Name: Yukiko Okada (岡田 有希子 Okada Yukiko, born Kayo Sato 佐藤佳代)
Born: August 22, 1967 in Aichi Prefecture, Nagoya, Japan
Died: April 8, 1986 in Tokyo, Japan

Yukiko Okada, known as Yukko to her fans, was a Japanese Pop singer, active between 1984-1986. Her professional career began after winning the Japanese talent show Star Tanjō ! In 1983. Her singles proved successful, leading to her win of the 1984 Japan Record Award for rookie songwriters, and she ended up playing the lead role in the television drama Kinjirareta Mariko. On a program called 100 People Loved by the Japanese: Beauty Edition, she was voted #17 out of 100 women considered to be the important historical figures in female history.

On April 8, 1986, the 18 year-old Okada was found sobbing in a closet of her agency company building, her wrists slashed and the apartment filled with gas. Two hours later she jumped from the seventh story room. Her violent and shocking death spawned many copy-cat suicides, one even involving a nine year-old, which launched the phrase “Yukiko Syndrome.” That year the country’s suicide rate was at an all-time high.

Sources officially state that she committed suicide for “unknown reasons.” It is widely believed that she fell for a man much older than herself, and had possibly been impregnated.

Name: Per Yngve Ohlin
Born: January 16, 1969 in Sweden, Stockholm
Died: April 8, 1991 in Oslo, Norway

Better known by his stage name Dead, Per Yngve Ohlin was the vocalist of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem from 1988 until his passing. A near-death experience as a child had convinced him that he was a being of another world. He was obsessed with extreme metal, death, violence, and real snuff, and would study the likes of cults, witchcraft, and medieval mythology. He relished the reactions from others when he’d mutilate himself on stage, and was known to stab people in the crowds of his shows. He’d starve himself for weeks at a time and use corpse paint to maintain his “Dead” persona. An introverted and despondent individual, Ohlin would spend the majority of his time alone in his room, sinking deep into his manic depression. He frequently discussed suicide with others and had wanted to die since the age of three.

On April 8, 1991, 22 year-old Ohlin cut his veins open with a kitchen knife. Desperate to end his life quickly, he then took a shotgun belonging to fellow band member Øystein Aarseth and shot himself in the head. He was found with a note which read “Excuse all the blood.”

The body was discovered by Aarseth. He immediately went to the nearest store, purchased a camera, and returned to take photographs of the grisly scene. He also collected fragments of Ohlin’s skull which he would later make into necklaces as gifts. Only after he was satisfied did he call the police. The band stayed in the house for a few more weeks, living with the blood and skull fragments that remained in the room.
One of the photographs would become the cover for the band’s bootleg album “Dawn of the Black Hearts.” Aarseth declared that “this was the greatest thing that Death has ever done,” as the incident had bolstered Mayhem’s popularity and increased awareness of the black metal scene as a whole.

I cannot stop watching this review of the Nintendo Gamecube by the Pissed Off Angry Hardcore Gamer:

It’s unironically brilliant, like, there’s no other way to describe it. Why does he get so much hate in his comments? Why did he close his account? Why have no video game sites recruited him? This is how video gamers need their shit reviewed. This is perfection.

I first heard of Faces of Death a year ago, while checking out a local video store in Austin. It was in a grisly VHS case featuring a skull, a claim that the film is banned in 40 countries, and a warning on the nature of its gruesome contents. It was definitely an attention-grabber.

It’s a movie that is frequently brought up in discussions about snuff films. It doesn’t actually fit the definition of snuff, as the majority of deaths are faked, and the few that are real did not occur for the purpose of entertainment. Much of the film doesn’t show the moment of human death anyway, it settles on shocking the viewer with images of autopsies and brutality against animals. Many people believed the scenes were real when the movie was passed around in the mid-80’s, a time where people weren’t desensitized by viral videos of beheadings and such. Regardless of the contents, it provides a lot of insight into morbid curiosity.

If you don’t think Faces of Death is something you can handle viewing, fear not, for someone took the time to pick apart every scene of the movie, ultimately determining that only three filmed deaths of the 100 minute feature are genuine. It’s worth a read.
My favorite part is the author’s dismay over being shown a petty death.

0:11:46 Praying mantis kills cricket. [Yes, really.]

thanks

Let’s take a quick look back on the final invention of Franz Reichelt. Affectionately nicknamed “The Flying Tailor”, he demonstrated the capabilities of his aerodynamic overcoat on February 4th, 1912, by leaping off of the Eiffel Tower, which at the time was the world’s tallest building.

Yet this design did not actually allow Reichelt to glide down safety. What a slew of reporters witnessed that day might be considered to be more of a plummet.
Incidentally, footage of his final moments is quite popular on YouTube today.

I didn’t realize this the first time I saw the video, but at the end they are measuring the dent caused by the impact of his landing. Dang.

Does an earlier death exist on film? Not that this counts really, you don’t see the aftermath of the fall.

From America’s favorite news source Perez Hilton:

World of Warcraft is now going to be a major motion picture and it already has big names attached, including producers from The Dark Knight and the director of Spiderman, Sam Raimi.

A documentary about WoW players would be more interesting. It can be like the furry documentary, except instead of yiffing there is raiding.

I recently came across this 1998 New York Times article about the aftermath of local news stations broadcasting a man’s suicide in Los Angeles. Naturally there was a cry of outrage, not only because a person’s bloody death was being shown on television, but that a number of children’s programs were interrupted to do so. Reporters apologized, claiming that there was not enough time to cut away and that it was impossible to predict what the man would resort to doing. “That’s the danger of live television,” according to one news director.

David V. Jones, who was a 40 year-old maintenance worker for a hotel, had grown increasingly upset with HMOs, and their inadequate treatment of his cancer and HIV infection. He decided to protest his frustrations on April 30, 1998. Accompanied by his dog, he parked his pickup on a Los Angeles freeway and started to point his shotgun at passersby. He also phoned 911 to attract further attention. As helicopters approached, he got out of the truck and unfolded a banner which read: “HMO’s are in it for the money!! Live free, love safe or die.” Then he returned to his truck and ignited a Molotov cocktail. The vehicle burst in flames, and, unprepared to experience the anguish of burning to death, Jones ran out into the freeway. He walked to the edge and seemed to consider jumping. He then ran back to truck, recovered his shotgun from the flames, and shot himself in the head. His body fell quickly as blood pooled out onto the road. The police would later discover the dog’s remains in the truck.

To me it seems that the ten second lapse between the moment Jones is seen with the shotgun to the moment he pulls the trigger would be enough to cut away. He had set himself on fire, he had almost jumped from the freeway, clearly situation was not going to end well. But I don’t know anything about reporting news, and these sorts of things always bring the ratings, so whatever.

You can watch Jones’s infamous last moments in this video. It’s too distant and blurry to be considered gory, but it does show blood, so there’s your warning.

Who is crazy enough to try every item Taco Bell has? Crazy Gordita, of course.
At Crazy Gordita’s Taco Bell Website!!!, you’ll find an Angelfire-hosted fansite which continues to be updated on a regular basis. I checked a 2002 archive of the page, and the layout and tone have not changed one bit. Crazy Gordita found a winning formula and stuck to it. Currently in his early thirties, this man’s enthusiasm in the fast food chain remains as strong as ever.
I will leave you with a few of his key quotes.

She said that the computer is programmed to only allow chicken and steak in the burrito. I don’t know why she used that excuse, because I know how the computers work!! Theres a minus ingredient button and a plus ingredient button. I mentioned that, and she admitted there was no reason for the beef restriction and I ordered one and thanked her.

Finally, I would like to thank all of the employees at the Taco Bell I usually eat at, especially Jaime, Ron, Nakia and Jen, for putting up with my large orders and for customizing them the way I want.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG, Taco Bell’s seasoned beef goes sooooooo weeeeellll with the zeeeeeesty Pepperjack Saauuuuuce…and they put a generous amount of meat and sauce, as well as all of the other great ingredients! It’s like Taco Bell did extensive research to find the right type of sauce that would go well with their meats the best! I like this Gordita so much that I might even consider it my favorite Taco Bell food item PERIOD. Needless to say it gets a SEAL OF APPROVAL!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOO! :: regains composure ::

THE ULTIMATE FAST FOOD CRITIC MASTER, CRAZY GORDITA, HAS SPOKEN.

July 14, 1982 – Detroit, Michigan

A 21 year-old Jeanne Lynn Clark, aka “Charlie”, decided for whatever reason to have her boyfriend (some sources erroneously report him as the husband), 33 year-old Robert Beckowitz, murdered. She conspired with another boyfriend, 37 year-old James Edward Glover, to carry out the act. While they are watching television, the Glover approaches from behind and shoots Beckowitz in the back of the head with a large caliber jacketed bullet, killing him instantly. He is also stabbed at least 80 times. The couple then remove their clothes and take pictures of themselves posing with and mutilating the corpse. A few shots even affectionately display a dismembered hand picking the nose of the decapitated head. The following crop is of the woman holding a precious smile for the camera as she begins to saw former boyfriend’s head off.

Police reported that, over the following three days, the couple used dismembered parts of Beckowitz in sexual acts. Charlie had also admitted that they were high on a mixture of drugs throughout.

There are two versions of the discovery of the photos. One account says that the couple took the film to be developed by a trusting friend, but they were discovered by another employee, who called the authorities.
However, the account that fits the police reports says, four days after the murder, Charlie cracked under the pressure and confessed to authorities. She blamed the crime entirely on her boyfriend to avoid consequences for her involvement. The police investigate her home and find a drugged-out Glover, the mutilated corpse, and the camera. They develop the film and discover several photos of Charlie posing next to the body, and she is arrested as well.

It is unknown how the twelve photos were leaked onto the internet. They will not be provided here, but a quick search on Google will easily satisfy any morbid curiosity. They all appear to have originated from the now defunct “Dan’s Gallery of the Grotesque”. Also reported on that site:

7. According to one of the e-mail messages that I received from one of
the law enforcement officers, there are additional photographs from
this case that I was not supplied with:

“Evdiently you do not have a full set of photos because
the female was pictured having sexual contact with the
decedant’s penis in two or three positions that I saw.”

On November 30th, 1982, Glover pled guilty to the crimes and was sentenced to 30-50 years for 2nd degree murder. He died in prison on May 12, 1986

It took the jury one hour and five minutes to find Clark guilty of mutilating a corpse on February 2, 1983. She was sentenced to 6-10 years in prison. She has presumably served her time and is now free.

Little is known about who the victim was. Described as a troubled man, one neighbor was quoted as saying, “He used to tell us about how he was beaten in the orphanage”. Charlie was on parole for a bank robbery at the time of the incident.

I recommend clicking the comments for further insight.