Mind-Blowing Willow Smith

Where do all these kids come from? It's like raining small bombs of concentrated talent! After Jackie Evancho, now Willow Smith? I was blown away by Willow's appearance on Ellen. What a performance! What a personality in the interview! WOW!

Now for something different. Where in the world does OK Mag take that Willow is a Scientology kid? She isn't. The Smiths are not Scientologists. OK, they are friends of the Cruises and use some Scientology techniques in their school but they are not Scientologist. I don't follow much these things today but at least I know that.

Anyway, if Willow was an example of Scientology tech, then we should all plunge head first into it. But she isn't. She is just a high concentration of pure and unadultered talent. Absolutely amazing!

Jaw-Dropping Happening on America's Got Talent

You probably heard by now this stunning rendition of O mio babbino caro sang by a 10-years old who sounds and looks like an angel. I already posted about Susan Boyle at the time and I cannot help posting about a comparable event - a unique moment in history when Spirit manifest on earth and everybody instantly goes WOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!

There's really little else that can be said. The video sings for itself!




O Mio Babbino Caro

Italian Lyrics

O mio babbino caro
Mi piace, è bello, è bello
Vo' andare in Porta Rossa
a comperar l'anello!
Sì, sì, ci voglio andare!
e se l'amassi indarno,
andrei sul Ponte Vecchio,
ma per buttarmi in Arno!
Mi struggo e mi tormento!
O Dio, vorrei morir!
Babbo, pietà, pietà!
Babbo, pietà, pietà!

English Lyrics

Oh my dear papa
I love him, he is handsome, handsome
I want to go to Porta Rossa
to buy the ring!
Yes, yes, I want to go there!
And if my love were in vain,
I would go to the Ponte Vecchio
and throw myself in the Arno!
I am being consumed by the torment!
Oh God, I'd like to die!
Papa, have pity, have pity!
Papa, have pity, have pity!

Katie Holmes Dancing

YouTube - katie holmes thinks she can dance

No very difficult dance moves but frankly not bad. I am more impressed with the singing, though.

Update: the video now made it to the "most viewed" category. In the meantime I learned that the singing in fact is the original Judy Garland to which she just lip sinc. I was wondering too as this was far better than the dancing itself and nobody seemed to notice ;-)

Update2: Now I am a little bit confused, because in yet another video that made it to the most viewed category, the presenter seems to say (not very clear) that it's actually Katie singing. If true, then it is going to become much bigger than it is, because I think that, while the dance is just so-so, the singing is outstanding.

update3: OK- I am now convinced that this is actually Katie singing. Just search the news and you'll many references to it. Besides, here is a 2007 video of her singing another song, and yes, it's the same voice. Check also this page that has Judy Garland's performance and Katie's back to back and you'll that the original voice is markedly different(though I do like the original choreography better but that's beside the point). I can really envision Katie completing the video that is shown at the start of the performance and putting it up on the market. Her voice really do match the one of Judy Garland! A rather amazing discovery (and so I'll put it in the Amazing category now).

YouTube - Dancing Inmate's Michael Jackson tribute

YouTube - Dancing Inmate's Michael Jackson tribute

I've seen loads and loads of Jackson-related tributes and what not on YT, but this one is mind-blowing.

I actually saw a bit of it already on the Filipino news, as these are inmates of a Cebu prison, but they have not shown the entire video by far, available now on YT.

It almost seems impossible that they could put such a complex arrangement in such a short notice - even though they say it took them 10 hours to create. And where did all these world-flags came from? And how come there seems to be a show setup with a public? I think it probably is a show they were preparing for a long time already, and the timing just makes it as relevant as it can ever be.

By all mean, it is just f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s, and I must admit I had trouble seeing the whole thing as my eyes were blurred with tears.

Update: Apparently these inmates were already famous through a video featuring a choreography of thriller. I saw that video now, and in my opinion, the tribute video is much much much much better than this thriller video. The Thriller video does not have any kind of complex mass movements to it. It is just a bunch of people moving more or less in synchronicity and if they weren't inmates it would be nothing special, on the limit of bad taste even at the end. The tribute video is just a totally completely different kind of show - of total genius, inspiration and spontaneity.

Update 2: What do you know - it turns out that this goes MUCH further than it looks. Just watch this amazing footage. It explains it all, and shows why that clip which I am sure will become even more viral than Thriller is only the beginning of something MUCH bigger to come...

The Biggest Wake-Up Call Ever!

YouTube - Susan Boyle - Singer - Britains Got Talent 2009 (With Lyrics)

This sandwich-eating lady has made one of the biggest impression on the net ever. A typical anti-hero, old-fashioned provincial British (Scottish actually) lady, with a supremely bad-taste (hair) style and frumpy manners, who made a total fool of herself, twisting her hips during the preliminary interview for "Britains Got Talent" - all of a sudden wiped the whole audience down their knee in just three seconds after she opened her mouth to sing - so fabulous (absolutely stunning) her voice was!

As one of the judges said: "the biggest wake-up call ever" - don't judge the package on its cover!

Because of her incredible talent, that makes one wonder how she could remained hidden for the past years of her 47 years life, in spite of her best effort to pierce through, even her mannerism have become, of sort, a fashion!

Her second appearance was more polished already, but her singing still remained breathtaking, especially on the second part where she literally "took off" switching on a higher pitch! Susan Boyle was back, and stronger than ever! I'll try to squat some TV-owning friends' place to watch the final, like, I am sure, millions of people around the world!

WOW... now that is truly inspirational... and somewhere there really is a strong message in all this, both in her incredible voice and the package it comes up with!

Summit of the Drunks

(off-topic)

What is really happening at these top G meetings?

At the G8, it was Sarkozy who was drunk (made for an hilarious video):

YouTube - French president Nicolas Sarkozy drunk at G8

And now it is the turn of a Japanese minister at the G7... Maybe even more hilarious if possible...

YouTube - 'Drunk' Japanese minister apologises for G7 press conference

USA - Adults Are in Charge Again

(off topic)

The first 100 hours of Obama have been nothing but a blizzard, meeting the high expectation that has been placed on his shoulders. This on its own only increases one's bemusement and admiration of such a phenomenon. Nothing could have illustrated better Obama's election campaign: "Change starting today".

The first 100 days, though may be tougher, but as yet we still are on day 4, of the honeymoon period.

Nobody said it better than Professor Shawn Bowler:"It is like suddenly the adults are in charge again".

WOW - just WOW!

The Observer has an outstanding article describing the first 100 hours of Obama's presidency.

How Obama set the tone for a new US revolution | World news | The Observer:

It was as swift and ruthless a transfer of power as has happened in US presidential history. [...]

In his first 100 hours in power, Barack Obama reversed many policies put in place by George W Bush [...]

The new era of Obama dawning in America's capital has begun well, receiving rave reviews from the media and even winning grudging respect from Republicans. [...]

trying to impose a dramatic new direction from day one [...]

Few experts think it could have gone much better. [...]

if anyone can live up to those expectations, it is him. [...]

It is like suddenly the adults are in charge again," said Professor Shawn Bowler, a political scientist at the University of California at Riverside. [...]

At the same time Bush has departed as a hugely unpopular leader, seen by many as a disaster for America, both at home and abroad, and so Obama is seen as almost a revolutionary change. [...]

It began in the first minutes of his presidency, when he delivered an inaugural speech that was a stinging attack on Bush's legacy. As Bush listened, Obama rejected many of the key planks of Bush's rule, from national security policy to the misuse of science. Washington had seen nothing like it since Franklin Roosevelt rebuked Herbert Hoover in 1933 [...]

During the first three full days of his presidency, Obama and his team pushed through a series of measures and appointments signalling a new beginning. [...]

Obama's swift move is likely to rehabilitate much of America's reputation abroad [...]

The diplomatic offensive continued [...]

A similarly hot pace was set domestically. Obama issued three executive orders aimed at increasing the transparency of his government and opening access to presidential documents that Bush had made more difficult. [...]

The pace and calm execution of measures impressed many, though few of Obama's plans were radical. Instead they reflected a firm moderation that typified his campaign message of appealing to middle-ground Americans. "He has done some very smart things. From day one he has also been reaching out to Republicans," said Bowler. "He's getting rave reviews. Even from Republicans." [...]

He has shown some of the charm and humour of Ronald Reagan, the seriousness of purpose of Franklin Roosevelt, and the rhetorical, unifying flourishes of his hero, Abraham Lincoln. [...]

But it is unlikely to last. Obama is riding his huge wave of popularity into some dangerously choppy waters. [...]

Unlike his first 100 hours, the signs are that Obama's first 100 days will not be so smooth. [...]

But America fell firmly in love with the Obama daughters as their introduction to the world was handled with cool and aplomb [...]

Rarely has an inauguration speech so clearly repudiated the legacy of the outgoing president. Though Obama and Bush appeared to have run a seamless transition, the aura of conviviality ended on the podium. The freshly minted president wasted no time spelling out the changes he would bring to American politics and diplomacy even as Bush - who had been booed by the crowd as he entered - watched as a newly private citizen.[...]

election campaign that had run on a single-word slogan: change. "Starting today [...]

In typical style - and reflecting where power now lies - Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, gave their complaints short shrift and mocked the Bush supporters as out-of-touch. "If they didn't know that was the judgment of people, then their subscription to the newspapers were cancelled over the last three years," he said. [...]

Obama had his feet behind the White House desk at 8.35am on Wednesday. His staff were there earlier, many of them skipping inauguration balls the night before in order to prepare the new administration's first full day in power. Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel was Obama's first visitor after giving the new president 10 minutes of private "time for reflection". Then the new White House sprang into action. [...]

A trio of decrees was issued with the aim of increasing the transparency of government, reversing measures taken by President George W Bush that made it harder to gain access to presidential documents. [...]

The White House itself was earmarked for a technological makeover. Many new staff on the Obama team - used to the high-tech instruments of their ultra-sophisticated election campaign - were perplexed by ageing computers, a shortage of laptops and old software that led them to set up their own email accounts. New presidential spokesman Bill Burton said: "It's like going from an XBox to an Atari." [...]

It was the old blood feuds of that troubled region that held Obama's immediate attention. [...]

No one who watched America's first black president dancing cheek to cheek with its first black first lady, as Beyoncé serenaded them at the Neighbourhood Ball, could doubt that glamour has returned to the White House. It was like a scene from a Hollywood movie and created images of fashion and celebrity to rival anything that emerged from JFK's vaunted "Camelot". [...]

The Obamas continue in that tradition, but have added a dose of youthful style and class. [...]

So it was that dozens of ordinary citizens trooped through the famed residency and were eventually led into the Blue Room to meet the new president. It was a masterstroke of PR as the Obamas greeted them one by one. "Welcome, enjoy yourself. Roam around. Don't break anything," Obama told one young man. [...]

It did not take long for the conservative right, abetted by internet conspiracy theories, to pounce. Chief Justice John Roberts bungled the wording of the presidential oath, prompting a flurry of speculation as to whether Obama had been truly sworn in as president.

This was hardly new territory for Obama. During the campaign he had set up a website to debunk rumours ranging from his being born abroad to being a secret Muslim. Once again Obama's team moved swiftly and left nothing to chance. Roberts visited the White House again, and this time administered the oath correctly. [...]

Future setbacks, more serious than getting one's lines wrong, will lead to attacks less easy to deal with.

Sullenberger Interview Scheduled for Feb. 8

(off topic)

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide: "CBS Corp. anchor Katie Couric will be the first to interview Sullenberger and his crew. That interview is scheduled to air on the television program “60 Minutes” on Feb. 8."

For the anecdote, Sullenberger comes from the same town as my favorite model, Christy Turlington, about whom I created a fan page a few years ago.

Sullenberger's fan based on facebook not surprisingly jumped quite a bit and at the time of writing of this article was already at 1.6+ million.

And no, Tom Cruise, is not preparing a movie about the miracle on the Hudson.

Here's the video of Sullenberger home coming, being presented with a key to the city.

A New Dawn - Welcome Mr. President!

After eight years of crossing the desert with a (unfortunately criminally not funny) retard as President, a new dawn points up. This double historic moment (first because it gives hope after desperation, second because he is the first half black president) ought to be recorded among the top moments in human history. Well, we'll see... I don't think there has been an equivalent wave of enthusiasm and hope for the US and the world since Kennedy, and yet Obama still has to deliver...

Airbus Ditches onto New York River

The Hindu : Front Page : Airbus ditches onto New York river

Amazing...

Birds flying into reactors was a problem of the past I thought. I guess that if it happens as the plane is taking off, the reactors are not up to speed yet and so may be vulnerable.

OT - Whale Sharks

I was thinking while posting about my elephant story on how after a while you just walk among them like if they were just horses. You are not afraid at all, even though they could kill you in no time. Then I remembered about the same experience I had swimming with whale sharks in the Philippines. Now those animals are huge. I mean, huge... They can reach 30 meters. And they are sharks, for God sake, not whales. They are just called whale because they are big. They are in fact the biggest fish on earth (a whale is bigger but not a fish as everybody knows).

However, they only eat plankton and are totally pacific. At the beginning you are terrified (at least I was) at the thought of swimming with such a huge shark. The most impressive in the beginning is when you get face to face with them, and then they just dive to avoid you. But after a while you get so used to it, it's just like with the elephants. You get so used to it that in a way you don't realize the danger even. A bit like for the fear of flying when you fly a lot.

By the way, the Philippines is a good country to see dolphins in the wild too. A fabulous experience. You get to see them better than in Bali. I crossed the whole Bali island in the night so I could be early morning dolphin watching, but I barely saw their nose only, at best. In the Philippines they were really swimming along the boat and jumping. Wonderful...

Snorkeling is a bit sad in the Philippines because although they do have a few sanctuaries of dubious protections, most of the spots get fished with dynamite and cyanide, when they don't just harpoon the fishes. I saw a guy one day having a lot of beautiful color fishes on his harpoon. I tried to tell him that we was damaging tourism but he didn't care. I tried to speak to the resort owner who said they can't do much because these people living and if the resort owners tries to do anything they'll start making trouble for the resort.

It's illegal of course and they do have all kinds of laws but they simply don't have the means to enforce them. Once I saw a speed boat donated by some Western country to the maritime police so they could catch people involved in illegal fishing, but they had no gasoline to run the boat and no one who could drive it!

Sad...

But anyway, they did used to hunt whale sharks in the past too but not anymore. At least for this they understood that revenue from tourism is much more profitable. Highly advised... If you dare...

OT - Who Will Be the First Dog?

Obama closing in on a dog: labradoodle or water hound :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Lynn Sweet

Never mind the economy, or Gaza, or Iran. The real news question for President-elect Barack Obama is the answer to the question:

What kind of dog, and when?

Obama revealed Sunday he is closing in on selecting the first dog -- either a labradoodle or a Portuguese water hound.

Whu?

"This has been tougher than finding a commerce secretary," Obama told George Stephanopoulos, host of ABC's "This Week."

LOL!

Apparently, the Labradoodle is a mix of Labrador retriever and poodle! (below)

The Portuguese water dog is a pedigreed pup. "Known for centuries along Portugal's coast," the American Kennel Club notes. (above)

Which one would you choose?

Me I think I'll just opt for the underdog! As usual...

Riverside Ordinance Prevents Picketing

In spite of massive objections from Scientology critics, including a full blown letter from Graham Berry, Riverside County supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance that restricts picketing outside homes and a Church of Scientology base near Hemet.

The funny thing in this is that it is worded in such a way as to effectively prevent picketing at all.

Indeed, the protesters are supposed to remain at least 50 feet from the property line of any residence they are targeting in unincorporated Riverside County. This would in concrete term exclude them from the whole compound.

The ordinance makes an exception to permit protesters on a sidewalk across the street from the property.

In the case of Gold, the street in question may in fact be a large and busy highway, mostly made of intraversible terrain, making any protest totally ineffective, not to say dangerous.

But that's not all!

The church's base in Gilman Hot Springs abuts both sides of Gilman Springs Road!

So this leaves the protesters no place to go!

Wait! It even gets funnier.

County Counsel Pamela Walls assured protesters would have many options, but when asked to indicate them on a map, she said that she was not familiar with the specific property!

I think this is hilarious!

There is hope for critics, however. Indeed, Walls said "We are going to make sure they have the ability to protest and do so visibly".

So, this is what I would do if I was one of these Anonymous clowns. I would go in full picket gear to Walls' office, or whoever is in charge, and ask where I could protest and do so visibly. If she can't tell, then I would picket the Chief Supervisor office instead. Providing he does not live there, of course!

County ordinance raises questions about Scientology

Update Jan 8: What the article above does not say, is that a public hearing must be held before the measure can be formally added to the books. The hearing would be placed on the board's calendar in the next two or three weeks. Guess we will be hearing of that story more then...


Related blog entries:

• Jan 17: Is Close-in Pictures of Passer-By Legal?
  
• Jan 14: The Riverside County Ordinance Farce Continues
  
• Jan 13: Riverside Ordinance - New Information
  
• Jan 06: Riverside Ordinance Prevents Picketing
  
• Dec 18: Barbz Gets a Letter
  
• Dec 09: Anonymous 2.0

Hackers Hijack Obama's Twitter Account

Hackers hijack Obama's, Britney's Twitter accounts

Obama has a Twitter account? That sounds odd. How would he find the time to update the minutia of what he is doing? And how would that not be a potential security breach, people knowing what he is up to and where?

Twitter's veracity chewed up by Britney's four-foot vagina • The Register

"They were hijacked by miscreants and used to spread scandalous and false information that appeared to come from their owners. [...]

A confession from pop celeb Spears that her vagina was four feet wide "with razor sharp teeth." [...]

Miscreants used the compromised identities to spam additional Twitter users who followed the account holder. [...]

CNN anchor Rick Sanchez, for instance, was caught staying home from work because he was too high on crack."

Hope

Well, I am not sure what to make of it, but the idea certainly has potential, and the story moving:

There are some games in which cheering for the other side feels better than winning

Thanks to Graham for pointing it.

Three Types of People - Those That Are Good at Math and Those That Aren't

I just blogged:

Castaneda reported at that time that he has sentenced 11 individuals to the Second Chance Center since late last year. He said seven have completed the program and five were currently in the residential drug rehab program that takes six months to complete.

Seven and five would of course make 12, not 11, but let's assume this is just a typo somewhere.

The reason I find it worth blogging about it separately is because it reminds me of what I once webbed about Kathy Waddell's comment on a similar joke:

There are three types of people in the world... Those that are good at math and those that aren't.

And although it is amusing, it can also be an invitation to explore. While on the surface many things look like there are only two oposing sides, in reality there is a third, a neutral or more balanced "side" also.

Somebody Pass Me the Oxygen Mask

I have read quite a few good articles related to Germany's positive reception of Valkyrie, but OtownRog's stunning entry in the OrlandoSentinel blog is worth being quoted in full:

Germany, which had gone into hysterics when word of the film first broke, has gotten around to seeing Tom Cruise's portrayal of national hero Claus von Stauffenberg in Valkyrie. And the German critics have warmed to the picture, which ennobles the men who finally got around to taking their shot at killing Adolph in the days just after D-Day.

I found it serious, smart, a real straight no chaser thriller. The nasty buzz on it, predictions of "Razzie" nominations based on a seething hatred of all things Cruise, seems on firmer footing with those who haven't actually seen the film.

Fox News' Roger Friedman's nasty dust-up with getting banned from seeing the film in a preview has led to him calling it a "Nazi apologia." Well, somebody pass me the oxygen mask. I love it when anybody working for Seig Heil on your dial uses "Nazi" in a sentence-- be he Bill O'Reilly or Roger Friedman.

In any event, reviews on the movie are mixed to positive, over all. And I found a few Cruise-crushing sites spinning the German reaction to the film as "negative." I'm not sure if "lightning rod for criticism" translates into box office for anybody other than Michael Moore.

Tom Stunning OT Powerz

The craze around tabloid Daily Mail claims of Cruise supposedly "living in fear" continues. In the meantime, Android Cat of ARS caught a nice one! :

I was just wading through the tabloid twaddle about Tom's claimed death threats.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/704547/tom-cruise-is-going-t...

"In August this year, Cruise received a security threat that spores of anthrax bacteria could be pumped into the air conditioning system at his Los Angeles office.

"He was so shaken by the threat that he had a $10.6 million underground bunker built at his Colorado estate."

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-23414203-details/Tom+Cr...

Amazing! He was so shaken by a claimed death threat in August of this year that he started on Der KruiseBunker back in September of 2007!

Hippies, WIFI, and Orgone Generators

gismodo.com has a funny article about hippies complaining in Glastonbury that Wifi are destroying the spiritual energy of the place.

Even more funny, they apparently deployed "orgone generators" to counter wifi waves!

The news outlet then asks "this sound like Scientology to anyone?".

No, it doesn't. Orgone is a typical Wilhelm Reich's concept, and, according to him, is a sort universal bioenergetic force based on sexual energy.

I remember reading a book about it a few years ago. I even drove to beautiful Belgium's Ardennes to visit a group that was practicing orgone therapy, that basically consisted of making love!

I think that was real fun and I would have continued the "therapy", except for the fact that the group was totally against the use of condoms.

What a pity...

Not One but Six Nazi Themed Movies for the Holidays!

Associated Press has a short, factual, and very revealing article on the fact that Nazi-driven movie dominates the holiday season and why.

Indeed, it explains that not one, but no less than six movies share that theme this holiday season!!!

Not only that, but it also turns out that, in the past, quite a few similarly-themed movies have reaped loads of Oscars!

And there I was thinking the release date was a bad choice! Now it makes a bit more sense, but it still is a revelation to me.

The article rightly asks the key question:

So why, during what's supposed to be the cheeriest time of year, this abundance of stories from one of humanity's darkest hours?

And answers:

The Holocaust is a ripe subject for writers and directors to present on the screen issues that resonate even today as we cross into 2009.

A must read!