Stories about Humor from June, 2014
Russian Team Leaves World Cup
Russians resigned to poor national team performance.
National Heroes Get a Postmodern Makeover in Kazakhstan's #Selfie Statue Scandal
This week the eyes of the Kazakh Internet have been fixed on an ill-fated statue of two national heroes caught between historical greatness and the trappings of the 21st century.
Propaganda Wars: Russian Twitter Account Takes on American “Progress” in Iraq
Someone writing in Russian has issued the latest Internet challenge to the US government, launching a Twitter account parodying Washington's "counter-propaganda" feed about events in Ukraine.
Russians See in US Government Spokesperson the “Heart of a Dog”
An unusual video clip – the latest in a series of Internet memes attacking Jen Psaki, the spokesperson for the US State Department – is circulating among Russians online.
Trinidad & Tobago: Give Suarez a Menu
It is irrefutable now. Uruguay and Liverpool striker Luis Suarez either needs a psychologist or a new dietician. Thank heavens Uruguay was not playing Chile. Wired868 sinks its teeth into a post about the behaviour of the Uruguayan footballer after he bit an opposing player in his team's World Cup...
Trinidad & Tobago: Can Brazil Win the 2014 FIFA World Cup?
Backing Brazil to win the FIFA World Cup? Trinidadian travel blogger Rishi Sankar explains why you shouldn't count on the host country taking home the trophy.
Russian Phone Prankster Fools Belarus Dictator
After Lukashenko found out he was a victim of a prank, he apparently gave his security apparatus "a week" to find Vovan and bring him to some form of justice.
Russians Amused by National Team World Cup Performance
"Everyone is on the Russian team's case, but the real horror is the performance by a team that consists of Real Madrid and Barcelona players."
Russia's Irresistible Putin Swag
Last week, two fashion designers opened a kiosk in a shopping mall outside Red Square, selling t-shirts celebrating Vladimir Putin. Within a day, they'd sold over five-thousand.
Comas Make for Comedians on Russian Twitter
Until yesterday, racing driver Michael Schumacher was in a 6-month coma. After he regained consciousness, Russian Twitter users welcomed the story with a flood of jokes about sports and politics.
Kazakhstan Has an Antelope That Can Predict the World Cup Winner (or Does It?)
Kazakhstan's most mischievous satirical blog, Kazaxia, is up to its old tricks again, reporting on the saiga antelope that has potentially ruined bookmakers worldwide by predicting the winner of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with its timeless steppe wisdom. As Kazaxia writes: A shaman contacted kazaxia about the psychic saiga – it...
Why You Should Pick France as Your 2nd Favorite Team at the 2014 World Cup
Graham MacAree at SB Nation posts an entertaining comment on why one should pick the French national team as their 2nd favorite team after their home team at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil : You'll want to watch France games because if they're on, they'll be lovely to watch,...
From Our World Cup Archive: How Brazil Fooled the World With a Meme
Remember “Cala Boca Galvão”, the Internet meme that became a worldwide joke when millions of Twitter users started telling a famous Brazilian sports narrator and broadcaster, Galvão Bueno, to shut up, during the 2010 World Cup opening ceremony? Almost instantly it was a worldwide trending topic on Twitter and people from all over the...
Jen Psaki, the Russian Internet's Public Enemy No. 1
“Psaki” has become a stigmatizing catch-all term for everything Russians dislike about US foreign policy (especially America’s involvement in Ukraine).
Russian City Hosts Pole Dancing Performance on International Children's Day
Last Sunday, Tolyatti celebrated its 277th birthday and International Children's Day. Ironically, it also hosted an outdoor pole dancing performance at a car show.
Typical Venezuelan Expressions, Illustrated and Translated Into English
Daisy Patton illustrates personal interpretations of traditional sayings with typical Venezuelan humor and color, that reflects a vision of a culture seeking to understand another through colloquial use of language.
