"Ask a Ninja" Chosen by Forbes as One of the Top UTube sites

I'M SURE THIS SITE HAS EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NINJA'S


#1 THIS ONE ANSWERS THE QUESTION AS TO WHETHER A NINJA CAN BE KILLED


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR68W56DCBU&feature=related


#2 THIS ONE ANSWERS THE QUESTION AS TO WHETHER A NINJA CAN CATCH A COLD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO_u-knoehM&feature=related



BOTH ARE VERY SILLY....

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1 COMMENT:
Anonymous said...
Now it's all making sense! You are a Ninja! How long have you been a Ninja and does your family know?
-Curious in Colleyville

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The Ninja Restaurant:

If your only reference to Ninjas was when you saw "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," then you will need to be brought up to speed to fully appreciate our evening.

The black-robed, black-hooded Ninja is the martial arts version of the CIA and Spiderman. The origin of the Ninjas is hotly debated but some say they were "so-called rebels favoring Buddhism who fled into the mountains near Kyoto as early as the 7th. century A.D." They were organized into highly secretive groups that were structured around particular families, with their techniques passed down within that family. Ninjas relied on stealth tactics and some fairly gymnastic martial arts moves to fight larger groups of well-armed enemies. They also used some "magical" tricks to play with the enemy's mind as well as make a quick escape.

When we stepped through the door of the Ninja restaurant, we found ourselves in a small black room. A Ninja met us and made the appropriate Ninja mudra to welcome us. The mudras are called Kuji-in or 9 finger "cuts." These are special hand positions that the Ninjas use to focus their mind and activate their Ninja power. Our guide was really "activated." We then proceeded through a hidden door to reach what I call "Ninjaville." To get there, we followed our Ninja through a black passageway, down a series of steps, and at one point a draw-bridge dropped down to allow us to cross a "river." This was sort of like going through the fun house at the circus - not very convincing but fun nonetheless. Once we had crossed the bridge, we found ourselves in a small Ninja village. The individual "houses" were where the diners were seated - and of course, everything was dim, black and made of wood, bamboo, and stone. Our "house" had 2 small tables and a lily pond with water flowing through bamboo spigots.

The menu was elaborate - according to one source, there are over 100 dish choices. I didn't count.

I started off with a special apertif called "The Cleopatra." It was a tiny drink that had what looked to be real "gold" flakes on the top. It was supposed to contain a beautifing collagen ingredient from bird's nests. I feel SO Pretty!!!!

For the meal, I chose a "set," which has the many courses listed below. Greg chose safety in a steak ... and the show began...

All of the courses were teeny-tiny and served to be shared - with only about 2 bites in every course...

Course 1: Shuriken shaped crackers. The Shuriken was a flat
metal, star-shaped ninja weapon.
Shuriken were designed to hit the enemy then bounce off.
The enemy then assumed he was stabbed by an unseen opponent,
thus the Ninja reputation for invisibility. They make tasty crackers,
especially when combined with Course #2.





Course 2: A tiny little square white thing that had the consistency of Tofu but was
not....

Course 3: A little drum shaped pastry, called a "Ninja Jack-in-the-Box" that had
to be broken open with chosticks. It seemed to have some sort of salad
with fish eggs inside.

Course 4: A prickly, Conch-type shell. The Ninjas were known for their use of gun
powder and the Conch shell had a fuse coming out of it. Unfortunately
for the little critter inside, our Ninja lit the fuse. The
ensuing table fireworks cooked the shellfish and we promptly ate him.






Course 5: A tiny shot glass on a scale-type contraption. The shot glass was on one
end of the scale and a ball of ice was on the other end. The ball of ice
changed colors - from red to green and back again. I still don't know
exactly what was in the shot glass - I was told it was some
sort of liquid cabbage concoction.















Course 6: Soup. The Ninja brought a large, lidded bamboo steamer to the
table. She stuffed it with various greens and a slice of meat. Then she
dropped a VERY hot rock into the steamer.
The soup cooked in only a few minutes. Yum.

Course 7: A piece of ice candy to clear our palates - tasted like frozen grapefruit
popcicle.

Course 8: Tempura, the little fried vegetables that Japan is so well known for.

Course 9: Greg's steak came out at this point....Oh my goodness...I have NEVER
tasted such a tender piece of meat - all 4 bites of it.

Course 10: A little dish with some sort of veal casserole - another delicious
4 bites.

Course 11: Sushi rolls made with raw fish and shrimp

Course 12: Dessert - sort of a jello consistency with cream poured over it
and two TEENY TINY red berries on the top

Course 13: Tea

Course 14: Entertainment!!!! But first a little background on Ninja techniques:


The Ninja utilized a variety of weapons and tricks - especially those using gunpowder. Smoke bombs and firecrackers were widely used to aid in escape or create a diversion for an attack. They also used small "bombs" known as "eye closers." These were filled with sand and sometimes metal dust. This sand would be encased in hollowed eggs and thrown at someone, the shell would crack, and the assailant would be blinded.

A very creative form of trickery involved the use of Ashiaro which were wooden pads attached to the ninja's tabi (thick socks with a separate "toe" for the big toe). The ashiaro would be carved to look like an animal's paw, or a child's foot, allowing the Ninja to leave misleading trails for trackers.

Then there was the small ring worn on a Ninja's finger called a shobo. In hand-to- hand combat, the shobo, which had a small notch of wood on it, would be used to hit assailant's pressure points. It could even cause temporary paralysis - sort of a Ninja version of Dr. Spock's "Startreck Vulcan neck grab."

...Back to the entertainment course...We had our very own Ninja magician who did some really "cheesey" magic tricks and ended with a failed card trick. When he was not able to "guess" our chosen card, he suddenly pulled out his Ninja knife to commit "hari-kari," the ritual Japanese suicide. Luckily for all of us, it was a collapsing knife. That could have ruined a very wonderful dinner.

My interest in the Ninjas has definitely been piqued....I could use some of their disappearing techniques ...and all those firework distractors and the leaving of fake footprints could have helped while raising children. When I return to Austin, I envision teaching a Community College class entitled "Ninja Parenting & Stealth Tactics."

Star Wars Storm Trooper Dancing in Tokyo

http://starwars.yahoo.com/videos/dancing-stormtrooper-version-1

Don't you just love it how everyone runs when the stop light changes....enjoy

Japanese Marriage Proposal: Click on the Cartoon to Enlarge It for Reading

I have been trying to figure out what is going on between Japanese men and Japanese women...I'm wondering how close to the truth this cartoon is....

Don't forget to click on the cartoon to enlarge it for reading....

I'm Getting a Little Concerned About Our Heating Bill

Went to Jusco this week and they had set up a new display...There were tables with blankets on them - and I'm talking about tables with down comforters - not just a long tablecloth...Looks like you sit down and sort of "tuck yourself in." Does that just mean that it gets cold here - or does that mean it gets cold here AND it costs too much to keep your mansion heated???

Kabuki Theater: We Need This For Our Political Campaigns: Or, The Japanese Opera and Heavy Metal Have a Lot in Common

It was a bit rainy on Saturday and the "Dancing Elvises" were not in front of the park, so what's a girl to do???? Go KABUKI!!!!




I went over to Kabuki-za, Tokyo's premiere Kabuki Theater, for performance of this traditional artform. Apparently, these things go on for hours. Thankfully, they are broken up into small plays for folks that don't have a day and evening to spend at Kabuki. I bought a ticket for a 1 1/2 hour set and went and "set" myself down.

My first impression of Kabuki was that "Someone has slammed the cat's tail in the door. Please put that cat out of its misery..." And, to make matters worse,the howling cat is accompanied by a guy on an out of tune metal-stringed guitar that can only play 3 notes.....Help!!!! I've still got an hour and 29 minutes to go!!!!

OK, that is probably what some folks say about Opera and probably what our parents said about Heavy Metal rock concerts. So I slapped myself on the face a few times and decided to see what was really happening on stage....

Kabuki was, of course, developed before the days of microphones. The characters depend upon other measures to get their point across to the audience. First of all, they have perfected the art of make-up. The faces have a white base of rice powder with greatly exaggerated, colorful facial expressions (Think of "Kiss," live in concert.) The colors used give a clue as to the role of the actor. Red is for passion, heroism, and other positve traits. Blue or black represent villainy, jealousy, and bad guys. Green is supernatural and purple is for nobility. The other clue to the personaliy is his "mie," a pose that a particular actor assumes to establish his character. (If you are on Interstate 35 and see someone flipping other drivers off, that is probably his "mie.") In addition, the acting is melodramatic to the extreme. There is no problem figuring out who's who.

The Kabuki that I attended was the story of a shy artist who was going to have to commit Hari-Kari (suicide) because he was such a failure. He is fortunately, or unfortunately, married to a VERY talkative wife who goes to plead his case before the local nobility (think Purple Face). Alas, there is no hope. He's just a lousy artist. At that point there is a great dance number performed by a character with a sword, representing the artist's upcoming demise. He was dancing in cotton shoes so there was a musician on the side who hit a board on the stage - to mimic the sound of the dancer's steps on the road. This was very cool.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... there has been a lot happening on the stage itself. The Japanese high-tech stages date back to the 18th. century and are quite elaborate. From the set, there are walkways that extend out into the audience - for dramatic entrances and exits. There are also trap doors, revolving sets, and wires - in the event that someone needs to fly (Mary Martin in Peter Pan probably got her idea from Kabuki). There are also these little mime-guys in black who are supposed to be invisible. They come out and move things; but, their most important job takes place when an actor suddenly unmasks his true personality. They rush out on stage and change the actors costume to match the new personality revelation.

But I digress ... back to the story.... When faced with his death, the artist becomes inspired (some of us only perform under stress). He creates a work of art that brings everyone on stage to tears. There is LOTS of crying and sobbing going on. In fact, this crying and sobbing goes on and on and on. Maybe they forgot their lines or something. For the grand finale, the little mime-guys dressed in black come out and change the artist's costume - for the artist is now transformed by his brush with death and his talent is finally recognized. This was true drama, the story of us all - we're not quite good enough - but death is facing us so we scurry to produce our artwork - and rejoice at our ultimate triumph when little mime-guys come to change our clothes in public. I'm not sure how that last part fits in....

All in all, it was a most interesting afternoon and, despite my tongue in cheek comments, I was extremely impressed with the talent of the actors, dancers, and musicians. Even in a foreign language the passion of the story rang true.

Most importantly, after meditating upon the nature of Kabuki, I was suddenly struck with a GREAT idea for applying Kabuki theater in the USA. This would be a terrific format for Presidential Election Debates! Candidates would be required to have their faces painted so that we could have color-coded clues about their personalities and true agendas. The trap doors would help us drop pesky people from the debate floor. And, best of all, we would have the little mime-guys in black rush out and change the candidates clothes when their true natures begin to show. Because some of the candidates might be changing clothes as often as a 98 pound model in a Paris fashion show, it could be very entertaining. I'll guarantee that the American public would tune-in enmasse for the Kabuki Kampaigns. Let's go KABUKI!!!

Ki-iki-jutsu: "The Breath of Life" or Stopping a Heart Attack With Your Hands

According to the little known Asian health practice called Ki-iki-jutsu, which means "breath of life," you can stop a heart attack by placing your right fingertips on the person's fifth thoracic vertebra (midway between the most prominent parts of the shoulder blades on the back) and, with your left hand, hold the little finger of the person's left hand. They say it takes 2 - 4 minutes for results. I hope you never need to do this but, if it works, it will be time well spent while you wait for the ambulance to arrive.

This Japanese food looks AWFUL but ...

So why aren't we all eatting this????? Well, duh, it looks AWFUL.... What are those stringy, gooey things anyway??? This supposedly tastes like cheese but I have avoided it like the plague. I guess I'll have to try it now....


A researcher at University of Chicago's Medical School has discovered that a traditional Japanese dish made from fermented soybeans, called NATTO, dissolves blood clots with no side effects. It stimulates your body to produce more of its own clot-dissolving plasmin. It lowers blood pressure and unlike Coumadin, won't make your blood too thin, no matter how much of it you eat.....

World's Top 10 Most Livable Cities by the International Herald Tribune

Tokyo wins the TOP place for a BIG city and the # 4 place overall. Here's what they said:

"Integrated transport, breathtaking technology, great service, & the best bars make this our top big city. The real Tokyo for the most part confounds expectations. Visitors are rarely prepared for the other side of the city, so unlike its raucous alter ego: The quietness of the subway, the peaceful residential streets, the old-fashionedness of the place."

I would have to agree with the above. I was totally unprepared for the quiet, peaceful atmosphere and lovely people that are so patient with foreigners.