National Geographic’s Adventure Magazine named ten people as Adventurers of the Year, and invite you to rate each of them to help them determine the readers’ choice top adventurer. One of the profiles features 37-year-old Dean S. Potter, rock climber, tightrope walker, and BASE jumper. Potter set a world record in 2009 by jumping off a high face of Switzerland’s Eiger in a wingsuit and sailing for almost three minutes! The trip was 9,000 feet vertically and four miles horizontally. Links to all adventurers. Link to voting. -Thanks, Ethan!

In 1977, Polanski pled guilty of "unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor" to avoid being charged with rape by use of drugs (he gave alcohol and quaaludes to the then-13-year-old female model he was doing a photo shoot with) and sodomy, amongst other charges. He fled the United States before his sentencing and has been avoiding traveling to countries that could extradite him ever since. The victim has since forgiven him and settled a civil suit against Polanski for an unspecified amount.

Granted, the Polanski case was tawdry. It was filled with celebrity, sex, drugs and violence (not to mention charges of ethical misconduct of the judge presiding over the case). In short, it was the stuff of Hollywood. So the media frenzy of the arrest was not unexpected. But what surprised me was the diplomatic row that ensued when both France and Poland (Polanski is a dual citizen of both countries) protested Polanski’s arrest.

Is rape of a minor not a serious offense in those two countries? How about fleeing and being a fugitive from the law (while not exactly hiding – Polanski continued to direct award-winning films even with warrants outstanding)? Was the arrest outrageous, as journalist Anne Applebaum wrote in a column for The Washington Post? Or was it justice finally being served?

What do you think of the whole drama?

A recent trend of cows leaping off the high mountain cliffs in the Swiss village of Lauterbrunnen has given rise to speculation. With no natural predators, locals are puzzled as to what could have spooked the cattle into jumping to their doom. Twenty eight cows have died in three days as police continue to investigate.

Are a few wild dogs or other critters spooking the cattle? Or have these cows turned suicidal because of a bad case of the blues?

‘We are investigating because cows growing up in the mountains normally can estimate dangers and do not plunge down cliffs.’

According to local reports, there had been violent thunderstorms in the area which may well have spooked the animals.

Cows do occasionally fall to their deaths in these Alpine regions although it is rare for so many to fall in one particular place.

There has been speculation in the past that when this does happen it is because a tightly-grouped number have followed each other as they search for more grass.

Link – via tywkiwdbi

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by coconutnut.

Months later, I received an email from a William Diesslin, regarding my photos of Matten:

You didn’t know it at the time, but you photographed my great
grandfather’s store front! I’ve attached the photo for your reference.”

I scoured my photos until I found what seemed to be a match for the historic black and white picture Diesslin had sent. During the next few weeks, I learned the rest of the story. Diesslin’s search for his ancestry had been unsuccessful until he discovered my blog. Once he saw my photo he was able to identify the present day building and track down the owners, who confirmed the store had originally belonged to his great grandfather.

In a subsequent email he remarked:

"This will be a landmark for my family as my dad was orphaned at 14
years old, all family history was lost. Your photos may have opened up
a long lost link to my ancestors.”

There’s more to the story, like the fact that Diesslin stayed in that very building (it is now a hostel) back in the 1980’s and had abslutely no idea that it had any connection to his family. The series of coincidences are so bizarre as to be almost unbelievable. To read the rest of the story, and to see the histoic and present day photos, visit Hole In The Donut Travel Blog.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by baweibel.

Migros, a supermarket chain in Switzerland, got a brilliant idea for its underwear advertising campaign: they are modeled by good lookin’ singles who you can contact!

In a wide-spread press release Migros announced to advertise their latest underwear worn by real singles, who are looking to meet and find a partner. The story quickly became a topic for the media, already giving the campaign a first ignition. 700 willing models applied and there from 26 where chosen. Following was a campaign that used real life singles modelling the underwear with possibility of the viewer to contact them over their email address. Hundreds of national and international media covered the story about the singles in Migros underwear.

Link