Stories about Arts & Culture from February, 2008
Albania: Renovation of the Lead Mosque
Living in Shkoder writes about plans to renovate the Lead Mosque: “Built towards the end of the 1700’s this is one of the few mosques that were not destroyed around 1967, when Enver Hoxha’s communist government declared Albania an “atheistic country” and banned all religious meetings and literature.”
Lithuania: Music Education
Viola in Vilnius – European Capital of Culture 2009 writes about the sorry state of Lithuania's music education.
National Sports: unique expressions of countrywide pride.
Whether by government decree or by popularity, national sports are part of the cultural makeup of every country. People from many walks of life come together to participate, watch or root for their favorite athletes or teams. Check out which unique national sports Colombia, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates have.
Brazil: Live streaming from Campus Party
Ricardo Cobra [pt] is going to live stream Campus Party Brazil at his blog. He has also met the mysterious blogger who sold her body (rather blogs’ adverts space in her body) to be able to attend to Campus Party.
Georgia: Political Culture
Writing on his This is Tbilisi Calling, the BBC's Matthew Collin comments on accusations made by Irakli Okruashvili, the former Georgian defence minister wanted on corruption charges and currently seeking political asylum in France, that the newly re-elected Georgian president is wasting public funds by staging musical spectaculars in Tbilisi...
Guyana: Carifesta Comes Home
The Voice of the Taino People Online reports that this year's Carifesta celebration – “the region’s roving, multidisciplinary, mega arts festival will return to its birthplace – Guyana.”
Trinidad & Tobago: That Was Carnival
A “green” J'Ouvert was the extent of Nicholas Laughlin‘s Trinidad Carnival.
Barbados: Music Industry
“What does it say about the Barbados ‘music industry’ if the most successful performer to emerge from the island simply bypassed the entire industry?” asks Notes From The Margin after Rihanna's first Grammy win.
Hong Kong: 6 Reasons Not to See the New Photos
Moliuology listed out 6 reasons not to see the new photos concerning the sex photos scandal: 1. repetitive; 2. people's response is too hypocritical; 3. don't want to have too many friends; 4. weekend rally against the police abuse of power has delivered protest idea; 5. enough; 6. need to...
Hong Kong: A Most Chaotic Press Conference
Bikiniinpink posted a short video clip showing the chaotic scene of the press conference (zh) in which Gillian Chung gave her first public response to the sex photo scandal.
Ethiopia: Zerihun’s Retrospective
Addis Journal writes about an art exhibit in Ethiopia: “The Alliance Ethio-Française is running a retrospective exhibition of the works of Zerihun Yetemgeta, a renowned Ethiopian artist.”
Russia, Ukraine: Bond Girls
Siberian Light posts “a brief rundown of every Russian Bond Girl, ever” – which includes at least one Ukrainian girl.
Brazil: Bahia Afro Film Festival
Altino Machado [pt] says that everything is ready for the Bahia Afro Film Festival, which takes place in Salvador, Brazil from November 18 through 28. “The main goal is to spread the word, to integrate and to promote debates about the films and video production, on a national and international...
Brazil: Tips for Campus Party starting today
Graveheart [pt] has posted some humorous tips on how to get the best of Campus Party Brazil, which starts today in São Paulo. There will be 3 thousand people together for 7 days of talks, meetings, debates, games, conversations, ideas and, of course, networking.
Slovenia: Poetry, Green Views, Cuisine and More
Slovenia is a country with a very healthy blogosphere, which includes blogs from expats. Here's a roundup of what some of them have been talking about in the last few days, in English and Spanish.
Trinidad & Tobago: Making ‘Mas
Mark Lyndersay posts a series of photos depicting the process of making costumes for Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.
Belize, Trinidad & Tobago: Something about Carnival
“It is an awesome thing to witness for the first time, this egalitarian Carnival experience, this celebration that is collective and an expression of each one's most free and intimate self”: The Global Parish makes her first Carnival visit to Trinidad and Tobago.
Afghanistan: Film banned by the authorities
Sanjar reports that the Ministry of information and culture of Afghanistan has banned the import and exhibition of “The Kite Runner” movie on the fear of social consequences. The film is based on the novel by Khalid Husseini about the troubled friendship of two Afghan boys and “tells us a...
Qatar: Apple and Facebook
“Wow! Never saw it coming this huge.. Facebook gets Free TV AD by Apple…well, it was more about the iPhone and its capability to keep tapping on your Facebook profile and friends…” writes Morad, who is based in Qatar.
Hindi Blogosphere: Ad Revenue, Bollywood and other stories
A number of bloggers writing in English have no problem in putting up adverts and a lot of them generate decent enough revenue from their blogs. But the problem comes when you don't blog in English but in some other language as your advertising options start narrowing down. Ad revenue...
Japan: Coming-Out Letters
The Japanese LGBT community has come a long way to claim its position in society today. However, aside from those flamboyant celebrities on TV who satisfy viewers’ appetite for entertainment, the voices of sexual minorities are still rarely heard or amplified – perhaps more so in the case of those...
