woman remembers everything since teen

Imagine every detail, of every hour, of every day, of every year, since you were 14. Useful? Annoying? Unusual? Interesting? Well, this has been Jill Price’s life since she was 14. Price considers it a curse instead of a gift since she is unable to not remember things. Very detailed memories such as what time she awoke, what she ate, who she met is in her brain and can be triggered by songs, smells, or locations.

Price described the condition as a split screen television, one side showing what is currently going on, the other a whirlwind of memories that she cannot hold back. The condition, called hyperthymestic syndrome, and is extremely rare with only 5 other confirmed cases, and 50 possibles. Price says the condition has afflicted her with depression because she remembers everything, which means every bad decision, insult and embarrassment.  A researcher commented on her extraordinary ability, “you can give her a random day years ago, and in a few seconds she can tell you what day it was, what she did, and key events of the day.” Price kept a diary from age 10-34 and scientists use the diary of how she remembered them now against how she put them down years ago.

This is an amazing story but I would be a little skeptical that she has just not read her diary over and over again and simply memorizing the events that way, however I haven’t viewed the actual research so I won’t be a skeptic.

the man behind ironman

With the opening of the first summer blockbuster this weekend, I thought it would be appropriate to add Robert Downey Jr. to the list of unusual people. In case you haven’t heard Downey has a wild past, and it is good to see him in a mainstream film and get his act together. 

Downey, who describes himself as Buddist-Jewish, began his film career as a child with a small role in the film Pound. He grew up in the properous village of Greenwich New York, however moved with his father to California when his parents divorced. Downey dropped out after two years of high school to pursue acting, and appeared on Saturday Night Live at the age of 20.  Some people consider him a  member of the brat pack, which is a group of actors that appear in a number of movies together, analogous to the previous rat pack, and the modern day frat pack.

Now onto the good stuff, from 1996 to 2001 Downey was arrested a number of times on drug related charges. Rehab proved difficult to him as he explained to a judge in 1999 “it’s like I have a loaded gun in my mouth and my finger’s on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gunmetal”. Downey has also claimed to have been addicted to drugs since the age of 8.

 In an incident in 1996, he was arrested for possession of heroin, cocaine, and an unloaded .357 while driving naked down sunset boulevard. A month later while on parole he was arrested for trespassing into a neighbors home while under the influence of drugs and was found asleep in one of the beds. As a result he was sentenced to 3 years probation and missed one of his mandatory drug tests and had to spend 4 months in jail. This also happened in 1999 and he had to spend nearly a year in jail the subsequent time.

After his release Downey had a role in the popular show Ally Mcbeal. He also earned a golden globe for the role. However things took a turn for the worse the same year when he was arrested by police after a search of his hotel room where he was found to be under the influence of a ilegal substance and in possession of cocaine and valium. While on parole in 2001 police found him wandering in a alley and as a result he was fired frm the show.

However, he made a career comeback in 2004, first releasing his debut musical album the futurist. He was invited to open for Duran Duran as a result but declined. He returned to the big screen in 2005’s Gothika, where 40% of his salary was withheld until completion of the movie as a insurance measure.  He also appeared in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, A Scanner Darkly, Good Night and Good Luck.

This ultimately led to his suprising cast as the main character in Iron Man. The director noted that Downey was the most obvious chocie but that he understood what made the character tick and shared some of the same life experience in the character of Tony Spark. The film required downey to gain 20lbs of muscle in 5 months. The film has been praised by critics, with them also noting that Downey was superb and the contributing factor the film’s success.
Some people may write off drug addicts and say they are worthless and helpless, however Downey, although not a typical case has shown here that thusfar second chances pay off and it seems his career has been revived.

Dennis Rodman

Dennis Rodman was in the news again today on allegations of beating a woman at a hotel Wednesday night. His manager told tmz.com he and his girlfriend had too much to drink and he grabbed the woman’s arm. His manager also claimed that this was the result of stress from a nasty divorce and that Rodman would be entering rehab.

Let us focus on Rodman in general since this story brings him to the news.  Rodman is best known as a former NBA player who was of all star caliber for his defense and extraordinary rebounding ability. (Especially since rodman is much shorter[Six feet seven inches] than most of his competition.) Rodman only briefly played basketball in high school, and quit because lack of playing time.  However, while working as a janitor, a family friend told the local community college basketball coach of Rodman’s playground basketball skills and he played for the school for a year. Rodman then went on to play for Southeastern Oklahoma State which was a NAIA school and he was a three time all american and averaged over 25 points a game over the three seasons.

Rodman then was drafted by the Detroit Pistons and his controverisal career begins. After a playoff game with the rival Boston Celtics, Rodman made headlines after claiming Larry Bird was overrated because he was white, which better known at the time Isiah Thomas agreed with. By the early 90s Rodman was awarded with defensive player of the year honors, and was averaging over 18 rebounds a game. (A very large number that is even more impressive considering his height). He had a career high 34 rebounds in March 1992.

Rodman then moved on to play with the San Antonio Spurs however, he again entered the news because of a highly publicized relationship with Madonna. He was dismissed from the team after two years and then joined the legendary Chicago Bulls of the 90s. His first year the team went 71-10 (not because of Michael Jordan or anything) and he, Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan were all named the NBA all defensive team.  However, more shocking behavior followed in Chicago, including an event where Rodman headbutted a referee. A year later he was also in a very controversial event, where after tripping over a cameraman, Rodman proceeded to kick the man in the groin. He was suspended for 11 games and settled with the cameraman for $200,000.

Outside of Basketball Rodman is much more detached from the norm. He has been involved in professional wrestling most notably in the WCW with good friend Hulk Hogan. Rodman even skipped basketball practice to wrestle which upset both fans, and coach Phil Jackson and was subsequently fined. Rodman has also been involved in acting, including an action film alongside Jean Claude Van-Damme and a comedy alongside Tom Berenger. Rodman also appeared in a episode of third rock from the sun, portraying himself, although it was noted that he was an alien like the shows main characters. He is also referenced as an alien in one of the closing scenes in Men In Black.

Rodman’s most outlandish behavior revolves around his personal life however. He has various tattoos and piercings, he is notorious for cursing on television, and often dyes his hair various colors.  He was also married to Carmen Electra and wore a wedding dress to the ceremony which also put him in the public eye.  Rodman won the Yucatan version of celebrity mole, which suprised many because he took virtually no notes. Rodman was also married to Madonna and suggested she tried to have a baby with him and also claimed he started getting tatoos and piercings to promote himself which he learned from Madonna.

Rodman has wrote two biographies, one titled Bad as I wanna be, another titled I should be dead by now. He has appeared in numerous reality shows, including the UK version of big brother and was shocked to find his friend Traci Bingham in the house as well. He frequently used the phrase “I don’t give a shit” and only in the house a pair of extra large condoms and did not wear any underwear. He became briefly involved with Faria Alam during the show and Rodman also claimed to have had sex with over 2000 women on the show.  He annoyed producers of the show and was banned from the reunion meeting between the cast.

Rodman has a variety of nicknames, Dennis the Menace, Rodzilla, D-Rod, Rod the Bod, The Red Mound of Rebound, the worm and a taunt nickname of The Real Hot Rod, (in reference to Rowdy Roddy Piper). Rodman is also a big fan of Pearl Jam, and his voice appears in the background of the song “Black, Red, Yellow”. He apparently has a broad taste in music as he has also admitted to liking the Smashing Pumpkins and country singer Randy Travis.

Rodman is quite the unusual person as you can see, which shows in his abilities on the court, as well as obviously off the court. Gimme some comments.

Homeless photoshoot

I must apologize for the lack of updates, I have been busy with finals and so forth and I promise the updates will return to normal come May 14th. In light of this I have decided to make two posts today. The first one was an interesting article I stumbled across. It is a page filled with photos of the homeless railway inhabitants shot by photographer Mike Brodie that was shown at the Pens and Needles Gallery in August. The video depicts the homeless in various photos, the most interesting in my opinon involves a dead rat cut open presumably awaiting human consumption. Also of note is the stockpile of alcohol one of the homeless has managed to store away which seems just shy of a typical stag bar.

Anyways, here’s the link, enjoy.

Alia Sabur youngest college prof

Alia Sabur became the youngest college professor at 18.  Sabur began college at age 10 and at 14 became the youngest female in history to obtain a college degree. Her education did not stop there however as she continued her post graduate studies at Drexel in materials science and engineering. Three days before she turned 19 she was hired to teach at a college in South Korea.

On top of her unprecedented academic achievements, Sabur has a black belt in the Korean martial art of tae kwon do and is also a music prodigy. She has been playing clarinet with orchestras since her solo debut at age 11, playing with recording artists Lang Lang and Smash Mouth.

Man wanders world for 18 years

Harry Lee Mcginnis has been on a Forest Bound like cross country trip for the last 18 years; except he’s been all over the world. He has walked the US, Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America carrying only a 100 pound backpack and a steel walking stick.

Mcginnis tries to only travel by foot but does take other transportation occasionally. His official country count is at 66, and he says the adventure has afforded him new tastes such as roasted termites. He plans on continuing his walking until 2010 or 2012, writing a book about all of the adventures and playing tennis at the age of 100.

Quite the strange one indeed.

You can view his official website, which includes a far more indepth biography, as well as a Q and A session at Http://www.hawkwalk.com

Bobby Knight

Bob Knight is one of the most entertaining coaches in any sport of all time. From his smart ass comments, to his dedicated work ethic, to his uncontrollable temper tantrums, he is quite the entertainer on and off the court.

Knight was born in 1940 in Massilon, Ohio and earned the nickname “the general” from his militaristic approach to the sport of college basketball.  Knight has coached at the United Stated Military Academy, Indiana University, and most recently Texas Tech, and is also the winningest coach of all time in Division I basketball.

However what sets Bob apart from the rest is his wide display of emotions while coaching on the court. He has been fined and sanctioned numerous times by the NCAA, thrown a chair across the court and even been arrested for assault as well as threatening members of the press. Knight went to The Ohio State University (my alma matter) where he graduated in 1962 while a member of the men’s basketball star among legends Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek.

Knight was quite successful at Indiana, however a string of events led to his eventual departure following an alleged grabbing of a students arm for disrespect as well as several other events that happened after IU enacted the zero tolerance policy on Knight’s behavior. He is still widely respected among IU fans.

Here are a list of alleged controversies Knight has been involved with courtesy of wikipedia.

• In 1979, Knight was arrested for assaulting a police officer during the Pan American Games in Puerto Rico. Knight was angry that a practice gymnasium was not opened to his team, which went on to a 9-0 record in the tournament. Knight was later convicted in absentia in a Puerto Rican court. However, the charges were later dropped when Indiana Governor Otis R. Bowen refused to cooperate in extraditing Knight to the island commonwealth.^[25]

• In 1985, Knight threw a chair across the court to protest a referee’s call during a game against the rival Purdue Boilermakers.^[26] Knight was suspended for one game and received two years’ probation from the Big Ten Conference.

• Women’s groups nationwide were outraged by Knight’s comments during an April, 1988 interview with Connie Chung in which he said, “I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it.”^[27] Knight’s comment was in reference to an Indiana basketball game in which he felt the referees were making poor calls against the Hoosiers.

• Knight allegedly kicked his own son, Pat Knight, during a 1993 game (Knight claims he actually kicked a chair).^[25]

• Knight was shown berating an NCAA volunteer at a 1995 post-game press conference following a 65-60 loss to Missouri in the first round of the NCAA tournament held in Boise, Idaho. The volunteer, Rance Pugmire, informed the press that Knight would not be attending the press conference, when in reality, Knight was running a few minutes late and had planned on attending per NCAA rules. Knight was shown saying: “You’ve only got two people that are going to tell you I’m not going to be here. One is our SID (sports information director), and the other is me. Who the hell told you I wasn’t going to be here? I’d like to know. Do you have any idea who it was?…Who?…They were from Indiana, right?…No, they weren’t from Indiana, and you didn’t get it from anybody from Indiana, did you?…No, I—I’ll handle this the way I want to handle it now that I’m here. You (EXPLETIVE) it up to begin with. Now just sit there or leave. I don’t give (EXPLETIVE) what you do. Now back to the game.”^[28]

• In February 2004, Knight made national headlines when he had an argument with then Texas Tech University Chancellor David Smith at a Lubbock supermarket.^[29]

• In March 2006, a student’s heckling at Baylor University resulted in Knight having to be restrained by a police officer. The incident was not severe enough to warrant any action from the Big 12 Conference.^[30]

• On November 13, 2006, Knight was shown allegedly hitting player Michael Prince under the chin to get him to make eye contact. Although Knight didn’t comment on the incident afterwards and as of yet hasn’t done so, Prince, his parents, and Texas Tech Athletic Director Gerald Myers insisted that Knight did nothing wrong and that he merely lifted Prince’s chin and told him “Hold your head up and don’t worry about mistakes. Just play the game.” Prince commented, “He was trying to teach me and I had my head down so he raised my chin up. He was telling me to go out there and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. He said I was being too hard on myself.”^[25]

• On October 21, 2007, James Simpson of Lubbock, Texas, accused Knight of firing a shotgun in his direction after he yelled at Knight and another man for hunting too close to his home.^[31] Knight denied the allegations. An argument between the two men was recorded via camera phone and aired later on television.^[32]

Also I have collected a few interesting videos of Bob Knight off of Youtube.

Bob Knight Golf Video Outtakes (Hilarious)

Random Knight Quotes

Knight Losing Temper

Police love hookers

A policeman in London was recently fired after being sent to investigate a local brothel, and winding up as one of their customers. According to the article the police officer engaged in the sexual activity in December 2005, so how did they discover this just now, over two years later?

The officer was sent to investigate the alleged brothel for suspicious activities and he apparently didn’t know wear to draw the line between work and play.

As the always say, all work and no play make jack a dull boy

but all play and no work, make jack a mere toy, a sex toy that is…..

Full story here

Man hypnotizes self before op

Alex Lenkei chose to use the mind instead of drugs as anesthetic. Using self hypnosis Alex claims he was able to block out all of the pain from the surgery while being fully aware. The surgeon David Llewelyn-Clark had no qualms over the unusual request.

However, before you try this on yourself from some internet self help book, Lenkei has been a registered hypnotist since age 16. Throughout the surgery Lenkei said he felt deeply relaxed and there was a anasthesiologist on hand the entire time in case Lenkei’s plan did not go as well as he intended.

Wow. now only if UFC fighters could do this.

Full story here

real life macguyver’s

Cracked.com posted an interesting article that detailed some of the most unbelievable Macguyver like  solutions imaginable. They include a WWII soldier that copied a map with Jello, Astronauts building a airscrubber with space junk, a scientist who made a breakthrough with Shrinky dinks, and two stories of prison escape; one by way of dental floss, the other via raincoats.

The spacecraft crew worked 1.5 days without sleep in order to construct a air-scrubber which was held together with random junk and duct-tape in order to survive when Nasa miscalculated oxygen needs for two members instead of three. (Rocket scientists eh)

The Scientist had been studying microfluidics (fluids on the microscopic scale) and was strapped for materials so she used the SlinkyDinks and based the design off of the pattern of the platic.

Three inmates escaped the world famous Alcatraz prison relying only on a lifeboat made out of raincoats. They made a drill out of a vacuum cleaner motor to drill through the prison walls, and made dummy heads out of toilet paper and soap so that they would appear to be in their respective beds. Supposedly one of the inmates had spent his entire life in and out of prison and possessed an extremely high IQ. The inmates constructed a raft out of 50 raincoats either stolen or borrowed from their time spent in prison. The three were never found.

In the second prison escape story Vincenzo Curcio used dental floss to saw through the metal bars in his prison cell. In the same year Antonio Lara also escaped by using the same method, although he only made it out of his cell to kill another inmate, not escape from prison.

Finally, the  WWII pilot copied a map using jello which they pressed onto the map, and then pressed the jello onto a sheet of clear greaseproof paper. They used to Jello to copy over thirty maps without raising the suspicion of the enemy because the maps remained intact.

You can read the whole story here.