Archive for year 2014
Tibetan Sky Burial: 36 Photos
What you are about to see is disturbing. If you are sensitive to violent images, please do not view these photos.
“The idea of your body being taken apart and flown into the air in a million different directions is really, really powerful ….” — Caitlin Doughty
Via the always authoritative Wikipedia:
Sky burial (Tibetan: བྱ་གཏོར་, w bya gtor), lit. “alms for the birds”[1]) is a funerary practice in the Chinese provinces of Tibet, Qinghai, Sichuan andInner Mongolia and in Mongolia proper wherein a human corpse is incised in certain locations and placed on a mountaintop, exposing it to the elements (mahabhuta) and animals – especially predatory birds. The locations of preparation and sky burial are understood in the Vajrayanatraditions as charnel grounds.
The majority of Tibetans and many Mongolians adhere to Vajrayana Buddhism, which teaches the transmigration of spirits. There is no need to preserve the body, as it is now an empty vessel. Birds may eat it or nature may cause it to decompose. The function of the sky burial is simply to dispose of the remains in as generous a way as possible (the source of the practice’s Tibetan name). In much of Tibet and Qinghai, the ground is too hard and rocky to dig a grave, and, due to the scarcity of fuel and timber, sky burials were typically more practical than the traditional Buddhist practice of cremation. In the past, cremation was limited to high lamas and some other dignitaries,[2] but modern technology and difficulties with sky burial have led to its increasing use by commoners.[3]
Grumpy Cat Meets the Funeral Industry
I was channeling my inner grumpy cat and this is what I came up with. Yes, some are extremely cheesy, others in bad taste, others are for those inside the industry, but maybe there’s one that makes you laugh. 
Do you have any Grumpy Cat lines?
Eight (Kinda Weird) Things People Do In Cemeteries
Some like to model in cemeteries. 
Other’s prefer to play in bounce houses. 
Apparently some even hunt in cemeteries. 
Grill. And throw down some beer. 
Play. 
Exercise in the peace and quiet. 
Some people build Zombie snowmen in cemeteries.
This guys has lived in a cemetery for 15 years. Here’s his STORY.
A Disheartening death of history: Torn to pieces by cats
You know how it is. You get a cat, seeking companionship and amusement, and are rewarded with the occasional tea-time display of self-serving affection. It’s charming, so you get another. And one more. Pretty soon, your home makes visitors’ eyes sting. People stop calling by. You let your hair grow wild. You enthusiastically take up muttering.
In 1870, in Iran, a rich eccentric lady had cheerfully embarked on much this kind of path, breeding and buying cats to her heart’s content and passing her days in an agreeable if malodorous blur of purrs.
Then disaster struck. A fire broke out, and as it swept through the house, the cats were trapped behind a door. Two maids were sent to free them, but the blaze had driven the beasts berserk. The instant the door was opened, they flew at the unfortunate young women, tearing, scratching and biting them in a frenzy. Their injuries were so severe, they both died.
To read more “Disheartening Deaths of History” click HERE.
