Celebrating 750,000 Views at a Live House in Okinawa

What better way could a guy celebrate 750,000 blog views than this ?

Here's Boss.

He has a band and Live House not far from my bar.

So, last night after consuming way over the daily recommended minimum of beers,  I decided to go visit Boss's place.

Don't ask what possessed me to bring a camera along.  That's not recommended but, I did it anyway.

Boss is an alright dude who picks a mean guitar.

He lets me get right up on the stage where I can zoom in on the action.

That pretty girl is Aki.  She plays the keyboard.

She plays the guitar.

Plus she sings and dances better than anyone in town.

One of these days, I promised Boss, I'll go back over there with a tripod and no beers in me.

Then, do some professional shooting.  These photos were taken with my little CANON G12.

After I lost my balance and fell off the stage a few times, I took several more beer breaks.

Not wanting to let a good opportunity go to waste, I handed the camera to RyukyuRu.

He took 75 photos, or so, and I'm waiting for him to show up to get the files off my computer.

If we're lucky, he may do one of those MAP IT OKINAWA posts on this Live House.

I hope so, because, to tell the truth,  I don't even remember the name of the place !

750,000 views was a big event for me and I think, maybe I over-celebrated a bit.

Head hurts.

Stomach feels queasy.

Gotta go way up north and try to shoot a lunar eclipse tonight.

Think I'll go buy a few Ginger Ales.

Groan

Weird News: Ahem, Ahum the Dude Slipped and Fell

Tis the season to be jolly, ya know.  My morning routine usually consists of wading through piles of emails deleting half of them before reading the stuff I think is important.  Then, I try to pick something interesting out of what's left to open first.  There's no sense starting off your day reading the boring material.  I save that for around lunchtime.  It helps prepare me for my midday power nap.
  
                              Well, my cousin Paul emailed me this weird news that just cracked me up.

              The old geezer is sort of a redneck, ahem, ahum, like me and he knew I'd enjoy this immensely.

It's about a dude out shopping for a computer in Augusta, Georgia, USA.

Only he wasn't planning on paying so, slipped a laptop under his jacket.  Confronted by an employee, the dude knocks him down, pulls a knife and heads for the door.

Four United States Marines were just outside doing what they always do around Christmas time.  They were  collecting Toys for Tots.

They stopped the dude.

He stabbed one of them.

That's about the time he slipped and fell off the city sidewalk

Poor feller got two broken arms, a broken ankle, broken leg, some missing teeth, multiple contusions and lacerations, broken nose and jaw and maybe, some cracked ribs.

"City sidewalks, busy sidewalks

Dressed in holiday style

In the air there's a feeling of Christmas

Children laughing, people passing

Meeting smile after smile"

Now, I got that crazy SILVER BELLS TUNE stuck in my head.

Thanks, Paul and the US Marines for bringing me some early Christmas smiles.

NOTE:  This may be a true story.  Check out THE POLICE NEWS

BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU GO SHOPPIN IN THEM BIG TOWNS

YOU COULD SLIP AND FALL OFF THOSE CITY SIDEWALKS !

Travel Alert: This Saturday Night We'll Have A Total Lunar Eclipse

Don't panic.  The moon isn't going anywhere.  The lights don't even go out.

The word first came to me from my buddy at CosmoBC, an Astronomy Dude.

Most of the travelers I know will be in a country where this event is visible.

Just make sure you have a tripod handy for your camera.

And pray for clear skies.

YAHOO SPACE WATCHING GUY SAYS WE'LL GET AN IMPOSSIBLE SIGHT !

That's why I'm calling this a Travel Alert.

Some of my best friends happen to be lunatics and might want to get out with their cameras to shoot some impossible photos.

FOR TIPS ON HOW TO SHOOT THE MOON SEE: PHOTORGAPHY TIPS

VISIT MY HOMEPAGE FOR THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

Flower (花) Photos: The Christmas Candle (Senna alata) Okinawa

These Christmas Candle Flowers (花) bloom near my house about this time every year.

When I see them, I'm usually walking dogs and in a hurry to get home out of the cold wind.

This morning I almost hitched the dogs up to a guardrail to shoot a photo with my phone camera.

The position they are in is on top of a hill that's just too windy, though.  Then, I thought about snipping of a nice looking stem with my Swiss Army Knife scissors.  But some nosey old bat looking out her window might be watching me trimming her plants.

So, I figured, nah.  No sense going to jail this close to Christmas.

Well, sonovagun if I didn't already have some photos I took of these bright yellow flowers way back in December of 2008 !

See, I'm doing my 1st end-of-the-year-photo-file-shrinking, today.

That's where I shrink all the humongous 10 megapixel files down to almost nothing.

Then, throw all the computer-space-hogging stuff away.

The Adobe Elements Program I use flashed these photos on my screen as it was crunching them.

Yeah, I already had some photos of the flowers, stashed away.

These flowers took some time researching.  After about two hours of squinting at yellow flower photos from all around the world,  I finally nailed and ID for you.

They have all sorts of common names for this plant.

Golden Candlesticks, Popcorn Senna, Seven Golden Candlesticks, call it whatever you like.

From now on they are Christmas Candles (Senna alata) to me.

MORE INFO ABOUT CHRISTMAS CANDLE PLANTS 

Do you have any Christmas Candle Flowers (花) where you live ?

If not, maybe, I can pinch a few seeds for you when nobody's lookin' !

2011 Top Ten Blog Posts at Mike's Ryukyu Gallery

It may be early but, I don't have time to procrastinate.  So, here it is, the Top Ten Blogs from 2011.

Sunday's Silly Sign Jun 5, 2011 with over 6500 pageviews.

What's Wrong With That Picture?: Wrong Grandpa over 6800 views.

Laptop Cooling Tower: The Redneck Version over 6900 views.

Photo of the Week: Sunset at the Elephant's Nose over 8400 views.

Sunday's Silly Sign APR 10, 2011 over 8500 views.

What's Wrong With That Picture?  Drunk Pilots in India over 9600 views.

Today I went Down Some Spooky Old Stairs over 10000 views.

Flower: Sakura Okinawa, Japan over 12000 views.

Cherryblossom Festival Okinawa, Japan over 13000 views.

Elephant Ear Plant (Photo) Crazy.  What'll They Think of Next ?  Over 14000 pageviews.

2011 has been a heck of a year and those who read my blogs have been very supportive.

              Ya'll know I'm not the best writer in the world.  And blogging isn't what I'd rather be doing. 

        But, just enough of you keep coming back to see what Mike's Ruyukyu Gallery is up to each day. 

So, I try to come up with something new for you every day.  Your comments and mails are what keep me going. 

                                    These aren't really my top ten blog posts.  They're your top ten.

            THANKS FOR A GREAT 2011.  HAVE SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS THROUGH THE NEW YEAR !

VISIT MY WEBSITE FOR THE PHOTO OF THE DAY