Stories about Arts & Culture from July, 2013
An Undeniably Racist Song, ‘Asian Girlz’ Sparks Controversy
Packed with Asian stereotypes and fetishes, song ‘Asian Girlz’ by ‘Day Above Ground’ has invited controversy and angry comments. Blogger Angry Asian Man typed down the entire lyrics to comment [if they have not] ‘run out of stereotypical Oriental stuff to list off, the song would have gone on for another ten minutes”. The...
Macedonia: Ohrid's Hidden Medieval Masks
A traveling blogger and communications specialist in the tourism industry, Tricia A. Mitchell, tells of her curious find in Macedonia's UNESCO registered Ohrid old town.
Top Ten Eateries In Dhaka Town
Expat Mikkela Thompson completed her goal of trying 100 eateries in Dhaka in 18 months. She compiles a list of top ten restaurants in the Bangladesh capital in her blog M's Adventures.
An English Written Chinese Classical Couplet
Chinese couplet is a kind of classical poetry written in two lines, which are corresponding to each other in length as well as syntactic and semantic properties. As the couplet can be pasted to the entrance of a house, sometimes a short extra line, horizontal line to be pasted in...
In Egypt, Young Men “Die for Nothing”
Egyptian blogger Zeinobia shares photographs and a video of an 18-year-old revolutionary artist Eissa Essam. Essam was killed during clashes on July 26 with Muslim Brotherhood supporters camped in the Rabaa Al Adawiya neighbourhood in Nasr City. Zeinobia describes Essam as the liberal son of an MB member, who was...
E-book Offers ‘Pearls’ From Women Around the World
Catherine Beeckman explains how Global Voices provided inspiration for the free anthology "Pearls Around the Neck": "Your writings feed mine!"
South Korea's Military Culture Under Scrutiny After Teen Boot Camp Deaths
Five students drowned at a private summer boot camp after instructors made them take off their life jackets and jump into the sea.
African Fabric Kimono Belt Supports Mothers in Earthquake Disaster Area
A group of Japanese mothers in Sendai city is producing special kimono belts with fairly-traded African fabrics. Yumi Nakano, who organizes the fundraising [ja] by requesting a donation in exchange for the belts, hopes to encourage more people to enjoy the traditional Japanese kimono and help support the mothers of the...
Visit to Israel Gets Filmmaker “Cleansed” from Iran's Cinema Museum
Mohsen Makhmalbaf accepted an invite to the Jerusalem Film Festival in the name of peace, courting controversy in his native Iran.
South Korean Authorities Raid Ex-Dictator's Home, Seize Massive Art Collection
Authorities hauled away 350 works of art worth millions of dollars. But was the raid a meaningful attempt at justice or a political decoy?
Gay Uzbekistan: Unknown Singer Stands for an Alternative Lifestyle
A mysterious musician in drag recently hit YouTube with a song about the sweetness of forbidden tea, reminding the world that Uzbeks, too, can be gay.
Artists Capture a Bloody Ramadan in Syria
Mubarak (Blessed), Kareem (Generous), Peaceful, Happy … are the usual adjectives accompanying any greeting during the Muslim month of fasting – Ramadan. Not so for Syrians.
VIDEO: Historic Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque Bombed in Syria
Protect Syrian Archaeology posted photographs on its Facebook page [en, ar] and videos on YouTube, recording the moment the historic Khalid ibn al-Walid mosque (7th century) was bombed in Homs, Syria. Homs – Results of the bombing of Khalid ibn al-Walid mosque#حمص – أثار القصف الذي تعرض له مسجد الصحابي خالد بن الوليد” This 5-minute video takes you inside...
The Beautiful “Country” of Africa
In this week's edition of the Kenyan online magazine Brainstorm, Brenda Wambui rails against the ongoing narratives about Africa: “Africa is a country”, “Africa rising”, ‘”African fashion”. She looks at ways Kenyans can reclaim their story and define themselves on their own terms: As Kenya, or any other country, we...
Puerto Rican Artist Shares Her Passion for Paper
Aydasara Ortega's Facebook wall has been transformed into an exhibit space, where she and others, "reclaim their physical and mental space" by making hand-crafted paper.
Punish the Unmarried in China?
Starting from July 1, 2013 China put into effect a new filial piety law, requiring grown children to visit their parents “frequently”. In reaction to the law, an elderly suggested to punish the unmarried one: My kids shouldn't be treated as a violator of any law if they don’t visit...
VIDEO: ‘Beijing State of Mind’
Mark Griffith from Blog of Niffguard has put together a music video about life in Beijing: Watch Beijing State of Mind on YouTube.
Korean Culture to Blame in Asiana Crash?
As more details are coming out about the Asiana Airlines plane crash which claimed two lives and injured 181 passengers, Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller ‘Outliers’ has been widely quoted in articles and online venues. The book points Korea's hierarchical culture as the main contributing factor of the 1997 Korean Airlines Plane Crash at Guam airport. The Marmots Hole...
Indian Blogger Forced To Delete Post
Prasant Naidu at Lighthouse Insights reports that film critic, journalist and blogger Soumyadipta Banerjee was apparently forced to delete a recent blogpost. He wrote a post at his BollywoodJournalist blog describing the life and death of Constable Ravindra Patil, the only eye witness in Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s famous 2002...
The “Fair” Factor in Bangladesh
Aziza Ahmed writes about the Bangladeshi social prejudice on dark-skinned girls in matrimonial affairs.
Club-Goers Rebel Against Japan's Dance Regulation
Club goers across Japan are rebelling against an antiquated law that requires public venues to acquire a license for dancing or face raids, arrests and closures.
