Starved of Everything but Luxury!

Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner includes the line "Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink!" to evoke the torment of Tantalus that was visited on the eponymous anti-hero for killing an albatross. It seems a similar punishment may have befallen two fugitives from justice after they starved to death on board the luxury yacht they stole to escape in.

Peter Clarke and Sharon Arthurs-Chegini went on the run in the last weeks of 2005 after being charged and bailed for theft and fraud. Dubbed a modern-day "Bonnie and Clyde", the pair had previously enjoyed a "champagne and cocaine lifestyle", according to Ms Chegini's step-daughter, before one of Clarke's schemes, claiming to be refurbishing a Devon hotel - to include a heliport among other extravagances - so as to serve the celebrity elite, came crashing down. Clarke and Chegini had thrown lavish parties to separate potential investors from hundreds of thousands of pounds, but were caught trying to sneak out of their hotel without settling the £1000 bill and placed under arrest. When Clarke was unable to settle the debt, he and Sharon jumped bail and stole a yacht, only to sail it a scant 25 miles round the coast of England before being caught and charged with its theft. This time when the ran, they made a better job of it, finally making their way to Portugal in May 2006, where they stole another yacht and sailed it out to sea.

They were not seen again until September of that year, when the yacht was spotted drifting off the coast of Senegal, storm-damaged and with a torn sail. On board were the badly decomposed bodies of Clarke and Chegini, along with Chegini's diary, in which she detailed how they had not eaten for weeks and had only urine mixed with sea-water to drink. In her entry for June 19th, Sharon wrote "I dream of my mum’s steak and kidney pie, steak pie and sausage and mash" (Telegraph).

Posted By: Dumbfounded - Thu Jul 23, 2009 - Comments (4)
Category: Boats, Crime, Death, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Body Fluids

The Circle of Life, Japanese Style

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 17, 2009 - Comments (3)
Category: Death, Surrealism, Cartoons, Stop-motion Animation, Asia

Banned - School Trips To Saddam’s Grave!

The Iraqi government has banned organised outings to the grave of Saddam Hussein after it learned that local schools were regularly taking groups of pupils on visits. The tomb is still regularly visited by supporters of the former dictator, who was hanged for war crimes in 2006, but now these must only be informal affairs and not arranged or supported by local or ministerial authorities (BBC News).

Two words: "flashmob" and "tapshoes".

Posted By: Dumbfounded - Tue Jul 07, 2009 - Comments (1)
Category: Death, Education, Government, Regulations

Death on the Slopes

Even Homer Simpson on skiis was not this monumentally moronic.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 02, 2009 - Comments (1)
Category: Death, Sports, Stupidity

Riding with Hunter

A little tribute from the man who always reminded us: "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 01, 2009 - Comments (4)
Category: Celebrities, Death, Drugs, Guns, Regionalism, Cars

Billy Mays

This has been the weirdest month with (in)famous people dying. First, David Carradine was found dead hanging naked in a hotel closet in Thailand, then Ed McMahon dies of pneumonia, both Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson die on the same day and now Billy Mays has sold his last tub of Oxiclean. May they all rest in peace.

Posted By: mdb777 - Sun Jun 28, 2009 - Comments (17)
Category: Celebrities, Death, Video

Michael Jackson on THE SIMPSONS

Goodbye, Gloved One!

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jun 26, 2009 - Comments (6)
Category: Celebrities, Death, Music, Cartoons

Alligator Wrestling

Eddie Snyder wrestles gators from jim on Vimeo.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 25, 2009 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Death, Human Marvels, Regionalism, Stupidity

When You Are A Pedestrian

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 23, 2009 - Comments (0)
Category: Death, Motor Vehicles, Documentaries, 1940s

The Cress Funeral Home

The Cress funeral home in Madison, Wisconsin offers modern facilities, ample parking, a pleasant environmentally comfortable atmosphere, and an on-site cremation center. Oh, and it's also got a gallery of taxidermied squirrels, including several albino squirrels, posed in various settings: playing poker, riding horses, dancing in a "topless girlie show," etc.

Morbidanatomy.com has more info. Or check out the video below of the gallery.

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 10, 2009 - Comments (1)
Category: Death