If Passwords Die with You, Your Loved Ones Are Screwed
My dad did all of his banking and other business online. When he died, he left a wacky list of password hints behind for my mother to decipher. Not passwords, mind you, but cryptic hints my mom would need to decode in order to figure out the actual password. One of...
Best Podcasts on Death, Dying, Aging, and Grief
For 7 or 8 years now, I’ve been a podcast junkie. My wireless Bose earbuds are never far away. I listen when I’m cooking, cleaning, exercising, drying my hair, putting on makeup, or trying to fall asleep. If you’re new to podcasts, here’s great...
Medical Data Mining in Online Obituaries
Patients who withdraw from medical research studies sometimes can’t be contacted—in medical jargon, they’re said to have been “lost to follow-up.” Did the experimental drug or procedure work? The outcome among the drop-outs is unknown.
Crowdfunding a Funeral: Tacky or Smart?
Here in the Midwest, it’s common at weddings to have a “dollar dance,” in which guests slip the bride a dollar bill as they take turns whirling her around the floor of some Moose Lodge or skeezy banquet hall. This tradition is wrong on so many levels...
Digital Objects Are a Virtual Rip-Off
I’m all for capitalism. But paying to light a virtual candle or leave a virtual rose is the digital equivalent of buying a pet rock: Buyers receive little or nothing of real value in exchange for their money.
Is Digital Immortality a Creepy Concept?
Folks say your life stays on the internet forever, as if digital immortality were a creepy or sinister prospect. We’ve been warned about posting racy Spring Break photos so many times, it’s become a cliché. But is it possible that our Facebook and...
Crowdfunding Pays for Funerals After Disaster
Texas families who lost loved ones or homes in the recent Houston–area flooding are turning to crowdfunding to pay funeral or living expenses. The idea is a good one, but it’s not new. In fact, entrepreneurs have launched crowdfunding venues designed especially for...
Geofilters Create Custom Geofenced Funeral Stickers
On Snapchat and other apps, you can use geofilters to customize a geofenced sticker for a funeral. The sticker is said to be geofenced because it’s made available on the app in a limited geographic area for a certain period of time. Snap users, for example,...- Dealing with Opioid Overdose in an Obituary
- Ordinary People Frozen in Time
- Sample Mindmap for a Father’s Obituary
- Tragic Death and Obituary Writing
- Obituary Clichés: What to Say Instead
- Drones Give Bird’s-Eye View of Funeral Processions
- Sample Barf Draft of an Obituary
- Writing about Smells in an Obituary
- If Passwords Die with You, Your Loved Ones Are Screwed
- Using Historical Photos in a Virtual Memorial
- Best Podcasts on Death, Dying, Aging, and Grief
- Medical Data Mining in Online Obituaries
- Crowdfunding a Funeral: Tacky or Smart?
- Sexism and Stroganoff
- Digital Objects Are a Virtual Rip-Off
- Virtual Memorial Websites and Apps
- Is Digital Immortality a Creepy Concept?
- Get Well Soon? Awk-ward! Farewell cards find a niche
- Are Pet Sympathy Cards Absurd?
- Making a Mountain Out of a Dime Bag
- Selfies: Today’s Kodak Moment
- Mean Girl: Should Her Obituary Tell the Truth?
- Grandmother’s Obituary Used to Scold Sinners
- Crowdfunding Pays for Funerals After Disaster
- Quick-Start Guide to Obituary Writing (Free!)
- This Mistake Guarantees a Schmaltzy Obituary
- Is Hospice the Only Thing Americans Agree On?
- Do Obituary Templates Shortchange the Dead?
- Should Registered Organ Donors Be First in Line?
- Is It Sexist to Use an Old Photo in a Woman’s Obituary?
- Regrets…Still Missing Maggie
- Destination Funerals Change Scenery
- Saying Goodbye to My Dad
- Transcribing Audio (Yawn!!)
- Dear Johann: Obituary Tradition in Iceland
- Geofilters Create Custom Geofenced Funeral Stickers
- Works in the Public Domain: Why Buy the Pig?
- Toss the Template and Tell the Story
