Stories about Arts & Culture from February, 2007
Burundi: Where No means Yes
Expat blogger BeneBurundi is learning about local culture (Fr): “Communicating with people from Burundi is all about subtlety and interpretation; for example if you're proposed to and you decline with a ‘no’, it is highly possible that what will be heard will be ‘yes, maybe one day if you insist’....
Senegal: Youssou N'Dour Cinematic Debut
California-based Congolese blogger Alain Mabanckou has nothing but praise for Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour's big screen debut in Amazing Grace (Fr):”to see the few clips featuring Youssou N'dour, I think we'll need to to follow him closely. His future is bright if he chooses to concentrate exclusively in this direction...
Ukraine: Chernobyl Posters
Ukraine List posts samples of Chernobyl poster art.
Ukraine: Arena Bar
Olechko shares sketches and observations of the Arena bar in downtown Kyiv.
Hungary: Two-Tailed Dog Party
Pestcentric writes about Two-Tailed Dog Party – “a guerrilla street artist (read: creative university student with too much spare time) operating out of Szeged” – and showcases some of his work: “Well, fortunately, there’s now an English-language subsite, where a lot of the written work is actually translated so non-Hungarian...
Hungary: Mozikep
Shopping for movies at Mozikep DVD/Video shop in Budapest is a crazy experience: read the details at Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar.
Hungary: British Council To Move Out
According to Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar, the British Council is closing 10 of its 19 offices in Europe, including the one in Hungary. The library will stay, though.
Guyana: Letter to Opportunity
Guyana-Gyal writes a letter to Opportunity.
Haiti: Carnaval photos
Haitianalysis.com posts some lovely photos of the 2007 Carnaval in Haiti by Wadner Pierre.
Jamaica: An evening with a dub poet
Geoffrey Philp posts a podcast of the proceedings from the premiere of a documentary on the life of the Jamaican dub poet Malachi Smith.
Arabisc: A Pictorial Tour of North Africa
There is one word to describe this picture taken by American blogger Cory Driver, who is based in Morocco, and it is wow! Not being a photography critic, however, I am reserving my exclamation for the amazing work Driver is involved with in Moroccan villages, including that of Tattiwin, located...
Martinique & Guadeloupe's Music Opened French César Awards
Martinique-based Internetrapide.com was happy to see the music of Martinique and Guadeloupe featured on the French equivalent of American Oscars(Fr): “The mistress of ceremony of the 2007 edition of the César Awards kicked off the show … by singing a boisterous zouk song, true invitation to celebration and travel.” He...
Slovenia: Traditional Cures
The Glory of Carniola catches a cold (or something) and contemplates trying a number of Slovenian traditional cures (which, if proved inefficient, would get him tipsy, at least). Get well soon, Michael :)
Transylvania: Funeral of Farsang
Csikszereda Musings posts pictures and writes about a mock funeral held in a Transylvanian village on the weekend before Lent begins.
Haiti: Who Was Louis-Jean Beaugé?
Haiti d'Outre-Mer shares some delightful folk anecdotes about legendary Jérémie native Louis-Jean Beaugé and his descendants. The mythic figure's name has become a Haitian Creole expression to designate people who are fierce. The blog explains that (Fr): “Louis-Jean Beaugé was an officer in the Jérémie garrison in the beginning of...
Turkey is Typing….Food and Music
I'm reaching in a different direction this week. Let's talk Turkish food and music. Zen in the Kitchen talks about the simple pleasures in eating bread with fresh olive oil. Tastes of Mavi Boncuk gives us a background to the history of the Turkish national drink Raki, and Almost Turkish...
Zambia: village nicknames
Zambian Fish blogs about village nicknames, “Ba Yehwa (Mr. Yelling): one of my farmers got stuck with this one because he has a tendency to yell at people when conversing with them. Ba Ndeke (Mr. Airplane): one of my neighbors got this one for his drunken antics. Apparently he flaps...
Trinidad & Tobago: Writing and un-writing
Stefan Falke posts some atmospheric photos of a homeless gentleman in Trinidad who has been keeping a journal for 21 years, along with a lovely text: “His older journals got lost or stolen, he does not care too much because they are written and can’t be unwritten. . . ....
China: competition shows
The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) orders TV networks to limit “competition show” durations to two and a half months (instead of four and a half months). — more from China Media Project.
Guyana: Mashramani 2007
rustinpc has a set of photos on Flickr of this year's Mashramani celebrations in Guyana. “Mash” takes place annually on February 23, Guyana's Republic Day, and commemorates the country's achievement of independence from Great Britain in 1966 with float parades, masquerade bands, calypso competitions and other carnival-style festivities.
Argentina: Buenos Aires Blog Roundup
The prolific Alan Patrick has put together his 11th Buenos Aires Blog Roundup. Also, bowling in Baires.