· May, 2010

Stories about Arts & Culture from May, 2010

Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia make Eurovision Top Ten

This year's Eurovision Song Contest drew to a close on a Saturday in a televised final which attracted around 125 million viewers worldwide. But while some media reported lagging interest in the 54-year-old competition and concerns about spiraling costs, countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia continue to take it very seriously indeed.

31 May 2010

Sri Lanka: Where To Put Your Trash

Iromi Perera at Groundviews writes about the garbage problem in Sri Lanka and comments: “dumping your trash in front of another person’s house seems to be the common and recommended...

31 May 2010

Japan: Monozukuri for the Modern Age

The Japanese counterpart of Make Magazine, an American quarterly magazine for DIY enthusiasts, organizes a regular event in Tokyo called Make Tokyo Meeting (MTM). The fifth MTM, held at the Tokyo Institute of Technology on May 22-23, was the largest yet, featuring everything from bicycle wheels with LED lights, to complex wooden ball machines, to mechanical robot birds. Check out reports on the event on blogs, Twitter and YouTube.

30 May 2010

Caucasus: Eurovision Semi-final roundup

Unzipped: Gay Armenia offers its opinion on last night's semi-final in this year's Eurovision Song Festival, and especially the entries from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The blog, which has become...

28 May 2010

Caucasus: Social media, cleavage, and rare unity in Eurovision

Although last night's second semi-final for this year's Eurovision Song Contest has been and gone, Twitter was alive with commentary and updates throughout. The annual international competition, noted more for its kitsch entries than for its music, is viewed by well over 100 million people worldwide. Its presence online is nowhere near as large, but is increasingly becoming an important consideration.

28 May 2010

Bhutan: Such Is Life

Jeans at Kuzu-Bhutan Weblog shares an anecdote of life in Bhutan's capital Thimphu.

27 May 2010

South Africa: The World Cup is Coming to Grahamstown

This year in Grahamstown, South Africa, the World Cup coincides with the annual National Arts Festival, which is expected to increase tourism and opportunities for residents. Citizen journalists from the Grocott's Mail have examined many of these issues and how they will impact their local community.

26 May 2010

India: The Legend of Goopy And Bagha

Greatbong at Random Thoughts Of A Demented Mind pays tribute to Tapen Chattopadhyay, “the Bengali actor famous for playing the role of Goopy Gyne in Satyajit Ray’s Goopy-Bagha trilogy for...

26 May 2010

Taiwan: Heavy metal and death penalty

One of the top public issues in Taiwan blogosphere recently is whether Taiwan should abolish death penalty or not. Thus, The Ball Music sorts out and introduces several heavy metal...

25 May 2010

Caucasus: Eurovision girl power

Ianyan comments on this week's Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Oslo, Norway. Noting the often cheesy nature of the international music competition, the blog takes a look at...

24 May 2010

Caucasus: Eurovision Social Media

With the first semi-final in this year's Eurovision Song Contest due to take place tomorrow, activity on blogs, social media networks and micro-blogging sites in support of entrants from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, the three countries making up the South Caucasus, is naturally increasing. However, their use also sometimes reflects the geopolitical and technical realities of the region.

24 May 2010