· June, 2006

Stories about Arts & Culture from June, 2006

The Wikipedia and Español

  30 June 2006

Puerto Rican blogger Eugenio Martínez Rodríguez contemplates (ES) the potential influence of the Wikipedia on the Spanish language.

Jamaica: Land of unfettered breasts?

  30 June 2006

Francis Wade examines the feelings invoked by the sight of bra-less women in Jamaica and tries to figure out the rationale behind the eschweing of foundation garments.

Jamaica: Going home

  30 June 2006

Jamaican Francis Wade addresses the “remarkable inner journey” one embarks upon on returning to one's homeland, and discusses some of the tools that have helped him along the way.

Brazil: Caetano Veloso's Biography

  30 June 2006

France-based Togolese bloggerKangni Alem writes (Fr): “Even though modesty is not Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso's forte, he has great talent as an agitator. He also exhibits phenomenal memory in the intellectual autobiography that was prompted by the New York Times to recount the birth of the artistic and musical movement...

Bangladesh: Kawran Bazar

  30 June 2006

Dhaka Diary on the corners in Dhaka. “Kawran Bazar, plays out to an audience of many, movement is rapid, shift and purposeful. It is a hub of action and activity, offices, banks, TV studios, small shopkeepers, street vendors and consumer waste make it a party worth dropping into.”

Philippines: Tourism in Philippines

  30 June 2006

The blogger at pinoysphere invites reader to check out a Philippines tourism video. The bloggers wonders why Philippines does not feature in people's travel plans. “Asian tourist destinations usually featured in Swiss travel brochures and catalogues include Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, India, and even Laos and Cambodia. The Philippines, inhabited...

North Korea: Art and nature

  30 June 2006

“Unlike a lot of North Korean ‘Juche Art’ which tends to give kitsch a bad name, writes the Kotaji blogger of the same name in ‘Art and nature in North Korea.’ “I actually think some of the book covers from the 50s and 60s are rather nice and accomplished pieces...

Appreciating Caribbean writing

  29 June 2006

A New York Times article about a new anthology of Jamaican writing published by a US press gets Geoffrey Philp thinking about why North Americans may not be as open to Caribbean writing as their British counterparts: “The reader has to be willing to shed notions of what is and...

Russia: Photographs Critiqued

Wu Wei writes about Simon Roberts’ photos of Russia published in Granta and some of the realities they convey: “I know what he means, but I'm not sure he really succeeds. Where is the dignity in most of these pictures when you know enough about the background.”

Singapore: Dragon Boat Race

  28 June 2006

The blogger at Good Morning Yesterday talks about the Dragon Boat Festival in Singapore and posts videos of couple of dragonboat racing training sessions.

Haiti: World Cup Used for AIDS Outreach

  28 June 2006

Collectif Haiti de Provence writes (Fr): “Showing the Brazil v. Japan Football World Cup match, Gret/Haiti, in collaboration with the ministries of health and culture, UNFPA and the Gheskio Centers, organized an outreach session against STDs and AIDs in the shantytown of Jalousie in Petion-Ville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince.”

Belarus: Stencil Graffiti

A new LJ community has been created: by_stencil – “Belarusian stencil REVOLUTION” (BEL, RUS) It includes photos of both political and apolitical stencil graffiti in Belarus. One photo is from Warsaw, however, taken near the Centrum metro station: “Stop Lukashenko,” says the writing in Polish, next to the portrait of...

Morocco: Essaouira Gnawa Music Festival

Samir talks about the huge success of Essaouira Gnawa and world music festival. He said: “Once again Essaouira has turned on a world class music festival. More than 500.000 people attended between June 22 through 25. Last year's record of 450.000 was easily beaten.”