TV director, producer, and writer -- via the Hollywood Reporter. Created films such as the Emmy-winning "Bill," and shows such as "That's Incredible!" and "In Search Of . . . "
Interesting, overlooked, and significant obituaries from around the world, as they happen, emphasizing the positive achievements of those who have died. Member, Society of Professional Obituary Writers.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Monday, August 18, 2014
Don Pardo
Announcer; best known as the original voice of "Jeopardy!" and "Saturday Night Live" -- via the New York Times.
WEEKLY READER: Our roundup of stories on death, mourning, and more
TOP STORIES
GWAR’s
Dave Brockie gets a flaming Viking funeral – a report from Miriam Coleman
at Rolling Stone
From Modern Loss: Mark Liebenow on losing his wife
INFOGRAPHIC: Cremation: it's the way to go, from Macrina Cooper-White on Huffington Post
INFOGRAPHIC: Cremation: it's the way to go, from Macrina Cooper-White on Huffington Post
“We
Don’t Know Death: 7 Assumptions We Make about Dying”, from Pallimed
DEATH
James
Brown’s body has been dismembered, moved 14 times – via Black America Web.
An
unattended, unnoticed death: Andy Park of the Sydney Morning Herald reports
Death
selfies from Izismile
Medical
examiner writes memoir, Dennis Kelly of USA Today reports
Native American tribes want ancestors' scalps from German Old West museums -- via Melissa Eddy at the New York Times
Native American tribes want ancestors' scalps from German Old West museums -- via Melissa Eddy at the New York Times
MOURNING
In Boulder, Colorado, the homeless are dying -- and a recent ceremony honors their memories -- via Erica Meltzer of the Boulder Daily Camera
In Boulder, Colorado, the homeless are dying -- and a recent ceremony honors their memories -- via Erica Meltzer of the Boulder Daily Camera
In Tablet Magazine, Sarah Ivry is not
so fond of viral mourning
From Joel Mathis and Ben Boychuk of Newsday, a
debate over the mourning of celebrity deaths
Funeral
foods from Epicurious
Grief-support
charity to close due to lack of funding – via the Desert Sun
Via Bob Garrison at KUSA: Robin
Williams mourning post used as “click bait”
Cybermemorials,
‘Living Headstones,’ and other digital mourning practices – from Kyle
Chayka at Newsweek
OBITS
How prominent will your obituary be? It's all in the timing, per Thomas Vinciguerra of the New York Times
How prominent will your obituary be? It's all in the timing, per Thomas Vinciguerra of the New York Times
Get it right: ESPN
posts wrong photo, headline for dead race car driver – Robert Littal of
Black Sports Online reports
FUNERALS
Sociologists
see big changes in funeral industry, per Longwood University
Tunde Ra Aleem
Singer and keyboardist -- via Soul Tracks. With his brother Tarharqa, formed the duo GhettoFighters.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Mary MacCracken
Teacher of children with emotional and cognitive disabilities, and memoirist -- via the New York Times. Her books were turned into films: "A Circle of Children" and "Lovey."
Columba Dominguez
Actress -- via the Guardian.
Las 10 Divas del Cine Mexicano (Columba DomÃnguez) by Sesshomaru-Light
Las 10 Divas del Cine Mexicano (Columba DomÃnguez) by Sesshomaru-Light
Friday, August 15, 2014
Licia Albanese
Soprano -- via Parterre. Best remembered as one of the most definitive Cio-Cio Sans, she sang for Toscanini, and with Corelli, Gigli, Bjorling, and Pavarotti, among others. Her singing career stretched from 1934 to 1987 -- 53 years!
FRIDAY BOOK REVIEW: 'The Death Class'
The Death Class: A True Story about Life
By Erika Hayasaki
2014
Simon and Schuster
By BRAD WEISMANN
Dr. Norma Bowe’s death class at
Kean University in New Jersey is the ostensible subject of this new book.
However, the book quickly becomes a portrait of Bowe, as well as ones of
selected members of her class. “The Death Class” is about overcoming tragedy,
cruelty, the randomness of life, but to me it’s not that compelling,
unfortunately.
Hayasaki’s prose suffers from both
stiffness and self-importance. When she gets caught up in her parallel
narratives in the center of the book, that awkwardness fades and we get a real
flow of story, but it comes back in fits and starts towards the conclusion. At
points, staggeringly awful sentences sit next to sublime observations. The jolting
quality changes, as well as the up-close-and-personal revelations that stoke
the narrative turn “The Death Class” into a long, haphazard feature story full
of too many predictable moments.
It is very hard for a journalist
not to track into the well-worn and effective template of personal suffering
and redemption, but the cumulative impact of “The Death Class” is blunted
severely simply by not showing readers the shape and content of Bowe’s course.
It becomes the disjointed account of various field trips Bowe takes her class
on. In fact, the writer falls for Bowe and what might have been a more
effective look at an innovative teaching method turns into a mushy tribute. The
reader deserves better.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Myrtle Young
The Potato Chip Lady, collector of anthropomorphically shaped potato chips -- via the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.
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