The Express Tribune hi five - January 31

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Your Proofness: Dilaira Dubash Master Storyteller: Hurmat Majid Creativity Analysts: Jamal Khurshid, Essa Malik, Talha Ahmed Khan, Mohsin Alam, Maryam Rashid, Hira Fareed, Nabeel Khan, Sobia Khan and Umar Waqas

16 31, 20

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 31, 2016

Hi light

Even though it is widely believed that ninja are just a part of myth and legend but the truth is that they actually existed.

The reason they are considered mythical is because over the centuries their tales have been destorted and exaggerated.

None the less it is true that a Ninja or shinobi was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of the ninja included: espionage, sabotage, infiltration, assassination and guerrilla warfare.

Here are a bunch of facts from history that tell us more about them.

Origins of the ninja It is difficult to pin down the emergence of the first ninja, more properly called shinobi. After all, people around the world have always used spies and assassins.

Japanese folklore states that the ninja descended from a demon that was half man and half crow. However, it seems more likely that the ninja slowly evolved as an opposing force to their upperclass contemporaries, the samurai, in early feudal Japan.

Most sources indicate that the skills that became ninjutsu, the ninja’s art of stealth, began to develop between 600-900 AD

Who were the ninja?

Mainland influences By the year 850, the Tang Dynasty in China was in decline.

It would fall in 907, plunging China into 50 years of chaos; the collapse prompted some Tang generals to escape over the sea to Japan.These commanders brought new battle tactics and philosophies of war with them. Chinese monks also began to arrive in Japan in the 1020s, bringing new medicines and fighting philosophies of their own.

Many of the ideas originated in India, and made their way across Tibet and China before turning up in Japan.

The monks taught their methods to Japan’s warriormonks or yamabushi, as well as to members of the first ninja clans.

Some of the ninja leaders, or jonin, were disgraced samurai like Daisuke Togakure. They had lost in battle or had been renounced by their daimyo, but fled rather than committing ritual suicide.

Most ordinary ninja were not from the nobility, though. They were villagers and farmers, who learned to fight by any means necessary for their own self-preservation. The most famous ninja strongholds were the Iga and Koga provinces.

Women also served in ninja combat.

Female ninja, or kunoichi, infiltrated enemy castles in the guise of dancers or servants. They were successful spies and sometimes acted as assassins as well.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 31, 2016

Ninjutsu versus bushido The first known ninja school For a century or more, the blend of Chinese and native tactics that would become ninjutsu developed as a counter-culture, without rules. It was first formalised by Daisuke Togakure and Kain Doshi.

Daisuke had been a samurai, but he was on the losing side in a regional battle. He forfeited his lands and his samurai title.

Ordinarily, a samurai might commit seppuku (ritual suicide under disgrace) under these circumstances, but Daisuke did not.

In 1162, Daisuke was wandering the mountains of southwest Honshu when he met Kain Doshi, a Chinese warrior-monk.

Daisuke renounced his bushido code, and together the two developed a new theory of guerrilla warfare called ninjutsu.

Daisuke’s descendants created the first ninja school, the Togakureryu.

Ninja clothing, tools and weapons In modern movies and comic books, ninjas are portrayed in all-black clothing, with only their eyes showing. This costume, however, comes from the kabuki theatre.

Actual ninjas wore navy blue for night operations, because it is harder to see on a dark night. Usually, however, they dressed to blend in with their targets — as any sensible espionage agent would do. They dressed as farmers, peddlers, foot soldiers, or actors, depending on their objective. Ninja tools and weapons included: shinobi gatana, medium-length swords; the bo and naginata, war staves and pikes; and martial arts like karate. Ninja also developed special equipment like the shuko, an iron hand-crampon used for climbing and the tessen, a sharpened metal fan.

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

Ninjutsu developed as an opposing force to the samurai code of bushido. Samurai valued loyalty and honour above all else. Going into battle, a samurai would select a single opponent, announce his challenge, list his family pedigree,and then attack. Samurai wore bright colours on their armour to announce their clan identity.

Ideally, at least, bushido was noble and highly stylised, but it couldn’t always get the job done.

That is where ninjutsu came in: the ninja code valued accomplishing a mission by whatever means necessary.

Sneak attacks, poison and spying were all shameful to the samurai, but fair play by the rules of the ninja.

Samurai use of the ninja The samurai lords could not always prevail in open warfare, but they were constrained by bushido. So, they often hired ninja to do their dirty work. Secrets could be spied out, opponents assassinated or misinformation planted... without sullying a samurai’s honour.

This system also transferred wealth to the lower classes, as ninja were paid handsomely for their work. Of course, a samurai’s enemies could also hire ninja. As a result, the samurai needed, despised and feared the ninja in equal measure.

The ninja ‘high man’ or jonin, gave orders to the chunin, ‘middle man’, who passed them on to the genin, ordinary ninja.

Ninja techniques Ninjutsu is practical; if a tactic is effective, then it is acceptable. The eight methods taught were: body skills, karate, spear fighting, staff fighting, blade-throwing, use of fire and water, fortification and strategy and concealment.

Many ninja weapons were modified from farm sickles, saws for wood cutting, pruning shears, etc. If discovered, these items would not give away a ninja’s identity.

Among the ninja were expert poisoners. Poison was added to food or applied to a dart or blade. Some ninja disguised themselves as flute-playing mystics. The sturdy flute could be used as a club or blow-dart tube.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 31, 2016

Trivia

4

Q: What’s black and white and makes a lot of noise?

A: A zebra with a drum kit

Facts about black holes Just as a clock runs a bit slower closer to sea level than up on a space station, clocks run really slow near black holes. It all has to do with gravity.

They can be infinitely big or so some theories state. But without a doubt when it comes to something of this nature there are scientists on both sides of the fence.

The nearest black hole to the Earth is 1,600 light years away.

Q: How do you make a fruit punch?

A: Give it boxing lessons

Our galaxy is covered in black holes but the one most likely to destroy our planet is still well beyond our solar system’s borders.

There is a massive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy, it’s 30,000 light years away and is over 30 million times as massive as our sun.

Q: What lies at the bottom of the sea and shakes?

A: A nervous shipwreck

In most textbooks you will probably see black holes that look like funnels. This is because they are being illustrated from the perspective of gravity wells. In reality, they are more like spheres.

Black holes have the capacity to distort space itself, and as they continue to spin, that distortion gets just as distorted. It’s an infinite regression of distortions.

Q: What has four legs but can’t walk?

A: A chair

Q: What is common between a wedding and a horse?

A: They both need a groom

Although it seems obvious that a black hole is incompatible with life, most people think they would just get crushed. This isn’t necessarily the case. You would most likely get stretched to death because whatever part of your body reaches the horizon first will experience significantly more gravity.

Modern astronomers have shown that black holes actually come in different variations. There are spinning black holes, electrical black holes and spinning electrical black holes. The type of black hole depends on the amount of energy it puts out when it distorts space.

APP REVIEW

For those new to Minecraft, it is a sandbox game where users explore the game world made entirely of blocks or enlarged pixels. Players explore at their own pace and may collect and store resources, build structures or battle hostile creatures called ‘mobs’ to earn rewards or ‘drops’ that help gain experience points and can be spent to enhance tools, weapons and armour furthering the playing experience.

The Minecraft Pocket Edition app for iOS and android is available in a lite (free) or paid version for Rs700. In the paid Pocket Edition (PE), game play is much the same as the PC described above though with limited resources.

Players can enjoy the ability to play alone or in a multi-player mode where users can connect with up to five other local players to explore other player created worlds. Unlike the full version, the ‘hot bar’ is smaller, limiting immediate availability of items.

Playing alone or in the multi-player option, game play in Minecraft PE exists in two distinct modes: creative mode and survival mode. In creative mode, players can build whatever they can imagine without having to mine and collect resources. Here players can access an unlimited ‘creative inventory’ pre-stocked with all necessary building materials. In survival mode, player’s start with zero resources and everything must be mined and then crafted by punching trees or earth to gain items. Everything from food to armour must be found or crafted including seeds, blocks and weapons that give players the ability to generate other items.

Hunger is another factor that will decrease the life and effectiveness of player characters. Players may choose to farm food from found seeds but players must first hoe “farmland” to be able to grow food.

While differences in actual game play between Minecraft and Minecraft PE are few, Minecraft Pocket Edition has no experience gauge making play more challenging because items cannot be enhanced or enchanted for more durability or longevity. Items, particularly tools, will wear out and need to be recreated during play.

A pickaxe for example will not go on to break through rock eternally. The PE does not have the alternate dimension known as ‘The Nether’ where players can travel faster. The Nether is a favored dimension known for it’s specialty hostile mobs and subsequent drops, however, players can choose to create a ‘Nether Tower’ that summons some Nether materials. Creating the tower is a feat, as it requires a great deal of time and materials.

Overall the game has been quite a hit both with android and iOS users.

User rating:

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 31, 2016

Get your weekly dose of unusual and funny news from across the globe!

A second chance A tiny green lizard found by a New Jersey kindergarten student in a bundle of chilled salad greens at home has wriggled its way into the hearts of an entire elementary school class, which has adopted it as a mascot. The three-inch (7.5cm) critter went unnoticed for a few days in the refrigerator in Princeton, New Jersey, before Sally Mabon and her daughter Faye found its limp body while unwrapping a bunch of tatsoi, an Asian leaf. Warmth restored its energy and soon the anole lizard was on its way to Riverside Elementary School, where it caught ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ like flies, and quickly became the class pet.

Less Godzilla and more Geico Gecko, the juvenile lizard has been named ‘Green Fruit Loop’ by the children.

“It’s great because the kids are studying DNA and the anole is the only reptile to have its entire DNA code sequenced,” said science teacher Mark Eastburn of Riverside Elementary School in Princeton. The lizard has feasted on a live cricket and some fruit flies and has no appetite for tatsoi, according to Eastburn. UK.REUTERS.COM

World wide weird

5

Japanese magic

It’s a new spin on a centuries-old art: Bonsai trees that literally float in the air.

Japanese inventors have not only created this surreal way of showing off bonsai, they’re ready to bring these levitating trees to market. The kit includes a magnetic ‘energy base’ that sits beneath the tree and a ‘little star’ made of moss or lava. Place a tree or plant weighing about 10.5 ounces or less into the little star, and it will float about seven-tenths of an inch above the base. The cheapest package that includes everything needed to float a tree — but not the tree itself — costs $200. Kits with plants or trees start at $500, but due to agricultural regulations, will not include the ones in the images, which are from Japan. US customers will receive American-grown trees such as pine.

The floating bonsai kits are expected to begin shipping in August. HUFFINGTONPOST.COM

Expensive decor Twin town A village in Ukraine has been branded the ‘Land of the Twins’ because a recordbreaking 122 of them live there. The village of Velikaya Kopanya in south-west Ukraine’s Zakarpattia Oblast region has less than 4,000 inhabitants. But the number of twins for such a small place is extraordinarily high, with 122 of them in total. The village with 61 pairs of twins has already made it into the Ukraine’s record book and may end up in the Guinness Book of World Records . Locals say that the number of newly-born twins in the village is higher than anywhere else in the country. Maryana Savka, a local councillor, said, “The ultimate baby boom came in the year 2004. But ever since then we are having at least between two and three sets of twins born every year.” The double-effect even extends to cattle — there are above average births of cow twins too. MIRROR.CO.UK

When Lady Isabella Hertford sought to brighten up her 1820s dining room, cutting colourful birds out of a handy book must have felt like an inspired idea. No one would have guessed back then that the decision could one day be worth £7.3 million. This is because the book she chose was not just any old ornithology survey, but a rare copy of John James Audubon’s famous Birds of America. His ornate sketches of exotic birds have adornd the walls of Temple Newsam House in Leeds, in a decorating decision which has now lasted for nearly 200 years.

The rare nature of the books means that if Lady Hertford’s copy had survived, the current owner could have been in line for a multi-million-pound nest egg today.

The house will reopen to the public in February, in time for spring visitors, as a new curator unveils the conservation work. Built in 1518 the stately home also boasts gardens designed by Capability Brown and 40 rooms which have held a notable selection of art and furniture.

Easily the most colourful is the chinese drawing room, which was almost entirely decorated she “decided it needed to be more lively”. TELEGRAPH.CO.UK

The lost kitten

By Soniya Fareed One afternoon, a little boy had lost his kitten. He looked under his bed. He looked all over his house. But still there was no kitten. Finally, he looked for his kitten in the garden.

After a few hours, he still could not find the kitten.

The little boy was tired and was about to give up. Then he saw his neighbour, Mrs Hardin.

“I beg your pardon, Mrs Hardin. Is my kitten in your garden?” asked the little boy.

“Oh yes, she is. She is chewing on a bone,” replied Mrs Hardin.

The little boy climbed the fence and saw his kitten chewing on a bone. He was so happy that his kitten was not lost but had only gone to his good neighbour’s house. And so the boy learnt his lesson, not only did he become more responsible and kept an eye on his pet, he also learned not to lose hope when life looks grim.

Share your short stories with us.

Email them to hifive@tribune.com.pk

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 31, 2016

Reading corner

6 Amp up your nail game with these super easy designs:

Directions:

Material • White and black nail polish

• Apply white nail polish.

• Clear top coat

• Paint a thin, curved black line for the outline of the black area.

• Thin paintbrush

• Fill in with black nail polish.

• Apply clear top coat to make the design last longer.

Material • Black, white and grey nail polish • Clear top coat • Thin paintbrush

Directions: • Paint your nails a single colour.

• Let the paint dry and then paint the tiniest possible dots over each nail in the opposite colour.

• Let everything dry completely before you apply a top coat to make the design last longer.

Directions:

Material • Black and white nail polish

• Paint your nails white.

• Clear top coat

• Use the thin paintbrush to draw tiny dots to form the pattern for the bow, as shown in the picture.

• Thin paintbrush

• Fill in the pattern and let everything dry.

• Add three dots as buttons and a black stripe at the edge of the nail.

• Add a top coat to make your design last longer.

Fun Fact: Storing nail polish in the refrigerator to keep it from drying out. This also ensures smoother application.

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 31, 2016

Activity corner

7

Test your problem solving skills by solving the puzzle in the least possible time.

Key to last week’s puzzle.

Find all the words given below in the puzzle to help Scooby and friends: MYTH MYSTERY GHOST MONSTER CRIMINAL

HAUNTED SCARY TEAM SHAGGY SCOOBY

VELMA DAPHNE FRED SPIRIT CAUGHT

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, JANUARY 31, 2016

Much like the character she played in Paper Towns, Cara Delevingne seems to be enveloped in a cloud of mystery that makes her almost too good to be true. Here are some random facts about her that you may not have known.

Your arrival will always be greeted with utmost glee Honestly, who doesn’t like coming home to someone who is absolutely excited to see them?

Love, love and more love There is no question about it. Scientists have shown that dogs do indeed have a strong emotional tie to their owners; an emotional tie that is unique within the animal kingdom and can even be stronger than the tie between humans. It’s safe to say that no other animal will love you like a dog.

Delevingne got her start in modeling, posing for thousands of product pictures for an online retailer.

Dogs want to make you happy It’s true. According to studies, one of the major drivers for a dog is to please his pack leader (you). In other words, a dog’s delight is to know that you are delighted. Isn’t that delightful?

Delevingne says she never works out and loves to eat junk food. She is often seen picking up McDonald’s. She also claims the high levels of stress she faces keeps the weight off.

Dogs love to give affection A recent study found that humans need about 12 good hugs a day to be healthy. This is a clear indicator of the human need for affection, and it is guaranteed that no animal is going to give you as much affection as a dog.

She was scouted by Sarah Doukas, the cofounder of Storm Model Management in London — the same person who once discovered a young Kate Moss and Delevingne’s sister Poppy.

The model grew up in a wealthy British family but recently said that she didn’t enjoy the rich lifestyle because it just wasn’t her idea of fun.

Delevingne never wanted to be a model and revealed her first love was acting. She has said she sees her modeling work as a role to play and never expected it to take off as a career.

As well as modeling and acting, Delevingne is a talented musician. She can drum and also has a great voice. In fact, she has already collaborated with several artists and is rumoured to be at work on an album of her own.

She’s quite short by industry standards — 5’7” or 5’8” (she’s not sure).

She claims to be really good at beatboxing and has been doing it since before she even knew it was called beatboxing.

Delevingne dreams to start her own record label, to give all the talented musicians around her a real shot.

They have a positive impact on your health Studies show that dogs have a positive impact on your health. Owning a dog has been shown to decrease depression, blood pressure and overall stress.

Dogs help you meet your fitness goals Research shows that dog owners tend to be in better physical shape. This is due to the fact that dogs encourage us to walk and play, promoting a more active lifestyle.

Dogs help us become more social Do you feel like you have a problem being social? Maybe you are a bit introverted and you want to be a bit more extroverted. You are in luck, studies show that dog owners tend to be more social than people who don’t own dogs. This is due to the fact that dogs create a perfect conversation piece making it easier to strike a conversation with just about anyone.

A dog knows how you’re feeling Studies confirm that dogs can indeed read our emotions. In fact, dogs are the only non-human animals who scan the left side of our faces when they look at us. This is something that humans do in order to read another person’s emotion.

A dog can be a huge source of inspiration Dogs are troopers! They can bounce back from all sorts of calamities, hate wounds, physical injuries and still have a positive demeanor in life. They literally exude inspiration.

Dogs have special abilities Did you know that a dog’s sense of smell is powerful enough to sniff out cancer? That alone should be reason enough to convince you to get a dog.