Momentum Magazine » Culture shock

Risking limbs for height, and success, in China

Justin Long — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:23:09 +0000

Culture shock: in China, there’s such a sense of height that some people will take on a risky elective cosmetic surgery to increase theirs. “She checked herself into a hospital here and a doctor cut her shinbones
in two, applied a medieval-looking brace to her legs and taught her how
to turn its screws so that metal pins would pull her bones apart nearly
a millimeter a day, or around four-hundredths of an inch. Today, Ms.
Zhang is three and a half inches taller than she was six months ago,
though she can not yet walk.” In New York Times.

Desert Dances

Justin Long — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:06:17 +0000

VISITING ALGERIA FOR THE first time, one may expect to observe a strict Islamic dress code in force, with women covered from head to toe, and veiled faces. However, this is not the case, as I found out recently. The national culture is no longer as strict and nothing attests to this better than the rich entertainment that the Algerian National Ballet laid out for the Health ministers and other delegates attending the recently concluded Ministerial Conference on Health Research for the African Region. In The East African

The new Nepal

Justin Long — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:55:20 +0000

Hilarious: “We are a republic now… As for us, we can’t tell a difference. There is still no rule-of-law or
any authority willing to enforce the laws that are in place. The
government is occupied worrying about themselves and their alleged
authority. The holy Bagmati river still smells to high heaven. Life
goes on. We’re staying healthy and leaving the monkeys alone.”

Culture Shock: Polygamy, Conversions

Justin Long — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:54:20 +0000

This NPR article talks about how Black Muslims in the US are increasingly turning to polygamy, and some of the reasons. There are motivations beyond selfishness and sexuality. Note also the line about his wife converting from Southern Baptist to Islam. Who is reaching out to Philadelphia’s Muslims?