Caught Dead In That

When George Barris, King of the Kustom cars, passed away last year, he couldn’t have just any casket.

Renato Bialetti: Italy's coffee king buried in his Moka pot

The grave of Victor Noir. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia, which explains:

The sculpture has a very noticeable protuberance in Noir’s trousers. This has made it one of the most popular memorials for women to visit in the famous cemetery. Myth says that placing a flower in the upturned top hat after kissing the statue on the lips and rubbing its genital area will enhance fertility, bring a blissful sex life, or, in some versions, a husband within the year. As a result of the legend, those particular components of the otherwise verdigris (grey-green oxidized bronze) statue are rather well-worn and shiny.

In 2004 a fence was erected around the statue of Noir, to deter superstitious people from touching the statue. However, due to supposed protests from the “female population of Paris”, in fact led by French TV anchor Péri Cochin, it was torn down again.

Kay’s fudge (by Family Tree Magazine)

Anonymous asked: I think it refers to the fact that the George Jewell Cemetery -- officially the "GRAVEYARD OF DISTINGUISHED DEAD" -- was reserved for (Missourian) PIONEERS (and Immediate Family) ONLY! It is said: No single acre of Missouri contains the bodies of more distinguished and useful Missourians. >

Ah, I finally understand this photo. Thank you!

I now realize I was reading the sign wrong. I thought it meant that no who IS a descendant of George Jewell — not even their husbands or wives — could be buried there. But I now see I had it backwards. That is less dramatic, but nonetheless interesting. Thanks for clearing that up!

“At the [Re]Design 06 exhibition in London, the hip British design team ww.modcons explore the issue of disposability with their subtly ironic Shelves for Life. The artfully assembled slats of wood begin their existence dutifully propping up books...

At the [Re]Design 06 exhibition in London, the hip British design team ww.modcons explore the issue of disposability with their subtly ironic Shelves for Life. The artfully assembled slats of wood begin their existence dutifully propping up books and knick-knacks, but when their time is up, instead of getting kicked to the curb, these shelves convert into a coffin! Read more: COFFIN SHELVES: ww.modcom’s Shelves For Life | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

(via COFFIN SHELVES: ww.modcom’s Shelves For Life | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building)

In the years I’ve been doing this blog, this is one of my absolute favorite graves. Here’s the explanation from Creative Review:

A memorial to Joseph Grimaldi – the man who invented the modern ‘clown’ – has been unveiled by artist Henry Krokatsis. In keeping with Grimaldi’s spirit of performance, Krokatsis’ installation in north London invites the public to dance on a series bronze tiles that sit on top of Grimaldi’s grave. It even plays a tune…
On Grimaldi’s death on 31 May 1837 the London Illustrated News was moved to write, “Grimaldi is dead and hath left no peer. We fear with him the spirit of pantomime has disappeared.” His reinterpretation of the medieval ‘fool’ character led him to become one of the most famous clowns of all time, with the trademark clothes and face paint that he brought to the profession (see image below) defining the look of the modern performer.
In keeping with Grimaldi’s anti-authoritarian stance, Henry Krokatsis’s memorial allows visitors to the recently reopened Grimaldi Park in Islington in London to, quite literally, dance on the old clown’s grave. “Making a monument to a man who would have scorned the idea of permanence, heroism or any of the other qualities normally associated with funerary memorials was an interesting challenge,” says Krokatsis. “I wanted to create something that is constantly changing, a joyous interlude from the silence of death.”
Two caskets have been created from phosphor bronze tiles that react to pressure by playing musical notes. Each series of tiles are tuned so that Hot Codlins, the song Grimaldi popularised through his pantomime performances, can be played, as this grave dancer, below, demostrates:

(via Creative Review - An invitation to dance on the grave of Joseph Grimaldi)

The family of Iraq War veteran Kimberley Walker memorialized her with a 6-foot-tall Spongebob Squarepants headstone, shown above. I love it– it’s one of those graves that tells you so much about the deceased’s sense of humor and love of life. It’s exactly the kind of thing I started this blog for.

But despite approving it before it was erected, the cemetery made them take it down.

That makes me angry.

(via Iraq veteran’s SpongeBob SquarePants headstone removed from cemetery | World news | theguardian.com)

This photo was taken by elycefeliz.