Food court musical by folks who cooked up frozen Grand Central

by Jamie Rhein on

A friend and I were looking through a few Improv Everywhere videos, the folks who created Frozen Grand Central, and loved this one so much we watched it twice and then showed it to others.

For anyone who has ever eaten in a food court anywhere in the world, imagine what it might be like if folks broke out into song, but not just any song–one that fit the location and the situation. This particular food court is in a shopping mall in Los Angeles.

One of the details I liked about this effort is the diversity of the entertainers, as well as, the audience members who had no idea what exactly was taking place as they chewed their food.

I loved the woman with the “baby.”

Can I get a napkin, please?

Japanese company reaching out to socially awkward young males

by Aaron Hotfelder on

A Japanese company named Avex has discovered a novel way to serve the needs of some of its younger, socially withdrawn customers. The company has recently produced a new DVD designed to help these so-called hikikimori become more comfortable around young women.

The DVD is called Miteiru dake, or “Just Looking,” and features attractive young Japanese women simply staring straight ahead, occasionally blinking or saying something like “Good Morning.” The idea of the DVDs, according to one article, is “to get young males who aren’t used to socializing with women to become more accustomed to making eye contact and/or handle the fact that a sentient being sits across from them and awaits interaction. The DVD hopes to cure those afflicted with shyness so that they may rejoin society.”

So do these videos actually work? Who knows– but they sure are popular. The Japanese staring goddess known as Magibon has made similar videos and become a Youtube sensation. This video alone has been viewed over three million times.

It seems the vast majority of the over 21,000 comments the video has received are variations on the same thing: “I don’t get it.”

Neither do I.

Gadling Take FIVE July 25– August 1

by Jamie Rhein on

Since I missed last week’s Gadling Take FIVE, I am including posts from before last Friday and including more than five. As usual, it’s hard to pick.

  • Start off with Iva’s post about her trip to the Community Baboon Sanctuary in Belize. Like she said, don’t let the mosquitoes stop you.
  • Scott personally tested Travelon toiletry sheets. After reading what he wrote, I think these would work great in a pinch.
  • Josh sniffed out airfare deals to get you to Asia and the hotel room bargains to be found in Las Vegas.
  • After reading Jerry’s Talking Travel interview with Adelle and Ron Milavsky, authors of Take Your RV to Europe, you might find yourself considering this interesting travel option, particularly if you have a few months at hand.
  • If busy airports are not your thing, check out Jeffrey’s post on the busiest to know which ones to avoid. Atlanta’s Hartfield’s International Airport is first on the list.
  • Anna passed on the news that TSA shoe scanners are being tested at LAX so that passengers may not have to remove their shoes anymore.
  • And, in case this slipped past your radar, even though it was just posted today, Discovery Channel has a casting call for an Alaskan adventure TV show. You might have to beat out Aaron, though. He wrote up the post, and I think he should totally go for it.

Want to be on the Discovery Channel’s Alaskan Adventure?

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Forget The Bachelor, Big Brother, and Rock of Love. This is a casting call to get excited about.

The Discovery Channel is looking for several adventurous cast members for a new show set to take place in the gorgeous and challenging environment of Alaska. According to the casting information:

“Discovery Channel’s newest series raises the bar for our adventurers by sending them on an epic journey through the wild. The challenge — if you dare to accept it — is to join a band of fellow explorers and journey through some of the harshest climates and roughest terrains in the world: the Alaskan wilderness.”

Applicants should submit a recent photo of themselves and an explanation of why they should be chosen for this journey. They may also send in a two- to three-minute video detailing who they are and where they’re from.

The casting call is open until August 8, so hurry up and submit an application already.

Men are not allowed to walk dogs (or cats) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia due to newly passed law

by Jamie Rhein on

The reason why men aren’t allowed to walk dogs or take cats out on a stroll in Riyadh as of Wednesday is because they aren’t allowed to buy pets there any more. A hamster, maybe. A goldfish, probably, but not a dog or a cat. If a person has a pet already, the person can keep the pet, just not take it outside. As of Wednesday, the ban went into effect.

According to this AP article, some men, it seems, were using their furry friends as a way to get up close and personal with women and bother families–a big no no in Saudi Arabia. The sexes are to be separate from each other. Dogs and cats are ice breakers for bridging the divide.

As bans go, this one sounds a bit loosey goosey since as of the writing of the article, people didn’t know about the ban, including a pet shop owner. The other detail the article pointed out is that it’s not often that people walk dogs in Riyadh anyway and when do people really walk cats?

From what the people who were interviewed said, it doesn’t sound as if people are planning to follow the ban, just like what happened when there was a ban on cell phones with cameras back in 2004. The fear there was that people of the opposite sex would use the cameras to take pictures of each other. People didn’t go along with that ban so it was dropped.

If you are planning on heading to Saudi Arabia, I’d leave the pooch or kitty at home unless you don’t mind them having a stay under the care of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the name for the religious police who are doing the pet confiscating.

One thought about this ban is that it’s really to control pet ownership which is seen as a Western influence. Dog ownership has not been part of Saudi culture until more recently. Cats, though, have, so it is unclear why they are being picked on.

Dispatches from around the world