· February, 2013

Stories about Ideas from February, 2013

Latin America Turns to iPhone App to Take Hammerhead Sharks Off the Chopping Block

  28 February 2013

Countries across Latin America are on a mission to get hammerheads onto the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) list for protection. They’re armed with a new iPhone app that promises to make fin identification quick and easy. Listing the sharks would help fund financially strapped programs in Latin America and restrict global trade.

Kallun: A Platform of Angolan Slang

  27 February 2013

  The Plataform KALLUN (meaning slang), founded by Leocarpo Mário, is a recent collaborative project with the ultimate goal of gathering in just one place all the slang with Angolan origins. Kallun enables interactive search of terms and their meanings.

Costa Rica: Time of the Vanquished

  27 February 2013

In the post titled “Time of the vanquished” [es], the blog Furia raises profound reflections about what happens when quietness comes. It concludes its reflections by saying: “in order to conquer the silence of the serenity, the vanquished ones invent new ghosts that whisper in their ears. To win, to...

Being Fat, Talking Fat in South Korea

  26 February 2013

Many reports have been made about South Koreans’ obsessions with body image, some with shallow understanding of Korean culture. Youtube user durkeeinkorea in this video shares his experience in Korea where people are very ‘open about talking others weight’ and ‘calling someone fat’ in public happens frequently, with no harms intended. 

Egypt: The Muslim Brotherhood or the CIA?

  26 February 2013

The Muslim Brotherhood will soon confuse the world, if it decides to go ahead with a name change. Egyptian Bassem Sabry explains: @Bassem_Sabry: My friend @HaniSabra has just noticed the new name being considered by the MB, “The Comprehensive Islamic Authority,” has the acronym “CIA.”

Panama: TV Nostalgia

  24 February 2013

With a nostalgic touch, the blog El Panameño reviews [es] some 70s and 80s TV series, and challenges readers to see if they can match the titles with the posters included in the post.

As Japan's Star Fades, Many Struggle for Hope

  24 February 2013

As Japan's economic growth continues to shrink each year, the Japanese, who find themselves more and more disconnected from their families and friends thanks to grueling works days and the Internet's erosion of personal relationships, are finding it difficult to put on a happy face.

Haiti: The Politics of Identity

  22 February 2013

Tande blogs about “the relationship between cultural identity and belonging” and recommends a Haitian musician whose work goes beyond the identity politics and “offers a compelling example of how some of these tensions play out.”

Hand-painted Ads in Guinea-Bissau

  14 February 2013

In Guinea-Bissau “there is a real market of experts on painting wall advertisements”, says landscape architect Manuel Bivar. In 2011, he shared a collection of photos featuring hand-painted ads from Guinean shops on the African contemporary culture website, Buala.

Listening to Colours

  12 February 2013

Original de Vilaweb. Neil Harbisson és primer ciborg reconegut oficialment per un govern i el protagonista del documental guanyador al Festival Sundance 'Cyborg Foundation', del cineasta català Rafel Duran. Harbisson va néixer amb acromatòpsia, una condició que li impedeix distingir els colors. Aquest artista visual i compositor, amb l'ajuda d'un enginyer, va inventar l'Eyeborg, un dispositiu que li serveix per percebre les freqüències que emeten els colors.

Mexico's Social Media Love Revolution

  7 February 2013

By knowing the negative image Mexico has in international media, some people from the international community living in Mexico got tired of seeing how the positive side of the country gets lost and created the hashtag #ForTheLoveOfMexico.

Levitating Around Singapore

  6 February 2013

Jayden Tan and Jeff Cheong have been ‘levitating’ around Singapore and they are even teaching students about the secrets of levitation photography. Their project has been gaining attention in Singapore and many people have already noted the creativity of their photos.

“Radical Imagination” in the Context of Global Protests

  6 February 2013

The development of digital communication has allowed the voice of the people to be carried further, whilst at the same time liberating words, images, ideas and actions that were previously restricted to specific areas. The virtual world is ultra-connected, full of ideas and teeming with innovative entrepreneurial initiatives. People in the real world then use this digital interconnection to protest, organise and express dissident ideas.

Cultural extravaganza in Latin America! Comic books and beyond

  1 February 2013

Follow us as we visit the arts and the projects that are bridging the gaps and establishing new channels of communication in Latin America. We talk about comics, artworks, collaboration, projects and collectives that are remixing what we know about ourselves in Latin America. Cultural extravaganza guaranteed!