Entries For: July 2007
07/31/2007
CPDRC: Behind the Music with the "'Thriller' Prison"
Since we last covered CPDRC, the Philippine prison where inmates perform "Thriller" and other eye-popping routines, public interest has skyrocketed. So we were very excited to find this video, which goes behind-the-scenes to explain the progressive but strict policies that go into running this state-of-the-art facility.
Don't go thinking this place is a candyass Shangri-La with about as much penal punch as theater camp. Jazz hands or no jazz hands, CPDRC runs a tight ship, with an absolutely-no-gangs policy, plus and an intricate system of guard teams that heads off personal politics and corruption at the pass by preventing inmate/guard familiarity. While job training and other programs keep the focus on the end goal of rehabilitation, make no mistake -- this is still hard core hard time.
But if you're just interested in the dance program, you can skip ahead to about 5:12 or so.
07/30/2007
Christopher Walken Cooks a Chicken
Just when you think Christopher Walken can't get any cooler, he does. Seriously, is there a more awesome guy in all popular culture? The best thing about him is that he loves imitating himself almost as much as everyone loves imitating him. You know that film geek book series that boasts titles like Scorsese on Scorsese and Cassavetes on Cassavetes? With this guy, it's more like Walken on Walken on Walken.
This clip was submitted by Walken to the Web site Im Cooked. And it features the man himself preparing a delicious dish of baked chicken and pears. All this meal needs is -- that's right -- more cowbell.
07/26/2007
Merry Miller "interviews" Holly Hunter
I'm not above the slightly unseemly pleasure of schadenfreude. But sometimes you see something that goes right past "basking in someone else's embarrassment" and into "just darn sad."
In this clip, I feel bad for Merry Miller, and I feel bad for Holly Hunter, and I feel bad for the people who produce "What's the Buzz." I even feel bad for the intern fetching Merry Miller her coffee, who knows that when given the chance to interview an Oscar-winning actress, she wouldn't feel the need to say "we love the show" five times in the space of a four minute interview.
Then again, maybe if that intern had been more on top of the coffee situation, Merry Miller wouldn't have choked so badly. Ah, hindsight.
07/20/2007
Prison Inmates Perform "Thriller"
The 1500+ inmates of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Cebu City, Philippines, do a lot more than just languish in a cell. They have livelihood programs and personal savings accounts, allowing them to earn and save money for legal fees or the families they left behind. Perhaps even more impressive is what they do with the rest of their time: rehearse and perform elaborate parades and dance numbers, like the recreation of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" seen here.
The choreography, the coordination, and the precision are insane. The Rockettes have nothing on these guys. And they don't just do Michael Jackson numbers -- there's stuff from "Sister Act", a Black Eyed Peas number, even something called "The Jumbo Hot Dog."
Watch these guys in action, and you'll realize those guys from "Oz" were just... lame.
