Year In Review

    A review of how I feel about the blog over the year and the 200th post!

The Funeral Industry & Creating Disgruntled Outsiders

     This post comes from my experience trying to study the funeral industry, how many companies actively keep people out, creating 'outsiders'.  Which explains why most studies of the industry are negative and done without input or involvement from the industry.

Fetishism of The Dead Body

    In this post I explore our relationship with dead bodies and how we turn them into The Dead Body (TDB).  This was something I wanted to write as an essay and do properly back in early October.  But unfortunately I never found the time.  Instead enjoy this informal and casual post of mine, it was written for fun so with luck it should be fun to read.

Why Bodies Smell So Bad

    I have noticed a visceral and emotional reaction to the smell of bodies.  A reaction so strong that it goes beyond the physical sensation.  This article is not about the physical side of how bodies smell.  Instead it looks into why we take the smell of bodies so personally.

Hit & Run in Rookwood

    Recently I found a car involved in a hit and run at Rookwood.  It was only a small accident, but it does go to show how Rookwood is an active place full of people.  Not a silent cemetery which some perceive it to be.

Death & Funerals: Children

    In these series of posts I will be looking informally at the taboo nature of death and funerals.  This post looks at the relationship of children to death and funerals.

Death & Funerals: Shit

    In these series of posts I will be looking informally at the taboo nature of death and funerals.  This post focuses on how we avoid the topic.  Specifically how death is handled (and possibly thought of) in the same way as excrement.

Death & Funerals: Sex

    In these series of posts I will be looking informally at the taboo nature of death and funerals.  This post explores how death and funerals are like sex in our avoidance of them.

Death & Funerals: Life

    I have put together four articles looking at specific aspects of the taboo nature of death.  They are only short and rather basic, written more for fun and to brainstorm than to actually put something 'proper' together.  Basically I have been trying to read through some 'heavy' stuff.  Like Merleau-Ponty's "Phenomenology of Perception", which is an incredibly dense book.  So I felt like something a bit fun and light for a change of pace.  After all, it's the time of year when we should be relaxing a little and having fun!

    This post focuses on the separation of life and death, how this appears simple and clean.  But is actually blurry and loaded with controversy.

Funeral Company Relationships

    There is a surprisingly complex web of relationships between groups operating in the funeral industry.  Below I finally tackle this topic and attempt to explain how the various companies interact with each other.

Thanatourism: Northern Suburbs Crematorium

    Northern Suburbs Crematorium (NSC) is a small but beautiful crematorium in the Northern Suburbs of Sydney.  It is an historial place with great atmosphere and well maintained gardens.

Cooling Bed

    Recently I was invited by a celebrant to look at her cooling bed.  This is an interesting device used to keep the body cool at home.  It is a unique idea for Australia and so far remains relatively rare.