Here’s a video of me enjoying some interesting Japanese cuisine.
Archive for the 'culture' Category
I was wandering aimlessly around Gion today, when I nearly blundered into a Geisha. It happened when I was crossing a busy street (Shijo-dori), and she sort of appeared out of nowhere. She could have been a Maiko, or apprentice Geisha, but I really don’t know how to tell them apart. As the next hour unfolded, I managed to spot a few more scurrying around, and even snapped up a blurry pic of one being escorted to Pontocho by her matron. This place is so surreal. It’s almost like living in a story. Almost, but not quite. The illusion got ruined when I walked a few more blocks and found myself in the red light district, surrounded by Japanese business men in their starched suits. Eyed warily by seedy sentinels posted outside various establishments, I quickly made my way back to the hostel.
According to Wikipedia, 33 is:
- the largest positive integer that can not be expressed as a sum of different triangular numbers.
- the atomic number of arsenic
- the “smile to the camera” word in Spanish, as is “cheese” in English. Diga treinta y tres (”Say thirty-three”) is the same as “Say cheese”
- a recurring, important number to the Freemasons, used often in their sacred rituals
33 was also:
- Jesus‘ alleged age at his crucifixion in 33 A.D. (historically unverified)
- The age of Alexander the Great when he died
For the sake of amusement, here are Biblical references:
- Genesis 33, Exodus 33, Numbers 33, Deuteronomy 33, 2 Chronicles 33, Job 33, Psalm 33, Isaiah 33, Jeremiah 33, Ezekiel 33
And from Islamic Holy Q’uran:
33 in 69 languages, in order of complexity, highest to lowest (from A Playground of Thoughts):
- Huli: ngui ki, ngui tebone-gonaga tebira
- Ndom: tondor abo mer an thef abo ithin
- Nimbia: gume bi ni tanran
- Hindi: tayntees
- Tzotzil: ‘ox lajuneb xcha’-vinik
- Ainu: rep ikasma wanpe etu hotnep
- Alamblak: yima yohtti tir hosfi hosfirpat
- Nahuatl: cem-pöhualli-om-mahtlactli-om-ëyi
- Malagasy: telo amby telopolo
- Yoruba: metalelogbon
- Welsh (Traditional): tri ar ddeg ar hugain
- Breton: tri / teir ha tregont
- Manx: tree-jeig as feed
- Scots Gaelic: trì deug air fhichead
- Georgian: otsdatsamet’i
- Danish: treogtredive
- Javanese: telung puluh telu
- Latin: trÄ«gintÄ? trÄ“s
- French: trente-trois
- Zulu: amashumi amathathu nantathu
- Basque: hogei ta hamairu
- Arabic: thalâthata wa thalâthûn (masculine), thalâth wa thalâthûn (feminine)
- Ganda: amakumi asatu mu ssatu
- Maltese: tlieta u tletin
- Assyrian: klaay-’td’laa
- Kurmanji: sî û sisê
- Dutch: drieendertig
- German: dreiunddreißig
- Swahili: thelathini na tatu
- Ojibwa: nisimidana ashi niswi
- Italian: trentatré
- Spanish: treinta y tres
- Swiss French: trente-trois
- Tigrinya: selasan-selesten
- Turkish: otuz üç
- Balkan Romani: tránda-te-trin
- Hungarian: harminchárom
- Tagalog: tatlumpu’t tatlo
- Polari: trey dacha and trey
- Scots: thertie three
- English: thirty-three
- Norwegian: trettitre
- Swedish: trettiotre
- Sukuma: makumiadatu na idatu
- Hawaiian: kanakolukÅ«mÄ?kolu
- Finnish: kolmekymmentäkolme
- Estonian: kolmkümmend kolm
- Romanian: treizeci ÅŸi trei
- Ancient Japanese: misodi amari mitu (ancient), misoji amari mittsu (modern)
- Kiribati: tenibwi ma tenua
- Wolof: ñetta fukka ak ñetta
- Croatian: trideset-tri
- Seneca: së niwashê së
- Indonesian: tiga puluh tiga
- Mandinka: taŋ saba niŋ saba
- Wu Chinese: 三å??三 sezhekse
- Tok Pisin: tripela ten tri
- Vietnamese: ba mu’o'i ba
- Igbo: iri ato. na ato.
- Thai: săhm sìp săhm
- Welsh (Modern): tri deg tri
- Aymara: kimsa-tunka-kimsani
- Cuzco Quechua: kinsa chunka kinsa-yoq
- Chinook Wawa: klone tahtlum pe klone
- Mandarin: 三å??三 sÄ?nshi sÄ?n
- Japanese: 三å??三 sanjû san
- Cantonese: 三å??三 saam1sap6saam1 (Cantonese has six tones, and they are given by numbers after syllables. The tone number means: 1 - high level, 2 - high rising, 3 - middle level, 4 - low falling, 5 - low rising, and 6 - low level.)
- Esperanto: tridek tri
- Tongan: tolu tolu
Blogger Gene Smith has a list of 33 things on his blog, Atomiq.
The TrÄ?yastriṃśa, or the Heaven of Thirty Three Gods, is referenced in Buddhist Cosmology.
Today is World Vegan Day, the Day of the Dead (DÃa de Los Muertos), Samhain Day, and All Saints’ Day.
Can you guess anything else about this day?
Integrating screenshots of Google Maps and using Flickr notes, Memory Maps are visual representations of one’s memories, an annotated satellite view of places steeped in personal meaning.
I found out about Memory Maps on Lifehacker, and decided it was worth a try. After all, I’ve had an interesting childhood, moving around to different countries, and so forth.
Check out my Memory Maps photoset on Flickr. The Memory Maps group is worth perusing as well.
I was not impressed with The Lost City, Andy Garcia’s movie about Cuba. My biggest problem is the fact that it was done in English, and the occasional Spanish words, including Havana, were grossly mispronounced. A movie set in Cuba should be spoken en Español.
For some reason, the English was tough to understand. The fake accents were somehow unable to reach my brain. What I did digest, however, is the following bit of ancient wisdom:
The bird is in the beak
Edith is weak
