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Ghost Urn
by Anna MarinenkoThis eerily beautiful, time capsule inspired urn prototype, from Ukrainian designer Anna Marinenko, achieves both modern elegance and archetypal timelessness — with a touch of humor, to boot. Says Ms. Marinenko, the ghost urn is “perhaps the only way to be certain you’ll become a ghost after you pass away.” We hope her ghost urn, modeled in…
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What is sea burial? (Interview)
SevenPonds explores ocean burial with “Ashes on the Sea”“Ashes on the Sea,” a small company run by Ken and Anya Shortridge, has been providing beautiful, personalized ocean burial services to the San Diego area since 1997. Anya and Ken agreed to speak with SevenPonds about what their practice has taught them of ritual and the cleansing power of the sea: Aurora: What inspired you…
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“How We Age: A Doctor’s Journey into the Heart of Growing Old”
The book is a medical exploration of aging, decline, and the physical and emotional realities of growing oldFrom the book How We Age: A Doctor’s Journey into the Heart of Growing Old by Marc E. Agronin, MD. Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright (c) 2011. Until the year before his death, aging had been a relatively benign process for my grandfather. He practiced…
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Cleveland Retirement Community Welcomes Creative Youth
The symbiotic power of intergenerational programming and the artsAn inspiring story from the AARP, below, profiles a pilot program at Judson’s retirement community; they offered two students at the Cleveland Institute of Music apartments in their facilities (once a swanky hotel) — in exchange for monthly recitals. The presence of the talented young women greatly enriched the lives of all, especially where unexpected friendships…
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We Pause in Memory of Elizabeth Taylor
It saddens me to announce that at age 79, Elizabeth Taylor passed away; and along with her, part of my American childhood also passed. Elizabeth Taylor was an icon to women of our generation. The first time we saw those famous violet eyes was National Velvet in 1944. In this early milestone of her long cinematic career,…
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Six Ways to Give Your Loved One the Best Death Possible
“The weariest and most loathed worldly life that age, ache, penury and imprisonment can lay on nature, is a paradise to what we fear of death.” — Claudio in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure Years ago, when my mother cared for my dying grandfather, he expressed to her how much he feared the manner in which…
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Life and Death in the Shadow of Vesuvius
The city buried in ash, now in Times Square…From March 4th through September 5th 2011, the doors to the past will be flung open as visitors to New York’s Discovery Times Square Museum find themselves transported 2,000 years into the past — to Pompeii, a Roman city near Naples, that was frozen in time as a result of a massive eruption from Mount…
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Widows Who Love
When I think of modern day widows, I think of the three women who were touched by death, and consequently touched my heart in recent months. Beth, who is middle aged, was discussing business with me last week when I mentioned SevenPonds; immediately she revealed herself as a widow. Here we were, in a business…
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The Modern Mourner
Cherish those you Love; Remember those you’ve Lost.The Modern Mourner was begun by a crafty lady in the Bay Area when she lost her mother and knit an urn cozy to capture her warmth. Now her project has grown to offer unique products from a collection of vendors — everything from sympathy cards that sprout into wildflowers to “living urns” and an…
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