Stories about Humor from February, 2012
Jamaica: Nicknames
Grasshopper Eyes The Potomac blogs about Jamaicans and their nicknames, explaining that it's an eccentricity with “meaning and real origins that mark a key characteristic of a person or their background.”
Barbados: Leap Day
B.C. Pires “couldn’t let the leap day go unobserved”.
Slovakia: Chuck Norris Bridge
In the situation when the U.S. action film star Chuck Norris leads in the public vote for the name of the bridge across the Morava River into Austria [en], blogger Ondrej Horváth recommends [sk] asking Mr. Norris before making the final decision, because otherwise it is possible that the bridge...
Trinidad & Tobago: Carnival is My Time
“In an attempt to imitate art…culture in T&T seems to have perverted itself and in trying to become something else, may have succeeded all too well; the business model of Tribe and the other new ‘Rio’ styled bands seems to be built on encouraging excess for profit”: Plain Talk suggests...
Colombia: Speaking Spanish is Hard and There is a Song About It
Song on the difficulties of speaking Spanish rings true with native speakers as well as those trying to learn the language. With humor, Colombian songwriters and performers Juan Andrés and Nicolás explain the confusions that come with the regional variations of the language.
East Timor: Cats, Monsters in Pre-Election Video Humor
Less than one month to go for the presidential elections in East Timor, and one of the most original uses of citizen media in the anticipation of the elections is not serious at all - user Slogheinn on Youtube, has uploaded a series of humorous videos that mock four of the best known presidential candidates.
Egypt: Finding a job you enjoy?
Egyptian blogger Cinderella Nabil blogs [ar] about her refusal in accepting any job just for the money.
Trinidad & Tobago: These Boots were made for Jumping
Trinidadian bloggers go to town over a photograph of the Prime Minister at a Carnival fete sporting expensive brand-name shoes: B.C. Pires says: “She’s bound to get flak for such a vulgar display, even at the height of the vulgarity of one of the world’s most vulgar displays, the modern...
Tajikistan: Tajik Voices Muted in Putin Video Debate
A song apparently dedicated to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has surpassed 1,000,000 hits on YouTube, becoming one of several politicized clips to gain 'viral' status on the RuNet ahead of the country's presidential vote in March.
China: A Portrayal of Portrayals of Cultural And Ethnic Stereotypes
One Chinese vlogger has gone viral with his impersonation of the accents of a few Asian neighbors and other cultures from around the globe. How much do these differ from similar crude stereotypes you've seen elsewhere?
Trinidad & Tobago: The Job Letter
Perhaps the best (or worst!) recommendation letter ever – diaspora blogger CunningLinguist shares.
Argentina: Stand Up Comedian on Women and Catcalls
Argentinean stand up comedian Malena Pichot, best known for her webshow “La Loca de Mierda” has a new series, Cualca! and on this first episode[es], she shares her perspective on how women really feel when they receive unwanted attention from strange males like catcalls and genital exposure on the street.
France: A Drone Campaigning… for President
Dédé l'Abeillaud (another name for a drone – a male bee in a colony of social bees, which inspires his costume) is the self-proclaimed candidate of biodiversity for the French presidential election of 2012. He boasts of winning over 300 promised votes for local officials, as much as the National...
China: Cats found in RMB100 Banknote
Jacky Huang from ChinaHush translated a local story from Beijing News about the new discovery by netizen of the printing of a “worshipping cats” totem on the RMB100 Banknote. The cats’ image is very comical, but experts said it was from Ancient China's the Warring States period (5th-3rd cent. BCE).
Israel: The Lie, the Truth and the Meme (of the Soldier and the Girl)
A photograph of a street performance in Bahrain went viral, after it was alleged it depicted an Israeli soldier stepping on an Arab girl. In this age of media manipulation and virility, some Israelis decided the best response to a viral lie is a humorous meme, writes Carmel L. Vaisman.
Kyrgyzstan: “Putin Is a Complex Bio-Robot”
Ex-presidential candidate Arstanbek Abdylaev, scourge of the Kyrgyz Internet, has struck again. In a recent press conference he disclosed his world conspiracy theories, including a claim that Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, is a “complex bio-robot.”
