· July, 2011

Stories about Arts & Culture from July, 2011

Japan: On Fake Glasses

  31 July 2011

Marxy at Neojaponisme gives an interesting insight [en] on the “lens-less frame” trend spreading in Japan.

South Korea: Controversies on the Return of Korean Royal Books

  30 July 2011

Koreans celebrated in May 2011 the return of a collection of Korean Royal books, looted by French troops in 1866. As it was later found out that the return was a de facto 'rent' of the treasure, many people have expressed resentment toward the French and Korean governments for failing to fulfill their long awaited wish.

Haiti: Revered Flag Maker Dies

  29 July 2011

Repeating Islands acknowledges the passing of “Silva Joseph, a highly regarded Vodou flag maker…in the tradition of BelAir’s famous flag artists, such as Tibout, Joseph Fortine and Luc Daniel Cedor.”

Poland: The State of Reading

A few weeks ago, a new social campaign - Reading in Poland - was launched by one of Poland's largest daily newspapers due to the fact that reading rates in Poland are very low: one reports states that 56 percent of the Poles don't read books at all - and are also incapable of reading texts longer than 3 pages. A huge debate has started on the reading culture in Poland and the reasons for the crisis it is facing.

Puerto Rico: PR Indie's LAMC Coverage

  28 July 2011

Redod, the editor of the alternative music blog Puerto Rico Indie [es], reflects on the amazing and intense coverage [es] they offered of the Latin American Music Conference (LAMC) in New York City. Check it out!

Lebanon: Musician Arrested for Mocking President in Song

Lebanese musician Zeid Hamdan was detained briefly this week for allegedly defaming President Michel Suleiman in a song he released in 2010. Lebanese newspaper Assafir has since reported the Hamdan has been released, but not before a Twitter and blogger storm publicised the news of his initial arrest. Lebanon's online...

Jamaica: An Anime Nation to be Reckoned With

  27 July 2011

Jamaipanese says that this year's Anime Nation was “bigger and better” than its inaugural event, calling it “an epic event for fans of anime, cosplay, video games and Japan as patrons came from all over Jamaica to enjoy the event many of them wearing costumes or “cosplaying” as their favourite...

Jamaica: Unimpressed with Minaj

  27 July 2011

Active Voice publishes a guest post about singer Nicki Minaj's performance at Jamaica's recent Reggae Sumfest: “Minaj messed up when she displayed such flagrant disrespect to Jamaica by announcing that she was warned about profanity but went ahead merrily, regardless.”

Trinidad & Tobago: Celebrating Emancipation

  26 July 2011

“Trinidad and Tobago was the first country in the world to commemorate the abolition of slavery with a national observance, and since that time several other countries (mostly in the Caribbean) have followed suit”: TriniGourmet.com has the lowdown on this year's Emancipation Day celebrations.

Jamaica: OCD Ghosts?

  26 July 2011

Could it be that “the world of the supernatural [is] ordered not by the rules of metaphysics, but the rules of mathematics”? Under the Saltire Flag considers the possibility by examining a common thread in Caribbean folklore.

Slovakia: Big Money in the Tube

A few weeks ago, the Slovak Performing and Mechanical Rights society (SOZA) - the country's music copyright organization - started billing web servers, typically for young music fans, which were embedding YouTube and Vimeo videos on their pages. Tibor Blazko reports on the Slovak netizens' reactions.

Brazil: “A Serbian Film” Banned from RioFan Festival

  25 July 2011

The controversial long feature “A Serbian Film” was banned [pt] from the RioFan film festival by its main sponsor, the Brazilian national bank Caixa Econômica Federal, as announced [pt] on the website of the organization. Brazilian citizens organized a protest against censorship. A video [pt] gathers several analyses of the...