Deployed 3/2 Marine asks: Mila Kunis, will you go the Marine Corps ball with me?
July 7th, 2011 | Afghanistan Bored Marine Video Infantry Pop culture | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Well, you can’t blame a brother for trying.
A video has been circulating on the web in which Sgt. Scott Moore, a member of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., asks actress Mila Kunis to attend his unit’s Nov. 18 Marine Corps birthday ball in Greenville, N.C. He’s at a combat outpost in Musa Qala, Afghanistan, when he makes his plea.
“Hey Mila,” he says. “It’s Sergeant Moore, but you can call me Scott. I just wanted to take a moment out of my day to invite you to the Marine Corps Ball on November 18th in Greenville, North Carolina with yours truly. So take a second, think about it and get back to me. OK. Goodbye now.”
The video is here:
Obviously, there’s a growing culture in which U.S. service members post videos online with pop culture ties, then find themselves in the national spotlight. Most recently, it worked for the Marines who produced a video of themselves lip-syncing Britney Spears’ “Hold it Against Me.” She posted the video on her Twitter page, and eventually met the Marines at a concert after their deployment in Afghanistan ended.
Moore hasn’t attained that kind of fame, but you still have to take your hat off to him. Not only is he clearly having fun, he’s cutting right to the chase. He wants Kunis, 27, a star in everything from “That 70′s Show” to “Black Swan,” at his ball. No lip-syncing. No dancing. Just a simple request.
Mila: If you’re reading this, Moore wants you to drop him a line at gowithmemila (at) gmail.com. What do you have to lose, really?
Bored Marine Video: Electrofunk reaches Afghanistan
May 19th, 2011 | Afghanistan Bored Marine Video Camp Leatherneck Pop culture | Posted by Dan Lamothe
It’s not every day that I learn a new word while searching for the latest and greatest Bored Marine Video. Today is one of those days.
Below, Marines with Combat Camera in Afghanistan perform “Don’t Turn the Lights On.” This is no Britney Spears jam, though. This song is originally by Chromeo, an “electrofunk duo.” And thus, the word of the day: electrofunk.
I have to say, this Bored Marine Video is a cut above the typical material.
Well-produced? Check.
Well lip-synced? Check.
Psychedlic undertones? Absolutely.
For the record, it appears these Marines are based at Camp Leatherneck, where they have amused themselves by creating videos more than once. Consider this recent, thoughtful piece on “combat landscaping.”
Interview: Meet the Marines behind the Britney Spears viral video
April 27th, 2011 | Afghanistan Aviation Bored Marine Video Pop culture | Posted by Dan Lamothe
One week ago on Monday, a Marine corporal in Afghanistan posted a video of him and his buddies lip-syncing Britney Spears’ “Hold It Against Me.”
It was amusing, well-edited and uplifting — and quickly became one of the most popular current YouTube videos in the world after Spears herself shared it on Twitter three days later.
By now, you’ve probably seen the video. As I write this post, it has been viewed more than 2.6 million times in less than two weeks. YouTube statistics show it’s the third-most popular music video on the site this week.
Not wanting to miss out on the fun, I reached out through YouTube’s messaging service to the then-anonymous Marine who originally posted the video.
His name is Cpl. Andrew Tarin, and he’s a flight equipment technician with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 467, out of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. The squadron has flown AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters and UH-1N Twin Huey utility helicopters in Afghanistan for the last few months in support of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Tarin said he and his friend, Cpl. Adam Purdy, decided to lip-sync the song after hearing it on a bus ride from their living quarters at Camp Leatherneck to their job with the squadron.
Cpl. Andrew Tarin appears in the viral video he created of Marines lip-syncing Britney Spears' "Hold It Against Me." (YouTube screen grab)
“We heard the song on the radio and had no idea who the artist was,” Tarin said by e-mail from Afghanistan. “We sent a vague request home asking for the song. We received it a few days later and were like, ‘Wow, it’s Britney Spears.’ Before you know it, one thing led to another and we made the video. Our aim was to put out a video that would make our friends and families smile.”
There are 19 performers in the video, all with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 466 (Reinforced), of MCAS New River, N.C., or HMLA-169, an attack squadron out of Camp Pendleton, Calif. Elements of Tarin’s squadron, HLMA-467, joined VMM-266 (rein.) for the MEU’s deployment.
Tarin did all the filming and editing for the video, with Purdy, a Cobra and Huey airframe mechanic, helping to select clips appropriate for different pieces of the song. Tarin appears in the video himself at the 3:10 mark, wearing red goggles and a mustache while singing and sitting behind the wheel of a small bus.
“We all have been blown away by the reactions online,” Tarin said. “We never expected it to get this big. It was awesome that Britney saw the video and approved.”
Bored Marine Video: Marines get their Britney on
April 22nd, 2011 | Afghanistan Bored Marine Video | Posted by Chris Kelly
I’m not sure how we missed this one here on Battle Rattle, but thanks to USATODAY’s Lifeline Blog, we now know there are some motivated filmmakers in the Marine Corps.
Posted earlier this week, the video already has 150,000 views. The video was made by Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 266 (Reinforced) and Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169 (HMLA-169).
Britney herself has seen it and loves it.
[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/#!/britneyspears/status/61227100706840576"]
Bored Marine Video: Marine eats massive desert bug
April 14th, 2011 | Animals Bored Marine Video | Posted by Dan Lamothe
It has been a few weeks since we’ve posted a good Bored Marine Video to kick the weekend off the right way. Why not start now?
Up this week: one of the most disturbing things I’ve seen all month. Our intrepid Marine hero decides to make good on a promise to eat a freakishly large moth. And by “freakishly large,” I mean, “beefy enough to roast on a spit.” The humanity! It’s still squirming!
A slight warning: the video has a little bit of salty language, as you might expect when something like this happens. Really, though, the Marines here are quite supportive of the endeavor:
I’ve heard of having butterflies in the stomach, but this is ridiculous.
Bored Marine Video: ‘I Like to Move It’ in Afghanistan
March 17th, 2011 | Afghanistan Bored Marine Video | Posted by Dan Lamothe
It has been a few weeks since we’ve check in with a good Bored Marine Video, but we’re back at it.
This week’s clip, newly posted within the last month, shows two Marines relaxing in Afghanistan in a truck (it’s unclear which kind). Things are shadowy, but I think it’s clear they’re filling their Bored Marine Video duties:
That pervasive noise you hear in the video, of course, is the sounds of the engine. It adds saltiness, I think.
The song was originally done by rapper Reel 2 Real, but there’s another famous version that’s probably closer to what these Marines have shared with us. You can probably guess where I’m going with this:
I’m just sayin’, you know.
Bored Marine Video: Taking on Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’
February 18th, 2011 | Bored Marine Video | Posted by Dan Lamothe
I’m not usually much for YouTube videos that feature people lip-synching to someone else’s music, but exceptions can be made.
This is one of those times.
This week’s Bored Marine Video features a leatherneck with nothing more than hopes, dreams and fancy video-editing software. And he loves him some Lady Gaga:
Do you feel inspired now, too?
Bored Marine Video: Brilliant Marine zaps himself
February 11th, 2011 | Bored Marine Video | Posted by Dan Lamothe
So there I was, struggling to find a new bored Marine video that did justice to the genre. And what pops up this morning? A Marine juicing himself with an electroshock device.
What could possibly go wrong?
The device appears to be the Muscle Man 200,000V Classic Stunner. Ayeeeee!!!
Bored Marine Video: Guitar Hero warriors take on Dragonforce
January 27th, 2011 | Bored Marine Video | Posted by Dan Lamothe
If you’ve played Guitar Hero, you know that certain songs take on a life of their own. They seem so hard, it’s a wonder anyone can beat them, especially on “expert” level.
These Marines, as dutiful video game heroes, know this. So they’ve kicked it up a notch, attempting Dragonforce’s epic “Through the Fire and Flames” using nothing but their rifles, utility uniforms and a whole bucket of crazy. Yes, it’s this week’s Bored Marine Video:
For those of you who have no idea what happened, here’s the original song they’re imitating. Or is it desecrating?
Blaze on, metal warriors.
Bored Marine Video: Cartoon klutziness
January 14th, 2011 | Bored Marine Video | Posted by Dan Lamothe
When Marines get bored, they don’t always think clearly. Sometimes they perform stunts that seem like a good idea at the time, but result in all of their friends laughing at them.
This week’s video highlights this trend. Our fearless hero thinks that jumping with the aid of a pole will end well. He is wrong.
It’s hard to beat the laughter at the end of the clip. Doesn’t exactly sound like a battle-hardened warrior, does it?