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West Asia
How does friendship make our life sweet?
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him. -Ralph Waldo Emerson Friends are an important part…
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East Asia
Mastery of silence and subtle violence
A review of Stoker directed by Park Chan-wook If we take a look at the world cinema, each country’s has a different trait that defines the industry. It is a whole different set of aesthetics which appeal to the local audience, and often times, to a global audience as well.…
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East Asia
[Books] Meet Malala
I Am Malala The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban By Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb | Little, Brown and Company | 2013 Malala Yousafzai, the brave Pakistani girl who stood up for education and was shot in the head by the Taliban, writes…
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Culture
Growth vs. Participatory Growth
[BOOKS] Growth vs. Participatory Growth An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions By Jean Drèze, Amartya Sen | Princeton University Press | 2013 Two of India’s leading economists, Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen bring to light the neglected, dismal side of India that is not only overlooked in…
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South East Asia
Musings for Miss World 2013
Miss World 2013, Miss Philippines! The announcement echoed like a giant wave towards me, while I gazed transfixed in front of the TV. It was the Miss World Pageant beamed live from Bali, Indonesia last September 28, 2013. Screaming my heart out, I felt like I was the one sashaying…
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East Asia
Our culture, our global citizenship
There is a strong belief that culture is becoming an overwhelming global citizenship. Some of us are connected with others under the sky of religions, or gathered in the tent of languages, or collected below the tree of races, or even corresponded with the shadow of political loyalties. Only culture…
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“To have a friend, you must be a friend”
The following excerpt is a part of Najwa Zahhar’s autobiography. Her book was published in Arabic in 2004, and was translated under the title of Gardenia, which means Garden in local Arabic. She talks about the meaning of friendship and life as lamenting the loss of her friend. -Editor’s note “To have a…
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East Asia
Annual lantern festival under way with 30,000 lamps lighting up central Seoul
The annual Seoul Lantern Festival kicks off in central Seoul on Novemver 1, with 30,000 colored lanterns lighting up Cheonggye Stream in central Seoul. Seoul Metropolitan Government unveiled program details of the lantern festival to be held for 17 days from Friday. The organizing committee of the 2013 Seoul Lantern…
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Culture
The quest to restore China’s face
[Books] The quest to restore China’s face Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-first Century By Orville Schell and John Delury | Random House | 2013 How did China after such a long, painful decline including civil war, revolution and foreign occupation recover from its impeding past and…
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South East Asia
Indonesian democracy challenged by local customs
Indonesia is a vast tropical country of sprawling archipelago with extremely diverse cultures and a demographic make-up of over 300 ethnic groups, and more than 700 living languages spoken. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world and also has a significant Christian Protestant and Catholic population. Hindus mostly…
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