You are currently browsing the monthly archive for October, 2008.
We came. We danced. We conquered. This is how zombies will take over the world, in style.
[photo by Jose Ole]
This year marked the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s Thriller video coming out (Dec. 2, 1983), and to celebrate, Thrill the World organized a massive simultaneous dance of the Thriller across 91 cities in 12 countries. Pretty much it was about 4000 zombies from all over the world, from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, Canada to South Africa, doing the Thriller at the same time. Impressive, aint it?
In order to learn the dance, we went to Thriller boot camp the day before the big event and practiced for about 3-4 hours. We were still a little shaky on the steps. That was not the only time to go learn the steps, but it was the only one we could attend. On the magical day (Oct. 25, 2008), my friends and I gathered up at the Long Center in Austin, TX, where we joined 876 other zombies. The official dance was at 1:00pm CTS, but we got there at 11am to have the Guinness World Record people sign us in and so we can squeeze in a couple more practices as well as get our zombie faces on. When the moment came, all 881 zombies rocked out some killer moves. If you missed it, here’s a clip of the event. I’ve never been a part of anything this grand, it was exhilarating. FYI, I’m almost in the dead center (no pun intended) wearing a green flannel shirt and zombie makeup).
Now for some cold hard facts:
- In 2007, the record was set at 1,722 zombies dancing the Thriller simultaneously in multiple locations around the world.
- The record for the most zombies in one location was held by middle school in England with 147 zombies.
- The top 5 cities that contributed the most number of undead are:
- Austin, TX, USA – 881
- Gurnee, IL, USA – 334
- Seattle, WA, USA – 195
- Corpus Christi, TX, USA – 150
- Kelowna, BC, Canada – 132
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As you can see by the figures, the top city (Austin, TX) had more zombies than the next top 4 cities put together!
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The grand total for number of zombies dancing the Thriller is an amazing 4,177. This includes zombies from Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Ireland, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Scotland, United States of America, and Wales.
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You can double check my figures as well as get some cool-ass information about this event and watch the videos of all locations that participated at both at Thrill the World and Thrill the World, Austin. You can also get links for the instructional videos and guides so you too can dance the Thriller!
I don’t wanna say that one city is better, or cooler, or funner than another, but people in Austin, Texas sure do know how to have fun! The people that organized everything in Austin, from the dance lessons to the craziness of organizing everyone were the awesome people of the Alamo Drafthouse. This movie theater has the coolest events, this being the coolest. With that being said, it’s still an amazing thing that more than 4000 people from all over the world got together to do this. Too all of the people in all these countries I gotta say “THANK YOU”. You are all awesome. To the countries that didn’t participate, you are lame and should organize something for next year. I’ll be there next year defending the title.
I do want to thank Nicholas, Heather, Drea, and Kirk for making this even one of the coolest things I’ve done in my whole life! Also havin my mom out in the crowd of spectators made it even more special. When she got home she was braggin to her friends like she just came from a 3rd grade recital.
Would you like to learn how to do the Thriller? Of course you would. I can’t think of anyone that wouldn’t want to know how to dance it. If you can’t dance if your life depended on it, well that’s not my problem. These instructional videos break it down to good pieces so even a real zombie could dance it, so get off your fat “living” ass and start practicing. To get your whistle wet, here’s a little clip to get you started with the zombie steps. Remember the Zombie Claws, and do it like the undead!
Dear lady smoker,
I want to tell you that you’re not a completely unattractive person. I guess in a scale of 1 to 10, you would probably be like a 5 or 6. You aint Americas next top model, but you’re not the Cryptkeeper either. I just want to warn you that the second you lit up, you lost some points there. I guess what I’m trying to say is that smoking makes you look ugly.
For some reason, when women smoke, it makes them look a little bit cheap and unattractive. And by a little, I mean by a lot. I equate smoking to wearing a tube top or bad make up, it just doesn’t look good. The only way smoking looks good is if an extremely attractive woman does it. Sorry, but you’re not that good looking to start off. For example,
Smoking only looks good if the woman smoking is already hot, wouldn’t you agree? Fugly only gonna look fuglier and slutty gonna look cheap. I’m not saying you should feel bad that you’re not a supermodel, in fact, I prefer people to be average, just like me. All I’m saying is that if you’re average lookin (like the majority of us), then you shouldn’t smoke.
Now before I get you all upset and call me sexist, I have to say that smoking affects men in the same way! An attractive man chillin at the bar will instantly look less attractive once he puts a cigarette in his mouth. Also, having a cigarette in your hand makes you look stupid, like you got some problems with your fingers. And don’t get me started about the douchebaggery of having an unlit ciggie on your ear like a pencil.
In conclusion, please stop smoking because it makes you look ugly. And if you a butterface, then by all means, get you some nicorette.
Sincerely, Me.
Here’s a video I found of a dad interviewing his daughter about Star Wars. You can tell she has been instructed in the awesome ways of geekness. Of all the geeks, dorks, nerds, and back-table rejects I’ve known, this has got to be the cutest, most adorable geek in the world!. From the counter on the Youtube thing, this video has been viewed over 9 MILLION times. If that is accurate, then probably a good chunk of you have already seen it. To those that haven’t , make sure you turn up the volume to understand every word she says, you don’t wanna miss an iota of cuteness, and make sure you’re sittin down. You will undoubtedly experience a cuteness overload.
token pachyderm
of nonoptional patience,
do elephants jump?
People keep bashing Sarah Palin for not having any experience with foreign relations. It’s true that she has said some utterly stupid comments that only reaffirm this. You might say that I also have said some doozies on this blog. But guess what I’m not runnin for V.P. Anyhoot, I’m straying from my point that I have found proof that Palin actually does have foreign relations experience.
Apparently she went to a Spanish-speaking country and even learned Spanish to talk to the locals. Having impressed the locals, they made her an honorary queen. My only concern is that she used Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 song. Lately she’s had bad luck with her DJs. First they played Barracuda by Heart without the band knowing, and Heart got hella mad. You’d think they learned thier lesson, but then they played some Jon von Jovi song, and he got hella mad. Dolly gonna whoop Palin’s butt if she didn’t ask permission first. And you know Dolly don’t mess around! But then again, you don’t mess with La Pequeña Sarah Palin.
Talkin about peace always gets me excited too.
I’m not talking about that summer camp where kids go to learn how N.A.S.A works and pretend to be astronauts. Actually one of my good friends was lucky enough to attend, and I resent him for it. He’s the nicest guy I know, so he deserved it. What I’m talking about is the 80’s movie Space Camp.
The first time I saw this movie was when it came out on one of those premium channels my dad used to get. Back then there wasn’t a specific industry that fed children with cinematic fodder like we have today, so kids’ movies weren’t as prevalent. When I watched this movie, I was mesmerized with the plot. Kids gettin to go to space camp, but then with a twist. They get shot up into outer space!! OMG, that is my dream, to go to space would be pretty clutch! I also remembered the kid having a robot friend. Who doesn’t want a robot friend? That’s why Data in Star Trek is so popular. There’s also the “Back to the Future” chick as well as the other girl that’s kind of a ditz, but turns out she’s a super genius and John Travolta’s beard wife. The other day I was shopping at Target and saw this movie in the $5 bin, so I decided to get it. Hello, it’s a no-brainer! I watched it, and OMG I WAS DO DISSAPOINTED!!!
As you can see in the picture, this movie is jam-packed with superstar celebrities. First off there’s the lady from the Indiana Jones movie where they have to walk through that cave full of bugs. Then there’s the Back to the Future girl, Lea Thompson. C’mon, its Caroline in the City! I didn’t know this until I googled it, but River Phoenix is the little kid. I loved him in Gladiator. I think this was his theatrical debut. There’s also this guy who has a mustache, and I swear I’ve seen him in like 25 movies, but I can’t remember any of them. And of course, there’s also Lamar from Revenge of the Nerds. Now, clap your hands, everybody. Everybody, clap your hands! Not quite.
This movie was so boring and unbelievable. I wanted to smack all of the characters. Starting with Indiana Jones lady, she didn’t get to be pilot, ooooh. Now she’s stuck babysittin these kids that paid good money to go to space camp, and she treats these kids like dirt. If I had gone to spacecamp, bitch better not give me no ‘tude, or I’m gettin a refund and they can pay for their own damn Hubble. Then there was that cocky guy that can bend all the rules so he gets to go out with the girl. First, you aint Ferris Beuler, secondly dude aint gonna get no action with those horrendous hawaiian shirts. Lea Thompson also needed to get some action cuz she was a frigid twit the whole time. The kid was ok, but the robot needed to go. They tried to make R2D2, but cooler. Exsqueeze me, you can’t make R2D2 cooler, he’s the coolest.
The only saving grace in this movie are the ditzy girl that figured out how to communicate with mission control when they’re stranded in outer space. She was awesome. They should also given Lamar more screen time, he made me laugh even when he was all serious.
My biggest problem with this movie is I used to have such fond memories about it. You shoulda seen me when I found it at the store, public geekgasm. After watching it, the dissapointment on my face was apparent. How can something I used to hold dear let me down so harshly? I was about to throw the movie away, but I couldn’t. Now I keep it on my bookcase to remind me that not everything in my childhood is as I remember it. If I hadn’t re-watched Space Camp, I guarantee you I would still love it. In an effort to correct an injustice, I will give the character of Lamar more screen time. Enjoy.
ipsilateral,
knife around the other’s back
sharing monkey bowls
I listen to disco music when I go running. There, I said it. Everyone has their skeletons in the closet. I think it’s kinda funny what some people are ashamed of admitting. Well, to maybe start the ball rolling, here are just a few things that I would never even think of admitting to liking. In the future I will come back to this topic in hopes that some people out there will contribute one or few things.
1. I listen to disco music while running. I know it may not be a news flash to some people, but first of all admitting I have disco music in my MP3 player is bad enough. The thing is, when my endorphins get goin, the best way to keep them elevated is to run harder and faster. I’ve tried to run to techno and hip-hop, but that shit just don’t cut it. One day while running I pretty much hit the wall as Amii Steward’s Knock on Wood came on. I told myself “Cap’n…” (that’s what I call myself in my head) “I’m about to run outta gas. What would happen if I kick in the afterburner and run to the beat of this song?” So I did it. At first I did hurt and was hoping not to pass out, but I focused all my attention on the beat of the music. Something magical happened, kinda like goin into Ludicrous speed. To keep a long story short, I “went Plaid!”. Ever since then, I use disco in my runnin.
2. I am madly in love with fried bologna sandwiches. Ok, before you start gathering debate topics on how eating bologna will shorten my life and worse, make me flatulent, irritable, blind, and give me backne, and cankles, hear me out. Both my parents worked in a meat processing plant for 10+ years, each. They not only know how that shit is made, along with hot dogs and every kind of sausage, but they shared this information with me and the whole family, very graphically. I have some trouble eating hot dogs, and sausages, but bologna is awesome. It’s not that bad though. I only eat beef bologna. I don’t want all that pimento and cheese shit embedded in my bologna, that shit is nasty. Plain bologna for me, please. These sandwiches don’t just have bologna, they also have tomatoes, lettuce, mayo/mustard depending on the mood, and the secret ingredient…sauteed slices of potato (kinda like scalloped, but without that cheese stuff). Heavens to Betsy, that shit’s the bomb!
Pikachu's bigger in person.
3. If my life depended on it, I could hold my own in a Pokemon duel. One dreary Kansas afternoon, there was a sudden storm and there was a black out. Without TV or more importantly a Playstation, my brother and I were becoming increasingly and desperately bored. My brother was hounding me to play with him his little card game to pass the hours. I refused, but boredom got the best of me. Hours later, we were entrenched in a heated battle over Pokemon supremacy. Because of my higher intellect and cat-like reflexes, I was able to not only pick up the strategy of the game, but even give a Pokemon expert that was my brother a run for his money. Actually you don’t really need cat-like reflexes, I just wanted to let you know I have them. Since I’ve never owned any cards of my own, I had to use my brother’s. Still, he was impressed.
To tell ya the truth, I’m not too terribly proud of admitting I do the above. But hell, we all aint perfect, we all have things we kind of are ashamed of.
You know who you are, now know this… I hate you! I’ve talked before how to spot my arch nemesis the douche bag here. Well, my hatred is not confined to the Douche bag, or D-bag. It also includes, but is not limited to, any of the following people that commit one or more of the following atrocities to good taste:
Too busy to wear out your jeans? Buy them already worn out!
1. Wearing brand new ”distressed” jeans. You know those people. You can usually find them in those overpriced stores in the mall buying over-priced shit like already torn jeans, baseball caps, and t shirts. The stuff they sell the Salvation Army wouldn’t even take, they would think it’s too worn out. And the kicker is this stuff is incredebly over priced. If you want to look like a D-bag and get you a pair of already worn out jeans for only $100, go to that store in the mall, you know the one, they usually go by their initials (hint: Alpha & Foxtrot). Incidentally, if you google them, this is their description: The highest quality, casual, All-American lifestyle clothing for aspirational men and women. I shit you knot!!!!
2. Clapping when dishes break. I’m at a restaurant, any restaurant. I’m having a pleasent dining experience. Conversation is flowing perfectly amongst all of the atendees. All of a sudden, one of the waiters drops a glass or plate and it not only shatters it, but also the dynamic of every conversation in a 20 foot radius. No biggie, you feel bad for the person, but tcarry on where you left off. Then it happens. A complete effin dumbass starts clapping and shouting words like “yeah” or “nice going”. If it wasn’t for the strict rules of ettiquette I adhere to, I’d get up, take my plate, and go break it over that loudmouth idiot’s head! Its embarrasing enough for the poor waiter that broke something, now you gonna go out of your way to kick him while he’s down. That shit don’t fly!
Guess what else I have is fake.
3. Girls (and God forbid guys) with colored contacts. Nothing says “I’m ashamed of my genetics but too cheap to get a nose job or implants” like colored contacts. And not only colored contacts, but the ones that are incredebly obviously fake. I once worked with this hispanic girl that had brown eyes but wore blue contacts. Not only did she have very pretty brown eyes, but the ho had 20/20 vision! Why is it that some people need to change something so trivial? Dont get me wrong, everyone has insecurities. I wish I was taller. Since I can’t change it, I’m not gonna go around wearing stilts all the time. That would be stupid. Not as stupid as fake colored contacts though.
Lovely Leilani,
So glad we are to see you,
We just hacked right in
