WATCH | ‘PPAP’ singer Pikotaro unveils extended version of viral song

Japanese social media star Pikotaro unveiled a new, extended version of his internet hit “Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen” (PPAP) on Friday.

The original video quickly went viral after being uploaded in early September, with Canadian singer Justin Bieber helping boost viewing numbers by labeling it his “favorite video on the internet” in a Twitter post on Thursday.

“Yesterday my head was full of white hair, but now it has all turned black,” said Pikotaro, overwhelmed by the attention he has received, including a Guinness World Record for the shortest song to make it into the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Pikotaro, whose real name is Kazuhito Kosaka, wore a gold animal print outfit complete with scarf and sunglasses as he performed the new two-minute version of what was a 45 second song to journalists in Tokyo.

The video — which has racked up over 131 million views on YouTube — features Pikotaro miming the joining of an imaginary apple and pineapple with an imaginary pen, lyrics he said were inspired by items he found on the table when he began writing.

Watch the long version of “Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen” here:

source: interaksyon.com

Jennifer Lawrence, ‘Hunger Games’ stars team up in Ebola video

LOS ANGELES | Jennifer Lawrence says she’d be fine if she got Ebola, in a video that encourages Americans to focus more on West Africans far more likely to die from the dreaded virus.

The Oscar-winning actress teamed up with fellow stars from “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1″ for the nearly two-minute online public service announcement from the Ebola Survival Fund.

The video opens with a montage of clips from breathless US television news coverage of the tiny handful of Ebola cases so far in the United States.

It then points out that none of the eight “American patients” treated for Ebola in US hospitals have died — while in some parts of West Africa only two out of every 10 cases survived.

“A lot of them didn’t make it,” says Lawrence, to which her “Hunger Games” co-star Josh Hutcherson replies: “They didn’t have a lot to begin with.”

“In Liberia, they had 50 doctors for 4.4 million people,” Hutcherson said, before telling Lawrence: “I know what would happen if you got Ebola.”

“I’d be fine,” she solemnly replied.

Mahershala Ali, Liam Hemsworth, Julianne Moore and Jeffrey Wright also appear in the video.

But the core message came from Harvard medical professor and Partners in Health co-founder Paul Farmer, well-known for his work in developing health care in poor countries.

Ebola patients in West Africa, he said, urgently need IV fluids, electrolytes, food and “many more well-trained West African medical professionals.”

“With high-quality supportive care, the great majority of people in West Africa will survive Ebola,” Farmer added.

Two Ebola fatalities within the United States have been reported, but neither were native-born Americans.

Last month, another posse of Hollywood stars including Ben Affleck, Bono, Vincent Cassel, Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman, came together for an Ebola video sponsored by the ONE Campaign.

Watch the video here:

source: interaksyon.com

Lea Salonga takes Ice Bucket Challenge, calls out Aga, Sarah

Responding to Urs Buhler of the operatic pop vocal group Il Divo, singer Lea Salonga posted her own Ice Bucket Challenge video on YouTube Thursday night.

Unlike several other celebrities who had accepted the challenge earlier this week, the 43-year-old Broadway star and “The Voice of the Philippines” coach opted not to put her own spin on the charity campaign that had thrust the neurodegenerative disease ALS (amyothropic lateral sclerosis) into the mainstream conversation.

Instead, Lea shared a personal reason why the challenge was more than just a bandwagon to her. Before being doused with ice-cold water by her husband Rob Chien, she confessed that an uncle of Chien’s had died of ALS “not so long ago”. 


“It is out of love for him that we’re both doing this. Well, I’ll be the one drenched, and he’ll be the one doing the drenching,” she quipped.

Before the ceremonial dousing, Lea called out dear friend and “Glee” star Darren Criss, her former and future leading man Aga Muhlach, and her fellow “The Voice” coaches Apl.de.Ap, Bamboo, and Sarah Geronimo.

source: interaksyon.com

Smartphone app helps non-Arabic speaking Muslims read the Qur’an

A smartphone application translates the Qur’an (Koran) from Arabic to Bahasa Indonesia by scanning through codes at the bottom of each line, a technology that aims to encourage a younger generation of non-Arabic speakers to become more familiar with Islam’s holy book. Reuters Jim Drury has more.


It’s the Islamic month of Ramadan and millions of Muslims are spending their time in prayer and reflection. But in Indonesia – the world’s most populous Islamic nation – some Muslims struggle to read in Arabic.

So inventor Syarief Niskala created this smart phone app that allows non-Arabic speaking Muslims to read the Koran.

“We don’t need to translate, nor go to the library. We can learn anywhere from a gadget that we carry everywhere. As I learned from the research, the gadget that is closest to us is a smart phone….Based on that I invented this application for smart phones which we always have close, so can always be read and heard.” ‘Smartquran’ application inventer Syarief Niskala said in Bahasa.

The app is used in conjunction with a specially printed Qur’an, costing 17 dollars, that contains a series of QR codes. Once registered, users scan their phone over codes positioned on each page. Bahasa Indonesia translations appear in seconds.

Commentary from Qur’an experts and verse-by-verse histories are also offered. Perhaps predictably, opinion was split along age lines in this Jakarta mosque.

“There are comments on the verses and translations too, all features that make it easy for us to learn and understand,” Worshipper Riska Suci Utari said in Bahasa

“Although our era is now advanced technologically, older people like me who cannot understand how to use these applications and gadgets, find it easier to read or recite with a real Koran,” worshipper Fadli said also in Bahasa.

But with millions of smart phone users in Indonesia, Niskala believes his app can help a new generation of Muslims stay in touch with their religion.

source: interaksyon.com

Brave cat saves California boy from dog attack

A California child pulled from his bike by an attacking dog was saved by his family's cat on Tuesday, which quickly rushed in and chased away the canine, a video posted on YouTube showed on Wednesday.

The video, which quickly spread on the Internet, shows a young boy playing on a driveway in Bakersfield, when a dog lunges at his leg, grabs hold of it with his jaws and drags the boy off of the bike.

A dark cat swiftly hurls itself onto the dog and chases it down the driveway and away from the child before a woman runs to help the boy.

Local media reported the video was from multiple security cameras and shows graphic pictures of the bite wounds sustained by the boy.

“Thankfully, it wasn’t worse," his father, Roger Triantafilo, wrote in posting the video. "My son is fine."

Bakersfield police said the attacking dog, identified as an 8-month-old Labrador-Chow mix, had been surrendered by its owner’s family after the Tuesday afternoon attack and was in quarantine and would ultimately be euthanized.

Police spokesman Sergeant Joseph Grubbs said the dog's owners, who live in the same neighborhood as the boy, said the dog did not like children or bicycles. He did not identify the owner by name.

The Triantafilo family could not be reached for immediate comment. 

source: interaksyon.com

NY hotel probes leaked video of Beyonce sister attacking Jay Z

A New York boutique hotel on Monday said it was investigating how a recording of a security video that purportedly shows rapper Jay Z being attacked by his sister-in-law, R&B singer Solange Knowles, was leaked to a website.

The video posted by celebrity website TMZ.com appears to show the 27-year-old Knowles, younger sister of Beyonce, charging and striking Jay Z several times in an elevator at the Standard Hotel in New York’s Meatpacking District before being restrained.

Beyonce looks on in the three-and-a-half-minute video without audio, which quickly became an internet sensation, sparking several parody videos and photos.

The three are seen dressed in clothing that they had worn to the Met Gala benefit on the night of May 5. But representatives for all three did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation of the incident.

The hotel, the venue for a post-gala party, promised to prosecute whoever was behind the recording, calling it a breach of security and guest confidentiality.

“We are investigating with the utmost urgency the circumstances surrounding the situation and, as is our customary practice, will discipline and prosecute the individuals involved to our fullest capacity,” the hotel said in a statement without naming Jay Z, Beyonce or Solange Knowles.

The Standard Hotel, which has locations in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, Florida, is controlled by hotelier Andre Balazs’ Standard International management company.

source: interaksyon.com

Twitter’s Vine expands video on Web

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter’s video service Vine announced Friday it was expanding its presence on the Web, giving users the option of watching full-screen clips on their personal computers.

The new service allows members to watch sequences of videos and use a full computer screen for viewing.

While Vine began as a mobile app for sharing short videos from smartphones, the new service gives more options to PC users.

Twitter bought the small team at Vine, a startup based in New York, in October 2012, prompting talk the messaging service intended to do for smartphone video what Instagram did for pictures.

“Today, we’re introducing a new way to experience Vine: on the web,” said a blog post from engineer Janessa Det.

“Log in at vine.co to view your home feed and like, comment, and share videos just as you do on our mobile apps. You can also visit your favorite users’ Vine profiles to browse the videos they’ve created since joining Vine. Plus, now you can share your profile with others so they can see your posts.

Det said Vine added a TV mode “to view the collection of videos in sequence and in full screen mode.”

“This release is just a first step toward bringing you a richer, more enjoyable web experience. We look forward to introducing more improvements in 2014,” she added.

Vine, which was one of the fastest-growing apps when it was launched, said in August its registered users had hit 40 million.

source: interaksyon.com

YouTube hopes to boost music profile with new awards show

NEW YORK | Does the world really need another music video awards show? The answer is yes — at least according to YouTube.

The online video-sharing site is rolling out its first YouTube Music Awards on Sunday, with a show that pairs established industry stars such as Lady Gaga and Arcade Fire along with performers from the Google-owned video site.

The show will boost YouTube’s profile just weeks before the site is expected to announce a subscription service that will compete in an already crowded music marketplace.

“On a practical level (YouTube has) put people on the map and it’s generated revenue or other resources like support or recognition from people that normally would not get the exposure,” said Reggie Watts, a performance artist who, along with actor Jason Schwartzman, will host the event.

The awards categories are limited but clearly meant to differentiate the YouTube awards from the Grammys or the MTV Music Video Awards, which grabbed attention this year after a raunchy performance by former Disney star Miley Cyrus as she transitions into a more adult career.

YouTube will also name a video of the year and an artist of the year, with a slate of nominees including Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Eminem, Katy Perry and other top-40 mainstays.

But the categories also range more broadly. “Response of the Year” will pick the best fan remix, parody or response. Other categories include YouTube phenomenon, breakthrough and innovation of the year.

Even the show’s structure aims for something a little different. Watts said he and co-host Schwartzman know the overall sequence of the events but don’t know the blow-by-blow of what will happen at the Spike Jonze-directed show.

“We have no clue what’s going to happen,” he said. “All you can do in the moment is perform.”

The awards show will stream live from New York on Sunday starting at 6PM (2200 GMT).

YouTube has positioned itself in recent years as a major source of new music videos for fans. Lady Gaga alone has racked up well over 1 billion views of her various videos.

The shift highlights some of the challenges — and opportunities — for artists. While accessing fans has never been easier, turning a profit and making a living as a musician has become more challenging.

Sites such as YouTube effectively function as on-demand stations for music, with fans able to listen to play lists over and over just for watching the occasional commercial.

YouTube is expected to introduce an option by the end of the year to let music fans skip the commercials via a paid subscription service.

That would pit YouTube more directly against services such as the online music streaming Web service Spotify, which itself has had its share of musicians such as Radiohead’s Thom Yorke who criticize the company’s business model for squeezing artists.

Into all of this comes the awards show, which will showcase the abundance of changes in the music industry.

The show is “about a certain level of discovery,” Watts said. “It’s going to be an experiment on all levels.”

source: interaksyon.com

‘Harlem Shake’ tumbles off top of Billboard chart after 5 weeks

LOS ANGELES – “The Harlem Shake” is moving on.

After five weeks in the number one slot, New York DJ Baauer’s single that triggered a global YouTube sensation has slipped to number two on Billboard’s latest Hot 100 chart, the music industry trade journal said Wednesday.

Taking its place is “Thrift Shop” from Seattle rappers Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, which has been in the Hot 100 since October and previously hit number one on five non-consecutive weeks before the Harlem Shake fad intervened.

“The Harlem Shake” reached number one thanks to good timing — it went viral on YouTube at the same time Billboard changed its methodology to include online streaming as well as record sales and radio air play.

On its website (www.billboard.com), Billboard said YouTube streams of “The Harlem Shake” have fallen from 103 million five weeks ago to just 20 million in the past week.

As an Internet meme, “The Harlem Shake” took off in early February when five Australian teenagers uploaded a video of themselves boogeying wildly to the electronic ditty that takes its name from a 1980s New York street dance.

source: interaksyon.com

YouTube says has one billion monthly active users

Google Inc’s YouTube said on Thursday the number of unique users visiting the video-sharing website every month has reached 1 billion, about six months after social media company Facebook Inc also said it had the same amount of users.

“Nearly one out of every two people on the Internet visits YouTube,” the video website said in a blog post.

Facebook said it had passed the one billion user mark in September, a level of global penetration that has made its quest for sustained growth more challenging.

source: interaksyon.com

No Doubt apologize to Native Americans for Wild West video

LOS ANGELES – The pop band No Doubt was forced to remove a new Wild West-themed music video and issue an apology after getting complaints from the Native American community, saying its intention was “never to offend, hurt or trivialize” their culture or history.

The Southern California band – made up of lead singer Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal and drummer Adrian Young – posted an apology on their official website on Saturday following the release of their latest video for the single “Looking Hot.”

“As a multi-racial band our foundation is built upon both diversity and consideration for other cultures. Our intention with our new video was never to offend, hurt or trivialize Native American people, their culture or their history,” the band said.

The video, which debuted on Friday, featured Stefani dressed in tribal garments as a Native Indian princess captured by Young and Dumont dressed as cowboys, while Kanal played a tribe chief who rescues Stefani.

Some users took to social media platforms to criticize the band’s use of tribal imagery, leading No Doubt to remove the video online, adding that “being hurtful to anyone is simply not who we are.”

“Although we consulted with Native American friends and Native American studies experts at the University of California, we realize now that we have offended people … We sincerely apologize to the Native American community and anyone else offended by this video,” they said.

“Looking Hot” is the second single from No Doubt’s latest album “Push and Shove,” their first studio release in a decade. The band initially rose to fame in the early 1990s in the new wave ska-punk scene and crossed over into pop with hits such as “Don’t Speak” and “Just A Girl.”

source: interaksyon.com

‘Gangnam Style’ makes history as most viewed, most liked video on YouTube

Psy may not have reached the top of the American pop charts, but the 34-year old South Korean rapper may have found another reason to take his shirt off.

With over 415 million views across all categories as of Wednesday morning, his music video for his monster hit “Gangnam Style” has officially made YouTube history as it is now the most watched video on the most popular video sharing website in the internet.

According to the Guinness Book of World Recods, the infectious dance tune’s closest competitor, Justin Bieber’s “As Long As You Love Me” only managed 54 million views during the same period.

Uploaded only last July 16, “Gangnam Style” immediately became a viral hit and has also been liked in excess of 3,771, 462 times, which also makes it the most liked video in YouTube history.

Its distant competitors for most liked YouTube video are LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” with 1,574,963 likes and Justin’s Bieber’s “Baby” with 1,327,147 likes.

Born Park Jae-Sang, Psy served in the military as a technician in a venture firm prior to pursuing a career in music. Aside from singing and rapping, Psy also writes his own songs. “Gangnam Style” is his most successful single to date and also marks the first time a South Korean artist has topped the iTunes charts.

But conquering America by making the number one spot in the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the standard by which the most popular song in the US is measured, remains the rapper’s foremost priority.

It continues to be an elusive goal for Psy as Maroon 5’s “One More Night” continues to rule the prestigious chart for a third week for the period ending October 13.

The K-Pop superstar had pledged to perform his signature horse dance “half-naked” in his home city Seoul if “Gangnam Style” hit number one in the Billboard Hot 100.

Whether or not that’s actually going to happen, one thing is clear, “Gangnam Style” is a big boost to the popularity of K-Pop that was given its due recognition in the US when Billboard created its Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart last year, the second Asian Billboard chart after the Japan Hot 100 was launched in 2008.

“Gangnam Style” spent five weeks at number one in the Billboard Korea K-Pop Chart. The song is part of “Psy’s Best 6th Part 1,” his latest studio album and is also included the compilation CD, “Hottest Hits Ever” along with “Payphone” by Maroon 5, “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen and “Boyfriend” by Justin Bieber, among others.

This album is released exclusively under MCA Music and now available at Astroplus, Odyssey Music & Video. The single can also be downloaded via iTunes or at www.MyMusicStore.com.ph

source: interaksyon.com

Dramatic underwater footage of retrieval ops for Robredo plane

Dramatic underwater footage of retrieval operations for the plane that crashed in Masbate Bay on Saturday, killing DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo and two pilots, was made available on Wednesday.

The video shows at least three divers hovering around the fuselage of the plane, which was resting on the seabed upside down. They appear to be inspecting the plane. Later they secure harnesses to the fuselage, preparing it for lifting to the surface.

The body of Robredo was recovered on Tuesday, ahead of the retrieval operations for the plane.

As of Wednesday evening, the body of the plane's pilot, Jessup Bahinting, had also been recovered. Bahinting's Nepalese co-pilot, Kshitiz Chand, 22, was not in the fuselage.

As of posting, the fuselage had already been lifted nearer to the surface. It will eventually be turned over to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines for inspection and investigation.

source: interaksyon.com

Madonna provokes lawsuit with swastika video

PARIS – France’s far-right National Front said Sunday it plans to sue Madonna over a video at the US pop star’s concert in France showing party leader Marine Le Pen with a swastika on her forehead.

“We cannot accept such an odious comparison,” National Front vice-president Florian Philippot said, adding that the legal action would be filed this week.

The video, which served as a backdrop for Madonna’s performance of the song “Nobody Knows Me”, flashed a picture of Le Pen’s forehead superimposed with a swastika, followed by an image resembling Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

There was an audible gasp from the audience at the Stade de France on Saturday when the image of Le Pen appeared briefly on a giant screen in a video clip which also showed Madonna’s face merging with a number of public figures including Pope Benedict XVI and toppled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

“Projecting such an image of Marine Le Pen with a swastika implies that she is a Nazi,” National Front lawyer Wallerand de Saint-Just told AFP, adding that the civil complaint for insult would be lodged with a court this week.

Tour promoter LiveNation declined to comment on the National Front action against the queen of pop, who has been no stranger to controversy during her long career.

“This is just another provocation in Madonna’s world tour so that people will talk about her,” Philippot charged, claiming that the stadium was “far from full” for Madonna’s gig and that the tour was a “fiasco”.

“Marine Le Pen will defend not only her own honor but her supporters and the millions of National Front voters.”

Le Pen, a French presidential candidate, had already warned the US superstar in June that she was mulling legal action after the video was shown at Tel Aviv gig in May when Madonna, 53, kicked off her world tour.

“(When) old singers want to get people to talk about them, it’s understandable that they do such extreme things,” the 43-year-old Le Pen said at the time.

SOS Racisme however said it supported Madonna, paying tribute to her “resolutely anti-racist” stance. “She made clear last night that the fight against discrimination is a fundamental battle.”

About 70,000 people were at the Stade de France to watch the “Material Girl” perform on Saturday night, the latest concert in her “MDNA” tour which covers about 30 countries in the Middle East, Europe and the Americas and will wrap up in Australia in 2013.

Madonna will next appear in France in Nice on August 21.

In 1987, Madonna caused a stir when she threw her panties into the crowd at a concert where then president Jacques Chirac was in attendance.

On her latest world tour, she made headlines when she flashed a nipple at a gig in Turkey’s largest city of Istanbul last month.

Le Pen, the daughter of National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, won 18 percent in the first round of the presidential election in April.

But she lost her bid to win a seat in legislative elections last month although the party — which wants to ditch the euro and battles against what Le Pen calls the “Islamisation” of France — returned to parliament for the first time since 1998.

source: interaksyon.com