The splendid sense of design here is perhaps most visible and obvious in the food.  Inside the hotels, and also all through the streets and in every neighborhood, is a fantastic array of smells that speaks to the multiple cultures contributing to the way the city eats here.  KL offers some of the most delicious foods in the world, with rich and complex flavors that will leave you wondering how good life can get.  Food is an excellent way to enter into the culture, because it’s one of the easiest way for nuance to find its expression in the world.  Visual art is another splendid way to begin an understanding, and KL has a sensational reputation for art in the international scene.  It’s film scene is also on the rise, with new pictures, and new companies, such as Tanjung Aru, presenting works from Malaysia by Malaysian artists.

Tanjung Aru is a relative newcomer to the global film market.  They have released only a few small films, but the care and attention is meticulous, and the future looks very bright.  They focus on experimental and documentary works that advance the form in some significant way.  One of their future projects, Compound, will be a stunning installation where the insides of a building are projected on gallery walls, and the spectator becomes the world outside.  Their most recent project, Karaoke, is a bittersweet story of homecoming.  These works are very ambitious, and represent a large scope that is looking at the international film scene as well as interpreting the local into art.

The Art of Tanjung Aru is a post from: VidMama

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Goa itself is a fascinating study in cultures.  With a large expat community and the diversity of the local communities in Goa’s neighborhoods, one can hear multiple languages and experience multiple points of view.  There are a number of musicians, visual artists, and writers that have connections to Goa, and one of these is poet Eunice de Souza.  She was born Pune, in 1940, to parents who came from Goa, and she currently lives in Mumbai.  Educated in Mumbai and at Marquette, in the U.S., she recently retired from her post at St. Xavier’s in Mumbai, where she was the head of the Department of English for twenty-five years.

Eunice de Souza has written several books of poetry, as well as serving as editor for multiple poetry editions.  She has also been active in theatre, as an actor and director, and has written literary criticism as well as books of children’s literature.  She is known primarily as a poet, however, and her work is exceptionally evocative of the space between cultures, languages, and geographies.  Her voice is an extraordinarily musical one, and the complicated rhythms and cadences can only be appreciated in its oral rendering.  It is also an extremely intellectual literature, moving seamlessly between doubt and belief, cynical observation and emotional catastrophe, making it a work that is pleasurable on multiple levels.

Eunice de Souza, Goa Roots is a post from: VidMama

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We made our way to Bangalore Palace, a Tudor style structure with turrets and fortified towers. It was built in 1887 (AD), and stands in the middle of the city, surrounded by gardens. The grounds host concerts and cultural events. Visiting here, with its ceiling relief paintings, moldings and floral designs, reminds one of England.

One gets hungry looking at such things so a trip for food was in order. We skipped the pubs at first this time, even though Bangalore is known for its pubs, and stumbled into a restaurant called Tandoor which felt rather rustic, with its big chandelier and sumptuous furnishings. We had the mulligatawny shorba and their famous kabobs. This north Indian food place features naan, tandoori chicken, of course, and is a favorite if many. Breads from tandoor ovens are spectacular, with heat approaching 900°F. These ovens are found throughout the world and used to make breads like roti and dishes like chicken tikka.

Later we went to Pecos, a nice pub with a painting of Jerry Garcia welcoming us to its 1960′s vibe, roof top seating if the other three floors are crowded. You even get free popcorn with your beer. Not far is Le Rock Pub Cafe, with its funky oxygen bar and big screen TVs. They serve coffee, food, beers like Kingfisher and opens at 10am.

In and Around Bangalore is a post from: VidMama

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Other performers on the line up include Senegalese hip-pioneer Awani, as well as Yuri da Cunha and Gang’ be. Local musicians will also be present and the Gang of Instrumentals will be among them. The Johannesburg music scene is large and diverse. Other local performers include the Gospel Choir and TheParlotones. The Parlotones are known for their upbeat melodies and will be an inspiring and fun aspect of the event. It is being hosted by the city, the Department of Arts and Culture andSABC2.

This year’s Africa Day will prove to be an incredibly diverse sound experience and will showcase performers from across the continent. Admission is free and it will be broadcast live onSABC. The purpose of this musical extravaganza is to commemorate the establishment of the Organization of Africa unity, OAU in 1963. The founding took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and leaders from 30 independent African states where there to sign the founding charter. The developers of the OAU were all driven by the common intention of decolonising Africa and working toward liberation, equality and unity. African heritage is celebrated on this day, which has become a holiday in many countries.

Africa Day is a post from: VidMama

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One of the more international cities in the world, with its closeness to Taiwan and to China, Singapore is a source of inspiration to a host of writers. Arthur Yap is, many would argue, the most important and influential writer out of Singapore. His poetry is extremely delicate and precise, and contains an enormous sense of playfulness and poise. He has the same preference that e. e. cummings had for using all lower-case letters, and his work contains a certain ambiguity of place that inspire a sense of universality among readers. His work also contains a deep sense of irony and uncertainty, which reflect an attitude toward modernity and tradition. There is a sense of pull between these forces, and the tension is one that never quite reaches a conclusion. The result is a potent memory that rests like an uneasy bird in the consciousness of the careful reader.

Educated between Singapore and Leeds and Singapore again, Arthur Yap split his time between writing and teaching, demonstrating a dedication to continuing the Singapore letters tradition for the next generations. Arthur Yap argued for a kind of autonomous literature, one that could stand on its own without reference to other disciplines. His books of poems have won the National Book Development Council of Singapore Award a couple times, and he’s won the Cultural Medallion for Literature, as well as the South-East Asian Writer’s Award. After a long bout with throat cancer, he died in his sleep in Singapore in 2006.

Arthur Yap, Singapore Poet is a post from: VidMama

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Bangalore is not only known as a bustling city that is rich in industry; it is also very well known for music and dance. One of the most interesting times to visit is during the week-long Ganesha Chaturthi festival, which typically falls somewhere between August and September. This festival coincides with the birth of the mythic Ganesh. Ganesh is the son of Pavarti, wife of Shiva .

The story goes that Shiva was away at war, and Pavarti wanted someone to stand guard outside her door to protect her while she bathed. She conceived Ganesha out of a bar of sandalwood. When Shiva returned, he did not know who Ganesh was, and cut off his head. Pavarti was enraged, and ordered her husband to replace her son’s head with the first head he could find. Shiva’s army set out, and came upon an elephant, and cut off its head and returned it to the body of Ganesh. Pavarti was still angry, and demanded that the elephant-headed son be the first to be honored in every ceremony, and the custom of honoring Ganesh first is still practiced today.

The famous Bollywood model and actress, Deepika Padukone, spent last year during the festival with her family in Bangalore, her birthplace. This highlights and illustrates the popularity of the festival, where its significance is still held in high esteem, and travelers lucky enough to be visiting during this time can observe time-honored tradition in a rich urban setting.

The Myth of Shiva is a post from: VidMama

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In Singapore business, the personal relationship that one establishes becomes very important for the business relationship down the road. Good networking and ties to the right people will provide one with success in any given business venture. The culture is oriented in the group, and once one becomes part of the group, working in the city becomes much easier. These relationships are not created overnight. Patience is required as trust must be gained. It is necessary for the leaders to know that their people truly are in it for the long haul and not just simply the quick personal gain. Singaporeans are of a gentle nature, and the aggressive nature of some on Wall Street may not fair well in the Singapore business world. The calm and peaceful approach, is always the approach.

Most appointments and meeting are scheduled in writing, although in this day and age, many are now being accepted via the telephone or email. Punctuality is one of the many virtues Singaporeans believe that carries the weight of indicating a person’s character. Small talk and conversation is appropriate and expected before any meeting gets underway. Again, is it very important to refrain from criticism or disagreement with those that are senior in rank, as this may destroy the relationship. There are many things to consider when conducting international business, and the cultural expectations are among the top considerations.

Singapore Business Protocol is a post from: VidMama

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The scale of the fish is enormous 35m x54m, and as its copper color shines in the bright sunlight or and even on an overcast day. As tempting as it may be to find out what’s going on inside the fish, there’s no interior access, just a shimmering copper skin.

An award winning architect based in Los Angeles, Gehry is very much inspired by fish. In an effort to distance himself from the pervasive “postmodern” architecture during the 1980’s, Gehry became fixated on finding ways to incorporate a sense of movement and emotion in his work. As part of that search, he began to sketch various kinds of fish and then over time to add fish shapes to his buildings. Adding the fish to his formal repertoire also marked the beginning of his exploration of curved surfaces. Figuring out how to construct the fish in three dimensions made it easier, later on, to develop the high spirited organic style he and his firm are now known for.

The copper fish in Barcelona is just one of many that Gehry has created. Standing Glass Fish, in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, is a gigantic glass structure with the internal supporting structure of wood and steel clearly visible. It soars above a reflecting pool in a glass building built especially for it. Another huge Gehry fish sculpture dominates a public garden in front of the Fishdance Restaurant in Kobe, Japan.

It’s quite possible to say that the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain and the Walt Disney Concert Hall are direct descendants of the l fish sculptures Gehry designed many years ago.

Shimmering Copper Fish is a post from: VidMama

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