Tyrant chic
In the aftermath of Kim Jong-il’s funeral in North Korea, we learn that those of his subjects who didn’t cry hard enough or convincingly enough, together with those who did not attend official mourning events, are being rounded up and herded into labour camps. Sentences start at six months. More in the Daily Mail here. Meanwhile, the […]
Quote of the day
“Death can only be profitable: there’s no need to eat, drink, pay taxes, offend people, and since a person lies in a grave for hundreds or thousands of years, if you count it up the profit turns out to be enormous.” Anton Chekov, 1894
Let’s go somewhere nice
Posted by Charles So badly has the image of the co-operative movement been damaged by Co-operative Funeralcare it’s easy to forget that, actually, the model of co-operation retains both its beauty and its potency. A bunch of people come together “to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through jointly owned and democratically […]
Jazz requiem
Posted by Vale This lovely jazz piece was actually a requiem for Charlie Parker – but at risk of offending purists I thought Frank O’Hara’s poem for Billie Holiday on the day she died fitted perfectly with the music. The Day Lady Died It is 12:20 in New York a Friday three days after Bastille […]
Atheism and the fear of death
Posted by Vale It’s natural to fear death and you might think that, just as naturally, religion would help you face and overcome your fears. But it ain’t necessarily so. In a recent book, Society Without God, Anne, a 43 year old Hospice nurse from Aarhus in Denmark is interviewed. The author, Robert Zuckerman records […]
Remembering
Posted by Vale One evening last month we lit some candles, sat by the fire with an old book of photographs and reminisced about my wife’s mother who had died just over ten years before. It was the first time we had done anything like this, but, over the last ten years, we have lost […]
Doc, how long have I got?
This will interest some of you at least — the more numerate and analytical. It’s an online diagnostic tool to determine longevity. Here’s the rationale as described by the New York Times: To help prevent overtesting and overtreatment of older patients — or undertreatment for those who remain robust at advanced ages — medical guidelines […]
Quote of the day
“The older I get, the worse I’m going to look on my deathbed.”
Utterly impersonal and awfully long
I follow The Hearth of Mopsus blog. I like it very much — the writer’s fastidious prose, his rigorous, intellectual objectivity on the one hand, his very earnest doubts and self-questioning on the other. He’s written a very good book about holy wells, by the way. Not your bag? Fine by me. Each to his/her […]
Humanising the ancestors
We get quite a few emails here at the GFG from makers of ashes urns. Most of these urns are ghastly and get no more than a thanks but no thanks. We are unfailingly courteous. This morning was an exception. We received some stunning images from a Plymouth-based ceramist, Alan Braidford — in answer, it […]
