Mr. Bennett teaches the "Hidden Pursuit" escape and evasion class to college seniors who have forgone the wet T-shirt contests and beer bongs of Cancun, Mexico, and Fort Lauderdale, for the chance to dodge simulated gunshots and cannon explosions at Mountain Shepherd Wilderness Survival School in Amherst, Va.

So-called survival and wilderness schools where students learn team-building and leadership skills through building fires and foraging for food have been around for decades, but Mr. Bennett's course is one of a handful of new offerings around the country that feature a more extreme kind of challenge. For fees that range from a few hundred dollars for a two-day class to a few thousand for adventures that can be four weeks long, those willing can pay to be pursued by make-believe assailants, survive hypothetical plane crashes and car accidents, and hunt down guerrillas.

This sounds remarkably like a terror training camp.

Do you think al-Qaeda could get away with setting up training camps in Western democracies, so long as they sell them as entertainment?

Manly Men Answer Call of the Wild

The cadence you get to experience when the XK's engine is pushed toward the 6,000 rpm point is what Jaguar touts as a centerpiece technology feature. The engine's sound is derived from a combination of valve regulation in the dual exhaust pipes, an intake system replete with a mechanical speaker that transmits sound to the interior and the gear box system, which is tuned to offer a low-frequency pitch to the cabin area.

The end result is a carefully calibrated roar with a pronounced British flavor.

When an Algorithm Takes the Wheel

"I'm not addicted or anything. I always come with other people, and we smoke one hookah in an hour. It's just a nice way to relax and be sociable."

Collegians Smoking Hookahs ... Filled With Tobacco

I suppose if I tied a naked Giselle Bundchen to the hood I could attract more attention, and of course I'm willing to try. But this car screams to be noticed.

Between pit stops, fly like the wind

What's up with Peeps, anyway?

Soft, Chewy and Taking Over the World

In the ongoing battle of the nerds between Caltech and MIT, the latest volley has been fired from a 130-year-old cannon.

Actually, the latest volley is a cannon.

Massachusetts pranksters, posing as professional movers, stole the beloved Fleming Cannon — traditionally fired at each year's commencement — from the Pasadena campus last week.

MIT Pranksters Nab Caltech Cannon

As his 80th birthday approaches, Hugh Hefner is proud of his achievements. He shouldn't be.

"When I found the vault next door to Marilyn was available," he explained to the Daily Telegraph, "it seemed natural."

The Playboy Legacy | OpinionJournal - Taste

Raves are back.

This was no rock club. This was someone's home.

The loft, shared by several art school graduates in a desolate part of Bushwick, is transformed every other month into an underground club, the High Five.

"I've always been pretty obsessed with underground music," said Peter Buxton, 24, one of the roommates. "In the back of my head I was thinking it would be cool to do shows. And as soon we spotted this loft, we thought it would be a crime not to do something."

Dark 2BR Loft? That's Code for a Club

Savanna Samson, star of "The New Devil in Miss Jones," has gone further than simply slapping a steamy label on some cheesy chardonnay. Her Italian red wine has received a score of 90 to 91 out of 100 by wine guru Robert Parker.

Porn star's wine passion gets plaudits