What’s a flash mob?

It’s when a large group of people suddenly assemble in a public place and perform an unusual action for a brief time. And to the surprise of Oprah and numerous viewers, one such performance was executed during the recent kickoff for the 24th season of Oprah’s show.

With a group of about 21,000 people, the choreographed dance was done to the song “I Gotta Feeling” as performed by the Black Eyed Peas on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile .

It all started with just one girl doing a rather “bouncy” dance routine in front of the huge crowd. Then gradually, just like a viral infection — the dance bug spread across to the rest of the crowd.

The event was produced by Michael Gracey who was also responsible for a famous similar flash mob dance at a Liverpool train station.

So how did they do it?

It seems that long before the show started, professional dancers collaborated and taught a very good sampling of the crowd the moves for the dance. They tried to make the participants as diverse as they really can. There were people from all walks of life, from 65-year-old women to 16-year old high school kids.

For a video on how they actually made it all work, you can watch this video from Oprah’s site.

When Paula Abdul hinted as early as last year that she was leaving the top rating reality show American Idol, numerous possible replacements ran through my mind. But I have to admit, this particular possibility never entered my mind.

And now, presenting the newest judge for American Idol…

Yup. It’s true. Top daytime host Ellen DeGeneres is going to jump into the evening primetime slot and be the 4th judge for AI. She will be completing the judging cast for the singing reality show together with Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi.

It’s not that I don’t believe Ellen will be a good judge. It just never occurred to me that AI will be getting a judge outside of the music industry. This is a surprising decision indeed from the producers of the show.

Fans would definitely miss not seeing Abdul on the panel. But for sure Ellen is going to bring a fresh new perspective. The producers are targeting this will be enough to sustain or further lift viewership for the upcoming 9th season of the show.

I guess it is true, you never know what’s going to happen in reality TV.

It’s actually a non-fiction bestseller written by Jon Ronson tackling the U.S. Army’s exploration of New Age concepts and the potential military applications of the paranormal.

But hey, you have to admit. That’s quite a catchy title for a book. Right?

You can just bet Hollywood won’t stop with it simply being that.

And true enough, latest news have it that the film adaptation of the said book is now out of production.

It’s starring 4 versatile actors that are great in any other genre, but seemingly at their best when in comedy. The upcoming offbeat comical flick casts George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges.

And adding to the winning formula is the funny actor-producer-writer Grant Heslov who was tagged to direct the film.

If the guy looks familiar it’s because you might have seen him playing various roles in major movies like True Lies, Scorpion King, Congo, Dante’s Peak, The Birdcage, Enemy of the State, etc.

As with the book, the inspired-by-real-life movie offers glimpses into a secret Army unit tasked with creating soldiers with paranormal powers. Powers as strange as the ability to pass through walls, tell the future, and even the absurd “cloud bursting”. Now with just that description alone, the movie is already a must see for me. hehehe

And with the movie up for release this coming 6th of November, the latest trailer is now out.

I’m predicting that as more advertisements come out, clamor for this absurdly interesting movie will definitely increase within the coming months.

What is Nord?

It’s a premium brand of musical keyboards from Sweden that are actually assembled by hand. From organs to synthesizers, their products have been reputed to be simply amazing and exquisite. And to top it all, they look so well crafted that they exhibit a certain attitude being distinctively red and all.

I’ve been hearing and reading of this brand before. But I never actually got to see one. That is, until a couple of weeks ago.

I was lucky enough that I got invited to the grand launching of Nord here in the Philippines. The event was hosted by Lyric, who is the company responsible for bringing in the said brand locally.

The event was graced by featured performances from Fuseboxx, Mike’s Apartment, and Cruz’in. While being treated to the excellent band performances, I had the chance to get some snaps. I’m sharing here just a few of them:

That night, I personally witnessed what talented musicians can do with just some of those bright red keyboards. I was at awe while I witnessed the talent of the different keyboardists with the matching versatility of their red instruments. It was one hell of a swing. From “progressive rock” to “soul music” then to “jazz fusion”!

Simply fantastic is how I would personally describe that night! Oh, and did I mention that the Nord keyboards were red?

It’s here now!

The first official trailer for M. Night’s movie rendition of the popular animated series from Nickelodeon – Avatar: The Last Air Bender – is now out for public viewing.

Noticeably, the film has now been re-titled to The Last Airbender. This is clearly to avoid confusion with another upcoming movie from James Cameron bearing the title Avatar.

Still slated to be released for July next year, this movie has already gotten a lot of mixed reactions from fans of Aang and the other characters from the show. There are considerable concerns on how Shyamalan would handle production of the live action adaptation. Everyone is hoping that the acclaimed director remains loyal to the “spirit” or true essence of the original story line.

There had already been a lot “discussed” about the casting choice for the key roles in the movie. But hard core fans are still worried that the movie might end up having the now almost “distinct” feel from M. Night’s movies.

Here is what’s known so far as cast selection is concerned:

• Noah Ringer, an acting newcomer will play the main protagonist of the story — Aang
• Nicola Peltz, will play Katara of the Water nation
• Jackson Rathbone, from Twilight fame will play Katara’s brother — Sokka
• Jessica Jade Andres, will play Sokka’s Kyoshi warrior love interest — Suki
• Dev Patel, from the recent hit Slumdog Millionaire gets to play the primary antagonist in the story, the exiled prince of the Fire nation — Zuko

Based from this trailer, I think the movie could still be on its way to being a very good one. Hopefully, the feeling eventually translate for the entire movie.