Honoring the dead

[Ivo_B]

Is it a sign of civilization?
Are modern western cremation practices a sign of civilization decay?

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

The third one is the strongest.

[Ivo_B]

The third one is the strongest.

Agree.

[Rob C]

I believe it's a matter of alternative thinking, of the vanishing real estate that's ultimately going to be wasted; the imposition of a duty of care upon those left behind. I prefer an urn; you can talk to it, touch it and express your love for whatever you hope may be within without having to go outside and get depressed.

It, an urn, can instantly share your moments of elation, those flashes of love that come into your soul suddenly, without prompt, and you can smile at it and thank the memories it represents. Who feels elation in a graveyard? How can you: it's designed to be mournfully religious and solemn, so unlike many of the memories buried deeply within those grim places, however beautifully manicured the expensive lawns which contribute what, exactly?

I think of Sally Mann and of a series she did on Georgia: those sad trees, the dampness... that, to me, means cemetery of the soul, finite ending. I prefer hope.

Those old black guys in New Orleans had it figured: bring on the happy jazz.

Rob

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Follows the history of the mankind. We used to be much more location-bound in the past. Families would stay in the same place for centuries. Cemeteries made perfect sense, and were often a short distance away. With migrations to towns, and in particular more recent migrations to different countries and continents, cremation makes more sense. Also for the reasons Rob explained.

[Ivo_B]

I believe it's a matter of alternative thinking, of the vanishing real estate that's ultimately going to be wasted; the imposition of a duty of care upon those left behind. I prefer an urn; you can talk to it, touch it and express your love for whatever you hope may be within without having to go outside and get depressed.

It, an urn, can instantly share your moments of elation, those flashes of love that come into your soul suddenly, without prompt, and you can smile at it and thank the memories it represents. Who feels elation in a graveyard? How can you: it's designed to be mournfully religious and solemn, so unlike many of the memories buried deeply within those grim places, however beautifully manicured the expensive lawns which contribute what, exactly?

I think of Sally Mann and of a series she did on Georgia: those sad trees, the dampness... that, to me, means cemetery of the soul, finite ending. I prefer hope.

Those old black guys in New Orleans had it figured: bring on the happy jazz.

Rob

I remember a documentary about peoples eating and drinking aside the grave of a beloved. It was not depressing at all. Our repressive catholic religion forces us in another direction, sadly enough.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I remember a documentary about peoples eating and drinking aside the grave of a beloved. It was not depressing at all. Our repressive catholic religion forces us in another direction, sadly enough.

Don't know about Catholic customs, but that sounds like what Orthodox Christians would do.

[Ivo_B]

Don't know about Catholic customs, but that sounds like what Orthodox Christians would do.

Correct. It was a documentary about Orthodox Christians. Don’t remember the country.

[Rob C]

I remember a documentary about peoples eating and drinking aside the grave of a beloved. It was not depressing at all. Our repressive catholic religion forces us in another direction, sadly enough.

You though Catholic depressing? You should try fundamentalist Baptists and/or Seventh-day Adventists if you want the deepest blues this side of bankruptcy! And be in a boarding school with them offering no escape, February through November.

Heysoos, what a mockery of faith!

[Martin Kristiansen]

Over a billion Indians and most of them Hindus, they cremate and have done so for centuries. Tibetans still do fair amount of sky burials where they feed the dead to the birds, like the Parsis of Mumbai.

I don’t see cremation as disrespectful.

[Rob C]

Over a billion Indians and most of them Hindus, they cremate and have done so for centuries. Tibetans still do fair amount of sky burials where they feed the dead to the birds, like the Parsis of Mumbai.

I don’t see cremation as disrespectful.

Bombay, the Tower of Silence! I remember seeing that. I owned a Brownie Reflex at the time, genuine plastic. 1953, to be precise.

Rob

[RSL]

I remember a documentary about peoples eating and drinking aside the grave of a beloved. It was not depressing at all. Our repressive catholic religion forces us in another direction, sadly enough.

Ever been to an Irish wake, Ivo?

[RSL]

I believe it's a matter of alternative thinking, of the vanishing real estate that's ultimately going to be wasted; the imposition of a duty of care upon those left behind. I prefer an urn; you can talk to it, touch it and express your love for whatever you hope may be within without having to go outside and get depressed.

It, an urn, can instantly share your moments of elation, those flashes of love that come into your soul suddenly, without prompt, and you can smile at it and thank the memories it represents. Who feels elation in a graveyard? How can you: it's designed to be mournfully religious and solemn, so unlike many of the memories buried deeply within those grim places, however beautifully manicured the expensive lawns which contribute what, exactly?

I think of Sally Mann and of a series she did on Georgia: those sad trees, the dampness... that, to me, means cemetery of the soul, finite ending. I prefer hope.

Those old black guys in New Orleans had it figured: bring on the happy jazz.

Rob

I don't want my ashes to be in an urn, Rob. I want 'em blowing in the wind, just as I'll be.

[John R]

Nice shots Ivo. Last two are particularly poignant. I guess you didn't want to disturb them too much and shot when you could.

JR

[Rob C]

I don't want my ashes to be in an urn, Rob. I want 'em blowing in the wind, just as I'll be.

Hmmm, it's one perspective, but I think the real me will be in one place, and residual me in the tin. Two locations for the price of one?

My horror is coming back without meeting the same woman again, as if neither of us had ever happened; now that would be heavy.

:-)

[Ivo_B]

Over a billion Indians and most of them Hindus, they cremate and have done so for centuries. Tibetans still do fair amount of sky burials where they feed the dead to the birds, like the Parsis of Mumbai.

I don’t see cremation as disrespectful.

Of course not, Martin. It’s not what happens with our deceased, it’s how it happens.

[Ivo_B]

Ever been to an Irish wake, Ivo?

No Russ, Can you tell more about it?

[Ivo_B]

Nice shots Ivo. Last two are particularly poignant. I guess you didn't want to disturb them too much and shot when you could.

JR

Tx John. Correct, I didn’t want to disturb. The x100f is a great tool in this situations. It makes my M6 really superseded.

[Ivo_B]

You though Catholic depressing? You should try fundamentalist Baptists and/or Seventh-day Adventists if you want the deepest blues this side of bankruptcy! And be in a boarding school with them offering no escape, February through November.

Heysoos, what a mockery of faith!

Tell me something, Rob. My father was a member of a Calvinist church, but because it was not enough sorrow and misery he quit and became a ‘home reader’. I had my part of religious happiness.

[Rob C]

Tell me something, Rob. My father was a member of a Calvinist church, but because it was not enough sorrow and misery he quit and became a ‘home reader’. I had my part of religious happiness.

You know Ivo, I believe it stains us for life. You have to have lived through it and come out the other side to understand. For years I had no faith whatsoever. I had no time to think about it. With plenty of time, it changes both its colour as its purposes. My version has kept me sane. I feel truly sorry for those who are tied to a prescribed religion as I do for those who have nothing in which to hold hope. I think it has to be something that originates from within. Which might be another form of predestination.

Strangely enough, religion was what finally drove Saul Leiter away from home in Pittsburgh to New York. Unlike as many think, it wasn't about trying to be make it as an artist in the Big Smoke, but simply to escape his father whom he loved but could not follow.

Rob