UNCONVENTIONAL WORLD RECORDS

Last month I wrote about the commonly held view that Queen’s Live Aid set in 1985 is the greatest live rock performance of all time, but after watching for the first time Jimi Hendrix’s set at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967, I think Jimi at least equalled Freddie in terms of sheer entertainment value.

The Monterey Pop Festival is considered important in rock history, not least because it’s the precursor to the legendary Woodstock festival held 2 years later, where Hendrix headlined.

But, if not for his legendary performance at Monterey, his first-ever American show, he might not have made such an impact in the USA.

At Monterey, the 24-year old Hendrix’s set was 45 minutes long: a very fast arrangement of Howlin’ Wolf’s 1965 R&B hit “Killing Floor,” then an equally lively rendition of B.B. King’s 1964 R&B hit “Rock Me Baby,” Tim Rose’s “Hey Joe” and Bob Dylan’s 1965 Pop hit “Like a Rolling Stone.” The set ended with The Troggs “Wild Thing”, and Hendrix’s iconic act of burning his guitar on stage, then smashing it to bits and tossing pieces out to the delirious crowd who were watching Hendrix’s first-ever American show.

Watch how Hendrix performed “Wild Thing” in the following video: 40 years on, I think it’s still an incredible performance; for those wannabe rock stars, watch and learn from the master:

Click here to see the video

This is not a record to try to break, during any occasions whatsoever.

I wrote back in October 2006 about Steve Webster’s alcohol binge which I believe is a world record.

Just now, I read in The Star about Zhu Shaoyun, 31, a Chinese tourist in Singapore who died on 12th November 2007 after binge drinking “merely”:

(i) A jug of beer, followed by…
(ii) Several glasses of hard liquor (unidentified), followed by…
(iii) A 750ml bottle of Cordon Bleu brandy (in 30 minutes flat - in drinkers’ terminology, that’s akin to trying to sprint through a marathon - impossible to do)

She started at 5pm alone, then joined by several friends later.

Unsurprisingly, by 8pm she was not her usual self anymore. Zhu’s friends and his employees repeatedly urged her to stop, but in true stubborn-head style, didn’t listen.

A taxi sent her home, but upon reaching her house, she was foaming at the mouth and nose, looking pale and not breathing.

The taxi then went straight to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead around 10.50pm.

Source
The Star, 27th March 2008

I took the following video on 19th February 2008, around 9pm from the Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur monorail station.

By my calculation the caucasian guy was playing 6 instruments at once:
- didgeridoo
- a one-stringed instrument, a strange guitar like contraption which can be played with one hand: you move its body sideways to invoke a note slide
- drum
- cymbals and a percussion instrument on his right leg
- tambourine on his left leg

There are several videos on youtube of locals (KLites) playing didgeridoo, but always *only* didgeridoo and not going to extremes like this guy.

He was selling CDs of his music.

Does anybody know the name of the guy?

Click here to see the video

Apparently happened on Bulgarian Idol auditions, broadcast on Bulgarian TV 26th February 2008, when Valentina Hassan, who does not speak a word of English, sung the classic Harry Nilsson / Mariah Carey hit “Without You”.

Even the dialogue is funny, as she said she was going to sing a song called “Ken Lee”, and to a question as to whether she meant “Without You”, she empathically said “No!” Then at the end, when asked what language she had just sung in, she didn’t miss a beat when answering: “English!”

Has to be seen to be believed, this is at least the video of the year 2008:

Click here to see the video

The world’s best “photographer” does not use a camera - he uses an ordinary blue ballpoint pen.

Spaniard Juan Francisco Casas, 31 draws huge (up to 10 feet high), photograph-like images, like this one:

To prove that it’s a drawing and not a photograph, look at this closeup:

Click here to see more

The World Is Not Enough (1999) was the 19th Bond film. In it, Denise Richards played Dr. Christmas Jones, a nuclear physicist, Bond’s ally. She was reported to have said that she liked the role which was “brainy”, “athletic”, and had “depth of character, in contrast to Bond girls from previous decades.”

However, in 2008, Entertainment Weekly named her the worst ever Bond girl, an unlikely nuclear scientist who likes to wear tank tops and hot pants. Someone commented that “even Q didn’t have a gadget to help Bond escape from that disaster.”

A short video clip of her in action in the movie:

Click here to see the video

Made in 1962, Dr No was the first Bond film.

There’s a scene there where Ursula Andress, then 26, playing the role of Honey Rider, emerges from the sea wearing a bikini. She also has a knife strapped to her waist, and she’s holding 2 sea shells.

In 2003, that scene topped the UK’s Channel 4’s list of 10 sexiest scenes of all of film history.

Others say it’s iconic, and that Andress is the best Bond girl ever, in a UK Daily Mail poll published in February 2008. Malaysia’s Michelle Yeoh is rated the 7th best Bond girl.

The bikini was sold in an auction for US $61,500. Is a bikini worth that much, and is that scene as good as it’s touted to be?

You be the judge, check out that scene:

Click here to see the video

Vogue has long been considered the world’s top fashion magazine, having been around for more than 100 years. This is not to confuse the magazine with the other, called Men’s Vogue.

Hence, those who are lucky enough to be featured on the front cover are considered the world’s most fashionable people.

Usually only women are featured on the front cover, supermodels preferred.

But in 1992, Richard Gere broke all tradition when he became the first man to featured on its front cover, together with then-wife, supermodel Cindy Crawford. Not at all surprising isn’t it, it’s not like he needed to go for rhinoplasty in Chicago or anything like that

Gere was married to Crawford from 1991 to 1995. Unfortunately, I can’t find a picture of that page anywhere.

8 years later, in June 2000, the 2nd guy followed.

Click here to read the rest of this entry

A school in Danbury, Connecticut, USA, is being sued by 15-year old student Vinicios Robacher. He was sleeping in class, so what would the typical Malaysian teacher do? She would typically slam her hand on the offending students’ desk wouldn’t she? And that’s what Ms Melissa Nadeau did. But Mr Robacher took exception to that. He said he suffered “pain and very severe injuries to his left eardrum” since that incident on 4th December 2007.

That reminds me of other weird court cases which would never ever see the light of day in Malaysia.

In 2006, Kurt Prochaska, 39, broke into the home of Michael Rainiero in order to steal. Rainiero ordered Prochaska to leave. He didn’t, so he was shot in the back.

Almost a year later, Prochaska sued Rainiero from behind bars, saying the doctor didn’t need to shoot him, claiming that Rainiero “used excessive force to deal with the intruding plaintiff and alleges severe and permanent injuries, relentless pain, and loss of earning capacity”.

Of course, Rainiero claimed he shot Prochaska in self-defense, since he was asleep in bed when Prochaska intruded and “put his life, his wife’s life, and his two kids’ lives in jeopardy.”

Then, in July 2005, in New York, Dana Buckman entered the AutoZone store, brandished a pistol and demanded cash. Then employees Eli Crespo and Jerry Vega beat him with a pipe and held Buckman at bay with his own gun. Buckman was later sentenced to 18 years in prison. A year later, Buckman sued AutoZone, Crespo and Vega, claiming “they committed assault and battery and intentionally inflicted emotional distress.” Emotional distress????

Then, in 1999, in Norfolk, United Kingdom, Brendan Fearon, 32 and Fred Barras, 16 broke into the home of farmer Tony Martin, 50+.

Martin shot and killed Barras, and wounded Fearon.

As a result, he was jailed 5 years for killing Barras and 3 years for injuring Fearon. As if that’s not enough, Fearon sued him for compensation “for being unable to work since being shot in the legs”. Fearon also said he was “concerned about his long-term sexual functioning and he is very tearful when watching a film where someone dies.” He is also said to claim “he is afraid of fireworks, no longer enjoys ju-jitsu and kick-boxing and is depressed about television shows containing gunfire.”

Malaysia’s 12th General Election has probably the nation’s oldest ever MP candidate. She is 89-year old kain songket trader and granny-of-seven Maimun “Tok Mun” Yusof. Interestingly, she said she’s been trying to be candidate for 20 years, but “the EC has always rejected her nomination papers”, but this time she made it.

And in stark contrast to the norm of this day and age, she didn’t even bother to find a cosmetic surgeon in Los Angeles to make herself look more youthful.

If she managed to create a stunning upset and becomes the nation’s oldest MP, would she be the world’s oldest ever member of parliament?

Not by a some distance.

I have not found a definite answer to the question of who’s the world’s oldest ever MP, but for the United Kingdom at least, it’s believed to be Sir Francis Knollys (c.1550-1648) who was MP until his death at 97 (some say 98) years of age!

Samuel Young, MP at age 80 (pic taken 1902) [pic source]

If you say the 17th century is too long ago, hence verification is impossible, there was Samuel Young (1822-1918), the former MP for East Cavan, who was MP right until the day of his death at the age of 96 years and 63 days!

The Star, 28th Feb 2008