I SEA DEAD PEOPLE ... Wonderful Resting Placing

Okay, this may seem a little quirky or strange, but I am so enamoured at this idea, I have to share. Check out The Neptune Memorial Reef ; which is an environmentally friendly alternative to the traditional funeral and cemetery burial that we have all come to know so well.

This resting place is under water where there is still life ... so it can make death more of a celebration of life. Think about it, it is life after life. You are giving after leaving this earthly plane. There are currently over 100 souls there now. This reef not only provides an extraordinary eternal resting place for the departed, but it was constructed to regenerate life in the ocean. If you are a beach lover you can appreciate the fact that we take a lot from our environment while we live. Here's an opportunity to give something back.

The reef is located 3.25 miles east of Key Biscayne in Miami, FL - GPS coordinates N25º 42.036', W80º 05.409' - the Reef is the largest man-made reef ever conceived. Over 16 acres of barren ocean floor is being transformed. The first phase is a classical recreation of the Lost City, 40 feet under the sea. The natural surroundings in which the structures were placed have produced a marine habitat to promote coral and marine organism while creating the ultimate ‘Green Burial' opportunity.

A recent marine study conducted by the Department of Environmental Resource Management [DERM] concluded that marine life around the reef has gone from the zero to thousands in two years. In addition to providing a permanent legacy for those who loved the ocean, the Neptune Memorial Reef is attracting recreational scuba divers, marine biologists, students, researchers and ecologists from all over the world. And, believe it or not, there is no charge to visit the reef.

Recent marine monitoring study conducted in December 2008 by DERM (Department of Environmental Resources Management) revealed that 1625 fish of 35 different species were observed in 14 different fish counts at different locations within the NMR vs. 1027 fish of 29 different species in March 2008. An increase of over 60% in only 9 months!"

With 6 rings and 8 "spokes", the completed project will cover 16 acres of the seafloor, 3 ¼ miles off Key Biscayne in 45 feet of water.

With 6 rings and 8 "spokes", the completed project will cover 16 acres of the seafloor, 3 ¼ miles off Key Biscayne in 45 feet of water.

Think of it this way .... if you always wanted to retire in Florida, you can do it for free after the first installment : )

Creater of Pringles Can Buried in Can

Dr. Fredric J. Baur was so proud of having designed the container for Pringles potato crisps that he asked his family to bury him in one.
His children honored his request. Part of his remains was buried in a Pringles can - along with a regular urn containing the rest - in his grave at Arlington Memorial Gardens in Springfield Township.

Dr. Baur, a retired organic chemist and food storage technician who specialized in research and development and quality control for Procter & Gamble, died May 4 at Vitas Hospice. The College Hill resident was 89.

Link

In Death .... Flying High! Pets can too!

Pretty cool story. The Eternal Ascent Association; where you can be cremated and placed in a balloon. Your loved one or pet can now be safely transported to the heavens in a giant helium-filled balloon, (only from the Eternal Ascent Society.) According to their home page, they started out as a party store: "Gift in a Balloon" selling wedding and party related items with the main focus being balloons with various items inside (i.e., hats, flowers, chocolates, etc.). One night they were having dinner with friends and they were discussing a mutual acquaintance who was very ill. The conversation turned to "what do you want to have done with you after you are gone?" When it was Clyde's turn (the owner)he said, "I don't care. Just have me cremated, put me in a balloon and send me off". The idea for the Eternal Ascent Society was born.

Their service is elegantly simple. After processing the cremated remains they place them in a 5-foot, biodegradable balloon. They inflate the balloon with Helium inside a patented inflation chamber, transport the balloon in the inflation chamber to a site chosen by the family and release it to the heavens. When released, the balloon slowly ascends to a height of approximately 30,000 feet. During the balloon's ascent it expands and at a height of approximately 6 miles (where it is 40 degrees below zero) it freezes and fractures, scattering the ashes to the four winds.

This is really pretty cool. My only problem is that I am now humming the "Rocky" theme song - " ... flying high now, gotta fly now...." The girl can't help it.

Become a part of the Ocean . . .

Mainly Urns "They Sell Seashells for the seashore" : ) --- My own little ditty after reading this. Check out the shell pictured to the right: Dimensions: 16" x 16" x 6" (400 cubic inches - ample room for personal notes, mementos or two sets of cremated remains).

This Shell Deep Water Bio Urn is designed to provide families with a clearly themed product that will float momentarily before sinking and biodegrading naturally.

Individually hand-painted and biodegrades naturally over time. Engineered to float for approximately five minutes before descending gracefully.

Fabricated by hand from recycled and earth- friendly materials. Produced using old world "rough pulping" techniques that transform recycled paper into beautiful biodegradable urns.

Includes custom designed, protective carrying case for convenient and discreet transportation. Easy to load the cremated remains and no assembly required. Includes water-soluble plastic bag for cremated remains

Exceeds durable container and TSA airline carry-on requirements

Save the Oceans: The manufacturer of this urn will donate a portion of the proceeds from each Shell Bio Urn sold, to The Ocean Conservancy (www.oceanconservancy.org) on behalf of the deceased. The family will receive recognition for the donation along with additional information from The Ocean Conservancy.

As a beach person myself... I think this is pretty cool.... and pretty. I tend to think that the body is just a shell for your soul anyway ... what better casing is there? (No pun intended).

What do you do with the leftover ashes???

There's really not alot that you can say about this topic... it evidently happened during the winter, but I just came across it. This story (out of the UK) is bizarre in that it actually happened. It was reported that human ashes were used to grit a path at a Co-op funeral home where workers mixed the remains of cremation ashes with grit and scattered them on a disabled ramp outside to prevent customers from slipping on it during wintery conditions. One worker said: "Sometimes when families ask to get relatives' ashes back, the plastic container for them is too small.""Sometimes when families ask to get their relatives' ashes back, the plastic container for them is too small."This wasn't every time but every now and then there were too many remains."Instead of getting a bigger container, the spare ashes were tipped into an emptied-out bottle of embalming fluid which also contained grit." Workers at a Co-op parlour claimed their boss laughed about the grotesque practice, which they said has been going on for years.

In addition, staff allegedly sold used coffins as new and one family was even given the wrong ashes. Needless to say, police were investigating. (source)

Pet Cremation and Pet Urns... There are some great choices out there!

Pet Cremation and Urns can be hard to find. Afterall, most people love their animals as much as any human... I have had quite a few people ask me about some good places to go online to find either something unusual, something affordable or something nice that they find for their pets remains... So here goes:

Everlasting Memories: You can have your pets hair or ashes placed inside a locket or piece of jewelry (pretty neat). They also have the traditional urns, memorial rocks and plaques.

One of my favorite sites: Angel Ashes -- They have really cool bookends (to hold your pets ashes) (see pic) They have traditional box urns, figurines and photo urns... I particularly like the angel urn (see pic)

Pet Loss Products is another great site. They also offer Pet Loss Grief help. There is also info on cloning, grief, loss, euthenasia ... and other things you really don't want to hear but have too!

Diamonds from cremated remains : ) Bid for a diamond made from Ludwig van Beethoven's hair!

I can't resist ... is it Robert DiNiro's famous line ... "Do you want a piece of me?" Well Life Gem put's a whole new spin on that line : )

Want to have your loved one with you always? No kidding ...Or think about this, passing your loved one down as an heirloom? You can. LifeGems.com has a process where they can turn your cremated ashes into diamonds....

Normally, carbon leaves the body in the form of carbon dioxide during the cremation process, says Mark Bouffard, a LifeGem spokesman. But a patented process that manipulates the oxygen level in the cremation oven allows the carbon to remain. Then, the carbon is collected, heated in a vacuum until it becomes pure graphite, and sent to a lab where a gem is created in six to eight weeks instead of the usual several million years. The diamonds are naturally light blue, but LifeGem is also creating red and yellow ones by removing boron and adding color to the gems. And the diamond owners won't have to worry about misplacing all that remains of Grandma or Grandpa. "Each person has enough carbon to make 50 to 100 life gems," Bouffard says. "We'll store the remaining carbon just in case."

And, right now: To showcase Life Gem's newest technology, they are creating three LifeGem diamonds with the carbon from Ludwig van Beethoven's hair! These will be the only three diamonds ever created from Beethoven’s carbon and could be considered the three most rare and valuable diamonds in the world. Go to their site for more info about this auction! (Click here)

Just remember... diamonds are forever .... (I think Shirley Bassey said that ; ) ) and it seems she is dead on!

Eternal Reefs . . . Dust to Dust, Ashes to Water . . .

Eternal Reefs, Inc. creates permanent living legacies that memorialize the passing of a loved one. For families and individuals that choose cremation, Eternal Reefs offers a new memorial choice that replaces cremation urns and ash scattering with a permanent environmental living legacy.Families and friends are invited and encouraged to participate in the creation of their loved ones memorial reef. From placing your handprint in the damp concrete during the casting, making a rubbing of the bronze plaque during the viewing ceremony or placing a flag on your loved ones memorial reef during our military honors ceremony, all Eternal Reefs activities provide peace of mind for everyone involved.

As one of our family members stated, "I didn't know what to expect when burying my mother in an Eternal Reef, but the process has given me such closure. Her grandchildren helped create her memorial reef, we all took photos with her reef and wrote personal messages, some of her childhood friends even attended the dedication ceremony. She loved the ocean and now we have a place to visit her. Way to go Mom!"