Stories about Arts & Culture from February, 2006
Russia: Maslyanitsa
W. Shedd of The Accidental Russophile writes about Maslyanitsa, a part-pagan, part-Christian holiday, celebrating the arrival of spring and the approach of the pre-Easter fast, and how it is marked in Russia nowadays.
Hong Kong: Sexual hoopla
EastSouthWestNorth reports, with pictures, on the opening day of Hong Kong's Sexual Cultural Festival 2006, which featured a demurely dressed inflatable doll and an anatomically correct hoopla stall.
China: Blogger in church
Shanghai-based blogger and Microsoft employee Wang Jianshuo goes to church, and gets something out of the service despite not being a Christian.
Pakistan: Television Project
Pakistan: Television Project
Ukraine: Faces and Churches of Lviv
Carpetblogger has visited the western Ukrainian city of Lviv and shares photos of local churches of various denominations and of the creatures that look at you from the buildings.
Armenia: Contrabass
Notes from Hareinik writes on Hovik Babakhanyan's one man show, “Contrabass.”
A List of French Authors Who Have Written on Africa
At the blog Conscious Generation, Another Africa blogger HBG publishes (FR) an exhaustive list of French authors who have written on Africa along with names of their works.
This week in Israel: election campaigns, a kidnapping in France and more
Israel is now six weeks before general elections, and the campaigning is starting to heat up. Shai Tsur of Shaister has a concise and intelligent roundup of the campaign platforms of the major parties. He writes that he likes the ad campaign of Meretz, a leftist Zionist party, the best....
Guyana: Mashramani
VSO/CIDA intern Michiyo experiences Mashramani, Guyana's Carnival, and posts a few photos with short captions (also rendered in Japanese). A sampling: “Everyone is full of glitters. By the time I finished watching the parade, I myself was covered with it.”
Pulse of the Saudi Blogosphere
Many different and interesting topics were discussed in the Saudi blogosphere this week, so let's start our roundup right away. What is the difference between democracy and American democracy? Hassan thinks he has the answer (Arabic). “In democracy, those who gain more votes should win. In American democracy, those who...
Jamaica: Say no to Brokeback
“Now before you gay advocates out there start posting hateful comments, understand that Jamaica is a very conservative country,” says Leon, in defense of the anti-Brokeback Mountain outcry in Jamaica.
Guyana: Sucking teeth
“With one long “stchuuuuup” and you eyes looking thin and mean, you can cut a big man down to li’l boy size,” writes Guyana-gyal in her treatise on the Caribbean art of sucking teeth.
Trinidad & Tobago: Carnival necessities & reenactments
Got your snake oil? Just in time for the official start of Trinidad & Tobago's Carnival on February 27, Attillah Springer makes a list of Carnival necessities. She also posts photos of old-time Carnival and the reenactment of the Canboulay Riots of the 1880s.
The web make to blog on Carnival day…
… to paraphrase the late Lord Kitchener, calypsonian extraordinaire. It's Carnival Friday here in Trinidad and Tobago, which means that after weeks of mounting anticipation (the Carnival season really gets started as soon as Christmastime festivities are over), the biggest event in the country's calendar is underway. This weekend will...
Guyana: Artist Donald Locke
Guyana Diaspora profiles painter and sculptor Donald Locke.
Barbados: Environmentalist remembered & tuk band
Barbados Free Press pays tribute to the late environmental advocate Dr. Colin Hudson. And Titilayo posts photos of a traditional tuk band.
Singapore: Short Film Fest
Huichieh Loy shares his impressions of the offerings at the First Toronto-Singapore Short Film Festival.
Hungary: Book Collection To Be Returned by Russia
Pestiside.hu reports that Russia has finally agreed to return an invaluable Hungarian book collection that was seized during WWII – but will charge Hungary $400,000 for “storing” the books for over 50 years.
Trinidad & Tobago: Children's carnival
Photographer Stefan Falke posts photos the children's carnival in Trinidad, including a few of a band inspired by the Soca Warriors, the national football team.
Armenia: The Pop Beat
Harmick of Blogrel has a roundup of Armenian pop culture news.
African women blogging this week
As per usual, African women have blogged about a variety of issues over the last week. Incidences of violence are rising in Uganda as the country prepares to hold general elections next week. Black Looks writes about the volatile situation in the country and highlights the violations of human rights...