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…probably not available in the Guinness Book of World Records or Ripley’s Believe It or Not
The following is a really outstanding 5-minute-long short film: awkward humour between 2 naked men, Bill and Blueberry.
Some people call it “creepy humour”.
Kudos to Randall Park (Bill), Marques Ray (Blueberry) and his team!
Randall, and definitely me, lost it when Blueberry started crying “jerk”.
That peeing scene reminded me of the film Naked Gun.
… what if they used plastic knobs as props?
Popularity: 1% [?]
UPDATE 22nd January 2010
Caroline Cartwright, 48 (right, with husband Steve) has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
Sentencing, Judge Beatrice Bolton said:
I’ve heard a very short extract of the noise you make and can well see that your neighbours would be upset and distressed by this. In addition it’s quite clear from the small extract I heard that you made no attempt to silence yourself.
She further said that if she continued with her old habit, she’d be really sent to prison.
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ORIGINAL POST: 28th April 2009
So noisy that she was imprisoned because of it!
Caroline Cartwright, 48 of Wearside, England screamed, moaned and groaned loudly everytime she had sex with her factory worker husband Steve, 46 at her home.
Not only that, their act was so rigorous that the bed was banging loudly against the wall, and slapping noises could be heard.
Happening in the early hours, it was all too much for the neighbours to bear.
Earlier in April she was given an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO), banning her from being “noisy during sex,” valid for 4 years. An Asbo is a civil order given in the UK and the Republic of Ireland to someone who’ve “engaged in anti-social behaviour.”
However, within 10 days, she reportedly breached it 3 times.
A partially deaf neighbour, Margery Ball, said that she has not had a good night’s sleep for 2 years because of the noise.
Another Rachel O’Connor, said:
I heard sounds of a sexual nature, they were really loud, and there was a lot of moaning and groaning and screaming as if in pain. It wasn’t just the woman, it came from both parties.
So much so that the noise was like domestic violence.
She added that when she first moved in in November 2007, the noise started at midnight and lasted until 3am. Later, it started at about 6.30am and lasted until 9am.
It is not known whether Caroline was one to buy HGH to keep her performance up, despite her age.
After many complaints, the local council’s environmental health department installed audio recording equipment in the flat next door to the Cartwright’s house. They made 23 recordings, all played in court, in a soundproofed room to magistrates.
Despite having being arrested twice, Caroline was defiant, and said:
I’m not going to stop. I’ve been making the same noises since the Asbo was imposed, and this morning, we were making noises for three hours. I can’t stop making noise during sex, it’s unnatural to not make any noises, and I don’t think that I’m particularly loud.
Wow, what a woman!
Now one positive note out of this is that Caroline and Steve has been married 25 years, yet they managed to keep the passion going all this while!!!
Source
The BBC, 27 April 2009
The Sun, 18 Apr 2009
Popularity: 5% [?]
For ladies who don’t believe in wearing a bra, read on.
A 57-year old woman in Detroit was shot at by one of 3 burglars, but the bullet bounced off the metal underwire in her bra.
She was looking out her window as they were entering a neighbour’s house. They noticed, and shot at her.
The bullet went through her window and hit her, but instead of causing serious injury, or worse, death, it ricocheted off.
The suspects then drove away after the shooting.
She did sustain injuries but they were minor.
Thank goodness for metal-wired bras!
Source
The BBC, 23 Apr 2009
Popularity: 1% [?]
After the British Fritzl, Italian Fritzl and Colombian Fritzl, the Malaysian Fritzl has reportedly been uncovered in the state of Penang.
It was reported on 24th April 2009 that police in Penang have arrested a father, 42 (another report said 47) and his two sons, 15 and 17 after the father’s 13-year-old daughter claimed that she had been a sex slave to them for the last four years, since she was 9 years old.
She claimed she had been raped by her odd-job labourer father at home and in a forest near her house, while her brothers had repeatedly molested her at home.
Another newsreport said that she was even sodomised by her father and a brother.
She claimed to have been paid between RM1 and RM2 by her father each time he abused her.
All this time she was too afrain to tell her housewife mother, until the 22nd of April 2009 when she decided to reveal all to her teacher, as she was afraid that her younger sisters, aged 7 and 9, would also end up being abused. She has seven siblings.
Source
The Star, 24th April 2009
New Straits Times, 24 Apr 2009
… it’s probably just a matter of time before every country’s Fritzl get exposed; then one would need a brain memory upgrade just to keep track of their names …
Popularity: 1% [?]
No, not the Huey Lewis & The News song. And not the Frankie Goes To Hollywood song, but rather the Jennifer Rush song, that famous power ballad co-written and originally recorded by Jennifer Rush in 1985.
That year, it spent 5 weeks at the top of the British charts, becoming the first single by a female soloist to sell one million copies in the UK. Even until today, it is still among the UK’s best-selling singles of all time.
It has been covered by several artists like Laura Branigan, Céline Dion and even Air Supply.
But what do you think about this cover by Nana Mouskouri, the First Lady of European Music, the Greek singer who’s sold more than 300 million records worldwide in more than 50 years?
This is apparently of her singing it live:
Popularity: 1% [?]
Video courtesty of Andres Lopez who happened to have his self-confessed cheap camera in video mode.
This was shot on 7th April 2009 at Augusta National Golf Course.
It was the practice round on hole 16 (170 yard Par 3), played entirely over water.
Vijay Singh stepped up, skipped the ball over the water, and into the hole in one shot.
It starts at 25 seconds into the following video:
It would’ve been even greater if it was in an actual game.
Popularity: 1% [?]
By world-class I mean: the band must be well-known throughout the world, with at least one of their songs a regular staple at any karaoke bar the world over, and have sold at least 30 million albums worldwide.
The first Asian to be lead vocalist of a world-class rock band is of course the incomparable Farrokh Bulsara, better known as Freddie Mercury of Queen fame.
Please correct me if I’m wrong here, but only the second Asian ever to have achieved this feat is Arnel Pineda, the lead vocalist of Journey since December 2007. Never mind the fact that Journey’s heydays have been over for at least 20 years.
Now perhaps some members of the younger generation have never even heard of this group, but there’s no denying that Journey is a world-class rock band, with the following achievements:
(i) Escape, their 1981 album has been certified 9 times platinum, and I remember was described by Kerrang magazine (top UK rock magazine) as the greatest AOR album ever made.
(ii) Arguably their most famous song, “Faithfully” (released 1983) has enjoyed lasting popularity, and was a popular prom song in the US in the 1980s.
(iii) Neal Schon and Steve Perry are widely recognised as virtuosos in their respective fields, Schon on guitars and Perry on vocals.
One could not help wondering that had it not been for youtube, at 40 years of age Pineda would’ve resigned himself as a cover act.
A true success story made in youtube, the following is apparently the youtube video that was seen by the remaining members of Journey sometime in early 2007 and eventually clinched it for Pineda.
Amazing, I think that equalled Steve Perry’s original.
Pineda’s first ever live concert as lead singer of Journey was on 21st February 2008 in Chile – televised for an audience of 25 million.
This was how he sang “Faithfully” live then:
The following video is of Steve Perry in 1983 singing Faithfully live. Who’s better? You be the judge.
Apparently Steve Perry was voted the 2nd best rock vocalist of all time, behind the greatest Asian rock superstar ever, Freddie Mercury.
Perhaps comparing Arnel’s version with Steve’s studio version of the
song is too much, but I need to get it out: Steve is THE balladeer
here:
The following video is of Steve Perry singing Faithfully live in 1994, 11 years after the original:
Still awesome!
Popularity: 1% [?]
When helium is inhaled, it changes the resonant properties of the human vocal track resulting in a very high squeaky voice.
When sulfur hexafluoride is inhaled, it produces the opposite effect.
Don’t worry, both are harmless gases.
Inhalation of both gases to show their effects was done by Adam Savage on the Mythbusters TV program on 3rd September 2008.
Now, I wonder what would happen if Darth Vader inhales sulfur hexafluoride, then says: “you underestimate the power of the dark side!” or the chipmunks inhale helium, then burst into song.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Avant-garde American composer John Cage (1912-1992) is perhaps most famously known for 4′ 33″ which he “composed” in 1952.
In it, there are 3 movements of which are performed without a single note being played.
It has been described and explained as follows:
The content of 4′ 33″ is meant to be perceived as the sounds of the environment that the listeners hear while it is performed, rather than merely as 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence.
Here it is being “played”. Notice how the musicians turned their pages and how seriously they all took it.
It has became one of the most controversial compositions of the 20th century.
Here’s another guy “playing” it on piano:
A smart alec made a tutorial on how to play the piece:
In 2002, it was in the spotlight: a bizarre copyright dispute.
Mike Batt placed a 1-minute silence on his CD, called it A Minute’s Silence, and then declared that it was a Mike Batt & John Cage composition.
Source
The BBC, July 2002
Wikipedia
Popularity: 1% [?]
As Slow As Possible was composed by John Cage, arguably the most influential American composer of the 20th century.
It was originally a 20-minute piece for piano, but later expanded by some crazy group of theologians, musicologists, philosophers, composers and organists to an unbelieveable 639 years.
Yes, that means the song will take 639 years from start to finish.
It was first played sometime in 2003, on a church organ in Halberstadt, Germany.
The first 3 notes will last for more than a year!
Needless to say, it won’t be of much interest if you’d actually sit down and listen to it.
In fact, for the first 17 months, all that was heard was the sound of “the organ’s bellows being inflated”.
Question: But why 639?
Answer: The Halberstadt organ was 639 years old in the year 2000.
Source
The BBC, Feb 2003
Popularity: 1% [?]
They Live by Night is a Swedish music group.
“Catching Up” is a song off their second album released October 2008.
The music video won the best video category at the 2009 Swedish MTV / Grammy Awards.
It’s slow – as in movements in slow motion.
As you heard, the music is nowhere near slow!
Popularity: 1% [?]
Enya is one of the very few musicians whose songs I dig despite their lack of use of guitars.
On Your Shore was never released as a single, and I think it should have.
It’s off Enya’s second album, Watermark released 1988.
I think it’s the world’s greatest super slow song ever; other slowies would’ve made me nod off, this one still sounds fabulous 20 years on.
What do you think?
Popularity: 1% [?]
Japanese professional wrestlers The Great Muta (Keiji Mutoh) and Hiroshi Hase fought in 1992. Muta shed an “incredible amount” of blood in that match, that by the end of the match, he looked like this:
So much so that the “Muta Scale” was created as a result, to judge the severity of bladejobs.
This is the full video of that match (20+ minutes long):
Some people say 2 other matches were even worse: Axl Rotten vs Ian Rotten Taipei & Foley vs Funk King death matches.
Have you seen a better gore-fest in the history of pro wrestling?
Popularity: 2% [?]
As reported by Ben Anderson, BBC Panorama reporter on 6th April 2009.
He spent 3 months in Dubai and wrote:
I no longer think of the seven star Burj Al Arab hotel when I think of Dubai, but of emaciated, wretched men, lining up for buses before the sun has risen, resigned to the fact that their hard day’s work wouldn’t earn them enough to buy a round of coffee here. It works out incredibly well for the developers – they can charge first world fortunes for the dream villas and apartments, but pay third world salaries to the men actually building them.
Dubai: From riches to rags.
… Looks like one better head to Westgate instead …
Popularity: 1% [?]
It was in the movie Forbidden Kingdom, released April 2008.
The story of the movie is based on the Chinese epic “Journey to the West”, one of the four classic novels of Chinese Literature. The novel tells the story of the Buddhist monk Tang Sanzhuang’s pilgrimage to India during the time of the Tang dynasty to get some Buddhist scriptures.
Jackie Chan played Lu Yan / Old Hop, the famous Taoist Saint in Chinese mythology, while Jet Li played the Monkey King / the Silent Monk.
I agree with some people who commented that this should’ve been done earlier in their careers, when they were faster and stronger.
Still, this scene between two martial arts legends is definitely still worth watching.
youtube link (embedding disabled)
I wouldn’t say it’s the best on-screen match-up I have ever seen, there’s at least another film released in 2008 that had a better fight scene, and that Bruce Lee v Chuck Norris scene in the 1970s remains the reference standard.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Hee Ah Lee (born 1985) of South Korea was born with 2 fingers on each hand, due to a medication her mother took.
However, her performances on the piano were so unbelieveable that people thought it’s an elaborate hoax.
However, the truth is she’s real, and an internationally acclaimed pianist to boot.
Check this out:
She was also born with disfigured legs and slight brain injury.
This condition is called “1st grade Congenital Limb Deformity.”
When Lee was a pre-schooler her mother decided to take her for piano lessons because:
(i) it would help her strengthen her hands so she could hold a pencil;
(ii) if she could master the piano, she could master anything.
However, for half a year one piano school after another turned them down.
Then, a year later Lee won the grand prize in a piano concert for Kindergarten students.
At age 7 Lee won a national level competition: the National Handicap Conquest Contest. She received her award from the Korean President.
Lee is 22 now, and has had many awards and appearances.
Her first album: “Hee-ah, a Pianist with Four Fingers” is slated for release in June 2009.
She said it was no plain sailing learning the piano, but added: “as time went by, the piano became my source of inspiration and my best friend.”
Truly inspiring stuff.
Popularity: 1% [?]
