Asia Weekly

My Friend the Fanatic:

Many a foreign observer has come to Indonesia, put on rose-coloured glasses, and then forgotten to take them off when looking at a country where a "base instinct that lets men behead children" prevails, says Salil Tripathi in livemint.com. But not former Far Eastern Economic Review journalist Sadanand Dhume, who penned My Friend the Fanatic: Travels with an Indonesian Islamist after living in and reporting on Indonesia for four years.

Arty trash

Chinese artist Liu Xiaodong's brush with the mafia in Naples came amidst piles of garbage, says Jeff Israely in Time Asia.

Murderous intent

A show in Hong Kong is giving new meaning to the phrase break a leg, says Natasha Rogai in the South China Morning Post. The brainchild of choreographer Yuri Ng Yue-lit, Love on Sale examines people's obsessions with youth, beauty and murder.

"I've always been fascinated by [the idea of] chopping people up," said Yuri.

Of rats and men

Japanese performance artists Chim Pom have upped the shock ante in their new art installation in which one of the members lives in a 3x2-metre room with a crow and a rat, living off bags of garbage brought to him daily for three weeks, says Edan Corkill in The Japan Times. "The only thing humans, rats and crows have in common is garbage," said Chim Pom leader Ryuta Ushiro.

Adela

Adolfo Alix Jr's Adela is a "rare" piece of Philippine cinema that doesn't lay on the drama or the aesthetics too thick, says Dennis Harvey in Variety Asia Online.

Short cuts

Philippine film takes home Russian prize - Philippine director Brillante Mendoza took home best director and Gina Pareno accepted the best actress award for their parts in the film Serbis at the recent Pacific Meridian International Film Festival of Asian-Pacific Countries in Vladivostok, Russia, reports the Philippine Entertainment Portal.

To build or not to build?

When American architect Daniel Libeskind made a public declaration that architects should think twice before working in China, he fanned the flames of an age-old debate over the ethics of designing for regimes with sub-par human rights records, says Robin Pogrebin in The New York Times.

Collector's Corner

Chinese artist Zhou Jirong's works focus on urban landscapes and a sense of alienation, says Beijing's Red Gate Gallery.

Rocking out in Singapore

Girl rockers in Singapore's heavy metal scene don't get no respect, says Eddino Abdul Hadi in The Straits Times. "Long touted as rock music's ugly, retarded cousin," heavy metal has a huge following in Singapore, with about 200 homegrown bands and international acts like Megadeth drawing crowds of thousands.