Stories about Ideas from November, 2009
Barbados: 43rd Anniversary of Independence
Today, the 43rd anniversary of Barbados’ independence, has bloggers talking about what the occasion means.
Suriname: Seamlessness
“There is a way that Caribbean music or musical interests create a seamlessness between locations”: Blogging at Paramaribo SPAN, Chris Cozier ruminates on seamless spaces created by sound.
Japan: Buy Nothing Day
Started in 1992 in Canada by artist Ted Dave, the Buy Nothing Day movement [en] has spread to more than 60 countries around the world, Japan included. In line with the philosophy of the movement, next Saturday (November 28) Japanese are invited to refrain from shopping and reflect upon their...
Cuba: Here Comes The Rain Again
Cuba's Generation Y longs for “what seems to be a pipe dream for so many, when the city will not collapse because of a simple shower that falls in the tropics.”
Dominica: Cruise Control
Dominica Weekly suggests that the island's emphasis on cruise tourism may be a bit misplaced.
St. Lucia, U.S.A.: New Book of Poetry
From St. Lucia, Caribbean Book Blog interviews Dr. Neal Hall about his new anthology of verse, Nigger For Life.
Bahamas: Enough Already
Bahama Pundit‘s Larry Smith is “sick and tired of all those forwarded emails peddling scams, lies and hate propaganda.”
Trinidad & Tobago: CHOGM
KnowTnT.com would like to know what the point of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting actually is: “I am forced to wonder if the CHOGM meeting isn't anything but a group of dinosaurs discussing the tar pits.”
Trinidad & Tobago: On Sex
As a prelude to World AIDS Day, Alien In The Caribbean is “doing a thorough three part exploration of sex and sexuality, particularly in the Caribbean.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Responsible Drinking
KnowTnT.com‘s Edmund Gall suggests ways in which clubs and bars can “do more to encourage responsible drinking.”
Bahrain: Making Rumours Viral
Bahraini Ammaro talks about how fast it takes to spread rumours in Bahrain and make them ‘viral.’
Puerto Rico: No. 35
Gil the Jenius has something to say about Puerto Rico's #35 ranking on Transparency International's 2009 Corruption Perception Index.
Trinidad & Tobago: Social Media Crimefighting
Taran Rampersad is glad “to see that social media is being seen as a tool for fighting crime in Trinidad and Tobago”, but says there are more effective ways in which to do it.
Barbados: Mini Monaco?
Barbados Free Press and Barbados Underground question the vision of the island being transformed into another Monaco.
Cuba, U.S.A.: Questions for Obama
Cuba's Generation Y sends a questionnaire to U.S. President Obama “with some of the issues that keep [her] from sleeping” and publishes his responses.
Cuba: Courting Change
“There are a good number of ministers still under sixty, but the largest share of power is concentrated in the hands of septuagenarians and octogenarians”: Cuba's Generation Y suggests these veterans are unable “to hear the new generation knocking at the door, coming like a whirlwind to dismantle everything.”
Barbados: Crunch Time
“Barbadians have become alarmed at the prospect of having its investment paper perched at the brink of junk rating, a status most unfamiliar to Barbadians through the years”: Barbados Underground says it's economic “crunch time”!
Barbados, Jamaica: Corruption Perception
The 2009 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index is out and although Living in Barbados always takes the results “with a pinch of salt”, he notes that “greasing palms is unfortunately seen as a part of doing business worldwide.”
Taiwan: Introducing Best English Blogs
David on Formosa publishes a series of posts introducing some of the best Taiwan blogs in English(bridge bloggers).
Japan: Top 60 Expressions of 2009
Pink Tentacle has translated into English all of the “Top 60 Japanese words/phrases of 2009″, released by publisher Jiyu Kokuminsha: Included are plenty of references to Japan’s recent political shake-up, the ailing economy, and the blurring of traditional gender roles.
Suriname: Welcome to the Jungle
For Paramaribo SPAN, Christopher Cozier visits artist Daniel Djojoatmo, whose work “discuss[es] the predicament of certain narratives of development which are, at their inception, ill-fated and at the disposal of the jungle.”
