Head injury turns man into musical savant

When Derek Amato crashed headfirst into the hard bottom of a pool, he was scared about what he might have done to his brain. But amazingly the fallout from that accident wasn’t all bad. Along with the headaches and other post-concussion symptoms, the accident brought Amato an unexpected gift: it turned him into a musical savant.

Although Amato had always loved music, he’d never been serious about playing any instrument before the head injury. Amato dabbled a bit with guitar before the accident but described his musical ability to TODAY as “on a scale of 1 to 10 . . . like a 2.5, close to 3.”

Amato now plays the piano like a virtuoso, making up melodies from the patterns of black and white blocks that stream across his brain in endless succession. He’s cut an album of original compositions and is currently at work on another.

Amato isn’t the only person who has had artistic talents spring from an injury to the brain. While rare, there are at least 30 others around the world who have developed musical abilities after some sort of brain trauma. Damage to the brain has also been known to spark the ability to draw and paint in others who had never before put pen or paint brush to easel. …

WEIRD NEWS | JUNE 7, 2012
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Hot air balloon hits power lines just after marriage proposal in Indiana

A picturesque marriage proposal in a hot air balloon Wednesday evening was a truly shocking experience when the balloon crashed into power lines shortly after the bride-to-be said yes.

Pilot Dallas Beall and the woman were treated for burns in Sellersburg, Ind., around 8 p.m. on Wednesday night. Major Chuck Adams with the Clark County, Ind., sheriff’s office said after the man proposed, Beall tried to land the balloon on a patch of ground overgrown with tall grass in Sellersburg. The woman said yes, but Beall struggled to successfully land the bright yellow balloon.

Beall boosted the balloon to try and land elsewhere, but the basket brushed against high-tension power lines, giving the pilot an electric shock and knocking him unconscious, according to reports from NBC affiliate WAVE in Louisville, Ky. …

WEIRD NEWS | JUNE 7, 2012
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Deputies: Burglar falls down stairs, is killed while breaking into home

A South Carolina burglar died in a fall down a flight of stairs in the home he had broken into, the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.

Lt. Tony Ivey said that the South Blackstock Road home undergoing extensive renovations was empty, NBC station WYFF of Greenville reported.

See the original story at WYFF4.com

When a painter arrived at the home at about 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday, the worker found signs of a break-in and broken glass inside the home, so he backed out and called the homeowner, who called 911, Ivey told WYFF.

Deputies found the man’s body at the foot of the basement stairs, Ivey said.

There were no signs of anyone else having been in the house, and the unidentified man is believed to be the person who broke into the home, Ivey said. …

WEIRD NEWS | JUNE 7, 2012
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Japan PM says 2 nuke reactors must be restarted

Japan’s leader appealed to the nation Friday to accept that two nuclear reactors that remained shuttered after the Fukushima disaster must be restarted to protect the economy and people’s livelihoods.

Prime Minister Yasuhiko Noda said the government has taken ample measures to ensure the two reactors in western Japan would be safe from radiation leaks if an earthquake or tsunami as severe as last year’s should strike them.

All 50 of Japan’s workable reactors are offline for maintenance and safety concerns since the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, swept into a coastal plant in Fukushima and sparked the world’s second-worst nuclear disaster.

The two reactors at the Ohi nuclear plant are the first two ready to resume generating power, but the public has shown great concern that government failures worsened last year’s crisis and may recur.

Nuclear energy is crucial for Japanese society, Noda said in a news conference broadcast live. The government wants the reactors to be operational to avoid a summertime energy crunch.

“We should restart the Ohi No. 3 and No. 4 reactors in order to protect the people’s livelihoods,” Noda said. “The Japanese society cannot survive if we stop all nuclear reactors or keep them halted.”

Local consent is not legally required for restarting the reactors, though government ministers have promised to gain understanding from the prefecture.

Noda’s speech Friday was possibly the last obstacle before a resumption of the Ohi reactors. The Fukui governor made Noda’s public appeal conditional to his consent for the startup. With the governor’s consent, Noda is expected to make a final go ahead as early as next week, so the restart could take place within days.

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