alamoing

thrilling the pants off of a world record

today i have to give henri major props for pulling of something incredibly amazing, nay, WORLD RECORD BREAKING.

and i know sometimes i say “world record breaking” when i’m exaggerating, but this time, I’M FOR SERIOUS.

on saturday, october 25, 2008, 881 people showed up at the long center in austin, tx to perform the dance from michael jackson’s “thriller.”

look at all of those zombies!!!!!!

and now, watch them all dance! incredible!

to experience the sheer scope of the event, here’s a great bird’s eye view. i totally feel like this is some kind of massive half time show, i.e. if drill teams did this, maybe i would like football more.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5jN4OUofys]

you may be wondering, how did 881 people just *happen* to know the dance and come together to perform it?

well, for the last 8 months (maybe longer), henri has been hosting michael jackson sing-alongs and leading hours (HOURS) of dance practice in conjunction with thrill the world, an annual event where people around the world perform the “thriller” dance at the same time.

and this year, austin broke the world record!!!!

obvs i’m biased, but austin’s success is totally due to all of henri’s hard work. and i am so proud (and relieved!!) to see that his efforts paid off! and were documented via several news outlets!

yeah, that is henri, underneath the scary zombie make-up. it was really gross up close, btw.

speaking of gross, i’m also totally inspired by all of the people who showed up to participate, esp. the people covered in fake blood.

you would think that the “thriller” dance might only attract a certain crowd, but the awesome thing (well, one of them) about this event is that all KINDS of people participated!

i mean, those ladies could be teachers! or realtors! or business execs! and they are all totally SCARY AND FULL OF THRILLER DANCINESS!

“thrill the world” accepts ALL people, including every version of michael jackson:

and even people who aren’t dressed up like zombies and are inexplicably wearing tie-dye, like the mayor:

that’s right, mr. mayor… keep it weird. yeah.

i snagged all of these photos from the statesman, so if you want to see more zombieness, go here.

and, finally, a video that really captures the whole experience, from practice to the final, WORLD RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE!

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqfd_XE3Lf0]

WAY TO THRILL, AUSTIN!

and congratulations, henri, on what i’m sure is the first of many, many world records.

LINKS

jon hamm was on SNL over the weekend, and even though he’s no tina fey, he still pretty much don drapered (aka ruled) everything. check out these two videos (the “don draper guide” is my fave).

OMGGGG. THIS IS GOING TO GIVE ME NIGHTMARES. and just in time for halloween! thanks, nature!

yes, there’s more to (street art) life than bansky: check out this list of over 40 incredible artists.

i really thought the “whassup” joke stopped being funny about five years ago but this video is a awesome.

EW posted a list of 24 super annoying characters from TV, including dawn (STAB), dawson and ross. dan made the list for GG but, hello, what about little j?!!

it looks like slash might be releasing a solo album… as long as it includes a video of him playing a guitar solo in the middle of nowhere, i’m cool.

© 2008 Poshdeluxe.