· January, 2009

Stories about Arts & Culture from January, 2009

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

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.

31 January 2009

Japan: Saint Young Men, Jesus and Buddha on Earth

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.

31 January 2009

Japan: My darling wife, I love you!

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...

31 January 2009

Cambodia: Internet censorship targets artists

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.

30 January 2009

Poland: Maanam

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...

30 January 2009

Guadeloupe: A new social movement

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.”

29 January 2009

Brazil: Obama present in Rio Carnival

“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...

29 January 2009

Bangladesh: Urban Life

Ashley Wheaton at The Dhaka Diaries portrays the urban life of Bangladesh through a series of photo essays.

29 January 2009

Romania: Rural Life in the EU

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...

28 January 2009

Trinidad & Tobago: Pelham and Pan

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...

28 January 2009

Hong Kong: Fortune Stick Reading

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?

28 January 2009