Stories about Arts & Culture from February, 2010
Russia: Avatar & North Caucasus – Fiction vs Reality
LJ user burtin posts this comment (RUS) about Avatar: “Interesting that people cry [as they watch] Avatar – while reports from Chechnya and Ingushetia leave them totally indifferent. Even though archetypally the same is happening there – only the people are real, not [computer-generated]. […] If this were happening in...
My Name is Khan – Cultural Politics in India
A look at the Hindi blog-posts related to the Bollywood film 'My Name Is Khan' reveals an interesting fact - that the reactions to this film have more to do with the cultural politics in India than with the aesthetic value of the film itself.
Trinidad & Tobago: Saving Carnival
B.C. Pires links to a column by Mark Lyndersay, which, “if listened to, could rescue Trinidad Carnival for photographers; or at least stave off the death of yet another of its vital organs”, while other Trinidadian bloggers comment on the government's decision “to award sole rights to distribute coverage of...
Trinidad & Tobago: Carnival Tuesday
Trinidadian bloggers post photos from the Carnival Tuesday festivities.
Pakistan: Let The Kites Fly
A Lahore Court banned kite flying in Punjab province of Pakistan in 2005 citing it as a dangerous game and deprived many residents of the joys of Basant festivities. Some bloggers felt that strong rules and regulations instead of outright ban could decrease the risks related to kite-flying.
China: Amateur short film satirizes internet censorship
Famous amateur film-maker, Hu Ge, has recently made a new satirical piece on the Internet censorship in China. The 7-minute piece, ‘Animal World: the Home-living Animal’ is styled as an animal-planet type of documentary and has attracted hundreds of thousands of views in a matter of a few days. The...
Bolivia: Carnaval Celebrations Suspended Due to Bad Weather
In the city of Trinidad, Bolivia, Carnaval celebrations were postponed due to heavy rains [es] in the regions reports the blog from Radio Patujú.
India: Civic Sense And Liberty
Prerna at I Love Life.. So I Explore discusses about the phenomenon of the lack of civic sense of Indians inside the country as some make public nuisances completely ignoring the law.
Azerbaijan: Interview with Feride Sadikhova Buyuran
Women's Forum interviews culinary blogger Feride Sadikhova Buyuran while her AZ Cookbook posts a recipe for lemon upside down cake.
Macedonia, Turkey: Connected, not Divided by History
Chris Deliso, a travel writer and founder and director of Balkanalysis.com writes in an oped in Today's Zaman about the mutual fondness between citizens of Macedonia and Turkey, which is there despite the fact that one century ago, “Macedonia suffered tremendously during anti-Ottoman rebellions.” He sees potential for using the...
Korea: Lunar New Year
Ask a Korean! translated a story written by Joo Seong-Ha about Lunar New Year in North Korea.
Egypt: Valentine's Day Dilemma
Forget about anything you know about the Valentine's Day, as you are going to experience so many contradicting reactions and thoughts regarding this day, after paying the Egyptian blogosphere a visit.
USA: Native Cherokees Fight for Sacred Mound
Cherokee Native Americans in North Carolina are currently fighting the construction of an electrical station they say would impede the spiritual experience at Kituwah, a sacred mound that is cherished as "Mothertown".
Armenia: Eurovision National Competition
Armenia tonight chose its entry for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, Norway. Twitter users provided an online summary of the national competition televised inside the country while some blogs offered reaction to the successful entry.
Cambodia: Valentine's Day Sparks Controversy
Valentine's Day was first celebrated in Cambodia in 2000. It is now a popular event in the country, especially among the youth. The government, with the help of some bloggers, use this occasion to promote sexual health and reproductive health rights among the younger generation
Russia: Theater Play to “Reconstruct” Lawyer Magnitsky's Death
The death of Sergei Magnitsky, a 37-year-old lawyer who spent nearly a year in jail awaiting trial, received much publicity and prompted Russian authorities to introduce some changes. The case also inspired a public discussion of prison conditions in Russia, which is now likely to move to a new level, as a Moscow theater is working on a documentary play that would "reconstruct" the horror of Magnitsky's final hours.
Japan: Department Stores-ology
Roy Berman at Mutantfrog illustrates “The history of department stores in Kyoto, and Kyoto in the history of the department store”.
Pakistan: The Ban On Kyte-flying
Hamza Ahmad Qureshi and Momekh at Lahore Metblogs writes on the 2005 kite-flying ban in Pakistan and discusses the silly reasons cited to justify the ban. In many parts of Pakistan, especially in Lahore, traditionally people used to celebrate the Basant (spring) festival by flying kites.
India: From ‘The Bangle Man’ To ‘The Bangle Shop’
Sujatha at Blogpourri describes the Indian tradition of the street glass bangle vendors and how the modern bangle shops have replaced them.
Video: Mobile Libraries of the World
The mobile library has become a staple in many library systems, bringing books to those who cannot access the libraries themselves. However, in many places due to bad road conditions or lack of funding, the traditional system of rigging a bus or truck as a library is not possible. Thus, library trains, donkey libraries and motorcycle libraries have come to stay as viable options to bring books to the communities.
Last chance to nominate blogs for BoBs Award
Deutsche Welle's Best of the Blogs Awards is accepting nominations until February 14th! Nominate blogs in any country. There are special topics for climate change and freedom of expression.
