Stories about Arts & Culture from July, 2007
Japan: Sanja Matsuri suspension
Anpontan has posted an overview of the reasons behind this year's suspension of the main event of a three-day festival, which he explains are connected to the increasing presence of yakuza, who have “taken to wandering from festival to festival in Tokyo lately looking for action and dominating events.” He...
Pakistan: Chaniot
Light Within on a town called Chaniot – famous for its woodwork and the furniture industry.
D. R. of Congo: Miracle-peddlars, musical hippos and scary lightbulbs
Probably the most consistently interesting Congolese blog is kept by Cédric Kalonji [Fr], whose photographs and commentary bear humorous but often sorrowful witness to the struggles of ordinary life in Kinshasa, the country's heavily populated, run-down capital. Returning from a recent visit to Europe, Cédric found himself wondering whether the...
Caribbean: Seven Wonders of the Caribbean
Why hasn't the Caribbean appeared on the Seven Wonders of the World list? Bajegirl at the Cheese on Bread blog lists the “Seven Wonders of the Caribbean”.
Dominica: Carrying the Caribbean Way
“In rural Dominica one still can see people bearing on their heads.” Living Dominica admires this tradition.
Trinidad & Tobago: Caribbean Film Icons
“It took Spike Jones to push Horace Ové into second place in a new ranking of iconic Black directors.” As the Caribbean Beat Blog reviews the results of the 100 Black Screen Icons poll, it pays homage to some of the people who have contributed to Caribbean film.
Ukraine: Kyiv Galleries
Olechko posts photos from a few Kyiv galleries – and shares her own artwork, too.
India At 60: New Book on Partition of India, First Woman President and A Film on Gandhi's Son
A couple of weeks from now on August 15th and 14th, India and Pakistan will celebrate their 60th year of Independence. What stands out in stark contrast is the differences between the two nations in terms of their forms of government and their nation-building exercise. India went the democratic way...
Uzbekistan: Pop-soda culture
Joshua Kucera is in Uzbekistan now and enjoys the culture of having a relaxed soda at the side of the street the local way.
Kyrgyzstan: Wedding season
Kyrgyzstani couples choose the summer months to get married. As the ceremonies portrayed by bloggers are mostly Western in style, they convey a different, somewhat "non-exotic" image of the landlocked Central Asian republic. From white doves to violins, the Kyrgyzstani dream wedding seems above all one thing: expensive!
Togolese blogger contemplates self-publishing
In a world where editors balk at taking risks, Reve d'Afrique examines the possibilities and perils of self-publishing (Fr).
Colombia: Inside and Out at the Colombiamoda Fashion Show
Colombian bloggers discuss the relevance of the ColombiaModa international fashion show, a model speaks about the not-so-rosy aspects of the fashion show, and others post their thoughts on the Independence Celebrations of July 20th, which took place in the island of San Andrés for the first time in Colombia's history.
Africa: New exhibit by Ghanaian architect in New York
Annansi writes about a new exhibit by the Ghanaian architect, David Adjaye, at the Studio Museum of Harlem, New York City: “The exhibit, Making Public Buildings, introduces Adjaye’s architecture to American audiences by carrying viewers through his working process-from inspiration to completion-through ten projects, both built and uncompleted.”
Hungary, Romania: Mihaly Munkacsy
Csikszereda Musings writes about an exhibition of the paintings of Mihaly Munkacsy, “Hungary's most famous painter.”
Uruguay: Giving the Harry Potter Ending Away
Rosario's Reading Journal purchased the latest Harry Potter book in her country of Uruguay, but became livid when the local newspaper El Pais revealed the book's ending on the front page.
Colombia: Absent Final Movie Credits
PISO TR3S [ES] wonders why Colombian television does not run the final credits following the broadcast of a movie, but thinks it must because of the precious time for additional advertising revenue.
Macedonia: Macedonian Orthodox Church
The Macedonian Tendency writes about the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
Czech Rebublic: “7 Bullets as in Sarajevo”
Bosnia Blog writes about Sarajevo coincidences in Prague.
Latvia: Latvians in Ireland
Latvian Abroad writes about Latvians living and working in Ireland and the UK.
Hong Kong: Hand off from culture and moral censorship
Erynnyes from Those were they days gave the SAR government an advice that it should keep its hand off from culture and moral censorship. If a piece of work is really unacceptable, it will have to confront public criticism.
Uruguay: Museum Blog
Museos en Uruguay [ES] is a new blog written by R. Boretto, director of the Industrial Revolution Museum in Fray Bentos, Uruguay.
