Stories about Arts & Culture from January, 2008
Japan: Matchbox Art
Ryoko from Ping mag has written a feature on Matchbox Art.
Uzbekistan: Nadira's Story
Ben links to a few stories discussing Nadira Alieva’s new London theatre show, in which she recounts her life before and after she met ex-ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray.
Australia: Top Blogs
The Blogger at Dipping into the Blogpond has compiled a list of top 100 Australian blogs based on the blogs Alexa and Technorati rankings. (via Endverse)
Lithuania: Vytautas Sriubikis; the Hill of Crosses
Viola in Vilnius writes about Lithuanian flautist Vytautas Sriubikis – and briefly mentions the Hill of Crosses, quite an extraordinary place near the town of Siauliai, which “not surprisingly is a hill covered in crosses, and a bit of a place of pilgrimage.”
Albania: Eda Zari
Albanian Blogger writes about Eda Zari, an Albanian singer who has recently given up her Albanian citizenship.
The Balkans: “Jestdej”
Sleeping with Pengovsky posts a copy of the Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’ – spelled phonetically by Croatian musicians: “… For all of you native speakers out there – if you ever wondered how English sounds to people from the Balkans – take a look at the above picture. It just doesn’t get...
Ukraine, Russia: Monopoly
MoldovAnn asks readers to vote “for Kyiv to become one of the 22 cities of the world to be included in the new Monopoly World Edition game board.” Robert Amsterdam writes about real-life Monopoly being played in Russia by the Kremlin.
Brazilian Football Star Remembered on 25th Death Anniversary
It is through video online that many Brazilians and football fans from around the world have found a way to pay homage to one of the best dribblers in football history, Manuel Francisco dos Santos, best known as Garrincha.
Cambodia: High Dynamic Range images of Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh based blogger Mythical Dude shares some High Dynamic Range images of the city of the city on his Flickr page.
Philippines: Heath Ledger's Death
Blogs like Cyberpunk's So Called Life are commenting on hollywood actor Heath Ledger's death.
Bolivia: Preparations for Carnaval
Sandro Choque of the Cultural Center Sartañani Wasuru Qhanampi in Oruro, Bolivia writes about the preparations for this year's Carnaval, including rehearsals for the different groups that will present on February 2.
Ukraine: Crimean Tatars Protest
Orange Ukraine writes, among other things, about Crimean Tatars’ protests in Simferopol over the long-delayed construction of a mosque.
Morocco: Artisian Exposition
Live Peace Morocco shares photos from a recent artisan exposition in Rabat.
Latvia: Old Believers
Aleks of All About Latvia writes about the Old Believers’ community in Latvia.
Trinidad & Tobago: World Social Forum
Blogging from Trinidad and Tobago, Ramblings and Reason thinks World Social Forum “enables discussion of critical social issues that impact us”, but The Liming House is not convinced: “Yes, another world is possible, and another T&T is possible. But we have to come better than this.”
Trinidad & Tobago: The Merry Monarch
Discover TnT Blog has the latest Soca Monarch updates from Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival celebrations.
Peru: The Feast of the Three Kings in Ollantaytambo
Ollantaytambo, Peru, located near the city of Cuzco, recently celebrated the “Fiesta de Reyes” (Feast of the Three Kings). The Quechua and Spanish bilingual blog Habla Quechua [qu/es] has pictures and a description of the event.
Korea: Have you been pressed down by scissors?
Have you heard about ‘your body is pressed down by scissors?’ When I was kid, I heard adults sometimes tell each other they were pressed down by scissors the previous night and talked about horrible ghost stories. I didn’t understand what it was until I experienced it one time. I...
Russia: The North
Window on Eurasia writes that “small ethnic groups of Russia’s north suffer […] from abuse in the post-Soviet media which appear to treat them all as one enormous and inappropriate Chukchi joke.”
Latvia: The Suiti
Marginalia writes about history, culture and songs of the suiti, the people of Alsunga in Latvia.
Albania: BBC Journalist's Blog
BBC's Mark Mardell blogs about his trip to Albania.