A YouTube video entitled “Red – Painting with a Basketball – Yao Ming Portrait” by a Malaysian girl from Sabah has gone viral.

Malaysian architect Hong Yi posted the video of herself creating a painting of Yao Ming using a basketball about 3 weeks ago. The video was featured by Gizmodo on its website on 25th Jan and quickly became viral, spreading to other online sites such as ABC, CBC, NBC, Hufftington Post,ESPN and NBA. The Taiwanese newspapers picked up the news, followed by the West Malaysian Chinese papers who gave her front page coverage. The Phoenix Channel in Hong Kong also posted the video.

Hong Yi nicknamed Red

Hong Yi goes by her arty nickname Red because in Chinese ‘Hong’ means red. She has always loved to draw, especially cartoons, and even when she was studying architecture, her secret ambition was to work for Pixar. She has been attached to the Shanghai branch of Australia’s largest architecture firm since last year.

Red with her painting of Yao Ming

She loves to paint, but according to her YouTube channel, she “loves to paint, but without a paintbrush!”

Below is the video of her creating her red painting of Yao Ming, using a basketball. Amazing talent!

Click here to view the embedded video.

William Hung is undeniably the most memorable “American Idol” reject. So what has Hung been up to since leaving the show?

William James Hung Hing Cheong (Traditional Chinese: 孔慶翔, Simplified Chinese: 孔庆翔,; born January 13, 1983), commonly known as William Hung, gained fame in early 2004 as a result of his off-key audition performance of Ricky Martin’s hit song “She Bangs” on the third season of “ American Idol.”

William Hung auditioning on American Idol

Originally from Sha Tin, Hong Kong, Hung moved to Camden, New Jersey in 1993 and graduated from the John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles. He was a student at University of California, Berkeley, and later dropped out to pursue his music career.

While studying civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, Hung auditioned for the third season of American Idol in San Francisco in September 2003. He was the final auditioner on the January 15, 2004, installment, the coup de grâce of an hour-long episode that showcased other would-be pop stars, mostly lacking in talent.

“I want to make music my living,” said Hung, before he started singing and dancing to Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs”. As judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul tried to restrain their laughter, judge Simon Cowell dismissed Hung’s performance, remarking “You can’t sing, you can’t dance, so what do you want me to say?”, to which Hung replied, “Um, I already gave my best, and I have no regrets at all.” Jackson and Abdul applauded his positive attitude, with Abdul remarking, “That’s the best attitude yet.” Hung’s response to Cowell’s criticism starkly contrasts with the often confrontational rejoinders of other contestants. Hung added, “…you know, I have no professional training of singing and dancing,” eliciting mock surprise from Cowell, who replied, “No? Well this is the surprise of the century.” Hung was not admitted through to the next round.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hung’s “She Bangs” audition went instantly viral and he gained a cult following. He incredibly ended up with a major record deal. He even ended up selling more records than some legitimate singers from “Idol,” as his first album, Inspiration, actually shifted almost 200,000 units (please note that’s 50,000 more copies than Season 9 winner Lee DeWyze’s post-”Idol” album sold). William has since released two more albums, starred in commercials, and acted in two Hong Kong films

A William Hung fan site, set up by realtor Don Chin and his wife Laura, recorded over four million hits within its first week. Hung subsequently appeared on several television programs including Jimmy Kimmel Live!, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, Entertainment Tonight, The George Lopez Show, The Late Show With David Letterman, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Howard Stern Radio Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Dateline NBC, Arrested Development and CBS’s The Early Show.

William Hung

Hung was featured in several national magazines and newspapers; he was parodied on Saturday Night Live and appeared on Celebrity Deathmatch.

Remixes of Hung’s audition performance topped song request lists at a number of radio stations. An online petition to get Hung back to American Idol included more than 100,000 signatures by late February. Hung was brought back to American Idol as part of a mid-season special titled Uncut, Uncensored and Untalented, airing March 1, 2004. The special documented what it was like to experience the audition process and, in Hung’s case, emerge as an inadvertent celebrity. Hung was crowned the Artichoke King of 2006 in Castroville, California’s Artichoke Festival; an honor previously bestowed on Marilyn Monroe.

It is most interesting to note that Hung is now working for the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department as a technical crime analyst.

“My passion has always been math. It just took a while to end up as my career,” Hung told the L.A. Weekly.

But while William may be giving up his musical crimes to focus on actual ones, his “Idol” legacy remains intact. In fact, the L.A. Weekly just put him at number one on its top 20 list of all-time musicians.

“He is the greatest musician of all time because he epitomizes our highs, our lows, and our struggles to make ourselves heard,” wrote journalist Ben Westhoff, insanely.

Hung apparently still bangs after all these years.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A YouTube video of a father quizzing his baby daughter over who is her favourite parent has gone viral, garnering over 2.5 million views since it was uploaded on January 3.

The video of Australian Mick Tippett quizzing his adorable young daughter Maddie is truly hilarious.

The adorable Maddie

When Mick first poses the question, Maddie blurts out ‘Mum’ before Mick can even give her both the options.

Then Mick calls for a recess and tries “bribing” her with something to eat.

After the recess, Mick asks Maddie to repeatedly says “Dad” five times before asking her again about her favourite parent hoping to catch Maddie off guard.  But Maddie still replies ‘Mum’, causing an exasperated sigh from her father.

Mick then tries to trick her by asking her who her least favourite parent is, but the little girl is not fooled.

Enjoy the video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

A madcap YouTube video “North Korea Party Rock Anthem ft. Kim Jong Il” by error606 has gone viral after the death of North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-il.

The video was uploaded on September 16 this year and matched footage of parades in honour of the tyrant to the upbeat electro soundtrack of LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem which was a No 1 hit in April this year.

With the footage sped up, the hilarious video shows Koreans performing marching, gymnastic routines, traditional dances, and clapping — seemingly in time with the tempo of the hit song..

Enjoy the video!

Click here to view the embedded video.

It was supposed to be a pep rally prank to bring laughter and cheers at Rosemount High School in Minnesota but it has instead stirred up a lot of controversy after parents of some senior student athletes took the practical joke too far. Some detractors even went as far as saying that some of the very inappropriate antics smack of incest.

The prank featured a comedy skit which took advantage of unknowing captains of the various winter varsity squads. After the team captains walked into the gym blindfolded, they were told that they were going to be kissed by a special someone, and then were asked to guess who it was that kissed them.

Rosemount High School pep rally kissing game

It turns out that the person who kissed the athletes — in every circumstance — was their own opposite sex parent. A lot of criticism has been leveled not at the student athletes, but at some of the parents for what they did in executing the practical joke.

Some of the parents during the 59-second YouTube video are seen holding the kisses for several seconds, cupping their child’s faces or embracing and swaying.

One mother moved her son’s hand down to her behind during the encounter. Another mom has her son down on the gym floor to the delight of two male students nearby.

You can see full video footage of the pep rally incident below but be warned that some of the parents took their roles as “special someones” to a level that left many onlookers feeling offended, uncomfortable and even queasy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rosemount Principal John Wollersheim insisted that the school wouldn’t repeat the comedic routine, despite the fact that a similar routine had been a huge hit at a prep rally at the school years earlier.

“There is no question that people were offended,” Wollersheim said. “I apologize to those who were offended, and we won’t do it again.

“Anything that happens at this school is the principal’s responsibility. I take full responsibility. … There shouldn’t be an event in a school that we offend people with.”

ABC’s late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel is making a lot of enemies among kids with his latest Christmas prank which might be one of the cutest holiday pranks of all time.

In the spirit of the Christmas, the host challenged his ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ audience to give their kids ridiculously awful Christmas presents under the guise of a “special early present”and to record their responses.

Creative parents from all over the country responded by submitting videos of their children freaking out and even breaking down in tears over receiving a half-eaten sandwich, a rotten banana, and girly coloring books! One boy throws a tantrum and declares his undying hatred for Santa upon receiving a “stupid hello Kitty dress”. Toward the end of Jimmy Kimmel’s video below, one mother says: “We thought really hard about what to get you.” Her son’s response…”Well you didn’t do a very good job!”

This cute little girl got a half-eaten sandwich as her present.

Watch as the kids fall victim to the hysterical prank that their parents play on them.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hey Kimmel, kids are now saying this about you:

You’re a mean one, Jimmy Kimmel.

You really are a Mr Grinch.

You’re as cuddly as a cactus,

You’re as charming as an eel.

Jimmy KImmel!

You’re a bad banana with a…greasy black peel!

This is not Kimmel’s first prank on kids.

Last Halloween, he persuaded his viewers to pretend they ate all their kids’ candy and then video tape the reaction in his Halloween candy prank “I Told My Kids I Ate Their Halloween Candy.”

Sit back and laugh your hearts out… it is cruel but undeniably hilarious!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Reverend Gavin Tyte (aka TyTe) has become an internet hit with his rap rendition of the story of Nativity.

TyTe was a professional beatboxer before becoming a vicar so it comes as no surprise that he has now combined both of his passions to come up with this Nativity video which has started to go viral.

40-year-old TyTe, who has been vicar of Uplyme Church for the past two years, raps: ‘Welcome to Beatbox Bible’, before continuing his sermon online to parishioners.

Reverend Gavin Tyte (aka TyTe) rapping in his Beatbox Bible video

The sermon, written and produced by TyTe includes lyrics such as: ‘Back in the day of Caesar Augustus, he decreed to proceed with an empirical census.

‘The first while Quirinius was the Syrian nexus, to enlist and insist people get on the next bus.

‘Back to the shack where in fact they came from (The empire striking back to boost their income).

‘Now Joseph was a member of David’s kin, he made a steer for Judea and Bethlehem.

‘He went down from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, taking his fiancée, Mary near delivery.

‘And during their stay, nature had its way, put the date in the diary for the King’s birthday.’

TyTe was prompted to create the Nativity video after requests from people who saw his live version of a beatbox rendering Luke’s Gospel on video in 2010.

‘I had feedback that people wanted an HD version with subtitles so I set about creating a new video that could be played in churches and youth clubs.’

Beatboxing involves producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using the mouth, lips, tongue and voice.

Tyte has been perfecting the art since the age of eight and was a professional beatboxer before he was ordained seven years ago. The married father-of-two still uses the technique in parts of his sermons and teaches it to children in schools.

He has been a regular judge of the UK beatboxing championships and was editor of the website humanbeatbox.com.

Rapping was a challenge which he enjoyed.

He said: ‘I love writing and wondered if it was possible to write the bible in rap.

‘I have hung out with rappers for a long time, but trying to turn each verse into a rhyming verse is really tricky.

‘You are constrained by what is written and what sounds good so it does not flow as well as if you were rapping from scratch.’

Sit back and enjoy as the rapping vicar rhymes the story of Nativity.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it Superman? No, it’s Espen Fadnes aka the Flying Squirrel!

Espen Fadnes’ nicknamed The World’s Fastest Flying Human Being 2010 – teamed up with Project Managers Goovinn to communicate the experience of flying. “SENSE OF FLYING” came out of the collaboration.

Espen Fadnes may soon add the title of the internet’s most famous Norwegian to his list of aliases once the web catches on to the incredible headcam video clip “Sense of Flying” showing him flying down a mountain at 250 km/h after leaping off the top of a cliff.

Espen Fadnes teetering on the precipice before the jump

Fadnes takes a dip

As he plunges rapidly towards the ground, Fadnes opens his wingsuit to rocket through a gorge in Stryn, Norway – with the daredevil appearing to come close to smashing into a cliff face as he descends 1240 metres towards a fjord. Fadnes zips through the air before opening his parachute for a smooth landing.

Espen Fadnes in his wingsuit

Fadnes won his first title for wingsuit flying in the World BASE Race 2010 in Infijorden, Norway.

The sport uses special jumpsuits that feature increased surface area to provide increased lift, with fabric between the legs and under the arms.

The Flying Squirrel - The World's Fastest Flying Human Being 2010

First developed in the late 1990s, wingsuits allow those with an extreme sense of adventure to glide through the air subject to the wind, frequently leaping from BASE exit points or skydiving planes to gain enough altitude to ensure up to five minutes worth of flight.

Turn up the volume and watch the compelling SENSE OF FLYING clip.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hey, guys, do you have $132 million to spare? If you are of the lucky few who can answer �yes�, you can consider placing your order for this luxurious superyacht which is so sleek you’d almost be forgiven for mistaking it for a floating limousine.

The Sovereign superyacht is the brainchild of Gray Design who specialises in both superboats and supercars – or sometimes, like the Sovereign, ingenious combinations of both. The superyacht is inspired by a limousine and even comes with its own matching car.

The 100-metre Sovereign superyacht

“We thought about a typical person on board one of these yachts and asked: how do they travel on land? Well limousine,” says Gray Design CEO Eduard Gray. “It’s a very unique concept in the yacht world.”

At the back end of the yacht, is a circular infinity pool that surrounds a reinforced glass helipad. The latter also acts as a skylight for the room below. There are ten guest suites, in addition to the owner’s extensive main quarters, as well as a cinema, gym, library and nightclub area which epitomises ‘elegance and class’.

The design features an infinity pool that surrounds a glass helipad

This picture shows the glass helipad and circling infinity pool

The architects are also installing a golfing green, which can be converted into a play area for the potential owner’s dog.

And of course there’s an onboard garage, to store the matching limousine which is an optional extra, or whatever other car the owner feels is necessary to zip around the decks.

'Sovereign' was inspired by a limousine

Every tiniest detail seems to have been taken care of – part of the bow can rise up to provide shade for the jacuzzi.

And the boat is eco-friendly too, sporting a huge wind turbine which powers the yacht’s electricity systems.

Mr Gray insists that the boat is ‘in the engineering stage’, and is about to enter production.

“The plans are so advanced that ship builders can bring production by the end of the year,” says Gray. “It’s not conceptual anymore; it’s gone into the engineering stage.”

The design team is now in talks with potential owners about special modifications to suit their tastes, including working with fashion house Armani to fit out the interiors.

Armani are said to be involved with designing the ship's interiors

But the Sovereign is not simply designed for luxury, she can reach speeds of up to 30 knots. “It’s the most high performance 100 meter yacht ever,” says Gray.

The 100 meter yacht can reach speeds of up to 30 knots and is considered the most high performance yacht ever in its class.

If you are one of those super rich people who still cannot decide what to buy as a gift for your loved one, look no further.� Go and book one of this superyacht !

14-month old Taya Kennedy has become the darling of the child-modelling world.

Taya has Down’s Syndrome but she was selected, not to fulfil a quota, or out of sympathy or adhere to the dictums of some politically-correct code of positive discrimination. Taya was picked because she is a star in her own right, one brimming with the confidence of a natural performer.

14-month-old Taya Kennedy

“Taya is an incredibly photogenic, warm and smiley child, and that shines through in her photographs,” says Alysia Lewis, owner of Urban Angels, the prestigious UK model agency that has signed her up.

We only open our books twice a year and select just a few new children each season.

‘The standard is high; the desire for places strong. Taya is one of 50 children we chose from 2,000 applicants.

“That she has Down’s Syndrome did not enter the equation. We chose her because of her vibrancy and sense of fun. Not all children are comfortable in front of a lens and with a photographer looking at them ” especially when they are so young. But Taya was so relaxed and happy. She was just what we were looking for.”

Retailers, including the Early Learning Centre and Mothercare, are already queuing up to feature the bright-eyed toddler in their advertising campaigns.

And Taya’s devoted mum, Gemma Andre, couldn’t be more proud.

Taya Kennedy with her mum Gemma Andre

The story of Taya, her single-minded mum and proud father Robbie Kennedy is an uplifting one. Gemma, 29, a mortgage adviser with Santander, has never accepted that constraints must be imposed on her daughter because she has a disability.

She believes that her only child is capable of achieving any dream, however elevated.

“Already Taya attends a mainstream nursery,” she says.

Her father and I want her to go to an ordinary school, too. After her birth, I was given a list of things she wouldn’t achieve; accomplishments she could never hope to master.

“It was so dispiriting. I was told her teeth would not all develop. But already she has seven baby teeth. I was warned she would be slow to speak. But she already says “dad, mum, nana, cat and ta”.

So now I take no notice of what the experts say.

‘And I am determined Taya will have as many chances in life as any other child. I want her to go to dancing school. She loves music and has a sense of rhythm; she sways and claps her hands when I sing to her.

‘After her birth, I was given a list of things she wouldn’t achieve; accomplishments she could never hope to master. It was so dispiriting… Now I take no notice of what the experts say,’ said Gemma

“I”m already saving for her to have driving lessons. I have a fund for her to go to university. I want to prove to Taya that any goal in life is attainable. It doesn’t matter that she has Down’s Syndrome. She can still achieve. I want her to be an inspiration to others.”

Taya Kennedy with her mum Gemma Andre

Gemma sounds optimistic because Taya has already defied so many of the experts” other predictions about her future too. Gemma and Robbie have always refused to dwell on the limitations imposed by their daughter’s condition. Instead they have fostered her strengths.

“I was told that children with Down”s Syndrome are not expected to walk until they are three to five years old, ” says Gemma.

But Taya is already standing. She is a strong little character and her physiotherapist has told me that she thinks she will be walking by Christmas.

“Her muscle tone is excellent; just like a normal child’s. So it would be the best present I could have if Taya took her first steps on Christmas Day.”

Taya, however, has not surpassed such milestones by luck alone, for Gemma has exceptional reserves of grit and determination: “I’ve played games with her to develop her muscles; I do exercises with her. She stands on my knees and her little legs are firm. I’ve bought her a toy animal with a swivelling seat that bounces. She shrieks with laughter when she plays on it. She loves it and it also strengthens her legs.”

Supported by her mum, Diane, 58, a social worker whose area of expertise is disabled children, Gemma has discovered that Taya responds well to visual stimulation.

“She likes sensory toys: light tubes, bubbles, mirrors. She reacts positively when we mime to her, so the whole family is learning sign language.”

14-month-old Taya Kennedy

Taya was born in September 2010. Although the pregnancy was not planned, Gemma and her partner of three years Robbie, 23, were delighted.

“I had no debts, a good job; I knew I could give our baby a good quality of life,” she says.

When she gave birth to her 5lb 3oz baby girl, she had no inkling that anything was wrong.

“I remember thinking, ” She has beautiful oval eyes. They look Oriental.” When Robbie cut the cord we both cried with happiness.”

Ten minutes later their joy was abruptly usurped by fear and anxiety.

A doctor told us, “I think she has Down’s Syndrome” and then he just walked away.

From that moment I was mourning for the child I hadn’t had. We couldn’t help but selfishly wonder why this had happened to us. We weren’t prepared for it. We couldn’t celebrate. We felt numb and grief-stricken; just devastated.

Bit by bit, the extent of Taya’s disabilities emerged.

“Down’s Syndrome babies are born with very poor muscle tone. Taya was more floppy than a rag doll. It was as if she had no bones,” recalls Gemma.

She had a single crease in her palm, a gap between her toes and a flat nose that signals sinus problems. She has deficiencies in her sight and hearing, her bowels and heart.

‘Tests showed her heart had two holes in it, but we were told not to worry, that she would be unaffected by the condition. All these things, we knew, were characteristic of Down’s children.

“We didn’t know what to expect or hope for. We were literally sent home with a booklet. But from that moment I knew I had to fight Taya’s corner, to research everything I could about her condition and do all I could to ensure she would have every chance in life.”

She began by challenging the doctors who insisted she would be unable to breastfeed: They dismissed the idea as soon as Taya was born. They said she could not suckle because Down’s children have over-sized tongues and weak jaw muscles.

“But I was determined to prove them wrong. For a month I went to a breast-feeding class. I knew it would boost Taya’s weakened immune system if I fed her. It would also help with her speech because it would strengthen her jaw muscles. I wanted to do all I could to give her the best start. In the end, I breastfed her for nine months.”

Taya, despite her disabilities, has a sunny disposition.

“She wakes up with a smile on her face and goes to sleep smiling. She hardly ever cries,” says her mum. “I was worried at first because she was so peaceful.”

And even when, aged two-and-a-half months, Taya was rushed into hospital for an emergency operation to repair the holes in her heart ” she spent three days in intensive care, her condition critical ” Gemma recalls that she was not only robust and quick to recover, but that her cheerfulness did not falter.

Taya, in turn, has learned to pose for the camera. She beams on cue and is always alert and interested. Even so, Gemma had never thought her little girl ” beautiful though she is ” could be a model.

Taya Kennedy with her mum Gemma Andre

It was her cousin Eletta, 30, who planted the seed in her mind. Eletta is raising five children, her own three and her nine-year-old twin brothers after her mother died in a car crash.

It was Eletta who proposed Gemma look at the Urban Angels’ website. She liked the ethos of the company, its ethnically-diverse range of models and its philosophy of inclusion. Its list of clients was impressive, too.

It provides children for advertising campaigns for a huge range of companies, from Burberry and Stella McCartney to The White Company and GAP, as well as Sainsbury’s, M&S, ASDA and H&M.

“It would not have occurred to me to put Taya forward unless Eletta had suggested it,” says Gemma.

“But I decided to send a couple of pictures I’d taken on my iPhone. There was an application form to fill in, too. No one asked the question, “Is your child disabled?” So I didn’t mention it.

Soon afterwards, I got a call from a woman at the agency who said: “We loved your pictures. Could you come to Manchester with your daughter for a photo shoot? ”

I thought we had nothing to lose. Mum said, “You should tell them Taya has Down’s”, but I decided not to. I didn’t want her to be chosen as the token disabled child. If she was going to be picked, then it had to be on her own merit.

And it was quickly evident that Taya loved the camera. The pictures of her, mesmerised by bubbles, chuckling with glee, resplendent in a frothy white dress, are entrancing.

When she smiles, misconceptions melt away. That is how Taya became the darling of the modelling world.

Taya Kennedy - Darling of the child-modelling world