A 13-year-old girl visiting Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom lost both of her feet when a ride malfunctioned Thursday afternoon. It happened about 4:45 p.m. on the Superman Tower of Power, formerly known as the Hell-a-Vator.
Here's how the Superman Tower of Power works: riders are strapped in and slowly taken up to 177 feet before a free-fall of 154 feet, reaching a speed of 54 miles-per-hour before easing to a stop about 20 feet above the ground.
A Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom spokesperson said that they inspect each ride every day before the park opens, and officials released the following statement late Thursday afternoon.
At approximately 4:45 p.m. on Thursday, 6-21-07, the Superman Tower of Power ride at the Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom Park in Louisville, Ky. malfunctioned and injured a 13-year-old female, whose legs were severed above the ankle. The EMTs at the park were on the scene immediately and the girl was transported to UL hospital, where she is currently being treated.
We have been in contact with both the hospital and her family.
The ride has been shut down and will remain so until a full investigation has been completed. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and provide whatever assistance we can.
In case you can't make out what the writing inside the cover of the matchbook says:
"Dear Jonatan, Thanks for the good time at the no-pants party. [heart] Crystal"
I found this matchbook in front of my old apartment on Boston Ave. in Medford, MA. I was so pumped when I found it again in a box of papers under the bookshelf in my room. Here's a link to a previously featured "Find of the Day" (08/13/06) of mine: Identity Crisis.
I'll be sure to let you know how this one turns out.
Episode 5 of "Clark and Michael, the series!" is going to be posted tomorrow on ClarkAndMichael.com. This episode features David Cross of "Mr. Show" and "Arrested Development" fame! It's known around the internet as 'the lost episode' (for some reason) and is now for the first time being brought to you! I've been watching these episodes every week (or however often new episodes are being released) and I'm definitely enjoying them a lot. You should check them out if you get a chance!
Also- I found this image while searching for an image of David Cross for this post. It's David Cross' actual AMEX card with his businesses name on it:
The last I knew the entire film was only supposed to be up for a week. However this has since been extended through August 15th. Pretty awesome. You should definitely check it out, I probably will this evening or tomorrow sometime. You can watch it right here [below] if you'd like.
I was never a big fan of MTV's "The Real World"-- until the San Diego season in 2004. I have some very fond memories of RWSD- my roommates [7W3] and I would always make a point of watching it. I realize that probably sounds ridiculous; an apartment full of dudes in there 20's being stoked on MTV's "R-Dubs". But it's completely the truth. There was something about that cast that we loved. We must've felt like we could relate to them somehow. Maybe it was the way that they were all such different people but still managed to get along pretty well in spite of their obvious differences, maybe it was all of the 40oz beers that they drank? Also they weren't exactly your typical RW cast in that they weren't really whores, at least I don't remember them that way. I don't know, but there was just something about those kids that made us want to keep watching- Jacquese, Brad, Big Ran, Cameran, Frankie, Robin, Jamie, and Charlie (a later addition to the cast brought on to replace Frankie when she eventually left the show - not pictured above).
[Just to clarify- I haven't watched that show since season 14, except for maybe the following season for a few episodes. It just wasn't the same though.]
In any case, I'm sorry to report that over the weekend Frankie passed away. Even though she would sometimes make things more interesting on the show, we were never huge fans of her. I can remember coming home from an evening class the night that the episode where she got caught cutting herself aired. One of my roommates at the time had recorded the episode for whoever missed it, and the label to the VHS cassette read "FRANKIE THE CUTTER" in big black marker. Somehow her self-mutilation became a joke around the apartment after that (not to say that people cutting themselves is funny- at all). But let's be realistic - this was the same girl who had cystic fibrosis and still smoked cigarettes all of the time. It's hard to take someone like that very seriously.
"Frankie Abernathy, the punk rock-adoring former "Real World: San Diego" housemate whose struggle with cystic fibrosis helped to further raise national awareness about the chronic lung disease, died Saturday evening in her mother Abbie Hunter's Shorewood, Wisconsin, home. An official cause of death has yet to be determined; Abernathy was 25." Read more at MTV.com:'Real World: San Diego' Alum Frankie Abernathy Dead At 25
Here's a synopsis of the film directly from Michael Moore's website:
"The words "health care" and "comedy" aren't usually found in the same sentence, but in Academy Award winning filmmaker Michael Moore's new movie 'SiCKO,' they go together hand in (rubber) glove.
Opening with profiles of several ordinary Americans whose lives have been disrupted, shattered, and—in some cases—ended by health care catastrophe, the film makes clear that the crisis doesn't only affect the 47 million uninsured citizens—millions of others who dutifully pay their premiums often get strangled by bureaucratic red tape as well.
After detailing just how the system got into such a mess (the short answer: profits and Nixon), we are whisked around the world, visiting countries including Canada, Great Britain and France, where all citizens receive free medical benefits. Finally, Moore gathers a group of 9/11 heroes – rescue workers now suffering from debilitating illnesses who have been denied medical attention in the US. He takes them to a most expected place, and in addition to finally receiving care, they also engage in some unexpected diplomacy.
While Moore's 'SiCKO' follows the trailblazing path of previous hit films, the Oscar-winning BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE and all-time box-office documentary champ FAHRENHEIT 9/11, it is also something very different for Michael Moore. 'SiCKO' is a straight-from-the-heart portrait of the crazy and sometimes cruel U.S. health care system, told from the vantage of everyday people faced with extraordinary and bizarre challenges in their quest for basic health coverage.
In the tradition of Mark Twain or Will Rogers, 'SiCKO' uses humor to tell these compelling stories, leading the audience conclude that an alternative system is the only possible answer."
The Trailer:
Watch The Entire Film:SiCKO [...actually it's been removed from this location, sorry!]
