amusing

Biggest ever forklift truck boo boo

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:47:47 +0100

Since it was posted on Russian site Scandalim on Tuesday, this video has exploded on the Russian web.

Posté sur YouTube par scandalim

According to a Scandalim manager when contacted by FRANCE 24, the scene took place in a warehouse managed by a major Russian alcohol supplier. Nobody was seriously injured.

Two drunks pick a fight with cross-dressing cage-fighters

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:55:18 +0200

This CCTV footage shows a couple of drunks picking fights on the streets of Swansea, Wales. Nothing unusual there then. Until they approach a pair of what they think are transvestites. In fact, the men, dressed in heels, wigs, and hot pants, are two professional cage fighters on their way to a fancy dress stag night.

The drunks notice the cross-dressers at 1:05. Before that we see them fighting with several others, including a man dressed as Spiderman.

The attackers were sentenced this week to a four-month community order, during which they will be electronically tagged. The footage, filmed on August 30, 2009, was shown in court. Meanwhile, the pair from the "Swansea Predators" cage fighting team have become local stars and a hit on YouTube; the footage of their feat has already received over 130,000 views in less than 24 hours.

Give blood! We don't...

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:55:16 +0200

Hard to encourage people to give blood when you're not willing to do it yourself. That's the story of two Iranian officials, after journalists released footage of them making fake donations.

The director and an employee of a blood transfusion centre in Yazd, central Iran, decided to get local film crews to document them giving blood as a way of getting others to do the same. They didn't actually want to give up any blood however. But the result, seen in this video, probably got them more attention in any case.

Video posted on IranNegah.com

Taiwanese serial kisser stalks the streets of Paris

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:53:13 +0200

At the Sacré Coeur basilica, Montmartre.

In just two months, she's claimed 54 victims. A Taiwanese student has decided to immortalise her stay in Paris by photographing herself kissing 100 strangers and posting the evidence on her blog. Romantic? Far from it, according to some of her fellow countrymen.

Yang Ya-ching is studying music in Paris. She began her "Kiss 100 men in Paris project" in mid-July, and only half way through her challenge, has so far attracted two million visitors to her blog and hundreds of comments. Some of them supportive, others, a little outraged...

Ikea, perfect getaway for the Chinese

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:53:09 +0200

Posted on kdslife.

For most people, Ikea is the place where you spend Saturday afternoon waiting in a long queue to pay for some inexpensive furniture. Not for the Chinese. They've discovered that spending the day reading, sleeping and chatting on a brand new black sofa is much cheaper if you don't leave the shop with it.

For some weeks now, Chinese Web users have been amusing themselves by posting photos taken in Shanghai's Ikea store. Passers-by stop to stare at what appears to be residents of the Swedish chain. It's not only the beds and the sofas that attract nap-seekers. The restaurant is pretty popular too. It seems that coffee, biscuits and re-fill soda in an air-conditioned canteen is a great way to spend your weekend in Shanghai.

A former Ikea worker posted this comment on an online forum:

"I worked in the bed section of Ikea. We often had to ask clients to leave because they were snoring. They were very angry to be woken up and some even made complaints to the manager."

Can you laugh about suicide bombers?

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:20:40 +0200

An online comedy about a group of Bradford-based Muslim extremists planning a suicide bombing has been released on YouTube. Hilarious or disrespectful? One of our British Muslim Observers gives his reaction.

"Living with the Infidels" is the creation of London-based film-maker Aasaf Ainapore, who says he was born into a Muslim family but is not a believer himself. The blurb goes as follow:

"The series centres around a bumbling, Bradford-based terror cell. Initially set on a path to martyrdom, Yorkshire's jihadi warriors discover the West isn't as bad as it seems. Tempted by the likes of Man U, cable TV and ample Abi upstairs, what's a man to do? Will they find Paradise in the arms of seventy-two virgins, or is Shangri-La [utopia] closer to home, propped up at the bar in The Dog and Duck?"

The series, which launched on 5 August, has come under fire from relatives of suicide bombing victims (particularly 7/7), who consider the subject too sensitive to be laughed over. It has also faced criticism from a Muslim association in Bradford, which claims that it's misrepresentative of Muslim youth. However, not everybody is disappointed. The series has already got a following on Facebook.

Bush in Japan: slow, stupid and dressed in a floral suit

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:41:40 +0200

An ad campaign for a tea-based drink that pokes fun of former US President George Bush, has been on the Japanese airwaves for over a month.

The ads for a flavoured tea-based drink called Herbal Clear promises to cleanse users of all "bad things". As an example of a "bad thing", the Japanese campaign presents former US President George W. Bush. Played by actor Brent Mendenhall, who on this occasion stars as the president of a company, not a country, Bush is depicted as stupid and ridiculous. A marketing strategy that doesn't seem to shock Japanese viewers...

Jacko’s “Smooth Criminal’’, Saudi style

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:16:03 +0200

One of our Observers for Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Al-Omran, alerted us to these videos. Watching the first one, you might think that southern Saudis are choreographing dance routines to Michael Jackson classics. Watch the second however, and, disappointingly, things fall into place.

Posted on YouTube by "Talal" on May 31, the video has already been viewed more than 100,000 times in just over two weeks.

Posted May 28 by “zaferhadi”, this is the original video. With 400 hits, it’s far less popular than its jazzier sibling. Ahmed tells us that it’s a men’s folk dance called Ardha, which is practised in the south of the country during festivities.

Putin the superhero banished from Ukrainian airwaves

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:47:35 +0200

"Vova", commonly known as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, is a superhero according to Ukrainian band Dress Code, who have released a song devoted to the merits of the James Bond-defying, child-saving, universally adored Russian. Banned in Ukraine, the video is causing quite a stir.

The band behind the controversial homage is certainly profiting from its prohibition. Since the song "And Vova Rules" was taken off air for "political reasons", the illustrated music video has become a huge online hit in both Ukraine and Russia, where, incidentally, it was never shown on TV in the first place. Putin propaganda, a big joke, or a publicity stunt? Whatever it is, the video's already been viewed over 350,000 times.

The illustrations are pretty self-explanatory, but here are a few of the lyrics:

"James Bond isn't fit to shine his shoes. He's a superman, he's adored by the rich, by celebrities, by professors, by village folk and the West. He'll always be there in your time of need. He'll always protect you. If necessary he'll whack bad guys, even in a toilet. Indeed, Vova rules, and, surely, he rules just the way it should be done."

An unusual advertisement for Chanel

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:53:23 +0100

The Chinese blogosphere is quite taken with this photo documentary, originally a how-to posted on a forum, which shows a rather unattractive girl making herself beautiful with the use of Chanel make-up products and a meticulous application regime.

We were directed to the post by one of our Observers in China, Michael Anti.

I just found this funny. This girl was only trying to show others her ability to make herself up nicely, carefully explaining how to apply the make-up beneath each picture. Nobody really knows who she is except that she calls herself Mina. What's so amusing is that many boys here are really shocked to see what a pretty girl might have started out as."

You can do even better with Photoshop - see our post on the retouch transformation.