Stories about Humor from April, 2007
China: Prison Break
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI has translated a BBS post, Musings on the Chinese version of Prison Break, which addressed the question: how would a Chinese Prison Break be adapted so that it would pass the TV censors?
Japan: Baby Crying Contest
James from Japan Probe posted some photos from the annual baby crying contest.
Kuwait: When Our Only Tourist Attraction is a Shopping Mall
With the summer temperatures soaring, life in Kuwait revolves around air-conditioned shopping malls, reports Abdullatif Al Omar. Follow the arrows to read bloggers' reactions to why else a foreign head of state is treated to a visit to a mall; friends meet in malls and a boat show is held there.
Russia: Blondes Who Disagree
Robert Amsterdam comments on the rally of The Blondes Who Disagree, calling it “an obvious attempt to ridicule and discredit the recent Marches of Those Who Disagree, which were so brutally suppressed by the authorities.”
Japan: Three Days Priest
Harvey from Japan Newbie explained the expression of mikka bouzu, three days priest, which is used to describe someone who is unable to stick with something they have started to do.
Cayman Islands, Jamaica: Interesting Cartoons
Writing from the Cayman Islands, Mad Bull posts three cartoons drawn by the Jamaica Gleaner’s Las May that he thought “were either funny, or interesting, or funny AND interesting, all at the same time.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Political Satire
Nicholas Laughlin has a chuckle at some satirical political columns that ran in the Trinidad Guardian close to half a century ago and asks, “Could anybody working on the Trinidad newspapers today come up with something like this?”
Sketches of Contradictions, Complexities, and Beauty of Life in Uganda
Here are some sketches that detail the contradictions, complexities and beauty of daily life in Uganda. In Apac, two women go in search of vegetarian food: Thus it began: the most epic search for food I have ever experienced. We didn’t ask for much: beans, rice, maybe chapatti — something...
China: Seventeen Hates
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI has translated Liu Qi's article in Southern Weekly about seventeen practices that he hates most in China.
China: Spiderman in Beijing Street?
Whether pirated copies of Spiderman III DVD are sold in Beijing Street or just empty boxes? Reuters and Sony have different versions of the story. So Chinese pirates have actually beaten anyone else in selling empty boxes claiming to be Spidey III, thus doing a masterful job of pranking foreign...
Bhutan: Feeling unlucky? Get a dog.
Visit Bhutan compiles an interesting list of popular Bhutanese beliefs! “Keeping dogs as pet is advisable as they act as a recipient of all the bad luck and curse of the family. In effect, the family is spared of the suffering of curses and bad luck in the house.Comments :...
Trinidad & Tobago: Reading the Signs
Thebookmann is amused and somewhat intrigued by “two eloquently painted wall signs” in Trinidad.
Japan: Toyama Kouichi calls for revolution, bloggers reflect on freedom of speech
“Registered voters! I am Toyama Kouichi. My countrymen! This country is an abomination!” So began the five minute political speech of gubernatorial candidate and street musician Toyama Kouichi, aired live on Japan's public broadcaster NHK as part of a series of election broadcasts formally allotted to each contender in the...
Arabeyes: What Makes a Good Blog and a Good Doctor?
From discussing what makes a good blog and who is a good doctor, we move to see the reaction of a father whose son is used as a human shield and why a blogger refuses to reply to comments on his blog while he is on holiday as we skim blogs from Tunisia to Kuwait this week.
A week goes by in Kuwait
The unpredictable weather, shoddy telecom services and the rapid surge in the stock market are just some of the topics keeping Kuwaiti bloggers entertained this week.
Lebanon: Anti-Semitism, Fist-Fights, etc
Check out the following topics freshly picked from the Lebanese blogosphere this week: an intense argument between American University of Beirut professors, sectarian polarisation in Lebanon and the Virginia Tech shooting which claimed the lives of 33 people, including two of Lebanese origin.
China: Photo Comic Blog
Jason Li from Virtual China introduced a Photo Comic Blog, Very Real People, Very Entertaining. Humor is very difficult to translate, and Jason tried to capture the sense of Chinese Humor in his post.
Cambodia: Fish Sauce Used to Punish Reporter
Vutha writes about a Cambodian official who splashed fish sauce on a reporter. The official was unhappy with the reporter for publishing a humiliating story about him.
Guyana: Life in the Fast Lane
Guyana-Gyal likens herself to “a drunk man lolling on grass parapet” after a fast-paced weekend gets the better of her.
Africa: Afrigator or regrigerator?
Thought-provoking humor from Afromusing: Are you searching for Afrigator or refrigerator?
Russia: Unreadable News
Copydude discovers a site featuring “unreadable” Russia news: “Make no mistake, this is break-the-mould journalism. All Russia News is so unreadable it is not only machine translated, it is written by a machine.”