I, of course, DO live on another planet called Costa Rica, so forgive me please for not being totally current. I feel old and out of date. I never heard of them.

For my kindred unwashed, flash mobs are groups of artists, singers and dancers mostly, sometimes professionals and sometimes just regular ol’ folks, who want to sing or dance or do other stuff… in public. They do this as a surprise or as a gift to those around them and for no other reason than to spread some joy.  All seem organized as they must be, but the effect is the same everywhere. Astonishment for the audience.

If this topic interests you… read on!

I remember some scenes from the movies Tap and Fame where the action moved to the street. Not sure if this is where the idea came from… likely not as I am sure some smart commenter will point out.

I am embarrassed to say that I never heard the word flash mob until today. My sister told me about some singers who “spontaneously” broke into song… Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus… at a mall in Florida.  So, I You-Tubed it… and found not only what I was looking for, but a large number of other flash mob videos. The earliest one that I found (I did not look too hard), was a 2007 video of about fifty people who simply did a freeze frame in a super market. Bizarre.

The Handel flash mob videos (see below) are in the spirit of Christmas but others are just entertainment like the Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah flash mob (from the movie Shrek) or the exceptionally good one, Queen’s  I want to Ride my Bicycle, performed in a Brussels train station. That was a traffic stopper!

Anyway, it is Christmas in the world, and below are two beautiful renditions of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus – flash mob style!

The first is in that food court in a Florida mall.  The second was filmed in a Macy’s department store in Philadelphia with a group of singers from many local groups – 650 people strong. Check out the faces in the crowd on both videos… especially the kids! Perhaps there is hope yet….

Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Comments of course are welcome… except from that asinine group of idiots who want to get rid of the word Christmas and all references to Jesus Christ.  I am not a religious nut… but I do believe in free speech and in religious freedom, so don’t even try to rain on my Christmas parade.  The music is beautiful and ageless, and I believe everyone needs to believe in something/someone larger than themselves.

Enjoy!

If you are age 23 or under… this should be required viewing.

Click the video to view.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Just goes on and on huh? Why am I not surprised.  Sheesh!

Today, however, I went to the site because I could not remember if it was Utube or YouTube and I needed to send the URL to someone. By chance, the video below was on the home page. This has nothing to do with Costa Rica, but has everything to do with a great and lucky amateur video.

Filmed by a bunch of tourists, maybe in Africa, it is an incredible video featuring a herd of water buffalo, a pride of lions and one very unexpected visitor. Watch it!

Click here to view the embedded video.