· October, 2006

Stories about Humor from October, 2006

Kenya: a photo with Michael Johnson

  31 October 2006

“A random guy walks over, sits next to me, insists that I’m a hero and asks if I would honour him by taking a photo with him. Despite my tiredness and hunger I agree to the photo, mainly because this guy looked pretty desperate.” Who is this guy?

Japan: confession service

  30 October 2006

Lee at Tokyo Times introduces a confession service in Japan. Most of the clients are men in 30s who want to express their love but are afraid of being rejected.

The Week That Was in Bahrain

  28 October 2006

Bahrain's bloggers celebrated Eid this week, with many posting greetings on their sites or simply musing about the tradition. While Mahmood Al Yousif thinks that “Eid this time seems to be spread through the whole week, rather than a single day where the whole nation celebrates!”, Silly Bahraini Girl took...

Guadeloupe/Martinique, France: Zouk Nostalgia

  27 October 2006

Reminiscing Martiniquan/Guadeloupean group Kassav's song “Zouk la se sel medikaman nou ni” [” Zouk is our only medicine”], France-based Oliviermr2 posts a graphic depicting a couple dancing zouk and writes (Fr): “With how cold it is right now, that would be very welcome.”

Russia: Tap Water

  26 October 2006

Copydude writes about tap water in Russia: “As everyone knows, if you invite a plumber to your Soviet apartment, he will invariably ask you to close either the brown or white tap, depending where the problem lies. Hot water is always brown in Russia while cold water is an opaque,...

Bosnia & Herzegovina: Exploring the Pyramid

  26 October 2006

“Bosnian Pyramid? – Visocica Hill” – by sjareb It's been over a year since the whole Bosnian pyramid media fuss started. Still, many talk about the possible discovery of Europe’s first step pyramid complex. The event is significant for Bosnia & Herzegovina's recovery, as it brings positive media attention and...

Russia: Thoughts on LiveJournal/ZheZhe

  25 October 2006

The Second Blog War continues in Russia. Brad Fitzpatrick, the LiveJournal's creator, has now joined the discussion over at sup_ru LJ community: in English, he offers some explanations and apologies here (and receives 248 comments so far) and lists the bloggers’ most common questions and concerns here (123 comments so...

Arabisc: Secret Meetings and Eid Greetings

  24 October 2006

It's Eid in the Arab world and Arab bloggers are celebrating the end of the Holy Month of Ramadhan with a riot of activity on their blogs. From Libya, Lona and A.Adam, writing in Flying Birds, wish us all a Happy Eid by posting a picture. The same sentiments are...

Cayman Islands: Celebrity adoption

  23 October 2006

“Following on the heels of Madonna’s adoption of a little Malawian boy, eccentric actress Renee Zellwegger has announced her intentions to adopt a Caymanian,” writes Cayblogger.

Martinique, France: Stereotypes of the French

  23 October 2006

Pondering stereotypes of the French, Martiniquan Le Blog de Moi writes (Fr): “When I arrived in the States with a group of people from all over France, … our recruiter explained to us very seriously that because of complaints by American students, he encouraged us to bathe and to change...

Russia: Putin's Rape Remarks

  23 October 2006

White Sun of the Desert writes about rape and Vladimir Putin's sense of humor: “Russian humour, often thought not to exist, is very dry and often exceptionally dark. In many cases, it cares little for the sensibilities of those who are easily offended. This is, after all, a country which...

Russia: The Ongoing Golden Calf Translation

  23 October 2006

Languor Management links to the site of Maciej Ceglowski and Peter V. Gadjokov, who are translating The Golden Calf, a 1930 Soviet classic by Ilya Ilf and Evgeniy Petrov: “Seventy years after its publication, The Golden Calf remains a cult classic among Russian readers, but it is out of print...

Russia: Balcony Embellishments

  23 October 2006

Copydude writes and posts pictures of the Russian balconies: “Balcony infill is not taught at any Russian technical school. Neither are there any known materials which bond easily with Soviet drill-resistant iron and concrete. Every unsuccessful attempt is therefore a triumph of individual creativity.”

Togo, Congo, France: Failed Diaspora or Simply Depression?

  22 October 2006

France-based Togolese blogger Kangni Alem reposts (Fr) an email allegedly authored by Kabiona-Kaseke, a Congolese lamenting the failures of the African diaspora. Says the email: “Diaspora, we have failed in our dreams. Dreams of succeeding in our native countries after studying in the West. … Diaspora, we've failed in our...