Caught My Eye

What kind of crazy prison are these guys running. Even Andy from the Shawshank Redemption wants to know.

Two men hijack a helicopter and then force the pilot to fly over the roof of a maximum security prison in Greece. They unfurl rope ladders and bam, they are on their way:

Prison guards shot at the helicopter during the escape, witnesses told local media.
No injuries were reported.

The pilot was found gagged near the helicopter north of Athens, a state-run media report said.
The inmates and the unidentified accomplices had not been located, Greek authorities said.

“I will not tolerate this embarrassment and all necessary measures will be taken, no matter how stringent they may be,” Justice Minister Nikos Dendias told CNN.

The prison break by helicopter is the second for Paleokostas, who was convicted for abducting a businessman and escaped the prison the first time in June 2006. He was recaptured several months later.

Maybe I’ll pass on the Bungee Jumping.

AMBOY, Wash. — A day of bungee jumping with friends from work came to a sudden stop when the cord broke and a man dropped into Canyon Creek northeast of Yacolt, Wash. Thursday.
Mark Afforde said the cord broke shortly after he’d hit the lowest point of the jump from an estimated 400-foot high bridge — about 25 feet from the surface. Paramedics from North Country Medical said that probably saved his life as he was relatively close to the creek when the cord snapped.

Afforde, 49, said he heard the bungee cord snap and he felt the impact as he went underwater. Then, he realized he was still alive and okay and made his way to the side of the creek.
“I am incredibly fortunate. Not only to be with the people I’m with, but to be here. Had it been a different situation, I probably wouldn’t be here,” Afforde told KGW in the exclusive interview.
Despite the scare, Afforde said he would bungee jump again.

This is what you call a really bad day.

A man survived a rollover accident off a cliff and walked up to Highway 152 for help, but was hit by a car and killed, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The unidentified man was driving a Toyota Tundra east on Highway 152 near Los Banos about 3:15 a.m. Wednesday when he lost control of the car and it went off a cliff, rolling over and landing 200 feet below.

He made his way up to the highway, apparently to flag down help, but was hit by a Honda Accord driven by Fernando Martinez of Los Banos.

Investigators responding to the scene did not know about the first accident until the Tundra passenger, Aria Day Fletcher, 23, of Fresno, made her way out of the car and to the fatal scene.

Now here is a story that you might find to be surprising. Who knew.

“It’s a musical staple of nursery schools and seniors’ fitness classes throughout
the English-speaking world.

But The Hokey Pokey – the right-hand-in, right-hand-out ditty that sparked a 1950s dance craze – has become the focus of a bizarre controversy in Britain that has drawn in politicians, the Catholic Church in Scotland and soccer fans accused of exploiting the song’s alleged anti-Catholic roots to taunt opposing teams.

Now, the son of the famed Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy – the man credited with penning the lyrics to one of the world’s most familiar melodies – has weighed in to the furor by revealing what he calls the true inspiration for his father’s hit: a traditional Canadian folk tune sung by miners in the early 20th century as a drug anthem celebrating the therapeutic powers of cocaine.The song is known in Britain as The Hokey Cokey, and was originally published by Kennedy during the Second World War as The Cokey Cokey before various U.S. recordings of The Hokey Pokey gave the song and its accompanying movements global popularity.

In December, the song sparked an uproar in Scotland when fans of the Glasgow Rangers soccer team were accused of planning to sing it to insult rival Glasgow Celtic, a club with Catholic roots. A Catholic Church spokesman warned that The Hokey Cokey had centuries-old origins as a Protestant song meant to mock the words and actions of Catholic clergy presiding over the Latin mass.

“This song does have quite disturbing origins. Although apparently innocuous, it was devised as an attack on and a parody of the Catholic mass,” Peter Kearney, a spokesman for Scottish Catholic Cardinal Keith O’Brien, said at the time.
He added that soccer authorities should monitor the situation to assess “if there are moves to restore its more malevolent meaning.”

Michael Matheson, a Nationalist member of the Scottish Parliament, also issued a warning about The Hokey Cokey in December: “It is important that the police and football clubs are aware of the sinister background to this song, and take the appropriate action against individuals and groups who use it at matches or in other situations to taunt Catholics.”

But that suggestion was quickly panned by Murdo Fraser, deputy
leader of the Scottish Tories: “I can’t believe Scottish children performing the
Hokey Cokey are doing so in pursuit of any sort of anti-Catholic agenda,” he
told reporters.

For weeks, allegations of historical bigotry behind The Hokey Pokey have been the focus of a lively debate in the letters pages and websites of British newspapers.”

Read the whole story here.

Any place that offers a sleep menu catches my eye. Check out this selection:

The Benjamin has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that their guests receive a perfect night’s sleep. At the center of the program is the Sleep Concierge whose job is to help guests with every request for a restful and peaceful night’s sleep. From selecting the perfect pillow to arranging a relaxing massage at the hotel’s Wellness Spa, the Sleep Concierge provides assistance and advice for guests as well as fulfills requests from the hotel’s Sleep Menu, such as a bedtime comfort snack of milk and warm cookies or delivery of a white noise machine.
In fact, The Benjamin is so confident each guest will sleep well it has instituted a “Sleep Guarantee” of a free nights stay if a guest does not sleep as well or better than at home.
Sleep Amentities
The Benjamin offers a full range of 12 different types of pillows from which to choose: down, upper body, buckwheat, satin, hypo-allergenic, water-filled, Swedish memory, magnetic therapy, a jelly neckroll, a five-foot body cushion, sound, maternity and a special anti-snore pillow.
In addition to the pillows, the hotel features The Benjamin Bed: a Serta® mattress created exclusively for The Benjamin, with specially engineered convoluted foam cushioning and layers of fibers quilted to the mattress for a luxurious surface feel. The custom-designed Benjamin Bed is wrapped in 100% Egyptian Cotton 400-plus thread count sheets by Anichini and a down-filled comforter with luxurious triple sheeting. (The pillows, sheets, and mattresses have become so popular that they are now offered for sale for guests who want to bring The Benjamin experience home.) Aromatherapy bathroom amenities further enhance relaxation. In addition to the luxurious sleep amenities, The Benjamin has outfitted each guest room with double-glazed windows, with argon gas between the panes, and black-out shades to keep rooms quiet and restful.