Directed by Zhang Yimou, an acclaimed Chinese filmmaker, the ceremony showed scenes representing triumphs from China’s past, including famous Chinese inventions such as gunpowder, the compass and paper.

Read more in this article from BBC News, and look at fantastic photos posted by The Boston Globe.

Photo: Adam Pretty/Getty Images (via The Boston Globe)

Photo: NeiTech (Flickr)

They are perfect for use in areas where the population is not high enough to justify a rail network - people can get picked up by the bus which then drives via road to the rail track to continue its journey.

Wired blog explains more and claims this would also be a perfect transport solution in parts of the USA.

In 1811 the New Orleans was the first steamboat to travel the entire length of the Lower Mississippi River from Ohio to New Orleans. More recently, although no longer in commercial use, the picturesque boats have been used for tourist trips.

Photo by AP: The Delta Queen, America’s last paddle steamer

The Economist writes about the end of the line for America’s last paddle steamboat, which is due to cease operations later this year.

All Things Pakistan, with the help of its readers, has compiled a list of Best Pakistani Food outside Pakistan.

Most of the restaurants listed so far are from North America or the United Kingdom but there is a good selection of suggestions from other parts of the world as well.

Photo: sweets from All Things Pakistan

Read More:
More on food around the world from Topics of the World
All Things Pakistan featured in Pakistan blogs by Blogs of the World

Some sectors and industries grow, creating new jobs, whilst others shrink as they become less important or jobs move to other countries who can do it better or cheaper. Even more so as trade and interaction between countries increases.

This article from Forbes shows the top 20 growing and disappearing jobs in the USA in 2007.

There are some surprises - amidst much talk of the poor state of the airline industry, aircraft assembly workers was one of the main growth areas.

And fallout from the credit crunch hasn’t yet hit financial analysts, whose numbers increased by 16% from 2006 to 2007.

The top 3 disappearing jobs? Sewing machine operators, home appliance repairers and engine & machine assemblers.

Check out what did they eat? to read about the diet of Iceland’s early settlers (a lot of porridge, apparently), and Sweet Soups of Youth for more about the famous Icelandic sweet soups.

Photo: DV.is

Read more:
Icelandic weather report in Blogs of the World
More on food around the world from Topics of the World

Following years of conflict the horse festival has been revived with a special purpose: to provide a common cultural backdrop for discussing peace and reconciliation in the area. Held in the southern Darfuri town of Addu’ayn, the festival was attended by leaders from both nomadic Arab and black African groups, representing the main ethnic groups of the region.

BBC News shows stunning pictures of the festival.

Photo: Darfur horse festival in pictures from the BBC

This economic success is propelling a new revival in Russian film making, subsidised by the government or private investors, with demand supplied by young working Russians with money to spend.

The International Herald Tribune explains that the tastes of the domestic audience are quite different to those of the international markets. Whilst its art house films are more popular on the international stage, Russians at home like patriotic films covering topics like Soviet-era wars or historical events.

This is one of the reasons for the growth of Chinglish, according to Oliver Lutz Radtke. He believes it is often used for decorative purposes and no-one really minds what it says. Oliver majored in Chinese and is author of the book ‘Chinglish: Found in Translation’ and The Chinglish Files, a blog about everyday examples of Chinglish.

This obsession with Chinglish is not meant as a joke, however. Rather, he sees Chinglish as a great opportunity for Westerners to understand differences between Western and Chinese culture. For example as Westerners we find some examples of Chinglish shocking or funny because they talk directly about subjects our culture has taught us to avoid talking about.

Chinglish is becoming more and more common as China learns English, and some think it could be accepted in the future as a standard variation of English.

PocketCultures asked Oliver some questions about his love affair with Chinglish.

1. Oliver, Where are you based now?

I am based in Beijing now, which feels great to be back in the Chinglish cradle again. [After studying in China, Oliver has been based in Singapore for the last few years] I’ve been to Beijing for the last time in 2004 and the city has changed enormously. Many public signs are corrected. Many restaurant menus are not; despite the effort of the Beijing Tourism Bureau to issue a standard set of 2000 plus dish names last year.

2. In the introduction of your book you state that the Chinglish found on written signs in China is an endangered species. But there are reports that spoken Chinglish is starting to take on a life of its own, assimilating grammatical attributes of Chinese languages.

What do you think are the chances that it will someday be recognised as a standard variation of English?

We have to differentiate between written and spoken Chinglish. In the academic context Chinglish is rather referred to as China English and I am pretty sure it’s a trend you can’t stop.

Languages keep changing and English has proven to be one of the liveliest languages ever, just take a look at how much French you find in there! So I guess certain expressions have already started to make their rounds around the globe and more and more will.

I am not at all in favour of teaching a language without using a local context and I don’t think that AE or BE will be the standard of the future, with billions around the globe learning English as a foreign language. Besides, research has shown that native speakers aren’t necessarily the ones that are being understood the easiest, rather the opposite.

3. Out of the (1000+!) examples of Chinglish you have gathered over the last few years what is your personal favourite?

I think it is definitely a tough choice between the first one “Don’t forget to carry your thing”, because it keeps reminding you that Chinglish is mostly about laughing at yourself and not others and “Little grass has life, please watch your step”, since in a wonderfully anthropomorphized way clearly shows the Chinese love for flowers.

Photos from The Chinglish Files

Many thanks to Oliver for his help with this post.

More like this:
Is Chinglish the future of English?: most English conversations do not involve a native speaker
Top 20 languages of the World: What are the most widely spoken languages in the world?
Languages fight for global dominance: more about the prospects for English as language of international communication

The Cycling Promotion Fund encourages Australians to get into cycling as a way to stay healthy and help the environment.

But those aren’t the only benefits - bicycle use in Australian cities rose by an average of 22% between 2001 and 2006 and a new study by the Cycling Promotion Fund has calculated that this saved the government an impressive $227.2m AUD (US$217m) every year in healthcare costs. Via Treehugger