28 January 2014

Stories from 28 January 2014

Kenya Blog Awards 2014 Open for Submissions

  28 January 2014

The 2014 BAKE Kenyan Blog awards is now accepting submissions until February 10, 2014. Users can vote online from March 1 to April 30, 2014 for their favorite blogs in 17 different categories, including the new additions of Best Health Blog and Best County Blog.  The Kenyan Blog Awards, an initiative of the Bloggers Association...

South Korea: ‘Less is More’, Net Users Turn Sour on Typical Movie Poster

  28 January 2014

A massive Disney hit movie, Frozen is rapidly gaining traction also in South Korea. However, more young Koreans are turning sour on typical Korean-style movie poster, which has long been criticized for being either too confusing or overly interrupted [ko] by extra-bold text dropping names or media/net users’ reviews ridden with cliche [ko]....

Sri Lanka's Best Bus Terminal

  28 January 2014

Freelance writer, translator and blogger Nandasiri Wanninayaka writes about the multi-purpose bus terminal-cum shopping and entertainment complex in the resort town of Negombo: You wouldn’t expect a bus stand in Sri Lanka to be like a mini airport. But if you happen to go to Negombo Bus Stand, renamed as...

INNOVATION: Containers as Student Housing at European Universities

  28 January 2014

In order to alleviate the lack of student housing available across Europe, a few universities in Denmark, Germany, France (Le Havre) [fr] and Spain have tried to turn containers into student dorms. Containers appear to be the structure of choice because they are less costly and readily adaptable to include the necessary amenities....

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan: Trip to the Dying Aral Sea

  28 January 2014

The Aral Sea lying between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan was once one of the world's four largest lakes. Over the last five decades, however, the sea has lost over 90 percent of its original size, mainly as a result of disastrous irrigation projects which diverted rivers feeding it. On the Caravanistan travel...

Fairy Tales in the 21st Century

  28 January 2014

On the column Breviario [es] from the website El MalPensante [es], Argentinian author Hernán Casciari [es] concludes that many timeless fairy tales that are part of children's imagination and many other stories would have never taken place had their main characters had access to the current technology: What happens with...

Anonymous Acts of Kindness

  28 January 2014

The blog BuzzFeed shares a series of images that portray simple acts of kindness by ordinary people that might have huge effects on those who receive them: “35 Pictures That Prove The World Isn’t Such A Bad Place.“

Qaraqalpaqstan, the ‘Forgotten Stan’ of Central Asia

  28 January 2014

Qaraqalpaqstan (or Karakalpakstan) is one of the least-known “stans” of Central Asia. Part of Uzbekistan, this region is a true gem for a curious traveler. On the Caravanistan blog, Steven writes about this “forgotten stan”: …Living under the shadow cast by the desiccation of the Aral Sea, this little-known stan has gotten...