Sydney - Dalai Lama speaks out about the decimation of Tibetan culture

The Dalai Lama, currently visiting Australia, says he's likely be arrested when he returns to his Chinese-controlled homeland.
Not surprisingly the spiritual leader's visit has sparked a lively public opinion debate, after Australian political leaders have tried to avoid meeting with him not to displease China's establishment.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports:
"Speaking in Sydney this morning on the last leg of an 11-day tour of Australia, the 71-year-old nobel peace laureate said Tibetan culture faced decimation within 15 years unless pressure can be exerted on China to accept Tibetan autonomy.
The Dalai Lama said he was a surprisingly popular figure among some ordinary Chinese, but was considered an enemy of the state by the Chinese Government.
He accused China of distorting Tibet’s modest claims for autonomy and of mistaking it as a push for independence.
Despite decades of so far fruitless diplomatic negotiations, the Dalai Lama said he remained hopeful, even optimistic, that China would change its attitude to Tibet within his lifetime."

Giant "Cancelled" stickers to tackle illegal bill posters

Glasgow City Council has embarked on a £100,000 a year campaign to fight the ever increasing number of fly-posters appearing in their city. Instead of ripping them down, as they've been doing for years, they're adding 'cancelled' stickers to event posters and just painting out the brand names on others.
The Evening Times reports:
It can take 45 minutes to remove just one poster and often scraps of paper are left behind. But a few seconds with a paintbrush is enough to render the ad useless until a clean-up team arrives to tackle the site.
And swathes of flyposters can be obliterated faster than new ones can be put in their place... And other workers have been issued with "cancelled" stickers which make it clear the ad has been banned by the council. And they have already had an impact on some rogue promoters who have been inundated with complaints from music fans.

China's surnames shortage

With more than a billion people now sharing just 100 surnames, Chinese authorities are considering a landmark move to try to end the confusion, state media reported Tuesday.
Current Chinese law states that children are only allowed take the surname from either their mother or father, but the lack of variety means there are now 93 million people in China with the family name Wang.
Under a new draft regulation released by the ministry of public security, parents will be able to combine their surnames for their children, a move that could open up 1.28 million new possibilities, the China Daily reported. (AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE)

Damien Hirst's macabre dazzling art

...to be or not to be? Damien Hirst, highly acclaimed contemporary artist, has reveiled to the public his latest work of art: a 50 mil, and I'm talking British Pounds, Hamletian inspired diamond encrusted skull. Some journalists compared the object to an "over glorified disco ball," so luminous that it was difficult to look at directly, solar style.
...anyone up for contemplation?

fancy a beat-up look?

a new Nike collection for those sneaker lover... only if you like a used, rugged look though.
Available for USD 200 from next week at Comme De Garcons stores next week.

courtesy of NY TImes

Third world country or the cradle of modern civilization?

it's Naples... the beutiful forgotten city divided between its loveliness and its squalor, where the endless crisis over trash seems once again never ending. In the mire of politics and Mafia, garbage reings on.

courtesy of NY Times

Google has done it again!

At Google they've outdone themselves again with a new "Street View" feature. Dragging a "little guy" around the map lets you view street-level panaromic photography of any location you search for.

make sure you keep a smile on your face and behave diligently ... Big Brother is watching you on the streets of the world!

courtesy of PSFK

How Topshop changed fashion

Time profiles Topshop, the UK-based innovative retailer of affordable high-fashion frocks.

read on www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1625185,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

Nomenus Quarterly - the new entrant in the world of art and fashion publications

A magazine that looks like a book, this new fine art publication offers an eclectic blend of fashion, art, politics, film, and the eternal written word. In the first issue, choreographer Noémie Lafrance talks with film critic Andrew Gaultier and Francesco Patriarca's abrasively beautiful work sits alongside an understated Heck-shot spread of Gilles Rosier's latest menswear collection. These are the movers and shakers of the imaginative moment. Printed in an edition of 5,000, Nomenus discards the chains of ink-based oppression, merging genres and setting itself apart from less-refined magazines, particularly with regard to the relationship between art and fashion.

courtesy of www.nomenusquarterly.com and JC Report

10 Years Make the Hero - Beijing

An exhibition of works by Chinese artist Shen Jingdong, who started a "Hero Series" in 1997 as part of the army cultural work group, shows the interplay of the art and the public.

Imagine Gallery - Beijing
10 Years Make The Hero
April 8 throught to June 6 2007

images courtesy of Imagine Gallery, Beijing