Why was the opening ceremony of the second international puppet theater festival in Azerbaijan so damn solemn an occasion? Probably because the organizers have put so much hope in it. In November 2011, when the first international theater festival opened in Baku, the Azerbaijan State Puppet Theater turned 80 years old. It is a venerable institution. It was the first time such a large-scale international festival was organized in the history of Azerbaijani theater. Continue reading »
Filed under GPS | Global Picture Square …
GPS | TACLOBAN | Filipino writes message on basketball court: “Help SOS!!! We Need Food”
How can you help this man asking the world for help? In this post, I outline the latest information I can gather, as of November 12, 2013, about relief assistance for the victims of super typhoon Yolanda (aka Haiyan in international circles).
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GPS | RUSSIA | In protest of the Kremlin, Russian performance artist nails his scrotum on Red Square cobblestones (NSFW)
Pyotr Pavlensky’s bodily public actions “involve the actual power mechanisms.” His performances of sewing his mouth closed in protest against the arrest of Pussy Riot, or lying naked in barbed wire to protest harsh laws, have had wide international resonance. Continue reading »
GPS | OUTER SPACE | Watch live: Russian cosmonauts take the Olympic torch on a spacewalk
Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazansky took the unlit version of the silver-and-red torch through the hatch of the International Space Station. While gripping the torch in the gloved fist of his spacesuit, Kotov crawled out of the hatch and waved it triumphantly 261 miles (420 km) above the planet Earth. Continue reading »
GPS | CZECH REPUBLIC | A church of bones in Kutna Hora
This is not Tolkien’s Mines of Moria. This is not an image from Peter Jackson’s upcoming Hobbit film sequel subtitled The Desolation of Smaug. This is Sedlec’s Church in the city of Kutna Hora in the Czech Republic. Continue reading »
GPS | THE AMERICAS: Florida | Spectacular photos of Port Everglades Power Plant demolished
For more than 50 years, the power plant’s four 350-foot, candy-cane-striped stacks and four 7,500-ton boilers marked South Florida’s skyline. The power plant demolition, pictured here, is the largest in Florida’s history and the company’s third in three years. Continue reading »
GPS | THE AMERICAS: New York City | Epic “Noli Me Tangere” opera takes a bow in New York City
GPS | THE AMERICAS | NEW YORK CITY | The cast numbers 30 singers. The pit houses 35-piece orchestra musicians. On sheer numbers alone, the Noli Me Tangere Opera is a large-scale production. The opera is based on an epic novel: the 1887 historical classic by Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippines’ National Hero. The ambition is huge as … Continue reading »
NAKED DIPLOMACY | 450 naked runners race as part of Free Pussy Riot campaign
The prompt to begin the naked run in the Netherlands was given 14:30 via Skype from Russia by a Pussy Riot member. Runners wearing nothing but helmets and sneakers in the Netherlands show support for Russian punk band Pussy Riot. Continue reading »
GPS | NEW YORK: Rainbow colors flood Empire State Building on Gay Pride
It’s been an amazing week for gay rights. The U.S. Supreme Court dumped the federal Defense of Marriage Act and declined to reinstate a ban on same-sex marriage in California. On Sunday June 30, 2013, the Empire State Building has turned the colors of the rainbow in a show of support for Gay Pride Weekend. … Continue reading »
GPS | ROMANIA: Horia-Roman Patapievici, curajos erou, a declarat că va demisiona de la conducerea Institutului Cultural Român”
A gallery exhibition at the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York displayed the Cărtureşti spirit. Cărtureşti is a cultural venue that functions as a bookshop, tea studio, and project space, taking direct action towards revitalizing the Romanian artistic life, urban pleasures and social responsibilities. Continue reading »
GPS | Romania: Acting workshops of Andrei Şerban Traveling Academy in Mogoşoaia
“Brancovan Palaces” Cultural Center in Mogoşoaia hosted the workshops of this traveling academy. The actors worked on Shakespeare and Romanian classic playwright Ion Luca Caragiale (the centenary of whose death is celebrated this year) Continue reading »
GPS | Philippines: Puerto Princesa Underground River officially named one of the new 7 wonders of nature
The underground river, which measures about 5 miles, is a popular tourist destination in the country and has previosuly been declared as a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Continue reading »
GPS | Panama: A view of the Panama Canal from the dizzying heights of a cable car
Because of the proximity of the Gamboa to Panama City, this upper section of the Chagres River Basin, which is protected by Chagres National Park (founded in 1985), is quickly becoming a family-fun adventure and ecotourist destination. Continue reading »
GPS India | A sad vision of India’s world heritage site in Gujarat
In the past, these step wells were frequented by travelers and caravans as stopovers along trade routes. But lately they have not been maintained very well. Continue reading »
GPS | Korea: Altar of a shaman for a ritual ceremony held on an island
GPS | ASIA: In October 2005, I took a bus to Yangtze Island in South Korea and attended a private Daedong Gut (shaman ritual) by the Korean shaman, Kim Keumhwa, a governing official spirit. Shamanism is Korea’s indigenous religion and is very much alive in Korea and where Koreans live, despite the efforts of churches, official … Continue reading »
GPS | Panama: Two turtles adoring the sun
GPS | CENTRAL AMERICA: Monkey Island lives up to its name. Located at the Gamboa Rainforest in Panama, a boat ride tour around Gatun Lake, which surrounds Monkey Island, is a fun opportunity to see 4 different species of monkey, all within 40 minutes of Panama’s capital city. I did see many other animal specials such … Continue reading »
GPS | Belarus: Vladimir Lenin Monument on Independence Square in Minsk
GPS| EUROPE: Minsk was totally destroyed during World War II and rebuilt in classical social realist style by the Soviets after the war. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, this statue of Vladimir Lenin still stands proudly in front of the House of Government in central Minsk. This statue is both a metaphor … Continue reading »