just when you think you've seen it all
Stolen from notken and totally worth a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMnk7lh9M3o
And the explanation:
Web goes wild for Philippine jailhouse rock
Ian MacKinnon, south-east Asia correspondent
Saturday July 28, 2007
The Guardian
It began as a fitness routine for old lags, but inmates in the
Philippines have turned it into a worldwide phenomenon: hundreds of
prisoners in serried ranks - decked out in orange jail-issue clothing
- are the latest stars of the internet.
More than 1.3 million viewers have downloaded the prisoners'
performance of Michael Jackson's Thriller, one of nine clips posted on
the YouTube video-sharing website. The Cebu detention centre's inmates
have also arranged choreography for Queen's Radio Ga Ga, and Vanilla
Ice's Ice Ice Baby is a forthcoming attraction.
The internet hit is the result of an unusual fitness programme
designed to keep the inmates in shape and banish boredom as they await
trials or serve their sentences.
All 1,600 inmates, apart from the elderly and infirm, must take part.
It started last year with marching to Pink Floyd's Another Brick in
the Wall, and has grown into the series of dance routines. It was the
brainchild of Byron Garcia, a security consultant for Cebu's
provincial government, who saw it as a way to improve inmate
behaviour.
"Using music, you can involve the body and the mind," he said.
"Inmates say to me, 'You've put my mind off revenge, foolishness or
thinking how to escape.'"
Mr Garcia posted the first clips on YouTube to share with colleagues
in the penal service, but they quickly became popular around the
globe. Now many inmates are proud of the dances and are eager to know
the YouTube viewing figures for their latest efforts.
And the explanation:
Web goes wild for Philippine jailhouse rock
Ian MacKinnon, south-east Asia correspondent
Saturday July 28, 2007
The Guardian
It began as a fitness routine for old lags, but inmates in the
Philippines have turned it into a worldwide phenomenon: hundreds of
prisoners in serried ranks - decked out in orange jail-issue clothing
- are the latest stars of the internet.
More than 1.3 million viewers have downloaded the prisoners'
performance of Michael Jackson's Thriller, one of nine clips posted on
the YouTube video-sharing website. The Cebu detention centre's inmates
have also arranged choreography for Queen's Radio Ga Ga, and Vanilla
Ice's Ice Ice Baby is a forthcoming attraction.
The internet hit is the result of an unusual fitness programme
designed to keep the inmates in shape and banish boredom as they await
trials or serve their sentences.
All 1,600 inmates, apart from the elderly and infirm, must take part.
It started last year with marching to Pink Floyd's Another Brick in
the Wall, and has grown into the series of dance routines. It was the
brainchild of Byron Garcia, a security consultant for Cebu's
provincial government, who saw it as a way to improve inmate
behaviour.
"Using music, you can involve the body and the mind," he said.
"Inmates say to me, 'You've put my mind off revenge, foolishness or
thinking how to escape.'"
Mr Garcia posted the first clips on YouTube to share with colleagues
in the penal service, but they quickly became popular around the
globe. Now many inmates are proud of the dances and are eager to know
the YouTube viewing figures for their latest efforts.