ABC Apologizes For Jimmy Kimmel’s Kid’s Table Joke About “Killing Everyone In China” [UPDATE]

Jimmy Kimmel Kids Table Kill all Chinese people
Jimmy Kimmel held a "kid's table" a couple of weeks ago and asked blah blah blah, and it was all pretty boring until some young'un said we should "kill everyone in China." If you're interested in the context, read up on it here. "Kill everyone in China" isn't the best joke, even out of the mouth of a young child -- it's certainly not the best thing* Kimmel's done with kids -- but whatever, it's Jimmy Kimmel, it's late-night comedy, who really cares?

Driving The Volkswagen XL1, The World’s Most Efficient Car

XL1 with Ali
I test drove the Volkswagen XL1 on Friday at the Chaoyang Sports Center. What’s the XL1, you ask? Only the most efficient car in the world — efficient in every way, from weight to energy usage to fuel consumption (it can go 100 kilomters on one liter, thus the 1 in XL1). ”Are there any areas in which you think you can do more optimization?” I asked Dr. Volker Kease, technical project manager.

Friday Night Musical Outro: In League With Satan

Venom In League With Satan
It's Friday, friends, and there's tons and tons of shit on this weekend. Tons and tons. Too much. Too, too much. And on top of all these good lookin' shows, it's Halloween as well. Damn. And it looks like it's going to be Halloween for the next three weeks or so as well. Seems like no one can figure out what day to celebrate it on. (Pssst! It's October 31, fuckers! That's when Halloween is! Not the Saturday before! It doesn't matter that you have to work the next day! It's on the 31st!)

Dispatches From Xinjiang: Uyghur Comedy And Abdukerim Abliz

Uyghur comedy 1
Over the next few weeks I will be discussing the comedy of Abdukarim Abliz, the most famous of contemporary Uyghur comedians. Abdukarim is a tall distinguished-looking man from Kashgar famous for his carefully groomed mustache. Like other suave comedians (Stephen Colbert springs to mind) Abdukarim not only embodies a masculine ideal, he parodies it. Yet for all his quick-witted use of language, metaphor, and jawline, Abdukarim has something serious to say about Uyghur society. By making them laugh, he is trying to mirror how his Uyghur audience acts, talks, and thinks about common sense issues in society.

Harbin’s Air Is A National Disaster That’s Uniting The Country

Harbin smog 5
By now you surely know: Harbin in northeast China's Heilongjiang province, a city of 11 million, is blanketed in cancer-gray, toxic-smelling, blindingly thick smog. The AQI is over 500 and the PM2.5 measurement hit one thousand -- higher than it ever was during the worst of times in Beijing. Everything has closed down, from highways to airports to schools. Sinosphere and the Atlantic both have pictures and anecdotes. And AFP has this bit of funny: