Stories about Arts & Culture from May, 2009
Poland: Wedding Survival Guide
Polandian shares “15 things you need to know about Polish weddings – the survival guide.”
Morocco: Sacred Fez
Collective blog, The View from Fez covers the opening ceremony of the 15th edition of the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music [Fr] in this post. “[O]nce again the Sacred Music Festival began with the arrival of the hugely popular Princess Lalla Salma, who received a standing ovation from the...
Spain: Wikimovie, created through online participation
In Spain, beverage company Mahou has decided to climb on the online participation bandwagon and have turned to the internet to create and produce a short film where directing, casting and production decisions have been made by the community of participants at the WikiPeli site.
Qatar: Online Resources
Marjorie in Qatar links to a number of essay collections about Qatar's history and culture that are available online.
Egypt: Cairo Refugee Film Festival
Integrating refugees in society is the aim of a film festival with a difference. Marwa Rakha learns about the Cairo Refugee Film Festival, being held from June 16 to 20 from the event's blog through a fellow blogger, and shares her findings in this post.
Azerbaijan: Toyland
Fighting windmills? Take a pill introduces its readers to “toy,” the local word for wedding, and comments on the role marriage plays in society in Azerbaijan.
Russia: A Blogger's Review of “The Associate”
About a month ago, Jost A Mon blog posted a “roundup of translated crime fiction consumed in April” - which included several books by writers from Central and Eastern Europe. What follows below is a displeased Russian blogger's blitz review of John Grisham's 21st novel, The Associate.
Russia: Farewell to Actor Oleg Yankovsky
Renowned Russian actor Oleg Yankovsky, 65, died in Moscow on May 20 and was buried at Novodevichiy Cemetery two days later. Thousands of fans came to the Lenkom Theater to bid farewell to him. LJ user drugoi re-posted AP photos from the memorial event, and LJ user leosat wrote about it.
Morocco: The Blogoma's Journey Continues
Blogging has come a long way in Morocco. From a handful a blogs a few years ago, the blogosphere is now growing rapidly, in three languages. In this post, Anas Alaoui reviews the Blogma - the bloggers' very own name for Morocco's thriving blogging scene.
India: Perspectives on Growing up in India
Thanks to the Adobe Youth Voices program, young people in different parts of the world are having the opportunity to experiment with audiovisual equipment and tell their stories from their perspective. Such is the case in India, where youth from many different schools and slums have been making videos to show the world that surrounds them and their concerns.
India: The Kuri System
Mady writes about the “kuri” system of Kerala, which is sort of a chit fund system: “evolving from a noble social purpose, it grew to become a lucrative and unregulated business.”
Mozambique: House of the Flying Azagaias
In Mozambique, rapper Azagaia has continued to fascinate and infuriate bloggers. His critics claim his political lyrics amount to demagoguery. Others defend his music, to which many Mozambicans happily provide the chorus, and say his critics speak in exclusive, academic terms.
Palestine: Israeli Armed Police Disrupt Literature Festival
The Palestine Festival of Literature is a traveling cultural roadshow touring across the West Bank, in Palestine, from May 23 to 28. The aim is to take literary activities to Palestinians, who aren't allowed to travel under the occupation. However, the opening was marred when armed Israeli police ordered the theatre where the event was hosted to shut down. Bloggers from around the world reacted to the incident.
Pakistan: Naming Practice
“The way a society names its cities and places says a lot about its cultural history and social values,” writes Pervaiz Munir Alvi at Doodh Patti while discussing the naming practice in Pakistan.
Trinidad & Tobago: Summit Spend
Trinidad and Tobago's The Undisputed Truth links to a story which, to him, “highlights how the Summit [of the Americas] is a total waste of money.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Is It Art?
From Trinidad and Tobago, the bookmann reviews the exhibition of the 2009 graduating class of Visual Arts Unit of The University of the West Indies.
China and Hong Kong: June 4th protest T-shirt design
Every year on the Sunday before the anniversary of June 4th Incident (Tiananmen Square, 1989), people in Hong Kong would demonstrate to call for justice. This year, the 20th anniversary rally will be on May 31st. Moreover, on the evening of June 4th, there will be a candle night vigil...
Singapore: Annual reading initiative
The National Library Board of Singapore launched READ! Singapore 2009, a nationwide reading initiative that aims to promote a culture of reading among Singaporeans
Malaysia: Yuna Changes the Face of Indie Music
In recent years more and more independent musicians are gaining popularity thanks to social networking websites such as YouTube and MySpace. Meet Yuna from Malaysia. She is the talk of the local blogosphere for not only producing great music but also her wholesome image. She causes a stir, in a positive way, in the indie music scene for wearing the tudung, a scarf worn around the head by women in Malaysia.
Lebanon: Maxime Chaya Reaches the North Pole
The Lebanese adventurer, Maxime Chaya, whose exploits include climbing Mount Everest, reaching the South and North poles to plant the Lebanese flag, blogs about his quests and posts beautiful photos on his live blog The Three Poles.
Lebanon: Hummus Nation
Hummus Nation is a new Lebanese blog in Arabic that satirizes Lebanese politics, life and issues. “Hummus” is a popular dish in the Middle East.
