Chinese paper cutting is a folk art with close to 2000 years of history. Below are some amazing samples of great craftsmanship; most of the graphics are symbols of luck and prosperity, animals & pets, as well as reflections of daily folk lives…
Korean celebrities don in traditional Hanbok to greet the fans on Chuseok, Korean harvest festival. Some pretty women, a few hunks and a little kid in beautiful costumes; can’t remember everyone’s name regrettably…
FT Island
Yoshida Brothers are Japanese musicians famous for playing the shamisen (三味線, lit. three flavour strings), a traditional Japanese music instrument.
Kodo (鼓動) was released in 2004 in the Yoshida Brothers II album; a remix version of the song was used for Nintendo’s Wii commercial in 2006.
The BIG Bibik & The Little Nyonyas is the latest project from my online friend Quachee. It’s an online cookshow showcasing the Peranakan (or Nyonya) cuisine.
Peranakan refers to descendants of foreign immigrants (primarily Chinese) who assimilated with the Nusantara community during the 15th & 16th century and created a unique culture of their own. Chinese-Peranakan is often referred to as Baba (male) and Nyonya (female).
The BIG Bibik & The Little Nyonyas revolves around a Peranakan grandmother teaching her grandchildren and friends on the art of cooking Nyonya dishes. Below are the first four (of eight) webisodes…
A Japanese ramen restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, is experimenting with two robotic-chef to cook the noodles; would be really cool if the whole restaurant’s operation is automated, with robots serving the dishes as well…
The 4th Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial, dubbed the world’s largest outdoor art festival, is currently held (July 26 to Sept 13, 2009) in the Echigo-Tsumari region, encompassing Tokamachi City and Tsunan Town in Niigata Prefecture, Japan.
Artists from 38 countries collaborated with local residents and urban supporters to create over 350 artworks in rice paddies, abandoned houses, and closed schools etc. Check the event’s official website for more pics and details.
A bizarre traditional ritual in India where babies are thrown from a height of 50 feet onto a cloth sheet held below for the sake of good health…
Devotees say no babies were injured during the ritual, which is practised annually by Muslims and Hindus in a village in western India’s Solapur district for 500 years.
Speechless.
[video via eltelbarker@Youtube]
Roasted pigs in costumes were paraded on the feast of St. John the Baptist, a hundred-year-old practise in the Philippines. Festival goers also got to sample the roasted suckling pigs (lechón), a famous Filipino delicacy, for free…