The family funeral home--I think we're related to them, and it's the place everyone I know has been buried from--has not changed its decor one iota from when I was a kid. When I stepped in there for Mother's funeral last year, it was another spin in the time warp of how my home town has not changed in nearly 30 years. I wonder if it's supposed to be comforting. Or just "If it's not broke, don't fix it."

Could a Conjoined Twin Get Away With Murder?

Law student Nick Kam has written a paper exploring a hypothetical legal scenario: from a set of conjoined twins, one commits a murder. Since justly punishing one requires unjustly punishing the other, would the guilty party escape punishment?

More here: [link]

And ION: Star Trek Wetsuits

When I was in Workers' Comp, I handled the Ohio Funeral Directors' trade association. Their conventions were wild. They partied. A lot.

Perhaps it is some small comfort to Qi that even now someone shudders over her fate.

I started to work out a story/narrative to relieve her suffering/offer some kind of revenge because I just couldn't let it be.

Her fate actually influences later succession in the Han dynasty several generations on. Somebody points out that an aspirant to the throne could be as bad as Empress Dowager Lu and all the concubines could suffer Qi's fate, and consequently a series of machinations begin to bring another Empress to the crown.

Empress Dowager Lu also tortured Han Xin to death - the military genius responsible for the foundation of the Han Dynasty.

Sara would love to try ice skating, but it has to be something she does with daddy -- I can't even stand up on ice skates or roller skates, which infuriates me.

Amy, I had more than a few Bambi moments. And I hugged the boards for a bit. But at some point, I was able to hold Noah's hands and we could skate along. K is an amazing skater but she's played hockey for over 25 years.

I had to go look up Empress Lu. That was some sick shit.

When I was in Workers' Comp, I handled the Ohio Funeral Directors' trade association. Their conventions were wild. They partied. A lot.

That's my Uncle Phil for you. His gag gift for my dad's fiftieth birthday party was a body bag.

Dad's corpse goes to science. Mom doesn't want anyone seeing her naked and dead, so cremation for her. I love my brother's plan: he wants his bones post science-donation to be made into a bench in a childrens' museum or park and have a plaque that reads " You are sitting on Dr. Josh Anderson." PJ's response? "Taxidermy me up all pretty and sit me on Josh's bones." Ahahahah.

I was watching some commercial with miriam about the high cost of funerals. I said, "Ah, just stick me in a dumpster...."

For some reason she found this really funny.

Yeah, I made that mistake the other day Cash. Hec, thanks for working out - well, not an upside, but an ancillary benefit? It helps.

Other than telling the fam that he wants a military funeral and that we should stuff my mom ("like they did with Trigger!") and put her in the living room, my family doesn't really talk about what we should do if one of us dies.

Yeah, I guess we've never been all that sensitive about it. I do remember teasing my mom (long before she got sick) about how we planned to cremate her, because just the idea horrified her. I'm glad that I know that my dad could give a shit about that, because it was complicated enough figuring out how to transport her body back to Canada for burial, and she was a citizen. With him it won't necessarily have to be an issue.

But I remember having basically this same conversation a few years ago out in the yard around a bonfire one night, and my brother freaking right the fuck out. My sister and I were jokingly planning out all of our funerals and he had to get up and leave. So I get that it's not a comfortable conversation for everyone.