In the News - Shanghai Burial at Sea

Families placing flowers on the
"mini burials" in Shanghai

Today I read in the news about a developing burial trend in Shanghai.  This new practice is a combination of cremation, sea burial, and internment. This new concept was designed to fill small vacant spaces in the Shanghai grave yards and to ensure less space was used in the future (China Daily 2011).  According to Zhao Xiaohu, the manager of Binhaiguyuan Cemetery, the new partial sea burial was introduced as a “mid-point between traditional burials and sea burials" (China Daily 2011). In Shanghai, 99.5% of the cremated body is released into the ocean; the remaining ashes are buried in a container about the size of a matchbox (China Daily 2011).  This allows for individuals to be cremated then dispersed at sea. However, this practice allows for their families to have a traditional grave marker and therefore a place to visit the deceased; in addition, families are able to continue burying the deceased together.  Furthermore, the sea burial is beneficial because it is more environmentally friendly than traditional practices and it uses less space.  This new practice not only dramatically reduces the cost of a funeral in Shanghai it also allows families to continue traditional practices.  Essentially, this new practice is a joining of old and new customs.

American Navy sea burial
off the USS Enterprise, 2003

Burial at sea is not a new concept.  It has often been used by sailors, the navy, and in regions reliant on the ocean, like Newfoundland.  It is commonly used in the Navy to redistribute the bodies of sailors lost at sea.  However, in Shanghai the individuals selecting sea burial often do not have a direct relationship with the ocean.  Individuals and families select the option for its cheapness, small environmental impact, and to be “one with nature” (China Daily 2011).   This makes the increasing trend in the region unique.

However, this new practices is really being implemented because of the shortages of land in Shanghai.  It is estimated by Xiaohu, that if cemeteries continue allotting 1.5 meter plots per grave site that the city will run out of burial spaces within ten years (China Daily 2011).  Therefore, it was necessary for the city to develop a new tradition of burial which used minimal space, was environmentally friendly, AND incorporated traditional customs.

  

I think this practice is a fantastic way to meet both the needs of the city and the traditions of its citizens.  This new custom allocates the continuity of traditional practices and for the preservation of the environment.  Furthermore, this new tradition allows for the individual select a popular burial method that also gives their family a place to mourn and honour them.  If I were to die I would want to be buried a way that not only comforted my family but also produced minimal impact upon the environment. I am personally an advocate for the practice of cremation because I like the idea of having my body become part of “the air and the wind and the trees and the earth and all the living things” (Pullman 1995).  I feel that this new practice would allow me to become part of everything AND give my family a place to remember me.

I think this is a fantastic new practice which incorporates the old and the new.  Other countries facing issues of overcrowded cemeteries, like Britain and Singapore, should consider implementing a similar customs.  This would reduce the pressure on modern cemeteries and may allow them to avoid moving old burials to make way for new ones.  Furthermore, it would allow for families to visit the cemetery and possible trace many generations of their ancestors.  

References:

China Daily, 2011. Wasted Space in Cemeteries Inspires Mini-Burials. [Online] 

(Updated 27 March 2011) Available at: http://english.eastday.com

/e/110328/u1a5809952.html (Accessed 27 March 2011)

Pullman, Philip, 1995. The Golden Compass. New York:  Dell Yearling.

Image Credit:

Wikipedia, 2011. Burial at Sea. [Online] (Updated 10 March 2011) 

Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burial_at_sea (Accessed 27 March 2011)

China Daily, 2011. Wasted Space in Cemeteries Inspires Mini-Burials. [Online] 

(Updated 27 March 2011) Available at: http://english.eastday.com

/e/110328/u1a5809952.html (Accessed 27 March 2011)

How Morbid is Building Your OWN Coffin?

It might just be me, but I find the apparently growing trend in building your own coffin or buying your casket well before your death a little creepy!  I came across this development for the first time while flipping through the channels on my TV two weeks ago during reading break.  I happened to stumble upon a do it yourself show instructing viewers on how to build your OWN coffin.  My immediate thought was who would WANT to build their own coffin?   What a morbid way to spend a perfectly good weekend. 

After further consideration, I realised that much of our lives are spent considering, dreading and preparing for our own deaths.  Not only do people pre-purchase their own coffins, some people build their own.  Furthermore, most people write and maintain wills for the passing and protection of their possessions, wealth and land. It is not even uncommon for people to sign an agreement for the plot of land they will be buried on well before their death (my own grandmother has done this!). The potential benefit to this is possibly the savings provided for the deceased family; building your own casket and purchasing your land is bound to save thousands of dollars.

BUT

Can we really find comfort in knowing where we shall eventually rest and what will happen to our belongings?   Is it beneficial to spend so much of our lives preparing?   

 

Later I realised that the trend in planning our burials is not modern.  Egyptian Pharaohs began constructing their pyramids within a few years of gaining leadership.  It was essential that the pyramids be completed so the Pharaoh was assured his transcendence into the afterlife.  I feel assured that the Pharaohs found relief in knowing that the buildings which would protect and guide them into the afterlife were complete.  Furthermore, I doubt they felt concerned about knowing their pyramid’s exact location.  So why do I not feel the same?

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Vikings buried their dead in mounds on property lines to signify their ancestral right to their land and its borders.  How different is this from the modern writing of wills?  Wills in reality represents the protection and passing of wealth.  How does this differ from the mounds which represent the family’s right to the wealth of the land?

A further thought…

A web search today offered me a reason for building your own casket, the option to creatively designing it!  Why should all coffins look the same, why not have a personalized one?  Constructing your own coffin gives you total creative control over its exterior and interior appearance.  This gives individuals the chance to express themselves through their own death.  Really the options for design are endless:

How strange would it be for an archaeologist to uncover a casket shaped like an ear of corn?  How would it be interpreted?  Would the individual be considered an attribute to society … or a social outcast?

Despite this I find all these trends to be a little too morbid for my liking!  Really I wonder why you would waste so much of your life over thinking your death.  Life’s just not worth wasting!  In reality “Every man dies - Not every man really lives.” - William Ross Wallace

References:

A., 2011. How To Build Your Own Coffin [Online]  (Updated 17 January 2011) Available at: http://www.squidoo.com/coffin [Accessed 12 March 2011].

Morell, V., 2001. The Pyramid Builders,  National Geographic 200(5), pp. 78-85.

Patch, C., 2006. How to build your own ‘fancy coffin, Toronto Star.

Images From: http://miscellaneouspics.blogspot.com/2009/10/creative-coffins.html

Evaluating the Importance of Kinship

Kinship is arguably the primary force that follows many individuals into their death.  It is primarily families that attend funerals and visit the graveyards.  In many cultures, families are taught to worship their ancestors to bring good blessings.  Many family groups even have their own graveyards, mausoleums, or shrines; to ensure that the family stays together in death.  These relations to our past kin are maintained either through curiosity, tradition or belief. 

In our Monument Analysis there were two occurrences of individuals who were possibly related.  The first was of a baby girl buried beside what are assumed to be two of her relatives.  The three graves were surrounded by a stone border inscribed with the family name.  However, the two adult burials have a different identical crucifix shaped headstone where as the baby girl has a square shaped headstone.

 The second occurrence of kinship in our Monument Analysis is far endearing.  This burial contained two twin brothers who were buried side by side.  One was buried when he died as a young child; while the other was buried when he died as an old man.  These two individuals’ deaths were separated by about 60 years.  However, the older individual chose to be buried beside his childhood twin who had predeceased him.  This demonstrates the true importance of kinship and the way it follows individuals into their death.  The reunion of these two brothers shows the important values marked by family.  The final inscription upon this grave read “In memory of Twins” – a sentiment I thought beyond appropriate.

There were other burials in the Cemetery that revealed the importance of Kinship.  The one that affected me (and my group) the most were the Japanese burials found in the South Eastern part of the cemetery.  Many of the Japanese individuals had died very young after migrating to Canada, possibly due to disease. The individuals had all been buried together as if to show their union in Victoria.  Later we read an inscription that informed us the graves had been badly vandalized during the Second World War, which we all found appalling. 

                                                   

Surprise Cairn Discovery!

Because its reading week right now I have managed to escape Victoria and school work.  I now find myself back at home on Bowen Island in the tiny house my brother and I affectionately  call "the shack." Its really great to be at home and not worrying about homework or midterms for the first time in months.  I'm sure the relaxing time will go by much faster than I anticipate.

This morning I went to for a walk with my mother and grandmother.  While we were walking through the forest near my house we walked past a pile of stones which possessed remarkable similarities to the burial cairns we reviewed in class.   I asked my family to stop so I could investigate the stones further after I explained what I thought the stones were.  The stones spanned about two paces long and were raised about a foot (maybe more) above the ground into a natural mound.  The cairn was in a natural clearing in the forest right beside the path was were walking on.  I was truly amazed to discover that a burial cairn had been found so close to my house on a path that we walk along regularly. Furthermore, I was surprised that I had never noticed it before and that my family had been unaware of its existence. I know that Bowen Island used to be inhabited by the Squamish Nation, at least until 150 years ago. I wonder if this cairn belonged to a member of their tribe, or possibly a different one. I also wondered how old the grave was and if there were more?

As we walked away my grandma told me that my brother and I had played on the mound as children with tonka trucks and ponies. 

I will return to the site to snap some photos of the cairn tomorrow!

Monument Analysis

View Naked and Beheaded: A Survey of Children's Graves at Ross Bay Cemetery in a larger map


Naked and Beheaded Monument Analysis: Claire Rawlinson, Vanessa Futcher, Emily McClintock, Owain P Nicholson, and Anna Stefek


1. What is your data set?
            Our Data set consisted of eleven graves found within the South East corner of the Ross Bay Cemetery.  To control our sample size and eliminate variables, we decided to focus our study on the graves sites of children.  For this survey, children were defined as individuals who had been buried before they reached the age of ten years old.  Of the twelve graves survived eleven were the burial sites of children and only one was a grown man.  For the purposes of this study, this adult grave will not be included within the data set even though it was surveyed and is included within the map. (This adult man was the twin of one of the children included in the study, the two individuals share a gravestone)  Our data set was further controlled by selecting only a single corner of the Ross Bay Cemetery for analysis, for many years this section of the cemetery was used by Roman Catholics.  Although it has now been rezoned.  Selecting a particular age group and location within the cemetery allowed us to create an effective sample size for the scope of this survey.
            After completing our research and survey of the Ross Bay Cemetery we recognized several important limitations within our data set. Including the relatively  small number of graves surveyed.  But also including the limitations of the grave sites which were often missing important information (birth date, death date or cause of death).   


2. What are your research questions? 
            Our research was based upon two main questions.  Firstly, during what years were these individuals buried?  This could indicate events which occurred within Victoria during these years.  It could also suggest if there is a clear pattern of expansion within the cemetery during our period. Secondly, what is the general distribution, style, pattern alignment and weathering of these graves? From this we may be able to deduce if there is a consistent style for the burial of children within Victoria.


3.Discussion:

            The analysis of the eleven children’s graves found in the South East corner of Ross Bay Cemetery was successful in providing adequate answers to our initial research questions.  Although our sample size was small there are some clear patterns that developed.  Many consistencies were found with the distribution and alignment of the graves from out data set and other patterns regarding style and weathering would be more developed with a larger sampling size. Trends were also observed in the distribution of the graves and the year the death occurred at. 

Of the graves surveyed two were buried after 1990, seven were buried between 1917 and 1937, and two were undated but heavily weathered.  All the graves share an East-West alignment as well as other distinctive traits.  Because this section of the cemetery was predominantly Roman Catholic until a recent rezoning (please view map, Lai 1987: 26), it can be presumed that the seven graves from the early part of the Twentieth Century as well as the two undated graves were Roman Catholic burials. The two recent burials may or may not be Catholic, but are likely to have a similar religious orientation.  Although the graves have a tendency toward Catholicism there is not a noticeable trend of distribution.  The three graves on the border of the surveyed area are from 1991, 1927 and 1937 which suggests that the graveyard is not expanding in a radial pattern. There is also no trend suggesting that the graves on one side or the middle are older.  However, the majority of the graves date to a period between 1917 and 1937 suggesting a possible pattern for increased child mortality during these years.  During these twenty years many global upheavals occurred that may have increased child mortality, these include: the First World War, the depression, and the influenza epidemic of 1918.   The influenza epidemic alone killed between 20 and 40 million people globally, having its largest effect on children, elderly and returning soldiers (Macdougall 2007: 56).  During the following years the Great Depression forced many individuals into poverty, children are one of the groups most effected as they are unable to support themselves (Therborn 1996: 60)The seven graves that date to these twenty years are: Robert David Player, Aileen Beatrice Rice, Edward Adams Lindsay, Mary Elizabeth Rickard, Donald Arthur, Elizabeth Beadle, and John Michael Wilfrid Ord.

More apparent patterns were visible to help answer our second research question.  Most noticeable was the trend for the graves to be orientated East-West.  Every single grave included in this survey displayed this trend. East-West orientation is considered by Irion (1990: 165) to be a common practice within both Christian and Catholic burial. However, the graves did not demonstrate a uniform pattern for the direction the headstone faced.  Five of the headstones surveyed faced west and the other six headstones faced east.  Catholicism suggests that graves face east so that the dead may rise again with the sun and Jesus (Irion 1990: 164).  It is possible that the grave markers facing west are actually footstones not headstones, this trend allows visitors reading the inscription to face east (Irion 1990: 165).  However, without official cemetery records it would be impossible to identify if any of the west facing grave markers were footstones.  The grave markers surveyed were diverse in shape and style.  Four of the graves were marked with a headstone, all with unique stylization.  Five of the graves were marked by a flat stone, some of these flat stones had been recently rebuilt.  Five of the graves were surrounded by a stone border in addition to another grave marker or without one.  The two graves which were undated (Baby Turae, and Mary Planche) were both only marked by the stone border.  This variation in grave markers could be caused by a variety of factors based on taste, economics and religion.  The graves from the period of 1917-1937 as well as the undated graves all show distinct signs of weathering, with the exception of the three graves which have been given new grave markers (David Robert Player, Donald Arthur, Elizabeth Beadle).   The newer graves are also showing signs of weathering, but to a lesser degree.

This survey of Ross Bay Cemetery revealed many patterns for the burial of children in the south eastern corner, an area that was traditionally used by Roman Catholics.  All the graves were orientated east-west, however they did not have a consistent pattern for type of grave markers.  The majority of the graves surveyed are from a period of twenty years between the two world wars the other graves are either undated or from the early 1990s.  This suggests a pattern of increased child mortality during these years.  To better understand these trends another survey should be conducted using a larger sample size and data set.  This will allow for a wider more accurate set of results. 

Work Cited:

Irion, P.E., 1990. Changing Patterns of Ritual Response to Death, Journal of Death and Dying 22(3), pp. 159 -172.

Lai, D.G., 1987. The Chinese Cemetery in Victoria, BC Studies 75, pp. 24 – 42.

MacDougall, H., 2007. Toronto’s Health Department in action: influenza 1918 and SARS in 2003, Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 62(1), pp. 56-89.

Therborn, G., 1996. Child Politics: Dimensions and Perspectives, Childhood 3(1), pp. 29-44.

Sikh Funerary Customs

Often archaeological practices surrounding the excavation of graves are centered on wealthy individuals.  These burial sites are often elaborately laid out and contain a wealthy supply of material goods. These sites provide the archaeologist with bountiful material culture and ample evidence about the burial practices used. However, these sites do not inform researchers about the burial practices of the entire population.   They only reveal evidence about the treatment of the privileged and wealthy individuals.  What about the "Common Man"?  In Egypt, Pharaohs spent their lives planning the pyramids they would be interned in.  But what happened to the thousands of slaves who built the pyramids for them?  Both history and archaeology are often focused on the great individuals of past: the Kings, Queens, Popes and Martyrs.  This is presumably because their stories are easier to trace. 

I began to consider a religion and culture very different from Western Christianity, the Sikh practices of South East Asia. The traditions of this religion have been practiced for many generations and are still practiced consistently around the world.  According to Sikh customs, birth and death are closely intertwined as they are both part of the cycle of life.  Both phases are viewed with respect and distinction.  Because Sikh's believe in reincarnation the idea of death is not associated with an end, but rather a new beginning.  As a result mourning, wailing and crying out loud are all discouraged within Sikh traditions.  Individuals are cremated upon death and it is preferred that their ashes are poured into one of five rivers.  However, other forms of interment are also accepted.  Gravestones or markers are discouraged within Sikh customs.  This is because the body is viewed only as a shell for the soul.  Once the dead have departed their body they enter into a new phase of life separate from their old existence.  

Because Sikh funerary practices resist the use of grave markers and encourage the pouring of ashes into large bodies of water there is little to no archaeological record surrounding their practices.  Buddhism and Hinduism  promote similar customs.  Because these three religions are the most popular in the of South East Asia I can imagine there are few areas of interest to archaeologists.  As a result, modern researchers must rely on accounts of the past rather than undergoing new excavations.  

I thought these practices very interesting because both the wealthy and poor are treated the same way in their death.  Neither group would theoretically have left material goods, lavish tombs or elaborate gravestones.  

I would like to credit my research to:

Younger, P., 2009. Review of South Asian religions on display: religious processions in South Asia and in the diaspora, Numen 56(4), pp. 513-516.

And several articles from the Vancouver Sun

Some Reservations about the Cemetery

Visiting the Ross Bay Cemetery this weekend, has had a lasting effect on my mind, thoughts, and heart this past couple of days.  To complete our monument analysis our group drove to the cemetery together in one car. The atmosphere was light and conversational even though we were discussing item we would personally place in our own graves.  United by our enrolment in the Archaeology of Death, the topic was not depressing but sentimental and at times humorous.  When we ventured out of the car and passed into the cemetery a noticeable shift occurred within the groups conversation and mood.  Although it was a sunny afternoon, and the light through the trees was peaceful not foreboding I was vividly aware of my location.  The experience was sobering.  

I wasn't upset at being surrounded by human burials.  I was concerned by my own actions.  I was aware that I had chosen to wear sweat pants and not something more formal.  I didn't want my presence to upset someone visiting the cemetery for a more personal reason than a school project.  While we were walking between the rows of graves I became aware that I was carefully navigating my way between places I imaged people to be buried.  I didn't want to step on someone! I didn't want to disrespect them.  Furthermore, as I read the gravestones I began to wonder about the lives of the people who were buried there.  Was I delving inappropriately into their private lives? Did these people want strangers wondering about their lives and pitying them in their death? What would happen if a descendant came and saw me looking at the grave, would they be offended?

I wasn't sure which of the graves we surveyed had the greatest effect on me.  It might have been the twin brothers who were buried together, one who died as a child and one as an old man.  Or it might have been the hardly marked Baby Turae.  I wasn't sure if it was better to know more or less.  I wondered if these individuals would have minded that we included them in our study.  Would their descendant’s mind; or considering most of them were children, would their parents? Would I feel better if I had flowers to leave on these graves? I didn't want to consider these individuals as survey subjects, it seemed entirely inappropriate.  Just as it seemed entirely inappropriate to sneak a look into some of the cracking graves.  Is it acceptable at all to use these individuals in a study without their consent?  This brings into question the entire field of archaeology.  How would the Egyptians feel if they knew we had removed them from their pyramids and now they had no chance of making it to the afterlife?  Are people entitled to their rights after they die? Without excavating the graves of the past would we be able to untangle the mysteries of the ancient times.  


What is more valuable morals or knowledge?  

Repeating apologies in my head to both the resting dead and the people who might come to visit them, I began to wonder why humans have decided to intern our dead in places surrounded by so many rules and despondency.  It seems apparent to me that as a species we have created the mood present within cemeteries.  Do we live in so much fear of death that we have to fence of the areas we bury our loved ones? However, I would rather celebrate a life than mourn it (but that’s just me).   


My friend Jamie has always told me he wants to have a picnic over his Grandfathers grave one day.  Would this change the mood within the cemetery?  Would it be appropriate?  How would people perceive it? As we wondered through the graves, I continued to ask myself if I could have picnic in this cemetery.  Although the question seemed inappropriate to me, I thought the act would be nice.  I considered that if I was buried in the cemetery I would want my friends and family or strangers to enjoy the nice space and eat a meal above me.  I would prefer to know people were enjoying themselves, not afraid of offending me.  I think I would personally  enjoy the company of living instead of the solitude of death.

Is this the best way to honour and respect the dead?

Would an image like this, of a respectful and memorable picnic offend others visiting the Cemetery? The ladies are not disrupting anyone or creating an inappropriate scene.   Would the picnic be more acceptabe if they women were dressed formally in black?  How can we outline what practices are acceptable and the ones which are not? 

As Leonardo Di Vinci once said "as a well-spend day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death" (Quote DB 2011) Is it possible that dressing inappropriately or conducting a survey could disturb an individuals happy death?  Would a picnic encourage their peaceful sleep or could it agitate the dead?  Are we really gone when we're dead?

References:
Quote DB, 2011. Life and Death. [Online] (Updated  20 January 2011) Available at: http://www.quotedb.com/categories/life-and-death/2 [Accessed 8 February 2011]

Image Credit:
Pascua, Daniel F., 2011. Deconcrete: Everyday Urbanism without architects architecture. [Online] (Updated 14 February 2011) Available at: http://www.deconcrete.org/category/derive/ [Accessed 15 March 2011] 

Michael Jackson... An Afterthought

After writing about the death of Walt Disney, Elvis and Michael Jackson I started thinking about the public's response to the deaths of these famous individuals.  And the way their early deaths marked their position within culture and society forever.


After Michael Jackson's death on July 25, 2009 many internet websites and hosts reported crashes due to an overload in the system including: Google, Wikipedia, Los Angeles Time, Twitter and AOL.  Within one hour of his death Wikipedia reported nearly a million views of his bibliography.  And it's important to point out that he was reported dead at 2am.  


Within a year of the superstars death Sony Music had extended their contract with the Jackson estate to allow the distribution of ten albums of either unreleased material or new collections of old work before the year 2017.  The contract was reported to be the highest valued contract ever made to single individual.... And the individual is dead!


It appears that an untimely death cements individuals within the subconscious of society ensuring them years of fame long after they have departed.  When remember Michael Jackson people remember his music, dancing and tours; not the notorious scandals that marked the last years of his career.


These events remind me of a quote my first year History professor used to repeat often:

“The past is never dead, it’s not even the past"

So possibly the departed are just as much a part of today as the living are! 

Mr. Walt Disney

How different is Carbon Freezing
 from Crynogenic Freezing?

When considering unique and remarkable internment styles my mind instantly wanders to the magic and mystery concerning Walt Disney.  Many years ago, I was told that Walt Disney the creator of Micky Mouse, Donald Duck and Snow White had been frozen immediately after his death.  I always pictured this process would be similar to the freezing of Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back; in my imagination I picture Walt Disney frozen in suspended animation with a hopeless twinkle in his eye, just like the Star Wars character. Theoretically Walt Disney had been frozen so his body could one day in the far future be cured of disease that had killed him and be brought back to life (Stuttaford 1996).  Even though Walt Disney died thirty years before I was  born, I was comforted by the fact that the creator of my favorite cartoons would one day be back to create more. 

A quick search on the internet quickly burst this image!

It turns out that Walt Disney died of lung cancer following a heart attack in December 1966.  He was cremated two days after his death and was never given a formal funeral, which was his own personal request.  Having his body crynogenically frozen and stored under the Pirate of the Caribbean ride was a myth created by optimists eagerly awaiting his return.  Most likely the same optimists who claim Elvis never died of a heart attack and Michael Jacksons mass funeral at Staples Center was a hoax.  Hoping for the return of these influential superstars is much easier than accepting their death. 

Still curious about crynogenical freezing I conducted several more searches to investigate the practice.  Although it certainly wasn't possible in the 1960s. The cryopreservation process requires a body to be cooled to below -196°C (Stuttaford 1996).  At this temperature all cell processes stop, including the reaction that lead to the destruction of the cell after death.  A special solution called cryoprotectant is used to prevent the cells being damaged by the icy temperatures.  This process is currently used to store unfertilized eggs and semen.    Wikipedia states that by July 2010 98 humans have been cryogenically frozen to date along with about 70 of their pets (2011).  The process is extremely expensive and offers no promises that the frozen individuals will ever be revived.  

I personally find the idea of reviving frozen individual a little spooky.  I would not want my own body (or pets body) to be preserved forever.  I think the idea of gradually dissolving into everything is a little more poetic.  Furthermore, I find the idea of resurrection just a little creepy.  When these individuals are awoken will they still be themselves?  Will they be able to connect to the "new" world?  I would only really want to come back if the people I knew and loved were still around.  Finally, this practice of "burial" has some detrimental effects on the environment.  The process requires the continual drain of resources to keep these individuals permanently frozen, which I feel is almost selfish of them.  


Instead of considering the resurrection of the dead, I think it is important for everyone to remember the wonderful Mr. Walt Disney who brought a little bit of imagination into everyones lives.  (And who created everyones favourite childhood movies!!!) Therefore I will leave you with a photo of Mr. Walt Disney and his most famous creation, Mickey Mouse. 

I always wonder what he's thinking!

References:
Stuttaford, A., 1996. Frozen Future, National Review 48 (16), pp. 30-31.

Wikipedia, 2011. Cryopreservation [Online] (Updated 4 January 2011) Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryogenic_freezing [Accessed 25

January 2011].

Image Credits:
Serpentine, Julius, 2006. Dixar Us. [Online] (Updated 30 January 2006) Available at: http://thevault.slantmouth.com/entertainment/dixar-us/ (Accessed 25 January 2011)

May, Geoff, 2011. Top Ten Inventions You Didn't Know Were Canadian
[Online] (Updated 1 July 2010) Available at: http://www.bite.ca/
bitedaily/2010/07/top-10-inventions-you-didnt-know-were-
canadian/(Accessed 25 January 2011).

My Own Burial

Selecting the items you would like to be buried with is a very odd task. Attempting to select the possessions that best represent yourself is a difficult and slightly morbid process which requires careful consideration.  I have been lucky enough to have never experienced any serious near death experiences.  Because of this I have never fully considered the act of dying since I was a small child, during which time I lived in considerable fear of the Grim Reaper.  I remember when I was five my mother took my brother and I to a camp site which was situated directly beside a grave yard. I spent five sleepless nights fearing the gravestones and what they represented.  It wasn't until several years after that I released my new found fear of death.


Items that I would like to have buried with me include:
1) White Plumeria and White Gardenia flowers - I was born in Hawaii and both of these flowers grow widely across the islands.  They are my two favorite flowers and they both have a beautiful scent.  Furthermore, my parents first house had a large Gardenia bush in the backyard and my mother used to put the flowers in my hair as a child.  To this day their scent reminds me of the Island I was born on.
2) Simple Jewelry - I would like to wear my families gold signet ring to represent my connection to them.  I would also like to wear the necklace my mother bought me for my high school graduation.  This necklace depicts a ship which has crashed on the rocks and reads "Such is Life".  I like to think of it more simply as Shit Happens, deal with it. 
3) Photos - I collect photos of my travels, my family and my friends like a pack rat.  It only makes sense that some of the most important ones stay with me forever.
4) My Pencil Case - It may sound strange, but I bought this pencil case when I was on a volunteer trip in Nicaragua building a library.  I have continued to use this same pencil case for five years because it reminds me of one of the happiest times of my life during which I underwent personal revitalization.  Furthermore, this pencil case has brought me incredibly good luck on every exam I have ever written. 



My strong fear of death as a child remained with me until I was ten and I read the series "His Dark Materials" by Philip Pullman. In the final book "The Amber Spyglass" the main character releases the ghosts from the world of the dead and the description of the process released my fear of death.  

"...all the particles that make you up will loosen and float apart, just like your daemons did... But your daemons en't just nothing now; they're part of everything. All the atoms that were them, they've gone into the air and the wind and the trees and the earth and all the living things. They'll never vanish. They're just part of everything. ... You'll drift apart, it's true, but you'll be out in the open, part of everything alive again."

"The first ghost to leave the world of the dead was Roger. He took a step forward, and turned to look back at Lyra, and laughed in surprise as he found himself turning into the night, the starlight, the air... and then he was gone, leaving behind such a vivid little burst of happiness that Will was reminded of the bubbles in a glass of champagne."

These quotes made me understand that even if religion was wrong and nothing happened after death I would still be part of life, by becoming everything.  Because of this I think I would strongly consider cremation.  I would prefer to be spread over the ocean.  And instead of a grave I would like a park bench overlooking the Sea, with a gardenia bush right beside it.  So the beautiful scent can travel through the wind.