Today, I caught a new episode of Bourdain’s No Reservations: Tokyo. I slurped on my chicken-flavored instant ramen noodles as Anthony Bourdain ate handmade soba noodles with Chef Morimoto. One big difference, the Tokyo restaurant he was eating at has been making soba noodles since 1789. So yah. I suppose that’s a big difference.
I enjoy exploring the flavors of Japan through Bourdain’s eyes. There are plenty of yummy sushi/fish montages in this episode. I also enjoyed this very cool segment on Kendo at one of the top dojos in the country. All the bamboo sword play reminded me of an intense scene from the 1959 film, Crimson Kimono. There’s this scene were the hardboiled detective and his Japanese-American partner are tracking down a murderer in LA’s Little Tokyo. They end up in the middle of a Kendo demonstration at the heart of a cultural festival. Close-up shots of tense faces, shifty eyes, ignorant crowds are woven into the crisp, fierce shots of sword fighting on stage. Good times.
Another crowd favorite: the Summer Olympic Games. This is Nemu-Nemu’s adorable interpretation of the Beijing Mascots.
My station has been rockin’ the Beijing Games with international and local live news coverage.
OK, Michael Phelps has set a new gold standard for the Olympics. The American swimmer has won the most gold medals, ever. And he still has a few more events to go. It also looks like the Redeem Team is on its way to living up to its namesake on the hardwood. However, I am most impressed with swimmer Dara Torres. She’s 41-years-old, she had a baby and she’s still in top Olympic form. After last weekend’s relay race, she has another Olympic medal under her belt. Rock on Torres!
I’m also looking forward to all the Taekwondo action next week. My Judo instructor, Dr. Min, helped introduce that martial art as an Olympic sport for the 1998 Summer Games in Seoul.
When I used to do Hankido with UCMAP, Dr. Link’s wife taught some of the upper belt classes. She’s shorter than me and weighs around 100 pounds. I think that’s all muscle. We used to do mat work together. When she got me in a hold, it was like being surrounded by steel. She’s one of the nicest, perkiest black belts in the club and she can knock down guys twice her height. She’s in her 40’s and she has 2 kids. Club members say she was still flipping over people for martial arts demos when she was in her third trimester.
She works full-time at another job and she still works out like she’s a teenager. It was thrilling to follow in her footsteps for our kicks, punches, dives and combinations across the mat.
She’s one of my heroes. I want to be like her when I turn 40.