Internet Fame Is Cruel Mistress for Dancer of the Numa Numa (funny video of kid singing)

NY Times ^ | 2/26/05 | ALAN FEUER and JASON GEORGE

[Cableguy]

There was a time when embarrassing talents were a purely private matter. If you could sing the Star Spangled Banner in the voice of Daffy Duck, no one but your friends and family would ever have to know.

But with the Internet, humiliation - like everything else - has now gone public. Upload a video of yourself playing flute with your nose or dancing in your underwear and people from Toledo to Turkmenistan can watch.

Here, then, is the cautionary tale of Gary Brolsma, 19, amateur videographer and guy from New Jersey, who made the grave mistake of placing on the Internet a brief clip of himself dancing along to a Romanian pop song. Even in the bathroom mirror, Mr. Brolsma's performance could only be described as earnest but painful.

His story suggests that the quaint days when cultural trinkets, like celebrity sex tapes, were passed around like novels in Soviet Russia are over. It says a little something of the lightning speed at which fame is made these days.

To begin at the beginning:

[Brad’s Gramma]

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!


LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[scott7278]

I think it's hilarious...and he ought to get a share of the inevitable music downloads.

[scott7278]

You've got to see this...here's to fun!

[tang-soo]

This took awhile, but I managed to match the english subtitles to the transliteration. Enjoy!

mai ah hee
mai ah hoo
mai ah ha
mai ah haha

Alo, salut, sunt eu, un haiduc
Hello, greetings, it's me, an outlaw.
Si te rog, ubirea mea, primeste fericire.
I ask you, my love to accept happiness.

Alo, alo, sunt eu, Picasso
Hello, hello, it's me, Picasso
Ti-am dat beep si sunt voinic
I sent you a beep (eyebrow shot) and I'm brave.
Dar sa stii, nu-ti cer nimic.
But you should that I'm not asking anything from you.

Vrei sa pleci dar nu-ma, nu-ma iei
You wanna leave but don't want to take me,
Nu-ma, nu-ma iei, nu-ma, nu-ma, nu-ma iei
don't want to take me, don't want, don't want, don't want to take me.
Chipul tau si dragostea din tei
Your face and the love from the linden trees.
Mi-amintesc de ochii tai.
And I remember your eyes.

Vrei sa pleci dar nu-ma, nu-ma iei
You wanna leave but don't want to take me,
Nu-ma, nu-ma iei, nu-ma, nu-ma, nu-ma iei
don't want to take me, don't want, don't want, don't want to take me.
Chipul tau si dragostea din tei
Your face and the love from the linden trees.
Mi-amintesc de ochii tai.
And I remember your eyes.

Te sun, sa-ti spun, ce simt, acum
I call to tell you what I feel right now.
End of video portion.

Alo, iubirea mea sunt eu, fericire.
Alo, alo, sunt iarasi eu, Picasso
Ti-am dat beep si sunt voinic
Dar sa stii, nu-ti cer nimic.

Vrei sa pleci dar nu-ma, nu-ma iei
Nu-ma, nu-ma iei, nu-ma, nu-ma, nu-ma iei
Chipul tau si dragostea din tei
Your face and the love Mi-amintesc de ochii tai.

Vrei sa pleci dar nu-ma, nu-ma iei
Nu-ma, nu-ma iei, nu-ma, nu-ma, nu-ma iei
Chipul tau si dragostea din tei
Mi-amintesc de ochii tai.

[radiohead]

Next thing you know we'll be seeing this kid in a commercial selling Pepsi, or Dr. Pepper, or Coke, or something!!

It would be better to see him than some of the so-called celebrities they've had selling their products lately.

Gee, this kid is cute. I love the eyebrow thing. And the song is catchy as all get out.

[GloriaJane]

Me too! He's much better!

[nopardons]

bttt

[MadIvan]

There's a young gentleman who works for me as a project manager, whom this fellow resembles. What a pity that the company rumour that it's him is entirely false. :)

Regards, Ivan

[1rudeboy]

Anybody know how I can succesfully save this to my hard drive (Win XP)? I right-click on the link, select 'Save Target As,' and all that junk. The file shows to be a .swf file, I have Flash Player installed on my rig, but Windows refuse to play it. Anybody?

[Casloy]

Hey, the guys who are humiliated are the band members who recorded the song. They were on the TODAY show and during their live performance they kept cutting to this video, which is absolutely hysterical. The kid has a bigger future than the band.

[Nightshift]

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Awww, c'mon! The kid's a riot! He should be proud of his "production" and revel in his newfound celebrity. He obviously has a great sense of humor.
Besides, all fame is fleeting. No one will remember his name by Christmas time.

[evilC]

Ling! (Light hearted ping)

Love the eyebrow thing. The kid has nothing to be ashamed of, it looks like he has an active sense of humor

[Guillermo]

HAHA i noticed the eybrow thing to...

I would be this kid has a good sense of humor, unlike Star Wars Kid.

[Flyer]

This guy has talent and a great presence. I hope he capitalizes on it.

[scott7278]

"Did you start singing along? I did! And did a 'wiggle dance of joy' LOL."

I don't know about them, but I sure did -- I couldn't help myself. How fun!

[nutmeg]

Love the eyebrow thing. The kid has nothing to be ashamed of, it looks like he has an active sense of humor

LOL... I almost pinged you to this thread when I first saw it. The kid's not bad... at least he has a sense of rhythm. Like the song, too.

[nutmeg]

Weekend silliness ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.

[humblegunner]

He's GREAT!

[RedWhiteBlue]

Oh, man, that is funny!