Culture in the Blender

I recently attended a concert by the National Philharmonic of Russia, conducted by Vladimir Spivakov. The highlight of the evening was Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18. I played that piece as a second violin in an orchestra that was a fusion of professional and student players, and it was a [...]

As always, pretty funny and to the point. I especially appreciate this: “To judge the root problem here, let us first determine how the cartoons became an international incident. Last September, these comics ran beside a story about the hurdles encountered by a Danish author in finding someone – anyone – to illustrate her children’s [...]

The more I think and read about the cartoons, the more strongly I feel that there can be no case made for that the cartoons should not have been published. The same points are made over and over again in commentaries, and regardless of circumstances basic cornerstones of liberal democracy cannot be sacrificed by Denmark. [...]

I wanted to see the cartoons for myself, and although I haven’t found them yet, I did find some other interesting things… “Earlier this week, imam Abu Bashir appeared on BBC World showing a caricature of Mohammed with a pig’s snout and ears to representatives of the Arabic League. Bashir falsely claimed that the caricature [...]

Yesterday, I was reading opinions on the Danish cartoons on BBC, and had some opinions that I wanted to write in my LJ. I sign on today, open BBC – and am greeted by this: “Embassies burn in cartoon protest Syrians have set fire to the Norwegian and Danish embassies in Damascus to protest at [...]

Studying French in America is pointing out to me, bit by bit, how much more blurred cultural boundaries are in Europe than probably anywhere else, at the very least as compared to the United States and China. It certainly doesn’t seem that way when you’re there, because there are plently of things to mark the [...]

Opinion voiced at panel discussion on global fundamentalisms: Europe isn’t seeing a rise in religious fundamentalism in part because Europe doesn’t feel as threatened by globalization. One piece of support for my null hypothesis. One of the things I have the most difficulty understanding and sympathising with in the US is the excessive religiosity and [...]