This story has everything a reasonable person could possibly want in a macabre bedtime story- dark Victorians, poetry, death, opium, decomposition, grave robbing, famous people, eros/thanatos, complicated grief. The list goes on…
October 18, 2011 | Blog
God. Whales. HATE THEM. Hate them. I’ve gotten better over the past few years. Sort of. But they are so large and ungainly and clearly out for human blood. When I was…
October 16, 2011 | Blog
Are we all familiar with the concept of hauls? They’re videos on youtube made by girls who sit in front of their webcams and talk about what they bought at Forever 21…
October 14, 2011 | Blog
The night before the burial of her husband 2nd Lt. James Cathey of the United States Marine Corps, killed in Iraq, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next…
October 11, 2011 | Blog
Geoffrey Gorer was an English anthropologist writing in the first half of the 20th century. One of his essays “The Pornography of Death” argued that death had become culture’s new sex- taboo,…
October 10, 2011 | Blog
I cannot recommend a show more highly than I do this one. This recommendation comes even though I have not yet seen the final product- which I hope you won’t bring up…
October 10, 2011 | Blog
The University of Illinois has Death Doings, a magical lil’ 19th century masterwerk by Richard Dagley scanned into their texts archive. Found here. Death as a Wet Nurse (note: Do not hand…
October 10, 2011 | Blog
Child bride Courtney Stodden shares a little death advice with the world on an Australian morning show. When the 51 year old Doug and the 16 year old Courtney were asked what…
October 8, 2011 | Blog
Dearest Fiends, Your mortician (seen above in crematory regalia) will be starting a video blog called “Ask a Mortician” which is outlandishly self explanatory. You ask the pertinent death questions searing the…
October 7, 2011 | Blog
Making a cremated remains locket may seem like a daunting task, but with these easy steps you’ll be wearing dead people bones around your neck in no time! Step 1: Someone has…
October 7, 2011 | Blog
This morning I was driving to the funeral home, as I do every morning, listening to my Latino 96.3 bachata jams and weaving through the residential streets near my apartment. As I…
October 6, 2011 | Blog
Oh man. Well this girl is awful. There is nothing wrong with public displays of grief. I repeat, NOTHING wrong with public displays of grief. But this is so self serving…
October 6, 2011 | Blog