Belarusian honor guard struts its stuff

What's the use of running a basket-case, tin-pot totalitarian dictatorship if you can't drill an elite honor guard to perform breathtaking feats of close-order drill? Case in point, the official honor guard of Belarus.

Домино (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)

• [S. C. Asher]

  That was the best impression of dominoes I ever saw.

  • [Iman Azol]

    But not nearly enough execution of liberals.

• [Aaron Gilliland]

  I don’t think they have anything left to guard…

• [Noctilucent Studios]

  Throw in some Rockettes style line kicks there at the end, and they’ve got themselves a deal!!

• [Westfakia]

  That looks oddly reminiscent of slitscan video.

• [DevinC]

  Good to see Lieutenant Schiesskopf is still getting work.

  • [Michael Smith]

    Yeah its not…. rigid enough for Major Major Major Major.

• [Antinous / Moderator]

  What’s wrong with government by Busby Berkeley?  In Greece they militarizificate with pompoms on their shoes.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W2wCIHF4Qw

  • [rattypilgrim]

     Better than little mirrors on their shoes…or not.

  • [Paul Renault]

     Meanwhhile, in Britain:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol5Dfs7jqFI

• [gnilleps]

  I see Boing Boing is still mourning the loss of trippy “trails” effects in 1980s music videos.

• [Happler]

  They did not do “Teddy-bear Teddy-bear Turn around”!  I am disappoint.

• [Rob Beschizza]

  One cannonball.

• [Pickleschlitz]

  That’s really neat! Hooray for Belarus! (wherever that is)

• [mudpup]

  BFD our 1973 high school ROTC squad was better.

• [GertaLives]

  Honestly, they’re not nearly as precise or disciplined as the Marine Corps Drill Team. Not sure what that implies about the state of our government, but it’s troof.

  • [penguinchris]

    Maybe not, but does the Marine Corps Drill Team do silly-but-cool routines? I’m guessing no.

    • [stovedoor]

      May I present: the US army drill team. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dxTBK7jI1s

      • [retepslluerb]

        Can anyone explain to me why “Blades of Glory” is a comedy and this is not?

      • [penguinchris]

        Impressive – and silly – but I think what I like about the Belarusian video is that they’re not perfect. They’re a bit flamboyant, and their routine seems slapped-together but still well-rehearsed. Same with e.g. the Greek video Antinous posted, and videos of insane military performances out of India, Pakistan etc.

        The US guys are just too serious, and I get the sense that they’d be angry if you compared them to figure skating (like @retepslluerb:disqus refers to) or other flamboyant performance sports like that.

• [rattypilgrim]

  Once on a ten hour flight as I stood at the back of the plane waiting to get into the restroom I observed the entire economy class as people moved, writhed, etc. in a continuum. It hit me how much like maggots on a dead mouse we humans must look viewed from a more distant viewpoint. This video gives me the same sensation. Just sayin’.

• [grs]

  Now that’s how you win wars!

• [wilmcdaniel]

  For some reason all could think of was Stripes.

• [SedanChair]

  What’s the use of running a basket-case, tin-pot totalitarian dictatorship if you can’t drill an elite honor guard to perform breathtaking feats of close-order drill?

  Amen to that

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv_Q9MtfRHk

• [William]

  Ripple lines are cool but not really that complex compared to aerial exchanges while marching.  The drill done in the video below is on a level of difficulty and precision that does not exist anywhere in the world today of which I am aware and that includes the Marines at 8th & I.  The longer you watch the more impressive it gets.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gm1E60fmBs&feature=related

• [Shashwath T.R.]

  I’m reminded of a Tamil verse, which I’ll attempt to translate

  “Adorned with feathers and garlands
  Anointed with oils and safe in the armoury
  These sharp weapons of yours.

  Those, used in war,
  Broken and dented
  Always in the blacksmith’s shop…”

  Sorry, translation’s not great…

  The setup is that the poetess (Auvaiyar) goes to dissuade a rival from attacking her patron. She calls attention to his lack of experience by pointing out that his arms and army look great on parade and display, while her patron is an experienced warleader, who’s weapons actually get used…

  • [Tynam]

    Your translation is great, in that I understood the point. +1 forever for introducing me to an interesting new poet. (Several, actually.)  Thanks for that, Shashwath.

• [Kimmo]

  Impressive enough, I suppose… but then it makes me wonder if our ancestors in the wild would ever have attempted to intimidate a rival by masturbating.

  • [ocker3]

     If you’ve seen a monkey do it, a human has probably done it too

• [drukqs]

  That last lick of music was giving me Super Mario vibes.

• [Guest]

  Luke:  I want to make everyone able to follow orders like a monkey so as to demonstrate the awesome power of (the) *force* and to impress foreigners at the Olympics, nuclear parades, and public gatherings in general.  But I also want them to be free, autonomous, and to do things because they’re useful, not arbitrary.

  Yoda: That is why you failed.

• [dahbe]

  Human Centipede. 

• [zgz]

  That might be quite effective in the battle field. the opposite side will just stop and stare.

• [blake31a]

  This reminds me of that weird Japanese choreographed walking where each person in a line moved to the next body position in a sequence with each step. The end effect was a silly / neat walk where they would be hitting each other if they messed up. Anyone?

  • [Dan Hibiki]

     you know a youtube video would really help you right about now.

• [Jens Reuterberg]

  I will pay any man or woman with ever lasting respect who adds the the music ”One”  from A Chorus Line to this video.

• [Jens Reuterberg]

  Ok I played it in another window and shut off the sound of the Belarus video…. DO IT! 
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyZeGOsR9IA

• [Boundegar]

  The blue sign in the background.  What does it mean?  I must have it!

  • [Symbiote]

    That’s the international standard sign for a pedestrian crossing.

    Blue signs signify orders.  Red triangular signs signify warnings, so a few countries (like the UK) have a red triangular sign instead, depending on the law for crossings.

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    No Moonwalking?

  • [Dan Hibiki]

     Bo you now have Zebra Crossings in your country?

• [JoelJoel]

  The real challenge is in getting the firing squad victims to fall in precise order.

• [GuyInMilwaukee]

  What’s wrong with marching up and down the square?
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLJ8ILIE780

• [snagglepuss]

  Somebody, somewhere, has GOT to do a close-order formation drill recreation of the Ministry Of Silly Walks. Can you imagine how that would blow minds, a dozen or so perfectly-timed gangling loons, reeling around in flawless synchronization…?

  • [igor alcyon]

    That’s it.  I now have a purpose in life.

• [LaylaSV]

  Deep inside the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, Kim Jon Il wakes and hisses his displeasure.

• [Tom]

  Are they dressed in different colored uniforms, or is that an artifact of the video compression?

• [Petzl]

  Isn’t fascism spiffy?

• [Art]

  Relatedly, but mostly on a shifted axis, check out these “Chinese Worm Dancers” >>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nerLZdYnZBE&feature=plcp