Click here to view the embedded video.

Well, not ‘leaked,’ but just in time for the new Transformers movie, Patrick Boivin has posted this video of Bumblebee breakdancing.

Also in line with movies, here’s Bruce Lee p0wning Iron Man:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The TechnoViking will have you scratching your head for the first 90 seconds, then ROFLing for a while. Not enough yet? Watch him dance to “It’s a Piece Of Cake To Bake A Pretty Cake.” This one claims to be the original, and though the sound is bad the video quality is much better than the others.

Thing is, now that you’ve watched it a couple times, did he stop a pickpocket or admonish a groper at the beginning?

dancing naked == lewd lascivious conduct == felony crime.

(Better, however, than riding a gondola naked.)

felony, naked, dancing

Sure, Clinton played his sax on TV, Bush groped Angela Merkel, but Boris Yeltsin gave speeches drunk, tossed women into the water, danced on stage, and generally did all manner of laughable things. But he also turned back a hardline coup by jumping atop a tank and dragged Russia kicking and screaming toward democracy.

Not since cigar chomping, Scotch drinking Winston Churchill led Britain through World War II has the world had a more colorful leader. The Canadian Broadcasting Company called it “strange behavior,” noting:

Yeltsin’s behaviour became increasingly bizarre during his years in office as rumours of excessive drinking swirled. In 1994, the burly, bear-like Yeltsin jumped on the stage during a visit to Germany to conduct a brass band while singing and dancing. Later the same year, he failed to get off a plane during an official visit to Ireland. Russian officials told Irish officials that Yeltsin was unwell, while the common belief among journalists covering the visit was that he was drunk.

In 1997, he unexpectedly announced during a visit to Sweden that he would cut Russia’s nuclear arsenal by one-third and work toward a total world ban on nuclear weapons. Russian officials scrambled to correct the president.

The following year, during a banquet with Pope John Paul II, Yeltsin toasted his “love of Italian women,” and on another occasion, played wooden spoons on the balding head of Askar Akayev, the president of ex-Soviet state Kyrgyzstan.

He made headlines in Canada for taking former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney boar hunting in 1993, a move that angered animal activists.

Yeltsin was born to a poor peasant family in the Ural mountains and studied engineering and worked as a construction manager before joining the Communist party.

remembrance, Boris Yeltsin, Russia, USSR, drinking, drunk, dancing, video, world leader

Among the pop-culture viral videos I apparently missed is Matt Harding’s dancing. I had to turn to Wikipedia for an explanation:

Harding was known for a particular dance, and while videotaping each other in Vietnam, his traveling companion suggested he add the dance. The videos were uploaded to his website for friends and family to enjoy. Later, Harding edited together 15 dance scenes, all with him center frame, with the background music “Sweet Lullaby.”

The video was passed around by e-mail and eventually became “viral”, with his server getting 20,000 or more hits a day as it was discovered, generally country by country due to language barriers, before the launch of major video upload sites.

Matt Harding, dance, dancing, funny, video, where in the world is Matt

Thank Jon for pointing out the above. Actually, you should go read his post on the matter because, well, it gave me a chuckle and it’s certainly better than going shopping today.

black friday, lemur, lemurs, dancing, video, move it, jon link, funny

Vegas knows liquor. Vegas knows drinks. They go well with cards and dice and slot machines and such. And even though the cards and dice and slot machines and such aren’t my reasons for going to town, I do enjoy a drink. Above, center you see the West Wing Bar’s Sidecar with cognac, triple sec and lemon juice. At the left is a pinapple mojito from the Wynn’s Terrace Pointe Cafe.

We lunched at Emeril’s where Sandee enjoyed a grilled sweet barbeque atlantic salmon on a homemade andouille sausage and brabant potato hash with spicy onion crust and worcestershire sauce and I tucked into a grilled filet of beef on maytag blue cheese grits with caramelized onion reduction and fried leeks.

We dined at the Melting Pot fondue restaraunt where we enjoyed the four-course “big night out” combo. Our server prepared the spinach and artichoke swiss appetizer fondue at our table by combining chopped steamed spinach, chopped artichoke hearts, a blend of aged emmenthaler and gruyere cheeses with a touch of parmesan and tabasco. A California salad with raspberry black walnut vinaigrette dressing followed that. For an entree we cooked center-cut filet mignon medallions, breast of chicken, oriental potstickers, black tiger shrimp, teriyaki marinated choice sirloin and vegetables in a red wine with garlic herbs.

Dinner was a novelty, but desert, their version of a bananas foster, was delectable. White chocolate with caramel, Bacardi 151, Grand Marnier, and cinnamon. The Bacardi and flame makes a flambé, and it turns out cinnamon sparks when ignited, which our server took good advantage of. We dipped bananas, of course, along with strawberries, apples, marshmallows, pineapples, and cheesecake.

Sandee took advantage of the after Christmas sale at BCBG and picked up a green velvet dress and these fabulous gold shoes, all the better for dancing in. And about dancing, of course there was dancing.

vegas, las vegas, drinking, dancing, food, dining, drinks, shoes, shopping

I caught the following story on NPR’s All Things Considered (RealAudio stream) last night:

New York is known for its vibrant nightlife, yet in many bars and restaurants it’s illegal to dance. Now, a law professor is challenging the “Cabaret Laws,” claiming they violate a dancer’s right of free expression. The city says dancing by patrons is not a protected right — and can prove it. (link added)

This was a big surprise to me, and a bigger surprise to learn that it’s not just some blue law. It turns out that bar owners get fined thousands of dollars for allowing people to dance, or even “move rhythmically” to music. Surprisingly, there are only 316 places to legally dance in Manhattan.

Amusingly — in that circle of life sort of way — Lynne Taylor-Corbett, choreographer for Footloose, is among the challengers. She can’t believe the fact that the city she claims to have given birth to break dancing and hip hop should restrict dance only to bars that have a cabaret license. The license is the result of 1926 ordinance that decried jazz clubs for their “wild strangers” and “foolish natives,” according to the story.

The suit is being handled by NYU Law professor Paul Chevigny, an occasional tap dancer who gained standing on these matters by successfully challenging an earlier law that blocked many forms of live music in 1988. That doesn’t mean the city is rolling over on this. They’re fighting back, and all parties are looking to see how the courts answer the city’s motion to dismiss.

tags: blue laws, cabaret, cabaret license, dance, dancing, first ammendment, foolish natives, footloose, free expression, free speech, jazz clubs, law, legal challenge, license, lynne taylor-corbett, manhattan, new york, new york city, new york new york, newyork, ny ny, nyc, nyny, paul chevigny, rights, wild strangers