Alternative Funeral Monitor

Sales of the death men | Kansan.com

By Kevin Hardy
Thursday, April 22, 2010

[a very good feature article on the funeral business in Kansas...AFM ed.]

Sales of the death men | Kansan.com.

Todd Miller slowly positions the head of the body between plastic blocks as Curtis Foley makes a 2-inch incision on the neck near the collar bone. Miller then digs beneath the skin, grasps the carotid artery and jugular vein and pulls them toward the surface, tying them together to ensure easy access for later. Foley makes a tiny cut for a tube to enter each vessel.

Meanwhile, Miller closes the corpse's eyes. He uses plastic eye caps lined with a texture similar to Velcro to affix the eyeball to the lid. This prevents the eyes from sinking into the skull and keeps the eyelids from dehydrating.

"Cancer's taking his life, not his sense of humor" | The Register-Guard | Eugene, Oregon

News: Local | "Cancer's taking his life, not his sense of humor" | The Register-Guard | Eugene, Oregon.
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard
Appeared in print: Saturday,Apr 17, 2010

Cancer sucks. Life is good. Choose joy.

Those are words Aaron Jamison lives by these days. The 37-year-old Springfield resident is choosing to live his life with as much joy — and no small amount of offbeat humor — as anyone with a terminal case of colon cancer can muster.

That helps explain why Jamison has decided to sell advertising space on a pair of funeral urns, one of which will go to his wife when he dies, and one to his parents. He hopes to sell at least eight ads, at $100 a pop, so he can pay for his cremation and funeral ahead of time. So far, he has sold two ads — one to Terese’s Place restaurant in Springfield, and one to Cry Baby Ink tattoo parlor in the Valley River Mall.

Minnesota Senate bill 2903 empowers individual's at end of life

[Licensed funeral directors have failed to respond rapidly enough to changing American values. refusing to supply the public with affordable environmental options. Recognizing the government needs to get out of the way of a citizen-driven market (rather than protect an industry's marketshare, the Minnesota Senate is taking steps to reform its statutes to reflect citizens' need to control the costs, activities and impacts of funerals...AFM Ed.] 

S.F. No. 2903, 1st Engrossment - 86th Legislative Session (2009-2010)   Posted on Mar 18, 2010

1.1A bill for an act

1.2relating to mortuary science; modifying provisions related to viewing,
1.3transporting, and removal of a dead human body; amending Minnesota Statutes
1.42008, sections 149A.01, subdivision 3; 149A.71, subdivision 2; 149A.72,
1.5subdivision 2; 149A.90, subdivisions 4, 6, 7; 149A.91, subdivisions 2, 3;
1.6149A.93, subdivisions 6, 7; 149A.94, subdivision 1; Minnesota Statutes 2009
1.7Supplement, section 149A.80, subdivision 2.
1.8BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.9    Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 149A.01, subdivision 3, is amended to
1.10read:

When the bereaved must battle bureaucracy - UK Telegraph

[Our funeral colleagues in the UK continue to delight me with their sensitivity, insight, and intelligence. I picked this up off Charles Cowling's "Good Funeral Guide" blog -- AFM ed]

When the bereaved must battle bureaucracy - Telegraph.

By George Pitcher

I'm afraid I slipped into a daydream in church on Easter morn yesterday. It started by wondering how different the story might have been if the Jerusalem of 2,000 years ago was like the London Borough of Bromley today.

The idea that Joseph of Arimathea could have got a quick verbal consent from the head of the local authority to take possession of Jesus's body would be ridiculous; he'd never have got the paperwork organised in time. Mary Magdalen would have been so tied up with the bereavement services she'd never have got back to the tomb before dawn. And that's before having to explain to the bureaucrats that the tomb turned out to be empty. 

Summerland Natural Cemetery gets its Day in Court

"Green" cemetery backers sue Bibb - Local & State - Macon.com.

[We've followed the Summerland story at the AFM. The owners were unfairly discriminated against and we're glad to see they're taking Bibb County to task- Ed]

The backers of Summerland Natural Cemetery sued the Bibb County government in federal court Thursday, contending that the county had no right to pass an ordinance specifically to block the “green” cemetery from ever opening.

Summerland Group Inc. wants a federal judge to overturn the county’s ordinance, then force the county to pay unspecified amounts of money in damages, reimburse legal expenses and allow the cemetery to be built under guidelines from the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission, which already approved the project.

Read more: http://www.macon.com/2010/04/03/1081509/green-cemetery-backers-sue-bibb.html#ixzz0kEeQNRpS

The Perils of Plastic - Environmental Toxins - TIME

[This excellent article by Bryan Walsh in the April 1 2010 edition of TIME Magazine contains important information the public needs to help it assess the threat of chemicals in the environment. One of the challenges facing supporters of less polluting funeral options like PLASTIC FREE CASKETS is the "proof" of the products' potential to do harm. Walsh's article translates those perils into everyday language that the average non-scientist can understand. Read the original article onsite -- the text is stored here for archival purposes only. Kudos to TIME for commissioning this report!/ AFM Ed]

The Perils of Plastic - Environmental Toxins - TIME.

On the first Earth Day, celebrated 40 years ago this month, the U.S. was a poisoned nation. Dense air pollution blanketed cities like Los Angeles, where smog alerts were a fact of life. Dangerous pesticides like DDT were still in use, and water pollution was rampant — symbolized by raging fires on Cleveland's Cuyahoga River, captured in a famous 1969 story for TIME. But the green movement that was energized by Earth Day — and the landmark federal actions that followed it — changed much of that. Today air pollution is down significantly in most urban areas, the water is cleaner, and even the Cuyahoga is home to fish again. Though climate change looms as a long-term threat, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day will see a much cleaner country.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1976909_1976908,00.html#ixzz0k33EsLpb