Would you want to be buried with your pet?

Washington State Senator Ken Jacobsen is purposing a bill that would make it legal for the remains of cats and dogs to be buried alongside their owners.

He says he was inspired by the recent passing of his beloved cat Sam.

I'm not sure exactly how the logistics of all of this would work, but since it's unlikely pet and owner would die at the same time, I'm guessing the pet remains would somehow be saved to be added to the owner remains once the owner passes. That part's a little creepy.

As it stands, it is illegal for pet remains to be buried in a human cemetery. For many people, there is something about the sanctity of human remains that the concept of a pet's remains might defile.

I don't see the need to hold on to my pet's remains. I've always found that urge a bit strange ... but it also wouldn't bother me if someone wanted to have their dog or cat with them in a cemetery. However, I say this as someone who probably wants to be cremated and doesn't have a whole lot of interest in what happens to my body after I die. I know other people feel differently.

I'm curious if anyone has any strong reactions to this bill though.

P.S. I will of course update if this gets passed. Senator Jacobsen has a history of starting strange legislation, and it's a tough year full of more pressing priorities (hello economy), but I'll be sure to blog if anything interesting develops out of this situation.

Measuring Your Own Grave

In the December 22nd issue of The New Yorker, Peter Schjeldahl writes about a MOMA retrospective of Marlene Dumas, a Dutch painter born in South Africa.

The exhibit is titled "Measuring Your Own Grave" and includes many paintings that deal with subject matter not traditionally glorified by art, including death. Her works have an interesting play of lifelessness and life—with the palette of mostly blacks, whites, grays, and only subtle punches of fleshy peaches and blues.

I share this one, called "The Kiss," which depicts a dead body, face down. It is in part a tribute to the Hitchcock's iconic image of Janet Leigh, dead in the shower in Psycho. As a Hitchcock fan, I was immediately drawn to this one.

A partial answer to the question of why such morbid subject matter: "Dumas matters as one of a number of now middle-age painters who dealt with the apparent dead end of painting after modernism ... when you can do whatever you like, why do anything?" In this artistic context, it's not too difficult to see death calling out to an painter as one of the few moments that still holds meaning, or if not meaning, at least interest.

Torture on TV

So, this is only about death in an indirect way, but this video and this argument are very compelling, and I want to share.

You've probably heard this argument in one form or another before, but the way torture is shown on television is not accurate. On television, torture always works, which isn't true to life. And one of the problems this causes is that actual military recruits, when they come to training, think they can use torture to coerce suspects—because they saw Jack Bauer from 24, or another television character, do it.

Here's a video from Human Rights First that lays out the case beautifully:


I don't watch 24, so it's pretty easy for me to condemn the show ... but I am a huge Lost fan, which is also mentioned in the video. And this video has got me to thinking, there is a lot of torture in that show, both with Sayid, who was an actual torturer in the Iraqi Republican Army, and with other characters. (Think Locke with Miles last season.) And I'm a little conflicted about how I feel about all of that. Actually, I'm not so much conflicted as I feel a little gross about it, and I'd like to pretend I don't. Especially since, if you watch this video, Lost producer Carlton Cuse, weasels out of any real responsibility for what they're showing on screen. He's basically saying, it's TV, it's not real life, it doesn't matter. That's a cop out, and I don't like it. Damn! My guiltless pleasure just became a guilty pleasure.

Heath Ledger's Golden Globe

You all know by now that last night, Heath Ledger won the Golden Globe for best supporting actor in a motion picture.

I haven't seen all of the performances nominated, but I'm a big fan of Ledger's work in The Dark Knight.

Have you seen the movie? Did he deserve to win? How much of the win is based on the fact that he died before the movie came out?

Here's video of the moment of the win.



I think the clip of "his work" was pretty cheesy, and if it was meant to be a tribute, it was a pretty half-hearted one. They should have just let it sit as a standard win and let the moment be what it was. It took away from the emotion of the standing ovation for me. But I am glad that he won the award.

Snoqualmie Falls Flooding

I couldn't believe this photo of Snoqualmie Falls. We've had pretty bad flooding in the areas surrounding Seattle this week. The wimpy looking photo is one I took on a trip to the falls in September. Granted, my visit was at a lower point in the year for the falls, but the other shot, from Wednesday, looks like a different natural phenomenon all together. 

(Photo Credit: Joshua Trujillo/Seattle PI)

Mortuary Band

Today on Weekend America, I heard this story about a mortuary band. 

In San Francisco's Chinatown, they follow behind funeral processions and play songs like "Amazing Grace" and "Onward Christian Soldiers" on tuba and trumpet. The specific purpose to Chinese funerals is spiritual: The music helps keep the spirit close to the body until it can be buried. 

But the band also draws the attention of the entire community to the funeral. It announces the death. 

When I first heard this piece, I thought the concept was too bizarre to be of much value, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. I'm a big fan of public grieving. I think too much of our grief is dealt with behind closed doors, singularly or within a single family. This pulls it out into the open ... but in a beautiful way. 

One of the band members, Cindy Collins, says in the piece, "Even though it comes from a sad moment, it's this triumphant moment for the person who's going on and we're sharing that with the community. What gets better than that?" 

Out in the face of fear

The Stranger's blog "Slog," has a nice post covering last night's pub crawl in support of all 11 Seattle bars targeted by the ricin threat. Apparently, the bars were packed, and patrons are either not afraid or aren't letting fear stop them from supporting well-meaning, victimized businesses. 

I lived in Capitol Hill for years before I bought my condo (too expensive of a neighborhood for me to own in.) People there support their neighbors and won't put up with being bullied. It's an artistic neighborhood; it's a spirited neighborhood; and it's a tough, determined neighborhood. I'm sure the best in all of that was on display last night.