Attempt 6?!?  You’ve gotta be kidding me. Arrow Cutting,  Climbing and Poison Needles, for the curious. After thinking about it for about two seconds, I take the path of least resistance, and again follow Chigeru to Nara. You were just waiting for the bullet points, weren’t you? Happy to oblige! Chigeru and I confront the… Continue reading Ninja! – Attempt 6, Part 1

Aside : Sorry to my legions of fans for the lack of entry yesterday.  To be honest, the reason was a personal one, which involved work, family, and sleeping at 9.30pm. Onwards! I’m rebooting, if you will, from the commencement of the adventure.  My skills are Poison Needles (remembering that I need poison before this is… Continue reading Ninja! – Attempt 5, Part 1

Aside : Alright, I know that, at the start of this entry, I’ve got a grand total of 1 Endurance left, and I lost all my equipment. But then I attended this today.  My mood is on the ‘awesome’ setting, at least until Friday 9 September. Back to Avenger-in-training and his (badly wounded) progress. I leave Suma,… Continue reading Ninja! – Attempt 4, Part 2

I type the above words ‘Attempt 4’ with extreme trepidation.  After all, I’m still a guy who wakes up in a cold sweat, muttering the words ‘Horned Cyclops’ over and over through chattering teeth. In any event, I think that only one stupid choice really kept me from progressing last time, so I take the metaphorical bit… Continue reading Ninja! – Attempt 4, Part 1

Aside : Before I start, I have to mention that on our retreat, we listened to a speech from Russell Mark, Olympic Gold medallist. He told the story of the 1992 Olympic Skeet shooting.  The competition was mixed, with 56 men and 1 (Chinese) woman.  You know where this story is going, don’t you? The female competitor,… Continue reading Ninja! – Attempt 3, Part 3

After getting poked and prodded by my various fans to ‘check out Suma’ and told ‘go to Suma’, ‘Suma’s awesome’ etc etc, I get worried that no city will be able to match the build-up. Kind of like how everyone and their brother told me that I had to see Pulp Fiction, that it was the greatest… Continue reading Ninja! – Attempt 3, Part 2

  As the Beatles might say : Or to put in less 1960s fashion, I’m starting again. Sigh.  As enjoyable as this book is, going back to the start has a certain level of frustration that cannot be denied. The obvious choice (with apologies to Robert Frost) is to take the path less travelled (or… Continue reading Ninja! – Attempt 3, Part 1

Aside :  For those of you focused on editorial content, you’ll notice two changes to the sidebars on your right.  One of which I’ll mention here, and one at the bottom of this post.  The first is that I’ve included a link to my twitter feed.  Fair warning, most of said feed doesn’t relate to… Continue reading Ninja! – Attempt 2, Part 16

In something fresh from a straight-to-DVD horror movie, the area below-decks is lit with an ‘eerie jade glow’ and, just to complete the delightful decor, there is a bloodshot, glowing eye hanging in mid-air. As it swivels towards me I adopt a ‘fighting stance’. (?!)  Umm, when I’ve talked about kicking someone TO THE FACE, I… Continue reading Ninja! – Attempt 2, Part 15

Aside : 150th post!  Awesome! I launch the final assault on the enemy ship.  No confirmation as to whether I give a mighty pirate-style “ARRRRRRR!” before setting off in my faux fishing ship. The canister of oil is about the size of a beer tankard interesting comparison for me to make), and I make sure… Continue reading Ninja! – Attempt 2, Part 14