Stories about Arts & Culture from October, 2009
Azerbaijan: Musings & Poetry
With the number of English-language blogs from Azerbaijan increasing, Emotions on Air, Mind Mute sets a precedent for musings and poetry. Often dark and melancholic, the blog shows that new media can also be a medium for other forms of self-expression.
Global: International Creole Month
October has become the month of the worldwide celebration of Creole language and the Creole blogosphere is paying attention.
Africa: Predators of Art, Entrepreneurship and Poet Ramblings
There are predators and there are art predators and Gwendolyn Alley is one such predator. It is not often that you hear that one is an art predator, an enthusiast or aficionado maybe but not predator and this is what made me become very curious about Alley’s blog where she confesses her love for art.
Haiti: Creole Day
Repeating Islands draws attention to Haiti's International Creole Day.
Trinidad & Tobago: No Hope?
As a legendary Trinidadian artist's sculpture is given a coat of paint to “spruce it up”, Nicholas Laughlin says: “This…is a telling symptom. It tells me how unaware we are, as citizens, of the civic spaces we live and work in, and how irresponsibly we behave towards them. It tells...
Bangladesh: Kali Puja In Shakharibazar
Bangladeshi Photoblogger Ideas R Bulletproof posts pictures of Kali Puja, a festival dedicated to Hindu Goddess Kali, which were taken in Shakharibazar, Dhaka.
Bahamas: Ferguson Dies
Repeating Islands acknowledges the passing of “Bahamian self-taught international artist Amos Ferguson”, who passed away “after a long battle with dementia.”
Russia: Kindle
Profy reports on Amazon Kindle's “international expansion”: “This decision is obviously good at least because I personally don’t like any limitations and opening yet another window to the huge Russian market is hopefully a wise decision for Amazon. […] At the same time I myself suspect that the vast majority...
UK: Russian Film Festival
Siberian Light writes about the 3rd Russian Film Festival, which begins on Oct. 30 in London.
China and U.S: Oba Mao
A new icon combining Chairman Mao Zedong and U.S President Obama is on the rise in China. Check this out: Serving the people T-shirt and Oba Mao bag.
India: The Way Festivals Are Celebrated Now
“With the changing times, we should revamp the way in which the festivals are celebrated. Maintaining the essence of a festival is crucial for continuing our age old traditions and customs, but extravagance can be curbed in order to preserve our fast depleting ecology,” comments Adastrian at Unravelling the Enamoured...
Suriname: Personal History
For Paramaribo SPAN, Chris Cozier visits Dhiradj Ramsamoedj’s home to view the artist's Adji (which means ‘maternal grandmother’) Gilas cups and notes: “This is a very personal navigation of his experience — his own memory and relationship to family and place. This processing and reconfiguring defines the current moment in...
Hungary: “Downtown Smog Reducing Station”
Architects, artists, biologists and technicians worked together in downtown Budapest to show that a small plantation of algae could contribute to improving our environment.
Banned books in Malaysia
myAsylum lists some of the books which were banned in Malaysia by government censors.
Egypt: Campaign Against Abusive Publishers
An Egyptian blogger and author has had it with dealing with unscrupulous publishers and is taking the initiative to make the voices of authors not given a chance a a sounding board. Check out what Marwa Rakha is up to and how successful her initiative is.
Japan: Avatars come to life in the anime Summer Wars
Against the background of the Japanese countryside, feel good sentiments and an extraordinary virtual world are featured in Summer Wars (サマーウォーズSama wozu) [ja], the new animated movie by director Mamoru Hosoda [en]. The anime tells the story of Kenji, an awkward teenage math genius who finds himself involved in an...
Israel: Future Gay Tourist Hub?
Is Israel becoming a hub of international gay tourism, I Googled Israel ponders. He observes: “There is a clear trend definitely geared towards bringing in more gay vacationers and, to be more precise, their holiday dollars.”
Israel: What Other Countries Eat
Daniel Lubetzky's Peaceworks blog posts photos of what countries around the world eat in one week. Each photo shows a family in their kitchen surrounded by a week's worth of food.
Israel: Can Tel Aviv Become a Biking Mecca?
Can Tel Aviv join the Netherlands and China as an ideal location for cyclists? Ami Vider of Tel Aviv Tomorrow discusses its potential.
Greek Posts on Blog Action Day '09
This year's Blog Action Day was aimed at raising awareness about climate change. More than 150 Greek bloggers registered to participate.
Safeguarding the world's cultural heritage
Many organisations working to preserve global cultural heritage - both tangible and intangible - have been using online media to support their efforts.
