Comfort Viewing: "The Karate Kid, Part Two" (1986)

Had enough of the never-ending drumbeat of negativity, identity politics, and divisive rhetoric from all fronts?  Let me recommend one of my favorite movies, now celebrating its 30th anniversary (!).  I assume that you - as properly educated humans - have already seen 1984's original The Karate Kid, yes?  Of course you have.

There is a lot of good stuff in the sequel that it manages to engage without being prissy or preachy - eternally resonant themes like honor, justice, standing up for yourself, respect, mercy, love, friendship, family (both of blood and of choice), forgiveness, and reconciliation across divides of age, race, culture, geography, and time - and I'll leave it to you to enjoy the story, along with a gloriously bombastic, cheesy soundtrack. Hey, it's the 80s! It's OK!

 

By the way, don't bother with the rebooted Karate Kid from 2010.  Look, I love Jackie Chan as much as anybody, but there's only one Mr. Miyagi, and he is the late, great Pat Morita.  Go rewatch the original Karate Kid.

Rules for Duels

Check out the Code Duello and then watch the Firefly episode "Shindig."  Here's the clip if you're in a hurry.  Dueling with swords is so much more fun to watch than dueling with pistols.

Japan: Railway Employee Versus Unruly Passenger

You go, girl.

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Meet the 10 most educated MMA fighters. Together they hold a very impressive number of graduate degrees.  One used to be a math teacher, a fact that made me think of this.

Nerd Journal: Meet Lady Krav MaGaga

I've fled Nerdworld for a few days for Thanksgiving, so I'm happily home and catching up with old friends.  One of them has just spent a few months picking up a brand new skill set as a hobby, and it turns out she wasn't needlepointing or gardening or messing with decoupage. Nope, the girl was taking Krav Maga lessons for fitness and fun.  (You do know what Krav Maga is?)  She also just got her first belt, so she'll now be known on this blog as Lady Krav MaGaga.

So we were just hanging out over coffee and she was telling me about her new hobby.

"Oh!" I said. "I heard it isn't very pretty but that it's brutally effective."

"Yeah!" She perked up. "Hey, wanna see?"

"OK!"

Famous last words, right?

"So sneak up behind me and grab my hair," she said, instructing me to be the bad guy.

And then POW!  She pulled her punches and didn't make actual contact, but about ten seconds later I was like, "Uhhhh ... DUDE, HOLY CRAP."

She grinned. 

"So basically if I were a real bad guy, I'd be a puddle on the floor screaming, 'Oh, my balls!'"

"Teehee!  Here, grab my hair again and I'll show you in slo-mo."

Let it be known, potential muggers and assorted scumbags out there, do NOT mess with this chick!  She looks all cute and little, but Lady Krav MaGaga will beat the stuffing out of you and look all adorable while doing it.  And don't think about sneaking up behind me and grabbing me by the hair either.

So what did you think my friends and I do when we're not studying?  Sitting around with glossy fashion magazines and talking about boys and makeup?  Well, OK, sometimes, but not always. 

Quirky Asia Files: Samurai Swimming in Japan

More info here.

Nerd Journal: What Geeky Siblings Do For Fun

We watch a ton of viral videos together while laughing uproariously.  Here's one example that you might enjoy (slight language warning):

Awesome: Dirtbag Gets Magnificent Comeuppance

Mwahahahaha!  Here's the headline: "Caught On Tape: Clerk Punches, Knocks Out Armed Robber; Clerk Then Makes Suspect Clean Up His Own Blood."  Somebody buy that clerk a beer!

A Renaissance Man

I'm glad there are still some Renaissance men out there!

Judo's First Female 10th-Degree Black Belt Master

Only 3 other people have ever achieved this, the highest level, and they are all men living in Japan.  They have now been equaled by 98-year-old Sensei Keiko Fukuda of San Francisco.  Oooh, and here's a cool factoid: "Fukuda is the only living student of judo's founder Jigoro Kano who opened his first judo school in 1882."

OK, Vlad, You Win: You're the Manliest World Leader Out There.

You can stop showing off now.  KTHXBAI!

Holiday Humor: Ninjabread Men!

Traditional Christmas gingerbread men cookies + Asian action movies = AWESOME.

Everybody was kung fu fighting.

Movie Review: the Cine-Sib Reviews the "Karate Kid" Remake

On the whole, he liked it.

Karate Kid is a surprisingly well-acted & directed remake of the 1984 classic, reimagined as a fish-out-of-water tale in China with kung fu, NOT karate (cue marketing misnomer stir, purists). Its tautly-paced 140 minutes foster proper character development, with levity ensconced in pathos infused with effective emotional gravitas by Jaden Smith & Jackie Chan, eschewing his usual schtick & giving his best dramatic performance.

(Dude, the Cine-Sib actually used the word "gravitas"?)

Here comes the haiku!

Jacket on and off
That could be annoying, man
Just shut up and train

Hollywood Remake?
Really, couldn't really tell
They did a good job

Best Headline EVER: "Ninjas Rescue Student From Muggers"

Check out this news story from Sydney, Australia!

Friday Fun Video: Sushi Versus Bao

Who said you shouldn't play with your food?

Super Baozi vs Sushi man from sun haipeng on Vimeo.

Quirky Asia Files: Japan's Modern Samurai

Via TokyoMango comes this insane video from Japanese TV. In some ways, it's like a crazy samurai-flavored version of "Stupid Human Tricks," but it's still worth a look. The guy's knife skills are pretty impressive. Enjoy! (Hm, it does make me think of this too, though.)

Bonus: Engrishy subtitles.

Geek Fun: Iron Man Versus Bruce Lee

Dedicated to the Cinema-Mad Sibling. Enjoy, all! (Via the Movie Blog.)