The Express Tribune hi five - April 22

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The Science of Bending PAGE 3

Lickable lifts, a plate of laughter and zombies on the run!

PAGE 5 Why does everyone tell you to ‘break a leg’ right before an important performance?

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Want to say “Thank You” in 15 different languages?

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d d n n e e g e L L e e h T T a a r r r o K of

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, APRIL 22, 2012

Hi light

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N Nickelodeon’s The Legend of Korra, the long-anticipated sequel to the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, is finally here! The series focuses on Korra, a teenage girl from the Southern Water Tribe and guess what? She is the new Avatar! Impatient and independent, she thinks she is ready to perform her duties as avatar but while she has already mastered the arts of waterbending, earthbending, and firebending, she has yet to master airbending, which she must learn from Aang’s son Tenzin.

The show is set in a single place called Republic City, which was founded by Aang and Zuko after the 100-year war and is now inhabited by benders and non-benders from all the nations. Set seventy years after the defeat of Phoenix King Ozai and P Princess Azula, the series takes place in an era wh technology has advanced to that of around when 1920 AD on Earth. While the only technology featured in the original series were steam powered tanks and airRe ships, Republic City now has cars, trams and lots of other new inventions, all thanks to Sokka and Mechanis And if you thought you had the Mechanist. t Sky Bison, don’t worry, seen the last of the Aang discovered a n new herd after the War and th h l colony l there iis a whole off healthy bison living on Air Temple Island! Korra even has her own special animal guide, Naga the giant polar bear dog.

There is also a new type of bending! Republic city’s police force practices the art of metalbending and is led by the daughter of Toph Beifong, who discovered metalbending in Avatar: The Last Airbender. The city also has a big arena, where teams of benders battle it out to become the ultimate pro-benders. While Aang had enemies like Azula and Ozai, the new series features a group called the Equalists, who believe that benders do not treat them as equals.

If you haven’t seen the original series, here is a small introduction that will help you understand what it was about: In the world of the Avatar, some people have the ability to bend one of the four elements, by which they control and manipulate either water, earth, fire or air. The Avatar has the power to bend all four elements and is responsible for maintaining both the balance of nature and peace between the world’s four great nations.

In Avatar: The Last Airbender, the ruthless Fire Nation led by Fire Lord Ozai is threatening to take over the world. Only Aang the Avatar, master of all four elements, can stop the evil designs of Ozai but when the world needs him the most, he disappears. A hundred years later a waterbender named Katara and her warrior brother Sokka discover a strange boy frozen in the ice. Not only do they learn that the boy is Aang the Avatar but also that he is an airbender – a race of people no one has seen in a century. Now it’s up to Katara and Sokka to make sure Aang faces his destiny to save the world. Did we mention he’s only 12?

After a four year wait, the Avatar is back! Now with a new Avatar, more bending and a polar bear dog!

What would you like to see in Hi Five? Send an email to hifive@tribune.com.pk and let us know!

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, APRIL 22, 2012

Hi light

The Science of Bending While the show is heavily influenced by East Asian art and mythology, the most amazing thing is that all the fighting styles associated with each element are derived from different styles of Chinese martial arts. Each fighting style was chosen to represent the element it projected. T’ai chi was used for waterbending because it focuses on alignment, body structure, breath, and visualisation. Hung Gar was used for earthbending because of its firm stances and powerful strikes. Northern Shaolin, which uses strong arm and leg movements, was used to represent firebending and Ba Gua Zhang, which uses circular movements and quick directional changes, was used for airbending. These martial arts are still practiced today and anyone can learn them. Practicing martial arts is a fantastic way to exercise, build strength, build agility, strengthen confidence, and most importantly have fun!

Waterbending Martial arts form: T’ai Chi Chuan Literally translated, Tai Chi Chuan means “Supreme Ultimate Fist”, and is practiced for self defence by turning your opponent’s attacks against themselves. In addition Tai Chi has a lot of health benefits, it improves your posture, increases strength, greater flexibility, and is also used as a form of meditation. Tai Chi is an excellent choice for waterbenders as it is more of a defensive type of martial arts which promotes healing and regrowth, both big themes that the waterbending nations were trying to promote throughout the show.

Firebending Martial arts form: Northern Shaolin Northern Shaolin is an aggressive form of martial arts where you push energy (called Chi in Chinese) through your body in explosive movements. It is well known for its flashy moves, quick attacks and retreats. It is also famous for its use of the spear and staff to aid in the martial arts.

Earthbending Martial arts form: Hung Gar The word Hung Gar means “to stand firm and tall with integrity” and Hung Gar is known for its low strong and inplace postures; most noticeable is its Horse Stance which was practiced for hours at a time by trainees. The art also emphasises fluid movement between the different strong types of stances which really fits well with earthbenders.

Airbending Martial arts form: Ba Gua Zhang Ba Gua Zhang is well known for its Circle Walking. It is similar to Tai Chi, but focuses on following the movements of different types of animals, including: Lion, Snake, Bear, Dragon, Phoenix, Rooster and Monkey. Ba Gua Zhang is taught with long circular motions designed to allow the student to learn how to move without taking his eyes off his opponent and also ways to quickly get behind an opponent. This is why Aang constantly moves in circles when attacking his opponents.

So what kind of bender are you? Always be sure to consult with a professional before starting any type of exercise program, especially martial arts, and remember to have fun!

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THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, APRIL 22, 2012

Activity Corner

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Lava in a bottle

s e i l Supp d: e d e ne A clear drinking bottle 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon salt Water Food colouring (optional)

Instructions: 1. Fill the bottle about 3/4 full of water.

2. Add about 5 drops of food colouring - I like red for the lava look.

3. Slowly pour the vegetable oil into the bottle. See how the oil floats on top - cool huh? It gets better.

4. Now the fun part: sprinkle the salt on top of the oil.

5. Watch blobs of lava move up and down in your bottle!

6. If you liked that, add another teaspoon of salt to keep the effect going.

How it works: So what’s going on? Of course, it’s not real lava but it does look a bit like a lava lamp. First of all, the oil floats on top of the water because it is lighter than the water. Since the salt is heavier than oil, it sinks down into the water and takes some oil with it, but then the salt dissolves and back up goes the oil! Pretty cool, huh?

Remember kids, always get permission from your parents before you start. It’s always a good idea to have a helper nearby.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, APRIL 22, 2012

World wide weird Get your weekly dose of the unusual and funny from across the globe!

Need a mood lift? Try the new lickable lift Have you ever been stuck in a slow moving lift with horrible elevator music and stinky people? Well you are in for a treat! McVitie’s Jaffa J Cakes took inspiration from Willy Wonka, Heston Blumenthal and Damien Hirst to create a Spot of Jaffa — edible elevator artwork comprising 1,325 lick-able Jaffa Cakes.

Food technicians and artists took four weeks to develop the edible elevator which is being trialled at Engine on London’s Great Portland Street.

Philippa Tilley, senior brand manager from McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes, comments: “We are all about bringing a bit more fun to life and this was the perfect way to get a little joy straight to stressed out office workers. We hope the lifts raise a smile, give people a taste for Jaffa Cakes and encourage them to go and buy a pack for the office.” SOURCE: WEB.ORANGE.CO.UK

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Catch you later, Zombies!

Is thi this room service? i ? I’d lik like a plate of laughter please For a healthy dose of laughter, a hotel in Edinburgh placed an award-winning Scottish comedian on their room service menu for a week. The hotel came up with the idea to celebrate its opening and to signal its close location to the city’s Stand Comedy Club.

Guests of the Hotel Indigo ordered a 10 minute show from Janey Godley along with their food and drink. Hopefully they didn’t choke on their food as they burst into laughter.

Janey said: “I’ve done comedy acts in lots of different places but being part of a room service menu is a first for me. I love that people at Hotel Indigo Edinburgh can ring up to order their room service and then the next moment, I’ll be in their room telling jokes and doing my act.”

Dominic Kutschera, general manager of the hotel said: “Edinburgh plays host to the world’s largest arts festival every summer and as a result Edinburgh has become synonymous with comedy. The festival theme is reflected throughout our hotel and we thought it would be fun to take this a step further by putting comedy quite literally on the menu.” SOURCE: WEB.ORANGE.CO.UK

Natural and man-made obstacles studded the course of a Philippine race, but the real danger to the thousands of runners came from the hordes of “zombies”. About 5,000 people dashed along the five kilometre course of the survival-themed race in the Laguna province, about 38 km south of Manila, dodging an assortment of the walking undead.

200 actors dressed as post-apocalyptic zombies hid behind d trees, bushes and rocky uphill climbs along the course to surrprise the unsuspecting runners and symbolically feast on their heir brains by stealing flags attached to the runners’ waists.

Once all three flags were stolen, runners were “dead”. Butt they could gain additional flags by carrying out optional tasks. ks.

Organisers said the races helped both amateur and professsional runners stay focused without the boredom that can kill some runs.

“We like watching zombie shows and it really tickles our imagination,” said Angelo Cruz, organiser of Outbreak Manila, which seeks to promote fitness through the races and plans to hold similar events in the coming months.

To keep both runners and zombies safe from injuries, organisers anisers imposed a rule that forbade the zombies from any physical contact with the runners aside from taking their flags and scaring them witless.

At the end, runners were awarded prizes for their struggle and tried to express their feelings about surviving a global zombie takeover and what might be needed. “In a zombie apocalypse, I guess it’s all about thinking about yourself and your survival,” said runner Carlos Cang. “I mean, even if you’re with friends, it’s all about you. Because, you know, once you die it’s all over.” REUTERS

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, APRIL 22, 2012

Did you know?

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s n i g i r O d r Wo You’re just about to go on stage for an important performance and someone says, ‘break a leg’. Excuse me!

To wish an actor prior to his going on stage to ‘break a leg’ is a well-known practice. A pretty strange wish, actually it is meant magically to bring him luck and make sure that his performance will be a success. The superstitious used to believe that jealous spirits are only too anxious xious to spoil any venture. A good luck wish would alert and provoke work, while a curse e them to do their evil work will make them turn their attention elsewhere. The idea is that if you wish evil, then good fortune will visit. It’s called reverse psychology these days.

How to say 'thank you' in different languages?

Arabic Chinese Danish Hawaiian Hindi Icelandic Indonesian Italian Korean Lithuanian Spanish Swedish French Dutch German

Shukran Do je (Cantonese) Tak Mahalo Dhanyavaad Thakka Thu Ther Terima Kasih Grazie Gamsahamnida A iu (pronounced achu) Gracias Tack Merci Bedankt Danke

Cool facts No two corn flakes look the same The sentence “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” uses every letter in the English alphabet The croissant was invented in Austria Lemons contain more sugar than strawberries The Grand Canyon can hold around 900 trillion footballs If you add up all the numbers from 1 to 100 consecutively (1 + 2 + 3...) it totals 5050 The Hawaiian alphabet has 12 letters Sponges hold more cold water than hot

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, APRIL 22, 2012

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Fun & games

Want to be hi five’s artist of the week?

Send your drawing with your name and age to hifive@tribune. com.pk

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, APRIL 22, 2012

This maze is a doozy! Can you make e it to the end?

SOURCE: FREE-COLORING-PAGES.COM