Stories about Arts & Culture from April, 2006
Barbados: National Heroes Day
Campfyah commemorates Barbados’ National Heroes Day with a quiz on some photos of the heroes themselves.
West Indian literature online
One of the crucial elements in the rapid development of the literature of the Anglophone Caribbean in the 1940s and 50s was a weekly radio programme called Caribbean Voices, broadcast from London on the BBC's Caribbean Service and produced by Henry Swanzy. Caribbean Voices featured stories and poems by West...
Hong Kong: Incentives for local musicians
This week on n8ma's Xanga site: “news of a new orchestral fellowship for string-playing graduates of the Central, Shanghai, and Hong Kong Conservatories that will help curb the mass emigration of Chinese musicians to more promising and lucrative employment in American orchestras.“
Pulse of the Saudi Blogosphere
Football and ice hockey, hijab and fatwas, bloggers meetups, and much much more from the Saudi blogosphere this week. Let's go… Starting with Swalfy, who did not seem so surprised that Riyadh Gitex, which supposed to be the biggest IT exhibition in Saudi Arabia does not has a website. He...
Jamaica: A writer's development
On his personal blog, Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philps reproduces a lecture he delivered recently in which he discusses his development as a writer and also raises the question: “What is the mission of my generation?”
Palestine: Mob like mentality?
In deviantART, the Palestinian artists simply cannot select their country from the dA country list. “Free-Palestine” community asked deviantART to add “Palestinian territories” to the country list. The answer was: “deviantART does not tolerate Mob like mentality…“. dA then banned “Free-Palestine” members, and deleted all of their content, EP said.
China: Rock festival coming
Friend Gram at Holidarity pulls quotes from the organizer of The Midi Festival—China's biggest each year—to be held in Beijing during the Golden Week holiday next week. “Before you could never do a big outdoor festival,” writes organizer Zhang Fan. “We're trying to let the government accept that rock ‘n’...
China: Porn's subversive forms
Remember Guangzhou sex blogger Mu Zimei who got shut down and fired in late 2003 after the world took notice? She's in Beijing now, and Jeremy Goldkorn at Danwei has just ‘wrapped’ an exclusive with her: “She is not writing online any more, but is producing a series of her...
Taiwan: Punks still DIYing
Sack Be Jim at gotmahmojo finds DIY punk ethic, graffiti and a seldom-seen side of Taiwanese society while visiting a collective of artists squatting in an abandoned building in the island's capitol: “I was really excited to see something positive and creative going on in the city, since its been...
Kenya: African artifacts in the West
Mama's Junkyard comments on a recent piece in the UK Guardian which argues in favour of Western countries keeping artifacts that belong to African countries. One justification given is ” In many instances, national treasures are better off outside their countries of origin – better cared for, receiving more attention,...
Polish Blogosphere Update
Ever wonder what a day in the life of someone living in Poland would look like condensed into a 10-minute video? Neither did I until I came to Poland. The Blog from Poland set up a webcam from a Warsaw city window. Can you spot the shiny, yellow and red...
Kyrgyzstan: To Build a Yurt
Trent Milam writes about the process of and traditions surrounding the erection of Kyrgyz yurts.
DRC: “A Poem From My Heart”
Lines from a poem posted (FR) by Prince du Fleuve du Congo: “Son of this Sacred Land, I cry for your misfortune/Yet for your salvation, I fight with fortitude.”
Japan: Bush photo mocked
Blog of the Riding Sun‘s Gaijin Biker has a caption contest for a photo of American president George W. Bush pulling on the arm of Chinese president Hu Jintao's suit during Hu's talk at the White House last weekend. Some contenders: “Let go of my gorram jacket before I get...
China: Photoblogs—translation not needed
In the write-at-your-own-risk world of blogging in China, there are no fine lines between what's acceptable, what will get you blocked and what will get you thrown in jail. Lists of words and topics appear from time to time, but nothing official has ever been released. It's tragic. What for...
Dominican Republic: Book Fair
DR1 – Daily Dominican Republic News posts a brief report on the opening of the 9th International Santo Domingo Book Fair on April 24. Among the themes of this year's festival are the 45th anniversary of dictator Rafael Trujillo's assassination and the 500th anniversary of the death of Columbus.
Trinidad & Tobago: World Cup football news
Stacy-Marie Ishmael responds to a FIFA news story expressing surprise that the Trinidad & Tobago World Cup team has a white member, with a reminder that it's important to “militate against stereotypes wherever possible”. She also points to some of the commemorative items being produced as tributes to the team,...
Estonia: Land and People
Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa writes about a book about Scandinavia by Joanna Kavenna and his own perception of Estonia and its people: “Kavenna continually points out that Estonians are a simple people who are connected to nature and rocks and lakes. How true. I call my in-laws pakapikud –...
Trinidad & Tobago: Bob Dylan, calypso fan
Jonathan Ali links to an Observer article on Bob Dylan's efforts to become a deejay, noting the presence on Dylan's playlist of a song by Trinidad calypsonian Lord Beginner.
Guyana: Playwright
Guyana Diaspora profiles Britain-based playright Michael Abbensetts.
Chinese opera in Singapore
Chinese opera came to Singapore with the early immigrants from China. They were very popular in the days before movies and television. Some troupes are still active and once in a while they stage a show. themediaslut has a photo heavy post on one such performance.