Stories about Arts & Culture from September, 2009
Nepal: Towards A More Humane Dashain Festival
Nepal's biggest religious festival Dashain is celebrated all around the world by the Nepalese diaspora. This year's Dashain in Nepal was a bit controversial, with animal rights activists calling for an end to the tradition of animal sacrifice during the festival.
Georgia: An Azeri Wedding
Writing on my Frontline Club blog, I also post a video interview and photo report with regional blogger Arzu Geybullayeva on our recent visit to an ethnic Azeri village in the regions of the Republic of Georgia.
Ukraine: “The Ghosts of Chernobyl”/Destination Truth
Chernobyl and Eastern Europe writes about a Destination Truth episode about the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – “The Ghosts of Chernobyl” – which is scheduled to air on Wednesday, Sept. 30, on cable's SyFy channel.
UK: Przemek Wajerowicz's “From the Upper Deck”
the POLSKI blog highlights Przemek Wajerowicz's London street photography project: From the Upper Deck.
CEE: History, Nationalism and Identity
Marietta Le of Remainder of Budapest writes about issues of history, nationalism and identity in Hungary and other states of Central and Eastern Europe.
Bangladesh: Banning Of Adult Websites
Joruri Khobor posts a hilarious take on the news that the government of Bangladesh has banned 84 adult websites that featured “well-known Bangladeshi celebrities in obscene poses”.
India: Durga Puja: A Daughter Comes Visiting
The Durga Puja is an annual festival that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. Bengalis believe that Durga is the daughter of Bengal and during the 5 days of festivities she visits her parental home along with her 4 children and 2 close friends.
Suriname: Photographic Art
Paramaribo SPAN shines the spotlight on Dutch artist Risk Hazekamp, who shares her thoughts on thoughts “on one of the works inspired by her residency in Suriname in 2008.”
Dominica: Happy Independence!
Dominica Weekly reviews the island's 2009 Independence celebrations.
Jamaica: Bolt & the Passa Passa
Yardflex.com, though a fan of Jamaican Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, thinks that he should “stay out of the passa passa” controversy.
China: Mooncake
Uln found the gift economy of moon cake during the mid autumn festival in Shanghai amazing.
Paraguay: Favorite Places to Party in Asunción
Muna Annahas shares her favorite places to party in the Paraguayan capital of Asunción.
Trinidad & Tobago: The Price of Progress is High
“As if the stink of the uselessness of the building weren’t enough…here comes talk that toxic fumes from the Performing Arts Academy are making people in the neighbouring buildings fall sick. Yes, this is progress at its best”: Trinidadian Attillah Springer says the whole thing “is a tragic kind of...
Jamaica: Gully Gaza
Active Voice offers an insight into the Jamaican “Gully Gaza phenomenon”.
Middle East: Arabisk, Blog Competition and Debate
Newly launched Arabisk is an annual competition to select the best Arabic blogs. First welcomed by bloggers, Egyptian bloggers are now complaining that they have been sidelined from the contest. Here is round up of their reactions.
Lithuania, Latvia: Capitals of Culture
Viola in Vilnius writes that Riga has been nominated as one of the 2014 European capitals of culture, and comments on how this year’s title holder, Vilnius, has done so far.
Hungary: Pro-Nightlife Rally; Art Station
Marietta Le of Remainder of Budapest posts photos and video from a rally in support of Budapest's nightlife and from a graffiti and extreme sports competition held inside a metro station whose construction had been halted due to financial difficulties.
Israel: “Ajami” Reveals Nuanced Look at Israeli Society
The film "Ajami" was the big winner at last night's Ophir Prizes and will continue on to international audiences as Israel's foreign film nominee for the 2010 Academy Awards. Israeli bloggers comment on the film, which touches on coexistence between people of different religions.
Japan: Measuring Celebrity Buzz on 2ch
Blogger APEESCAPE translated a 2ch post that measured the buzz of celebrity stories by counting the number of threads on 2ch from 2004 to 2009.
Japan: Animated Explanations of Policies?
Inspired by this American video explaining ‘Why We Need Government-Run Universal Socialized Health Insurance‘, Media Sabor suggests using some of the budget from the canceled National Center for Media Arts to have animators create understandable animations to explain new policies to the public [ja].
Israel: Leonard Cohen Performs to Rave Reviews
Songmaster Leonard Cohen visited Israel this week, performing to a sold out crowd of 47,000 fans. Israeli bloggers who were lucky enough to attend gave rave reviews.
