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.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Sy Berger
Invented the modern baseball trading card -- via the New York Times. Hey, don't act like it's not a big deal -- he added color, stats, a facsimile autograph, all elements that made these little cards so fascinating and fun to collect and trade.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Friday, December 12, 2014
FRIDAY REVIEW: 'Working Stiff' -- Diagnosing the Dead
Working Stiff: Two Years, 262
Bodies, and the making of a Medical Examiner
Judy Melinek, M.D. and T.J.
Mitchell
2014
Scribner
New York
What happens to the dead? I don’t mean their souls, I mean
their bodies. Our squeamishness about death, decay, and corpses is a perfectly
reasonable aversion, but in every society, somebody has to deal with it.
This most taboo subject is the pith of Judy Melinek’s
memoir. She takes us along with her from her student days as an aspiring
surgeon to her introduction to forensic pathology, moving on to cover her
fellowship at the New York Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Throughout her
training, she encounters deaths accidental and natural; homicides and suicides;
and the horrors of 9/11 and the crash of Flight 587 in Queens two months later.
Throughout the work, and her co-author Mitchell leaven the
gruesome details with a broader portrait of Melinek and her growing family,
giving us insights into the workaday world of people who make a career out of
examining the dead. There is a strong through-line here, too, as Melinek
relates her father’s suicide when she was young -- and surmises that part of her
calling is an attempt to heal that wound. There is plenty of (grim) humor, too,
and deflation of the myths that TV has instilled in us – no, not all medical
examiners are hot, full of witty repartee, instant and accurate judgments, and
sporting deep décolletage.
The faint-hearted need not pick this book up. “Working
Stiff” is a clinically precise, no-holds-barred description of the profession
and case histories that will make you gasp. However, this is far more than a
catalog designed to satisfy morbid curiosities. Medical examiners provide
closure for families, provide answers for criminal investigations, and add to
our knowledge base about mortality and disease.
For those who would like to know facts about the stories our
bodies tell after our deaths, this text is absolutely invaluable.
The best movie obit reel is TCM's
Per the excellent writer and historian Eve Golden, a reminder that Turner Classic Movies' end-of-year Remembers reel is the best summation of the film industry's departed for the year. Exquisite and evocative. It takes tremendous amount of time and discernment to winnow someone's essence to a few seconds on screen. Watch the video -- the edits and production are top-notch.
Kathleen O'Keefe
Journalist and publisher -- via the New York Times. Pioneered independent journalism in Cambodia in 1992.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Jane Freilicher
Artist -- via the New York Times. I like her. She did what she thought was right. A quote from her from the NYT obit: "To strain after innovation, to worry about being on the 'cutting edge' (a phrase I hate), reflects a concern for a place in history or one's career rather than the authenticity of one's painting."
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Surgeon-Commander Herbert Ellis
Doctor who invented vehicles' warning beeps, and helped invent the crash helmet -- via the Telegraph. He volunteered for many medical and physiological experiments. And, have to admit, love the title.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Mary Ann Mobley
Actress, TV personality, and beauty pageant winner -- via the Clarion-Ledger. Was crowned Miss america in 1959. She was wholesome -- hey, she was in TWO Elvis movies!
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