Jewish Cemetery Desecrated in France

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/17/world/europe/french-jews-cemetery-vandalism-latest-sign-of-anti-semitism.html?_r=0

From the New York Times:

By ALISSA J. RUBIN and AURELIEN BREEDENFEB. 16, 2015

"PARIS — Teenage vandals are suspected of overturning as many as 250 gravestones in a cemetery in a rural part of eastern France near the German border, where many Jews once lived but have long since left..."

Utterly appalling. This kind of thing should have receded far into history by now.

Take Me to the Death Cafe

http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/features/take-me-to-the-death-cafe

An experiment in talking about death, bringing this taboo subject out into the light and discussing it openly. Plus some interesting notes about Swiss funeral customs.

buzzfeed article

http://www.buzzfeed.com/katieheaney/can-the-next-generation-of-morticians-breathe-life-into-the?s=mobile.
I'm trying to post from my pad so we will see if it works.
Agree? Disagree? Comments?

Before and after death - a photo series from Slate

http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2014/08/17/
walter_schels_life_before_death_includes_portraits
_of_people_before_and.html?wpsrc=fol_tw

How One Photographer Overcame His Fear of Death by Photographing It

By David Rosenberg

This photo series is about death and contains images of people before and after they’ve died...

Will Your Dog Mourn Your Death?

Personally, I'm convinced that dogs have deeper emotions than we give them credit for.

From Slate:

Will Your Dog Mourn Your Death?

Or just hop into the next warm lap?

By Brian Palmer|Posted Tuesday, June 4, 2013, at 4:06 PM

U.S. Capitol Police K-9, Thea, a 4-year-old German shepherd, sits for a picture
outside of police headquarters, Oct. 23, 2009.

Photo by Tom Williams/Roll Call/Getty Images

A photograph of a police dog laying its paw on the casket of his slain master went viral over the weekend. Photographer Jonathan Palmer said, “It seemed like the dog was aware of what was going on.” Do dogs mourn the loss of their owners?

They sometimes mope, but a dog’s emotions are a mystery...

Original story:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/
explainer/2013/06/do_dogs_mourn_their_dead_owners.html

http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2013/05/24/an_indian_lake_surrounded_by_hundreds_of_ancient_skeletons_the_surprise.html

From Slate:

Skeleton Lake of Roopkund, India. The Surprise Is What Killed Them …

By Atlas Obscura | Posted Friday, May 24, 2013, at 7:30 AM

"In 1942 a British forest guard in Roopkund, India, made an alarming discovery. More than three miles above sea level, he stumbled across a frozen lake surrounded by hundreds of human skeletons. That summer, the melting ice revealed even more remains, floating in the water and lying haphazardly around the lake's edges. 

Since this was the height of World War II, there were fears that the skeletons might belong to Japanese soldiers who had died of exposure while sneaking through India. The British government, terrified of a Japanese land invasion, sent a team of investigators to determine whether this was true. Upon examination they realized these bones weren't Japanese soldiers at all, but of a much much older vintage. But what killed them? Many theories were put forth, including an epidemic, landslide, and ritual suicide. For six decades, no one was able to shed light on the mystery of "Skeleton Lake."

In 2004 a scientific expedition offered the first plausible explanation of the mysterious deaths. The answer was stranger than anyone had guessed...."

The County Medical Examiners from The Weirdest Band in the World

http://weirdestbandintheworld.com/2012/10/10/weird-band-of-the-week-the-county-medical-examiners/



The whole site, "The Weirdest Band in the World," is worthy of exploration.

This particular goregrind (defined as "...basically grindcore with lyrics entirely about death, decay, dismemberment, surgical procedures and pretty much anything having to do with terrible things happening to people’s tender insides") group, the County Medical Examiners, is made up of 3 men who actually *ARE* county medical examiners. 

Also, the web site says their CD Olidous Operettas "came in a biohazard bag and smelled like rotting corpse meat. Bet the other goregrind bands wish they’d thought of that."