· January, 2009

Stories about Ideas from January, 2009

Japan: Saint Young Men, Jesus and Buddha on Earth

What if one day Jesus and Buddha descended to Earth to spend their holidays? And what if they lived together in a cheap apartment in Tachikawa, in western Tokyo? This is what Hikaru Nakamura, a young Japanese manga author, was thinking of when he came up with Saint Oniisan, a manga published in the monthly magazine Morning 2 in 2007 that become a hit in the last few months after the publication of the first two episodes as single volumes last year.

31 January 2009

Japan: My darling wife, I love you!

Blogger at Prism Cafe [ja] comments on news about an event organized by Japan Aisaika Organization (日本愛妻家協会 lit. Japan Organization of Beloved Wives) yesterday, the 29th of January, when in...

31 January 2009

Jamaica: Local Obama?

“Jamaicans should ask for nothing but the best from those who would aspire to lead”: Abeng News Magazine‘s Trevor Dawes thinks it might be time for a Jamaican Obama.

29 January 2009

Japan: Obama vs. Aso

Like every other country in the world, Japan, one of the strongest of America's allies in Asia, followed closely the election of President Obama. His speech has been broadcast, translated and commented on in all kinds of ways by the Japanese media and local TV shows. So it was natural that many bloggers drew a comparisons between the American President and the Japanese Prime Minister, Tarō Asō.

29 January 2009

Protest Video: Dancing Filipina Maids In Hong Kong

There are videos of dancing Filipinos which were conceptualized as a component of protest campaigns. Last month Juana Change videos became popular in the Philippines. These videos were used to express opposition to the administration-sponsored legislative bill that would amend the 1987 Constitution. Another video which entertained the public was the protest dance of Filipina migrant workers in Hong Kong

29 January 2009

Trinidad & Tobago: Pelham and Pan

From Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean Free Radio publishes another podcast, this time focusing on “veteran producer and steel orchestra arranger, Pelham Goddard” as he discusses the evolution of steel pan...

28 January 2009

Egyptians are Going Local

Inji, an avid Egyptian blogger and young economist who is distraught by the numerous emails and SMS messages calling for boycotting products, decided to “boycott the boycott” and take it to a positive extent. Nermeen Edrees brings us the story.

27 January 2009

Brazil: A Glance at Campus Party Brazil in Pictures

Campus Party Brazil 2009 in São Paulo comes to a close this Sunday. Around 6,500 people have taken part in this second edition of what is arguably Latin America's largest technology and digital culture event. In this article, you will see some of the most interesting pictures of the seven day meeting.

25 January 2009

Japan: Looking back on 2008

The last year in Japan saw, among other things, an economic crisis, employment instability, and the beginnings of the collapse of journalism. While the year was already recapped here last...

25 January 2009

Brazil: A true competition between e-books and paper books?

The Brazilian blogsphere is full of literature available online at collective blogs and websites, individual authors' blogs and governmental initiatives. The nations' best selling author, Paulo Coelho, is right when he says that the free distribution of e-books actually encourages the sales of paper books - at least in times when the reader still prefers reading on paper.

24 January 2009

Thailand: Kissing in public

Kissing in Public is an ongoing project in Thailand which invites residents in Thailand to perform the act of, well, kissing in public. According to organizers, this is an exercise...

24 January 2009

Bermuda, U.S.A.: Ethics & Transparency

Vexed Bermoothes thinks that “it is telling that the first orders issued by President Obama…dealt with ethics and transparency in Government” and that “Bermudians must take note of our inadequacies...

23 January 2009