|
Welcome
Taphophilia (dot) Com...
A repository of morbid curiosities:
Thanatology and Taphophile Issues, Cemetery,
Funeral Industry and Death Related News.
A Taphophilia Thank You...
Taphophilia (dot) Com would not be possible without the knowledge, experience and talent of DarkestWeb. From its conception and early development, DarkestWeb was faced with many challenges; from inspiring and motivating, to providing guidance and direction. The continued dedication and support has produced results greater than ever expected, and for this, I owe a huge debt of gratitude.
Announcements
Graveyards of Chicago:
The People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries
By Matt Hucke And Ursula Bielski. Discover a Chicago That Exists Just Beneath the Surface - About Six Feet Under! Take a tour of Chicago's permanent residents! Please visit the Lake Claremont Press website to purchase your copy of Graveyards of Chicago today!
Green-Wood Cemetery Arcadia Publishing announces the release of Alexandra Mosca's historic account of one of New York's most famous cemeteries. Aracdia Publishing's Images of America series has an extensive catalog of many cemetery publications! Please visit Arcadia Publishing to purchase your copy of Green-Wood Cemetery and to browse other available titles!
Men of Mortuaries Calendar
To purchase your 2008 calendar, learn more about the KAMMCARES Foundation, or to be featured in the 2009 calendar, please visit Men of Mortuaries.
Epitaphs: The Magazine for Cemetery Lovers By Cemetery Lovers
For information regarding subscriptions, single issues, submission guidelines, deadlines, classifieds or advertising for future issues, please visit The Cemetery Club.
Guardians of the Soul: Angels and Innocents, Mourners and Saints, Indiana's remarkable cemetery sculpture
with photography by John Bower and foreword by Claude Cookman is now
available. Please visit
Studio Indiana for more information.
West Springfield Massachusetts: Stories Carved in Stone by Rusty Clark features information on early New England gravestone carvers with more than two hundred photos and illustrations. Please visit the Dog Pond Press website.
|
|
Spending eternity as a 20-inch Jesus |
|
|
|
|
Written by DeadGirl
|
|
Sunday, 09 November 2003 |
Spending eternity as a 20-inch Jesus
Bucks County Courier Times
November 4, 2003
By JD Mullane
Death used to be a no-frills affair. You croaked, were planted in the ground and your grave was topped with a simple stone bearing two dates: entrance and exit.
But with the baby boom generation soon to arrive in God's Waiting Room (the oldest boomers hit retirement age in a scant five years), the traditions of death and burial are about to be smashed.
In fact, the satin-lined casket may go the way of Bill Clinton's marriage vows.
That's because more and more Americans are choosing cremation.
By 2025, cremations are expected to reach 1.4 million per year, about 45 percent of those who die. That's more than double the cremations in 2001, according to www.creamationassociation.org.
There are several reasons for this, from the bogus environmental "running out of space to bury people" argument, to those who simply get the creeps imagining their worm-eaten corpse rotting in the cold, moldy ground. Ew.
In a few years, boomers will croak and cremate at record levels. What will be done with all that Pepsi Generation ash?
No doubt much of it will be scattered at hokey sentimental ceremonies outdoors, perhaps while a bald guy with a ponytail strums "Imagine."
Others are more creative.
When Ed Headrick, the man who invented Frisbee golf, died last year, he requested that his cremains be molded into a line of limited-edition Frisbees.
"When we die, we don't go to purgatory," he used to say, "we just land up on the roof and lay there."
If spending eternity as a cheap plastic disc isn't quite you, then maybe spending it as a marbleized swan, lion or dove appeals more.
If so, Eternal Arts can help. The small, family-run business in Chesire, Conn., (www.eternalarts.net) takes a few cups of your cremains and has them molded into statuettes of any one of about 40 animals, angels and other art pieces.
Even you.
For a few thousand bucks, an artist will create a three-quarter-size bust of your head.
Ed and Kyle Giordano, who launched Eternal Arts earlier this year, said reaction to their product is mixed.
"When I speak to individuals about this, I either get great enthusiasm or stunned silence," said Ed in phone interview last week. "Usually people don't know what to say. It's so off the wall from what they're used to."
The Giordanos got the idea after listening to a report on National Public Radio about Ed Headrick's funereal Frisbee, and also about LifeGem, a company that creates diamonds from the carbon of dead loved ones.
The Giordanos had been searching for a way to incorporate the ashes of Kyle's mother in a unique memorial.
That's when son Eric, 10, suggested the ash be made into Transformers, a popular kids toy.
"We thought this was a great idea - and something we could do together as a family," Ed said.
They teamed with MARBLECast of Salt Lake City, Utah, which mixes cremains with marble powders and binds them with a polyester resin, the type used in auto panels.
"It has the look and the solid feel of marble. Everyone who holds one is always impressed with the heft of the piece," Ed said.
His mother-in-law is now an angel.
"It's in the dining room on the hutch. We pass it all the time. [Ed] sees my mom more now than he did when she was alive," Kyle said.
"Yes," Ed said, "I connect with her more now."
Cremains can be added to classic sculptures like Michelangelo's Pieta, Rodin's The Thinker, goddesses, warriors, ballerinas, animals or a 20-inch tall Jesus.
Prices range from $350 to $1,000. Busts go for about $3,000.
"Death is a very uncomfortable thing to talk about, even though as we age, we go to more funerals and services," Ed said. "The easiest thing to do is follow tradition. But some people who reflect on what a person has meant to them will want to celebrate their life in unique, touching and novel ways that keep that person alive forever. This is a means to do that."
Intriguing. And I have to say that some of the sculptures the Giordanos produce are quite beautiful, especially one called Devotion.
I can understand the comfort this gives people.
And having your bust glowering from the living room bookcase at your no-goodnick kids who've blown their inheritance on junk has a metaphysical appeal.
At least it beats spending forever as a Frisbee stuck on the garage roof.
Still, I think I'd rather rest forever on a peaceful grassy hill beneath a shady tree.
Of course, I wouldn't be able to see much from 6 feet under.
Then again, I'd be dead, so what's the big deal?
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/219-11042003-190559.html |
|
Taphophilia?
taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)
ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"
DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries
Quote Repository
“Lend, lend your wings! I mount! I fly! O grave! where is thy victory? O death! where is thy sting?” Alexander Pope
Shirtless and Sculpted
The Men of Mortuaries 2008 Calendar is now available! All sale proceeds benefit KAMMCARES, a breast cancer foundation.
|
