Stories about Arts & Culture from December, 2008
Armenia-Azerbaijan: LGBT Cultural Icons
Unzipped: Gay Armenia writes that most Armenians are not aware of the sexuality of two of the nation's greatest cultural icons, Sergei Parajanov and Yeghishe Charents. Meanwhile, as the Azerbaijani parliament votes to lift the restriction on the number of terms a president can be elected for, IN MUTATIONE FORTITUDO...
Japan: The early salaryman catches the worm
Blogger Yoshihara (吉原) at Engineer Live no Henshûchô (エンジニアLiveの編集長) comments about a new trend which is spreading among Japanese salarymen. As a response to the Japanese practice of working overtime from morning to night without rest, many white collar workers seem to have decided to dedicate the first hours of...
Bosnia & Herzegovina: More on “Resolution 819″
More on Resolution 819, the film, at Cafe Turco – here, here, and here.
The San bushmen of Southern Africa
Saharan Vibe writes about the San, a term that refers to a diverse group of hunter-gatherers living in Southern Africa who share historical and linguistic connections, including several photos.
“Why I blog about Africa” (Part 2)
A couple of weeks ago we brought you a meme that was doing the rounds in the Francophone blogosphere answering the question of why to blog about Africa, after which it spread into the Anglophone blogosphere. Now we bring you a selection of that new batch of reactions.
Honduras: Christmas Spirit in San Pedro Sula
The Christmas atmosphere is alive and well in San Pedro Sula, Honduras writes Santos Galvez of El Sam Pedrano [es].
Israel: LivniBoy Gives ObamaGirl a Run For Her Money
Check out LivniBoy, Israel's answer to ObamaGirl. His YouTube video, “Love Song to Tzipi Livni,” has received over 6,350 views this week alone. Tzipi Livni is the Kadima Party candidate for prime minister in the upcoming winter elections. You'll be able to enjoy the feel of the video even if...
Israel: Decking the Halls in the Holy Land
“We ended up doing the ultimate Christmas thing in the Holy Land,” muses Anglosaxy. “Eating felafel, made by Israeli Arabs, sat next to a hungry pack of street cats…the kids enjoyed themselves anyway!”
Israel: Celebrating Hanukkah with YouTube
Every year at this time, Jews look forward to Hanukkah, the festival of lights. Jacob Richman posts a list of 70 Hanukkah videos on YouTube, among them is an old favorite: Adam Sandler's “Hanukkah Song.”
Israel: Kibbutz Features Argentinean Murals
Israeli Mom describes her visit to Kibbutz Or HaNer, which is special for its large scale murals created by Argentinean artists Daniela Almeida and Jose Kura. “During 2007, Kura and Almeida were invited to the kibbutz (founded by Jewish immigrants from Argentina), to create a collection of murals that will...
Japan, Brazil: A centenary of Japanese Immigration to Brazil.
In June 1908, the Japanese ship Kasato Maru docked in the Port of Santos after a 52-day voyage, bringing the first Japanese families to Brazil. A hundred years later and after a hard period of adaptation, Japanese and Japanese-Brazilians reflect on the history and cultural heritage of this cross ocean cultural mix.
South Africa: World’s First Locative Documentary for Mobile
World's first locative documentary for mobile phones is about youth culture in Soweto: “Today is a big day on the Grid – we’ve just launched a 25-episode documentary about youth culture in Soweto, the famous South African township. The documentary, called Mobikasi, is the first to be delivered exclusively by...
Video: Costa Rican Artist takes on the Fine Art Classics
Francisco Munguía, a Costa Rican cartoonist and artist has interpreted the Fine Arts classics and is currently doing a show in the Costa Rican Children's Museum. However, you don´t need to travel to Costa Rica to see his work: it is uploaded on YouTube in a gallery style presentation.
Madagascar: France responds to alleged censorship of “47” play
Pierre Maury reports that French authorities have responded to the accusation of censorhip of “47” a historic independence play created by Jean-Luc Raharimanana and Thierry Bedard. Victoire Bidegain Di Rosa, advisor to the French ministry of Culture explains that the subject of the play is not necessarily of interest to...
Serbia: Sveti Nikola
A Yankee-in-Belgrade writes about celebration of St. Nicholas Day in Serbia.
Pakistan: Letting The Children Watch The Slaughtering of Animal
Achelois: a retired goddess comments on the animal sacrifice in Islam and the tradition of letting children watch the slaughtering: “I believe that there is no need or reason for us to show animals being killed to young children.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Eating Blue
Onika Henry at Discover TnT Blog recounts her experience at this year's Tobago Blue Food Festival.
Japan: Digital mech art
Edo from Pink Tentacle has a collection on digital illustrations of mechs, droids and borgs.
Cameroon: Africa's “Liberation Theologian” Jean-Marc Ela dies
Dibussi Tande of Scribbles from the den writes about Father Jean Marc Ela who died in Canada on the 14th of December. He was variously been described as “the nearest Africa has come to a liberation theologian in a Latin American sense “, the “Champion of a theology under the...
Abu Hadeed: Egypt's first Computer Game
Abu Hadeed is Egypt's first original computer game. Zeinobia writes about the copyrights issues and the concept saying:”It is the first game to be based upon an Egyptian cinematic character. Originally it was based on Boha, the hero of comedian Mohamed Saad’s film “Boha”. It is an odd choice to me...
Guatemala: Christmas Decorations in Antigua
As Christmas fast approaches in Guatemala, Rudy Girón posts a series of photographs of typical decorations in Antigua.
