The beer can coffin reminds me of this classic from 2004--the Doctor Who-inspired TARDIS coffin designed for artist Tim Haws, a fan who died of cancer at age 43.

And according to this recent conference in the UK, having more Doctor Who references in church could be a path toward spiritual revival. From the London Telegraph, here's The Church is Ailing--Send for Dr. Who:

The number of under-16s attending Church of England services fell by almost 20 per cent between 2000 and 2006, but the Church believes that improving communication can reverse that trend.

Andrew Wooding, a spokesman for the Church Army, which organised the conference, said that its intention was to give vicars new ideas for conveying their message.

"There are countless examples of Christian symbolism in Doctor Who, which we can use to get across ideas that can otherwise be difficult to explain."

"Clergy shouldn't be afraid to engage with popular culture as for many young people television plays a large role in their thinking," he said.

Posted by jat at 08:20 AM | Permalink

Via About Colon Blank:

Bill Bramanti is drinking himself to his grave. Bill loves Pabst Blue Ribbon beer so much that he has designed his own coffin to look like a can of his favorite brew.

He doesnt plan on using it anytime soon though so, for the time being, hes going to use it as a cooler to keep his little tin friends chilled at parties.

Posted by jat at 08:11 AM | Permalink

Ashes to Ashes Urn Company boasts "the best quality for the best souls." Among its varied offerings, a line of hollow jewelry fitted with a special "screw port," enabling you to wear a small portion of the remains of your beloved human or pet.

Above: a pyramid emblazoned with a torch. From the catalog description:

The triangle and the pyramid shapes are highly symbolic for so very many aspects of life and spirituality. The Egyptian pyramid is symbolic of life (both human and animals per statues combining human and animal forms) and of permanence and the afterlife (per records of ancient Egyptian funeral rituals). The taller Mesoamerican Pyramids symbolize in part the funeral rites of cremation and passage that served to release the spirit of the body high to the heavens above. Thus, the pyramidal design of this pendant is another meaningful expression of a forever memory - a lasting tribute to a very special life.

A torch, like a candle, represents life. A torch seen ablaze represents immortality, the everlasting life, and wisdom. Conversely, an inverted torch symbolizes mourning--a life extinguished. Symbols include a Tree of life on the left side for what remains, and the extinguished torch on the right side for what has passed.

Posted by jat at 08:29 PM | Permalink

A brilliant depiction of the meaning of the game:

Posted by jat at 03:49 PM | Permalink

Andrew Sullivan links today to a classic essay on the evolving funeral industry.  One business noted: a company that markets bibliocadavers, books made from pulp mixed with your ashes.

This immediately brought to mind a book I've used in my classes on personal identity: the 1997 first edition of the collected Squadron Supreme by comics legend Mark Gruenwald.  As the excerpt below explains, Gruenwald provided for his ashes to be mixed in the ink of a comic book.  I'm afraid that I've shown my copy to enough people over the years that the small pieces have long fallen out, but if you look carefully in a number of panels (such as the second one below) you can still see the traces where his ashes left a mark in the ink.

It's all part of a seismic shift in human identity.  At a time when most people's imprint on life was emphemeral--subsistence living, trade, civic administration--a gravestone or an elaborate crypt was the most effective means of perpetuating one's identity after death.  Now we have the technology to express ourselves in a rich array of media--mixed into books; compressed into gemstones; even sent into space to fly through the stars--that serve as more organic extensions of our personal identity. 

"Death, where is thy victory?"--the impulse to triumph over the given conditions of our existence goes far beyond religion and a marked plot of land. 

Posted by jat at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Pippa Bacca (1975—2008) was an Italian artist who, together with a fellow artist, was hitch-hiking from Milan to the Middle-East to promote WORLD PEACE and trust in other people, while wearing wedding dresses. Arriving in Gebze (TR) on March 31 2008, she went missing, and her sister flew to Turkey to locate her. Her body was discovered in the city on April 11, 2008, and she was formally identified by her sibling, and taken to Istanbul for an autopsy.

More here and at her website, which includes this depiction of Adam and Eve:

Posted by jat at 08:59 AM | Permalink

Continuing the theme of yesterday's post, here's a detail from Terence Healy's "Tit Crucifixion #18," via Naked City

Posted by jat at 11:00 PM | Permalink

Suddenly those ten-buck Christian ad slogan knockoffs are looking a bit more appealing, at least from an economic perspective . . .

Posted by jat at 12:20 AM | Permalink

Available here.

Posted by jat at 11:52 AM | Permalink

Pop satire finds a new home when Skullphone hacks Clear Channel's digital billboards in Los Angeles.

Posted by jat at 08:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Via

Posted by jat at 07:26 PM | Permalink

Via The Book Design Review

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Via You Thought We Shouldn't Notice

Posted by jat at 08:40 AM | Permalink

Obituary.

True confession: I still use graph paper for my work.

Posted by jat at 03:57 PM | Permalink

Via Postsecret

Posted by jat at 08:42 AM | Permalink

It's been a weird 24 hours here at the BofG.  Every time I've tried tried to post, something crashed--and the crashes occurred only when trying to post on this site.  Flickr posts--didn't work.  Wireless--cut out, prompting repeated router reboots.  Desktop blogging software implodes.  Screen freezes.  And so on.

And so it came to pass that this site had become the web equivalent of the Garden of Eden's tree of the knowledge of good and evil--the day wherein I tried to access it, my post would surely die.  To mark the occasion I tracked down this vintage Adam & Eve at the Tree of Life brooch, replete with the serpent and the apple and the unhappy couple poised to doom us all--and wouldn't you know it, the post looks like it's going to go through.

Just doing my part to extend original sin to the web, if it wasn't there already . . .

Posted by jat at 02:50 PM | Permalink

For real--Steve Gerber, Howard's creator, has died.  Gerber was an astute satirist, and if your only exposure to Howard the Duck was the 1980s movie, well, that wasn't Howard the Duck.  

Gerber was one of those writers who had a tremendous influence on me over the years but whom I never met.  His last work, which he wrote literally on his deathbed, was the latest incarnation of Doctor Fate.

Below:  God explains the mystery of life in the last issue of Gerber's 2002 Howard the Duck revival:

Posted by jat at 07:31 PM | Permalink

Even in the midst of the dreaded deadline doom, this story is sure to haunt me all day. Be sure to click through for the entire fascinating obituary of the last native speaker of Eyak.

Posted by jat at 11:20 AM | Permalink

The woman who made the above list was born in 1964. It was found in her clothing, donated by the hospital after her death.

Posted by jat at 10:11 AM | Permalink

Although the righteous folks at Miss Toronto Tourism believe that tarot card reading is too "dark arts" for beauty pageants, the Barbie Tarot reveals that it may be a perfect fit.

Posted by jat at 11:53 AM | Permalink

"He was an anarchist and an independent journalist who went to Mexico to document revolution -- and ended up filming his own murder."

Posted by jat at 10:04 PM | Permalink

Gawker has footage of the scene outside Heath Ledger's apartment as his body is being wheeled out to an ambulance, an iconic dance of darkness, light, death and immortality.

One photographer's response:

Another photographer was struck with the import of it all. He crossed his chest. "You heard about this already? Jesus. This is tragic." He looked down mournfully. "I should have brought my cross."

Posted by jat at 09:39 PM | Permalink

New York City has been mourning the loss of Phil Rizzuto, legendary Hall of Fame baseball player and long-time announcer for the New York Yankees. Before the game played the night he died, the Yankees held a brief but intense memorial service, replete with an Ave Maria and moment of silence that were as any church service.

Here are a couple of Rizzuto's own impromptu hymns, from O Holy Cow!, a book of "found poetry" collecting comments Rizzuto made while announcing Yankees games. The occasion: the tragic death of Yankees' captain Thurman Munson in a plane crash.

Prayer for the Captain

There's a little prayer I always say
Whenever I think of my family or when I'm flying,
When I'm afraid, and I am afraid of flying.
It's just a little one. You can say it no matter what,
Whether you're Catholic or Jewish or Protestant or
whatever.
And I've probably said it a thousand times
Since I heard the news on Thurman Munson.

It's not trying to be maudlin or anything.
His Eminence, Cardinal Cooke, is going to come out
And say a little prayer for Thurman Munson.
But this is just a little one I say time and time again,
It's just: Angel of God, Thurman's guardian dear,
To whom his love commits him here there or everywhere,
Ever this night and day be at his side,
To light and guard, to rule and guide.

For some reason it makes me feel like I'm talking to
Thurman,
Or whoever's name you put in there,
Whether it be my wife or any of my children, my parents
or anything.
It's just something to keep you really from going bananas.
Because if you let this,
If you keep thinking about what happened, and you can't
understand it,
That's what really drives you to despair.

Faith. You gotta have faith.
You know, they say time heals all wounds,
And I don't quite agree with that a hundred percent.
It gets you to cope with wounds.
You carry them the rest of your life.

August 3, 1979
Baltimore at New York
Pregame show

The Man in the Moon

The Yankees have had a traumatic four days.
Actually five days.
That terrible crash with Thurman Munson.
To go through all that agony,
And then today,
You and I along with the rest of the team
Flew to Canton for the services,
And the family....

Very upset.

You know, it might,
It might sound corny.
But we have the most beautiful full moon tonight.
And the crowd,
Enjoying whatever is going on right now.
They say it might sound corny,
But to me it's some kind of a,
Like an omen.

Both the moon and Thurman Munson,
Both ascending up into heaven.
I just can't get it out of my mind.
I just saw that full moon,
And it just reminded me of Thurman.
And that's it.

August 6, 1979
Baltimore at New York
Ron Guidry pitching to Lee May
Fifth inning, bases empty, no outs
Orioles lead 1-0

Posted by jat at 04:23 PM | Permalink

From Overheard in New York:

Teen girl #1: This is so, just, like, sad and depressing.
Teen girl #2: Yeah, I know. Do they have, like, a gift shop or something here?

--Ground Zero

Posted by Susan Scafidi at 12:18 AM | Permalink