Nerd Corner: the Outrageous Sudoku Shocker

Well it seems in Japan, people rarely call or know sudoku as sudoku (数独). They know it more commonly as nanpure (nam-poo-ray) which is a portmanteau of the English 'Number Place'. Whaaat?

But yes, I was reliably informed by Japanese friends, after 'nanpure' was listed as the Japanese for sudoku in a recent textbook. 

This seemed particularly odd to me - outside Japan we all know sudoku as a Japanese puzzle, with a Japanese name. And yet that's not the case actually in Japan?? 

Pretty much. Which set me off on a bit of delving. 

There seem to be two (maybe interlinked) reasons for this mysterious reversal. 

1. The puzzle is not necessarily, entirely, Japanese. There have been a whole bunch of similar number puzzles historically, and worldwide. And in the 20th century the (relatively obscure?) American puzzle, Number Place, made its way to Japan. It was popular, got modified, named sudoku, and later on, re-exported to the West ...where it was a huge hit and generally known as 'Japanese'. But in Japan - unlike the West - the original Number Place moniker still had resonance.

2. This one is anecdotal from another Japanese friend, but makes pretty good sense: the term 'sudoku' was actually copyrighted, in Japan, by a certain Japanese publisher. As a result, other publications could use the same puzzle concept, but they had to call it something else. And nanpure seems to have been the most ready option. Overseas, however, where there was no breach of copyright, all puzzles were presented as 'sudoku'.

Anyway, hope that's provided a little Thursday interest. Time for coffee (with no puzzles) for me. 

- Sudoku itself is a Japanese portmanteau for 数字は独身に限る (suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru) roughly 'keep the digits single'. As you might have guessed, portmanteau words from many languages are popular in Japanese! 

- Nanpure ナンプレ is written in a different script, katakana - reserved for borrowed foreign words.

Anecdotal Note on the British Class System

OK, the British class system is a lot less pronounced now than it used to be. As I've mentioned before, it's socially crass (and occasionally illegal) today to judge others negatively based on their class. (And yes, this should cut up and down across all groups.) 

But there are still things which are commonly acknowledged as indicative of certain classes. And these are sometimes gently mocked in the UK, particularly by the classes which actually exhibit them. For example: the eating of Mediterranean chickpea spread, hummus. Hummus is cheap and ubiquitous in UK supermarkets, but has long been considered a 'middle class' thing - alongside pesto, sundried tomatoes*, craft beers and other artisan foods. Holidays to places like Tuscany in Italy, the South of France, spas or yoga retreats also fall into this category. Middle class people (and the media) will make jokes about this. I suppose what makes some of these things 'middle class' is that they're slightly unusual, popular with other middle classes - or are a sign that you consider yourself cultured in some way. Why have fancy Greek hummus on your toast, when you could just have good old, traditional English jam?

The other day I was reminded of a conversation with a creative (middle class) UK friend, just before I started business school outside London. I should probably preface it by explaining that SPAR is similar to a less glamourous 7-Eleven convenience store chain.

Friend: What's the town like near campus? 
Me: It's a village. Really basic. There's nothing there, only a SPAR. 
Friend: Oh, a spa! How lovely! Well that's something.

* (I think the Mediterranean foods thing kicked off when middle class British Prime Minister Tony Blair once stated he liked eating Italian pasta with sundried tomatoes - and was lambasted by press for saying it!) 



Also on this blog:

Unravelling the British Class System

Matcha of the Day: Matcha Warrior

Yep, that's me. (Well, maybe less of the warrior right now, tbh). But anyway.

This one was a gift brought over for breakfast, and might be artisanal / not widely available (?) It was jolly nice though. Thick and creamy, with a little matcha bitterness and no obvious added sugars. Keeps for a couple of days in the fridge at home.

If you’re in Singapore’s CBD, it might be worth swinging by Lunar Coffee Brewers, which makes it. They seem to have good reviews for their sit-in cafe and food, too!

Lunar Coffee Brewers, 6 Shenton Way, #01-49/50 OUE Downtown Gallery 2, Singapore 068809

Blogger is Crappy

Apologies again for peculiar formatting in some blog posts. As some of you already know, I have an ongoing battle with Blogger doing unexpected things to content, especially with font sizes and the addition of links and photos.

One day I will get a friend-who-knows-code-better-than-I-do to have a look at this.

In the mean time: it's still hopefully legible!

(Crappy - or perhaps 'クラッピイ'? - became the new word for a Japanese friend of  mine recently, and it's catching on!) (The word is mildly rude British slang meaning 'poor quality'.) 

Bonkers British Festivals no3: Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling

This happened yesterday, actually. And it's another one which looks suspiciously dangerous. Despite involving cheese.

Basically, on each Spring Bank Holiday, a village in Gloucestershire rolls a large local cheese down a particularly steep hill. And then a whole bunch of people race down the hill in order to catch the cheese. I'm not sure how many people have actually succeeded - turns out the nine pound cheese can reach speeds of around 70 mph (110km/h) and is pretty lethal with momentum! But what makes this seemingly mundane tradition famous, is the crazy falling, flinging and rolling of the humans.

There are ambulances on hand these days, and injuries / hospitalisation are common - from falling down the hill, or being hit by the thunderous cheese... In fact recent competitions have apparently used a safer, foam cheese instead. And burly 'catchers' are employed to catch the flying people at the end of the race. The full title of the event: Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling & Wake, does make one wonder what the 'wake' actually refers to*!

Winners - basically the first to the bottom of the hill - receive a real cheese as their prize.

This festival is another one which now draws spectators and participants from around the globe. But like the Ottery Tar Barrels, it's an old, local event with obscure origins. Not much has been recorded about it historically, and theories range from roots in a Pagan fertility rite or celebration of Spring (using other foods), to a ritual  left by Phoenicians occupying Southern Britain (?! sounds iffy). Until recently, cheese-rolling was held on Whit Monday - a moveable date in the Christian calendar.

There seem to be current issues with the organisation of this event, its safety, crowd sizes and other things. It still runs, but seemingly in a rather loose way! Today several cheeses of varying size are also rolled, and there are a few heats of the race.

The cheese itself is Double Gloucester - a reddish, semi-hard, fairly strong-tasting one from the region. Quite nice melted on toast, actually. Though you might feel differently if hit by a 110 km/h, hurtling nine pounds of it.

Bit more about event arrangements here: https://www.facebook.com/BrockworthCheeseRoll/

*English learners: a 'wake' usually refers to a vigil, or solemn, social reception after a funeral. But apparently it can also mean 'festival' in some parts of the UK. 
'Iffy' is informal British English. It means unlikely, unreliable or suspicious. 

Also on this blog:

Bonkers British Festivals no2: The Burryman

Bonkers British Festivals no1: The Ottery Tar Barrels

 

 

Malaysia's Zombie Love Affair

Well, we've all been in one of those, right?

But anyway, Malaysia as a nation seems to have a thing for zombies. Often comedy ones. I don't know if this is echoed across Thailand and other SE Asian nations (Thailand makes some excellent, non-comedy horror movies, btw). It's not a thing here in Singapore. But on various visits to Kuala Lumpur I have noted posters for locally-made zombie films - usually featuring Malay actors very poorly disguised as campy ghouls. (This seems to be part of the appeal!) 

My Malaysian zombie intro was many moons ago with an English-subbed version of comedy zombie stalwart, Mamat Khalid's Zombi Kampung Pisang (Banana Village Zombie) - which is hilarious / ridiculous, deliberately low-budget, and worth watching. Currently the genre can also be seen on public transport, teaching us social etiquette!

I've tried to do a bit more cursory research on Malaysia's comedy-horror and zombie flicks, but most articles / clips come up in Malay, which I only have a rudimentary grasp of! Here are a couple more tasters anyway (including additions from Khalid). Tbf an excellent grasp of the dialogue is prob not required! 

Zombi Kilang Biskut  (Biscuit Factory Zombies) a follow up to Zombi Kampung Pisang
KL24: Zombies  Malaysians with American accents (?!) in this B-movie 
Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah   (Ghost Sister Lime Comes Home?!)


PS The Pontianak and other Asian female ghosts
These movies also feature a local folkloric ghoul: the Pontianak (a female vampire/zombie). The Pontianak is supposed to be a vengeful spirit who suffered a stillbirth, was  stillborn, or died in childbirth. The Pontianak can take on the guise of animals, or a beautiful woman to trick innocent men (those dastardly beautiful women, all evil spirits I tell you!) Oddly - or, probably, not so oddly as I suspect there's a historical link! - traditional female ghosts across East / South East Asia have similarities, and look the same: with the long-hair/white-dress thing going on. (See also types of  Japanese Yūrei made famous in The Ring and other classic films.) 


Also on this blog:

My Fave Horror Movies - East & West (distilled!) 

How to BOGOF in SE Asia

FYI, I recently went for cocktails with a friend in Singapore. And obviously we picked a bar with a deal on. In this case, the deal was "1 for 1 Cocktails". Which sounds like a normal sale to me: you get one when you pay for one. But in Singapore, it actually means you get TWO when you pay for one. Hmmm...

In Britain, the same deal would usually be expressed as 2 for 1. Or Buy One Get One Free (BOGOF). 

I guess maybe the Singaporean phrase implies 'like for like'? Or is a version of an ambiguous  Western one I'd never heard of: Buy One, Get One (?)

Meanwhile, over in Malaysia, the same deal is expressed by the grammatically mysterious - but actually easier to understand - BOFO: Buy One Free One. Which is reminiscent of some diplomatic trade of political prisoners. (Also  variations: Buy One Free Two; Buy Two Free One, etc, depending on how lucky you are.)  

Anyway, hope that's cleared things up for some of you global shoppers out there. Probably time to blog off. Tarrah.  

PS In the UK, the term "bog-off!" is slang meaning "very strongly GO AWAY". It should not be used if talking to a boss. And has nothing to do with bargains.