World Water Day This Thursday: All About Food Security and Why

World Water Day March 22, 2012

ALL YOU EAT NEEDS WATER

 

Thursday is United Nations World Water Day.

The theme this year is Water and Food Security.

What's water got to do with food security ?

Check out this 30 second video and you'll know why:

Butterfly in Blossom a Thursday Photo

Even on a cloudy day with an 80% chance of rain predicted you can find something on the mountains of Kunigami Okinawa, Japan to take a photo of in the wild.

After spending three days this week in the city of Naha it felt great getting out of town and up into the hills along the northwest coast.

Some crickets, a snake, a spider and this butterfly landing on a pink blossom were my targets today and I figured LadyE would probably like this shot best for her series of worldwide travel photography titled

 

TRAVEL PHOTO THURSDAY.

In just a minute, I'll be over there checking out all the other travelers' photography.

Sometimes in Sumo a Girl Clobbers a Guy

THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN EVERYDAY IN OKINAWAN: GIRL CLOBBERS BOY !

What usually happens looks more like this. The Ref makes introductions.

"Wearing the white belt, GIRL.  In the red, GUY".

Now that you've been formally introduced check each other out.

Get a grip. No foolin around below the belt.

May the best Sumo Wrestler win.

They go round and round.

They ain't dancing.  This is serious business.

This gal is spunky.  She puts up a good fight.

She tried every trick in the book and looked like she'd be a winner.

Doggonit, she wound up being unceremoniously dumped !

Well, the next girl to wrestle musta said to herself, "That ain't happenin to me".

And she was a blur of motion goin against that dude.

SHOVES THE GUY RIGHT OUTTA THE RING. "REF, IF THAT AIN'T GOOD ENOUGH..."

"I THROW HIS FANNY BACK IN THE RING................................................

..........................................................NOW, IS THE GUY CLOBBERED OR WHAT?"

This is my submission to LadyExpat's TRAVEL PHOTO THURSDAY.




RELATED POST: EVER SEE GIRLS SUMO WRESTLE ?


MORE ON TRADITIONAL OKINAWAN SUMO MAY BE SEEN ON THIS YOU TUBE VIDEO 
COURTESY OF VISIT OKINAWA JAPAN

Orchid (蘭) Lovers A Travel Photo Thursday Essay For You !

Yesterday was the first time in my life I ever attended an International Orchid (蘭) Show. Probably the last international thing, besides an airport, I've been in was one of those Houses of Pancakes.
Now, your average guy isn't really wild about flowers, you know. Well, you could consider me as below average in that department. I can't understand why some folks go bananas over flowers, especially the ones you can't eat. But, I know lots of people like pictures of them so, I shot lots of photos and probably have enough ot give you an orchid of the week for the next two years.

This Okinawa International Orchid Show is a big event held in the Tropical Dream Center which is part of Ocean Expo Park in Motobu Okinawa, Japan. This year it goes from 5-13 February. They have over 10,000 entries in the show every year. So, I figured it'd be best to go on a weekday and avoid all the congestion. Just imagine if each contestant just brought along one friend. There would be over 20,000 people there and not much room for visitors, like me.

Well, it turned out, it wasn't so crowded. I spent a few hours there and shot hundreds of photos, mostly of orchids. I was up until 5AM this morning developing them. So, I'll just give you a quick preview in this photo essay and have my weekly post for Travel Photo Thursday done at the same time.

Before even paying to enter the place (2:25PM) I shot this. Then, showed it on my LCD screen to someone just to make sure it was really an orchid. Now, I'm not so below average in the flower department; just a little.

There are orchids everywhere, mostly in greenhouse-type buildings, that you can get lost in while walking in circles. I took this photo ( 2:50PM) from under a shaded area to show some of the grounds outside. The observation tower is shrouded in a combination of clouds and, I think, volcanic ash from up north of Okinawa.

There are more kinds of orchids than you can imagine and people walk through the place looking up, looking down, looking all around saying stuff like, "Uuu and ahh and kirei desu, ne" while I'm saying (to myself ) "Would you hurry up and get out of my picture?"  ( 3:30PM).

The folks wearing yellow jackets are the Dream Center Staff and they are really polite and helpful. They must have thought I was somebody important because I saw them a few times telling people to steer clear of me. 

Or, it could be because I farted too loud once or twice ( 3:31PM ). Whatever it takes.

After I shot way more flower and orchid photos than I'll ever have any use for I discovered this shrine-looking thing. The Grand Champions or something special is in there. It looked way too sacred for me so, I zoomed, shot a few different compositions, bowed my head and said a quick prayer, like "I need a smoke. Gotta get outa here, amen",  and got out of there (4:05PM).

At this point I was thinking it'd be alright if I never saw another orchid for the rest of my life, when, I came across this rabbit. I think that may be orchids nearby, too. So, I shot them ( 4:27PM). It's the Year of the Rabbit. Now, I wonder if they had a Tiger there last year.

Just a few more quick photos of the outdoors and I'd be headed home.  I went to great lengths composing this photo ( 4:34PM ) and just as the shutter clicked, somebody walked into the flower arrangement in the center of the frame. Normally, I'd say "Gosh darn it" and delete but, I recognized the hat she was wearing and she's kind of a SPECIAL GIRL so, I let her stay in my picture.

Orchid (蘭) Lovers, if you're on on near Okinawa, Japan don't miss out on this once a year event.  The International Orchid Show ends this Sunday.
More information is available at: http://oki-park.jp/tropical/orchidshow/en_oios/index.htm

Gyokusendo Cave in Okinawa: Travel Photo Thursday

Tourists in the background are passing through Gyokusendo Cave in Okinawa, Japan. In the foreground is a limestone stalagmite called "The Golden Cup". Springs flowing within the cave fill the cup to overflowing and the pool of water surrounding the formation has been named "The Fountain of Happiness".

See more Travel Photo Thursday submissions at BUDGET TRAVELERS SANDBOX

More on the Caves of Okinawa at CNNGO





Related Link: PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: CAVE

Prayer in Okinawa (Travel Photo Thursday)

The Photo above was taken at an exotic event called the Shinugu Matsuri, a religious ceremony conducted only once every two years in the northern mountains of Okinawa, Japan. Only men are allowed to witness the rituals conducted in the mountains. The women do their things later.





More about these men praying in the mountains may be seen in my Article THE SHINUGU MATSURI IN OKINAWA.