Stories about Humor from September, 2012
Russia: Ridiculing the Winter Olympics Slogan
The just-announced slogan of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics (“Hot. Cool. Yours.”) has spurred a brief episode of merrymaking on the RuNet. At first that may seem surprising, while the English version of the slogan may sound slightly confusing and a bit corny, it isn't particularly rich fodder for jokes or double entendres.
The Gloomy Years of Colombian Television
Since last May [es], ‘pink sauce’ from popular gossip website La Fiscalía has been posting a series on “the gloomy years of Colombian television” [es], where he reviews, tongue-in-cheek and year by year between 1992 and 2012, the most popular mainstream medium in the country. Readers share their memories of...
Ukraine: Localized ‘Yes-butno’ Meme Highlights ‘Most Popular Stereotypes’
The Yes-butno meme "created to break assumptions and stereotypes that everyone makes about various cultures, genders, sexualities, etc", has gone viral on the Ukrainian segment of Facebook, thanks to Lviv-based Rost Tatomyr and his selection of the nine "most popular stereotypes about Ukraine."
Bahrain: A Country for Disgruntled Citizens
Bahraini blogger Ali Al Saeed suggests: @alialsaeed: Perhaps disgruntled citizens from around the world should consider starting their own country? Worth a try.
Chile: Netizens tell Mexican President-Elect to “Go Away”
The President-elect of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, started his visit to Chile on September 20, 2012. Between protocol visits, dinners and protests, netizens made a call on Twitter for him to leave the country.
Tunisia: In Defense (sort of) of French Weekly on the Muhammad Cartoons
As the French ministry of foreign affairs decided to temporary shut down 20 embassies [fr] after the publication of Muhammad Cartoons by French weekly Charlie Hebdo, Linda Doufari in Nawaat takes a nuanced defense [fr] of the magazine. Doufari argues that although the decision is on par with the low level quality of...
Russia: Ksenia Sobchak's Civil Platform Candidacy
Earlier today, the Central Elections Committee officially registered a bevy of candidates for the coming elections of the first Coordinating Council of the Russian Opposition. Among today's new entries to the General Civil category was socialite and opposition activist Ksenia Sobchak.
World: Hilarious Muslims Rage on Twitter
Twitter was a happy place for Muslims today, who took turns to pour out their rage, 140 characters at a time. Some were even creative enough to share memes in response to Newsweek's latest cover story.
Greece: Poster Response to Unemployment Crisis
In blog post entitled ‘Cirque de Grece’ (Greek Circus), Kostas Kallergis shares an Athens poster mocking the Greek Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, which is inspired by a poster for Cirque de Soleil's ‘Alegria‘ show.
China: Making Fun of the Length of Apple iPhone
Chinese netizens create a satirical image to mock the design of iPhone5, which is four inches longer than the iPhone4 but with very few new functional features (via China Hush).
Trinidad & Tobago: iPads for Parliament?
If this Government…want[s] to appear to be the pillar of honesty they must go out for an open public tender for tablets…and not simply go out to tender for the prestigious iPad. An apparent penchant for Parliamentary iPads has aka_lol concerned about transparency and good governance.
Spain: Ecce Homo Cheers Up the Summer
Cecilia Giménez, an old parishioner from the Aragonian town of Borja, Spain, decided to restore on her own a damaged painting of an Ecce Homo by the artist Elías García Martínez in the Sanctuary of La Misericordia. However, the restoration ended up in a terrible mess...
Russia: U.S. Republican Convention in Context
Most delegates of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, United States, last week probably did not imagine that Russian netizens were commenting on the proceedings in real time. Indeed, Russian bloggers have developed strong opinions about the U.S. presidential contest.
Russia: Patriarch's Press Secretary Wants LiveJournal to Ban Photoshops of Priests
In an interview [ru] with the Orthodox website Pravmir.Ru, Patriarch Kirill's press secretary, Aleksandr Volkov, complained that LiveJournal users are too often permitted to engage in “school bathroom” humor that derides the clergy. He appears to be responding to blogger Artemii Lebedev's August 31 online contest [ru] for best mock-ups of the...
Bahrain: “Our Women are Iron Women”
Bahraini Twitter users took a break from politics and had some fun this morning on the microblogging social network. Artist Anas Al Shaikh read a news article which said that an Iraqi woman had killed herself in protest against her husband watching dubbed Turkish soap operas. Bahraini women respond they will not do such a thing because ... they are iron women.
