Playing second fiddle to the Bollywood dream 

India’s Bollywood is the largest film industry in the world, offering the tantalising lure of fortune and fame in a country where 220 million people live below the poverty line.

MUMBAI is where Indians come to get rich. With the average wage here three times the national average, the streets are bulging with the hustle of touts, cabs, people, markets and beggars, all engaged in a mad scramble for rupees.

The photographic art of ‘Don’t think, just shoot’

Recent interest in old Soviet cameras has sparked an entire art movement: the Lomography movement. One little camera in particular, the LOMO LC-A, has revolutionised photography ideology, serving as a reminder of what art should be about.

RUSSIAN manufacturers Leningrad Optical Mechanical Amalgamation (LOMO) first produced their Kompakt Automat (LC-A) in 1982. Allegedly it was originally intended for espionage, but the quality of the images meant that the technology was sold to the public instead.

Driven forward by technological innovation and spectacle, the next revolution in modern cinema is heralded by the progress of digitalisation and a renewed interest in 3D motion pictures.

After several promising attempts by a string of Hollywood studios, the release dates of a spate of films utilising enhanced 3D technology have appeared on the horizon. While Pixar’s latest animated feature Up was able to add a compelling plot to computer-generated 3D animation, the true landmark production is about to be released, ushering in a new age of 3D.

Amidst the acres of paper, beer cups, abandoned tents and mounds of rubbish left behind by patrons, how responsible are music festivals in the current haemorrhaging of the earth’s natural resources?

On the weekend of 15 August 1969, an estimated 400,000 people from all corners of America descended on a 600-acre dairy farm in New York State to attend the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. Forever etched in history as the pinnacle of the hippie movement and the cultural peak of the love parade, it set the benchmark for all other music festivals to follow.

What is often overlooked, when seen through rose-tinted glasses, was how the ineptitude of the organisers also created the benchmark...

“Balloons – I am afraid of them more than anything! Every time someone blows up air balloons at a party I nearly get a heart attack, as I fear that it will burst any minute. When I hold an air balloon in my hand I get an anxiety attack.

It must be the most useless fear in the world but I cannot help it,” writes the pseudonym “elawa” on hevoset.com, a popular web discussion forum for equestrian enthusiasts.

Whether balloons, darkness or other people, everyone has fears they have to live with. Fear is a part of our life since birth.

Ever wanted to see the future? Keen on impressing your friends with your mastery of the occult sciences, but not so keen on studying volumes of ancient lore? Interested in an air of mystery around your aura without the hassle of wearing robes? Never fear, your answer is right here.

An ancient Italian card game turned into a form of divination, the tarot is evolving from occult esoterica to a popular form of self-exploration.

Myths and legends have transcended cultures and eras but none have done so quite like VAMPIRES.

Imagine if popular culture were the politics of the 21st century. There would be no question as to who would be leading the polls.

Young Helsinki T-shirt designer Emilia Tapprest really digs prints.

There’s no denying it. Print T-shirts are insatiably cool. And not just as garments, but as walking exhibition space for contemporary trends in graphic design.

 No Philosophy is an up and coming T-shirt label launched by a loose grouping of young Helsinki talent. The prime mover behind the brand is 16-year-old designer Emilia Tapprest.

Many are familiar with Finnish metal. Fewer know that there is a grittier, more vibrant and, apparently, a more violent side to the Finnish music industry.