Stories about Humor from May, 2010
China: lost in translation
The machine translation of Chinese character into English can be really hilarious. PH from veggie discourse has a few examples.
Lebanon: Evil challenges against techy women
Lebanese blogger and geek Mir talks about six “evil” challenges women in the IT world face in her latest post.
Macedonia: Silly Songs Do Politics
The anthem published by the youth branch of the Socialist Party of Macedonia on YouTube was talk of the town on social networks and beyond as part of ridiculous advertising songs trend.
Jamaica: Bloggers Look at the Lighter Side
West Indians have a saying, "If you don't laugh, you'll cry." Certainly, the current wave of violence in Jamaica - is nothing to laugh about. But after days of sobering news, bloggers clearly needed to seek out the amusing aspects of an otherwise untenable situation.
Bahrain: The Nazi is Coming
The Nazi is coming … to Bahrain. Check out Mahmood's Den to see what the furor is all about.
Spain: Humorous Video Warning for TV Series LOST's last Episode
This fan made video (in Spanish with English subtitles) reflects the worry many fans of the TV Series LOST have: that after 6 seasons, the series finale airing tonight in many parts of the world, will disappoint.
Russia: Folk Humorous Rhymes In English
LJ-user laberintica posts English translations of “chastushka,” Russian folk humorous rhymes.
Russia: Kid Sets Up Lego Video Blog
A 7-year-old boy set up a Lego video blog “Lego News” presenting his Lego people as news anchors. Pilot series can be found here and here.
Pakistan: Facebook Ban And Productivity
“Watch out India, Pakistani productivity is about to spike!” – comments one reader at Sepia Mutiny's post on the ban of Facebook in Pakistan.
Colombia: Presidential Candidates Answered Questions Asked on Youtube
Colombian political website La Silla Vacía [es] (The Empty Chair) with the support of TV news channel NTN24 organized a presidential debate where candidates answered questions people submitted through online video platforms, emulating the CNN YouTube debate that some say [es] put Obama in the White House.
Denmark: Flashmob for a Bus Driver's Birthday
A video of a surprise flashmob to celebrate a bus driver's birthday forms part of a professional social media campaign to promote public bus transit in Denmark.
Trinidad & Tobago: Election Predictions
Mark Lyndersay predicts the results of the upcoming elections in Trinidad and Tobago based on “nothing more than a casual remembrance of who these people are in public life, the general public perception of them and, frankly, what they look like in their photographs.”
Brazil: Ants Protest Insecticide
Ants protest is an artistic video made and posted by attaspp in Vimeo and features a group of ants carrying placards reading “Stop the killing” and crossed out Baygon logos, the brand name for an insecticide. Wish to know how it was done? The Brazilian director has also posted a...
Russia: The Andrei Kolesnikov Mystery
Poemless discovers that the English-language Wikipedia article on Russian journalist Andrey Kolesnikov is misleading, and that there are actually two Russian journalists named Andrey/Andrei Kolesnikov, and both “cover high profile politicos and contribute to widely-read newspapers and other media outlets” – and “[t]hese Andrei Kolesnikovs are like good/evil twins or...
Russia: Russian Women & the Future of the US
Mark Adomanis stumbles upon an atypical “women seeking men” ad on moscow.craigslist.org and writes on True/Slant about “the apparent inability of many Russians to distinguish between plans (or other future activity) and reality.”
Russia: Driving News
Russian driving news: Keith Gessen posts a Tver resident's video of a ride across a recently reconstructed bridge over the Volga river – which, supposedly, “is now fully open to traffic in both directions”; Julia Ioffe writes at True/Slant about an impatient Russian MP who kept trying to get past...
Russia: Pictures of Zombie Mob
Tons of fake blood, zombies, undead and other scary creatures invaded the main street of Moscow. Photos from the event called “Zombie Mob” can be found here, here and here.
Qatar: NYT's article draws fire from locals and residents alike
Shabina Khatri reports on rising tensions between locals and expats as Doha residents extol, protest New York Times depiction of Qataris as coddled, self-indulgent creatures, hated by the foreigners who live amongst them.
Russia: Yet Another “Little Blue Buckets” Action
A peaceful street gathering of the representatives of the “Little Blue Buckets” (citizen organization against law nihilism on the roads – GVO was writing about it here and here) had been suppressed by the police. Photos and videos can be found here, here, here and here.
Japan: A fashionable prime minister
Sarah Noorbakhsh at JSRC wrote a post [en] about Japanese prime minister`s fashion. Check out the pictures of Mr. Hatoyama and his playful shirts.
Russia: Reaction on New Military Draft Initiatives
LJ user calabaxa ironically reflects on the new conscription initiatives that extend the draft age to 30 years: “…Actors will come [to the conscription offices – GV], artists, musicians, writers, which labour isn't bought by anyone… Everyone will come. They'll take the weapons and will end with this order forever.”