Twilight

1. Two recent posts for Global Voices Online: (1) Anonymous Blog Exposes Anomaly looks at how photos posted by an anonymous blog uncovered a controversy in the donation of computers and books to a public high school in a province in central Philippines. (2) Christmas Caroling refers everyone to My Cebu Photo Blog which shares photos and a video of a grandfather and grandson duo Christmas caroling with an improvised xylophone attached to a bicycle in downtown Cebu City, Philippines.

2. Iceland was one of the countries first hit by the world economic crisis after the Wall Street crash. This has caused unrest in the prosperous island nation of 300,000 people. Smári McCarthy has a wonderful post putting the financial crisis in Iceland’s context, complete with a historical perspective that stretches back to 1783. McCarthy is also following the recent upsurge of street protests in his blog: “The climate in Iceland is very strange these days, but I’ll try to keep news of activist events flowing, mostly because it’s hilarious to see how powerless the powers that be are against the powers that should be: we.”

3. Everyone’s agog over Twilight. Now I don’t want to offend fans so unlike Dada I’d rather keep my opinion to myself. Instead, allow me to quote from a review by Tricia Olszewski:

‘An actor faces a lot of pressure when tapped to embody a beloved fictional character. But try living up to fan expectations when the author who birthed said character describes him as “devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful,” with a “musical voice” and “soft, enchanting laugh.” Those adjectives — along with many, many others that reiterate his perfection — add up to Edward Cullen, the heartthrob teenage vampire who helped Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series become exalted as “the next Harry Potter.” Which would be accurate, if only the novels were better written. And the stories appealed to boys as well as giggly girls (albeit of all ages, apparently). And — most crucial — if the franchise’s inaugural big-screen adaptation by director Catherine Hardwicke didn’t suck more than its vampires actually do.’ ■