The most prestigious springtime tournament has concluded, but our bracket has much more Madness ahead of it. We're in our second round, and by this time next week, we'll have cut our field in half once again.
Today, we take on the Bulltron and Sithole Regionals, where 16 intriguing names remain. Top contenders like Cherries Waffles Tennis, Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and Dr. Electron Kebebew are still in the running. If you missed out on their stories, we spotlightedall three in round one. Today, I'd like to look at another man who seems poised for a deep run: The Bulltron Regional's six-seed, I Made Mangku Pastika.
Mr. Pastika is not just the only complete sentence in our field; he's also one the most important people vying for the 2015 NOTY crown. The 63-year-old Indonesian is the Governor of Bali, a position he has held since 2008. As Governor, he has delivered rousing speeches, encouraged his citizens to kill rabid dogs, and, according to one panegyric blog post, served as "a man of the people."
But we're not here to talk about Mr. Pastika's gubernatorial accomplishments. We're here to talk about his name, and oh, what a name it is. To English speakers, it is a four-part journey that looks as if it belongs on a t-shirt. In its native tongue, though, it is hardly unusual, and it demonstrates several naming conventions common to Balinese culture.
"I Made" is a routine beginning on Bali. There are likely thousands of citizens whose names start with this seemingly DIY construction. The "I" identifies its bearer as a man, while "Made" (along with the names Kadek, Nengah, and Ngurah) signifies a second child. Other parts of the Balinese name refer to the bearer's caste membership, but as Mr. Pastika is part of the Sudra caste, his four-part handle includes no other special classifiers. Instead, its other two parts are more unique to him; as with many other Indonesian cultures, the Balinese people do not pass family names down to their children.
Even without a specific finisher to bind families together, Balinese names do a wonderful job of serving as both taxonomies and identifiers. And as far as our tournament is concerned, these names often lead to some entertaining combinations. Mr. Pastika's wife is named Ni Made Ayu Putri. Their child is Putu Pasek Sandoz Prawirotam.
Now that we know Mr. Pastika's name is fairly routine in his home country, how do we proceed? Some voters may choose to punish the Balinese Governor, but we think of NOTY as a multicultural celebration. When certain conventions get lost in translation, a perfectly normal name in one half of the world can provide utmost amusement in the other.
Will I Made Mangku Pastika get to the Sweet Sixteen? Understanding Bush, who almost carries a complete sentence name of his own, stands in the way. That matchup, and 7 others, are below. Vote. Updates, as always, will be provided on Twitter.
BULLTRON REGIONAL
#1 Cherries Waffles Tennis, who hit a forehand winner past #16 Dent McSkimming, vs. #8 Pleasant Crump, who beat #9 Sunshine Crump in the Battle of the Crumps.
#12 Kermit Carolina, who KO'd #5 Omar Hurricane, vs. #4 Forrestina Calf Boss Ribs, who took down #13 Charity Sunshine Tillemann-Dick like a boss.
#6 I Made Mangku Pastika, who rejected #11 Andromeda Dunker, vs. #3 Understanding Bush, who dropped weapons of mass destruction on #14 Blundy Vildor.
#7 Swindly Lint,who sent #10 Tacko Fall tumbling out of the tournament, vs. #2 Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who had a divine showing against #15 Lourawls Nairn, Jr. Sorry, Tum Tum.
SITHOLE REGIONAL
#1 Dr. Electron Kebebew, who atomized #16 Hunter Jumper, vs. #9 Manmeet Colon, who jammed up #8 Dr. Jocko Zifferblatt.
#12 Flavious Coffee, who squeaked past #5 Erhard Thumfart by a mere ten votes, leads a battle of upset winners against #13 Joko Widodo, the vanquisher of #4 Chito Schnupp.
#6 Dallas Ennema, who smoked #11 Bol Bol, vs. #3 Lancelot Supersad, Jr., who vanquished #14 LaAdrian Waddle.
#7 Baba Blumkin, who unleashed his killer B's on #10 Jazzi Barnum-Bobb, vs. #2 Jazznique St. Junious, who got jazzy on #15 Fellony Silas.