· January, 2009

Stories about Arts & Culture from January, 2009

Best Blogs Brazil: Winners by jury, public and hacker votes

  31 January 2009

Who won the Best Blogs Brazil 2008? Specialists and the public went to the polls and the winners were announced at Campus Party last week. The competition, which did not offer a money prize just prestige, was taken very seriously by contenders, some even willing to cheat to win.

Japan: Saint Young Men, Jesus and Buddha on Earth

  31 January 2009

What if one day Jesus and Buddha descended to Earth to spend their holidays? And what if they lived together in a cheap apartment in Tachikawa, in western Tokyo? This is what Hikaru Nakamura, a young Japanese manga author, was thinking of when he came up with Saint Oniisan, a manga published in the monthly magazine Morning 2 in 2007 that become a hit in the last few months after the publication of the first two episodes as single volumes last year.

Japan: My darling wife, I love you!

  31 January 2009

Blogger at Prism Cafe [ja] comments on news about an event organized by Japan Aisaika Organization (日本愛妻家協会 lit. Japan Organization of Beloved Wives) yesterday, the 29th of January, when in the middle of Hibiya Park, in central Tokyo, hundreds of husbands took the microphone to shout their love to their...

Indonesia: Fatwa against smoking, yoga, vasectomies….

  30 January 2009

Indonesian bloggers are reacting to the Fatwa issued by the Indonesian Ulema Council which included, among others, a ban on yoga that contain Hindu elements, a ban on vote abstention, a ban on smoking in public places, and a ban on vasectomy.

Cambodia: Internet censorship targets artists

  30 January 2009

The Cambodian Ministry of Women's Affairs has threatened to block a Web site that contains artistic illustrations of bare-breasted Apsara dancers and a Khmer Rouge soldier. This censorship targets Cambodian artists who are more recognized not in offline exhibitions but through their presence on the world wide web.

Trinidad & Tobago: Carnival Slump?

  30 January 2009

With just three short weeks until the big event, Discover TnT Blog and Trinidad Carnival Diary report that the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival season has been slow.

Poland: Maanam

  30 January 2009

the POLSKI blog writes about Maanam, a Polish band that, in the early 1980s, was “the epitome of cool, largely thanks to their unique sound and the distinctive voice and fiery personality of their lead singer, Kora.”

Guadeloupe: A new social movement

  29 January 2009

Guadeloupe has been in a state of social unrest for about a week now as record numbers of trade unions, cultural and political associations have united around a motto: "Lyannaj kont pwofitasyon", Creole for “Let's gather up to fight against all sorts of abuses.”

Brazil: Obama present in Rio Carnival

  29 January 2009

“Drunken, sweaty Obamas will be running wild all over the city come February. Though I think this particular mask is kind of creepy, it's a Carnival tradition to wear masks of famous people and to dress up in costumes, just like Americans do on Halloween”, Rachel reports from Rio de...

Romania: Rural Life in the EU

  28 January 2009

Tessa Bunney, who photographed rural life in the Carpathians of Romania, wrote this about the implications of the EU accession for some of the subjects of her photos: “The Romanian government’s interpretation of EU policy has resulted in the banning of horse and carts and hand milking of cows. No...

Bahamas: A Better Way

  28 January 2009

“The Bahamas is so very rich in culture that we could all be benefitting from it. But we’re not”: Nicolette Bethel explains why.

Trinidad & Tobago: Pelham and Pan

  28 January 2009

From Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean Free Radio publishes another podcast, this time focusing on “veteran producer and steel orchestra arranger, Pelham Goddard” as he discusses the evolution of steel pan music.

Hong Kong: Fortune Stick Reading

  28 January 2009

ESWN summarized local newspapers reports on fortune stick reading in Lunar new year. The unfavorable outcome stirred up a hot discussion about: who is the traitors inside home?