Tag Archives | Death

Some advice to those who have lost loved ones

By on January 19, 2013 in News 1

via chycho

I had not planned on getting involved in the following discussion, however, a conversation was started online which I felt inclined to participate in, and since my initial reply was well received, I thought it would be worthwhile floating the information here as well. Some of what I have posted were extremely hard-learned lessons and I hope the information finds its way to those who seek such advice.

The following question was posted on AskReddit:

    “My parents just lost their son of 27 years. I am now an only child. Will it ever get easier for them, or will this bear on their soul until the eventual day where I must say goodbye?

    “I guess I’m not exactly sure what I’m asking for. Stories, anecdotes, puns, and assholes maybe. I want to be there for my mom and dad but I’m unsure of what may even help. What in this world can help someone overcome the grief of having to lose a child?

… Read the rest

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Philip Coppens RIP

By on December 30, 2012 in News 7

Philip Coppens died of angiosarcoma, a rare form of cancer, today. Philip was the author of numerous books on speculative history topics, including The Ancient Alien Question and The Lost Civilization Enigma. He was also featured in several documentaries and television programs, including The History Channel’s Ancient Aliens.

A page created to fund his cancer treatment has been updated with the following message:

It is with a very heavy heart that we inform you that earlier today (December 30th, 2012), after a difficult weekend and emergency surgeries, Filip (Philip) Coppens passed away. Suffering from a sudden and unexplainable illness, Filip was just hospitalized a few weeks ago and had been just recently diagnosed with a rare cancer called angiosarcoma, which attacks the inner lining of blood vessels. While the causes still remain unknown, the results are usually fast-growing and highly aggressive tumors. Because of the tendency to reoccur near the original site, surgery is the primary treatment, with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy both before and after.

… Read the rest

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Sex and Snuff: What Dying Twice Taught Me About Eroticized Death

By on December 19, 2012 in News 6

Picture: BDSM02

Olivia Davis writes at the Good Men Project:

[Good Men Project] Editor’s note: This is a hard article to read. It’s long and explicit and deals very frankly with the filming of one of the most extreme and disturbing forms of pornography that exists, the faux-snuff films in which a model pretends to be killed. It will be upsetting, triggering, frightening for many readers, and we have been debating for some time whether to run it. We have chosen to run it for one very important reason: because it is from the model’s perspective. The “victim” in the porn movie is telling her side, describing her own experience, her own motivations and memories. The overwhelming majority of discussion of pornography, especially such esoteric and specialized pornography, is from an outside perspective. We at the Good Men Project believe in providing a platform for perspectives that might not otherwise be heard, and we believe that Ms.

… Read the rest

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Death and Grieving Around the World

By on December 3, 2012 in News 11

Picture: "Grief" by Anna Archer (PD)

It turns out that there’s little evidence for the “Five Stages of Grief” you may have heard about in school. There’s even less evidence for any real universality in the way that people express their grief. Be sure to ask for a traditional Cubeo funeral for a send-off everyone will remember. I recommend this as a fitting hymn.

Via The Guardian:

When we look at other cultures we see even starker differences. On the Pacific coast of Colombia the death of a young child will be marked by with a Chigualo celebration, based on the belief that departed infants become angels and go directly to heaven. The Ganda people of south-central Uganda have a strict prohibition of sexual activity during the mourning period, while the Cubeo people of the northern Amazon include sexual activity as part of the wake. Many cultures have funeral rites to ensure that spirits of the departed leave; in an Igbo funeral, the rites are meant to ensure that they stay.

… Read the rest

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All Politicians Should Use LSD

By on November 25, 2012 in News 13

Actor Larry Hagman, a mainstay of television known for his roles on shows such as Dallas and I Dream of Jeannie, died this past Friday. In a rare case of psychedelics being discussed frankly and positively on mainstream TV, he explained why all of our politicians should be required to undergo an LSD trip at least once:

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Ancient Vampire Burial Uncovered In England

By on November 11, 2012 in News 6

Luckily it worked. Via the Telegraph:

The discovery of a skeleton found with metal spikes through its shoulders, heart and ankles, dating from 550-700AD and buried in the ancient minster town of Southwell, Notts, is detailed in a new report. It is believed to be a ‘deviant burial’, where people considered the ‘dangerous dead’, such as vampires, were interred to prevent them rising from their graves to plague the living.

The skeleton was found by archaeologist Charles Daniels during the original investigation of the site in Church Street in the town 1959, which revealed Roman remains.

John Lock, chairman of Southwell Archaeology, said the body was one of a handful of such burials to be found in the UK. Mr Lock said no one could be sure why the body was staked in the way it was: “People would have a very strong view that this was somebody who, for whatever reason, they had a reason to fear and needed to ensure that this person did not come back.”

… Read the rest

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Near-Death Experiences as Proof of Afterlife? Not Really.

By on November 9, 2012 in News 60

Picture: Dr. Mario Markus (CC)

A rebuttal to the articles: Heaven is Real: A Doctor’s Experience with the Afterlife and A Neuroscientists Describes His Near-Death Visit to Another Realm.

Dr. Eben Alexander’s article can be summarily dismissed with one sentence in the words of the late, great, (kind of a jerk but…) inarguably intelligent, and erudite Christopher Hitchens: “that which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.” And there you have it. However, considering the nature of my disagreement with Dr. Alexander, I suppose I should put forth an actual case for why I believe his experience does not constitute evidence (let alone proof) for life after death.

There are many possible explanations for what Dr. Alexander went through. Perhaps he really did experience an event in which his disembodied consciousness was whisked away to heaven on the wings of a magical butterfly with a hot brunette in tow.… Read the rest

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Polish Company Uses Topless Models to Sell Coffins

By on November 5, 2012 in News 4

Picture: http://www.cofanifunebrimania.eu (C)

Jack Kerouac said “Pretty girls make graves”, but should they sell them, too?

Via Reuters:

A Polish firm that makes coffins has angered the Catholic church by trying to drum up business with a calendar depicting topless models posing next to its caskets.

One image from the 2013 edition of the calendar has a blonde model, wearing only a skimpy thong and with a snake draped around her neck, reclining on a coffin. In another, a woman wearing a crimson corset is depicted pulling out the heart of a man lying on a casket.

“My son had the idea of creating the company’s calendar… so that we could show something half-serious, colorful, beautiful; the beauty of Polish girls and the beauty of our coffins,” said Zbigniew Lindner, the firm’s owner.

“We wanted to show that a coffin isn’t a religious symbol. Its a product,” he said. “Why are people afraid of coffins and not of business suits, cosmetics or jewelry?”

Read more here.… Read the rest

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Bizarre Death Rituals In Newly Discovered Oldest European Town

By on November 1, 2012 in News 2

The first known European settlement contains a 7,000-year-old tomb complex where corpses were chopped in two before being positioned upright…as if to prevent the dead from rising again and running amok, but allowing them to face each other and converse. The Daily Mail reports:

Residents of what is thought to be Europe’s oldest town cut their dead in half and buried them from the pelvis up, according to archaeologists. The newly discovered ancient settlement, thought to date back to 4700 BC, is near the Bulgarian town of Provadia, about 25 miles from the Black Sea coast.

Archaeology professor Vassil Nikolov led the dig which focused on the town itself and its necropolis, where the strange and complex burial rituals were discovered.

Nikolov [said] the town’s 300 to 350 residents lived in two-storey homes and earned their living mining the surrounding area for salt, which was as important to the ancient world as oil is today.

… Read the rest

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Caffeinated Energy Drinks Linked To Five Deaths

By on October 24, 2012 in News 11

Sugar- and caffeine-drenched “extreme” beverages actually live up to their marketing, give people heart attacks immediately after consuming, Yahoo! News reports:

The highly caffeinated Monster Energy Drink has been cited in five deaths and one non-fatal heart attack, according to reports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating. The reports claim that people had adverse reactions after they consumed Monster Energy Drink, which comes in 24-ounce cans and contains 240 milligrams of caffeine, or seven times the amount of the caffeine in a 12-ounce cola.

News of the FDA’s investigation follows a filing last week of a wrongful death suit in Riverside, Calif., by the parents of a 14-year-old Hagerstown girl who died after drinking two, 24-ounce Monster Energy Drinks in 24 hours.

Monster Beverage Corp., which touts on its web site that the Monster Energy Drink is a “killer energy brew” and “the meanest energy supplement on the planet,” puts labels on cans that state that the drinks are not recommended for children and people who are sensitive to caffeine.

… Read the rest

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