Stories about Humor from March, 2013
Blackout has Trinidad & Tobago Bloggers Seeing Red
Good Friday in Trinidad and Tobago was suddenly dubbed “Black Friday” as the country descended into darkness, thanks to a nationwide blackout. Most people were communicating via Facebook and Twitter, but soon the conspiracy theories started to fly...
As Liberal Russia's Secret Superhero ‘KermlinRussia’ Unmasks, Some See Evil
Arseny Bobrovsky, the owner of a Russian PR firm called “Daily Communications,” would be a thoroughly typical example of Moscow’s “creative class” liberals, were it not for one thing: Bobrovsky has a secret identity. At least he did, anyway, until March 25, 2013, when he and his accomplice Katya Romanovskaya outed themselves to the world as the authors of KermlinRussia, one of the most popular accounts on Russian Twitter.
Chinese Couples Divorce to Dodge Property Tax
A capital gains tax hike in China has couples rushing to file for divorce to avoid paying a steep rate on the sale of their second home.
PHOTOS: Skis and Military Vehicles Battle Ukraine's Snowpocalypse
On March 22, Kyiv broke its monthly average of snow in just one day. While the authorities were combatting the weather, many Ukrainians united online to offer help and to share photos, stories and humor devoted to the snowfall. Tetyana Bohdanova reports.
VIDEO: Tokyo Gives Harlem Shake a Whirl
Popular Internet video meme the Harlem Shake [en] has hit Tokyo. A verison organized by a Latino under the pseudonym Saw was filmed on March 17, 2013 in Shibuya, the heart of Japan's youth culture, and the video was uploaded on YouTube a few days later. Portal Mie [pt], an online portal that serves Portuguese-speaking foreigners in Japan, has...
Skip the Cigarettes, Breathe in Beijing's Air
The former head of Google China and influential Micro-blogger Kai-Fu Lee posted[zh] to his 32 million fans on Sina Weibo an imaginary conversation between a Beijinger and a Shanghainese: Beijinger: “We Beijingers are the most fortunate, we can open the window and have free cigarettes.” Shanghainese: “That's nothing, we can...
Mexico: A Contradictory Kiosk
Although you might think that all kiosks offer things that can be purchased, in the blog Hazme el chingado favor [es], La Banda writes about a peculiar kiosk [es] in Mexico City, where the owner: makes it very clear that although magazines are for sale they are really not, so...
Slovakia's Roads: “Adopt a Pothole and Watch It Grow”
This year, the situation on Slovakia's roads isn't very good. in Košice county alone, there are over 37,000 square meters of potholes. Tibor Blazko reports.
Carnival Samba Takes Aim at World Cup in Brazil
With forced evictions and competing political interests surrounding the run-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, a group of concerned Carnival revelers in Belo Horizonte, Brazil have put the discord to a samba beat. Listen to this year's winner of the carnival marches contest, “Imagina na Copa” (Imagine in the Cup), created by a group of citizens recalling who really benefits from the cup.
Portugal Gets the Giggles Ahead of Austerity Protests
Austerity-weary Portuguese feeling shut out of the country's decision making are giving laughter a try, protesting against the government's tough tax hikes and spending cuts in creative, non-violent, and funny ways.
