Archive for year 2014
Seven Funerals of the Famous (and their cost)
The cost in this infographic is in Pounds. Right now the exchange rate is one English Pound to 1.7 US Dollars.
This is how I want to die …
I want to dance myself to death. Throw off the crutches and let my heart beat it’s way to glory.
The Suicide Forest in Japan
Emulation suicide (or “copycat suicide”) is a real thing. Often times a suicide in a popular novel, in a popular movie, a celebrity suicide or a suicidal song will spark what’s called “suicide contagion”, otherwise known as the Werther effect, which sets off a sting of related suicides.
The Werther effect occurs in different settings. Sometimes, you’ll see it play out in schools, where a number of kids will take their lives in a certain period of time. You’ll see it happen in families, where each consecutive generation experiences suicide to some level. Movements, like the Tunisian Revolution was set off by the protest suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi. And you’ll see it happen in specific places, such as Aokigahara, otherwise known in Japan as the “Suicide Forest”.
This from Wikipedia:
The forest is a popular place for suicides, reportedly the most popular in Japan. Statistics vary, but what is documented is that during the period leading up to 1988, about 100 suicides occurred there every year.[5]
In 2003, 105 bodies were found in the forest, exceeding the previous record of 78 in 2002.[6] In recent years, the local government has stopped publicizing the numbers in an attempt to downplay Aokigahara’s association with suicide.[7] As of 2011, the most common means of suicide in the forest were hanging and drug overdoses.[9]
The high rate of suicide has led officials to place signs in the forest, in Japanese and English, urging suicidal visitors to seek help and not kill themselves. Annual body searches have been conducted by police, volunteers, and attendant journalists since 1970.[10][11][12]
The site’s popularity has been attributed to the 1960 novel Kuroi Jukai (Black Sea of Trees) by Seichō Matsumoto.[13] However, the history of suicide in Aokigahara predates the novel’s publication, and the place has long been associated with death: ubasute may have been practiced there into the nineteenth century, and the forest is reputedly haunted by the Yūrei (angry spirits) of those left to die.[7]
A noose made from neckties hangs from a tree in Aokigahara Jukai in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan on 26 March, 2009. Hanging and drug overdoses are the most common methods chosen by those taking their lives in the forest.
The Suicide Song I Wrote Back in 2004
This song is not meant to condone suicide. Rather, it is an attempt to empathize with those who struggle with suicidal thoughts, feeling and actions.
I wrote and sang this song back in 2004 for a class project in my funeral service program. There’s a video that goes along with it (and was a rad amateur vid for 2004), but the video is rather violent. Be forewarned that it not only contains violence, but it also has a number of heavy curse words. If you wish to bypass the video, you can just play the audio via SoundCloud.
The idea of the song is that some people’s lives are so messed up that they hope there’s a place where there is no existence. It was inspired by a friend of mine in high school, who was abused as a child and used drugs to blunt the pain. He was also raised in a Christian family and believed that his actions warranted hell.
His hope was that he could die and there would be neither heaven or hell, but simply nothing … a place where he can’t feel pain, hurt or even happiness.
The song itself starts at the 1 minute, 51 second mark.
Suicide Video from Caleb Wilde on Vimeo.
Ten Things We Use When Embalming
Some of these photos may be disturbing. All of these photos have been sourced either from the internet.
1. This is a needle injector, which is effectively used for mouth closure. We use this to set the features before we embalm. Once the mouth and eyes are closed (see number 2), then we can think about starting arterial embalming. 
The needles are the shiny silver things attached to the shiny gold things (we only use two at a time):
One needle is anchored into the maxilla and another needle is anchored into the mandible. The wires that are attached to the needles are then twisted together until the mouth is “cranked” shut.
2. These round spiked spheres are called “eye caps”. They are placed under the eye lids and essentially grab the eyelids and hold them in place, keeping the eyes closed.
You can also use these as very small Frisbees.
3. These are examples of the scalpels that we use for embalming. They are sharp.
Many embalmers use the right carotid artery for embalming and the jugular vein for drainage of the blood. We use the scalpel to cut the neck and find said artery and vein.
The scalpels can also be used to cut other things, like steak and pork. But, it’s probably not good to use a used embalming scalpel on your steak. That’s an amateur move.
4. This is an Aneurysm hook.
We use this little guy to raise the artery and the vein out of the neck.
5. The arterial tube gets slipped into the incised artery.
6. Embalming Machine (Drum roll please)
That black rubber tube gets placed onto the arterial tube and the embalming fluid is pumped into the arterial system.
You can also use embalming machines for various other interests. Like a fish tank / plant holder. Or a punch bowl.
7. The drainage tube is slid into the jugular vein. When the embalming machine forces the embalming fluid into the arterial system, that fluid forces the blood out via the veins and the drainage tube.
Via http://www.deep-six.com/deathweb/page221.htm
8. Arterial embalming only reaches the parts of the body that are connected to the arterial system. The intestines, stomach, lungs, etc. are left relatively untouched. We then remove all the content of the stomach, lungs, etc. through a long needle like suction thingy called a “trocar”.
9. After the stomach, lungs, etc have been cleaned out, we then inject cavity fluid. After that has been done, we screw in a trocar button in the hole left by the trocar.
10. Finally, during this whole process, we use gloves. I prefer my latex gloves in the “Fierce Beige” color because it matches my personality.
