MetaFilter posts tagged with death

Colin Douthwaite Logs Off

mkb — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:04:19 -0800

A posting last month to RISKS on the topic of posthumous emails brings to mind the story of Colin Douthwaite. Mr. Douthwaite, an active USENET user, passed away in March of 1999 after some prolonged medical difficulties. His son Ian's farewell message to alt.ascii-art inspired a small flood of original memorial works and a much larger flood from members' personal archives in his memory. Relatedly, Facebook and LiveJournal now allow profiles of deceased users to be frozen in time as a memorial, and numerous services now exist for preparing your own final words for your net.friends.

Animal Grief

Joe Beese — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:16:14 -0800

Grief among gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants, and magpies.

Without using the words “man” or “good,” can you please define what it means to be a good man?

Non Prosequitur — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:36:10 -0800

War Dances: “I wanted to call my father and tell him that a white man thought my brain was beautiful”. Sherman Alexie doing his thing in The New Yorker, excerpted from his upcoming book (early review; interview 1, 2.)

Henry Rollins - The Death of Joe Cole

WCityMike — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:43:31 -0800

Henry Rollins: The Death of Joe Cole: Part 1, Part 2. About 17 minutes total, but, God, worth it.

Time of his life.

MaryDellamorte — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:41:54 -0800

After a short battle with pancreatic cancer, Patrick Swayze has died. Having starred in numerous movies throughout his career, he's probably best known for his Roles in The Outsiders, Dirty Dancing and Ghost. Final dance scene from Dirty Dancing. Rumble scene from The Outsiders. Pottery scene from Ghost. SNL Chippendales skit. Scene from To Wong Foo.

Death's Blog

Joe Beese — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:40:39 -0800

Death's Blog

Death Risk Rankings

OmieWise — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:57:19 -0800

"Death Risk Rankings calculates your risk of dying in the next year and allows you to compare that risk to others in the world." Fun with mortality data and statistics from Carnegie Mellon University.

Former Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant involved in death of Toronto cyclist

maudlin — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:54:06 -0800

Late last night, a cyclist was killed in Toronto. "Ontario's former attorney general Michael Bryant ... will be charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death, a police source tells the Globe, after a collision left a 33-year-old cyclist dead." Accounts vary, but the sequence appears to be 1) Some collision and argument between the cyclist and the driver; 2) The cyclist grabs the driver's door and hangs on (or he may have been caught on the car accidentally) while the Saab convertible drives on; 3) The car drives into the opposite lane, across a construction zone, and the cyclist is battered against mailboxes and light posts; 4) The cyclist falls under the car's back wheels and is killed. This map shows the path of the accident and includes links to picture and video. (What it doesn't show is how torn up by construction the area is, like much of downtown and midtown Toronto.) Witnesses describe what they saw at the scene. The cyclist has not yet been identified to the public. Feelings have already been running high in Toronto about the Toronto Bike Plan and what many motorists consider a War on Cars. A few weeks ago, a woman was killed by a teenager cycling on the sidewalk, but the cyclist was not charged. Coincidentally, a study based on Toronto accident statistics was recently released, showing that 90% of bicycle-car accidents are caused by clumsy or inattentive drivers, although these results have been disputed. And while traffic services has been cracking down on both driver and cyclist infractions this summer (and some Critical Massers seem to agree that sidewalk cycling should be cracked down on), some people think cyclists are getting treated with kid gloves, that they shouldn't be on anything but residential roads, and that no more money should be spent on cycling infrastructure. Catch a taste of non-CBC Canadian talk radio here (live streaming here.) Meanwhile, I suspect another ghost bike is being prepared.

DeathPanels.org: The Disturbing Details Behind Health Care Reform!!1!!

tylerfulltilt — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:25:40 -0800

People are starting to get a little worn out on Healthcare coverage, or at least, a little worn out on the way it's been covered. Thank god our own grrarrgh00 isn't listening. Because someone has to spread the truth about Obama's nazi socialist communist granny killing satanist witchcraft healthcare reform.

"What a comfort it is to possess the image of those who are removed from our sight..."

fearfulsymmetry — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 03:47:33 -0800

Victorian mourning photography, featuring the recently departed in realistic poses.

Goodbye, Teddy

ocherdraco — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:40:58 -0800

Edward M. Kennedy, Senator from Massachusetts, has died at age 77. After a rocky youth (including scandals of cheating and reckless driving), Kennedy followed his brothers into politics, making health care his cause, and eventually went on to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Anticipating his own death, he had been trying to create a quick transition for his replacement as a vote on health care reform rapidly approached.

The Prince is dead

T.D. Strange — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:15:47 -0800

Robert Novak, "The Prince of Darkness," died at his home early Tuesday. He was 78. Novak was suffering from a brain tumor announced last summer. Human Events has an obituary column.

"I live in hope I can jump before I am pushed."

Artw — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:44:40 -0800

Terry Pratchett: I'll die before the endgame

"Let people live in your heart"

madamjujujive — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:21:59 -0800

Children Full of Life - grade 4 students in Kanazawa, Japan learn deep life lessons from their incredible teacher and from each other. I strongly recommend this as awesome, but one caveat: keep tissues handy. (5 parts, 40 minutes total, English)

Yasmin Ahmad (1958 - 2009)

divabat — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 11:22:21 -0800

Acclaimed Malaysian film and advertising director Yasmin Ahmad has passed away at 11:52pm Saturday night at the age of 51, after collapsing from a stroke at a media presentation the day before. She leaves behind a legacy of film that captures the modern multicultural spirit of Malaysia, winning international festival awards and local hearts while at the mercy of conservative censors. Some examples of her work: Tan Hong Ming Family Funeral Sepet (Trailer) Talentime (Trailer) Muallaf (Trailer)

Congratulations on your recent death

dortmunder — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:08:50 -0800

Video footage of death for your amusement. Space Quest Deaths. Quest for Glory Deaths. King's Quest Deaths. Laura Bow 2 Deaths. Conquests of Camelot deaths. Conquests of the Longbow Deaths. Police Quest Deaths.

Lo Siento, Taco Bell.

Lutoslawski — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:33:46 -0800

Gidget, controversial pop-icon who only wanted some Taco Bell, has died at the age of 15.

Thomas Ley, Hanging Minister

Fiasco da Gama — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:32:41 -0800

In 1947, Thomas Ley, a virulently sectarian, pro-hanging Australian politician, died in Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, where he had been sent after being sentenced to death for murder. It was probably not his first.

Mollie Sugden dies at 86

dnash — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:04:48 -0800

Mrs. Slocombe is no longer free. Actress Mollie Sugden has died at 86, after a long illness. Best known as the irascible Mrs. Slocombe in the long running British sitcom "Are You Being Served?" who famous cared a great deal about her pussy.

Free at last!

djduckie — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:46:54 -0800

The tragic story of Timothy Cole who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit, and died because of inadequate health care in prison. He was recently posthumously exonerated based on confessions of the guilty man and DNA evidence.

Greatly exaggerated

robcorr — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:31:40 -0800

With the world buzzing about celebrity deaths, it was an opportune moment for hoaxsters. A rumour that Jeff Goldblum had died spread quickly on Twitter, and "'Jeff Goldblum dead' was at 11am the third-most popular search term on Google". The actor's agent quashed the rumour, but not before Australian TV broadcast it as fact, complete with a touching montage tribute. Still, now he knows what it will be like when he really goes: "A surprise funeral? For me?"

Acting is easy, dying is hard

Horace Rumpole — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:21:07 -0800

Always die with your eyes open. Actor Mike Doyle walks us through his seven onscreen deaths. [via]

Just imagine the hijinx if they'd had Facebook.

grapefruitmoon — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:07:26 -0800

Gather 'Round the Cadaver! : A new "coffee-table" book, Dissection: Photographs of a Rite of Passage in American Medicine is a new collection of photographs documenting what happened when bored medical students of the early 1900s met the camera.

What a happy dance this is

psylosyren — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:48:53 -0800

Frankie Manning, as seen previously, passed away, but his 95th birthday party will go on as scheduled which will feature a Battle of the 'Bones with the Wycliffe Gordon Quartet. Careful dancers. There is an inherent risk of injury: sign here.

We're all death's customers eventually.

grapefruitmoon — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:31:46 -0800

With all of the economic strife in the world, the funeral industry is still going strong. There is a niche for all budgets these days, including the availability of coffins at Costco. Former Hell's Angels can take their last ride in a hearse pulled by a Harley Davidson. The more fashion-conscious can go out in a burial shroud custom made by artist Marion Spadone. More and more environmentalists are investing in eco-funerals, though this option comes with its own complications.