March 2012 Archives

Ghost stories are one of the oldest genres of story telling, exploring themes of the supernatural and the spooky to thrill and challenge the imaginations of audiences. Modern rational does not really acknowledge it's content and creations as a reality, especially through the awareness of the tremendous-science fiction industry that ranges from
practically realistic to completely "campy".

Most fears today are not directly related to the supernatural. Monsters jumping out of the shadows are not generally recognized as rational possibilities in a world that seemingly never sleeps. However, the dark and element of the unknown is still very much a terrifying thing.

Funerals are recognized to be unhappy events because they mark a conclusion of a life.  Death and dying is a very sad reality and suffering a loss is never easy.  These unhappy events are also incredibly beautiful - they are a time when families and friends come together to mourn the loss of a loved one, to reminisce and reflect on the impact that every life makes.  They get us to break busy routines, slow down and remember how important and valuable life is.

A family member of a good friend suddenly passed away recently.  Her obituary caught the interest The Toronto Star columnist Catherine Porter, who was looking for a funeral to follow for her next publication.  The assignment was to profile the family and events following a death of a regular person, (not a celebrity or a highly press-covered event) with whom the journalist had no prior relationship to.

This interactive profile of Shelagh Cullimore is incredibly intimate and a beautiful portrayal of her life.  A stranger to many readers, Porter writes about meeting and getting to know Cullimore through the impact that she left on her loving family and friends.

I came across this article listing some songs with death/dying in their in their title, so I decided to come up with a little list of some personal favorites.