And now for something completely different

Take a video camera, a couple of mates and one anti-Establishment joker, shake them all up, jiggle them about, make them do silly things, and you've got a series of gags by Rémi Gaillard, 34, Montpellier's very own eccentric.

His motto is "C'est en faisant n'importe quoi qu'on devient n'importe qui" (by doing just about anything you can become just about anyone). The one above is one of my favourites. I like it not only because it's silly, but because it shows he has a pretty cool skill with the ball. He's been making videos since the late 90's when he saw a hidden camera gags programme and thought he could do that too.

Most of the videos are made in and around Montpellier, so for those who are interested in seeing lesser known spots of cities, you get to see places from a different angle. In 'Decathlon', Rémi does a 100m sprint up the tram line racing a tram, a marathon around the Palavas roundabout finishing up at the Place de la Comedie via the tram tunnel into a crowd of seemingly enthusiastic fans who were in fact there for a footie match.

In 'Kangourou' he is dressed up in a kangaroo costume and you can see him bouncing all over the city, out of the zoo, and being beaten up by the cops when he tried to knock off their cap. In another, he is Rocky, training out boxing hanging carcasses of meat in a supermarket, jogging along the train tracks, boxing the 'kangaroo' in the zoo, and weightlifting in a lift. In another, he infiltrates a French Cup football match as a Lorient player and gets to hold the cup and shake Jacques Chirac's hand. In another, he drives a kart around the streets of Montpellier dressed as Mario and throwing banana skins under the wheels of cars.

Some of his most audacious are as an imposter such as in the Lorient football gag. In another, he gets to play tennis with Yannick Noah, handball with the Montpellier team, rugby in a game against Bourgoin, volleyball, and joining in with a Tour de France interview for France 2.

His videos have been viewed 513million times, a figure which makes him an impressive internet star. Will he make it onto television? Apparently he's been approached by tv, and went up to Paris for meetings only to come away disgusted with the way his ideas were stolen by tv presenters. It was this experience that pushed him to pursue his imposter gags, especially those against tv presenters!

His next project is to make a film. It'll be a challenge to transform 2min gags into a 90-minute movie, but good luck to him. He's got the courage, nerve and cheek to go far, that one!

Which famous cat am I?

I am quite the sucker for silly quizzes and have to restrain myself from spending too much time on them, although I don't do ones such as 'Which B/C-Celebrity are you?'.
This quiz was found on BeepBeep's site, and as a cat fan, I couldn't resist. I have no idea who Hobbes is though!

Which famous feline are you?

You're Hobbes. First of all, the makers of this quiz would like to congratulate you. You have our seal of approval. You are kind, intelligent, loving, and good-humoredly practical. You're proud of who you are. At the same time, you're tolerant of those who lack your clearsightedness. You're always playful, but never annoying. For these traits, you are well-loved, and with good cause. Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Dambusters or bust!

Do you find yourself suddenly transported back to your youthful past at the sight, sound, or evocation of something particular?

We were having dinner tonight, and the boys were trying to make their ears wiggle. My youngest is pretty good at this and won hands down. He can't, however, raise one eyebrow. This competition was won by the RA although she was basically competing against herself as no one else could get anywhere near raising the slightest bit of brow despite much contorting of faces.

We then moved onto silly faces and I remembered a game, or rather general silliness from when I was at university. At the sound of a particular word, and I can't remember WHICH word, unfortunately, the assembled group would all put their hands to their faces, upside-down and sing the theme music from the Dambusters whilst swaying to and fro. As the evening wore on, the singing and actions got sillier.

It was all great fun, being very very silly and I remember it fondly. If anyone can remember which word it was that set us off, please let me know!

WP's Style Invitational

Having been a bit distressed in the last couple of days, I was happy to receive this jolly piece in a forwarded email, and have decided to share because that's the kinda girl I am...

The Washington Post's "Style Invitational" once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are this year's winners:

1. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
2. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
3. Giraffiti (n.): Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
4. Sarchasm (n.): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
5. Inoculatte (v.): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
6. Hipatitis (n.): Terminal coolness.
7. Osteopornosis (n.): A degenerate disease. [This one got extra credit.]
8. Karmageddon (n.): It's, like, when everybody is giving off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the earth explodes and it's, like, a serious bummer.
9. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
10. Glibido (v.): All talk and no action.
11. Dopeler effect (n.): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
12. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
13. Beelzebug (n.): Satan, in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at 3:00 in the morning and cannot be cast out.
14. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.
And the pick of the publication:
15. Ignoranus (n.): A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

Something for everyone there, I feel. Except Jade Goody who would probably wonder which letter has been added, subtracted or changed in each one, of course. She may even see nothing unusual in this selection. Actually, she probably wouldn't be able to read them to start with as they have more than one syllable each.

The rest of you enjoy a good laugh.

Oxbridge or die... laughing

I did not get into Oxbridge back in 1982, which is hardly surprising seeing as I didn't apply. I did get into Exeter, after an interview on a lovely spring day; the day, in fact, that Britain went to war with Argentina over the Falklands. We drove down listening to Maggie Thatcher declaring the nation at war. Scary stuff!

I was afflicted by a half-body flu on the left hand side of my body. My left eye was running, my left nostril was sniffing, I ached down the left side, and was generally in a pretty odd state of health. Contact 4000 or whatever it's called, came to my rescue and dried everything up and kidded my body it had no aches and pains, and I was thus able to conduct the interview in relative comfort.

Whatever questions were asked, and I really cannot remember what they were, I am sure they were nothing like the ones posed by Oxbridge dons to prospective candidates. The Times has an article giving examples of some such eccentric questions (dontcha just love our more eccentric elements?) ; ones liable to turn the belly of a poor little candidate to jelly. I thought it might be amusing to publish them here too, and try to find the most flippant answers possible.

Q Here’s a piece of bark, please talk about it (biological sciences, Oxford) : Well, it doesn't.

Q Why do so few Americans believe in evolution? (human sciences, Oxford) : Because they are descended from our emigrated religious loony element so what do you expect?

Q Are you cool? (philosophy, politics and economics, Oxford) : Philosophically, I haven't got all day; politically, not in the slightest; economically, if only.

Q Why don’t we just have one ear in the middle of our face? (medicine, Cambridge) : don't we hear in stereo? Mono is so last year!

Q Put a monetary value on this teapot (PPE, Oxford) : £2.50, from Oxfam.

Q If there were three beautiful, naked women standing in front of you, which one would you pick? Does this have any relevance to economics? (PPE, Oxford) : pick to do what? I'd tell them to get dressed before they caught their deaths. Economics? Sure; greed, supply, demand and sex.

Q Of all 19th-century politicians, which one was most like Tony Blair? (PPE, Oxford) : oooer, some Frog?

Q Why can’t you light a candle in a spaceship? (physics, Oxford) : who says you can't?

Q What percentage of the world’s water is contained in a cow? (veterinary medicine, Cambridge) : milked or full of milk?

Q Explain how a perm works (biochemistry, molecular and cellular, Oxford) : curly chemicals

So, would I get in? Good thing I didn't actually apply really, innit?!

Some light entertainment

You can't say you don't get variety on this blog what with snippets on life in France, translators to help you understand 12-yr old texting and now some music. I am a sucker for anything that smacks of eccentricity, and these guys have produced a video that has it in spades. The music is good too. I shall never look at treadmills in the same way again. As a bonus, someone with too much time on his hands has a made a Lego mini man version which I've stuck below.



Now, if you weren't smiling after that, you must be having an exceptionally hard day, and are probably in need of this:



There, I'm sure you're having a chortle now. It might be raining, but someone, somewhere in the world is being silly, and the wonderful thing is, it's now so easy to share that silliness. Long live the internet!