is a photo of the Sharks Fin taken at 5:33 this morning.

I was up at sunrise because I had to go to another island.

They had goat fights.

It was a long, and busy weekend, for this old goat, and I had a blast.

It's time to shut these computers down, go home, shower and get some sleep.

Sometimes, I forget.  I ain't exactly a kid, anymore. I just have fun until I pass out.

That's the best way to enjoy being an old goat.  More later.....

Photo: Ducking Out for the Weekend

To all those who celebrate Thanksgiving, have a happy and safe weekend.

This one will be a busy one, for me.

There are things like, a kayak event, some camping, karaoke singing, beer drinking and

Goat Fights, I have to attend !

So, I'm ducking out for the weekend, early today.

Visit my homepage for today's Feature Photo

She Gets Away With Murder This Girl (Photos)

                       This girl comes into my Bar on a Saturday night and messes with my beard

             Gets a red rubberband, twists it real tight and tries to make a ponytail out of the thing

                             Then laughs and sings karaoke until the wee hours of the morning

                     She gets away with murder only because Grandpa loves her and she knows it

                                                Anybody else tries messin' with me like that

                                                       They'll be lookin' for their teeth !


Visit my Homepage for THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

Sunday's Silly Sign APR 10, 2011: Smokers and Chewers

 Maw, we better get a new sign or have this one repainted.

Don't want customers comin' in here and thinkin the place is tacky.

Folks, I hate to tell you but, this sign has been hanging on the wall

in my karaoke bar for, heck, I don't know

maybe ten or fifteen years !

2011 The Year of The Party Rabbits: Photo Essay

My Place was invaded by Party Rabbits last night. The people of Okinawa, Japan are taking this Year of the Rabbit seriously. I didn't get out of the office with my camera before they showed up.  In case you haven't heard, my office is in a Karaoke Bar. I usually escape before the place opens on weekends. The name of the place is My Place. Here are the photos in the order I shot them.

The Party Animal Rabbit. The girl who started it all, the instant she stepped through the door.

The Attack Rabbit.  There's one in every crowd.  This guy had to be the ferocious animal rabbit.

The Peace Rabbit. Japanese girls are wired to give the peace sign whenever they see a camera.

The Look at Me, I'm a Cute Little Bunny Wabbit Rabbit struck a pose with her rabbit feet curled.



Last, but not least, was the "I Should be a Professional Model Someday Rabbit. Dontcha think ?"

There were other crazy rabbit photos taken last night but authorization was not given by The Boss Rabbit to have her photo posted.

And the Rabbit With The Three Day Hangover won't appear, either because I have an important mission to accomplish today. 

It's what you might call, "A grab the cameras, tripod, backpack, and get outa town before the Boss Rabbit wakes up kinda day".

This Year of the Rabbit is really catching on. Have you noticed any Party Rabbits invading your town, yet?


RELATED POST:  YEAR OF THE RABBIT 2011

My Picadaday

Well, this is the picaday, so far, anyway, from yesterday's photo shoot at the Kin Eisa Festival. There are still 300 some-odd more waiting to be developed and they are gonna just have to wait for me to get caught-up. When I got done last night, instead of going home to download my camera, I made the mistake of going to my office. I wasn't even sure if the latest model laptop I bought, with Windows 7 on it had a slot to pop SD Cards into but, I figured I'd find out and maybe have one beer to unwind. Then, if the camera couldn't be downloaded, I'd go home and do it on the old standby Vista-equipped laptop.

Well, sonovagun, the camera downloaded just fine and before I could finish my ice-cold beer, customers started showing up. My office happens to be a Karaoke Bar. Usually, you won't catch me doing camera related stuff in the bar when it's open. Cameras and booze don't mix well, not for me anyway. So, normally, you won't see a camera or a computer sitting on the counter when the joint is open. The stuff I leave in the bar isn't visible and most of the camera and computer gear is carried home when I'm done doing office thingys everyday.

Here in Japan it's a custom, you buy the bar tenders, hostesses and owner a drink or share whatever you happen to be drinking with them. Pretty girls, ugly guys, old people, young folks, all kinds of customers started coming in and when they spotted me at the end of the counter they'd order a beer and send it my way. Kampaii (Cheers) and "Long time no see, Mikesan" kept happening. Then, after the third beer or so they got me singing Karaoke. No telling what time I staggered home with my camera gear and took the dogs out for their walk on the beach. All I know for sure is the sun wasn't shining, yet.

It's a rough life, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. More next week.....