A reporter from Romanian TV news channel Realitatea has become something of a national joke after a news clip of the reporter giving an account of a sandstorm appears to be totally fake!

The sandstorm did occur, however the story goes that the reporter missed the actual event and decided to get a member of the production team to help him recreate it for the viewers.

The reporter tells the viewers that the “the wind blows with incredible power” and as if that’s not dramatic enough for you, he also claims that there are times when “it is impossible to stand up.”
Then, and this is where the funny begins, the camera pans to the side and to the right of the reporter you can clear see a member of the production team enthusiastically kicking up the sand to create a sandstorm effect.

The reporter obviously doesn’t know that his cameraman man has included this in the shot and continues to inform the viewers about the seriousness of the sandstorm, explaining that people on the beach had to flee as the wind blew their beach umbrellas away.

According to Arbroath where we first saw this brilliant story, the channel has tried to claim that the report was genuine and the reporter himself has spoken out claiming that it was “not doctored in any way.”

His explanation for the sand kicking… “It was a bad joke made by the camera man.”
Sorry mate, I’m not sure if I’m buying that excuse! I don’t think the beach umbrellas were the only things that were taken by the wind that day, I reckon it probably took that reporters credibility along with it too!

The moral of this story – don’t piss off the cameraman!

Romanian TV Reporter Caught Out In Fake Sand Storm Stunt!. More at Buzz Patrol

We’re having an art-theme here at Buzz Patrol today, celebrating of course things that little bit different, alternative and unusual in the art world – and it doesn’t get much weirder than British artist Marc Quinn’s self-portraits that are cast in his own frozen blood!!

Quinn’s project, entitled ‘Self’ has been going on for many years, it is a series of sculptures of his head, which are made from approximately 4.5 liters of his own blood. The blood is extracted slowly from his body over a period of several months, (he might be wandering around feeling slightly faint and somewhat anemic otherwise) and then frozen in the cast. He makes a new sculpture once every 5 years or so and Quinn describes the project as a ‘frozen moment on lifesupport’.

Let’s just hope he doesn’t keep the sculptures in the same freezer as the ice cream!!

Alternative Art- Self Portrait Made With Artists Frozen Blood. More at Buzz Patrol

Hodges, who has several other convictions on his record – allegedly threatened Lowes cashiers with scissors to the neck. He was chased out of the store and tried to make his escape by jumping over a wall into the Cypress Bay Nudist Resort. It is then reported that Hodges threatened a resident of the colony with a knife before stealing a golf cart from a security guard to make his escape.

By that point however, cops were already on the scene and arrested Hodges at gunpoint. It will come as no surprise to any of you that the golf cart didn’t exactly provide Hodges with the speediest means to make a getaway – I mean weren’t there any nearby milk floats he could have nabbed in instead? Or failing that, maybe he could have robbed some rollerblades from an unsuspecting skater – they probably would have provided quicker exit than the golf cart!

As well as picking a means of transportation, which honestly speaking, is never going to feature in its own ‘The Fast and the Furious’ movie, Hodges also made the fatal error of trying to camouflage himself in a nudist colony!! Being one of the only people there who was clothed, police didn’t exactly have much trouble spotting him!

Hodges has a string of other convictions on his record, has spent time in jail for armed robbery and for attacking someone with a Pepsi can (interesting choice of weapon). I think someone might need to have a few words with young Hodges and try to convince him that it might be time to give up a life of crime, aside from the fact that it is wrong – it is also painfully obvious that he isn’t very good at it!!

Robber Who Stole Golf Cart From Nudist Colony Arrested. More at Buzz Patrol

If you are a fan of popular culture then I’m sure, like me, you have whittled away countless hours chatting with your friends about what would happen if you pitted your favorite heroes/villains from the most iconic movies ever against one another – wondering what strange events would unfold if they made cameo appearances in each other’s lives, who is scarier, bigger, badder, stronger…the opportunities are endless!

Well now, Paris-based artist Berk Senturk has put together some of the most loved, revered, hated and feared characters from popular culture together in a series of illustrations entitled ‘Oh Hi’.

The collection has some very interesting pairings indeed; The Terminator and Marty Mcfly, projectile puker and demon-host Regan from the Exorcist and the freaky little girl from The Ring and poor Woody from Toy Story who gets to try and teach Chucky from Child’s Play how to be a good toy!

My favorite pairing of the bunch is Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands meeting the X-men’s Wolverine – I think Edward might be bugging Burton for a bit of an upgrade after that! Which is your favorite?? Who else do you think should be thrown together to meet, in what Senturk described as “some unfortunate coincidences”? I’d quite like to see Chuck Norris meet Captain America, or Nick Fury meet the A-Team’s Hannibal Smith!

Check out more ‘Oh Hi’ illustrations on Behance.

‘Oh Hi’ Your Favorite Pop Culture Icons Come Together. More at Buzz Patrol

Unlike the majority of other London resident’s who can rarely find anything positive about the relentless rainfall that the UK’s capital city seems to be subjected to almost all the year round, photographer and Londoner Gavin Hammond has used them to create something truly artistic!

Hammond, who is also a writer, musician, producer and poet, has put together an amazing collection of pictures that show iconic London landmarks reflected in puddles.
There is something really magical about Hammond’s ‘London in Puddles’ collection, which I first saw on Flavorwire.com. I love the way he has used the light, depth and perspective in these images that for me have a real Narnia-esque feel to them and seem to take you by the hand into a parallel universe.

Flavorwire’s Emily Temple said that Hammond “uses his home city’s notorious flaw to highlight its beauty, shooting landmarks, foliage, and passerby in London’s ubiquitous puddles.”
The final photograph in his collection is an old ‘Singing in the Rain’ poster reflected in a puddle of course, wonderfully ironic, this brilliant picture captures the essence of the entire collection. If you like art and photography, then you will love ‘London in Puddles’!

‘London In Puddles’ By Gavin Hammond. More at Buzz Patrol

The latest offering from Joe Sabia’s musical video experiments, CDZA project.

Pianists in Paris. More at Buzz Patrol

Animal New York blog’s resident Justin Durazzo signed up to an online dating agency eight years ago when he was 26 year old. But who knew that an agency would give a follow up call years later.

Justin wrote:

When I was 26, I decided to explore a more “organic” alternative to online dating and contacted a service called It’s Just Lunch to find out more about their offerings and promise of harmonious romance.

The premise is simple: don’t commit to dinner or drinks with a perfect stranger (even after vetting their self-inflated profile) and get stuck in an unpredictably endless conversation or hit with a $200 bill—or in my case having to buy an obliterated date’s cab ride home, letting her crash on my couch and catering to her 8am beer run request upon awakening from her drunken coma.

Instead, have lunch with your blind date, knowing you’ve an easy out with a set hard stop (“I need to get back to work now, it was really refreshing to connect over coffee”) and then bail when the lunch is over.

For a premium, you’re promised better quality matches over then online dating sites like Match.com and eHarmony. But who knew a follow-up call would take 7-8 years? Here’s a voicemail I just received from my loyal customer service rep. Better late than never?

Listen to a voicemail left by a customer service rep below.

(via Animal New York)

Online Dating Agency Takes 8 Years To Return Call. More at Buzz Patrol

This is a video from the BBC of a story discussing Syria and the United Nations Security Council, but they accidentally use the logo for the Halo UNSC (United Nations Space Command) instead.

Some awesome hilarious free advertising for the Halo brand there.

BBC’s United Nations Security Council/HALO Fail. More at Buzz Patrol

‘Rubber’ and ‘Wrong’ director Quentin Dupieux premiered the first chapter of his latest project ‘Wrong Cops’ at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

The short movie starring Marilyn Manson as David Dolores Frank, a techno-loving street hustler and Mark Burnham as the demented Officer Duke who sells dead rats stuffed with pot to kids in exchange for blow jobs and cash. Check out Wrong Cops official website.

Marilyn Manson In Quentin Dupieux’s Wrong Cops. More at Buzz Patrol

I don’t know what Church this was recently recorded in, but it is one of those astonishing things where after watching the video your brain just freezes for a few moments while you try to make sense of it all.

Here’s what they are teaching children in this church:

I know the Bible’s right, somebody’s wrong
I know the Bible’s right, somebody’s wrong

Aint no homos going to make it to heaven

These kids are too young to know better, but a roomful of adults cheering and clapping them on is mind blowing. These people will proudly say they go to church and follow the words of the bible. Yet they are so willing to degrade their fellow human beings?

Toddler Sings ‘Ain’t No Homos Going To Make It To Heaven’ Gets Standing Ovation In Church. More at Buzz Patrol